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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Empty, Swept, And In Order.


Bible Questions Answered:
“In Matthew 12 what is that purpose of the evil spirit story?”
Robel/ Adis Abeba, Ethiopia

Bible Answer:

Bible Text:
Matthew 12:43-45 NLT
43 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none.
44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.
45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.
That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

In this chapter the Pharisees had come against Jesus for His healings on the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:15,22 KJV
15...and He healed them all;
22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and He healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

The Purpose of our Lord's words, verses 43-45 are this.
He is comparing that state of an individual to the state of a nation, and both are the same.

The Man:

Matthew 12:43 KJV
When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none.

Job 30:3 NLT
They are gaunt with hunger and flee to the deserts, to desolate and gloomy wastelands.

Leviticus 16:20-22 NLT
20 “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat.
21 He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness.
22 As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land.

Revelation 18:1,2 NLT
1 After all this I saw another angel come down from heaven with great authority, and the earth grew bright with his splendor.
2 He gave a mighty shout: “Babylon is fallen—that great city is fallen! She has become a home for demons. She is a hideout for every foul spirit, a hideout for every foul vulture and every foul and dreadful animal.

What is the desert?
A place of tremendous heat, an anhydrous land of death.
At every hand, remains of life that once was, now but bones, bleached by the sun.
A perfect picture of hell itself, and more than probably, place of the spirits origin.

First let it be known without doubt, such an entity, does not of its own accord, leave its safe haven willingly!
It must of necessity, be “cast out” by the power of God!
Once out, it seeks rest, but it finds none.

Isaiah 48:22 KJV
There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.


Matthew 12:44 NLT
Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.

God created humanity to be His chosen vessels. His temples, filled with His Spirit.

I Corinthians 3:16,17 NLT
16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?
17 God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

I Corinthians 6:19,20 NLT
19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,
20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

II Corinthians 6:16 NLT
And what union can there be between God’s temple and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said:
“I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

Ephesians 2:20-22 KJV
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Corner Stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

I Peter 2:5 KJV
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.

God's vessels were not created to be, empty!
Either the temple is filled with the glory of God, or by reason of it vacuous surroundings, its doors are open, to that which is not glorious, but dark and evil.


Matthew 12:45 NLT
Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.

All, take warning!
These evil forces with which man must do combat, are “not,” stupid!
Young and old, be sure of its meaning.

Realizing that it might only be cast out once more, seeing how it had once, been already. It reasons within its tortured being, what must be done, so as to never to be cast forth again.

And in its evil wisdom, that comes from beneath, it ...”finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. “

Whereas the man was once possessed, now he is fully commandeered!

If only the man, while he was clean and empty had sought the things of God and filled his temple with the presence of the Almighty, his vessel would not have remained empty and begging, but full, full of the power and presence and glory of God, but alas, this he did not.

The Nation:

Matthew 12:45 NLT
...And so that person is worse off than before.
That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Our blessed Saviour had come to a people, steeped in tradition and rituals, not in a relationship to the living God.

John the Baptist, came and warned them, some repented and were baptized.
Jesus the very Son of God, came and brought the Word, and Power of God. He was a fountain of life.. Some believed, but many, many others refused to have Him. Even worse they claimed that the works that He did was by the power of Beelzebub.

Matthew 12:22-37 NLT
22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see.
23 The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder He can cast out demons. He gets His power from Satan, the prince of demons.”
25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart.
26 And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive.
27 And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said.
28 But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
29 For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man like Satan and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.
30 “Anyone who isn’t with Me opposes Me, and anyone who isn’t working with Me is actually working against Me.
31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.
32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.
34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.
35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart.
36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.
37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.”

Now take warning!
Jesus stated, what is true of an individual, may be, just as true, for a nation!

Empty, swept, and in order, having heard the gospel, having seen great works of God, having seen time and time again the power of God. To neglect such, as to not give place or habitation to it, is to be a land of emptiness, inviting evil powers to reign instead.


Matthew 12:45 KJV
“...And so that person (that people) is worse off than before.”

Jesus warned, the Unpardonable Sin, is that of rejecting the call of His Holy Spirit.

Matthew 12:31,32 NLT
31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.
32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.

Jeremiah 8:20 KJV
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.

Hosea 10:12 KJV
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow (Hard) ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till He come and rain righteousness upon you.

If the warning is refused:

II Thessalonians 2:5-12 NLT
5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?
6 And you know what is holding him back (Anti-Christ), for he can be revealed only when his time comes.
7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one (God the Holy Spirit) who is holding it back steps out of the way.
8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.
9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the Truth that would save them.
11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies.
12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the Truth.

Christ's words to the Jews and Pharisees:

Matthew 12:38-42 NLT
38 One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.”
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.
40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nineveh will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
42 The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen.




