The Scourge Of Racism
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Still thinking about young 21st century church planters,1 I am not unaware that many do set out with sincere determination to answer God’s call to go, preach the Gospel, make disciples and plant a church. However, some go wrong when they start to believe it depends more on them than God. As a result, they seek to help the Lord and speed up the process of church building with people pleasing compromises of God’s Word and flesh generated ideas. In this edited 2010 Commentary, the Lord leads me to remind all of us that He is concerned about the end and the means. Aspiring strong men of God in the image of Christ are to never do evil to bring about His intended good end.
Originally Published September 2010
It used to be a matter of routine morality that people were just as concerned about how an achievement was made as the achievement itself. Apparently, this is no longer true. In the world and among many Christians today, the end is exceedingly more important than the means used to arrive at it. Justifying the means by the end as a philosophy has saturated every fabric of our society. The character and specifically integrity of Christ in the aspiring strong man of God, precludes his compromising what is right in the sight of the Lord to arrive at even the noblest of ends.2 He knows God is just as much concerned about the means to the end as He is the end itself.
Having abandoned a biblical worldview of life and morality, athletes cheat using performance enhancing drugs for fame and bigger paydays. Teachers adjust student test scores to the end of showing progress and keeping their jobs. Activist judges hide behind legalese and formality to advance immoral social agendas in important rulings while lawmakers bribe each other with money deals to pass needed legislation. Corrupt preachers twist God's Word to justify covetous desires while deacons and trustees steal church money to pay themselves for their hard work. Churches tolerate the known immoral lifestyles of choir members and musicians to keep services jumping.
Professed Christians justify disobedience to God's Word to show the world they love them. The Bible's steps to salvation through repentance and faith are altered by the same folk to fill churches with warm, unsaved bodies. After all, the end game is packed out church worship services. Professed Christian mothers murder their children in the womb to justify timing issues and career ambitions. The Lord, they say, "understands my situation." Professed Christian men lie, steal and commit other crimes justifying their deeds by claiming expediency in the need of the moment. Never mind that the Lord they profess to follow taught no such precept or set an endorsing example.
Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ was given many opportunities to achieve ends by varying means other than what His Father laid out for Him. For example, at the outset of His ministry He was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). After He had completed a 40-day food fast, the Lord was very hungry. The devil approached and suggested He turn stones into bread to prove He was the Son of God. But the Lord told him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,'" (Matthew 4:4, NKJV). Interestingly, Jesus had no concern here about being legalistic as He declared God’s Word!
It is also clear the Lord was not going to prove Himself or use His own power to satisfy His need. He would wait and rely on His Father for all of His needs! In the evil thinking of our day, many would be okay with the Lord Jesus taking care of His need for food and showing off His power to boot in order to silence the devil. But the devil would not have been silenced. As the accuser, he would have immediately charged the Lord with acting independent of His Father and sin for he also knew the Scriptures. The means the Lord would have used to the ends of eating and proving His identity was not righteous. He, therefore, chose not to use it!
The other two temptations the devil brought thereafter were likewise designed to get the Lord Jesus to achieve ends by means that were wicked. In those cases too, the Lord refused to do so standing on and honoring God's written Word! Even in the final hours before His suffering when He sought the Father if there might yet be another means to save us, He submitted to His Father's no and went to the cross as the noblest of ends ever in the history of the world (Matthew 26:36-46). Every aspiring strong man of God in the image of Jesus Christ must in like manner willfully choose moment by moment to achieve every end by means that will also please our heavenly Father. The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 See the September 9, 2018 post, Old Versus New School Church, under the category, Instruction.
2 Learn more about the character of the aspiring strong man of God in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available at all major internet booksellers,
by order at your favorite brick and mortar bookstore or in the Strong Man Store.
Today is Pentecost calculated by Western Christianity as fifty days after the Sunday of our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead and return to Heaven to be glorified. As the Father promised, the Lord sent the Holy Spirit on this occasion to come upon and indwell His disciples He had commanded them to wait to receive in Jerusalem (Luke 24:49-53; John 7:37-39, 14:15-17, 20:19-23; Acts 1:4-14). Accordingly, when the Holy Spirit dramatically arrived on Pentecost among around 120 of Christ’s disciples assembled to Him, He came upon and filled them giving birth to the Church the Lord builds, not sinful, mortal flesh as an historic and ongoing falsehood (Acts 1:15, 2:1-4)!
This day then, is the birthday of the Church of Jesus Christ He plainly declared, ‘“I will build,’” (Matthew 16:16-18, NKJV). His intention to be actively engaged in His building project is asserted after His resurrection in the many commands and instructions given to the apostles; ending one instance stating, ‘“…and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age,’” Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV). He also made it very clear who the converts to faith in Him belonged to as He commanded Peter to ‘“Feed My lambs,’” ‘“Tend’” and ‘“Feed My sheep,’” (John 21:15-17, NKJV). On Pentecost and going forward, Christ began building His Church (ex. Acts 2:5-47, 4:1-4, 5:14, 6:7, 9:31-43)!
