 |
|
Introduction:
Part of human nature is to stand still every now and then and ponder the meaning of life and the question
with which we can become so absorbed. More often than not, it happens that looking back on the past,
men must admit that selfish interest has prevented them from attending to the needs of our fellow man
and in the division of this attention they have gotten very little attention or none at all. As a result,
all the injustice done to humanity follows man like a long tail, all the way to the heavenly throne of
judgement. Because that tail cannot be hidden, there is a very good chance that everything that man has
done, and what in spite of it, has never been confessed, set things straight or talked out, it will undoubtedly
be the subject of much conversation the day of judgement. This makes me believe that the colour shamefully
red will be the dominant colour on that day. All of this reminded me of the title of a book that caught
my attention while I was shopping: "The Past is inescapable". I have no knowledge about the contents
of this book and, to be honest, it did not arouse my interest but while continuing on my way I allowed
the meaning of this captivating title to occupy my thoughts. This eventually led me to conclude that
the statement Jesus made in Matthew 10:25 and 26 was not made for nothing. It
says: "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have
called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more [shall they call] them of his household? Fear
them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall
not be known".
The past is inescapable and with that, I mean the unconfessed sins that hide in the past.
Because of this, what man has done in the past (or still bears down on his conscience) shall determine his final
destination. It is obvious that a God of love is led by love in everything He does and thinks and so the standard He
uses is the criteria of love, so that humanity shall be judged according to the abundance or lack of love in their
lives. Because the presence of love in a human life can be expressed in very many ways it is impractical to write a
summation but it can be summarized with the words of Paul in Romans 13:8-10: "Owe no man any
thing, but to love one another: for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit
adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if
[there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbour: therefore love [is] the fulfilling of the law."
In other words: only if a person knows the love of God in his/her life is he/she able to do what the law of the old
testament could not achieve, because it was a law imposed from the outside. A law such as this can never be a
replacement for the love of God, that enables a person automatically and with conviction to bring into practice that
which meets God's standards.
Because, as the apostle Peter explained, the world is full of "excess of riot" that through modern media is poured out over a listening and watching public and in which "love" is sung about and elevated to great heights. Therefore, it did not seem improper to investigate what the bible has to say about the subject, wherefrom we can learn about the effects of the presence, but also the absence of that love in a person's life. The results of where my personal search has led me are summarized on this page.
If there ever were a scripture in the bible that summarizes the gospel of Jesus in just a few phrases then it would be the song of love from Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13:
What Paul confesses here in short is that without love nothing can exist, nothing can function and without love,
only death remains.
It is the same conclusion that, in a dim past, I made after observing the behaviour of my fellowman and critically
observing myself. The thing that became abundantly clear is that, as Paul confessed, love seeks not her own. In the
same way that light radiates exclusively from the sun, the light of love always radiates on others, where this is not
the case and, as a result the light shines the wrong way, (namely on ourselves) sin is born. Moreover, sin is always
there without exception, in greater or lesser amounts, aimed at putting our own desires and interests first, and as a
result, the interests of our fellow man are often pushed aside.
This immediately brings us to the beginning of all the misery. The drama in Genesis 3 shows
how love was pushed aside to make way for the selfishness of man. In Genesis 3:6 we find the
following: "And when the woman saw that the tree [was] good for food, and that it [was] pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree to be desired to make [one] wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with
her; and he did eat." Man desired to be wise and in a way that was clearly forbidden. The desire of man was aimed at
himself, resulting in a desire to be like God. The seed of pride was sown. Pride is always aimed at itself, and without
exception seeks recognition, honour, and attention, through which man becomes the centre of adoration. This stands in
stark contrast with what Jesus said about Himself in John 5:41, 42: "I receive not honour
from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you." In this statement, Jesus reveals how great the
contrast is between love and lovelessness. While Jesus is the embodiment of love that seeks not her own, and thus was
not interested in receiving honour from people, his enemies were possessed by their endeavour to be held in esteem by
men because the love of God was not present in their lives, but instead there was only room for a selfish type of
"love" ruling their daily life.
The drama of the fall of man has repeated itself since the first human couple countless times. The love that was
present in them and that shone in the same way as the rays of the sun was reversed 180° and consequently man was
suddenly in the spotlight, and when man stands in the spotlight, he usually has no problem being there. Becoming as
God, which so easily seemed to come within reach of man, is for the person that seeks himself, a temptation that cannot
be resisted. By sinning, man is concentrated on himself, to seek his own gain, and take the road of least resistance;
as a result, fellow man is cut out of the picture. With exception of the times, that fellowman can be used (abused!)
for selfish gain.
In the summarized statements, we can learn the following things:
As far as the last point is concerned, I have, over the course of many years ascertained that where "brothers and sisters" find themselves in a situation such as the one sketched above, the search for the road of least resistance can take on extreme forms, whereby man works very hard at not having to deal with the consequences of their "choice" for Jesus. Therefore, to use biblical terminology, to suffer in Jesus name is avoided or wiped away with pious excuses. What stayed with me is a frequently heard definition of sin, put in to words by this saying: "sin is missing your goal". Although in this it is ascertained that sin is keeping us from something; it does not attempt to tell us the cause. It is a case of cause and effect. What is accentuated in this platitude is the effect of sin rather than the cause, the root of it is not mentioned. The root of sin, and this is what I have attempted to demonstrate in the above passages is lovelessness in any form.
This lovelessness has attached itself to the lives of people in many ways. The complete comings and goings of people are influenced and in such a mortifying way, that the inevitable process of adaptation has blinded the eyes for the seriousness of the situation. In James 4:8 and 9, James makes no secret of it: "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse [your] hands, [ye] sinners; and purify [your] hearts, [ye] double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and [your] joy to heaviness." Another verse that fits in seamlessly is something Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 7:9 and 10: "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world works death."
