In this final period of the end-time, God’s people are eagerly looking forward to the next great Exodus out of Egypt that will be far more profound than the first one.
The great Exodus that will soon be here will be made possible through The Passover who is coming to free all of God’s people — all mankind that will still be alive at that time — from the spiritual bondage of Egypt. He will also be freeing all people from the spiritual captivity of Assyria, as all the governments of the world have rejected God’s government to lead and guide them. Instead, all governments function to keep their people captive to their “own belief” in their own “right” form of government.
It is wise to stop and ponder what is now directly in front of us. Fear is coming! It will strike every person. It is time to deeply consider that reality and seek to be better prepared for when that hour arrives, for it is coming quickly.
The bottom line is that your life is in God’s hands, if by your conscious decision you have chosen that your life is God’s. All whom He has called in this end-time have been called to live into the millennial age where His government will reign over every nation on earth. Being blessed to live into that new age is not owed to anyone. However, for those whom God has called, He has offered this awesome deliverance in advance if you have chosen to receive it. If you have chosen to receive it, then you will be practicing what this Holy Day season teaches. You will be actively repenting of your sins and you will be actively working right now to come out of sin — out of spiritual Egypt. More about this will be covered a little later in this post, as there are more pointed realities about these days that should now be considered more deeply, yet some will not be able to hear what God says.
Fear Is Fast Approaching
Yes, fear is about to strike mankind in a massive worldwide manner and on a scale that has never before been remotely close to what is coming. Not even the flood in Noah’s day struck such fear. That is why you need to seek God’s help now to be as prepared as humanly possible for what is about to become a reality. No one will escape! Even God’s people will initially be struck by great fear. Yet we are not to live in fear, but instead we are to conquer it through faith and understanding of God’s plan and calling. Though we know and believe what is coming, it will still be a very trying experience, but it is not to be feared.
Apart from God’s Church, the worldwide confusion that is deeply embedded in every religious, governmental, and economic system — spiritual Babylon — is now struggling to stay alive. Satan doesn’t want his system to end and is fighting to keep it alive, but it is now imploding on itself. The very thing Satan worked to create (spiritual Babylon) is the very thing that is rapidly moving toward a complete state of self-destruction. The ways of mankind do not work as they are based upon the ways of Satan, which do not work.
We are now at a stage in this final time for mankind where some of the greatest deceit and pride-filled lying is being promoted in order to move masses of people into a false confidence and security about economic governmental stability. This is being fostered most by those nations who are exercising the greatest pride and arrogance over others.
Over this past week, that pride has been inflating as a deceitful euphoria has engulfed many as they rejoice over the distortions in the news that stocks, commodities, housing, employment, and other sectors of the economy are finally on the rebound and becoming healthier. Yet it is not healthy, but gravely ill and seemingly in a state of heavy sedation.
Rather than “peace and safety,” the world is right now on the brink of experiencing a total economic panic and collapse. Last weeks’ worldwide banking problems had the spotlight shine on it once again as Cyprus took drastic and highly unpopular measures to keep its system afloat.
Along with other European countries, the rippling effect this is causing in many nations, especially within the banking sector, was referred to by one well-known economist as a nuclear war in the banking industry. The constant repetition of these huge seismic shakings along global economic fault lines will be a major catalyst for a final world war.
God’s Reign
God’s people through time have highly anticipated and looked forward to this time that is right now before us. That which the Church has so often focused upon at each Feast of Tabernacles is now at hand. It would be good to be reminded of a few of those things that God has recorded for us.
“It shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain (government) of the Eternal’s House (the Kingdom of God that will reign) shall be established in the tops of the mountains (to reign over nations), and shall be exalted above the hills (smaller nations), and all nations shall flow into it. Many people shall go and then say, ‘Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Eternal, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.’ For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Eternal from Jerusalem (the teaching of the ways of peace). He shall judge among the nations (true judgment will now come from God and no longer out of mankind), and shall rebuke many people. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation and neither shall they learn war anymore” (Is. 2:2-4).
These verses describe the righteous reign of Jesus Christ as King of kings over all nations. What an awesome time that is now so close to being established. Mankind will finally begin to learn the ways of peace and no longer be taught war as it is in today’s military establishments, entertainment, memorials, etc. Before God’s Kingdom is established on earth, we must all experience one final horrific war. It is through this very short-lived war that God will begin to humble mankind before He will establish His reign over them.
“The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Eternal alone shall be exalted in that day. For the Day of the Eternal of hosts will be upon everyone who is proud and lofty, and upon everyone who is lifted up, and they shall be brought low” (Is. 2:11-12).
After Christ’s arrival on the Day of Pentecost, people will begin to be made ready for a great celebration of their deliverance from bondage and captivity. By the time of that celebration, most will have begun to grasp their great deliverance and the magnitude of this worldwide Exodus that they were blessed to be a part. This celebration will be their first observance of one of God’s annual Holy Days — the Feast of Trumpets. The focus of this celebration of this great feast will be that of gratitude and rejoicing before God for the establishment of Jesus Christ as the long promised Messiah who would be King of kings. “It shall come to pass in that day (as a result of what God does at that time) that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come up who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria (captive to the world’s governments), and those who were the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and they shall worship the Eternal in (who is in) the holy mount at Jerusalem (in the government He has established from Jerusalem” (Is. 27:13).
