THE OXYGEN OF INIQUITY
If we diligently study the Scriptures, one thing we will notice is that it tends to heavily differentiate this current world from the world to come, and it emphasizes the importance of seeking the one of the future. In Luke 8:14, Christ mentioned “cares of this life”, and he advised us not to be distracted by them (Luke 21:34). John in his first epistle spoke about this world and its “lusts” coming to an end (1 John 2:15-17). Christ even said that there is no gain in seeking this world, because once we die, that is the end of it all. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?” (Luke 9:24-25).
But despite this huge difference in value that the Bible places on these two types of life, many people, unbelievers and Christians alike, seek this life. They may go to church every Sunday or read the Bible regularly, but if you observe what they desire and seek the most fervently in their lives, it is about what is happening in the world, and how they need to catch up with it; what others are achieving that they are not achieving; what things people do with their lives that they are not doing; and so on.
In this video, we will explore what makes this life so attractive, using texts and examples from the Scriptures, and then proceed to discuss how we can seek eternal life, and why it is profitable to do so.
One major reason why this life tends to be attractive is the aspect of competition. You can see competition everywhere: co-workers competing for promotions, businesses competing for a monopoly over their market, countries competing for global dominance (e.g. the Cold War and its events). Everyone is trying to catch up with what is going on in the world and outdo one another in as many ways as possible. It is easy to get sucked into that desire for money and glory - but as Christians, it is a distraction to our faith, and in the process, we might develop unrighteous virtues like envy and hatred. That is why St. Paul advised, “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:26).
Another reason why this life is appealing to many is the continuous innovation we see happening around us. Nothing stays the same - things keep changing. Industries like fashion and technology are always coming out with new products, and the hearts of people continue to be attracted to all the new inventions. King Solomon in his day described it like this: “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).
A third and very important reason is the concept of status. When you are wealthy, you tend to get a lot of respect, honour and glory from people you are richer than. The more money you have, the more influence, power and authority you get, and it is hard to not feel like you are on top of the world. But when you are poor, the opposite happens; you get no respect, few friends and no voice. As King Solomon said, “The poor is hated even of his own neighbour: but the rich hath many friends.” (Proverbs 14:20).
There are many people who dream of becoming “high-status individuals” - and you can see that by the extent they go to get money. Some people take jobs that prevent them from having time for their children and families because of the high salary. Others accept an unbearable amount of stress just because of the money they’ll get from it.
You can tell from the way Gehazi ran after Naaman the Syrian in 2 Kings 5:20-27 that he was eyeing the great things money could do for him. Even though his master, Elisha, dismissed the gifts Naaman brought, Gehazi saw how that money could elevate his status, and so he went behind to get some for himself.
We can also understand this from the way the young rich man in Mark 10:17-25 responded to Christ’s offer of apostleship. The rich man had come to him, asking what he needed to do (which he had not already been doing) to get eternal life. Christ told him to follow the Ten commandments, which the rich man had kept from his youth, and so he replied, “Master, all these have I observed from my youth.” (Mark 10:20).
Christ then told him, “One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” (Mark 10:21).
But the rich man was not excited. In fact, “he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.” (Mark 10:22).
The riches he had acquired gave him respect and glory from the society, and it became his world. He could not see himself give his whole life away for what Christ offered. The statement of King Solomon in Proverbs 18:11 should come to mind: “The rich man's wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.”
Therefore, if we want to seek eternal life, we have to have value for it, just as Gehazi, Achan or the young rich man had for this life. To do so, we have to know what makes eternal life better than this life in the first place.
In the world to come:
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There will be no war (Psalms 46:9, Isaiah 2:4). There will be no war because those at the top who envy each other and cause trouble for ordinary people will not exist in that world. There will be complete peace and tranquility (Isaiah 32:17-18), because the system of that world will be set up on righteousness and love, and not greed or selfishness (2 Peter 3:13)
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There will be no pain nor sorrow (Revelation 21:4)
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There will be no death (Hosea 13:14), or aging (Job 33:25)
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There will be no sickness (Isaiah 33:24)
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There will be no fear of any trouble or threat. As Micah the prophet said, “But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.” (Micah 4:4).
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There will be no wickedness, injustice or trouble (Revelation 21:1; the word “sea” means wickedness, based on verses like Isaiah 57:20).
These details, and more, are all features of the world to come. If we see this as more attractive or appealing than this current life, then how we seek it is the next important question.
Eternal life is obviously a future event; therefore, if we want to seek something that is not yet in our environment, then we will need to look beyond what we see with our eyes, and focus on the future. That includes sacrificing certain joys, ambitions and cares of this world, like whether we are driving a better car or working at a better job than our neighbours, so that we can focus our attention on obtaining that future eternal world. As Christ said, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39).
It also involves hope and faith in the fact that what God Almighty promised will indeed come to pass. As the apostle Paul said, “For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” (Romans 8:24-25).
This same St. Paul is a great example we should follow when seeking eternal life. In his letter to the Philippians, he described the sacrifices he willingly made to seek a bigger, more valuable prize of the future:
“But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).
From verse 12, he said, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14).
Moses is another good example. He willingly gave up the honour and glory of being an Egyptian prince because he sought something better - something he had more value for.
“By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24-26).
That phrase “for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward” means that he had value for God’s rewards, and so he could forsake the carnal ones to get that.
One more example is Jesus Christ. In Matthew 4:8-11, Satan the Devil offered him all the kingdoms of this ephemeral world, and the glory of them - but Christ rejected it all, because he had no value for it. He repeated this when he was before Pontius Pilate: “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.” (John 18:36).
Rather, he had value for the kingdom God would give him - and as we have discussed in other articles, he has received that kingdom and is currently ruling it in the midst of his enemies (Psalms 110:1-2), in fulfillment of the signs of the times (Matthew 24:7-8).
We can see from these texts and examples how we as humans can seek this life or eternal life. Both require our hearts and attention - but the question is, which will we give it to? Will we invest our time, thoughts and efforts in raising our status, pleasing society, competing with our neighbours and catching up with all the new trends of the world, or will we focus on pleasing our Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus Christ, so that we can obtain eternal life?
It is up to us to decide
For more information:
DOCTRINES
This playlist consists of videos that talk about one of the four departments of the truth: Doctrines.
If the truth were to be a furnished house, the doctrines would be the walls and the roof. They are the cardinal parts of the truth.
GOD'S PRINCIPLE #2: SUPER STABLE AND STEADY
The definition of a principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief, behavior or chain of reasoning. God’s principles are ways of reasoning that govern His life. They feature in His commandments and laws, given to mankind in the Scriptures, and it is based on such principles that God makes decisions (such as how to judge the righteousness or wickedness of an individual or institution). And it’s important to know that He does not change from them. “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Malachi 3:6).
In this article, we’re going to look at how our Father, JEHOVAH, is super stable and steady. And, of course, since it is one of His principles, we’ll also briefly discuss how we can be stable and steady.
Firstly, let's expand on the phrase 'super stable and steady". To be super stable and steady is to stick to your intentions, and finish what you start. You are not carried away by distractions, and you are not shaken or defeated by opposition or difficulty. To be a leader, you have to have this skill; those who you lead can trust you when you are predictable and reliable.
There are many texts in the Scriptures that open our eyes to that aspect of our Heavenly Father. For example, with Numbers 23:19, we can understand that when God says something, He is fixed on it, and will indeed carry it out. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”. Furthermore, God said through Isaiah the Prophet, “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11).
He has also been called a “Rock” in many places because He is stable and steady. Moses said in Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
In Deuteronomy 10:17, Moses also explained that God is not moved by bribes or any human attempt to divert His attention or alter His judgment. “For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.” (Deuteronomy 10:17-18).
And we can’t forget Lamentations 3:22-23, a renowned verse in the Scriptures that perfectly describes the faithfulness and stability of our Creator: “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” (see also 1 Thessalonians 5:24). No matter what happens, God looks after His loyal children and protects them.
But how does God’s stability and steadiness work in real life?
Let’s examine the Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Canaan. We find that there were many challenges God faced throughout the journey; the incessant complaints about various deficiencies (Exodus 16, Numbers 21, etc.), their opposition to Moses that made his leadership difficult (Numbers 16). And at some points, they completely forgot about Him and began to take laws into their hands (like when they wanted to set up a captain to return to Egypt in Numbers 14, or when they set up a golden calf which they claimed to have rescued them from the land of Egypt, which directly violated of God’s most important laws: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:3).
