God’s Church
By: Frances Swaggart
One of the most important subjects that can be addressed today is the home. The home is of critical importance in the stability of any society. In view of this, we are confronted with an awesome problem in America —the rising statistics of divorce, the increase of non-committal couples living together, and society’s remaking and redefinition of the family unit. This is a serious problem since the strength of the home is the foundation of our nation. As the home goes, so goes the country, and so goes the world.
Today we have a generation of young people who, in many ways, grew up homeless. I don’t mean that they grew up fending for themselves on the streets (although some surely did), but rather those who grew up without parents and grandparents who knew how to create and sustain a godly home life.
As Christians, we need to know how to create such an environment for our children and our grandchildren. That’s why I’ve decided to reprint my husband’s article series, “The Successful Home and Marriage.” Each month I will use this space to share his teachings on topics that will help you to build a strong home, a stable marriage, and children of character who are secure in their relationships with their parents and with the Lord.
SOCIETY’S BASIC INSTITUTION
“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Gen. 2:18).
“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Heb. 13:4)
“And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat. 19:4-6).
God created three great institutions: the church, the home, and the state (government). These institutions have survived throughout history. Without them, the world would not have survived. They are not only three great factors in life, but also great restraining forces on the plans Satan has for the world.
If questioned on the subject, many might automatically assume that the church (the body of Christ) is God’s most important institution. Naturally, the state is also extremely important. A nation must have some form of government or there would be anarchy and chaos.
With all deference to the importance of the church and state, the home is the most important of God’s three institutions. It was the home that God created first in the garden of Eden, at the same time He created Adam and Eve. The home is the first institution on which God placed His divine seal of approval. It is the oldest institution in society—and it is also the basic and most important element in society. It has been said, and correctly, “as the home goes, so goes the world.”
IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL
Someone said that the three sweetest words in the English language are mother, home, and heaven. We should point out that mother and heaven are centered about the middle word, which is home. No one thinks about mother without thinking about home, and the home should be the picture and reminder of heaven. The home should be peaceful: it should be so good, so beautiful, that it can be thought of as a little bit of heaven right here on earth. The father should be a representative of God—and the mother representative of God’s grace and love.
Children ought to love their home so much that, every time they think of it, there will be a pleasant memory to comfort them. The home certainly should be a reminder of heaven, because whenever someone thinks of heaven, they tend to think about the loved ones they expect to meet again, “over there.” What a common thread in everyone’s Christian’s life. A mother, an aunt, a sister, a brother, a son or daughter—whoever it may be—when they depart to be with the Lord, they are missed and saddened hearts long after them. What a comfort it is to know that there will be a reunion in heaven’s glory someday. So the home is really rooted deeply in the heart’s tenderest thoughts, and in memories and aspirations of a better land where loved ones must no longer be saddened by suffering through loss and separation.
PEOPLE ARE PLACED IN FAMILIES
Psalm 68:6 tells us, “God setteth the solitary in families.” This may seem like a strange passage of Scripture. It means, really, that one of the greatest blessings God gives the human race is the home and the family. It is one of the most tender, blessed, memorable, and enjoyable arrangements that God offers to His children.
The design God has for the home sounds wonderful and idealistic. Everything God creates is good, and everything is meant to be a blessing. When God ordained the home, He ordained it to be a bit of heaven on earth. When He is truly head of the home, it functions according to His principles. It can thus be, in fact, a bit of heaven on earth.
BAD SITUATIONS EXIST
Even though God ordained the home—and even though His desire is for it to be a preview of heaven—there are many homes in a state of disruption and disarray, torn to pieces by strife. The home can be the best thing this side of heaven—or the worst thing this side of hell. Since it is ordained by God and the basic element in our society, Satan naturally does everything he can to destroy it. Approximately 40 percent of the homes in the United States are broken by divorce—and this is also true of many other countries. The enemy is doing everything possible to destroy the foundation and fiber of society, beginning with the home, and especially the institution of marriage itself.
HOME INVOLVES MARRIAGE
You cannot have a home without marriage. Marriage is, of necessity, involved in the establishing of a home. Satan has done everything he can to get people to ignore marriage and to just live together. Living together without marriage, of course, constitutes adultery. Some state that the marriage vow and the marriage certificate are nothing more than a formality and a piece of paper. That is an absurd and foolish statement. A $20 bill is just a piece of paper; the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and other priceless documents are just pieces of paper. The good and important institutions we have and depend on are, almost without exception, formalized by pieces of paper.
The marriage vow and certificate involve a commitment made, and this is the basic element in the development of a home. You can’t really have home without a marriage. Four or five young women living together do not make a home. Several young men sharing an apartment do not make a home. It takes marriage to make a home. Even when one of the mates in a marriage has gone on to be with the Lord, the memory of that home, and what it meant, still binds and cements together those left behind. It definitely takes a marriage to make a home.
The institution of marriage and the home is not something to be taken lightly. It was ordained by God. He made this clear and very obvious in His Word. He said in Genesis 2:18 that it is not good for man to be alone. He went on to say He would make a help meet (suitable) for him.
HOW GOD DID IT
It is recorded in Genesis 2:21-25:
“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam 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. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
God created woman and brought her to Adam. It was God who taught them the meaning of marriage. When they were brought together, it was no doubt the original example of love at first sight. They were the first couple wedded, as God gave the command to “be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it.”
God made man and woman for each other. It can truthfully be said that God Himself performed the first marriage ceremony, right there in the garden. Marriage is a holy and beautiful institution—a condition ordained and approved by God. It is the first and oldest institution in human society. God ordained this for man’s good and happiness, and simultaneously it is done for God’s own glory.
In New Testament times, Jesus Himself added His blessing to marriage by endorsing the Genesis account of the creation of man and woman for each other. He said:
“But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mk. 10:6-9) So our Lord personally confirmed and endorsed marriage as a holy and divine institution. It is significant that Jesus was born into this world within the framework of a home and family. God could have sent His Son into this world in some miraculous way, into a situation devoid of association with the normal family structure. But God chose the home as the instrument through which to introduce the blessed Redeemer to the world.
While our Lord was not conceived in the natural way of procreation (and did not have a human father), Jesus was born into a home. Mary and Joseph were engaged, betrothed to be married. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary before she and Joseph became one in marriage—as is clearly stated in the Word of God. But God instructed Joseph, before Jesus was born, to take Mary as his wife, and to care for her. It thus turned out that Jesus not only had a mother, but Joseph was also present to serve as a father figure during Jesus’ early life—although he was, in truth, his foster father.
JESUS HONORED HIS PARENTS
Luke tells us about our Lord Jesus when was just 12 years old, going to Jerusalem with His parents. Jesus honored His home, and made it a holy institution. He chose to be born into humble circumstances and He honored His parents.
I believe Jesus was raised in a humble home so He could relate to the average person living in the average home. Jesus’ home was one in which the relationship of Joseph and Mary honored and glorified God.
Mary and Joseph loved one another tenderly and together cared for the baby Jesus, God’s own Son. So Jesus had a home, and while not much is said about the first 30 years of His life, there is enough revealed to know that He lived as we do, in a home. Jesus’ early life, therefore, glorified home and marriage. Marriage is often referred to as holy matrimony and certainly it is a divine institution. According to the Bible, matrimony is to be holy. This divine institution of matrimony came long before any other social institution, such as human governments.
The church, of course, is extremely important. As people began to multiply and increase, they began to worship. This can be seen in the biblical account of the history of the Jewish nation. As a separated people, they were given forms of worship by God. One can look back to Mount Sinai and see some of the instructions given for their worship.
The church is made up of believers. It is the body of Christ. It is immensely important and has a rich history. But neither the church nor human government—though divinely ordained—are as old or as sacred as the institution of marriage. This was instituted by God in the garden of Eden, and its importance has not diminished over the 6,000 years of history since its institution.
Watchfulness
The second condition that will result in the Christian’s worthiness to be included in the Rapture is that of watchfulness. The Apostle Paul said:
“Let us WATCH” (I Thess. 5:6).
There are four words used in the New Testament for “watch” that are used in relation to Christ’s return. Incidentally, these four words are used also in Passages dealing with moral and ethical conduct.
Two of these words—gregoreo and agrupneo—mean “to be on the alert, to be wide awake spiritually.” The force of these words is to point up the urgency of the situation.
If we do not set an eternal vigilance on the Return of Christ, we are in danger of missing out. The Apostle Peter’s thinking went along the same lines as the Apostle Paul’s when he warned:
“Be sober, be VIGILANT [gregoreo]; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8).
Let us turn to the Gospel of Mark to illustrate the use of these two most significant words of warning to the Christians concerning watchfulness.
“But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the Angels which are in Heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
“TAKE YOU HEED, WATCH AND PRAY: FOR YOU KNOW NOT WHEN THE TIME IS.
“For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, Who left His House, and gave authority to His Servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to WATCH.
“WATCH you therefore: for you know not when the Master of the house comes, at evening, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
“LEST COMING SUDDENLY HE FIND YOU SLEEPING.
“And what I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH” (Mk. 13:32-37).
This Parable illustrates the necessity of watchfulness. The word “watch” is used in this Parable four times. Let us look at each use of this word “watch.”
In Verse 33 Jesus said:
“Take you heed, WATCH.”
The word here means “to chase sleep, to be sleepless,” and expresses not mere wakefulness but a watchfulness of those who are intent upon doing anything.
In Verse 34 He commanded the porter to watch. The word here is sometimes translated “vigilant alertness,” not as the same word in Verse 33.
Verse 35 begins with “watch” and again the urgency of watching is emphasized.
“You know not when the Master of the house comes”
… so be watching. Again, the warning in Verse 36:
“Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.”
In Verse 37 the last use of the word is capitalized emphasizing the force of the word—the urgency of the hour.
“For the Son of Man is as a man taking a far journey, Who left His House” (Vs. 34)
… and does not say when He will return. But He said, considering the urgency of it:
“What I say unto you I say unto all, WATCH.”
When a person is going on a long-sought-after vacation, he usually spends a restless, uncomfortable night in anticipation of the upcoming departure. For the true Christian it is hard to rest comfortably in the world when he is anticipating something so much better.
We have often seen the picture of the restless, sleepless mother and father, looking down the trail waiting for the long-lost prodigal to return.
The helmsman of a ship fights back sleep to maintain his bearing, knowing that the mightiest wave will slide under the heel if the prow of the ship meets it head-on. Our Captain says, “Take heed, be watchful,” just as a sea captain says, “Mind your helm.”
Notice again in the Parable that the Son of Man …
“commanded the porter to WATCH” (Vs. 34).
Here, as in Verse 35, the Apostles are compared to doorkeepers (porters); as the captain of the guard made his rounds at night through the Temple, the guards were to rise and salute him. Any guard found asleep on duty was beaten or his garments set on fire.
It is self-evident that under that severe penalty not many guards would drowse off to sleep. This use of the word was mentioned again by Jesus as He spoke to the Apostle John:
“Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he who WATCHES, and KEEPS HIS GARMENTS, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Rev 16:15).
What a warning! What an incentive to alertness!
One lexicon says that the word gregoreo comes from a root word meaning “collecting our faculties.” In the light of the soon Return of the Lord Jesus Christ, we should be “collecting our faculties,” lest we lose our garments and “walk naked” and ashamed.
The Christian who drowses away at his Christianity is imperiling his Salvation. All too many Christians count on God to keep them alert. They feel it is God’s duty to warn them as each new wave approaches. Unfortunately, it is not the duty of the captain of the ship to stand the wheel watch; it is the person at the helm who must maintain constant vigilance if he is to see the voyage to a successful conclusion. The helmsman who falls asleep and endangers the ship is eligible for grave and disciplinary action. Christians who fail to maintain their vigilance can expect no better. There are consequences for our every action. Spiritual consequences are no less real than worldly ones.
This is the reason the Apostle Paul said:
“I die daily” (I Cor. 15:31).
The great Apostle of Christ brought his body …
“into subjection”
… every waking day …
“lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (I Cor. 9:27).
And if such a magnificent man of God found it necessary to remain ever vigilant (lest he fall by the wayside), who are we to become overconfident?
Yet Christians are becoming smug. Christian attention is wandering. Clergy and laity are becoming immersed in this world. It is a new day in which we live. The old Scriptures no longer count. Practices that would have been denounced a short time ago are accepted now. Everyone is doing it. It is a new day.…
But is it?
King Solomon wrote:
“There is no new thing under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9).
Satan knows there is nothing new under the sun. The modern morals and the new permissiveness are nothing new to him. He has promoted the same things in Greece, in Rome, in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in Babylon.
“Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it has been already of old time, which was before us” (Eccl. 1:10).
The new morality is new to us only because we were not alive in ancient days to see the old morality. And if we fall for the new morality now, the same consequences that befell Greece, Rome, Sodom and Gomorrah, and Babylon will befall our civilization.
Satan is breaking through the doors of our once moral and Spiritual Strongholds. Today he is bombarding our mind through pornographic movies which come right into our living rooms, billboards, magazines, indecent dress, public scenes that once would have caused people to blush. Many Christians sit through these movies, laugh at the openly obscene jokes, and then wonder why their relationship with God is not what it used to be.
These Christians have been lulled to sleep. They have been put under a hypnotic trance by Satan because they have not watched. They do not WATCH what they see, where they go, and what they say—and all of this despite the fact that the Holy Spirit has enjoined them to WATCH. Not to watch and pray is to prove oneself unworthy to be included in the Rapture.
