Deception On the Mount of Temptation
HEADLINE: "And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. ... And he brought him to Jerusalem, and sat him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down from hence; for IT IS WRITTEN, He shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone," Luke 4:1-2,9-11.
It is very sad that many and indeed most have not found the straight gate and the narrow way because "few are chosen." Many are also running, but few are going to place in the race! God could have had Jesus proselytize the whole world or He could have had the Holy Spirit speak to every ear on earth's surface at Pentecost, BUT ... He did not! Why? There is a reason why men are left ensnared by devils (invisible Egyptians). God intends to glorify His grace and mercy so that even you can understand the meaning of "I will have mercy and not sacrifice," Matthew 12:7; Luke 7:40-43; Romans 8:18-22,38-39, 9:15-27, 11:30-36. How deep is HIS LOVE? WE tell you in the "GOOD NEWS"! The salvation of the world and the erasing of all men's sins is a "fixed and done deal" between the Father and Jesus Christ. After Jesus SUCCESSFULLY met God's conditions, the Father sat him at the righthand of power. No man can be lost due to Jesus' SUCCESS and God's WILL. You see, God loves men who seem to be enemies, He blesses the children who curse at Him, He does good to those who seem to hate Him, He sent Jesus on the cross to pray for those who despitefully use and persecute Him in others, and He sent Jesus to teach us to imitate His example so that we would be acknowledged as the children of God. Not many of us know God, Matthew 11:25-27. "Many are called but few are chosen" even among those in the ministry, Matthew 22:8,14. Some "church-virgins" have proven to be unworthy according to His evaluation of relative worth. Men do not understand the ramifications of the contract between Father and Son and they think their effort (work) is "necessary for the salvation of men or else men will be lost." However only ONE was chosen to be the SAVIOR OF ALL, and that is Jesus, not Rev. Joeblow, or Bishop Iwannadoit, or Evangelist Egocentric. I Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe. Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. But men want to help in their infantile state of mind and they feel a sense of self-flattery in thinking they "can save others". So God in His kindness has allowed the babies to think they are doing great things, but JESUS finished the job! We were asked to spread the news of his success. Many want to fulfill what is known as "the great commission". They attempt to follow Jesus.
When Jesus fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, he was tried by the devil on the mount of temptation. This was done as an example for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who desire to "follow me" (Jesus) are carried into their own personal wilderness. There they are tried by the devil in a similar way as he tried Jesus. Just as the devil came to Jesus quoting scriptures, he uses this same ploy against men, especially those who feel they have a special calling from God. The problem for men is that Jesus and the devil have photographic minds and men do not have such an advantage. Men sometimes have a hard time remembering which day of the week it is. Men do not know enough scriptures and they are unskilled in using them, Hebrews 5:13-14. This puts man at a very serious disadvantage.
Men have taught us that, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness," II Timothy 3:16-17. This text is the very door the devil uses to deceive these "want-to-be" ministers with "It is written." Since devils and angels quote scriptures to achieve their goals (Psalm 50:16-21), how can one tell if the scriptures are being applied properly? This is where Jesus comes in with respect to the superior authority of his WORD compared to the relative authority of the words given to the other Bible writers. ALL the writers "knew in part and prophesied in part" and the spirit was given to them in limited measure, but Jesus is the WORD of God and he is limitless, I Corinthians 13:9-12. He had the spirit without measure. "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom:... 30 He must increase, but I must decrease..... 34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand, John 3:29-36 .
