Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men (the hypocrites in the churches): "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones To judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him." (Jude 14,15)

(6/24/2007) I think it may prove helpful to some of the believers to get these four ages firmly fixed in their minds. To not understand them is to invite confusion into one’s thinking, I believe.

The Old Testament primarily tells us what we need to know about the Preliminary Age. The important aspect of the first age is that the personages and events provide understanding to us who are living in the Church Age. I think most of us understand this, and read the Old Testament every day to glean what truths God has for us.

The purpose of the present age, the Church Age, is not always made clear. The main event seems to be the calling out from mankind of people who are to be trained to serve as rulers and priests for the benefit of the remainder of those who are saved into the Kingdom of God.

Although there are many passages that point out the precision with which God calls out people for His purposes, such as "No one comes to Me except the Father draw him," we insist on focusing on getting as many people as possible to "take the four steps of salvation. We appear to do little beyond urging those who have taken the four steps of salvation to try to get as many others as possible to take the four steps of salvation.

The purpose of taking the four steps of salvation. we assume, is so when we die we will not go to Hell but to a heavenly environment in which we do nothing of significance for eternity. If this were true we would be leaving one hell for another.

The emphasis of the New Testament, it seems to me, is that of running a race after we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are pointed toward becoming a new creation in the image of Jesus Christ, and toward seeking to attain to the resurrection. There are many passages devoted to the idea of pursuing redemption to its completion, particularly in the Book of Hebrews, and warning us of the danger of not following through with what we have started.

No writer I have read treats the text of Hebrews honestly, because the scholars are determined to make the book say that once we "accept Christ" we have nothing more to do or to be concerned about.

So we hear "go out and save the lost"; "go out and save the lost"; "go out and save the lost," over and over again. But how often do we hear what Paul taught us, in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians, about pressing toward perfection, toward the first resurrection? We hear rapture, rapture, rapture, but not about being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ that we may be His brothers.

The reason for such unscriptural emphasis is that we do not understand the purpose of the second age, the Church Age. We are seeking to save the nations instead of making cross-carrying, obedient disciples from the people of the nations. We simply do not understand the purpose of the Church Age.

The third age, the Kingdom Age, is virtually unknown to us. The fact that the Lord Jesus Christ will be sitting on His Throne on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and governing the nations of the earth with a rod of iron is unknown to us. We suppose it has something to do with the Jews, as though there are two brides of the Lamb, a Jewish Bride and a Gentile Bride. Totally unscriptural! Yet this is promulgated by those who profess to believe in the full inspiration of the Bible.

The third age is inserted between the Church Age and the Eternal Age because the Christian Church, the new Jerusalem, is not ready to come down from Heaven and be established on the earth. Therefore the third age, the Church Age, will be one of instruction. The nations have to be taught moral values. Such instruction has to be administered with iron force because the people of the nations have not been taught by most of the Christian churches, let alone the government, to love God with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves. They are going to resist fiercely their right to determine their own way of life. In fact, Isaiah tells us they will be taken on "field trips" to look on the bodies of those who have resisted God.

The church members, for the most part, will be in the spirit world, not having attained to the resurrection that will occur when the Lord returns. In numerous instances the church people are as rebellious in their hearts as are the people of the nations. No one is going to tell them they have to obey Christ. They will obey Christ whenever and however they feel like it. Until this rebellion has been removed from the Christian believers during the Kingdom Age, they never shall be a part of the glorified church. Never! Whoever, whether believer or not, does not accept and obey the absolute authority of Jesus Christ, has no part whatever in the Kingdom of God.

So much for the American love of independence, of self-determination.

Very little is said about the people on the earth during the Kingdom Age. A few passages in Isaiah. We know from the second chapter of the Book of Isaiah that the people of the nations that have survived the Battle of Armageddon are going to want to go up to Jerusalem to learn the ways of the Lord.

As far as the fourth age, the Eternal Age, we have just the last two chapters of the Book of Revelation to guide us. We are nowhere near being ready to see the Face of God. But we shall be some day if we hold fast to the end our confidence in Christ.

Meanwhile, let us keep praying to Christ that He will help us love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbors as ourselves.

The following passage is difficult to understand. At least it has been for me:

What kind of light will they be given? It must be some kind of physical illumination, for there will be no need for the sun or a lamp.

Are we speaking of understanding—the light of understanding? Perhaps in part.

Are we speaking of righteous behavior? Perhaps in part?

Are we speaking of the Glory of God? Probably?

But what kind of light will come from Divine Glory? Will it be illumination, such that one could read a book by the light of it? Probably.

Will the light that comes from the Divine Glory give an understanding of God and His ways? Probably.

Will the light that comes from the Divine Glory be revealed in righteous behavior? Probably.

Will the light that comes from the Divine Glory enforce and enable righteous behavior? Probably, because the servants of God and of the Lamb will govern by means of that light..

When Jesus said, "I am the Light of the World, precisely what did He mean?

When Jesus said we are the light of the world, what did He mean?

In the first chapter of the Book of Genesis we read that there were an evening and a morning for three days before there was a sun. How can this be? It is apparent that the original state of the creation was darkness, and then God commanded some kind of light, and God separated the light from the darkness—not the darkness from the light, as we would suppose, but the light from the darkness. This is significant.

What God is doing today in the believers that are cooperating with the Spirit of God is dividing between the light and the darkness in us. The Spirit is bringing us into many challenging, sometimes distressing, experiences. The purpose of these experiences is to reveal the darkness that is in us.

When we find ourselves upset, we are not—absolutely not!—to become angry with the tools that God uses to frustrate, irritate, or upset us. We are to go to the Lord and ask Him why we are angry and upset. Almost invariably we will discover some area of darkness that is causing us to fret.

Then we are to confess that darkness clearly to God, asking His forgiveness and cleansing. This God will do faithfully. While God may not remove the sin that dwells in us, He will take the life out of it so we can overcome it in the future.

I cannot possibly overemphasize the importance of cooperating with the Holy Spirit as He separates us from the darkness of sin and rebellion. Such is the move of God that follows the Pentecostal experience. If we have been forgiven through the blood and filled with the Spirit of God, the next move in the program of redemption is to separate our personality from the darkness of indwelling sin; from the darkness of our self-will; and from the darkness that surrounds us in America.

God is light, and anyone who claims to love God and to abide in God absolutely must be separated from the darkness of sin and disobedience. The grace of forgiveness is not light. The grace of forgiveness is God’s forbearance while the Spirit is working to separate us from all sin and rebellion.

Often the statement is made that as long as we are in the world we are compelled to sin. This is a lie. It has no scriptural support whatever. It is true that there is sin in us. But when the Spirit reveals the problem area to us we are to confess and forsake it, by the wisdom and power that Christ gives.

Can we follow the program of redemption until there is no darkness in us? Of course. Can it happen in this present life? Of course. Can it take place in the spirit world after we die? Of course. Else how could there ever be a Church without blemish, a new Jerusalem that is the eternal dwelling place of God and that will govern the people who are members of the saved nations of the new earth?

I do not mean to imply by this that, as is commonly taught, that we are to wait until we die in order for God to separate us from the darkness of sin and rebellion. The program of redemption occurs in steps, and is independent of whether we are alive on the earth or with Jesus in the spirit world. The point is this: when the Spirit is dealing with us, whether here or there, we must be obedient. If we do not cooperate with the Spirit of God we will be dealt with as a wicked, lazy servant, whether we are on the earth at the time or in the spirit world. Our Christian mythology certainly is filled with unscriptural ideas concerning sin, and concerning what will happen to us when we die!

The spirit world is a great school in which we will learn the ways of Heaven. But if we do not obey the Spirit of God now, we will not obey the Spirit of God then. The day of salvation always is today.

The previous century was the Pentecostal century. Now, as might be expected, God is moving forward in His program of the redemption of the created world. The present move, the present truth, has to do with the Divine judgment of God’s people. The Spirit is ready to point out the darkness that is in the personalities of the saints and which prevents us from ruling with the Lord Jesus. We must cooperate with the Spirit by confessing the darkness that is in us and turning away from it.

If our eye is single, always looking upward toward our treasures which we have placed in Heaven, and which will be returned to us in the Day of Christ, then our whole body will be filled with light. But if we are not always looking upward, have not placed our treasures in Heaven, but are emphasizing our pleasure in the present world, our whole body will be filled with darkness; and that darkness, as the Lord warned, will be great!

Today was devoted to the testimonies of those who have just returned from our summer camp in Indiana, Mission: Truth. There were several outstanding testimonies. The testimonies this year were more profound spiritually than has been true in time past. It is evident our young people are grasping what is being taught at Mount Zion.

It is inspiring to hear young people, down to the age of eleven or twelve, speak so knowledgeably concerning repentance. They have been taught by Dianne McIntosh that we must repent whenever we realize we have said or done something that is part of the sinful nature. These kids mean business with the Lord!

Stan, our Assistant Pastor, was told by the Lord to speak about putting off the old man and putting on the new man. Stan thought to himself, The kids are not going to go with this!

But God kept insisting. Sure enough, there was confirmation that this is what the Lord wanted at the 2007 camp. Sometimes we sell young people short, thinking they must have only fun, fun, fun, when actually they are able to understand the idea of putting off the old man and putting on the new man.

It is a good thing the young people are moving in this direction. It appears evident that the United States of America is going to be a quite different place in a few years. We are gridlocking because, without a considered opinion by the mass of citizens, we are changing from a melting pot philosophy to a multicultural concept. The politicians, who appear to desire only that they remain in public office, regardless of the welfare of the country, regardless of what is right and what is wrong, are hoping that various races of people will vote as a bloc. They then can concentrate their efforts on finding favor with that bloc—not that they particularly care about that race but because they want high political office.

So the old American idealistic dream of a republican government is giving way to cynicism. An unthinking (in terms of God or the future) pragmatism is carrying the field. Given such hypocrisy and wickedness, the only possible result is weakness and chaos on every hand.

Therefore, if our young people are going to survive spiritually and help other people, they are going to need more than ice cream socials and "fun times." They need to get hold of Jesus with all their might.

Stan spoke about putting off the old man and putting on the new. Stan reminded us also that we are given a package, our first personality. Then given a gift, whatever God sends us in the way of talents and directions. Then we display what we have done with our package and our gifts. We will go through eternity looking on the outside what we are on the inside. A sobering thought!

Lloyd, our Youth Pastor, was in a military mode at camp and yesterday at church. Lloyd has had Ranger training and was an officer in the army. He knows his stuff. He had everyone in the church yelling "HOOAH!," which means, I agree with and am going to act on what you are saying.

Lloyd had a good thought. He drew an analogy between Special Ops (Seals, Delta Force, etc.) and the Lord’s firstfruits, His remnant.

We may not like to think of an elite group within the Christian Church, but there is.

There are the Nazarites of the Old Testament. There is the "firstfruits" of the Book of Revelation.

It is true of Special Ops that their training is much, much more grueling than is true of the average soldier or sailor. The Seals have their "Hell Week," which weeds out all but the most determined.

This is more true of God’s firstfruits, His Nazarites, than we realize.

If we hope to be among the Lord’s remnant, than we better be ready for some hard discipline and suffering, just as is true of the elite groups of the military.

Today we can see at a glance the sloppiness and casualness of Christian people. If they do not have the latest electronic gadget they think they have entered the Great Tribulation.

The truth is, we American Christians are spoiled rotten! And we hope to be raptured up to be with those believers who were led into the arenas of Rome with their children; with the Prophets, like Isaiah, who, according to tradition was sawn in half?

If we are wise, we of today are preparing our young people for a different America than we are experiencing right now. We are encouraging them to spend some time each day praying, reading their Bible, and—especially—listening to what Jesus has to say to them.

After listening to our young people yesterday, I realize that children and young people indeed can learn to listen to Jesus and obey Him. It is we adults who are in love with ourselves and living out our fantasies through our children, who are consenting to the ways of our culture. We are selling the kids short!

Let us at once take hold and begin to lift the standard. We have to be the model. If we smoke and drink, our children are going to smoke and drink. If we gossip about people, our young people are going to gossip. If we treat our local church as a social club, then our young people are going to be fixated on boy-girl relationships (or worse!)—which is exactly what Satan desires.

I do not know how much time we have left. The Spirit is saying that many Americans will be killed in the future and that America is going to lose its place as the leader of the world. That’s fine, if it stops the abortions and the spread of sexual perversion.

But remember—your boy and girl and my boy and girl are going to have to survive spiritually in the midst of moral and physical chaos.

And—they are going to react just as you and I are reacting today.

I think the reason the believers in Christ do not exercise more diligence in avoiding moral temptation is that they do not realize they are in a war. If we could see what is going on in the spirit world we might be much more determined to resist temptation. When it comes to alcohol, or drugs, or cigarettes, or profanity, or homosexual behavior, or pornography, if we could see the demon personalities who keep on seeking to draw us into their influence, we might recoil in disgust or horror and turn away from them. But it has pleased God that we choose to obey His commandments on no basis other that we want to please Him and obey His will.

As I was praying in preparation for the morning sermon my mind was drawn to Psalms 18. This is one of my favorites. In fact, I have written a booklet based on this Psalm. It is titled, "The Warrior’s Prayer."

Psalms 18 was written by David, a warrior. He tells of the horrors he experienced as the enemy sought to destroy him. David reveals how he learned to trust God, to know God as his strength, his shield, his fortress.

We do not learn the importance of having God as our Protector and Deliverer until we undergo severe attacks by the forces of evil.

As I spoke I began to realize how vulnerable our young people are. They are bombarded by the wicked forces of our culture. There is the constant invitation to pornography, drugs, alcohol, filthy speech, abortion on demand, and in particular, homosexual behavior. May I say in passing that homosexual preference is the ultimate in selfishness. We take that which is designed to bring new life into the world and squander it on our desire to feel good.

In the young person’s mind may be a variety of reasons why he or she would like to engage in pornography, or drugs, or alcohol, or homosexual behavior, or any of the other destructive activities of our culture—behaviors which destroy our health, or emotional or mental strength and stability, or which may result in imprisonment.

In some instances, the young person is rebelling against the values of his or her parents. Even though he may pick up AIDS or some other venereal disease, he is getting back at his parents for denying him what he wants.

Sometimes the reason for deviating from what the Bible tells us is pleasing to the Lord is that he wants to be acceptable to his friends.

On other occasions the sheer power of the lust, as in pornography, overcomes his better judgment.

The problem is, the young person cannot see what is going on in the spirit world. He does not realize the final battle between God and Satan, between Christ and Antichrist, is at hand. He does not see himself as a potential soldier in Christ’s army who could help bring about victory in the final battle. He sees only the "fun" he will have as he engages in the fruitless, destructive behaviors the Bible condemns.

If he actually could see Satan and his demons, he then would have perspective on what he is choosing.

When Christ returns it is for the purpose of setting up His Kingdom on the earth. Because of Satan, Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the armies of demons, all of whom consider the earth and its nations to be their desired and proper inheritance, the Kingdom of God must be established on the earth by force.

The force is not that of physical combat, or even of spiritual power against spiritual power. God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, retains all power. The warfare is truth, righteousness, and strict obedience to God as opposed to lies, wickedness, and disobedience to God.

Any believer who is not living in the truth, who is not behaving righteously, who is not sternly obedient to God, will not be resurrected and ascend to meet the Lord in the air when He comes. Why not? Because he has not conquered evil in his own personality and therefore is neither qualified nor competent to help with the work of installing the Kingdom of God on the earth.

It is instructive to examine how Satan has managed to move Christian people away from righteous conduct, which is central to Christ’s government. The Catholic Church emphasizes the doing of penance instead of repentance. This is a form of conducting our own atonement.

The Protestant churches emphasize faith and belief in Christ rather than righteous conduct, believing that somehow a mystical belief in the existence and work of Christ will enable them to have fellowship with God. This actually is more Gnostic than it is Christian.

