its power touches only the living. Romans 7:4.

 I am looking at Romans 8, but Pastor Jack Hibbs pointed out that the context begins in chapter seven, and, therefore, I am starting here in Romans 7. 

But first, a notation. 

Paul, immediately, in Romans 7:1, tells us,  

“You shouldn’t have any trouble understanding this, friends, for you know all the ins and outs of the law - and how its power touches only the living.” [The Message]

Why would he be comfortable saying such a thing? After all, we religious think the entirety of the NT was written to Gentiles. 

That is the problem, as these letters that became books were not written exclusively to Gentiles but to Jews. We Gentiles only gain an inroad through adoption. And in case you are new to adoption, you probably, and correctly picked up on the fact that as someone new to the family, you do NOT have the freedom or all the insights necessary to play the sarcasm game, as so many around you may be playing, merely because it’s fun to them. 

With a stepson, which I loved dearly, there was a time I picked him up from church. The problem, many of those young boys had seen me as a single guy and did not, by habit, respect my authority or position with my stepson. One of the boys declared, I am riding shotgun, which means up front in the passenger seat. My stepson climbed into the back middle where the uncomfortable hump was. Once they were dropped off and he climbed back into the shotgun position, I let him know that as far as anyone was concerned, he was my son, and the shotgun position was always his, but he could temporarily give it up if he wanted to. He smiled and said he was good. 

Did you catch what happened there? 

God has done the same thing for us. As a follower of Christ, the rights of sonship are always and entirely ours. Of course, if we choose, we can relinquish some of our rights, but once our relationship became established, it was NEVER meant to change. 

Regrettably, we give up our rights for various reasons and never take them back. These are the times when we because we are ashamed, think that God no longer loves us when the reality is that we are the ones who have created the rift between the Father and us.

Paul relates how locked in we were to our marriage contract, where the bond was only supposed to be breakable by death.

“For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if the husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law—so she is not an adulteress, though she is joined to another man.”
(Romans 7:2-3 TLV)

Because we are in Christ, who died and took the bondage of that law with Him to the cross, we, too, have died to the laws of Moses and are no longer subject to the demands of death.

“In the same way, brothers and sisters, you have died to the laws in Moses’ Teachings through Christ’s body. You belong to someone else, the one who was brought back to life. As a result, we can do what God wants.” 
(Romans 7:4 GW)

Having been involved with what a brother-in-Christ called his man cave. I learned there that “Christian” freedom from the law allows us to offend any and all with our swearing.

Sorry, but that is NOT the case because the Holy Spirit restrains us through the law written upon our hearts.

The Amplified Bible translates verse four in this manner.

“Likewise, my brethren, you have undergone death as to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that now you may belong to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.” (AMP) 

Read like this; it is a monumental, life-changing statement. So let's break it down.

• You have undergone death.

  But death to what?

• The Law.

  The law, where all ten commandments, boiled down to loving God and ceasing to be selfish.

• Because you are in Christ and died with Him, you have been released from the demands of death associated with the law.

  This is possible because we are the body of Christ.

• Consider this, dead men can't sin.

  By human understanding, since we have died, there is absolutely no way to make us pay for past sins.

• But we have two problems that we, on our own, cannot solve.

First, only our flesh dies. So, though humanity can no longer extract payment for wrongs done by dead people, the spirit lives on forever, and Satan's demons, like relentless bounty hunters, stay in pursuit thanks to Adam's treasonous act in the garden, an action that gave Satan dominion over us and the right to punish/torture the human spirit eternally. 

Wow, that sounds hopeless, and it would be if Jesus had not gone to the cross on our behalf.

A moment of truth. I have been playing a game called "Red Dead Redemption." You are periodically called on to rescue the passengers and/or the driver of a stagecoach from robbers. The problem is that you cannot tell who will kill you from a safe distance as you ride in danger close. For me, the most uncomplicated resolve is to shoot everything and hope for the best. 

More often than not, that technique does not work out well, and I become a wanted man with a monetary bounty posted for capturing or killing me. Next is a series of attacks from three or more cowboys, riding wildly and shooting at me. If they kill me, it's just a game, and I am restored to life in a couple of minutes, but I restart from the last point of sanity, free from debts and penalties.

The second problem is not that Jesus went to the cross and died, bringing about a blanket of forgiveness for not just you but all of humanity. The problem is that this act merely made forgiveness available; you must take the next step by accepting that He died for you and then receive Him as part of your life.

