The Day of the Lord

 

    

Introduction

Laziness has blinded the Church in its study of God’s Word. The Church seems to believe it has the power to quicken “The Day of the Lord.”

“The Day of the Lord” will not come without signs, so we must be vigilant in our faith.

Many Fellowships say that their missionary endeavor is to quicken the day of the Lord. Quickening, “The Day of the Lord” is a wrong motive for spreading the Word of God; Salvation of the lost soul is its real purpose of the missionary pursuits.

Matthew 24:4-14 says,

And Jesus answered and said to them, See to it that no one misleads you. For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

The Proclamation of the Word

The Church cannot hasten Christ’s return, as catastrophic events will increase, so Christians must prepare and never lose hope. Christ will come back in God’s timetable. God will command his angel to proclaim the everlasting gospel to all humanity. God will complete the evangelism of the world, not the Church.

Revelation 14:6-7 says,

And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the Earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people; and he said with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the Earth and sea and springs of waters.

Why do Christians ignore or skate around these verses in the book of Revelation? God will declare the gospel to all people and languages by the voice of an angel. Christians are only workers and cannot spread the Good News to everyone, even though commanded to do so. God will accomplish this task in His own convenient time. Humanity will hear the truth by the voice of one who cannot lie.

Humanities Judgment

When the Lord returns, He will judge all humanity. The Lord will settle all accounts justly.

Romans 14:9 says,

For to this end, Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living

Acts 10:42 says,

And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.

God’s Day Approaches

Matthew 24:36 says,

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

God’s day is coming, and one day this world will end. God will persevere only so far, then the end. Jesus commanded the Church to spread the Gospel to all. But remember, one must keep one’s ego in check, so this work is not in the flesh. Many devout Christians fall prey to their ego in frustration because few souls will enter the Kingdom.

Acts 1:8 says,

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the Earth.

Matthew 22:14 says,

For many are called, but few chosen.

One must be a faithful witness of Jesus Christ while still on Earth. Eventually, the responsibility belongs to God for the delivery of the Gospel to humanity. In Corinthians, it is God that will cause the growth, not man.

1 Corinthians 3:7 says,

So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.

Our part is we either plant the seed of life, or we water. It is God’s responsibility for the increase in His salvation plan.

Therefore, the day of the Lord will come, and here is a question from Luke’s gospel.

Luke 18:8 says,

I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the Earth?

The Rapture

So in Scripture, where is this secret delight where all Christians will avoid God’s wrath and removed before the Tribulation? Only this is possible with a stretch of the imagination or a blatant misinterpretation of the Word of God.

The Pre-Tribulation Rapture started around the 1800s and had no early church fathers supporting this alternative. The whole idea of a clandestine joy is only a few hundred years old. This concept of a Secret Rapture may have developed in Scotland. Christians cultivated this belief that God would disconnect them from the persecution soon to be on Earth.

2 Timothy 3:12 says,

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

Many believers see this misery of seven years of sorrow and pain as only for the unbeliever. The book of Daniel shows the first half of these seven years to be a peaceful time. We may understand the books of Daniel and Revelation with serious Bible study.

Many Christians embrace a Secret Rapture, knowing they will avoid suffering. Scripture teaches something different from the way men look at the end times. If one is God’s child, then he or she will suffer persecution. Just look at what is happening to the Christians in the Arab and African world today with their persecution. (see 2 Timothy 3:12) One should also look at what is going on in America today and see what the United States Government is trying to do by taking away our freedom of religion.

Christians alive during the Tribulation will go through, but it is the Wrath of God He will remove us before it comes. After opening the sixth seal—terror will fill the Earth as never was or will be again. Christians will not go through the Wrath of God because God will remove the Holy Spirit, and without the Holy Spirit, NO ONE could survive.

Revelation 6:12-17 says,

I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the Earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the Earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?

Revelation 16:17 says,

Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, “It is done.”

At this point, there was NO more hope for humanity, for the Holy Spirit was no longer on Earth to convict humanity of unrighteousness, God gave them several opportunities to confess their sin, but they rebelled and cursed God. God destroyed man at the seventh bowl of wrath poured out.

2 Timothy 3:12 says,

Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

However, true believers will not see the Wrath of God that will come upon humanity. But believers will see persecution in this life.