While writing about this subject, I was reminded of a person I had observed in her younger years as a child of two or three years old, who panicked watching a cartoon on television in which as usual they pounded each other to pieces. We all know the (cartoon) images of high-speed chases in which the leading actors beat each other up or do worse and afterwards continue on their merry way apparently unscathed. Adults, whose senses have already been dulled by this type of violent behaviour, do not even flinch when watching these images, but the child I mentioned knew instinctively that this is anything but normal behaviour, and reacted accordingly. For me it was a revelation and as a result, I became even more aware of how far people while growing up, desensitized by everything that dooms up in their lives, have strayed from what God had imbedded in the nature of man. So that eventually man can without shame and remorse watch the most violent acts. Without realizing, that the devil has succeeded in letting sin reign as king in our daily lives. This desensitization process continually increases the division between God and man and allows the darkness in the human heart to grow. And, where darkness grows, (spiritual) death gains ground. This desensitization process towards everything that this world has to offer is considered "normal," and it allows indifference to grow in the human heart. Jesus speaks of the consequences of this in Matthew 24:12: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
If humankind really wants to seek God, then this process of dying must be stopped. In Psalm 119:37, it is strikingly described: "Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; [and] quicken thou me in thy way." He who turns his eyes away separates himself from that with which satan, through means at his disposal, allows to come at us. Separating yourselves is referred to in the bible as holiness, as we find in Hebrews 12:14: "Follow peace with all [men], and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." The choice is ours, what do we want to see?
Out of the preceding words it has become apparent that by becoming desensitized to everything that does not agree with God's principles, love grows cold. The results in everyday life are so extensive that, for me to not get stranded in endless summations, I have made a small selection out of the many types of human behaviour that can put a stamp on everyday life. Therefore, I want to restrict myself to my own personal observations and the experiences I have gained about a few things. The first thing that comes to mind is the ascertainment that comes form a well-known saying "it is the small thing that counts" but that it can also be the small thing that ruin everything and can even level it with the ground. All too often, the apparently insignificant things escape attention and erode away so that eventually the "ordinary" things in our daily lives barely receive attention or often receive no attention at all.
However, what is insignificant? In a very early stage of my life, it became clear to me that with God nothing is insignificant when it comes down to chasing after holiness. It is precisely those things that escape attention so easily, as the continuous process of desensitizing of the human consciousness, that count for more with Him: those oh so plain and ordinary acts. And so it can happen that mister "reverend" or "pastor" can give a fantastic sermon from behind the pulpit and at the same time is unable (staying with practical things) to put the toilet seat down the way he found it, even though mom and wife is not at all happy with this (chair) itable act. It reminds me of Jesus' words in Luke 16:10: "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." What Jesus meant to say is that, obedience and faith to the gospel of Jesus consists primarily of the little things. Things that do not count in the eyes of the world and for which there is no honour to be gained but of which the bible says in Matthew 6:6: "....and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly." He who has proven to be unjust in the little things has shown that in the greater works he is also not worthy!
There is no way to balance this with a pious sermon. In addition, we definitely do not have to expect that this
scoundrel, who does not want to better the habits described above, can continue on his merry way with a pile of sermons
under his arms to the pearly gates (I am letting my imagination roam a little) and be able to show that he "worked his
behind off" to keep pious people on the "right" track. Yet at the same time, the "right" track in his life left on the
toilet seat has shown such an enormous deviation (!!). Men may feel to be in an advantageous situation because these
and other similar occupations can be hidden from the church and outside world, thanks to the scrubbing and cleaning of
a loving mother and wife, but it is not hidden from the heavenly judge. The bible also shines its light on these things
in Hebrews 4:13: "...but all things [are] naked and opened unto the eyes of him with
whom we have to do."
It has to be reckoned with that the filthy toilet that has just been described will not escape the attention of the
heavenly judge. Moreover, the complaints of the loving wife that were ignored will be held under the nose of the
scoundrel that has never wanted to better his life.
Another unpopular quality of (the loveless) human nature that revealed, even in many Christians, is when money start to roll. As long as it rolls in ones own direction men is still open for reason, but as soon as financial sacrifices are asked, that influence the bank balance and changes the way the money rolls, the emergency brake is put on. All of a sudden, other principles start to apply. I once heard a theological examination about the tithing or not tithing, which in the Old Testament was a part of the commandments given to the people of Israel. Even though it is not expected of us to support priest's service or a temple service in accordance with the Old Testament with our gifts, it is a very good habit to regularly give a part of our income to the work being done in the kingdom of God or to alleviate the suffering of those that have not had the privilege of being born in a prosperous country. The giver will certainly not melt even when occasionally they may have to put off buying certain things because the gift must come first. The (voluntary) giving of gifts remains a deed of charity that is noted in heaven. Withholding this can have an adverse effect on the scrooge that cannot part with his money. Or as the apostle John put it in 1 John 3:17: "But whoso hath this world's good, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwells the love of God in him?" Therefore, the advice is given in Luke 16:9: "And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations."
The result of the before mentioned theological examination came to the following conclusion that "tithing" in the
Old Testament has nothing to do with a tenth part of our income and therefore it cannot be expected of us to relinquish
that amount out of our monetary possessions. This gave me the uncomfortable feeling that the scrooges that coughed up
this explanation have no problem living with this answer at all. Even if this explanation corresponds theologically
speaking, the story tends to smell of the spirit of: "keep your paws off of my money because I am still much attached
to it!" This brings to mind the weekly collections in the church in which I observed certain persons stirring around in
their wallets with a sour face to avoid having to give the larger coins and bills. Yes, we definitely pay attention to
the little things!
