2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
These are spiritually very challenging times in which we live. Our Lord Jesus Christ warned His disciples (and us) in MT 24: 4-5 about the coming of increased numbers of false prophets as the time for the Tribulation drew near. “Jesus answered, ‘Watch out and do not let anyone fool you. Many men, claiming to speak for Me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people.’ “ This same idea is repeated in (11) of that same chapter. MT 24: 13 is a promise of what will happen if people hold on to their faith and refuse to buy into these lies. “But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.” While John’s words in 1JN 4: 1-3 are directed toward the believers of his day being tempted by the evils of Gnosticism, their message is of importance to us today too. “My dear friends, do not believe all who claim to have the Spirit, but test them to find out if the spirit they have comes from God. For many false prophets have gone out everywhere. This is how you will be able to know whether it is God’s Spirit: anyone who acknowledges that Jesus Christ came as a human being has the Spirit Who comes from God. But anyone who denies this about Jesus does not have the Spirit from God. The spirit that he has is from the enemy of Christ; you heard that it would come, and now it is here in the world already.”
Les Feldick brought it to my attention that the best way to explain Scripture is to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. That is why so many citations appear in my writing. God can do it so much better than I can. The apostle, Peter, spoke about false prophets in 1PET 2: 1, “False prophets appeared in the past among the people, and in the same way false teachers will appear among you. They will bring in destructive, untrue doctrines, and will deny the Master Who redeemed them, and so they will bring upon themselves sudden destruction.” He goes on to say in 1 PET 2: 9, “And so the Lord knows how to rescue Godly people from their trials and how to keep the wicked under punishment for the Day of Judgment, especially those who follow their filthy bodily lusts and despise God’s authority.”
The other day, I needed to write about the story behind the Jewish celebration of Chanukah. This arose out of a series of events connected to the wars that were going on at the time between the Selucid kings in Syria and the pharoahs in Egypt. These two ungodly empires had to pass through Israel to access each other because of Israel’s geographical position between them. Both empires were enemies of Israel and took out their hatred on her. The most evil Selucid king was Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 BC), whose expression of anti-Semitism manifested itself in efforts to assimilate the Jews in to the Hellenistic Selucid culture. (The Selucids were an amalgamation of the Greek and Syrian cultures through royal intermarriage). Antiochus outlawed study of the Torah, stopped temple sacrifices, banned circumcision, and in 168 BC did the unthinkable and quintessential insult to the Jews. He sacrificed a swine on the highest altar of the Temple in Jerusalem thus defiling it. This was the first Abomination of Desolation. [Another Abomination of Desolation is prophesied by Christ in MT 24: 15 & MK 13: 14 to take place at the midpoint of the Tribulation carried out by the antichrist]. Afterward, he placed “Hellenized” Jews, those who had bought into the false teachings that were attempts to destroy the Jewish culture, in charge of the Temple. It was around that time that a faithful Levitical priest from the town of Modin (about 10 miles from Jerusalem), Matthathias who had five sons, was sufficiently angered to slay the “Hellenized” priest that had been placed in the Temple. This began the guerrilla revolt, later led by his sons including, Judas Maccabee, that eventually ended up with the Temple back in Jewish hands. Chanukah celebrates God’s intervention in the rededication of the Temple in 165 BC and the burning of the ner tamid (eternal light) for eight days on only one day’s worth of olive oil. Eight days was just long enough for the supply of olive oil to be replenished. In this story we can see the principles both John and Peter spoke of demonstrated. You can read about this story in DN 11: 21-45 and in First Maccabee (in the Apocrypha). Christ celebrating Chanukah is mentioned in JN 10: 22-28.
The truth of Christ’s Incarnation was revealed in AC 2: 23 & 4: 27-28, COL 1: 15-20, and 1 PET 1: 20-21, which I hope you will review. False prophets who were Gnostics denied the truth of this. Today, people who teach that Christ is the God only of Earth Who is overseen by a superior god called “Elohim” who rules all the planets are playing right into the hands of Christ’s enemy and doing his work. Just as Christ predicted, there are many people who are giving in to these false teachings and separating themselves from God. Many false teachers begin their work with the best of intentions, but they are deceived by the evil one. Others know they are spreading lies and don’t care. Often false prophecy is a result of humans taking Scripture out of context and placing it in an artificial man-made context which fits their human agendas. That is why is it so necessary to study God’s word in the context in which it was written and to sometimes go back to the original language using such references as Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to help us. It is why we need to understand Jewish culture, since Christ was raised in it for the most profound understanding of Him. REV 22: 18-19 contains an important warning for us. “I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book; if anyone adds anything to them, God will add to His punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from him his share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book.” 2 TIM 1: 13-14, Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Who lives in us, keep the good things that have been entrusted to you.” These words were spoken to Timothy by his mentor, Paul, just before the latter’s death. Timothy would then take over leadership of the church at Ephesus. There is no treasure more precious and cherished for us to guard than the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
PRAYER: O Lord, Your word is such a powerful force for good, such an effective weapon against the adversary. We humbly beseech You to help us to guard this treasure and to spread it accurately. That is how we can give You the opportunity to do Your work through us. The greatest defense against false prophecy that we have is the Holy Spirit, Who You have given to us as a free gift of Your grace. He speaks to us through studying the Scriptures, prayer, our circumstances, and our congregations. We dedicate ourselves to emptying our spiritual vessels, so the Holy Spirit can fill them with what You want us to know. Once we do this, getting human agendas out of the way, we can take action that is guided by You. We testify to the blessings that come into our lives as a result of this kind of trust and obedience placed in You. We understand that when we alter Your word or usurp Your sovereignty in our lives that we are laying waste to the greatest sacrifice of all, that of Your Son on the cross as a sin offering for our salvation. We accept the responsibility You have entrusted to us and offer You our thanks, praise, adoration, worship, and loyalty in carrying it out. All the glory belongs to You, Dear Lord. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at 1JN 4: 4-6 which lets us see how to know the difference between the Spirit of truth and that of error. We are challenged by the need to recognize false prophecies when they come our way. Our loving Abba has not left us defenseless and urges us to use the weapons against it that He has provided. In doing this kind of spiritual warfare, He furthers us toward the perfection we need to be ready to meet the Lord in the clouds on that day which the Lord appoints. Those are the actions of a loving and compassionate Deity. Peter and I also send you our love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn