Tower of Babel

Love of the Truth

Ken

The clarion call of the Christian is we love the Truth. The difference between a scientific principle, a mathematical fact, or an accurate record of a historical event being true and the Truth, is only the Truth can save us. History is full of discouraged baseball players, scientists, mathematicians, and historians who pursued the World Series, science, mathematics, or history, without changing society for the better. Why? Only the love of the Truth can save us. Too long have we allowed ourselves to be satisfied with substitutes for the Truth to satisfy us in our quest to navigate life, build families, pursue employment, advance our education, seek our leisure, establish a framework of government, balance our footprint on the earth, police our streets, defend our nation, pursue the boundaries of scientific understanding, right the inequities of society, all this and more. 

Every Christian will rightly agree the Truth is none other than Jesus Christ. “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV). The only reason the Truth can save anyone is because Jesus is the Truth. “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). We love the truth because Jesus is the Truth, and we love Jesus. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1John 4:19). 

Why such significance to loving the Truth? “10 And with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned [Greek, krino, judged, damned] who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thessalonians 2:10-12). Paul describes the circumstances of those who are left behind at the Rapture. 

Does this mean those left behind at the Rapture are forever condemned to Hell, if they were stubbornly resisting the Truth, when the Harpazō (Rapture) took place? If that were so, we should back away from evangelism to give people a chance for their repentance after the Rapture. Not hardly!

Let’s evaluate the Scripture. 

The Greek word krino in 2Thessalonians 2:12 can be correctly translated as “condemned” (2:12 NKJV), “judged” (2:12 NASB), or “damned” (2:12 KJV). Because we commonly think of damned as an eternal condition, e.g., Eternal Damnation, it gives us cause for interpreting 2Thessalonians 2:12 with this viewpoint; but, Scripture does not demand such a dire interpretation. 

How is this so? 

Possibly the most popular verse in the New Testament is John 3:16? “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV). Two verses later, Jesus said, “He who believes in Him is not condemned [Greek, krino, damned]; but he who does not believe is condemned [Greek, krino, damned] already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:18 NKJV). 

How can anyone ever be saved, if they are damned? Evidently, you are condemned or damned, while you are not believing, but you are not condemned or not damned, while you are believing. If this were not so, then there is no Good News in the Gospel. And, we are Eternally Damned forever. 

But, there is still something profoundly different about the rejection of the Truth (2Thessalonians 2:12), or loving not the Truth (2:10) at the moment of the Rapture. Just as the coldest temperature is normally recorded immediately before the rising of the sun in the morning, the coldest reception to the Truth will come directly before the Rapture. 

Paul uses the words “strong delusion” (2:11). “Strong [Greek, energeia, superhuman power]” (2:11) refers to the supernaturalness of energy displayed by God in sending the “delusion [Greek, plano, deceit, delusion, error]” (2:11). This combination of words means it is not just any delusion, but the delusion made possible in the one time of human existence, when the Spirit indwelt humans are universally and instantaneously removed from the earth, taking away all restraint to the working of the wicked one. A floodgate of wickedness will be opened. “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He [the Holy Spirit] is taken out of the way” (2Thessalonians 2:7 NKJV). 

Paul also uses the Greek word dunamis or “power” (2Thessalonians 2:9), when referring to the supernatural power being exercised by Satan at the time of the Rapture. By the way, this dunamis is also the supernatural power (but even greater) manifested by God in our salvation — “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power [Greek, dunamis, supernatural power] of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). 

We need to pay careful attention to the use of the word “power” in NT Scripture. This is much like the symbols around electrical currents announcing “Danger Electrical Shock Hazard.” Just as we may hear stories of some electricians touching hot electrical wires without damage, others may become profoundly dead. Pay attention, when Scripture uses the word “power.” 

How often have we experienced a sense of powerlessness in our day-to-day lives, much less in our spiritual life? We need to reconnect to the truth of the Scriptures regarding supernatural or superhuman power. We need God’s supernatural power flowing through us by our love of the Truth. We need to adjust our expectation of God performing the Truth of His Word by demonstrating His power according to our love of Him, who is the Truth. 