And though He was angry at different occasions (Exodus 32:9-14, Numbers 14:11-12, 25:3; see also Psalms 78:5-64), He still carried them to the Promised Land, and conquered the people there so that they could inherit it. This is God’s stability.
And Moses made it clear that God rescued them from the hand of Egypt because He intended on carrying out what He promised to Abraham. "The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt." (Deuteronomy 7:7-8).
Now, just like the plan God had for the children of Israel, God Almighty has an everlasting plan for mankind, which began when He created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26). When man sinned in Genesis 3:1-6, and fell into the hands of Satan the Devil as a result, God then laid out the steps He would take to bring humanity back to Him (which were listed and explained in our article, “The Harp of God”; go to “Doctrines” on the Articles page to read it). In fact, He summarized His plan when the very event took place: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
This is talking about the enmity between evil and righteousness, and how God's Organization (the woman, according to Isaiah 54:1 and Revelation 12), would prevail over Satan the Devil (the serpent, according to Revelation 12 and Revelation 20). God didn't plan it to be a one year event; rather, it would be different projects and events which would eventually lead to our return to righteousness. This way, it will be clear what we did to go astray, and how He took various steps to bring us back.
For example, God knew that for humanity to have access to eternal life, the sin of Adam and Eve (in other words, the loss of perfect life) had to be atoned for. And because of the "life for life" principle (Exodus 21:22-25, Deuteronomy 19:21), God had to bring a perfect life from heaven (as it was no more available on Earth) to pay for it. Therefore, He sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfect (1 Peter 2:22) to die for our sins. “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.” (John 3:16). We must understand that it wasn’t easy for Him to send His firstborn son to die for sinners. Jesus was precious to God Almighty (read Proverbs 8:22-31) but He wanted to stick with His promises to mankind, so He made it happen.
But the most important thing concerning God’s stability is that He answered the Lord’s Prayer. “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10).
Jesus Christ made us know with the parable of the Unjust Judge that JEHOVAH is so big that we are not incredibly important to Him. Job once said, “If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand?” (Job 35:6-7). Therefore, we shouldn't think that God was obligated to answer the prayer. But He didn’t want to abandon the plan (especially since the apostles, and others who followed the truth, were praying that prayer and suffering persecution for Christ, according to Revelation 6:9-11). Therefore, He stuck with it, and based on Bible knowledge, we know that the prayer has been answered. The coming of the Kingdom gave God’s children freedom to serve their Heavenly Father freely, without having authoritative monarchies or powerful spiritual leaders to dictate a false way of worship (just like the Pharisees had done, according to Matthew 15:7-9 and Matthew 23:13, 15). It is the will of the righteous that came to be fulfilled by God answering the Lord’s Prayer.
In essence, despite all Satan has done with humanity for thousands of years, God has still carried out His plan till the stages we are in now. And He will make sure that everything that has been said about the glorification of the righteous, and the destruction of Satan’s works, fulfill to the letter. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.” (Isaiah 46:9-11).
The children of God can rely on their Father because He is stable and steady. A psalmist once said, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower." (Psalms 18:2).
We as Christians need to copy our stable Father, and be steady in our own lives. Challenges and difficulties shouldn’t throw us off, and sticking with the faith should be our main focus. St. Paul encouraged us to be strong and stable by saying, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58; see also 1 Corinthians 16:10).
One character in the Scriptures we can use to learn this skill is David. God promised David that he would rule the Kingdom of Israel (1 Samuel 13:14, 16:1-13), but there was a lot of work that needed to be done for that to happen. There were enemy nations that had to be conquered (to finish the job started by Joshua over 1000 years before), and King Saul decided to become a heavy obstacle towards the fulfillment of God’s will, so he had to be taken out too.
But David was stable and steady; he wasn’t knocked down by all the opposition. Rather, he stayed calm and trusted that God Almighty would help him through all the troubles. And he gradually grew to become more powerful than the house of Saul (2 Samuel 3:1), and he accomplished everything God told him to do. Because of how faithful and stable David was, God used him as an example for all other kings who would sit on that throne to rule His people (e.g. 2 Chronicles 7:17).
When we are stable and steady, we don’t get scared when evil makes its attempt to take us over. Rather, we stand our ground and resist sinning against God. “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.” (Psalms 112:7-8). And, by the grace of God, we can use such stability run the race of salvation to the end. “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:12-13).
WHY JESUS PRAYED
Prayer is how we communicate with God. It comes in different forms: physical talking with the mouth; meditation (when we think about God and His Word); fasting (especially in old times); and even when we trust in Him (because He is a spirit, according to John 4:24 and 2 Corinthians 3:17, so believing in Him is like a prayer for protection, peace and strength to continue in the path of righteousness).
There were many people in the Bible who prayed to God. For example, Hannah prayed to God for a son, because she was barren (1 Samuel 1:9-20). Abraham’s chief servant prayed to God so he could choose the woman who would be compatible with Isaac and positively contribute towards God’s promises to Abraham (Genesis 24:1-27). King Hezekiah prayed to God to be delivered from the powerful force of King Sennacherib (Isaiah 36-37). And it’s important to note that what these people prayed for were things they were not fully capable of doing; things they needed spiritual support for. And due to God’s kindness and mercy, He ansswered their prayers.
But Jesus Christ was not like King Hezekiah, or Hannah, or anyone else who prayed in the Old Testament, because he was the Son of God. He had the Holy Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and due to his spiritual status, you’d expect that he wouldn’t pray, but rather end all his sufferings. But he did actually pray to God, and more than once.
So why did Jesus pray in the Bible? What did he go through that would make him talk to God, and what did he gain from doing that?
Here’s what we should understand: Jesus Christ came down to this world with a mission: to save humanity (Matthew 18:11, Luke 19:10, John 3:16-17, 12:47, etc.). God had the whole mission planned out, and Jesus Christ was the one to do it (Isaiah 6:8, Hebrews 10:7, Revelation 5). It was something between God and Jesus (John 8:15-16), so even when he was on Earth, that connection between him and his Father didn’t break or cease.
Jesus Christ was anointed with the Holy Spirit once it was time to begin the mission (Matthew 3:16-17), and he began to preach the gospel. “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17).
But the mission proposed different challenges. In Matthew 4:1-11, as Jesus was fasting (a form of prayer), Satan the Devil made his first attempt to take him over. Jesus Christ was hungry and worn out, and Satan proposed an easy way out of all the sufferings he’d have to go through. This was very tempting, and if things were to have gone wrong here, the whole mission could’ve ended, and God’s purpose jeopardized. So you’d expect that spiritual support would be given to Jesus at a time like that. So as Jesus was trusting his Father and rejecting Satan’s offer, the spirits would’ve been strengthening him, and giving him courage.
Then, in John 11, it was time to prove his power, by resurrecting Lazarus. Now, remember what happened in 2 Kings 4:17-37: the Shunammite woman’s son died, and when Gehazi tried to bring him back to life with Elisha’s staff, it didn’t work. Elisha then prayed to God about the situation, and afterwards resurrected the boy. So miracles don’t just happen the way we think they do.
Jesus Christ knew that there was the chance of failure, and making himself look like a charlatan. Therefore, he prayed to God about the situation. John 11:41-45 gives the account: “And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” It’s the same idea; Jesus Christ faced a difficulty, he prayed to God about him, and he received the strength to do what was needed.
But the biggest challenges came near his death. This is when we really understand why Jesus prayed. At this stage, there was a lot of fear and tension. “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44). He was fearing that he wouldn’t pass through this as planned by his Father, and he’d be a big disappointment to those in heaven. He couldn’t imagine something worse than that. He needed assistance, and strength from a source beyond himself (because his disciples fled the scene, according to Matthew 26:56). So he talked to his Father about it in prayer. “And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” (Luke 22:41-43).
It should also be noted that Jesus Christ could have easily ended his suffering. That made things more difficult. Hypothetically (and realistically), he could’ve prayed to his Father and ended all his sufferings. “Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Matthew 26:53-54). But he didn’t allow himself to escape the suffering. Therefore, he prayed to God, and he received the strength to finish the mission.