Where does one go to hear about how we are to live, and the power to live that way, rather than being instructed in the nearly worthless tenets of a particular religion? One can see that the Muslims make some attempts to promote righteousness in the avoidance of alcohol, in modesty of dress, and in the abhorrence of homosexual behavior. But without Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God they cannot possibly overcome the wiles of Satan, and so they end up murdering the innocent in their blindness.

But do not go into a Christian church and expect to hear about how the Bible condemns adultery, fornication, anger, unforgiveness, covetousness, gossip, slander, and how through the Spirit of God we are to renounce these and similar wicked behaviors. No, you will hear about how we should attend that church, make a profession of belief in Christ, and look forward to release from trouble through a "rapture."

What I am saying is, there is little clear, power-filled teaching of righteous, obedient behavior in the United States of America. Having been involved in public-school teaching and administration for a number of years I know how little emphasis there is on moral behavior. Since the Bible is not considered an authoritative guide to moral behavior, what is left is a vacuum. Into this vacuum is stepping how we should be tolerant of homosexual behavior.

How different life would be if there were no Satan, no world spirit, no demonic pressure, no continual attacks by anti-God forces on every person. We perhaps could just make up our mind that we were going to be a godly person, and proceed live a wholesome life.

But today we are bombarded by Satan using the electronic communication devices. Only the strongest are able to shout a resounding "No!" when demons whisper in their ear and work on their glands.

I know from the Old Testament that God is not giving up on the earth. He is going to come in supreme power and take the operating of the world away from mankind. We have had at least six thousand years to make a better world. Today we are on the edge of wiping life from the face of the earth. We have had our chance.

Now it is God’s turn. He is going to use the rod of iron to compel obedience to Himself and His commandments. Those who refuse and resist will be removed from civilization, and who knows what other torments they will endure—perhaps for eternity!

Ours is a time of preparation for the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth, and for a chance to be a soldier in the army of the Lord. What are you doing about it?

Such an opportunity may never come again for you!

At night, Psalms 73 was the topic. When we see wickedness coming to maturity in our country we can join in the sin, or we can become angry and fret ourselves, or we can pray until we have peace.

I think there is a whole lot about eternal life that we do not understand. The Lord said that the way to eternal life is narrow and few find it. Yet we say just accept Christ and you have all the eternal life there is to have. I think the problem arises because we think that "accepting Christ" means we will live forever in Heaven. Once we have our ticket, we think, we are kept out of Hell and will go to Heaven when we die. The Scripture does not teach anything like this. Rather the New Testament, which is the source for our understanding of eternal life, tells us that eternal life is a kind of life. It is not speaking of existing forever. And we have to lay hold of it after we have received Christ as our Lord and Savior. Otherwise we lose it.

Think about the following two passages:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. Revelation 2:7)

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

"The right to eat from the tree of life."

"The right to the tree of life."

"Him who overcomes."

"Wash their robes."

The Tree of Life is the Lord Jesus Christ (and in the time to come, those who are an integral part of the Lord Jesus Christ).

It is access to this Life that was lost through the rebellion of Adam and Eve.

Eternal life is a kind of life. There is biologic life, the life of blood, that we all experience. Then there is the eternal life that God experiences. Eternal life is life in the Presence of God; life filled with God. As such there is no tiredness, no death, no sickness, only love, joy, and peace.

The object of the Christian redemption is to redeem us to God as His children, and eternal life to us as the only kind of life suitable for God’s children.

Eternal life, the Life of God in Christ, is the goal of redemption. However, we do not receive it as a legal position on the basis of making a profession of belief in Christ. Rather, it is the Life of the Spirit of God that wars continually against our fleshly, sinful nature.

When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus for righteousness, instead of in the works of the Law of Moses, we have permission to eat from the Tree of Life, from Jesus Christ. But then we have to eat, obviously.

In order to eat from the Tree of Life we have to obey Christ at all times, every moment of every day and every night.

Let us say we are a Christian, and it has been emphasized to us that we are not to gossip. Then the Spirit of God points out to us that we are gossiping. We are to confess our sin to God. God is faithful to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. At this point we are eating from the Tree of Life and receiving into our personality the eternal Life of God.

But let us say that after having been warned, we continue to gossip. In this case we are not given to eat from the Tree of Life. Adamic life is prevailing in us, and adamic life is spiritual death.

Every day, by renouncing our sinful acts and looking to Christ for wisdom and strength, we eat from the Tree of Life. Every day eternal life gains more mastery over our thoughts, words, and actions. The end result of this is, when the Lord returns, we will be clothed with a body of eternal life, coming down over our resurrected flesh and bones.

If, on the other hand, we do not continually look to Christ for wisdom and strength that we may be able to turn away from our sinful behavior, sin increases its mastery over our thoughts, words, and actions. When the Lord Jesus returns we will be clothed with the corruption and death we have sown. We will reveal in our body the sinful nature we have continued to obey.

The monumental error of our day is that Divine grace invalidates the Kingdom law of sowing and reaping. "Saved by grace" has come to mean that we go to Heaven to live forever even though we have not undergone the transformation unto eternal life. There is no scriptural basis whatever for this current fable. Being saved by grace, as the Apostle Paul uses the term means we now come to God by placing our faith in Christ instead of in the Law of Moses. The Law came by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. The distinction is between Moses and Christ, not between faith and moral transformation.

"O for a thousand tongues!" O that I might be able to stand on a pinnacle somewhere and declare to the Church of Jesus Christ, "You are not relating correctly to Christ! You are calling Him Lord, Lord, but not doing what He taught! You are not keeping His commands!

Perhaps such a voice will sound one day with undeniable clarity through the mouths of a multitude of God’s ministers: "If you desire eternal life, the Life of God in Christ; you must turn from your sins. When you do you will be given to eat from the only Tree of Life.

But if you do not turn from your sinful behavior, meanwhile maintaining you are going to go to Heaven (which is not the issue, the issue is God’s Life!) by professing belief in Christ, and are teaching this to people, you are going to face not only an angry Christ, but also angry people whom you have betrayed with your false teaching.

We had two outstanding services today. Dr. Steve Ross, a pastor from Richmond, Indiana spoke in the morning. Dr. Dianne McIntosh, the president of Grace Ministries, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, spoke Sunday evening, after having conducted the Biblical Exhortation Master’s Program on the four prior evenings.

Dianne has a gift of psychologic counseling, as well as formal psychologic education in the secular realm. She spoke to us Sunday evening about God’s love for us, and how we are unable to receive it until we love ourselves. We cannot love ourselves until we forgive ourselves. And we cannot love others as ourselves, the second great commandment, until we receive God’s love and love ourselves.

Dr. Steve spoke of conversion, using the story of the prodigal son, and I might comment on this for a bit.

When someone makes a correct theologic statement concerning the atonement made by Jesus Christ and the Lordship of Christ, we say he or she has been converted. The truth is, by our profession we have oriented ourselves correctly to the work of redemption, but we really haven’t been converted as yet.

To be converted is to be changed from the fallen adamic nature to the new eternal life that is in Jesus Christ. Such change in our personality, such a conversion from the old creation to the new creation, can occur only as we take up our cross and follow the Lord each and every day. Given the poison in our culture, we must make every effort to obey the Holy Spirit as He converts us from Adam to Christ.

Pastor Ross went on to talk about the idols that dwell in us until we truly have been converted from Adam to Christ. He emphasized gossip and slander. He told of the suffering he and his family went through because of gossip in the church.

The story of the prodigal son is used sometimes to show how easy it is to return to the Father. No living of a victorious life is required. We just leave the filth of our fleshly ways and God always is there to receive us.

I know there is a lot of truth in this idea, and God welcomes those who sincerely repent and puts their sins behind His back. This is the absolute truth.

But belief alone without repentance is being preached today. Just believe, and all Heaven is waiting to congratulate you.

But stop just for a moment. It says the prodigal "came to himself," meaning he came to his senses, he realized he had squandered his inheritance. He was ready to return and be treated as a hired hand. He had repented thoroughly. The Book of Acts speaks much of repentance, not just belief alone, but belief coupled with sincere repentance.

To repent is to leave the way of life that has been destroying us and return to obedience to Christ.

If the prodigal son, upon returning home, and brought his old friends with him and they continued with their carousing, what would have taken place? I tell you what would have taken place. His father would have sent him away so he wouldn’t destroy his family with his wicked ways.

The key to being received joyfully by the Father, to being called a "son," to being given the best robe, the ring, and sandals, to have the fattened calf killed and a feast being given in our honor, is to come in humility before God with the attitude that we are not worthy to be called His son.

But what do we have today in many instances? The believers are being taught that God is so anxious to bring us to Heaven that all we have to do is raise our hand and say "I do," and God falls all over Himself to welcome us and to remove all difficulties from our life.

The truth is, once we profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we will pass through numerous testings and trials as God converts us from the old adam to the new Man, Jesus Christ. The Christian discipleship is a rugged way. Many start, but not all finish.

Small is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. Many start, but then find they were oversold salvation by evangelists who were seeking to get as many as possible to make a "profession of Christ." But when the new believer experiences the dealings of God, he decides at that time whether he wants to move forward to genuine conversion, or else draw back into the ways of the world and the flesh.

I preached this Sunday morning about the Servant of the Lord, from Chapter 42 of the Book of Isaiah. The Servant of the Lord is "Christ," that is, the One whom God has anointed to do God’s will in the creation, particularly to bring justice to the nations of the earth. According to the Apostle Paul, we who have received the blood atonement have been baptized into the Body of Christ, the Body of the One anointed to do God’s will in the creation, and to bring justice on the earth.

"Behold my servant whom I uphold." The Servant of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed One. Because each one of us who has placed his or her faith in the blood of Christ has been anointed with the Spirit of God (the oil always comes upon the blood), all that is written concerning the Servant of the Lord applies to us.

For two thousand years the Lord’s people have not been able to "see" what is written clearly in the Psalms and the Prophets. We have not understood that God is going to come to the earth, exercise judgment, and cause His will to be done. Even though the Christian people have always prayed, "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on the earth as it is done in Heaven," we have not believed it possible. Therefore the Christian message has been, and continues to be, "Receive Christ as your Savior and you will spend eternity in a mansion in Heaven. Even though such a goal is not taught anywhere in the Scriptures, it persists nevertheless.

The truth is, the Bible is not about our going to Heaven to live forever. It is about the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth. It appears to me the Kingdom is perfected in Heaven, in the spirit world, and when it has been perfected it will be installed upon the earth. The Kingdom will bring justice, love, peace, and joy into the earth and maintain these and all such blessings for eternity.

If such is the case, what is the program?

The program has been designed to operate in four major steps:

The first step is from the creation to the resurrection of Christ. Its purpose has been to orient us to God and to provide physical allegories, metaphors, and similes so we can understand spiritual realities.

The second step is from the resurrection to the return of the Lord.

The third step is from the return to earth of Christ until the resurrection of the dead of mankind has been completed, and people have been or have not been authorized to be accepted as citizens in the new world of righteousness. During this period the members of the Church shall be brought to perfection so they may be able to serve God as ruling priests.

The fourth step is the populating of a new earth with nations of people, and the installing of the Church on the new earth. The Church is the new Jerusalem, the Kingdom of God, the government that shall govern the nations of saved people

If we think carefully about this design, we can see that we did not choose Christ, He chose us. He has called us out from the ranks of mankind that we may be prepared to govern with Him.

If we accept this idea, then we can go to Isaiah 42 and find out what God is saying to us. We are the members of the Body of Christ, the fullness of His who fills all in all. We are the members of the Servant of the Lord. Once we have been called by the Lord, the purpose of our very existence is to obey the Spirit of God at all times until we are ready to rule with Christ.

I think—and I have been saying this for years—that our biggest issue today may be that of obedience. We are Americans. We are proud, arrogant, self-willed. Nobody, but nobody, is going to tell us what to do.

But consider for a moment. God is our Creator. Does our Creator have the right to tell us what we can’t do and what we must do? Answer that question in your heart.

Jesus Christ died to save us from spiritual death. Does He have the right to tell us what we can’t do and what we must do?

I believe any sincere Christian would answer yes to both question.

But when it gets right down to it, we will do the will of God and Christ when we feel ready, at the time we chose, under the circumstances we choose.

For two thousand years the churches have emphasized that Jesus is our Savior. And they are correct in this. But they have not emphasized sufficiently that He also is our Lord.

The best attitude to take toward Jesus is that He is the Master and we are the slave. If He then chooses to elevate us to the level of friend, that is His business entirely. We so not deserve any such elevation.

You tell me. How many American believers are willing to be the slave of Jesus Christ?

How many American young people are willing to set aside all their hopes and dreams of marriage and success that they might be the slave of Jesus Christ?

How many American parents are willing to put their children on the altar of God, and tell God that the children are His to do with as He wishes?

Anything less than total obedience to the Lord Jesus is simply not acceptable in the Kingdom of God.

We Americans are arrogant. We will serve God on our terms or not at all. We must come to understand this attitude is not acceptable. We have been deluded. We think of God as a kindly, indulgent grandfather, rather than as the dread Sovereign who must be appeased with blood.

What I am saying is, we are dangerously off track in America. Because we have refused the Lordship of Christ, severe judgment are coming to our shores. Multitudes of people are going to die. If we are wise. we will put our household in order. We will tell our children to put their treasures in Heaven; to keep their attention focused on things above; and especially that to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Is this taught in your church—that to die is gain? That Christ is our Life? That our treasures are to be in Heaven?

If I am not mistaken, we need to emphasize to the children and young people that we are pilgrims and strangers in this world, and we are looking for a Kingdom to come to the earth that will enforce the will of God.

One thing is certain: We are not qualified to serve as a member of the governing priesthood until we ourselves are totally obedient to the Lord Jesus. Because of this lack of preparation, we will not be resurrected and ascend to meet the Lord when He appears in the clouds.

The present space of time in America is to give us an opportunity to prepare ourselves for the chaos to come. If we are wise we will set ourselves to obey Christ in every detail. If we will do this, we will save ourselves and our loved ones throughout the age of moral and physical horrors that is on the horizon.

his morning I spoke about what it means to believe in Jesus. Then I proceeded to the main topic, which was that of the resurrection of our body. The central act of redemption is the bringing of eternal life to our physical body. Yet, perhaps due to the early influence of Gnosticism, the Christian salvation has come to mean the forgiveness of our sins so our spiritual nature can live in a mansion in Heaven for eternity.

I started off this morning talking about what it means to believe in Jesus. I had prayed for the burden of the Lord, and the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John came to mind. As I read it I noticed that Jesus exhorted us to believe in him, and then He went on to direct us to eat His flesh and drink His blood, because by doing so we attain to the resurrection of our body.

Now, it is obvious that believing and eating are not the same action. So do we gain eternal life by believing, or by eating? Today we would ignore the eating and drinking and focus on believing.

I have noticed that many people who say they believe in Jesus are not substantially changed after many years of believing. Yet we are to be a new creation in which old things have passed away. All has become new. But such total change does not occur as often as we might like.

So what is it. Is it believing in Christ, or is it eating His flesh and drinking His blood? What gives us eternal life? What bring us to the resurrection of our body?

I began to think about what it means to believe in Christ Does it mean to believe that He exists? Does it mean to believe He shed His blood as an atonement for our sins? Does it mean to believe He is the Christ, the Anointed One? Does it mean to believe that God raised Him physically from the dead?

Is it belief in these truths that enables us to be raised from the dead?

The modern Evangelical churches would give us a resounding "Yes."

The Bible would thunder, "Absolutely not."

If I am correct in this, we are in a mess today.

I asked our congregation this morning what it means to "believe in Christ." Tony Damianos, along with others, gave the correct answer. To "believe in Christ" means to "do what He says."

Is Tony correct? Does believing in Christ mean obeying Him and His Apostles, or does it mean only believing in the correct facts about Christ?