In this instance, we prefer not to be insulated from God’s power: 

(1) By the resistance of sin in our lives, i.e., “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). 

(2) By the predominance of supernatural opposition, i.e., “And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, Why could we not cast it out? So He said to them, This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:28-29). 

His power is a superhuman, transforming, subduing power. 

“Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working [Greek, energeia, superhuman power] by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:21). 

His power is a superhuman, death overcoming, resurrection power. 

“Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working [Greek, energeia, superhuman power] of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Colossians 2:12). 

Love of the Truth 

We need to stay alert to the enemy’s significant supernatural power by maintaining our love of Jesus, who is the Truth. That will not only overcome the wicked one, but will draw us closer to Jesus. “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews 9:28). Prophecy is not intended to frighten us, but to appropriately warn us of what to expect from the enemy. “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power [Greek, dunamis, supernatural power of God or Satan], signs, and lying wonders” (2Thessalonians 2:9). 

We are not attempting to promote the Apostasy in order to see the return of the Lord. That will take care of itself. We are to go about our normal lives, but with the expectation of the imminent return of the Lord — by Rapture, if we are still here, or by Resurrection, if we have already gone Home to the Lord (1Thessalonians 4:16-17). 

You will note the Truth to be loved is things will overall, progressively get worse and worse, not better and better. That is not pessimism but prophecy. “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2Timothy 3:13). 

All of the defining epochs of humanity’s existence have ended in man’s failure. 

(1) Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden because of not trusting our Creator, but setting into motion the Messiah, who will be the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

(2) The world was destroyed with a worldwide flood because of our wickedness, but punctuated by rainbows, reminding us of God’s faithfulness (Genesis 9:13). 

(3) The world was divided into different languages and disbursed to overspread the world at the Tower of Babel because we defied the Living God, but the Almighty set apart faithful Abraham, who would be the spiritual father of Israel (Genesis 11). 

(4) The nation of Israel, who gave us the Scriptures (Romans 3:2), saw the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD because they rejected the Messiah, but God has given Himself the Church, a called out assembly, to evangelize the world with the aid of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). 

(5) The Church has wrestled with periods of hot for the Lord and cold indifference to the Truth to the point of a lukewarmness that sickens the Lord, where the Lord is outside the Church, knocking on the door seeking entrance (Revelation 3:20). 

Is this all part of the prophetic plan? 

Yes, because we are constantly being reminded of the truth of why we were created to glorify Him (Revelation 4:11) by our constant abiding with Him (22:3). 

Summary

Why do we love the truth of prophecy? 

The true purpose of prophecy is to bear testimony to the Person and Work of Jesus. “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10).

Father, cause us to love the Truth of Your Word, as we are strangely attracted to it because of Jesus. Magnify Yourself by the fulfillment of Your Word, promises, and prophecies. May Your Kingdom come and will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Lord Jesus, return quickly. In Your name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Dealing With Demons (Part 1)

Ken

To Begin With

IN THE NAME OF JESUS, BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, we would say to Satan, the Fallen Angels, and the demons, who attack us and seek to control us, I AM DEAD TO YOU, AND YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! I am a new creature in Christ, old things are passed away! I AM DEAD TO YOU, AND YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV). “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Corinthians 5:17). IN THE NAME OF JESUS, BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, we must steadfastly address with confidence the attack of evil thoughts directed against us from the demonic spirits: I AM DEAD TO YOU, AND YOU ARE DEAD TO ME! “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).  No longer will we entertain the evil thoughts directed against us. Amen! Hallelujah! 

Demons are burgeoning and permeating everywhere, especially in the Western World, where the Gospel had previously driven them out; but, especially in the West, Secular Humanism has divorced the Supernatural Word of God from science, government, society, education, entertainment, business, and religion, leaving the door open for the demons and gods of this world to return with a vengeance. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26). 

Understanding Demons

Demons are not Fallen Angels, but to the best of our understanding, demons are the disembodied spirits of the deceased Nephilim.  

Nephilim are the product of cohabitating Fallen Angels with human females. “1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God [Hebrew, bene ha Elohim, only used of angels in OT, Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7] saw the daughters of men [Genesis 3:15, a Seed War to produce a physical seed, i.e., the Antichrist, which would be the antithesis of Jesus Christ], that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said, My Spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years [time left before the Flood came]. 4 There were giants [Hebrew, Nephilim, giants] in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:1-4 KJV). 