The Armor of God

As warriors going off to battle, we must wear armor that protects us from harm. This armor is both defensive and offensive is honoring to God through His Word.

Ephesians 6:10-17 says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Conclusion

Here is a question, are you waiting for the Rapture or the return of Jesus Christ? These two events are unique, for one is cowardly, and the other brings joy. The one you choose will change the way he or she understands the Word of God. Persecution will happen while in the Army of God on Earth.

The Church must prepare for battle every single day, waiting for the return of the Lord. The only protection given by God is His armor, so use it well.

Fight the good fight, stay the course, and eternal life with Jesus Christ is the reward.

Even Jesus did not want to go to the Cross and suffer persecution, yet He did His Father’s will.

In Luke 22:42, it says,

Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.

Jesus, he must suffer pain before going back to His Father. The Lord shows us we must endure to the end, and then we receive the prize.

Sola Scriptura–By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide–By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia–By Grace Alone

Solus Christus–By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria–Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

Relationship v. Religion

 

Introduction

The pitfalls of religion over a relationship between oneself and the Lord Jesus Christ of Creation must be supreme. Some people believe that religion is superior to a Relationship. This author believes that a personal relationship over human-made religion becomes paramount.

Many will reject what I am saying to embrace a religious denomination, that my friend is their choice, and I respect what they believe, but I disagree with them on this selection. Religion will tie one’s hands, but a relationship sets us free.

Religion

People in a time of crisis will turn to a religious denomination that comforts them during this stage. However, when this predicament is at an end, those same individuals who embraced religion will fall back into their old ways of life.

According to the dictionary, religion is a belief in some superhuman controlling person. This control could be the reason people run to faith when a catastrophe presents itself to them. Religion is a set of rules laid out by the founder of that religious sect, or today we call them denominations.

List of Christian Denominations

Each has its regulation that the devotee must adhere to or face ex-communication.

James 1:26-27 says,

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

It speaks of a “Pure and undefiled religion,” basically put, all human-made religions are not Pure or Undefiled. Many religious seemed laced with the belief of the Pharisees of old. With an extensive list of “do’s and don’ts.” A “Pure and undefiled religion” is a relationship between individuals.

Relationship

According to the dictionary, a relationship is how people connect or how individuals act towards each other. When one has a connection between them and the Lord Jesus, it is not about “do’s and don’ts!” It is how one shows their love and respect for each other?

If we love the Lord Jesus Christ, it will be the easiest thing in the world to obey Him. Our first task should be as the scripture teaches.

Matthew 22:37-40 says,

And He said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.

If one loves the Lord, then all else will fall into place. There is no religion here, but a relationship between God and people. There are no “do’s and don’ts” to follow in a relationship because one does it out of love.

Husband and Wife

The first relationship was between God and Adam; this was out of pure love. Then God created a woman, and now a relationship was among humans, no religion involved here.

Ephesians 5:25, 33 says,

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

It has always been important for relationships, not the human-made religion we see today. If one has love and devotion to an individual, one will do anything to make them happy.

That is why a relationship is far superior to any religion on all fronts.

Family Relationships

It is all about relationships with all humans, no matter their shade color.

Ephesians 6:1-9 says,

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; not by way of eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.         And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

The above passage is not about religion, but a relationship of children, toward their parents and vice versa; it is also about servants and their relationship to the master and how the master treats his servants. All healthy relationships are from the Lord and must be from the heart.

It is the author’s contention, this whole passage on relationships with other individuals. Religion will not work because it has too many rules.

The Ten Commandments

Relationships to others are so meaningful that even in God’s Commandments to Moses was that most were to show how our relationship was to be with our fellow man.

Exodus 20 says,

Relationship Toward God

You shall have no other gods before Me.

You shall not make idols.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Relationship Toward Man

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet.

There are more commandments towards man than God; as God shows us, it is a relationship superior to religion.

Conclusion

The relationship is far superior to any religion. Religion only translates into denominationalism. Religion or denominationalism or whatever one desires to call it is a tool that has caused divisions in the body of Christ called the Church. Genuine relationships bring only one closer to each other in love and devotion.

Humankind has gotten so wrapped up in religion; it has forgotten people. Do not let religion rule your life, commit oneself to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and see the results soar to the next level.

