Answers to Questions #2

Fred R. Coulter—February 19, 2022

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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! Today we're going to continue answering questions, and I have a whole stack of them. I certainly won't get through them today.

Test the Spirits

I've been at logger-heads with a calcified Protestant who believes that all you need is grace and you can do whatever you want. That's a false prophet! There will be a lot of those.

Jesus said that they would do 'great signs and wonders' to deceive the elect if possible (Matt. 24). That's why we have arm ourselves with the Truth and understand it so that no one can take it from us.

1-John 4:1: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits…" How do you test the spirits?

• Do they keep the commandments of God?

We will see that's the outward sign!

• Do they actually have the Spirit of God or not?

Remember what we covered with the tares: They look like the wheat until it's time to bring forth the fruit!

"…whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this test… [another way] …you can know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (vs 1-2).

That means past tense, personally has come! That's His flesh through His mother Mary.

Verse 3: "And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not from God…."

They always have some excuse, and we'll see one later where there's a Scripture that looks like Jesus was created.

"...And this is the spirit of antichrist, which you heard was to come, and even now it is already in the world" (v 3). It's multiplied everywhere in the world today!

Verse 4: "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because greater is He Who is in you than the one who is in the world."
Who is in us?

• Rom. 8—Spirit of Christ
• John 14—the Father and Christ

They are greater than the one who is in the world! Because "…the one who is in the world…" is following Satan!

Verse 5: "They are of the world; because of this, they speak of the world, and the world listens to them. We are of God; the one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not of God does not listen to us…." (vs 5-6).

Think about that! Take the example of this man who thinks he is doing what God wants, says that he trusts in the grace of God, but says 'we don't have to keep the commandments.' That's like saying, 'Turn off the light so we can see!' It's a conundrum that's not answerable.

"…By this means we know the Spirit of the Truth and the spirit of the deception" (v 6).

• Is Jesus Returning in the Flesh?

2-John 7: "Because many deceivers have entered into the world; those who do not confess that Jesus Christ is coming… [has come is incorrect; the Greek is very specific, it's a present tense participle meaning it's happening] …in the flesh of true believers…"

• What does it man "…is coming in the flesh…"?
• Does that mean that Jesus Christ is returning in the flesh?

or

• Is He coming the glory and power of the Father? He's coming as a spirit being!

This verse does not mean that Jesus is coming in the flesh at His return. This means that He is coming spiritually into all Christians with His Spirit and the Spirit of the Father. That doesn't mean that He's coming in the flesh!

• I believe that Jesus is coming in the flesh because of what Jesus said in Luke 24 after His resurrection.

We know that after His resurrection He was walking along and came to the two disciples who were on the way to Emmaus. He was able to talk to them as if He were someone else, because they couldn't see him properly. He was able to adjust their vision so they wouldn't see Him as He actually was.

After the got to Emmaus and sat down to eat, He broke the bread and blessed it, their eyes opened and they ran back to Jerusalem to the apostles as fast as they could go. They knew that it was Jesus!

(John 20 is the parallel account):

Luke 24:36: "Now, as they were telling these things, Jesus Himself stood in their midst and said to them, 'Peace be to you.'"

He had to be invisible to come through the door, the wall or come down through the ceiling. He had to be a spirit being! Now let's see where the conundrum is with this:

Verse 37: "But they were terrified and filled with fear, thinking that they beheld a spirit apparition…. [a demon] …Then He said to them, 'Why are you troubled? And why do doubts come up in your hearts? See My hands and My feet, that it is I. Touch Me and see for yourselves; for a spirit… [an apparitional spirit] …does not have flesh and bones, as you see Me having'" (vs 37-39).

The man who wrote me said, 'Christ is going to return in the flesh.' NO! Already here we have seen that He can do many things about His appearance. Why didn't Jesus say, 'Flesh and blood'? If it were actual flesh it would have to have blood! But as a spirit being He can appear as if He has flesh and bone!

• How do we know this? In the book of Genesis God talked with Adam and Eve and instructed them and shows them everything.
• How did God look?
• Did He talk to them in His glory? NO!

Remember, when Moses wanted to see the glory of God, after the children of Israel had sinned, God said, 'No man can look upon My face and live!' So, you can't see God in His glory! But it says that Moses talked to Him face-to-face. How did that happen?