Thursday, June 28, 2012

Fiery Furnace Of The Last Days


Bible Questions Answered:
“Pastor, several of us fellows here would like to know your take on what scripture portrays best the coming of the Lord for his people.”
Jerome/ London, United Kingdom

Bible Answer:
Although there are more than one, the best picture we have of the last days of the Church of Jesus Christ are found in the writings of Daniel.

Daniel 1:1-7 NLT
1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 
2 The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.
3 Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. 
4 “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.” 
5 The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.
6 Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. 
7 The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:
Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.


Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah  found themselves as refugees in a foreign land. They looked different, their conduct was different, and they spoke differently than those around them. They longed for their homeland.

The Christian today, finds himself in a foreign land,

Hebrews 11:10,13-16 KJV (Abraham) Read the whole chapter.
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for He hath prepared for them a city.

The land in which Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, found themselves was a land filled with idols, something they knew only too well, that angered the living God.

Exodus 20:3-6 KJV
(First Commandment)
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.


(Second Commandment)
4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.

I John 2:15-17 KJV
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

I John 2:15-17 NLT
15 Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. 
16 For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. 
17 And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.

One day....
Daniel 3:1-7 NLT (Be sure to read the whole chapter.)
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. 
2 Then he sent messages to the high officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial officials to come to the dedication of the statue he had set up. 
3 So all these officials came and stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! 
5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. 
6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

One world government, one world leadership, and its leader demanded worship of his statue (image).
If one refused, one was to be thrown into a fiery furnace, and certain death. There was no place for dissenters in this kingdom!

Daniel 3:8-18 NLT
8 But some of the astrologers went to the king and informed on the Jews. 
9 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! 
10 You issued a decree requiring all the people to bow down and worship the gold statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments. 
11 That decree also states that those who refuse to obey must be thrown into a blazing furnace. 
12 But there are some Jews—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—whom you have put in charge of the province of Babylon. They pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They refuse to serve your gods and do not worship the gold statue you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, 
14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? 
15 I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. 
And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 
17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. 
He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 
18 But even if He doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Where are the people of Christian faith, who in these last closing hours of time, will stand up to the evil king and to sin, and not be afraid?
Wherever they are, God,Himself will be with them!

Hebrews 13:5 KJV
"...for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Matthew 18:20 KJV
For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 28:20 NLT
"... I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Eight times in the third chapter of Daniel, the "fiery furnace" is mentioned.

Can there be any doubt for the people of God?
The days of judgment are at hand, and they will be “fiery days”.

Days of actual fire, from border to border, only God can tell.
But to be sure there are other fires already burning, burning to their greatest.
Raging Fires of....
Lust for power and authority, no not just of corrupt politicians, but within the church itself.
Lust for wealth, with the cloak of hypocrisy.
Lust for Physical pleasures, of every variety.

Hatred of authority.
Hatred of race, class or religious beliefs.
Hatred of God.
Etc. etc.

These fires are raging and will rage.
And what is the voice of God?


Isaiah 52:11 KJV
Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.


II Corinthians 6:14-18 KJV
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, informed the king, they would “not,” bow to his statue, even if it meant going into the fiery furnace. They fully believed that God could save them, yet if He didn't still, they would never bow down.

And what was the result?

Daniel 3:19-23 NLT
19 Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 
20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 
21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 
22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 
23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

I Peter 4:12-14 KJV
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of Glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, their wrists and legs bound by strong cords, were carried by the king's soldiers, to the fiery furnace. They would pay the price for irreligious rebellion.

Daniel 3:24,25 NLT
24 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied.
25 “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a God!”

When will our precious Lord of Glory, come for His people?
When the fires are at their greatest, but come He will!

Luke 21:36 KJV
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.

I Thessalonians 1:9,10 CEV
9 Everyone is talking about how you welcomed us and how you turned away from idols to serve the true and living God. 
10 They also tell how you are waiting for His Son Jesus to come from heaven. God raised Him from death, and on the day of judgment Jesus will save us from God’s anger.

I Thessalonians 5:9,10 KJV
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

II Thessalonian 2:7 NLT
For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one (God the Holy Spirit) who is holding it back steps out of the way.

John 14:16 NLT (Wherever the church of God, there too the Holy Spirit.)
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you (God the Holy Spirit).

II Timothy 4:18 KJV
And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

II Peter 2:7-9 CEV (See Genesis 19:22 KJV)
7-8 Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. 
So the Lord rescued him. 
9 This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment.

Revelation 3:10 KJV (Christ's promise to the church at Philadelphia.)
Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Revelation 3:10 NLT
“Because you have obeyed my command to persevere, I will protect you from the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world to test those who belong to this world. 

Our Bright and Morning Star, will appear, amidst the flames of fire and protect His people!

Daniel 3:26-30 NLT
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. 
27 Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His Angel to rescue His servants who trusted in Him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 
29 Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!”
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon.

Rescued: 
Romans 10:8-13 NLT
8 In fact, it says, “The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart.” And that message is the very message about faith that we preach: 
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved. 
11 As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never be disgraced.” 
12 Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. 
13 For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The Most High God, knows how to deliver His people.