We need to understand this because the children of God have to run the race of salvation (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1). It is not an easy race; there are challenges and obstalces everywhere. Satan the Devil, the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) will pose all kinds of threats to you (temptations - Matthew 18:7, Luke 17:1 - and persecution from those who are close to you, according to Matthew 10:36). That’s why St. Paul said, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” (2 Timothy 3:12). And in Acts 14:22, it says, “we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
We cannot maintain a righteous life in an evil world like ours without heavenly support. After all, when we live in the world, but we don’t think like others, or love it, we will be hated by those who love the world and think worldly (John 15:19). Therefore, Jesus Christ advised us to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41). “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36). To watch is to study the Bible to understand the signs of the times (that is, what the Bible says about our time, and how that’s fulfiling in real life) and live accordingly (for example, we wouldn’t trust in political leaders becuase the Bible makes us to know that they, symbolized by stars, and “powers of heaven” are being weakened, according to Luke 21:25-26). And to pray is to seek assistance from God so that we can succesfully overcome the snares and traps of Satan the Devil (which we’ve addressed in detail in this article).
Running the race of salvation is more difficult in our time because we are living in the last days. Satan the Devil has been defeated (and so have his kings and princes been defeated too, according to Revelation 6:15-17 and Revelation 12:7-12). And because of this, he has dislocated the world (causing what St. Paul said in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 to fulfill). Things that used to be banned due to spiritual law have now been legalized, and people are now living lives void of spirituality. Those who want to live their lives according to God’s Word seem outdated, because we are living in a “modern” world that has moved on from spirituality.
Spirituality’s condition now is like the death of Jesus Christ back then. When he was to die, there was a lot of fear, pressure, and tension. And simiarily, worshipping God in our time will come with much tribulation (Matthew 24:21); persecution, temptations, and everything in between. Therefore, we need to pray to God so He can give us courage and strength to do the needful. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
The Bible assures us that prayers concerning our salvation will be answered. In Psalms 34:17-19, God said, “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” (also see Psalms 145:18-20). Therefore, when we begin to experience difficulty in running the race of salvation, talk to God about it, because it is His will that we run it and be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). So He would be more than happy to assist us by giving us the Holy Spirit, and making sure he drives away those Satan puts in our lives to drag the godliness out of us.
Jesus Christ gave us the Lord’s Prayer for that reason (Matthew 6:9-10). By praying the Lord’s Prayer, we are not only showing interest in God’s plan for mankind, but we are showing God that we desire His assistance to live as proper citizens of the Kingdom and inherit eternal life (Daniel 7:27). Also, those who pray with their hearts, and not just with their mouth, will also have their lives changed with the Lord’s Prayer. That will keep us in line with running the race of salvation, because that prayer gives us the hope to continue facing challenges from our evil world to inherit the ever-growing Kingdom of God.
For more information, watch our video on this subject:
THE CALL OF GOD
The Call of God is how God brings people to His fold, from Abraham’s time to the present. Collectively, this call creates a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.....” (1 Peter 2:9).
God has made many assurances on what His call entails. For example, He’s assured us that it will let everyone hear the message. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14). This means that no one can use ignorance as an excuse to not serve God, since it’s up to the people to decide whether they want to worship God or not.
Also, God has made us know that He will overlook the sins of those who come to Him. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18). God doesn’t care about what someone was doing before they were converted; He cares about what they do once they “come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
Finally, God has assured us that people who come to Him will get eternal life. “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.” (John 3:16). Notice the Son’s role in that. Jesus Christ is a part of our salvation because he is the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5).
Therefore, if we want salvation, we have to remember Jesus Christ's importance in our salvation, and we have to recognize the significance of his birth, death, and resurrection. “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9). “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).
Now, the reason why the Call of God is so important is that it provides living water, described by Jesus Christ to a Samaritan woman in John 4:10-14. Jesus Christ was telling the woman that the water she was fetching would only refresh her for a few hours, while the water that he could give — which is basically salvation — would last forever because eternal life and salvation satisfy someone eternally.
This living water has been talked about elsewhere in the Bible. It’s been called the water of life. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17).
All those "comes" in the verse don't mean that God and Jesus are begging people to come, because they aren't. Rather, these "comes" mean that God and Jesus are welcoming. They want people to realize that this is the best for them.
This welcoming attitude is found in many other verses in the Bible, like these ones: “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” (Isaiah 55:2). “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
There are a lot of troubles and pains in this world, but with our faith in God, we can get through a lot of them, and even if those troubles and pains kill us, we can have faith that we will be resurrected and we will get to live a pain-free life in the new world that God is creating.
Now, from all this, a question can arise: Who is more responsible for someone coming to God? Is it God, whose call it is that makes the conversion happen, or the converted person, who is the one who's coming to church and reading the Bible?
Well, the Bible doesn't say just one party is responsible. On the one hand, God obviously has a role to play. Acts 16:14 talks about a woman named Lydia, whose heart had been opened by God when she had been converted by hearing Paul's messages. Plus, there’s this verse: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44).
It is important to realize that God, as the owner of his message, is the one who can provide access to it. “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11). God is a spirit being, and his matters are spiritual matters, so someone needs to have some spiritual understanding in order to use the Bible, or else they won't be able to comprehend it.
However, there's also a part of the believer that is at play here. “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6). “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6). “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” (Proverbs 4:7) Why would anybody need to seek the Lord if He just gives His message to them?
The answer lies here: “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28). Yes, God can give someone the message. He can unlock it so that people can understand it.
However, if the converted person doesn’t accept the message and doesn’t use it to live their life, then it's useless to them. Therefore, even though God gives the message to people, He’s not responsible for whether it works for them or not.
Now, there's all this talk about newly or soon-to-be-converted people, but what about people who have been in the faith for a while? Well, the Bible has some advice for them, too.
For example, 2 Thessalonians 2:15 tells us that we have to stick with the faith in order to receive its blessings. We can't have everything just given to us like that. We have to work for our salvation. We have to stick with the faith and obey God's laws, and as we are doing this, we should make sure that our personality is compatible with what God wants.
To help us with this, 2 Peter 1:5-7 lists several things that Christians should have: "Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity."
These character traits are important in worshipping God because they make it easier. For example, loving your neighbor. If you have brotherly kindness, why wouldn't you love your neighbor? Why wouldn't you love God if you're a charitable person who loves giving to others?
Therefore, we must keep two things in mind. First, we have to show ourselves a good example to others, according to Matthew 5:16, which reads: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
If other people can't see that we're Christians and if other people can't be inspired by our faith, then how do we prove that we’re really good people? How are we serving God if other people can't look to the Bible and match what is in it with our lifestyle? In other words, the fact that God called us isn’t of much benefit anymore.
Second, we have to make sure that we don't get tempted by Satan, according to 2 Peter 3:17, which reads: "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness."
If we let Satan tempt us, and he succeeds in tempting us, then we will obviously go off the path and then all our work in salvation will be lost, so we have to make sure that when Satan gives us temptations, we reject them and we get rid of them because those temptations can easily lead us off the path of salvation.
In conclusion, the Call of God is certainly not something we should be taking for granted. It’s a rare gift with many benefits, two of which are truth and freedom, according to John 8:32.
For more information:
GOD'S PRINCIPLE #3:
THE QUESTION OF SOVEREIGNTY
Sovereignty is supreme power and authority over a territory or an organization. A few hundred years ago, the monarchies in Europe were sovereign; they had complete power over the people, and it was only when they gave the word that things could be done. Their word was law, and any opposition to their rule was crushed.
In this article, we are going to learn how this features in everything God does and says; in other words, how it’s one of His principles.
We’ll begin by looking at stories that illustrate the sovereignty of God. For example, if we look at Job 1-2, we can see that God called His sons (otherwise called angels) together for an assembly, and Satan decided to join them. Due to Satan’s total disagreement with God Almighty ever since he wished to be sovereign himself (Isaiah 14:12-15), he wanted to harm Job so that he would curse God to his face. By doing so, Satan would prove that nobody loves Him; it’s simply whoever He blesses that will do His will.
Now, we’ll consider a few statements of the conversation between Satan and God: “But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the Lord.” (Job 1:11-12). When we read this, something should jump into our minds: it was Satan who wanted to harm Job, not God, but it was only if God allowed it that Job would go through any of what Satan was interested in.
Let’s consider verse 3 of Job 2: “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.” That last phrase, “although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause” tells us that though it was Satan who wanted it done, it was God who allowed it to occur. So God has control over everything; Satan can’t do anything except God says so.
