The Book of Life - The Last Great Day

 

Greetings friends around the world – also our friends in France, Canada, in Australia, Argentina, and of course the United States of America! I welcome you to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries in affiliation with the Owensboro Church of Jesus Christ. I’m your servant Leonard V. Johnson.

Friends, God’s fall festival – the seven days of the Feast of Tabernacles, which began the evening of October 2nd to the evening of October 10th! And, as I mentioned in the article “You’re Not Welcome Here!” I was celebrating the Feast in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with my sister (who is a member of the Intercontinental Church of God with its less than 800 members worldwide), and one of their so-called leaders – a Duck Dynasty look-alike – became combative with me because he doesn’t like me and didn’t want me there – causing several of the other members to make me feel unwelcome. I came back home. Indeed, disqualifying himself as any servant of Jesus Christ’s – cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-3. “ … temperate, … not violent, …” In other words – a true leader and servant of Jesus Christ CAN’T BE A BULLY!

The Last Great Day was October 10th, but I would like to speak today concerning God’s holy Book of Life.

If you would turn with me to the Book of Leviticus chapter 23 –

“And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, …’” – and you can certainly say, ‘the children of God’ either ancestrally or spiritually. The followers of God the Father and Jesus Christ!

“ … ‘and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.’”

Now, the first thing the LORD God mentions is the weekly Sabbath and then the Passover, then the Days of Unleavened Bread, and then the Feast of Pentecost – or the ‘Feast of Weeks.’ Or rather, the ‘Feast of the Firstfruits.’

And, the Firstfruits of all is Jesus Christ. And, we have an awesome chance – as we see in the Book of 1st Corinthians, chapter 15 – to have an opportunity to be part of the firstfruits also. Those people who will be resurrected into eternal wholly spiritual bodies at the SEVENTH TRUMPET – called the ‘firstfruits.’

So, in verse 24 the Feast of Trumpets – “a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.” And we have tried to point out – the way that you figure out the proper date for God’s holy days HAS NOT CHANGED. The Feast of Passover is on the 14th day of the first month of spring – Nisan. It’s one day before a full moon. The Feast of Trumpets is to be on the 1st day of the seventh month – Tishri. Which is a new moon. All God’s feasts are calculated by the lunar calendar. And, the Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the seventh month. The moon is about 2/3 full. And then, the Feast of Tabernacles is to begin on the 15th day of the seventh month as it says in verse 34 – “ …’ The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.’” And then there’s one more day – verse 36 – “… ‘On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, …’”

Now, in the Western world, during the winter months, they speak of the ‘holidays’ – meaning from Thanksgiving through to New Year’s Day. It’s the same thing here – the eighth day of the Feast is a separate holy day, ‘a holy convocation.’ It’s a commanded assembly – if you’re able to do it.

Verse 37 – “’ These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, …’”

Verse 39 – mentions once again – “ … ‘on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.’” And, because of the way that John 7:37 is worded we have often come up with the phrase – ‘the last great day.’ And so, the Last Great Day is a part of the annual holy days – attached to the Feast of Tabernacles.

Now getting back to the fact that these feasts of the LORD God are calculated by the lunar calendar – over the years since I first began to hear God’s FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH’s I don’t know how many times I have heard people who want to make a debate over when the annual holy days are kept. And, it’s almost like a so-called leader wants to ascribe a certain difference to set themselves apart. As an example – I had been reading a book “Shocked By The Bible 2” by Joe Kovacs which argues the definition of when a “day” begins. One of the things that these so-called leaders often fret over is God’s holy day calendar. In my opinion – you can spend a lot of time with worry and energy and in the end miss out on the plain and simple TRUTH OF GOD! The holy days are kept by the annual lunar cycles. God even – through the prophet Moses under the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit – wrote, “’ Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to DIVIDE the day from the night; …’” – Genesis 1:14 NKJV.

Now, to NOTE Leofranc Holford-Stevens, author of the book “The History of Time,” as well as any good encyclopedia shows us that it was always custom to end and begin days at sunset - until a few hundred years after Christ. Also - Notice the BIBLE DEFINITION of the expression, "THE THIRD DAY." Text after text tells us that Jesus rose THE THIRD DAY. Here we have a BIBLE DEFINITION which explains and COUNTS UP the amount of time involved in the expression "THE THIRD DAY." It includes three dark periods called NIGHT, and three light periods called DAY -- three days and three nights, and Jesus said they contained TWELVE HOURS for each period -- a total of 72 hours! God made it very simple. Don’t let someone else get you all tied up in knots, and don’t go back and use Jewish traditions. Friends, Jesus Christ WARNED against it, the apostle Paul WARNED against it. If you want to know where to look – LOOK TO JESUS CHRIST!

So, we – the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries – are huge proponents and advocates of a system of ideas and ideals which we can call the New Covenant. Advanced teaching is found within the New Testament.

So, this is why we keep the feasts of the LORD God – they aren’t “Jewish feasts” they are feasts for everyone to keep – if you want to serve Almighty God and Jesus Christ. And as I just mentioned, the Book of John chapter 7 – Jesus kept these feasts and the disciples kept them, and long into the future God’s people will be keeping the feasts of the LORD.

If you would turn to the Book of Zachariah, chapter 14 –

Here is an Old Testament prophecy – and the only way one can get rid of it is to mark through the verses with a marker, or tear it out from the pages of your Bible. A time in the future where there will be great tumult – great disturbances, and much death.

Verse 13 – “It shall come to pass in that day …” – the Day of the LORD! And, after this great time of tumult – great disturbances and death –

Verse 16 – “And it shall come to pass that EVERYONE who is left of all the nations …”

Now, at the end of this terrible end-time ‘great tribulation’ – a time which Jesus describes as “ … ‘such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.’ – Matthew 24:21-22 NKJV. Never before in the history of mankind! So, of the human population – and the figure which makes the most sense to me – roughly two-thirds of the population will die in this end-time ‘great tribulation.’

“ … which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.” – the Feast of Tabernacles isn’t going away! Now, I know most of you reading this don’t know much about it because you’ve never heard about it before – in fact, the reading of this article or the others on our website might be the first time you’ve heard about the Feast of Tabernacles!? But, just because you’ve never heard of it doesn’t mean it’s not true. And the fact that you’ve not heard of it is most likely because you’ve been in – or are in – a church circle which doesn’t spend a whole lot of time studying the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the Plan of God. But rather is of a church culture that continues to put forth human traditions.

So, in the future – in the Millennium, the millennial reign of Jesus Christ spoken of in the Book of Revelation – the people who are left are going to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.

Verse 17 – “And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth [or rather a ‘representative of the tribes of the earth’] do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain.” – they will be cursed by drought.

Verse 18 – “If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the LORD strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 19) This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

Friends – this world’s ‘holidays’ like St. Valentine’s Day, Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter (or rather Ishtar), Hallowe’en, and Christmas will come to an end.

Now, God’s fall holy days – prophetically – are linked to some periods of time in this soon-coming end-time ‘great tribulation.’ As with the Feast of Trumpets – in its most powerful final fulfillment – is the blowing of the SEVENTH TRUMPET. The seven seals – the seven seals being the SEVEN TRUMPETS.

We find in Revelation chapter 10, verse 7, as well as Revelation chapter 11, verses 14-15 concerning the SEVENTH TRUMP – the ‘last’ trump being the resurrection trump. The same which the apostle Paul speaks of in 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 and 1st Corinthians chapter 15. Much of this I spoke of on the Feast of Trumpets – “Feast of Trumpets – 2020.”

And I can’t stress enough – the SEVENTH TRUMP is the resurrection trump. So many people either don’t know this, refuse to accept it, or just don’t make the connection, with many continuing to teach it incorrectly.