The Christian and Jewish calculations of Pentecost which means fiftieth in Greek differ due to dating methods. Interestingly, it is also known as The Feast Of Weeks or Harvest and was instituted by God as one of seven required feasts for the Jews to observe (Leviticus 23). Shavuot in Hebrew was also one of three feasts that all of the males were to assemble “before the Lord,” (Exodus 23:14-17, 34:18, 22-24, NKJV). The feast celebrated the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. Prophetically in the commanded wave offering of the feast, the priests offered two loaves of bread “baked with leaven” always associated with sin and picturing Jew and Gentile as the Church (Leviticus 23:17, NKJV).1
Despite being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, the reality of Christ’s mortal Church He builds on earth is that sin still resides in us even though He made perfect atonement for it. My continual praise to God the Father with thanksgiving is that He keeps on forgiving our sins as we confess and repent from them according to His plan from eternity and righteousness to do so through the finished work of Christ until we depart to Him or He returns to perfect us (1 John 1:5-2:2, 3:1-3)! Too, all throughout history some as gullible brethren, impostors, dead religionists, rebels and apostates used of Satan have dwelt in the midst of the mortal Church (2 Corinthians 11:1-21; Galatians 2:1-5; Titus 1:10-16).
Knowing the reality of sin in His mortal Church, the Lord and His apostles gave warning and instructions about how to deal with it and wicked infiltrators of its authentic local assemblies (Matthew 18:15-20; Romans 16:17-20; 1 Corinthians 5; Titus 3:9-11; 2 John 7-11).2 Now, this all presumed such men were not pastors, elders and other leaders in the main! For we are to submit to and obey “overseers” the Holy Spirit assigns to lead us who do the same toward Christ the Head of His Church “as those who must give account;” following their instruction and example (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:15-23; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:1-4, NKJV).
However, when these men are “savage wolves” as foretold and readily identifiable by their failure to submit to and obey “the whole counsel of God” embodied in His written Word if one knows it through regular, fruitful study, we are not expected by the Lord to follow them to their certain destruction without repentance (Acts 20:25-27, 29-31; Philippians 3:17-19; 1 Timothy 5:17-22; 2 Peter 2; Jude 3-19; Revelation 18:1-4, NKJV).3 Yet, because many do not study God’s Word or really care about what it says as gullible brethren, impostors, dead religionists, rebels and apostates in their assemblies of manmade Christianity the religion, the savage wolves devour them by every carnal means as they build their doomed made to order churches (Habakkuk 2:12-14; Revelation 18:5-8)!4
Some have deluded themselves into believing the means however unbiblical with marketing gimmicks and entertainment is justified by the end of multiple church campuses and large numbers filling Sunday services.5 Others are well intended in their desire to make the local church appealing to the surrounding community and culture to attract prospective members. They do so though, by purposely choosing not to preach or obey God’s whole Word; allowing women for example, to take authority over the men (1 Timothy 2:11-15).6 But on this birthday of His Church, the Lord reminds all He is her Builder, not sinful, mortal men with their selfishly ambitious visions, plans and failures.7 Faithful believers are only granted the privilege of working alongside of Him as He does the building!
1 See The Feasts of the Lord, Kevin Howard and Marvin Rosenthal, Thomas Nelson Inc., Nashville 1997, 22, 89-100. The Lord used the two authors to fully open my eyes about this prophetic assertion of Jew and Gentile assembled before Him as wheat in a future harvest of souls pictured in the Old Testament’s Feast Of Weeks. They fur- ther well present His work as the Messiah to make it so in the New Testament citing the “mystery” of His Church revealed and explained by the Jewish apostle Paul (Ephesians 2:11-3, NKJV).
2 Read the two-part post beginning January 5, 2020, Revelation’s Seven Churches In Time, under the category, Bible Prophecy. The Lord leads me to make it clear in this post that membership in a local church is not necessarily equal to membership in His Church!
3 No professed Christian that knowingly followed and endorsed church leaders in their disobedience to God’s written Word will be able to claim innocence before the Lord in the Judgment. You had a choice (1 Timothy 5:24-25; James 4:17)! A Christian that will recognize and faithfully stand against evil in these latter days must know the whole Word of God attained through the spiritual discipline of Bible study and understanding He provides! To help you, the Lord has led me to produce the Fruitful Bible Study Self-Paced Video Course now, featured on our Strong Man Virtual Institute’s YouTube Channel. The video course and optional Study Guide is available for free download in the Strong Man Store. It replaces and expands upon the one sheet free document download this Ministry formerly offered.
4 See the September 27, 2015 post, Empire Building On God’s Program, under the category, Call To Repent. Many of those that build their made to order churches today are of my baby boomer generation that stayed put under the tutelage of corrupt and compromising leaders building theirs back in the day I said nothing about in a recent post--read the March 27, 2022 post, No Baby Boomer Free Lunch, under the categories Biblical Worldview and Call To Repent. They stuck with the manmade religious systems of rules, rituals, priorities and activities in Christianity the religion and paid their dues. But if the religious systems of manmade Christianity the religion are cor- rupt, what really has been achieved in the sight of Christ who judges in accord with righteousness (Isaiah 11:3-5; Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46-49, 12:35-48)?