Why should that be a problem?

That forgiveness covered the debt that is part of the law that God set forth, including death for those who did not obey the law. However, God knew we couldn't pay the price demanded; that is why God's wrath was placed upon the Son.

God, because of the actions of His Son, will NOT judge anyone for their sins.

Okay, but we get blasted constantly about judgment as we will stand before the Bema seat of Christ.

“But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you too, why do you look down on your brother? For we all will stand before the judgment seat of God.”
(Romans 14:10 TLV)

The phrase judgment seat is the Greek word bēma said twice. It means a raised step, much like we see in the Olympics when they pass out the trophies for achievement. It also carries the connotation of a place where the judges sit.

Revelation 20:12 conveys the idea that we will be rewarded for the deeds which we have done. I am not a good gambler and generally do not see the odds as being in my favor; therefore, it is best for me to accept Jesus Christ as my savior; this is my assurance of a place with the Father in heaven.

Matthew 25 shows the dead (although it tells us that the nations are called to the throne) before the great throne, where Christ sits as the great shepherd.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all his angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. The people of every nation will be gathered in front of him. He will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. “
(Matthew 25:31-32 GW)

• He comes in His glory, and all the angels are with Him.

  We like to say there are only two comings of the Lord. One would be when he comes back for His church in the clouds.

  “For the Lord, Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NASB)

  He does not, at this point, come down to touch the earth, and there is no immediate reference to a white or glorious throne. It is highly probable that this is where the bema judgment comes into play. Almost as if it is a private matter, where you are called into the manager's office for whatever reason.

  Ignoring the fact that He already came to earth once, as a human having been born. The next time He physically comes here will be with vengeance. Matthew 24:30; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; and Revelation 1:7 all speak of Him coming on the clouds with all the saints and angels.

  “But keeping silent, Yeshua did not answer. Again the kohen gadol questioned Him, “Are you Mashiach, Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Yeshua, “and you shall see ‘the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Powerful One’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven’!”
  (Mark 14:61-62 TLV)

  There is solid, circumstantial evidence that Jesus will physically return to earth.

  “Then Adonai will go forth and fight against those nations as He fights in a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a huge valley. Half of the mountain will move toward the north and half of it toward the south.”
  (Zechariah 14:3-4 TLV)

  Alright, when does this happen?

  Seven years after, the church, which we saw in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, is removed from the earth.

  A disturbing but dramatic piece of evidence tells us that Israel, through the seven years, will suffer tremendous attacks. Only a third will survive.

  Then it will happen—it is a declaration of Adonai—that in the entire land, two-thirds will be cut off and die, but a third will be left in it. This third I will bring through the fire. I will refine them as silver is refined and will test them as gold is tested. They will call on My Name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will answer, ‘Adonai is my God.’
  (Zechariah 13:8-9 TLV)

  Remember that Matthew 25 tells us that He brings all the nations before Him to this glorious, great white throne.

  Who do the Jews consider the nations to be?

  Everyone outside Judaism, or more simply, anyone who is NOT a Jew. Your logic sort of breaks down when a passage, such as we see in Zechariah 13:8-9, tells us that in that day, the day when there is only a third left alive that call themselves Jews. The question then arises.

  What does God call the two-thirds that have died? And why ask a question like this?

  Ah, because the related narrative comes from Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15.

  “Then I saw a great white throne, and the One seated on it. The earth and heaven fled from His presence, but no place was found for them. And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne. The books were opened, and another book was opened—the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds.”
  (Revelation 20:11-12 TLV)

  Matthew told us He sits on a glorious throne, while the Revelation, which is, by the way, all about Jesus, has Him sitting on a great white throne.

  Is there any difference?

  Not at all, because our focus is on the one seated and what He does.

  Matthew tells that He calls all nations before Him; however, in  Revelation, we are told that only the dead are brought to the throne.

  Stop here for a moment.

  Genesis tells us that humankind is created in God's image. Just try to imagine what that looks like. If you were to answer honestly, you would have to say, I have no idea. Scripture tells us that God is spirit and associates that understand by telling us how to worship Him in our spirits.

  Since the spirit is eternal, as God is, then does it ever really die?

  The answer is NO. So death then, to the spirit, is eternal separation from the life of God; and that, my friends, is the definition of death as far as God is concerned.

  So while the body, or as Paul put it, this tent, is taken down, the spirit goes on forever.

