~We have gone on so long the wrong direction you have to go outside what is considered orthodox to get even close to the truth; which most are not willing to do even if they could. Truth requires far more than interest. It requires one’s life.~ LC
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:” 2Tim.4:1
**All scriptures are taken from the NKJV**
Preliminaries, preliminaries- a few more preliminaries on this matter. Somehow we need to bring the conditional nature of the New Testament covenant back into the subject we are on. Because right now it is not only outside the ballpark, it is beyond the parking lot of true New Testament (Covenant) thinking. We have made this subject an entitlement, a given for all Christians, a slam dunk and have eliminated any sense of jeopardy or danger. Great job out there pulpits! You shove the people to the edge of the precipice and guarantee them there’s no danger; just don’t look down, right? Yes, and the earth is flat and sits on a big green turtle, the sun rotates around the earth, rain falls up, and life is nothing more than an illusion for the weak minded. Oh yes, let’s add one more while we’re at it. God is a little green man who loves to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lives on a planet called BUBBA! But so be it for those who have convinced themselves that all the ‘perks’ and the ‘bennies’ are guaranteed for those who claim Christ. And don’t worry out there, we’re entitled to their opinion!! NO we don’t live in an Entitlement! We live in a Covenant. A Covenant that God will not abridge to favor our foolishness and love affair with self-righteousness. NO, it is not a slam dunk it is a dangerous path we are on that is full of jeopardy. Face it out there church, when you signed up for the strait and narrow it came with plenty of side roads that look far easier, and obstacles that force endurance. We can not view this subject with any sense of entitlement. The devil didn’t lay off when Jesus was crucified. His scheming went on with Christ’s Body on earth- the church. And in this hour the deceptions are stronger than ever!
Anyway, yes I am taking quite a bit of time covering preliminary “what ifs” and “buts” aside from which this subject has been turned into one of the most irresponsible takes on New Testament truth. And for the most part it has been left there right next to the joke section of the bleachers. Hey,, people still want to believe in “what sounds too good to be true” and a cheap ticket to heaven. But there is no cheap ticket to heaven, money actually doesn’t grow on trees and the scripture still says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” Matt.16:24. At least that scripture hasn’t been changed yet. I won’t hold my breath.
Sad isn’t it, just when the popularity polls seem to be getting popular- they’re still wrong. So let’s back up and continue on with more preliminaries highlighting that Jesus will return as a “thief in the night” not as a friend in the day- Rev.16:15. Or in other words His coming will take many by surprise. A surprise that isn’t part of so many people’s theology in this hour, but will nonetheless come about anyway. It will not happen, I say, it will not happen the way many have it figured out!
Let me say this also, I realize these articles (Blogs) are going out into a Christian climate that is all over the map on these things and is completely comfortable with it being that way. The prejudice, bias, predispositions what have you are the ruling paradigm of modern Christian thinking and no one thinks twice about it. But I got news for all us earthlings! That’s not how truth works. It never has and it never will. Trying to fit an understanding of this current subject, or any biblical subject, into that kind of confusion is like trying to mix water and oil. Biblical truth has become personalized, “relativized”; kind of a designer take on Christian belief. But, if I may be so bold, truth usually waits for its day. It is patient because it never runs out of time- we do. It is always the last one standing when all the hocus-pocus of popular opinion is finally judged or dies out for lack of an audience. It will never come down to our level, we have to come up to its. Our theology is loaded with excuses of one sort or another to justify the current narrative of “peace and security” and promote more of the same. So much of the church has taken the place of the false prophets of old crying “peace and security when there is no peace” (Jer.6:14). Please understand, as long as division rules in the Christian church we will continue to excuse ourselves from the truth; division breeds such things. You can’t accept the one without getting the other. In other words biblical truth won’t fight against an agenda. And that’s the problem right there. Truth is looking for the bowing knee. Someone who has nothing to lose and everything to gain by accepting it. The apostle Paul wrote,
“And I , brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but
as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with
solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even
now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there
envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and
behaving like mere men? For when one says, ‘I am of Paul,’ and
another, ‘I am of Apollos,’ are you not carnal.” 1Cor.3:1-4
You can’t get meat out of milk. Division is one of those damning sins that keeps the church bound to blindness and once you’re blind to the fact that you’re blind there is little help outside the intervention of God. It’s a double negative with cursed results. Jesus said, “And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch” and that ditch occupies most of the religious landscape today. Oh yes it does.
So much of our theology or what we value as theology today, whether on this subject or so many others, is more of a ditch for the blind than a way for the seeing. Can we get hold of that? Is that a possibility in our thinking? Or is it too much to take in? Changes are coming, and they are coming abruptly. Position yourself for it. We live in a time where radical is practical because what is orthodox is deception.