My personal opinion is that God is not nearly as concerned about our theological position as He is about our behavior.

When we stand before God I think He will judge us according to how we treated God and our fellow man. Of course, we cannot refuse the Lordship of Jesus Christ when God brings us to Christ. To do so is to live in spiritual darkness.

I think the problem today is we have attempted to divide between belief and obedience. You hear teachers cry, "Faith alone." What they mean is, we will please God no matter how we treat God or other people if we profess to believe in Christ. I don’t think a greater misunderstanding of God is possible.

The entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is a statement concerning good behavior and bad behavior, between unrighteousness and wickedness. Good behavior is that of keeping God’s commandments. Bad behavior is that of not keeping God’s commandments.

The two greatest commandments are that we love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves. This is what God is looking for.

God gave Jesus Christ to us so we could be forgiven our past sins, and then, through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, learn to love God with all our heart and our neigbor as ourselves.

In order to receive the transforming work of the Holy Spirit we have to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead. When we do this, we receive God’s Spirit so we can be "saved," that is, rescued from the power of Satan so we can live a godly life in Christ.

Because of our self-love we have said that we must confess Christ and believe in Him, and that is all God requires. We seem unable to comprehend that the purpose of receiving and obeying Christ is so we can be made a new moral creation.

To heap confusion upon confusion, we claim that to be saved is to go to Heaven, rather than what it actually means to be saved, which is to be rescued from Satan so we can serve God in righteousness.

God is looking for His moral image in us, not our belief system. Our belief system is of value only as long as it serves to deliver us from Satan’s image and bring us into God’s image.

The whole point of eating of the Tree of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, is that we may regain that which was lost in the Garden of Eden. What was lost was bodily immortality. We ate the tree and we died physically.

Christ has come that we might have eternal life, that is, that our inward nature may be filled with the Spirit of God leading to the filling of our deceased physical body with the Spirit of God at the return of the Lord.

To stand once more upon the earth in a physical body, now clothed upon with a robe of indestructible life from Heaven, our personality being filled with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is to be fully redeemed, fully saved.

There are any number of current doctrines that divide the Church into two or more groups. Some hold that the sons of God are different from the Church; or the brothers of Christ are different from the sons of God; or Christ has a Jewish bride and a Gentile bride; or the sons of God are different from the bride because the sons are male and the bride is female.

The truth is, there is only one Church, one Bride of the Lamb, one Olive Tree, one elect of God, one Kingdom of God, one Seed of Abraham, one new Man. Any other point of view brings confusion.

First I want to establish that while there are members of the Church who have a higher rank than others in the Kingdom, there is only one Church. In its glorified form it is the new Jerusalem, the holy city. All of God’s elect, whether Jewish or Gentile by physical birth, are part of the new Jerusalem, of the governing priesthood.

Having settled this as an eternal fact, we can speak about the heart of the Bride of the Lamb.

In Ephesians 5:27 we see that the Church is to be without blemish. Yet, each of the seven churches of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation is blemished.

In Revelation 19:7,8 we read about the Bride of the Lamb who has made herself ready. After a thousand years passes, we read, in Revelation, Chapters Twenty-one and Twenty-two of the Bride of the Lamb who has not made herself ready but has been made ready by others.

It would seem at first that there are two different brides. But there are not. The Bride of Revelation 19:7,8 is a firstfruits of the entire Bride, not another Bride.

So we see that there is a Church within the Church, but only one Church in the end. the new Jerusalem.

And let me say right now that when Christ appears, the entire Church, all the believers in Christ will not be resurrected and then ascend to meet the Lord in the air. Most Christians are not nearly ready to descend with Christ and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth by violence. Only a small part of the entire Church will be ready for resurrection when Christ next comes. The majority will be raised later, after the thousand years Kingdom Age has been completed, according to my understanding at this time.

For six thousand years God has permitted mankind to follow its own will. As we can see, the result has been unbelievable chaos, insanity, injustice, torment, frustration, remorse, untimely death, which continue to the present hour.

All this will change with the return of Jesus. He along with the members of His army will enforce God’s will in the earth with the rod of iron that has been formed in their personalities. No person from then on, for eternity, will be able to decide the course of his or her life, to exercise his or her self-will. God’s will shall be enforced throughout the earth.

The will of people to resist God will be crushed, broken to pieces, as the Scripture declares. God’s will shall be done in the earth in everyone’s life, whether or not he agrees with it.

The result of the enforcement of God’s will shall be that people love God with all their heart and their neighbor as themselves. Love, joy, and peace, instead of hatred, murder, misery, and torment will prevail everywhere when God’s will is done.

The Old Testament, particularly the Psalms, tells of the time when God comes to judge the earth. Satan has caused the Christian people to believe that God’s solution to the sin of man is to carry people to Heaven. This is not what the Scriptures teach. The Scriptures teach that God is going to come and establish His Kingdom, His way, on the earth.

And this precisely is why the entire group of believers is not going to be resurrected, ascend to meet Christ, and then descend on the white war stallions. The church people, the Christian believers, are not competent to govern the nations. They are self-willed, rebellious, disobedient, casual, lukewarm individuals, for the most part. Any observant pastor can tell you that.

How then can such an undisciplined mob of church members rule over the nations of the earth. This concept is ridiculous!

Let us speak of reality. Christ always has a remnant of believers in the earth, found in the many churches, who really have denied themselves; who really have taken up their cross; who really are following Christ at all times. For them to live is Christ. To die is gain, because they have put their treasures in Heaven.

They, and only they, are the ones who will be raised from the dead, ascend, and then descend with the Lord to establish God’s way on the earth. This is sensible and scriptural. This actually is going to take place.

I cannot tell you how soon the Lord will return. It may be a hundred or more years from now. In the meanwhile Christ is looking for soldiers for His army. They must be obedient to death. They must suffer hardship without complaining. They absolutely must count all as loss in order to increase their knowledge of Christ.

This is the New Testament standard. God does not lie. It is he or she who overcomes the obstacles and enemies of this world who will inherit the "all things" of God.

I know Satan is telling God’s people this is not so. You will not surely be denied the blessings of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation even though you do not lead a cross-carrying life."

But I tell you, and warn you, in the name of the Lord Jesus, that every word of the New Testament shall come to pass as written. Only those who have been fervent disciples of Christ will be raised when Christ appears, then ascend, and then descend to work with Him in establishing God’s Kingdom on the earth.

You indeed can meet the standard Paul outlined in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians. But you will have to be far more fervent, far more diligent, than is true of most American believers of today.

It is only such believers who are the heart of the Bride of the Lamb. And they shall dance with Him in the heights of Zion when the world is in flames.

God loves the remainder of His elect, and they shall experience love, joy, and peace for eternity. But it is the heart of the Bride, the warriors of the cross, who will bring into being and maintain that new world of love, joy, and peace, just as King David and his warriors made possible the prosperity of the reign of Solomon.

At night the subject was the importance of living the victorious life in Christ, and what it means "to overcome."

There is a very great difference between the written Word and the living Word. There is a great difference between doctrine and the Man, Christ Jesus. There is a great difference between religion and eternal life. The Pharisees knew the Bible, but the Lord Jesus said, "You won’t come to me!" The Greeks who came to Philip wanted to see Jesus. The did not come to learn about a new religion. Mary wanted to know where they had laid her Lord, not where they had laid her Bible.

The expressed goal of the Apostle Paul, and it ought to be our goal, was to attain to the resurrection from the dead. It appears we know virtually nothing about the resurrection of our body, although the resurrection of our body is among the central goals of the Divine redemption.

Since the last century there has been tremendous emphasis on the ascension which follows the resurrection of our body. This is human thinking. We want to escape trouble. So we picture that any day now we all will be caught up to Heaven and never have any more trouble. There is no scriptural support for this familiar doctrine. It is not the way God works. God saves us in the lions’ den.

Actually the Scripture does not emphasize our ascension to meet the Lord in the air (not in Heaven, as is supposed, but in the air, in preparation for our descent to establish the Kingdom of God on the earth).

What is not commonly understood, it would seem, is that we have to experience resurrection before we can be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

Our body will be raised from the dead, just as was true of the Lord Jesus. However, this is not something to be taken for granted. It is the product of effort on our part, just as Paul pointed out to us as He pressed forward toward the mark.

Before we can experience immortality in our body, our inner nature must experience resurrection.

What is the nature of resurrection life in our inner nature? The resurrection of our inner nature is the body and blood of Christ. Christ is the Tree of Life. It only is by eating and drinking of Him continually that we grow in resurrection life so we can be caught up to meet the slain Lamb in the air when He descends from Heaven.

How do we go about feeding on the body and blood of Christ? Only the victorious saint is authorized to eat from the Tree of Life. It is not a matter of correct doctrine or of theologic belief. It is a matter of overcoming sin. We gain access to the Tree of Life by overcoming the forces that would keep us from doing the will of Christ.

Let us say we are bound with a spirit of unforgiveness, of revenge, of getting even. There is someone we hate. The Apostle John would say we are a murderer, and no murderer has eternal life in him.

So what do we do? We call upon Christ for deliverance. We confess our spirit of hatred and murder and turn away from it. We ask Christ to remove this spirit from us. This He will do if we are sincere. Once that spirit leaves us we receive a portion of the body and blood of Christ. This is our inner resurrection that absolutely must precede our resurrection to life when Christ appears.

The same program pertains to pornography, to gossip, to pride, to arrogance, to alcohol, to drugs, to fornication, to every form of sexual perversion. Every time we seek deliverance from these spirits of death, calling upon the Lord for help in turning away from them, we are nourished with the "hidden manna," with the body and blood of Christ.

There is a world of difference between correct theology and feeding on the body and blood of Christ. Belief is belief. Reading is reading. Knowledge is knowledge. But eternal life comes from none of these, only from feeding on the Tree of Life.

Correct theology will bring us to the Man. Reading should bring us to the Man. Doctrine should bring us to the Man. It is the Man who is Salvation.

Religion should be a school that brings us to eternal life, that is, to the Man, Jesus Christ. Oftentimes, however, religion becomes an end in itself. It is seductive. How many wars have been fought because believers desired to propagate or defend their religion. All violence in the name of religion is for the purpose of defending or propagating the religion; it never is for the purpose of defending or propagating the Man, Christ Jesus.

Christ never, never, never condones violence. He stands courteously at the door of the heart and knocks, whether we are a Christian, a Muslim, a Hindu, a Buddhist, or an agnostic. If we are willing to open that door, we will dine with Him—He on our obedience and adoration; we on His body and blood.

Let us by all means meditate in the Old and New Testaments every day. And then let us look up from the printed page and gaze on Him who alone is Eternal Life.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Firstborn from the dead, meaning He is the beginning of a new race. Actually the adamic race is being made new in Him. God is making all things new. When Christ said "It is finished," the perfect atonement had been accomplished. In addition, the entire adamic race came to an end. The work of redemption does not fix up our adamic nature. In Christ there comes forth a new creation. Old things pass away. All things are made new. All things then are of God.

As I see it, there is a problem in contemporary preaching. Today’s Christian thinking can seen in the current books with such titles as: "How Christ Can Improve Your Life"; "How Christ Can Make You Rich"; "Christ Can Make You a Success." I have made up these titles, so if there actually is a book with one of these titles, it is a coincidence.

You could have a title such as, "How Christ Can Make You a Better Person." And it certainly is true that Christ can make us better people. But given the American emphasis on self-centeredness, self-improvement, self-love, the pursuit of happiness (often meaning the pursuit of fun), self-interest, such a title probably will give the prospective purchaser the impression that if he will receive Christ, his life will become interesting, pleasurable, and successful by the American standard of success.

The thirteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation speaks of the False Prophet who comes out of the earth. He has the two horns of the lamb but speaks with the voice of the dragon.

The current emphasis on improving our life through the Lord Jesus Christ is the voice of the dragon. It is the voice of the False Prophet. It is this spirit that will support Antichrist during the closing days of the Church Age.

The spirit of Antichrist is that of love for the world and for the things of the world, rather than love for God and His Christ.

The spirit of the False Prophet, that which supports Antichrist, is that of seeking to use Christ to facilitate our life in the world.

The spirit of the False Prophet is prevalent in Evangelical Christianity. I do not have knowledge of other Christian persuasions.

It absolutely is true that Jesus Christ makes us a better person. But He does not do so by improving our lot in life. Rather, He asks us to lay down our life for His sake and the Gospel’s. He commands us to present our body a living sacrifice that His will may be performed. He tells us that if we save our life we will lose it.

Christ indeed offers us eternal life, but such life can come to us only as we die in Him.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Firstborn from the dead. He is the Beginning of the new creation. Those who would have fellowship with Him as His brothers must also be born from the dead.

When we think about the suffering of the saints, as outlined in the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews, we readily can see how far removed we American Christians are from the Gospel of Christ. The testimony of our behavior is leading the Arab people to believe we are a synagogue of Satan, as indeed we are in numerous instances. Certainly the moral corruption that issues from Hollywood, California is sufficient to validate the belief that we are "The Great Satan."

The term "born again" is bandied about in Evangelical preaching. Being born again is thought to occur when we first make a profession of faith in Christ. This hardly is true.

To be born again is to be, like Christ, born from the dead. To be born again means that we have become a new creation. To have become a new creation means that we have followed the Lord through a rigorous, thorough examination of each aspect of our adamic personality and have put it to death under the Lord’s direction. It is then we are fed with the body and blood of the Lamb.

What is the result of such death, life, death, life, death, life?

The result is a blend of Christ and our personality such that all of us is made new. Is it we who are living?" Yes, and no. It is a new creation. It never has existed before. It is a unique infiltration of the Divine Life of God into our personality. We are living. Christ is living. It is one new man.

We all want Christ to walk with us, to be close to us. He indeed wants to walk with us, to be close to us. But more than this, He wants to infiltrate our personality until He can see His image in us.

I wonder how Adam felt when he first saw Eve. You know, Adam actually was looking at himself. Every aspect of Eve’s body was taken from Adam’s body. There was no wedding ceremony. The marriage occurred as Eve was fashioned from Adam.

And so with us. We do not wait until we go to Heaven to be married to the Lamb. We are married to the Lamb as His Life replaces our life.

I don’t imagine the Lord to too overcome with joy when He sees what goes on in the churches that are called by His name.

But I do believe He is overcome with joy when He sees an individual who has walked with Him until every part of that individual has come from Himself. He now is looking at Himself.

Has the Apostle Paul become Christ? Yes, and no. Paul is not the Lord Jesus Christ, he still is Paul. And yet it is Christ who is living. This precisely is true of Christ and the Father. Is Christ the Father? No, He is not. Yet it is the Father who thinks, speaks, and acts in Christ. It was the Father through Christ who created all things.

Here is the greatest of all mysteries. He who has seen Christ has seen the Father, because the Father lives in Christ. It is God’s intention that ultimately he who has seen a member of the Body of Christ has seen Christ, and thus has seen God.

It is the desire of the False Prophet that we keep on viewing Christ as our means of gaining a better life by American standards: more money, more things, success in the material realm, perfect health.

The truth is, Christ brings us through deep waters that we may die, and through that death come to experience the Divine Nature.

Dr. Dianne McIntosh preached both services today. In the morning Dianne emphasized being blind. We are born blind, and then Satan and other factors contribute to our blindness. In the evening Dianne spoke about being blind, being a fool, and being lame. This was very practical preaching, stressing the restoring of relationships.

Dianne pointed out that we make ourselves fools when we are rebuked and then are not zealous to repent. She mentioned several factors that cause us to be blind to our foolishness, and also factors that result in our being lame. Being blind and being lame prevent us from walking successfully in Christ.

Dr. Dianne’s comments reminded me of the passage in First John that tells us if we are to continue to be cleansed from all sin we must walk in the light of God’s Presence and will. It is only as we walk in that Light that we have fellowship with God.

