God's judgment is coming. By all means... pass this article around! (www.heavensoon.com or rapturetoheaven.com)
Acts 17
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance
unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
Welcome to Issue number 23 of the Judgment is coming newsletter. May God bless you as you are encouraged and as you eagerly await the soon return of the Lord Jesus! The signs of impending judgment are all around us! It is a source of encouragement to the Christian as we know the Lord Jesus will very soon return!
Lev 20
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after
wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that
soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
The final and seventh Potter book is called: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". I'm sure Satan, the occultists, and all the witches are very excited about this release. Just think of all the people who will be oppressed or possessed by demons. People will harden their heart to the Lord Jesus and the saving Gospel as they enjoy Satan's witchcraft and occult entertainment and training.
The whole series is filled with hatred, magic, spells, and occultism. It is a literally a training course on how real witchcraft works. The story may be fantasy but the principles of witchcraft are not. The witchcraft is real and readers are getting an introductory course on real occultism and witchcraft with each Potter book. As they enjoy the fictional story, their minds are being trained in the basics of witchcraft. Everything about Potterism is an abomination to the Lord.
Here are some thoughts:
1) The kingdom of the antichrist will be setup on earth shortly after the rapture. This kingdom will not happen overnight. The hearts of lost people are being prepared today so they will accept the antichrist and his kingdom when the timing is right. Satan's plan of immersing people into the occult via Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Narnia is preparing their heart and minds for the coming antichrist. When the antichrist rises to power the black arts and witchcraft will be practiced worldwide. Today lost people are developing a "love" for such evil activities. You can expect occult and evil entertainment to grow in the world as hearts are being prepared. Everyone who rejects the Lord Jesus will accept the antichrist when he comes to power. People must make a choice to accept or reject the Lord Jesus.
John 3
36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth
not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
People who enjoy the occult via Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Narnia are choosing to reject the Lord Jesus. People cannot love the Lord Jesus and the occult world of Satan at the same time!
2) Sadly, professing churches and professing Christians are also obsessed with the demonic Harry Potter. It's all fun and entertainment to these occult lovers. These people do not have the right to call themselves Christians because they really are not. If committing such an evil abomination to the Lord is of no concern, then the occult lover is not a born again Christian! Therefore, these people should immediately stop calling themselves "Christian" and stop attending church. Instead it would be more accurate to call themselves a witch in training and join a coven.
3) If anyone has been deceived by the popular trend and glorification of the occult then they need to repent before the Lord and destroy any related occult books and movies. It is not a light thing to commit an abomination to the Lord. Therefore repent, turn away from it, and destroy all the items of the occult in your home.
God gives warnings about the occult. This sin is so great that God calls it an abomination. Notice in the verses below that everything Harry Potter stands for and does is an abomination to God:
Deut 18
10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer
of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer.
12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because
of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Isa 5
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for
light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Rev 21
8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the
second death.
The occult lover is on the path to a lost eternity in hell, the lake of fire. People need to make a choice right now to accept or reject the Lord Jesus!
John 3
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.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
The book of Revelation is a great blessing to believers. It is the only book in the Bible where the readers are promised a blessing!
In the first few chapters there are letters written by the Lord Jesus to the seven churches in existence in the first century. The best understanding of the letters to the seven churches is to use them all as a checklist for your church and your personal life. There are good points to be encouraged and bad points to repent, remove, and avoid. Pastors should read each letter and take inventory on his church to see if it is run in such a way to please the Lord Jesus. Individual Christians can read the seven letters and take inventory on their personal life to see if they are living in such a way to please the Lord Jesus. Everyone can benefit from the letters to the seven churches!
In this article we will look at the letter to the church of Ephesus where they lost their first love to the Lord. Losing the first love to the Lord is a danger for church assemblies as well as the individual Christian.
The church at Ephesus was established by the Apostle Paul. The city was prosperous, wealthy, and the home of the worshippers of Diana. There was lots of prosperity, idol worship, and sexual immorality (part of the worship) in Ephesus. This is what the church of Ephesus faced as they witnessed to the lost in the city of Ephesus.
Here is what the Lord Jesus says about the church at Ephesus:
Rev 2
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that
holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks;
2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou cants not bear
them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and
are not, and hast found them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and
hast not fainted.
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy
first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I
also hate.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches;
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in
the midst of the paradise of God.
As you can see they were commended for many good things. Below is a list of the good works done in the Church of Ephesus.
1) They cannot bear them that are evil - they are not welcome in the assembly. This means a liar, or a thief, or an immoral man would not be welcome in the congregation at Ephesus.
