Temptation and Perseverance

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isa. 5:20,21) Like never before, these scriptures are being fulfilled in our sight on a vast worldwide scale. There's a lot of people who can see this happening, that the world is just plainly being given to the devil by the inhabitants thereof. The problem is that those who are in the greatest positions of power in the earth are the ones who are forwarding the affliction more than anyone. It all comes down to a massive, overwhelming disbelief of God and his righteousness, and utter defiance of the same. So many believe they are standing for good causes as it were, but are only doing the devil's bidding with their blind, ignorant view of things. It is greater than tragic, but it is a voluntary, slow suicide at the same time; so no one is to blame but the wicked themselves. The truth of the matter is that no one has to be wicked. Jesus has long since paid the price for the redemption of all men from sin, but his sacrifice has been cast aside by the lovers of iniquity. Not only so, but everyone has a conscience though many refuse to listen to their conscience, and go as hard as they can in the opposite direction. Everybody is so "wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight" even as our text verses state; but all I can think of are the words of warning given by Jeremiah to a rebellious people: "A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?" (Jer. 5:30,31) Indeed, what WILL they do in the end thereof? Too many have forgotten that God is "the Judge of all the earth," but forgetting that will not stop the judgment of God from coming upon the wicked with sudden destruction. A lot of folks need to take heed to the observation of Job, and fear: "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him, and hath prospered?" (Job 9:4)

The next thing to be expected, seeing that this mass blindness and perverseness is covering the world, is told in another declaration from Isaiah: "Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey" (Isa. 59:15). As the wicked wax more wicked, and the righteous see it; the righteous will also wax more righteous, and will be heavily persecuted for it. But none of these things should be a surprise, seeing the scriptures are replete with the knowledge of this malady: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived" (II Tim. 3:12,13). Jesus summed all of this up nice and neat in his sermon about the end time: "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" (Mat. 24:9-13). All of the above will be the result of a worldwide view of "calling evil good, and good evil; and putting darkness for light, and light for darkness; and putting bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." If we do not follow hard after the Spirit of God from here out, the circumstances that are coming in the earth will force us into a backward mindset about the truth and reality of Jesus Christ, and we will have nowhere to go but to the aforementioned perverted view. Note that Jesus said that "the love of many will wax cold," and that he had said just prior to that, "many shall be offended, and shall betray one another." That is talking about the members of the body of Christ my friend. If you can't see that then understand that the only 'love' that can 'wax cold,' is "the love of God [that] is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us [believers]" (Rom. 5:5). The unregenerate have no love TO wax cold, neither is there any question about whether they will "endure unto the end, [and] be saved," as Jesus said.

The only way we can see God and his ways clearly is to have a heart that is pure from sin. That is why Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mat. 5:8). If we're not seeing God the way he is now, we're not going to see him at all later. Jesus said the same thing in a little different way elsewhere: "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness" (Lk. 11:34). Our 'eye' being single is the same thing as our heart being pure. Therefore our eye being 'evil' is the same thing as our heart NOT being pure. If we're not pure then we are in darkness. Period. The beloved apostle confirmed this truth about as clearly as it is written anywhere in the scriptures: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure" (I Jn. 3:3). Anyone who has read many of my articles knows that this passage is quoted often. Well, when you realize that what is written in this passage is about 'all the marbles,' it's easy to see why it is one of my favorite go-to passages in the Bible. Pureness of heart is the same thing as holiness, and with that in mind I'll quote one more verse that says the exact same thing as that one: "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6). We need to be in the first resurrection, and we can't afford for the second death to have power over us. In closing I will give you my own quote which is derived from the main verses in this article: Every man that hopes to see good as good, and evil as evil, purifies himself even as Christ is pure. There simply is no other way to truly have the right understanding of God, and of the things that are going on in the earth. "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent" (Jn. 17:3). Amen and amen.