Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-two:
The Tree of Life is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and the members of the Royal Priesthood who live by His Life. They always will be available to people on the new earth who are in need of refreshing and healing. This is why it is so important for those people to remain qualified to enter through the gates into the city, and thus avail themselves of the Spirit of God and the body and blood of the Lamb.
As I said, the Throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, dwelling in the members of the Royal Priesthood. They shall see the Face of God, and His name shall be in their foreheads. Even Moses could not see the Face of God. We can understand from this the spiritual heights to which God intends to bring His faithful sons.
The sons of God will govern the works of God's hands forever, as the brothers of Jesus Christ.
There shall come a time when repentance no longer is possible. The wrongdoer shall continue in his or her sin and the vile person shall remain vile. The right shall keep on doing right and the holy shall remain holy.
This is the making straight of the way of the Lord, mentioned by Isaiah. Also, it is the fulfillment of the Lord's desire that people be either cold or hot.
This is a warning to all of us not to trifle with the things of Christ but to make every effort throughout our lifetime on the earth to please God.
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. (Revelation 22:11)
A solemn warning indeed!
The next verse needs to be proclaimed in America at this time.
Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. (Revelation 22:12)
"I will give to each person according to what they have done."
My question is, does grace trump this? Is it true that this statement does not apply to those who are "saved by grace"?
We of today have an incorrect understanding of what grace does and does not do. To say that Revelation 22:12 is not true as it stands is to make the Word of God of no importance. It either is true as it stands or it is not true as it stands. What is your answer?
I say it is true as it stands, and our current preaching of grace is in error and is leading people to destruction. "Grace,"as it is being preached, is institutionalized rebellion!
Can a person turn from his sins and stand refreshed and righteous before God?
Most certainly!
The problem with today's preaching is the notion that Christ is forgiving us while we are sinning; so in essence we remain righteous independently of how we are behaving. No person could read the New Testament and come up with that conclusion!
I have a problem also with the Catholic Confessional. If the priest hears the confession with the idea that the person with Christ's help is going to stop sinning, then that is in accordance with Kingdom principles.
But if the idea is that the individual can make an atonement for his sin by performing a penance, with the understanding he is going to do the same thing again, then that is error and the person never will become a new creation of moral behavior.
If the guiding premise is that as long as we are in this world we are condemned to sin, that is not scriptural and error in faith and practice inevitably will proceed. That means Christ is able to forgive our sins but not deliver us. This is not at all true!
We can wash our robes by confessing our sin and, with the Lord's help, ceasing to practice it. This provision is contained in the new covenant.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)
Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)
For the washing to be effective we must be heartfelt in thoroughly confessing, denouncing, and turning away from our sins when they are pointed out to us by the Spirit of God. We are not left with the impression that we will continue in this same sinful behavior.
Confession alone will not deliver us from the bondages of sin. We must be determined, with Christ's help, to cease from committing sin!
Both the Spirit and the Bride invite all who will to partake of the Spirit of Life. Whoever will choose to do so, may drink of the Life of Christ.
It really is up to us, isn't it?
In summary, considering all that has been described in this essay, we might say that in the year 2013 we are beginning a new era in the history of mankind.
As never before we are entering the conflict of the ages. Titans in the spirit world are striving for control of the creation. It is good against evil. God against Satan. Christ against Antichrist. The Holy Spirit against the False Prophet.
God has determined to make an end of all sin and rebellion.
The struggle is not one of power against power, as though Satan could overcome the Father. Rather the struggle is truth against the lie.
If He had wished, the Father could have destroyed Satan and his works long ago. But the Father will work only in righteousness. People have to choose to obey and love God, and this is why the roundabout way of establishing the Kingdom.
Each human being is but a mote, a grain of dust, when compared with the lords of the spirit world. We simply are unable to overcome them; to outwit them, or to escape from their deceptions. This is why we must abandon our own thinking and acting and look to the Lord Jesus for every aspect of our being and doing.
Christ is the Rock upon whom we can stand. Otherwise we are as debris whirling about in a hurricane.
As I have written many times, moral and physical chaos is approaching the United States. We simply cannot stand in our own religious strength. We must become part of the Life of the Lord Jesus if we are to help ourselves and our loved ones.
I have warned also that not all who profess faith in Christ are qualified or competent to be resurrected, or changed if they are alive at the time, and then caught up to meet the Commander in Chief in the air. If I am not mistaken, only a relative few will go to meet the Lord.
The interval of time between the catching up of the victorious saints and the return of Christ on the white war stallions with His two armies will be fearful indeed! Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet will be on the earth. Perhaps there will be a time when Satan himself is visible to us. What a horror beyond all horrors that would be!
Also, I believe the Day of Wrath will occur during this period.
I am urging myself and all who will hear me to press further into Christ each day. Regardless of one's view of what I have written, every genuine Christian who is observing what is taking place in our world and our nation in the present hour, will agree with me that it is time to seek Christ as never before.
I extend the invitation to find refuge in the Rock of Ages to members of every other religion, whether Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, or any other religious persuasion. Christ will receive you with open arms, just as quickly as He will a professing Christian.
The time is short. Terrifying times are ahead. In that day, when all seems lost to you, call upon the name of the Lord Jesus. He is willing and able to help you in the most difficult of times. The Father has given Him all authority and power in Heaven and upon the earth.
Call on Him and see for yourself!
All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37)