SLEEPLESSNESS
Sometime after the rise of Adolf Hitler to power in Germany, many Germans perceived the real intent of Hitler that was hidden behind his rhetoric to put a Volkswagen in every German carport. After organizing a door-to-door campaign to warn the German people of what lay ahead, they were met by a complacent, self-satisfied public that slammed the door on them for disturbing their peace.
It is with this in mind that we study the Apostle Paul’s warning to the Thessalonians that professing Christians, who are asleep spiritually, are living in danger of missing the Rapture.
The Greek word that the Apostle Paul used for “sleep” (I Thess. 5:6) is the Greek word katheudo, and means “to repose oneself in sleep.” The same Greek word is used in Matthew 25:5 to describe the faithless, careless, indifferent virgins.
However, context determines the Biblical meaning that the Holy Spirit intends. In I Thessalonians 5:6, therefore, katheudo is used metaphorically as “carnal insensibility to Divine things involving conformity to the world.” The Apostle Paul contrasted spiritual sleep (Vs. 6) with the natural sleep that comes at night and with the drunkenness that dulls a person’s senses (Vs. 7).
Another Greek word for “sleep” may be mentioned here that carries the same connotation as katheudo, but with a little different slant. This word is found in Romans 13:11.
“And that, knowing the time, and now it is high time to AWAKE out of SLEEP: for now is our Salvation nearer than when we believed.
“The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
“Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
“But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
The Greek word for “sleep” that we are exhorted to “awake out of” is hypnou, from the root word hypnos. It is the same word from which our word “hypnosis” is derived. “Hypnosis” is a “state that resembles sleep, but is induced by a person whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject.”
Think of that! What better definition could we have of Spiritual Sleep than that of listening to the voice of the Devil (induced by a person) who suggests that we turn our eyes from the Lord and toward those things that direct our attention to the world?
Paul’s warning in the light of the imminent Return of the Lord Jesus Christ is to awake us out of our Spiritual Conformity to the world and to “put on Christ”; that is, our sole interest in life must be the same as that of our Lord to enter into His Views, His Thinking, and to imitate Him in all things. Why? Because, as the Apostle Peter said:
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Pet. 5:8).
No sooner had the Children of God come out of Egyptian bondage than they became disenchanted and disillusioned and began to turn back to the beggarly elements of the world. The Christian experience is similar. When people are first Saved and begin their Christian walk, they are usually on a mountaintop high. For a time they continue bouncing from mountaintop to mountaintop, or, as King Solomon described it …
“leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills” (Song of Sol. 2:8).
But sooner or later the season wears on. The petals fall in the rose garden until the thorns begin to show. The cherry bowl begins to display more pits than cherries.…
Unfortunately, most Christians believe their Christian gardens will never become invaded by weeds. They are taught by overzealous teachers and misguided preachers that a Christian’s walk should never come down from the mountaintops, but it always does. Why? Because it is only during these periods that we are able to stand back, evaluate our Christian Growth, and recognize the areas where we need more work.
Faith that has never been tested is a Faith that can never be quite certain. That is the reason that our reactions during these periods of “valley” Christianity determine the outcome of our Christian walk. Every moon walk has its reentry, and every spiritual high has its return to Earth. A solid enduring relationship with God is something to be arrived at only with hard work, sweat, and tears.
Too many Christians become indifferent with the passage of time. Living for Christ, in Christ, and like Christ becomes a bore. Attending church can become an inconvenience. If we fail to work at it and fail continually to renew our commitment and review our Blessings, it is possible for us to fall by the wayside.
It is always more fun to talk about the Blessings and the highs and the glory and the grandeur. But a farm would soon fall into disrepair and ruin if the chores were not done every day. If the cows were not milked twice a day, they would soon stop giving milk. If they were not fed daily and their stalls cleaned, they would soon sicken and die.
Chores keep the world turning. And if we neglect our Spiritual Chores, our eternal farm is going to wreck and ruin. We should spend more time on the chores of our Spiritual Walk rather than spending so much time lifting our eyes to the glories above.
We like to gather a crowd on a hill and point out the absolute beauty of the well-tended farm spread out below us. But, unfortunately, we do not give equal time to the cultivation that produced those tended fields.
A Christian has to make a conscious decision to walk in the Ways of God. Our human, carnal nature is such that we crave constant stimulation. We are easily drawn off into the world. But excitement and stimulation can come from the enemy. A Christian who wishes to be truly “in Christ”—to be an overcomer—must decide first whether he is willing to dedicate himself to this and every waking moment of his life.
We must constantly decide we are going to do these things necessary to grow as Christians—things that require energy and effort. Jesus said:
“He who is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Lk. 16:10).
These daily chores are the basis of the Christian life. Let us never lose sight of one fact: we do not do these things to earn Salvation or to win favor with God. No one earns anything from God. Everything we have from God comes to us by Grace. We are the ones who need the maturity that is the outgrowth of a daily consistent Christian walk. God can get along with or without our “works”; we cannot.
Just as a dedicated farmer does not fall asleep as he rushes from one chore to another, the Christian who spends each day exercising his Spiritual Gifts is neither blind nor prey to Satan’s devices. The problem comes when the Christian decides to take a break. He becomes bored, takes a few days off to refresh himself with an excursion into the world. Then, he becomes vulnerable to Satan’s serene song and soon falls prey to his hypnotic lures.
How many times have you been present among gatherings of “Christians,” where you mentioned revival, and no one perked up? You tried to get a conversation going about some Bible Passage, and then someone brought up the Super Bowl or the latest movie. What happened? Everyone was suddenly interested. These are Christians who are asleep in Christ and awake to the things of the world.
What elicits responses in your own heart? What excites you? What gets you out of your chair and heading for some activity?
The true answer may come as a shock to you. It is almost as though the world has taken a spiritual sedative. We are asleep at the wheel. Church services are a bore. Living for God has become a bore. God’s Word just is not as exciting as it used to be.
Or is it? Are we the ones who are out of step? A great percentage of the Christian segment of the world’s population has been lulled to sleep by Satan’s hypnotic lures. We believe when the Holy Spirit gave the words to the Apostle Paul, He was putting them there for Christians in this day as well.
Wake up, Christian world! Sleeping Christians are not going to have an alarm clock just before the Rapture.
~J. Swaggart
Our Weapons of Warfare
With all of the confusion and division going on amongst us as believers, many of us forget that our warfare isn’t carnal nor is it against flesh and blood. There is a spirit (good or evil) behind all that manifest itself here on earth. There is a spirit behind the rise and fall of nations, kings and rulers, all dependent upon the type of warfare the believer chooses to fight. We have been called into this Christian army to engage in this life according to the Will of our Heavenly Commander in Chief, God Almighty. As we look at Christ and all the Apostles as examples, they didn’t live this life to defend themselves, nor a particular race, nor special group of people. They lived to carry out the will of God and stood on His Word.
Many have refused to stand on the side of Truth according to God’s Word and due to this particular stance, evil prevails. The warfare in which we have been called to fight is the fight of faith. To maintain faith in the Cross of Christ at all time no matter what, so that His Power can prevail in the earth. Are you fighting the fight of faith in the Cross of Christ?