And when we fall into temptation, we should know that it is because God has allowed us to go through it. Therefore, we should see it as an opportunity to test our spiritual skills, and improve our faith. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.” (James 1:2-4). God won’t allow something He knows will knock us down permanently. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Let’s also examine the story of Joseph. Satan stirred up envy in the 11 brothers of Joseph in Genesis 37 so that they would get rid of him. They originally desired to throw him into the pit so that he would die, but because God was sovereign, and that was against His will, that didn’t happen. By using the firstborn son, Reuben, to suggest that they not kill him, but simply throw him into a pit, he was rescued from death. And by Judah thinking of selling him to the Ishmaelites, he would now be prepared for the big job God had for him.
The reason why God wanted Joseph was because of the great famine that would affect Egypt and the nearby lands. Jacob and his family were a pillar of God’s plan, so He allowed the whole slavery thing to take place so that Joseph could rise to power, become manager of the resources of Egypt, and save Jacob and his family from death in the days of famine.
God Almighty protects His children from such things, regardless of what Satan tries to do about it. “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.” (Psalms 33:18-19). Also, in Psalms 37:19, David said, “They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.” (Psalms 37:19).
And in Genesis 50:20, Joseph made it clear to his fellow brothers that the only reason why God allowed his brothers to sell Joseph into slavery was because of the good that would come out of it in the future. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Genesis 50:20). See how God is sovereign? Everything is under His control, and nobody can stop Him from fulfilling His plan.
We can see from these stories that Satan is in constant opposition to God’s sovereignty. He doesn’t like the fact that God has the ultimate word in everything; he wants his words to be law, and his opinions to count. This is why he went to Adam and Eve to sow a seed of rebellion (Genesis 3:1-6), and why he convinced other mighty angels like himself to join him in rebelling against God (Revelation 12:4; a third of the stars of heaven refers to many of those angels in heaven, which he used his “tail”, or lies, to deceive and bring to himself). He even tried to add Jesus Christ to his fold in Matthew 4:1-11, to strengthen his side. But Jesus was faithful, and he didn’t subject himself to that foolish, rebellious son of God.
But Satan’s entire attempt to override God is allowed by Him because He believes in free will (that is, He gives people time to express themselves, according to Ecclesiastes 8:11). Plus, when He declares the time for His will to prevail, Satan can do nothing to prevent it or change it. “For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27; see also Isaiah 55:11).
So we can see sovereignty in the way God acts. But the way God speaks suggests that He believes He is sovereign. For example, He told the children of Israel in Exodus 19:4-5, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine”. (Exodus 19:4-5). The whole earth is His (Isaiah 45:12, 18); therefore, nobody can question Him. King Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most powerful kings that ever ruled, said this himself in Daniel 4:34-35: “And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?”
We’ll also consider Exodus 3:8: “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” We should realize that at this time, those lands were not empty; people were living in them, with armies and fortifications. But God was talking to Moses as if they were not inhabited, and were simply there to walk into. Why? Because God is sovereign; He owns everything and does whatever He wants with it.
Based on this, we can understand that both the righteous and wicked are under His control, and can be used to fulfill different parts of His purpose. King Solomon said in Proverbs 16:4, “The Lord hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” Therefore, the acts of the wicked shouldn’t be seen as events God couldn’t control or stop; rather, we should see them as ephemeral works which will end up glorifying His name and strengthening the faith of the righteous in the end.
Let’s contemplate what God told Pharaoh through Moses in Exodus 9:16: “And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” The only reason why Pharaoh had so much power in Egypt was that God allowed it to happen, so that when he was to be brought down and humiliated, His children would praise Him (as they did in Exodus 15), and His name would be glorified from generation to generation (that’s why people today still talk about His victory of the Egyptians, and His awesome deliverance).
But we’re not finished yet, because there are many inspiring verses in the Scriptures that “hit the nail on the head” when it comes to God’s sovereignty. For example, the psalmist said in Psalms 115:3, “But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.” In other words, God has supreme authority over everything, and nobody can stop His will from fulfilling. In Isaiah 46:10, it was phrased as “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure”.
Asaph said in Psalms 75:7, “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.” God’s sovereignty also involves justice and judgment; God Almighty decides who should be punished, and once He pronounces judgment, there’s no escape route (for example, when He said that no one who left Egypt above 20 years old would see the land of Canaan, there was no escape route; that fulfilled to the last man, according to Numbers 26:64-65).
But how can we see God’s sovereignty in action in our time?
As the days go by, the world is getting more secular, and science, data, research and technology are becoming more influential. Some believe that it is the Devil, who they think to have so much power and might that he can move the world in whatever direction he wants. But God is on top of all this, and the only reason why He’s allowed humanity to “develop” this far is that He is watching the decline of Satan’s spiritual system, headed by spiritual leaders who claimed to be “semi-divine”, and “holy” but were misleading people and ganging up with political leaders for their own gain (Isaiah 56:11, Ezekiel 34:1-11, etc.). Apostate Christianity, sometimes referred to as “Babylon” in the Scriptures, is collapsing (Revelation 18), and we can see that for those who haven’t been called by God, spirituality has become of less significance to them.
Therefore, any global change or event in the world shouldn’t be seen as one of Satan’s acts, or something humans themselves have done; rather, we should see it as God, who is on top of everything, giving heavenly angels power to do certain things in the world. It’s not different from the Bible saying that God “sent evil angels” (Psalms 78:49). Nothing happens without God allowing it; therefore, He won’t give the Devil authority to destroy the remnant of our spirituality or to return us to how the world was before the World Wars (authoritative governments, oppression, etc.). Rather, Satan can only do what will advance God’s purpose (e.g. setting up institutions so that those who refuse to obey the King, Jesus Christ, can be judged).
To understand this further, we’ll examine Revelation 9:4: “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” The “grass of the earth” or the “green thing” refers to the righteous; they are green because they are holy, and pure (green represents righteousness in the Scriptures; see Psalms 52:8, Jeremiah 17:7-8). And the locusts represent the institutions that have been set up in our time to eat up our spirituality (secular organizations that try to make God’s Word and principles less relevant in our lives).
Essentially, the text is saying that God has allowed such things to spring up to eat the spirituality of the hypocrites - those who are calling themselves “Christians”, setting up churches, etc., which He wanted the righteous to be doing - but He wants His children to be preserved, and He won’t allow secular institutions to rise to the point where no one will be spiritual in our world any longer. Jesus made it clear that the last days won’t be prolonged for that reason, in Matthew 24:22: “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.”
So what does all this mean?
In summary, God has a direction He wants humanity to go. And no matter what Satan or his agents in heaven and on earth try to do about it, they will all move that purpose forward in the end. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.” (Isaiah 2:2). A typical example of this is Hitler. Back when he was alive, he wanted to keep the world in a system of sovereign leaders, which was against God’s will. But now, instead of people glorying in him, he has become a lesson to all on how the world will be better if such ideas never see the light of day. In other words, God used his evils to advance His purpose, and to bring “the desire of all nations”.
Therefore, we shouldn’t fret; rather, we should trust in the fact that God is sovereign, and endure persecution and overcome temptations, because He will silence our enemies and give us the opportunity to praise Him and do just service. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28). Furthermore, King Solomon said in Proverbs 16:7, “When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
GOD'S RESURRECTING POWER
Resurrection is rising from the dead. Many people find it hard to believe that someone who has died can come back to life, but biblically, it is very possible, for reasons that we’ll explore in this article.
The Bible makes it clear that Jehovah, the Almighty God, is our Creator (Isaiah 45:12, 18, Psalms 139:13-16). He created us from the dust of the ground. “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Even science can agree that certain chemicals or features of the earth can be found in our skin.
If we read Genesis 3:19, we’ll notice that it was the same Jehovah who said that humans should die, because they forsook His principle and followed after Satan the Devil (Genesis 3:1-6). So if God could make us, and say we should die at a certain point, why wouldn’t He be able to bring us back?
God said in Deuteronomy 32:39, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me: I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand.” Also, St. Paul told King Agrippa in Acts 26:8, “Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?”
The Sadducees were a group of people in the time of Jesus Christ who didn’t believe that the resurrection was possible. Unlike the Pharisees, who could access the scrolls and Scriptures, the Sadducees kept the temple clean and offered sacrifices. They didn’t have the spiritual knowledge to understand the idea that a man could die and come back to life; therefore, upon hearing Jesus talk about this, they created a ridiculous scenario to prove their point. Here is the account:
“Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.” (Luke 20:27-33).
This was Christ’s response:
“And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” (Luke 20:34-38).
