From Death to Life – W.E. Smith « Livingwalk – W.E. Smith

What follows is the expression of the Life in Abundance that the Father offers all of fallen mankind through His Son, our Lord, Savior and Brother! What follows has nothing whatsoever to do with man’s religion, it is so far above that sad joke that man’s religion ceases to exist in its presence!

If you want the Lord, then this is what it will take: die! die! die to self and this world, and only the Lord Himself can help you do this!

I would like to begin in with his word from Martin Luther -

“Human reason is easily offended by the vile shapes of the cross. It judges insane those who want to comfort, help, and care for others, or who boast about their great riches, righteousness, fortitude, victory over sin, death, and every evil, and about their joy, salvation, and eternal life, all while these same people are needy, weak, troubled, and despised, and are mistreated and killed as the most noxious enemies of the state and of religion, not by the rabble but by people of quality in both the political and the ecclesiastical realms. They consider themselves to have done God the greatest service when they have done this. And so when they promise eternal blessings to others while they themselves are perishing so miserably in the sight of the world, they are ridiculed and forced to hear: ‘Physician, heal yourself’ Lk 4:23! This is the source of the complaints throughout the Psalms: ‘I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people’ Ps 22:6. ‘Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help’ Ps 22:11.

“Therefore it is really a magnificent commendation of and praise for the Galatians that they were not offended by Paul’s weakness and trial but received him as an angel of God, indeed as Christ Jesus. It is a great and outstanding virtue to listen to an apostle. But it is a greater and truly Christian virtue to listen to one who was as miserable, weak, and contemptible as Paul here admits that he was among the Galatians, and to receive such a one as an angel from heaven and to hold him in such honor as though he were Christ Jesus, without being offended by his many and great weaknesses. In these words, therefore, he greatly praises the virtue of the Galatians, saying that it will be with him forever and is so gratifying to him that he wants everyone to know about it.”…

and then a few passages from the Word –

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Cor. 4:7-12

You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. Gal. 4:13-14

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Cor. 12:9

You can find the entire article here:

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Religion Ain’t The Lord’s Way!

The following You-Tube video expresses everything I have ever tried to convey about my utter hatred for the religion which so blatantly misrepresents itself as the true Church and Body of Christ:

This will be my last post for quite a while, if not for the rest of my life!

“My Interest in This World has been Crucified:” T. Austin Sparks

The following is an email (and my response) I received from a brother in Christ, a fellow sojourner, just recently. For those of us who know we have fully given our lives and self over to the Lord and have died on the cross (perhaps, the few chosen out of the many called?), or are in the process of dying to self and this world, the following should sound familiar. For those who are content practicing a religion about God and His Son (the many called), the following will probably not register that much or even at all!

Good Morning Mark – I am not sure if this helps, but it did for me. I heard Lance Lambert say in a message the other day, that when the Lord went up on the piece of wood, on that Tree of Death, we either went up with Him, or we chose to stay on the ground thanking and praising Him, trying to explain it all, to appropriate it all (essentially what most of what modern Christian faith represents), but never really committing to hang there ourselves. Yet Paul said he had been crucified there with Christ. Have we? All things in the New Creation rise up out of the rotting ground and decay of the old – it is newness of life, as life out of death, much like a forest bed and all of the abundant, verdant, ever-increasing life there because if it.

It is not so much about the world’s things, but about whether they have been “made safe” or not. Paul teaches us that in one sense things don’t matter (don’t touch this or don’t touch that), but what matters is whether we have died to those things, to all the world’s things, even good and normal things, and that they have died to us. It may be easy relatively to “give up” things that hurt us, but what about things that in themselves are good or very normal, but in an uncrucified believer are dangerous? This is different for each of us, depending on how much the cross has taken from the old man in us. I like the translation Sparks uses – “my interest in this world has been crucified”. In one sense, it is all under water, part of the old creation, all that which is being replaced.

The Lord himself could travel everywhere in this world, and touch many things (He came eating and drinking; even called by some a winebibber), because it had not no spiritual power over Him. He could touch money, any amount of it, or power or pleasure, because He was totally abandoned to the Father’s will and plans. He knew what it represented, the powers in the air behind it all, and that it was all going to be replaced. He was free! And the cross had done that!

As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. (Galatians 6:14 NLT)

A truly crucified people are never in danger of the world. It is only when the Cross has not done its work that the world has a place. The world has no place with a crucified man or woman, or a crucified company of believers. The Cross is a great defensive against the world. If you want to keep the world out, put the Cross in its place. If the Cross is truly in its place in fullness, then everything else will come into order. The Cross is the great defensive against the world. The Cross is the great defensive against evil powers. The Cross makes everything safe; it makes everything safe for the Lord.