5 Read the September 16, 2018 post, Justifying The Means By The End, under the category, Instruction.
6 If God in His Word commands the leadership of men as pictured in His perpetual requirement on Pentecost of three times a year they were to assemble to Him in Israel, then, by what authority are guilty pastors and elders rejecting it? The Lord leads me to deal with this willful act of disobedience nullifying His commandment (1 Corinthians 14:34-37) in many blog posts (type “feminism” into the blog search window). I also address the issue in my book, The Strong Man Of God Back To Basics. It is available with the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.
7 Operating in the flesh as it is, no one should really be surprised at the extent to which pastors of churches large and small are falling like dominoes in moral failures and ethical scandals particularly those that enabled them as objects of their idolatrous worship; the cult of personality worship saturating the surrounding culture extant in the churches too!
As I have repeatedly done in many posts over the years in the hope any might be saved, I warn sinners reading this you have no deliverance from condemnation, wrath and eternal removal from God’s presence except by the means He has graciously provided through repentance and faith in the Gospel (Good News) of His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16-21, 36)!1 The fact you may have heard, but rejected the Gospel a number of times from men like me as its joyful heralds sent by Christ does not weary us who are ourselves saved by it, nor does this bode well for you in the judgment. God has allotted only so much time for the Gospel to be preached in the earth and it is about up!
On this Palm Sunday nearly two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ rode slowly into Jerusalem riding a ‘“donkey’s colt.’” By doing so, He fulfilled Bible prophecy and fueled the messianic hopes of the many who had seen or experienced His miraculous works including His chosen disciples who did not at the time “understand these things” “written about Him.” The only unhappy souls on that day were the “Pharisees” of the Jewish religious establishment (John 12:12-19, NKJV). These were the folk that instigated the Lord’s crucifixion later in the week at Passover thinking to be finally rid of Him because they did not realize even this was part of God’s plan to save sinners (Isaiah 53).2
For after His burial, resurrection on the third day following and appearance to them, Christ instructed His disciples ‘“that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the’” Old Testament ‘“concerning’” Him. “He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” He followed this with assuring instruction everything that happened to Him was foretold ‘“and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,’” (Luke 24:44-47, NKJV). Thus, to be saved from condemnation and wrath a man must first repent of his sins--that is, change his mind about their acceptance and turn away from them!
Next, such a man must believe the Gospel that Christ died on the cross for his sins in his place; that He was buried and rose again on the third day after to enable God to remove or if you will, forgive his sins and their guilt. After this God sends the Holy Spirit into the heart of the repentant, Gospel believing soul to bring about new birth into eternal spiritual life as well as impart assurance of salvation among other blessings (John 3:1-8, 7:37-39; Acts 2:36-41, 10:34-48; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22). And because men must “hear” the Gospel to believe it and be saved, as Christ has willed I rejoice to be among those from Him in the first century He has “sent” to preach it (Romans 10:11-17, NKJV)!
As the Lord Jesus Christ humbly rode into Jerusalem that Palm Sunday, so, spiritually speaking He desires to ride into the hearts of willing sinners for salvation during this, His Father’s predetermined interval of grace (Acts 1:4-8, 17:30-31). This is because at His return as foretold the Lord will come in blazing glory on “a white horse” to carry out His part in expressing the wrath of God in judgment and begin His reign among survivors ruling with “a rod of iron,” (Revelation 19:11-16, NKJV)! “Now,” as it is written, “is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” for you since not being saved from your sins there is no guarantee of a tomorrow (2 Corinthians 6:1-2, NKJV).
It has taken this long and as long as it will finally be in God’s grace to fulfill His will that the Gospel be preached in all the nations. In this truth the reality of God’s grace is made all the more evident since beyond Israel that is one nation and heard the Gospel “first” (Acts 3:22-26, NKJV), there are only the many Gentile nations. This means God’s eternal plan to save sinners always included us Gentiles (Isaiah 49:1-6; Romans 15:7-13) and is a part of the purposeful reason God has taken this long to have the Gospel preached in every nation using redeemed human agency (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:14-20; Acts 26:1-18).3 Indeed, what the Lord designates as “the times of the Gentiles” draws near its close as does another reason for God’s delay, Israel’s punishment (Luke 21:20-24, NKJV).4
How glad I am Christ came to save sinners! I repented of my sins and believed the Gospel to be saved on Resurrection Sunday 1977. Not only has my life been slowly changing for the better, but I enjoy one of God’s great mysteries in His work of salvation: the risen, living Christ in me “the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1:24-29, NKJV)!5 Fear of wrath and the judgment do not attend to me as a result. But you sir, if you continue refusing to repent and believe the Gospel, as Christ told first century Jews: “you will die in your sins,” (John 8:21-24, NKJV). This means the guilt of your sins not forgiven by God will be with you in Hades as you await your audience with Christ who while you lived on the earth was your prospective Savior, but now, will be your Judge (John 5:24-30; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11).6
(As my Lord has graciously blessed, I will be taking Resurrection Sunday off to celebrate my 47th spiritual birthday. He willing we see it, my next post will be on April 7th. To God be the glory!)