Job 5:19 KJV
He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee.

Psalm 50:14,15 KJV
14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto The Most High:
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.

Jeremiah 1:8,19 KJV
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.

Jeremiah 15:21 KJV
And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Jeremiah 39:17 KJV
But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid.

Daniel 6:19-21 (King Darius)
19 Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. 
20 When he got there, he called out in anguish, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”
21 Daniel answered, “Long live the king! 
22 My God sent His Angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in His sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”
23 The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

Let the fires rage, for soon the fourth Man, will appear, come to save His own.

I Corinthians 15:51-58 NLT
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! 
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. 
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

Luke 12:40 KJV
Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not.

Salvation Prayer



Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Whited Sepulchers


Bible Questions Answered:
“Jesus told the Scribes and Pharisees, that they were like sepulchers, because they were evil...”
Renita/ Mexico City, Mexico

Bible Answer:

Matthew 23;27,28 KJV (Be sure to read the whole chapter.)
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Jewish custom was that, one month before Passover, graves must be whitened.
Graves of course were located everywhere, along roadsides, in fields, on hills etc.

The Jews accomplished this by using a bright chalk.
This was extremely important because to come upon an grave, i.e. to touch it, meant that one was then ceremonially unclean.

The chalk would speak loudly of the one who had so inadvertently come against it, for his clothing would show of the white chalk.

Our Lord taught the Scribes and Pharisees, that though they whitened sepulchers (tombs), yet this did not change their contents, for in them were unclean dead men's bones.

Matthew 23:28 KJV
Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

No one knew the heart of the Scribes and Pharisees, better than God.
Jesus told them, you “appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Their lives were filled with the Law, their customs, and rituals, but they had no spiritual, life giving relationship with God. Their lives were of hypocrisy and iniquity, they claimed to know God, but they did not, and so they lead others astray. The blind leading the blind.

Jesus had taught earlier saying:

Matthew 7:16-23 KJV
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.


21 Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; 
but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.

Who is God's servant?  Verse 21 “he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”
Prophecy, exorcisms, wonderful works, in the name of the Lord, do they bring salvation?”
No! Verse 21 “he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.”

Customs and rituals, shows of religious works however grand and ecclesiastically uplifting,
do not make one a child of God!
Verse 21 
Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; 
but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.

What is the “will,” of the Father in heaven?

Isaiah 64:6 KJV
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.


Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works (including righteous works), lest any man should boast.


Proverbs 28:13 KJV
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Romans 3:23 KJV
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

I John 1:8-10 KJV
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Romans 10:9 KJV
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Micah 7:19 KJV
He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

Salvation Prayer


Saturday, June 23, 2012

Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: The Burning Bush


Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: The Burning Bush.

Occasion: Call of Mosses.

Location: Mount Horeb.

Bible Text:
Exodus 3:1-6 KJV
1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.


Exodus 3:1 KJV
Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

 There is quite an interesting story regarding Mosses' life, little of which may be mentioned here. Raised in the Egyptian house of the Pharaoh (Some 40 years). One day Moses (an Israelite) saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, Moses killed the Egyptian. Once word had gotten out, that it was Moses who slew the Egyptian, and that Pharaoh was very angry, Moses ran to the desert of Midian as a place of refuge. He was in the Midian desert for 40 years, tending the sheep of a priest, named Jethro, who's daughter, Zipporah, he would marry. 

No longer in Pharaohs court, and no longer among his people, a dessert shepherd, and 80 years old.

This is the setting to which we come to in Exodus chapter three.


Exodus 3:2,3 KJV
2 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

“The Angel of the Lord,” was the presence of Jehovah, God.
The fire, was the Shekinah Fiery presence of our living God.

Exodus 13:21,22 NLT
21 The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a Pillar of Cloud, and He provided light at night with a Pillar of Fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. 
22 And the Lord did not remove the Pillar of Cloud or Pillar of Fire from its place in front of the people.

Exodus 14:19,20 NLT
19 Then the Angel of God, who had been leading the people of Israel, moved to the rear of the camp. The Pillar of Cloud also moved from the front and stood behind them. 
20 The Cloud settled between the Egyptian and Israelite camps. As darkness fell, the Cloud turned to Fire, lighting up the night. But the Egyptians and Israelites did not approach each other all night.

Psalm 50:2 NLT
From Mount Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines in glorious radiance.

Isaiah 60:1-3 KJV
1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee.
3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

Isaiah 60:1-3 NLT
1 “Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you.
2 Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you.
3 All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance.

Romans 9:4 NLT
They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed His glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them His law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping Him and receiving His wonderful promises.

Hebrews 12:28,29 KJV
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.




Exodus 3:4,5,6 KJV
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And He said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover He said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Godly reverence:

Joshua, Mosses successor.

Joshua 5:13-15 NLT
13 When Joshua was near the town of Jericho, he looked up and saw a Man standing in front of him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, “Are you friend or foe?”
14 “Neither one,” He replied. “I am the Commander of the Lord’s Army.” At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. “I am at your command,” Joshua said. “What do you want your servant to do?”
15 The Commander of the Lord’s Army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did as he was told.