If you would turn to the Book of Revelation chapter 14 –

This chapter talks about the 144,000, and that these are going to be people “who were redeemed from the earth … 4) … These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from among men being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”

Here is what Minister Michael C. Garrett wrote concerning the 144,000 –

“ … these one hundred and forty-four thousand are sort-of like what we would call “the Cabinet” – the advisors to the president. And I think these one hundred and forty-four thousand have a similar role, but there’s many more of them. They are with Jesus Christ, they go wherever He goes! When you think about the president – when he takes a trip, he’s got all these people that are on the trip with him. Some people protect him, some people advise him, some people are his spokes-people. And, I just get the feeling that this hundred and forty-four thousand has the same type of role. That they are indeed pillars in the Kingdom of God! They go wherever Jesus goes!”

(Garrett, M.C. Who Are The 144,000? 2019, pp. 8 – PDF ).

12,000 people from each of the tribes of Israel – with the exclusion of the tribe of Dan. And, to make up for Dan, the tribe of Joseph includes both Ephraim and Manasseh. Now, the majority of people who make up the 144,000 have already lived, they went through a conversion process, became dedicated to Jesus Christ and the word of God, having their name written in the Book of Life – with a special checkmark next to their name. And they will be resurrected with the blowing of the seventh trump. And, quite possibly all of those positions to be one of the 144,000 are already taken. There may be a few left with the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. Now, they are not – as so many argue – “last-minute repenters.”

Verse 6 – “Then I saw another angel [possibly Gabriel] flying in the midst of heaven [the atmosphere], having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth – to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people – ”

Now, again, we would like to point out – so many people want to continue to teach that their main mission is to teach and preach, “to warn as a witness to all the world” cf. Matthew 24:14 – and by doing that Jesus Christ could return. It’s almost as if they are teaching – ‘Jesus can’t return until we do our job.’ They are taking way too much upon themselves. Friends – Almighty God doesn’t need human beings to do this job – He will use His angelic beings! – see Revelation 14:6. The Two Witnesses (PDF) – what we call ‘the end-time prophets’ will be doing a lot of preaching and teaching to ‘every nation, tribe, tongue, and people’ – see Revelation 11.

Verse 7 – “saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment [is coming]; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’”

Verse 8 – “And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’”

Verse 9 – “Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast …’” – now we have spoken much about the ‘beast’ – a final end-time military power within a United States of Europe (or whatever they will be calling themselves). And this final end-time leader’s partner is a false prophet. A great religious leader which will provide ecclesiastical backing for this final end-time United States of Europe.

“ … ‘and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand.’”

Just what is the "Mark of the Beast"? Do you realize the "Mark of the Beast" was being used during the Middle Ages!? Bible prophecy WARNS that this satanic "Mark" is in progress even today! You must be sure that you're not using this "Mark" - lest you suffer the consequences. Be sure to watch Minister MC Garrett's God-inspired sermon - Mark Of The Beast. With God's inspired Word's he teaches the true meaning of just what is the "Mark of the Beast."

Verse 10 – “’ he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, …’” – Now, this same final end-time leader of a United States of Europe, as well as this same final end-time false prophet will come to find themselves under the very wrath of Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ! But also, if you’re involved in false religion - “the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” – KJV.

Now, turning over to the Book of Revelation chapter 19 –

Verse 20 – “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” – this is the same event as verse 10 of chapter 14.

Now, back to the 14th chapter of the Book of Revelation –

Now, keep in mind here – the SEVENTH TRUMPET has blown! Recall Revelation chapter 11, verse 15, and Revelation chapter 10, verse 7. The seventh trump – the resurrection trump. This means that the people who belong to God Almighty and Jesus Christ – living or dead – have already been resurrected. They will be – in what can be called – ‘low earth orbit’ with God the Father and Jesus Christ, with the angelic beings in what will be the future temple of Jerusalem – New Jerusalem!

Verse 14 – “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man [referring to Jesus Christ], having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15) And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time [is coming] for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ 16) So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

Verse 17 – “Then another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven [the atmosphere], he also having a sharp sickle. 18) And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, ‘Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe.’”

Verse 19 – “So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.” – very powerful figurative language!

Verse 20 – “And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.” – meaning, about five, six-feet deep! Human blood flowing through the streets at and near Jerusalem!

Now, what is this ‘great winepress of the wrath of God’!? It is the final judgment – the seven last plagues. The Day of the LORD! The day of God’s great wrath – where He punishes this world. And in doing so He eliminates a large amount of evil and vile people! Individuals who will never repent. Eliminating and getting them out of the way so that the WORLD TOMORROW – the millennial reign of Christ – can begin with order. Now, these people who are eliminated and are out of the way will live again. And, friends, when you think about the radical Islamic terrorists – do you think they will ever repent to Almighty God – the LORD God of Israel!? Do you think they will lay down their weapons and start worshiping Jesus Christ!? That will not happen! They consider anybody that worships Jesus Christ to be their enemy – an infidel – and worthy of death. There are actually many religious organizations that think they know God’s religion – but when faced with God’s living truth, reject that truth outright. I see it all the time, and I witnessed it just this fall.

So, continuing on into Revelation chapter 15 –

Verse 1 – “Then I saw another sign in heaven [the atmosphere], great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” – the angry judgment against a sin-sick world!

Verse 7 – “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God …” – an illusion to the seven last plagues.

Also, in Revelation chapter 16 –

Verse 1 – “Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth.’”

Verse 12 – “Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the east might be prepared.” – so, now that the river has dried up, now provides access for these armies from the east as it says here – ‘the kings from the east.’ I believe the majority of this will be ISLAMIC countries! Islamic soldiers, Islamic militants trying to get to the European forces to exact revenge and “justice” for having invaded and took control of the Middle East!

Verse 13 – “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”

Indeed, the ‘dragon’ is Satan the devil, the ‘beast’ being a final end-time military leader of a future United States of Europe, and the ‘false prophet’ being a great religious leader of that European conglomerate.

Verse 14 – “For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Verse 16 – “And they gathered them together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.” – or rather Har Megiddo. The hill of Megiddo. Megiddo is a place up north of Jerusalem – a gigantic plain – which could easily accommodate millions and even hundreds of millions of military personnel, their equipment, their tents. And this will be the final human battle attempting to fight one another, but before it’s over they will turn their attention and attempt to fight the returning Jesus Christ!

Verse 17 – “Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple of heaven [in ‘low earth orbit’], from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’”

Human self-rule will be over!

Verse 18 – “And there were noises and thunderings and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such a mighty and great earthquake as had not occurred since men were on the earth.” – see Zechariah 14:4 which speaks of this same event.

Verse 19 – “Now the great city [Jerusalem] was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.”

Verse 20 – “Then every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. 21) And great hail from heaven [the atmosphere] fell upon men, each hailstone about the weight of a talent [about 75 lbs.]. Men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail, since that plague was exceedingly great.”

Now, God’s living word speaks of the first Babylon and the second Babylon – reading this back in Revelation chapter 14, verse 8 – “’ Babylon is fallen, is fallen.’” BABYLON is representative of FALSE RELIGION. And it’s representative of the false religion which is the mainstay of this invading European military. Babylon also was at one time the headquarters of the caliphate of Islam. And it may turn out that in the very near future “Babylon” will once again be declared as the ‘capital’ of the Islamic caliphate. Indeed, ISIS – the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Babylon is in Iraq! And also, modern-day “Babylon” will be the religious capital of Europe. Well, Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ will destroy BOTH!

Revelation chapter 18 speaks of a great FALSE RELIGION which will be destroyed – all of her churches and edifices! The religious leaders undoubtedly are going to be killed.

Verse 8 – “Therefore her plagues will come in one day – death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her. … 17) ‘For in one hour such great riches came to nothing.’”

Now, if you would turn over to Revelation chapter 19 –

Verse 11 – “Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.”

Verse 13 – “ … and His name is called The Word of God.” – the Logos, see John 1:1. This is Jesus Christ on the Day of the LORD – the culmination of the seven last plagues.

Verse 14 – “And the armies in heaven [the atmosphere], clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses.” – the horse used in figurative language, and as the Unger’s Bible Dictionary states, “the white horse points to the glorious victories of the ministers of the divine judgment.”

Verse 15 – “Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.” – as we read in Revelation chapter 14.

Verse 16 – “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

And the leaders of this final end-time European military power are killed in verse 20.

