Articles

Dying to Death – The Second Death

The issues of life and death, like all Scriptures and truths of the Lord, are hidden from those not yet given the gift of faith and the accompanying eyes to see and ears to hear.  Becoming grounded on some basic principles, such as the topic of death,  is essential to growing in understanding.  May these words help those few the Lord may lead to read them.

Pete & Ronel

Dying to Death

All men are PURPOSEFULLY born in marred vessels of clay so the Lord can remake us into a new mold in His image on His timeline.   Nothing we experience is wasted, it is all the work of the potter.

Jer 18:3  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 

Jer 18:4  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 

Jer 18:5  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 

Jer 18:6  O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 

We are born into sin and thus begin the lives of every man.  As clay in the potter’s hand, the false doctrine of free will is readily destroyed by the truth.

Psa 51:5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. 

Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

We will naturally remain this way until our time of reformation comes and we begin our transformation into the image of God.  This is the process of salvation and the same said as being “our journey from death unto life”.  Paul’s words of the helplessness of Romans 7, expressing every man’s journey to be righteous under their own strength (i.e the law) segues into the freedom and new life described in Romans 8.  Abiding in death, stuck in a prison, and bound to the law we first await Christ.

Rom 7:5  For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. 

When Christ comes He delivers us and sets us free from the law and the death that the law of sin and death (carnal mindedness) brings.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death

The law of sin and death is the same as the law of Moses and also the same as the law of the Gentiles.  Simply put, this law is what all carnally minded people are under.  Yet do not despair because all mankind is ignorant and oblivious to their plight until the Lord comes and sets them free from the resulting bondage that is also spiritual death.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Heb 2:15  And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 

We begin to be transformed from death and having the mind of our father the devil, unto newness of life, having the mind of Christ.  This is our salvation and takes a three-day spiritual journey to complete.  The last enemy to be destroyed to complete the transformation is death.  This is the death of our carnal mind that has kept us in bondage all our lives.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

1Co 15:25-26  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Lord who holds the keys to life and death, considers physical death to be the same as sleeping [Joh 11:11, Dan 12:2, etc].  The Lord’s words are Spirit and life and speak to great mysteries that only few are given to understand.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 

Joh 6:63  It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 

Our dying to the Lord is our dying to death.  This is subjecting our carnal mind to the will of God and following the Spirit by the law of faith.  That is how newness of life is found and how we are being raised with Christ in the resurrection.  Christ speaks and acts in parables but most like Martha are only able to see the physical or outward application.

Joh 11:25  Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 

Joh 11:26  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 

Dying to death is also known as the “second death” which every man will fulfill in their appointed time.  We experience and fulfill all the Scriptures, living by every word.  All those experiences are indeed ours [1Cor 3:21] to fulfill and many err by taking things out of the book as not applicable to them.  Dying to death comes to a head in our day of the Lord, when the Lord comes a second time for judgment and salvation.

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

Heb 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

The consummation of salvation is our being given our crowns which is the mind of Christ that is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  When the Lord first comes to us, we will be found dead in our sins and trespasses. This is the fate of all men naturally born in marred bodies of flesh that cannot help but sin.  The Lord has His ways to correct us and remake us through the fiery experience of His judgments.

Exo 32:33  And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. 

In our day of the Lord, the new man is brought forth as the old man and our carnal way of thinking dies under the fire of God’s jealousies.  All men have sinned without exceptions and thus are blotted out from spiritual life until their appointed time comes.    The time comes for our day of the Lord when we find ourselves in the lake of fire, experience the second death, and thus are being saved!

Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 

Rev 20:15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life[i.e. all who sin who have been blotted out at first] was cast into the lake of fire. 

The second death and our resurrection are one in the same event we experience.  Think of a two-sided coin and know that the Scriptures are speaking about His two witnesses which are the old man and the new man.  Both the carnal old man and the spiritual new man are clay in the potter’s hands.  He is molding and shaping us on His schedule and by this process, we die to death at the same time newness of life is brought forth.

