Revelation 11:9-10
For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nationwill gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earthwill gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Sounds like a recent sermon on that very same chapter, about establishing God's supremacy on earth. I was inspired especially when having a chat with my current employer earlier on Tuesday morning. He talked about Christmas, Easter, the Olympics, and their pagan origins. In fact, they all linked to this one form of deity which the pagans worshiped—the sun god. This really had me thinking.
I still remember when the church closed its doors for a whole month because a prophetic word was released that God was not happy with the worship being offered to Him. The key element of this was the hearts and minds.
We can honour Him by keeping to His laws, commandments and teachings but not to tradition. In fact, Jesus was against tradition. Matthew 15:1-10 talks of Jesus being questioned about breaking tradition of washing hands before eating. His reply opened with "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3)
During cell, there was a discussion about Living Life for the past week. It covered the book of Jude. In verse 4, it reads, "For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
Ezekiel 20:30-31 says,
"Therefore say to the Israelites: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.'"
In this passage, in a parallel to modern times, we the believers of today are the Israelites as depicted here. We are God's people (we serve Yahweh), not the world's nor Satan's. Unless we examine ourselves and acknowledge His truths, we become children of Satan, and thus the anti-Christ.
"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." (1 John 3:10)
Lord this is indeed a heavy word and one that must be preached. Like what my boss pointed out, "we owe believers that much—the truth" and nothing but it. Help me to observe Your ways and worship You truthfully, sincerely and with my whole being. Lead me far away from the ways of the world and how things have been practiced to be in the shelter of Your hand. Let not every faithful disciple become victim to the commercialisation of Satan's lies.
Further reading: http://www.eliyah.com/paganexp.html
For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nationwill gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. The inhabitants of the earthwill gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
Sounds like a recent sermon on that very same chapter, about establishing God's supremacy on earth. I was inspired especially when having a chat with my current employer earlier on Tuesday morning. He talked about Christmas, Easter, the Olympics, and their pagan origins. In fact, they all linked to this one form of deity which the pagans worshiped—the sun god. This really had me thinking.
I still remember when the church closed its doors for a whole month because a prophetic word was released that God was not happy with the worship being offered to Him. The key element of this was the hearts and minds.
We can honour Him by keeping to His laws, commandments and teachings but not to tradition. In fact, Jesus was against tradition. Matthew 15:1-10 talks of Jesus being questioned about breaking tradition of washing hands before eating. His reply opened with "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?" (Matthew 15:3)
During cell, there was a discussion about Living Life for the past week. It covered the book of Jude. In verse 4, it reads, "For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
Ezekiel 20:30-31 says,
"Therefore say to the Israelites: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.'"
In this passage, in a parallel to modern times, we the believers of today are the Israelites as depicted here. We are God's people (we serve Yahweh), not the world's nor Satan's. Unless we examine ourselves and acknowledge His truths, we become children of Satan, and thus the anti-Christ.
"This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister." (1 John 3:10)
Lord this is indeed a heavy word and one that must be preached. Like what my boss pointed out, "we owe believers that much—the truth" and nothing but it. Help me to observe Your ways and worship You truthfully, sincerely and with my whole being. Lead me far away from the ways of the world and how things have been practiced to be in the shelter of Your hand. Let not every faithful disciple become victim to the commercialisation of Satan's lies.
Further reading: http://www.eliyah.com/paganexp.html