So understanding the subject we are on is far more about dealing with division and all its spinoffs than it is about ignorance. Division and unbelief blinds the mind from seeing anything beyond elementary basics and even those are skewered with personal and corporate bias. Name the denomination, non-denomination or inter-denomination and bias is there. Again, the writer to the Hebrews wrote,
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God;
and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone
who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness,
for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age,
that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil.” Heb.5:12-14
Please understand what I am saying here and why I am taking the time to say it. Practically all the blindness and confusion on this subject is due to far deeper issues than the subject itself. There is a spirit at work here that needs to be recognized and repented of, and until it is blindness will continue.
So much of the interpretation of scripture today throughout the different branches of Christianity is thru the lens of a spirit of “blindness.” And it doesn’t matter how skillfully and scripturally the truth is presented it isn’t understood and can’t be. The following scripture describes the situation well,
“God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not
see, and ears that they should not hear, to this very day.” Ro.11:8
I am very very serious about this. This problem is especially evident among those in the ministry. They are so branded by this spirit they can not hear. I have spoken to many on various topics of biblical truth and reformation throughout different levels of leadership in the church and the response is startlingly lacking. We are literally on the verge of the greatest time of reformation and revival the Christian church and the world has ever experienced and the lack of readiness for it is shocking!! It’s as if we are being driven to judgment, which very likely is the case. The separation between reception and deception is very obscure right now but is a raving beast in the spiritual realm. Nevertheless there is a great time of humiliation and repentance coming and many will be rescued.
Avoid self-righteousness and self-justification at all cost. That said we are now leaving the popular mantras of “all things have been fulfilled for the return of Christ” and “Jesus could come back at any moment” or the popular song “I can’t wait to see Jesus.” And we will proceed on tip toes, carefully, into the very unpopular territory of “The Lord will judge His people” Heb.10:30.
~ This is a Jeremiah hour. You’ve got to get, or you will be forced
to get, outside status quo rhetoric to embrace the truth. It’s lonely,
it’s isolated, but it carries the weight of heaven.~ LC
The return of Christ our Lord is all about judgment and then salvation. The court of sacrifice stands before the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies; you can’t get to one without going through the other. Note the following,
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and
His Kingdom.” 2Tim.4:1
Think about it. It has to be like this. How could it possibly be any other way? Do we really think this is it? Where the church is at today, do we really think that this is it? That this is the best the church can be?? I certainly hope not. How do we even possibly read the New Testament with any kind of seriousness and come away with the idea that what we have before us today is even close to New Testament experience and practice. Jesus sent out the 12 with the commandment “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, freely you’ve received freely give” and so many today hold up a Jesus sign on a street corner and call it good!! Not even close people! Not even close! And yet we delude ourselves into thinking that we’re doing just fine anxiously waiting for OUR Lord’s return. No dear reader. This foolishness will hit the fan on His return, as He said to the church of Sardis (which is where we are at today),
“I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive,
but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that
remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works
perfect before God…” Rev.3:1-2
Jesus died for way more than this. Optimistically speaking the current church reflects only a fraction of what He purchased for us to walk in and where we ought to be at this point in history. To lower the bar Jesus set down to the current level of experience is sin. There is so much that needs to be corrected. God’s people love to think they’re all doing just fine. What could be better right? At least in much of the Western church. Actually a whole lot could be way better. Do we understand the church that our Lord is coming back for? It will be the final product. The greatest example of His redemptive power planet earth will ever see: the true witness of Jesus Christ unto man and it will not happen without serious change; change that requires judgment and cleansing. Here is the church Jesus is coming back for as recorded in scripture. Please note these words in light of where we are today.
“That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish.” Eph.5:27
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some
Evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of
the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of
the fullness of Christ….but speaking the truth in love, may grow up
in all things into Him who is the head- Christ..” Eph.4:11-15
“..And that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you
before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of
all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy
prophets since the world began.” Acts3:20-21
These scriptures need to be blazed across our pulpits today, to wake us up to the amazing changes that are not just soon to come but absolutely necessary to take place. The church of Jesus Christ will end up just as written above. We will be given an opportunity to embrace these scriptures and be transformed by the events that will bring them to pass or we will face judgment, “Christian claiming”, “church going” or not. This time of opportunity will necessarily precede our Lord’s return. ARE WE READY FOR THIS! God watches over His word to bring it to pass (Jer.1:12).
Ok, let’s part the Red Sea here (because at this point what I am sharing is about of that magnitude) and develop this point a bit more. We have got to see way beyond the current narrative of “I’m ok- you’re ok”, and understand how and why these things are going to play out the way they will play out. We have to understand how far away we are from what we are called to be in Christ before His return. As with Israel of old the “sins of the fathers” that they were so guilty of are now in the church and we are promoting them as they did. Unfortunately we are blind to it, but just as it brought them into judgement so it will be with us unless we wake up and repent. Hello church, it’s time to wake up.