God can put Himself in a configuration that He looked like He had flesh and bone. We were made after His image, after His likeness, so He could appear as flesh and bone. That doesn't mean that His second coming is going to be in the flesh. Likewise when God talked to Abraham. He talked to him in a vision, in person and through an angel, all three.

We will see that Christ—present tense participle, meaning occurring right now—is the Spirit of Christ coming to people! That is the hope of glory!

Colossians 1:24: "Now, I am rejoicing in my sufferings for you, and I am filling up in my flesh that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ, for the sake of His Body, which is the Church."

The whole Church is called His Body! That is a figure of speech designed to show that all of those who belong to Christ have the Spirit of God!

Verse 25: "Of which I became a servant, according to the administration of God that was given to me for you in order to complete the Word of God."

Paul was helping complete it; it was completed by Paul, Peter and John.

Verse 26: "Even the mystery that has been hidden from ages and from generations, but has now been revealed to His saints; to whom God did will to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you…" (vs 26-27)—Christ coming in your flesh! And in the flesh of all true believers!

That's what it means. It doesn't mean that He's coming back as flesh and bone as He appeared to the apostles after His resurrection.

As we go through these things, there are a lot of other things you can learn as you go along. That's why repeated study! Always prove all things so that you know that it is true! When you start out, you start out with what you know is absolutely true and then move forward from there. As you do, keep checking back with that and other things to make sure that you're properly understanding the Truth. That's called deductive reasoning.

• What does it mean Firstborn of all Creation?

Colossians 1:12: "Giving thanks to the Father, Who has made us qualified for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the Light."

Who draws us? God the Father! Then Christ leads us to the Father and we're all taught of God! Being taught of God means:

• by Christ through His Spirit
• by the Father through His Spirit
• by the Word of God, which is God-breathed, spiritually inspired to be written

Actually, the word God-breathed means God spirited! In other words, what God wanted written down, He put into the minds of the apostles who were responsible for writing it down. Notice God's involvement in our lives:

Verse 13: "Who has personally rescued us from the power of darkness…"

The only way a person comes out of this world is through the power of God. God the Father has personally rescued us! That's why when we pray, what do we say? Our Father…!

Sidebar question:

• Why didn't Jesus say to pray in His name in Matt. 6 with the model prayer?

The reason is that He didn't tell them that until later, until the time just before He was to be crucified.

"…and has transferred us unto the Kingdom of the Son of His love" (v 13).

That's why we're not of the world! We live in, but we're not part of it, because the world belongs to Satan.

Verse 14: "In Whom we have redemption through His own blood, even the remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation" (vs 14-15).

Now if you stop right there then you would have to say that He was Firstborn before Adam was created.

• What does it mean to be Firstborn of all creation?
• What is God doing in us? He is creating Holy Righteous character!

• What happened when David sinned?
• What was part of His prayer? Create in me, O Lord, a clean heart!

So, conversion is creation!We will see why He's called the Firstborn in just a bit, because the question is answered in this chapter.

Verse 16: "Because by Him were all things created, the things in heaven and the things on earth, the visible and the invisible…" Think about that!

If He was the Firstborn, then the question arises: Did He create Himself if He created all things? See what happens when you don't get all the Truth and put it together!

"…whether they be thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him" (v 16).

If all things means all things that means that He created Himself. There are some people who believe that.

Verse 17: "And He is before all, and by Him all things subsist. And He is the Head of the Body, the Church; Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from among the dead…" (vs 17-18). That's what the Firstborn of all creation means!

The Firstborn of all of those through the power of the resurrection. Not born a physical birth, like we are physically, but that Firstborn is from the dead! We know:

• Rev. 1—He's the Firstborn from the dead
• Matt. 1—physically, he was the firstborn of Mary

"…so that in all things He Himself might hold the pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell" (vs 18-19).

Let's put some Scriptures together, which ties all of this together for what we have covered up to this point.

Romans 8:9: "However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is indeed dwelling within you…."

This is how God looks at it. That's what's important. That's why we're not of the world!

"…But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him" (v 9).

There it is, right there! You must have the Spirit of Christ! We are told in John 14 that Jesus said that 'when the Holy Spirit comes, the Father and Jesus will dwell within us'!

Here's the first part of the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ:

Verse 10: "But if Christ be within you, the body is indeed dead because of sin; however, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Now, if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead…" (vs 10-11). Who is that? The Father!