Verse 17 – “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven [the atmosphere], ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, …” – every vulture and every scavenging fowl which lives off of dead meat –

Verse 18 – “’ that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and [bond], both small and great.’”

Verse 19 – “And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.”

And, after the beast and the false prophet is ‘cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone’ –

Verse 21 – “And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

In Revelation chapter 20 it speaks of the very caging of Satan the devil and his demons – being placed into a spiritual prison.

Friends, I know that I jump around – but if you would turn back to the Book of Jo-El. The Book of Jo-El connects wonderfully the correlation between the Day of Atonement and the dreadful Day of the LORD.

Verse 14 – “Consecrate a fast, Call a sacred assembly; …” – and the one holy day in God’s annual holy days – which is called a ‘solemn assembly’ is the Day of Atonement. “ … Gather the elders And all the inhabitants of the land Into the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the LORD.”

Verse 15 – “Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is at hand; …” – the Day of the LORD is, in fact, the MOST prophesied event in all the entirety of the Holy Bible. Whole passages from the Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and nine of the so-called ‘minor’ prophets speak of the Day of the LORD! Including the Book of Lamentations. “ … It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.”

Book of Jo-El chapter 2 –

Verse 1 – “Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain!”

Again, what precedes the ‘seven last plagues’!? The seven seals – the seven seals being the SEVEN TRUMPETS.

“ … Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the LORD is coming, For it is at hand: 2) A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, …” – referring to a Gentile army! “ … The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, …”

Verse 3 speaks of fire and flame.

Verse 4 – “Their appearance is like the appearance of horses; …” – and the Jamison Fausset and Brown Commentary of the Whole Bible says, “Not literal, but figurative locusts.” See Revelation chapter 9, verses 1 and 3.

Verse 10 – “The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.”

And, verse 11 – “The LORD gives voice before His army, …” – meaning His holy angels and His resurrected saints. “ … For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?”

Verse 12 – “’ Now, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ 13) So rend your heart, and not your garments; …”

So, this solemn event of the Day of Atonement is linked prophetically with the Day of the LORD!

Verse 30 – “’ And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31) The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.’”

And moving into the Book of Jo-El chapter 3 –

Verse 1 – “’ For behold, in those days and at that time, When I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, 2) I will also gather all nations, And bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat [which is near Jerusalem]; And I will enter into judgment with them there On account of My people, My heritage Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; …’”

The United States of America and the peoples of the United Kingdom at this time here have been subjugated. Many of the peoples have been scattered around the world.

Verse 9 – “Proclaim this among the nations: ‘Prepare for war! Wake up the mighty men, Let all the men of war draw near, Let them come up. 10) Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”

Verse 11 – “Assemble and come, all you nations [the Gentile nations], And gather together all around. …”

Verse 12 – “’ Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; …” – indeed, speaking of just what we read in Revelation 16:16. “ … ‘For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. 13) Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. …’” – just what we read in Revelation 14. “ … ‘Come, go down; For the winepress is full, The vats overflow – For their wickedness is great.’”

Verse 14 – “Multitudes, multitudes [millions!] in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.”

Now, this brings us to the fall annual holy days – the Feast of Tabernacles.

Turn with me if you will back to the Book of Revelation chapter 19 –

Verse 7 – “’ Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him [Jesus Christ] glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.’ 8) And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” – the resurrected saints.

Verse 9 – “Then he said to me, ‘Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’”

The Book of Revelation chapter 20 –

Verse 4 – “And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. … And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

Verse 5 – “ … This is the first resurrection.”

Verse 6 – “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God [God the Father] and of Christ [Jesus the Christ], and shall reign with [Them] a thousand years.”

The Book of Revelation chapter 21 –

The establishment of a ‘new heaven and a new earth.’ Where the very city of Almighty God comes down to the earth!

And, the Book of Revelation chapter 22 –

Speaks of a ‘pure river’ – a ‘water of life.’ “ … clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” – indeed describing the millennial reign of Christ!

So, what about the Last Great Day!?

Let us turn back to the Book of Revelation chapter 20 –

Did you catch that I skipped the first part of verse 5!? Well, now – “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished.” Speaking of an event which is mentioned in –

Verse 11 – “Then I saw a great white throne …” – so, from this, we often say, the last great day represents the great white throne judgment. Now, we are taking some liberty with this verse, but it conveys a thought – it communicates an idea. “ … and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven [the atmosphere] fled away. And there was found no place for them.”

Verse 12 – “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. …” – now, this word “books” is biblion. And the word, “Bible” is derived from the Greek word, “Biblion”, which means book. So, this great multitude of people who were dead and have now been brought back to life – one of the first things which they will be given are Holy Bibles.

“ … And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books [the Holy Bible].”

Verse 13 – “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades …” – this word “hell” or Hades means “the grave.” “ … delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.” – based on a standard which is contained in the Holy Bible!

And, friends, we’re speaking of a massive group of people – practically everyone who has ever lived – who never knew the TRUTH OF GOD. Or rather, never had enough knowledge or understanding to be responsible. All these people, after living their life and dying – at this time of the conclusion of the millennial reign of Christ – are brought back to life. As human beings. Now, how long will they remain alive!? Not a hundred years based upon an erroneous interpretation of Isaiah 65:20. Now, it might be ten years, it might be fifty years – if God wants it to be it will be a hundred years then it will be. God knows.

All these people will have a second chance to live, they will have their Holy Bible – and then they will be judged according to their works and how they lived their life. Their humility or their resistance to Almighty God and Jesus Christ.

And we (God willing) who are the resurrected saints will have the awesome blessing to have a chance to work with these people! Now, this, friends, is the greatest good news anyone could ever hear! Someday (God willing) we’re going to have the opportunity to work with the resurrected members of our families and friends!

In the Book of Romans chapter 11 – under a great inspiration of God’s Spirit – the apostle Paul wrote –

Verse 25 – “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, …” – the TRUTH OF GOD is indeed a mystery to most of the people on the face of the earth and to most of the human beings who have ever lived.

Now, friends, this mystery was revealed to you!

Until next time, God Speed! □

'This is a rebellious people!'

 

Greetings dear friends! Our friends in Singapore, Croatia, the Philippines, France, and the United States of America. Thank you for joining us today this holy Sabbath-day, this is the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries, and I’m your servant Leonard V. Johnson.

In our article “’ Tell My People Their Sins’” I had quoted Almighty God’s living word - “’ How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. 22) Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23) Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, …’” – Isaiah 1:21 NKJV. And, as an example, I had mentioned the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his son’s integrity. “Joe Biden’s son Hunter having worked for a Ukrainian energy company – despite having had any relevant experience.” Here are two recent reports from the SGT Report: The Corporate Propaganda Antidote –

“A massive YouTube purge has taken place. Several channels have been removed from the platform proving truth is treason in the empire of lies.

Let me preface this by saying that whether you do or do not agree with the content published by some channels on YouTube, no one deserves to have the boot of tyranny on their throat or their voice silenced for any reason. Ever. “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.” – George R.R. Martin. …

Sean from SGT Report is trying to help get the word out about this. But honestly, as Brian from High Impact TV says is “we are all on borrowed time” now. This proves it.”

(https://www.sgtreport.com/2020/10/blatant-censorship-the-great-youtube-purge/. Retrieved October 17, 2020).

BLATANT CENSORSHIP: THE GREAT YOUTUBE PURGE

“Dear friends,

PLEASE help get the word out. PLEASE Tweet to @TeamYouTube and ask them to reverse this, I would happily do the same for you.

They just terminated my access to BOTH of my channels for releasing a video last night about the new Hunter Biden emails, and the Seal Team 6 information coming from whistleblower Allen Parrot and Benghazi whistleblower Nick Noe.

Anything that any of you can do on my behalf will leave me in your debt. My work can still be seen at SGTreport.TV and on Patreon (and Bitchute).

Thank you very much, & God bless.”

(https://www.sgtreport.com/. Retrieved October 17, 2020).