Jesus left us with a couple of words on this particular subject. For example Luke 16:11-14:
"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 shall 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 else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things:
and they derided him." Sayings such as these made the Pharisees nervous, and if I look back over the previously
mentioned "theologically correct" conclusion than I am sure that there are still a number of nervous Pharisees living
among us today.
The Pharisees in the days of Jesus were reprimanded in Luke 11:42: "But woe unto you,
Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these
ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Therefore, even in this way man can go the wrong way: by
dutifully observing one law and at the same time ignoring the real purpose of the whole law (a righteous walk). There
was already talk of this in the time of Isaiah, which is why Yahweh spoke the following words to Isaiah in Isaiah 29:13: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near [me] with their mouth, and with
their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of
men."
Even though the giving of gifts is an action of free will, when it comes down to paying for purchased goods more often than not, even in this situation the wallet is opened with some resistance. I have witnessed up close how even the people in evangelical circles have a problem with the words that Jesus spoke in Luke 16:10-14 whereby even the payment of a little amount of money was put off for an irritatingly long time. What hypocrisy!
If we focus our attention on that which fills the minds of the majority of the world, and on everything that as a consequence is poured out over the general public by the media, one thing jumps out at you more than anything else, and that is the dominating impression that love is inextricably and solely connected to the finding of a partner. Jesus spoke of these matters in Matthew 6:32: "(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things." Nothing that is natural is unimportant, but... there are more important things that a real disciple of Jesus should be more concerned about in the first place as is advised in Colossians 3:1: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God." When Jesus speaks of the gentiles, He, without a doubt means those that do not have a relationship with God, and are not part of the Kingdom of God, are not interested in the things of the Kingdom of God and as a result have not experienced God's love in their lives. Instead, what passes for "love" in their lives, is generally nothing more than a polished pretence that needs to appear credible to the outside world. However, the prophet Isaiah was forced to ascertain in Isaiah 57:21: "[There is] no peace, says my God, to the wicked." Moreover, those that have no peace have no peace with God, and those that have no peace with God, have no love within themselves. That is what those that opposed Jesus heard when He rebuked them in John 5:41, 42: "I receive not honour from men. But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you."
If we look at the statement, Jesus made in Matthew 6:32, then we see this practice
confirmed many times. And with that, I aim among other things at the fact that the above-mentioned search for a partner
completely consumes the minds and desires, but as soon as this desire has been met, the daily routine catches up with
them and causes them to be occupied with other earthly matters. Moreover, more often than not couples grow apart and
eventually it becomes apparent that in the mean time he or she has already become totally occupied with entirely
different things.
One striking example of this, which I came across, was a complaint that a woman confessed to: "My husband and I used to
take long walks when we were going steady but now he can hardly be bothered to take out the trash for me".
How indeed this monkey love can fade... When I look around me and observe these tragedies, I am reminded of something
Jesus said in Matthew 24:38, 39: "For as in the days that were before the flood they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until
the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." There is another flood waiting
for us, not a flood of water as in the days of Noah but a flood of legions of demons, which are being called out of the
kingdom of darkness by modern day occultists, and shall submerge the world in hate and lawlessness. Everyone that
occupies their time exclusively with "marrying and giving in marriage" as was the case in the time of Noah shall be
swallowed up by this flood as Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:12: "And because iniquity shall
abound, the love of many shall wax cold." That the contempt for the law is growing, is becoming more and more
visible in this world everyday.
Looking at the widely spread present-day and the ever-growing interest of the masses in everything that has anything to do with sorcery and the supernatural, it cannot be denied that the occult brains behind these developments are actively busy ripening humanity for this occult flood of sin. With such examples of their preparations as the huge Harry Potter craze that primarily has the youth in its grip and the flood of films that glorify the occult and the supernatural. It may appear to be playful and spectacular for the superficial viewer but the devilish thing about this development is that namely the impressionable youth goes through a faze of becoming accustomed to the occult and as a result every faze that follows is a lie-filled process and is greeted with even more enthusiasm. Through which sorcery and all things supernatural are viewed more and more as something normal. These developments also will make it possible for the kingdom of satan to sneak in using these channels to get a grip on the minds and actions of its victims. We see the result of this in Matthew 24:12: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
In the before mentioned are just a few examples out of everyday living, that, and it needs to be said, paint a good picture of the type of schizophrenic behaviour that is even found among some Christians. Christians that honour their name-christianity on Sundays but in practical everyday living, allow themselves to be led mainly by other interests. The sin that so lightly stands in the way really begins to become a great hurdle when man presumes that there is nothing wrong. The unbelievable arrogance that sprouts from such an attitude can grow to such grizzly proportions that the persons that spend their days with such an attitude become a curse for their surroundings. About this we find indications in the bible that we absolutely cannot ignore and, among others, the call too:
Now that heavens gates have been discussed, I have a couple of more thoughts on the matter. I have never been able to understand how people through act lovelessness that have caused damage to others, and have never had the inclination to right the wrong; can enter into hereafter whistling as if nothing ever happened. It may be so that at the last judgement, not one unconfessed fault will escape the attention of the heavenly judge, but in the period between death and judgement I personally would not want to run into the hypocrites that have one or more unconfessed sins on their conscience as soon as I have become history. What Jesus says in Matthew 5:23 and 24 is ignored many times in the applications of everyday living. He says: "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." Jesus made it very clear that when we have hurt others in any way, He is not at a loss as to what to do with our pious prayers but only prepared to hear them when we have confessed our loveless, thoughtless, unjust, and hypocritical deeds and set them straight. What I have seen through the course of many years, and more than once is that the appeal Jesus made has been trodden on by more than just a few people. Overseeing the course that the lives of these jackals have taken, I have witnessed, that in their refusal to obey the appeal that Jesus made they have summoned a curse over their own lives, with the consequences that go along with it. Paul, with this in mind, writes in Ephesians 4:27: "Neither give place to the devil." Who because of unconfessed sins does this anyway, brings judgement and a curse into their lives.