So, we have Christ and the Father, two parts of the Holy Spirit. They are coming into the flesh of all believers, wherever they are! Tie all those Scriptures together that we have covered and you get a beautiful picture of what God is doing.

Verse 11: "Now, if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling within you, He Who raised Christ from the dead will also quicken… [make alive spiritually] …your mortal bodies because of His Spirit that dwells within you."

• When Jesus spoke to the spirits in prison there are some who say that Jesus' body was dead and in the tomb, but His Spirit went to preach to the demons who were in prison.

They actually believe that! I remember when I first explained this to the brethren, years and years ago, there are a lot for the first time understood. But it's really simple.

1-Peter 3:18: "Because Christ indeed once suffered for sins, the Just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God; on the one hand, He was put to death in the flesh; but on the other hand, He was made alive by the Spirit by which He also went and preached to the spirits in prison" (vs 18-19).

If you stop there, it looks like that His body was dead, then His Spirit somehow went to preach to the demons. But you have to read on in order to find out when this took place!

Verse 20: "Which disobeyed in a past time when once the longsuffering of God was waiting in the days of Noah…"

It was the One Who was the Lord God of the Old Testament Who became Jesus Christ Who—as a spirit being—went to the spirits in prison to preach to them and tell them what He was going to do to destroy all the works of their 'great and magnificent' civilization.

I tell you, we are going to see and avalanche of false teachers within and without of the Church coming up with a lot of false doctrines. We already have had one man and his wife say that they were the two witness. You would think that no one would believe him, and he was all alone. NO! There were people who believed him. Why does God allow that? Because He wants to know

• Have you proved all things?
• Do you really believe the Word of God?
• Are you willing to use the Spirit of God to understand what you need to understand?

If you're coming to Church for a social group, and you pray a little bit at home and you hardly ever study, you're a waiting victim to be had by Satan the devil! So, you better think about that!

2-Peter 2:1: "But there were also false prophets among the people, as indeed there will be false teachers among you, who will stealthily introduce destructive heresies…"

Did we not see that happen in our day? Yes! But no one would have believed it!

"…who will stealthily introduce destructive heresies personally denying the Lord who bought them…" (v 1).

How do you do that? Well, you convince people that it's okay to keep Sunday! You convince people that it's okay to keep Christmas, New Years and the holidays of this world!

"…and bringing swift destruction upon themselves. And many people will follow as authoritative their destructive ways…" (vs 1-2).

Here's what they do! This is exactly what the Protestants do! They're going to get swept up in the false miracles and things that come along, and they are going to come into the religious fold of the false prophet, without a doubt! Here's what they do:

"…and because of them, the way of the Truth will be blasphemed" (v 2). That's what they do!

One of the most blasphemous things that they say is if you have grace you don't have to keep the commandments. People believe it! Why do they believe it? Because they want to do the things of the flesh rather than the things of the Spirit!

Just like when they announced in Pasadena that it was okay to eat unclean foods! If you haven't proved that and you don't know that, and you're not convinced that that's really true, you better have the conviction of God's Spirit that it is. What happened right there in Pasadena, at the auditorium, the House of God dedicated to God, and the preacher read from the NIV 'that Jesus pronounced all meats clean.' That's a blatant false translation. What happened? Services were dismissed and there was a mad dash to the Red Lobster right in Pasadena, so they could go get their shrimp and crabs.

Were they converted, or was it a house of tares? A house of tares!"…the way of the Truth will be blasphemed":

• don't have to keep the Sabbath
• don't have to keep the Holy Days
• those were just ritual days
• you don't have to do them today

Verse 3: "Also, through insatiable greed they will with enticing messages exploit you for gain; for whom the judgment of old is in full force, and their destruction is ever watching. For if God…" (vs 3-4).

It comes right back to where we left off in 1-Peter 3.

"…did not spare the angels who sinned…" (v 4). Angels have free moral agency!

• Do you have free moral agency?
• Can you choose to sin or not sin?
• Yes!

"…but having cast them into Tartarus… [a place of restraint] …delivered them intochains of darkness to be kept for the judgment… [If you think God doesn't mean business, read the next verse]: …and if God did not spare the ancient world…" (vs 4-5)—in the Flood!

In the Greek that is 'kataklusmos.' Think about it, 15 cubits above the highest mountain. That's 45 feet of water above Mt. Everest. Nothing lived except those in the ark along with the animals. Tie in:

• Rev. 9:2, 11—about the abyss and who is the king over the abyss? Abaddon, which is a Greek name for Satan

I want you to understand and look at all the commercials that are going on right now advertising movies and different things, but mostly movies. Walt Disney—the 'wonderful' children's productions. How many have seen the first edition of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse and the Train. That was real cute.

