Last Days of the Age

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Is 5:20)

Folks, we are entering a darker season sooner than even I expected. For since the Supreme Court of the United States has seen fit to force this country into the mold of violent sin in the form of homosexual marriage, those who follow Christ will begin to enter into a time of persecution. How much and to what degree remains to be seen. The beginning of this salvo has begun in Kentucky as many of you are aware. Today a woman who is standing in the righteousness of Christ has been put into jail because she refuses to condone the sins of others. By the example of her life and testimony she had been married multiple times before she was brought to the saving grace of Christ.

I couldn’t think of a better example. A woman who came to realize the importance and sanctity of matrimony between a man and a woman is being used of God to witness to the world and suffer for His name. Do you think more of us in Christ should be standing with her?

If marriage between the same sex were condoned by God do you think there would be life produced from such unions? But no. There is only death. Because no life can come of such unions. Only the union of a man and a woman can produce life. That’s the way God designed it to be. Everything else is a perversion of what God set forth. It is a perverse love that will never produce another life to carry on a family life. People in same sex unions have to re-define what has been standard since the beginning of time.

So who are we kidding? Did love win today? No. Today the rebellious towards God celebrated what they thought was a victory to openly walk in their sin. The truth is their time is short. God will not look upon this for long. But not before the bride of Christ is refined through the fire of persecution.

¹⁰ Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand. (Dan 12:10)

May the Lord Jesus guide you in these days. We shall need Him and His strength.

There are those who have walked with Christ. Some for many years. They have shown the love of Christ and been a great influence upon the Body of Christ. Some never had any good intention of following Christ but only the appearance. Scripture says

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
(2Tim. 3:1-5)

How do we discern these folks? Know the Word of God. If we know His truth and continue to stand in it by the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Scriptures, then we will be able to know who is of Christ. Scripture says

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Mat. 7:15-20)

Now false prophets can pretend to be your friend. They can show love and concern but be blind and have an alternative agenda or ignorant of God’s Truth. One they have been deceived by Satan into thinking is of Christ. But folks, anyone not following Christ and His truth is a traitor to His cause.

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.(Mat. 24:4-5)

Take heed indeed. There are some who literally claim they are Christ re-incarnated. There are many who try to take Christ’s place. These are pastors, apostles, deacons and so on who claim they are sent by Christ and try to be a mediator between you and Him. No one can replace Christ. No one can stand in His temple and claim any power.

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

In conclusion, who am I calling a traitor to Christ? Those who try to usurp the Lord’s power in the body of Christ and Lord over His disciples. Those who whip the disciples and abuse them. Those whose foundation is built upon worldly power. Claiming money, tithes should be given to them and enrich them. Beware in these last days. For the enemy is hungry and will steal your salvation if you are not watching.

Lest we forget, there is a reason a rainbow follows a rain storm. In the face of so many perverting what God has said and done, let us examine the Scriptures.

There was a man named Noah. Many have heard his name and his story. For it is important to consider. From Adam to Noah were 10 generations. Scripture says

⁵ Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶ And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. ⁷ So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” ⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen. 6:5-8)

Scripture goes on to say that Noah was perfect in his generations and that he walked with God. But He goes on to tell us of what He thought of the rest of the world.

¹¹ The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. ¹² So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. (Gen. 6:11-12)

So what was God to do?

¹³ And God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make yourself an ark…¹⁷ And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life; everything that is on the earth shall die. ¹⁸ But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. (Gen. 6:13-14, 17-18)

God was going to destroy everyone on earth except for Noah and his family. God said He was establishing a covenant with Noah. If you read through all of Genesis 6, 7, 8 & 9 you will find how God commanded Noah to build the ark, fill it with animals according to His will and then cause flood waters to rise up and kill man and beast through out the earth. He did this to wash away unrighteousness.

But let’s look back at this covenant that God was establishing with Noah. After the flood waters had receded and God released Noah and his family along with all the animals from the ark, God said this:

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Gen. 9:12-17)

So it’s very apparent isn’t it. God made a sign for His covenant with man that He would not destroy the earth with a flood. That was the rainbow. So why should we care? Because a wicked and sinful people has long been in the land to use a sign that God established towards their own sinful means.