Jesus has been described as the "stone" which was rejected by the church builders, Matthew 21:42-46. Jesus himself is a chip off the Ancient Rock, God Himself, Deuteronomy 32:18; Isaiah 17:10. We were taught that Jesus must be our "sure rock-foundation" upon which to build our faith and doctrine and after whom to pattern our works. Jesus is THE WORD OF GOD, John 1:1,14. No man nor Bible writer has that lofty status which was assigned to him by God. ALL MEN including all Bible writers and all preachers today have the lesser designated status of "dust and ashes" and "SAND," Genesis 18:27, 23:17; Ecclesiastes 12:7. Therefore the other human writers sent by God may be described as SINKING "SAND." When they died and were buried, their "sandy" bodies sunk beneath the ground. In the transfiguration scene two former piles of sand were observed in a vision speaking to Jesus. One was Moses and the other was Elijah. Peter was stunned by this event and immediately asked if they could build three tabernacles, one founded on Moses, one founded on Elijah, and one founded on Jesus. The Father Himself immediately reproved that idea saying, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. HEAR YE HIM!" Matthew 17:1-6. You do not have to be a rocket scientist nor a child prodigy to get the proper message from this. We must not build churches and doctrines based upon Moses' words alone. Neither must we build our churches and our doctrines on the power and works of Elijah alone. YOU MUST build your church and doctrines on Jesus' WORDS and his works. He alone is the "solid rock" and the "sure foundation." The Father commanded ALL OF US to "Hear ye him!" Jesus will support both Moses' words and Elijah's works which agree with his birth and death purposes, namely, the salvation of the world of ALL MEN and the removal of all men's sins by atonement on the cross, John 1:29, 3:17; Romans 5:15-19; II Corinthians 5:18-19; I Timothy 2:3-6. When we apply this principle to the other Bible writers, we must recognize that the New Testament writers were also "sinking sand." Peter, Paul, Apollos, James, John, Luke and the other disciples were "sinking sand." So when you hunger and thirst on the mount of temptation and Lucifer and his troops begin hitting you with "It is written," always weigh and assess the relative authority of the writer and the text: (1) is the text "SOLID ROCK WORDS" spoken by Jesus, or (2) is the source "SINKING SAND," words spoken and written by God's other human writers who all "knew in part"? Revelation 12:6,15-17. A third category is this: (3) is the "manna" (words given by God to the Bible writers) more than 2-days [2000 yrs] old and if so, which words have become "worms"? Exodus 16:15-21; John 6:31-39. The fact that ALL MEN are spirit sons and daughters of the Most High God is far superior in light and truth to the inferior in-part thought that "I am a Jew after the flesh and you are a gentile but you can be grafted in and become a son of God." There are texts written which say all these things. Which texts are 1000 watt power-lamps and which are 30 watt bulbs? Which texts are 1000 carat diamonds and which texts are polished quartz stones? How you choose determines your spiritual wealth. We have chosen the best and brightest jewels out of God's treasures in the "GOOD NEWS". But if men are content with polished oak objects, polished granite texts, and an occasional small emerald, then I say let them be happy with their choices. But we have taken the entire treasure box and we know the relative value and importance of the things contained in it! Your spiritual wealth is determined by what you have faith enough to believe. Remember Luke 16:10-12.
There is a WAR going on. This WAR started in Heaven and has continued unabated down here in this earth, Revelation 12:7-12,17. Because the Kingdom of Darkness is invisible to human eyes most men are unaware of its rage. Many do not believe there is a devil and they have a very poor and warped concept of what hell is. When Lucifer and his wife and mother, Babylon fell from heaven with their firstborn "fallen angels", they were not nice and obedient because they learned a positive lesson. They remained hard and evil and found a great opportunity to avenge their losses on God's clay-bound children. They continued to reproduce and make "images" after their likeness. Those demons born down here and not previously condemned with those who previously fell from heaven were offered an opportunity to avoid the condemnation of their parents. Thus Jesus preached salvation to devils in hell, the spirits in prison hanging onto the bodies of men and animals, . There are two worlds and two kingdoms down here. The WORD is a two-edge sword. Some of it is sent to men and some of it is sent to demons. Isaiah 14, and parts of Ezekiel 28 are obviously sent to Lucifer. Revelation 17-18 and Isaiah 48 are obviously about Babylon and her invisible children. Devils have taught men that some of the words the Spirit has directed to them apply to mankind, and men believed them because all they could see is other human beings. So when men speak about final judgment in Revelation 20, separating sheep from goats, those who rejected God who do not have their names written in the book of life, I tell you the relative pronouns "those", "whosoever", "they" and "them" refer to devils and all those demons born down here and not previously condemned in the fall of their parents. "They" shall be thrown into the lake of fire with the Beast and false prophet. To interpret otherwise