.

.

Daily Devotional, Year 3 – June 3

.

.

.

.

Darby & Scofield’s Pre-Trib Rapture,

.

Part 4:

“We Clueless Laodiceans!”

To read Part 1, Click here… “January 25th (The Pre-Trib Rapture, Part 1)”

.

.

.

.

.

.

A popular saying over the past few decades has been to say this, “this or that person is ‘clueless’!”, indicating that they do not understand the situation. Or perhaps that they do not understand much of anything!

.

This picture is of a certain character in Bunyan’s, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” named “Ignorance”.

.

Here was a very clueless character who thought he had Salvation, when in truth, he was far away from Salvation!

.

Pilgrims Progress – Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

A SPEWED OUT CHURCH?

.

Now, “Clueless” is a rather derogatory name to tag on someone, and probably should not be used by Christians in everyday life (unless we are referring to our own self).

.

But since this devotional attempts to relate earthly things to heavenly truths, it seems appropriate to highlight a statement made by Jesus to the Church at Laodicea.

.

Listen…“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; AND KNOWEST NOT that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” Revelation 3:16, 17

.

Here we have a Church which believes it is in good standing with God, when in fact, the Lord is about to vomit it out of His mouth!

.

Now how much more clueless can a church be!?

.

Pilgrim’s Progress – Converse with Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

LAODICEANS US!

.

Well, the Laodicean Church is the last church of the 7 churches written to in Revelation.

.

It is the “people of judgment”.

.

And it relates to our day.

.

.

.

.

.

CLUELESS LAODICEANS US!

.

But is the current-day church really to be considered, Laodicea?

.

Well, if you would ask most Christian churches, they might tell you that “No, we are the Philadelphian Church!”

.

Oh. The Philadelphian Church.

.

Well, the Philadelphian Church was one of two churches of the seven which God highly praised (the second church was the Church of Smyrna.) He had no condemning words for those two faithful churches. Everything was good! All was right! They were the faithful ones!

.

Pilgrims Progress – Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“NO, NOT US!”

.

But is that really the true condition of today’s church-world?

.

Well, if you would ask today’s self-proclaimed, “Philadelphian churches”, about the present condition of the church-world, they might answer, “Oh yes, those churches over there are Lukewarm Laodiceans. But not us! We’re Philadelphians!”

.

The problem with this type of thinking is, that it agrees with Christ’s assessment of the Laodiceans, that indeed, as Jesus puts it, “…thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; AND KNOWEST NOT that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” Revelation 3:16, 17

.

Here is a very damning statement by Jesus, concerning this poor Laodicean church: they believe that all is well as far as their standing with God, when, in fact, they are, “wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:”

.

It doesn’t get much worse than that!

.

This is the ultimate “clueless!”

.

.

.

.

.

“BUT I’M NOT A LAODICEAN!”

.

Now, the more conservative churches will scoff at those obviously apostate, “liberal churches” over there, saying, “Indeed, they are the Laodicean Church!”

.

And truth-be-told, when compared with the liberal churches, the conservative churches actually look pretty good!

.

And yet, when compared with the Bible, even the so-called conservative churches more appropriately fit the description of lukewarm Laodicea.

.

Pilgrims Progress – Ignorance – Wikimedia – Public Domain

Evangelist Preaching – Church – Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

OPULENCE & HEDONISM

.

One of the great sins of today’s church-world is that most of us have been deceived by the world (and by world-loving church-goers) into believing that we Christians can pursue the same opulence and hedonism which this cornucopian society pursues, and still have Christ.

.

Yes, to a large extent, we live in a pleasure-driven, prosperity-minded super-society. And because of the great wealth and state-of-the-art manufacturing of these industrialized/high-tech nations, just about any earthly dream is now attainable!

.

Yes, through the “entrepreneurial spirit”, combined with hard work, one ambitious soul can amass more than heart could wish in just a few years!

.

And for the unsaved world, this may be OK (or not!)

.

But this is definitely not the commission which God has given to His “called-out and separated” people.

.

People on Times Square – Wikimedia Commons – cropped image – Share-Alike License

.

.

.

.

.

BE CONTENT WITH SIMPLICITY

.

No, a life of enthusiastically pursuing worldly cares and pleasures was not, and is not the commission which God has given to His people.

.

Just the opposite! Listen to Paul’s exhortation…“And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” 1st Timothy 6:8, 9

.

Yes, today’s opulent church-world has fallen into “many foolish and hurtful lusts” which has greatly drowned us in, “destruction and perdition”!

.

But rather, Paul is exhorting us to “be content with food and raiment”!

.

This description shows the great disparity in today’s church-world in the western nations, between “What is” and “What should be”!

.

Paul Shipwrecked – Acts 27:41-44 – www.lavistachurchofchrist.org – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“MANY FOOLISH & HURTFUL LUSTS”

.

Now, do we even need to ask, “Just what kind of ‘foolish and hurtful lusts’ is Paul speaking of?”

.

Well, the short list might be such things as daily indulgence of television, secular radio and secular Internet. Or it might be excessive social events, pleasure-parties, clubs and organizations. Or perhaps it may be lavishing our lives with extravagantly adorned homes and grounds and needlessly costly vehicles and plush pleasure-resorts and excessive amusements, various sports, gratuitous shopping, and all the other various costly and time-consuming pursuits which this opulent and hedonistic culture affords today.

.

In other words, the Christian community (both liberal and conservative), is enthusiastically going after the same opulence and hedonism which led to the decline and eventual destruction of Sodom and its surrounding cities!

.

.

.

.

.

LIFE IS COMPLICATED

.

Now, God is not making a hard-and-fast rule about all these indulgences. He understands how complicated life can be in this Babylon world. And He fully understands that work commitments and family obligations can complicate the choices we must make each day.