God has no religion with us, but He has a relationship waiting if we but ask.

Sola Scriptura –By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide–By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia–By Grace Alone

Solus Christus–By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria–Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

The Failed Test of Lucifer

 

Introduction

I wish to advance a theory of the fall of The Bright and Morning Star. This individual is Lucifer, but more commonly known as Satan. This writer does not believe that Genesis 1:1-2  resulted from Lucifer’s fall and the later re-creation by God.

Creation & Theory

There is a theory that God had to recreate everything that He once created. This destruction lies between Genesis 1:1-2 because of the void and darkness on the earth. Some say Lucifer caused this emptiness on the planet. If one believes this theory of the gap resulted from Lucifer’s playing havoc in the Earthly and Celestial Heaven, one would have to think that God lost control of creation. God and losing power is not an option for God to entertain.

Genesis 1:1-2 says,

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.

This writer thinks this so-called devastation between Genesis 1:1-2 is not valid.

Genesis 1:31 says,

God saw all that He had made, and behold; it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Scripture is clear that when God looked back, He said “very good.”

Had they cast Lucifer out between Genesis 1:1-2, God the creator could not say it was “very good,” now could He.

It could be as simple as not having the exact words to describe the beginning of creation. Now go to a place like Lowe’s or Home Depot. There is everything one must have to build a home. It just does not look like anything yet. One can go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and see only building supplies, yet a contractor can see a beautiful building. God did the same thing, gathering everything needed to create everything we see. Everything was there that God needed, but we cannot see the beauty in the mind of God.

Men come up with complicated theories about the creation and then misses the obvious in front of their eyes.

Testing of Man’s Loyalty

God gave man one rule for living in the garden. Do not eat from the Tree of “the knowledge of good and evil.”

Genesis 2:16-17 says,

The Lord God commanded the man, saying, From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;   but from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.

God gave upon us the ability of choice for ourselves in these two verses amounted to possessing free will. With this new free will, we now have a responsibility toward the person who gave it to us. Will we obey and do his bidding or do as we please?

“The tree of the knowledge of good and evil” was the test set before all humanity. It was a test of our free will and of who we are. However, Adam and Eve failed the test and then passed the blame on to someone else, done in today’s world. One wonders what would have happened if they admitted their guilt before God on their disobedience. What would God have done is an exciting concept to muse over?

We are to own up to our deficiency by not say he or she made me do it. One only can speculate what God would have done if they owned up to their sin and confessed.

Testing of Lucifer’s Loyalty

God tested man for his loyalty with the Tree of good and evil. God also tested all His Angelic creation for their devotion to Him. Perhaps this trial was the man himself, and God, having created man by His hand, was Satan’s test.

Genesis 1:26 says,

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

The man is a unique creative act of God as He made us in His image. God did not create Lucifer in His image. The human species were to rule over everything God created. When one thinks of this vast power God placed into our hands for safekeeping, our humility should bring obedience and awe.

Of every creation that God made, it is only the man who has the divine right of dominion overall. However, Lucifer assumed he could take this power over.

Man, given a great responsibility to care for God’s creation, perhaps it was Lucifer’s jealousy and his pride got the best of him. At this moment, Satan surrendered to his great pride and said, “I will make myself like the Highest.”

Psalm 8:3-6 says,

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.

Man, favored by God, ran around in Lucifer’s head. Satan yielded to his pride, saying, “I will make myself like the Highest.”

Isaiah 14:14-17 says,

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit. Those who see you will gaze at you, they will ponder over you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?

Lucifer lost everything because of his PRIDE

Conclusion

God tested the loyalty of both Man and Lucifer. The man was the test for Lucifer’s faithfulness, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and evil was the test of Man’s loyalty, and both failed.

Think about a loyalty test you have had from a family member, friend, spouse or boss for a moment. If there were no tests of loyalty, how could they trust you? God, our family, friend, spouse or boss must verify commitment out of necessity, so confidence is gain in that individual. Something placed in front of you having an alluring to test you, if there were no fascination, the test would be mute.

Proverbs 16:18-19 says,

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling. It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly; than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Sola Scriptura–By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide–By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia–By Grace Alone

Solus Christus–By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria–Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)

Multiple Wives & Adultery

 

Jesus forgives her Adultery

Introduction

Do those individuals who get divorced and remarried live in the perpetual sin of adultery? Does the Scripture say anything about this so-called chronic adultery issue as sometimes portrayed and perpetuated by the Church as a reality?

