Perilous Times and Perilous Men

Timothy 3

New King James Version (NKJV)

Perilous Times and Perilous Men

3 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: ² For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, ³ unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, ⁴ traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! ⁶ For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, ⁷ always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; ⁹ but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.

The Man of God and the Word of God

¹⁰ But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, ¹¹ persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. ¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. ¹³ But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, ¹⁵ and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
¹⁶ All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Journey to see God: In the beginning

The watchman has been led to seek God as God is. Here is the beginning of a new journey. A journey to see God from the Book of Genesis.

(The watchman invites all to read with him. Some of his own notes are in brackets.)

Genesis 1:1-25 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Parashah 1: B’resheet (In the beginning) 1:1–6:8

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

(God was in the beginning…)

² The earth was unformed and void, darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the water.

(The Holy Spirit was in the beginning…)

³ Then God said,

(Jesus, the son of God was in the beginning…In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. John1:1)

“Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. So there was evening, and there was morning, one day.

(God created light first. When He came to the world as Jesus, He announced that He was the light of the world.He who does the truth comes to the light. he who practices evil hates the light. John 3:20-21. God uses light to differentiate who belongs to Him and who does not.)

⁶ God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water from the water.” ⁷ God made the dome and divided the water under the dome from the water above the dome; that is how it was, ⁸ and God called the dome Sky. So there was evening, and there was morning, a second day. ⁹ God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear,” and that is how it was. ¹⁰ God called the dry land Earth, the gathering together of the water he called Seas, and God saw that it was good.

( 2 Peter 3:5-6 J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) ^5-7 They are deliberately shutting their eyes to a fact that they know very well, that there were, by God’s command, heavens in the old days and an earth formed out of the water and surrounded by water. It was by water that the world of those days was deluged and destroyed, but the present heavens and earth are, also by God’s command, being kept and maintained for the fire of the day of judgment and the destruction of wicked men.)

¹¹ God said, “Let the earth put forth grass, seed-producing plants, and fruit trees, each yielding its own kind of seed-bearing fruit, on the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹² The earth brought forth grass, plants each yielding its own kind of seed, and trees each producing its own kind of seed-bearing fruit; and God saw that it was good. ¹³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a third day.

(Note God’s priorities: 1. the plants and fruit trees were created first, after the light. 2. the requirement that the plants and trees bear seed bearing fruits. The key essence is “SEED-BEARING”. Psalm 126:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵ Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. ⁶ He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing,
Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.)

(Matthew 13:23 (PHILLIPS)^18-23 “Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a man hears the message of the kingdom and does not grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is like the seed sown by the road-side. The seed sown on the stony patches represents the man who hears the message and eagerly accepts it. But it has not taken root in him and does not last long—the moment trouble or persecution arises through the message he gives up his faith at once. The seed sown among the thorns represents the man who hears the message, and then the worries of this life and the illusions of wealth choke it to death and so it produces no ‘crop’ in his life. But the seed sown on good soil is the man who both hears and understands the message. His life shows a good crop, a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”)

(A: ii) ¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to divide the day from the night; let them be for signs, seasons, days and years; ¹⁵ and let them be for lights in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth”; and that is how it was. ¹⁶ God made the two great lights — the larger light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night — and the stars. ¹⁷ God put them in the dome of the sky to give light to the earth, ¹⁸ to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.

(God sets marking for day, night, signs, seasons, days and years. These are marks for human to count, and know where they are at any point of time. Moses said in Psalm 90:12 (CJB) “¹² So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise.” Moses knew it was more important to see how each individual measures before God. David too knew the measurement of one’s life before God counts at the end, Psalm 39:4 “LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am.”

Jesus reminded that we should discern the crucial spiritual signs of the times instead of looking at physical signs. Matthew 16:3 “…Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times”.)

²⁰ God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open dome of the sky.” ²¹ God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that creeps, so that the water swarmed with all kinds of them, and there was every kind of winged bird; and God saw that it was good. ²² Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the water of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³ So there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

(A: iii) ²⁴ God said, “Let the earth bring forth each kind of living creature — each kind of livestock, crawling animal and wild beast”; and that is how it was. ²⁵ God made each kind of wild beast, each kind of livestock and every kind of animal that crawls along the ground; and God saw that it was good.

(God took the bother to make each kind and every kind of living creature. Looking at the vast variety of living things in the world, we cannot help but marvel at how creative and particular about details our God is. The same characteristic is revealed when God instructed Moses the exact pattern and details of everything about the tabernacle of God, and later David on the temple of God. To the prophet Ezekiel He revealed again the exact pattern and measurements of the heavenly Temple that was never built on earth.)

