|
|
Divine Retribution
RV220-01© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1993)
Our subject is "Political Babylon." This is segment number 5.
Rules for Christians
It is a great mistake sometimes among church-age believers to think that freedom from the Old Testament law system means that we have no rules to
obey. It is not unthinkable, nor has it not been the case, that I have heard people who have sat in this congregation, and have been well-taught in
the principles of grace, who have taken this attitude that there are no restrictions upon them. Consequently, they have treated grace as license,
and have, in fact, brought a variety of griefs into their lives.
Christians are, in fact, bound by the same level of integrity and of doctrinal
truth, as were the believers of the Old Testament. In fact, more is to be expected of church-age believers because Christians have the teaching
ministry of God the Holy Spirit and His indwelling power to enable them to obey the laws of God. The people of the Old Testament had no such
capacity. They knew what the rules were, but they had to obey them simply on human effort without the strength and the power of God to make them
successful.
"The World"
So, while Christians today move about in Satan's world system as God's witnesses, they are not to be part of its lifestyle, even though they are to
be witnesses to that world. In the high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, given the night before He was crucified, we have recorded, in John
17:15-18, this part of the prayer: Jesus, on our behalf says, "I do not ask You to take them (church-age believers) out of the world, but to keep
them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As You sent me into
the world, I also sent them into the world." By now you should understand that the word "world" means not just this earth, but a system of organized
society that Satan has put together that we refer to as the world system of the "Cosmos Diabolicus."
Separation from evil unto God is in fact the duty of every believer. Separation from false teaching and false decisions means not abiding and
abetting those who are guilty of them. False teachers, whether Christians or unsaved, are not to be aided in their work. We learned this from 2 John.
Instead, we are to confront that error, and we are to separate ourselves from it. We are not even to extend greetings as if all were well, and we
were comrades in God's work when serious error is afoot.
Everybody has to decide how to apply this to his own situation. There is no magical formula. You yourself have to decide at what point in time you
must take a stand in your dealings with any individual in terms of your fellowship, when that person is bringing injury to other believers.
The Memory of God
In Revelation 18:5, we read about the memory of God. One of the things that we should always keep in mind is that God has a memory. It says, "For
her sins (Babylon's sins) have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities." The word "For" introduces the reason for the
severity of the judgment which is described in verse 4, where God's plagues are about to be poured out of the seven bowls, and the divine punishment
will indeed fit the crime of what Babylon has done to mankind, both religiously and politically. The judgment of God is specifically for our sins.
This is the Greek word "hamartia" which we have shown you before. It is the word for sin in terms of missing the mark of God's standard of absolute
righteousness. All these centuries, Babylon has been telling mankind that she has the standard by which people should govern their lives; and, that
she has the standard by which people should live. We have that same message coming to us from all the aspects (the institutions) of our society
today, from government on down. We're being told that there are standards by which people should live. Yet, those standards are in conflict with the
Word of God.
Socialism
There's an enormous amount of human good which is being poured out by the liberal compassion that originally stemmed from Babylon, but which was
evil in God's sight because it was the product of the sin nature. So, you have to remember that what people often call good (the result of compassion
on the human level), God says, "That's a vile evil in My sight, because it's a product of the sin nature." Here, we are being rebellion of Babylon
against God (please remember) in the economic political aspects. Revelation 18 deals with God's destruction of the political economic sphere. I hope
that after this session, you will have a better understanding of what that political sphere is – government as the big daddy that takes care of
people. It is the heart of liberalism today. It's called socialism. It's called a variety of names that don't sound so bad.
Managed Competition
The liberals know that
socialism doesn't go over too well in this country, so one of the terms is "managed competition." How's that for an oxymoron? You know what an
oxymoron is? An oxymoron is two words that are contradictory, like a "thunderous silence." Here you have managed competition. If it's managed, it's
not competition anymore. Only those of you who are informed, because you attend Berean Church, will hear that term, and you will not be fooled by it.