The bible presses on our hearts to do this in the here and now (!) to confess our sins to one another and right the wrongs, it is highly unlikely that we will be able to look one another in the eye without blushing if there is still unfinished business left laying around. That there are times when there might have been some intervention for the above mentioned people when they appeared at heavens gate, became obvious in a book written by an American doctor that in the course of his career worked on patients who because of an accident or a sickness were for a short period pronounced clinically dead. Whereby it happened that after successful reanimation attempts, patients were able to tell the doctors what they did to restart their hearts during these attempts down to the smallest detail. What these people told was strikingly similar to other stories told by people who shared the same experience. The well-known bright light at the end of a tunnel is one of similarities that can be found in more than one of these stories. One story that impressed me particularly was the story of a woman's experience. During her journey she passed by a place where people were locked up in a dungeon. As expected, these people did not give the impression that they were very happy. In passing, it became obvious that these souls were to remain there until they had solved the problem that had gotten them there in the first place. In short: they were too good for hell but to dirty to go to heaven. There were unconfessed sins still waiting to be resolved, and they needed to reconcile themselves with that first.
We surely cannot count the fact that all those unconfessed sins, also those wherewith we have treated our fellow man
unjustly, would just disappear as soon as our hearts have stopped beating. It is a righteous demand of God's love that
all the damage that has been done to our fellow man will be cleared away and made right. As has become apparent in the
before mentioned it is unthinkable if we in the here and now chose to avoid certain individuals because of the unjust
way that they have treated us, that we will be able to have any peace in heaven with this type of hypocrisy. It is like
being invited to a party and one of the guests turns out to be that jerk that still has a few things on his conscience.
It immediately ruins the party.
Nothing is forgiven and forgotten by the righteous God as long as men is unwilling to hear and uninspired to do what
Jesus taught us in His gospel.
To be honest, all the lovelessness that has caused damage to our fellow man in any way will come back on the head of
the perpetrator if during course of his life on earth, he has not made things right. Men can philosophy all they want;
the conclusion is in any case: the past is inescapable.
In every day life, it happens all too often that it is no longer possible to right the wrong with regard to the
person in question because they have left their earthly tent. The apostle Paul was a living example of a penitent
sinner that could never right the crimes that he committed. As a fanatical Pharisee, he persecuted the church and after
his repentance, it is very probable that not many of his victims were still alive. In spite of this, Paul was very
aware of his crimes as he confessed in 1 Corinthians 15:9 and 10: "For I am the least of
the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of
God I am what I am: and his grace which [was bestowed] upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than
they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me."
Paul's repentance and sorrow were sincere and I believe that he very quickly made things right with his former victims
in heaven. The souls described above sighing away in their dungeons apparently needed more convincing.
Over the course of many years, I have had to ascertain that, as soon it becomes obvious that the discrepancies in the lives of people cannot bear the light of day, they become hypocritical to avoid being exposed and to keep up appearances as if they have nothing done wrong. The apostle John was required to write down some very sharp warnings in the first chapters of the book of revelations and one of them written in Revelations 3:1, 2 says: "And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God." This undoubtedly is a very sharp conclusion. Imagine if we went to some churchgoers and announced to them the following: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead." It is not entirely unthinkable that we, as a result, would leave a few very shattered egos behind, and they would not have received this announcement with any amount of gratitude. The stern warnings that Jesus gave were not loosely made, and it would be a good thing to examine our own lives to see if any of these warnings apply to us.
Back in the seventies (in the previous century), I wrote a short meditation about the scarcely understood Samson, the strongest man in the world, much imitated, and made into a movie (it was to be expected) but never equalled. Unfortunately, I do not have it in my possession any longer but still remember the gist of it. What it came down to was that Samson made a shambles of his life but in spite of that, he continued to possess this supernatural strength as soon as he needed it. Things only went wrong after he relinquished his secret to the woman who after much nagging and complaining, managed to get Samson to confess the secret of his great strength. It was forbidden by God for him to reveal his secret, and the result of his disobedience can be read in Judges 16:21: "But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house." The lesson that we can take away from this, and it was also my conclusion, is that this drama is taking place in the lives of God's children today.
It is this hidden relationship with the Holy Spirit that is the secret of our strength, and by which we can survive all the storms that rage across the lives of the righteous. If this relationship is interrupted for whatever reason, the Holy Spirit is saddened and retreats. Then the problems really start and we find ourselves across from an overpowering adversary that subsequently puts out our (spiritual) eyes and as soon as that happens, we are blinded to the truth. In this condition, our adversary is free to fill us with the most absurd lies, and once in this situation we are no longer able to offer resistance. This brings consequence of neglecting our relationship with the Holy Spirit to the point that it too can be said of us: "I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou liveth, and art dead." Many Christians exist in this condition though based on outward appearance they do not give that impression because through "activities for the Lord" they keep up the appearance that everything is fine. In this way men gives the impression that men is alive while in reality they are not. And all of this because the relationship with the Holy Spirit has been interrupted. Where this happens, the love in the life of a child of God will cool down at least in part and where that is the case, darkness increases. The darkness of spiritual death.