(God measures the earth, the church and each individual too. Habakkuk 3:6 “He stood and measured the earth; He looked and startled the nations.” Zechariah 2:2 “So I said, “Where are you going?” And he said to me, “To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length.” How do we measure when aligned with God’s measuring rod? )

Finally for today’s Bible reading, let all who read this blog take heed of what Apostle Peter had urged all followers of Jesus, in 2 Peter 3:10-12 (NKJV)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Stephen - Thy Witness: Spiritual Christianity

Stephen - Thy Witness
by T. Austin-Sparks

An Appeal for Spiritual Christianity

Acts 22:20 (Acts 6 & 7)
It would be difficult to find a Christian who did not hold Stephen in very high esteem. The reading of the account of his martyrdom, as that of a young man of great gifts and unimpeachable character, stirs every kind of emotion into intense reaction. Sorrow, grief, admiration, anger, contempt, hatred, are all mingled in the tears which are very near when we hear his last words and see his last look. Our heads go down when we seem to see in the darkness of the night the torches of the "devout men" and hear their hushed tread as they go out to recover and bury that mangled body - "And devout men buried Stephen, and made great lamentation over him". A young, brilliant, brave, and beautiful life has been taken away by brutal, vicious, bestial fury. The cause we shall examine, but view the event.
True, Stephen had flung some serious charges at the Jewish rulers present. He had supported those charges by long Jewish history and Scripture, but prejudice will never listen to the best documented argument. So, at a given point, they stopped their ears, gnashed at him with their teeth, and rushed upon him, dragging him outside the city. The place for stoning was a ramp higher than a man. The first witness against Stephen threw him from the ramp in such a way that he fell on his back. Then a large stone was thrown with great force on his heart. The blow did not kill him, so, according to the Law (Deut. 17:7) it was the people's turn. The men took off their white mantles and laid them at the feet of Saul, who was present in an official capacity to support the proceedings. The stones rained upon Stephen who, at a point, raised himself to his knees and prayed for their forgiveness, and, as the horrible work reached its climax, he just said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The deed was done. The mangled body lay motionless.
But, from that point, we have to begin our enquiry. What did it all amount to? What was

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF STEPHEN?

Was Stephen just the first martyr for the faith, to be followed by many more, and so to be JUST ONE of the Noble Army of the Martyrs? Or was there something special and different about Stephen? We answer that in an affirmation, and then proceed to uncover that particular significance.
Stephen was making spiritual history. What Stephen was fighting for to the very death was something in Christianity that even the chief Apostles - Peter, James, John, and the rest - had not yet seen and come to. It was something different, even in Christianity.
That is the affirmation; now for the explanation. The explanation will be found, firstly in his own discourse, and then in what eventuated from his death.

1. STEPHEN'S DISCOURSE

In his discourse to the Jewish rulers and his other accusers, Stephen ranged the history of Israel with a single definite thought and object before him. He started with their racial or national father, Abraham, and went on through Isaac; Jacob; Joseph; Moses; the people - in Egypt; the Exodus; the Wilderness; Joshua; David; Solomon; the Prophets.
In what he had to say about all these, one feature and factor runs through all and was governing everything. That factor is that God is ever moving on, and that nothing but disaster can come to those who do not go on with Him. This going on of God, Stephen pointed out, was not just in the progress of history, even the history of a chosen people, it was more essentially a spiritual going on. To Abraham the command was "Get out"; and then, WHEN he was out, a life of pilgrimage to the end; no settling down or taking root. Stephen is quite detailed on this.
When, through Jacob, the national family and potentially the twelve tribes were secured and the possibility of a stop, an arrest, and death by famine was threatening, the continuance and going on was secured by Divine sovereignty as told in the fascinating story of the life of Joseph. From Joseph Stephen went on to Moses - his birth, preservation, education, escape, commission, and the Exodus. God was going on.
At this point some of the strongest and most terrible things are said by Stephen. He is dealing with Israel in the wilderness and he exposes the hidden causes of retarded progress.
Remember that progress is Stephen's subject: God was ever moving on and man ever contrary. Stephen indicates that the retarded progress and the extension of a few days into forty years was due to one thing; it was that, while they were out of Egypt, Egypt was not out of them. Not only were they ever literally looking back to Egypt and inclining to return there but the spirit and principle of idolatry was still strongly in their hearts. This came out in the demand for the golden calf; but Stephen - quoting Amos - said something even more terrible, namely, that, in some mystic way, the very Tabernacle and Temple were, in their souls, associated with Moloch and Rephan - gods of the stellar bodies; and their sacrifices had the same subtle link. While ostensibly Jehovah was the object of worship, actually He was mixed up, in their worship, with other gods. If this is what Stephen meant and what Amos was actually dealing with when this thing in the heart had come out to find exposure in the latter days of the Monarchy, it fully justifies his charge of 'resisting the Holy Ghost'.
But Stephen goes on far beyond the wilderness with the same people. He touches lightly on Joshua, but implies the same spirit. We know that Joshua in type postulated God's movement, ever on, ever up: the going on to exploit the inheritance ever more fully. But, again, that incorrigible disposition to settle down too soon and not go on to fullness marked and marred the history of the conquest.
On Stephen goes to David and to Solomon. David's desire to build a house for God on earth received a very reserved and non-committal response from Him, and was met with the answer that God would build a house of a different order, for
"The Most High dwelleth not in houses made with hands...
The heaven is my throne,
And the earth the footstool of my feet:
What manner of house will ye build me? saith the Lord:
Or what is the place of my rest?
Did not my hand make all these things?". (Acts 7:48,49).
What Stephen saw, and what is stated, intimated, and implicit in the New Testament (a monumental document on the matter is 'the Letter to the Hebrews'), was that Solomon was - at most - but a figure of a greater 'Son', and his temple, with all its glory, wealth, and beauty, was only a pointer ONWARD to "A house not made with hands"; what Peter - after a difficult and painful transition - called, God's SPIRITUAL house.
Stephen concludes with a comprehensive gathering of all this history into "the Prophets", and virtually says that the spirit of prophecy was related to this ever-future, onward, and ultimate SPIRITUAL goal of God.
What again, then, does all this amount to? On the one side, it is a mighty exposure and denunciation of the incorrigible habit and disposition of GOD'S PEOPLE to bring what is essentially heavenly down to earth and fasten it there; to make of the spiritual something temporal; to make of the eternal something which will not - and cannot - abide; to make form, means, orders, and technique all-important. In a word, to have things fixed and boxed, so that the Holy Spirit is thwarted and frustrated in His ever-onward and ever-sovereign movement and innovation, if He so choose. The most dominant note, the most imperative cry of the New Testament is "Let us go on". But the context of this cry is - "outside the camp". The writer of those words in the Letter to the Hebrews, who has so much in common with Stephen, makes it abundantly clear that "outside the camp" means outside of all that which in its Judaistic nature systematizes and crystallizes CHRISTIANITY into a set and settled form: into something earth-bound and final.
On the other side, all this is a revelation of how fierce and terrible will be the opposition of such systems to a purely and definitely SPIRITUAL testimony. Unless there is a conforming, there will at least be ostracism, and at most martyrdom.