By God’s great power and might, He will bring an end to every government of man and He will establish His true government. This will indeed be a most awesome Exodus as He frees mankind from the bondage and captivity of mankind.
Our Passover’s Instruction
We will now return to what was stated earlier about our calling and the choice of whether or not to receive God’s deliverance into the Millennium. This is not owed to anyone. For those who have been called in advance and offered such a blessing and awesome opportunity from God, the response of “Yes, I accept” is not enough. Deliverance does not rest upon a positive response of simple acceptance. One must act (work) upon their acceptance. Simply going through the outward motions of acceptance is not acceptable with God.
It is easy to go through the motions of engaging in fellowship and attendance on God’s Sabbaths. A person can mistakenly equate their life in the Church by such participation, which indeed is required, and one may also believe they are “in” the Church because of how much they know, study, pray, fast, and/or listen to sermons. These things should certainly be a big part of your life in the Church, but what truly determines your life in God’s Church is not simply going through these outward motions, but of what you live in the Church.
Through the power of God’s spirit, I already know that some few will not be able to hear what God is giving here. What is now being addressed is the reason for their problem and blindness. Thankfully, some others who desperately need this will follow up with the admonition of this Passover season to put themselves to the test (looking at the actions in their life of how they live) and actively examine themselves, and most certainly everyone can find more areas in this subject matter in which to repent and grow.
As it was stated earlier concerning accepting God’s deliverance, “If you have chosen to receive it, then you will be practicing what this Holy Day season teaches. You will actively be repenting of your sins and you will be actively working right now to come out of sin — out of spiritual Egypt.”
The heart and core to understanding what is being said here is wrapped up in one of the examples that one of our evangelists, Terry, referred to in a sermon he gave on the Sabbath before Passover. Toward the middle of that sermon he referenced an occasion where a lawyer of the Pharisees tried to entrap Christ by asking a question: “What is the great commandment of the law? Jesus replied, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your life, and with all your mind’” (Mat. 22:36-37).
How does one go about seeking to accomplish such a thing? It was a question designed to entrap Christ. Jesus placed God first, but he went on to include human relationships as part of his answer. Why didn’t he just stop once he had answered what the great commandment was in regard to how we are to express love toward God? The understanding of his answer of how to love God in such a manner is incomplete without including the connection to the rest of what he said.
By doing what has been described as “going through the motions” of religion is only a partial inclusion into how to obey God and a part of how we live our Christian life, but the real proof of our conversion, transformation, and love toward God is predominately made manifest through our attitude toward others and our relationship that follows.
The apostle John was given the greatest spiritual insight into this very subject matter in a deeper way than all the other apostles. His writing is fully spiritual in nature when he covers the subject of the kind of love (agape) of which God is the only true source. He made statements that even many in God’s Church have had difficulty to see. One such statement is: “If a man say, I love God (believes he is keeping the great commandment), and hates (Gk. meaning “to fail to love”) his brother, he is a liar” (1 Jn. 4:20). These are very strong words and they are not directed to the world, but to those who are supposed to be “in” God’s Church. But there is also more to this verse that gets to the pivotal point of what is being covered here. “He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, then how can he love God whom he has not seen” (the rest of the same verse)?
It is easy to “go through the motions” of religion, but it is another thing to actively love others as God instructs. If someone fails to love others in the manner God instructs, then the point is, “They do not love God.” That is the reality and the truth of the matter. As Terry taught, we need an unleavened relationship with our Father. If we have leavening in our relationship with others, then we have a leavened relationship with our Father and have great need to repent — to think (and act) differently — and change!
On his last night of physical life — on Passover night — Jesus Christ reinforced this very subject matter and the inseparable connection of our expression and practice of love toward God (whom we cannot literally see) being made manifest by our expression and practice of love toward others (whom we do literally see and have constant interaction). In life within the Church, this is manifest (revealed) first in marriage relationships and followed then by the relationship with other family members in how we think toward them, which leads to how we treat them and speak to them. Then of course this works its way out into all other relationships as well. Those who fail to actively and continually love those who are closest to them also fail to love God, and thereby, fail to continue “in” the Body of Christ. Only genuine repentance of such action will lead to once again being “in” the Church.
On Christ’s final night he taught much about how to have a right and true relationship of love toward God. It is our choice whether we receive the deliverance God offers us by how we live in (Gk. meaning of abide in, dwell in, remain in, continue in) the Body of Christ. If we fail to do so, then God’s answer is clear: “If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered, and men gather them and cast them into the fire to be burned” (Jn. 15:6). Christ went on to connect the importance of our ability to love God being exercised by how we live toward others: “If you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (Jn. 15:10). Jesus Christ lived a perfect example of continually loving others and by that he was living in God’s love and rightly expressing love toward God.
Jesus Christ went on to explain the importance of this right relationship toward God and now the relationship we could have toward him. He went on to magnify this same inseparable relationship of how we treat others being the same as how we truly treat (loving or fail to love) God: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12).
Yes, God promises us great deliverance, but it is up to each of us if we receive it.
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