1 Read the March 17, 2024 post, Sinners Cannot Create A Perfect World, under the category, Call To Repent, as a most recent warning to sinners.
2 Isaiah wrote his report on the substitutionary suffering and death of Christ for and to save sinners from their sins some seven hundred years in advance. Those among black Americans as victims that are convinced nobody knows the trouble we as a people have seen from oppression should consider the Lord Jesus does since Isaiah specifically writes, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not his mouth…,” (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 26:47-67, NKJV). Get my latest book, The Scourge Of Racism in print at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store. E-books are also available at major E-Book sellers. Learn about the book and read reviews on the Featured Publishing Resource Page at https://www.opendoorcommin.org/featured-publishing-resource.
3 Out of the overflow of God’s grace and longsuffering, an angel seen and heard by all will preach the Gospel a final time to the whole world just before Christ’s return (2 Peter 3:1-9; Revelation 14:6-7).
4 See the February 6, 2022 post, The Divine Delay, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
5 Of the many changes God has been working in my life is conforming me to the image of Christ as the Strong Man of God (Romans 8:29). He led me to write about this in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics available at your favorite internet book seller and in the Strong Man Store. The E-Book is also available at major E-Book sellers.
6 If you will further consider Christ as Savior watch this Ministry’s Strong Man Of God Online Rally, Reconciled To God, on our YouTube channel.
Sometime between the fourth and ninth months of her pregnancy, Mary, the virgin mother of Jesus Christ and her betrothed husband, Joseph, received word of an imperial edict that would require them to leave Nazareth. As Gospel writer, Luke, reports, “a decree went out from Caesar Augustus” Roman Emperor at the time, “that all the world (controlled by the Roman Empire) should be registered,” (Luke 2:1-2, NKJV). Consequently, the couple made their way to a Judean town named Bethlehem. They had to make this seventy to ninety mile trek because as members of the tribe of Judah and descendants of king David, both needed to register there (Luke 2:3-5).
Mary had just traveled to an unnamed “city of Judah” in the first trimester of her pregnancy to visit “Elizabeth,” her “relative” who like her, was the recipient of God’s grace and supernatural power. Elizabeth was enabled to conceive a son by natural means “in her old age.” Their joyous initial interaction is one for the ages (Luke 1:36-56, NKJV)! Now, fully showing in her pregnancy, Mary’s trip to Bethlehem in obedience to the decree of Caesar Augustus with thousands of others from all over Israel would not be as easy. Indeed, it was not intended to be since the inconvenience of the trip was not of God’s perfect, but His permissive will, foreknowledge and prophetic purpose.
Caesar’s census decree at that precise moment in history was of Satan as he continued persecuting and seeking for ways to destroy the unborn Son of God to keep Him from coming into the world!1 A census in and of itself is not evil for the Lord commanded Moses to number Israel as one means to collect an offering to Him designated “for the service of the tabernacle of meeting,” (Exodus 30:11-16, 38:25-26, NKJV). God also commanded Moses to take a census of the males twenty years old and over “who are able to go to war,” (Numbers 1:1-4, NKJV) and did so again after He had punished Israel with a plague that killed thousands (Numbers 25-26:4).
However, it is also written, “Now, Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel,” (1 Chronicles 21:1, NKJV). The king’s motive was the sin of pride for which God punished the nation (1 Chronicles 21:2-17).2 Having the title “Augustus” (meaning “exalted” as one divine), Satan easily moved Caesar in pride not only to know the number of Roman citizens throughout his empire, but non-citizens under subjection to press into his service and tax to finance his ambitions. The Jews chafed under Roman taxation this new census would facilitate and no doubt the burden of traveling to their ancestral regions to register Joseph and Mary now, found themselves doing as well.
Not able to cause the possible destruction of her unborn Son through miscarriage or otherwise during the perilous, untimely journey to Bethlehem, Satan waited in the shadows for an opportunity in the town when the time for Mary’s delivery came (Luke 2:6). The town overflowing with descendants of Judah and David made it very hard to secure a suitable place as the devil anticipated. In the place scholars debate was either a cave, stable or home where animals were sheltered because there was no other room for them, Mary lay in the agony of labor;3 vicariously embodying one of the major purposes of her people, Israel: to be God’s means of bringing His Son into the World (Romans 9:1-5)!
A “great” summary prophetic “sign” the apostle John was later shown affirms the foregoing truth (Revelation 12:1-2, NKJV). “Another sign” in the same prophetic review of messianic history depicts Satan as “a great, fiery red dragon” that “stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her Child as soon as it was born,” (Revelation 12:3-4, NKJV). He was not permitted by God to do so as Mary “brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger,” (Luke 2:7; Revelation 12:5a, NKJV). Frustrated yet again, the devil could only look on powerlessly as God sent angels to announce to lowly Jewish shepherds what the nation had been waiting generations for--the birth of “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord,” (Luke 2:8-20, NKJV)!
