The Anti-Christ Part IV

I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. Daniel 7:8

And as for the beast that [once] was, but now is no more, he [himself] is an eighth ruler (king, head), but he is of the seven and belongs to them, and he goes to perdition. Revelation 17:11

And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed; and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration. Revelation 13:3

Look at what we are shown here in Daniel 7, “in the horn were eyes like a man.” Our Father doesn’t tell us that the horn had the eyes of a man, but that he has eyes like a man. Now take what Daniel was shown and tie it together with what John was shown and we can see a picture of the anti-christ, who is and then he isn’t.

The eye is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light. Matthew 6:22

Our eyes give us away and as the old saying goes, our eyes are the windows to our soul. When we look at these verses together we can see the anti-christ is not a man, but a demon. They also shows us that the body the anti-christ uses, who was a man, and then died, is possessed. The eyes of the demon are in the body, not of the body.

The angel of our Father releases the beast, or the anti-christ, from the Abyss and he comes and takes over the body of the last Pope who received the deadly head wound. The world will believe that the Pope was miraculously healed and they will follow after the beast. The beast will use the money and influence of the Catholic Church to develop an alliance with ten kings and they will attempt to rule the world. They will fail miserably though and the result will be that the Gospel of the Kingdom of our Father will be preached and received by every tribe, nation, and tongue.

And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. Matthew 24:14

After this I looked and a vast host appeared which no one could count, [gathered out] of every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. These stood before the throne and before the Lamb; they were attired in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Revelation 7:9

The Anti-Christ Part III

And as for the beast that [once] was, but now is no more, he [himself] is an eighth ruler (king, head), but he is of the seven and belongs to them, and he goes to perdition. Revelation 17:11

And one of his heads seemed to have a deadly wound. But his death stroke was healed; and the whole earth went after the beast in amazement and admiration. Revelation 13:3

We are told that the beast has a deadly head wound, yet he is miraculously healed. We are told that the beast was, then he wasn’t. We are also shown in Revelation 17 that the beast comes from the Abyss, which is the place of demons. With all of these Truth's in mind, here is what I believe that all of this means. It is important to understand that I am not saying that I have been translated into the third Heaven or have seen a vision about this, it is just what I see when I read Revelation.  

The beast, which is the anti-christ, is the last Pope. The Pope rules from the Vatican in Rome which is surrounded by seven hills. The last Pope will suffer a deadly head wound. The wound will be so serious that the world will believe that he should die. We will see all of it unfold on television and yet the last Pope will not die. He won’t die because his body will be taken over by the beast that is released from the Abyss. To the world it will look as if he is miraculously healed and they will follow after who they believe to be the Pope, when in reality that Pope will have died. It will be the demon that has been allowed to take over the Pope’s body who be alive. So he was and then he was not.

The beast will then have control over the vast empire that is the Roman Catholic Church. He will have its great wealth and influence, the wealth that the ten kings, or the ten horns, so desire. The beast will use the Pope’s body and the Roman Catholic Empire to influence the world. 

Also the ten horns that you observed are ten rulers (kings) who have as yet received no royal dominion, but together they are to receive power and authority as rulers for a single hour, along with the beast. These have one common policy (opinion, purpose), and they deliver their power and authority to the beast. They will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings—and those with Him and on His side are chosen and called [elected] and loyal and faithful followers. Revelation 17:12-14

Even though the ten kings and the anti-christ seem to work together they are not unified in the least. 

[As] I stood on the sandy beach, I saw a beast coming up out of the sea with ten horns and seven heads. On his horns he had ten royal crowns (diadems) and blasphemous titles (names) on his heads, Revelation 13:1.

Sand is not stable, it is not a solid foundation and this shows us that the anti-christ’s kingdom will not be stable either. Think of ten kings who just want the anti-christ’s money and the anti-christ who just wants the military might of the ten king’s. They will hate each other and the union will be a very unsettled one. These king’s will give up their control for the money that they will so desperately need. Look at the world’s economies today, countries are going broke all over the place. The love of money is the root of all evil and these king’s will want the money that the beast has. 

