That is the purpose of the Christian Era.
That is the purpose of the Christian Era.
Today there is a movement of believers who believe they can set up the Kingdom before the Lord Jesus returns. If God does not deliver them from their error, they will evolve into the False Prophet of Revelation, Chapter Thirteen.
The worldwide revival we are hoping for, that is, the making alive in Christ of those of the nations who will accept eternal life, cannot take place until the members of the Royal Priesthood, the life-giving spirits, have been prepared for their ministry to the nations.
The Lord Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, of the nations. The sheep are those who were kind to the members of the Royal Priesthood, to the brothers of the Lord Jesus. The Royal Priests have been prepared for them and shall inherit them.
The goats are those who were not supportive of the Royal Priesthood. The Lake of Fire is their eternal home.
Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world." (Matthew 25:34—NIV)
Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41—NIV)
The first source of sin is love of the antichrist world spirit.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (I John 2:15,16—NIV)
There have been in time past accents on holiness of appearance and behavior. Examples of an accent on holiness could be found in the Methodist and Pentecostal movements.
Then there was a reaction against the teaching that Christians ought not to be worldly in appearance or behavior. Christian people felt free to attend the movies. The women adorned themselves with makeup, ear rings, and clothing that was in line with worldly fashions.
Perhaps in the present hour there is somewhat of a return of the idea that Christian people should not take part in the things of the world, social drinking, smoking cigarettes, and so forth.
But there may be a far more dangerous manifestation of the antichrist spirit that has come on the scene. I am speaking of the electronic communication devices, such as the television, the Internet, and hand-held devices. Also various sorts of electronic games.
Without realizing it we may be being saturated with the values of the world.
In addition, the television is bringing the nations of the world together, so that if there is a major car pileup in Norway, we in America know about it right away. The decisions of the United Nations concerning the bringing up of children, arguments between nations, and the so-called "global warming" require that individual countries pay attention to these decisions.
As the Bible told us centuries ago, there will be a one-world government. It is easy to see that taking place. And the values of that government will not be Christian values.
The European Union of 28 member states is a harbinger of what we can expect in the future. The European Union has expressed its dislike of parallel cultures. Germany, for example, regards Christian home-schooling as a parallel culture, and therefore a criminal enterprise.
We can observe in the United States in the present hour the beginning of a hostile attitude toward the Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ.
This change of attitude toward Christian beliefs on the part of the world should serve as a warning to us Christians. We are going to have to become part of the world system, which is an antichrist system, or we are going to suffer for our unwillingness to accept the values of the world.
We may not realize it, but the antichrist world system, with its worship of money, is a large part of the culture of America. The rise of Antichrist in America has been slow but has been increasing steadily.
How many Christian parents in America are able to keep their children from the electronic games? Yet these game glorify values that are not Christian.
We Christians, to a great extent, simply do not realize that we are not part of the world. In the beginning, America included numerous fervent Christian people. This is not true today. There are some fervent believers, but the trend is toward a lukewarm, casual form of church-going. The world does not hate us unless we attempt to interfere with its practices of abortion and perverted sexual activities.
If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. (John 15:18,19—NIV)
We Christians are not part of the world. We do not belong to the antichrist world system, and I think most of us do not understand this to any great extent.
The current president years ago announced that America is not a Christian nation. I wonder if we grasp that he is not well disposed toward the Christian faith. We continue with our lives as though we were in the "good ol' days."
I wonder to what extent the average church-goer in the United States understands that the 2,000 years of the Christian era have been for the purpose of calling our from the ranks of mankind a Royal Priesthood that is being prepared to govern the nations under Christ.
The Christian institutions have created a religion that saves people from eternal damnation by adopting one of several theologic formulas. I suppose that this perversion of intention, substituting religious practices for growth in Christ, cannot be helped until severe Divine judgment falls on our nation. But its effect has been to prevent the Christian people from understanding they are not part of the world.
"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours." (John 17:6 and 9—NIV)
In spite of the present confusion, we shall see the day when the true disciples of the Lord Jesus are one with the Oneness that exists in the Lord Jesus and the Father. In that day the world will recognize that Jesus is the King of a Kingdom that is not of this present world.
I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:23—NIV)
Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place." (John 18:36—NIV)
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (I John 2:15,16—NIV)
The second source of sin is that which the Apostle Paul spoke about--- the sinful cravings that dwell in our flesh.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
The third source of sin is the kind of personality we have. Eight types of sinful personalities are set forth in Revelation 21:8.
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8—NIV)
You may notice that the first list (above) is of kinds of behavior.
The second list is of kinds of people.
This distinction may be observed in the following:
The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil . (Matthew 13:41)
I realize there may be overlap between the sins of the flesh and the sins of our personality, as in the case of "sexual immorality,"for example. However, I think there is enough distinction between these two sources of sin that we should give some thought to the matter.
It indeed is true that if a believer yields continually to an alien spirit, such as sexual lust, that spirit will become part of their personality. Then, when they appear in the resurrection after death, they will be seen as "sexual lust." They have practiced "evil" while in their body and shall be judged accordingly. Their home is the Lake of Fire.
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2—NIV)
Do the sources of sin follow us after death. Also, does God deal with them differently?
These are important, practical issues, aren't they?
It may be a fact that the evil in our personality, unless God has granted us deliverance, shall follow us after death. We then will be sent into Hell or some other room in the Land of Darkness; or possibly our spirit will be returned to earth and wander about in dry places, seeking an unprotected body to invade in which we can satisfy our cravings.
We noted above the eight personalities who make their home in the Lake of Fire.
I do not understand how we can maintain that once a church-goer dies, sin no longer is a problem? What about the man who buried his talent? What about the people who are placed in the Lake of Fire?
I do not say there will not be an opportunity for a sinful personality to be instructed and transformed after death. But this would be true only for a person who, for one reason or another, never had been confronted with their sinful personality or shown what to do about it.
Paul goes into some detail concerning the second source of sin, the sins of the flesh:
I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15—NIV)
If my understanding is correct, there are two forces operating in the passage above. There is "I," whom I would judge to be Paul's mind and heart, his soul. Although Paul's mind and heart no doubt are of his old sinful nature, yet there is dwelling in Paul's flesh cravings he does not recognize or approve of. We can understand from this that some good remains in the midst of the adamic rebellion.
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature [flesh]. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (Romans 7:18—NIV)
Paul had the desire to do what is good. I believe that is worthy of note. It says something about his adamic personality, doesn't it?