Consecrated means to be sanctified or set apart from all others as something sacred to God. If someone is consecrated, that person has actually become a part of a people God has devoted to a purpose. This is no doubt a position all believers aspire to attain.
2nd Thessalonians 2:13, 14 helps explain a fact about this sanctification we should all be aware of. That fact is; recognizing and following truthful teachings is the basis of being consecrated or sanctified. On the other hand, believing and following lies or untruthful teachings, regardless of one’s sincerity, does not constitute sanctification from our God. This is why the focal point of John the Baptist’s message stressed the absolute necessity of repentance. Remember, repentance means to change your thinking, turn your back to lies and recognize and accept truth! (Luke 13:3) Actually, following falsehoods, even if done from the heart demonstrates foolishness. Recognizing true words when they are spoken will become as mandatory in our day as it was in Jesus’ day!
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” “He called you to this through our gospel that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
These scriptures were written in a time period when the teachings of Jesus and his forerunner, John the Baptist were still active through Jesus’ apostles and disciples. As these sanctified ones began to die…. so did the truth Jesus had established with them! After their teachings were no longer being heard, men seeking personal gain and self-glory began to take over! From that time until now, their teachings have spread like gangrene! (2nd Timothy 2:17) This ongoing world situation that was made known by the prophet Habakkuk is vividly described at 2nd Timothy 4:3, 4.
“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. “They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
This 2000 year situation will not, and cannot be changed until history repeats itself. The end-time forerunner must first become present on the world scene! (Malachi 4:5) The vital information of the end-time Elijah message is talked about in many books of the bible other than Malachi. It’s even identified through a variety of names, and described in so many different places it would be difficult to list them. If people are to once again, become consecrated through a belief in truth, they must first realize their current belief system could possibly be based on falsehoods. Would it be righteously justified for God to consecrate an individual who believes in false teachings, and doesn’t care enough to investigate them? Believing in Jesus and accepting him into your heart as your savior, represents much more than a passing thought. This change in one’s life actually demonstrates a recognition and acceptance of truth. If a person believes in Jesus Christ… he believes in truth… because Jesus is truth. Understanding the real meaning of John 3:16 requires a deeper thought process than many people have been led to believe.
Jesus said in Mathew 11; “He who is destined to come will restore all things and prepare a way ahead of you.” In other words, the forerunner will restore the true teachings that were lost after the death of those who had been taught directly by Jesus. In order to become consecrated and be a part of the people God will devote to a purpose, people must once again recognize truth…. when it appears!
The similitude of Isaiah 59:13-15 thoroughly explains the current world condition: “There is a moving back from our God, a conceiving and a muttering of falsehoods from the very heart.” “For truth has stumbled in the public square, and what is straightforward is unable to enter.” “The truth proves to be missing.”
These prophetic words spoken by the prophet Isaiah would never be heard in any of today’s traditional worship. They contradict and condemn the teachings of every religion on the face of the earth! Therefore they are dismissed as a tale of ancient history…. apparently worthless for today’s multi-billion dollar industry to even consider! If it is proper to ignore the prophets, why did Jesus apply the words of Isaiah to future generations at Matthew 15:6-9???
“You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition.” “You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, “This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me.” “It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.”
If you think all of God’s word is inspired and beneficial for teaching… if it touches your heart and makes you tremble; read the following scriptures and you will never again listen to those who dismiss the prophets as meaningless history. (Hosea 12:10) (Acts 3:21-24) (Acts 15:15, 16) (Luke 24:25) (Romans 15:4) (2nd Peter 1-4) (Zechariah 8:9)
In order to be prepared for final day events, we must understand the similitudes and visions of the prophets! Accurate knowledge of the prophets is a big part of the promised restoration!
At Psalms 78 God makes a statement about this generation. “I will cause riddles of long ago to bubble forth.” The first step in recognizing the end-time appearance of the Elijah message is a proper understanding of the bible’s riddle, or play on the word….Word.