  Ah, but will it live with the Father in heaven, or will you foolishly pursue Satan and his lies, as he will be thrown into the lake of fire permanently.

  If, as we have come to understand, the nations are NOT the remaining Jews, but are, by God's standard, those outside of a willful and loving relationship with Jesus, then are all of the nations effectively dead unless something changes. Fortunately, for those that live through the thousand-year reign of Jesus (as He sits on this glorious, white throne,) there will be Jewish evangelists preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, and many from the nations will continue to come into relationship with the Father.

  By the way, all from the nations will be forced to come to the new Jerusalem and participate in Succoth and bow before Jesus.

  So, when this final judgment takes place, what has transpired?

  Seven years of God's judgment upon the nations and Israel have transpired. 

  Vast numbers of people have died. 

  Israel has sustained two major attacks along with the daily upheaval that we see. 

  The thousand years have been completed. 

  Satan has been released for a “short period of time” and has gone about deceiving the nations – after a thousand years, this number is great, and they have gathered together to attack the Holy City, God, and God's people. 

  God brings fire down on all these involved, and they are now dead.

  I pointed out how Matthew only refers to them as the nations; he does not explain how they are all dead. How far back in time this collection goes is NOT spelled out for us. The Revelation considers them all dead. With the Revelation, our immediate context for death, which I spelled out above, puts an immediacy upon them, but we cannot assume that, therefore, these, too, can go back to at least the death and resurrection. It may not be logical to pursue the dead beyond the cross as Jesus preached to the captives and released an unknown quantity.

  Jesus, in Matthew 25, splits the crowd into two groups. Some are deemed sheep, while others are designated as goats. The sheep are given entrance into the kingdom of heaven. There seems to be a moment when everything comes to a stop, as the sheep, almost as it in unison, say what did we do to deserve this kindness and mercy? You see, they don't even recognize what they did. Jesus, the merciful shepherd, tells them,

  “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’”
  (Matthew 25:35-36 TLV)

  The “Tree of Life Version” labels what we see in Matthew 25 as “the final judgment.” The simplest of minds should understand that the great white throne is the final judgment. So don't be deluded merely because the terminology is different.

  In Matthew, Jesus/God is merciful to some, while in Revelation 20, beginning with verse 11, we are only shown dead people and an angry God/Jesus. Context is the key to understanding that these two are the same, and the account in Revelation 20 is focused more on those who only moments before had tried, once again, to overthrow God.

  If a person stands before the white throne judgment seat, for what will he be judged?

  Those who make it to that point will be judged based on what they did with the Son, Jesus. That is all there is.

How is that possible, you might ask?

To properly answer your question, you need to set your fallen human nature aside; I know that is impossible, but try.

All sin went to the cross with Jesus, past, present, and future. That covers all of it.

So what is left?

Simply Jesus.

So I must ask.

• Did you ignore Him there on the cross?

• Did you ignore all that He did there?

• Did you know that Jesus went into hell, preached to the captives there, and set them free?

• Do you realize that Jesus, like the brass serpent that Moses was commanded to put on the pole, caused you to live by taking away the death when you looked at Him?

• Did you know that He is your only salvation?

• Do you know that you can be His simply by sincerely asking Him to come into your life?

Some will abandon the faith. 1 Timothy 4:1

 Today we begin chapter four of 1 Timothy, but first, we need to understand what makes chapter four work.

(Warning: If you were to print this out, it is eight pages long.)

Chapter three ends by talking about a great mystery, and although you may not understand, there is no mystery to those of us who call themselves the body of Christ because we have received Jesus and follow His Word.

The most impressive part of this mystery is that He came to live in us because we confessed our faith in Jesus Christ. The world doesn’t have that, nor do they understand this concept. But that is not all there is, and the next few verses play a tremendous role in our beliefs, our faith, and our confidence that He is coming back to gather us to Himself. In the world of Apologetics, these are the concepts that we rely on to establish and refresh our faith. In other words, why are we following this man, Jesus?

Paul, in his last sentence of 1 Timothy chapter three (consider that this was a letter with NO chapters and typical punctuation,) gave us some of the most foundational points on which we live.

1 Timothy 3:15-16 NASB but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. (16) By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

We will look at verse 16, one bite at a time.

• “Jesus was revealed in the flesh.”