You will know that it's just plain old socialism, and socialism is government taking care of you at the expense of your freedom, and at the expense
of other people's money. So, instead of individual freedom and self-reliance under free-enterprise capitalism, Babylon has been promoting this
political economic system of tyranny.
Piled-up Sin
The Word of God says that her sins have "piled up." The Greek word for "piled up" is "kollaomai." "Kollaomai" means "joined together" as if glued
together. It is sort of like pressing one pieces of a Lego part into another. The idea here is sin stacked up as a pile of bricks one upon another,
all glued together, creating a towering structure of evil. When he says "piled up," he's talking about a towering structure of evil. And he says that
it is piled up as high as heaven. Babylon's evil corruption of the nations has created a pile (or a tower) of sin that is heaped up to heaven. This
is a graphic description of the enormity of the accumulated sin guilt that has poured out of the Babylonian systems.
Ezra 9:6 speaks of the prophet's embarrassment at Israel's creation of sin piled up to heaven: "And I said, 'Oh my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed
to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.'" This is a biblical
analogy: sin piling up, and building up like a huge tower, and moving up toward heaven.
The same idea is seen in Jeremiah 51:9. The prophet said, "We apply healing to Babylon, but she was not healed. Forsake her, and let us each go to
his own country. For her judgment has reached to heaven, and towers up to the very skies." Here is a description of Babylon in the day when the Jews
were in captivity under the Babylonian system, and their 70 years had passed, and they were now ready to go back to Jerusalem (to Israel), to rebuild
the temple, and to erect the walls again. And it's pointed out that Babylon has been given healing information. She's been taught from the Word of
God what she needs to know. But she has ignored it. She has been negative to that. So, God says, "Jews, go back to your own country, because Babylon
has built up an evil that is towering to the very sky."
So, this is the background of what John, here in Revelation, hears the angel say. It's that same idea that, in spite of spiritual enlightenment, sin
has piled up. That becomes a very serious condition. We'll show you in a minute what happens when a person is enlightened in doctrine, and he piles
up sin.
The Tower of Babel
These rebels against God, of the Nimrod generation, sought to build a tower (as you remember) to the heavenly luminaries. They were going to be
objects of worship. It is interesting that Babylon from the first was trying to build towers. The first tower she was trying to build was of stone
and mortar. The idea was getting up as high as they could so that they could study the stars and the sun and the moon as objects of worship.
Genesis 11:4 says, "And they said, 'Come, let us build for ourselves a city (Babel) and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make
for ourselves a name, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." This is Nimrod's advice to the people. God said, "I want you
to move out from the plains of Shinar, and I want you to move out all over the world, and I want you to populate the whole earth. The flood has
passed, and such a thing will never happen again. Every time you see a rainbow in the sky, it is God's reminder that He will never again flood the
whole earth at the same time. But they refused to do it.
Nimrod said, "We don't have to listen to God. As a matter of fact, I have great information that has come to me from the spirit world that there are
many gods that we have not known of, and that we can worship. And these God's will assist us." So began the evil of religious Babylon. At the same
time, he set up a structure of government which dominated the society, and dominated the individual citizens so that they were under his control.
All of this was as a tower to reach the heavens.
Well, their effort actually set in motion centuries of piling up sin which was flowing from the influence of Babylon originally. They thought that
the tower they were going to build there on the plains of Shinar would be a monument to man's inherent godhood. But their tower merely created a
monument to the inherent moral depravity of man which was then demonstrated over the centuries as they built up sin upon sin.
Centuries later, Nebuchadnezzar got the big head. He didn't learn from past experience, and since he was the powerful ruler of the whole empire of
that day, he believed that he was powerful enough also to reach God's heaven. These people all want to reach up there and get hold of God.
I remember as a teenager seeing posters out of communist Russia where a powerful, muscular Russian is shaking his fist toward heaven and saying, "We
will bring God down from His heaven." That was pretty gutsy stuff. They were going to build a tower of the new man that was going to reach up there
and tear down this God that was making rules that they didn't like. We all know where that tower of communism is today. It's a pile of rubble once
more.