I understand the importance of the blood atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. The Old Testament informs us that God will meet man only at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, meaning at the place of the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Laver. The spiritual idea is that God will meet man only at the cross. We cannot come to God other than through the blood of the cross. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.

This being undeniably true, and absolutely scriptural, let me express the thought that we are not viewing the blood atonement properly. We have made the blood atonement the beginning and the end of the Christian redemption. Once we profess faith in the blood we are saved, and the rest of the plan of redemption is peripheral, comparatively unimportant, an assortment of relatively trivial details.

By means of the blood of the cross we are saved to go to Heaven. This is the basic meaning of the Christian salvation, we believe.

Placing the blood atonement as the centerpiece and goal of redemption is not scriptural. How often does the New Testament speak of the blood atonement?

Well then, if the blood atonement is not presented in the New Testament as the centerpiece and goal of salvation, what is?

From Matthew through Revelation the centerpiece and goal of redemption is presented as obedience to the commandments of Christ such that we live a righteous, holy, obedient life. This is the emphasis and the result of the growth of the Kingdom of God in us.

What, then, is the role of the blood atonement? The blood atonement makes it possible for God to accept us so we can proceed with the program of the growth of the Kingdom of God, which leads us to being formed in God’s moral image (and finally in His outer likeness) and ultimately to our becoming an integral part of the eternal Temple of God.

I have preached this same concept in so many different ways! Forgiveness is not the goal of salvation, although it appears often to have been presented this way throughout the two thousand years of the Christian Era. Here is the free gift (a redundant term) of salvation. Let us all thank God for the free gift because now we are on our way to Heaven.

I do not know about the rest of the world, but this viewpoint certainly is appreciated in America. Just think! We can’t or won’t behave righteously, so God has decided to see us through Christ so He can have fellowship with us now and in Heaven for eternity.

Can you see what a travesty of the Gospel of the Kingdom our doctrine of grace and imputed righteousness is?

But isn’t this what Paul taught? The Apostle Paul wrote in several passages that if after we are saved and filled with the Spirit of God we continue to obey our sinful nature, we shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. It appears we have misunderstood the Apostle Paul.

No, forgiveness is not the important part of our salvation. It may be from our standpoint, but it assuredly is not from God’s standpoint. God is looking for sons, saints, brothers of His Son who are made in the image of the Son. When we limit our concept of salvation to the blood atonement, we fall far, far short of the Glory of God that is available through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The way of salvation, the way of faith and righteousness, the way to have fellowship with God, is that of walking in the Light of His Presence and will. Every conscious moment of every day and night we are to be presenting ourselves before Christ as His servants. We look to Him for every decision. We keep practicing His Presence. We count all else as garbage that we may know Christ and be found in Him.

Paul told us to live is Christ and to die is gain. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Paul told us to press forward until we attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Paul told us to live is Christ and to die is gain. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Paul told us we are to present our body a living sacrifice that we may prove God’s will for our life. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Paul prayed that Christ would be magnified in his life whether by his life or by his death. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

Paul claimed he has been crucified with Christ and now it is Christ who is living in him. This does not mean we are to stop seeking Christ after we have been forgiven through the blood of the Lamb.

The Gospel we are preaching today is unscriptural and, in fact, is destructive. It is destructive because it leaves the impression that the Christian salvation primarily is one of forgiveness. While forgiveness through the blood atonement certainly is included, this is not the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is God in Christ in us. The forming and dwelling of God in us results in our being formed in God’s image and in our always doing God’s will. Such forming and dwelling is what redemption is all about. The blood atonement makes it possible for God to accept us so He can proceed with the work of forming His Kingdom in us. If we stop with forgiveness through the blood atonement we have aborted God’s intention through Jesus Christ.

There are seven churches mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. The message to each of the churches tells us about some obstacle that must be overcome by the saint The rewards offered to the overcomer in each of these seven churches is a step toward the first resurrection from the dead, and also toward placement with Christ on the throne of the universe.

This morning the emphasis was on the church in Smyrna.

The message to the angel of the church in Smyrna Christ speaks of the prison which each person appointed to rulership in the Kingdom must endure.

The Lord permits Satan to put us in prison for a limited time. If we are faithful to the point of death, we receive the crown of life. The reward for remaining faithfully in our prison is rulership by the power of an endless life.

When we are put in the Lord’s prison we may be forced to continue in an unpleasant situation, or we may be denied the most fervent desire of our heart. This is the way God tests us to see if we are fit for rulership.

To be fit for rulership we must be totally obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. If during our imprisonment we seek to break out, we must go against God’s laws in order to do so. In this manner we demonstrate that we are not qualified to rule in the Kingdom. We will disobey God if obedience becomes painful.

The Scripture states that Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered. We can talk about obeying God, but the only manner in which we learn obedience is by being willing to obey Christ when doing so may be distressing.

Christ is the First and the Last. What He began in us He will conclude successfully, providing we do not bolt The person in the midst of imprisonment must keep this in mind—the suffering leads to unbelievable joy if we faithfully remain in our prison.

One secret of successfully carrying your personal cross is not to dwell on it. Focus on the things you have to be thankful for, not on the area that you don’t enjoy. If you focus on your cross you eventually will reach forth your hand to take that which is not permitted.

I have taught for years that the Charismatic movement is going to be split over the issue of suffering, of patient cross-bearing obedience. The majority of believers will follow those preachers who tell them Christ did it all; He became poor that they might be rich; that they are saved by the gift of grace and all they need do is accept it; that they are going to be removed from trouble by an "any-moment rapture"; that if they have faith they can get everything they want; that they do not need to prepare for the "evil day" because they are not going to experience any evil day.

The fear of God has departed from numerous American churchs. Thus the believers are foolish, silly, spiritually immature, easy to deceive. By no means will they be able to stand spiritually and help others during the period of physical-moral horrors that rapidly is approaching the United States of Ameria.

If at the present time you are locked up in the Lord’s prison, hold steady. Keep asking God to deliver you, but don’t deliver yourself. God will let you out of jail in His time, as soon as He is persuaded that if you receive the crown of life you will not disobey Him.

One characteristic of a saint that God enjoys is the saint’s willingness to be content in whatever state he finds himself . Satan’s discontent was the original sin. If you break out of prison you may be captured and locked up for a longer time. Always pray for what you need and desire, but do not make a move ahead of God’s time.

Don’t try to make the present world a paradise. It is the valley of the shadow of death. The real, eternal world is ahead of us. If you seek to evade your necessary suffering you will open yourself to deception. The purpose of the present life is to train and test us. Eternity is a long, long time. If we live so as to please Christ we are going to have countless ages during which we shall enjoy the fruit of our patient obedience.

At night I continued with another promise to the imprisoned saint who remains faithful. It is that he will not be hurt by the second death, the lake that burns with the smell of sulfur. The Lake of Fire has authority over the eight behaviors, listed in Revelation 21:8, even while we are a Christian. God has given us a season to gain victory through Jesus Christ over each of these eight behaviors. If we are victorious we no longer can be harmed by the Lake of Fire. But if we do not gain victory over these behaviors, then the Lake of Fire retains Divinely appointed authority over any of the eight behaviors we continue to practice.

I know I have written a great deal about putting our treasures in Heaven. But this is so important! We Americans live in the lap of luxury compared with some of the other societies in the world. We have numerous material treasures. I might say, in some instances we have numerous material idols! We would not dream of giving up these things and relationships we value so highly. But if we do not place everything on the altar before the Lord, for Him to do with as He desires, we are in a position of great weakness.

Today I was unable to be in the services. Our Assistant Pastor, Stan Josephsen held forth in the morning. Our head elder, Ron Smitter, preached in the evening service. I have heard very good reports from both services. You can hear the morning and evening sermons by clicking below, as indicated.

This week I have been pondering the concept of placing our treasures in Heaven. The believer who puts all of his or her treasures in Heaven is in a position of the greatest strength. He or she is invulnerable.

I believe the Spirit is speaking clearly that an age of physical and moral horrors is approaching. Those of us who are older can remember the former values of our country. It is so utterly, utterly sad to see the disintegration of our moral values. In fact, the descent into demonic behavior seems to be accelerating, if anything.

Honestly, I don’t see much hope for a change. The churches, for the most part, seem to be preaching about free grace and going to Heaven in a rapture. When a minister does speak about morals, it often is about how "they" are aborting their children; or "they" are homosexuals" or "they" are blaspheming God.

I do not say the churches should not protest the sin that is so abundant in our society. But what I hear the Holy Spirit saying is that it is God’s people, who are called by His name, who must repent. If the light of righteous behavior is not shining in the churches because of the overemphasis on grace and the so-called "rapture," then how can we expect the secular society or the government to change?

There is moral filthiness, child molestation, gossip, slander, jealousy, envy, covetousness, the love of money, lying, hardness of heart, unforgiveness, bitterness, seeking preeminence, anger, dishonesty, arrogance, haughtiness, divisiveness, on the part of the Christians. They are lovers of pleasure. They much prefer partying to seeking the Lord. The problem is in the churches, not in the secular society!

I said an age of moral and physical horrors is approaching America. The moral horrors are apparent when the public schools in some instances are considering doing away with the idea of a Mom and Dad in favor of partners, or something else. The strongest bastion in any culture is the solid home with Mom, Dad, and children. Satan knows this and is doing everything in his power to destroy the original Divine fiat: that man is to be male and female, and to be fruitful. Satan hates the idea of the strong family unit, and so he appears to be invading the thinking of professional educators.

I am eighty-two years of age. I never thought I would live to see the day when school districts are cooperating in the effort to destroy the idea of Mom and Dad. Did you? Isn’t this terrible? A child has no Mom and Dad. Oh well, I know sometimes there is conflict in the home and the father or mother leave. I do not wish to add to someone’s grief by making him or her feel guilty. But all of us should pray that there be as many family units of Mom, Dad, and children, as possible.

An age of moral and physical horrors is approaching. The moral horrors are here now. They will result in an outpouring of God’s judgment upon us, because the living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, will never, never, never tolerate a social system that kills fetuses without good and sufficient reason, or does away with the family unit.

There is going to be much blood shed in the future, as God raises up enemies of the United States. Because of our immorality our country is destined to become a third-rate power. World leadership will move to the East. This is what I think I am hearing from the Spirit of God.

What are we as Christians to do. It may be too late to save our nation from Divine judgment, so we had better concentrate on setting our own house in order.

One step we must take is to place all of our treasures in Heaven. At present I am writing a book titled "To Die Is Gain." I am hoping parents will read the appropriate parts to their children. It is written with children in mind so they will not be afraid of dying, or of having their loved ones die. If we live a life pleasing to the Lord, there certainly is no reason to fear physical death. It is a release unto real life, not some kind of mystical life, real life!

I will try to let you know when my book is finished. It is a story that some may find interesting and helpful.

If we have all of our treasures in Heaven we are invulnerable. There is nothing terrorists or war can do to harm us. When our life is the Lord Jesus Christ, for us to die is gain. Anyone of sound mind would certainly desire gain!

Meanwhile we serve the Lord. If we really have our treasures in Heaven, when the terrorists set of a biologic bomb, or nuclear device, or a bomb that destroys all of our electronics (I forget what you call this type of device, but it is in existence), and we see literally millions of Americans killed, and our own life is in danger from anthrax, or radiation, we will not panic. Our trust is in the Lord Jesus. Our treasures are in Heaven.

We will be a source of strength for our children, our fellow believers, and our neighbors. While they are rushing about screaming because the banks are closed on account of the frying of electronic communications, we will be at peace and will share our peace. We know our Lord will provide.

So it is not to panic. The more trouble we are in, the closer Christ will be to us, provided we are looking to Him today and serving Him with a full heart.

Do draw close to Jesus, and do put your treasures in Heaven. In the not too distant future you are going to be awfully glad you did!

The week before last my wife, Audrey, had to go to the hospital because of pressure in her head. In addition, she was extremely weak. The diagnoses were varied, including tuberculosis in one lung and a kidney infection. However, the main culprit turned out to be a lack of sodium due to the daily use of a diuretic. I would never have believed that a low balance of an electrolyte could have such a devastating effect on an individual.

I was preaching from the second chapter of the Book of Revelation concerning the church in Pergamum. We got as far as "you have those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans." "Nico" refers to the idea of conquering. "Laitans" refers to people, according to my understanding. So the doctrine of the Nicolaitans may refer to that which conquers the people.

This made me think of the priest-people concept which came from the Jewish arrangement through the Catholic Church through the Protestant churches to the present day. It is that of the clergy-laity division.

We are so accustomed to giving our spiritual proxy to a "minister" that we simply cannot comprehend the nature of the one Body of Christ. There are no clergy-laity distinctions in the Body of Christ, and the custom of referring to a "minister" as a clergyman is understandable, giving the historical precedent, but it really is a destructive practice.

It is not at all helpful to have "superior" Christians sitting on the platform. Obviously this is going to cause those in the congregation to feel they are inferior!

Why is it destructive? Because it robs the great majority of believers of the motive to seek their unique gifts and ministries. We Americans who love money, sexual enticement, and power, willingly give our proxy to the minister. The minister prays. The minister seeks God on our behalf. But we are to spend our efforts in the world, where our heart is.

Isn’t it about time for this abomination to cease? The only manner by which any of us can come to the fullness of Christ is through the ministries of all the members of the Body. We give lip service to this idea. But every time we refer to a clergy, a laity, a reverend, we show clearly that we do not believe that the Body of Christ is made up of many contributing members, all of equal importance.

All of equal importance? Where do I get that?

Think about the sodium ions. How much do you know about them? Did you ever hear of anyone falling in love with a person because of his or her sodium ions? Probably not.

Suppose the mouth (the pastor) says to the sodium ions (some of the congregation, maybe), who needs you? You are not important. I am important. I am the mouth. I sit in one of the big chairs on the platform. I am someone of importance around here!

The sodium ions say, "Oh is that so!" I think we will just take a little vacation and see how you do, big mouth."

Pretty soon big mouth is on his back in the hospital, scarcely coherent. He no longer is able to preach the Word. All he can do is hope that soon the doctor will put enough sodium back into him so he knows where he is and can get out of bed without help.

A proper balance of electrolytes is necessary if we are to be able to live, move, and have our being, even though we never see them.

So it is in the Body of Christ. Each and every member is needed. There are no members who are clergy. There are no members who are laity. There are no members who are reverends. All of us are necessary if the saints are to be brought to maturity.

If we only knew, each of us, the vast treasures that await us if we use the talents God has given us to build up His Kingdom. But if we do not use our talents, and I would venture to say that the majority of believers in America have never taken the time to find out from the Lord what their gifts and ministries are, we are in danger of the outer darkness.

Without doubt the churches of the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation were not perfect in the sight of Christ. Yet the Apostle Paul spoke of a Church without spot or wrinkle.

How are we going to have a mature, perfected Church? Only as the members of the Body of Christ cease giving their spiritual proxy to a "minister" and begin to exercise their unique gifts and ministries.

To not do so is to displease Christ greatly, and none of us wishes to do that!

The study this morning was in the 37^th Psalm. The idea is that because we are facing such moral abominations in our country, and will be increasingly so in the days to come, we must choose at all times to avoid fretting and to delight ourselves in the fear of the Lord. According to the eleventh chapter of the Book of Isaiah, delight in the fear of the Lord is the seventh of the seven Spirits that are before the Throne of God.

It is not going to be easy! When we see the wicked exalting themselves on every side. When we see Jesus Christ scorned and even blasphemed. When we see those mocked who are endeavoring to live righteously. When we read how all religions serve the same God. When we learn that our country no longer is solely Christian but part Islamic, part Hindu, part Buddhist. We see parades that are a visible representation of Sodom, and people from around the world come to America to look at them. When we read how people are arrested for cruelty to animals because of using them for sex objects. When there are those who hold that a woman who gets an abortion is to be honored. When the public school authorities are so afraid of being sued by atheists or by those of other religions that they relegate Christian principles and artifacts to the sidelines. When we see all that historical America esteemed being mocked, scorned, thrust aside in favor of "alternate life styles. When we see this rapid descent into Hell, we can destroy our relationship with Christ by fretting about it.