Friends, God Almighty – through the prophet Isaiah inspired by and through God’s Spirit – WARNS –

“’ Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. 6) I will send him against AN UNGODLY NATION, And against the people of My wrath …’” – Isaiah 10:5-6 NKJV.

The United States of America is an “ungodly nation” which will one day fall. And, this hypocritical journalism and this big tech censorship are helping to destroy America!

Let me note that not long after launching owensborocojc.com, on May 14th, 2019 we were banned by Facebook because they claimed we were “violating their community standards.” Here is what I had written –

“I was also surprised - by this action - this seemingly arbitrary act of persecution and censorship, nor since their action, was I contacted by Facebook with an explanation of just what "Community Standard" was being violated. … It is also entirely possible that Facebook simply no longer wants its users to share our content. Content with the unashamed premise of proclaiming to the world the Word of God, the Truth of God, and the ultimate Plan of God. For our mission and our very purpose is to follow the admonition of Jesus Christ (a very Name which surely the large majority of the 37,773 which work for Facebook hate), for He said, 'FEED MY SHEEP!'”

(Facebook Banned owensborocojc.blogspot.com).

Indeed, by Facebook (as well as what YouTube had done to Minister Michael C. Garrett after his five-part “Toxic Philosophy” series) removing the ability for people around the world to access our website it demonstrates that, yes, anti-biblical platforms do remove the content in their efforts of totalitarianism and censorship in the USA!

This fall Feast of Tabernacles I was persecuted by a group that claims they are obeying God! And our Lord and Savior said:

“ …’ if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14) And whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet. … Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 17) But beware of men, for they will deliver you [or, even want to deliver you] up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues [and in their churches]. … 22) And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. …’” – Matthew 10:13, 14, 16-17, 22 NKJV.

A sycophant “leader” of that organization along with his cronies were going to verbally ‘scourge’ me and try and embarrass me in the name of God. They were going to symbolically take up stones and cast them upon me, but I left their temple.

Facebook’s censorship and this organization's stream of persecutions are just another in a series of attacks we – true servants of Jesus Christ – must endure (see Matthew 10:22b)!

God’s living word WARNS –

“’ Woe to the rebellious children,’ says the LORD, ‘Who take counsel, but not of Me, And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit, That they add sin to sin; … 8) ‘Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever:

9) That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the LORD; 10) Who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ [or, even what this sycophant “leader” said in his sermon, “we are not sheep!” - speaking of the people of that organization] And to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us right things; prophecy deceits. 11) Get out of the way, Turn aside from the path, Cause the Holy One of Israel To cease from before us.’”

Verse 12 – “Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: ‘Because you despise word, And trust in oppression and perversity, …’” – indeed, those who trust in this “leader” I speak of, who brags on how tough he is and that his own mother got into fights with men – this man who represents them! “ … ‘And rely on them, 13) Therefore this iniquity shall be to you Like a breach ready to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose breaking comes suddenly in an instant.’” – and I WARN – under the authority of Jesus Christ – that this organization is soon to fall! And, of course, this, too, is speaking ‘rebellious people, children who will not heed, will not hear Almighty God!’

Verse 14 – And He [Almighty God] shall break it like the breaking of the potter’s vessel, Which is broken in pieces; He shall not spare. …’” – Isaiah 30:1, 8-14 NKJV.

The apostle Paul says –

“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 15) But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed [destroyed] by one another!” – Romans 13:14-15 NKJV.

So, what the apostle Paul is saying is – they will eventually destroy each other!

Here is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s teaching on antibullying –

“’ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44) But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46) For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47) And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more then others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.’” – Matthew 5: 43-48 NKJV.

Sadly, so many do not trust in God Almighty and Jesus Christ, instead, they trust in leaders (both religiously and politically) who use ‘oppression and perversity” and ‘rely on them.’

But we – the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries – belong to Jesus Christ and we proclaim what He teaches within His living word – the Holy Bible!

The media bias against His living word along with certain political positions is showing grave hypocrisy within the United States of America!

But, was freedom of the press and its censorship prophesied!?

Yes!

The prophet Amos was inspired to record for us –

“’ Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD.’” – Amos 8:11-12 NKJV.

Indeed, a great many big tech companies are biased against God’s living word, as well as many religious organizations are against political leaders – leaders which Almighty God has placed in that position (cf. Daniel 2:21). 

Jesus Himself condemns all those who worship Him with their mouth, but their hearts are far from Him  –

“’ HYPOCRITES! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8) ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9) And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” – Matthew 15:7-9 NKJV.

As an example – teaching as doctrine, that one should spew hate and contempt for anyone they feel is in darkness, instead of what Jesus Christ actually taught (cf. Matt. 18:12; Luke 15:4).

Now, to be honest, this was not what I had originally planned to do today! But, maybe it was what I was supposed to give today!? And I ask and pray that all of you remain close to God the Father and Jesus Christ through prayer, through Bible study, through meditation. And through listening to messages which talk about the Word of God. And, I beg all of you, please examine yourselves – are you worshiping a man or are you worshiping Jesus Christ!? Your eternal life – your eternal fate – hangs in the balance of that decision. 

Until next time - God Speed! □

Should Christians Observe Halloween?

 

Greetings once again dear friends – our friends in Detroit, Michigan, Scott Depot, West Virginia, in Cairo, Egypt and Ethiopia, around the world, and in the United States of America. Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries. I’m your servant Leonard V. Johnson.

October 31st will soon be here again, along with a strange festival – Halloween. With demons, goblins, witches, ghosts, human skeletons – which are glorified. But, what do all these have to do with All Hallows Eve!? And why the demonic-looking masks and gaudy decorations!?

On Halloween night children dress in scary or outrageous costumes and then are turned loose to frighten or otherwise induce people into giving them candy – or else. “Trick-or-treat” they shout from house to house up and down the streets! Multiple millions are familiar with this. Houses are decorated with spooky lights and spider webs. Buildings and outhouses are desecrated or turned over, windows broken, or trees and yards teepeed.

But WHY do so many celebrate Halloween!? What purpose does such a celebration fulfill in this “enlightened” world!? And, what purpose did it ever serve – if any!?

Wouldn’t you like to know just WHERE and WHEN it truly originated and FOR WHAT PURPOSE it was established!?

Well, ancient pre-Christian Druids in Britain, along with the ancient Romans, Greeks, and Babylonians, among some others, actually kept a Hallowe’en festival.

Now, this is NOT a celebration that goes to the glory of God, this is a celebration that goes to the glory of Satan the devil, and his way of life! And yet we – as a nation – embrace it and go, “Oh, isn’t this wonderful!” And if you quiz somebody, “Why are you doing this!? Why are you teaching your child to extort, that’s what it is, ‘trick-or-treat’!?” they don’t actually know the answer.

Yes, Hallowe’en was long before Christianity! It was only introduced into this professing Christian world – centuries AFTER the death of God’s apostles.

Notice –

“Halloween had its origins in the festival of Samhain among the Celts of ancient Britain and Ireland. On the day corresponding to November 1 on contemporary calendars, the new year was believed to begin. That date was considered the beginning of the winter period, the date on which the herds were returned from pasture and land tenures were renewed. During the Samhain festival, the souls of those who had died were believed to journey to the otherworld. People set bonfires on hilltops for relighting their hearth fires for the winter and to frighten away evil spirits, and they sometimes wore masks and other disguises to avoid being recognized by the ghosts thought to be present. It was in those ways that beings such as witches, hobgoblins, fairies, and demons came to be associated with the day. The period was also thought to be favorable for divination on matters such as marriage, health, and death. When the Romans conquered the Celts in the 1st century A.D., they added their own festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead, and of Pomona, the goddess of the harvest.”

(Halloween - https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween).

Also –

“It was a Druidical belief that on the eve of this festival Saman, lord of death, called together the wicked spirits that within the past 12 months had been condemned to inhabit the bodies of animals.”

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume XII, pp. 857-858).

Oh my! It was a purely pagan belief that on one night a year the “souls” of the dead return to their original homes, and there to be entertained with food and drink. And, if food, drink, and shelter were not provided, these spirits were believed to cast a spell and cause havoc towards those failing to do so.