2. THE EFFECT OF STEPHEN'S TESTIMONY

Now we have to go back to Jerusalem and look into the real meaning and effect of Stephen's testimony, and consider its particular meaning for Christianity.
Stephen had - at the cost of his life - dared to touch the Temple, and the Temple as the heart and sum of the Jewish system and hierarchy. The effect of his pronouncement was to repudiate that whole system and its earthly centre. He had seen that it had been but a pointer to the heavenly and spiritual which was reached and realised in the entry of Jesus Christ into this world. He had been spiritually immanent in all the aspects of that system and that history, dominating all its features and represented in all its constituents. They had never been the REALITY, the ESSENTIAL, but only ways and means by which the real was signified; they were signs not realities. That which they had signified had now come in fullness and finality, therefore, EARTHLY, material, and localised Temples, Priests, Sacrifices, Vestments, Forms, Names and Titles, Cults, Orders, Times and Seasons, and everything else that made up such a system had, at least, served its purpose, and, at worst, become an empty shell, and a hindrance to the spiritual.
Stephen, in statement and implication, said this, and said it in no uncertain terms and manner. There was no equivocation in his declaration, and he made it quite clear that to have been blind to the spiritual significations of their history, and to continue in that blindness now that the One signified had come was nothing less than 'resisting the Holy Spirit'.
Very well, then, that is so far as Jewry was concerned; but there was a twilight transition period in Jerusalem. While the Apostles and disciples had seen that Jesus fulfilled so much of the Scriptures (as see Luke 24), they certainly had but a very limited apprehension of His full significance as to the old system. They were still 'going up to the Temple', and that, AT THE HOUR OF THE SACRIFICE.
Their last recorded question to the Lord before His ascension shows that they were still clinging to the Jewish hope of a temporal Messianic kingdom on the earth, in spite of His parable of the lord returning after A LONG TIME, and all His teaching on the Holy Spirit, etc.
Is that why, when those who stood on Stephen's ground were, after his death, "all scattered abroad", the Apostles were excepted. They had not wholly repudiated Judaism, circumcision, the Temple, the sacrifices, etc., as Stephen had.
Why did Saul of Tarsus immediately seek out, in Jerusalem (Acts 9:13) and unto 'distant cities' (Acts 26:11), those who had identified themselves with Stephen's position, and leave the Apostles alone? True, the Apostles were having a hard time with the rulers, but not on Stephen's ground. James seems to have been able to hold things together with a group on a partial Judaistic ground, a compromise; and Peter and John were, for some time, with him, as 'Acts' shows. In Jerusalem the Christian Church was largely Judaistic, within the covert of the Temple and the ordinances. But, the Holy Spirit was moving on, and a point is reached where it is A QUESTION FOR CHRISTIANITY whether it was going on or going to stand still, which would mean going back.
The fact is that Stephen had caused a division - the first division - in Christianity, a division which has characterized Christianity right down the centuries into our own time.
The Holy Spirit was moving sovereignly toward a position of utter spirituality and heavenliness; the very essentials of Christ now being in Heaven and the Holy Spirit being here as the characteristic of this dispensation. Peter, himself, was caught up in that sovereign movement in the episode of the house of Cornelius. He prevaricated under the influence of James and "certain" others; but his letters show that he made the transition. This was also abundantly true of John.
But the great event in the sovereign movement of the Holy Spirit was the 'apprehending' of the super-Stephen, Saul of Tarsus. It was he who, in the seeing of Christ in a blaze of illumination, saw all the implications of Stephen's testimony. Henceforth the battle between both the immovable Judaisers and the twilight Christians on the one hand, and an utterly spiritual Church and Christianity, on the other, would focus upon him, until that full revelation had been embodied in his letters and he also fell fighting. Paul's spiritual position, as opposed to a temporal or a semi-mundane system was called "a heresy" (Acts 24:24, margin), and was referred to as a "sect which is everywhere spoken against" (Acts 28:22).
If we are prepared to call Paul's position a "heresy" or a "sect", let us remember that it was that for which Stephen died, and let us see clearly what he and his great successor really stood for, and for which he died. It is something very searching. It reached the first Apostles. It sifted the Church at its beginning. It lies at the root of very much Christian history. It explains many spiritual tragedies. It accounts for much loss of power. It is the meaning of much talk about 'schism', 'sectarianism' and 'divisiveness'.
It would be a vain hope to expect that all Christians - even evangelical Christians - would see the distinction that is presented, or that, if they did see it, would pay the price of accepting it. But there is no doubt or question that the most vital consequences for Christianity are bound up with this issue.
Shall we continue in or revert to what is VIRTUALLY a semi-Judaistic Christianity: an earth-tied, man-managed, system? Shall we fall into that pseudo-spiritual mistake which leads only to limitation - at least; the mistake of collecting from the New Testament, either in actualities or by deductions, certain forms and procedures, 'methods', and technicalities, and shaping them into a 'New Testament' formula, 'blueprint', and 'pattern'? Shall we attempt that vain thing of making a fixed mould from 'New Testament methods' and pour everything into it? Shall we constitute OUR churches on the basis of popular votes, majorities against minorities, natural selection, etc., etc.
Or shall we see what Stephen and Paul saw, that the only Prototype of the Church and the churches is Christ Himself; that the revelation of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit is the only true way of building: that the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the qualification by spiritual gift is the Divine way of 'office', function, and responsibility: that this is the true ORGANISM springing and forming out of spiritual LIFE: that it is conception and not imitation, birth and not manufacture: that prayer and definite guidance coming out of it and not the 'Board Room' or its equivalent is the Holy Spirit's 'method'?
Stephen was the only one in the New Testament who used Christ's chosen title for Himself - "the Son of man", and in that designation all the universality and super-national, super-denominational, and super-racial features are embodied.
What we have written CAN be a key to the Bible, especially the New Testament, and while we believe profoundly that it represents the mind of the Spirit, we can only trust that there will be found a sufficient spiritual concern to lead to a re-reading of Scripture with Stephen's testimony in mind.
No one, we trust, will think that there is any intention of FORCING division in mind or act. As we said in our heading, this is an appeal for spiritual Christianity. Christianity has had, and still has, its battles with heathenism and paganism, and this has meant many martyrs. But this does it no spiritual harm. Where real harm is done and loss is suffered, is in the battle within itself against retrogression, downward spiritual gravitation, traditionalism, legalism, and natural-mindedness. It is the battle against superficiality; which often masquerades as 'simplicity', a fear of depth.
Yes, this battle is a costly one, and has not infrequently brought the heavy stones against those who have stood for the essential spiritual character of this dispensation.
From "A Witness and A Testimony" magazine Jan-Feb 1963 Volume 41-1
 http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/001137.html

THE PROPHETS SPOKE: WHY BIG BUSINESSES ARE DOOMED?