That statement may not make sense to some, as they will say, “of course He did.” We, should we choose to read, can see that Jesus was a man. But holding to a simple understanding aren't you setting aside the fact that God (Jesus, is God) came to earth as a human and subjected Himself to the birthing process and then the learning process. Mary and Joseph taught God how to walk and talk. They were responsible for His education. How do I know that? Because Jesus, especially by those in Bethlehem, was still considered a mumzer – an illegitimate child, and therefore NOT allowed in the synagogue. The synagogue was where the Rabbi's held their classes, classes that Jesus would not have been permitted to attend.

Yes, I am aware of the fact that many of the disciples promptly called Him rabbi. Rabbi is a respectful term for teacher, and those that called Jesus a teacher also witnessed the event where the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus; and, immediately God spoke, saying, this is my beloved Son; this leaves us to speculate as to who understood these words and conveyed them to us, as most only heard what they thought was thunder on a clear day. (Mark 1:10-11; Matthew 3:16,17.)

(For your information, the scripture tells us that Joseph was a righteous man. If you skim over those three words, you will miss the fact that Joseph was an educated and respected man within the synagogue. Probably much older than Mary, these two factors gave Mary a place of security when Joseph went on to marry her. This fact also explains why Jesus was so knowledgeable and able to stand His ground in the synagogue with the elders as a young boy. Pastor John MacArthur says this of Joseph, “The phrase "a just man" is a Hebraism suggesting that he was a true believer in God who had thereby been declared righteous and who carefully obeyed the law.”)

I have already touched on this, but He walked around with the disciples, doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil. You might think that this would be enough to convince many, and yet the numbers were few. A proof of this disbelief can be seen in the chief priests and elders’ repetitious challenges, saying, show us a sign. Come on; He showed them many signs.

But then, there was one other sign that spoke to Jesus being revealed in the flesh. Jesus, having been hung on that cross then buried in the tomb, there was no doubt that He was gone in the disciples’ minds.

End page one.

To the Jewish mind, the soul leaves the body after three days, and so Jesus did not emerge from the tomb one moment before that time-frame because He wanted them to know, without a doubt, that He was – at least for the time being, back in the flesh. Over 400 witnessed Him around Jerusalem. And then He returned to the Father, where He now makes intercession for us.

• Jesus, “Was vindicated in the Spirit.”

Have you ever given this any thought? You should, as it carries tremendous meaning and depth.

To be vindicated means to be absolved of guilt, cleared, found guiltless, declared innocent, among other things.

Remember that we recently talked about how this message of Christ is a great mystery. Well, this, in a sense, is one of those mysteries, as you ask, how could God, the creator, become invalidated to the point that He would have to be vindicated? The answer is seen rather clearly in the NIV, as it says,

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, .” 2 Corinthians 5:21a.

Think back a few paragraphs to when I talked about God and how He became a human. Had God chosen a newborn baby, you might think it would be an excellent candidate to represent God, as it has not, as yet, had the influences that motivate us to sin. You merely teach the baby correctly, and in a short time, it could become an adequate substitute for Jesus. This is an absurd thought, and the thing that makes it ridiculous goes back to the garden of Eden. Thanks to Adam and Eve, we were all born with an inclination to sin.

If you can think about sin as a genetic problem, you can understand that all humans carry a damaged genetic marker since the garden. Science looks at the genetic chain and says, you see right here, we all have this chromosome, with that mark, and therefore this is the basis for normal. (In case you have been living under a rock. The two major companies that were initially making a “vaccine” for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Economic Forum, under the guise of an upcoming global pandemic, were Inovio and Moderna. Both were working with genetic manipulation and behavior modifications through vaccinations.

So don't think for a second that what transpired in the garden was not a genetic modification that would affect all of humanity. If you want to look at this as a mystery, you have the opening rounds fired, and the weapon was a piece of fruit that could modify your genetic code. Can you imagine that at that moment Satan thought he had won. Little did he know, God had a plan.

Jesus voluntarily puts himself on that cross, knowing full well what would transpire over the next few days. No wonder He cried out, my God, why have you forsaken me, as He certainly felt things He had never felt before in His short life here on earth.

When the Apostle John looked into heaven, he saw Jesus, and Jesus said to him

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Revelation 1:18 NIV)

During those three days, Jesus went to hell and preached to the captives there. He stripped Satan of his keys and power, and then He rose from the dead triumphantly.