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 
Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 

In this consuming fire [Heb 12:29] that is the Lord, we are being quickened and in due time are overcoming our flesh.  As we progress, we are able to look behind ourselves and see our deliverance from the ways of the world which is ruled by the spirit of Satan or said another way carnal mindedness.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

Our flesh does not go willingly to its death.  It resists the ways of the Spirit until it is brought into subjection.  The Lord prevails when our time has come and we are freed from the law of sin and death and separated from the carnally minded by our faith.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 

Gal 5:18  But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 

We should earnestly pray that we grow in the faith.  The challenges of living in this carnal world but not being of it, get bigger the further we walk, yet the Lord will equip us with the faith and temperament to bear it.

Articles

The Wonderful Day of the Lord

The Wonderful Day of the Lord

There is a day spoken about in Scriptures much more than any other day.  This day is so central to salvation and the message of the gospel a refresher is always needed.  This little flock has been washed with water, we have been prepared for true baptism of Christ which will be and is destroying all carnal mindedness within us and ushering in true and lasting righteousness.

Mal 4:5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

The great day of the Lord is what comes afterward and what truly converts us into doers and not just hearers of the Word.  It takes fire and the second coming of Christ which begins this great day in our heavens and our earth.

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

It is only through a fiery furnace that our new man Christ in us is emerging as the overcomer.  Our carnal and sinful ways are being burned up through this “day” which is our day of judgment otherwise known as the lake of fire which is the Second Death and wherein death (carnality) will be destroyed and along with it, the works of the devil (Heb 2:14-15).

There is much more to come than what we learned from the church in the wilderness from which we have now come out of [Rev 12:17].  Our baptism of fire has come and is coming, and we need to be prepared and reminded that our enduring this is how we obtain the greatest prize of all, knowing the Lord and having His mind.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

The Lord’s Day is not a Sunday or a Saturday or any outward day, it is a spiritual term referencing the age or process by which all men are transformed in the image and glory of Jesus Christ.  This study is intended to show just how pervasive this “day” is spoken about in our bibles via many different symbols and terms.  The day of the Lord for every man is the same day as “judgment day” that is making all things new through the consuming work of the fiery word of God burning up the wood hay and stubble [our carnal works] within the hearts (earth) and minds (heavens) of His people.

2Pe 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Isa 2:12  For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

Like all words, the term “the day of the Lord” is part of the two-edged sword (Heb 4:12) meaning there is both a positive and a negative application; depending on whether the old man or new man is in view.

To the carnal mind, the Scriptures with these seeming discrepancies of good and evil veil the truth and have led to all the orthodox denominations and speculative theories about the truth regarding judgment and the day of the Lord. The truth is hidden behind the letter of the words and only revealed to the precious few GIVEN the understanding and keys to the kingdom (Mat 13:11).

There is a wide range in the language used to describe the day of the Lord and its other synonyms.  We are told, on one hand, the Lord’s coming will be a great light (Isa 9:2) and very bright (2Th 2:8) yet, on the other hand, this day is also said to be very dark.

Amo 5:20  Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

The carnal mind has a tough time seeing the Lord as both light and darkness, yet He is all those things and is working all those things (Rom 8:28, Isa 45:7) for the greater good of His people.  To the new man given eyes to see and ears to hear, Christ who is His Word is light. But to the other side, the old man, the carnal mind, those same words, and same Christ is sheer darkness.  Yet it is all the same Word it is all part of the Lord’s work in His people.

Exo 14:20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.

Psa 139:12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Example of Babylonian Delusion

Here is a comparative table that is taken from a “Christian website” that sees the two sides of the same sword as being truly different days for different people.  This is the way most Christians see it with only those evil people over there experiencing the wrath of God. They don’t know the thing they deny is what will save them [i.e. the Lake of Fire and Second Death]

The Day of Christ is distinct from the Day of the Lord as daylight is to dark. The first is a time of great anticipation, joy, blessing, and reward. The second is a time of terror, wrath, dread, and woe. A stark contrast exists between these two days. The chart below outlines the differences.

Day of Christ Day of the Lord
For the Church (the Body of Christ) For rejectors of Christ
A day of blessing and reward A day of judgment
A heavenly hope An earthly despair
Eagerly anticipated Feared and dreaded

The truth is these days are one in the same exact day! The day of Christ is the day of the Lord, there is no difference.  Our judgment is the blessing and the same event also a blessing and rewarding us.

Isa 1:27  Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.

