BREAD OF THE SOUL

While studying the wording and deeper messages in Hosea, something in Chapter nine grabbed me, striking terror in my heart. It was in reference to the House of Ephraim. Hosea 7:13 mentions that the House of Ephraim has been "redeemed", which means this foreshadows those who would come to a saving belief upon the blood of Yeshua. Thus, it may be a stern message to Believers in our corporate church structure!

Now Hosea 9:4 tells us that the House of Ephraim will fail to offer wine offerings. This type of wine was effervescent in nature, and would likely be that which was referenced as drink offering in Exodus 29:40, a shadow of the living sacrifice we are to be as the "church" per Romans 12:1. But Hosea 9:4 not only indicates that the "church" today will not offer such offering, but that the offering it DOES offer will be a "bread of mourners", and that "ALL THAT EAT THEREOF SHALL BE POLLUTED!" It continues by stating emphatically that their "BREAD FOR THEIR SOUL SHALL NOT COME INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD". A Lexiconal study on the word "bread" as used in this reference means "fruit", thus this fruit of their souls shall not come into the house of the Lord. It would apply to the acceptability of the soul before the Lord. Not only is the "church" as referenced here failing to make appropriate offering to Christ, the sacrifices it chooses to make appears to be an abomination to Him, and He condemns every soul that participates in them, saying that they will NOT come into the House of the Lord! The time frame of the action in Hosea seems to indicate that the "House of the Lord" is in the Millennial Kingdom, which correlates with other areas of the Bible.

Ephesians chapter five seems to shed light on the "living sacrifice" of the drink offering we are to be. In verse 2, we see that we are to walk in love, thereby being an offering unto God. Verse 9 explains that the fruit of the Spirit is all goodness and righteousness and truth. Thus, we are to walk accordingly. Implied here is restraint of "self-will" or control of "self". Indeed, temperance is further listed as evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:23. This offering IS acceptable unto the Lord, per verse 10. Verses 14 and 15 admonish us to awaken to God's light, and walk circumspectly, being wise, understanding the will of God for us -- (as expressed in the verses above). Then verse 18 tells us to not be drunk with wine (implying the loss of self-control), but to be filled with the Spirit, which has been shown above to mean walking circumspectly in love, righteousness, and truth (implying that we must exert full control over our self-will rather than allowing an intoxicant to influence our control). We are to speak "TO OURSELVES in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody IN OUR HEARTS to the Lord", giving thanks always, and submitting ourselves to one another (again, self-control seems to be implied here) "IN THE FEAR OF GOD"! What a picture of the teachings of God throughout His Word regarding how we are to live/walk in sacrifice to Him, being filled (on a continual basis) with His love, righteousness and truth, in submission to one another.

Some have said we must be "filled" and then "refilled" periodically, via a supernatural "charge" by the touch of one who is "anointed with God's Spirit", whereby we can act drunk since it is supposedly a result of this "charge" or "recharge" of God's Spirit that is making us act that way. That concept seems to be totally foreign to the intent of the passage here, whereby being filled with His Spirit is evidenced by our "walking circumspectly". The error seems to stem from a misunderstanding of verse 18 being taken out of context, and possibly from an unmerited expansion upon the passage in Acts 2 whereby the impartation of the Holy Spirit upon the first Believers enabled them to speak in the languages of other people present. Thus they were accused of indulgence of wine. No reference is made here that suggests rowdy behavior, only a miraculous imparting of the tongues of other people, which seemed to have confused some …onlookers (labeled here as mockers). There is no other Biblical reference known to me that indicates a confusion of the working of the Spirit with that of drunken behavior. Rowdy drunken behavior is definitely not at all the picture of "circumspect" self-control we see pictured in this passage of Ephesians!

The context here implies that the filling is to be ongoing, never allowing a shortage to occur. It appears that a means by which we consistently uphold our "filling" is to worship to ourselves in our heart. Please note that the New Testament does not indicate the need for this to be done on a uncorporate level. Could that be because the omniscient Lord knew that the "church" of the end times would fall pray to unhealthy forms of corporate worship? Some of the music used in worship services today seems to promote excessive exhilaration, and may even induce some to abandon the thought process and enter a subliminal state of consciousness (a New Age technique – to bring one into the spirit realm where he becomes susceptible to rampant deception by deceiving  spirits). The more they experience these emotional surges which energize and stimulate the soul, the more they insist it is "of God". It does not seem to matter that this insistence is based upon soulical experience rather than a Biblical trying of the spirits (I John 4:1). They often become addicted to the process in a fashion that is much akin to drug usage, and are not content for any period of time without another "fix". Indeed, it does seem to produce a fruit of the soul rather than fruit of the spirit, and we are told in John 4:23 that TRUE worshipers will worship the Father (not the Son, and not the Holy Spirit) in SPIRIT and in TRUTH (not in SOUL)! Yet it is virtually "impossible to help one see, at this point, that they have strayed from the intent of the Ephesians passage, and in fact they may be turning their control over to something they have contacted through the spirit world that counters the very picture of the self-controlled, circumspect walk we see in this passage.