“It was the night, above all others, when supernatural influence prevailed. It was the night for the universal walking about of all sorts of spirits, fairies, and ghosts, all of whom had liberty on that night.”

(Highland Superstitions Connected With Druids, Alexander MacGregor, pp. 44).

Also, there was a reason why November was chosen for that particular event. The Celts along with other Northern people considered November as the beginning of their new year. The time when the leaves on the trees were falling and decaying. Thus, in their mind, it was fitting for the commemoration of the dead. And since the Northern people at that time began their day at sunset, the eve leading up to November 1st was the beginning of this festival. According to the Julian calendar – from which the nations got their Pope Gregory XIII calendar – it was the evening of October 31st – hence, Hallowe’en – the evening of All Hallows.

But how was it that this professing Christian world came to accept a festival to glorify Satan the devil!?

The Pantheon – an ancient Roman temple

Well, here is something which you probably haven’t ever heard –

In A.D. 602, the Byzantine military declared Phocas to be their new emperor. Several days later he entered Constantinople unopposed. Emperor Phocas swiftly dealt with the usurped Maurice and his sons. By A.D. 607, the Sassanids had occupied Mesopotamia, Syria, and much of Asia Minor, as far as the Bosphorus. In that same year, he defeated the Barbarians who were in control of Rome and declared Boniface III the pope, declaring Rome “the head of all churches.” Shortly afterward, Phocas had a gilded statue of himself erected on a monumental column in the Roman Forum, known as the Column of Phocas. He also, in A.D. 609, gave The Pantheon (which was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus 27 BC – 14 AD) to Pope Boniface III, who converted it into a Christian church and consecrated it to Mary and the Martyrs and placing an icon of Mary within.

The Pantheon was rebuilt by Emperor Hadrian, and most likely dedicated about A.D. 126 to Marcus Agrippa, the son of Lucius, third counsul – hence M AGRIPPA L F COS TERTIUM FECIT. There is one legend that contends that the ancient Romans dedicated the first Pantheon to Romulus (753-716 BC) their founder where the current building stands.

Though The Pantheon was not labeled in clear commemoration to any said Roman god or goddess, Agrippa supposedly placed statues of Venus, Mars, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and himself within the rotunda. 1

However, with this splendid building falling into the hands of professing Christians, the question – What should be done with it!? Emperor Hadrian had written concerning The Pantheon, “My intentions had been that this sanctuary of all gods should reproduce the likeness of the terrestrial globe and of the stellar sphere...” But now the Roman pope CONSECRATED IT TO MARY AND TO ALL THE MARTYRS. Thus this pagan building became “Christian.” It was now the Catholics who employed The Pantheon in praying for their dead. And now consecrated as a Christian shrine, an annual festival was instituted to commemorate the event – on May 13th.

This May 13th commemoration of the dead martyrs was known by the name of “All Saints’ Day.” This feast, on its current date, is traced to the foundation by Pope Gregory III, with the date moved to October 27th (O.S. November 1st) and the May 13th feast suppressed. 2 So, notice this feast (which the ancient Romans called the Festival of Lemuria) was changed to November 1st and was called also “All Hallows’ Day” – sound familiar!?

So, the November 1st All Saints’ Day (All Hallows’ Day) was made a day of obligation throughout the Frankish Kingdom in A.D. 835, by the insistence of Pope Gregory IV. And, according to some scholars – like Sir James George Frazer – November 1st was chosen because Samhain was the date of the Celtic festival of the dead. 3

But why!? Why did the Catholic Church change the date to November 1st, coinciding with the pagans’ feast of ALL SOULS!? There is certainly a reason.

It was a general practice of the “Holy” Roman Empire, now professing Christianity, to “absorb” pagans into the empire. Often changing dates of festivals to coincide with the newly conquered and subjugated peoples.

Friends, let’s come down to this twenty-first century – you’ll be surprised to learn to what extent we – the nations of the world – have inherited from pagan rites, celebrations, and even from our forefathers – to the obvious celebration called Halloween.

And, what about you and your children!? What comes to your mind when you think about Halloween!? Does God’s living word come to your mind!? No, it wouldn’t – because nowhere in His word is anything dealing with Halloween! Instead, maybe small children begging for candy in frightening masks, maybe the Halloween classic movie Halloween directed by John Carpenter in 1978 with Michael Myers!? What about Halloween parties where many overdose on alcohol!? What about classic Halloween masks such as Frankenstein’s monster, or Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula!? Or, what about the wicked witch of The Wizard of Oz, maybe the Bette Midler witch, Winifred “Winnie” Sanderson of Hocus Pocus!? These seem rather innocuous – don’t they!? Orange pumpkins carved in the likeness of SCARY LOOKING faces!? Cookies made into small figurines resembling spiders, witches, and spider webs!?

NOT ONE PLACE in all of God’s living word are we commanded to observe Halloween! This pagan festival and other common festivals (See: St. Valentine’s Day – where did it come from!?, also Should Biblical Christians Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? – a wonderful sermon “In Hope of Eternal Life” (What is a Saint?)), as well as Lent, Ash Wednesday and Easter – Did the Original Christians Observe These!?). There is NO BIBLICAL BASIS! They originated in paganism.

Friends, your Bible WARNS – “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” – 1 Corinthians 3:11 NKJV.

Which is your FOUNDATION upon which you base your beliefs!?

The LORD our God condemns us to celebrate these pagan festivals –

“’ When the LORD your God [the very same One which became Jesus Christ] cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30) take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I will also do likewise.’ 31) You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.’”

Verse 32 – “’ Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.’” – Deuteronomy 12:29-32 NKJV.

Let us always obey the LORD our God! □

Bibliography:

1 Tom Marder and Wilson Jones, The Pantheon: From Antiquity to the Present, (New York: Cambridge UP, 2015), 4.

2 "All Saints' Day", The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 3rd edition, ed. E. A. Livingstone (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997), 41–42.

3 Pseudo-Bede, Homiliae subdititiae; John Hennig, 'The Meaning of All the Saints', Mediaeval Studies 10 (1948), 147–61.

Additional Items of Possible Interest:

Letter to our Friends - March 10, 2020 - Greetings from West Central Florida [...]

Easter or Passover? - It's so very sad that so many people - especially among the English-speaking nations of the world - do not understand that the holiday they call Easter is truly supposed to be Passover. [...]

Letter to our Friends - July 30, 2019 - Greetings from Owensboro, Kentucky. [...]

'Tell My People Their Sins'

 

Greetings friends around the world – our friends in Egypt, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Saint George, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, and, of course, our friends in the United States of America. Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries, I’m your servant Leonard V. Johnson. It’s an absolute delight to be here with you once again for this high holy day – this holy Sabbath day, also the eighth-day of God’s holy Feast of Tabernacles, the Last Great Day!

“’ CRY ALOUD, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.’” – Isaiah 58:1 NKJV.

So, here the LORD God is instructing the prophet Isaiah to lift up his voice like a trumpet. Now, anciently this would have probably been done at the city gates or even the temple, or perhaps the assembly of the elders – the leaders of his nation. ISRAEL was a chosen nation – and God had selected them, not because they were the greatest nation or the most powerful nation, but because they were the least of all the nations. Almighty God selected Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob/Israel, and the children of Israel were thus captured and taken to Egypt. God rescued them from the land of Egypt, brought them into the wilderness, and eventually into the Promised Land – where they truly enjoyed a wonderful bounty of a land flowing with milk and honey. And they would eventually enjoy a “golden age” under the ruler King David – becoming the most powerful, and the wealthiest of nations.

But, under King Solomon, the son of David, they had begun to spiral downward. And, the prophet Isaiah began to see this. And our LORD God inspired him to write these words and to W A R N the nation – because they had become a nation laden with iniquity.