~Shonette
2 Corinthians 10
2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some (refers to the fact that Paul would only use boldness if it was absolutely necessary), which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. (Paul’s enemies thought this way because they functioned in the flesh themselves, which means that they didn’t have the Power of God.)
3 For though we walk in the flesh (refers to the fact that we do not yet have Glorified Bodies), we do not war after the flesh (after our own ability, but rather by the Power of the Spirit):
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (carnal weapons consist of those which are man-devised), but mighty through God (the Cross of Christ [1 Cor. 1:18]) to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations (philosophic strongholds; every effort man makes outside of the Cross of Christ), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the Knowledge of God (all the pride of the human heart), and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (can be done only by the Believer looking exclusively to the Cross, where all Victory is found; the Holy Spirit will then perform the task);
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience (refers to that which is opposed to the Cross, where alone all Victory is found), when your obedience is fulfilled (is fulfilled when looking exclusively, as stated, to Christ and the Cross).
7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? (It is Faith alone that counts.) If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again (refers to the false teachers who laid claims to being followers of Christ by way of eminence), that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. (Paul is simply saying that he is of Christ as well!)
Swaggart, J. (2005).
Daniel 10
(13) “but the prince of the kingdom of persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and i remained there with the kings of persia.”
The structure is:
1. The phrase, “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days,” refers to a fallen angel appointed by Satan to control the Persian Government. Gabriel had to oppose this fallen angel and for reasons we will momentarily discuss.
2. The phrase, “But, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,” pertains to Michael, the mighty Archangel, the Angel who is in charge of Israel, who came to help Gabriel regarding this conflict.
3. The phrase, “And I remained there with the kings of Persia,” doesn’t refer to earthly kings, but, again, to many fallen angels, who evidently were mighty and powerful. They were there to help the “prince of the kingdom of Persia,” the chief evil angel appointed by Satan as it regarded the Persian Empire.
The Prince of the Kingdom of Persia
This Scripture appears to reveal that Satan places an agent in charge of every nation (fallen angel); and, if so, this may explain national hatreds and national movements.
Similarly, God has His Angelic agents operating in opposition to Satan’s. The conflict of Ephesians, Chapter 6, and the battle of Revelation, Chapter 12, harmonize with this supposition.
Satan, as the “god of this world” and the “prince of the power of the air,” runs his kingdom of darkness in a military sense (II Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2).
It seems from the statement of Verse 13, that God involves His mighty Angels primarily in the carrying out of His Will regarding the fulfillment of Prophecy. God’s Angels also help the Saints (Heb. 1:14).
Prophecy
It would stand to reason that Satan would do all within his power to keep Prophecy from being fulfilled, and especially regarding the displacement of powerful nations and kingdoms; consequently, what is portrayed in this Thirteenth Verse is just such a contest.
The time had now come for the preparation of the moving out of the Medo-Persian Kingdom, and the bringing in of the Grecian Kingdom under Alexander the Great; however, even though beginning now, as Gabriel was to show Daniel (11:1–2), it was to some 200 years before this would actually be fulfilled. In fact, several more kings would reign after Cyrus; however, the events were already transpiring in the spirit world, that would ultimately bring all of these things to pass. The following is something else we learn from this Thirteenth Verse.
Disharmony in Satan’s Kingdom
It seems that various kingdoms in Satan’s domain vie or fight against each other. Even though the prince of the kingdom of Persia and the prince of Grecia, both fallen angels, were in the domain of Satan, they, in a sense, contested each other. Of course, this is unheard of among the Angels of God. But, it seems among the angels of Satan, one prince of darkness which rules a particular part of the world under Satan little desires to give up this place of leadership to another fallen prince.
From Gabriel’s description, it seems the fallen angel that was the power behind the kingdom of Persia did not desire to give up this particular position, and had to be forced by Gabriel and Michael to do so!
Even though the conflict lasted for some 21 days, still, Verse 20 tells us that the conflict still was not resolved, and further effort must be made.
It also seems that the contest was so difficult that Michael, the mighty Archangel, had to come help Gabriel respecting the situation.
The Archangel, “Michael,” as stated, and according to Verse 21, is the Mighty Angel who looks after Israel.
The phrase, “And I remained there with the kings of Persia,” refers to the Satanic princes of the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, of which there were more than one. So, there could have been, and no doubt was, a host of fallen angels promoting this Empire and, as well, greatly encouraging idol worship and all manner of iniquity. This, as well, should tell us some things about present-day events!
If it held true then, and certainly it did, it holds true today that fallen angels work behind the scenes controlling governments of this world.
THE FORMER SOVIET UNION
To use just one example, it was no doubt a fallen angel who instigated the horror of Communism in 1917 and, as well, was moved aside by powerful righteous Angels sometime back. We saw the results in the Autumn of 1989. At that time, Eastern Europe was released from Soviet domination; the Berlin Wall came down, and Russia seemed to change tactics.
This was not by chance, and it was not caused by U. S. State Department policy. Actually, it came as a surprise; but, in reality, and according to Scripture, it happened so that another one of Daniel’s Prophecies might be fulfilled (Dan. 7:7).
The ten horns that Daniel saw on this dreadful beast of 7:7 came up in the old Roman Empire territory, and included some of the Eastern European countries, such as Bulgaria, former Yugoslavia, and Romania, etc. So, according to Daniel’s Prophecies, these countries had to be loosed from Soviet domination, because the ten horns represent ten nations that will rise up in their own sovereignty, and pertain to this very area. Therefore, Soviet domination of this area had to be pushed aside for the sovereignty of these nations to come about.
The first part of Daniel’s Prophecy was fulfilled in the Fall of 1989, with Eastern Europe, in effect, being released from the dominion of the Soviet Union.
The ten horns (ten nations) out of this area have not yet formed an alliance to oppose Israel, but they will in the not-so-distant future.
Therefore, as the prince of Communism (Satanic prince) was pushed aside, the prince that will take his place, and, in effect, has already taken his place, will enable the ten-kingdom Empire to arise. He is now the ruling prince in this realm of darkness. This means that the events now coming about in the Middle East are all working toward this conclusion.
Quite possibly, righteous Angels had to force the prince of Communism aside, as in Daniel’s day, in order that the Satanic prince of the ten kingdoms may come forward, which is already now in progress, and will be fulfilled shortly.
Incidentally, the “little horn” (7:8), who will come up among these ten nations, will be the Antichrist. He will actually be aided by the “prince of Grecia” (Vs. 20) who gave Alexander the Great such power.
J. Swaggart Ministries -Book of Daniel Commentary
Religion
Chapter Two
Religion is that which is conceived by man, birthed by man, instituted by man, and carried out by man, in order to reach God, or else to better oneself in some way. Anything of this capacity conceived by man, is unacceptable to God. This means that anything and everything that’s not strictly according to the Word of God is unacceptable.
Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Shintoism, modern Judaism, Mormonism, Catholicism, etc., all and without exception, come under the heading of religion.
Biblical Christianity
Biblical Christianity is not a religion, but rather a relationship, and that with a Man, the Man Christ Jesus. And yet, much of modern Christianity has been divorced from the Bible, meaning that it is perverted and twisted and, therefore, corrupt. It too must come under the heading of religion. Perhaps the simple phrase, “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified,” would come closer to explaining Biblical Christianity than anything else. Concerning this, the Apostle Paul said:
“Now the Spirit (Holy Spirit) speaks expressly (pointedly), that in the latter times (the times in which we now live, the last of the last days, which begin the fulfillment of Endtime Prophecies) some shall depart from the Faith (anytime Paul uses the term ‘the Faith,’ in short he is referring to the Cross; so, we are told here that some will depart from the Cross as the Means of Salvation and Victory), giving heed to seducing spirits (evil spirits, i.e., ‘religious spirits,’ making something seem like what it isn’t), and doctrines of devils (should have been translated, ‘Doctrines of Demons’; the ‘seducing spirits’ entice Believers away from the true Faith, causing them to believe ‘Doctrines inspired by Demon Spirits’)” (I Tim. 4:1).
While the words “religious” and “religion” appear in James 1:26–27, the Greek words originally used would have been better translated “spiritual,” and “spirituality,” making it read, “If any man among you seems to be spiritual …” and “Pure spirituality.…”
The Great Whore
The Holy Spirit, even as we shall see, takes a very dim view of religion, which, in fact, has been the nemesis of the Lord from the very beginning of time. We see religion at work in the case of Cain and Abel, the offspring of the First Family. The Lord had given instructions as to how communion with Him should be carried out, plus forgiveness of sins. It would be by the means of the slain lamb, offered up in sacrifice, which would be a symbol of the coming Redeemer. Abel offered up his sacrifice accordingly, and was accepted by God.
Conversely, his brother, Cain, refused to offer up that which God demanded, instead, offering up the fruit of his own hands, whatever that may have been. Please understand, Cain did not deny there was a God, and did not deny the need for a sacrifice, but rather that he offer a sacrifice of his own choosing, which God would not accept and, in fact, could not accept (Gen., Chpt. 4). Cain’s unacceptable offering was the first evidence of “religion.”
We know what the Lord thinks of religion, by what He said in the Book of Revelation:
“And there came one of the seven Angels which had the seven Vials, and talked with me (probably is the seventh Angel; however, we actually have no way of truly knowing), saying unto me, come hither; I will show unto you the judgment of the great whore who sits upon many waters (the ‘great whore’ refers to all the religions of the world that ever have been, which are devised by men as a substitute for ‘Jesus Christ and Him Crucified’; God’s Way is Christ and Him Crucified Alone; as well, the ‘many waters’ are a symbol for multitudes of people):
“With whom (the great whore, i.e., all type of religions) the kings of the Earth (from the very beginning, most nations have been ruled by some type of religion) have committed fornication (all religions devised by men, and even the parts of Christianity that have been corrupted, are labeled by the Lord as ‘spiritual fornication’ [Rom. 7:1–4]), and the inhabitants of the Earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication (proclaims the addiction of religion; the doing of religion is the most powerful narcotic there is)” (Rev. 17:1–2).
All of this means that all religion is devised either by demon spirits, or men, or a combination of both. In any case, as stated, it is unacceptable to God. Religion is Satan’s substitute for the reality of Christ.
To describe religion, the Holy Spirit used one of the most base, descriptive phrases (the great whore) that could be used. He did this for purpose.
The simple meaning of the word is that it pertains to a woman who practices promiscuous sexual intercourse for hire. It also means, “to pursue a faithless, unworthy, or idolatrous desire.”
Used in the spiritual sense, “it pertains to religious favors offered for a price.” As well, it will stoop to any level, strike any bargain, and go to any length, to attain its devious ends.
The Religion of Islam
I think I can say without fear of contradiction, that the most destructive religion that’s ever been birthed in the heart of evil man, is the religion of Islam. In one overwhelming sense of the word, it is very much akin to the religion of Baal worship in Old Testament times. This form of worship majored in human sacrifice, and I think it is overly obvious that the religion of Islam follows suit.
This religion made its debut in A.D. 622. It began with Muhammad of the tribe of Quraysh in Mecca. He claimed to have received a revelation that God (Allah) was “one” and that he (Muhammad) was to be Allah’s messenger of that truth.
He began this religion by making converts of some of his family members and close friends. Due to opposition, he left Mecca and went to the town of Medina, both in present day Saudi Arabia. This particular episode, his flight from Mecca to Medina, is now viewed as year “one” in the Islamic calendar. But actually it was the year 622 A.D.
The Jews
In Medina, Muhammad came into contact with a large Jewish community. Evidently his dealings with them resulted in him being influenced in that he adopted some of the Jewish practices. For example, at least at this particular time, he taught that faithful Muslims should pray facing Jerusalem. The Jews did the same thing and, in fact, had been doing the same thing for some 1,500 years. When the Jews rejected the message of Islam, which they did unequivocally, only then did he change his method of praying, by directing prayers toward Mecca.
He also taught his followers to fast on the tenth day of Tishri, the same day as the Jewish fast of Yom Kippur. This was later expanded to include the entire month of Ramadan.
In his so-called revelation, he also demanded that his followers abstain from pork and, as well, that all little Muslim boys be circumcised, which as most know, are standard Jewish practices.
He also claimed to accept the Jewish Prophets of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. He also included Adam in this list, as well as the “Prophet Jesus.” And yet, he strongly rejected the idea of the Deity of Christ. So, it’s difficult to understand how that he could claim that Jesus was a great Prophet, while at the same time being a liar, considering how much our Lord affirmed His Personal Deity.
Muhammad
Muhammad claimed that he was personally “the seal of Prophecy,” meaning that he was God’s final messenger. While he accepted some of the Scriptures of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, still, he always perverted the Text. At any rate, his “revelations,” embodied in the Koran, became the authoritative “scriptures” for his faithful followers. These followers were called and are called “Muslims,” from the Arabic word “Islam,” meaning “submission” to the one God.
Due to his acceptance of some of the Jewish practices, he felt surely that the Jews would accept his message of “one God.” He found to his dismay, that the Jewish Rabbis gave him no credence whatsoever, ridiculing his illiteracy, and especially his confusion of Biblical traditions. But above all, the Jewish people could not even remotely accept a non-Israelite as God’s “seal of Prophecy.”
In a rage because of the rejection of the Jews, he initiated a policy of extermination that resulted in thousands of Jews being massacred, with thousands of others being evicted from their homes and, in fact, from Northern Arabia.
The Arab-Israeli Conflict
To understand the Arab-Israeli conflict, we must try to understand the attitude of Islam toward the Jewish people.