Years ago, I drove quite a bit, and I would listen to the “Christian” radio stations. When it was time for Hank Hannegraf – the Bible Answer Man, to come on, I would give him the courtesy of listening for a few minutes because a few minutes was about all I could stand of his angry manner. That man condemned everybody. On more than one occasion, in his hostile tone, he would say it is blasphemous even to think that Jesus/God would have been subject to hell, almost as if it was filled with COVID 19 and He would get some on Him. (Disclaimer, although the world was profuse with diseases, and we all got a few, NONE of us, at the time, were aware of the COVID, nor did we care. We went on with our lives. Just as we should have now.)

End of page two.

I could not understand how or why Hank Hannegraf could ignore some of the statements that King David made. Let me show you what I mean.

"When you ascended to the heights, you led a crowd of captives. You received gifts from the people, even from those who rebelled against you. Now the LORD God will live among us there." (Psalms 68:18 NLT)

Perhaps Hank was projecting this verse to a time when Jesus will catch the church away; that might work, but a crowd is typically seen as a countable number though being an indeterminate size. I do not perceive the church as a countable number. But pay attention to this part of the verse; I never paid much attention to before. He received gifts from the people.

So, if what King David said is not speaking of the church, then what's left, and the only reasonable thing that is left is that Jesus ascended from hell to the heights of heaven. Having been freed from Satan’s grip, the church would not be the captives, but it would certainly be talking about those in Sheol. There is one other aspect of this, and I will go ahead and say it, Judas, may have been one of those who rebelled. Surely, Adam, with his treasonous act, was there; but what does this verse above say? He led a crowd of captives in His ascent.

One more point about this verse before I move on. 

If he led a crowd of captives, can I say that Jesus led them all out of Sheol?

I don't think so. Find the right person and say something positive about our American president and you will often get a cascade of hatred in response. Should you listen with an open mind, you will most likely not hear one logical complaint, but a mountain of gossip and rumors. Is the man perfect? Hardly, and all I had to do was watch the first, and hopefully the last debate between the two candidates. I say this because what I saw was two playground bullies trying to outshout the other. I could not tell you what they said because I did not care after a couple of minutes. The point here is that some people will NOT move off their hatred and foul language even if common sense were to hit them upside the head.

What people is David talking about?

Perhaps this will help.

For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the place of the dead), neither will You suffer Your holy one [Holy One] to see corruption. (Psalms 16:10 AMP)

King David was alive, and he is not speaking about his future; he is talking about Jesus. Although, I could see a few moments where he probably thought his circumstances could be deemed a living hell. An example might be when David had a good man killed in battle so that David could cover up the fact that he got the man's wife pregnant. Bathsheba did have David's baby, and that baby died as a judgment from God.

So, how could Jesus think or say such a thing, unless it happened, or at least have the potential?

So what then would create the potential for Jesus to go to hell?

And that takes us back to this verse.

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, .” 2 Corinthians 5:21a.

[At this point, you are at the end of page three, in case you want to hit the pause button.]

If I understood the things that made Jesus so victorious and capable of being our mediator, you would think I would be well equipped and established in an unshakable knowledge that could convince others.

And yet there is Paul's admonition to Timothy, that we find in chapter four.

“Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.” 1 Timothy 4:1 (NLT)

End of page three.

Alternate translations will say, “the Spirit;” expressly and distinctly; in the last days or latter times.

Some points to consider: Paul is talking about the last days or times; this is what eschatology is all about.

1. How do we know that we are in the last days?

The disciples, having asked Him when the temple would be destroyed and what would be the sign of His return, things that were to them specifically about the last days and Jesus return, got this response to their questions, and you can find it in Mark 13:5-13.

• Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many.

This borders on the ridiculous, for it, doesn’t take a whole lot of brainpower to escort some quack out the door if he says he is Jesus. I say that, and yet here in the Los Angeles area, we had a Sunday Morning radio program called the Jesus show. The host would say when I walked the earth. I listened on a couple of occasions, and strangely, I had a Christian brother – in the Lord, think this guy was okay. The host's words coincided with scripture, but then there was the whole idea of pushing yourself off as Jesus.

This next piece of information makes sense. In the study of eschatology, we have a false prophet coming. Islam calls him the Dajal or Jesus, the son of Mary (not God.) According to Islam, he will be a high priest in the new temple, and they have his lineage traced back to Aaron, making him appropriate and eligible. Scripture tells us that he will perform signs, just like the two witnesses that God sends, and the things this man will do will convince the Jewish elite to follow him as the Messiah. This false prophet is the person who sets up an image of the beast in the temple and makes it talk. All will have to bow to this image and make allegiance to it. Sound familiar?