You see, the Lord wants to commit Himself. He wants to trust Himself to His people, but if the Cross is not there at work, the Lord cannot trust Himself to them. The Lord says, “It is not safe for Me to give Myself there, or I should be involved in their un-crucified condition.” The Cross makes everything safe for the Lord, and the Cross makes everything safe for the Church. If the Cross is really at work in all of us, we can trust one another. It is quite safe to trust yourself to a crucified man or woman.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Altar (The Cross) Governs Everything

My response:

All of this describes, in so many ways, why I feel so isolated on this planet, and I would venture a guess that this is true with all of you also. Sparks says put the cross in front of the world, but, in my experience, it was the Lord, once I had initially delivered myself to Him as much as I could, Who placed the cross in front of me. It was the Lord Who ruined me for this country and world. He didn’t ruin the world, since it was already ruined, He ruined me to the world. It seems to me we need to ask the Lord, as with everything else, “Please, Father, put the cross in front of the world for me, for I have no [earthly] power to open my eyes to Your truth about this world.”

I find it very hard to exist in this world, since, evidently, the blinders I once had on have been permanently removed by my Lord and Savior. And now I begin to see as He sees, to sense as He senses, to hear, smell, feel and taste as He does; and these new-to-me heavenly-senses are not always easy to process, to deal with! I am always amazed, and confounded, when I hear the Christian religionist, pagan, or atheist, profess a belief that “THINGS ARE ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER,” when all I can see around me is destruction and death coming.

Yes, “my interest in this world has been crucified,” my interest in this world is broken and dead, or being broken and dying, since this is a life-long process. And yet I know I have pockets of resistance in me. I don’t know what most of them are, but I know they are there, because I am still struggling, Spiritually, still being broken and slain by the will and purpose of my Lord and Father, as will be the case, I believe, until the last day I suck wind;-) on this planet!

Could it be, then, that if we sense we’re failing in all Spiritual things, we sense no purpose or good, in ourselves, for our Lord and others, and we’re even flat (we seem to be unconcerned about our state) that this is exactly where the Lord wants us? Maybe He wants us so broken, so malleable, that we can’t even sense any eternal worth in ourselves? Are we, like Christ, to be poured out as a drink offering on that cross, so that we have no control, no immense awareness of the Lord in us, the hope of glory, the Lord in us the Father sees when He looks at us? Could it be that what we’re struggling with, now, is the residue of man’s religious traditions (that make void the word of God), which we were indoctrinated in and which told us we must do this and/or that, that we must be this and/or that, or we’re nothing to the Lord? Paul said, not looking back, I press on…, could it be that not looking back means not even looking back (or even forward, Spiritually, as it applies to our perception of our Spiritual growth) a second ago?

As with all of you, I have given myself as fully as I can to the Lord, and now He is going to have to take me the rest of the way! I can’t get there! I can’t even get through an hour without feeling ungodly! So, Mark, maybe your flatness or unconcern is not flatness or unconcern at all, but the contentment Paul spoke of, a contentment that I find hard to get to also? Could it be that if the Lord now lives in us that we can trust Him, no matter how much we see the fallen nature that remains in our flesh, to take us the rest of the way?

Mark, you quoted Philippians 1: 6 yesterday: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. So, according to Paul, it is the Lord Who will perfect the good work in us, not ourselves! So, if I’m sensing this scripture rightly, then it is the Lord’s responsibility to complete me (us), and not mine (ours)!

Help us, Father (help me) Father, to come to a place of rest in wherever and whatever state, Spiritually, physically, mentally or emotionally, or financially, you have us in, knowing that we belong to You and that we cannot thwart Your will and Purpose for our lives, the very Will and Purpose we desire more than life itself! Amen!

Let us pray for each other, because we all know things are not going to get better or easier!

I shared this for one reason, and one reason only, so that those of you out there, like us, might know that you are not alone on this planet, and that your isolation and pain is for a purpose, an eternal one! We all struggle, at points, with the Life the Lord has given us: a part-temporal and part-eternal life, depending on where our walk is in Him, that is nothing in comparison to the full and perfected Life we will have when this temporary arrangement is over! Let us all hold to this hope, this truth!

“…And You Have No Need For Anyone To Teach You…” (1 John 2: 27) [Follow-Up]

This is a follow-up post to “…And You Have No Need For Anyone To Teach You…”

Have any of us, while reading the first three chapters of The Book of Acts (if we have ever bothered to read the Word for ourselves), considered why the Lord had allowed His initial true Church, His Body, to be persecuted by the heathens, to be broken up and scattered throughout the known world at that time? And going even further, have any of us considered why the major city churches mentioned throughout the new testament (Antioch, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Smurna, etc) had all disintegrated by the end of the 1st century? If the Lord had wanted His Church, His Body, to remain as large city churches, then why did he allow them to be broken up and scattered? Is our Lord weaker than his enemy, Satan? Of course not! The Lord allowed His Church, His Body, to be scattered throughout the known world so the Gospel might be spread to all nations of the world.