Let's take a moment to look at the tactical expertise of the enemy. II Corinthians 2:11 warns us not to be "ignorant of Satan's devices" lest he should "get an advantage of us". If He cannot prevent us from receiving the free gift of eternal life, he will try to cloud our understanding, divert our walk, and pollute our souls. He is a VERY subtle serpent, and we see repeatedly that his strategy is to take a Christian concept (in this case worship?), in the purest form, then subtly begin to twist and distort it, molding it to meet his end. Before all is said and done, he has successfully deceived many of God's children at best, diverting their walk with Christ; at worst instilling his perverse precepts in the minds of Christian leaders, so they, in turn, can pollute the souls of the flocks they teach. His internal destructiveness can be catastrophic to the church at large, and Hosea indicates that, indeed, it does take a toll on the "church" of the end days.

We must not forget that Satan can appear as an angel of light (II Corinthians 11:14), and that some of the leaders in the "church" in the end days will be as "wolves in sheep's clothing"  (Matthew 7:15). They will pervert the message of God (Galatians 1:6-7), and redesign it to one that the people crave (II Timothy 4:1-5). Worse yet, this last passage indicates that the "church" will encourage such perversion of doctrine! Can the very elect be deceived? Matthew 24:5 says that many will be deceived, and strongly admonishes us not to allow this to happen! Only a few verses later, in verse 24, we see "if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect". We need to note here that the words "it were" are in italics, meaning that these two little words were added; that they did not appear in the original text. If we do not include them in this verse, we see "if possible, they SHALL deceive the very elect". Now doesn't that create a slightly different image? Might not that explain the reason Yeshua felt it was necessary to WARN us to NOT BE DECEIVED? Why would He have warned us to not BE deceived, if He knew we COULD NOT be deceived? He has pre-warned us that there will be leaders in our end times churches who will try to draw us into such deceit, and in Matthew 24:4, Yeshua, Himself seems to put the burden squarely on our shoulders. It is OUR individual responsibility to not allow ourselves to be deceived. Could this spirit of deception be active in other areas as well, maybe even in sign gifts?

The controversy over the question of the sign gifts in the "church" today seems to center around the interpretation of one key passage, being I Corinthians 13:8-10.

Thus we see that the sign gifts are for a limited time. They are scheduled by God Himself to fail or cease at a given time. We see in verse 10 that this occurs "when that which is perfect is come". Herein lies the controversy: what is meant by this phrase? Those who say sign gifts are for today claim that this refers to the return of Christ, whereas those who say these gifts are not for today say it is the Bible. Perhaps it would be clearer if we went back to the original Greek text. The transliteration of the Greek reads "when but comes the perfect THING", and Strong's Concordance verifies that it is of neuter gender! Now Yeshua can NEVER be classified as a thing, and He is always referenced as masculine in gender, so this perfect "thing" can not refer to Him, but can only mean the complete Word of God. It would provide the future form of knowledge via wisdom rather than by inspiration/vision, and teach us to verify the "fruit of the spirit" of a servant of Christ by the maturity of that person in Christ rather than by the manifestation of sign gifts. The passage continues to clarify this by relating these former things linked to the early church to a child (i.e. immature church) and indicates that the later, matured church would not have need of it. The terminology "face to face" in verse 12 of this passage is confusing here due to our current understanding of this phrase, whereby we think of a person's physical face in each instance. However, the word "face" here is from the Greek word "pros" which means "In general, that part "of anything which is turned or presented to the eye of another", and would indicate that our very eyes could see in completed form all that is to be available for the needs of the mature church. In view of the neuter gender noted in the verses above it, this is the only valid interpretation possible.

Often people try to quote Hebrews 13:8 in order to show that God's sign gifts are still in use today.