If you were to counter, Nephilim are only giants of large, physical stature — and not a hybrid of Fallen Angel and human female — then, why would the Protoevangelium specify: “And I will put enmity between thee [the Serpent] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed [Christ]; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15)? If this divinely set forth the necessity of a physical offspring resulting in a physical Messiah by means of a supernatural union of God with humanity, then why should we resist the idea of Satan attempting the same thing in producing a hybrid Nephilim? 

To object that angels cannot reproduce physical children because of Christ’s statement, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30), it only tells us of the lack of necessity for sexual procreation in Heaven. Remember, Lucifer rebelled against the Almighty’s directive to keep angels and humanity distinct and separate “after their kind” (Genesis 1:21, 25; 6:20; 7:14). But, it was prophesied in Daniel, “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (Daniel 2:43), pointing to an attempt to mix the seed of Fallen Angels with humans. 

Further, the Book of Jude described the evil of the Fallen Angels in their diabolical pursuit of procreation with human flesh, when forbidden by the Almighty. “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” (Jude 1:6-7). Bible scholars agree this reference is taken from the non-canonical Book of Enoch, where the context is clearly Fallen Angels cohabitating with human females. Josephus (first century AD), Jewish rabbinic tradition, and Early Church Fathers all agreed on the concept that Genesis 6 was describing Fallen Angels breeding with human females. This only changed with Augustine (354-439 AD), who advanced the Sethite View, where it was only ungodly sons of Seth, who are the “sons of God” (Genesis 6:2) who married the “daughters of men” (6:2). But, this again, neglects that the “sons of God” in the OT refers only to angels (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). This became the more respectable, non-supernatural explanation taught and advanced in seminaries, of which I can firsthand testify. 

You’re conclusion on this discussion affects your world view, e.g., your viewpoint on the Flood of Noah (simply annihilation of evil humankind or elimination of Nephilim, as well), the Tower of Babel (disobedience to Yahweh only or attempt to create Nephilim, as well), and the overspreading of humanity over the Post-Flood Earth (ancient myths of gods and giants or actual Nephilim building civilizations inexplicable by science). The confrontation of modern science attempting an anthropological explanation of Earth’s past without the benefit of the supernatural is untenable. Science must honestly admit its complete lack of understanding of our Beginning. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

Opinion: Hebrew and Greek Mindsets

Ken

Attempting to communicate between cultures and languages is more than finding word equivalents in translation but relating experiences that tell a story. The ancient Hebrew mindset required a story that described the experience, while the more western Greek mind looked for how doctrine would drive the question. When the Almighty confused humanity’s language at the Tower of Babel, He masterfully changed the focus of different language groups to impede the success of their communications. “Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse” (Proverbs 1:14 KJV). When the Spirit of God reverses the Babel Effect, “we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God” (Acts 2:11). Understanding Scripture and communicating God’s message requires the Holy Spirit’s intervention, “for we know not what we should pray for as we ought” (Romans 8:26). LORD, cause us to think and communicate in whatever mindset Your Spirit desires to make Your message plain to us or through us. In Jesus’ name, we ask it. Amen and amen. 

Elon Musk on Mars

Ken

Elon Musk would like to go to Mars and make us a multi-planetary species. Not just digital payments through PayPal, electric cars through Tesla, solar panels through SolarCity, internet communications through StarLink, or payloads to the International Space Station, but eventually, he is targeting the moon and Mars through SpaceX. Can he do it? The greater question is, Will God let him? If it serves God’s purpose, of course Elon Musk could do it. When the Almighty quelled the last great earthly rebellion against Himself at the Tower of Babel, He said, “Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech” (Genesis 11:6-7 KJV). Yahweh’s Divine Council chose to thwart the Tower of Babel because He was laying out the future of the supernatural spiritual warfare between Himself and His adversary. What would the world be like, if we only had one language? Either it would be like Heaven, or more likely Hell. A promise for the godly: “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” (Psalm 76:10 KJV). LORD, may Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Amen and amen.