The Anti-Christ Part II

Then I saw the beast and the rulers and leaders of the earth with their troops mustered to go into battle and make war against Him Who is mounted on the horse and against His troops. And the beast was seized and overpowered, and with him the false prophet who in his presence had worked wonders and performed miracles by which he led astray those who had accepted or permitted to be placed upon them the stamp (mark) of the beast and those who paid homage and gave divine honors to his statue. Both of them were hurled alive into the fiery lake that burns and blazes with brimstone. Revelation 19:20

These events that we are shown are happening at the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus returns to the earth and He removes the anti-christ and the false prophet from power. When Jesus does this to the anti-christ, I want you to notice that the he is thrown directly into the Lake of Fire. The anti-christ is not thrown into Hades to wait for judgment, he is thrown directly into Hell.

And the sea delivered up the dead who were in it, death and Hades (the state of death or disembodied existence) surrendered the dead in them, and all were tried and their cases determined by what they had done [according to their motives, aims, and works]. Revelation 20:13

If the anti-christ were human he would have been thrown into Hades to await his judgment, but he isn’t, he is thrown directly into the Lake of Fire or Hell. The Truth is that all men must be judged, but this being, or demon, isn’t. We were told that he is from the Abyss, the realm of demons and here we see that he never comes up for judgment.

The Anti-Christ Part I

But when they have finished their testimony and their evidence is all in, the beast (monster) that comes up out of the Abyss (bottomless pit) will wage war on them, and conquer them and kill them. Revelation 11:7

The beast that you saw [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is going to come up out of the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and proceed to go to perdition. And the inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will be astonished when they look at the beast, because he [once] was, but [now] is no more, and he is [yet] to come. Revelation 17:8

The first thing that I want you to see is that the anti-christ, or the beast, comes from the Abyss. The Greek word for Abyss is Abussos, it means a very deep chasm, bottomless, and the abode of demons. So our Father plainly tells us that the anti-christ comes from the abode of demons. This is important because so many people seem to be looking for him and wondering is he here on the earth now. These verses show us that the anti-christ, is not a man, he is a being, or a demon, that our Father has created and is keeping in the Abyss until that day that He releases him.

Then I saw an angel descending from heaven; he was holding the key of the Abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand. Revelation 20:1

Then the fifth angel blew [his] trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth; and to the angel was given the key of the shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit.) He opened the long shaft of the Abyss (the bottomless pit), and smoke like the smoke of a huge furnace puffed out of the long shaft, so that the sun and the atmosphere were darkened by the smoke from the long shaft. Revelation 9:1-2

Notice that the angel was given the key to the Abyss. This shows us that our Father allows the anti-christ to come to the earth. The anti-christ does not have a free will to seize power, he is allowed to seize it by our Father. Notice too that when the Abyss is opened that things change instantly. The sun is darkened. We will know when the anti-christ is released.

All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being. John 1:3

For it was in Him that all things were created, in heaven and on earth, things seen and things unseen, whether thrones, dominions, rulers, or authorities; all things were created and exist through Him [by His service, intervention] and in and for Him. Colossians 1:16

So to recap what we are shown is that the beast, or the anti-christ, is held in the Abyss until our Father allows him to be released. We are shown that the anti-christ was created and is controlled by our Father. And finally we are shown that the anti-christ is a being and not a man. He will come and possess the body of a man, we will study on this in later postings, but he is a demon, created by our Father to do exactly what He designed him to do. 

We Have A MInd That Only Encourages

Now may the God Who gives the power of patient endurance (steadfastness) and Who supplies encouragement, grant you to live in such mutual harmony and such full sympathy with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, Romans 15:5

Who comforts (consoles and encourages) us in every trouble (calamity and affliction), so that we may also be able to comfort (console and encourage) those who are in any kind of trouble or distress, with the comfort (consolation and encouragement) with which we ourselves are comforted (consoled and encouraged) by God. 2 Corinthians 1:4

But God, Who comforts and encourages and refreshes and cheers the depressed and the sinking, comforted and encouraged and refreshed and cheered us by the arrival of Titus. 2 Corinthians 7:6

He who exhorts (encourages), to his exhortation; he who contributes, let him do it in simplicity and liberality; he who gives aid and superintends, with zeal and singleness of mind; he who does acts of mercy, with genuine cheerfulness and joyful eagerness. Romans 12:8

The glorious Truth for us is that through Christ we all exhort and encourage, we can’t help it. We have the Mind of Christ and Jesus ever lives to encourage others, so how could we be any different? We are one with the only One Who can truly comfort and encourage. So it is just born into us to think of others above ourselves.