If we want to understand how the world to come will be, this is an invaluable tip of Jesus Christ. In that world, there will be no marriage, because there will be no children (the reason for that is obvious; those who will live in that world would’ve demonstrated their love for God in a sinful world by rejecting the world, and overcoming temptations, according to 2 Timothy 3:12, Acts 14:22, Matthew 5:10-12, James 1:2-4, 12, etc; in other words, only people who’ve seen and experienced evil, and yet decided to stick to righteousness, will live there).
The last line is very important. “For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.” Unlike us human beings, God Almighty doesn’t see a difference between essential principles of life like time, night and day, far and near or dead and alive. David described this in Psalms 139:12, which reads, “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” He is a spirit (John 4:24) and He lives forever (Psalms 90:2), so such things don’t apply to Him.
We’ll now consider a few of those in the Scriptures who showed faith in God’s promises concerning the resurrection. For example, Job, who was heavily afflicted by Satan the Devil, said in Job 14:13-15, “O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.”
Moreover, he said in Job 19:25-26: For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God”.
So when it comes to life and death, He sees it like being awake and falling asleep. And because Jesus Christ came from heaven (John 3:13), he also saw it like that. Consider this: “These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.” (Luke 11:11-14). As we can see in the text, the disciples didn’t have the spiritual understanding of Jesus at the time, so they couldn’t see what Jesus meant by “sleep”.
Jesus Christ made it clear that resurrection is possible by performing it more than once. For example, in Matthew 9:18-26, he resurrected the daughter of a ruler in Judea. The process was quick and simple: he took her by the hand, and next thing you know, she was alive again.
However, the story most people know is the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11. What makes this story interesting is that Jesus Christ intentionally decided to wait for Lazarus to die. Martha and Mary weren’t incredibly fond of this at the beginning; after all, why not save someone if you can? But Jesus Christ knew that there was no better time to glorify God, by demonstrating the reality and power of resurrection.
Therefore, Jesus went ahead and brought Lazarus back to life. In John 12, Lazarus, who was dead to most people, was sitting with Jesus Christ, eating and talking as if nothing had happened.
That is God’s resurrecting power.
But Lazarus died later, so that isn’t an ultimate example of resurrection. But when Jesus Christ died, he rose again to everlasting life. He was the first to partake of this. He said in Revelation 1:18, “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” The “keys of hell of death” refer to the fact that Jesus, having defeated death (Hebrews 2:14-15) opened the doors for salvation, as those who believed in him would not face eternal death. That’s why Jesus told Martha, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is so important that if it didn’t happen, Christianity as a whole loses its value. “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corithians 15:17-20).
This is the first resurrection; the saints (that is, the anointed ones of God who are chosen to dispense the good tidings, according to Isaiah 52:7 and 1 John 2:27) also partake in this kind of resurrection. Continuing on this topic, St. Paul said, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23). Furthermore, in John 14;1-3, Jesus told his disciples, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
However, it isn’t just the first resurrection because it comes first; it’s also because that resurrection is different from the one we humans will have (the kind that Lazarus did). Jesus and the apostles are resurrected as spirits; that’s what St. Paul meant by “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). It’s a special transformation.
We humans, on the other hand, will inherit the earth if we’re righteous (Matthew 5:5, Psalms 37:11), and to have that inheritance, we have to partake in resurrection. Jesus promised us this in John 5:28-29: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (see also Daniel 12:2-3 and Acts 24:15).
If we’re well-read in the Scriptures, we will know most of these things. But have you thought about the fact that if we want to partake in the physical resurrection, there’s another one we have to experience as well?
It is called the spiritual resurrection.
We call it this because it doesn’t happen in the flesh; it has more to do with the heart and our mind. The Bible can use the words ‘life” and “death” in two different ways: physical and spiritual. We’ve gone over the physical already, so everything will be spiritual now.
To be living, spiritually, is to know the truth. And what is the truth? The truth is the fact that God exists, and that He has a plan for mankind; that He’s sovereign, and all opposition will be crushed by Him in due time (1 Corinthians 15:24-28); and if we serve Him faithfully, we will be saved (we have articles on every part of this; check them about in the Doctrines page).
To know and believe this is to “know the truth”, which is step one to salvation (1 Timothy 2:3-4). But to be saved, you shouldn’t just know the truth; you have to believe in it, and it should affect everything you do in your life (the way you marry, the way you raise your children, the way you relate with people, the way you view politics, etc.). Jesus described it with these words: “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” (John 13:17).
So when you come to know the truth, you have been brought to the light, and you now have life before God. But if we wander from that truth, and live like others who don’t know God, then we have wandered into the congregation of the dead, as King Solomon put it. “The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.” (Proverbs 21:16).
But how does spiritual resurrection work?
Let’s use Acts 2:37 and to undersatnd it. In Acts 2:37, the message of St. Peter “pricked” some people’s hearts. This phrase is important because it describes the impact of the Word, which will bring them to “life. When they heard the truth that St. Peter preached, it inspired them. It wasn’t just entertainment, as Ezekiel the Prophet once said in Ezekiel 33:31-33; they believed it, and wanted to be a part of the fold. They were brought from ignorance to knowing the truth, and as we read in Acts 2:41-47, there was joy and spiritual happiness.
We’ll also look at the vision Ezekiel had in Ezekiel 37:1-14, becasue it’ll help us better understand that spiritual resurrection is a process, with steps. At the beginning of the vision, Ezekiel was in a valley full of dry, lifeless bones. These people were dead. Ezekiel was then asked, “Can these bones live?” And he replied, “O Lord God, thou knowest.”
Then, from verse 7, the process began. Firstly, the bones came together, and after that, sinew and flesh began to return to the humans.
But it was the breath of life that made them live. When the breath entered them, it became an “exceeding great army”, which, as stated in verse 11, represents the house of Israel, which St. Paul called, “The Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). This isn’t physical Israel; it consists of both Jews and Gentiles who have come to the truth.
So what does this vision mean?
The bones coming together represent you hearing the gospel. Your eyes are becoming enlightened by gradually understanding God’s Word, and what God has set in motion for mankind (and it begins to build faith, according to Romans 10:17). I say this because the bones are the essential parts of a human; similarly, the Word of God is like the skeleton, or base, of everything that we do in our service to God.
The sinews and the flesh is the gradual process through which we become aware of what’s going on, and how spiritual things work. These things can take years; it depends on how much of the Holy Spirit is with you (as it is the Holy Spirit that drives this entire process; that’s why it’s essential to serving God, according to Romans 8:9).
But even if we know the truth, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re “alive”. The breath is like conversion; the truth enters our hearts, and it works through us. All the bad characters we get from the world - envy, hatred, lust for this world, etc. - begin to be wiped away. You can also call this “spiritaul baptism”; they mean the same thing. Concerning this matter, St. Paul said, “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4).
In other words, we’re spiritually changed, so that instead of thinking carnally, we think spiritually. To God, we are living when we are like this. “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6).
The details of spiritual resurrection are a big study, which we should embark on once in a while. After all, if there was a way we could come from death to life, wouldn’t we want to know how?
But let’s not forget the title of this subject: “God’s Resurrection Power''. It’s by God’s grace that we can be both spiritually and physically resurrected. Therefore, we should make an effort to transit from falling in love with this world to walking in line with the Scriptures, so that God may lend a helping hand, and prepare us for everlasting life.
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In this article, we will talk about the spiritual temple of God and how we can make our hearts suitable for God’s dwelling.
The name “Zion”, comes from the mountain that became the capital of the kingdom of Israel. When David became king, he conquered the Jebusites and occupied the mountain upon which they lived. There, he built his palace, and his son Solomon constructed the temple.
The temple was important because God symbolically dwelt among the Israelites through it. In Exodus 25:8, God told Moses, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Consequently, Mount Zion became the place where God “lived”.
Therefore, because the temple was built on Mount Zion, God chose Zion to be His habitation. “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” (Psalms 132:13-14; see also Psalms 9:11, 74:2, 76:2, 135:21).
In those days, a cloud would appear on the holy temple, indicating that it was suitable for Him to “dwell” in (Exodus 29:36-45, 40:34-35, 18, 1 Kings 8:10-13). Of course, God is too big to dwell in a house built by man (1 Kings 8:27); but it’s a way of understanding the real temple of God - the one built by the heavenly powers, which we dwell in through the Spirit.
Hence, the purpose of the physical temple was to foreshadow the spiritual temple that He dwells in - built upon the foundation of Jesus and the apostles (Ephesians 2:19-22). When God told Moses to build the tabernacle, he said it should be done “according to all that I shew thee” (Exodus 25:9). Moses must have been looking at the spiritual tabernacle, and God Almighty told Moses to make the physical tabernacle in the image of the spiritual one (Hebrews 8:5), similar to how God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26).