Praise the Lord, Yes He is! If He was not, He would not be God. However, what is meant by "the same" as it is used here? Could it mean "the same" in form? No, Yeshua was first in spirit form, then in human form, and now is in resurrected form. How about "the same" in regard to manifestation? Well, how many burning bushes have you seen lately that were not touched by the flames? The form in which He has chosen to manifest Himself throughout history has varied greatly. That cannot be the intent here, as it has NOT been consistent throughout time. His ESSENCE, however, (i.e. His deity, His righteousness, etc.) has never changed and will never change! Why? Because HE IS GOD!

Is it possible for a servant of God to exhibit the miracle of a sign gift today? With God all things are possible, and in certain unique cases, it is a remote potential. Is it occurring on the wide scale being broadcast today? If this were so, it would be in direct conflict with His Word. If He said sign gifts would be "done away" when the Bible was completed, we need to acknowledge that.

The Bible further warns us that deceiving spirits and false prophets will use signs and wonders in the end days to draw many away from the true faith that we are intended to develop, into a false form of faith. Apparently this new "faith" will not even be recognizable to Yeshua, as He asked in Luke 18:8 if He would even find "faith" on the earth! It seems He knew that signs and wonders would deceive the end days "church". Maybe that's why He warned us that they would end when the Bible was complete! If He says they would end at that time, then let's agree with Him on that. He is not the author of confusion per I Corinthians 14:33, so let's not be confused. If the signs being used in the church today are not of God, we need to depart from their use and/or presence. Maybe we should be turning FROM the soulical, experiential manifestation of the sign gifts which satisfies "self", and turn TOWARD the obedience and yieldedness that satisfies God and matures us as Believers.

Another controversy in the "church" today is regarding "Spirit Baptism". The four gospels and Acts refer to the baptism of the Spirit. Some say it is a separate "act of grace". Indeed at Pentecost, Believers received the Holy Spirit after their initial belief, because the Holy Spirit had not yet been sent to mankind. We would also acknowledge that there were signs of other miracles at this time, because it was such a remarkable event (i.e. the "former rain" referred to by the Old Testament prophets). Luke 3:16 says that (Yeshua) shall baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire. Indeed the Believers at Pentecost were baptized with the Holy Ghost (Spirit) at that special event, and we receive Him as well upon our Belief (Ephesians 1:13), though usually without all the signs that were a part of that special occasion in Biblical time.

In reference to the fire, I Corinthians 3:11-15 speaks of a trial (potentially a form of baptism) by fire which takes place when each Believer stands before the Bema Judgment Seat. This may well be a process by which we are instated into our next realm of spiritual existence. Thus, this baptism may be yet to come, though it may have been foreshadowed by the fire that appeared when the Holy Spirit was first internalized by mankind at Pentecost.

Whereas the "former rain" has been poured out abundantly on the Believers of the Age of Grace, the "latter rain" is promised to those of the Hebrew race who will be redeemed after the completion of this age. For the Believers of the Age of Grace, however, it is explained in Ephesians 4:4-6 that there is to be "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ..., one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all ...." Note that it does not say one initial baptism, and then a "separate act of grace" baptism, nor does it say one baptism, then several subsequent re-baptisms. It most simply says ONE BAPTISM. This ONE BAPTISM must certainly encompass the entire work of the Holy Spirit in this Age of Grace, and the ritual of baptism as performed by the Believer, is merely a symbolic gesture of obedience, which represents the yielded life that Believer is supposed to assume. This act of obedience may have a healing effect upon the individual, but the baptism itself does not claim any magical power, it is the obedience in the heart of the Believer who yields to this symbolic gesture that would draw him closer in his walk with Christ.

The Holy Spirit entered into and thus empowered the Believer internally upon the moment of his Belief unto salvation. I Corinthians 3:16 does not indicate whether all of these Believers had been physically baptized in any manner whatsoever. They are merely addressed as Brethren (i.e. Believers), yet they were told that the Spirit of God dwelt in them. They were not told to undergo any particular process at all in order to receive the Holy Spirit, it was already within them.

When Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be FILLED with the Spirit, does that mean we are to be "slain in the Spirit"? Well, maybe we should look at the traits of this experience. Those so "slain" don't fall face down in contrition, repentance, and yieldedness, they fall face up in an altered state of consciousness, losing control of both body and mind, and often recovering to laugh hysterically or contort in spasms. If we are to judge by the fruit in evidence here, it appears to be diametrically opposed to the circumspect walk of self-control we are to exhibit per Ephesians chapter 5.