.

But the constant desire of the Christian should be to separate ourselves from evil influences and time-stealing and energy-sapping pursuits which cause us to put our Salvation on the proverbial “back-burner”.

.

And so, the Christian is constantly praying for, and striving to maintain a watchful and vigilant separation: a separation from any and every thing that desires to interfere with our continuous communion with God, and a night & day contemplation of His wonderful Word!

.

Barbecue – Dutch family – cropped – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

Family Prayer Before Meal – Wikimedia – US-Govt. – Public-Domain

.

.

.

.

.

CHRIST’S SIMPLICITY OBSCURED

.

Yes, our commission is to let the light of Jesus shine out to this hopeless world, lost in spiritual darkness!

.

But how can that light shine out when it is so greatly obscured by all the Mammon which we have so heavily ladened ourselves with?

.

Jesus, in all His simple beauty cannot be rightly seen when extravagantly adorned with so much of this world’s opulence and pleasure-seeking.

.

PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – company’s-coming

.

.

.

.

.

GOD’S PEOPLE TO BE CLEANSED

.

Well, the Good News is, that we have now arrived at the day in which it is written…“In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; To go into the clefts of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth.” Isaiah 2:20, 21

.

Yes, this is the day that the Lord has appointed for His chosen people to finally cast off our world-loving ways, and flee to Christ in all His heavenly simplicity and goodness!

.

The time for all dilly-dallying in the world must come to an end!

.

Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TO READ PART 5, GO HERE…

July 28 (Darby & Scofield’s Pre-Trib Rapture, Part 5: “Lesson From Genesis”)

Algonquian Bible 1663 Genesis 1 – US Public Domain – Wikipedia

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to cut away as many earthly tendrils as possible, out of my life. And please continue to reorder my life in such a way that I can live the simplicity of Christ to an ever-greater extent…

Prayer at Day’s End – Angelus by Jean-François Millet – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “SEPTEMBER 8 (Flee To The Mountain! Part 4: Fiddling While Rome Burns!)“, or you can also read…” June 24th (The War Nobody Prepared For!)”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

.

.

.

THE 5 OFFICES OF ORION

.

But like most of the other Signs which this website reveals, Orion too, has much more to say as he changes his position in the sky. And this Soldier in the Heavens puts on different garb, as he presents the five awesome aspects of his various offices. From ‘Orion the Soldier’, and ‘Orion the Reaper’, and ‘Orion the Archer’, and ‘The Cross of Orion’, and last but certainly not least, “Orion, The Good Shepherd”. This amazing constellation presents a very complex revelation of the God’s magnificent love for a fallen planet.

.

So read on and discover, “things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” Matthew 13:35

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “The Orion Phenomena”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW…

June 4 (The Beast of Revelation 13)

ABOVE ENGRAVING: Whore – Babylon – Burgkmair – 1523 AD – this old engraving shows that the Church once realized that the Babylon Mother of Harlots was actually the apostate churches – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

 

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH

.

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

.

THIS STUDY #152 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

.

.

.

Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.

.

.

Daily Devotional, Year 3 – June 2

.

.

.

.

 

The Devil Made Me Do It!

.

Part 12:

“When Good Works Are Evil Works”)

To read Part 1, click here… April 20th (The Heart: Treasure Chest of the Mind!)

.

.

 

.

“An high look, and a proud heart,

and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.”

Proverbs 21:4

.

.

.

.

 

.

.

Have you ever heard the expression, “To work like the Devil”?

.

Well, there are many aspects of Satan that people don’t know about.

.

But one thing most people can agree on, when seeing all the evil in the world is that, “Indeed, the Devil is a very hard worker!”

.

Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain.

 

.

.

.

.

.

A WORLD SINKING IN SIN AND SELFISHNESS

. 

Just look at all the thefts! Just look at all the senseless murders! Behold all the violence! All the swindling! All the sexual promiscuity! All the drug and alcohol abuse and misery! All the government corruption! All the lawsuits! The wars! The sicknesses! The suffering! The broken hearts! And all the destruction and death that is the final reward for our wickedness!

.

It’s a horrible world, isn’t it?

.

Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

“NO GOOD THING IN…MY FLESH!”

Romans 7:18

.

No doubt about it! It’s Satan’s world of sin and selfishness! Just listen to 1st John 5:19…“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”

.

Here above, the Lord makes a distinction between those who truly serve God and the unbelieving world.

.

And He testifies that the entire world lies in wickedness!

.

And His exact wordage used here is that, “the whole world LIES in wickedness”, as if this wicked world is some giant poison stew of which the entire human race has been thrust into!

.

Satan presiding at the Infernal Council – Wikipedia – US Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

MANY HARD WORKERS

.

But how can this be!? After all, just look at all the hard working people, “busting their chops each day”, trying to support their family! How can THAT be evil?

.

Well listen again to today’s signature verse… “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” Proverbs 21:4

.

Chisinau traffic congestion – cropped – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

 

MAYBE IT’S NOT SPEAKING OF US “GOOD PEOPLE”

.

Yes, listen again to today’s signature verse… “An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.” Proverbs 21:4

.

Well, perhaps this above verse is merely speaking of the really bad people of the world. Yes, maybe it’s just talking about those thieves and murders, and druggies, and perverts out there in the dark back-alleys of the world.

.

But remember what 1st John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the WHOLE world lieth in wickedness.”

.

Yes, this above verse defines just who it is that God considers wicked! Us! All we who still have wickedness in our hearts! We’re all wicked!

.

People on crowded Delhi Bus – cropped – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike

 

.

.

.

.

.

MY WICKED, WICKED HEART!

.

What we must remember is this: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9

.

Here is why it is so difficult to realize our own innate wickedness. We all have a desperately wicked and supremely deceitful heart! We cannot see just how wicked our heart really is!