This is a great example of how our Father uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. The world says that when you are in need, or when you are sick, or when you are troubled that you have to take care of yourself first. Jesus works exactly the opposite way; He takes care of others first and we are now one with Him. Jesus lives to intercede for people; He does not live to be served, but to serve.

The Truth is that in this world we will have troubles, but our Father has empowered us with His Mind that seeks the well being of others first. God causes us to sow to others and not ourselves and that is how He causes us to reap all of the fullness of His blessings. To be the greatest, you have to be the biggest servant and we are now one with the biggest servant, Jesus. So we are able to relax because through Christ we can’t think any other way.

A Mind For Trouble

As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, Who gives life to the dead and speaks of the nonexistent things that [He has foretold and promised] as if they [already] existed. Romans 4:17

For who has known or understood the mind (the counsels and purposes) of the Lord so as to guide and instruct Him and give Him knowledge? But we have the mind of Christ (the Messiah) and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart. 1 Corinthians 2:16

Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself. 1 John 2:6

You having any issues in your life? Most of us do and here is what our Mind has us do about it: believe that it is already fixed. When something is settled we tend not to focus and talk about it, this is the mindset that we now have. Our Mind knows the beginning and the end, Revelation 1:8. It knows that we are more than conquerors through Christ, Romans 8:37, and it knows that He is always greater in us then anything that is in this world, 1 John 4:4. Our Anointed Mind knows that it is settled and that allows us to take no thought for our own lives, Matthew 6:31. The Mind that our Father has placed in us does not take thought for what we are going to wear, what we are going to eat, and where our income is coming from. Our Mind knows that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed, 1 Peter 2:24. It knows that our ability to trust and believe is Jesus’ burden, not ours, Hebrews 12:2. The Mind of Christ that we now have, has peace that passes all human understanding, Philippians 4:7. It speaks as if things are already settled. It does this because it sees only by faith and not by sight, 2 Corinthians 5:7.

But here is the greatest thing that our new Mind does; it takes all kinds of thoughts for others. It intercedes for others to our Father to the point of being pesky, Luke 11. It will not take no for an answer when it comes to the needs of others. It is willing to die to help another person. The Mind of Christ that is now in us, ever lives to intercede for others so that they might be saved to the uttermost, Hebrews 7:25. If it is asked to walk a mile, it walks two, Matthew 5:41. If someone asks for its coat, it gives them its shirt as well. When it forgives, it never counts; it will just continually forgive, regardless of what is done to it, Matthew 18:22. This is not something that we have to work at; this Mind has just been freely placed within us.

The Mind that we now have causes us to sow to others constantly, so that we may reap the greatness of our Father, 2 Corinthians 9:6. It takes the foolish things of this world and uses them to confound the wise, 1 Corinthians 1:27. It is all so easy for The Mind of Christ, and we now have it. 

    

The Kingdom Of Heaven Is At Hand

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand! Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give. Matthew 10:6-8

He has blinded their eyes and hardened and benumbed their [callous, degenerated] hearts [He has made their minds dull], to keep them from seeing with their eyes and understanding with their hearts and minds and repenting and turning to Me to heal them. John12:40

Jesus sent the Disciples out to go and tell the Israelites that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand for them. Jesus told the Disciples to heal the lost, drive out demons from the lost, and to raise the lost from the dead. Jesus empowered the Disciples to show the lost children of Israel that the power of Heaven was for them. Yet Jesus also tells us that our Father would not allow the children of Israel to believe. Jesus tells us that our Father hardened their hearts and made their minds dull so that they could never understand the Truth. How can both of these things be true?

Here is what our Father has been showing me, there is a difference between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. The benefits of the Kingdom of Heaven can be enjoyed by everyone, those who believe and are chosen and those who do not believe. The chosen are part of the Kingdom of God. We are empowered to serve the guests of the Kingdom of Heaven. Think about it? The children of Israel hated Jesus. They used Him to get healed, yet they quickly threw Him under the bus so that they could still go to church on the Sabbath. They were healed by Jesus and then they cried out for Him to be killed. Yet, they still enjoyed the fruits of the Kingdom of Heaven that was at hand for them. How cool is that? That is our Father’s Grace in full action! 