But I also believe that the true Church, the true Body of Christ, was never intended to become a worldly organization that resembles fallen man’s corrupt way of doing business! The “church,” today, amounts to nothing more than 3000 + small businesses and corporations that don’t pay taxes (come to think of it, the “church” is truly like American corporations, since American corporations pay no taxes also!) The false “church” the world knows today began almost two-hundred years after the true Church of Christ (the ecclesias: the gatherings), which Paul had established, deserted the Lord, and Paul, and fell apart:

15You are aware of the fact that ALL WHO ARE IN ASIA turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 17but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 1)

Note that many of the city churches, beyond the Greek, were in Asia!

The “church” the world knows today began in Rome and was founded by a pagan, Roman emperor, Constantine. This “church” was the work of Satan, and it was accomplished through the fallen nature of man, which drives his need for political/social control and power. This “church” had and still has nothing whatsoever to do with the first-century ecclesias the Lord had established through the Apostle Paul. Read the first three chapters of The Book of Acts, and see how the true Church, the true Body of Christ, is described, and then tell me I’m wrong:

42They were (believers) continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.

44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;

45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.

46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,

47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2)

How often do you, or anyone else in your “church,” devote yourself to the Word of God, fellowship, in its true sense, and prayer, not just for you and family but for others also? Do you even know the person sitting next to you in that pagan pew? Would you sell all you own so that none of the people in your “church” would be homeless, without food and clothing, or without proper medical care? You know the answer! The combined wealth of this dead religion you call “Christianity,” and its ungodly denominations and non-denominations (FACTIONS), the things you refer to as “church,” could, but never will, make sure that no person in this country, and probably the entire world, would ever be homeless, without food and clothing, or without proper health care again. But, instead of this happening, most of you are “far-right-conservatives” who cry out, when confronted with the financial crisis the peoples of this world are experiencing, “Let them die!” or “Get a job, ya lazy bum!”

Woe to you, HYPOCRITES, liars and frauds! Woe to you who seek after man’s religion about God on Sunday morning, for 45 minutes, and walk around the rest of the week as though you are pious and righteous men and women. Hypocrites! Fools!

If this offends you, then I am beside myself with joy! You need to be offended, and you need to repent, to turn away, from your religious/political stupor and seek the forgiveness and counsel of the Lord and His Spirit! Come out of the deadness of this false religion about God and begin to live His Way, His Truth, His Life! But I digress.

Satan counterfeits everything the Lord brings into existence. But Satan’s greatest counterfeit of all is the religion referred to as Christianity, the religion born out of Roman paganism. A religion that is now divided into 3000 + denominations and non-denominations throughout the world, none of which truly represent the Father and His Christ!

So, if you go to a building on Sunday mornings where there is a steeple, an alter, an American flag (idolatry), candles and candle sticks (idolatry), a crucifix (more idolatry), and a man or woman wearing robes and “teaching and/or preaching the word of God,” then you are taking part in nothing more than pagan ritualism and idolatry, the pagan traditions of Christianity that make void the Word of God. What you are taking part in is anything but the Way, Truth and Life of our Lord. As was the case with the temple in Jerusalem, after the Hebrew leaders had blasphemed the Spirit of God, the Lord nor His Spirit is in this pagan, ritualistic building (“church”) you have been indoctrinated into believing is the true Church, the true Body of Christ!

Here's the real fruit of the Christian Religion!

1Then God spoke all these words, saying,

2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3“YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.

4“You shall not make for yourself AN IDOL, or ANY LIKENESS (crucifixes, crosses, statues of “saints” = idolatry) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth (flags, patriotic oaths, etc). 5“YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THEM OR SERVE THEM; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20)

22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26“If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27“If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

30“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12)

1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4“For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ 5“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” 6he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ AND BY THIS INVALIDATED THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TRADITION. 7“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:

8‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.

9‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’” (Matthew 15)

For the sake of your denominational or non-denominational TRADITIONS, you have invalidated the Word of God. In vain, you worship God, since you teach and preach the precepts (the doctrines, theology and dogma) of your particular brand of the Christian religion: your “church,” your denomination or non-denomination, your social and business club!

Wake up, sleeper! Come out of this religious deadness and into the Life the Lord has prepared for you! Don’t be like the Hebrews of Jesus’ day, who stood by while listening to their apostate, evil religious leaders, and not be ready for the second return of Christ in great power and glory. This time, neither man’s religion nor government will overcome the judgment and wrath that this evil world rightly has coming to it! This is still the age of grace, the age of God’s favor, but I believe His patience is wearing thin, and this will be the last time that His wrath will be poured out. If you doubt this, then look around you and consider the natural disasters that have plagued humanity for the last 5 or 6 years: the tsunami in Asia (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the tsunami in Japan and the earthquakes, floods, and fires that have ravaged the US of A this year.

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1)

14“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. (Deuteronomy 10)

Wake up out of your democratic-capitalist/religious and idolatrous stupor and recognize that the Lord is warning us of impending disaster. Wake up or be unprepared for what is coming!

“…And You Have No Need For Anyone To Teach You…” (1 John 2: 27)

Is this Guy the Spirit of God? Then why be led by him?