Whatever good we can do, we should do. But when all we can do is fret, we are disobeying God.

The 37^th Psalm commands us several times to not fret ourselves concerning the actions of the wicked. When we fret and complain about the moral decline of the United States of America, we are accusing God of losing control of the world. We are honoring the wicked. Yet, the downfall of the wicked is inevitable. It is the meek who will inherit the earth. The almighty God will see to that!

When the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome he directed us to rejoice in the Lord always. This is not merely a good idea, it is necessary if we are to live a victorious life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

God is in control. It is God who is permitting the wicked to vaunt themselves in the smug assurance that their way is everlasting.

Why would God tolerate this sort of behavior, when the earth, all its populations, and all its resources, belong to God? It is because God is using all this garbage to bring forth His sons—son who will stand in the Lord Jesus Christ although they are living in a cesspool. This world is the valley of the shadow of death, David reminded us.

If you want good potting soil, turn some worms loose in a pile of manure. A lady who sells potting soil informed me of this. So manure has its uses. In like manner, the social patterns of America have their Divinely ordained value.

We simply must delight ourselves in the Lord. If we will choose to do so (and we always can choose whether to delight ourselves or whether to fret and complain!) God will give us the desires of our heart. Paul told us God will supply our needs. David told us God will give us the desires of our heart. God supplies our needs and fulfills our desires, when we wait patiently before Him.

I cannot emphasize this Bible teaching too strongly. America is becoming Sodom. I have lived in America for eighty-two years and have witnessed the slow decline of morality. But I think the rate of decline is accelerating. To read of a comedienne who mocks Christ is bad enough. But then to find she now is entertaining overflow audiences because of her "joyful, spontaneous creativity," makes me realize the world of Sodom is on the way.

We read in Matthew that both sin and righteousness shall come to maturity just before they are reaped. The way of the Lord shall be made straight. The wicked are becoming exceedingly wicked. The Lord Jesus will make the saints exceedingly righteous in behavior if we will cooperate with the Spirit of God.

If I am hearing from the Spirit correctly, much blood is about to be shed in America. If you fear the prospect of death for you or your children, I suggest that without delay you draw close to the Lord. Spend some time each day in the heavens with Jesus. Get used to the spirit world. Know that if that darling child of yours is killed in the coming warfare, he or she is happily at play with other children in the parks of Heaven.

If you and the members of your family will love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and your neighbor as yourselves (and you can do both of these things if you will ask Christ to help you), and accept the rulership of King Jesus over every aspect of your lives, than when you die you all will be together again forever in that world that is marvelous beyond all marvels.

Paradise was on the earth in the beginning. Jesus will bring it back to the earth in His time. But what good is Paradise if you are not with your loved ones? Love alone is what the world was made for, as the old song says.

So be full of courage and peace. Do not fret yourself concerning the antics of the wicked. They soon shall be removed from the presence of decent people. You and your family can survive and help others during the coming era of moral and physical horrors.

But if any of you are killed, you then will be released into that true, wonderful, eternal world where there is no more death; no more mourning over the demise of a loved one or a child; (and this is important to some people), no more having to take your beloved pet to the veterinarian to be put to sleep. Are there animals in the new world of righteousness? The eleventh chapter of Isaiah suggests there indeed will be.

So the future is bright with promise for those who love and serve the Lord Jesus. He shall put an end to wickedness when He is ready to do so. We never, never fret about the wickedness of the world because God in His love has given us the Spirit of delight in the fear of the Lord.

Alison Humbert spoke at both services today. Alison has traveled extensively to several countries, including Haiti, Ukraine, Ethiopia, and Mozambique. She experienced a considerable amount of spiritual opposition. She learned to bring the Life of Heaven into her surroundings so God’s will would be accomplished.

Alison’s pastor (not myself) taught his congregation to bring Heaven into the earth, rather than try to get people into Heaven. This is a marvelous and eminently practical concept.

I have been saying for years that an age of moral and physical horrors is approaching the United States. I believe it has begun, in that I have read in the newspaper that in the State of California it now is illegal to use the terms "Mom" and "Dad," "Husband" and "wife," in any state-supported institution. I hope I am mistaken in what I read, but I don’t think I am. The reader can check it out by reading the recently passed SB777 and AB394.

From my point of view, this is a very significant step downward in the moral decline of the United States. In fact, it nearly is incomprehensible.

We are not to fret ourselves over these two bills. Listening to Alison I realized that we can go to prayer, targeting the practice of excluding Mom, Dad, husband and wife, from the reading materials of the public schools of California. Possibly some good can be done through political endeavors. But I am persuaded that we must bring the Life of Heaven into play such that God’s wisdom and power overthrow this sort of thing.

When Jacob left Beersheba on his way to Haran to get a wife, God met him in a dream.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, ‘Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.’" (Genesis 28:16,17)

Please notice the expression, "This is the gate of Heaven."

Obviously the point of origin for the angels was the earth.

This passage is significant for us. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the stairway resting on the earth with its top reaching to Heaven.

He then added, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:51)

When we are living in the will of God, Jesus Christ is dwelling in us. When the Lord Jesus Christ is dwelling in us, we are Jacob’s stairway, Jacob’s ladder. When we are Jacob’s stairway, we are the "gate of Heaven."

When we are the gate of Heaven we are a passageway through which the power and wisdom of Heaven can issue forth wherever there is spiritual darkness in the earth.

I get the impression that today Satan is attacking the concept of "gender." He would like to erase the idea of gender from our minds, I think.

Now, what could Satan hope to accomplish by doing away with the idea of gender?

In the beginning, God defined man. Man is a son of God. Man is in the image and likeness of God, Man is male and female. Man is to be fruitful. Man is to have rulership over the works of God’s hands.

As far as I know, this fiat always will define man—even to eternity.

After God is through working, man will be a son of God, having been truly born of God, not merely created, as was Adam.

Man will be in the moral image and outer likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Man will be male and female in some transcendent sense that we do not see as yet.

Man will bear the image of God throughout the universe until additional planets are needed to host the ever increasing population.

Man will govern all the works of God’s hands.

Thus there was an adamic prototype of "man"; and then there will be a marvelous, nearly incomprehensible, fulfillment of the Divine fiat regarding man.

The concept of male and female is intrinsic to the five aspect of the fiat. Apart from the union of male and female there is no full image of God. Apart from the union of male and female there can be no fruitfulness, consequently no dominion, because the power of rulership comes from fruitfulness.

Satan is seeking to interrupt this fiat by confusing the idea of gender, of "Mom and Dad," of husband and wife.

Another dimension of the effort to confuse the fiat concerning male and female is to prevent the solid family unit, consisting of father, mother, and children. A stable, loving family unit well may be the best source of wholesome personality development. Lawless, God-despising children are not likely to come from a stable, loving home environment. So Satan will do all in his power to prevent the forming of such sources of personality nourishment.

Today we see powerful forces in government, education, and the media attempting to do away with the family unit; or, in the case of abortion, with the product of the union of a Mom and Dad.

We Christians are witnessing this moral and social destruction and are tempted to fret ourselves because of the rampant wickedness. However, fretting results only in our losing our joy in Christ.

God has a better response for us than fretting. If enough Christians agree in prayer there will come an end to the multitude of unnecessary abortions. If enough Christians agree in prayer, the laws that outlaw the mention of Mom and Dad, husband and wife, will be overturned; will be made null and void.

Better yet, if you, dear reader, and I, direct our attention specifically to some of these abominable developments, and pray, pray, pray without ceasing, change shall take place. Alison demonstrated this in her testimony of events in Haiti and Ukraine.

Will you pray specifically? Will I pray specifically? If we shall do this, change will occur.

Our job is to live before Christ in such a manner that we are a gate through which the Life and Light of God Almighty can issue forth and dispel the spiritual darkness that is invading the United States of America.

The New Testament states that Christ in us is the hope of glory, and the mystery of the Gospel. It is amazing, isn’t it, that for two thousand years this mystery, this hope, has not been emphasized. The emphasis has been on the Christ of history, the Christ of Calvary, or Christ with us. However, the essential aspect of the Gospel of the Kingdom is Christ in us, not Christ with us or the Christ of history.

Well, Christ in us, our hope, still is a mystery, isn’t it? But now, in our day, God is explaining the mystery.

Notice carefully the following verse:

But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:7)

When the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God, which is Christ in us, will be accomplished, or fulfilled, or finished.

There can be no doubt that we now are in this period. The mystery is being explained and brought forth in those believers who are following Christ closely.

The fifth chapter of Micah, the last chapter of Isaiah, and the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation speak of the travail that will bring forth Christ in His Church.

Those of us who are involved in s church work, as I am, being a pastor, are occupied with numerous activities, aren’t we? But you know, these all are scaffolding, as it were. The truly important accomplishment is that Christ come forth in us. They are what to do until the Doctor comes, so to speak.

Satan is not afraid of any church activity. Satan is afraid only of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit of God; not of our hymns, our liturgies, or our musical "specials," no matter how much we are blessed and inspired by them.

There are two primary aspects of Christ being in us. The first aspect is the forming, or birth, of Christ in us. Paul wrote, "My little children for whom I travail in birth again until Christ is formed in you." Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Galatia who were becoming occupied with circumcision.

Notice that Paul was in a travail until Christ was formed in the believers. So it is that the ministries of the churches are to travail until Christ is formed in the people.

When Christ is formed in us there is a new creation. Are we still present? Yes. We never lose our identity as a person. But now there is a new creation, a creation that never has been in existence before. That new creation is an eternal blend, or whatever you want to call it, of Christ in us. Is it still us? Yes. ;Is it Christ? Yes. It is a new creation.

Paul is still Paul even though it is Christ who is living in him.

Such is the first aspect of the mystery of the Gospel. According to the three passages I mentioned, the fifth chapter of Micah, the last chapter of Isaiah, and the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, it is quite clear, I think, that in the closing days of the Church Age there is going to be an unprecedented emphasis on the bringing forth of Christ in the members of the Church.

I think the wheat of righteousness will come to maturity alongside of the weeds of wickedness. Christ will be formed in the sons of the Kingdom. Perhaps Satan will be formed in the sons of the evil one. It certainly looks like this is happening in America as we see the unbelievable moral decline that is taking place.

So the first aspect of the mystery of the Gospel is the bringing forth of Christ in us.

The second aspect is the coming of the Father and the Son from Heaven to dwell in that new creation. The Father’s House is Christ. God will dwell only in Christ. It is only as Christ is formed in us that we become a room in the eternal House of the Father.

Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:23)

So we see there are two main aspects of the mystery and hope of the Gospel. The first aspect is the forming of Christ in us. The second aspect is the coming of the Father and Christ to make Their eternal home in our new personality.

Some may wonder, "How can I go about having Christ formed in me so I can be the eternal Home of God?

First, ask God in Jesus’ name to form Christ in you. Remember, the Galatians were believers, the Seed of Abraham, but Christ had not been formed in them as yet.

Second, confess clearly to the Lord each and every area of spiritual darkness in your personality that the Holy Spirit points out to you, all that is not in the moral image of Christ. As you do, God will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. In the future you will discover, to your delight, that you now have the power to resist that behavior and put it to death.

Third, every time you are tempted to act in a way you know is not godly, pray earnestly for help from the Mercy Seat. Ask Christ to strengthen you. Each time you do this, Christ will feed you with the "hidden manna," with His body and blood, which are our eternal resurrection life.

As you sincerely and diligently take these three steps, getting up and pressing forward if you should stumble in some manner, Christ will be formed in you. Guaranteed!

In so doing you are preparing yourself for the resurrection, the redemption, the making immortal of your mortal body when the Lord appears.

I have not figured out as yet whether God and Christ make their home in us in increasing measure as Christ is formed in us, or whether there is going to be a grand coming in the future to those who have become new creations.

Whether a gradual coming of the Landlords, or a sudden grand occupying after we receive the resurrection of our body, I am not certain.

However, I am absolutely certain of one thing: If we do our part, God will do His part.

This is as sure as the written Word of God!

Yesterday was a powerful day in the Lord. Heidi Baker, of Mozambique, Africa, prophesied that the Western Bride is ready to bring forth Christ in the saints, that is, the Male Son, of the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. The Male Son, the future ruler of the nations of the earth, consists of the saints who have been made new creations in Christ. They live by His Life.

The Male Son has been an interest of mine for many years, and I wrote a book by that title. It can be found in the Library, on the WOR site.

I have taught previously that the Male Son is our Lord Jesus Christ. And so He is, in one sense, but not in another, more scriptural, sense.

First, we understand that the woman clothed with the sun is not the virgin Mary. Mary, with all due respect, is not clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet.

But there is one who does fit this description, and it is the Christian Church. She is the heir of all of the works of God’s hands.

Since the woman, of the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation, is the Church, what is she going to bring forth.

First, she is not going to bring forth the Lord Jesus. From time immemorial Jesus has been with God and today is at God’s right hand.

If it is not Jesus who is to be brought forth, then who is it?

The Male Son is Christ formed in the saints.

Now, give this your careful thought. If the Male Son is Christ formed in the saints, then it is a new creation, a creation that never has been in existence before.

Paul told us that if any person is in Christ there is a new creation. The old has passed away. The new has come.

Fine. But precisely who is this new creation?

It certainly is not one of us, because we have been in existence prior to this time.

It certainly is not Jesus, because He has been in existence prior to this time.

Then who is it?

Paul told us he was not living, but Christ was living in him.

Now think. Is that individual still Paul? Assuredly, yes.

Is that individual Christ? Assuredly, yes.

Is that individual the Lord Jesus Christ? Assuredly, no.

He is a new creation. He has never been before. He is Paul. He is Christ.

What is his name? Not Paul, not Christ, not Paul-Christ, but a new name that God shall give him.

What shall we call these new creations? Saints? Believers? Transformed individuals?

Each one is a male son who is part of The Male Son, the ruler of the nations with a rod of iron.

Let’s bring this marvelous vision down to right now. What does this mean to you and me right this minute. It means that the most important aspect of our life is the bringing forth of Christ. This means the old adamic nature dies. In its place is a transcendent, much improved, humanity. The new man is an eternal creature. He originally was human, and now is becoming a Divine human, we might say.

We really are becoming the brothers of the Lord Jesus, in every aspect of the term, being begotten of the same Father.

The United States of America, as is true also of the other Western democracies, is being filled with moral corruption. It seems hardly a week goes by that some new abomination is not presented to us. Satan is coming to maturity in the sons of the evil one.

Christ is not bothered by this. He wants His way made straight. It is His intention that He come to maturity in the sons of the Kingdom.

All we have experienced previously in our Christian life in the churches has been preparatory for God’s climactic work, the accomplishing of the mystery of the Gospel, which is Christ in us. God shall confront Satan through His Church. Christ shall confront Antichrist through His Church. The Holy Spirit shall confront the False Prophet through the Church of God.

We humans are but dust. Satan is not afraid of any church activity no matter how expensive. Satan fears the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The conclusion we draw from the above fact is that our emphasis is to be on following Christ so closely that He is being formed in us at all times.

For so long the emphasis of Christian teaching has been on how God is saving us. This no longer is to be the case. The emphasis now must be placed on how Christ is coming forth in us. The installation of the Kingdom of God in Heaven and upon the earth can be performed only as the Father works through the Son through us.

Our part is to wait on the Lord and to diligently obey Him, because He has new and surprising things prepared for those who will listen to Him and obey Him.