1 Read the December 4, 2022 post, Christ Persecuted Before Birth, under the category, Instruction.
2 As the Lord leads me to address in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, pride is the number one sin of men--saved and unsaved! Our enemy, Satan, knows just the right recipe of temptations to bring it out of us. Get my book and learn what God has provided for our victory more often than not as aspiring strong men of God in in the image of Jesus Christ! It is available at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore and the Strong Man Store.
3 I invite every aspiring great woman of God in the image of Christ to get the Strong Man Of God Audio Resource, Christmas From Eve To Mary to hear three messages the Lord led me to preach celebrating human femininity as designed by Him! Learn more about this resource, listen to a sample and make your purchase exclusively in the Strong Man Store.
As foretold by the Lord, tribulation and martyrdom for the faith have followed faithful Christians during this nearly 2,000 year period since the first century. Today, because the Gospel has spread to nearly every nation on earth, persecution fed tribulation and martyrdom are experienced by the Lord’s faithful in unprecedented numbers to grow much worse leading up to and during God’s seventieth week.9 Before those final seven years, though, the saints with everyone else will also be dealing with God’s escalating warning judgments to include ‘“great earthquakes…,’” ‘“famines and pestilences…;’” the Lord adding in Luke, ‘“fearful sights and great signs from heaven,’” (Luke 21:11, NKJV).
Just as we have had to cope in His provision and strength with persecution, wars, lawlessness, various calamities, famines and pestilences, still to come are what the Lord describes as “fearful sights and great signs from heaven” that will work destruction on earth, affect the cosmos, our solar system and time as we know it along with bring great pain and death to some of mankind. Among the Almighty God’s purposes in these coming, more severe judgments as those now, is to cause willing souls to recognize His reality and power, repent and believe the Gospel to be saved; the preaching of which has been a major reason for His long delay in bringing the end (2 Peter 3:1-9)!10
The shockingly terrifying events as signs and severe judgments from God prior to His final seven years also warn of His approaching full-on wrath.11 The sixth seal previews what God will do to protect His foretold preserved “remnant of Israel” He calls “My elect” that they might endure through His judgments as “trumpets” of warning which actually begin when Christ opens the seventh seal of the scroll fully unfurled thereafter (Isaiah 10:20-23, 65:8-10; Joel 2:30-32; Revelation 7:1-8, 8:1-9:21, NKJV). These plagues with all to follow that intensify in severity have a precedent in what God did to bring Israel out of Egyptian bondage--something the world will quickly catch onto.
For to appease Him, the world will allow Israel to rebuild their Temple! The rebuilding of the Jewish Temple during the period of or shortly after the severe judgments of Revelation 8-9 is inferred by the fact the structure is already standing when God’s final seven years are formally launched at the beginning of Revelation 11! Besides more warning judgments from God at the hands of His “two witnesses” during the first three and one half years of the seven, if not already, “the falling away” of professed Christians may take place here (2 Thessalonians 2:3a; Revelation 11:1-14, NKJV). Could this mass event be in part due to the realization the secret rapture has not occurred to this juncture?
Because His faithful already bear the living mark of the Holy Spirit, they will not be touched by the creatures God sends to hurt, but not kill those without Him in the fifth trumpet judgment (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Revelation 9:1-12). Otherwise, Christians will be at least indirectly if not directly impacted by God’s severe judgments then, as we are right now! Christ plainly taught following Him entails tribulation and death by whatever means, but that we would overcome them in Him (Luke 9:18-26; John 11:21-27, 16:1-4, 33)!12 Therefore, equipped with the Holy Spirit, Christians that will be faithful are fully prepared to endure tribulation from all sources to God’s appointed end.13
This is why instead of protection like the mortal Jewish elect, the sixth seal previews Christians in glory after coming “out of the great tribulation,” (Revelation 7:9-17, NKJV)!14 The “great tribulation” in Christ’s chronology occupies the last half of God’s final seven years. It is the apex of what will be worldwide suffering from all sources, but especially the activity of the Antichrist. Indeed, so severe are the trials of the great tribulation at the ascendency to world rule by the Antichrist with the aid of Satan in “great wrath,” the Lord warns about those days from the prophet Daniel and adds His prophecy to it. Later, from Him, two of His apostles also give warning (Daniel 8:23-25, 9:27, 11:31-45; Matthew 24:15-22; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12; 1 John 2:18; Revelation 12:7-13:18, NKJV).15
With the aid of demonic works, the Lord warns ‘“false christs and false prophets’” will arise to assert He has come secretly ‘“in the desert’” or ‘“inner rooms.’” ‘“Do not believe it,’” He also warns. Faithful Bible students will not! Then, He plainly instructs His only Second Coming will be globally seen (Matthew 24:23-28, NKJV)! Too, He plainly says this occurs ‘“Immediately after the tribulation of those days.’” Following foretold cosmic signs He comes ‘“with power and great glory;’” sending ‘“His angels…’” to ‘“gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other’” after which the full-on “day of the Lord” wrath is “poured out" (Matthew 24:29-31; Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Revelation 11:15-19, 16:12-21, 19:11-21, NKJV).16
While I have already cited two major reasons many American evangelicals in the main may cling to the falsehood Christ is going to secretly come to remove Christians from tribulation even before God’s final seven years contrary to Scripture objectively interpreted, two others that come to mind are pride and fear. The pride is of the same kind that will not let many repent from obvious sin!17 Fear of pain and suffering is normal; giving into it to the point of inventing ungodly means of escape is not, nor does this follow the example of our Lord (Luke 22:39-46; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 Peter 2:18-25, 4:1-6, 12-19). The evil outcome of pushing this made to order end is overthrowing “the faith of some” who cannot reconcile it with what they see or God’s Word (2 Timothy 2:16-18, NKJV)!18