We are told by the "church" today to judge the movement by it's end result. This result does not seem to validate God's hand however, as it appears to be a superficial and fleeting experience of the soul in most cases, an experience that must be rekindled periodically, even to the point of addiction rather than a lasting internalized spiritual commitment. We are then told by the "church" that we must be "reslain". Some would say this is simply the "recharging" of the "Holy Spirit battery" within us, but does God's Word indicate that we need to be "refilled" or "recharged"? (Now, I would not contend with the concept of being "refocused", but the concept of being "refilled" or "recharged" I simply cannot find.)

Then it seems that those who "walk the walk" over a period of time often do so for the sake of appearance and fraternal brotherhood rather than as a result of internal change. Only those who are truly seeking a change seem to obtain it, but evidence seems to bear out that this is due to the "seeking" rather than the "slaying"! While the soul of the immature Believer is being tantalized by (this "food" (candy), his spirit may starves for want of nutrition. As we have seen, God's Word did indicate that even the elect (the maturity and/or sincerity of the seeker do not appear to be factors here) CAN fall into deceit if they do not properly guard against it! While the spirit of a mature and/or sincere Believer may not suffer neglect, the soul is still being unduly pampered rather than being brought under subjection.

Could this "slaying" process, and other unhealthy forms of corporate worship which feed and arouse the emotions of the soul, be the offerings referred to by Hosea that pollute the soul, and endanger it's entry into the Millennial Kingdom? I cannot say. I merely raise the question. It is up to each Believer to decide for himself. Is it worth the risk? Does the momentary elation and "high" received in the experience warrant the risk of being cast out of the kingdom of rest that is supposed to await Believers? Is it really what God had in mind? How often are we supposed to be "recharged"; at what intervals, and why isn't this addressed more explicitly in God's Word? What would happen if we were isolated, totally alone, and nobody was around to "recharge" us? Would we fall into a hopeless state of disrepair? Again, does His Word indicate that we are to be "recharged" or "refocused"?

Ephesians 5:18 tells us to be FILLED with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is within the Believer. It only follows logically that to be FILLED would be to allow the Spirit the space to expand within us by emptying our soul of "self", and allowing the Spirit to fill it. If you squish up a sponge into a tiny ball and put it into a small container it cannot spread through the space it would normally assume. Only when the space for expansion is allowed can it resume the area it was intended to occupy. We can choose to bottle up the Holy Spirit within us in like manner, quenching Him, and rendering Him powerless in our lives, or we can empty ourselves of our self-will and be filled by the Spirit. Only then can we walk circumspectly in God's love, righteousness, and truth. When the entire context of Ephesians chapter 5 is viewed, it should be apparent that the intent is not an external resolution to an internal problem, but rather a commitment of the heart to allow Him to fill us, a resolution from within to resolve a problem from within.

The passage in Ephesians continues to show that, indeed, this form of fruit is what the Bridegroom is looking to find in His Bride. (We were also cautioned in I Thessalonians 5:6 to watch and be sober. It is difficult to be doing that while lying comatose in an altered state of mind, laughing hysterically, or being consumed by convulsive actions as a result of a contact with "something" in the spirit realm).

Indeed, Ephesians 5:26-27 warns us that His Bride is to be sanctified and cleansed by the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, NOT HAVING SPOT, or WRINKLE, or ANY SUCH THING, but that she should be HOLY and WITHOUT BLEMISH. A polluted soul hardly fits this criteria. Thus, short of repentence, those souls in the "church" of Hosea which had been polluted through abominable sacrificial participation, may have a problem first when the Bridegroom comes for His Bride, then again when they ultimately stand before Him at the Bema Judgment Seat.

Am I suggesting that this would be the only error of the "church" today? Indeed not. A large portion of the "church" today appears to fall into the stereotype of the Laodicean church in Revelation 3:14-22, and God may well "spew them out of His mouth". They will fit nicely into the "one world religion church" of Revelation, and we are admonished to come out of her so we will not participate in her plagues (Revelation 18:4).

Let us wake up and begin to worship the Lord in proper manner within our HEARTS, not forsaking the fellowship with like-minded Christians (Hebrews 10:25), but forsaking darkness (II Corinthians 6:14), and no longer listen to instruction that would lead us into error (Proverbs 19:27). Maybe it's time we as Believers get back into God's Word to us in a very intense manner, seeking the total reconciliation of His Word to us (see Breaking Spiritual Strongholds by this ministry), exhorting one another (Hebrews 10:25), and encouraging one another with His TOTAL Truth and the hope that is within us (I Peter 3:15) as we walk circumspectly by the fullness of His Spirit!