Let us not limit the Holy One of Israel. The nations of the earth and all their clamor are but a drop in the bucket to Him. He is seeking those who will look up to Him in total confidence, knowing that He remains in control of this world. Christ sits as King of the flood.

Ours is a marvelous day. It is time for Zion to travail and bring forth her children. Those of us who have received Christ and have experienced the Life of the Spirit of God are qualified to participate in this, the greatest of all of God’s works.

Am I ready to forget about all that is behind and to press forward to the fullness of resurrection life?

Are you?

There is no question in my mind but that the bringing forth of the Male Son, of Revelation, Chapter Twelve, is one of the central ideas at this time concerning the Kingdom of God. The Male Son is Christ formed in the saints. The Son is not Jesus Himself. The Son is not the saint. The Son is a new creation resulting from the interaction of Christ and the soul of the believer. I am capitalizing "Son" because of the predominance of Christ. The new creation, although a transcendent human, is born of God.

The order of the Kingdom of God is as follows: First, is God the Father; Second, is the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God, whom the Father has made God and to whom God has given all authority in Heaven and upon the earth.

Third, is the Male Son. These are a firstfruits to God and the Lamb, and they shall govern the nations with the rod of iron.

After the members of the Male Son are the remainder of the members of the royal priesthood. These did not attain to participation in the Male Son, but are of God’s elect and part of the new Jerusalem. They shall serve God and the nations as royal priests.

Finally, the great bulk of mankind. These are the inheritance of Christ and His coheirs. The fundamental meaning of "being saved" is to be part of the inheritance of Christ and His coheirs. To be "lost" is to not be permitted to enter the new world of righteousness.

The Kingdom of God is a genuine Kingdom that shall govern all the works of God’s hands. The structure of rulership is as I have just described, according to my understanding at this time.

Our emphasis this Sunday morning is on the term "devour." Please notice in Revelation 12:4 that Satan "stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born."

The Greek term for "devour" means "to eat." Satan is not seeking to kill the Male Son but to "eat" Him.

Satan is not as concerned about the "woman," the Church, as he is about what the Church has the potential to bring forth.

In our day both the wheat and the tares are coming to maturity. This means that Christ is to come to maturity in the sons of the Kingdom, and Satan is to come to maturity in the sons of the evil one.

It appears, that in America at least, we are going to witness abominations of an increasingly evil nature. Things are said and done that even a few years ago would have scandalized the American people. But today they are commented on and fretted about, but it seems not a great deal can be done about them. The moral slide is steep and growing steeper every day. One wonders what it will be like twenty-five years from now, given the increasing moral filth of the previous twenty-five years.

But we Christians are not to react and pay attention to Satan. We are to look steadfastly at the Lord Jesus. He has new and surprising things for us today. He is bringing us through many fires and waters so the Male Son may come to birth in us. We are in a fight to bring forth the new creation, no doubt whatever about that!

Satan is seeking to "devour" that which the Holy Spirit is forming in us. Satan nibbles, nibbles, nibbles, at our new Divine nature. What are the nibblers? The pursuit of more money than we need. Improved electronics. Drugs. Alcohol. Pornography. Sexual lusts of all sorts. Unforgiveness. Envy. Bitterness. Rage. Covetousness. Personal ambition. The seeking of preeminence. All of these nibble, nibble, nibble, at what is being formed in us.

As the Holy Spirit points out these nibblers to us we are to pray fervently that they may be driven from us. We pray, pray, pray, until the new creation in us is caught up to God and to God’s Throne.

One of the believers had a visitation in which she was informed that the great cloud of witnesses, of the Book of Hebrews, are being strengthened as we continue to press the battle. I never heard of this before, but the Bible does say that they without us cannot be made perfect.

There is no doubt that those who manage to overcome all opposition until their new nature is solidly established in God and in His Throne are a firstfruits to God of the earth. "These are those who did not defile themselves with women (idols of all sorts), for they kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among men and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb."

We may notice in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians the extreme statements of the Apostle Paul as he strove to attain to the resurrection that is out from among the dead. Not all are of the same rank in the Kingdom of God. There are the greatest, and there are the least.

Our day is one of the most marvelous opportunity to attain to God’s best, and the most dreadful danger that someone may steal our crown of authority. Let’s you and me turn away from the multitude of worthless, and sometimes destructive, distractions found in the American culture, and make the seeking of Christ the first priority of our life.

In the morning the study was in the eighteenth Psalm. The subject was our need to pray each day, read our Bible each day, and obey Christ diligently. When we do this we build our house on the Rock. We will be able to save ourselves, our loved ones, and those who will listen to us during the age of moral and physical horrors that has come upon us in America. At night the message was about a misunderstanding that has crippled the Gospel message from the first century.

There is a fatal flaw in Christian thinking. Paul mentioned it when he said, "Let us do evil that good may come." Even in his day his message was being perverted. Today the error is stronger than ever, affecting, I believe, the majority of Evangelical churches.

I wish to compare two passages, although there are numerous other pairs that reveal the same apparent contradiction. I do not know why the following explanation has not been given earlier in Church history. Perhaps it is because of the complexities of the way God is putting an end to rebellion.

May I say also that I believe, as scholars on the earth are explaining how these two passages complement rather contradict each other, the elect in Heaven are being given the same understanding. They without us cannot be made perfect. The entire Bride, in Heaven and on the earth, is to be made blameless

Here is a pair of seemingly contradictory verses.

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. (Psalms 18:24)

As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one;" (Romans 3:10)

The current explanation being given today, in the majority of churches (please correct me if I am wrong) is that we now are in a new dispensation. In David’s time it was possible to behave righteously (although consider Bathsheba!). Under the new dispensation of grace, we conclude from Paul’s writing that no one in the world is righteous. Therefore God is not looking to us to behave righteously but forgives us freely if we profess belief in Jesus Christ.

Grace now is our righteousness, rather than the clean hands of which King David spoke.

Consider for a moment the awesome consequences of this doctrinal position. The fiery temptations offered by demons in America, such as pornography, are the life of Hell. We understand that Jesus would be pleased if we did not view pornography. But we will avoid Hell by believing in Him, even though we watch pornography on the Internet, as numerous Christian people do.

There is no doubt whatever in my mind that the "new dispensation" teaching has destroyed the moral strength of the Christian in America. It has undermined the teaching of the old hymns ("Each victory will help you some other to win"; "Be of sin the double cure. Save me from its guilt and power").

I notice that the new choruses glorify God and the Lord Jesus. But they do not instruct us in the paths of righteousness, as do the old hymns. I think this fact is tremendously significant and points to our tendency to call Jesus "Lord! Lord!" and not do what He says. Maybe we should return to the old hymns, and jazz them up a bit to make them more palatable to today’s believers.

No one but no one is going to effectively overcome the temptations of the American culture by thinking he ought to do good to show his love for Jesus, but he is saved from Hell by "believing in Christ." If he is going to be determined enough to resist the fiery temptations of our day, he has to be fully persuaded that the believer in Christ who practices sin is living in spiritual death and shall reap corruption in the Day of the Lord.

Please permit me to present a verse that says this. I could bring up many more; but if you don’t receive the one I present you would not be impressed by a hundred additional passages.

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 8:10)

What does this mean? It means what is says.

Is it spoken to believers?

From the context, obviously yes.

Does it mean if the believer continues to live in the sinful nature he will prevent the making alive of his body in the Day of Resurrection?

Yes, in terms of Romans 8:11—two verses previously.

How can today’s preachers get around this? They can’t. They ignore it and emphasize how we are about to be caught up to Heaven in a "rapture."

Has this verse always been in the Bible. Yes, along with many other passages from Paul’s writings that say much the same thing.

No Christian who continues to obey his sinful nature will inherit the Kingdom of God.

Then much preaching that we hear is destructive! This is a fact. The blind are leading the blind.

How, then, do we reconcile the numerous passages in Psalms that refer to righteous people, and Paul’s statement that there is none righteous. Is there a clear, simple explanation?

Yes, there is. Do fellowship with God and eternal life always follow righteous behavior on our part? Absolutely. How could it be otherwise! Are people who are practicing sin living in the Kingdom of God, the doing of God’s will in the earth?

The explanation is as follows: In King David’s day, righteous behavior was that of obeying the Law of Moses. Spiritual life, prosperity, physical health, fellowship with God, and other blessings resulted from obeying the Law of Moses.

Under the new covenant, righteous behavior is just as necessary if we are to have spiritual life and fellowship with God. But the righteous behavior comes from God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are two stages in the development of righteous behavior, under the new covenant:

First, we must look to Christ for salvation, be baptized in water, and then set out to obey the commandments of Christ and His Apostles. These can be obeyed if we will keep seeking the Help of the Lord. We must pray and read our Bible each day, and do all else associated with the Christian life. If we do not, do these things we will live in spiritual death, even though we profess belief in Christ. (How can we say we believe in Christ and not do what He has commanded? This is ridiculous!)

When we live as a Christian disciple, confessing our sins as the Holy Spirit points them out to us, Christ delivers us from these bondages. Deliverance from spiritual chains is the first step toward righteous behavior under the new covenant.

Our reward for our faithfulness in obeying Christ is deliverance from the bondages of sin.

As we are released from the bondages of sin, we begin to practice righteousness. When we are released from the spirit of lust, we cease watching pornography on the Internet. When we are released from the spirit of gossip, we cease gossiping. It is as simple as that.

Our deliverance from the bondages of sin leads to righteous behavior on our part, as we continue to live as a Christian.

Now another event happens. God rewards us for living righteously. The first reward was deliverance so we can live righteously. Now we are rewarded for living righteously. There is a double reward, we might say.

How does God reward us for living righteously? By giving us love, joy, peace, all the enlargements mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, the fullness of our inheritance in Christ, and every other blessing imaginable.

Our greatest reward will come as we stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ. There we shall receive a crown of anointing that will include all the works of righteousness we have done through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Can we see now that we are not in a "new dispensation" in which the Old Testament emphasis on righteous behavior is made null and void? Rather, under the new covenant, righteous behavior is made possible. Divine grace is infinitely more than forgiveness. It is in fact the desire, willingness, and ability to behave in the will of God at all times.

How infinitely superior the actual new covenant is to that which has been patched together with a few passages removed from their contexts!

A warning is in order at this point. The moral strength of the Christian churches in America and the other Western nations has been eroded because of the concept of a "new dispensation of grace." We ought to know that God will not bless us in our sins no matter how much we "believe in Christ."

We have been utterly deceived because we are selfish, self-seeking, rebellious creatures living in the lap of luxury while much of the world starves. Because we have not received the love of the truth, God Himself has sent a strong delusion on us.

America is moving toward Divine judgment. I seriously doubt there is much we can do about our nation as a whole. Perhaps our emphasis should be on putting ourselves and our household in order before the Lord, turning away from the attractions of our culture and spending time with the Lord. If we will do this, we will save ourselves and those who hear us throughout the age of moral and physical horrors that is approaching our shores.

When we turn to the eighteenth Psalm, we see that God will come and save us if we call on His name. He will be faithful to us if we are faithful to Him.

But let us make no mistake. God is not the kindly grandfather being presented in the churches of our time, anxious to pour out toys on his disobedient children. His wrath is building with every abortion, every sexual perversion, every amassing of money with no intention of helping the needy, every lie in the business arena, every abuse of a child.

The Spirit is warning us in America. We need to awake from our spiritual slumber and put on the whole armor of God that we may stand in the evil day; for the evil day surely is approaching!

The study this morning was in the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. This chapter truly is the holy of holies of the Bible. This is a prayer Jesus offered to the Father, and it certainly shall be answered to the fullest extent.

In the seventeenth chapter of John, the Lord Jesus points out that while He has authority over every person on earth, there are specific individuals whom the Father gives to Him to whom Jesus is to give eternal life. Then Jesus proceeds to define eternal life.

It is impossible to understand the Divine program until we grasp the concept that God’s salvation is not a free-for-all. From today’s preaching one would conclude that there is no pattern in the plan of salvation. Christ died for all, so whoever wishes to do so can "accept Christ," become a part of the Church, escape Hell, and go to Heaven. Everyone who doesn’t "accept Christ" goes to Hell.

There is some truth in this viewpoint, but it is so lacking in essential elements that it gives a false impression as to what actually is taking place.

While Jesus has been given authority over all of mankind, the Father chooses certain people and brings them to Christ. No individual can come to Christ unless the Father draws that person. Then Christ gives eternal life to the chosen one.

These who thus are called out from the world are the Church. They are the saints, the holy ones. They did not choose themselves. The Father chose them and gave them to Christ. It is not true that the remainder of mankind has been assigned to Hell. Rather it is true that the role of the Church is to minister the things of God to mankind. It is the incorrigibly wicked and rebellious who will be placed in Hell, whether they are part of the Church or part of the rest of mankind.

According to the Book of Isaiah, the time will come in the future when God will have made the Church a lighthouse of righteousness and praise. The remainder of mankind will come to that light, and then enjoy life in the new world of righteousness.

Hopefully the words I have just written will cause all believers in Christ to recognize that their belief and repentance are gifts from God. Their "sainthood" as members of the Church, the Bride of the Lamb, sets them apart from the rest of mankind. Their calling is the greatest treasure they possess; but it must be guarded, for assuredly it is possible to forfeit through neglect, disobedience, or deception.

Every member of the called-out people, the Church, is a member of the Bride of the Lamb. This means his sole purpose in existence is to be a helper of Jesus Christ, just as Eve was created to be Adam’s helper. All else in a saint’s life is secondary in importance. God has decreed that it is not good that Christ be alone. Therefore God is creating a helper for the Lord Jesus on His body and blood.

How do we help Christ? By presenting ourselves each day to the Lord so we may discover His plan for our life. We may spend many years in preparation. But in God’s time, we will assist in some area that is to be a part of Christ’s Kingdom. If we do not present ourselves as Christ’s helper, we will be punished severely and lose the inheritance planned for us. Or our destiny may prove to be even worse than that! Make no mistake about this, because current Christian preaching is bearing a false witness concerning the severity of God.

Being called to be part of the Church, Christ’s Body, is a deadly serious business. The debt of each one of us was paid by the agony of Christ on the cross; so you can infer from this God’s attitude toward that individual who is called to be a helper of Christ, but chose instead to spend his time, strength, and talents on his own desires and pursuits.

Christ defines "eternal life." Eternal life is to know the Father and the Son.

"Know" in what way? Know in the sense of the Apostle Paul, as he told us in the Book of Philippians how he had laid aside all else that he might gain Christ; that he might know Christ. To know Christ is to partake of all that Christ is.

Christ is Divine love. Divine love, which is incomprehensibly more powerful and faithful than any form of human love, is eternal life. We are to be brought through the sufferings of Christ until our human love is replaced with Divine love. Divine love is the true basis for all Christian ministry.

Christ is the fullness of Divine joy. God desires that we be filled with His joy, no matter how desperate and painful our circumstances. Divine joy is eternal life.

Christ is Divine peace—peace that passes all understanding. We are going to need this aspect of eternal life, because the sword of Divine judgment is hanging by a thread over the United States of America in the present hour.

Christ is the Resurrection. The Resurrection is a Person. Eternal Life is a Person. The Way of God is a Person. The Truth of God is a Person.

But we have to gain Christ, gain the resurrection, gain eternal life, gain the way of God, gain the truth of God.

How do we do this? By reading our Bible every day. By praying every day. By presenting our body a living sacrifice at all times that we may prove God’s will in each and every circumstance.

Each one of us is to become the personification of iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to the Father. We are not in the slightest degree to come short of such total transformation.

We have been called to become part of Christ, part of Eternal Life. If we pursue our vocation diligently we will pass into the ranks of the chosen. Then we must be proven faithful.

To attain to the first resurrection, to achieve the highest goal God is offering, requires all of our attention. Can we attain to such a high calling? Absolutely! Christ has all authority and power in Heaven and upon the earth. It is to His advantage that we gain the fullness of eternal life.