.

ABOVE PICTURE: Battle for the heart – www.signsofheaven.org

 

.

.

.

.

.

So, for a moment, let’s explore just why a hard day’s work by the human race is considered evil.

.

Magnifying Glass – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

 

.

.

.

.

.

ALL OUR LABORS ARE FOR OUR MOUTH

.

Listen to the Wise Man’s assessment of daily labor…“He that labors, labors for himself; for his mouth craves it of him…All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.” Proverbs 16:26 & Ecclesiastes 6:7

.

Now these above two verses are not just speaking only of physical appetite, but of every form of human appetite.

.

In other words, many hard-working people get just as much satisfaction, or even more pleasure from exulting over, “What a hard worker I am!”.

.

Yes, pride is a great motivator! We love to receive the praise from the world! We love to pat ourselves on the back! The “God is Respectability” is a much-worshiped deity in this proud, Pharisean world!

.

We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter – Wikipedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

 

SATAN IS WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK

.

Think about it! To have a good-paying job, an enviable home in a desirable neighborhood, nice-looking vehicles, a well-dressed family, etc., causes many people to work hard throughout their lives for such status symbols.

.

And those who will honestly assess themselves must sheepishly admit this truth.

. 

Or maybe not so sheepishly!

.

Rolls Royce 200EX ‘Ghost’ – Flickr – The Car Spy – cropped – Wikimedia Share-alike license

.

.

 

.

.

.

TELEVISION: THE TALKING IMAGE

.

Just look at television, for instance.

.

Why do you think that so much of television programming is concerned with the outward tokens of pride? A shiny new car! A swanky vacation resort! A glamorous home! Nice clothes! Nice family! Desirable neighborhood! The buffest body! The latest, most expensive name-brand phone, or shoes, or shirt! Owning your own business! Enviable careers, high-paying jobs, fame, fortune, being “the toughest dude on the block”, or the cleverest wit or smartest guy in the room, or the most gorgeous gal or the handsomest guy! The greatest personality, or musician, or artist, or scientist, innovator, sportsman, sports-star, rock-star, dance-star, movie-star, home-maker, humanitarian, moralistic-respectability, holiest-religiosity, or whatever other status-symbol/badge-of-honor one might name!

.

Yes, it’s a proud and selfish world!

.

And most all we do is for our own self-satisfaction!  

.

This is what makes us happy!

.

ABOVE PICTURE: Dream Maker of Babylon – Signs Of Heaven.org

.

.

.

.

.

Okay, so enough of this negativity!

.

So what can we do about our seemingly hopeless condition?

.

Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License

.

.

.

.

.

 

“YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN!”

.

Well, let’s return to 1st John 5:19 for the answer…“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.”

.

Here is the answer! To become a new creature in Christ!

.

That’s right! God is willing to give us a new heart! A heart motivated by genuine love! A heart that longs to be filled with the attributes of Jesus: patience, kindness, unselfishness, charity, long-suffering, faith, temperance, understanding, wisdom, goodness, meekness, lowliness, and such like virtues.

.

Chaplain reads Bible – Wikimedia – US Govt. Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

OUR DAILY BREAD

.

And we joyfully and prayerfully read the Bible each day in hopes of finding more and more about Jesus (via the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit).

.

And we spend our day keeping our wonderful Savior before us in our mind’s eye.

.

And then, with entirely new motives, we can enthusiastically go about our daily labor, with hearts on fire for Jesus, and minds lazar-focused upon His Word!

.

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

 

.

.

.

TO READ PART 13, GO HERE…

August 11 (The Devil Made Me Do It! Part 13: “Revelation 11:18: Why Are The Nations Angry?”)

Antifa @ Protest Trump in Phoenix – 8-22-17 – Wikipedia – GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2

 

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to no longer serve this proud and selfish world, but instead to serve the One who is altogether meek and lowly in heart…

Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

 

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Today’s Devotional – July 21st (A Hard Workin’ Devil!) or you can also read this article…May 13 (Planet Earth, Devil’s Island, Part 7: “Planet Earth: Experiment In Selfishness”)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

 

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

.

.

.

 

“THE SCORNER (THE PHARISEE)”

.

Listen to the following revelation concerning the evil which exists within the hearts of men…“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, AN EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:18-23

.

Please tilt your head to the left. Do you see a man with a very long pointed nose. (Obviously, the sketch to the right is just an exaggeration in order to help you find the face in the photo to the left.)

.

Do you see an angry look? His right eye-brow is raised as if he is judging.

.

This second face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox. Or maybe a wolf. Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox? Maybe even a dog. Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn. Unlike the first Moon-man’s sad shock and awe; this ‘man/fox/wolf/dog’ appears to be that of anger and scorn. As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below.

.

He is very moral, you see!

 

.

Moon – Public Domain – 2nd face Pharisee Scorner – by Cezar Popescu for Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain – cropped, highlighted & rotated photo

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Moon Into Blood-2nd Face”

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

 

TOMORROW…

June 3 (The Pre-Trib Rapture, Part 4: “We Clueless Laodiceans!”)

ABOVE PICTURE: Unfunny Judgment Day Cartoon – a party tonight – signsofheaven.org

.

.

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 

.

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL. 

.

THIS STUDY #151 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

 

above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

.

.

.

Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.

20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;” Exodus 20:5

.

Now just what does this above verse from the 1st Commandment have to do with God’s people? After all, we don’t hate God, do we? No, but rather, we love God and His Law, as revealed in the Old and New Testaments!

.

And so, this above passage is not for us!

.

Well, today’s devotional will attempt to explain just how this verse will be fulfilled in the coming tempest which will try the souls of God’s people!

.

You see, God will use this truth as a means of cleansing His people

To Tom Evans

.