Although my spirit has always sensed the problems inherent with the form of worship discussed above, I have never felt it necessary to publicly confront it. However, in the light of these passages and the heavy conviction upon my heart at this time, I feel that I must now do so. It seems that God is placing me in the role of a "watchman" of sorts in these end days, and to not warn the "church" today of the potential judgment that may result from this type of worship would put me in danger of having blood-stained hands myself as I stand before the Bema Judgment Seat.

I feel that I must reach out and warn those He loves so much, which includes those He has brought me to love so much. So, please don't take offense. I seek not to cause strife in the body of God, but merely to warn as He has put it upon my heart to do so, warning in love, and trying to share what it seems that He has shown me. Please don't judge me from this writing, as it is not my intent to judge any of you to whom this might pertain. That is God's job. You can take this information as you choose. I would, however, admonish you to put all feelings and emotions on the shelf and take this matter before the throne of God, listening very closely to HIS feelings on the matter. I will pray that any enemy spiritual influence be bound as each one who reads this takes it before the Lord. I fear that only total repentance (i.e. confession and abandonment) of such "sacrifices" would allow the cleansing from the polluted state shown in Hosea 9:4 that would properly prepare the soul for His House.

A closer look at the end times prophetic writings of Daniel may yield some interesting concepts which could shed additional light on this matter. The "church" today seems to teach that the end time prophetic words in this book pertain only to certain segments of it. Maybe that is because their theological understanding does not encompass the rest of the book! Would it not make sense that the "higher ways" of our Lord would have a deeper meaning for the fiery furnace and the lions den than just to include them in this book as a couple of neat Bible stories? Let's look at them for a moment.

We are told in chapter 6, verses 8 and 9 that there are laws established by the King which could not be rescinded (correlating possibly to divine laws?). Once a penalty was instigated, there was no way to withdraw it. When we look at the events of the fiery furnace (chapter 3), we see that as a result of the King's wrath, the fire was made to be seven times hotter than it normally was to be. We should note here that the number seven is the Lord's number of perfection. The sentence of these three lads was upon them because they were accused of failing to meet the standards of the King. Their faith was definitely active! They REFUSED TO FALL DOWN IN THE FORM OF FALSE WORSHIP, regardless of the consequences. It was due to this active faith that they were not burned up instantly as were those who threw them into the furnace! However, the Lord intervened by not only seeing that they were not be harmed, but by even preventing their clothing from being singed or smelling of smoke from the fire. But what if the Lord had NOT had not been able to acknowledge such active faith when subjected to this fire? Would the intervention of the Lord still have been there?

I Corinthians 3:11-15 tells us of a fiery trial ahead at the Bema Judgment Seat. Might this fire be a divine decree which must stand, and might the fire be seven times hotter because of the wrath of King Yeshua as He sees our disobedience and watches the way we profane His intents and/or walk in self-determined righteousness rather than in HIS righteousness during this life, offering sacrifices of soulical indulgence rather than offerings built upon the foundation He established? Remember now, we were bought with a price, and are no longer our own (I Corinthians 6:19-20)!

In this fire the works of man will be judged, and those which are NOT built on the foundation of our Lord will be burnt up. Note that it DOES NOT say (as is commonly taught) that our TRESPASSES will all be burnt up in this fire, it says that our inappropriate WORKS will be burnt up. What might apply under inappropriate WORKS here? Might it be sacrifices that were offered on the basis of what our SOULS deemed to be right, rather than on the precepts set forth in Ephesians 5 by our Lord? What will happen as we stand in this fire if our sacrifices are found to be polluted? Can we expect the Lord to be by our side, and our garments unsinged? Would any unrepented tresspasses defile us and make us unworthy of His intervention? Might His interaction with those who are found to be unblemished in this fire be the consummation of the marriage of the Bride to her Bridegroom, the very baptism of fire of which the Bible Speaks?

Likewise, as Daniel was thrown into the den of lions because he was accused of not meeting the King's standards, we see that it was through the intervention of the Lord (Daniel 6:22) as a result of Daniel's faith (Daniel 6:23 and Hebrews 11:33) that the lions' mouths were closed and he could not be injured. As discussed before (and in other writings of this ministry), we should remember that the terms belief and faith as used in these last two references are to be considered active verbs, as in "keeping the faith", etc.