2Co 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

All of God’s people come out of Babylon [Rev 18:4 – Come out of her my people] which includes outward orthodoxy but also spiritual Babylon within our hearts.  We learn wrongly in Babylon that the day of the Lord and us dying in the lake of fire is only for those evil people out there. Such carnal thinking and filtering of Scriptures by the letter vs the spirit has us avoiding the very thing we must embrace and hasten unto if we want to be like Christ.

2Pe 3:11  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

2Pe 3:12  Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

2Pe 3:13  Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

The day is a Great Day!

The day of the Lord is a GREAT DAY because it is the day during which we are being saved as we live through and embrace the chastening and scourging our Lord is pouring out.  It is a great day because the Lord is being exalted within our hearts and minds, Christ is being raised within us!

Zep 1:14  The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

Zec 12:9  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

The enemies of the Lord within us, our old man, the beast, the false prophet, and Satan and all his lying demons are being destroyed in this great and terrible day of the Lord. What a wonderful work of God to His people beginning with the Elect in this age.  So much for the false rapture theory and it’s look-alike lies that have its believers taking themselves completely out of the Book of Life by denying the day of the Lord is for them.  All that we knew is being turned dark and destroyed with the brightness of the Lord’s coming. Our old ways are being replaced with His ways and His righteousness.

Rev 6:17  For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Isa 26:9  …. for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The Day of the Lord is the best thing that happens to us. It is the day, the time during which we come to know the Lord having His mind and being made partakers of His holiness.  His Word won’t fail to perform!

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also [when He lives within us]

Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

We are living this day out when we are drinking the wine of gospel which is the blessing to the new man and the wrath to the old.

Mar 14:24  And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Mar 14:25  Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

Seeing the two-edged sword with spiritual eyes, the inconsistencies about judgment are being cleared up.  “The day” is a great day but it is also a terrible day for the old man and our carnal mind.

Heb 10:31  (NLT)  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Psa 66:3  Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee [this is salvation, all enemies under His feet]

This great day of the Lord is even known as the day of evil because the coming of Christ shines light (truth) onto all the hidden evil within us.

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked [the marred vessel – Jer 18:4] for the day of evil.

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness [evil] shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee …

It’s also known as the day of vengeance!

A jealous God is saving us for His namesake (Eze 36:22-23) not our own.

1Co 3:16  Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

1Co 3:17  If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

Such destruction is the fate of every man that comes in that same day also known as His day of vengeance.

2Th 1:8  (NKJV) in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 12:19  (NKJV) Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.

Vengeance against the old man is what Christ has come to proclaim and is the entire premise of the glorious gospel.

Isa 61:2  To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

It is a day of troubles and many tribulations

The day of the Lord signals the transition from the present evil age into the age of judgment when men are remade in the lake of fire.  It is only through much trouble any man shall enter into the kingdom (Act 14:22).

Eze 7:6  An end is come, the end is come: it watcheth for thee; behold, it is come.

Eze 7:7  The morning is come [Christ has come] unto thee, O thou that dwellest in the land: the time is come, the day of trouble is near ….

Zep 1:15  That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

Rev 7:14  And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

This Day is the Wonderful Works of the Lord

It is only through faith we can “fear not” the things the Lord is doing in our lives.  This will be the greatest trial men will face in these clay bodies.

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Trusting in His promises we are looking forward and asking Him to Come more and more in our life in that day knowing the process is what is savings us.

Rev 22:20  He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

So, while all orthodox Christianity teaches the day of the Lord (aka the Lake of Fire) is to be avoided and something happening only to those sinners over there but not to us, the truth is the Day of the Lord is a wonderful time for the new man.  It is our enduring the process that God requires to call the light out of the darkness and bring forth the new man, the Lord from our heavens.  They are one and the same known as the wonderful works of the Lord to His children.

Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.

Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.

Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end.

Psa 107:28  Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.

Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.

Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! [repeated 4x in Psa 107 alone]

The storm and trials the Lord puts upon us may not feel at times to be wonderful when viewed from a body of flesh.  Yet to the spiritual man and he who is overcoming they are becoming known as marvelous works as we look behind and see our salvation.

Rev 15:3  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.

Mat 21:42  Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Gathering Together Awaiting our Day of the Lord

The time of the coming of the Lord inwardly in the hearts and minds of His people is known only to the Father.

Mat 24:36  But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

An outward day is coming when this world and its evil nations will cease to exist.  Yet that day is already appearing within us as the fire is being turned up as this gospel is preached and believed in every nation within us.