OLD TESTAMENT: GOD CONDEMNED IDOLATRY, WITCHCRAFT, DIVINATION, SOOTHSAYING, SORCERY, FORTUNE TELLING AND DOERS OF THEM
1 Samuel 15:23
“For rebellion is like the sin of sorcery, stubbornness like the crime of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of ADONAI, he too has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-24 (in Context) 1 Samuel 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Nahum 3:4
“Because of the continual whoring of this whore, this alluring mistress of sorcery, who sells nations with her whoring and families with her sorcery;
Nahum 3:3-5 (in Context) Nahum 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Chronicles 33:6
He made his children pass through the fire [as a sacrifice] in the Ben-Hinnom Valley. He practiced soothsaying, divination and sorcery; and he appointed mediums and persons who used spirit guides. He did much that was evil from ADONAI’s perspective, thus provoking him to anger.
2 Chronicles 33:5-7 (in Context) 2 Chronicles 33 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Leviticus 19:26
“‘Do not eat anything with blood. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling.
Leviticus 19:25-27 (in Context) Leviticus 19 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Deuteronomy 18:10
There must not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire, or uses secret ways, or does witchcraft, or tells the meaning of special things, or is a witch,
Deuteronomy 18:9-11 (in Context) Deuteronomy 18 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Deuteronomy 18:14
For these nations that you are about to take listen to those who do witchcraft and use secret ways. But the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.
Deuteronomy 18:13-15 (in Context) Deuteronomy 18 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Joshua 13:22
Along with the others the people of Isra’el killed with the sword, they also struck down Bil‘am the son of B‘or, who practiced divination.
Joshua 13:21-23 (in Context) Joshua 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
1 Samuel 15:23
To go against what you are told is like the sin of witchcraft. Not to obey is like the sin of worshiping false gods. You have turned away from the Word of the Lord. So He has turned away from you being king.”
1 Samuel 15:22-24 (in Context) 1 Samuel 15 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Kings 9:22
When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?” And he answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the sinful ways and witchcrafts of your mother Jezebel are so many?”
2 Kings 9:21-23 (in Context) 2 Kings 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Kings 17:17
Then they gave their sons and daughters as burnt gifts. They told the future and used witchcraft. They sold themselves to do what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord. And they made Him angry.
2 Kings 17:16-18 (in Context) 2 Kings 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Kings 21:6
He gave his son as a burnt gift, used witchcraft and told the future. He listened to those who spoke with spirits and used their secret ways. He did things that were very sinful in the eyes of the Lord, and made the Lord angry.
2 Kings 21:5-7 (in Context) 2 Kings 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Kings 17:17
They had their sons and daughters pass through fire [as a sacrifice]. They used divination and magic spells. And they gave themselves over to do what was evil from ADONAI’s perspective, thereby provoking him;
2 Kings 17:16-18 (in Context) 2 Kings 17 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
2 Kings 21:6
He made his son pass through the fire [as a sacrifice]. He practiced soothsaying and divination and appointed mediums and persons who used spirit guides. He did much that was evil from ADONAI’s perspective, thus provoking him to anger.
2 Kings 21:5-7 (in Context) 2 Kings 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Jeremiah 14:14
ADONAI replied, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn’t send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds.
Jeremiah 14:13-15 (in Context) Jeremiah 14 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 47:9
But these two things will come upon you all at once in one day. You will lose your children and your husband. All this trouble will come to you, even with all your witchcraft and the strong power of your sinful secret ways.
Isaiah 47:8-10 (in Context) Isaiah 47 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 12:24
There will no longer be empty visions or falsely optimistic divinations in the house of Isra’el,
Ezekiel 12:23-25 (in Context) Ezekiel 12 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 13:6
Their visions are futile and their divination is false; they say, ‘ADONAI says,’ when ADONAI has not sent them; yet they hope that the word will be confirmed.
Ezekiel 13:5-7 (in Context) Ezekiel 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 13:7
Haven’t you had a futile vision and spoken a false divination when you say, ‘ADONAI says,’ and I have not spoken?
Ezekiel 13:6-8 (in Context) Ezekiel 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 13:9