Old Testament Heroes

Several Old Testament figures had many wives, King David, King Solomon, Joseph, and Jacob. However, Scripture teaches that man was to have only one wife at a time if he were a leader.

1 Timothy 3:2 says,

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.

The example is God, bringing to Adam only one woman, Eve. So, the question is, did these men of old live in perpetual sin, no? However, what we see from multiple wives is a never-ending problem that plagued their lives. One wife wants this, another wife wanting something else, and it went on and on to the point of ad nauseam this was not God’s plan for the family, for there is no unity with multiple wives, only disunity.

Genesis 2:18 says,

Then the LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.

Genesis 2:21-24 says,

So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said,

This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

God took one rib only, and this one rib could represent only one woman at a time. One can only achieve unity in marriage, with one man and one woman together as husband and wife.

The Sin of Adultery

Matthew 19:9 says,

And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.

If one discovers a spouse to be immoral, is the innocent party allowed to remarry without adultery consequences? If the answer is yes, then why does the Church hold them back? Often pastors who ended up in a divorce and the innocent party had to promise never to remarry if they wish to remain a pastor.

One can only wonder why the Church puts men in a situation to burn in lust. Is it to see them fail, and then the Church can say, it is because of your divorce why you have failed? This author was a guest speaker at one Fellowship, and the head deacon and I were talking, and he told me even to have a divorced person in the Pulpit would contaminate it. This so-called contamination says that the individual’s salvation experience means nothing and that God has not forgiven them.

The Question Is

Why is it so easy for the Fellowship to forgive a murderer, a thief, a liar, a rapist, or any other sin, but they cannot pardon someone divorced and remarried? If individuals commit homicide, they will always be a murderer; this will not change, even if they never do this crime again. It is the same with any sin against God; there are no exceptions. All people are sinners, yet each sin has a name, and we are that for the rest of our lives.

Arrogance in the Leadership

An example of this arrogance is the rude talk given by many Baptists Fellowship leaders about the Mormons at their Annual Convention in Utah several years ago; this is the same egotism of the Jewish Pharisees at the time of Jesus. They may attempt to deny this, but the proof is in the records if one but looks.

Luke 18:10-14 says,

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner! I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Visualize being told that “you cannot have God’s best” because of divorce and remarriage, think of the mental anguish it would put you through. If this was true, then God does not forgive and forget what we have done, and the blood of Jesus was for nothing. This arrogant behavior by the leadership has kept many a good man from doing God’s will. I tell you this that every gift one receives from God is the BEST He gives.

James 1:16-17 says,

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Whatever God gives you will be His absolute best for you. The Church in America is full of egotists who call themselves Christians or leaders. Who controls the Church with an iron-fisted dictatorship is one of the primary reasons for the Church’s weakness today. However, no one will voice this opinion, fearing being called a heretic.

God and Forgiveness

When one confesses his or her sin, God has forgiven and has forgotten them.

Psalm 103:11-14 says,

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.

1 John 1:9 says,

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Therefore, God says that He will remove ALL of our sins if we but ask Him. The real question, who do these leaders think they are when they block a man from serving God in the Pulpit or a woman serving as a Sunday school teacher when they are 100% forgiven by God.

Conclusion

God must forgive all individuals who wish to serve Him and not to live in sin. The Church should not rule that a person is living in an adulterous state if they remarried because they may have asked for forgiveness from God. There is no Biblical evidence to support this beyond any reasonable question that a divorced person is ineligible to preach the Gospel. Please do not use First Timothy as the proof text, as I have shown why there should be only one wife at a time. This book says nothing about divorce and remarriage and serving God.

1 Timothy 3:2 says,

An overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife.

I believe that is referring to one wife at a time. If a man’s wife dies, and he remarries, he has had two wives, and according to the Church, he could no longer be a preacher.

Sola Scriptura– By Scripture Alone

Sola Fide– By Faith Alone

Sola Gratia– By Grace Alone

Solus Christus– By Christ Alone

Soli Deo Gloria– Glory to God Alone

Copyright George L Gallant, ©2021

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)