• You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
• There will be earthquakes and famines.
• They will deliver you to the courts.

Since the COVID lock-down, one example stands out in my mind, as we have effectively been forced out of our churches. Here in California, some pastors have fought back because the Bill of Rights- an aspect of our constitution, effectively says, NO Governmental body has the right to interfere with our ability to meet in church.

• The NASB says you will be flogged in the synagogues.

Flogging was an important statement to the Jewish converts to which Paul was writing. Still, since so many of us have no understanding or association with a synagogue, it becomes irrelevant. Let’s try to make it relevant. I can do that by pointing out that if you speak out boldly about certain things, such as abortion; or how the pandemic is man-made; and, that the mask you are wearing is meant to create an atmosphere of compliance. I could tell you that this compliance is a tool meant to get people willing to give up their rights in exchange for the freedom that a mark or allegiance brings; and how that those people you deemed brothers and sisters in the Lord will vehemently fight with you.

2. The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

Having stated to an acquaintance that Jesus could come back at any minute, he angrily retorted, No, He can’t because not everyone has received a bible and been preached to them. The Word of God informs us that NO Human will have an excuse because the ability to understand that there is a God and that He should be worshiped is written upon all creation.

End of page four.

Add to that the fact that we are told that an angel will proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as it flies worldwide. Consider that in Iran, where missionaries are not allowed, these dear people are coming to the Lord faster than anywhere else in the world, as Jesus himself is showing up in their dreams and sharing the gospel with them.

• Are we seeing these things that Jesus spoke of, happening?

We are! But there is one more thing that you need to understand. A part of Jesus' answer speaks of the fig tree. Israel is that fig tree, and it became a nation in 1948. Jesus said, this generation (the one that experiences the fig tree blossom will be the last generation before the time of wrath – the seven-years of God's judgment upon the earth, and His return at the end of that period as the warring Messiah. The condensed version of this oration is that we are living on borrowed time.

Scripturally, we have this.

"When you see these things happening, recognize that He is near, right at the door. " Mark 13:29b. NASB.

Another indicator comes from the prophet Joel who said,

"It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind, And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. (Joel 2:28 NASB)

Many people are making posts on YouTube about their dreams and visions of the end times, and their closeness. Jesus is at the door.

2. “some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.”

In the Greek, the idea of turning away from the true faith is to remove yourself or instigate revolt.

Are you kidding me? This instigation of a revolt sounds like a mutiny, and one would think that an uprising on this level would be associated with violence. Oh, that's right, it already is.

The reality is that the changes have been slow, almost methodical. We have been watching this revolt building for years, as churches have installed, in opposition to biblical direction, female pastors and homosexual pastors; declaring an obvious acceptance of abortion; and in just the last few months, we have churches literally bowing to BLM inc., and the Antifa movement.

(Just to set the record straight. You may have had any number of active sins in your life, but when you came to Christ you did a 180 degree turn FROM those sins, to live a life in Christ. Having done that, you might think that you are free to be a pastor; perhaps, the problem, and it is one that legitimately excludes many of us, is that Paul, earlier in this letter to Timothy, laid out the guidelines for those that think they want to be a/the pastor. Look at how Eugene Peterson's Message, puts it. (1 Timothy 3:2-7 MSG).

“But there are preconditions: A leader must be...”

• well-thought-of,

Think of this as though you are applying for a job with the police. They are going to do a background check on you, which includes asking your neighbors about you.

• committed to his wife,

I suppose this means if you have a wife.

End of page five.

Considering the horrendous temptations that come from standing in front of a mixed crowd, you might think that being married, that means committed to your wife, would keep your eyes from wandering; that may help, but if you are already prone to the wandering eye, marriage is not going to help, because you will do it right in front her.

