| The quoted verses of our Lord Jesus Christ, are in: | RED |
| While quotes by the Prophets or Apostles, are in: | PURPLE |
|
In these endtimes, I find myself debating with other Biblical believers about the
following:
1. The possibility of a believer losing salvation (or finding out they never had it, e.g. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Jesus, Matthew 7:21-23) vs 2. what many believe is impossible to lose one's salvation if one is genuinely saved, e.g. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." Jesus, John 10:28 Now regarding John 10:28, if you will observe the previous verse, John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." There's a key word, "they 'follow' Me", not fallen away. As for the words, "genuinely saved", who's the judge of that? Jesus according to scripture, not man.)"For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son." John 5:22 "Many are called but few are chosen." Mat 22:14 Now each believer personally believes they are saved for they feel in their heart that they are okay with God being that they have accepted Jesus Christ, but I tell you that the heart is a deceiving spiritual organ because even non-Biblical/ecumenical believers and those of other faiths, believe they are eternally secure, e.g. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it?" Jer 17:9 In fact, to my surprise, I met a couple of chicks, a few years ago, who turned out to be satanists. They believed satan had made hell cool. I held back laughter, worried they would get mad and not answer me in this outstanding opportunity to hear what they honestly felt in their hearts about their eternal future, and said, "where did you hear this?" And they said satan told them. Thus, obviously in being so narrow minded and biased against God, they were so unfamiliar with His Words, they didn't even know the following verse about the devil: "...for he is a liar and the father of it." John 8:44 Thus they felt they didn't have to worry about hellfire. While pagans believe they are okay eternally, and even atheists believe they are okay eternally, since according to them, there's no life after death so as to even consider such a worry. Thus no one can rest if they feel that their eternity is going to be in the lake of fire, and this explains why many turn to the Lord, much as myself. We fear the eternal flames of the lake of fire and don't want any real estate there. It's just that simple! Although many Biblical believers believe you can never lose your salvation and show verses that support this belief, there is actually more support to state otherwise. Also these believers pick single verses, tiptoeing around what Jesus said, but providing a mariad of verses from Apostle Paul, e.g. John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." However, they disregard verse 5:28-29 "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth— those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation." Thus if I follow this logic of picking one verse that I like, then if I picked the above verse, I would be touting that goodness gets you into heaven. That's the fallacy of taking one verse and not taking all the verses regarding salvation together. Now consider verse John 8:51, "Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death." (I'm assuming you understand that death in the Bible, especially in the Gospel, usually means going to hell.) Or consider John 12:48 "He who rejects me and does not receive My Words, has that which judges him-the Word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." And here's one more for the better: "If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31 The people Jesus spoke this verse to answered that they've never been in bondage. "Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.'" John 8:34 Thus, Jesus just told these people three SALVATION details if we abide in His Word: "if you abide in My Word, A). you are my disciples... B). shall know the truth, and C). the truth shall make you free. Thus by knowing the truth we no longer sin nor slaves of sin, since "whoever commits sin is a slave of sin"? Well you know better, but those who believe you can never lose your salvation will tell you that God sees you as righteous-therefore you are righteous and not sinning or forgiven for all sins past, present and future? Are we playing the hypocrite, since we are always sinning? Ah but here's where it gets interesting: by abiding in His Word, we are covered by Jesus' sacrifice, because if we abide in His Word then we will do the following: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Mat 6:14-15 Aha! abide in His Word, very powerful...that's the distinction. And I ain't the only one saying this, Jesus said it. Is it any wonder then that Jesus mentions "kept My word" in revelation 3:8 as one of the characteristics of those raptured (more on this below). Afterall is Jesus not this Word that He is talking about us keeping? Consider the following verses: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us..." John 1:14 or "...His name is called the Word of God." Rev. 19:13 "..."The words that I speak to you are Spirit and they are life." John 6:63 That's why I have Jesus verses on my walls at my store and at my house. (Am I some kind of saint/nut? No, I'm a sinner, a lowly man of God, just trying not to be caught short of confessing Jesus. Perhaps one of the hardest aspects of this letter was where to begin. Should I start in the Gospel or the Old Testament, this went on for years. However, with the new world disorder and rapture, looming on the horizon, it became quite obvious that the Book of Revelation, is the most relevant in determining whether one has to continue walking with Jesus after being born again/saved or whether one does not have to worry about falling away and therefore losing their salvation or finding out they never had it. ( as in Matthew 7:16-23). I say this because the Book of Revelation describes the endtimes and the rapture in the following order: 1. church apostasy chp 1-3 and being "kept from the hour of trial" (rapture) Revelation 3:10, 2. The breaking of the seals and the hour of trial - the seven year tribulation. chapter 6-8, 13, 14-19 3. the kingdom of the antichrist chapter 13 4. Destruction of Babylon the Great. Chapter 18 5. Destruction of the kingdom of the antichrist chapter 19 6. 