Mat 24:13  But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand [the day of the Lord and the end of all things]

The Lord has us in a Living Body of Christ to help one another through what lies ahead.

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 

2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 

The day of Jesus Christ which is the Day of the Lord does have an end.  He that began the work in us will and is finishing it.

Php 1:6  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Paul and others and we ourselves are too frequently admonish one another to stay the course, to finish the race in order to receive the prize.

2Jn 1:8  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

2Pe 1:10  Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

2Pe 1:11  for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As we grow and mature, doom and gloom to the old man is being changed into rejoicing as the new man increases and the Lord is revealed within us.

Joh 16:20  Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 

1Pe 4:13  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

The Lord’s plan is to prosper us by giving us His mind and manifesting His glory within (Jer 29:11).  If we are given faith to believe in Him, we shall be saved by this hope (Rom 8:24).  This is the hope that is, was and will be saving us as we abide in it during our “dreadful” day of the Lord.

Rom 5:1  Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rom 5:2  through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God [to be revealed]

Rom 5:3  And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;

Rom 5:4  and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Rom 5:5  Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Knowing these truths and God’s purpose and methods in the “day of the Lord” and having faith in them, is how we are able to endure what is coming upon our earth, trusting in what the Lord is doing.

2Co 4:15  For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Our abiding through our day of the Lord is the greatest blessing as we are able to endure paying the high pricing of being chosen in Christ.

2Ti 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love [1Jo 5:3] his appearing.

We are so blessed to have been awakened to righteousness. Let’s take hold the admonishments of the Apostles and the Lord to pray, stay awake and remain sober knowing these Truths.

1Th 5:6  Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 

Luk 21:36  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

We can say what John said to end the Book, Come quickly Lord Jesus!

Questions and comments are always welcome.  You can also email me directly at peterjwilson56@gmail.com

Articles

Go and Preach the Gospel

Introduction to Preaching the Gospel

The time of the end (our carnal age) is now at hand as the recent events have opened our eyes to greater vision and understanding of the Word of God.  The Lord grows us in His grace and knowledge through the fiery trials He is sending.  The Scriptures are truly being opened before our eyes as the Lord sifts His people and brings the remnant onward to maturity.

Dan 12:4  “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.

2Pe 3:18  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

 It is a miracle that this little flock of saints was all quickened to the same truth as we were awakened to the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ within us.  From this point forward, great grace will be upon us as we die to death (the Second Death) on the cross with Christ.  This is our new way of life and the only way one can partake of the blessed and holy First Resurrection.  We have all witnessed already a renewed vigor and zeal to do righteousness and to serve our brothers and sisters, there being no head of the church except the Lord Jesus Christ.

 Act 4:32  And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

We have entered into a new covenant with the Lord via the law of faith that is being worked in us by the fiery trials that are bringing about death to death within us which is the second death.

Heb 8:10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

This is the gospel that will henceforth be preached unto all the inward nations and cities as well as the outward when the Lord brings us people who hear His words.  The preaching of the gospel divides the city. Christ comes to bring division and we have seen this outwardly fulfilled by recent events.

Luk 12:49  I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?

Luk 12:50  But I have a baptism to be baptized with (lake of fire/cross) and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Luk 12:51  Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Luk 12:52  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

Luk 12:53  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

The gospel and our preaching it separates us from brethren who can only walk so far with us

Rom 1:1  Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God

Being told we have to eat his flesh and drink His blood by dying on a cross with the Lord is not desirable to the flesh and hence many will not walk any further with Christ.

Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him

Carrying our cross requires that we leave spiritual brethren and family that we walked far with in order to follow Him.  We have already endured the natural of these Scriptures, but now we endure and live out the spiritual application. The greatest blessing imaginable awaits us if we endure and die the Second Death now in this age in the Lake of Fire.

Luk 18:25  For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a [spiritually] rich man [with knowledge] to enter into the kingdom of God.

Luk 18:26  And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

Luk 18:27  And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Luk 18:28  Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.

Luk 18:29  And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left [spiritual] house, or [spiritual] parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,

Luk 18:30  Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.

The way to live with Christ is to die with Him.  Hence, we walk willingly into the fiery furnace knowing it is saving us now in this age.

2Ti 2:11  It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him [death to death Heb 2:14], we shall also live with him: 

We hope these words and what we have witnessed will be received with joy because of the great blessing we have been given that comes to far fewer than we ever previously believed.

Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

Our former brethren strived to be righteous but were not given to see what we see.  Many still have sorrow in their hearts for those brethren who have been cut off for our sake.  We grieve yet that should turn to rejoicing as we take hold the promise of age-abiding life that has been given to us.

Rom 9:2  That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:

Rom 9:4  Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;

Rom 9:5  Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 9:6  Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 

Rom 9:8  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Those we have contended over the truths of the gospel are now enemies of the cross saying we don’t have to live the Second Death which is the Lake of Fire.  They know not what they do or say and have been sacrificed for our sakes.  They will be saved in their appointed time as will all men and our role as priests of God will be to minister to them and forgive them their trespass against us.

Rom 11:28  As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

Rom 11:29  For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Rom 11:30  For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

Rom 11:31  Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Go and Preach the Gospel

We have been saved from the lie of the devil (Gen 3:4) that had us believing we need not partake of the Second Death in order to be saved. Knowing now what the Second Death really means and that the new man, Christ in us is the result of going through the Lake of Fire brings great clarity to what the Lord and the Apostles meant when they said go and preach the gospel.

Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized (with the fire in LOF) shall be saved; but he that believeth not (no LOF for me) shall be damned.

We are coming out of the baptism of John where we were given the water of the Word that washes us and caused to seek repentance of our hearts and minds.  But like Paul and all disciples, we are now being sent to preach the gospel and are no longer to be baptizing with water.   

1Co 1:17  For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

1Co 1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him [His Body] crucified.

We all received the baptism of John in our time in the church in the wilderness which gives birth to the man-child in us.   But one greater than John, the Lord from heaven has now come and quickened our spirits and opened up the revelation of His Word.

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

The one coming after John has come and has brought the lake of fire to us which is the very event that will henceforth save us and raise us with Christ.

Mat 3:11  I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Mat 3:12  Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The coming of Christ the second time to open our eyes to see clearly brings the fire that is, was and will be saving us.

1Co 1:23  But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;

The Gospel is a Good News

The gospel is the Word of God living and operating within us.  It follows our baptism with the water which is the baptism of repentance. The gospel is the fire of God living and operating within you.  It is Christ in you the hope of glory performing His Work in us.  Such is how our mind is renewed and we put on the mind of Christ.  Good news for our new man is very bad news for the old man and the beast and false prophet that dwell within us.

Luk 2:10  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

Nah 1:15  Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off.

The preaching of the cross is the preaching of the gospel.  If we believe in the Lord and die with Him we will be raised in His likeness.

Rom 6:3  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his [second] death, we shall be also in the likeness of his [First] resurrection:

It is the cross and our abiding in the lake of fire that I the judgment necessary to destroy the man of sin within us and raise up Christ in his stead.

 The Angels of God Preach the Everlasting Gospel

It is the very Elect given who are not deceived by false doctrine that denies the Second Death and perverts the reward from the Lord along with the doctrines of the resurrections; who will faithfully be given to preach the gospel.  Life through the Second Death (the cross) is the heart of the good news that is the result of judgment in the lake of fire.  These angels pull people out of the strange fire that is Spiritual Babylon preaching life through the second death message which torments and ultimately kills the old man and carnal mind.

Rev 14:6  And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

Rev 14:7  Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

Rev 14:8  And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. (No lake of fire, no second death for me)

We are blessed indeed when we hear His voice from heaven and follow Him to death on the cross which is the Second Death.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

We are certainly drinking of the wrath of God and die to death.  That is the everlasting gospel which is very good news to those given to receive it.  Now hearing this gospel of life through death, we must hunker down knowing what is already come upon our earth as we abide in the Lake of Fire in this age.

1Pe 4:1  Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

1Pe 4:2  That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God…..

1Pe 4:5  Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

1Pe 4:6  For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are (spiritually) dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh (and die the Second Death), but live according to God in the spirit.

1Pe 4:7  But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

It is a lonely road and few there be shall find the way.  The Gospel we preach is the same unchangeable gospel that always brings much contention from carnal men and the outwardly religious.  That setting has not and will not change.

1Th 2:1  For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain:

1Th 2:2  But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.

1Th 2:3  For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile:

1Th 2:4  But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

1Th 2:5  For neither at any time used we flattering words, as ye know, nor a cloke of covetousness; God is witness:

1Th 2:6  Nor of men sought we glory, neither of you, nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome, as the apostles of Christ.