Nebuchadnezzar viewed himself as a powerful tree that could rise up to heaven and dominate the scene. In Daniel 4:30, the king reflected and said,
"Is not this Babylon the Great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty? While the
word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven saying, 'King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared, sovereignty has been removed from you,
and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field. You will be given grass to eat like cattle,
and seven periods of time (that is seven years) will pass over you until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and
bestows it on whomsoever He wishes. Immediately, the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from mankind and began eating
grass like cattle. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair had grown like eagle feathers and his nails like birds' claws.'".
Nebuchadnezzar became one of the original long-haired, maggot-brained hippies of all time fame. He went around for seven years: the great king of
the greatest empire of the day. He thought that he would build a tower, and God showed him what kind of a tower a man can build. He was cut down,
but we must say in his behalf that the Scriptures tell us that when he came back to rationality after seven years, he recognized the God of Heaven
as indeed the true God who had no equal in all the universe. That leads us to hope that Nebuchadnezzar was born again, and that someday we can chat
with him in heaven on his great experiences with the God of Heaven.
Well, the Tower of Babel is sinful not only in the amount of evil that it has piled up, but also by the brazenness of that evil. It is one thing
not to know the rules and to do wrong. Usually a judge sits on the bench, and if he finds that somebody is brought before him, and he is guilty of
having broken the law, but he did it in ignorance, that sometimes that's considered mitigating circumstances for the penalty. The apostle Paul said
that this is how God treated him. He said, "Yes, I was a murderer. I went around killing Christians and dragging them into prison." But he said, "I
did it in ignorance, and God treated me accordingly."
Equal Opportunity
However, that's not the case with Babylon's sin. Babylon has clear light from Scripture concerning what kind of religion is true and what is false?
There's no excuse for worshiping idols, behind which are all the demon forces. Babylon has no excuse for a government economic system where
government becomes the provider of people. This is the one thing the Bible forbids government to do. Government can only create conditions where
people can exercise equally their unequal abilities. Government has never been given the right to take some people's wealth and give it to those
that it desires in order to gain their favor for their political support. So, to know what is right and to violate it is extremely evil. It's a very
vile thing to do.
God Remembers her Iniquities
So, in verse 5, we're told that these sins (not only the amount, but the most of them) have now been built as a tower rising up to heaven. Then
comes the chilling words: "And God has remembered her antiquities." God allows man his day of evil, but He never forgets. It's always tempting to
put your toe out there into the waters of evil, to see how cold it is; how the temperature might be; and, then to decide, if it's not too bad, to
go a little further. You may count on the fact that the quality of God's justice is governed by His memory. He remembers the good, and he rewards
it. But you can count on the fact that He remembers the evil and He condemns that and He punishes that.
What is it that God remembers? It says that God remembers her iniquities. Here's another word that comes into the category of words for sin in the
Bible. This word is "adikema." "Adikema" is a word which indicates a wrong done which creates an injury. If you do something that's wrong, and you
create an injury, that is an inequity. That is an act of evil. It connotes not being right in some aspect of conduct. Here it refers to the lack of
Babylon being right with God; thus, being unrighteous. She is not right with God because she is thumbing her nose at God in spite of the light she
has remembered. And God remembers this "adikema" injury of Babylon to all mankind.
People are always hurt when they worship idols, by any kind of false religion. That's what Hinduism is all about – the worshiping of idols.
That's what Buddhism is all about – the worshiping of idols. That's what Mormonism is all about – the worshiping of human godhood.
That's what the whole New Age concept is about – the worshiping of human gods. That is always an injury to mankind. And when liberalism comes
along, and imposes government control and domination over the personal lives of people, that too is a great injury to mankind.