Many true seekers of the Lord and His life, those few chosen out of the many called, are, unfortunately, still sitting quietly by on Sunday mornings while listening to a man or woman (minister, priest, reverend, pastor, etc.) tell them about a religious version, a (non) denominational doctrine, about the Lord. And, in many cases, this religious version is a misleading or even completely false picture of our Lord, His sacrifice, and the life He came to give us:

7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I CAME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. (John 10)

These chosen-out-of-the-many people evidently have not, as of yet, experienced the Spirit saying to them, “Come out from among them. Come out from the deadness of religion and into the life and purpose you have been called to. There is no need, nor has there been, for almost two-thousand years now, for a mere man or woman to teach any other mere man or woman about the Father, Son and Me:”

“As many as are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

It is the Spirit that will lead us, not a mere man or woman with a degree in knowing about God (theology) or “religious studies”!

But if these folks are the chosen, then they will, sooner or later, follow the leading of the Spirit in them and come out from the deadness of the religion referred to as Christianity. They will come out and be led and taught by the Spirit, since, as Jeremiah and 1 John point out, there is no need for true seekers (the chosen) of the Lord and His life to be led and taught by a mere man or woman:

31“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34“They will NOT TEACH AGAIN, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ FOR THEY WILL ALL KNOW ME, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” DECLARES THE LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31)

This is an old testament prophecy. The following is from the Apostle John in the new testament:

15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

25This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

26These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, AND YOU HAVE NO NEED FOR ANYONE TO TEACH YOU; but as HIS ANOINTING TEACHES YOU ABOUT ALL THINGS, and is true and is not a lie, AND JUST AS IT HAS TAUGHT YOU, you abide in Him.

28Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2)

Jesus Himself foretold of this truth:

25“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26“But the Helper, THE HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in My name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14)

So why do we, if we believe the scriptures to be the inspired Word of God, go to “church” every Sunday morning and listen to the priests, popes, ministers, pastors, reverends, etc? And, based on the Word of God, why would we even take part in these denominations and non-denominations that spawn these contrary-to-the-Word-of-God religious careers? If we thump the bible, then why can’t we read it, believe it, and then act on what it is telling us to do, through the Spirit that indwells us; that is, if we have the Spirit of our Lord?

Christianity is a religion that is divided into over 3000 FACTIONS, which are all at odds with each other. How does this divided religion of man resemble in any way the Body, the Church, the Bride, of Christ described in scripture?

16But I say, walk [BE LED] by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, FACTIONS, 21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5)

Factions: 1) A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group

Does this definition of factions, in any way, shape or form, portray the unity of the Spirit spoken of in other scriptures?

1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3BEING DILIGENT TO PRESERVE THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE. 4There is ONE BODY and ONE SPIRIT, just as also you were called in ONE HOPE of your calling; 5ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, 6ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4)

The Word of God states there is ONE SPIRIT, ONE LORD, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, not 3000 + factions that, over the past 6 or 700 years, have been at odds with each other over man-made and manipulated theology and doctrines. Christianity is a man-made, inspired and manipulated religious farce that smacks our Lord and Savior in the face every day of the week! Where is the unity of the Spirit, the ONENESS IN CHRIST, in the 3000 + denominations and non-denominations that make up the Christian religion. The Christian religion is just like every other religion invented by man: it is for man and his desires, his need for control and power and nothing more.

So why be led by any human being who serves this Godless, dead religious system? When the Word of God tells us there is no longer any need for a man to teach another man about the Lord, why do most of us still refuse to listen and thus continue to be misled Spiritually every Sunday morning and the rest of the week?

10Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU (FACTIONS), but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13HAS CHRIST BEEN DIVIDED? (1 Corinthians)

The practice of religion is not a Spirit led life in Christ! We must make the decision on whom we will listen to, follow and serve, either man or the Lord. It is our responsibility!

P.S.

Satan will use scripture in order to confuse the chosen, just like he attempted to do with Jesus in the desert. “Do not forsake the gathering together” has nothing at all to do with what most of you call “church.” The gathering, the ecclesia, can be two or more coming together to live the life the Lord came and died to give them. The gathering has nothing at all to do with religion, it has to do with the abundant life that we have been offered, here and now!

19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18: 19-20)

“The Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace” (Ephesians 4)

Paul exhorts the Ephesians (and us) to,

…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4)

Where in this scripture can we find validity for the divided and corrupted version of Christianity which exists today? What is put forth as “church”, today, has nothing to do with the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace that Paul speaks of, but is merely a mixture of Gnostic and ancient pagan ritualism and worship.