Do you know what he's into today with all of those, because he's gone (Walt Disney) and another generation is there, and another generation has come after. They're into everything occult and demonic. They're coming out with a movie for children where there is cannibalism, eating human flesh, for children to watch!

• Ezek. 28 says that the King of Tyre is going to be destroyed. Who was the one possessing the King of Tyre? Satan!

Who died? A lot people like to say that God is going to cause Satan to die. No, it doesn't say cause him to die in the future. The King of Tyre died because God gave him the death penalty for his sins. But Satan lived on. Satan is a spirit being.

Was Satan around to possess Judas Iscariot? Yes! That's absolute proof that Satan did not die, nor was this a forecast of His death in Ezek. 28.

So, when you have a question, start searching for the answer. You will find it! We know that in Rev. 20, right before all the wicked are burned up in the Lake of Fire, Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire. After the wicked are cast in there—they're all burned up together, Satan and the demons are there being tormented—then they are going to be removed and in Jude it says that they're going to go to the darkest blackness forever!

Then someone will ask: What's the purpose of that? As a perpetual memorial that it doesn't pay to rebel against God! God is not going to make us robots in the Kingdom of God. We have to choose.

• love is a choice
• love is a commitment
• love is giving of yourself

When someone loves you back, they're giving of themselves to you! In the flesh the epitome of marriage of two flesh becoming one shows the closeness of that.

Here's another one that's happening in the world; you can look it up online: Temple of Satan! They've now got a statue of Satan in Detroit. What does Satan offer? Freedom to do anything you want! He never tells you that he's going to lead you to the depths of the worst possible conduct that you can do! When you get there, you will die!

If you don't believe that, look at all the addicts that get hooked and kill themselves on drugs. Now, schools are allowing Satan Clubs. Is this Satan's world or not? I'm going to bring a message: What it Means that Satan Deceives the Whole World? That's not just a slight statement of information.

• Did you know that every corporation in the world has Monday as the first day of the week?
• Did you know that?

If anyone wanted to prove which day is the Sabbath, which is the seventh day? Decades ago, Europe introduced their calendar as Sunday as day seven! Now it's used by all corporations, used internationally so they can come with their blatant lies and say, 'We keep the seventh day.' God is the One who has set the days! There are three things that the Jews preserve correctly:

• which day the Sabbath is
• the Calculated Hebrew Calendar
• the Holy Days of God

They preserve them, but rarely do they observe them the way that they should be observed. The Calculated Hebrew Calendar is correct.

There are many calendar schemes out there, and you need to be aware of them, because they will come along and try and tell you that the Calculated Hebrew Calendar is not correct.

You tell them to go back to the back to the book of Numbers and look at the prophecies of Balaam against Israel, and you will see that in spite of his dedication to evil, God made him bless! Balak hired him and said, 'What are you doing? I paid you to curse!' Balaam said, 'Well, I told you I could not go beyond what God wanted me to do. Sorry about that; thank you for you money.'

Balaam told Balak the way you get them is entice them with sex. That will get them (also related to Rev. 2).

• the day called Sunday is day one!
• the day called Saturday is day seven!

I don't think many people would really, really understand how far Satan is going to take this world down. It's going to be something!

(break@43:54)

• What was the connection between Balaam and preserving the calendar, and the things that Jews preserved?

There are many Jews who want to get rid of everything to do religiously. But in spite of that, there are those who have preserved it correctly.

• When will the war in heaven take place (Rev. 12)? Is it in the middle of the last seven years? A little before? A little after?

The best way to find out is you have to wait and see! We don't know exactly, because a lot of things that we look at in prophecy, we don't know some of the things that have actually occurred.

Example: the 70 weeks prophecy has two breaks in time. It doesn't flow in straight chronology. That's one of the ways that God has hidden it. Carl Franklin has a paper on Dan. 9-11: The Three Prophetic Periods of Daniel's70 Weeks Prophecy {truthofGod.org} We don't know when this is going to take place. We'll just have to wait and see. But it's going to be a spectacular thing, indeed!

• Are we doing more things in space than ever before?
• Does Satan us human beings?
• Does Satan possess human beings?
• Yes, indeed!