I have to respectfully disagree with your latest share-a-thon message in which you pronounced your Bible Reading Fellowship as the greatest program on Family Radio.

.

No, rather, Harold Camping’s Bible studies were even more important, for the simple reason that they taught Bible students the proper method of Bible study and interpretation.

.

Oh yes, your Bible Reading Fellowship is great! No doubt about it!

.

But God gave Camping a wonderful gift of proper Bible interpretation. And family Radio needs to keep sharing that wonderful information with the world!

.

And let’s not forget that Family Radio was given the special commission by God to call His people out of Babylon. And this critically important doctrine sends out a certain trumpet sound to God’s people to vacate the fallen apostate churches in which Satan has now taken control of!

.

So please don’t become ashamed of that doctrine. God has not changed His mind. He wants His people to come out, lest they partake of her sins and receive of her plagues.

.

There’s a great number of Christians out there who need to hear these two messages! So please! Don’t begin sending out a mixed message, and an uncertain trumpet sound. 

.

Perhaps, a disclaimer at the beginning of each Open Forum, explaining that some questions were recorded years prior to the End of the Church Age doctrine was preached.

.

And while you’re at it, how about including some more recent questions/answers concerning the End of the Church Age in each of your Open Forums?

.

Thank you for your response.

.

chalesdavidwhittemore@gmail.com

.

Have you ever heard the expression, “They’re avoiding the giant elephant in the room”?

.

Well, that’s a currently popular little saying that carries some profound truth with it. It speaks of any situation in which an inconvenient truth is being avoided, because nobody wants to deal with that truth, for one reason or another.

.

There is even a little historical account in the Book of John in which Jesus met a certain Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well near the town of Sychar, a town in Samaria. And she was also trying to ignore the elephant in the room!

.

You see, in this true story, the woman had come to draw water at the well known as Jacob’s Well. And Jesus had purposely lingered at that well so as to strike up a conversation by asking her for a drink of water.

.

Now this request somewhat took her by surprise, since she recognized Jesus as a Jew while she was of the despised Samaritan heritage.

.

And so she said… How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans?

.
But then, Jesus responded to her question with a very uncomfortable answer…”4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:10

.

Now, that very spiritual response by Jesus no doubt made this woman somewhat uncomfortable, causing her to avoid His piercing question, by changing the subject…”The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” John 4:11, 12

.

Again, Jesus responded to her with a heart-searching statement…”Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13, 14

.

Now, the woman attempted once again to return to the physical realm by trying to interpret what Jesus was saying in an earthly sense…”The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” John 4:15

.

Now Jesus was going to go right to the heart of this woman’s wayward life…”Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.” John 4:16

.

The woman could not evade this straightforward remark by Jesus, and yet gave an evasive response…”The woman answered and said, I have no husband.” John 4:17

.

Now Jesus was going to go right to heart of her rebellion, and said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” John 4:17, 18

.

At this point it was now undeniable that she was dealing with no mere human, since he knew all about her shady past. However she still attempted to ignore that proverbial elephant in the room, by changing the subject…”The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” John 4:20, 21

.

But Jesus continued to make her uncomfortable by getting to the heart of her spiritual bankruptcy…
“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:22-24

.

Now at this mega-bomb statement, the woman realized that whoever this man was, he must have some connection to the coming Messiah…”The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.” John 4:25, 26

.

At this point, the woman could no longer evade or avoid this great truth! Now she realized that she was speaking to the Messiah, who was telling her of her need of Salvation… “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” John 4:28, 29

.

The point is, even the Bible reveals how people will often try to avoid an uncomfortable truth, by trying to change the conversation, and ignore that elephant in the room.

.

Now, just how does this all fit into that star named “Wormwood”?

.

Simple. so much of today’s apostate Christianity tries the same technique that the Samaritan woman used. And if the Reader has any aquaintance with today’s church-world, then it is obvious that a great void exists in most sermons.

.

In other words, there is an attempt by today’s preaching to avoid these uncomfortable truths for fear of losing one’s parishioners.

.

Today’s pastors do not get to the heart of the problem.

.

And just what is the heart of the problem?

.

The problem is, that Christianity, true Christianity requires a total death-to-self. Just as the Apostle Paul puts it…” 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:” Galatians 2:20

.

By nature, the mere thought of dying-to-self, so that Christ can live out His self-sacrificing life through the Believer, is not only uncomfortable, it is detestable to most humans.

.

And so, instead of hammering home this truth, most preachers will avoid that giant elephant by preaching all the way around that truth.

.

And so, you will hear sermons on morality, family values, politics, Bible prophecy. And along with these non-threatening sermons are added some contemporary music, well-timed jokes, pretty women, and various forms of entertainment.

.

Take the news organizations today. In an age in which yellow journalism has become the industry standard, news programs will try everything in order to avoid those news stories which do not go along with their political/social views.

.

Now, the news services cannot always completely ignore a story. And in those cases they will often try to give the story as little coverage as possible before burying it altogether.

.

This same technique is also imitated in today’s churches. In other words, evangelists know that they cannot copmpletely avoid the proverbial elephant in the room. AND so, they will have to mention those uncomfortable truths from time to time. But then, as quickly as possible they return to preaching family values, morality, politic, Bible prophecy, and any other subject that allows them to not get their audience upset.

.

Bible prophecy seminars use a similar technique, whether knowingly or out of sheer ignorance of proper interpretation. That is, instead of using the Bible only, comparing relevant scriptures with other relevant scriptures, they instead go to newspapers and history books, attempting to find historical or current situations which seem to go along with revelation.

.

But true Bible prophecy is always interpreted by the Bible only, which reveals the true interpretation that points to the Church and to their individual lives.

.

Now, most of today’s sermons have to do with family values, morality, politics and social causes. rarely do the sermons go right to the heart of the problem.