So, what God is going to do is cause Babylon to drink the cup of His wrath. While God's judgment against Babylon and its system (this is near the
end of the tribulation), has been delayed for centuries, it's going to finally come crashing down with a devastating blow on the city on the
Euphrates. Because the judgment is going to be severe, this is the reason why, in verse 4, God is telling believers to get out, and to move away.
God's delay in judgment, however, sometimes is foolishly interpreted as our getting away with some evil act. It's always a danger when we are told
that something is right and something is wrong (this is the mind of God), and we resist it, and we get away with it. We think that what we've been
told is not really true. Please remember that God is very patient. He's always hoping that people will change your mind to do right.
2 Peter 3:9, therefore, puts it this way: "The Lord is not slow about His promise as some count slowness (His promise to judge), but is patient
toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance? That's nice to know. It's going to give you a chance, and give you
a chance, and give you a chance. If you get yourself in the wrong slot in some area of life (whatever), He's going to keep giving you a chance.
Never interpret His giving you a chance as His approval of what you're doing.
In Jeremiah 51:53, we have the same concept: "'Though Babylon should ascend to the heavens, and though she should fortify her lofty stronghold, from
Me, destroyers will come to her,' declares the Lord." Babylon can go all the way to heaven, but God's judgment going to come down. And for a while,
over these centuries, it seems that Babylon has been very successful.
Divine Retribution
Coming to verse 6-7, we now come to divine retribution. In verse 6, we have double-discipline. God's judgment is "Pay her back." The Greek word is
an emphatic word. It's "apodidomi." "Didomi" means "to give;" and, "apo" means "to slap it hard" (to give it extra). This is a command from God.
This is the imperative mood. A voice from heaven is directing some designated agent of God's vengeance. So, now: "Pay Babylon back for what she has
done." Now the time has come to pay her back for all the injury and sorrow that she has imposed on people. God is going to punish this city which
has been the agent of idolatry, and which has been the agent of government tyranny. He is going to pay her back even as she has been paying people.
For centuries, Babylon has acted as a tyrant, taking vengeance on anybody who would resist her religious idolatry. She paid them back with vengeance,
and her political tyranny. She paid them back with her judgment. Babylon has been cruel beyond measure in leading people away from God, and away
from spiritual reality. So, this is a call to retributive justice.
Pay her back Double-Double
Babylon is going to get what she deserves – but even more. For God says, "Give her back double." In the Greek language, it's: "Give her
double," and then it adds the word "double" again: "Give her double-double." It's an emphatic concept of giving her multiplied more back than what
she has done to the human race. This too is a command of God. This is not something that's just an advice. Whoever this agent is that is going to
carry out (angelic or otherwise) the vengeance of God, it's going to be twice as bad as anything that Babylon has ever done to the human race:
"Give her back double-double." This is the most severe kind of judgment.
This is, of course, the expression of the principle of divine justice which is enunciated in Galatians 6:7: "Do not be deceived. God is not mocked
for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." So, what are you sowing? Are you sowing resistance and rejection of the Word of God? Are you
breaking the principles that God has given for the taking care of your body, for example? What do you think you're going to get? You're going to get
double-double judgment in time. Are you being dishonest in your dealings financially and economically with people? Do not be deceived. God is not
mocked. You can't thumb your nose at Him. "For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." And you'll get double-double. The time will come when
the justice of God will pay back.
In Babylon's case, it was terrible because she was paid back double, and it was, according to her deeds. Her punishment is to be based upon what
she has done to others. Matthew 7:2 is the principle that is involved here: "For in the way you judge, you will be judged. By your standard of
measure, it will be measured to you." That's pretty severe.
You should never be intimidated when you have missed the boat. We probably don't have any perfect people here. There's probably no one that is
perfect. Mr. Charles Boozer raises his hand in protest to that remark, but it's probably still true. So, what are you going to do? You're going to
miss the boat. When I make a miscalculation, or I don't get something quite right, I'm never intimidated by somebody jumping down on me. I say,
"Thanks for calling that to my attention, and I'll take actions appropriate for correction – whatever needs to be done." But I never look
upon this person who is coming down on me as being some paragon of virtue, or some perfect type of person who never misses a beat. I have learned
over the years that most people are infinitely worse than I am in every respect, and that gives me great comfort. Those dudes aren't any better
than you are.