I believe Paul’s message of UNITY, of ONENESS in Christ, here, goes far beyond the “not forsaking the gathering together” sermons of the nominal “church”. I believe Paul is speaking of a unity that, perhaps, most of us have never experienced in the tradition-of-man laden religiosity that surrounds us: “Christian fellowship”, “church services”, “conferences”, “revivals”, and “bible studies”. I believe firmly that Paul is exhorting us, here, to a unity which will only occur when every individual in the lord’s gathering (ecclesia), every member of the Body, comes to know, experience and rest personally in the presence of the indwelling Christ and Spirit: a unity which has solely to do with a Spiritual and heavenly vision, a True knowledge of the Lord Who abides in all of us who belong to Him:

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in ONE BODY and ALL the MEMBERS do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are ONE BODY IN CHRIST, and INDIVIDUALLY MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; 7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; 8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 BE DEVOTED TO ONE ANOTHER IN BROTHERLY LOVE; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. (Romans 12)

T. Austin Sparks says of Ephesians 4,

Now Ephesians four is the great New Testament exposition of Psalm one hundred and thirty-three: “There is one body….” Read the passage without the italicized words: “…Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace… one body, and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, Who is over all, and through all, and in all” (verses 3-6). Oneness in Christ as a body fitly framed together is what is portrayed. How is this perfect unity reached? By all that is individual and personal being left, by the Lord being the focal centre, and by our giving diligence to maintain the unity in that way; keeping all personal things out, and keeping Christ and His interests always in view: “…till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man….” (verse 13). Dwelling together in unity in that way, is the result of His being the sole and central object of all our concerns. (emphasis mine)

(The Stewardship of the Mystery – Volume 1: Chapter 8)

The Lord’s true Church will never be found in an elaborate building with a steeple, nor will it be found in a pagan city in Southern Italy. The Lord’s true Church consists of individual men and women who have given up all they have in this temporal life to gain the Lord Himself: “By all that is individual and personal being left, by the Lord being the focal centre, and by our giving diligence to maintain the unity in that way; keeping all personal things out, and keeping Christ and His interests always in view: ‘…till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a full-grown man….’”

For almost eighteen hundred years, believers and seekers of our Lord’s Way, Truth, and Life in abundance, have allowed themselves to be divided and cheated out of their Spiritual inheritance, as Christ’s brethren and heirs, by the manipulations of a pagan-oriented “religious” system: Christendom.

Can any of us who know, love, and seek, the Lord truly believe that the Christ divides Himself up and blesses each of hundreds of denominational and non-denominational doctrines, which all contradict, or even deny, each other? Can we truly believe, and continue to take part in, a “religious” system which makes a mockery of Paul’s statement that there is One God, One Christ, One Body, One Church, One Baptism, One Life in Christ? How can we take part in a “religious” system which stands in stark contrast to the very book (the Word of God) it claims to uphold as absolute truth?

How long will those of us, who sense the error and deadness in our denominations and non-denominations (mere religiosity), continue to take part in something the Lord withdrew from almost eighteen hundred years ago? For those of us who long to sense the power and presence of the Lord’s life in us, as well as others around us, how long are we going to remain in what we know is nothing more than apostate Spiritual deadness, scriptural ignorance, and pagan idolatry? How much longer are we going to abide with the “religious”/political entity (with a steeple), which has nothing whatsoever in common with the One Who purchased His true Church on the cross? How much longer will it be before we finally walk away from the worldly loving clergy and willing laity who hypocritically “praise God” every Sunday morning and then go about living their worldly (carnal) lives the rest of the week? How long will it take before we finally come to listen to and obey the leading of the Spirit, which is exhorting and commanding us to, “Come out from among them!”

Lastly, we should look around us at the state of this decaying and dying world system of Satan, and then consider how much longer it will be before the Lord returns and finds us asleep in our pews:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 “Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. 3 “For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. 5 “Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. 6 “But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 “Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 “The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 “But the prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut. 11 “Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ 12 “But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 “Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25)

“A Thorn in the Flesh, A Messenger of Satan…”

{11/29/11

I wrote this post almost two years ago, and I notice people have been reading it again. So I thought I would post it anew. The other reason for posting it again is that I am horribly convicted by what I wrote in faith then. I must admit that, at the moment, I have fallen horribly short of this truth from the Lord! Father, help me to turn and see your Truth here, in all of its fullness, once again. Amen.}

This is the follow-up post to Suffering, Enduring & Overcoming: “…Some Strange Thing Happening…”. So you might want to read that post first, if you so choose.

The Apostle Paul speaks of his life-altering revelations from the Lord: the first of which was on the road to Damascus (Acts 22: 1-21), and the second when Paul was caught up to the third heaven.

Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ (Paul himself) who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a man was caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows— 4 was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. 5 On behalf of such a man I will boast; but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in regard to MY WEAKNESSES. 6 For if I do wish to boast I will not be foolish, for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

7 Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, A MESSENGER (angel) OF SATAN to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! 8 Concerning this I implored the Lord THREE TIMES that it might leave me. 9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for POWER IS PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12)

Most theologians, and “churches”, teach that the “thorn in the flesh” was some form of illness which effected either Paul’s eyesight, or caused him to have seizures (epilepsy). But in reading a book by G.H. Pember, I have come to believe that most theologians, and “churches”, are mistaken, since they seem to ignore the last part of this verse: …a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from exulting myself. Here is what Pember has to say about Paul’s thorn in the flesh:

…We shall then see that the thorn in the flesh was no mere disease or infirmity, but precisely what it is said to have been, that is, an angel of Satan sent to buffet the Apostle. This ever active foe would be perpetually assailing him with the many hindrances and annoyances, which are so well known to the true servant of Christ; would often be whispering in his ear incongruent, evil, and even foul thoughts, certain, should he fail to cast them off before they became his own, to check the inflow of spiritual power from the Holy Ghost; would sometimes draw over him a feeling of nervous lassitude, a weakness and feebleness of body and mind, just at the critical moment when it was necessary that he should be strong; would bring about disconcerting incidents, craftily devised to shake his faith, or to irritate his temper; and, in short, would baffle and thwart him at every turn, taking the fullest advantage of any circumstance that could be used for his discomfort and discouragement. Henceforth, then, this dread spirit would be ever hovering near the Apostle, who would be able to do the work for which he had been sent forth, only by dint of ceaseless prayer and a humble walk before his God–a life of peril and danger, of creeping ever, as it were, along the brink of a precipice, which must have powerfully counteracted any tendency to undue elation.

Thus a comprehension of this instructive incident throws much light upon the hindering and damaging influence which Satan is able to exercise against true believers…

(The Great Prophecies of the Centuries Concerning the Church: pages 175-76)

Lucifer: The Fallen "Morning Star" (Isaiah 14: 12)

The nominal “church” seems to stay away from anything dealing with Satan, the Devil. The nominal “church” appears to be fearful of being accused of “political-incorrectness”, especially when it comes to acknowledging the presence, and evil power, of Satan and his minions; even though the Word of God makes clear that the father of lies exists and seeks to devour those who belong to the Christ:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle IS NOT against flesh and blood, BUT AGAINST the RULERS, against the POWERS, against the WORLD FORCES OF THIS DARKNESS, against THE SPIRITUAL FORCES OF WICKEDNESS IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES. (Ephesians 6)

8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5)

So it isn’t surprising that the clergy would ignore, or stay away from, the “messenger of Satan” portion of this scripture: after all, the “church” can’t afford to alienate the apostate “Christian” who supports her.

I believe that Pember’s description of Paul’s thorn, the messenger, is probably much closer to the truth than these other, more accepted, theological explanations. Whatever this thorn was, it had to be beyond the normal suffering that comes from some form of illness; since Paul suffered many things that most human beings will never experience:

But in whatever respect anyone else is bold—I speak in foolishness—I am just as bold myself. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ?—I speak as if insane—I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? (2 Corinthians 11)

It seems to me, with all of this constant turmoil, danger, and pain, in the Apostle’s life, that bad eyesight, or even an occasional seizure (as bad as that might have been), would not have been enough to make Paul plead (implore) with the Lord, three times, that IT might leave him.

Paul states,

Concerning this I implored the Lord THREE TIMES that IT (the THORN, the MESSENGER OF SATAN) might leave me…

Why would we assume that Paul has implored the Lord to remove an illness, when no illness is described (poor eyesight and epilepsy are conjecture) or even mentioned? Wouldn’t the Apostle have, in the case of sickness, implored the Lord to HEAL his illness, if “IT” truly was an illness plaguing him, as opposed to requesting “IT” might leave him? In other words, it seems that Paul is referring to an evil entity that is attacking him, an evil entity much like the one Pember describes!

{Yes, I know that because Paul used the term “thorn” to describe this particular misery, that “IT” refers to the “thorn”. But that still doesn’t explain the second part of the verse: “a messenger of Satan”, or “an Angel of Satan”. A messenger, or angel, in the word of God, is always a spiritual entity!}

Also, Paul ends the verse with this statement:

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul says, then, that he is well content with Weaknesses, Insults, Distresses, Persecutions, Difficulties: these afflictions seem to be pointing at more than just suffering from a single form of disease. It seems to me that these afflictions are describing what the THORN, the MESSENGER, was delivering, almost constantly, to the Apostle.

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you..." (John 14: 27)

In conclusion: if we are truly seeking the Lord and His Way, His Truth, and His Life, and we find ourselves wondering about the fiery ordeal that surrounds us, as if some strange thing were happening, then we might want to remember the Apostle’s thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, and what our response should be to this fiery ordeal: enduring, praying, resting, and maintaining our Faith in the Lord. The Lord promises us that we will have tribulation in this life, but He also promises He will be with us throughout all of our trials and tribulations:

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (John 16: 33)

“Though He slay me,
I will hope in Him. (Job 13: 15)

So whether we believe Paul’s thorn was an angel of Satan assigned to him or merely a disease, we should, at the least, discern that suffering and enduring will be a portion of our walk with the Lord. Suffering and enduring are an essential portion of our sojourn in this life, because our WEAKNESSES (our brokenness, our contrite heart) can help keep us from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life: an idolatrous love for this world system of Satan, which will ultimately drive the Spirit away from us (grieving the Spirit). In our utter WEAKNESS (dependence on Him), then, the Lord can work His perfect will and purpose in, and through, our lives: His Power is Perfected In Our WEAKNESS, not our fleshly strength!