In the 1st chapter of the Book of Isaiah, he calls the children of Israel disobedient –

Verse 2 – “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the LORD has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me; …’” – just like a rebellious child. My wife and I were going to adopt a fourteen-year-old boy this year. And things were going well for the first two weeks – then the “honeymoon” was over. His true colors began to show – He became belligerent, dishonest, hateful, and insolent. And, because of the restrictions on punishment, we had no recourse. What we did try, had no effect. We seriously thought about it – and decided this is not for us. And the adoption agency looked at us as if we were abandoning him – too. But, this passage here is how Almighty God is describing the children of Israel – as a disobedient, unruly, child.

What was their sin!? Well, their sin was adultery (as well as spiritual adultery; going after and worshiping false gods), blasphemy, hatred, jealousy, vanity, lust, greed, sexual immorality, perverseness, idolatry. All of these had become sins within that nation.

Verse 3 – “’ The ox knows its owner And the [ass] its master’s crib; …’” – these so-called dumb animals are not so dumb – they know who their owner is! They certainly can recognize their owner's voice. “ … ‘But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.’”

Verse 4 – “’ Alas, a sinful nation, …’”

Now, friends, just what is sin!? Well, we should know – 1st John 3:4 – “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” This whole world – and the nations of Israel (the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and her Commonwealth Nations, New Zealand, Australia) respectively, appears to have lost the absolute definition of what sin is.

“ … ‘A people laden with iniquity, …’” – the modern nations of Israel have burdened themselves so much, they can’t even handle the grave burden which is upon them.

“ … ‘A brood of evildoers, Children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the LORD, They have provoked to anger The Holy One of Israel, They have turned away backward.’”

Friends, when we read this – we can easily think of the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness, and like Lot’s wife, longingly looking back to Egypt. “Have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’” – Exodus 14:11-12 NKJV. You know – there are people that have been in Jesus Christ’s Church and has since TURNED AWAY BACKWARD taking a dive straight back into the slop of pigs! Back into the filth of this world, and have completely turned their backs on Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ! Some had been ministers and then coming to a total meltdown of their faith – becoming staunch believers in evolution and no longer believing in the existence of God or the validity of the Holy Bible! Turning their backs on God and the beloved truth they once knew – the doctrines of Jesus Christ! And they have done like what we’re reading here – they’ve ‘turned away backward’ – the whole nation which God had chosen.

Verse 5 – “’ Why should you be stricken again? …’” – you know – as it says in Deuteronomy chapter 8, verse 5 – “’ You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you.’” And, in Proverbs chapter 8, verse 25, “He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.” Occasionally a father has to chasten his children. And the apostle Paul was inspired by God’s Spirit to quote the Book of Proverbs – “’ For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’” – Hebrews 12:6 NKJV. God is a benevolent Father that has a great deal of love toward His people. He does not allow His people to continue on without discipline – without rules, guidelines, laws, and boundaries – to protect them. It’s like when I was five-years-old and my mother would constantly tell me, “Stay away from the light sockets!” A parent gives these boundaries to their children because they love them and want their protection.

“ … ‘You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, …’”

As I had mentioned to my wife just this morning – surely, deep inside one's mind they know of the absolute corruption, deception, and lies that are being perpetrated and told on our national media and from our Leftist leaders of COVID-19!? Are we so ignorant that we just believe what is being purported to us!? Or, do you have this underlying sense that corruption and lies are being reported and told and being sounded every day that goes by!? It begins to weigh heavily upon us.

“ … ‘And the whole heart faints.’” – in other words, the very spirit of the nation has become evil.

Do you recall when the LORD our God before the flood “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”? And “the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart”? – cf. Genesis 6:5-6 NKJV. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew the 24th chapter, verse 37 – “’ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38) For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39) and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.’” Friends, it is apparent from this parable of Jesus that men and women are going to be caught wallowing in sin as they were just before the great flood.

Verse 6 – “’ From the sole of the foot even to the head, There is no soundness in it, But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; They have not been closed or bound up, Or soothed with ointment. 7) Your country is desolate, Your cities are burned with fire; Strangers [foreigners] devour your land in your presence; And it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers [foreigners]. 8) So the daughter of Zion is left as a booth in a vineyard, As a hut in a garden of cucumbers, As a besieged city.’”

Verse 9 – “’ Unless the LORD of hosts Had left to us a very small remnant, We would have become like Sodom, We would have been made like Gomorrah.’”

Now, what the prophet Isaiah is saying here – he’s making a comparison. Do you recall when Almighty God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I AM doing” when the “men” were heading toward Sodom – the utter destruction of the five cities of the plain of Jordan coming soon? And, you remember Abraham’s plea!? “Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place.” And the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” And then Abraham said, “Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous?” And then, forty, and thirty, and then twenty, and finally ten. And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten righteous people.” And we know the result. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, couldn’t even convince his own family to leave. It was only his wife and his two daughters who were still living at home which left Sodom. Those five cities on the plain of Jordan were allowed to be destroyed because there weren’t even ten righteous people in that city. And, brethren, let us not sell ourselves short – but we should wonder – is it that Almighty God is holding back the utter destruction of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth of Nations, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand respectively – because there are maybe ten in one-million righteous people within these nations!? It should make us wonder. Is that number depleting as time goes by!? In prayer to Almighty God and our Lord Jesus Christ the other day – a thought crossed my mind – just before the blowing of the SEVENTH TRUMP very few saints of God will be left. There will come a time when the LORD our God cannot find ten righteous people! As ‘this generation’ continues many of these cities the cup of their iniquity becomes full. And the LORD God has no choice but to exact judgment upon that nation. It is something to ponder.

Verse 10 – “’ Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the law of our God, You people of Gomorrah.” – this was God’s nation, and He’s calling this city of Jerusalem, Sodom, and Gomorrah!

And, the LORD God continues His indictment of them – about their religious ceremony. They were a very religious culture. And you can look in the nations of Israel today – there are surely two or three-thousand different dialects of religion in the United States alone, depending on whatever your taste is. You can go into any backwoods country town and find a church building on every corner! As I had mentioned before concerning Bryson City, North Carolina – I have seen it with my own eyes. We claim to be a religious nation, but we are a nation that is laden with iniquity! On the Churches-In.com website directory for so-called Christian churches in Detroit, Michigan it lists 477+ churches, with a city population of 667,272! Yet, the city of Detroit’s violent crime rate has a Neighborhood Scout ranking of 20.0 – the odds of being a victim is 1 in 50! 1

Friends, these churches must surely not be teaching – “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness AGAINST GOD!” And, look at what is in this world – its magazines, movies, television shows, in the news – the enormous homicide rate of the United States of America is 5.35 per 100k! 2 And, just last month in Chicago, a woman faces murder charges in the fatal stabbing of her 5-year-old daughter! It truly makes one sick at their stomach the iniquity which is laden upon the nations of Israel! She cut the little girl's throat and then carried her out into the street! A life is thrown away like trash! I can’t imagine what those relatives are going through! Friends, I tell you that Almighty God is looking down, and He must at times – even with tears in His eyes – truly weep at what He sees is happening with our nations.

Verse 11 – “’ To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?’ … 15) ‘When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.’” – and sadly, in the very state I live, this year alone the abortion rate is 20.6 (per 1,000 women ages 14-44 years old)! 3

Verse 16 – “’ Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17) Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.’”

Verse 18 – “’ Come now, and let us reason together,’ Says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.’”

Verse 19 – “’ If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; 20) But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword [WARFARE]’; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Almighty God warned the nation of Israel – Isaiah being the prophet to the southern tribe of Judah – and he came to see the absolute destruction of the northern tribe of Israel that would be taken away captive by the Assyrians. And, following Isaiah, the prophet Jeremiah was there to live to see the absolute destruction of the nation of Judah and seen them carried away captive.

Friends, Almighty God is going to punish the modern-day nations of Israel in the same fashion – if we, as a nation, don’t turn to Him and seek His face!

