Who is the First Savior to Arrive in Your Life? (part 2)
In part one it was stated that the false Christ is the first savior to arrive in our lives. And his number is six hundred three score and six, 666, Revelation 13:18. This false savior is described in the sixth seal, Revelation 6:2; sixth trump, Revelation 9:14; sixth vile, Revelation 16:12. Christ doesn’t return until the seventh trump, Revelation 11:15; the seven seals, Revelation 10:4; seventh vile, Revelation 16:17. Our heavenly Father speaks to us through numbers as well as words. The number six represents man who is incomplete, or imperfection. The number seven represent wholeness or perfection, like the seven days in the creation of the earth.
The 2 Tribulations
We read in the Gosples accounts, first in the Book of Matthew:
Matthew 24:3, And as He sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately saying, “Tell us when shall these things be and what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and the end of the world? 4, And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Take heed that no man deceive you.”
Men’s deception is a waring by Jesus to His disciples. That warning is to us, the disciples of Christ, because of who it is that appears as a savior first in our lives. This person or people will come in as our savior peacefully and prosperly and shall destroy the mighty and the Holy people, Daniel 8:24-25.
Verse 5-27 of Matthew are given to us for the purpose of teaching of false ministers, and those who say they are sent by Christ. According to the book of Daniel and the warning by Jesus in Matthew 24, false teachers will bring about the tribulation in our lives, ending with:
Matthew 24:29, “Immediatly after the tribuation of those days shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.”
The 2nd tribulation is nothng to fear and is brought about by God Himself as we learn and grow eventually to maturity. The Book of Mark reads just about the same way as Matthew, Christ giving a warning to His disciples, with the antichrist, the one in place of Christ bringing about the tribulation ending in Mark 13:23.
Jesus warning His disciples that any teaching by men other than being disciplined by the word of God will bring about difficulties in our life.
The Apostle Paul exorts us in one of his Epistles of his experience which is no different than many of us who have followed the error of teaching which causes us difficulties.
Philippians 3:8, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
The Apostle Paul gives us a good example of not quitting and to have the character described by Jesus in John 8:31, a message to us of not quitting and continuing in His word, the Bible.
The Error of Denominations
We will never understand the dividing of God’s people into denominations without the understanding of how a church should be built.
Scripture tells us that Jesus said that He would build His church, Matthew 16:18. But how is Jesus building his church, His body of believers?
John 20:21, Then said Jesus unto them again, “Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.” 22, And when He hath said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
It is by and through the Holy Spirit that Jesus will build His church.
Zechariah 4:6, Then he answered unto me, saying, “Not by might, or by power, but by My Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.”
But how are the denominations built? Are they built by and through human effort or by the Holy Spirit? Scriptures tell us that the Apostle Paul started many churches.
1st Corinthians 3:6, “I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
What did Paul plant? Paul preached the Gospel to men. If it were received by men, he then began to plant the teaching of the promised Seed we read about in Genesis 3:15. Paul had to find the lost sheep Jesus referred to in Ezekiel 34:11; Matthew 18:12; And Luke 15:4. The Apostle Peter addresses his 1st Epistle, verse 1 to the strangers scattered and in verse 2 calls them the elect. James writes his book to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.
In all that we read we need to keep in mind that we are created from the earth. We need to work on ourselves to be a good soil in which the Seed of promise is planted within us, Matthew 13:30 is called the parable of the sower. As we yeald to the Spirit of God within us, we will grow as we absorb the teahings of God’s truth in His word, as well as we are a wittness to others in the world around us.
Churches Need to be Built His Way
The important teaching within the Bible is that Jesus is the head of every church, local or universal. The Bible teaches us that Jesus gave Himself for the church. No man should try to modernize or to tamper with Christ and the building of His church.
Every local church should appoint elders and deacons to help with the official function as the church growth requires, keeping the Spirit of Christ continually as the head. What happens when a headquarters of any particular denomination, educates a ministry for the purpose of sending them out into the local congregations, carrying with them their own understanding and teaching gained by those at headquarters? Instead of Christ building up his church, others are interfering and taking the authority of the church to themselves. This being the case, the Spirit of Christ leaves and the church is left to itself. Is this the pattern and growth of the denominations? Is this the reason why there is division and not unity as the Book of Ephesians, 4:4-6 teaches us. So we see that the churches or the denominations have little growth, if any at all. Are prayers answered? Are godly families produced? Is the fellowship of all members a reality? I won’t judge anyone but myself. God is the ultimate judge.
One Church in Every City
When we see multiple churches or denominations in any city, it is like having two or more administration buildings in one city. The general public knows that multiple administration offices in a city would bring nothing but confusion to it’s people. Why then would Christ raise up two, three, or four denominational churches in a city? He Wouldn’t!
The Apostle Paul practiced one church in a city.
Acts 15:36, and some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, “Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they do.”
The Book of Revelation says the same thing, one church in each providence or cities in Asia, Revelation 1:11.
Paul planted the Gospel in a certain city, and Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit gives the growth, that the simplicity of Christ, eliminating all confusion.
2nd Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his suability, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in christ.”
There are many teachers in the world but we are warned by Jesus Christ concerning those who place themselves in the place of Christ.
It is true that when we were babes in Christ we had more loyalty to our church denomination than we had to Jesus Christ. We all need to grow as a watered tree or plant and understand that our Heavenly Father will not give us more than we can handle.
1st corinthians 10:13, ” There hath no temptation taken you but such that is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you be able; but with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
God is our Father and He loves us very much. He would like all of us His children, to be in the place that is best for us. He knows where we belong in the body He is building. He will never leave us and He doesn’t expect us to quit.