The rainbow that God established is a Holy covenant. It is according to His righteous judgement. He will not use flood waters to destroy the earth again. Did He say He would never destroy the earth again? No. He prophesied through His prophets and apostles that He would destroy with fire. There are many places in the New Testament where Christ or an apostle speaks of fire.

And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. (Mat. 3:10)

Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. (Mat. 13:40)

⁵ For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, ⁶ by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. (2Pet. 3:5-7)

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? (2Pet. 3:10-12)

If you think about it, fire has a much more cleansing effect than water. Yes water can wash things away. But fire has a much more permanent nature to it. Maybe it’s just my own observation and someone else can elaborate if they see truth in that.

So as Christ has warned us of what the last days will be like.

²⁶ And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: ²⁷ They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; ²⁹ but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. ³⁰ Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. (Luke 17:26-30)

As it was in the days of Noah. That statement is really starting to hit home for me as I look around at peoples behavior. The deeper this world falls into acceptance of sin the more they seem oblivious to God’s warnings to repent. But God will still continue to call out until He returns. So also in the days of Lot. They were also eating and drinking and carrying on with their lives. They were oblivious to the warnings to repent. And as soon as Lot and his family were carried out of the region God smote Sodom and Gomorrah for their sins. See Genesis 19. There is one verse I want to point to from that chapter.

¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

There will come a day when the outcry against the whole world will come and the Lord will destroy it. This day will be called the Day of the Lord. Where will you be found in it? Waving a flag of perversion and rebellion against God? Or humbling yourself in repentance before Him and accepting His free gift of Salvation through Christ?

If you are a disciple of Christ the title to this post is a no brainer. God hates sin. For those of us who have studied Scripture we know you don’t have to read far before a call to repentance is made. Or a warning of the consequences of sin. Even in studying the prophecies of the end a description of men’s sinful actions and God’s call of repentance is made.

Today as many already know. The Supreme Court of the United States has decreed that those who wish to marry the same sex are free to do as they wish. This is sin. The Bible tells us so. And we are called to repent of it if we are involved in homosexual relationships.

We cannot continue in open or hidden unrepentant sin if we say we are of Christ and we cannot continue in it if we are not of Christ and expect no repercussions of these actions. What repercussions? Judgement from God. Not from man. But from the Lord Almighty Himself. For Scripture says

Vengeance is Mine, and recompense;
Their foot shall slip in due time;
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
And the things to come hasten upon them.’ (Deut. 32:35)

We as Disciples of the Lord need not worry about judging the world. For the Lord will judge those who are in sin. We are called to preach truth. God’s truth so that those who are bound in their sin may find their need of repentance and follow the Lord in truth and righteousness.

Let us not just preach against the sin of homosexuality but of all sin. For there is much sin in this world. Be it that of liars, cheaters, worshippers of celebrities and other idols, murderers and all manner of sexual deviants. There is divorce, cheating on spouses, coveting each neighbors belongings.

¹² “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.”

¹⁴ Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie. (Rev. 22:12-15)

But there is hope in Christ

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Rev. 22:16-17)

Do you hear it? Put your ear to the ground. Do you hear it now? It’s Christ’s call for us to gather ourselves together. Who? Those of us who are of Christ Jesus in the wilderness. We are few. Lonely. Seeking each other. But slowly Christ is calling us together. Some of us “bump” into each other. But don’t you see the Lord is revealing us to each other. Why? To preach the unadulterated Truth of the Gospel apart from the doctrines of men. Also to minister to each other in the gifts that God has revealed to each one of us.

Are you too proud to serve with other saints? The Lord will either humble you or cast you aside. For He did not come to bring peace but a sword.

³⁴ “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; ³⁶ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ ³⁷ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁸ And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. ³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (Mat. 10:34-39)

For this sword that Christ spoke of is His truth that separates us from the goats that each person’s intent be made known.