So, just remember that when somebody is coming down on you (and maybe you didn't miss a beat), it's just one worm sounding off to another worm.
Never be intimidated. These people are not perfect. The thing to know is how you stand between you and God. That's all you need to know. He's the
one you're going to answer to. It is before Him that we will stand, and if we maintain our integrity there, I don't care what anybody says. It
doesn't amount to a hill of beans, because God is going to deal with us on the basis of our works, and how we treat other people. So, when I find
that somebody has played the fool in the Christian life, I try to straighten him out, and I try to point him in the right direction, and I try to
warn that individual that there's a serious consequence if you persist in a wrong conclusion; in a wrong doctrinal attitude; or, in a wrong
direction, because at that point, God kicks in a law that brings horrible consequences. We shall see that in a moment.
The Golden Rule
However, it is well to remember that the way we treat people is the way that God is going to treat us. If you want to be treated with grace, then
that's how you should do it. In the New Testament, Jesus says, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It's the same concept.
So, what Babylon has done to mankind is to deceive them with her religion of idolatry, and has imposed the politics of government domination, and
government as the benefactor in the lives of the individual citizens. So, personal freedom is lost. That's why I pointed out to you in the previous
session that the American constitution was a divine production on the part of men who were close enough to the Word of God that they understood the
danger of the sin nature of man, and the necessity of controlling a group of sin natures that could overwhelm the individual citizens in a governing
body like the Congress. So, they put chains of restraint upon it. Whether or not they could enunciate the political evil and air of Babylon, they
understood the system. Supreme misery has certainly been brought to all mankind through the worship of idols, and through dependency on government.
The Communist World
We have only to look upon the sorrows of the communist world with its maximum effort toward socialism, and maximum care by the government. And now,
all of those people are fleeing from it.
I rode on a ski lift in Czechoslovakia with a tour guide, and she was a Czechoslovak who had lived in that country under communism. This was in the
summertime, but we were just riding the lift because they were running it. And in the course of our conversation, I said, "Where has communism taken
you?" And she said, "I'm in my 50s, and all communism has done for me is to take everything away that was of value to me. But they gave you a
hospital – yeah, you didn't have to pay for it. But they gave you food if you needed it – yeah. But they gave you a job – yeah.
They gave me everything I didn't want. The one thing I wanted," she said, "was freedom, and that's what they didn't give me. Here I am, up in my 50s,
and I have nothing to show for my life under socialism."
She didn't understand the principles of Nimrod's political system which we're reading about in Revelation 18 which is to be destroyed. But she had
experienced it. And all of those countries are now fleeing that terrible domination by this kind of a system of government dependency. The agents
of idolatry and of government tyranny indeed do deserve double misery for what they have created for mankind.
So, verse 6 says, "Pay her back, even as she has paid. Give back to her double-double according to her deeds. In the cup which she has mixed, mix
twice as much for her."
This cup is the cup that she has been giving of evil and abominations and wickedness that is referred to, for example, in
Revelation 17:4: "And the woman (Babylon) was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her
hand a golden cup full of abominations, and of the unclean things of her immorality."
This is what is referred to in Revelation 18:3: "For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion (or of the wrath) of her immorality (the
wrath of God which that immorality brings). And the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her. And the merchants of the earth
have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality."
