by Gary L. Evans
(revised 8/18/2023)
Mark 6:34 And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.
A CALL TO REPENTANCE
Mat 24:3-5 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
Jesus warned us that many antichrists would come after Him to deceive the world.
1John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
The term, “The Last Time,” is The Last Days, and these are those days, my friends. Just as Jesus taught us that many would come claiming to be Christians but instead would be deceiving many, so John explains that those antichrists were already in the world at that time he wrote these letters. Note also that John reminded us that eventually The Antichrist would come at the end.
1John 2:21-22 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
The word “denieth” is from the Greek, “ar-neh’-om-ahee,” which means “to contradict, that is, disavow, reject, abnegate.”
So we can translate this sentence explicitly using this meaning, “He is an antichrist that contradicts (the teachings of) the Father and the Son.” Thus antichrists simply contradict The Word of God. They contradict the Teachings of Jesus, and they contradict the Teachings of The Old Testament.
And John gives us a very simple example of contradiction, someone who might claim to be a Christian but say that Jesus was NOT the Messiah. We would know immediately that anyone who said that could not possibly be a Christian, because their statement contradicted what we all believe is the very foundation of our belief in Christ.
Abnegation is obvious because it effectively declares that the original statement IS A LIE. But there are two other forms of contradiction, Addition, the act of adding something to a statement that WAS NOT in the original, and Omission, the act of omitting something from a statement that WAS in the original.
So, my friends, please wake up and stop listening to any so-called preacher that contradicts God’s Word. Read the Bible on your own. It is impossible to recognize when someone who claims to be a Christian speaks contradictions about what the Bible teaches until after you read the Bible yourself. Study the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And also study the book of Deuteronomy, which is a concise record of God’s Law.
I highly recommend the King James version, because the best study tools are based on the King James. Also get a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the King James Version so you can dig into the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek Manuscripts for better understanding. The Smith’s Bible Dictionary is very helpful especially with proper names. And do your own homework.
If you want a PC or laptop comprehensive study tool, I personally use the e-Sword Bible Software which is free to use and only requires the download and installation on your PC.
The Lord gave us Commandments, Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances. So keep in mind that the Temple Ordinances were just that, ordinances, not Laws or Commandments. Jesus superseded all of the temple ordinances and blood sacrifices, because He became the Sacrifice for Sin One Time and Forever, and now we are The Temple and God dwells in us after we repent and accept The New Covenant. So belief in The Name of Christ Jesus and our acceptance of The New Covenant is the literal fulfillment of the sacrificial and Temple Ordinances.
Now let me show one blatant but widespread contradiction that has been propagated by those many antichrists. John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent, repent, return to obedience of God’s Law.”
Mark 1:3-4 The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And Jesus came preaching, “Repent, repent, return to obedience of God’s Law, because The Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
The word, “repent,” is from the Greek, “met-an-o-eh’-o,” which means “to think differently or afterwards, that is, reconsider (morally to feel compunction).” And of course the context is referring to sin, thus we must change the way we think and stop sinning against God, stop transgressing God’s Laws.
Mat 5:17-18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Jesus said, “I have not come to change the Law. And not one single dot of an “i” or cross of a “t” will change in the Law.”
Eze 18:4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
And what did The Eternal say in the Old Testament? “The soul that transgresses the Law will die.”
So what do many antichrists preach? “It’s okay to sin, to transgress the Law, because Jesus did away with God’s Law. So just join our church and you’ll go to Heaven.” Do you perceive their contradiction of our Lord’s direct statement regarding The Law and sin? Maybe they never bothered to read the Bible. Maybe they just carry one around like it’s some religious icon that makes them appear “religious.”
Without true repentance and a willingness to be obedient to God, there can be no forgiveness for transgression of God’s Law. But if we repent, and strive to do our best, then The Blood of Christ’s Sacrifice on the Cross covers our PAST SINS. Paul warns us about the dangers for anyone who believes in Christ and enters The New Covenant but who later willfully commits sin:
Heb 6:4-6 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.
My friend, anyone who dares to willfully transgress again presumes to be able to put Jesus back up on The Cross! And that act is UNFORGIVABLE.
So this one Christian Doctrine requiring True Repentance and the return to obedience to God’s Law is Most Critical.