The land that we presently refer to as “Israel,” or “Palestine,” was conquered and ruled by the Muslims from the Seventh Century to the Twentieth Century.
There was one interruption during this period of time, and that was when the “Christian” crusaders ruled the land for less than 100 years. Islam presently finds it unacceptable that this land, originally conquered for Allah by his followers, to now be ruled by the Jews, a people who they considered to be inferior and subservient. At least that is the way it is pictured in the Koran.
The Muslims find it impossible to acknowledge the historic reality that the land of Israel, according to the Bible, which they do not consider to be the Word of God, but rather the Koran, belongs to the Jews. This is the real key to understanding the impasse that exists in Israel presently. The Arab countries, predominantly Muslim, refuse to accept a foreign, Jewish presence in a land that is supposed to be, according to them, a part of the “world of Islam.”
~J. Swaggart Ministries
Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 through March 14, 1883) was a German philosopher, sociologist, economic historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He was heavily critical of the socio-economic form of society and taught that Capitalism must be destroyed. Marx tried to make Capitalism the cause of all society’s ills, but history has proven this notion wrong time and time again. Marx s theories about society, economics, and politics, collectively known as Marxism, hold that all societies progress through the dialectic of class struggle. Dialectic is a dialogue or method for resolving conflict between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject. To Marx, this dialectic occurred between two main classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The proletariat is the labor or working class, the people who earn their livelihood by selling their labor power and being paid a wage or salary for their labor time. The bourgeoisie are those who earn their income not from labor as much as from the surplus value they appropriate from the workers who create wealth. And, according to Marx, the income of the Capitalists is based on their exploitation of the workers (the proletariat). He thought that this conflict could not be abolished without replacing the system of Capitalism itself. You see, for Marx, democracy under Capitalism is actually a bourgeois dictatorship.
The Common Man?
Now, at first glance, his theory makes Marx appear to be a man concerned for the “common man” and a friend to all, but let s dig a little deeper, first into Marx s psyche (and real beliefs), and secondly into the negative effects the system of Socialism always has on a country. Keep in mind that, in order to change things, you must create a crisis, a reason for needing change. Marx used our human compassions for the poor to bring about his own political power, which was a power that would deny religious freedom in the end. The poor were not his cause but his vehicle to produce revolution. Marx often quoted the phrase, “Religion is the opium of the people.” We Believers may concur with this statement in general, agreeing that yes, true Christianity is NOT a religion, but when Marx said it, he was referring to all religions, including true Christianity. You have to keep in mind that his Marxist system, which was designed similarly to Communism, would be used to oppress true Christianity as is evident in the testimony of Brother Richard Wurmbrand, a Believer who spent eight years in a Communist prison for preaching the Gospel and ideas contrary to Communist doctrine. Remember, Socialism is something that sounds good on the surface but, in reality, is not. Its practical application does not hold up to its naive ideals. Yes, some employers and business owners take advantage of Capitalism and exploit their workers, but we cannot forget that Capitalism has a very important aspect. It allows for freedom! If we allow for the loss of any freedom, eventually we will lose all freedoms, even religious freedom! Carefully read this quote by Marx: “The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of man is a requisite for their real happiness. The call to abandon their illusions about their conditions is a call to abandon a condition which requires illusion. . . . “ (“Was Karl Marx a Satanist?” by Richard Wurmbrand, Diane Brooks Pub. Co., 1976, p.6.) If we do not allow the opportunity for Americans (or people of any country) to make as much money as they desire, we eliminate the opportunity for all to make their desired amounts of income. God will take care of those who abuse the privilege. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth” (James 5:4).
Without God!
In his youth, Karl Marx professed to be a Christian. His father, a lawyer, was relatively prosperous and came from a Jewish background, and his mother was a Dutch Jew from a prosperous business family. His maternal grandfather was a Jewish Rabbi. Prior to Karl s birth, his father converted from Judaism to the Protestant Christian denomination of Lutheranism. This is believed to be because he was barred from the practice of law due to being Jewish. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ma-Mo/Marx-Karl.html. So, the conversion could have been more for business reasons rather than actual spiritual ones. Nevertheless, Marx s first written work was called “The Union of the Faithful”, so there is evidence Marx adhered to Christian beliefs early on. However, for reasons unknown, he started to become very anti-religious! A new Marx began to emerge. He began to display a terrible hatred toward God. What exactly produced this hatred, no one seems to know. He wrote the following line in his poem, “Invocation of One in Despair”: “I shall build my throne high overhead.” In another poem he wrote, “Then I will be able to walk triumphantly, like a God, through the ruins of their kingdom. Every word of mine is fire and action, my breast is equal to that of the Creator.” In his poem, “The Pale Maiden”, he wrote, “Thus Heaven I ve forfeited, I know it full well. My soul, once true to God, is chosen for Hell.” Clearly, this man was very tormented. He went from blasphemous claims of considering himself equal to God to acknowledging he was going to a Devil s Hell.
The Dance Of Death
In reading Marx s poems, one quickly discovers not only that he hated God, but actually the gods of any religion. In a little known drama he composed, “Oulanem”, you see a very dark side of Karl developing Devil worship and the Black Mass. During a Black Mass, the Bible is burned and an orgy follows. In a poem called “The Player” he pens these words, “The hellish vapors rise and fill the brain, till I go mad and my heart is utterly changed. See this sword? The prince of darkness sold it to me. For me beats the time and gives the signs. Ever more boldly I play the dance of death.” Now, in the higher initiations of a Satanist s cult, an “enchanted” sword, which ensures success, is sold to the candidate. He pays for it by signing a covenant, a blood-oath. Yes, blood taken from his wrists, and he agrees that his soul will belong to Satan after death! In “The 18th Brumaire” (pg. 119), Marx quotes this, “Everything in existence is worth being destroyed.” These were the words of Mephistopheles in “Faust,” and Marx loved these words. Stalin actually acted on these words and destroyed even his own family. In “Faust,” the spirit that denies everything is called Satan. In his poem, “Human Pride,” Marx admits his aim is not to improve the world, reform, or revolutionize it, but simply to ruin it and to enjoy it being ruined. He wrote, “With disdain I will throw my gauntlet full in the face of the world, and see the collapse of this pygmy giant whose fall will not stifle my ardor. Then will I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world, and, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to the Creator.” You see, in further, deeper study of Karl Marx, I found a man that had a deep hatred for God and for man as well. It was his desire to draw all of humanity into the abyss and to follow them laughing. And really, there is every evidence that Karl Marx was actually a Satanist. He is even buried in Highgate Cemetery in London. Highgate Cemetery is Britain s center of Satanism. Mysterious rites are held and celebrated at this tomb.