1000 year reign by Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Chapter 20 7. satan released to stir Gog and Magog. Chapter 20 8. Judgment Day. Chapter 20 9. Emmanuel - "God with us" Chapter 22 Hence, all believers should rejoice about this wonderful verse, "kept from the hour of trial" Rev 3:10 because we all know that it's going to be one miserable seven year period. But don't get ahead of yourself, for Jesus speaks to the different types of believers and makes it quite clear who gets raptured and why, vs who is left behind and is told to "repent onto death". Is it any wonder then that Jesus said in Matthew 22:14 "Many are called but few are chosen." And "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36 Why would Jesus say these verses? Did Jesus speak idle words? Or was Jesus trying to scare us? Why would we have to pray to be counted in the rapture, if we are "saved" and don't have to worry about losing salvation and/or finding out we never had it? Was Jesus talking to certain people or was He talking to all of us, believers and unbelievers? Did Jesus not speak to the churches in Revelations? Believers?? It just doesn't make any sense, in light of such verses, to have your head in the clouds, telling people that it's impossible to lose your salvation. In fact you might be sinning greatly by disregarding these scriptures and making assumptions. Thus, in the Book of Revelation Chapters 2 and 3, Jesus is speaking to the angels of the seven churches that existed during the second century AD. Now none of these churches exist today, so should we toss the Book of Revelation and say it doesn't apply to us? The illuminati would love that. However the angels of those churches exist today thus having jurisdiciton over the different types of Christians existing in the endtimes, since the Book of Revelation is only dealing with the endtimes. I hope that makes sense to you. In short here's what he tells the angels of these churches about repenting: 1. To the angel of the Church of Ephesus: "Remember therefore from where you have fallen: repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from it's place unless you repent. Rev 2:5 "He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life..." Rev 2:7 *What do you suppose the Lord means by removing this church's lampstand? If they have no light, are they not in darkness...Who else is in darkness, could it be the unbeliever? "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." John 12:46 Thus this church is being threatened of being treated as an unbeliever-"abide in darkness" Or consider this verse which is even more severe: Matthew 25:30 "And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’" To drive this warning further with more detail, Jesus then speaks, in the next verse, about His return and separating the sheep from the goats. And He distinguishes them by their works/fruits: "for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’" Matthew 25:35-36 And when they asked Him when they did these good deeds: "...the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’" Mat 25:41-43 Notice He didn't make any distiction between believer and unbeliever but chose their fruits to make a distinction. Afterall did Jesus not give the parable of the Good Samaritan as an example of His Second Commandmemt "Love your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:25-37 Thus the people cast on the left, the goats did not do this, if some were believers, they were not practicing being "good samaritans" -thus "love your neighbor as yourself" were they? Did Jesus not say to the lawyer after he mentioned the first and the second commandments in Luke 10:25-28 "...do this and you will live." Thus if the goats were rejecting the second commandment were they not rejecting the Word of God - Jesus Christ? Finally what about the other verse "He who has an ear let him hear...", Rev 2:7 did Jesus not say this in the Gospel over and over, tirelessly to the people who were unrepentant. And He didn't say it to this church only but to every church that He warned, e.g. starting with the Church of Ephesus--Rev. 2:7, church of Smyrna--Revelation 2:11, Church of Pergamos--Revelation 2:17, Church of Thyatira--Revelation 2:29, Church of Sardis--Revelation 3:6, even the church of philadelphia "...that no one may take [their]your crown. Rev 3:11"--Revelation 3:13, and the Church of Laodicians--Revelation 3:22. Perhaps a most important place the Lord speaks that verse is in His description of the kingdom of the antichrist. Rev 13:9 For more verses in the Gospel, see the Parable of the sower Matthew 13:9, Matthew 3:43 2. To the angel of the Church of Smyrna: "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear let him hear..." Rev. 2:10-11 ***Notice that to this church the Lord is talking about "prison, that you may be tested" and "tribulaton...and be faithful until death", so what happens if they're not? Moreover, why is the Lord talking tribulation until death with these guys, instead of an "open door" as He does to the Church of Philadelphia in Rev 3:8. Thus this church is similar to the Church of Philadelphia in that they aren't called to repent, however it seems that these people need to be tested in tribulation, unlike the blessed Church of Philadelphia. Hence, these Christians may be living in the world more than they should, and were not watching as Jesus Christ said repeatedly, "Watch.." Mat 25:13, "Watch.."Mark 13:33, "Watch.." Luke 21:36, "Watch.."Revelation 16:15. 