.

To preach the unvarnished truth is unacceptable in today’s “itching ears” gospels. People just do not want to hear that they must choose which world they want to live for. The fact is, most parishioners would like a gospel which allows them to have Jesus while also continuing to seek after the selfish things of this I-Me-My world!

.

And so, to preach things like “Being born again”, “dying-to-self”, “crucifying the flesh”, “forsaking all” are no longer tolerated in today’s Christian churches.

.

Oh, people don’t mind morality, or family values, or politics, etc.. Nor do they mind Bible propehcy, as long as the accusing finger points at somebody else.

.

One radio show host was complaining that whenever he had a show dealing with salvational issues, he could hear the proverbial “crickets chirping”. But when his show dealt with scandal, or with the Antichrist, or with conspiracy theories, or Bible prophecy, or politics, his audience was eager to hear.

.

.

.

The Elephant in the Room – Banksy-Barely – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Just how will the wicked be tormented? And what does it mean when Revelation 14 states, “The smoke of their torment ascends up for ever and ever”?

.

.

the confessions of old have caused today’s churches to no longer advance in knowledge

.

.

.

.

..

…

.

.

Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JUNE 13

 

.

.

.

.

Why The World Didn’t End on May 21, 2011

.

.

.

.

.

.

There was a prediction which sent shock-waves around the globe, that the world was to end on May 21, 2011.

.

The epi-center of this shock-wave was a humble little radio station based out of Alameda California, owned by a dedicated Bible teacher, one Mr. Harold Camping. 

.

And this message became a much-watched and much-anticipated event, right up to the very day of May 21, 2011. But when that day came and went, the world sighed a breath of relief, and the skeptics immediately began throwing verbal rocks at Mr. Camping, putting his face on the Internet to mock and deride, calling him a false prophet, etc..

.

Judgment Bus New Orleans 2011 – cropped – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

 

.

.

.

.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE TELEVANGELIST

.

But what most people do not realize is, that Harold Camping was a very careful and very serious Bible student and teacher, devoting himself to about 5 or 6 hours of Bible study each day, on the average.

.

And we’re living in a day when popular evangelists quite often live in luxury and opulence.

.

But to those who accused him of being “in it for the money” do not realize that, in his own words, “In all these years, I have served Family Radio as an unpaid volunteer, and have never taken even a nickel in wages”. 

.

Yes, instead of gathering to himself the many luxuries which many other evangelists enjoy, Harold Camping lived on money he wisely invested as a young man. He wore old suits, owned two 25-year-old vehicles, lived in the same house for over 60 years, and took no vacations. If he had to fly to meetings, he no doubt would fly “coach class”. And his station was very frugal in their use of money, during his administration.

.

Jefferson- Nickel – Courtesy CCF Numismatics – Wikimedia – Share-alike license

 

.

.

.

.

.

LOVE AFFAIR WITH BIBLE & HEAVEN!

.

And because of these factors, and with his wonderful daily Bible studies, Camping’s radio station steadily grew to a worldwide station over a 50+ year period.

.

Another mistaken notion that the world wasn’t aware of, is that in his teachings through those 50+ plus years, he engaged in very thorough Bible studies, never quoting this theologian or that Bible commentator, or even the various well-known Reformers like Luther, or Calvin, or anyone else. No, “the Bible only” was Camping’s mantra for over 50 years of his ministry. He went verse-by-verse through the Scriptures, often cross-referencing other passages which added to a greater understanding of the Bible.

.

Harold Camping – Wikipedia – copyrighted, not for free use

 

.

.

.

.

.

WHY THE WORLD DIDN’T END

.

Now, as to the question of why Mr. Camping mistakenly believed the world would end on May 21, 2011 with the return of Jesus Christ, one only needs to consult the Bible.

.

For the first reference it would be well to look to the prophecy of Habakkuk…

.

Listen… “And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: THOUGH IT TARRY, WAIT FOR IT; BECAUSE IT WILL SURELY COME, IT WILL NOT TARRY!” Habakkuk 2:2, 3

.

You see, Habakkuk was given a vision of God’s people in these last days, being flooded by unbelievers (Chaldeans), to the point that wrong judgment proceeded forth from God’s people. And when the prophet complained to God about this horrible situation in the church-world, God told Habakkuk to write the vision and make it plain upon tables, “that he may run that readeth it”.

.

Habakkuk by James Tissot – Wikimedia Commons – US Public Domain

 

.

.

.

.

.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

.

But then notice that God said, “Though it (the vision) tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, it will not tarry!”

.

And so, this vision of Habakkuk will begin to speak at the end of time. But the vision will tarry, and yet it doesn’t tarry. How confusing! A vision that tarries, and yet doesn’t tarry! What odd language!

.

The fact is, Mr. Camping was indeed correct!

.

Oh no, the world didn’t totally end on that day, as was predicted. But it was indeed “the beginning of the end!” And the ever-increasing flood of wickedness overflowing the world certainly did not tarry either!

.

The Great Day of His Wrath – John Martin – 1853 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

 

.

.

.

.

.

WHY ADAM DIDN’T DIE 

.

It’s just that we don’t understand how God works, and how God speaks.

.

To see how God works and how He speaks in these end-times, we need look no further than how God worked and spoke at the beginning of Creation…

.

Listen… “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:17

.

You see, when Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit, whatever it was, they did not physically die (though they died spiritually that day). As a matter of fact, Adam lived for another 900+ years. So what happened? Did God’s prophecy fail? No, but death began its process within Adam and Eve on that very day. 

.

Gustave Dore – Adam And Eve Driven Out Of Eden – www.creationism.org – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

. 

A DAY NOT NECESSARILY 24 HOURS

.