Spiritually speaking, the temple of God is not a physical building. If your heart is clean and holy, it can be considered the temple of God, because God Almighty, through the Holy Spirit, can dwell in such a heart. And St. Paul mentioned this in his epistles. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).
Furthermore, he said, “In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:21-22).
To cleanse our hearts, we need the Word of God. It has the power to “wash us clean” (Ephesians 5:26, John 17:17, 1 Peter 2:22) and guide us to God’s House. David once said, “O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.”
By studying God’s Word, we’ll become aware of how God expects us to live, and how our current lifestyle may differ from that. With the stories and teachings, our spiritual impurities (many of which were mentioned in Galatians 5:19-21 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 will become clear. Then, we can use the Bible to solve those problems (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
When God notices our attempts to overcome our lusts and live a holy life, He will help us by sending us His Holy Spirit. By it’s power (2 Timothy 1:7), we’ll have the motivation and spiritual strength to fully overcome our weaknesses, so that our hearts can become a holy dwelling place for God Almighty.
To understand this more, we’ll look at Isaiah 2:3.
“And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”
Firstly, let’s point out that the “mountain of the Lord”, the “house of the God of Jacob”, “Zion” and “Jerusalem” all refer to the same thing - the question is, what do they refer to?
They refer to the house of God, where righteosuness dwells. But because God is a spirit (John 4:24) that is not a physical house. Rather, it is a spiritual house that is in both heaven and earth. The spirits who obey God’s laws in heaven are living in that house, and God Almighty sends His spirit to human beings on earth with clean hearts so that they can key into that and also live in that house.
Therefore, when God sends us His Holy Spirit, and we begin to focus on doing “the things of the Spirit” (a.k.a the will of God) instead of thinking of how to gain this world (Romans 8:5-8), we can say that God is dwelling with/in us. “Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:13). And all the people whom God has sent His spirit to (and who are doing His will) make up a spiritual house, which He dwells in. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5).
The phrase “go up to the mountain of the Lord” is not traveling to a location, but a good way of understanding it is with Mount Zion on earth. It was from Mount Zion that David ruled the people, and it was from there that God dwelt with the people (the temple was mounted there). So the entire nation of Israel was connected to that, and they looked up to that.
The same goes with spiritual Zion. When we make our hearts clean and holy and we apply the Word of God in our day to day lives by studying it and using it to correct our mistakes and adjust our lifestyle to meet God’s expectations (Psalms 43:3), then we are “going up to the mountain of the Lord….” because we are moving closer to God, and abiding by the same principles He lives by. It’s kind of like hydro when you think about it; by paying the hydro bill, they send you electricity, water, and heat. So the mountain of the Lord is like the power plant, and by God sending us His spirit, we are connected to that.
So, what we’ve learned so far is that there is a spiritual temple of God, which we can key into by cleansing our hearts of iniquity, so that we may be holy.
But what we need to explore now is how this works in real life.
It starts with our desire to live in God’s house (Psalms 42:1-2, 63:1-2, 84:2, etc.). If we desire that God should be present in our lives, then naturally, we will forsake our worldly ways, and sanctify ourselves by being separate from those who don’t know God and their ways (Isaiah 52:11, John 17:17, 19, 2 Corinthians 6:16-17).
When God Almighty notices such desire and such holiness (which He likes, according to Leviticus 11:44-45 and 1 Peter 1:16), then He will invite us to His house by sending us His Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13), so that we can dwell together in spirit. It’s a wonderful process, and Isaiah the Prophet summarized it here: “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” (Isaiah 56:6-7).
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus Christ described it in another way: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
When we separate ourselves from unrighteousness, then it’s like we’ve opened our hearts to God and Jesus Christ, who will come in and dwell with us. But if we forsake the path of righteousness, and tread the path of iniquity, we’ve closed the door on them; we’ve prevented them from coming into our lives. And if the Holy Spirit was formerly with us, it will be taken away (as it was done to King Saul in 1 Samuel 16:13). Therefore, if God Almighty is dwelling with us, and we are dwelling in Zion (once again, they mean the same thing), then we should be careful to make sure iniquity doesn’t find its way into our hearts. As St. Paul said, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30).
The point we’ve been making is encapsulated by David in Psalms 15:1-2. “Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.”
So if we are interested in being blessed as a member of this house, then we should distance ourselves from all forms of worldliness, lusts, inordinate ambition, and excessive desires for material possessions (Matthew 6:24, 19:29, 1 John 2:15-17), so that we won’t be distracted. By doing so, we are purifying our hearts (James 4:8; see also Joel 2:14) and sanctifying ourselves (i.e. distancing ourselves from worldliness so that our hearts can become suitable dwelling places for God Almighty).
But to receive God’s blessings, we have to remain in His house. We shouldn’t be compelled to live differently from how God wants us to because we need more money, or maybe because the lives of unbelievers look more attractive. “Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.” (1 Corinthians 7:20, 24). Also, David the Psalmist stated, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” (Psalms 24:3-5).
Now that Jesus Christ has returned to his temple (Malachi 3:1), we should take advantage of his presence and abide in his house, so that we may enjoy God’s blessings. “And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” (Revelation 21:3).
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KING DAVID'S WAR
King David was a mighty man of valor who God chose to be captain over His people. Throughout his military operations, he gained victory over God’s enemies and established the kingdom of Israel.
His military success made him to become a type of Jesus Christ, who God has also appointed as Commander over His army to defeat Satan and his works, and to establish the Kingdom of God in the world.
In Isaiah 9:6-7, Isaiah the prophet was inspired to make a prophecy about how God would give this position of King to His Son, Jesus Christ, to establish the Kingdom.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
In this article, we will browse the records of the campaign of David to develop an understanding of the way God used David to fight His battles, and also how God Almighty Himself is a warrior.
We say this because the Bible makes it clear that, when the need arises, God can fight like a man of war. Moses once said, “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.” (Exodus 15:3).
The psalmist also stated, “Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” (Psalms 24:8).
We will begin at 1 Samuel 13, when Saul was king of Israel. Saul, by nature, was not like David; he found it difficult to do what God wanted, simply because he always wanted his way with things. He was a “natural man”, as Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 2:14; the fear of God was not in him.
For example, we see in the same chapter that when Saul was to fight the Philistines, he disregarded God’s laws by performing the offering of supplication himself, instead of leaving it to Samuel the priest.
At this point, God was no more interested in Saul or his kingdom, so He sought someone else “after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), who He felt would be more obedient and capable of leading His people in righteousness.
In 1 Samuel 16, we get to know the man God was eyeing. His name was David, and at that time, he was no more than a shepherd tending the flock of his father, Jesse. God, however, saw potential in him, and used Samuel to anoint him. That same day, the Holy Spirit entered him.
In the next verse, we see that this same spirit left Saul, and an evil spirit entered into him.
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward….But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.” (1 Samuel 16:13-14).
At this point, God was no more with Saul; hence, the days of his kingdom were numbered. But now that God was with David, his kingdom could only grow and prosper.
In the next chapter, David would come to the limelight, as he was the one who God famously used to knock down the giant, Goliath, and gain victory over the Philistines at Shochoh. While the Israelite soldiers were terrorized by his size, David was courageous and ready to kill him, just as he killed a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Instead of fleeing from Goliath, as others did, he charged into the battlefield with faith in God’s ability to fight the battle for him. God acted on his faith, and used his slingshot to bring him down.
Many were amazed at this event, and all the people loved him. Women began to sing, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” (1 Samuel 18:6-7). The seed of the kingdom of David had been sown, and now it was starting to germinate.
Let’s move on to 1 Samuel 22. At this point, Saul and his men were chasing David up and down, and David had little rest. As he told Jonathan, “there is but a step between me and death.” (1 Samuel 20:3). However, in verse 2 of 1 Samuel 22, we see that men who were distressed, discontented and/or in debt came to him, and they became his army. Many of them were vagabonds; however, they were mighty men of valor, and they helped David to establish the kingdom of Israel. Concerning them, the 1 Chronicles account states, “These also are the chief of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, and with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.” (1 Chronicles 11:10).
These men, by the way, became a type of Christ’s men, the apostles, who are also valiant and courageous (Revelation 12:11), albeit in a more spiritual way.