because you did not know that Jesus also preached salvation to the spirits in prison is to miss the mark of understanding. Many preachers have missed the mark and end up lying on God because they "judge after the flesh" because that is all they can see and they "judge according to appearance." They have no concept of the invisible world and the problems God gave these enemies, Ephesians 6:12. When you learn to recognize that the children are victims of the enemy and not the enemy, then the Bible will become a different book to you and "the Jesus" that we describe in the "GOOD NEWS" will be appreciated for "all that he is in ALL." You will recognize that the hard judgmental things, and all those "relative pronouns" left with no visible direct object or noun reference which are linked to the lake of fire in the scriptures do apply to the devils not previously condemned, and not to men of flesh and blood. Because my understanding is perfect, I have no problem equating and balancing Isaiah 66:22-23, and Revelation 5:13, 15:3-4 with my concept of final judgment. But by your current understanding of the judgment popularly accepted by contemporary theology, you have no plausible explanation as to how those texts can be true. To you there is conflict! There is nothing wrong with Isaiah 66:22-23, and Revelation 5:13, 15:3-4. There is much deficient and lacking in current church "judgment" theology. Remember, YOU are dealing with men caught under these prophecies: Daniel 7:21-22, 8:8-14; Matthew 24:1-3; Revelation 13:4-7. What can they see? ALL the churches are asleep. They are caught and overcome and do not have the slightest inkling as to how the devil has bound them. All "ten virgins" will swear to you that they are wide awake! Are they? No church denomination will admit that it is asleep!! Yet Jesus' WORD is TRUE!!
Let us see how well you can discern. Men desiring to become ministers were found hungering and thirsting on the mount of temptation. Many went to theological seminaries and Bible schools to prepare themselves. The tempter met them as they sought answers. The tempter said, "Hey God! Watch me make these turkeys cast Jesus' WORDS aside. They don't really love him. They are in this to make cash. And I will prove it to you. If you let me talk to them, they will "kick sand" in Jesus' face and ignore him when they find there is much money to be made in this business. They will show you that Jesus made a mistake. You can serve God and mammon!" God said, "Okay! You can talk to them and we will see if they will do as you have said." So Lucifer entered into the teachers and reasoned with them, "How can you spread the gospel to the world without money? This is a big job and you need money to reach men in all nations!" Isaiah 43:26-27; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Revelation 13:4-7.
Now consider this: Jesus said:
(a) Matthew 10:8-10: "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. 9 Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10 Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. (See Acts 20:33-36).
(b) Revelation 22:17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. (If you have to pay for it, it cannot be the true "water of life." Provide neither gold, silver, brass, nor scrip is a directive to show the superior power of God's omnipotence! He will spread the gospel through those He truly sent without the use nor the need of mammon illegally gleaned from men, Isaiah 26:12; John 15:5; Philippians 2:13. This is accomplished "not by might, not by power (and not by pilfered mammon) but by my spirit saith the Lord," Zechariah 4:6).
(c) Isaiah 55:1-3: "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." This witness by the Holy Ghost to Isaiah agrees with Jesus. (God provides real truth "without money or price").
(d) Matthew 6:24: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Lucifer quoted, "It is written:"
(e) Malachi 3:8-10: "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house." And the preachers grabbed it with gleeful eyes and cast (a), (b), and (c) aside. Some of them felt a little worried about this since that is Old Testament text and now we are under the New Testament. So Lucifer said, "Do not worry about doing this because it is written that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine and instruction". What you need to use is:
(f) . "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth." That is a New Testament text. And prosperity means your finances. You can circumvent Jesus! That text is profitable as an instruction to you so you can feel at ease about asking men for money!" But John was speaking of "prospering" in all spiritual matters ... not the things of this world and the cares of this life. "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal ... For where your treasure is there will your heart be also," Matthew 6:19,21. If you seek to avoid Jesus' WORDS or need a text to curve around any of Jesus' WORDS, you are being led by a snake-head!
Because devils quote scriptures just as angels do, we cannot be naive and believe any spirit just because he may quote, "It is written." We must weigh ALL texts by JESUS' WORDS to determine their relative degree of authority. From our example this is the way it is done:
SOLID ROCK-FOUNDATION
(a) Matthew 10:8-10 because it is Jesus' direct WORD. (b) Revelation 22:17 because Jesus gave the revelations to John, Revelation 1:1. (c) Isaiah 55:1-3 because the Holy Ghost through Isaiah agrees with Jesus, John 16:13-15. (d) Matthew 6:24 because Jesus said it.