There are many enemies, many distractions, many deceptions. We must overcome Satan and all his works. And we can! Through Christ we certainly can! All that holds us back is our own unbelief and disobedience.

Will you be one of those who attains to the mark? Will I?

I had a clear burden this morning, but it involved more than one passage of Scripture. We started off with the seventeenth chapter of the Gospel of John. This prayer of Jesus’ reveals clearly the difference between the elect, the only true Church, and then the people of the world.

The thirteenth chapter of the Book of Matthew tells us that at the end of the age the Lord will send messengers who will remove all sin and sinners from His Kingdom. I seem to feel in my spirit that this removal has begun.

There are several errors in today’s Christian preaching, such as the idea that "grace" is a new way in which God relates to man, and the notion that our goal is to live forever in Heaven.

Another profound error is our concept of the role of the Church, the Body of Christ—its relationship to the remainder of mankind.

Our preaching of today is so "democratic" one would suppose that the Gospel call goes forth, and then whoever responds is the Church. The remainder of mankind are doomed to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.

It is true and scriptural that whoever chooses to believe and be baptized into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shall be saved. It is true also that many passages, both Old Testament and New, point out that the Church consists of people called out from the world. The Church began as physical Israel and continues as spiritual Israel, turning again to physical Israel at the end of the Church Age.

True Israel is God’s priesthood. chosen from the beginning of the world. This hardly indicates that the remainder of mankind is assigned to the Lake of Fire. Rather, it is the role of Israel to reveal God’s Person, will, and way to the remainder of mankind; to be the light of mankind, revealing God’s Person, will, and ways.

The Church is the Kingdom of God, the ruler over mankind for eternity. The Church in its final form is the new Jerusalem. The members of the new Jerusalem will rule the nations of the earth forever and ever, according to the last chapter of the Book of Revelation.

When the Lord Jesus came, He did not minister to the world or pray for the world. He ministered to those whom God has given to Him. He gave, and yet gives, eternal life to those whom God has given Him.

We read in the thirteenth chapter of the Book of Matthew that at the closing of the age, that is, the Church Age, the messengers will go forth and remove sin from God’s Kingdom. Most Christians believe we are living in the end of the Church Age, and the Kingdom Age is about to commence with the appearing of our Lord. Therefore it is time for the removal of sin to take place.

I personally believe the time for removing all sin from the Kingdom has begun.

There are thousands of competing Christians denominations. None of these is the Church. But in almost all Christian churches there are true members of the Church. From the present time forward, November 25, 2007, if I am correct, the believers are going to be subject to every kind of testing. God will remove our idols from us, sometimes by painful procedures. All of our idols, those things, relationships and experiences we are grasping—all must be relinquished. Our treasures must be placed in Heaven.

There may be one, two, five, ten genuine Christians in your church. The remainder may be excellent people. But they have been drawn to the earthly institution, not to Christ. They will not understand what the genuine Christians are going through. It will make no sense to them, just as Job’s boils made no sense to Job’s friends.

The Church is the eternal light of the world. But the Christian institutions of today are not serving as the moral light of the world, except in a few instances. We are a long way from being a Church without blemish, a living proof God has sent Jesus Christ; has given His Glory to His Church; and that God loves His Church as He does His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of the magnitude of the work that must be performed before the world will believe in God because of what it sees in the Church, I cannot see how it is possible for Christ to return within fifty years. So much Scripture remains to be fulfilled. And the Church is not yet close to being one in the Father and the Son.

As we consider the moral abominations taking place in the United States, as we see the rejection of Christ in our nation, we understand that Matthew Thirteen is coming to pass. The "sons of the evil one" are coming to maturity. Satan is coming to maturity in his people.

But the promise is that in the same hour the "sons of the Kingdom" will come to maturity. Christ will come to maturity in His people, and sin will be removed from them by God’s power, as we cooperate with the guidance of the Spirit of God.

It always has been true that the mystery of the Gospel is Christ in us. Up to the present hour the emphasis during the Church Age has been on the Christ of history, or Christ with us. But there are passages of Scripture that indicate Christ suddenly will come to maturity in His people at the end of the age. We will become much more conscious that the Kingdom of God is Christ in us, not Christ with us or the Christ of history.

I have written all this to say that from this point forward God will act to remove all sin from His Kingdom. There is to be no sin whatever in the Kingdom of God. Christian people have been taught for so long that it is impossible to be delivered from sin while we are in this present world, but when we get to Heaven we will be delivered from sin. Yet, sin began in Heaven, not on the earth. So our hope is neither scriptural nor logical.

Sin is nothing but a collection of nasty little bondages. Our main problem is our will. Christian people have a difficult time accepting the will of God. They maintain their own will. They attempt to live the Christian life according to their own understanding. They do not always look to Christ for each decision of life. They make up their mind what they think may be God’s will, then set forth according to their own plans and ask God to bless them. This is why they do not gain freedom from sin.

If we are willing to give over every aspect of our life to the will of Christ, holding nothing back, God will deliver us from sin. We do not owe it to our flesh to continue to sin. This is a lie that has come from Satan and which people have chosen to believe.

Is the Lord Jesus Christ so lacking in power that He is unable to deliver us from sin? As I said, the problem is not that Christ does not have the power or authority to deliver us from sin, rather the problem is our self-will, our ignorance of God’s Word and power, and our unbelief.

If the Father has chosen to bring you to Christ as a member of the true Church, you are going to be tested, tested, tested. Things will take place in your circumstances that you used to believe would never take place. Do not be amazed. This is the Lord. This is the dust of His feet. Just do not fall away in unbelief. You started off believing in Christ. Do not be unfaithful now as God is preparing you to be a part of the new Jerusalem.

As I said, we are going to rule the works of God’s hands forever. Of the increase of His Kingdom and of peace there shall be no end—no, not forever.

We now are at the very beginning of what God has planned for mankind. The all important work of developing rulers and judges is taking place now—right now!

So do not give up. He who has begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.

In due time the emptiness and corruption of institutional Christianity, Babylon, will be revealed. In that day the Bride will no longer be a part of Babylon. That day is not yet. Today is the hour for the individual members to be purged from self-will and sin.

Nothing can hold you back from Christ’s fullness except your own disobedience and unbelief. He will fill you with God’s fullness by applying the riches of His Glory to your personality and circumstances.

You will gain all if you do not turn away from the work of the Spirit of God in your life.

Romans 8:1-4 explains clearly the transition from the Law of Moses to salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But it seems that through the centuries of the Christian Era the understanding of this passage has not always been clear.

Even in Paul’s day some were saying, “Let us do evil that good may come.” They thought Paul was declaring that Divine grace is an alternative to righteous behavior, instead of his actual insistence that Divine grace is an alternative to the commandments of the Law of Moses, to the “works” of the Law of Moses.

To the present hour, sincere scholars are maintaining that we are “saved by grace and not by works,” meaning that righteous behavior no longer is part of God’s plan for mankind; God has given up attempting to make man in His moral image. Without intending to, certainly, today’s scholars are misinterpreting the Apostle Paul. The new covenant is far, far stricter in terms of righteous behavior than ever could be true of the Law of Moses, since the Law of Moses depends on the adamic nature of people to obey its statutes and precepts.

Let’s take a look at the passage in question:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4—NIV)

If we would understand this critical passage we first must be clear as to the meaning of “the law of the Spirit of life,” and “the law of sin and death.” and also what it means to be set free from the law of sin and death.

The law of sin and death is the interaction of our sinful nature with the Law of Moses. When the Law of Moses tells us not to take the Lord’s name in a useless manner, our sinful nature swears. Thus we are in confusion and guilt because we are being condemned by the Law.

The law of the Spirit of life is the Holy Spirit. When we are “in Christ,” that is, thinking, speaking, and acting in the Holy Spirit, presenting ourselves to Christ many times during the day, looking to Him for each decision we make, then we are without condemnation.

Just because we have “accepted Christ” does not continue to keep us free from condemnation. We must be living “in Christ.” Multitudes of Americans have “accepted Christ” but they are not living “in Christ Jesus.”

The Law of Moses is the law of the old covenant. The Holy Spirit Himself is the Law of the new covenant, the Law of the Spirit of Life. When we are filled with the Spirit we are able to resist the temptations of the sinful nature.

I personally have been in the Pentecostal movement since 1948. It is my opinion that to a certain extent, we Pentecostals do not understand the purpose of speaking in tongues.

God gave us the ability to speak in tongues. He did it so we might learn to live in the Spirit, in Christ. Isaiah tells us speaking in tongues is our entrance into the rest of God. The rest of God is that state in which we are learning each day to live increasingly by the Holy Spirit.

When you go from a Pentecostal church to a church that does not teach speaking in tongues, you can feel the difference. Speaking in tongues is a gift from the wisdom of God. It is not to be driven from the assembly so we do not offend the worldly people of the community. Speaking in tongues is from God and is our path into the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Seeking to bring in the worldly people of the community is not of God. It proceeds from the ambition of our sinful nature.

It is interesting that when the Jews celebrate the feast of Pentecost they emphasize the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. It is believed by some that the Law was given on the day of the feast of Pentecost, that is, fifty days from the celebration of Passover.

We may not understand that the Holy Spirit is our law, but it is. When we do not obey the Holy Spirit in our daily walk we are breaking the law given to us under the new covenant.

This is the purpose of tongues—it is to bring us under the Law of the Spirit of Life, that is, into the rest of God where we live by the Presence of Jesus Christ just as He lives by the Presence of the Father.

How does the Law of the Spirit of Life set us free from the law of sin and death? In the manner I just have described. The Holy Spirit give us the wisdom and power through which we can resist the temptations of sin. The more of the Holy Spirit we have the more able we are to overcome sin. Give gives us more of the Holy Spirit when we ask Him to, and when we obey Him diligently.

There was no sinful nature in the Lord Jesus, because He was born of God. The shedding of His blood on the cross made an atonement for the sins of you and me, that is, it reconciled us to God. It balanced the scales of righteousness so God could accept us. The innocent died on behalf of the guilty.

The Jews of Paul’s day would be afraid of abandoning the Law of Moses because it was through their attempts to obey the Law that they sought to obtain righteousness—freedom from Divine condemnation. Paul is telling them that through the atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ they now are free to follow Christ and His new law and yet have the righteousness attributed to them that would be theirs if they were able to obey the Law of Moses perfectly.

Right at this point lies the dreadful, horrible, destructive misunderstanding of current Christian teaching. It currently is often believed that the Law of Moses has been done away so now we are without law. However, God never, never, never leaves any of His creatures without law.

It is not that we now are without law, it is that we have been freed from the Law of Moses that we may be married to Christ, that is, that we may live by the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. Obedience to this new law requires that we present our body a living sacrifice in order that we may prove the will of God at each moment of our life. Such unrelenting obedience is not gained immediately but must be developed each day as we pray, read our Bible, meet with fervent disciples, use our self-control to quit the sins we can control, use our gifts and ministries, give of our means to our church, and take up our cross of self-denial and patiently follow the Master.

From what little I have seen over the past sixty years, I do not believe most American Christians are living such a life of consecration to the Lord. But I will tell you this, in the name of the Lord Jesus: There is a time of moral and physical horrors coming upon our country. Only those who are living fully consecrated lives will be able to stand and help their loved ones to stand in the coming period of Divine judgment.

Our silly lawless-grace-rapture teaching has destroyed the moral fiber of God’s people. This is why the Muslims are attacking our country. They do not want their families to be corrupted with the Western way of life. Who could blame them? The answer is not to kill them, it is to live in such a manner that they can see Christ in us.

The Muslims are under the impression that all the people of the Western nations are Christians. Can you imagine what their opinion is of the Lord Jesus Christ after they see the sewage pumped out by Hollywood and adored by the Western “Christians”?

We of the West have been given much, and much is required of us. Consequently the handwriting is on the wall for the Western nations, and the leadership of the world will pass to the East, if those nations persist in their attempts to lead moral lives. God will reveal Christ to them, and they will have their own “Azusa Street” outpouring. May it happen soon, for there are many Muslim families who would put us to shame with their emphasis on morality and honor.

The Muslims, generally speaking, do not know Christ. Their ignorance is due to the moral corruption of the Western nations, which at one time were deriving their standards from the Bible.

If each one of us will choose right now to seek Christ at all times until we are living in the Spirit of God (and speaking in tongues helps with this), we will see our behavior changed from that which is of Satan to that which is of God. Only as we pursue this path will we be without condemnation. Only as we pursue this path will we save ourselves and those who hear us, in the coming days.

Only then will the Muslim people honor Jesus Christ and find the redemption that is in Him.

God is in complete control of the world today, always has been, and always shall be. The tenth and eleventh chapters of the Book of Revelation should be considered as one chapter. They tell of the period of time during which the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet, and then when he does sound his trumpet. It is our point of view that we now are in the days when the seventh angel is about to blow his trumpet.

At the beginning of the tenth chapter a mighty angel has his right foot upon the sea and his left foot upon the earth. This angel represents the authority of God’s rainbow Throne.

The “sea” symbolizes the spirits that operate in the world and the behavior they cause. The “earth” symbolizes our environment—all that can be weighed and measured, including our physical bodies.

This symbolism is telling us that God is in control of the spirits in the world, and also of our natural environment.

Before I go further, let me describe what I believe the Spirit of God is saying. First, in the political world: The leadership of the world, the power of the world spirit, will move from the Western nations to an Eastern nation. This is because the historically-Christian Western nations have traded their Divine covering for the killing of fetuses, and sexual excesses.

Second, in the Christian world: The Spirit is speaking to those in the Christian churches who have ears to hear. Christ is ready now to remove from each saint our worldliness, our various lusts, and our self-determination. We must forget the past and listen to Jesus carefully. He has new and surprising things for those who will listen to Him and obey Him diligently.

As soon as all sin and those who continue to sin have been removed from His Kingdom, the sons of the Kingdom will shine forth in the glory of their Father. The main burden of the morning and evening services had to do with the prayer of relinquishment. It was taken from Revelation 14:13:

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, ‘Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.’”

Please notice the expression, “which die in the Lord from henceforth.”

This means the blessing will begin when Antichrist and the False Prophet become prominent. This is happening now. The spirit of Antichrist is that of man becoming his own god. The spirit of the False Prophet refers to Christian people who are seeking the power of Christ but who are not following the Lord and patiently bearing their cross of denial.

To “die in the Lord” means that we let go of everything the Lord calls for. We relinquish to Him our very life. He will bring to our attention those relationships, circumstances, and things that we treasure; that we grasp; that we clutch. One by one they must be given to Him without any hope of getting them back.

I am not speaking of passivity, of becoming an “empty vessel” such that we have no desires. We are to keep our desires, our decisions, strong and clear. We always are to be thankful and to praise the Lord, meanwhile letting our desires be made known to Him. If we float about in double-mindedness, not being able to make up our mind what we want, we will get nowhere with the Lord.

We become ill. We lose our job, our money. A coveted relationship is destroyed somehow. We are living in a situation we detest. We are not receiving what we desire fervently.

What do we do? We pray. In the case of illness, we go to the elders of the church and have them pray over us. We keep our desires firmly before the Lord. But nothing happens. Then we “let go and let God have His wonderful way.” We cannot figure out why He is treating us like this. But having done all, we walk forward in trust, hand in hand with the Lord Jesus. This is what it means to “die in the Lord.”

I believe the Lord has spoken clearly to me, I believe that we in America are entering a period of chaos. Our land is becoming filled with the demons of sexual indulgence, with drugs, with entertainment, with violence with the lust for more and more money. We will see chaos in our educational systems, in our military, in our government, in our financial institutions, in our health, in every political, moral, mental, physical area.

One example of educational chaos is today’s dilemma in one of our public schools as the choral director is choosing to include Handel’s Messiah in one of their presentations, and people are questioning whether this is suitable. Imagine, is Handel’s Messiah suitable in a public school presentation! How ridiculous! If there is better music I have never heard it.