The Communist Manifesto
In college Marx became involved with a group of radical thinkers known as the “Young Hegelians,” who gathered around Ludwig Feuerbach and Bruno Bauer. The Young Hegelians were critical of G.W.F. Hegel s metaphysical assumptions, but still adopted his dialectic method, in order to criticize established society, politics, and religion. Marx befriended Bauer, and the two scandalized their class in Bonn by getting drunk, laughing in church, and galloping through the streets on donkeys. It was in Paris, on August 28, 1844, that Marx met German Socialist, Friedrich Engels, and these two began a friendship that would last a lifetime. On February 21, 1848, Marx and Engels s most famous work was published, which came to be known as, “The Communist Manifesto.” Marx and Engels both came from privileged families and both held a grudge against all religions. “Running left-wing movements has always been the prerogative of spoiled rich kids. . . . The phoniness of the claim to be a movement of the working class was blatant from the beginning. When Engels was elected as a delegate to the Communist League in 1847, in his own words, a working man was proposed for appearances sake, but those who proposed him voted for me. “ (Thomas Sowell, 1993 book, “Is Reality Optional”. Hoover Institution, p. 81.) Marx also met Moses Hess, a man who played a most important role in his life, the man who led him to embrace the Socialist ideal. No, Karl Marx did not love mankind. He was not prompted by concern for the poverty of his fellowman. He did not love them, but rather referred to them as nuts, asses, and rascals. He even described them using obscenities. No, Marx s chief aim in life was the destruction of religion and to send mankind to Hell. Marxists always appealed to the basest passions of men, such as stirring up envy toward the rich and encouraging violence. Marxists will exploit things such as racial differences or the so-called generation gap. They encourage an abolition of all morals, making everything permissible.
Occult Satanism
Socialist and Communist movements are, in reality, front organizations for occult Satanism. Karl Marx (and his satanic Marxism) is not a model for countries to follow, and any country that does follow this socialistic path will wind up broke with its people living in poverty, which is Satan s desire, to destroy God s Creation! The doctrine of Socialism is seething with contradictions. Its theories are at constant odds with its practices. Indeed, no precise distinct Socialism even exists. Instead, there is only a vague, rosy notion of something noble and good, of equality, of communal ownership, and of justice. It is believed that the advent of these things will bring instant utopia and a social order beyond reproach. Yet, in any country that practices Socialism or Communism, you will not find any semblance of anything pertaining to a glorious future for its citizens. Look at China, Russia, and Europe. Look at the bloody experiments at the time of the Reformation utopias of European thinkers, the intrigues of Marx and Engels, the radical Communist measures of the Lenin period, or the heavy-handed methods of Stalin! So, why is Socialism being pushed down the throats of the American people today when it has always been a failure in any country of the world? It s plain and easy for anyone to see that Socialism seeks to reduce human personality to its most primitive levels and to extinguish the highest and most God-like aspects of human individuality. Actually, Socialism has already proven to be a failed experiment here in the United States of America. The Pilgrims, the 104 people who arrived at Plymouth Rock on December 21, 1620, were organized under a charter which imposed a seven year period of joint ownership. Thus, the day they arrived in the new world, all clothing, houses, land, crops, and cash were jointly owned. So, no matter how hard a man might have worked, he had little hope of personal gain for his effort.
The Pilgrims
Thus, the Pilgrims started life in the New World with a system of common ownership forced on them by Plymouth Colony investors. That quasi-socialist arrangement proved to be disastrous. It had to be scrapped for one that gave these first Americans the right to keep the fruits of their labor and incentive to produce more. The communal arrangement also ill-fitted the Pilgrims for the demands of life on the edge of a “cruel” wilderness. The Pilgrims buried forty-four people within the first three months, and a total of fifty died within the first year. The ground proved to be unyielding, so Pilgrims gathered a “small harvest” and celebrated their first Thanksgiving with the Indians in the autumn of 1621. Another small harvest followed in 1622. Such a meager return came in part because the Pilgrims were unskilled at farming and because of the sandy New England soil. However, it was the lack of any promise or return for their labors that caused even these God-fearing and devout settlers to fail to fully work the land. It also led to a social order at odds with the dictates of human nature, so there were dissensions and insubordination in unthrift and famine.
Private Enterprise
In March of 1623, Governor Bradford allowed each man to plant corn for his own household and to trust themselves for that. So, every family was assigned a parcel of land, according to the proportion of their number. This proved to be very successful. It made all hands very industrious, so that much more corn was planted than would have been by any other means anyone had devised. Suddenly, these heretofore mediocre farmers made their own Capitalist “great leap forward.” Whereas 26 acres of corn, barley, and peas were planted in 1621, they planted nearly 60 acres the next year and, in 1623, they planted 184 acres. Governor Bradford reported that, instead of famine, God gave them plenty, and things changed. And they gave thanks to God. Under the new system of private enterprise, the Pilgrims grew in prosperity and were soon able to buy out the interest of their investors and obtain clear titles to their land. Governor Bradford wrote this, “The experience that was had in this common course and condition, tried sundry years and that amongst godly and sober men, may well evince the vanity of that conceit of Plato s and other ancients applauded by some of later times; that the taking away of property and bringing in community into a commonwealth would make them happy and flourishing; as if they were wiser than God.”
Private enterprise is “God-given” and what this Nation was founded on. Socialism, Marxism, and Communism were all founded in Satanism. Private industry is what America was established on, and it has resulted in the greatest nation ever produced on the face of the Earth.
~J. Swaggart
WHILE JESUS WALKED ON the earth in preparation for His death and resurrection to redeem mankind, he brought a reformation. His teachings brought Israel back to the Word of God. He exposed errors taught by the religious leaders of Israel.
From Genesis to Malachi, the scarlet cord of redemption pointed toward our Lord’s vicarious death for the penalty of our sin. During Jesus’ time in Israel, religious tradition had plagued the covenant people, causing them to move their faith from the promise of redemption given by God toward burdensome works fashioned by tradition. The interpretation of the law by religious leaders through tradition left the laymen without spiritual freedom or liberty. The yoke of man’s laws gained supremacy over God’s righteous laws.
CONDITIONS FOR REFORMATION
The reformation that took place in the 15th century beheld similar conditions as was evidenced at the time of Christ with Israel. The seeds of dissatisfaction held by reformers, who initially sought to change the religious system from within the Roman Catholic Church (RCC), were later met by protestors who chose to leave the RCC and declare their spiritual independence from the pope. The questions of the hour ranged from, “How is a person saved?” to “Where does religious authority lie?” Martin Luther’s reply to these questions defined his opposition to the institutionalized Roman Catholic system of works. He would herald, “Not by works but by faith alone.” He declared that spiritual authority is not in the Roman Catholic institution but in the Word of God found in the Bible. Luther’s predecessors, John Wycliffe, John Huss, and Girolarmo Savonarola, to name a few, saw the behavioral corruption within the Roman Catholic Church leadership. The reformers began to question the authority and dominion of the Roman Catholic Church. These men were raised up in the teachings of the RCC and served as monks and priests. In fact, some of John Wycliffe’s inspiration came from one of his college professors at Oxford, one Richard FitzRalph, who argued, “Why should the state of grace be required only of temporal rulers? Do churchmen have the right to rule when they live in moral sin?”