• I've always wondered about Rahab and how she lied to protect the Israelites spies and was rewarded for it?

You know what someone will say, 'If Rahab lied and God blessed her, I can lie and God will bless me.' That's what people will do!

One rule on discussion on the Bible: When you're talking about the Bible, open it up and read it! A lot of people sit around and talk about the Bible, but they don't open it up!

Joshua 2:1: "And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, 'Go look over the land, even Jericho.' And they went and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab. And they stayed there. And the king of Jericho was told about it, saying, 'Behold, men from the chil­dren of Israel came in here tonight to search out the country.' And the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, 'Bring out the men that have come to you, those who have entered into your house, for they have come to search out all the country.' And the woman took the two men and hid them…." (vs 1-4).

• Where did she hide them? She told them to go up on the roof!
• How big was the roof? We don't know!

"…And she said, 'Two men came to me, but I did not know from where they came'" (v 4).

• she didn't from where they came
• she didn't know what tribe
• she didn't know that Joshua had sent them

That was a true answer! It was evasive, but it wasn't a lie!

Verse 5: "And it came to pass when it was dark, at the time of shutting the gate, the men went out. Where the men went I do not know…."

She used a diversion! At the time of the shutting of the gate is when they went up on the roof. Where they were on the roof, she didn't know. That was a diversion. It's not a lie! Can you divert someone so that you will avoid trouble? Yes, you can!

"…Go after them quickly, for you shall overtake them" (v 5).

That is not a lie! But even when they went after them quickly, they couldn't overtake them.

Verse 6: "But she had brought them up on the roof, and had hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof. And the men went after them on the way to Jordan to the fords. And when those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. And before they had laid down…" (vs 6-8)—when everyone went to bed!

They stayed up there quite a while. We don't know exactly when they came down; it may have been midnight.

"…she came up to them upon the roof. And she said to the men, 'I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that your terror has fallen upon us, and that all those who live in the land faint because of you, for we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites that were on the other side of Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And we had heard, and our hearts melted…'" (vs 8-11).

Verse 12: "Now, therefore, I pray you, swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt with you in kindness, that you will also deal with kindness…"

She didn't lie; she diverted them! Of course, she and her family were rescued when the walls of Jericho[transcriber's correction] came down.

• What has God done with the Bible? Here's the Bible all in plain sight! But the understanding is hidden!
• Did God lie because He's hidden it?

That's why there are certain keys to understanding the Word of God. I've got a book in my library that says that the Bible is full of lies. But, in reality, it's full of Truth! So, there are ways to understand the Bible.

In connection to this, to the two men/spies Rahab hid, she did not directly lie. She diverted by saying something else. Where they were on the roof, she didn't know exactly, she just sent them up there and they got under the thatched roof. So, when they asked where the two men were, she said she didn't know.

• She did not know exactly where they were. That wasn't a lie!
• She didn't know exactly from where they came, except that they were Israelites! So, she said she didn't know!
• Now it's the time of the closing of the gate, she said, 'Why don't you run out there to the gate and see if you can catch them before they get away.' A diversion!

I hope that helps answer your question!

• I know of an in-home group that says that tithing has mostly been done away with, and can prove it by Scripture.

Of course, that's always there. Let's go to the New Testament. You need to understand what Paul did. The truth of the matter is that God commands tithing! We've got an In-Depth study on tithing: Wealth and Income

Paul shows that tithing is enforceable, but he did not enforce it. Why? Because he wanted to take care of the spiritual things first! We find in 2-Cor. 13 that he said, the only difference between me and the other apostles is, 'I was not burdensome to you.' Burdensome is the word that Paul used to describe tithing.

1-Corhinthians 9:1: "Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?"

What Paul wanted them to do was to understand that he had the authority, but to give from the heart rather than being dunned. That's what happened in Worldwide Church of God:

Every month you'd get a letter asking for money. Can you get money doing that? Yeah, you can get a lot of money! But if it's not from the heart of the people giving it, something is going to happen. Likewise, I don't bring about tithing and offering all the time, because I know that if you're converted, you know the Truth, you love God, you keep His commandments, you will tithe and give offerings from the heart.

I don't need to 'beat anybody over the head' for money. If I leave it in that way, like Paul did, can God inspire the brethren to give and give tithes? Yes, He can! That's what Paul was bringing out here.