Psalm 33:8 KJV
Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

Psalm 89:7 KJV
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him.

Psalm 111:9 KJV
He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name.

Habakkuk 2:20 KJV
But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.

In the Orient, and among Arabs, it is the habit of worshipers, to remove their shoes, before entrance into their temples, upon entrance, they kneel down with their faces to the floor.
And among Christian believing people, their habit is of …...............................................

Why, do we not yet see the Pillar of Cloud, or the Pillar of Fire?
Why, do we not yet see the Fiery burning bush?

Perhaps it is because we have forgotten that  in the presence of Almighty God, in fear and trembling, we show great reverence, as did Moses (Joshua).

Our Lord, did “not,” take 12 disciples up on the Mount of Transfiguration!
Not all were “Sons of Thunder.” Not all were as closes to the Lord, or as desirous to see His glory.

Matthew 17:5,6 KJV
5 While he (Peter) yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.
6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.

The “first call,” Moses (and Joshua) received, was to show reverence before God.

Leviticus 19:30 KJV
Ye shall keep My Sabbaths, and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord.

Psalm 5:7 KJV
But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

Ecclesiastes 5:1,2 KJV
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.
2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Salvation Prayer


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Name-A Good


Bible Questions Answered:
“...so though he was a good friend, I didn't join the club, because Id heard there had been some crime there and stuff. But now have lost him as a friend. Maybe Id should have been a better friend and gone along...”
Sheila/ New York, New York U.S.A.

Bible Answer:

Ecclesiastes 7:1 KJV
“A good name is better than precious ointment..."

II Corinthians 6:14-18 KJV
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

What is the most valuable thing you own?
In Eastern countries, especially in our Lord's day, perfumes and ointments, were of utmost value!
Kept in only the most expensive bottles, vases, or jars of alabaster.

One never entered a feast, without his perfume, it set him apart from all others.
Now if a “precious ointment” was so costly and aromatically wonderful, and yet Solomon says, even greater than this, “ a good name is better.”

Now just in case you thought, some lady, started this expensive habit of costly perfume, you'd be terribly wrong. No, it was God, and He had a formula of special fragrant anointing oils for His priests...and incense for His tabernacle.

Exodus 30:22-38 KJV
22 Moreover the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels,
24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
26 And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony,
27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense,
28 And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot.
29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
30 And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto Me in the priest's office.
31 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto Me throughout your generations.
32 Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
33 Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.


34 And the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
35 And thou shalt make it a perfume*, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
36 And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
37 And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord.
38 Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

*Perfume-Hebrew-Qetoreth (Ket-o-reth): Sweet, incense, perfume.
(Abingdon/Strong)

 What fragrance surrounds you?

Acts 4:13 KJV
Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

The members of the Council of the Jews, knew something special about Peter and John, “they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

Why did they think that way? They did because Peter and John had a certain air about them, they were “filled with the Holy Ghost”-Acts 4:8 KJV). And they spoke like, acted like, exorcised authority like, the Lord Jesus.

What is the aroma that surrounds you and me?
People in our Lord's day, could tell who lived about the temple, due to the sweet fragrance around them!

Psalm 104:34 KJV
My meditation of Him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD.

II Corinthians 2:15 NLT
Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God..."

Salvation Prayer



Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Christians-Who Are They?


Bible Questions Answered:
“...so I don't see how Christians are different than anyone else.”
Bill/ Birmingham, United Kingdom

Bible Answer:

Christians Are:


The Children of God:
Galatians 3:26 KJV
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

Forgiven:
I John 2:12 KJV
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His (Christ's) name's sake.

Justified:
Acts 13:39 KJV
38 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man (Jesus Christ) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
39 And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Sanctified (An on going process II Corinthians 3:18): 
I Corinthians 1:2 NLT
I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be His own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as He did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.

Brought nigh unto God:
Ephesians 2:13 KJV
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

We are complete  in Him:
Colossians 2:10 NLT
So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

Christians are kings and priests unto God:”
I Peter 2:9 KJV
 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

Salvation Prayer


Saturday, June 16, 2012

Prayer Request: Persecution Of Nigerian Christians


Prayer Request:

“Pastor, please tell everyone to pray for believers in Nigeria. Islamics have blown up two Christian churches, while believers where in them and praying. So what were the results, 6 people killed, and more than 52 Christian people were injured.
In these terrific blasts, one pastor and is family, are in the hospital with critical injuries.
As the church was letting out, a coward, suicide bomber drove his car into the entrance of the church.
In another attack at Biu in Borno state, a gunman opened fire, shooting into a congregation of a Christian Church. Scores of believers were injured, one woman died at the scene.
Radical Islamist sect Boko Haram, have increased their attacks on Christian Churches, killing dozens of believers.”
Ted/ Kalamazoo, Michigan U.S.A.

Dear friends, please go to your knees in prayers for Christian people around the world who are being tortured and killed for the name of Christ.

Lamentations 5:5 NLT
Those who pursue us are at our heels; we are exhausted but are given no rest.

Mark 10:28-31 KJV
28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for My sake and for the Good News, 
30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life. 
31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.”

Acts 13:49,50 KJV
49 And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region.
50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts.

Romans 8:35-39 KJV
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

II Corinthians 12:7-10 NLT
7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 
9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 
10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

II Thessalonians 1:3,4 KJV
3 We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:

II Timothy 3:10-15 KJV (Apostle Paul to Timothy.)
10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering, charity, patience,
11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.


SEVEN PROMISES TO OVERCOMERS:

Revelation 2:7 KJV (Promise to the church in Ephesus.)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that over cometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:10 KJV (Promise to the church in Smyrna.)
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Revelation 2:17 KJV (Promise to the church in Pergamos.)
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that over cometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.

Revelation 2:26 KJV (Promise to the church  in Thyatira.)
26 And he that over cometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of My Father.
28 And I will give him the morning star.

Revelation 3:5 KJV (Promise to the church in Sardis.)
He that over cometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12 KJV (Promise to the church in Philadelphia.)
Him that over cometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.

Revelation 3:21 KJV (Promise to the church in Laodicea.)
To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.

Revelation 21:7 KJV (Promise to all belivers in Christ.)
He that over cometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.

I John 4:4 KJV
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

I John 5:4,5 KJV
4 For whatsoever is born of God over cometh the world: and this is the victory that over cometh the world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that over cometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Salvation Prayer



Thursday, June 14, 2012

Faith Abandoned


Bible Questions Answered:
“...I've heard of this...pastor who after decades of preaching, has decided  to become an atheist!”
Sheila/ Shreveport, Louisiana U.S.A.

Bible Answer:

First of all stop and read the following blogs:

* (Falling Away-The Great)  Falling Away-The Great

* (Once Saved-Always Saved)   Once Saved Always Saved

THE WORD OF THE LORD:

Jeremiah 23:1,2,11,12 KJV
1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! saith the Lord.
2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed My people; Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in My house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.
12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 34:1-10 NLT
1 Then this message came to me from the Lord: 
2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep? 
3 You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve. 
4 You have not taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty. 
5 So My sheep have been scattered without a Shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal. 
6 They have wandered through all the mountains and all the hills, across the face of the earth, yet no one has gone to search for them.
7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: 
8 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, you abandoned My flock and left them to be attacked by every wild animal. And though you were My shepherds, you didn’t search for My sheep when they were lost. You took care of yourselves and left the sheep to starve. 
9 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. 
10 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I now consider these shepherds My enemies, and I will hold them responsible for what has happened to My flock. I will take away their right to feed the flock, and I will stop them from feeding themselves. I will rescue My flock from their mouths; the sheep will no longer be their prey.

Micah 3:11,12 NLT
11 You rulers make decisions based on bribes; you priests teach God’s laws only for a price; you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid. Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord. “No harm can come to us,” you say, “for the Lord is here among us.”
12 Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field; Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights where the Temple now stands.

Matthew 7:15 KJV
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Matthew 24:11 KJV
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Luke 9:62 KJV
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

Luke 12:47,48 KJV
47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

I Corinthians 9:13,14 KJV
13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.


II Thessalonians 2:3 KJV
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first..."

I Timothy 4:1,2 NLT
1 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 
2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

II Timothy 3:13 KJV
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

II Timothy 4:3,4 NLT
3 For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. 
4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

Hebrews 3:12 KJV
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.

Hebrews 6:1-6 KJV
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this will we do, if God permit.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
Hebrews 10:38,39 KJV
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.
39 But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

James 3:1 NLT
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly. 

James 3:1 RV
Be not many teachers, my brethern, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment.

James 4:17 KJV
Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

II Peter 2:1 KJV
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

II Peter 3:17 KJV
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.

I John 2:18,19 NLT
18 Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. 
19 These people left our churches, but they never really belonged with us; otherwise they would have stayed with us. When they left, it proved that they did not belong with us.

EXAMPLES OF FALLING AWAY:

Exodus 32:1 KJV
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto 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.

Judges 2:16,17 NLT
16 Then the Lord raised up judges to rescue the Israelites from their attackers. 
17 Yet Israel did not listen to the judges but prostituted themselves by worshiping other gods. How quickly they turned away from the path of their ancestors, who had walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.

Nehemiah 9:25,26 NLT
25 Our ancestors captured fortified cities and fertile land. They took over houses full of good things, with cisterns already dug and vineyards and olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate until they were full and grew fat and enjoyed themselves in all your blessings.
26 “But despite all this, they were disobedient and rebelled against you. They turned their backs on your Law, they killed your prophets who warned them to return to you, and they committed terrible blasphemies.  