1John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
John explains that, “Sin is the Transgression of God’s Law. And Transgression of God’s Law is Sin.” Don’t let any antichrist confuse you about the simple definition of “Sin.”
Now after our Lord’s Death, Burial, and Resurrection, He continued to teach His Disciples many things for the next 40 days. Finally, He gave them a commission to teach others about how to enter The New Covenant in His Blood and Obtain Eternal Life.
Luk 24:45-48 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
Jesus commanded His Disciples “that Repentance and Remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations.” Repentance is the First Step to receiving the Forgiveness from Sin in order to enter The New Covenant to receive Eternal Life. There is no other way. And we are Commanded to teach Repentance to others so they can receive Salvation.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
IRREPARABLE HARM
Some folks claim that when they see the Cross of Christ they suffer “irreparable harm.” And because of their suffering, they claim they shouldn’t be forced to see a cross or any symbol of Christ Jesus in any public area.
However, such persons don’t seem to complain about other religions or their symbols. In fact, many public school districts across America teach an introduction to Islam and the Koran as well as other religions. What happened to that comment found in a personal letter of one of the Founding Fathers referencing a sort of separation of church and state? We know he was simply noting that the federal government could not establish a national religion as was common in every country of Europe and Britain.
So why does that restriction of so-called “Separation of Church and State” obtained by taking a comment out of context from a personal letter, and not contained in The Constitution itself, only apply to Christianity? Do you think maybe it is just to infringe on the religious freedom of Christians?
Mat 8:28-29 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
Devils are the spirits or minds of fallen angels. The malicious minds that had infested those poor men in Matthew 8:28-29 could speak through them, because they had control of them. And the devils knew Jesus, because they had known Him in heaven before He came to earth in the embryo in His mother’s womb. Devils are of Satan’s Army, and take control of anyone they choose who has no protection. Satan comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. And His servants carry out his will on earth.
John 8:31-34 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
So it is with everyone who has not been redeemed, that they are helpless to resist Satan, because they are Satan’s slaves or servants by law.
And until they are purchased out of slavery by The Blood of Christ, they have no hope in this world, and remain subject to Satan’s will and also to the will of the fallen angels who serve Satan.
There is only one way to obtain redemption, and that is through repentance and belief in The New Covenant offered by God through The Blood of Christ.
Rev 21:6-8 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 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.
People who refuse to repent and to obey God’s Law (Leviticus, Deuteronomy), and people who only pretend to repent, cannot be redeemed. On The Day of Judgment, they will consume to ashes from within and never exist again forever and thus will truly suffer IRREPARABLE HARM.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.
THE WAY TO ETERNAL LIFE ACCORDING TO KING DAVID
Psa 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
The word “blessed” is from the Hebrew “eh’-sher” which means “happiness.”
So this verse reads “Happy is the man that does not accept the advice of bad persons, nor goes along with the plans of transgressors (criminals), nor behaves like the mockers (of God’s Law).”
Psa 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Instead of adopting their attitudes and behaviors, he loves God’s Law and thinks about it all day long.
Psa 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
David presents an analogy of a tree growing next to a river which bears fruit during every natural season. The analogy of leaves that do not wither symbolizes Eternal Life, because the leaves stay green forever. This is clearly a reference to The Tree of Life:
Rev 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
The Tree of Life is in God’s Paradise. And the river is of The Water of Life:
Rev 22:1-2 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
So The Lord reveals to us the meaning of the “river” and of the “tree.”
Rev 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
And The Lord also reveals to us that in order to have the right to partake of The Tree of Life and to gain entrance into The New Jerusalem, we must first obey our Lord’s Commandments. Let’s now return to David’s Psalm:
Psa 1:4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The word “wind” is from “roo’-akh” which means “wind; by resemblance breath, that is, a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions),” which often refers to The Holy Spirit of God.
Therefore the lawless ones will eventually be blown away like refuse by The Holy Spirit. And we know that the time for that will be at The Judgement.
Psa 1:5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
The lawless ones will not “stand” or “rise” on The Day of Judgment as partakers of The Second Resurrection.
Psa 1:6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The word “perish” is from “aw-bad’” which means “properly to wander away, that is lose oneself; by implication to perish (causatively, destroy).”
The lawless ones will be destroyed, but The Lord recognizes the works of those who seek His Righteousness.
Whosoever has eyes to see and ears to hear, let him hear.