And so it is with God’s prophecy of the end of the world on May 21st, 2011. When God speaks of the Day of Judgment, He is not speaking of a literal 24 hour period! We are now in the Day of Judgment. 

.

And even though Mr. Camping was well aware of this principle, the Lord closed Camping’s eyes, so that he thought of it as only a 24 hour literal end of the world.

.

Harold Camping – courtesy Family Radio

.

.

.

.

.

GOD’S PEOPLE IN DRUNKEN SLUMBER

.

“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.” Joel 1:5

.

And it’s a good thing that it didn’t fully happen on May 21, 2011. Because most Christians were not prepared to meet Jesus!

.

We were steeped in worldliness and even idolatry as we sought after the worldly pleasures and earthly treasures of this, Satan’s kingdom of selfishness!

.

And so, God, in His great mercy, allowed that delay, to wake up His sleeping saints from our spiritually drunken slumber! God has allowed just enough time for us to get ourselves prepared for that Day! And He allowed this world of sin to sink into the fearful condition it has now is in, to remove any lingering love for this world which we may still have!

.

Hands Toasting Drinks – Cheers! Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

 

.

.

.

.

.

TITANIC: A METAPHOR

OF THE WORLD

.

But Harold Camping’s calculations from the Bible were correct!

.

God’s judgment upon the world did begin on that fateful day, and now we are beginning to take on water just as surely as that supposedly “unsinkable” ship, the Titanic did, after she silently scraped that iceberg!

.

Yes, the world has likewise scraped an iceberg in a metaphorical sense! And unbeknownst to most of us, our good ship, Planet Earth is now taking on water. And just now we are beginning to see God’s judgments falling all around the world! Yes, God is allowing this world to become insanely evil! This is an integral part of His divine judgment!

.

Titanic – Wikimedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

ARK OF SALVATION READY TO LEAVE

.

But in the meanwhile, God is using this apparent extension of time, to make a last call, for anyone and everyone to get on board another ship, which will take us to our Promised Land of everlasting joy!

.

Yes, for thousands of years, the doors of mercy have been open to all who would come aboard and be saved. And God used Harold Camping to sound the trumpet that the world has come to its end. A great fiery deluge is about to destroy this world! And along with Camping’s warning, Habakkuk’s vision likewise warns us that the time has fully come to “RUN!”

.

.

.

.

.

DO NOT DELAY!

.

Isn’t God so merciful, that He cares enough to give us some extra time to flee from the wrath to come?

.

But don’t get too comfortable! At this point, anybody who delays to run to the safety of the Ark of Salvation may be destroyed in the deluge of fire which is soon coming upon this earth!

.

Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

A TARRYING TIME?

.

The doors of God’s Ark are still open. But once they close, there may be a short time of delay, in which God’s people will wonder why, and maybe even feel a little foolish.

.

And just as the earth’s inhabitants laughed and mocked Noah’s family as they waited inside the Ark, because there was a tarrying time of 7 days, there may be a tarrying time ahead for us too, even after those doors of mercy are fully closed!

.

Yes, there always is a tarrying time in God’s economy. This is a time in which God tests and prepares His people. It happened to Jesus’ disciples when Jesus was nailed to the Cross. They all supposed that their hopes were utterly crushed. And they no doubt felt foolish in the eyes of all those scoffers and mockers.

.

But when the appointed hour came, God and His people were vindicated. Jesus arose from the grave!

.

And so it is with this present Judgment Day message. It seemed as though it was a complete failure when May 21, 2011 came and went. But it wasn’t at all a failure! Just a delay! Just a tarrying time!

.

Noah’s Ark – Wikimedia Commons – Share-alike License

 

.

.

.

.

.

ALL ABOARD!

.

But the Good News is, that those doors of mercy are still open! And whosoever will, may come inside the safety of the heaven-bound Ark of Salvation! But don’t delay! Because once they do close, they will never open again for humanity.

.

Then will come the fiery deluge, “in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2nd Peter 3:10

.

.

.

 

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Open my eyes to see this marvelous message written in the night sky! Open my ears, that I might receive the fearful warning from Heaven! Open my mouth that I may eat the heavenly Manna which is now falling all around. And open my heart to respond to all this…

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

 

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The Fleeing Revelation 12 Woman Constellation: What is the Message of Habakkuk?, or you can also read this shorter article… February 26th (The Dawning of the Day)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

 

.

.

 

.

.

THE END

 

.

.

. 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

.

.

 

.

SIGNS IN HEAVENS PROMISED

.

.

.

.

God promised that before the end, there would appear… “signs in the Sun…Moon, and …stars.” (Luke 21:25)

.

.

.

This site is dedicated to revealing these Signs Of Heaven.

.

.

.

If you will study just one article per day, you will begin to comprehend how to locate these heavenly messengers.

.

.

.

But more than this, these stars will shine light on our trail and guide us safely up the pathway of Bible truth, to our destination.

.

.

Sketch is of the Gospel Ship, “Castor and Pollux” (Click for link)

.

.

.

. 

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Castor and Pollux & The Mystery Ship of Scripture

 

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW…

Daily Devotional, Year 2 – JUNE 14 (What Will I Trade For My Soul?)

Question Mark – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

 

.

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 

.

ALL‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

.

THIS STUDY #528 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

.

.

ABOVE PAINTING: The Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

.

.

Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.

.

 

.

.

Daily Devotional, Year 3 – May 21

.

.

.

.

All Comfy-Cozy In Hell,

.

Part 5: 

“Finding A Comfy-Cozy Congregation?”

To read Part 1, click here…” March 27th (All Comfy-Cozy in Hell!)”

.

.

.

.

.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety;

then sudden destruction cometh upon them,

as travail upon a woman with child;

and they shall not escape.”

1st Thessalonians 5:3

.

.

.

.

.

.