Verse 21 – “’ How the faithful city has become a harlot! It was full of justice; Righteousness lodged in it, But now murderers. 22) Your silver has become dross, Your wine mixed with water. 23) Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, …’” – in America alone we can think of the lobbyists. Everyone wants a special interest – they want money under the table. Indeed, we can easily think about Halliburton and the Dick Cheney fiasco. Following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, Cheney’s former company, Halliburton, secured lucrative reconstruction contracts from the U.S. government, raising the specter of favoritism. As well as the former Vice President and Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter having worked for a Ukrainian energy company – despite having had any relevant experience. Or, what about the Fort Lee lane closure scandal – in which New Jersey Governor Chris Christie colluded to create traffic jams for political reasons!? Or, as POTUS Donald Trump stated in a 2016 Twitter post, “Does anybody really believe that Bill Clinton and the U.S.A.G. talked only about “grandkids” and “golf” for 37 minutes in a plane on the tarmac?” I’ll tell you something else – throughout the past fifteen years I’ve lived in my neighborhood I’ve counted the Hernando Public Works crew come out over a dozen times to patch little potholes along residential streets – the same potholes! The inferiority of their work – the absolute “Don’t care!” attitude! And, whose paying the ticket!? The taxpayer! We’re paying for them to come back – time and time again! It is absolutely bewildering to me to see this – and to think that our great nation has stooped so low that we can’t have the quality of work that we had in the past. Like Merle Haggard sings, “Wish a Ford and a Chevy Could still last ten years like they should. Is the best of the free life behind us now? Are the good times really over for good?”

Friends, let us break this yoke of wickedness within our nation!

And, biblically speaking a good place to start – and as a nation - "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" - Acts 2:38 NKJV. And keep the TEN COMMANDMENTS!

1) You shall have no other gods before the true God.

2) You shall not make any graven image, or you shall not bow down yourself or serve these false gods.

Now, those are sort of rather related, it’s simply put – You will not follow and serve false teachers, false ministers, which promote the false gods and false religions. The first two commandments clearly state that there should be NOTHING in our lives which is more important to us than loving, obeying, and serving Almighty God, and that includes parents, mates, children, brother’s, sister’s, family, friends, nation, home, job, career, political party or affiliation – NOTHING – GOD IS TO BE NUMBER ONE!

3) You shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4) Well, number four is why we’re here today. ‘Remember the Sabbath day [and that means the seventh day; not the first day].’ And by extension, it means obeying and keeping the annual Sabbath’s or annual Holy Days.

5) ‘Honor thy father and thy mother.’ And it goes on to add that your days may be long upon the earth.

6) ‘Thou shalt not kill.’ Or, as you get the whole proper translation, ‘Thou shall do no murder.’ And I cannot read or think of this verse without grieving. I’ve mentioned this before, but I just think this is a major issue when God looks down upon this country and its society. I, and many of us, grieve for the 61,628,584 Babies Which Have Been Killed in Abortions Since Roe v. Wade in 1973! They were MURDERED! Now, that was 47-years ago! Consider the number of children that never had the opportunity to exist because their potential parents never had a chance to be born, grow up, and have children, and families of their own! We are possibly looking at the number 100 MILLION Americans who are missing from our ranks because they were never allowed to be born and their children were never allowed to be born. A hundred million people! The pro-choice movement – as they like to call themselves – is badly mislabeled in my opinion. If people who are for life are called pro-life, then I think people who are for abortion should be labeled pro-death. Let’s just be honest here. That’s what they're for – they want to see babies murdered. And I know that’s not a nice way to put it, and it’s not really politically correct, not flowery. But it’s the truth! They’re wanting to kill people who are simply and totally and completely innocent.

Also, our nation is facing a major financial crisis with a national debt of well over $27 TRILLION! And being able to fund services like Social Security and Medicare - and a lot of people rely upon those – the problem is rather simple to understand.

7) ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ And, in its basic form, the explanation of this commandment is rather straightforward and easy to understand. It speaks for itself. But why did God include this in His big ten!? Why this issue!? Well if a man or a woman pledge their devotion and their fidelity to their mate and then they break that pledge, that promise, that commitment, can God Almighty and Jesus Christ have any confidence that the same person who has pledged their devotion and fidelity to Them has any validity!? If you cannot be loyal to your mate whom you have seen, how can you be loyal to God whom you have not seen!? To paraphrase an idea.

8) ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ That’s rather simple, straightforward. You can’t take what isn’t yours!

9) ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.’ Just the Words of God, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.’

10) ‘Thou shalt not covet.’ The eventual offspring of covetousness or lust is sin. And death is the offspring of sin. James 1 says, ‘each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires, and enticed. 15) Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; …” – sin doesn’t start out as sin. Sin starts as a thought, as an emotion, as a desire. And at that point we have the opportunity to say, “Get out of here!” Or, we have the opportunity to entertain it. And once we entertain it, we go down into the area of sin, and as James said, “and sin, when it is full-grown [finished], brings forth death.”

We can demonstrate our love for Jesus Christ by manifesting concern, caring, love, respect, kindness, for our fellow human beings. Notice what Jesus had to say in Matthew 25 – I could read the whole passage, but I’ll just get to the punch line. This is a major teaching point. Verse 40 – “…’ Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it [a good thing] to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” I’ll say it again, ‘Inasmuch as you have done one of these kind acts, unto one of the least important people in the Church, you’ve done it unto Me.’ So, we’re right back to the second of those two great commandments.

‘You will love your neighbor as yourself.’ How do you show love for God!? Love your fellow human being - your neighbors as yourself. In short, do unto others as you would have them to do unto you. The golden rule. And friends, I just spoke of this very thing in the article “You’re Not Welcome Here!”

That’s what it’s all about. What a simple idea – this my friends is a great KEY to eternal life! □

Bibliography:

1 Lucas, F. America’s Top 20 Cities for Crime, and What Party Runs Them, The Daily Signal, 24 June 2020. https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/06/24/americas-top-20-cities-for-crime-and-what-party-runs-them. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

2 Murder Rate By Country 2020. World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/murder-rate-by-country. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

3 Abortion Rate By State 2020. World Population Review. https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/abortion-rates-by-state. Retrieved 29 September 2020.

"You're Not Welcome Here!"

 

Greetings dearest friends around the world. Our friends and brethren in Athens, Alabama, in Warren, Pennsylvania, Fleming Island, Florida, and around the world! Welcome to the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries. I’m your servant Leonard V. Johnson.

Friends, I was invited by my sister to join her in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for God’s holy Feast of Tabernacles and the Last Great Day this year with her church – the Intercontinental Church of God which, supposedly, has an open-door policy. Now, I was having a truly enjoyable Feast until the 5th Day! A bully sycophant "leader" along with his cronies (which reminds one of a bully jock who walks the halls of a high school corridor and bullies others) became combative with me and said, "We're gonna have a talk with you this afternoon!" Indeed, they certainly have replicated an old church culture which stemmed from their Mother Church which existed in the ’60s, ’70s – and like the proverbial Humpty Dumpty, had a great fall in the ’80s and shattered into thousands of pieces – a type of dictatorship. ‘You will do exactly what the main leader says,’ or his underlings ‘or else you will find yourself asked to go home.’ Because I felt unwelcome, and because there was a growing sense of unwelcomeness by the members of that organization, I came home.

Now, you mean to tell me that there are people who if they don't like somebody will gossip and tell lies to get people stirred up to turn against the one they don't like and to persecute them!? In this modern age!? Yes, this happened to me! – cf. Acts 16:22.

Friends, there are a lot of groups which practice shunning. And they claim to get their authority from God’s living word – the Holy Bible. Yet, shunning is NOT biblical, and it is NOT what someone should do if they claim to be a Christian! Shunning is a type of pressure and punishment to help church leaders cull or maintain control and is a manifestation of the leaders fear – that they cannot answer important questions honestly and legally and therefore they know – the church leaders – that they are vulnerable. They tend to believe that there has to be a type of “mind-control” which takes place in these poor “laypeople.”

Now, of course, it’s not the first time this has been done to me – from those groups which have descended from their Mother Church. And, I’m saying – I once had friends within those churches who now refuse to speak to me.

But what does God’s living word say!?

I ask you to turn to Matthew, chapter 22, verse 36 –

Some of the religious lawyers – the people who were highly involved in the doctrines of the Jewish Church, way back when – were asking Jesus a question. And they were tempting Him, trying to trick Him.

“’ Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law?’”