3. To the angel of the Church of Pergamos: "Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Rev 3:16 Okay "stop the presses!" Holy smoke! Did the Lord just say He's going to fight against this church with the sword of His mouth? Who else does He fight against with the Sword of His mouth? Does Armaggedon and the armies of the antichrist ring a bell? Rev 19:15 "Now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations..." Here's another verse: "For by fire and by His sword The Lord will judge all flesh; And the slain of the Lord shall be many. Isaiah 66:16 (Take out the one from the verse and notice the number.) 4. To the angel of the Church of Thyatira "Indeed I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works...But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations- He shall rule them with a rod of iron: They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels." Rev. 2:22-27 **And to this church, the Lord is talking "great tribulation...and he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations" You see this church is not going to be raptured neither, because the Lord is saying "great tribulation" and "keep(s) My works until the end..." So these people in this church have an end, not a rapture. 5. To the angel of the Church of Sardis "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you." Rev 3:3 ***Does the Lord not say this about that "evil servant" in Matthew 24:48-51 and Luke 12:45-46. "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites (unbelievers in Luke 12:45-46). There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Woe! Is the Lord actually talking about his own fallen servant whom "the master of that servant...appoint him his portion with the hypocrites/unbelievers. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth", is He not talking about the "lake of fire" for this servant whom He is a "Master" of? He's not talking about someone that has never received Him, because then he wouldn't be his Master, now would he? However He is appointing him with the unbelievers to "weeping and gnashing of teeth." Further clarification is provided by Jesus in His Luke 19:12-27 parable: I like to call this parable the "good"-servant, the "bad"-servant, and the "ugly-God haters". In short, the Noble gave his servants minas to do business until His return from receiving a kingdom. "But His citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after Him, saying, 'We will not have this man reign over us'". (12:14) Upon His return He dealt with His servants first, rewarding the good,but one servant had hid the mina and did not earn Him anything, therefore the Noble tells him "out of your mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant". (12:22) Thus Jesus spends 5 verses in dealing with the "good"-servants, 7 verses in dealing with the "bad"-servant, and 1 in dealing with "those enemies of mine"-God haters. Thus "But bring Me those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them and slay them before me." Luke 19:27 Hence, this parable is very important for it makes a great distinction between servants serving Him, servants not serving Him, and almost as in an after thought, those who hate Him. Oh, and one more thing, what do you suppose the mina represents? It's definitely not the money that a mina is, for Jesus said "You cannot serve God and mammon. Mat 6:24 I'll give you a hint, it was something Jesus kept peddling for free, over and over again, tirelessly and finally died for this...could it not be "the Word of God"? Now back to the church of Sardis, consider the first part of Rev. 3:5, "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments...", does this verse not remind you of this verse in Revelation 7:13-15 "Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?' And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.' So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation...'" Now let's look at the rest of Rev. 3:5 "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear let him hear... Rev 3:5-6 ***Here's another verse that actually talks straight up about not blotting someones name from "the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father..." So then what do you suppose happens if the Lord blots out your name from the "Book of Life" and will not "confess" your "name before [His] father"? The following verses answer this question: "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Rev 21:27 Does the latter part of verse 3:5 not tie in with Matthew 10:33 whereby Jesus says "Whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." And more importantly, part of Rev. 3:8, "did not deny my name" is one of the characteristics of the raptured church of Philadelphia. 6. To the angel of the Church of Philadelphia "I know your works. See I have set before you an open door and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength have kept My word and have not denied my name." Rev 3:8 "Because you have kept the word of my patience ('command to persevere' in many Bibles), I will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." Rev 3:10 ***Now this church is a very interesting and blessed church, for it is the only church the Lord does not tell to repent. In fact He talks about a "door in that no one can shut." Rev. 3:8 The rapture. And the Lord clarifies this in Rev 3:10 "I will keep you from the hour of trial" Notice that He describes the four characteristics of this blessed and raptured church: A. "I know your works" Remember what Apostle James said "faith without works is dead" James 2:20 Could works be fruits as described in Mat 7:16 regarding how to tell false prophets? "You will know them by their fruits." Could this be how you tell a true