My hand will be against the prophets who have futile visions and produce false divinations; they will not be allowed into the council of my people, or be written in the register of the house of Isra’el, or enter the land of Isra’el. Then you will know that I am Adonai ELOHIM.
Ezekiel 13:8-10 (in Context) Ezekiel 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 13:23
therefore you will have no more futile visions, and you will produce no more divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and you will know that I am ADONAI.’”
Ezekiel 13:22-23 (in Context) Ezekiel 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 21:26
For the king of Bavel is standing at the fork in the road, where the two roads separate, about to use divination — he is shaking the arrows, consulting the household gods, examining the liver.
Ezekiel 21:25-27 (in Context) Ezekiel 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Ezekiel 21:28
The inhabitants will believe this is a false divination because of the oaths upon oaths [that their false prophets have sworn to the contrary]. But it will cause [God] to remember their guilt and thus insure their capture.
Ezekiel 21:27-29 (in Context) Ezekiel 21 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Micah 3:6
“Therefore you will have night, not vision, darkness and not divination; the sun will go down on the prophets, over them the day will be black.”
Micah 3:5-7 (in Context) Micah 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Micah 5:12
I will put an end to your witchcraft, and you will not have people telling your future any more.
Micah 5:11-13 (in Context) Micah 5 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Malachi 3:5
Then I will come to judge you. I will be quick to speak against those who use witchcraft, and those who do sex sins, and those who make false promises. I will speak against those who do not pay a man what he has earned, and who make it hard for the woman whose husband has died and for children who have no parents. And I will speak against those who turn away the stranger and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of All.
Malachi 3:4-6 (in Context) Malachi 3 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
NEW TESTAMENT: GOD CONDEMNED WITCHCRAFT AND DOERS OF WITCHCRAFT, OCCULT, DRUGS, AND those who practice sorceries (magic arts) ARE CLASSIFIED TOGETHER WITH THE SINS OF those who practice impurity [the lewd, adulterers] and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and deals in falsehood (untruth, error, deception, cheating) (Revelation 22:14-16).
Acts 8:9
[ Simon the Witch Doctor ] A man by the name of Simon had done witchcraft there. The people of Samaria were surprised at the things he did. He pretended that he was a great man.
Acts 8:8-10 (in Context) Acts 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Acts 8:11
They kept running after him. For a long time he fooled them with his witchcraft.
Acts 8:10-12 (in Context) Acts 8 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Acts 13:6
They went over Cyprus as far as the city of Paphos. While there, they found a Jew who did witchcraft. He was a false preacher named Barjesus.
Acts 13:5-7 (in Context) Acts 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Acts 13:8
But Elymas (as he called himself), the man who did witchcraft, worked against Barnabas and Saul. He tried to keep the leader of the country from putting his trust in the Lord.
Acts 13:7-9 (in Context) Acts 13 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Acts 19:18-20
18 Many Christians came and told of the wrong things they were doing. 19 Many of those who did witchcraft gathered their books together and burned them in front of everyone. These books were worth 50,000 pieces of silver money. 20 The Word of the Lord became well-known.
Galatians 5:19-21 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
19 And it is perfectly evident what the old nature does. It expresses itself in sexual immorality, impurity and indecency; 20 involvement with the occult and with drugs; in feuding, fighting, becoming jealous and getting angry; in selfish ambition, factionalism, intrigue 21 and envy; in drunkenness, orgies and things like these. I warn you now as I have warned you before: those who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God!
Revelation 9:20-21 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
20 The rest of mankind, those who were not killed by these plagues, even then did not turn from what they had made with their own hands — they did not stop worshipping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 21 Nor did they turn from their murdering, their involvement with the occult and with drugs, their sexual immorality or their stealing.
Revelation 18:2-3 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
2 He cried out in a strong voice, “She has fallen! She has fallen! Bavel (Babylon) the Great! She has become a home for demons, prison for every unclean spirit, a prison for every unclean, hated bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of God’s fury caused by her whoring —yes, the kings of the earth went whoring with her, and from her unrestrained love of luxury the world’s businessmen have grown rich.”