It was a mixture of abominable acts and filthy immoralities. And mankind drank it readily. Babylon had mixed a brew which was attractive to the sin
nature, and humanity drank of it deeply. Revelation refers to this intoxicating cup six times which Babylon produced – a cup full of
wickedness: Revelation 14:8; Revelation 17:2; Revelation 17:4; Revelation 17:6; Revelation 18:3; and, Revelation 18:6. Repeatedly, this cup is
referred to. Now God says, "Let's take the same cup." That's the irony of it. God says, "I'm going to take the cup in My hand, and I want you,
whoever the avenger is, to put twice as much misery in this cup as she had mixed for all mankind. This upon which the human race became so
intoxicated is now to be mixed twice as much for her. God's justice makes punishment for evil inevitable. God, however, is impartial in His
punishment of evil, and He is absolutely fair. Since He is fair, we should never make the mistake that God is not going to punish evil. When He
punishes according to the degree of that evil, it's even worse.
Romans 2:4-11 stress to us that God is fair all the way down the line, but He is going to punish those who violate his doctrinal principles: "Or
do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"
When God doesn't give you what you deserve, shouldn't that soften your heart such that you say, "I shouldn't be doing this?"
Verse 5: "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up for yourself in the day of wrath, and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God." God says, "OK, go ahead. Pile it up. Make a tower like Babylon did. But the day is going to come when I am going to
judge you for however high you have built that tower.
Verse 6: "Who will render to every man according to his deeds." This is the same principle. You get for what you do: "To those who, by perseverance
in doing good, seek for glory and honor and immortality (eternal life). But to those who are selflessly ambitious, and do not obey the truth, but
obey unrighteousness, to them wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first,
and also of the Greek. But glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." If you do good, God is
fair with you. If you do evil, He is equally fair: "For there is no partiality with God."
It is always best then to you recognize that God is a God of vengeance, and that God will deal with us accordingly. We pile up sin to high heaven
as Babylon did, and He will deal with us accordingly.
Never Take your own Revenge
There is, however, a temptation that when you become the object of the injury of that sin, that you want to do something about it. You want to strike
back. Now we enter a realm that calls for an enormous amount of personal spiritual maturity, in order not to say the thing you'd like to say; not to
do to the person what you'd like to have done to that individuals; and, not to take that person, and make a public spectacle of him as they would
well deserve. Why not? Because Romans 12:19 gives us a very important piece of guidance. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the
wrath of God: "For it is written: 'Vengeance is mine. I will repay,' says, the Lord."
If you want to take your own vengeance, you should be aware that you potentially may come between God and His whip upon the individual who has done
you wrong. Stay out of that whip. All evil is the result of negative volition to God's truth and to God's will. That's what evil is all about. It is
negative volition to God's truth and to God's will. Bible doctrine is rejected at some point. There is resistance to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
in your life on some issue. You don't want to listen to it. There is a refusal to confess your sins, and to keep your temporal fellowship with God
the Father. When this happens (this kind of evil), God will take care of those who are guilty of it, and He will exercise His judgment, and He will
do it against us, His children. He will discipline us if we build a pile of evil the way Babylon did.
Hebrews 12:5-11 says, "And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. My son, do not regard likely the discipline of the
Lord, nor faint when we are reproved by Him. For those whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. And He scourges every son whom He receives. It is for
discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without
discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children, and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline
us, and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live. For they disciplined us for a short time that seemed
best to them. He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His Holiness. All discipline is for the moment. It seems not to be joyful, but
sorrowful. Yet, to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."
God's Discipline upon Believers
So, the discipline of God is not fun, but He does bring it to us because we are His children. Here is the big point for you to remember about the
ultimate discipline by God the Father. There is a terrible trigger that God pulls and sets in motion upon those who, after being disciplined, and
those who after being warned (in various ways) of the course of action that they have taken. God comes in, and He sends a deluded influence upon
believers so that they believe a great lie from Satan. This delusion comes in such a subtle way that the individual doesn't realize what has
happened.
The Thessalonians Principle
This is the Thessalonians principle. If ever you learn a doctrinal principle, in heaven's name, learn this one in 2 Thessalonians 2. The delusion of
divine discipline will lead you to believe a lie from Satan. 2 Thessalonians 2:10: "And with all deception of wickedness, for those who perish
because they did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved." This is for people who will not listen to the gospel; people who will not
receive the Word of God; and, people who are negative to doctrine. The same principle goes over to the Christian in other aspects: "For this reason,
God will send upon them a deluding influence so they may believe what is false."