servant of Jesus? Perhaps "fruits" and "will of My Father" are the same, and that may explain why Jesus continues from explaining how to uncover false prophets by their fruits, to the following verse in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." Will? what is the will of God? Ten commandments, etc... listening to the Lord throughout the Bible, especially in the Gospel and in life. "Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" Matthew 7:22-23 Well we know one thing, these guys are not atheist or newagers or satanists, but people who claimed to represent Jesus. And what is this lawlessness the Lord is talking about? Is it not rejecting His commandments? Read on... B. "you have little strength" - does this verse not remind you of the verses in Matthew 5:2-12, "Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Hence, these verses describe the struggles of believers trying to walk with God, and how very exhausted we are because we are at odds with the world and we're not even in the tribulation yet! "And you will be hated by all for my name's sake, ..."By your patience possess your souls." Luke 21:17 & 19 or "And you will be hated by all for my name sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved." Mat 10:22 Wait a second, is Jesus saying "by your patience possess your souls...endures until the end shall be saved." How could that be if we don't have to worry about losing salvation?? C. "kept My Word" - Okay does this mean that these people were perfect, walked the walk? I don't think so, because the Lord said it himself that "no one is good but One, that is God." Matthew 19:17 "Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? John 7:19 So what exactly does the Lord mean by "kept My Word" to humans that are ALWAYS sinners? I believe they did not reject scripture, but cherished it and because they are sinners, like you and me, they broke it off and on but confessed and forgave and were forgiven. Was King David not forgiven for murder and adultery? 2 Samuel 12:5-7 Afterall, what did Jesus say about forgiveness, especially after He gave the apostles the only prayer, known as Our Father in Heaven? "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Mat 6:14-15 or"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." Luke 11:25 (Furthermore, in regards to forgiving your brother, Mat 18:22 "I do not say to you, up to seven times but up to seventy times seven."He followed this verse with a very powerful parable (Mat 18:23-35) about a forgiven debtor, not forgiving a smaller debtor who owed him and was given to the torturers when his forgiving creditor found out. And then Jesus said “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” Mat 18:35 Perhaps these verses sum it up: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me." John 14:23-24 D. "and have not denied My name" this is awesome, because it ties into Matthew 10:33 as exclaimed above "whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." Christians pay a price daily for confessing Jesus to people,e.g. we lose promotions at work, school, social, we get disrespected, looked upon as simpletons, and I am, and derided..."...hated by all for My name's sake", Luke 21:17 But how many hide this? The lukewarm Christians? Thus, this church which is not even asked to repent has these four characteristics, which tie in wonderfully with what Jesus spoke in the Gospel, "works", "little strength", "kept My Word", "and have not denied my name." However, Jesus gave them a warning: "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes...I will write on him the name of My God..." Rev. 3:11-12 Woe, why is Jesus admonishing these raptuable Christians? If they're saved and candidates for the rapture, why warn them? As though they can still lose this opportunity...or worse, lose their salvation? And why is Jesus talking about overcoming? And that "I will write on him the name of My God"...that is, if they overcome... Wait, what happens if they don't overcome and Jesus does not write the name of His God on them? It's pretty obvious isn't it? Did they sin? You bet, but they forgave and were forgiven. As Jesus said above John 18:35. To say otherwise would be denying what Jesus said, and then you wouldn't be Biblical, thus abiding in His Word. 7. To the angel of the Church of Laodicians: "I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked." Rev 3:15-17 ***Woe I would definitely not want to be in this church because the Lord "will vomit them out of [His] mouth." Okay what exactly does He mean by vomit? Does He not mean to reject??? You better believe it. Do you not vomit when you have something inside you that is making you sick? Yeah man! when I vomit, I want to get rid of what's making me sick, believe me on this, I know. Again I quote the Lord "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." Rev 21:27 In conclusion, I can expound and explain scriptures from Genesis to Revelations that make it quite clear that the Lord "searches the minds and hearts of men" Revelation 2:23, 1 Chronicles 28:9, and what He is looking for in a believer. However, nowhere is He more adamant and clear by connecting the scriptures from the old testament to New Testament: the Gospel and the endtimes in the Book of Revelation, by explaining who is pleasing to Him and will be "kept from the hour of trial", and who is not and needs to repent in his messages to the angels of the churches. Thus, does Apostle John not say "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near." Revelation 1:3. On the other hand, the following verse concludes this letter as well as in the Book of Revelation, Apostle John curses those who would add or remove anything from the Book of Revelation: "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Rev 22:18-19. |
By Angelo
Big time sinner, Some say SOB, but undoubtedly a "simple man of God".