¹² For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. ¹³ And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. (Heb. 4:12-13)

Will you deny Christ by denying your brother or sister? Do you hold anything against him or her? God will judge us according to our obedience.

¹⁴ “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Mat. 6:14-15)

Scripture is our guide. Our faith is simple.

⁵ This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (I John 1:5-10)

We do not need to follow men who are paid to preach their version of the truth. Christ called us all to serve in one way or another.

²⁷ All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Mat. 11:27-30)

⁸ Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, ¹⁰ nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs; for a worker is worthy of his food. (Mat. 10:8-10)

We have need of nothing but to serve Christ alone. Do you love the church or do you love Christ? Come to Him and come out of her. Her? The Great Harlot church system who mixes the world with their worship. Come to Him who has love and Salvation.

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)

Let us gather in His name alone today and forsake ourselves to take up our cross for Him whom we owe our very lives!

What have you to lose?

Your life?

³⁹ He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
(Mat. 10:39)

For centuries now man has worshipped God in temples called church. Men have felt justified by this approach to worship and have followed such traditions because that is what has been handed down to them from their forefathers. But what if I could destroy this image in your mind with two Scripture passages and rebuild it in one? Would you change your mind about how you approach God and worship Him? If you don’t care you don’t need to read any further. But if your curious, please read on and judge for yourself.

I want to start in the book of Acts. Quoting from what the first martyr in Christ proclaimed before his death.

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, ⁴⁵ which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, ⁴⁶ who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But Solomon built Him a house.

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest?
⁵⁰ Has My hand not made all these things?’
(Acts 7:44-50)

I will point out that the last two verses above were a quote from the prophet Isaiah. Chaper 66 verse 1. In one brief moment Stephen has declared that God does not dwell in temples made by man. That is one witness. And Scripture declares that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.

So then what is the temple? Did Jesus have anything to say about this? Yes I know that He did. Let’s look into the Gospel of John.

¹³ Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. ¹⁵ When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. ¹⁶ And He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” ¹⁷ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”

¹⁸ So the Jews answered and said to Him, “What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?”

¹⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

²⁰ Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?”

²¹ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. ²² Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.(John 2:13-21)

Here our Christ has just driven the merchants and money changers from the temple. Men had accepted this temple that was rebuilt after the Israel’s return from Babylon. They thought of it as a temple inhabited by God. Did God need this temple? No. But it would serve a purpose until Christ. For God declared

¹¹ Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: ¹² “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. ¹³ And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.” (IKings 6:11-13)

But now let’s look again at the Scriptures above from John’s Gospel. The Jews react to Jesus by asking Him who gave Him authority to cast out the money changers. It’s like they were saying “hey, what’s the big deal”. So Jesus declares “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Verse 21 says that He was speaking of the temple of His body.

Do you see it yet? Do you see Christ has destroyed the idea of worship at a place called a temple or a church? That He is the temple to worship and worship at? For in the following time after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into Heaven the disciples of Christ have no temple. But they did preach Christ to the Jews at the temple.

⁴² And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:42)

There’s one more verse I promised to help rebuild this idea of what the temple really is. It’s imperative to look at what was written and meditate on the full ramifications of what this means.

Here we go.

⁹ For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. ¹⁰ According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. ¹¹ For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

¹⁶ Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (ICor. 3:9-16)

WOW! Isn’t that amazing?! We who are filled with the Holy Spirit saved by the blood of Christ are knit together as God’s temple! Both man, woman, boy and girl! We are all One in Christ Jesus!

We don’t need to waste time and money on building churches, maintaining buildings. There is no need to set aside money for insurance or any other worldly considerations. All our gathered resources can be focused on preaching Christ crucified for our sins. Just the way He called us to do it. Just as His last command was given before He ascended up to Glory.

¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mat. 28:18-20)

The only necessary tools we need are Scripture and our witness for the Gospel of Christ for men to be saved. We can gather wherever we are called. Be it in a home or any building with the realization the we are the temple of God with Christ as the cornerstone and the apostles and prophets as the foundation. May Christ bless you and keep you in your walk with Him.