Also, the current emphasis in California, and other states, on doing away with gender, such that men and women, boys and girls, share the same restroom facilities in schools and in public facilities. What can the officials be thinking of? Do they have any idea what this will lead to? This is chaos.

And these two examples are just the beginning. The monster that is arising on the horizon is that of enabling people of all ages to experience every human activity via virtual reality on the Internet and television. Can we possibly imagine what this will lead to? It will be graphic pornography raised to the tenth power.

The Lord Jesus warned us that the hour is coming in which no man can work. Such an hour is close at hand. We humans will not be able to combat the coming evil in our own strength. We are going to have to “die in the Lord” so that the good works He will perform with and through us will follow us in the midst of the darkness.

The secret of survival throughout the coming age of moral and physical horrors will not be an unscriptural “rapture,” a fleeing from the battle. Rather it will be that of relinquishing to Christ all He requires of us, understanding that He is in control of the spirits of the world and also of the earth and all its resources.

Realizing that Christ is in control of the flood of evil, our strength in the coming days will be in quietness and confidence in Him.

Being eighty-two years young, and somewhat conservative in my thinking, and having no desire whatever to be radical or an iconoclast, I do not title an essay “The Massive Evangelical Doctrinal Error” in order to be cute or sensational. If the current (12/17/2007) Newsweek is true, there are 100 million Protestant Christians in the United States—one-third of the population. And these Christians believe that their salvation does not depend on how they have behaved on the earth. This belief is so totally unscriptural that the title of our essay is found to be understated. Whew!

Please let me present the exact quote on page 33 of the current Newsweek. Mind you, this purportedly is the position held by 100 million American Protestant Christians. My limited experience (61 years) as a Christian suggests that what Newsweek has presented probably is a reasonably accurate assessment:

“Salvation comes when the individual develops a heartfelt faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is not dependent on how one acted on Earth but rather on a relationship with Christ.” End of statement.

Such a doctrinal position indeed is massive error!

According to the Apostle Paul in several passages of the New Testament, if we behave on the earth according our sinful nature, we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

I would not want to be placed in a position where I had to maintain that we could be saved and still not inherit the Kingdom of God. But I feel certain that there are ministers of the Gospel who would maintain that just because we did not inherit the Kingdom of God does not mean that we wouldn’t be saved.

In fact, one minister lately claimed that even though we were cut out of the Vine because we did not bear fruit, that still did not mean we would not be saved. This is how intent today’s ministry is to prove that no matter how we behave during our life, if we “accept Christ” we will be saved, meaning we will go to Heaven when we die and live in a mansion.

It is true that salvation depends on our relationship with Christ. The problem is, Evangelical believers interpret this to mean that if they believe in an orthodox (depending on their denomination) Statement of Faith, they have a saving relationship with Christ.

However, belief in orthodox doctrine is not a relationship. It is doctrinal belief.

What, then, is a true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? A true relationship with the Lord Jesus can come only through our death with Him.

How do we die with Him?

We die with Christ as the Holy Spirit points out to us our wordiness, our physical lusts, and our self-will. The Spirit does not point out our entire sinful nature at once, but item by item. When we become aware of an item of worldliness, or lust, or self-will, we are to confess it as sin and, by the Lord’s help, turn away from it.

When we confess a sinful behavior and turn away from it, the Lord removes it and in its place issues resurrection life. Thus the true discipleship is death and life, death and life, death and life.

This is the only saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Will such a relationship change our behavior on the earth? How could it not? Obviously, it will. Thus we are not saved by works; but true salvation always and inescapably results in the fruit of Christ’s moral behavior while we are living on the earth.

The only certain proof that we are being saved is that our behavior is being transformed. If God only forgave our sins but did not transform our behavior, than a future Heaven would be impossible.

As far as our behavior on the Earth is concerned, Second Corinthians 5:10 advises us that at the Judgment Seat of Christ we will receive what we have done in our body, whether good or bad. This means that how we behave on the Earth is an integral aspect of our salvation.

Let us say we make a profession of faith in orthodox doctrine. We “accept Christ,” as the saying goes. Then we continue to lie, fornicate, and break our vows. What will receive in the Day of Christ? A lying spirit. A spirit of lust. A spirit of treachery. This will be the nature of our resurrection.

Second Corinthians 5:10 is the unchanging word of God. It cannot be changed no matter how humanistic today’s Christian preaching becomes.

We indeed shall receive the good and the bad we have done. What we have sown we indeed shall reap. God cannot be mocked. Let God be true and every man a liar.

When we, after making a profession of faith in Christ, continue to live a sinful life (sin is correctly defined as disobedience to God’s will; thus what is sinful is not always the same but depends on the circumstances), we are not obeying Christ. Christ has commanded us to do good works so that when people see us they will glorify God.

Because these 100 million American Protestant Christians are waiting to go to Heaven to do good works, there is little moral testimony in our country. We are sliding downhill into moral depravity and utter corruption. I may be mistaken, but I think it is too late to avert the Divine judgment poised over (and already happening in) America. It may be true that the best we can do is save ourselves and those who hear us.

The doctrinal positions set forth in the current Newsweek may seem like a squabble among religious people and not to be taken too seriously by the secular position. The truth is, the Protestant Evangelical position is going to result in governmental, financial, social, educational, medical, military, and psychological corruption and destruction.

We of the Christian churches in America have failed our nation by ignoring the precepts written in the New Testament. We have chosen a lie so we may perpetuate our comfortable life style. We have chosen to listen today’s “palace prophets” who are showing us how we can keep our adamic life alive and cover it with various sorts of religious cosmetics. We have shunned the reproach of the cross!

But newness of resurrection life arises from the crucifixion of our old personality, and from nowhere else.

Let each of us choose to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and patiently follow the Master. By doing so we will save ourselves and those who hear us throughout the age of moral and physical horrors that is approaching us so rapidly in America.

Today we had our Christmas program. It was excellent, as always. As I looked upward toward the Lord, which is my custom, I was troubled. I think the Lord was saying that He appreciated our fervent worship, but we still need to press in further. I had a presentiment of danger, that we are facing trouble—perhaps war on our own soil.

I felt not to preach after our program. Instead, I felt directed to call on five people with a proven ministry of prophecy to speak out. You know, if we have prophesied accurately in the assembly, that gift is there. We just need to stir it up.

I wanted corroboration of what I felt I was seeing with the Lord.

The prophesies were along the line of preparing the way of the Lord and pressing further into Him. We were not being congratulated as to our spiritual condition.

I was anxious to bring the people up to the present, after the presentation of the historical Jesus in our program. I wanted to remind them to keep the prophetic atmosphere on their life during this Christmas season, asking the Lord Jesus about every decision they make.

The prophesies were strong and clear, and it appeared the Lord wanted some who have gifts but are not using them to become more involved. So I gave an altar call for those who felt they have gifts and ministries they are not using. There was a good response.

At night we read the ninety-first Psalm in unison. Then I stressed two main points. The first was about abiding in Christ. The second was about how God was able to keep Jeremiah in the midst of the destruction that was all around him.

“He who dwells in the secret place,” that is in Christ at the right hand of God.

I firmly believe we are preaching salvation incorrectly. We make “accepting Christ” a ticket that we purchase at some point, and then look back to the time when we were “saved.” I don’t believe the expression “accept Christ” is in the Bible. Romans 15:7 speaks of Christ accepting us. That statement at least is scriptural.

We cannot point back at a time and say that was when we were saved. This is not scriptural. The day of salvation is always today.

You could say truthfully, I repented and was baptized in water twenty years ago; but that was when you began the program of salvation. According to the Word of our Lord, you are not fully “saved” until you endure to the end.

Salvation is a specific program, tailored to the individual. It always is a continual interaction with the Lord Jesus Christ. It has a specific beginning when we confess Christ as our Savior. It has a specific process that we are to work out with fear and trembling. It has a specific conclusion when we have been redeemed totally from Satan and he has no part in us.

We must dwell in Christ at all times if we are to appropriate the promises of the ninety-first Psalm. We must seek to dwell in Christ at all times by looking to Him for every aspect of our life. If we will do this, then Christ dwells in us. We dwell in Him, and as we do, He dwells in us.

Salvation has nothing to do with eternal residence in Heaven. Salvation is deliverance from the person and works of Satan. Redemption begins in the present world and may continue in the next. It does have a definite conclusion. But I believe we will grow in the image of our Father for eternity.

“A thousand shall fall at our side.”The 39th and 40th chapters of the Book of Jeremiah are an account of an astonishing incident. Nebuchadnezzar’s forces had invaded Jerusalem. They removed the Ark of the Covenant and burned down the Temple. They captured King Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They led away numerous Israelites in chains, bringing them across the Arabian desert to Babylon.

Here was the prophet, Jeremiah in the midst of this tumult. One man. Nebuchadnezzar commanded his highest officials to take care of Jeremiah. This they did. Jeremiah was set free by the Babylonians, but later forced down into Egypt by Israelites who escaped the Babylonians.

There is an important lesson for us here. The commander of the Imperial Guard, Nebuzaradan, made clear to Jeremiah that Jerusalem was destroyed because the Jews had sinned against God. However, Nebuchadnezzar, under God’s direction I am certain, commanded that Jeremiah be spared.

We are going to see numerous moral abominations in the United States of America, and the result will be severe Divine judgment. Let us keep firmly in mind that our enemy is not the people that God uses to punish us. Our enemy is Satan. If we will be careful to serve God, as did Jeremiah, the people who bring Divine judgment will spare us.

It was the uncircumcised Cyrus who commanded that the Temple be rebuilt.

If we will press into Christ diligently, leaving behind the foolish grace-rapture teaching that has so bemused the ministers of our day, we need have no fear of the Divine judgment that is approaching America.

But if we, like King Zedekiah, refuse to listen to the Spirit of God, we will be punished severely.

The message to me, yesterday, was to remind the people that during this holiday season we are to refuse to be caught up in the American frivolities and to pray without ceasing. Danger! Danger! Danger! Christ is warning, if I am hearing correctly.

He who has an ear to hear, let him follow Christ closely. In so doing he will save himself and those how hear him; for a season of moral and physical horrors is approaching the United States of America.

This morning we were studying the second chapter of the Book of Revelation. The Lord Jesus said that the members of the church in Ephesus hated the practices of the Nicolaitans, and that He does also. I have not found agreement among Bible scholars concerning the identity of the Nicolaitans or what their practices were.

Some years ago I made a study of the Nicolaitans. If memory serves, there were three definitions offered by various writers: That the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicholas of Antioch; that they were antinomian in doctrine; that they emphasized the division between the clergy and the laity, and this somehow was related to the Catholic Church.

As I sat in my study, preparing for the Sunday morning sermon, I felt the Lord impressing me strongly that these three areas of concern would come to maturity in the coming years, and that our young people would have to deal with them from now on if they are to remain as true disciples of the Lord.

The first area is that of making the church understandable and palatable to the local community, which seemed to be the desire of Nicholas of Antioch.

The second area is that of lawless grace, the doctrine so prevalent today.

The third area is that of man-directed Christianity.

I would like to comment for a minute about each of these three areas. They are very prevalent today, and as they come to maturity they will destroy true Christian discipleship unless they are resisted resolutely and continually.

The first concern is the popular "seeker-friendly church." We may have heard that expression. This means that we trim the services until the newcomer is comfortable and feels at home.

We in America judge the value of a church by the number of people in attendance. If we are to have large numbers, we are going to have to trim the services to fit the opinions of the people of the community. They are not going to enjoy hearing how they are to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow Jesus. Neither are they going to appreciate people talking in tongues or prophesying. They want to hear how "accepting Christ" is going to make them a better person, more successful in every area of their life.

In actuality, a Christian assembling is not a social group or a part of the local community. It is the Lampstand of God, lighted by the Spirit of God. If it remains holy, separate from the world, then God will draw to the Lord Jesus the people He selects.

I am not referring to weird sectarian practices that will alienate most people. I am referring to looking to the Lord Jesus continually so that He may build His own Church as He sees fit. We Christians are not part of the world and do not need the help of the world; although if we really are doing God's will, God very well may have people of the world assist us.

The second concern is Antinomianism, a doctrine that dates from the first century. Antinomianism is the prevailing doctrine among Evangelical people. They have misunderstood Paul to mean that our salvation is a sovereign action of God's grace, unrelated to our behavior in the world.

The result of the lawless-grace doctrine (Antinomianism) is the destruction of the Christian testimony of good works. The Divine judgment that is approaching America is a direct result of the teaching that we are saved by grace, and how we behave may be important, but certainly not critically so.

The third force with which our young people will be called on to face is Babylon, that is, man-directed Christianity.

Our day is one of communication, of various effective media. There are books, magazines, and electronic media that are telling us how to live the Christian life; also, how to bring our nation back to its original Christian foundation.

I have not heard one of these authors or ministers claim to know what Christ is saying. Every one I have heard is presenting a series of righteous works, such as repenting, praying, fasting, using our gifts, forgiving people, confessing our sins, giving our money, helping the poor, and so forth. All of these certainly are worthy enterprises. But are these what Jesus is emphasizing in our day?

For two thousand years the Christian churches have endeavored to affect society positively, usually in terms of conforming people to the thinking of the particular denomination. This sounds innocent, but it is not innocent at all. It ends up murdering the saints, murdering all who disagree with the beliefs of the system. Sometime the murder is actual physical murder, including torture. Sometimes it is nothing more than ignoring the "unbelievers."

This is Babylon. This is the attempt of man to build the Kingdom of God according to the thinking, desires, efforts, and talents of people.

I have not heard one outstanding, well known minister of the Gospel, claim to be hearing from the Lord. Not one! Not one! Of course there are fanatics who say the Lord told them this or that. I am not counting this sort of thing.

I mean with all these plans to redeem people, restore our country, and so forth, not one major minister is claiming to hear from Jesus. They have excellent plans, all of which are biblical, I suppose. Their plans are what they believe the Lord might be saying. At least this is my observation.

The Book of Revelation devotes two chapters to Babylon, to man-driven Christianity. To religion, in other words. The blood of the saints is on the hands of fervent religious people who maintain that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, according to church history. Religion and salvation are not at all the same thing. Religion is man-made. Salvation is the work of the living Lord Jesus with the individual. Religion cannot control salvation, and so in one manner or another it murders the saints. This is Babylon.

At the time of the rise of Antichrist, the Christian denominations will unite, and the headquarters of this massive religious organization (which may include other religions as man attempts to "build the tower to Heaven") will be located in Babylon, in what is now Iraq. Antichrist and Babylon will govern the world as the same time, as hundreds of years ago the people of Europe were governed by secular leaders as well as by the Pope.

But eventually Antichrist will turn against Babylon and destroy it. When Babylon, man-directed Christianity is destroyed, there will be tremendous rejoicing in Heaven.

What is Jesus saying today? If I am hearing Him correctly, Jesus is coming to individual Christians and counseling them to make their way perfect before Him; to make His way straight. I am not hearing anything about saving America, or bringing the world to Christ. Perhaps other believers have those burdens. But Jesus is telling me clearly that He is dealing with individuals to set their own houses in order. Is He saying that to you?

The Bible suggests that in the last days, many people slated to be rulers in the Kingdom of God are to be born. Many who are last shall be first. This is why, I believe, that Satan (King Herod) is going to such great lengths to move government leaders to endorse abortion and homosexual behavior. It is to prevent, if he can, the birth of these rulers, just as Herod sought to kill Jesus.

Without a doubt, wickedness is about to come to maturity. Our young people must be brought to the demands of Jesus, that they must lay down their lives for the Gospel. They do not need to be coddled. They need to be challenged. They are facing a future in the world in which these three forces, worldly churches, lawless grace, and man-directed Christianity, will struggle to take control of their souls and prevent them from becoming true saints.