“What if….”

A brother in Christ, who is suffering through a great trial at the moment, sent me the following you-tube song. So I thought I would share it with all who are suffering in great pain out there. I thought I’d share it with all, who like me, find themselves calling out to the Lord, more often than not these days, “Why, Father, Why”

Yes indeed, “WHAT IF” there is an eternal purpose for our pain and suffering, right here and right now?

What if “Hell” is…

An Actual Place, or a Spiritual Metaphor for Something Even Worse?

I am not a proponent of the eternal-damnation in fire and brimstone that the apostate, nominal “church” panders. But I do believe, when this age of grace ends, there will be eternal penalties for those who have rejected Christ and chosen, instead, to worship at the alter of Satan’s world-system.

I have contemplated, for a quarter of a century now, what hell (Gehenna) would be like, if this place, this “lake of fire,” is truly to exist after the Lord has opened the books and judged the multitudes. The literal fire and brimstone hell, which the “church” has preached for centuries now, has never made much sense to me. I believe that “fire,” “brimstone,” “the worm that never dies,” and “the gnashing of teeth,” are all just Spiritual metaphors for the eternal-life that will be experienced by those who have rejected their Lord and Savior, a life spent in eternity without any semblance of the Lord’s protection and blessings being in effect: no love, joy, peace, patience, faithfulness, compassion/kindness, goodness, gentleness, or self-control whatsoever, nothing but anger, hatred, bigotry, bitterness, greed, war, factions, regret, remorse, loneliness, pain, anguish, and with no escape, not even by death, since death will have been abolished.

CS Lewis, in his allegory, The Great Divorce, portrays those, at the end of this age, who have rejected the Lord as becoming, over time, so infinitesimally small that those in heaven can no longer perceive them. And he portrays those who loved the Lord and His Truth, who are now in heaven, as having become much larger than they ever were in this life, and thus the reason they can no longer truly perceive those who have been lost in hell.

Lewis also makes clear that not every person considered bad in this life is, therefore, condemned to shrink to a size that will allow them to fit into hell, no more than every person considered a good Samaritan in this life is predestined to become large enough to fit into heaven. THE LORD WILL NOT BE FOOLED BY MERE RELIGIOSITY, AND HE IS THE ULTIMATE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE OF EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING. This, I believe, was the end purpose of Lewis’ message.

21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven will enter. 22“Many will say to Me ON THAT DAY, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ (Matthew 7)

I imagine hell a little differently than Lewis. I see what people refer to as hell, today, which is actually “Gehenna,” a literal valley outside the city of Jerusalem, as something resembling the earth in its fallen current state.

The Word of God tells us that this current heaven and earth will pass away, and then the Lord will make all things new:

10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (2 Peter 3)

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

5And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” (Revelation 21)

But, what if “the lake of fire,” also referred to in the Word of God, is nothing but a metaphor for a place, much like earth now, where those who rejected the Lord will be cast-off for all eternity?

12“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15OUTSIDE are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. (Revelation 22)

Who are those on the OUTSIDE whom the Lord is referring to here? If the unregenerate are thrown into the same “lake of fire” as Satan and his angels, then who are these “immoral persons” outside the gates of the new Jerusalem?

11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20)

So, then, “the lake of fire” must be a Spiritual metaphor for an actual place. With this background, then, I can now give my perception of what this place called hell will be like, if it truly will ever exist.

I imagine hell as being not greatly different from the planet we live on now: always in some kind of man-induced turmoil or natural disaster. As I stated above, I also see hell as a place devoid of all our Lord’s attributes: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

Imagine, if you will, this current planet/world with one man-made and natural disaster after another, and without any of the love, compassion, grace, or protective power, of our Lord and Savior to be found anywhere. Imagine a planet/world where every single person is TOTALLY looking out for their own interests (even beyond how people are now) and have no concern, whatsoever, for anyone other person than themselves. It is all about surviving to these lost folks, and yet they have no need to survive, since death has been abolished. Imagine, these lost souls are fully aware of what has happened to them, and why they are where they are, so they are filled with a bitter hatred towards God and everyone else around them; as they were in this life, but to the ultimate extreme:

47“If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. (Mark 9)

Their worm never dies and the fire is not quenched: “their WORM that does not die;” a life of death (unable to die, unable to not exist), and “The FIRE that is not quenched;” their bitter-hatred for the Lord God and all others, the self-loathing, and the knowledge that their miserable existence will have no end.

In Romans 1 and 2 Timothy 3, the Lord, through the Apostle Paul, reveals the way these people will be in this current life. But I believe they will be this way in the next life also, only, this time, without the Spirit of God to control them or their treacheries:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1)

The 1992 Los Angeles Riots

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

This last description of mankind paints a clear picture of the eternal hell I perceive being at the end of this age, if there truly will be one.

