Chapter 14 – The Church
Jeremiah 23:1-2 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
Truth is, most all of us believe in a higher power. That power exists and is God. The geographical location where we grew up normally dictates how we worship for the most part. That worship is the foundation of our being and as discussed, the only thing that fills the hole in our hearts. It is the reason for our existence.
However, the difference in worship or denominations/divisions do exactly that. They divide, when we are all supposed to be ONE body under Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
The devil knows about that hole in your heart also and wants you to worship him… and he loves to twist evil things and make them sound soooooo religious. Before you know it, you are worshipping him without even knowing it. God warned us of this long ago.
2 Peter 2:1-3 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
If you are not reading your bible, you are endangering yourself to be deceived by the devil and even your preachers. I know that is a strong statement but it’s true. He has foretold us all things and you should be in the Word to understand them.
Luke 21:22-23 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.
How do you know if your preachers are false? Do they actually read from the bible and teach? Or do they just put up a few verses and then tell stories? That’s a pretty good indication and sadly, the churches that actually teach the Word are hard to come by these days. It’s no wonder that church attendance around the world is down. They aren’t feeding God’s children the Bread of Life.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Jesus even quoted Isaiah on this topic, knowing that man would listen to each other and not the Word of God. Teaching doctrines of men likely inspired by the evil one himself.
Matthew 15:7-9 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
One of the very first things Jesus did when He came into Jerusalem was to clean up the church!
Matthew 21:12-13 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
People from the tribes of Israel are all over this world. Assyria captured the northern ten tribes in 720 BC and God then scattered them, they are still “lost”. Remember there are twelve tribes. Judah and Benjamin are primarily what is considered “Israel” in Israel. The rest… God scattered them long ago and most have no idea who they are.
1 Kings 14:15 For the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the Lord to anger.
You might remember the “groves” from the discussion on the asherah poles and baal worship.
Prior to bringing Jacob (all twelve tribes) back together in the end times, the Lord will pour out His Spirit upon them and there will be healing in his wings.
Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Ezekiel talked about the dry bones coming to life. How did they come back to life? God told Ezekiel to prophecy to them. Teach them the Word of God. That is symbolic of our spirits in this world. We need to be taught and then He will fill us with that Ruach, the very breath of life given by God.
Ezekiel 37:1-5 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
He will join Israel (ten northern tribes) and Judah back together again and place them in His Kingdom as it was promised long ago in Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 37:19-28 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all. Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
He is faithful to his promises and will draw you to Himself in these end times. There is nothing to be afraid of… I bet many of you are hearing this for the first time. And that is ok. God has you reading this book for a reason. To begin to have the scales fall from your eyes.
Again, you need to be in the Word yourself to avoid confusion (Babylon). God has foretold you all things and there eventually comes a punishment for not listening to your Father. There is a great deception coming from satan and you need to be prepared.
Isaiah 47:13 Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.
I think all of the little twists in all of the religions are ultimately designed by the devil. I believe he uses that to confuse us and distract us from the simplicity of the Word of God, which is Christ Jesus. He even tried to tempt Jesus with scripture. The Word of God walking among us. That is how brazen he is!
Matthew 4:5-7 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
I know this sounds crazy… but I’ve seen, if not the devil, a demon in a church service sitting about five rows in front of me. I remember looking at him and thinking that he was really good looking! Of course he was… the bible talks about how beautiful God made him.
He was sitting at the edge of the row against the wall and was wearing a three-piece suit and tie. He was dressed extremely well, but more for the 1800s than now and it should have registered with me that no one dresses like that. He also had several rings on and looked extremely wealthy.
Once the music started and everyone stood up, I realized how tall he was. Like ten feet tall! I just kept staring at him. The preacher encouraged us to pray individually for part of the song and there was another man in his row. He walked over to him and put his arm around him. He proceeded to sort of hug him/pat him, but it wasn’t sincere. Hard to explain but it was fake, and the man didn’t even know it was happening. He didn’t acknowledge him at all even though he was touching him. Then he just walked back to his seat against the wall and sat down.
By then I started to realize that this is a vision. I started praying asking God if He wanted me to confront him or what I needed to do here. After the service, I started walking towards him and here comes a friend of mine shouting my name all the way from the front of the church. Everyone in that room looked at me, except him. He held his eyes forward and never stood up. He also didn’t even glance in my direction despite the spectacle that my friend made.
The armor of God is a real thing and if you have it, the evil ones cannot even look in your direction. Much less harm you. Do not be afraid of them.
Ephesians 6:11-17 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
The bible instructs us to study, commune and take care of each other. However, religion breeds separation and judgement. The word denomination literally means division. We are supposed to be learning together and encouraging each other. Not judging other “divisions”.
There is nothing in the bible that says that you have to be a good Baptist or good Catholic or Jew or Jehovah’s Witness to get into heaven. It’s faith in Christ as He is the WAY and absorbing His Word which is literally and figuratively Him. There is healing in His Word, and you are cheating yourself if you aren’t feeding your soul with it.
As a matter of fact, that is why God sent His Son to die for us. He had given us the law through Moses, because He saw the evil that was being done. We broke all of those laws with the enchantments and sin that the fallen angels had taught us and continue to tempt us with.
So, when he saw that there was no way for us, of our own accord, to live without sin. He sent His own son as the scapegoat to cover our sins so that we could be with Him. The ultimate sacrifice for one and all time.
To heal us from our sin and bring us back to God. Because He knew that we could never live under the law and not break it. Sin had already infiltrated this world by satan and his angels.
Romans 8:1-3 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Most churches are performance based. You are respected for how “good” you are or at least appear to be. They say different, but much of the preaching is around how you should act as a Christian. And is most often based on traditions of men, instead of learning the word of God and allowing the Spirit to lead your life.
Hear me… you could never be good enough or pious enough to be in God’s courts without Jesus. He is the light, and The Way and the only way for you to become Holy and set apart to Him. He sent Jesus to save us NOT condemn us.
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.