As we know Jesus is referred to as The Word or The Word of God. (John 1:1) (Revelation 19:13) The original Greek term that has been translated “word” is “logos.” Logos is a broad term meaning: “A word, statement or speech embodying an analogy of truth; or reasoning expressed by words.”
The bible uses Jesus Christ to represent this term because he is The Father’s chosen method to express His Word of Truth to people on earth. Properly understanding the complex connection between Jesus and The Word opens up many avenues of light on the scriptures!
The prophet Isaiah foretold that a sign to mankind would be given through a virgin giving birth to a son, whose name would be Immanuel. (Isa. 7:14) Immanuel means “God with us”. (Matthew 1:23) False teachers have said this meaning implies that Jesus the son and God The Father are the same individual. It really means “God is with us through His Word.” When we study and learn the truth spoken in God’s word…. God becomes with us! Therefore the only way to God The Father is through His son Jesus….The Word. This is why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Discerning how the bible relates Jesus with the Word of Truth, provides the key to understanding the first world changing action of the end times. That change recently began when A Light to the Nations began shining in the world’s 2000 year darkness! God introduced that light by literally lighting up the sky with a heavenly display of eclipses unlike any other! The unique part that was different than previous tetrads was the total Solar Eclipse that occurred directly in the center (to the day) of 4 astounding Blood Moons! On March 20 2015, God used the heavenly spectacle of transferring total darkness to sudden light…. to symbolically broadcast the news of the opening of the first seal of the apocalypse!!! The views of the entire tetrad were spectacular as the whole world watched! Unfortunately, as prophesied………. they had no understanding that the revelation of Christ was being introduced to the world through the emergence of light on the scriptures!
On that date, Revelation 6:2 was fulfilled! The Lion of the tribe of Judah began Roaring throughout the world!!! The flying scroll described by Zechariah went forth into cyberspace to warn and prepare all of mankind for the trials ahead! The Thunder before the Storm began to echo in every part of the earth!!! Jesus spoke about this day when he said, “My sheep will know my voice and follow.”
This statement actually helps reveal the identity of the rider on the white horse. Since we now understand how the bible relates Jesus in conjunction with “The Word,” it becomes very clear the rider is not Jesus himself, but rather the end-time Elijah message that represents his voice or testimony…. For as Revelation 19:10 tells us; “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” The rider symbolizes the crowned Word of God that will prepare those who listen, for the events of the remaining seals. (Amos 3:8)
The type of crown the rider wears also lends to his identity. The rider of the first seal wears a stephanos. This is the type of crown worn by a person who overcomes, it’s not the crown of a ruler. This fact confirms the rider represents a normal person, hence proving the information will be presented through one who overcomes and becomes a victor on earth.
Psalms 45 provides a great prophecy of this person, clearly stating that he will be chosen from the children of men. When this crowned rider with the bow begins his symbolic ride on the white horse, his lips will be anointed with grace, his bow with arrows of truth. He will have overcome the lies of other men, and go forth to conquer and complete the conquest for victory in Christ!
Verse 4: “In your majesty ride forth victoriously in behalf of truth, humility and righteousness, let your right hand display awesome deeds.” Verse 5: “Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies, let the nations fall beneath your feet.”
The king’s enemies are the enemies of truth! Those who teach lies instead of truth claim the rider of the 1st seal is the antichrist. If this were the case, he would be riding a black goat or something disgustingly similar. He certainly would not be riding a symbol of truth, humility and righteousness that is represented by the white horse!
These enemies of Christ, who became prominent when their forefathers branched off from his disciples many years ago, are forced to make up doctrines that qualify all the prophecies of the antichrist…. For they in fact, are the real antichrist! Therefore another lie is born that contradicts the bible’s many descriptions of the rider’s true identity. As Paul tells us in 2nd Thessalonians 2, the apostasy or the rebellion against truth must come before the gathering to Christ begins! They are the impostors now sitting in the deceptive temples proclaiming to be the way to God!