Verse 2: "If I am not an apostle to others, without a doubt I am to you. For you are the certification of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who are examining me is this…(vs 2-3).

They were examining him! 'Paul, why don't you take up tithes?' Well, those who gave he did take up.

Verse 4: "Do we not have a right to eat and to drink?…. [of course] …Do we not have a right to take with us a sister, a wife, as also the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, do we not have a right to refrain from working?" (vs 4-6).

I know what that is like. There were ten years where I didn't receive hardly any money from the brethren. I worked; and I worked before I came into the Church. I know what working is! I also know what robbing the brethren is; I'll give you an example:

When we came down from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Pasadena, Bill Evans was the one in charge of getting the elders/ministers set in different housing. They had a big warehouse with furniture and things like that, which you could choose and take it and put it into the house you're moving into.

At that point we were moving into 949 So. Pasadena Ave. He lived next door and said, 'Fred, come with me I want to show you something.' So, I went with him. He took me up on 'minister's row' and that was So. Orange Grove, the expensive area where they had these big houses.

We went into one of these house where they refurbishing it. He said, 'you see those drapes over there that they're putting up?' This is 1972! He said, '$40,000'; that was in Al Portune's home! And he said, 'That's out of third tithe!' Today that's about $140,000!

What was third tithe to be used for? To help the widow's and those in need! Al Portune was not a widower and he wasn't in need!

I said to myself, I've got a checkbook that the Church gave me to write checks to those who have need. Every dollar I give to the needy they can't spend on the ministers. So, that's what I did.

Because of all the sins of that organization, where is it today? If you want a very interesting journey, go to Pasadena and drive around the area where the college used to be: It's not there! The Administration Building has been torn down, and the area where some of the classroom were, where the beautiful fountains were, are torn down and they have big expensive condominiums. Herbert Armstrong wanted to be with the rich; he got his wish! Everything was taken from him and given to rich people!

I bring that up from the point of view that it is absolutely a sin by the ministry to continue to dun the brethren for tithes and offerings and then when they get it to misspend it and not report it!

Another thing they did, while I'm on this, in the travels around the world, they took $1.5-million out of third tithe to buy jet fuel! Tithes and offerings are God's money and they have to be used for God's purposes.

Verse 7: "Does anyone at any time serve as a soldier at his own expense?…. [no] …Does anyone plant a vineyard and not eat the fruit of it? …. [no] …Or does anyone shepherd a flock and not eat the meat and milk from the flock? …. [no] …Am I saying these things merely from a human point of view? Or does not the Law say the same things? For it is written in the Law of Moses, 'You shall not muzzle the ox that is treading out corn.' Is it because God is concerned for oxen? Or does He not certainly say this for our sakes? For our sakes it was written, so that the one who plows might plow in hope, and the one who threshes the corn in hope might be partaker of his hope. If we have sown to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your physical things?" (vs 7-11).

There are some people today that have told me that I shouldn't take any tithes or offerings. That I should do like the 70 that Jesus sent out to preach the Gospel. They forgot the other part of it: that right at the end Jesus said, 'When you went out did you lack anything?

They said no, and He said, 'When you go out, you take a purse and sword, both.' Today here's what Paul says:

Verse 12: "If others participate in this authority over you… [the receiving of tithes and offerings] …much more surely should not we? Nevertheless, we have not used this authority; but we have endured all things so that we might not hinder the Gospel of Christ."

He put all the spiritual things first! Then God inspired what ever they need would come. Paul also worked.

Verse 13: "Don't you know that those who are laboring in the sacred things of the temple live of the things of the temple, and those who are ministering at the altar are partakers with the altar?"

• What did they receive at the temple? Tithes and offerings!
• What did they receive on the altar? Burnt offerings and other offerings, and they partook of those!

That's how the priesthood operated. They were not given tribal area; they were only given particular cities for the priests and for the Levites.

Verse 14: "In the same way also, the Lord did command that those who preach the Gospel are to live of the Gospel"—not make a profit!

I remember in Worldwide they started comparing the Church to a corporation in the world. Then they increased the salaries of many of those evangelists. They got up into the six figures, some $200,000; Stanley Radar got the most and he was even ordained and turned out to be a real sleazy guy!

Verse 15: "But I have not used any of these things. And I have not written these things in order thatthis might now be done to me. For it would be better for me to die rather than to have anyone make my boasting void."