“And it shall be when you show this people all these words, and
they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great
disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin
that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ Then you shall
say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says the
Lord; ‘they have walked after others gods and have served them and
worshiped them, and have forsaken me and not kept My law.”
Jer.16:10-11
We have inherited the sins of Catholicism and then Protestantism breaking off from the Apostolic-Kingdom focused Christianity of the 1st century. Around 1900 years of “sins of the fathers” inherited and resting in this 2nd coming focused generation that we live in. The question is begging to be asked- “how much of this is going to be brought before the ‘bench’ at the return of Christ? This must be dealt with and it will. To think that this major departure of the New Testament covenant of “Thy Kingdom come thy will be done” is somehow going to be overlooked at the coming of our Lord, is gross unbelief. We have dumbed down the coming of Christ. The scripture says that every thought and every deed will be brought into judgment,
“For God will bring every work into judgment, including every
secret thing, whether good or evil.” Eccl.12:14
“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be
pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the
body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..”
2Cor.5:9-11
Jesus’ parable rings prophetic here,
“Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine and does them, I
will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and
the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat
on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
but everyone who hears these sayings of mine, and does not do
them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and
beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
Matt.7:24-27
And this scripture,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare
to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice
lawlessness!’” Matt.7:21-23
We live in a “covenant” not an “entitlement.” We don’t make it up as we go. It’s already been decided the way in which we should walk. The blessings of Christ are conditional based on obedience and faith.
The bar is being raised to the top rung for the generation of His coming. Welcome to what we have all loved to sing about, “I’m going to be gone in a twinkling of an eye”, which is now about to become reality. I mean “soon and very soon we are going to see the King” and frankly we are not ready; not by virtue of my words but God’s as recorded in the previous scriptures. “Sloppy agape, sleepy time Christianity” will not cut the grade for what is about to happen. Jesus said,
“Watch (grk. shake sleep) therefore, and pray always that you may
be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass
and to stand before the Son of Man.” Lk.21:36
Will we be counted worthy?? I didn’t say that, Jesus did! So let me repeat the above statement one more time, “the bar is being raised to the top rung for the generation of His coming.” This is a very biblical truth. It is the way it works when God draws near to His people and this is certainly true for the return of our Lord. Let me explain this a bit.
When God was going to come down on mount Sinai the scripture says,
“And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and consecrate
them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. And let
them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will
come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. You
shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to
yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base.
Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death..’”
Ex.19:10-12
Joshua echoes the same thought when Israel was going to cross the Jordan to conquer Jericho,
“And Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves, for
tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’” Josh.3:5
When the Lord shows up the dynamics change abruptly. The Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting established by Moses began its history with a very high bar, as witnessed by the death of two of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, because they entered the Tabernacle wrongly. God was now going to visit His people thru the Tabernacle. A visitation that had to be taken seriously because any violation could end in death. Even though Nadab and Abihu were part of the priesthood the scripture says,
“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his
censor and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane
fire before the Lord, which He had not commanded them.
So fire went out from the Lord and devoured them, and they died
before the Lord. And Moses said to Aaron, This is what the Lord
spoke, saying:
‘by those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy
and before all the people I must be glorified.'” Lev.10:1-3
We see a very similar scenario in the New Testament at the birth of the church. God was now doing a new thing through Jesus Christ His Son and then through the apostles. God’s presence was very near at this time and the consequences were severe for not honoring that. Two examples: the deaths of Ananias and Sepphira and the sickness and death experienced by the Corinthians for profaning communion. Note these scriptures,
“But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold
a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also
being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the
apostles’feet. But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your
heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of
the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own?
And after it was sold, was it not in your control? Why have you
conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but
to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and
breathed his last.” The same happened to his wife.
Rd. Acts 5:1-10
In the Corinthian church we read,
“For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and
drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.
For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many
sleep.” 1Cor.11:29-30
This is where we’re heading ladies and gentlemen, fellas and fellers. Don’t be duped and lulled to sleep by the prophets and pulpits of “peace and security”, although that is coming for a short while but will be a snare for those who don’t recognize it for what it is.
This current level of so-called “readiness” is soon to fall under the gavel of the great judge and redeemer as He prepares a people for His return. People who think God would take the church home in its current condition and at any time, need to shake themselves from a spirit of blindness and wake up. They are soon to face an incredible shock on a scale of Noah’s flood. It’s going to be so because we are far from biblical Christianity which, the last time I checked, is the only form of Christianity Jesus died for.
Hang in there. More next time.
Luther Canon
Sola Scriptura 