We’ll now skip to 2 Samuel 5. Many events took place in between, including the death of Saul and his sons in the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). But at this point, David was now the king of Israel, with an army like “the host of God” (1 Chronicles 12:22). Throughout his time as king, he defeated all of God’s enemies and established the kingdom.
He began by launching an attack on the Jebusites, who inhabited the mountain of Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:6-9). He conquered them, and it became the capital of his kingdom, the “city of David”.
In verses 17-25 of the same chapter, he fought against the Philistines twice. The first time, he conquered them and said, “The Lord has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water.” (2 Samuel 5:20, NKJV). The second time, though, something interesting happened.
Rather than David attacking however he felt was best (as usual), God suggested a strategy; a way he should fight. He told them, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” (2 Samuel 5:23-24)
We’re highlighting this because this is another way of understanding that God is a warrior. In times like this, he can think like a war general, by putting forward a plan of attack.
David did as God said, and he gained victory the second time.
More significant battles took place in 2 Samuel 8 and 10. He fought against the Philistines, Moabites, Ammonites, Amalekites, Syrians, and defeated them.
A couple of big victories for David were against the king of Zobah (2 Samuel 8:3-6) and the Ammonites (2 Samuel 10). In that battle against the king of Zobah, the Syrians of Damascus came to help him; yet, David crushed their forces, and 22,000 Syrians died. They became David’s servants afterward.
David also fought against the Ammonites, and once again, the Syrians came to their assistance. However, David crushed their forces too, and over 40,000 men died (2 Samuel 10:18).
Such defeats helped to grow the kingdom of David, and establish it as the place where people worshipped the only living God, the Holy One of Israel.
As we said at the beginning, David’s military success made him become a type of Jesus Christ, who would also lead God’s army to gain victory over Satan’s foes in the last days. Concerning this event, God inspired Jeremiah to say, “Thou (Jesus Christ) art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms” (Jeremiah 51:20).
Christ was also said to be sitting on a white horse, with many crowns on his head (Revelation 19:11-21). These crowns symbolize all the victories he would gain over his foes.
But what battle is Christ fighting?
To understand that, we have to go back to the beginning of the Bible, and see where the conflict started.
In Genesis 3:1-6, Satan deceived Eve into disobeying God by eating the forbidden fruit. Adam, whom God Himself spoke to about the matter (Genesis 2:15-17), yielded to his wife, and both of them fell into sin.
When Satan saw that he achieved that, he began to fashion the world the way he wanted it. Kingdoms began to rise, some of which dominated the world’s affairs (Revelation 17:9), with kings that were like gods.
With the rise of this political system also came spiritual leaders who claimed that God was on their side, and ganged up with political leaders to become wealthy, and rich (Luk 16:19-21), all the while not caring about their flocks (Ezekiel 34:1-11).
Satan sat upon this system and used it to run the world for thousands of years.
A time came, though, when God wanted to get rid of this wicked system, and He called His Son, Jesus Christ, to do it. While he was on earth, Christ said that the Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22); and at this point, it was time to execute it.
Christ was brought before his Father, crowned as King of His Kingdom (Psalms 21:3, Daniel 7:14, Isaiah 32:1), and given the command to rule in the midst of his enemies (Psalms 110:2). After that, Christ launched an attack on Satan and his works -- and war broke out in heaven.
“And there was war in heaven: Michael (Jesus Christ) and his angels fought against the dragon (Satan); and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” (Revelation 12:7-8).
In other words, Satan and his demons lost the battle; and with that, they no longer had control and authority over heavenly or earthly affairs.
But how did that happen physically?
Prior to World War 1, the earth was ruled by monarchs and nobles; religiously, it was dominated by powerful spiritual leaders; so powerful, in fact, that they crowned emperors at a time (e.g. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, in A.D. 800). That system was described in Revelation 17:1-6 as a woman (the spiritual system headed by Satan), which reigned over the world through the political system.
But when Christ launched an attack on Satan’s system, it crumbled. Nation began to rise against nation, and if we look at what happened in World Wars 1 and 2, we’ll be able to see that the monarchies collapsed due to these conflicts, and a more democratic system of government arose.
Christ himself said that when he would take office and begin to rule, we would see such things occur (Matthew 24:6-7).
It would be wrong, though, to think that the battle Christ is fighting is a physical one, with swords and shields. It is not. Since Christ is a spirit, and in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:16, Revelation 1:7), his main focus is to dislocate the system of Satan by bringing tribulation on it (Revelation 16:1-11), so that it can scatter.
For example, the pressure on our political system is beginning to increase, just as it did in the days of Pharoah (Exodus 7-12). As different situations come, and fear increases (Luke 21:25-26) the trust that people have in their governments decreases (that’s why riots have increased today). And we should expect these to remain and even increase until we are completely free from Satan’s hands.
The spiritual system is also being targeted. False pastors have less influence on world affairs than they used to. Their doctrines hold less weight now, and that will continue until their influence in the world is completely gone (Matthew 7:22-23).
The evils of religious leaders are also being exposed (Luke 12:2), and their system is weakening (Revelation 18). The media, for example, has fast-forwarded this, as all the unrighteous things they do and say have been and are being revealed (Matthew 12:36-37).
If we read Joel 2:2-11, we’ll be able to see that the people and institutions that are fulfilling these things were an army, raised by God to carry out the judgment. From verses 12-17, we find a second army - people who God has anointed to tell us about what Christ is doing so that we can submit to it for our own blessing.
These people are mainly the apostles, who are anointed with the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:27) to spread the gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 24:14, Isaiah 52:7).
Remember when we told you earlier that David’s men became a type of Jesus Christ’s men, the apostles? Well, just as David’s men helped David to gain victory over God’s enemies and establish the kingdom of Israel, the apostles preach the gospel message, which builds the Kingdom of God in our time.
How, exactly?
By the apostles preaching the gospel message, people who were a part of Satan’s kingdom, due to their ignorance, are rescued to the kingdom of God. By them living according to the principles of Christ, then the Kingdom has grown to them, and it gets bigger. Satan’s kingdom, on the other hand, has shrunk.
Note that the Kingdom of God is not a physical thing; it is sown as a seed in our hearts (Matthew 13:31-32, 13:3-9, 18-23), so that when the gospel message is preached by the apostles, it can take root in our hearts and grow to produce the fruits of righteousness (Galatians 5:22-23), which we would then exercise from day to day.
There’s a lot more that can be said about this topic, and many more verses that can be cited, but this will suffice for now. We advise that you take this research further, and look deeper into the nature of Christ’s warfare in our time, and how we can participate in it.
Our next topic will be a sequel to this discussion. It will be called:
King David’s War - Part 2: “OCCUPY”.
In that discussion, we will focus on our side of the warfare, and discuss the way we can fight for Christ in our time.
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THE OXYGEN OF INIQUITY
At first glance, this seems like an odd title, because the words “oxygen” and “iniquity” don’t seem to go together in the same sentence. Let’s begin by figuring out the link between these two things.
We all know that for a fire to start, three things are needed: fuel, heat and oxygen. If any one of those three things are not present, a fire cannot start.
Similarly, there are certain conditions under which iniquity can spark and grow. In this article, we will learn about what some of those conditions are, so that we can understand how to put iniquity out like a firefighter would a fire.
But what is iniquity?
According to the Scriptures, iniquity is anything that God hates; anything that goes against what God has approved and said is right. To give a couple of examples, God likes it when children obey their parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3), or when pastors take care of their flocks by preaching the truth (1 Peter 5:2-3, Acts 20:28, Jeremiah 3:15, etc.). The opposite of that, when children disobey their parents or when pastors exploit their flocks, is iniquity, as it is in opposition to those things that God likes.
Iniquity has been described as fire in the Scriptures (Isaiah 9:18, 50:11, 65:5, etc.), and as was said above, there are certain conditions under which iniquity can thrive. If these conditions are not present, iniquity tends to die off pretty quickly or never start at all. But if any of these conditions are present, it has a way of growing until it engulfts whatever righteousness is present.
As Christians, it is important that we understand how iniquity starts and grows, so that we can be alert to it, and not allow Satan to take us by surprise. In saying that, we will be discussing 5 things that always become oxygen for iniquity.
1. Fear of the unknown. This is essentially a lack of trust in God that makes us fearful of certain bad things that we think might happen to us if we don’t take laws into our own hands. This is oxygen for iniquity because Satan the Devil has a way of driving us into doing what is wrong before God, based on our fears.