SINKING SAND
(e) Malachi 3:8-10 because the words were directed to the Levitical priests under a defunct priesthood which was voided by God when He sent Christ. Jesus is now our High Priest and he is in Heaven and you cannot pay him tithes of mammon, Hebrews 7:15-24. All he wants is your pure heart and your body as a living sacrifice. God's money is the WORD OF GOD, more precious than gold, silver and every precious stone, Psalm 12:6, 19:7-10; Proverbs 3:13-15. Those who pay spiritual tithes to him must return the WORD he gave with "user-y" by others who became "interested" in its light and truth, Luke 19:20-27.
(f) is sinking sand, a misapplied text twisted to lend credence and to provide the excuse for the mammon rush by the Judas-priests, the greedy preachers in churches. Micah 3:11, The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us. is used by the devil to make the preachers kick "sand" in Jesus' face and reprove him. They want to prove that "you can serve both God and mammon!" Devils warped this text to kick at (d).
Matthew 7:24-27, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. ... And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." John 12:48, "He that rejecteth me and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Matthew 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
What have you built your doctrine upon and which of the six text items govern your doctrine, work, and behavior? Of the six categories, four were presented by Jesus and the Holy Ghost for our benefit. Two were "quoted" by devils to deceive hungry men on the mount of temptation and to make them look like defeated buffoons and jack-asses who cannot tell the difference between SOLID ROCK and SINKING SAND! If YOU, your church, and your doctrine are founded upon (a), (b), (c),and (d), then you can have confidence. But if your church, doctrine, and your behavior is governed by (e), a "dead horse" and (f), a misapplied text given a "mammon twist", then you have built your house on "sinking sand!" You have something to worry about. "Not everyone that sayeth unto me Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name have done many wonderful works? And I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity," Matthew 7:21-23. Devils have made fools of men who hunger and thirst on the mount of temptation because they could not tell the difference between a SOLID ROCK-FOUNDATION text and a "SINKING SAND" text. God and Heaven have watched the "test" throughout the generations as devils quoted "it is written" (SANDY texts) to make men cast aside and ignore the SOLID ROCK WORDS of Jesus. This is what the prophet meant when he wrote, "He is despised and rejected of men," Isaiah 53:3. Jesus is THE WORD OF GOD. When men cast aside (a), (b), (c), and (d), they fulfill what Isaiah prophesied! In this manner they pierce him in the side. It is written, "and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son," Zechariah 12:10. Just as men should not believe every spirit (I John 4:1), they also must not accept every quote of scripture and warped application simply because "it is written." Jesus, the WORD, must become your measuring rule to test the credibility of everything else and every word that is written. SOLID ROCK WORDS must not be cast aside and ignored for SINKING SAND! Instead SOLID ROCK WORDS must determine which "written" quotations are acceptable and which quotations must not be used in every doctrinal concept we consider.
I Corinthians 3:11-15, "For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 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. If any man's work shall abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. But if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved: yet so as by fire."
Luke 16:10-15, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. ... Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed before men is abomination in the sight of God." Have you been asking for money against the commands of Jesus?
Matthew 15:7-9, "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." If you serve for mammon are your "filthy rags" better than the dirty garments of "the sinners" you preach to?
Matthew 16:26-27, "For what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with the angels; and then shall he reward every man according to his works."
The Buying/Selling Problem
Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Matthew 25:8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Every man of God who is ordained by God and sent by God abides by God's rules of conduct. He does not think with a human mind nor is he governed by human reasoning and logic, because God is his Head. He is ordered by God and he speaks only those WORDS God gives to him as messages for man. The protocal for God's messengers and ambassadors is strict adherence to His rules without deviation for any reason. King Saul was ousted from the throne God gave him because he continually failed to measure up to the mark of his appointment and anointing from Samuel, I Samuel 10:11,20-24. Every priest of God must follow God and not men nor man's commandments, practices, and traditions, II Kings 5:20-27. A "real man of God" can get into big trouble for not obeying orders, I Kings 13:1-26. The above two texts from Matthew have an application to the churches of today. The temple today is a corporate body that transcends denominational lines and includes ALL on earth's surface as VINE members, the fruitful, non-fruitbearing, green, and dry and dead branches of humanity, John 15:1-5. Let me warn you before you read this that your High Priest, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever," Hebrews 13:8. Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap. 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. When the "bridegroom" suddenly comes to his temple, he will be the same and do the same thing he did in the Matthew texts in the box. "Cast out ones" are "foolish virgins" who get thrown out of the temple because they slept and their lamps went out. "Your body" is an individual temple building-block in the greater corporate body. Those "who buy" and "those who sell" will be cast away along with the "moneychangers." Who are these in Christ's corporate BODY?