2) They test and try teachers and find them to be liars and false teachers. If only Christians would do this today! False teachers would be instantly out of business. If Christians took the Bible and compared the popular wolf teachings then the deceivers would be easily and quickly seen. These false teachers could then be cast out and they would go out of business. But this is not the case today. In the spirit of "being loving and not judging", false teachers are given a pulpit and are free to lie and deceive at will.
3) They did their works and labor with patience without fainting. This church was faithful and loyal in doing good works in the midst of trouble and persecution.
4) They hate the deeds of the Nicolatanes. What were the deeds of the Nicolatanes? This is a grey area but it probably included their idol worship of Diana and included the sexual immorality which was a part of worship. These two sins a believer should also hate and be against with no compromise. God hates idolatry, false worship, and sexual immorality and so should the Christian.
The church at Ephesus was a hard working church that was morally pure and doctrinally sound. This church stood fast on Biblical truth.
But here is their fault: They lost their first love to the Lord! This church did many good works and even stayed faithful in doctrine. But they lost their first love to the Lord Jesus. Perhaps over time doing the work of God became routine and even boring. They still did good works but no longer were they done out of a growing love for the Lord Jesus.
The loss of ones first love can still happen today! We can see its effects in two different ways:
1) Pastor and leadership can grow cold to the Lord Jesus. The pastor can lose his first love to the Lord and just keep up all day-to-day and week-to-week routines.
2) The congregation can also lose their first love to the Lord. I would say before the congregation loses their first love, the pastor has long ago lost his first love. First the pastor, then the congregation.
The result is cold hearts as a chill comes over the congregation. The pastor who looses his first love to the Lord also grows cold in his love for God's people. Such a pastor can become cold and even cruel in his dealings with God's people. You see out of a great love for the Lord, the pastor will seek to edify and build up God's people. But everything changes if the pastor loses his first love to the Lord.
Such a congregation can still do good works while the heart and love for the Lord is cold. Visitors to the church can sense the coldness in their hearts when the church has lost its love for the Lord.
THE CURE
The Lord Jesus identified a problem in the church of Ephesus and He also gave the cure: Here it is:
Rev 2
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
The key word is to remember! The Lord says to remember why you are doing those good works. Remember back to the time when first you served the Lord out of love. Go back to those days in your heart and continue serve Him but with a great love in your heart for Him. Remember the time when you loved the Lord Jesus and sought to grow close to Him and to please the Lord in all your activities. Day by day a person should be drawing near to the Lord and over time, love should be increasing. The more a Christian gets to know the Lord and experience Him, the more the love for the Lord should increase. The Lord says to repent and realize you have fallen. This means to change your heart.
- Remember your first works done out of love to the Lord. Remember and repeat
this attitude in your life
- enjoy reading and learning the Bible like you did in days past
- rejoice in praying and knowing that God hears your requests.
- enjoy fellowship with saved Christians
- have joy in serving the Lord whom you love
- have joy as you draw near to the Lord
- have joy as your love for the Lord increases
The Lord says to remember all these things and your love for Him in earlier days! Then you will be able to clearly see how far you have fallen.
PUNNISHMENT
There will be those who refuse to repent and remember so they can be restored in their first love to the Lord Jesus.
Rev 2
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
There is a punishment for those who will not repent, remember and change their heart. The Lord will come quickly and will remove their candlestick out of his place.
The removal of candlestick means the Lord will no longer be in and with that church. They will go through all the motions but the Lord will be gone and will not be present in their assembly. That church will die over time. The church will be just a big hollow, empty building that once preached the Gospel out of love for the Lord Jesus. Now it is like an empty tomb where there is no spiritual light or presence of the Lord.
This can be seen today in some churches. There have been churches years ago that were faithful and preached the Gospel. However, over time they lost their first love, fell away, and never returned to the Lord. Today those churches are big empty buildings. They suffered the removal of their candlestick and over time, the church died.
CURRENT DAY APPLICATION
Did you ever wonder why so many churches use perverted Bibles, listen to false preachers, mess with the occult, and entertain with rock music? These churches have lost their first love and fallen away. Sadly, the Lord Jesus left their church and removed their candlestick long ago. However, no one seems to notice. These churches keep busy with a whole line up of false preachers and rock bands to tickle the ears and entertain.
Other churches have stood fast and still use the KJV Bible and will not tolerate error. In many ways they are just like the church at Ephesus. They achieved a good name by past good works and are well known as they continue to "do things". Yet they are cold hearted and it does not take too long to get chilled if you are a visitor. They have lost their first love to the Lord Jesus. Remember, the pattern is always the same. Once the church grows cold to the Lord Jesus, they soon grow cold to each other.