I think that's a good way to do it. We preach it. In every letter I send out I thank the brethren for their tithes and offerings. They never did that in Worldwide, they only asked for more! Yes, there will be people who go along with it and say that you don't have to tithe.

Remember that the tithe belongs to God! So, there are two responsibilities:

• those who give; they make sure they give what is God's
• those who receive it make sure that it used for the things concerning the brethren and preaching the Gospel.

No personal profit!

• Lev. 12:1-8—these verses basically say that the days of a woman's purification after giving birth to a male child is one-half the time of that given to a female child

That's true, so the question is: Why? We're not told! God did not tell us, so we don't know.

For the offerings, the one who brought the sin offering was to put his hand the lamb or kid goat and confess his sins. In Lev. 16 you have the same thing. It doesn't say that the priest would put his hand on the one for the Lord, but he had to do that. The sin offering says that he should. Just because it doesn't say it in Lev. 16 does not mean that he didn't do it.

• he did it for the goat that was for the Lord
• he did it for the bullock that was the sin offering for him and the whole priesthood

They would use a bullock if it were one of the tribal leaders. Then it goes all the way down to the very poorest of people, the poorest ones could afford only a flour offering. How that was given we don't know.

The Goat for Azazel

But on Azazel—this is interesting—there are still a lot of people who don't believe that that represents Satan the devil.

• Are human beings going to pay for their sins if they don't repent? Yes!
• How are they going pay for their sins? They're going to be burned up in the Lake of Fire!
• Who is the author of all sin?

Right at the Temple of God in Jerusalem; let's see what Jesus said. He was very strong when He spoke these words; He's talking to the scribes, Pharisees and the priests. There were a lot of people there.

He told them that He was from above and they were from beneath! He told them that if they would believe in Him, they could be free from sin. Sin is the transgression of the Law!

He continues on speaking and they said, 'We're Abraham's children, and He said:

John 8:37: "I know that you are Abraham's seed…"

What's the difference, if you're one of his children,  you would have the attitude of Abraham and you would be doing the works of Abraham. But Jesus said seed because they were following Satan the devil right at the Temple of God!

I'm bringing this out because we need to answer the question:

• Why did the priest have to put both hands on the goat for Azazel?

Verse 37: "I know that you are Abraham's seed, but you are seeking to kill Me, because My words do not enter into your minds."

What was there in their minds? Hatred! Thoughts of murder!

Verse 38: "I speak the things that I have seen from My Father, and you do the things that you have seen from [#1]your father.'" Follow along what that means!

Verse 39: "They answered and said to Him, 'Our father is Abraham.' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has spoken the Truth to you, which I have heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing the works of [#2]your father.' Then they said to Him, 'We have not been born of fornication. We have one Father, and that is God.' Therefore, Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love Me, because I proceeded forth and came from God. For I have not come of Myself, but He sent Me'" (vs 39-42).

Those are pretty powerful words! Remember that He's right at the temple telling them this.

Verse 43: "Why don't you understand My speech? Because you cannot bear to hear My words."

I got some of these e-mails from people not in the Church, and they can't bear to hear the words: keep the commandments of God! They get mad! They have the Bible, the Truth, but just like people who want it their way they misconstrue it and really don't understand it.

Verse 44: "You are of [#3]your father the devil…

Where does the devil always like to get? To the very top! That's why Judas was there at the first part of the Passover with the washing of the feet.

"…and the lusts of [#4]your father you desire to practice…." (vs 44).

What are all of those things? All of their traditions, all of their laws!

"…He [Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, and has not stood in the Truth because there is no Truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he is speaking from his own self; for he is a liar, and the [#5]father of it. And because I speak the Truth, you do not believe Me. Which one of you can convict Me of sin? But if I speak the Truth, why don't you believe Me? The one who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God" (vs 44-47).

Think of that! Right at the Temple of God, the priests, scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees—the leading people—were not from God! Though they were the ones to bring the Word of God to the people.

That's exactly what has happened in the world today! Look at all the religions—Protestantism, Catholicism, Judaism—they all profess to know God, but they're just like these right here, they're not from God!

They use the Word of God for profit, but they don't use it to help people, to teach them how to live and to love and obey God!

• Do you think that God is not going to judge Satan the devil? Of course, He's going to!
• How is God going to do it? That's why Lev. 16, because the goat for Azazel is not for Christ!

The goat for the Lord was the one that symbolized Christ! When the blood of that goat was sprinkled on the altar all the sins and transgressions that they did were forgiven at the temple!

Who was the power behind all the sins of all human beings down through all time, and the sin of the angels on top of that—Satan the devil!

That's why the priest put both hands on the head of the goat for Azazel and confessed all the sins that the people did. They wouldn't have those kinds of sins if it weren't for Satan the devil. That goes all the way back to Adam and Eve.

Yes, it's going to be just like we have covered on the Last Great Day, before the Great White Throne Judgment begins, Satan and the demons had already been cast into a Lake of Fire. They stay there during the 100-year period. Then what happens? All those who committed the unpardonable sin will be resurrected and all the wicked together—as pictured by Lazarus and the rich man—will go into the Lake of Fire. That fire is going to consume the whole earth (2-Pet. 3) in preparation for the New Earth and the New Jerusalem.

Satan and demons; where will they be?

Jude 6: "And the angels who did not keep their own original domain, but deserted their habitation, He is holding in eternal bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day."

They are in darkness! We know the abyss, and we know in Rev. 9 that demons are going to be let out of the abyss. There are four demonic angels that are put right in the River Euphrates someplace so that when the times comes, they will dry up the River Euphrates for the way of the armies from the East. There's a lot of demonic and angelic things going on at the end.

"…He is holding in eternal bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the Great Day."

Verse 7: "Just as Sodom and Gomorrah—and the cities surrounding them, in the same manner as them—having given themselves over to sexual debaucheries, and having gone after different flesh, are themselves exhibited as a perpetual example of undergoing the punishment of eternal fire."

That's going to happen. One thing that is happening right now, this whole world is being transformed into Sodom and Gomorrah.

Verse 8: "In the same way also, these dreamers of filthy dreams are defiling the flesh… [these false preachers] …and are declaring as invalid the Lordship of God…"

That's what they do. Have you ever heard Protestants say you appropriate from Christ! We don't appropriate from Christ. We repent and God gives! We don't appropriate from God. We don't go to God and say that 'I'm in Your grace, give me this and that.' No we don't!

"…and are blaspheming the Divine powers. But Michael the archangel, when he was personally taking issue with the devil…" (vs 8-9).

This is all talking about the demons and Satan!

"…disputing about the body of Moses, did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment against him, but said, 'The Lord Himself rebuke you!' As for these, whatever things they do not understand, they blaspheme; but whatever things they understand by instinct, as irrational brute beasts, they are corrupting themselves in these things. Woe to them! For they have walked in the way of Cain…" (vs 9-11). Is that not after Satan the devil?

"…and for gain, they have wholly given themselves up to Balaam's delusion, and haveperished in the rebellion of Korah. These are subversive stains in your love feasts, feasting in person together with you; fearlessly they are feeding themselves. They are clouds without water, being driven by the winds; trees of late autumn, without any fruit, uprooted, twice dead… [that's all the individuals who follow Satan the devil] …raging waves of the sea, casting up like foam their own ignominious shame; wandering stars… [demons] …for whom has been reserved the blackest darkness forever!" (vs 11-13).

That's God's judgment on Satan and the demons. The goat for Azazel does not picture another operation of Christ bearing our sins away. When He bore our sins, He bore them to the cross, and that's where they were sacrificed.

The sacrifice of Christ carried our sins and that's the only place Ge took them. He didn't take them way off someplace else. But Satan is going to bear all of that, because there's no repentance, nothing but hatefulness, evil and degradation of everything that there is.

That's why there are two hands laid on the goat and one for the sin offerings for human beings.

Scriptural References:

• 1 John 4:1-6
• 2 John 7
• Luke 24:36-39
• Colossians 1:24-27; 12-19
• Romans 8:9-11
• 1 Peter 3:18-20
• 2 Peter 2:1-5
• Joshua 2:1-12
• 1 Corinthians 9:1-15
• John 8:37-47
• Jude 6-13

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Matthew 24
• Romans 8
• John 14
• John 20
• Matthew 6
• Revelation 1
• Matthew 1
• Revelation 9:2, 11
• Ezekiel 28
• Revelation 20; 2; 12
• 2 Corinthians 13
• Leviticus 12:1-8; 16
• 2 Peter 3
• Revelation 9

Also referenced:

• Study: The Three Prophetic Periods of Daniel's70 Weeks Prophecy by Carl Franklin{truthofGod.org}
• In-Depth study: Wealth and Income (Tithing)

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 2/23/22

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