Another sharp warning that the Apostle John had to write about can be found in Revelations 2:4-5: "Nevertheless I have [somewhat] against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Here it speaks of repentance even though this warning was certainly not intended for the unbeliever but for members of the church of Ephesus. While we can assume that they had already received insight through repentance, yet they are admonished to repent again. An opinion that is very common is that repentance is a once in a lifetime event, but from this sharp warning that Jesus gives we can extract nothing else from this except that repentance should be repeated as often as necessary. Every time we are required to make a choice between good and evil and in such a situation, we make a conscious choice to do well, we experience repentance again by turning away from evil. Repentance therefore is not a once in a lifetime event but a process that, and this becomes apparent in the warning that Jesus gave, can be interrupted. Only when this process of repentance is complete and we measure up to the standard of Jesus is repentance a definite fact, and not before. The practice in everyday life has taught me that during this process of repentance a lot can go wrong and in the most serious instances those that have "repented" fall back into their old ways.
It is not for nothing that the admonishment reads: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen." This is not just for those extreme cases but also for those that have let their attention slacken. It speaks of leaving the first love and thus speaks of neglect. Moreover, where the first love for Jesus Christ is neglected it is possible that the next step is that the love grows cold. In marriage, it can happen that when the glow of first love ebbs away the glow that was first there becomes tarnished and daily routine takes over in which as we read above, we lose our attention for the small details and give little or no notice at all. Consequently, the unavoidable irritations, vexations, differences in opinions and arguments come and sicken the climate. All too often, this leads to divorce. At least a divorce visible to the outside world but one that in fact began at the time first love began to fade. Because this can happen in our relationship with Jesus Christ, the admonishment in this case is: repent!
Where love disappears, a separation takes place, in whatever form. Without love, everything falls apart. Therefore love is the only binding factor in the universe that is capable of creating unity in which everything and everyone can be who they were meant to be and the rights of others is respected. In the story of creation in the first chapter of Genesis we read that the first thing Yahweh said is: "Let there be light!" that was the basis from which the whole of creation came into being. This visible light is an image of spiritual light, love, and the story of creation shows us that without this light no life can come into being, because before the light of God began to shine there was only lifeless matter.
Notice that at the beginning of creation, there was no mention yet of the sun, the moon or any other heavenly
bodies. They only came into being on the fourth day of creation. This fact deems it possible that the first three days
were not necessarily the same length as the period of 24 hours that we now know, and that are caused by the rotation of
the earth around the sun and thereby giving us the rhythm of day and night. This day/night rhythm was not yet present
on the first three days of creation. Moreover, as is to be expected, the opinions surrounding this are divided. There
are those that, based mainly on the grounds of the Hebrew word for "day" that is used in Genesis, steadfastly believe
that it is a reference to the length of one day, as we understand it today. Others think that the absence of a
day/night rhythm in the first three days of creation suggests that those days could have been longer periods than the
day/ night cycle that we know today. At that time there was no one who was waiting around "for the earth finally be
ready to be inhabited" so why should God have completed it all in six earth days. The writer of the book of Genesis had
only the knowledge of the day and night rhythm that since the completion of creation defined "life's tempo."
While the creator is not bound by this rhythm because He stands above creation.
My own conviction is that if it were necessary, and (measured by our measurement of time) creation could have been
realized in just six seconds and God certainly could have done it.
Furthermore, worth considering is what Jesus says of Himself in Revelations 22:13: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last." He was in charge at the beginning of creation and will have the final word when all has been fulfilled. At the beginning we read in Genesis that the sun and moon were not present and at the end in Revelations 22:5 where it says: "And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever." The creation began without the sun and when everything has been restored, there will be no sun. Only the light of God, exactly as it was in Genesis when He commanded His light to enlighten the earth. We can assume that the first three days (or periods) of creation, were very different to the latter three. What I would like to add is that I have not written about an imagination run rampant but that this can be found in the bible. The two quoted texts form the book of Revelations that were referred to above are proof of that.
The visible light in Genesis 1 that made the creation of life possible is as supposed; an image of spiritual light, love, and thanks to that love life is possible in the spiritual world. That God's love is the source is shown by the apostle John in several places. One of which is in 1 John 4:16, where it says: "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him." The apostle Paul shines a light on it from another side when he writes in 1 Timothy 6:16: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom [be] honour and power everlasting. Amen." The "God of love" from John and "the light which no man can approach" which Paul refers to, describe the same truth, each in their own way, namely that the unapproachable light is an image of God's love and that is the characteristic of the Father. From that, all life is created and the story of creation is a representation, which shows us that the creation of visible light is an absolute condition for the creation of life.
The Father, the source of the unapproachable light and of all life, has given His Son of this life (His light, His love) and in turn can give this life to man. Therefore, thanks to Jesus, this light has ended our darkness. A few statements about this subject that Jesus made are among others:
This is reconfirmed in John 1:4 and 5: "In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." Thus summarized: Jesus Christ = the word of
God = life = the light of men and the light of men is the love of God. John ends the text with these words: "And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The darkness and (all those that love the darkness)
have not known the light and do not wish to know it. There is an unbridgeable chasm between the light (the love) and
the darkness (the lovelessness). A few chapters further on Jesus emphasis this when in John
3:19,20 He says: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather
than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the
light, lest his deeds should be reproved." There is a referral to judgement here and this judgement shall create a
definitive separation between the good and the evil. This separation is the eventual result of the fact that satan
became unfaithful to his origins. We read in Jude 1:6: "And the angels which kept not their
first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of
the great day." Under the command of satan there came a unbridgeable chasm into existence between the light and the
darkness.
That means that since then, two kingdoms stand against each other that have absolutely nothing in common, that are
completely opposites, and between which a separation exists that is permanent. In the one kingdom light and love rule,
and in the other only darkness, and lovelessness. In the same way that darkness means the absence of light,
lovelessness is the result of the absence of love. If only everything in life was as easy to understand!