In the early days of the Church, the Lord established the local congregations as a safe-haven for believers to congregate together, to worship, to fellowship together in the name of Jesus. 

.

Mostly, these congregations met together in some Believer’s home.

.

There were no church buildings or at best just a few, because they would have been quickly destroyed by the Antichrist forces of that day.

.

Family Bible Reading – Sabbath Eve – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

WORLD & CHURCH AT PEACE 

.

But today, it seems that the world and the Church has made peace together.

.

And so, the Christian community was now able to build designated church buildings, which were free from anti-Christian tyranny.

.

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org

.

.

.

.

.

“WHEN THEY SHALL SAY, ‘PEACE & SAFETY…THEN SHALL COME SUDDEN DESTRUCTION”

1st Thessalonians 5:3

.

And because of this “peace-treaty” between the world and the Church, many or perhaps most of the parishioners likewise lived in peace and safety in this supposedly Antichrist world.

.

We lived at peace. We held jobs. We raised nice families.

.

And we engaged in recreation each weekend, and all went to church on Sabbath morning.

.

Church Attendance – www.thebiblerevival.com – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

SOCIAL EVENTS GALORE

.

And let’s be honest. Churches make really great social/fraternal organizations.

.

They are a great place to get together for potlucks. They sometimes go on outings together. They often have bingo nights, many have parties, bazaars, dances, car-washes and various other social events. They have wedding ceremonies and baby showers. They often have sports teams. Some of them offer “Christian” schooling. Some have “movie night” in which all come together to watch some Hollywood movie. A few of the mega-churches even have their own built-in shopping centers and coffee shops! And several churches even offer “Happy Hour” in which they open up a bar, serving libations.

.

Church music – Singers & Dancers – cropped photo – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

 “FOR THE TIME WILL COME…”

.

But listen to this prophecy concerning these end-times…“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” 2nd Timothy 4;3, 4

.

This above verse paints a bleak picture of the total apostasy of the church-world in these last moments of time!

.

ABOVE PHOTO: church evangelist – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“STRAIT IS THE GATE…AND FEW…FIND IT”

Matthew 7:14

.

Yes, church-life, to a great extent, has become a fraternal/social organization, merely overlaid with a thin veneer of religiosity.

.

And there are many parishioners who are very content to have it this way!

.

Because, let’s face it! There are many worldly-minded parishioners who want little more than to have a weekly fraternal organization to meet the social/religious needs of themselves and their families! And they can also “get blessed” too, with a benign, non-judgmental prosperity-driven gospel, combined with jokes and singing. Seems pretty nice!

.

Rock Music Christian CHURCH – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

MORALITY-BASED RELIGION

.

There is a very prevalent gospel in today’s world which is morality-based.

.

In other words, a great number of parishioners and churches rely on a counterfeit system of rules and ethics, “Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh.” Colossians 2:23

.

But such a moralistic religiosity falls far short of true Christianity in which God does a daily purifying work in the Believer’s heart, thus changing him or her into the self-sacrificing likeness of Christ, battling daily against the invisible forces of darkness, which requires joyfully and faithfully living by the “exceeding great and precious promises” found throughout Scripture! 2nd Peter 1:4

.

Young business people – Cropped Photo – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Christian and Apollyon – Pilgrim’s Progress – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

.

MANY SOCIAL EVENTS!

.

And so, most churchgoers are very happy to have all this social activity so prevalent in many of today’s congregations. 

.

And all this combined with the nice, non-threatening weekly Bible studies which explore some family-values topic, churchgoing has greatly fulfilled most parishioner’s social/religious needs.

.

Church of Christ worship music – cropped photo – Wikipedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

A LUKEWARM CHURCH TODAY

.

Unfortunately, while this situation seems to satisfy the social and religious needs of most of today’s churchgoers, it does NOT satisfy the needs of a sin-hating, worldliness-hating God!

.

Listen to God’s assessment of today’s Church…“I know thy works…(because thou art lukewarm) I will spew thee out of My mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:” Revelation 3:15-17

.

Here is seen that God hates a lukewarm, world-loving, self-satisfied church-society.

.

And such a lukewarm condition is nauseating to a God who refers to Himself as, “a consuming fire”. (Hebrews 12:29)

.

ABOVE STAR-CHART – Sign of the Son of Man – www.theheavensdeclare.net – Not for commercial uses

.

.

.

.

.

PART-TIMERS NOT NEEDED!

.

No, God is wanting His Church to be on fire for truth and righteousness and holiness…“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Hebrews 12:14

.

Holiness is an absolute requirement in each and every Christian’s life. And God will not accept any half-hearted service. He wants His people to search for Salvation as if it is a hidden treasure…which it is…“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”  Matthew 13:44

.

Yes, Christ sold all to purchase us. And He wants us to likewise respond to this incredible gift with no less fervor, but rather, a fiery 100% devotion!   

.

USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

HATING THIS PRESENT, SELFISH WORLD!

.

Listen…“whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14:33

.

This and many other similar Bible passages reveal that God wants nothing to do with those who attempt to have Jesus in one hand, and the world in the other!

.

He accepts no divided service.

.

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel 

.

.

.

.

.

“DEPART FROM ME…I NEVER KNEW YOU!”

Matthew 7:23

.

And all those who are seeking for a nice comfy-cozy religious experience in some socially-active congregation will one day stand before the Judge only to discover they had never even become a true disciple of Jesus.

.

Because becoming a true disciple requires a full surrender to Christ and a complete renouncing of this selfish world in one’s heart.

.

ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel 

.

.

.

.

.

STRANGERS & PILGRIMS ON A HEAVENWARD SOJOURN

.

In other words, we all must become “a new creation in Christ”.

.

No, not just becoming nice law-abiding and morally upright citizens.

.