Ezekiel 36:16-21 NLT
16 Then this further message came to me from the Lord: 
17 “Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by the evil way they lived. To me their conduct was as unclean as a woman’s menstrual cloth. 
18 They polluted the land with murder and the worship of idols, so I poured out My fury on them. 
19 I scattered them to many lands to punish them for the evil way they had lived. 
20 But when they were scattered among the nations, they brought shame on My holy name. For the nations said, ‘These are the people of the Lord, but He couldn’t keep them safe in His own land!’ 

Acts 7:39-42 NLT
39 “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. 
40 They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ 
41 So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. 
42 Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods!..."

I Timothy 1:19,20 NLT
19 Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. 
20 Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.

We have lived for some time in a culture, which has had men enroll for seminary to prepare them for ministry, “who have -never-had a call from God!”
The ministry to them, is an occupation, one they seem to like, and so they prepare for it.

And what of the seminaries, they have attended?
Many seminaries today, do not believe that God created the world, in the virgin birth of Christ,
Of the Rapture of the church and or the Second Coming etc.etc.

Men learned in dogma and rituals, yet deplete of any personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
God help us!

II Thessalonians 2:3 KJV
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

II Peter 2:15,20-22 KJV
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.


Salvation Prayer


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: Sodomites Blinded, Sodom And Gomorrah Destroyed.


Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old Testament: Sodomites made blind, Sodom and Gomorrah, destroyed.

Occasion: Judgment against wickedness.

Location: Sodom and Gomorrah.

Bible Text:
Genesis 19:1-29 NLT (Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.)
1 That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 
2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. 
4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 
5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”
6 So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 
7 “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 
8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”
9 “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.
10 But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 
11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.
12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 
13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”
14 So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.
15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”
16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful. 
17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged. 
19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die. 
20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village. 
22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)
23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon. 
24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah. 
25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation. 
26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. 
28 He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.
29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.



Genesis 19:1 NLT
That evening the two angels came to the entrance of the city of Sodom. Lot was sitting there, and when he saw them, he stood up to meet them. Then he welcomed them and bowed with his face to the ground. 

(Be sure to read Chapter 18 of the book of Genesis.)
These two angles with the Lord, had just come from a confrontation with Abraham at Hebron some 35 miles to the north.

We read that the Lord (Theophany: Manifestation of God's Son, Christ was not yet come in the flesh, so this was the Spirit Man, The pre-incarnate Son of God.) and two of His mighty angels had come to visit Abraham. They were on a reconnaissance mission.

Genesis 18:1,2 NLT
1 The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. 
2 He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.

Lot was sitting at the gate or entrance to the city of Sodom, indicating that he had become a ruling elder in the city. The entrance, or gate to a city is where its leaders conducted commercial or political business.
In deep respect, Lot bowed to his visitors.

Lot was a just witness against the sins of Sodom and surrounding villages. He was an Elder because he was trusted, honest and a moral man.

Some today suffer under the delusion that there may be “morality,” without God!
That would be something akin to having an ocean, without, water.

Psalm 19:8,9 KJV
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

Psalm 33:4
For the word of the LORD is right; and all His works are done in truth.

The Lord told Abraham....

Genesis 18:20-22 NLT
20 So the Lord told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. 
21 I am going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If not, I want to know.”
22 The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but the Lord remained with Abraham.

Genesis 18:32,33 NLT (Abraham, interceded for his nephew and his family.)
32 Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten (Righteous) are found there?” And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
33 When the Lord had finished His conversation with Abraham, He went on His way, and Abraham returned to his tent.


I Timothy 2:1 KJV
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

Oh the sinful folly of man, to dare to think that God does not see, that God does not know!

I Samuel 2:3 KJV
Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

Job 31:4 KJV
Doth not He see my ways, and count all my steps?

Job 34:21 KJV
For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings.

Psalm 147:5 KJV
Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.

Isaiah 40:28 KJV
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding.


Daniel 2:20-22 KJV
20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are His:
21 And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.

I Corinthians 3:18-20 KJV
18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.
19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.
20 And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.

Hebrews 4:13 KJV
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

I John 3:20 KJV
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

Genesis 18:20 KJV
And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;

God had seen, and God had heard of the sin of the Sodomites, and it was great sin.


Genesis 19:2,3 NLT
2 “My lords,” he said, “come to my home to wash your feet, and be my guests for the night. You may then get up early in the morning and be on your way again.” “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.”
3 But Lot insisted, so at last they went home with him. Lot prepared a feast for them, complete with fresh bread made without yeast, and they ate. 

Lot showed the two men, every accommodation, and yet their wish seed to be to remain among the people of the city. “Oh no,” they replied. “We’ll just spend the night out here in the city square.

That met with instant protest by Lot, he insisting instead that they go home with him, for a feast.
The young men relinquished.

 What was it the Apostle Paul told the Jewish believers?

Hebrews 13:2 KJV
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

These two, appeared in every way to be earthly men, but were far from it, they were the mighty angels of God.
They talked, they ate, they appeared  in every respect as new friends, to Lot.