1. "Those who sell" are those who advertise and sell their books, doctrines, sermons, audiotapes and videotapes for money at a price. The rendition in John 2:13-17 calls this "merchandising."
2. "Those who buy" are all those persons hearing the sales pitch who purchase these items thinking that these "men's ideas" will be for their betterment and make them more pleasing to God and Christ. Because they are "man-trusters" they will be cast out, Psalm 31:19-20; Jeremiah 17:5-8. (Every gospel rendition of this incident shows that Jesus threw out "the buyers" also).
3. "The moneychangers" are all those who manage and handle collected "tithes and offerings," and credit card transactions for the sale of the merchandise from man-made "hirelings."
There are ministers who are like King Saul who are sure that they "have obeyed the commands of God," but have they obeyed? Saul had to worry about Samuel, but these ministers and their "foolish virgin churches" have to be concerned about Jesus' "sudden appearance". The problem is when the bridegroom comes he will cast them out. The wise virgins will refuse to give them "their oil" and they will be forced to return to other "castaways" ("the sellers") in hope of purchasing their generic but inferior brand of truth. However the door will be shut when they come knocking. The problems of the church in Jesus' day are the same for the churches today. Lucifer's technics against the churches remain the same. Maybe the churches today and the ministers men revere should stop being so quick to turn the word-mirror on others and instead to stand before it themselves. Here comes Jesus with "a scourge" of three small cords: John 2:15-16: "15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; 16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise." Song of Solomon 6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone, ... 2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. 11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded. (This means Jesus checks on the churches below).
Luke 13:6; Hebrews spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. (This means if we do not live up to his expectations, we may live to regret it like Nebuchadnezzar did). The "foolish virgins" still have a chance to improve and "the sellers" can give their doctrines freely rather than to pursue mammon. Let "the buyers" beware of the merchants and stop man-trusting. Take a look in this "WORD" mirror. How do you look? Jesus has no respect of persons. Here is how Joshua looked: Zechariah 3:1-9. If the "soap" bubbles get in your eye, rinse your eye with plenty of clear water and recognize who has "suddenly" come to his temple, namely, you! Malachi 3:1-3. Ode Of SOLOMON 13:1 Behold! the Lord is our mirror: open the eyes and see them in Him: and learn the manner of your face: 2 And tell forth praise to His spirit: and wipe off the filth from your face: and love His holiness, and clothe yourselves therewith: 3 And be without stain at all times before Him. Hallelujah.
CONCLUSION:
"And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues (beware of speaking in tongues!), and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, Revelation 13:6-8. To all saints: YOU have a problem and the scriptures cannot be broken! Devils are very active in the church ministry having "overcome the saints" by their stealth and prowess. They begin by attacking anyone and everyone who "hungers and thirsts for righteousness" with a sneaky mental assault. This WAR is focused very sharply on those who would become ministers and teachers. It is imperative that devils teach men the scriptures and they do this with aplomb, because men do not know enough about the scriptures and they lack photographic memories. In the challenge they want to show God that men will dump the WORD-JESUS when doing so means the gain of "filthy lucre" or when it interferes with their church by-laws and traditions, I Peter 5:2. This is to chain and blind them in the drama before the Watching Heavenly Hosts, Hebrews 12:1. God accepted Lucifer's challenge against the church to give him time to prove his point and to show God that men will deny the WORD-JESUS. It is written, "But unto the wicked (devils) God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? seeing thou hatest instruction and castest my words behind thee. ... These things thou hast done and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee and set them in order before thine eyes," Psalm 50:16-21. As you can see, Job is not the only one who faced a challenge of which he was unaware . "The saints" have been challenged and God accepted the devil's conditions!! Lucifer has "overcome the saints" and his ministers are very active over today's churches, II Corinthians 11:13-15. But NOW God has said, "Enough is enough" and "I will reprove thee and set them (the saints) in order before thine eyes." A part of that "reproof" is to make men aware of what has happened to them on the mount of temptation.