9 Visit https://www.opendoorsusa.org/ a Ministry to persecuted Christians this Ministry supports.
10 See the February 6, 2022 post, The Divine Delay, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
11 Scripture teaches the full-on wrath of God is cataclysmic destruction whether widespread as in Noah’s flood or localized as it was with Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 7:17-24, 19:23-29). The foretold coming full-on wrath of God is part of His “Day of the Lord” launch and will violently shake both the universe and the earth; causing the earth to move from its current orbit along with upending and changing its topography (Isaiah 13:6-13, 24:17-20, 40:3-5, 42:14-15). It is from God’s full-on wrath Christians have been promised deliverance through Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, 5:2-10)!
12 Learn more about following Christ into suffering as He teaches in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. It is available with the companion Strong Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study in the Strong Man Store, at your favorite internet bookseller or brick and mortar bookstore.
13 Consequently, as the Lord has led, I have been calling believers in need to repentance and revival! Read the May 22, 2022 post, Made To Order Spirit?, under the category, Instruction.
14 Clearly, this passage shows the close of the great tribulation includes partial displays of God’s wrath directed specifically upon those with the Antichrist’s mark still re- fusing to repent, the water resources they in the majority rely on and the sun to burn them with the heat of global warming at its peak without killing off all air breathing life indirectly affected due to the shortened days involved (Matthew 24:21-22; Revelation 16:1-11).
15 Read the two-part post that begins February 13, 2022, War Of The Ages End, under the category, Bible Prophecy. Please note in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, the apostle Paul opens up referencing “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him” (the rapture) as tied to the “day of Christ” which is also the Day of the Lord. He further instructs “that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed…,” (Emphasis Mine, NKJV).
16 All mortals on earth will see the Second Coming of Christ including faithful remnant Christians who immediately thereafter, are made immortal and join those resur- rected gathered to Christ in the sky (1 Corinthians 15:50-57). See the August 15, 2021 post, The Honor Of Bypassing Death, under the category, Bible Prophecy.
17 See the September 26, 2021 post, I Have Sinned, I Repent, under the category, Call To Repent. Consider too, the joy and peace of Marvin Rosenthal when what he understood about the rapture’s timing at Christ’s Second Coming and just before the outpour of God’s full-on wrath fully lined up with what Scripture objectively inter- preted, taught!
18 Believers should have only the truth of God’s Word to inform their understanding, not the opinions of men! This means as this “made to order” series of posts has steadfastly urged, studying the Bible for oneself to learn the truth therein.
The great outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah’s grave sin came from at least four sources: God’s holiness, the holy angels, the physical creation and Abraham’s nephew, Lot, caring for his own soul, his family, unsuspecting strangers and those injured by the iniquity of the cities. All sin offends the holiness of God and demands His righteous and just action upon it. He, however, has very often borne with His holy offense and graciously suffered long with the sinner(s) as He did in Noah’s day and with Israel until there is “no remedy,” (Genesis 6:5-8; 2 Chronicles 36:15-16, NKJV). As earlier noted, God had already been gracious to the wicked cities, but there was no repentance!
The holy angels fully loyal to God are as advertised, holy; having no fellowship with or delight in sin! Myriads of them surround His throne to declare and guard God’s holiness (Isaiah 6:1-7). They watch the activity of fallen angels opposing God and engage with them in accord with His purposes and at His directive (Daniel 10:4-14). They also watch sinful men and carry out judgments upon them in line with God’s will as took place with the king of Babylon (Daniel 4:13-17). God’s holy angels most assuredly cried out to Him continually concerning the grave sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. As such, it is no surprise two angels accompanied the Lord to “see” their grave sin for Himself.
We know on a basic level that the earth is filled with life and living things. However, God’s Word would have us to understand that not only the earth, but “the whole creation” is alive to Him and now, even “groans” waiting for its promised restoration after that of His sons at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:18-23, NKJV). Operating with His firm laws of physics such as gravity, the physical creation retains the original moral order God created it with though, for now, it is under His temporary curse for man’s sin (Genesis 3:17-19). The physical creation is repulsed by the iniquity of mankind who are supposed to be its holy and righteous rulers (Genesis 1:26; Hebrews 2:5-8).3
Finally, the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah came as it turns out from the only righteous man that lived in Sodom, Lot. He was so morally offended by the wicked deeds of his fellow citizens, he sat in the city gate as one of the judges to intercept and if possible protect unaware travelers while his own righteous soul Scripture says was “oppressed” and daily “tormented” “by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds,” (Genesis 19:1-3; 2 Peter 2:7-8, NKJV).4 But even though His own holiness, the holy angels, the physical creation and righteous Lot truthfully, vehemently cried out to the Lord who is Omniscient and Omnipresent about the grave sin of the cities, He still came down for a Personal look.
This tells us how reluctant God in love, grace, mercy and longsuffering is to destroy even the most wicked of human beings. This becomes clear in His exchange with Abraham. From where the Lord stood before Abraham He saw as close as His holiness would allow that all that had been reported to Him in the great outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was so (John 1:43-51) because the destroying angels started out on their mission while Abraham questioned Him as though the matter was settled. Concerned for his family (Lot) and the people he once went to war to rescue, Abraham wanted to know if God would “destroy the righteous with the wicked,” (Genesis 18:22-23, NKJV)?
The character of God and Abraham shines in their exchange (Genesis 18:24-33). The Lord displays His eternal mercy by being willing to spare Sodom if just ten righteous persons were found in it; Abraham, great humility and reverence for God referring to himself as “dust and ashes,” (Genesis 18:27, NKJV).5 The far gone wickedness of the men of Sodom was shortly confirmed (Genesis 19:4-11). Lot and his family would be delivered from God’s wrath if they were willing to heed and follow him (here again is shown the weight of male headship as God designed). Some were not willing and perished as did Lot’s wife after setting her affections on the city while fleeing it (Genesis 19:12-26).
Saints, take note Lot was moved out of the way of God’s wrath immediately before it fell (Genesis 19:27-29). We are still here now, and remain during all of His warning judgments (Joel 2:30; Revelation 8-11:14) that include allowing Satan to bring his “great wrath” upon our number in such persecution and tribulation by the hands of his emissaries that relatively few saints--a mortal remnant--are left on earth (Isaiah 57:1-2; Daniel 7:15-25; Matthew 24:15-22; Revelation 6:9-11, 7:9-17, 12:7-13:18, 14:9-13, NKJV). Persecutors should know that reducing our number hastens the one and only coming visible, audible Day of the Lord and evacuation of His righteous remnant just before He pours out His full wrath (Psalm 50:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; Revelation 6:12-17, 15-16).6
Therefore, let all the guilty especially among professed Christians repent before the Lord now, since He will not grant peace through any means but Himself going forward until after His wrath is fulfilled (Ezekiel 33:10-11; John 14:27, 16:33; Romans 5:1-2). For no one will escape the judgment of disobedience to the call to repent in the Gospel at Christ’s return; judgment that is already underway in the “house of God,” (2 Thessalonians 1:3-12; 1 Peter 4:12-19, NKJV)!7 The wrath of the “Prince of Peace” is perfectly just because as He did at Sodom and Gomorrah, He came in Human form and had not only His Personal look at, but experience with the grave sin of this world when He suffered by our hands for us leading up to and on Calvary’s cross (Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:1-10, 53, 57:3-13, NKJV).
3 Those that may feel like the creation seems to be acting against mankind in recent years are on to something and it will get worse before it is all over! Truly, the polluting
physical activity of man such as burning fossil fuels is only an infinitesimally small contributor to the unusual weather patterns, storms, intensifying heat, droughts, sea
rise etc. compared to their flagrant transgression, sin and iniquity that defile the earth (Isaiah 24:4-6). Under His sovereign oversight and as warning judgments, God is
allowing the earth (including its wild animals) and soon the whole cosmos to register their displeasure to man’s defiling sin (Leviticus 18, 20; Jeremiah 23:18-20, 25:32-33,
30:23-24; Luke 21:25-26)! Surely, the proponents of global warning do not believe green house gases on earth directly impact the moon, sun or stars light years away, do
they? Rather than green new deals, let the children cry out for their guilty parents to repent!
4 See my Independence Day 2021 post, under the category, Biblical Worldview, where I liken my reaction to the wickedness of our times to that of Lot. Truly, any professed
Christians supposedly sanctified to God that are not disturbed in some measure by the blatant display of human depravity we see and hear everywhere in our day, plainly
show they are false or apostate!
5 O, that such were the case among the many of us professing to be Christians who supposedly in like faith and character are Abraham’s spiritual descendants! This being
so, there is no way that I continue to cry out for repentance at the Lord’s directive among you who claim to know Him. Humility is one of the common character traits of
the image of Christ the Father builds in genuine Christian men and women as I write in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics and draw out in The Strong
Man Of God Men’s Group Study and Great Woman Of God Women’s Group Study. These resources are available at your favorite internet book seller and in the
Strong Man Store.
6 Conversely, our large number on the earth forestalls the coming Day of the Lord’s wrath as He assured Abraham in their exchange about His destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah. And as the destroying angel instructed Lot, we saints are to know the full outpour of God’s wrath will not occur until we are out of the way (Genesis 19:22-24;
Luke 17:26-37; Revelation 16:17-21)!