Our authority to preach the gospel is always challenged and rejected by the chief priests of Jerusalem who reject those that speak the truth in love and in turn persecute those that bring the gospel.

Luk 20:1  And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders,

Like the Lord, we will be rejected by our own brethren, the very people we have grown up together in the faith learning the oracles of God.

Mar 10:33  Saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him to the Gentiles:

Mar 10:34  And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.

We will see and rejoice with our fallen brethren in due time.  But for now, they were given to reject truth and reject Christ that has been preached to them.

Mat 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

Mat 23:38  Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Mat 23:39  For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

But our life is no longer about the flesh and knowing any man that way (2Co 5:21).  We are about doing the Lord’s work and obeying His commands to preach this gospel of life through death to our inward nations and all those who hear us.

2Co 4:3  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:

2Co 4:4  In 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.

2Co 4:5  For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.

We should take heed the words of Paul about deceivers who come to us preaching another gospel that is nothing but a perversion and another jesus.

Gal 1:6  I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

Gal 1:7  Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Gal 1:8  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

I pray these words will strengthen all with ears to hear and help us grasp the blessing and high calling that has befallen us as preachers of the gospel.

Mar 16:20  And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

 

 

Articles

Abandoning Principles Leads to Error

The true church of Jesus Christ is not divided (1Co 1:13).  Christ is ONE with the Father and with His Christ.

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one.

Joh 17:21  That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Christ being One with His Father and His people means the TRUE church cannot be divided and will be of one mind in matters of the Spirit and of Doctrine.

1Co 6:17  But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

The divide of Christ’s church is really a separating and a sifting of the wheat from the chaff as only a remnant shall escape from Jerusalem in this age.

Our fallen brothers and sisters have erred in vision and stumbled in their judgment all the Lords doing of course.  In love, we have tried and will continue to try as Lord allows us to win them back.

Denying the Lake of Fire is a subtle way of denying the cross and creating a different process (less punishment, more rewards) for the Jew vs the Gentiles in being saved.   But the truth is all men are saved the exact same way and given the exact same reward – THE MIND OF CHRIST.  The Elect just receives it first.  It is the carnal mind that has led our fallen away (the error of the wicked) elders into believing we deserve special rewards and prizes.  The Bible teaches otherwise when rightfully divided.  Here are five witnesses that more than establishing the truth of the true doctrine.

Act 15:8  And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us;

Act 15:9  And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.

Act 15:11  But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Eph 3:6  That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:

Luk 17:10  So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do.

Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.   SAME REWARD

Our living the Second Death which is the Lake of Fire is how we overcome and how we are saved.  It is not something to be avoided.

Rev 12:11  And they overcame him [Satan and his messengers] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the [second] death. 

1Co 1:18  For the message of the cross (lake of fire) is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Heb 2:14  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death (second death, death to death) he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Heb 2:15  And deliver them (SAVE US) who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage

“Come Lord Jesus Come” is what we should be saying rather than the Lake of Fire is not for me.  We must be baptized by His fire in the lake of fire.

Rev 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

Rev 22:18  For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book;

Rev 22:19  and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. 

Foundational Principles Abandoned

The origin on the errors is an abandonment of the foundational principles of how Truth is established.  Those errors extent deeper into other areas such as rightly dividing the First Resurrection and understanding what the Reward and the prize of the higher calling in Christ represent.

  1. The Word IS, WAS and WILL BE (present, past and future fulfillment) – Rev 1:8, Rev 4:8
  2. The Word is a two-edged sword speaking about the old man and new man in every word and every verse – Heb 4:12
  3. The sum of the word is true – Psa 119:160
  4. No scripture is of its own private explanation – 2Pe 1:20
  5. Man shall live (the IS/inwardly) by every Word God spoke – Mat 4:4, 1Co 3:21
  6. God speaks of things that ARE NOT as if they already are – Rom 4:17
  7. His words are Spirit and not to be taken by the letter – Joh 6:63
  8. Truth is found by comparing spiritual to spiritual – 1Col 2:13
  9. All things come alike to all, one event to all men – Ecc 9:2
  10. All things are done in parables to hide the meaning in the letter (Mar 4:11, Hos 12:10)

As we teach, we must always watch and prove all things, being vigalent in trying the spirits and testing the doctrines.