To give you an example, Jeroboam, the man who God chose as king to head the ten tribes of Israel taken from Solomon’s kingdom due to his disobedience, suddenly feared that his power was at stake because the Israelites still went to Jerusalem to worship God. He completely forgot who made him king, due to his fear of the unknown, and rather than asking Him for guidance, he took laws into his own hands by setting up two golden calves - one in Dan and one in Bethel - so that the Israelites didn’t have to leave his kingdom. God Almighty hates idolatry with a passion (Exodus 20:3-6), but it was Jeroboam’s fear of the known that became a perfect condition for such iniquity to develop.
Till today, fear of the unknown has a huge impact on world events. Many wars, past and current, happen because of fear of some kind of danger, be it against one’s life, or against a community or nation. Devastating conflicts that reuslted in the deaths of thousands or even millions were caused by fear of the unknown, which they take action on through mass destruction.
2. Love of money. This is a big oxygen for iniquity. Paul described it as the “root of all evil” in 1 Timothy 6:10. The reason why the love of money is oxygen for iniquity is that it elevates money, which is of little spiritual value (because spirituality is about a personal relationship with God, which money is not a part of) to become a priority in our lives - and it destroys righteousness and our spirituality, and gives way for iniquities of all sorts to grow.
Let’s use the current state of many churches as an example. The way churches were set up was that you would hear a sermon, and if you feel blessed by the message, you give however much money you felt like. This resembles the way it was in the Bible, as God Almighty never forced His children to give to His projects (Exodus 25:2, 35:5, 21-22, 29). But many pastors now have changed it to mean that you must give, whether the giver likes it or not. Even if it’s not said directly, there have been tactics implemented, such as making the offering plate nice and large in the front, moving it around to each member of the congregation, and even creating doctrines to encourage, lure or threaten members to give more. That shift - which is still ongoing - is caused by the love of money, and as Christians, we should be cautious of how far that goes. A carnal thing like money shouldn’t become a priority in spiritual matters - otherwise, worshipping God loses its value.
Something similar happened to the children of Israel in their day. Money was elevated to become a huge deal in matters that had to do with God and holiness, as was stated by Micah the prophet: “The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.” (Micah 3:11). As a result, iniquity took over the land: “Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.” (Isaiah 1:23).
3. Ignorance. Ignorance can be defined as not knowing the implications of our actions; a lack of knowledge of the consequences of what may be wrong, or the advantages of what may be right. It is always oxygen for iniquity because Satan the Devil, being the wicked man that he is, is always looking for people to influence and deceive, so that he can ruin their lives. If we are spiritually sound, we will automatically know he is trying to lure us into sin, and we will reject him (James 4:7). But what if we lack such knowledge? “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (Hosea 4:6).
A good way we can understand the room ignorance gives for Satan to cause trouble is by looking at what Rehoboam did in 1 Kings 12:1-20. In the account, the children of Israel came to the newly crowned Rehoboam and asked him to lessen the yoke his father Solomon put on them. Rehoboam wanted advice on how to respond to the people, and so he went to the elders who served with Solomon.
They told him that he should listen to the people and lessen their yoke; but because of his ignorance, he forsook their advice and took counsel from younger people who grew up with him. They gave him the opposite advice - that he should increase their yoke and make life harder for the people.
Rehoboam did not know what would happen, due to his ignorance, and so he went and told the people what those young men said. The Israelites, offended by what they heard, said that they were not interested in having Rehoboam as their king. That was how Jeroboam became king of Israel in the first place.
That is what ignorance does. From that time till his death, war against Israel never ceased.
4. The Bandwagon Effect. The “bandwagon” effect is when one conforms to the wishes or ideas of those around them. Be it from friends, family members or any other person who does not share our spiritual goals, it can be devastating to our spirituality if we fall into it.
King Solomon in the first chapter of his book Proverbs explained it in the form of advice: “ My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse: My son, walk not thou in the way with them; refrain thy foot from their path: For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.” (Proverbs 1:10-16).
What Aaron did in Exodus 32 is a striking example of how to fall into iniquity because of the bandwagon effect. An impatient and disgruntled congregation confronted Aaron in Exodus 32:1, and they told him, “Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.” Aaron knew that what they were asking for was wrong, but because he was willing to please the people, he yielded to their unrighteous request, and built the calf for them.
Christ in his day emphasized the pressure that the world will put on us to conform to its ways, and encouraged us to resist it and be happy doing so: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Matthew 5:10-12).
5. Spiritual carelessness. Spiritual carelessness is when we are not careful about a matter of high spiritual value or significance. This, for example, is important if we’re parents, because God Almighty placed children in our care to train and nurture, both physically and, more importantly, spiritually (Deuteronomy 6:7, Proverbs 22:6). If we throw caution to the wind and start taking jobs that prevent us from having time to raise our children, or we hang out with friends when we’re supposed to be at home raising our children, or we generally have the mentality that our children can learn how to serve God themselves, and we don’t need to be with them to teach them how to live righteously, then we are being spiritually careless, as it may not end up the way we expect.
For instance, Eli the high priest was spiritually careless. His sons grew up to become vile and worthless people, and by the time they became priests, they slept with the women who came to the tabernacle and refused to follow the laws of God concerning offerings and such. Eli watched all that happen, but did nothing about it.
Doing nothing to solve a problem that has much spiritual value is always oxygen for iniquity, as it gives room for Satan to operate with no opposition. Eventually, God Almighty said He would judge the house of Eli because of his spiritual carelessness: “For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not.” (1 Samuel 3:13).
Therefore, if we want to prevent iniquity from growing like this, we should have a sound understanding of how Satan operates (2 Corinthians 2:11), so that we can catch his works at the roots.
The way the apostles promptly settled the matter between the Hebrews and Greeks in Acts 6:1-4 is a good example. The Greeks felt that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food; and it was gradually becoming more important in the ministry. Spiritually speaking, such a matter was of little value; and the apostles foresaw a situation where the ministry would become about serving tables instead of doing the will of God. They quickly took action by setting up a committee to handle such matters.
Another good example is in Joshua 22. The Reubenites, Gadites and children of Manasseh inherited land east of the Jordan River, while the rest of the Israelites were on the opposite side. They had assisted their fellow brethren in conquering their lands - and after they were finished, they returned to their own land.
They envisioned, though, that in the future, the Israelites on the other side of the Jordan River would think that they didn’t belong to God, due to the geographical separation; and so to prevent that from happening, they built an altar so that those who saw it would know that they belonged to Israel. They didn’t intend on worshipping on this altar; it was only there to serve that particular purpose.
However, God Almighty had explicitly stated that there was going to be one place that He was worshipped (Deuteronomy 12:5); and the Israelites, not aware of their intentions, felt that they were going to transgress that law, and they immediately mobilized to go to war against them.
Before going, though, they sent Phinehas the priest and ten princes to find out what happened. Only then did they know that the altar was not built to sin against God, but rather so that those on the other side of the Jordan River would remember that they were Israelites too.
What we can learn from this story is how urgent we should be to put out iniquity. Just as a fire has to be put out as soon as possible, the other Israelites didn’t give it any time - they went immediately to find out what happened, so that if iniquity was to be committed, they would put an end to it promptly.
But how is any of this relevant in our time?
The apostle Paul made us know that in the last days, which we are living in based on the fulfillment of the signs of the times in Matthew 24:7-8 (that fulfilled in the two World Wars, when the world’s greatest nations fought against themselves, leading to great disaster and the collapse of the monarchical system), iniquity would abound. This iniquity would abound as Satan’s last attempt to prevent people from coming to God (Revelation 12:12). Let’s hear him:
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.”
Take “blasphemers” for example. We find blasphemy in the educational system, as people are now taught to believe that God does not exist, and that we as humans came by ourselves, against the Bible’s position that we have a Creator, who made everything we see today (Psalms 100:3, Isaiah 45:12, 18). You can also see “disobedient to parents” fulfilling, as many kids are becoming more stubborn towards their parents, and feel like they don’t need to listen to them to live good lives.
There’s also “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”, which we can understand by looking at how excited people are when they watch football or dance to music, and all the effort, money and time they spend doing such things, versus the excitement and dedication people used to have for going to church and talking about spiritual things.
Each and every one of these iniquities are being institutionalized in our time, meaning that institutions are now set up to develop those iniquities and rope as many people into them as possible. It is by the grace of God that we can be alert and vigilant to catch such iniquities as they creep into our families, relationships, or bond with God, and cut them out as soon as possible.
This same apostle Paul gave us relevant advice concerning this: “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17).
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