But we must receive a “new heart“ in which we become strangers and pilgrims on a sojourn out of this selfish world, and upward and onward to the Celestial City of God! This, of course, is a supernatural transformation, brought about by the infilling and indwelling of God’s Spirit, the Spirit of Holiness.

.

Upward Pathway – cropped and altered photo – by böhringer friedrich for – Wikimedia – Share-alike License

.

.

.

.

.

NO MORE SOCIAL-CLUBING

.

And with such a holy fire burning within, there will be no more of this seeking after a nice, comfortable little social/fraternal club with a milk-of-the-word, non-threatening prosperity-driven gospel. 

.

Evangelist Preaching – Church – Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain

.

.

.

.

.

“FLAME-OF-FIRE” CHRISTIANS

.

No, but rather, God’s “Born-Again On-Fire Believers” will be casting the world behind them “to the moles and to the bats“, as they run the race toward becoming Christ-like in every respect, allowing God to send them through the purifying fires of trials and tribulation, so that they may “come forth as gold“! (Isaiah 2:20 & Job 23:10)

.

Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

“Dear Lord, Help me to fully understand just where we are! Let me not be carried away in a Devilish dream, and begin to seek after the things of this world. But fix my eyes Heaven-ward, as I continue up the pathway to Heaven…

The Christian Martyrs Last Prayer – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Vanity Fair” & The False Prophet, or you can also read this shorter article…January 31st (You Can’t Fix Hell!)

Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

Info & pics of constellations on this site from Wikipedia & International Astronomical Union (click here)

 

.

.

.

THE ‘FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS’ STARS

.

.

A new constellation has been revealed, as of about May 29th, 2014. This constellation appears as a serpent (snake). Its body is comprised of stars from the Bootes Constellation, and its jaws are made of the four stars which Babylonians saw as the head of Draco, the Dragon. It also has a small single star for an eye.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Now in this constellation is a group of five stars, which will be called “The ‘Five Foolish Virgins’ Stars”. These are located on the opposite side of the Glorious Crown of 12 Stars (AKA Corona Borealis), from the ‘Five Wise Virgins’ Stars. But one big difference between the two is, that The Five Wise are curved around the Glorious Crown, while the Five Foolish are curved away from it!

.

ABOVE STAR-CHART (with constellation drawn in by this website)- Serpent with Wise Virgins not Attached – seen late summer into fall only – Serpent Constellation – comprised of the head of Draco, plus stars from the Bootes Constellation – www.signsofheaven.org – not for profit use

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… The ‘Five Foolish Virgins’ Stars

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW…

May 22 (How Do I See These Signs of Heaven? Part 3: “A Matter of Desire, Or Desire-Not!”)

Starry Night at La Silla – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license

.

.

.

.

.

.

20+ MINUTE AUDIO STUDY IN JEREMIAH 

.

ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) ARE ENCOURAGED TO BEGIN FOLLOWING THIS 650+ AUDIO BIBLE STUDY THROUGH THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH EACH DAY ON THIS DAILY DEVOTIONAL.

.

THIS STUDY #139 IS PRESENTED BY THE LATE HAROLD CAMPING…

 

.

. 

above picture: Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.org – Public Domain

.

Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo.

.

.

“Complete List of Daily Devotionals”

.

Or go to today’s “Today’s Devotional”

.

.

.

Today’s Devotional – February 12th

.

.

.

.

Dogmatic Theology

.

.

.

.

.

.

WILL THIS EARTH GO ON FOREVER?

.

“One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever. ” Eccles. 1:4

.

So here we have it! This above passage says it all! The earth abides forever! Nothing more to say on the subject! And anyone who argues this point is a fool! Right?

.

Now yes, there are many who believe that this earth will go on forever. And again, there are many passages which, by themselves, seem to suggest that.

.

But there are other passages which suggest that this present earth will be destroyed. Such passages as this… “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2nd Peter 3:10.

.

So with passages such as this, plus passages such as Isaiah Chapter 34, which seems to say just the opposite of 2nd Peter 3:10, it becomes very confusing.

.

So what is the answer? How must we understand these seemingly conflicting prophecies?

.

David Howard Hitchcock’s Halemaumau, Lake of Fire 1888 wikimedia US public domain

.

.

.

.

.

DAVID’S CHILD-LIKE FAITH

.

Perhaps David the Psalmist said it best… “LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.” Psalm 131:1, 2. When it comes to future events, the child of God just cannot become dogmatic! There are so many passages which are vague, while many other passages we have not even considered. And let’s face it! Many times, God speaks in parables and allegories. So we can’t just assume that all these things are to be interpreted literally!

.

And though David was a prophet of God, he was fully aware that he didn’t know everything. And so he accepted the spirit of meekness and self-distrust, and in his own words said… “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother:”

.

David Playing Harp www.thebiblerevival.com US public domain

.

.

.

.

.

MISINTERPRETED 1ST ADVENT

.

And it must not be forgotten, how the theologians of Jesus’ day had so badly mis-interpreted the prophecies concerning the coming Messiah, that they ultimately rejected Jesus as an imposter, because He didn’t fit the general consensus of how the Messiah should come.

.

And so it is with our understanding of future events. We really need to back up and stop making people feel like heretics, if they do not follow the general consensus concerning future events. Because if we do become dogmatic, we will probably make the very same error which the Old Testament Jewish leaders made, when they put Jesus on the Cross as an imposter!

.

Brooklyn Museum The Pharisees Question Jesus James_Tissot

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S PRAYER…

.

“Dear Lord,

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

.

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “” or you can also read… “”

.

.

.

.

.

.

THE END

.

.

.

 

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN

.

.

.

.

.

.

READ MORE…

.

To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “” or you can also read… “”

.

.

.

.

.

TOMORROW:

.

.

#cacbf6