And Jesus responded by quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy, “’ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38) This is the FIRST and GREAT COMMANDMENT.’”

Verse 39 – “’ And the SECOND [or principle] is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40) On these TWO COMMANDMENTS hang all the Law and the Prophets.’” – the writings of the Bible. The two great divine principles – ‘love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind, and soul. And ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’

And neighbor here just doesn’t mean the person living next to you – or within your neighborhood. It’s referring to all other people.

And then, there’s the Book of John. John, chapter 13. This is a powerful comment! And He says in verse 34 – again these are some of the final words Jesus Christ ever spoke to His disciples.

“’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, …’”

Now, did our Lord Jesus Christ say here – that ‘you’re to be hateful, that if somebody comes to God’s holy Feast that you don’t like, that you’re to make him feel unwelcome, turn everyone against him and shun him’!?

Think about Jesus – He, after His conversion, ends up in the Garden of Gethsemane and He’s having some of His final and quiet prayers with God the Father – and His disciples are not even able to stay awake. And He chided them – ‘Can’t you even keep your eyes open for a little while and be with Me!?’ And then, later when He was arrested – they fled. If anyone had a reason to be upset with some Church people – Jesus Christ had a great reason to be upset. And yet, Jesus Christ NEVER turned His back on these disciples which had indeed deserted Him! Think about that!

But, He says here, “’ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35) By this [principle – by the fact that ‘you love one another, despite your differences’] shall all men know that you are My disciples, IF you have love for one another.’”

So, what I am saying is – by the authority of Jesus Christ – that so-called minister that became combative with me and shunned me is NOT a servant of Jesus Christ!

And I dare say the opposite can be said – since Jesus said, ‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ – ‘by this shall all men know that you are NOT My disciples IF you DO NOT have love for one another.’ The mirror image.

And so, when you – or somebody – shuns; throws away; refuses to converse with someone, for whatever reason, you are demonstrating –

1. You do not have any love.
2. You are NOT a disciple of Jesus Christ.

If you would turn to Romans, chapter 13. There are many places in the New Testament that talks about this principle.

Verse 8 – “Owe no one anything …” – except the FIRST COMMANDMENT – “ … except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” – and in one place he calls it ‘the royal law.’

Verse 9 – “For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 10) Love does no harm to a neighbor; …’” 

So, when you bully someone who is trying to keep God’s holy Feast of Tabernacles – and then you even go farther and gossip and or tell falsehoods; repeating unsubstantiated lies – becoming a gossipmonger –and God’s living word says, “Love does no harm to a neighbor,” isn’t that working harm to your neighbor – if you try to bully them and spew hate, refuse to socialize, giving them a cold shoulder!?

And he continues, “ … therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”

You want to know how to be a Christian – show love, respect, and loyalty – to your fellow human beings.

Verse 11 – “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12) The night is far spent, that day is at hand…” – referring to the Day of the LORD, what Minister Michael C. has dubbed the ‘end-time trauma.’ “ … Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, …” – and shunning is a work of darkness! “ … and let us put on the armor of light. 13) Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.” – and you can add, ‘not in shunning of those people who should be our Christian brothers and sisters.’

Verse 14 – “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, …”

If you would turn to Galatians, chapter 5. Another place where Paul spoke about this topic. Think about Paul himself was the recipient of shunning. He was shunned by the Jewish religious people who were the majority of the religious people of his day. And when Paul became a follower of Jesus Christ, he was shunned and hated and they tried to murder him, too! Where before they cheered him on when he persecuted the Church of God – now, they were trying to murder him!

Verse 13 – “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; …” – religious freedom.

Now, time out! If you have been called to religious freedom, then why are some of you following the commands and the dictates of your so-called church leaders!? Instead, departmentalizing, and saying such things as, “Well, he’s not from our church!” When, in fact, that organization is one big conglomeration!? I contend that you’re NOT in a form of religious freedom, but you are in a form of bondage.

“ … only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14) For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 15) But if you bite and devour one another, …” – isn’t that what shunning is!? Biting, hurting, harming. “ … beware lest you be consumed [destroyed] by one another!”

Verse 16 – “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

The human nature tendency is for so-called church leaders to lash out with hatred, or contempt, for anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe – either religiously or politically. And then they try to get all of the other congregants – the other church members – to do and feel the same way.

If you would turn back to Matthew, chapter 5. Again, directly the words of Jesus Christ! You can’t argue with the words of Jesus Christ – you either do them, or attempt to follow them, or you walk contrary to them, it’s one or the other. And if you’re walking contrary to the words of Jesus Christ – you have no hope of eternal salvation. That’s just the plain truth of it all.

And sadly, this so-called leader of that organization which had put himself down to speak on the Fifth-Day of God's holy Feast of Tabernacles got up at the podium and focused his assault (because it wasn't a godly message) at me! Reading from the Book of Luke, chapter 13, verses 26-30, he looked up directly at me and said, “I could name a name. ...” And, he looked over at his wife as she was shaking her head, adding, “but I won't.”

How, dear Lord Jesus, is this bully “leader” and his cronies going to escape gehenna fire!?

Verse 43 – “’ You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44) But I say to you, love your enemies, …’”

Now, doesn’t that go completely against the theme of shunning!?

“’ Love your enemies’” – not shun them. “ … ‘bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45) that you may be [children] of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46) For if you love those who love you, …’”

And let’s change this a bit – ‘if you only love the people in your particular sub-group, you’re cronies’ … “ …’ what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors [the publicans] do the same?’”

Verse 47 – “’ And if you greet your brethren only, …’”

Same idea – ‘if you’re only going to show respect for only your so-called church brethren’ … “…’ what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors [the publicans] do so? 48) Therefore you shall be perfect [or complete – spiritually mature is what the word means], just as your Father in heaven is perfect.’”

Obviously, Jesus Christ does not support the idea of shunning – or showing hatred and contempt for others!

And then, Matthew, chapter 7, verse 12.

“’ Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, …’” – which means ‘to show respect and concern.’ “ …’ do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’” – and the basic foundation of the Message of God to all human beings!

Shunning is a most terrible sin. And many of you are part of church groups which participate in that – and I know this to be true. And, if the other leaders or congregants of these church groups allow one of their own to get away with spewing hate and shunning they are just as guilty in the eyes of Almighty God and Jesus Christ!

Conclusion

And if you would, turn back to the Book of James, chapter 5, verse 19 – “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turn him back [converts him; changes his mind and heart], 20) let him know that he who turns [or helps] a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

So, I would say to all of you who are my detractors – if you are serving Jesus Christ and if you do indeed think that I have ‘wandered from the truth’ – from the words of James (the very brother of Jesus Christ inspired by God’s Spirit) shouldn’t you be doing everything you can to convert me, to help me!? Instead of throwing me away!? But that was not your reaction! Your reaction was to make me feel unwelcome and become combative with me! It’s the total opposite of what this verse and all the other verses we read says.

Friend – you’re in the wrong! And, I don’t say that with hatred. I say it with a great deal of sadness. Because I know from the word of God that if you continue to have that contempt – that disrespect, that hatred in your heart – if you do not change you will not make it into the kingdom of God. You just won’t. And I know that – and it greatly troubles me. I do not want you to flounder. I, like Almighty God, wish for none to perish, but for all to come to repentance. – cf. 2 Peter 3:9.

I do, however, hate the fact that they have power over so many of you. It’s like whatever they say you guys are just going to follow – without questioning them. That’s NOT serving God – that’s serving them. You’re God is not Jesus Christ – you’re god, apparently, is these so-called leaders. Don’t you see how wrong that is – and how messed up that is!? FOLLOW JESUS CHRIST! FOLLOW HIS WORD! FOLLOW HIS PROMISES! FOLLOW HIS NEW COVENANT! I just wish that you would open your eyes! Again, you are passionately loyal – with a seemingly certain amount of blindness to reality – to a man who seemingly cannot (will not, hasn’t) said, written, or acknowledged Jesus Christ. And in that respect, you people are just as lost – when it comes to the potential of eternal life.

I want nothing more than to salvage you! □