This is why Jesus told Peter to feed both the sheep, the guests of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the lambs, the born again of the Kingdom of God, John 21:16-18. The power of our Father is all based on His Grace, not on any works. So of course the Kingdom of Heaven and all of the power of it is for those who don’t believe. The guests are not part of the Kingdom of God, meaning they are not one with God as we are. But that doesn’t mean that they are not able to be fully served with power and demonstration of the Spirit by those of us who are. 

Forgiveness Even For Those Who Don't Want It

And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them. Luke 23:34

Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And while they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit! And falling on his knees, he cried out loudly, Lord, fix not this sin upon them [lay it not to their charge]! And when he had said this, he fell asleep [in death]. Acts 7:58-60

The really powerful Truth with these verses is that not one of the people who were forgiven were seeking forgiveness. That is the power of the anointing that our Father has placed within us. It doesn’t matter one iota if people want forgiveness or not. When we are empowered with the Holy Spirit to forgive them, they are forgiven; their sin will never be held against them.

[Now having received the Holy Spirit, and being led and directed by Him] if you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of anyone, they are retained. John 20:23

The love that abides within us lives to forgive others, John 17:26. We have the very power of Christ permanently living within us to intercede for others. It doesn’t matter what a person has done. It doesn’t matter if they have done it to us or to others. It doesn’t matter if we know what they have done or not. Through Christ we intercede for others and forgive them and amen they are forgiven. It doesn’t even matter if the don’t want the gift that we are being used to give. If we forgive, they are forgiven. Their acceptance of their forgiveness is not a requirement at all. Isn't that great!

So in the full power and demonstration of Christ, go and forgive all today. Intercede for strangers and for loved ones. Forgive those who you know what they have done and those that you have no idea what they have done. Grace is all undeserved and we have Grace abounding from us. Grace is a river of living water flowing from us. Go and flood the world today with forgiveness. 

God Is Responsible To Make Us Healthy

And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah). Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you]. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

For which is easier: to say, Your sins are forgiven and the penalty remitted, or to say, Get up and walk? Matthew 9:5

Our Father is not a man that He should lie. With that Truth in mind read what He had written in 1Thessalonians 5 and in Matthew 9 again. Jesus tells us that if our sins are forgiven then we are healed and our Father tells us that He Himself will wholly consecrate us. We are plainly told by our Father that He will completely separate us from profane things and that He alone will make us pure. According to Jesus this means that we are healed. Faith comes for us from hearing the Truth and the Truth sets us absolutely free! 

There is no doubt that our Father is trustworthy. It is totally His responsibility to make sure that we are healthy. This is not waiting for us in Heaven, this is for us right now, because now is the Day of our Salvation, not tomorrow.

For He says, In the time of favor (of an assured welcome) I have listened to and heeded your call, and I have helped you on the day of deliverance (the day of salvation). Behold, now is truly the time for a gracious welcome and acceptance [of you from God]; behold, now is the day of salvation! 2 Corinthians 6:2

Our Father sent Jesus to save us and as is written in 1 Thessalonians 5, He has saved our spirits, our souls, and yes even our bodies. There is no now condemnation for us, Romans 8:1. There is now no law in place to convict us of sin, Romans 7:6. We no longer serve by obeying rules, we serve because of our Father’s Grace, Romans 6:14. Our Father has separated us from profane things right now and the consequence of His mercy is our health. We have been set free and those who are set free by God are free indeed.

It's Impossible For Us To Fail

Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. 1 John 2:10

Now you may be saying to yourself, there absolutely is an opportunity for us to fail, because it is all based on us loving others. But the glorious Truth for us can be found in John 17:26.

I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them.

Jesus lives so that you and I will love each other just as He loves us. Jesus is actually in us and His very love lives in us and because it does, there is never an occasion for us to stumble or sin. Jesus’ love that never leaves us or forsakes us covers all sin for us, 1 Peter 4:8.

Let’s just look at Jesus’ love for a minute to see how it acted. It groaned when people didn’t believe Him, Mark 8:12. It repeatedly asked how long that it had to be around people, Matthew 17:17. It made a whip and chased people away, John 2:15. It called a woman, who only wanted her daughter healed, a dog, Matthew 15:26. It asked to be removed from what our Father called it to do, Luke 22:42. It made more wine for a bunch of partying and probably drunk people, John 2. It told the Disciples to go and take a colt and not to tell anyone unless they were asked first, Mark 11:2-3. It slept while others were scared for their lives, Mark 4:38. 