When the Word of God says that if you're going to get married, you should not marry somebody who is not a believer, and it indicates that you should
go through the pattern of intimacy, first of all, on a spiritual realm – intimacy spiritually. If you have no intimacy spiritually with this
person, cut out. Secondly, there is intimacy on the personality basis: how this woman or man thinks; their emotions; and, how they decide things.
I remember one day a woman saying, "I want to be married, but I don't want to be married to this man anymore (that she was married to), because I
don't like the kind of decisions he makes." And my heart went out to her, because this guy was really wacko on the decisions that he would make
– real off-the-wall stuff. I knew exactly what the misery was that she was under. Someplace along the line, she had been warned, and she
didn't take the signal. The Bible says, "Get yourself into intimate spiritually; get yourself intimate in your soul; and, then you get yourself
intimate physically." Then you go to the physical intimacy. If you refuse to do that, and you go right to the physical, then God pulls the trigger,
and gives you a delusion so that Satan can come and tell you a lie. Satan says, "Marry this person," and you do. And what tragedy you bring!
You should be fearful every moment of the day of being resistant to the Word of God and to the guidance of the Spirit of God, lest God punch the
buttons of delusion so that the lie of Satan becomes truth in your mind.
This will cause you to attend the wrong church. Many a Christian is in the wrong church because God pushed the button of delusion and said, "If you
will not accept your right church, ten I'm going to let Satan give you a lie as to the church you should go to. And I am going to put you in that
church, and see how the results will be in your life; your family's life; and, worst of all, at the Judgment Seat of Christ." This is the
Thessalonians principle of deluding discipline.
It will cause you to rear your children in the wrong way, because you will not follow biblical principles of your role as parents, and of the care
for children who are growing up, and that you permit to go astray because you do not live with them. You live apart from them in your own life.
God is going to punch the button, and a great delusion will come over you, and you will be bringing things to that child's life that can only be
described as sheer madness. People with spiritual discernment will wonder, "How in the world can anybody do this to a child? It's the Thessalonians
principle of resisting the mind of truth?
When you resist a true teacher of the Word of God that God has given you, God will push the button, and He will cause you to go to a wrong
pastor-teacher, and you'll have all of eternity to regret that. If you will not listen to God, and hold lightly to your money, and choose to be a
disciple that claims no possessions, He may punch the button, and Satan will come up to you with a lie about your money; how important it is;
how you must hang onto it; and, how you must keep it for this life – and never mind the next life. And you'll believe the lie, and you'll act
upon it. And the things of God will go wanting while your wealth rots away and is left behind.
If you are resistant to the truth of God, and God punches that button of the delusion of discipline, it will cause you to invest your daily allotted
breathing time in a fruitless and profitless way. You only have so much breathing time every day. And if you resist the Word of God, and you are
negative to truth, he'll punch the button, and Satan will lie to you and say, "Do this with your day. Go here. Wear yourself out in this way. Knock
yourself out with this." And you'll believe it, and you'll do it. And when you look back from the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will realize how
great was the cost of coming under the discipline of delusion.
There is no fool like a Christian reversionist fool. And the loony tunes are all around us. Pray God that you and I do not fall into the trap of the
delusion of discipline, where God turns us over (literally) to believing the lies of Satan. And all the while we're so smug; we're so smiley; and,
we're so confident that we have made a godly and a right decision. No you haven't. When God's guidance and enlightenment is resisted, you will go
downhill. You may think you're riding high for a moment, but there's no greater tragedy than the consequences of those who did not love the truth.
May we be the lovers of the truth of God if we are lovers of anything.
Dr. John E. Danish, 1993
Back to the Revelation index
Back to the Bible Questions index |