Maybe we should recall the ominous verse where Yeshua asks if He will even find faith (obviously the active kind) on the earth when He comes (Luke 18:8). Will our "faith" have become so distorted/polluted that He no longer recognizes it? Is our "faith" in God's ability and discretion to do what is right for us as we make our requests known to Him, or is it built upon verses taken out of context and distortions of the harmonious intent of the totality of His Word? Is it based upon works (sacrifices) that were not built upon HIS foundation? If our "faith" is not recognizable to Him, what is to keep us from being torn apart by the lions? Could that be during the Tribulation, for those who will be left behind to endure it (as opposed to being taken home in the First Fruits Rapture)?

We see in the later verses of Hebrews 11 that those with "faith" in the "church" of the Age of Grace did not necessarily find such deliverance from their earthly trials as did those of Old Testament Days. Perhaps this is because these miraculous deliverances were a "type of", or shadow of, the events to occur in the "Day of the Lord" rather than in the Age of Grace; a shadow of judgments to come during Tribulation and as we stand before the King at Bema. We need to note now, that while grace is a gift given without judging our worthiness to receive it, the term mercy is NOT SYNONYMOUS with the term grace. Throughout God's Word we find that mercy is a reward for walking with God in HIS WAY! The Old Testament repeatedly spells out the rewards of mercy for God's elect when they chose to Walk with Him in HIS WAY, according to HIS TERMS vs. the penalties of His wrath when they did not, and Hebrews 10:28-29 validates it's application to US! These are likely shadows of the mercy vs. the wrath ahead for the Believers (also His elect) as they face His judgment, and WE CANNOT AFFORD TO IGNORE THEM! (See I Corinthians 10:6-13 and Hebrews 3:12-19! Again the form of "belief" as used in Hebrews 3:19 would imply properly evidenced active belief). Whereas grace prevails at the White Throne, mercy appears to be the key issue at Bema.

We must not doubt His wrath if we fail to "study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth" (II Timothy 2:15) as we were told to do. Indeed, II Peter 2:1-9 ominously warn us that false prophets and teachers among us will bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction, and many shall follow their pernicious ways. Through covetousness they shall, with feigned words, make merchandise of us, whose judgment lingers not, and damnation slumbers not. For if God spared not the angels (who were created to serve Him as He commanded) that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; and spared not the old world, but saved Noah, a preacher of righteousness (who was a just man who walked with God per Genesis 6:9); and turned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemning them, but delivering Lot, a righteous man, the Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, AND to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.)

How dare we say that this would apply only to the UNBELIEVER? This letter was addressed by Peter to "them that have obtained like precious faith ... through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ"! Peter is trying to tell us something that the disciples understood but which the church no longer teaches. There is judgment ahead for the Believer, and Yeshua is not going to smile and simply say, "You shouldn't have done that child, but go on in and put on your Bridal clothes, and enjoy the feast I have prepared for My righteous Bride!"

Hebrews 6:1-12 speaks of open shame nigh unto cursing, whose end is to be burned for those who were ONCE ENLIGHTENED, and have TASTED of the HEAVENLY GIFT, and were made PARTAKERS of the HOLY GHOST, but who have fallen away! These are BELIEVERS! Hebrews 10:26-39 warns BELIEVERS against trodding under foot the Son of God, and counting the blood of the covenant WHEREWITH WE WERE SANCTIFIED an unholy thing, AND spiting the Spirit of grace. We are told that He will not spare recompense toward such Believers, that the LORD SHALL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE, and that it is a FEARFUL THING TO FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD. Might He look upon such sacrifices as spiting the Spirit of grace? Hosea 4:6 warns that His people will be destroyed for lack of knowledge! Romans 11:19-22 indicates that He is NOT obligated to spare the branch (i.e. the Believer per John 15:4-5) from punishment.

Wake up, brethren. I plead with you as Paul plead with the "church" in Acts 20:28-32, warning as he warned, that grievous wolves would enter among us, not sparing the flock; that men would arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. He had warned and plead with the brethren night and day for three years with tears. It was more than three years ago that I (among others) first started reaching out with the message to the brethren to wake up and walk with the Lord, seeking His TOTAL TRUTH in these end days.

Is our time almost up? It is with tears that I pray for God's MERCY for the brethren today, because I know that many who have fallen into deceit have sincere hearts. Perhaps that is why we are given a short time; yet during that time, I see the deceit getting more and more out of control, feeding on more and more of God's precious flock. Maybe He has had enough! Maybe it is time to bring all this to a end. Maybe the door to repentance is about to close. My tears still flow for my brothers and sisters in Christ, as I close. May you find His Truth!