I don’t know about you, but Jesus‘ love sounds like it did a bunch of things that we today would call wrong. I don’t know what church you go to, but if I called a mother of a sick child a dog, the people would definitely call me a sinner. But none of these things were sin for Jesus, because He constantly and permanently dwelt in our Father’s love, just as we do, and our Father’s love covers all sin. Jesus got mad at people, He was disappointed in them, He was frustrated with them, and He let them know it. He acted just as we do and yet with no sin and He now lives so that we to can never have any occasion to sin either. It is all His power and victory dwelling within us that gives us such a great gift and such great freedom. We walk by faith in the Truth that sets us free, not by the politically correct world that surrounds us.     

You Want Rewarded?

Thus, whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they may be recognized and honored and praised by men. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already. But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, So that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly. Matthew 6:2-4

Our Father wants us to be rewarded and well taken care of, Philippians 4:19. He wants this for us now on this earth as well as in eternity. This is why He repeatedly tells us how He causes us to be. The first Truth to being rewarded is having faith that it is always our Father in us causing us to give, John 15:5. We reap what our Father has us sow! It is always His grace and His provision working through us that allows us to care about the needs of others. We are never left alone by our Father to give anything on our own. Faith with this Truth comes for us by Jesus Authoring and Finishing it through us, Hebrews 12:2. If we believe that we are the ones acting on our own to give, we will always brag about it. But because it is our Father’s abilities using us and causing us to give, we can keep silent about it and thus be rewarded openly. We now have the mind of Christ, 1 Corinthians 2:16. So we think and act as Jesus acts and Jesus always acknowledges that it is our Father working through Him, John 14:10.

We are now the very body of Christ, we are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, Ephesians 5:30. He causes us to give to those who we can receive nothing back from. He causes us to give to the poor, visit the elderly, clothe the naked, and take care of the orphans. Jesus insures that we are blessed and rewarded and He also causes us to not talk about it and bring the attention to ourselves. Jesus is always greater in us then anything that is in this world, 1 John 4:4. We cannot help but be rewarded because we are one with Jesus. We have been chosen to be blessed just as our Head is blessed. In Christ we are empowered to give and never talk about it and our Father blesses us by causing us to give even more. 

We Are Never Ashamed

And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One. John 17:22

As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame nor be disappointed in his expectations. Romans 9:33

If we were ever left by our Father to do anything on our own we would always be ashamed of ourselves! We can’t stand before God, even if we never sinned, and not be ashamed. However in Christ, we can stand before God, our Father, without any shame at all. We can because as we stand before Him, we stand as His children, born of Him, born from His seed, glorified and righteous because of what Jesus has done for us. We are sanctified by Jesus’ actions and we are glorified with His glory. We never stand before our Father alone, Jesus is with us and One with us 100% of the time. We can be unashamed because we have the Holy Spirit within us and He lets us know beyond any shadow of a doubt that our Father is not ashamed of us!

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed. Romans 10:11 

We are eternally free from the condemnation and the shame of falling short! We are now strong in the power of Jesus’ might because greater is He that is within us, then the shame that is in the world! Today is the day of our glorious salvation and now is our appointed time of righteousness and true holiness through Jesus Christ, Who is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

We Are Predestined To Be Like Jesus

For those whom He foreknew [of whom He was aware and loved beforehand], He also destined from the beginning [foreordaining them] to be molded into the image of His Son [and share inwardly His likeness], that He might become the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:29

Before our Father ever said let it all be, He knew and loved us. He knew that He was going to choose us and He knew that He was going to make us to be just like Jesus is. He knew that He was going to use us to serve the world. Now there are a lot of people that believe that we will become better people when Jesus returns to the earth, but not many of us actually have faith and believe that we can be just like Jesus now. But here is the glorious Truth: Jesus came so that we could be just like He is right now on this earth!

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. 1 John 4:17

That they all may be one, [just] as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even] as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely] recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even] as You have loved Me. John 17:21-23

You and I were predestined by God to be just like the best that He has, which is Jesus. Our Father has always known that He was going to choose us and make us one with Jesus. We have a destiny and our destiny is to serve our Father by being one with Him through Christ. It is His desire and His will and our Father always gets His way. We cannot help but be who God has called us to be, because His power makes us the way that He wants us. 

