I say it all the time, and I will continue to say it: Nothing ever changes

I say it all the time, and I will continue to say it: Nothing ever changes. It never has, and the scriptures declare the same: "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9). When Jesus came to Israel, the whole nation was in utter darkness spiritually. Those who knew they were in darkness were the ones who recognized the light that Jesus brought, and it was them who benefited from his light. That is what the following scripture was talking about: "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (Mat. 4:16). It was those people that Jesus was speaking of in the following saying: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled" (Mat. 5:6). As for those who thought that they were already in the light, they rejected the true light that was in Jesus, and that is what Jesus addressed in the following passage: "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" (Jn. 9:39-41). Those who loved the religious traditions of that day were the ones that Jesus was referring to when he said these words: "Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hunger" (Lk. 6:25). That is what it comes down to my friend. Do we love the religious traditions of our day, or will we be satisfied with nothing less than the real love, peace, and deliverance that accompanies embracing the truth that comes from heaven? The truth is that the body of Christ, meaning God's Spirit baptized people, are in more darkness today than God's people have ever been in; whether new testament, old testament, or before. And God will move in a very great way one more time before the second coming of Jesus to this world, at which second coming he will catch up his faithful, dead and living; on his way here to destroy the wicked and set up his millennial reign on earth (I Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:5,6). That move will be in power, in truth, and in the love and holiness of God; and it will be "not by might [of man], nor by power [of man], but by [his] Spirit" (Zech. 4:6). In other words, it will once again be Jesus Christ, of whom the scripture says, "Now the Lord is that Spirit" (II Cor. 3:17).

When this takes place it will be a test to see who it really is that hungers for that which is of God, and who it is that will not be willing to give up the religious traditions of their day. And I can assure you by the holy Ghost my friend, that the religious traditions of modern Christianity will fall before the unharnessed presence of Jesus Christ that this world will see one last time. And I can assure you with utter certainty that those who hold to these traditions, doctrines, and commandments of men, will fall with them. Yes it will happen again as it happened with Jesus when he came to this world the first time: "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain" (Isa. 40:4). And also this: "And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against... that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Lk. 2:34,35). Yes my friend, it will not be long before we will all find out who is who among God's people, and thereby will the following sobering words of Jesus be fulfilled: "As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather OUT OF HIS KINGDOM all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear" (Mat. 13:40-43). I don't know about you, but these things motivate me more than ever to heed the following Bible admonitions: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life" (Prov. 4:23). And, "And every man that hath this hope [the resurrection of the dead] in him purifieth himself, even as he [Christ] is pure" (I Jn. 3:3). And finally, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (Philip. 2:12). Amen.