The Lord Jesus says: Remember and repent! This warning applies to both church assemblies and to the individual Christian.
Rev 2
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first
works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick
out of his place, except thou repent.
In these last days the cults and false teachers attack the foundational doctrines of the Bible. The Trinity is one such doctrine that lost people seek to attack. This is an important doctrine and without believing in it a person is not saved. You see if a person is wrong about God and who He is, then he is wrong enough to lose his soul for all eternity!
The Trinity is an essential belief in Biblical Christianity. Even though the word "Trinity" is not in the Bible the concept certainly is!
Here we will quickly show the Trinity by showing the fact that there is only one God. Then within the ONE God there are three Divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three Divine Persons are the one God.
Let's start:
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD
The Bible teaches there is only one God
Deut 4
35 Unto thee it was showed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God;
there is none else beside him
Isa 43
10 Ye are my witnesses saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen:
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me
there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me
Isa 44
6 Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts;
I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.
Isa 44
8 Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and
have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea,
there is no God; I know not any.
Isa 45 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else.
Isa 45
22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God,
and there is none else.
James 2
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also
believe, and tremble
GOD THE FATHER
This section will show that there is a Person called the Father and that He is God.
Gal 1
1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead;)
Gal 1
3 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 Cor 1
2 Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies,
and the God of all comfort;
Eph 6
23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Phil 2
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory
of God the Father"
2 Tim 1
2 To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord
1 Pet 1
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace
unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead,
2 John 1
3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
Jude 1 1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
John 8 54 Jesus answered, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing: it is my Father that honoreth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God
GOD THE SON
This section will show that there is a Person called the Son (the Lord Jesus) and that He is God.
God the Son became a man and dwelt on earth
Matt 1
23 Behold a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they
shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us
Notice that the Word is God (verse 1) and the Word became flesh (verse 14)
John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory,
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
2 John 5
20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his
Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life
1 Tim 3
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Col 2
9 For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily
The Lord Jesus claimed to be God
John 8
54 Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father
that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God:
55 Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.
57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou
seen Abraham?
58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was,
I am.
59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
In verse 58 the Lord Jesus took the Divine "I AM" and applied it to Himself.
In verse 59 the Jews understood Him and took up stones.
Below is where God spoke to Moses and used the Divine I AM in verse 14:
Exodus 3
13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,
and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and
they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
John 5
17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.
18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had
broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself
equal with God.
John 10
30 I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for
which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for
blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Thomas confesses that the Lord Jesus is God
John 20
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and
reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless,
but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My LORD and my God.
The Father calls the Son (the Lord Jesus), God
Heb 1
8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a
sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even
thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;
and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
This section will show that there is a Person called the Holy Spirit and that He is God.
In verse 3 below Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit who is God (verse 4)
Acts 5
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and
brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the
Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not
in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great
fear came on all them that heard these things.
2 Cor 3
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there
is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit
of the LORD.
Acts 13
2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate
me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them
Rom 8
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God
Acts 16
6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and
were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the
Spirit suffered them not.
Acts 20
28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he
hath purchased with his own blood
Eph 4
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day
of redemption
Luke 1
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Rom 15
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may
abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Rom 15
19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that
from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel
of Christ.
Job 33
4 The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
Old Testament and New Testament Comparison
The Holy Spirit will be shown to be God Almighty as we compare a verse in the Old Testament with its counterpart verse in the New Testament.
Isa 6
8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will
go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not;
and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Next lets look at the counterpart verse in the New Testament.
Acts 28
25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul
had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto
our fathers,
26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall
not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
When these two verses are compared it can be easily seen that the Holy Spirit the one who is speaking and He is God.
CONCLUSION
The Bible clearly reveals God as a Triune God. The doctrine of the Trinity is true and all who reject it are showing that they are Satan-blinded, lost, unconverted sinners still on the pathway to hell.
2 Cor 4
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.
Remember, if a man is wrong about God and who He is, then he is wrong enough to lose his soul forever!
The time is short! Satan's people are already starting to shut down web pages. I encourage people to copy this newsletter and send it forth! Feel free to post this newsletter on web pages, to mail it to people, print it, or to send it into email newsgroups on the internet. There is an open copyright on this newsletter. This means it may be freely posted, printed, or transmitted in any way as long as it is NOT changed.
Get the message out! Judgment is coming and it has already started! It is long past time to repent and get right with God! The Lord Jesus (second person of the Trinity and God in human flesh) is the Only Saviour. Come to Him today before it is too late for you!