Men must not believe every spirit which comes to them personally quoting scriptures or those who use other men as microphones. Paul's writing that "All scripture is given by inspiration from God" is the very door devils use to flimflam the minds of those hungering and thirsting for righteousness. These "baby saints are not skilled in the scriptures," Hebrews 5:12-14. They are very vulnerable to demonic use of "It is written." Men are at a further disadvantage because the WORD is "Ark contents" and only a "chief priest" is authorized "to open the book and to loose the seals thereof," Isaiah 29:9-14; Revelation 5:1-5. Please look up those texts! This means when you read the Bible, you can only do it through a veil. You are a prime target for Lucifer's invisible false prophets to teach you the scriptures. They will approach you as false Gods, fake Christs, and imitation Holy Ghosts as you hunger and thirst on the mount of temptation. Failure to recognize the authority of the WORD-JESUS over the words of the other Bible writers makes the baby saints very "easy pickings" for devils. They can make them cast aside JE-FOUNDATION -WORDS for what Jesus himself described as SINKING "SAND". All men are defined scripturally as "sand, dust, and ashes". Jesus is the acknowledged "SOLID ROCK". We must not base our doctrines, actions, and our churches on the words of anyone else but those of Jesus. Whether it is Moses, Elijah, Peter, Paul, Apollos, Martin Luther, Mary Baker Eddy, John Wycliffe, Joseph Smith, the Pope, Billy Graham, or even YOU, the WORD-Jesus is the authority and those conflicting with them must be dismissed as "SINKING SAND." There are two tiers of words written in the Bible. The WORD-JESUS is superior in authority and it can stand alone. The words of the other writers are secondary. Jesus lends support to them when they agree with him. Those words of text of the other writers which agree with Jesus' words, work, and glory may be called "spiritual building blocks." Their words which disagree or conflict with Jesus' words or prove to be "partial light" may be by-passed. Never, never, never dismiss or cast aside anything Jesus said because you prefer what another writer wrote and that writer's word suits your fancy better than Jesus' words!! Jesus promised us a cross and every day will not be sunshine and roses. Lucifer has insured us ALL WAR! Revelation 12:12,17. Those who stray from SURE FOUNDATION WORDS will be vulnerable to Lucifer who will quote "It is written" in the form of "SINKING SAND" just to deceive them. The WAR began in heaven and it has continued unabated from Adam's days until now. This is "Armageddon" being fought in the churches in a way they did not look for it, and the "son of perdition, that man of sin" has sent them on a fool's errand as they attempt to identify him in a carnal approach "after the flesh." Your enemy is invisible to human eyes and he has always been invisible to men. Do you want to know what is happening and to stay current with Heaven? Then continue to read the "GOOD NEWS"! "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places," Ephesians 6:12. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; and having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled," II Corinthians 10:4-6. "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry," I Samuel 15:22-23. "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased; HEAR YE HIM!" Matthew 17:5. "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hats laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men," Psalm 31:19.
Money is one of the most dangerous things devils can use against preachers. "The love of money is the root of all evil." Men of God should avoid asking for money like a heart attack! But if you deal with churches, you better be like Paul: Acts 20:33 I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. 34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. 35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Give your bread, wine, and oil "without money and without price!" If you love God serve Him the way He wants to be served. Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Why should God give you His greatest treasures when He knows you will "make merchandise out of it" for money and for profit and not give it "freely" to others as He commanded? Because He knows the hearts of ALL MEN, "those who sell" were not given the greatest treasures, Luke 16:10-15. Therefore "those who buy" will find inferior generic truths on the market which "satisfy not," Genesis 41:17-24; Isaiah 55:1-3. "The best things in life are free" and you can find it ALL in the "GOOD NEWS"! And if the "ten virgin" churches are deceived and sleeping in "mammon matters" you cannot be confident of their other areas of light.