Genesis 19:4,5 NLT
4 But before they retired for the night, all the men of Sodom, young and old, came from all over the city and surrounded the house. 
5 They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

Lot had not, been thee only one to have seen the arrival of the visitors, the city's residents had seen them as well.

And now, we know one reason why the Lord and His companions had come to see Sodom.
Open militant pederasty, was the scene.

They consisted of the young and the old, and from all parts of the city.
“They shouted to Lot, “Where are the men who came to spend the night with you? Bring them out to us so we can have sex with them!”

What the Bible says concerning “Pederasty/ Homosexuality:

Leviticus 18:22 KJV
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.

Leviticus 20:13 KJV (Capital Punishment for grievous sin.)
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

I Kings 14:24 KJV
And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

Romans 1:24-32 KJV
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Romans 1:24-32 NLT
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 
25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 
26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 
27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 
30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 
31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 
32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.

I Corinthians 6:9,10 NLT
9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 
10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.

I Timothy 1:8-11 NLT
8 We know that the law is good when used correctly. 
9 For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. 
10 The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching 
11 that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

II Peter 2:6-9 NLT
6 Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. 
7 But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him.
8 Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 
9 So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment. 

Jude 7 NLT
And don’t forget Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, which were filled with immorality and every kind of sexual perversion. Those cities were destroyed by fire and serve as a warning of the eternal fire of God’s judgment.


Genesis 19:6-9 NLT
6 So Lot stepped outside to talk to them, shutting the door behind him. 
7 “Please, my brothers,” he begged, “don’t do such a wicked thing. 
8 Look, I have two virgin daughters. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do with them as you wish. But please, leave these men alone, for they are my guests and are under my protection.”
9 “Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.

Lot begged the men “don’t do such a wicked thing,” but they would not listen.
Lot then, offered his virgin daughters to the wicked crowd, but they would have nothing of it.

Why would Lot offer up his daughters?
This monstrous crowd, would have killed to have gotten their way.
That and the fact that Lot, more than likely new that homosexual men, were “not,” looking for women.
The simple fact was, nothing could appease their perverted appetites.

Stand back!” they shouted. “This fellow came to town as an outsider, and now he’s acting like our judge! We’ll treat you far worse than those other men!” And they lunged toward Lot to break down the door.

This was no idle threat by the men, the meant business.
In Sodom, there was no law and order, only mass perverted craze.



Genesis 19:10,11 NLT
10 But the two angels reached out, pulled Lot into the house, and bolted the door. 
11 Then they blinded all the men, young and old, who were at the door of the house, so they gave up trying to get inside.

Judgment had begun to fall on the wicked men of Sodom.
The mighty angels pulled Lot to safety in his home, while blinding the eyes of the Sodomites. They could no longer find the door.

In this story we see the mercy of God keeps His children, amidst judgment of the wicked.


Genesis 19:12,13 NLT
12 Meanwhile, the angels questioned Lot. “Do you have any other relatives here in the city?” they asked. “Get them out of this place—your sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else. 
13 For we are about to destroy this city completely. The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

If Lot had had any questions before just as to who these men were, he didn't any longer, for he realized that these were the very angels of God, come to destroy wicked Sodom.

And what was their message?
It was that of warning others!
Judgment is coming, warn them, warn them.

Ezekiel 3:16-21 NLT
16 After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, 
17 “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from Me, warn people immediately. 
18 If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 
19 If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed Me.
20 “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 
21 But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

(Verse 13)
“The outcry against this place is so great it has reached the Lord, and he has sent us to destroy it.”

Genesis 18:20,21 KJV
20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto Me; and if not, I will know.

Sin was the “norm,” in Sodom, but to Almighty God, with who we have to do, it was a screaming in His ears, that something was wrong, terribly wrong! If for no other reason, the innocent little children that were there, to say nothing of their evil influence on others, surrounding them.


Genesis 19:14 NLT
So Lot rushed out to tell his daughters’ fiancés, “Quick, get out of the city! The Lord is about to destroy it.” But the young men thought he was only joking.

Isaiah 58:1 KJV
Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.

Luke 17:26-37 NLT
26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building—
29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home.
32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!
33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.
34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left.
35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked. Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

II Peter 3:3,4 KJV
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.


Genesis 19:15,16 NLT
15 At dawn the next morning the angels became insistent. “Hurry,” they said to Lot. “Take your wife and your two daughters who are here. Get out right now, or you will be swept away in the destruction of the city!”
16 When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.

the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful."

“Lot still hesitated” friend, what a danger it is to hesitate, when God says to hurry!

Mark 4:19 KJV
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

I John 2:15-17 KJV
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

As in verses 10,11, the mercy of God, kept Lot and his family!
The Angels, yanking them out of their house by hand, to a place of safety.

What a wonderful place to state the proof of a pre-tribulation rapture of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Remember well the promise of the Lord!