（Big and successful businesses are linked to the Babylon condemned here in the Book of Revelation for end times.)

Revelation 18:22-24 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
22 “The sound of harpists and musicians, flute-players and trumpeters will never again be heard in you.
No worker of any trade will ever again be found in you, the sound of a mill will never again be heard in you,
23 the light of a lamp will never again shine in you, the voice of bridegroom and bride will never again be heard in you.
“For your businessmen were the most powerful on earth, all the nations were deceived by your magic spell.
24 “In her was found the blood of prophets and of God’s people, indeed, of all who have ever been slaughtered on earth!”

(the magic spell of Babylon is the source of power supply to successful business men and nations! )

Revelation 21:7-9 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
7 He who wins the victory will receive these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the untrustworthy, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those involved with the occult and with drugs, idol-worshippers, and all liars — their destiny is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, the second death.”
9 One of the seven angels having the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues approached me and said, “Come! I will show you the Bride, the Wife of the Lamb.”
Revelation 22:14-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)
14 Blessed (happy and to be envied) are those who cleanse their garments, that they may have the authority and right to [approach] the tree of life and to enter through the gates into the city. 15 [But] without (outside) are the dogs and those who practice sorceries (magic arts) and impurity [the lewd, adulterers] and the murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and deals in falsehood (untruth, error, deception, cheating). 16 I, Jesus, have sent My messenger (angel) to you to witness and to give you assurance of these things for the churches (assemblies). I am the Root (the Source) and the Offspring of David, the radiant and brilliant Morning Star.

Jesus thus warned: Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ( deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).
Matthew 6:23-25 (in Context) Matthew 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

The Holy Spirit thus warned: 1 Timothy 6:10 The love of money is the beginning of all kinds of sin. Some people have turned from the faith because of their love for money. They have made much pain for themselves because of this.
1 Timothy 6:9-11 (in Context) 1 Timothy 6 (Whole Chapter)
HEED THE WORDS OF THE LORD, ALL WATCHMEN, FLEE FROM THE LOVE OF THE WORLD AND THE THINGS OF THE WORLD.