During the Reformation era, the immoral complacency of popes and religious leaders became intolerable to reformers. They desired to see a demonstration of righteous living instead of the hypocrisy displayed by popes who had adulterous affairs and sought earthly wealth and personal aggrandizement. The heightened malcontentedness of the reformers culminated in Martin Luther nailing his 95 thesis to the door of the Castle church in Wittneberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Indulgences had been sold by the Roman Catholic Church for over 200 years preceding Luther’s denouncement of Tetzel’s sale of indulgences. However, now in Luther’s time, indulgences were for the sake of raising funds for the rebuilding of St. Peters church in Rome. In order to get these funds, the people were promised remission for sins they had not yet committed, and their relatives were assured release from purgatory. Tetzel summed up his doctrine in this fashion: “The moment the money rattles into the box, the soul for whom it was given escapes from purgatory.” The idea that the Church could assume the authority to sell salvation became unacceptable to Luther and the reformers.
TODAY
The Message of the Cross is the reformation message to the modern church fraught with error. It is the balm that soothes the pain from the damages caused by the abuses of false teachers. The hopes of many believers have crashed into the rocks of despair near the shores of desperation. The modern day indulgences are the promissory notes of so-called preachers who promise prosperity and wealth in this world – but only if one gives to their ministry. Failure to give to these false prophets leaves the unfaithful believers with the fear of temporal punishment – they will live in material and spiritual poverty in this world. Guilt is used by these purveyors of unrighteousness as the means to deceive and imprison its followers. If they can only have more faith, they will be rewarded. Meanwhile, the object of their faith leaves little desire for spiritual things – for they seek after worldly wealth.
Along with the Word of Faith’s misplaced definition of faith comes the Purpose Driven Life model. Its indulgence is the promise of global peace by transforming the modern church into becoming the lowest denominator in finding common ground with anyone who desires to work toward social justice. The crown of compromise is given for the tolerant – the tolerant who champion those who are intolerant! Love is defined by a feeling of well-doing, but in the end, the blind are leading the blind, and they all will fall in the ditch.
The Cross is the light that exposes error but is also the beacon that illuminates the way back to God. The Cross is the only meeting place where man can meet God. Likewise, it is the only place that man can meet man. The Message of the Cross is the reformation message for today. It shows us how we are justified, but it also tells the believer how to live. The stalwart scripture of the early reformation was, “The just shall live by faith” (Heb. 10:38). Today, we can also say, “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith” (Col. 2:6).
~John Rosenstern
i beseech you therefore, Brethren, by the Mercies of God, that you present your bodies a Living Sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, Will of God (Rom. 12:1–2).
The first evidence of real Christian life is consecration to God and transformation from the world. This is not an outside mechanical action, but an inward perpetual renewing of the mind, a seeking for, the doing of, the Will of God.
In this consecration, the Holy Spirit through Paul demands of the Believer that we “present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” Then he tells us that this is our “reasonable service.”
How is this to be done?
Whenever the word “sacrifice” is mentioned in the Bible, as it refers to the Lord, always, and without exception, it goes back to the Cross. The only way that one can present one’s physical body as a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,” which, incidentally, is the only thing acceptable to God, is, as we have repeatedly stated, by the Believer placing his Faith exclusively in Christ and His Finished Work. The Holy Spirit will then do that which is necessary in the heart and life of such a Believer, which will make the Believer what he ought to be.
If anything else is presented to God, and I speak of any manner or way other than the Cross, it is totally unacceptable to God.
“So then they who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom. 8:8).
When the Believer attempts to function outside of the Cross, the situation becomes impossible. Sin and failure are the constant results, no matter how hard one may try otherwise. However, when the Believer places his Faith exclusively in Christ and His Finished Work, i.e., “the Cross,” the Holy Spirit then does for us what we cannot do for ourselves, and the situation then becomes easy. In other words, that which the Lord requires becomes a “reasonable service.”
That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said, “Come unto Me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Take My yoke upon you (the “yoke” of the “Cross” [Lk. 9:23]), and learn of Me (learn of His Sacrifice [Rom. 6:3–5]); for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls (the soul can find rest only in the Cross).
“For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (what He requires of us is very little, just to have Faith in Him, and His Sacrificial Atoning Work [Mat. 11:28–30]).
Then, and only then, can such a Believer present his physical body as “a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” He will then find that what God demands is a “reasonable service.”
~JSM
THE BIBLE USES DIFFERENT metaphors to describe the spiritual connection Christians have one with another.
In John, Jesus refers to believers as branches, with Himself as the vine, and God the Father as the husbandman (Jn. 15:1-2). Paul talked about the believing Gentiles being grafted in (Rom. 11:17). The church is referred to as a building that is built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets with Jesus Christ being the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20). Peter added, “You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house” (I Pet. 2:5). And there’s more. Today, I want us to look at the church as being the body of Christ!
NOT ALL IN A CHURCH ARE PART OF THE CHURCH
Let me first of all state that not all that attend church are part of the church. Sitting in a burger joint, no matter how fancy that restaurant is, does not make you a burger. Sitting in church, even participating in services, does not make you a Christian. To be part of the body of Christ, you have to “confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). Only those who have placed their faith in the completed work of Calvary are part of the spiritual body of Christ.
Paul talked often of the body of Christ. “Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (I Cor. 12:27). In Paul’s discussion on the purpose of the five-fold ministerial gifts, he said it was “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:12). Clearly the church is the body of Christ.
DIFFERENT PARTS, DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS
Just as in the natural, the body of Christ has different parts with different functions. “For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?” (I Cor. 12:14-15). We can’t all be evangelists. We cannot all be preachers. We can’t all travel the world spreading the Message of the Cross, but we can all do our part. We can help finance those who go. We can purchase the Expositors Study Bibles that are being sent around the world. The body moving in a well-orchestrated fashion can be instrumental in reaching the world for Christ.
EVERY BODY HAS A HEAD
Every living body has a head. Although man often attempts to usurp His authority, Jesus Christ is clearly the head of the body of Christ. “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the Saviour of the body” (Eph 5:23). As the head, Jesus coordinates and instructs the individual members of the church. “And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence” (Col. 1:18). We are, therefore, His physical representation on earth.
WHAT DOES THE WORLD SEE?
How well is the church representing Christ? We have to acknowledge that what is being presented as Christianity is a poor reflection of true Christianity. The prosperity gospel, the seeker sensitive movement, Kingdom Now, the Emerging Church movement, and much more do not reflect Christ. As we preach the Word, share the Word, and live the Word of God, Jesus will be lifted up. “If I be lifted up … I will draw all men unto me” (Jn. 12:32).
By Mike Muzzerall