1Ti 4:16  Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

2Co 11:3  But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity [living by every word, one event, etc] that is in Christ.

We Live Every Word Inwardly

One distinction that will help clear the smoke of confusion is to remember that “living by every word God spoke” is speaking about living them ALL INWARDLY.  Where is the kingdom of God and where is the Lord working to bring about Christ in us?

Luk 17:20  Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation;

Luk 17:21  nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” 

We live all words INWARDLY, fulfilling the IS part of “is, was and will be” because now is judgment upon the house of God (1Pe 4:17).  Problems and quarrelsome questions come up on this subject when we forget to emphasize the inward and living part of that is what every man lives.

Heb 4:12  For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword

It has never been said that this means applying them in the WAS or the WILL BE sense to every man.  For example, we did not go thru the flood of Noah outwardly, but we did inwardly.  The same is to be applied for all events in the historical past, but we will live them all out in their INWARD application.  As a further example, we all come out of the world (Egypt) and then go through a wilderness experience after first coming to the knowledge of the Truth before we enter the promised land and begin to conquer sin (the giants) in our land.

 Future events for us also cannot be lived by everyone outwardly.  Only the very Elect who are completed in Christ in this age, will be the administrators and outward ruling with Christ in the next age.   For example, anyone already physically dead that was not Elect cannot be ruled over in the outward Millennium.  Yet all men in their order of harvest will live those words out INWARDLY even for those in resurrected spirit bodies as the kingdom of God is still WITHIN those men.

Lake of Fire and Second Death

The Lake of Fire is where salvation is found and the new man formed and completed by the wrath of God against our old man.  The revealing (revelation) of Jesus Christ in the hearts and minds of every man is the greatest gift and reward imaginable.  As this church has rightfully taught in the past, it is our living out those words that bring this greatest blessing and gives every man the mind of Christ.

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things (lives them) which are written in it; for the time is near.

The new man is brought forth in this fire and Christ in us, the overcomer, is raised when the dead old man dies.  It’s not us overcoming, again it is Christ in us doing the work and ushering in righteousness in the kingdom of God.

1Jn 4:4  Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you (CHRIST – the new man), than he that is in the world.

The Second Death is a functional living event like all words of Scripture.  Those dead to death (the Second Death) are blessed indeed because at that point, it is finished and they have put on the mind of Christ and are at rest.  It is a blessing to die to death and live the Second Death.

Rev 14:13  And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

The old man is destroyed and the new man (Christ in us) raised up in power by going through the wrath of God. That is the gospel and how one is blessed and made holy.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

As an overcomer, the fire of God’s word has already burned out all the wood, hay and stubble and we are complete in Christ in need of nothing.  Thus we see Christ and His Christ in the fire administering the Lake of Fire and the fire cannot hurt us.  Christ and His Christ can walk in this fire without hurt.  They had already overcome by the same fire.

Dan 3:25  He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Dan 3:26  Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. 

There it is.  The new man in us, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, overcome and come forth from the fire.  The new man in us is THE RESULT of going into the fire in faith and losing our life in the flesh.  Avoiding the lake of fire means no overcoming in this age.

Christ in us is the overcomer and only He can dwell in the everlasting fire and not be hurt.

Isa 33:14  The sinners in Zion are afraid; Fearfulness has seized the hypocrites: “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?”

The answer is the NEW MAN in us, the overcomer…..

Isa 33:15  He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, He who despises the gain of oppressions, Who gestures with his hands, refusing bribes, Who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed, And shuts his eyes from seeing evil:

The new man is not appointed to wrath but to salvation.  Double witness right here.

1Th 5:9  For God hath not appointed us (Christ, the new man) to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh (Christ in us, the new man only) shall not be hurt of the second death.

The new man in us is not appointed to wrath!!!.  The Second Death experience will not hurt the new man. The new man is being raised up in the same proportion as the old man is being destroyed in the fire whether it be called Lake of Fire or fiery trials.  We are following in our Lord’s footsteps.

Rom 6:5  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death (second death), certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, (the First Resurrection, the mind of Christ)

Rom 6:6  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Rom 6:7  For he who has died (the second death) has been freed from sin. (Holiness, the blessing of the new man, Christ in us the hope of glory)