And those whom He thus foreordained, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified (acquitted, made righteous, putting them into right standing with Himself). And those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity and condition or state of being]. What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?] Romans 8:30-31

We cannot mess up our Father’s plans for us! We have been predestined to be the Bride of Christ. We have been chosen before the foundation of the world to be a royal priesthood that goes into all of the world and preaches the Gospel to every creature. We have been destined to be used to lay hands on the sick, raise the dead, and cast out demons. 

Christ Is The Law

For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], Romans 8:2-3

Our Father tells us that we are free from sin and death. He doesn’t tell us that we will be free, or that we are in the process of being freed. The Truth is that through Christ we are free right now, because now is the day of our salvation, 2 Corinthians 6:2. I really don’t believe that people know this Truth. I believe that most people believe that we are bound by sin and the weaknesses of our flesh. I honestly believe that most Christians think that they are disappointing to our Father and believe that they are in control of how much Grace that they are able to enjoy from Him on. 

This is why our Father is so plainly showing us His Truth: it is to set the captives free! We no longer are living a life that is bound by the law that says as soon as you do something wrong there is punishment. We no longer live by the law that proclaims that it is up to us to seek forgiveness. We now live under the law of Grace that proclaims that forgiveness is just given to us because of what Jesus did. I use to go to a church where the preacher would preach that our Father cannot bless us past our last act of disobedience. That is such a slap in the face to Jesus and what He accomplished for us. What always bothered me was how loud the congregation would shout amen when he would say it. That was the blind leading the blind, Matthew 15:!4. 

    

Our Father has done what rules and laws can’t do. Our Father condemned sin in the flesh, so that we would no longer be condemned. Through Christ our Father has completely freed man from all laws and rules. We are no longer justified by our works, Romans 3:20. 

Jesus has been given the responsibility to protect and keep all flesh and our Father has glorified Jesus so that He can give eternal life to all that He has been given, John 17:2. Through Christ we are able to actually consider ourselves dead to sin, just like He is dead to sin. The freedom in this Truth is awesome and it allows us to serve a very needy world in ways that go beyond anything we can ask, dream, or think of. We are empowered so greatly because we know that our flesh no longer holds our Father back. 

If there is something in us that needs cleaned up, it is Jesus’ responsibility to do it. Yet we are still able to be used greatly and powerfully by our Father until He does clean it out of us. Our flesh in no way hinders our Father using us to serve the world. 

Our Flesh Cannot Succeed

For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot perform it. [I have the intention and urge to do what is right, but no power to carry it out.] Romans 7:18

Our flesh can do nothing right and most of us know this. Our flesh on its own is incapable of performing anything correctly. Without Christ our flesh simply fails at everything. The Law is a set of rules that tells the flesh what to do on its own. The Ten Commandments are never displayed with a statement that Jesus has to do these things through us, even though our flesh is absolutely incapable of doing what they tell us to do. Our Father made the flesh to be that way, Romans 11:32. He did this so that He could send Jesus and then have mercy on all men regardless of what they have done. 

Through Jesus, our Father has mercy on all of us. He never favors one of us over another. If it was up to our flesh to accept this glorious Truth we would fail. But thank God that all men are now sold into being a slave of Jesus. We were all slaves of sin, but now we are all Jesus’ possessions. He bought us and He now owns all of us, whether we accept this Truth or not. Jesus is responsible for each and every one of us and He is responsible for each and every one of us to have eternal life.

[Just as] You have granted Him power and authority over all flesh (all humankind), [now glorify Him] so that He may give eternal life to all whom You have given Him. John 17:2

Jesus now has power over all flesh and our Father glorified Him so that He will give eternal life to all flesh. There are a lot of people who try and place The Law and other man made religious rules on us. Laws like where to worship, when to worship, and how to dress when we worship.  Jesus did away with all of these laws, except love. Because of Jesus’ success, all laws are now dead for us. They have to be dead for us, so that sin can now be dead for us. It all has to be Grace, which means that it all has to be our Father’s power working through us. We cannot boast and we cannot condemn because it is always our Father’s power being greater in us. 

This freedom applies to all men. Think of a worldly judge. What if his son came up before him and had committed a crime, yet the judge let him off, only because that he was his son. Then right after that case, a man who had said nasty things about the judge came up before him. With this case the judge found the man guilty and sentenced him with the maximum sentence, only because he had spoken against the judge. We would be outraged and throw the judge out of office. Today this kind of thing happens all of the time with corrupt judges, politicians, dictators, and dishonest executives. When it makes the news we are all outraged and demand that the person is punished. Yet on Sunday we hear that this is the very thing that our Father does. We say that we are forgiven only because we are God’s children, when the Truth is that Jesus died so that the world could be saved. Jesus did away with all of the laws and He did it for everyone. 