To all the "Timothy" in the churches:
1 John 2:15-17 Amplified Bible (AMP)

¹⁵ Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.
¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].
¹⁷ And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.

The all times righteousness plumb line of God

TODAY’S MESSAGE IS FOR ALL WHO FEAR THE LORD AND ARE PURPOSED IN THEIR HEARTS TO SEEK THE LORD AND KNOW HIM. THE LORD DEMANDS PURITY IN HEARTS TO SEE HIM AND DWELL WITH HIM IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
As evident in the following verses, the fruit of righteousness can be seen. DO RIGHTEOUSNESS. As the Lord does righteousness, so do we. We all want to awake in His likeness one day and not in the likeness of the enemy of God!
Psalm 17:15  ^“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.” David was a man after God’s heart and he knew that only those with the righteous likeness of God can awake before Him. How else does anyone expect to see God? Jesus said only those who are pure in heart can see God. (Matt.5:8)

PSALM 106 Praise the Lord!

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.

² Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can declare all His praise?
³ Blessed are those who keep justice,
And he who does righteousness at all times!
(Watchman’s study motes: God expects His children to do righteousness at all times, not just once in a while. Not to do it just for show before men. God demands integrity. This is the constant standard in His kingdom! God wants each individual’s life be a worshipful life before Him, in Spirit and in truth.)

Proverbs 11:18
The wicked man does deceptive work, But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
Proverbs 11:17-19 (in Context) Proverbs 11 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 59:9
[ Sin Confessed ] Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
Isaiah 59:8-10 (in Context) Isaiah 59 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Isaiah 64:5
You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways. You are indeed angry, for we have sinned— In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.
Isaiah 64:4-6 (in Context) Isaiah 64 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Amos 6:12
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? Yet you have turned justice into gall, And the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,
Amos 6:11-13 (in Context) Amos 6 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Psalm 1:6
For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Psalm 1:5-6 (in Context) Psalm 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Lamentations 1:18
“The LORD is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.
Lamentations 1:17-19 (in Context) Lamentations 1 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations
Daniel 9:14
Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.
Daniel 9:13-15 (in Context) Daniel 9 (Whole Chapter) Other TranslationsDaniel 9:18
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.
Daniel 9:17-19 (in Context) Daniel 9 (Whole Chapter) Other Translations

Zephaniah 3:4-6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ Her prophets are insolent, treacherous people;
Her priests have polluted the sanctuary,
They have done violence to the law.
⁵ The Lord is righteous in her midst,
He will do no unrighteousness.
Every morning He brings His justice to light;
He never fails,
But the unjust knows no shame.

⁶ “I have cut off nations,
Their fortresses are devastated;
I have made their streets desolate,
With none passing by.
Their cities are destroyed;
There is no one, no inhabitant.
(Watchman’s study notes: God is righteous and does not change.)

Hosea 14:8-9

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
Your fruit is found in Me.”

⁹ Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.
(Watchman’s study notes: we are required to know God’s way and walk/live/conduct our lives in His way!)

2 Timothy 2:21-23

New King James Version (NKJV)

²¹ Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. ²² Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. ²³ But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.
(Watchman’s study notes: Even Apostle Paul urged his disciple, Timothy to pursue righteousness and categorized this godly characteristic together with faith, love and peace!)

Titus 1:16

¹⁶ They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.
(Watchman’s study notes: today this warning is still in force. When a man’s works show clearly that they deny the holy and righteous standards of God, they fall under this category of being disqualified for every good work. God does not accept any work of the flesh. Read the warning letters from Jesus to the seven churches in the end times. Revelation 2-3)

Galatians 5 (NKJV) Walking in the Spirit¹⁶

 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹ envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
(Watchman’s study notes: Praise the Lord. The Holy Spirit has given all who follow Jesus the sure way to righteousness, that is, to live in and walk in the Spirit of Christ. Indeed, there is only one key:
” ²⁴ And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” )

How to see God's power and glory?

the cross life

Psalm 63:1-5

New King James Version (NKJV)

Joy in the Fellowship of God

A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63 O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.
² So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,
To see Your power and Your glory.

³ Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
⁴ Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.
⁵ My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

End Time church witnessing: How to hear God's voice?

The watchman recently went to a house of God where people worship God day and night, read His words and pray. Their lifestyle is God-focused and Holy Spirit directed. He visited this place nearly four years ago and this time he noted the significant transformation. A whole new generation of godly young people has been raised. The current teaching is on “hearing God's voice”.

Increasingly Christians want to know God and hear His voice.
When the end time comes if one cannot hear God's voice (i.e. be led by the Holy Spirit), he would be trapped in the physical worldly system which would require everyone to take the beast's mark as an access key to conduct all transactions: monetary/food supplies/medical/utilities/education/work/ citizenship entitlement etc.
Christians who follow Jesus will have no option but to learn to hear God's voice NOW as this requires CONSISTENT preparation and CONSTANT practice.