7 Attend this Ministry’s 30 minute Strong Man Of God Online Rally at https://thestrongmanofGod.org/Webcast for a fresh, biblically grounded presentation of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ!
As should be plain to anyone that read the March 14, 2021 post the Lord led me to write presenting the biblical Gospel, salvation from sin is the uppermost concern of the living God for His human creatures.1 Every other instruction, promise and benefit follows from this divine priority and is built on that spiritual foundation. Any professed Christian preacher, teacher or anyone else that asserts otherwise is deceived and as a deceiver, not telling the truth (Mark 1:14-15, 13:10, 16:14-16; Luke 19:9-10, 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; 1 Timothy 1:15)! Also, God’s salvation is not obtained through any other person or means except His Son, Jesus Christ, (John 14:6; Acts 4:8-12).
In continuing concern for black males without Christ and now, also those that profess to know Him, I write as He leads to dissuade any that may consciously or unconsciously believe the social good works they are doing are good enough for Him to slide you into Heaven and eternal glory. Not so, according to God’s Word the final authority for what Christianity is all about. Indeed, Paul, the Jewish apostle to us Gentiles makes it clear that neither by attempting to keep “the law,” its works or those considered good by sinful mankind can anyone “be justified in” the sight of God, but only by His grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:19-4:4; Galatians 2:15-16, 3:10-14, NKJV)!
A works based salvation is common to manmade counterfeit Christianity as men strive to be good and do enough through their own efforts to make it into Heaven. Of course, those with no interest in religion at all during these socially conscious latter days also seek to do good works as a false show of inherit human goodness that is impressive to people and they think God too, should He be taking note. The Lord led me to address this contemporary pitfall of people doing social good as a replacement for His call to repentance from sin and salvation in a 2016 post.2 For professed Christians, such a notion wickedly attempts to redefine biblical Christianity and is heretical!
The reason no works or deeds no matter how noble or good can impress God our Creator enough to dismiss human sin is because of who He is eternally in character--holy, righteous and just (Psalms 90:2, 99:1-5, 9, 111:2-3, 7-8).3 As holy, God is wholly other than and set apart from sin. Sin offends the holiness of God and stirs up His wrath against it! Perfectly righteous, God can never just “let sin slide” or uphold it, but must judge it out of His perfect justice. He created angels and man perfect, but some of the angels and man sinned. God has judged all fallen sinners giving only willing mortal man grace to be saved from His wrath and eternal separation to Hell (Revelation 20:10-15).
After being saved by grace through faith in Christ, His followers enjoy intimate fellowship with Him and the Father. This fellowship is possible only because the blood Christ shed on Calvary is effectual forever to enable divine forgiveness and cleansing upon our continual humble and honest confession and repentance from our sins--often revealed in the study of the written Word along with the Holy Spirit’s convicting work (Psalm 19:7-14; John 16:5-11; 1 John 1:1-2:2). Faithful Christians in this biblical context do good works serving Christ and fellow man at His direction through the power of the Holy Spirit to glorify God (Matthew 5:14-16; John 12:25-26,13:12-17; Acts 2:44-47, 9:32-43)!4
Truly, for the Christian as it is written, “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:14-26, NKJV). Thus, we in Christ do not do good works to be saved, but because we are saved and as a result, God who is at work in and through us is glorified (Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-15)! Here is where the Lord gives sober warning to church folk doing even “wonders” in His name beyond the typical dead churchy works carried out in the midst of manmade counterfeit Christianity the religion thinking they are pleasing Him. For unless you are doing the will of His Father which is first to actually be saved by grace through faith in Christ and walking in the intimacy of relationship with Him, your works are worthless as a means to gain entry into Heaven and immortal glory (Matthew 7:21-23, NKJV).
Therefore, to the men I share identity with as black Americans and all others: not social good works, but salvation from sin is God’s limited time priority for us and only means of reward from Him! Otherwise, despite self-gratification, the honor and awards of grateful mankind, “you will die in your sins” (whether that is from the “normal” ways mortal men die or the escalating judgments of God leading to His nearing foretold wrath) to await “the judgment seat of Christ” in Hades with no hope of exoneration because you refused to believe in Him through the Gospel (Luke 16:19-31; John 8:21-24; 2 Corinthians 5:9-11, NKJV). I implore you by the mercies of God to seek His salvation now, since as His Coronavirus judgment has reminded us, tomorrow is not guaranteed and sudden happens!
1 See the March 14, 2021 post, The Gospel Is For Black Males Too!, under the category, The Cause
2 Read the January 17, 2016 post, Suffering For Preaching God’s Word, under the category, Instruction.
3 See the May 31, 2020 post, Keeping It Real About God, under the category, Instruction.
4 This is the heart of every Christian man and woman that aspires to be like and obey Christ as strong men and great women of God I write about respectively in my book,
The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. The book is published by Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and is available in print or digital formats at major internet
booksellers. You can also purchase a print copy in the Strong Man Store.
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