Revelation 3:10 KJV (Christ's promise to the Philadelphian church.)
Because thou hast kept the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

Praise the Lord, judgment could not come, until, Noah and all his family were safe on board the Ark, and until Lot and his family was out of the city!
Tribulation judgment, can not come, until the Lords family of believers are out of the earth!

I Corinthians 15:51-58 NLT
51 But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!
52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.
53 For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.
54 Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with Him the believers who have died.
15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet Him ahead of those who have died.
16 For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died[h] will rise from their graves.
17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
18 So encourage each other with these words.


Genesis 19:17-22 NLT
17 When they were safely out of the city, one of the angels ordered, “Run for your lives! And don’t look back or stop anywhere in the valley! Escape to the mountains, or you will be swept away!”
18 “Oh no, my lord!” Lot begged.
19 “You have been so gracious to me and saved my life, and you have shown such great kindness. But I cannot go to the mountains. Disaster would catch up to me there, and I would soon die.
20 See, there is a small village nearby. Please let me go there instead; don’t you see how small it is? Then my life will be saved.”
21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village.
22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.” (This explains why that village was known as Zoar, which means “little place.”)

Don't look back!
It is the desire of our wicked enemy, to get us to look back, i.e. desire the things which we have left behind in following the Lord Jesus, things which lead to death.

Genesis 19:26 NLT
But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.

Lot's wife, looked back, and fell under judgment.
We can not look forward, following the Lord's command, while looking back at the sinful things of earth. To repent of sin, is to do an about face, traveling in a new complete and opposite direction than before.

Instead of running to the mountains, Lot pleaded to go to the village of Zoar. And the angel replied....
21 “All right,” the angel said, “I will grant your request. I will not destroy the little village.
22 But hurry! Escape to it, for I can do nothing until you arrive there.”

Praise the Lord!
We have seen in verses 10, 11, 16, and now in verse 22, judgment of God, cannot come------
judgment of God, cannot come until God's children are removed!
Read that a few more times.


Genesis 19:23-24 NLT
23 Lot reached the village just as the sun was rising over the horizon.
24 Then the Lord rained down fire and burning sulfur from the sky on Sodom and Gomorrah.

The little village, was the village of Zoar, the city of refuge.
Dear one, in these last dangerous closing days of time, where, oh where is your place of refuge?

Psalm 9:9 KJV
The LORD also will be a Refuge for the oppressed, a Refuge in times of trouble.

Psalm 46:1 KJV
God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble.

Psalm 46:7 KJV
The LORD of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge. Selah.

Psalm 57:1 KJV
Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Psalm 62:7 KJV
In God is my salvation and my glory: the Rock of my Strength, and my Refuge, is in God.

Psalm 62:8 KJV
Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a Refuge for us. Selah.

Psalm 91:2 KJV (Be sure to read the whole chapter.)
I will say of the LORD, He is my Refuge and my Fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

Psalm 94:22 KJV
But the LORD is my Defense; and my God is the Rock of my Refuge.


Proverbs 14:26 KJV 
In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of Refuge.

Hebrews 6:18 KJV    
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for Refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

Notice that the judgment, came down from heaven, it was “not,” some earthly catastrophe of earth!
This was the judgment of God!

Psalm 140:7-10 KJV
7 O God the Lord, the Strength of my Salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked: further not his wicked device; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
9 As for the head of those that compass me about, let the mischief of their own lips cover them.
10 Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast into the fire; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.


Genesis 19:25-29 NLT
25 He utterly destroyed them, along with the other cities and villages of the plain, wiping out all the people and every bit of vegetation.
26 But Lot’s wife looked back as she was following behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt.
27 Abraham got up early that morning and hurried out to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence.
28 He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace.
29 But God had listened to Abraham’s request and kept Lot safe, removing him from the disaster that engulfed the cities on the plain.

II Peter 2:6,7 KJV
6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7 And delivered just Lot..."

Intercession, praise the Lord, intercession, had been one reason, Lot and his family had been saved from judgment!
The intercession of uncle Abraham. (Genesis 18:16-33 KJV)


I Timothy 2:1 KJV
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 


Are you interceding for someone?
Your family, your pastor and his family, your deacons, your members of your church?
Your city and its officials, of state and government.
Your president, vice president and their cabinet/ government representatives, etc.

Whether we all think the same, or not, we are to pray for one another.

Was this situation of homosexuality one of a kind? No, it was an outcropping of sin, that God dealt with severely, time and time again.

Read of another like situation in the book of Judges chapters 19, and 20.

Is homosexuality beyond forgiveness? Never, it is as other sins, when confessed and forsaken, forgiven.

Proverbs 28:13 KJV
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

I John 1:8-10 KJV
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

John 3:14-18 KJV
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:
15 That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
16 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.
17 For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The prophet Ezekiel, closes this lesson with a warning from God, to your country and to mine.

Ezekiel 16:49,50 KJV (7 Indictments of sin.)
49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50 And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.

Salvation Prayer