The comparison was already made above between visible light, which comes mainly from the sun and love. The visible light has become so commonplace that we rarely stand still by what we have thanks to the light. Nevertheless, man has succeeded in discovering the fact that the so-called white light is made up of many colours that combined form what is known as white light. The well-known prism with which the distinctive (rainbow) colours become visible is one example of this. No colours that are visible to the naked eye are visible because the object in question is that colour but because it reflects a certain colour which is already present in the white light. This colour only becomes visible when light hits it and subsequently reaches our eyes. That means every object that reflects a certain colour reveals only a small part of all the colours, the pure (rainbow) colours as well as the mixed colours, which all have their origin in the white light.
It is the same with love and when we speak of love, we speak exclusively of God's love. Another type of love does not exist. In spite of the fact that "those that are of this world" have their own type of "love" that is more often than not aimed at their own selfish interests than at serving others with it. See the preceding paragraphs.
Just as God the Father lives in an unapproachable (white) light and at the same time is the source of that white
light (God's love) so the individual colours of that light only become visible when it is reflected through people that
have received the love of God for themselves. However, because we as people are not able to completely reflect the
complete all enveloping white light of God each one of us reflects a part of it. So that all the people together
reflect the complete white light just as it has gone out from the Father. Paul left us a statement to that effect in
Ephesians 3:10-12: "To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly
[places] might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which he
purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him."
This manifold (many coloured) wisdom comes forth out of the many colours (and facets) of God's love.
What Paul's statement comes down to is that the church (the body) of Jesus Christ is composed of many members and that
each reflect a part of the love and wisdom of God but still form a unit so that when the colours all come together, the
white light of the Father becomes visible. What also comes forward in Paul's statement is the fact that through the
church it will become evident to satan and his kingdom that in spite of his efforts to prevent the growth of the
church, he will have to recognize that the (much coloured) manifold wisdom of God surpasses the "wisdom" of satan many
times over. We learn from this that the much colourful (many facetted) wisdom has been hidden from through lawlessness
blinded government and powers in the heavenly regions. As a result in spite of all their efforts they have been unable
to prevent the completion of the church of Jesus Christ, which will show their total defeat. This is in agreement with
the words of the apostle John written in John 1:4 and 5: "In him was life; and the life was
the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The darkness and
those that live in it have no knowledge of God's light and the much coloured and many facetted wisdom and shall never
stand in it of their own accord to grab hold of it because the separation between light and darkness is permanent. The
only thing that can change this is a radical return from the darkness back to the Creator. We find this in Colossians 1:13: "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated [us] into the
kingdom of his dear Son." The kingdom of light!
In 1 Corinthians 2:7,8 it describes this separation between light and darkness as follows:
"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, [even] the hidden [wisdom], which God ordained before the world unto our
glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known [it], they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory." On Golgotha satan thought he knew the outcome of the suffering and death of Jesus, because he was convinced
that the loser was hanging on the cross. It ended differently.
In conclusion in Ephesians 4:17,18 Paul allows his light to shine on this darkness when he
notes: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the
vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."
To complete this I would like to repeat what has already been emphasized, namely that the white light that comes from the Father has been able to reach us through Jesus Christ. Among other things this is something that Jesus lets us know in John 5:26 when He says: "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself." This life, this light, this love that comes from the Father can be found in the gospel that Jesus taught to His disciples. Where from the apostle John could witness from experience in John 1:18 where we read: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him]." The effect of this gospel on the church of Jesus Christ is described by Paul in Ephesians 3:17b-19: "that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what [is] the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Together with al the saints of the church, these saints shall be able to learn, to know and radiate the love of the Father that through Jesus has been given us so that the church as a unit can make the white light of the Father visible to the world.
Not much. Or even more accurate, nothing. When it comes down to it, to keep spiritual as well as natural life in existence and liveable it is proven that without love, nothing remains to sustain life and make it possible. The most extreme example of this is the final destination of everything that has preferred the darkness rather than the light. In the last chapters of Revelations, this final destination is mentioned several times. One of them can be found in Revelations 20:10: "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." In addition, a little further on in Revelations 21:8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." Contrary to what the universalists proclaim, there is no mention of this horrific final destination just being a temporary state. It is not without reason that it points to the fact that all that have apostatized, thus humans as well as angels that have known the kingdom of God, will never repent again. In Hebrews 6:4-6 we are informed of this: "For [it is] impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame."
The second and last death is the result of the complete absence of God's love. And where there is no love there is only darkness. In the gospel of Matthew, this darkness is referred to as the outer darkness three times. As in Matthew 25:30: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." In this darkness, there are no reminders of what the creator ever put into His creation. So that in this climate the opposite of what love cultivates, the focus on the well-being of others is totally absent. As a result, instead of this only hatred is present in the outer darkness. In hell men will only run into enemies that only hate and fight with one another, which is expressed in the sentence" the wailing and gnashing of teeth." It is unthinkable that any reasonable thinking creature human or angelic would want to end up in a climate such as this. What will eventually be thrown into the outer darkness is no more than what has already been described in John 3:20: "For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." Because with such hostility, reconciliation could never take place, it is therefore impossible that the separation between light and darkness, between love and lovelessness will ever be lifted.
It is not so difficult to imagine that those who, through their hostile attitude, have caused this judgment to come
upon them, are not the most pleasant people in their relationships with others. From personal experience, I have found
that these people have the climate and the curse of hell round about them and constantly manage to find various ways to
sicken the lives of their fellow man. In Jude 1:10-13 their comings and goings are summed up
as: "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those
things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error
of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they
feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds [they are] without water, carried about of winds; trees whose
fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own
shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever." To add to the calamity the
people Jude describes can be found together with the children of God and that is why Jude warns them of their practices
in his letter to them.