Obedience is required for those who want to hear God's voice.

In the Bible there are many examples of those who heard the voice of God and obeyed. Hearing the voice of God transformed lives.
Abraham: He heard God and obeyed. At an advanced age he moved from his secure homeland to a place whereabouts of which he did not even know. He even had to give up his only son Isaac through whom God had promised to make a great nation and descendants as numerous as the stars.
Moses: He heard God and obeyed. At the peak of his personal worldly success as an Egyptian prince, he stood up against the dark power of Egypt, accepting the loss of power, status, wealth, relationship and even his life.
Noah: He heard God and obeyed. He endured being mocked and scoffed at for 100 years by the whole nation of people among whom he dwelt forgoing all credibilities built up over his past 500 years of life.
King David heard the voice of God and obeyed when he was told not to build the temple of God. He was described by the Lord to be the man after His heart and indeed he was.
The prophets heard the voice of God and delivered His messages faithfully, to people who may or may not listen or obey. Many were persecuted and even killed.
The Apostles and disciples heard the voice of God and obeyed faithfully. They spread the Gospel with signs and wonders confirming the word, and they witnessed fearlessly even to death.

How to hear God's voice? The watchman summarized below some of the valuable teachings he received during the three days' stay in God's house.

To hear God's voice you must get rid of the following obstructions:

1. Any personal agenda (no matter how 'right' it may seem to you). Haggai 1:4-5 “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in paneled houses, and this temple lies in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” 7 Thus says the Lord of hosts, “consider your ways!” (Note: verse 6 lists out a whole list of their personal problems!) Be concerned with what God wants and not what you want.
   
2. Self (me, mine, my, us, we, ours, I am). Gen.11:4 And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves,” Gen.3:5 “and you will be like God”; John 8:43-44 “Why are you not able to understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.” Let your 'anti-Christ-self' be crucified with Christ. Gal.2:20
   
3. lifestyle that reflects the values of the world and its way (the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life). 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world the love of the Father Is not in him. For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
   
4. Any plans or ambitions that follow the dictates of your own heart (no matter how grand and beneficial your expected/perceived outcome would do to the 'church' ). Jeremiah 13:10 “this evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.”
   
5. Anything that is not spiritual in origin, process and of no spiritual value in outcome. John 3:5-6; John 4:23-24; 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” Hearing God's voice is therefore a life and death matter. Romans 8:1-14. 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die,”
   

The key to hearing God is to walk (live) according to the Spirit. Rom 8:13 “For if you live according to the flesh you will die.”

The Lord continues to speak to those as follows:

1. who have a poor and contrite spirit and who trembles at His word. Isaiah 66:2
   
2. who listen to His words. Haggai 2:2 “Speak now to...the remnant of the people.” God is specific and knows who will listen.
   
3. who work with God. Haggai 2:4 “Yet now be strong...all you people of the land, and work, for I am with you.”
   
4. whose mind is stayed on God because he trusts in God (God will keep him in perfect peace). Isa.26:3
   
5. who is not rebellious or turn away from God. Isa.50:4-5 God awakens and opens the prophet's ear morning by morning to hear as the learned.
   
6. who know the Lord. 1 Sam.3:7 (When Samuel did not yet know the Lord, the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him)
   
7. who know the word of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:21 (God revealed Himself to Samuel by the word of the Lord)
   
8. who persistently stays in the presence of the Lord. 1 Sam.3:19 “And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground”. 20 “And all Israel...knew that Samuel has been established as a prophet of the Lord.” 7:2-3 “So the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years...” “Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel,”
   
9. who always live in the realm of prayers, staying in the presence of God by prayers and supplications with thanksgiving. Eph.6:18; Col.4:2; 4:12; Phil.1:3,9,11; 1 Thess.1:2-3; 3:10-13; 4:3, 7, 12, 18.
   
10. who live the watchman lifestyle. Matt.26:41 “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation.” Luke 21:36 “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Matt.24:42 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.” Mark 13:33 “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.” 13:37 “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
    

God is Spirit (John 4:24). An effective intercessor enters the spiritual realm. So does one who watches. It takes a life time of practicing living before God. Samuel took 20 long years to prepare himself. Moses took 40 years. Noah took 600 years. Samuel and Moses were described as powerful intercessors (those who called upon the Lord and He answered them Psa.99:6; Jer.15:1). Noah was described as man of righteousness together with Daniel and Job (Ezekiel 14:14) . Daniel entered the lions' den when he was an old man. Job too was old when he was hit by the colossal tragedy of losing all his children and everything with one blow. These were men who lived their life consistently before God. They could hear the voice of God. They lived by the Spirit. They lived their lives obeying God.