• cool and collected,
• accessible, and hospitable.
• He must know what he's talking about,

Obviously, the allusion is to men only behind the pulpit. Why would Paul do that?
What motivated Paul to take that position is not clear in my mind. Many of the commentaries I looked at were written in the 1700s. One is very modern; this pastor also holds to Paul's assertion and recently disparaged a dear lady that was speaking at a conference. In Jewish culture, many women are held to a subservient role. We understand that the Bible was written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. The implications of that statement are that Paul's words would be deemed God's heart on the matter; but, it does not explain the roles of Deborah, the prophetess – who ruled Israel as a judge for several years, nor does it explain, Ruth, Rahab, and Esther – who put her life on the line to save her people.
You can find the scriptural reference for this in Paul's first letter to Timothy (1Timothy 1:11-12.) I have had women pastors, but I will tell that there are things I would not share with a woman pastor, although with this advent of mega-churches you will find it harder and harder to even get close to “your” pastor. The female pastor I was familiar with seemed a little power-driven, but then many people are. As to being a Teacher? Why not, and there are many women, such as Beth Moore, who is amazing.

• not be overfond of wine,
• not pushy but gentle,
• not thin-skinned,
• not money-hungry.
• He must handle his own affairs well,
• attentive to his own children, and having their respect.

Paul goes to say,

• He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up.
• Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.”

End of page six.

3. Still under the heading of “some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.”

Did you know that the BLM inc., movement acknowledges calling on the spirits of dead people to guide them? It is not dead people responding to their pleas; these are demons.
Even though the situation already seems horrific, the fact that many of us are praying against these terrorist acts is the very thing that is restraining these groups from acting out in their full fury.

Are you beginning to understand what is going to happen when the church is gone?

And you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 NASB)

Aside from the things I pointed to, these churches are throwing sound doctrine to the side of the road by saying that there are many ways to get to heaven.

Before you get ultra-critical, I want you to think about something. What did the thief on the cross do to gain salvation? He did nothing that aligns with religious practices, and yet Jesus accepted him. If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that the “thief” on the cross went through Jesus. So, here we are back to the idea of only one way, but how do you define the word way?

You will notice that I highlighted the phrase “for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” No matter how this lawlessness disguises itself, it is a doctrine of demons.

4. So what can we know for sure?

I know that the Holy Spirit has spoken, either to Paul or to someone else, telling them that grievous changes are coming.

Like the Jewish community, I happen to think that God establishes His prophetic words through repetition; so where else is God speaking of such an event? 

“I know that as soon as I'm gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus.” Acts 20:29-30.(MSG)

Another evidence of atrocious changes.

“For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.” (Philippians 3:18-19 NLT)

I wanted to know what McGee had to say about 1 Timothy 4:1, so here it is.

“Some shall depart from the faith. Paul is warning that there will be heretical teachers who will mislead a great company of people. There will be a departure from the faith. Paul also wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2 of the apostasy to come. Actually, this matter of apostasy has been in the church for a long time, and it will not be new at the end of the age by any means. It has grown and will continue to grow, however. When the church of Christ is raptured, there will be left behind a totally apostate organized church.”

But pay attention to the above paragraph, as McGee uses the term apostasy to help define this grievous time frame. By now, we should all know that the word apostasy refers to a falling away of the church, and it has certainly done that. McGee, however, takes his direction from 2 Thessalonians 2:3 where it says unless the apostasy comes first.

End of page seven.

Many of us have changed our thinking on this passage (2 Thessalonians 2:3,) as we have learned, thanks to Dr. David Wood, that the term apostasia, which is translated here as apostasy – means the gathering and not a falling away of the church. This error was introduced intentionally by the Catholic church in the late 1500s, to impose guilt upon those leaving the state-approved church for Protestantism.

So, when I read 2 Thessalonians 2:2,3, I read it like this, the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come unless the gathering comes first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Because I lived under this intentional deception all my life, I could not understand what 2 Thessalonians 2:2,3 was trying to say, and would always look toward 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8, which is unmistakably clear.

“And you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed. (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. (8) Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;” NASB

We have covered this portion but it bears repeating, “And you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed.” That restraint is the church, but obviously not all of us.

“only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” A day is coming when Jesus will come back for His bride, the church. At that point in time, we will be taken out of the way. What a sad thought, as the world cheers that idea.

“ Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.” This final sentence brings the Antichrist onto the stage and covers the entirety of the seven-years, a time filled with horror.

The world says you Christians are just looking for an escape. You want to know something, we are because many of us have read the Revelation and we know what is coming. Many of you are already getting a taste of what is coming almost daily,  especially if you live anywhere near Seattle or Portland. But it is not just an escape, it is a promise from Jesus himself, the one who said He would rise from the dead, and He did.

You too can have this promise if you will turn your life over to Jesus.

The end of page eight.