Men can count the people described here as the most hopeless and enigmatic of all the enemies of the gospel. At least I
cannot grasp the fact that intelligent and reasonable people who have knowledge of the gospel, can in spite of this
return to the darkness and eventually end up in the outer darkness. It has reminded me on many occasions of a song that
I once knew and from which this sentence has remained in my memory: "What chooses thou fools for life, death." In more
modern English: "Why do you fools choose death instead of life???"
In the before mentioned it has already been pointed out that God's love is the source of our existence, that without love life is not possible and only the outer darkness remains. Out of this flows forth that love is the greatest force that exists and from which all life is dependant. Golgotha is the evidence of this power. Jesus travelled the road of suffering voluntarily and bore the afflictions because He had the love in Him that came from the Father and that love proved to be an impregnable fortress for satan. This is emphasized by Paul when he states in Romans 5:8: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In addition, in 1 John 4:9 we find this word: "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him."
The love in our lives proves that just when the circumstances are most against us, and a good ending is most unlikely, love is there. This world on the other hand is full of fake heroes on the silver screen that defeat their thousands. When the masses are once again enthralled by the next creation of the creators behind the silver screen, countless producers of "all matter of garbage" anticipate the newest rage and bend over backwards to turn this rage into as much profit as is possible. Real heroes do not look for ways to impress the public by making themselves larger than life. Real heroes can also do their great deeds in secret, there where God is the only one to witness them. The latter is emphasized by Jesus in Matthew 6:3,4: But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly." This teaches us that love is not interested in standing in the spotlight, while at the same time she is able to do deeds that require great courage. Satan and his followers on the other hand have no interest in bringing any sacrifice no matter what the occasion. There where there is no love, selfish interest rules and as soon as that is endangered men flees or men turn and attack in blind hatred to defend their interests.
There is much that can still be added to what love is capable of, but because Paul has put much effort into putting it all into words, I am doing him no disservice by repeating his summation on 1 Corinthians 13. All these characteristics can be attributed to the people that have truly allowed the love of God into their lives. Thus, everything that is mentioned below can be found in their behaviour, in their actions and their daily walk:
When Paul ends his summation, he does this with these words: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but
the greatest of these [is] charity." And why? Because, as we have learned from the story of creation, the light (love)
is the beginning of all the things that were to follow and without this beginning, further creation was not possible.
Up to this day, this condition has had a far-reaching influence on everything that makes life possible on earth.
Without love there is only lovelessness = hate = lawlessness = hostility toward every other creature = chaos =
darkness.
Now the question arises why then do men in general still appear to consider their fellow man, why are there people that
volunteer their help in aiding those less fortunate, and the many more ways that they show charity toward their fellow
man. While at the same time, so many of them are not interested in anything to do with God. The only explanation that
makes any sense is that there is a rest of that which the Creator once placed in man: love. So that men still adhere to
certain moral standards and values that consider life and the interests of our fellow man. Without these standards and
values, everything would surely collapse and total chaos would be the result.
What we in the Netherlands have seen happen in a very rapid tempo is that in a period of eight years the ungodly
government has had a destructive influence on Dutch society, systematically killing of everything that reminds us of
God and His commandments. The consequences of this has left men to make a appalling discovery, which is that the spirit
of lawlessness has been let loose, and as a result that spirit has imprinted its own standards on society and the "me"
age has become more and more visible. A debate in the lower house about "standards and values" is, when seen in this
light, nothing else than a hypocritical sham. Because, we can be sure that behind the scenes the dark forces that
practice their influence and that have summoned this spirit of lawlessness, continue their satanic plans behind the
scenes, independent of what the election results may be in front of the scenes.
Naturally, this same principle can be administered to the many governments all over the world. The fact alone that many
rules and laws are being imposed on us by "Europe" shows that the various shadow "governments" in the Netherlands over
the course of a number of years, have placed the fate of the Dutch people in the hands of a bunch of occult creeps that
are interested in more than just economic progress. Whether the Dutch prime minister is left wing or right wing seems
to be of little consequence, even when his political party drags the "C" for Christianity around with it, as a reminder
of its former glory, this prime minister goes along with what the conspiring European brothers are doing. Even though
sometimes there are so called "Christian" objections in front of the camera and the viewing public against some
developments, experience has taught us that in the last couple of decades this European deception is continuing at a
deadly pace towards a totalitarian power state in which the individual countries will have to give up their authority.
As a result, European citizens will only be able to conclude that they have been set up by these wolves in sheep
clothing with their humane sounding promises about a state of economic bliss. After this little political tour the
question remains:
The result will be that the depravation in society and in the world will grow to such proportions that every standard and value that are still respected today will find its way to the garbage heap. If love with all its characteristics cannot be found anywhere on this earth, then it becomes inevitable:
This list was summed up by Jesus in His previously mentioned words in Matthew 24:12: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Moreover, where love grows cold, the last remainders of love that holds our "civilization" together will disappear, and darkness will gain the upper hand. Jesus gave his disciples an indication of this in John 9:4: "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." In this dark period, the demonized population will no longer be open to the gospel, for which reason Jesus urges us to make the gospel known as long as man remains open to hear it.
Paul shares his thoughts about this dark period with Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5: "This know
also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters,
proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more
than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." These are the
consequences of the disappearance of love from every present form. The very love that has kept our present
"civilization" standing. Without love, there is only: lovelessness = hate = lawlessness = hostility toward every other
creature = chaos = darkness = death. Together with the aid of the documented practices (like the Harry Potter rage)
with which the media magnates and sorcerers behind the silver screen brainwash their public, the army of satan will
strengthen their grip on humanity. It is therefore necessary that we take the appeal of Paul in Ephesians 6:12: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]."