Consider Yourself To Be Dead To Sin

And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! Galatians 4:6

Right now we really are God’s children and because we are His kids, we now have the Holy Spirit just as Jesus has Him. Just as Jesus is kept by the power of the Holy Spirit, so are we. Jesus came and allowed Himself to be sacrificed so that we could have everything that He has. Jesus has died to sin once and because of what He did for us, so have we.

Because we know that Christ (the Anointed One), being once raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him]. Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:9-11

We are the body of Christ right now, Ephesians 5:30, so we too are dead to sin and alive to live as one with God. Our relationship with sin has ended, not because of what we do, but because of what Jesus did. Because Jesus was so successful, we are now free from the law of sin equals death. 

Because we are members (parts) of His body. For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:30-32

For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has freed me from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2. 

There are so many forces in the world and in religion that will try and make us feel like we can’t do anything but sin. Yet they are all lies. The Truth is that we are free from sin because Jesus has done it for us and only because of what He has done. It’s not by our works or by our obedience, it’s only by Grace. If we consider ourselves to still be sinners, what we really are saying is that Jesus just didn’t pull it off.  If we look at what we do as the measure of our Father’s Grace, then we are saying that we are the instruments of righteousness and not Jesus. What we do is not what makes us free or not free, it is what Grace is that makes us free and Grace is all undeserved. 

Righteousness Part V

For being ignorant of the righteousness that God ascribes [which makes one acceptable to Him in word, thought, and deed] and seeking to establish a righteousness (a means of salvation) of their own, they did not obey or submit themselves to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the Law [the limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types, and in Him the purpose which it was designed to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means of righteousness (right relationship to God) for everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him. Romans 10:3-4

So many are preaching that we should walk righteously, as if by our own human power we have the ability too. The righteousness that is trying to be established by so many is this, we will sin, yet we will be righteous as long as we repent and ask our Father for forgiveness. What is the difference between that work or going out and offering up a goat or cow as a sin offering? There is no difference, none whatsoever.

Our Father doesn’t say that we will know who is born of Him by the way they repent. He says that we will know them by the way that they are empowered by Him to walk righteously, as Jesus was empowered by God to walk righteously. Jesus didn’t earn His righteousness, He was born with it. He was born of God and He was and is God! Jesus can’t help but be righteous, He is One with it, it’s in Him, and now who are we one with? People are trying to go out and earn righteousness, they are ignorant of the Truth of God and they will fail each and every time. 

You want to be righteous? Well if you do, it only comes from Jesus and you have to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to look unto to Jesus to Author and Finish the faith within you that will allow you to see who God has made you! Then you will walk righteously as Jesus, in an unshakeable knowledge of who you are in God! Faith comes from hearing the Truth of God and the Truth of God absolutely and eternally sets us free!

Righteousness Part IV

But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God). Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works he does: Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried. Blessed and happy and to be envied is the person of whose sin the Lord will take no account nor reckon it against him. Romans 4:5-8

King David, and all who were under the Old Covenant, had to perform works and try to earn righteousness. They had to because the Blood of Jesus had not yet been shed for them. They longed for what we have, King David, an extremely blessed man of God, said that we were blessed because of this freedom through Christ. Our Father allowed David to see who we would be in Christ, as He did for the other Prophets of old, and they longed for what we have. They were also willing to be persecuted just for talking about it. 

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:4 

The thing they could never achieve, righteousness fulfilled, has been fulfilled within the least of us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. Romans 6:18 

This Truth does not get preached nearly enough, we are free form sin, we should consider ourselves dead to it, Romans 6:11. Our peace is that Christ has broken the relationship that we had with sin. Our bodies which could sin have been destroyed by the power of Christ that has been freely given us, Romans 6:6. We are now members of Righteousness body, flesh of His flesh and bone of His bones. We are now the Temples of Righteousness. Righteousness is now our Head. We now have the Spirit of Righteousness, the Mind of Righteousness, and as Righteousness walked so to do we walk. The requirements of righteousness have been fully met within us through Christ, freely and without any works!

This is grace my brothers and sisters!