“True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way. Then indeed the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth, and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence.” “So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they might get to believing the lie,” “in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”
1st John 2:18, 19 also reveal there is not one antichrist, but many antichrists! The irony is…. the antichrist they keep looking for…. Is them! The prophet Daniel told a fascinating story depicting this very present-day deception. The climax came when Daniel told the self-deceived Nebuchadnezzar…. “It’s you O’ king!”
“Young children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard antichrist is coming, even now there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour.” “They went out from us, but they were not of our sort.”
All of these scriptures prove exactly why the real antichrists have to twist the prophecy of the 1st seal. They would never acknowledge there is truth coming that will reprove their teachings. (Amos 5:10) If they did, they would have to admit or at least contemplate this truth may very well put them out of business! This is the exact reason the ancient religious leaders had Jesus killed! Being able to admit we are wrong and then make a change, is the very essence of repentance. The focus of the message of the forerunner to Christ…. has not changed.
When the rider of the 1st seal burst upon the world scene on March 20, 2015, Jesus became present through the manifestation of his word of truth, in the same manner as he was made manifest by the words of John the Baptist. We must not confuse the stating of this presence with a different type of presence that will come later. The vision of the rider on the white horse John saw in Revelation 19 is a completely different vision, and depicts a later time period than Revelation 6.
In a previous post it was stated that men could keep watching the clouds, but Christ will only be seen by the eyes of understanding. That statement was made in reference to his manifestation through the words of the forerunner. It’s simply not time for the parousia the false teachers claim will occur any day now. Many events must first take place! The events of the remaining seals and many of the events John envisioned in the chapters leading up to Revelation 19 must first take place.
As Revelation 19 opens, it is made clear a major prophecy that is presently unfulfilled has in fact come to pass. Verse 2 declares that God has executed judgment upon the great whore of Babylon who had corrupted and misled the earth with her fornicated teachings. It states He has avenged the blood of His slaves at her hand. This Babylon the Great presently occupies a precarious position, but is however, still in the picture. This proves the 2nd coming of Christ will not occur until after she is completely destroyed. Her future destruction is clearly explained throughout the bible, but unfortunately remains a mystery to her many followers because they fail to recognize her unrighteous ways.
These religions of symbolic Babylon claim their members presently make up the church of Christ. Would the true church of Christ be built on lies??? The similitude of Jeremiah 31:21-40 tells the story of how this green-grape picking or applying prophecy before its time for fulfillment will be put to an end.
The gathering of the remnant of the church of Christ is only now beginning! The real ecclesia of Christ will fulfill the end-time prophecies of the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Revelation. These many times twisted and maligned chapters are presented in the ancient manner of a similitude, depicting the time when people will be called out of the churches or religions of men. These people will recognize the truth that became present when the 1st seal was opened and will turn their backs to the traditional teachings of men. They will overcome and gather directly to The Word! This will enable anyone who overcomes to become a part of the people God will devote to a purpose because they have recognized and accepted the truth in The Word of Jesus Christ!
All the prophets explained every detail of how the consecrated people of the end-times, will become one body in union with Jesus Christ! (Revelation 10:7) These people will come from every avenue of life…. past and present memberships will mean nothing! God will place His truth in the heart of every individual He selects to become the seed of Israel. This is what He meant when He said: “I will put my law within them and within their heart I shall write it. And I will become their God and they will become my people.” “From the least to the greatest they will all know me. For I shall forgive their error, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:33, 34)
The time for these actions has now begun!! The Real church of Christ will finally become “Washed in the Blood of the Lamb.”
Jesus actually carried out a symbolic vision of this cleansing the night of the Passover meal, when he washed the feet of his disciples. He revealed the key to becoming Consecrated by the Word of God when he said: “I set a pattern for you to wash the feet of one another, just as I have washed yours.” “By this all will know you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”
LOVE……. WITHOUT IT…. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.
“Most truly I say to you, he that receives anyone I send receives me also. In turn he that receives me, receives also him that sent me.” (John 13:20)