It is very easy and understandable that in the middle of all types of situations, in our anger about suffered
injustices that we point to the people who we see as the doers, while they are mere puppets in the hands of puppeteers.
It is definitely not so that these doers go free, they have made themselves guilty and have allowed themselves to be
used by the rulers of the darkness of this world and will have to account for that in the day of judgment.
The outer darkness will eventually be the destination of them that have shown no remorse. Our battle nevertheless, here
and now is in the first place aimed at the (spiritual) world rulers.
The following applies to those that remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is written by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:5: "Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." Further in verse 8: "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." The ever-growing divide between the lawless that live in the darkness and they that belong to the light will become more visible. In the last verses of the bible in Revelations 22:11 John is told of this in the following words: "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still."
That difficult times will come has become apparent in the words mentioned above. It is obvious that a child of God that realizes this will have moments of despair about the outcome. We will not be spared the inevitable challenges and attacks brought upon us by the prince of this world. The apostle Paul knew all about this and he summarizes it in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28: "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I [am] more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty [stripes] save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In] journeyings often, [in] perils of waters, [in] perils of robbers, [in] perils by [mine own] countrymen, [in] perils by the heathen, [in] perils in the city, [in] perils in the wilderness, [in] perils in the sea, [in] perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches."
That is awesome. Even so in Romans 8:35-39 he was able to say: "Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As
it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Storms can rage in our lives as a result of the enraged powers of darkness that Paul wrote about in the verse mentioned
above (Ephesians 6:12). But in spite of that he could testify that nothing could separate him
from the love of Christ. This is not so amazing considering what Jesus said of Himself in Matthew
28:18: "...All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." And in that capacity, He always has the final
word.
Current circumstances and the future on what is still to come in this world should not be a reason to sit frozen with fear waiting for the things to come. That was definitely not Paul's intention in spite of all of his suffering, and he proclaimed this in Romans 8:15: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Where Paul brought witness of it in his way, John the apostle of love said it in his well-known way in 1 John 4:18: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." The climate of love in the life of a sincere child of God is not fear but the rest of the kingdom of God.
If we want to be spared from the wave of lawlessness then the condition of that is what Jesus said in John 15:10: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love." As long as we keep to what the bible teaches us about the gospel of Jesus, His love will remain in us and we have the assurance that Jesus gave us in John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." In turn John passed what is written in 1 John 2:5 unto us: "But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him." It is important that we focus our attention in the first place to what the bible teaches us, and not allow ourselves to be mislead by diverse "new wave" prophets that bend over backwards to label the bible as an out of date revelation that has to make way for new "revelations," which come to us almost exclusively through modern day prophets. These self made prophets are one of the phenomena that in these last days are a part of the world wide deception en seduction, in which the claws of the world rulers of darkness are stuck into. So let's keep to the word of God that needs no replacement, as witnessed to in Hebrews 4:12: "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Not one single "new" revelation can measure up to that.
The consequence of obeying the Word and of obeying the Holy Spirit is the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-24 says the following: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
Over the course of many years, I have had to ascertain that this fruit of the Spirit has on more than one occasion,
received a lot less attention than the gifts of the Spirit, while in reality it is the fruit that is evidence of
Christ's presence in us. In contrast to the fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit can be spectacular in the eyes
of the outside world, such as the gifts of healing, and all to often it is a gift that the evangelical circles like to
show off, because then at least you are something(!?).
A gift however is something you receive from the giver. You have had to do nothing to receive it, while the fruit of
the Spirit, which in our lives is a growth and ripening process, asks more of us. When through the presence of
God's love, the fruit of the spirit develops in our lives, then it is through this fruit that we see what the
result of our hidden relationship with Jesus has produced.
In 1975, I heard an African preacher preach on that subject and I must say that it was the most powerful sermon I have ever heard. I have never heard anyone speak in the power of the Holy Spirit at that very level since. He was a man who travelled the world and experienced that the sick were being healed as his shadow passed over them, and although he himself did not speak of these miracles, his interpreter told of it afterwards. This particular sermon was about the relationship with the Holy Spirit and the subservient role that the speaking of tongues has in it. Whereby the moral of the story is: if we pay no attention to the instructions and the voice of the Holy Spirit in various situations, He will retreat in sadness. If the so necessary growth of the fruit of the Spirit come to a halt because of it, the gifts of the Spirit become useless to us. Then we can pray in tongues all we want but it will not help us at all. Only when we are once again prepared to admit our failure and repair our relationship with the Holy Spirit can we continue in our growth.
It is not unthinkable that the reader in reading the title of this page may have gotten the impression that he would be reading something very different. It was to expected and that was the reason that I drew attention to a statement of the apostle Peter from 1 Peter 4:3-5: "For the time past of [our] life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with [them] to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [you]: Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead." Because I have no use for this so called excess of riot, I have allowed the Word of God to do most of the talking. Because of what is supposed to be love in this world has very little to do with love at all, at the most a romantic notion that fades away in the daily routine.
What I have attempted to show is that only those that have personal relationship with Jesus have received and know the real love of Jesus and can give it to another. The by me much quoted Paul witnesses to that fact in Ephesians 4:17-20: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ." And those that have gotten to know Jesus has seen the real light. And he who has seen the real light will realize more than ever what Paul meant with the words: "...and have not charity, I am nothing."
| Proverb: The gospel is to complex for adults. Only a child can understand it. (based on Matthew 18:3) |
P.S.
If you wish to read the contents off-line and/or bring to attention to other interested parties in a more conventional
way, feel free to print this page. After all,
that "old fashioned" paper remains indispensable.