The god of this age (10)

2Th 2 “⁶And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. ⁷For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. ⁸And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” In this chapter we read several descriptions

The god of this age (9)

Rev 13 “¹³And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, ¹⁴And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.”

The god of this age (8)

Rev 13 “¹¹And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”

The first beast is rising from the sea, i.e. the many peoples of Europe as the angel gave the explanation to John (Rev 17:15). As for the new beast,

The god of this age (7)

Rev 13 “¹And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. ²And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”  So far we have seen how the man of sin was introduced into the church, first through false teachings (false prophet),

The god of this age (6)

2Th 2 “³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” In Paul’s age false teachings were propagated asserting that the end of world was coming such year,

The god of this age (5)

Da 7 “¹In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. ²Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. ³And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The god of this age (4)

Da 2 “³¹Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

The god of this age (3)

Ge 9 “²⁴And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. ²⁵And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. ²⁶And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. ²⁷God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”  The demarcation appears clearly here: The LORD is the God of Shem, not of Ham.

The god of this age (2)

Ro 1 “¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; ¹⁹Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. ²⁰For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,

The god of this age (1)

2Co 4 “³But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: ⁴In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

There is a God of eternity who is the everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He created

Only the violent take it by force (4)

1Tm 4 “¹⁰For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”  2Tm 2 “⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.”  This principle is divine,

Only the violent take it by force (3)

2Tm 2 “³Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. ⁵And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. ⁶The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits.” Amen! We have seen

Only the violent take it by force (2)

Luke 16 “¹⁶The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.”  Not every group, every organization or every church, but each person individually. Israel was using violence against his enemies as a people until John. Ever since,

Only the violent take it by force (1)

Mt 11 “¹²And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”  So let no man deceive himself, without violence no one will enter the kingdom of heaven. Without violence Israel might not possess the Promised Land. Yet God had told Abraham:

The two dimensions of sin (5)

1Th 4 “³For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication”

Whoever has read the previous four parts of this theme already knows perfectly that sin has two definitions:

The two dimensions of sin (4)

Ps 81 “11But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. 12So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. 13Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! 14I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”

The two dimensions of sin (3)

Hs 1 “2The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.” Os 3 “1Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.”

The two dimensions of sin (2)

1 Sm 2 “²⁵If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall entreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.”

If a man kills, commits adultery, divorces his wife, rapes, gives false testimony, etc., he directly hurts his neighbor. God acts as judge. He also transgresses the commandment which urges him to love his

The two dimensions of sin (1)

1Jn 3 “⁴Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. ⁵And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ⁶Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.” And our Lord summarized the law as follows:

Religious fanatisme

Jn 7 “24Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” The appearance is linked to what we see, and produces fanaticism, while faith is linked to what we do not see and brings forth justice

Cain’s religion (2)

Ge 4 “6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

Cain’s religion (1)

Ge 4 “³And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.”  Oh Cain the worshiper! among those born of women he was the first on earth to commit the act of worship: he could not live without worshiping, he was really spiritual or religious. Adam and Eve had never even thought about that,

Fig leaves

Ge 3 “7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”  Adam and Eve, in whom we all fell, lost the glory of God as a result of their disobedience. The disciples Peter, James and John saw the Lord covered with the glory of God on the mountain of transfiguration. There his face shone like the sun,

The Lord speaking of the Lord (2)

Gn 19 “24Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven” Here it is the prophet Moses speaking of the Lord chastising Sodom and Gomorrah from the LORD. The Lord has used the Lord to punish these cities and their neighbors. Moses speaks again thereof in these terms:

The Lord speaking of the Lord (1)

Jn 14 “7If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. 8Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.” Jesus is speaking of God, not in His manifestation as the Son, but as the Father, and to hear him speak, it seems he is talking about someone else.

Jehovah’s witnesses or Jesus’ witnesses (4)

Ac 4 “³³And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.” With great power, and that power was not theirs, but the energy of the Holy Spirit: Jn 15 “²⁶But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: ²⁷And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

Jehovah’s witnesses or Jesus’ witnesses (3)

1Jn 5 “⁹If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. ¹⁰He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. ¹¹And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”

Jehovah’s witnesses or Jesus’ witnesses (2)

Jn 19  “¹⁹And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. ²¹Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. ²²Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.”

Jehovah’s witnesses or Jesus’ witnesses (1)

Is 43 “9Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.”  It should be noted straightaway that the name of Jehovah, Yahweh or Yehoshua has been the subject of research, books, theses of several scholars, researchers, thinkers, writers, essayists, magicians, numerologists, astrologers, horoscope specialists, etc.

The mystery of the name of Jesus

Mt 1 ^“21And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”  God, the Father of the child who was born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit, gave him the name Jesus. And, as each single name has a meaning, God explained the meaning of this name: he will save his people from their sins.

Apostles’ mission (2)

“1Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. ²Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: ³And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” 1 Jn 4.

Apostles’ Mission (1)

^“19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”  Mt 28.

In the four Gospels, we are reported thirty two times that Jesus taught,

The Acts of the Apostles: Acts of the Holy Spirit

“8But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”Act.1. He who worked the Acts of the Apostles is the Holy Ghost.

The Nature of Lie (3)

« ⁷For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,

The nature of lie (2)

“⁹Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie: to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.” Ps.62. The whole world is under the power of the evil one, the liar and father of lie, who deceives the whole world

The nature of lie (1)

“⁴⁴Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” Jn 8. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life (Jn.14,6). Therefore God, his Father, is the Father of truth,

Genealogical title (3)

“And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.” Ge.4,17.

Genealogical title (2)

“And of the children of the priests: the children of Habaiah, the children of Koz, the children of Barzillai; which took a wife of the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and was called after their name: These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.”

Genealogical title (1)

«And these were they which went up also from Telmelah, Telharesha, Cherub, Addon, and Immer: but they could not shew their father’s house, nor their seed, whether they were of Israel.» Ne.7,61. It's good and simple to say that one is of Israel, but each one must wield one’s family title to prove it.

Esau et Jacob

«I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau.» Mal.1,2-3. «What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.» Ro.9,14. The Bible tells us that God loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Ps.45: 7).

Blessed are the pure in heart

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God!" Mt.5,8. All will not see God, but only those who are pure in heart. God looks at the Heart, not appearances.

You have said in your heart

"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the holy mount of the congregation, at the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Es.14,13-14 .

Search my heart

"Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my reins and my heart. For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes: and I have walked in thy truth" Ps.26,2-3. This is the sigh of the psalmist David, the man after God's heart. David loved God with all his heart, not in his own illusion but in righteousness and integrity of heart. He did not confide in his own prejudices,

Be thou perfect

"And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; Walk before me, and be thou perfect." Ge.17,1. "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him." Ge. 5:24.

At exactly one year before the coming of the promised son to Abram, God appeared to him

The Word of God in your mouth is Truth

"And the woman said to Elijah, Now I by this know that thou art a man of God, and that the Word of the LORD in thy mouth is Truth" IKg. 17:24. The widow of Zarephath was then having her second experience in beholding miracles that follow those who believe. First, she had seen how,

Word of God made ineffective

"For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effet? God forbid" Ro. 3:3-4. Whether you believe it or not, no word of God will remain without effect, but every word must be fulfilled literally as God has spoken, and this is due to God's faithfulness. The unbelief of man cannot