It isn’t the actual place where these rejectors of our Lord and Savior will live forever that will be the cause of their eternal bitterness, hatred, violence, perversion, pain, regret and sorrow upon sorrow, it’s the rejectors themselves who will make that place a living hell; just as they had for many other people in this age. It is these lost folk’s Godlessness that will create the hell they will dwell in; the worm that will never die, the gnashing of teeth and the fire that is never quenched.

This is the picture of hell, if there be such a place at that time, that I perceive. Others may see hell in another way, but this would be hell to me, and much more so than little red devils, with pitchforks, in a cavern filled with fire and brimstone!

THE CONSISTENT & OVERBEARING RELIGIONISTS’ RESPONSE!

The False Church, The Apostate "Church:" The One-Time-a Week Home of Hypocrites and Religionists!

I am always amazed when I have the opportunity to experience, once again, the consistent and overbearing ways of the religious, bible-thumping pew-sitters (religionists), in communicating with those who won’t swear allegiance (and pay tithes) to their one-of-three-thousand-plus man-conceived versions of our Father and His Son: “churches,” denominations, non-denominations, televangelism, etc (factions/divisions).

The following comment is just another example of this way of the religionists.

“You need some serious help my brother!! You are at a place of spiritual confusion that will allow passivity to overtake you and bring you to a place of utter hopelessness. Repent of your double-mindedness and allow the Spirit of the Living God to raise you up in to a newness of life that you have only been scratching the surface of. God is with you, but are you with God??“

First, note the love of God in his opening statement: “You need some serious help my BROTHER!!” He hears, I’m sure, “You need help and I am concerned for you,” while what he writes is nothing more than an accusation that is inflammatory as well as lacking in the Lord’s grace; as, by the way, is the rest of what he writes here. Secondly, I trust no one that immediately refers to me as “BROTHER”! My true brothers and sisters in Christ and I, except for a few, and I know them and their hearts, never refer to each other as brothers and sisters, and yet we take care of each other much better than the religionists do in their crystal cathedrals! I know my true brothers and sisters in Christ, because I am led by the Spirit of God, as opposed to a man with a theology degree, in thousand dollar robes, standing on a pagan-oriented alter, on a lectern, with pagan crosses, or even worse, crucifixes (both idolatrous objects of the Vatican), and an American flag, in a million dollar-plus building that he refers to as a “church.” It’s almost comical, but not quite!

THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST ARE HIS PEOPLE, NOT SOME STINKING PAGAN BUILDING WHERE PEOPLE ARE LED AWAY FROM THE LORD AND KEPT CHASING AFTER THE AMERICAN DREAM, AND THE SUPPORT OF A COMPLETELY GODLESS GOVERNMENT AND ECONOMIC-SYSTEM (PATRIOTISM: MORE IDOLATRY)!

Summary: Addressed to Eddie,

Don’t tell me I need help! Show me how I need help, and then, if you can, which isn’t always possible, unfortunately, seek to help me! Don’t accuse someone while referring to them as your “BROTHER!” I, as far as I can tell now, am not, in any way, shape or form, your brother, sir! And NEVER, I mean NEVER, be so arrogant, in your lame religiosity, as to suppose you know my relationship, or any other individual’s, with our Lord and Savior; unless, of course, you know and have invested in them and their lives, and they in you, and have been walking the same path with them. You and I have not experienced what I just described, and therefore I reject your legalism and judgment, sir!!

{On this last sentence, when I write on Spiritual issues, I attempt to write of my experiences in and out of the deadness of organized Christianity, and I speak of the whole of Christendom, not every individual (since the Lord still has some of His people in that exile): except, of course, in the case of the clergy and politicians, since they have put themselves out there to be critiqued.}

This person knows nothing about me, and he has probably not read more than what he absolutely had to read of my posts in order to attack (“rebuke,” I’m sure, is how he sees it) and insult my faith in the Lord!

This man is one of a multitude of reasons why I, and thousands upon thousands of other sons and daughters of God, throughout the earth, have left the deadness of churchiosity and have gone, instead, seeking, on our own, as the Pilgrim had, the true abundant life of Christ!

This comment is just another example of the man-conceived religion about Christ that Satan has used, for the last two-thousand years, to keep many of the Lord’s created ones away from His Way, Truth and Life.

Enough said!

PS

The thought had occurred to me, since this person left no personal way to respond, nor responded back to my comment response, that Eddie just might be an atheist playing games with me. I have had this happen before, and this is why I waited to respond this way. If this be the case, and Eddie is an atheist, then all I have to say to him is this: Eddie, if there is a literal hell at the end of this age, then have a great time there, since this will have been your choice and thus what you desired and deserve!

My hope is that this is not the case, and Eddie is just another lost soul held captive in the bondage of organized Christianity. And, if this be the case, then I hope Eddie seeks his Spirit and allows it to tear off the religious chains that, by his words here, seem to have him in the bondage our Lord came to release the Hebrews and all of us from!