Lifting the Veil

Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services! Today we're going to have a great Sabbath!

I want to cover a couple of things that are very important so we can know and understand how things are going. First of all, let me mention that when we were doing the Bible for the second printing. In the first printing with the paperback, we had hundreds of requests from prisoners, which we gave out free. So, when it came time for the second edition, we figured we better produce a lot on the second edition. So, we did.

Now, we have a really, really good price for the second edition. What happened was—and I don't know if it was the Bureau of Prisons or what—they virtually cut down all Bibles going to penitentiaries  and prisoners. So, we have lots of these that you can get.

So, we a have low donation price: $9, $9 shipping and for $5 more you can get a second one. That tells you how many extra that we have. We thought we were going to have hundreds and hundreds that we would be sending out to prisoners, but we don't, so we'll send these to you at a low donation.

Now then, this coming week I will get the final proof copy for God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days 2nd edition/

Let's see what is the most important thing you need to have, and you better plan on the time when the Internet is not going to be available to us. So, you've got to have hard copies, things stored into your computer that you can use, and we've got all of those. So, the most important things you need to have are in this order:

• The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, a Faithful Version with Commentary, 32nd edition

I got an e-mail from a man who said that he's been reading the Passover book and he's been in the Church for a long, long time. He said that he was surprised that in the Passover book every argument used by the Messianic Jews… And the Messianic Jews are still messed up and will never admit to a 14th Passover.

If you don't have a 14th Passover, you cannot be right with God! Why? Because it was one day, on the Passover, in the middle of the week when the Passover fell on a Wednesday. When Christ died that had nothing to do with sacrifices at the temple.

Those were men's inventions, which you will find if you read the Passover book. It had to do with the sacrifice when God confirmed the covenant to Abraham (Gen. 15). That's the timing, which is dictated by Gen. 15, not the traditions of men at the temple!

To show you how ludicrous that they were in determining evening, they say that evening can be anywhere from 3-5 o'clock. So, if they kill the lamb between 3 & 5 on the 14th, it's the wrong time and wrong place. If Passover falls on a Sabbath like it did this year, then guess when evening starts: 1 p.m.!

That's why God has 'ba erev': sunset! It's so simple that even a five year-old child can understand, but men don't want to do God's way.

So, this man told me, after he got the book, 'You've got all the arguments of the Messianics covered in here. He said, 'I wished I had it ten years ago. He could have it sooner than that.

But because the establishment Churches of God hate correction and Truth, and they demonized me and my wife and family, and everybody with us, and thankfully God has kept us as a small group, because we've stuck to the Truth!

• The Christian Passover

Everyone is going to say, 'Why are they so thick?' That's because it's necessary! We didn't make them thick just to make it difficult for you to read. They are thick because it contains a lot of information you need to know.

• Do you know how to explain to a Jew that Deut. 16 is not the Passover? The Jews have completely missed the whole purpose of Passover!.
• What was the name of it? Passover!
• Who gave it the name? God did, because, 'I will pass over your houses'!

Judaism has it that Passover is when they left Egypt. Not true! It was the next day!

• God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days 2nd edition (coming soon)

This is going to be the biggest, heaviest book we have done! Why? Because these things need to be printed, because you can have them and mark them. The second edition is going to be really tremendous for you to use and study.

Every message has been transcribed. The transcriptions, if you've used them, are very easy to read. Bonnie Orswell and her husband (Prentice) do the transcribing, and she is the best there is. Wait to you see how it is laid out.

Then we will have stuffed in the book two CDs that contain all of the messages, everything in the book is read, so you can hear it, read it, study it, mark on the pages, because there is marginal room and everything. You can put your CD player on pause so you can make notes.

These are the three most important books that you need to have.

*****

One thing that everybody misses, Lev. 23. You know that we go there every Holy Day. God has purpose in what He does. God does not put all the information on any one topic in one place.

For example, when you read the prophecies in Isaiah, it's like looking at a salad that has been stirred up. There are prophecies:

• for that time
• for the future
• for the Millennium
• against this and that country
• for the first coming of Christ
• for the second coming of Christ

All scattered through Isaiah! So, if you sit down and start reading Isaiah and think it's like a book… Well, it is a book but it's not written in chronological order. That's why Paul told Timothy that he is to rightly divide the Word of God in Truth!

The most important thing that orthodox Christianity—which includes all brands—misses is the Sabbath! They say they keep the Ten Commandments, but the key is the fourth commandment!

Stop and think about the Ten Commandments. Look at it; it starts out with God, then how to worship God. No idols, no statues, don't even make them!

I remember when I was on the radio program Religion On Line a long time ago down in Los Angeles and I was on with a rabbi and a Catholic priest. The Catholic pries was a big German and he was a really a big tough-looking guy.

When it came to the Sabbath, I pointed out that the second commandment says that 'you're not even to make an idol.' That's the most important thing; don't make it! You could see him just getting angry. Then I read that 'you shall not bow down to it.'

What are the first four commandments primarily for? Connection with God! How to worship God! Then He gives you a day:

Exodus 20:8: "Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy." Right in the middle! Not at the first, not at the last.

First you have your connection with God with the first three, plus the fourth one. The fourth one becomes very special, because God puts His presence in the Sabbath, and they miss the whole point. When they get together on Sunday, God is not there! He is not there!

They may have some wonderful hymns, they may even read from the Bible, but in doing so on Sunday and calling it 'the Lord's day'… Wikipedia has it that this is the most natural thing in the world to go to Sunday. I read what they have on there. It's written in such a way that you think that's true. They even quote Sunday as the eighth day, and the eighth day is important. But, when you miss the fourth commandment, it doesn't matter that in the Bible eight is a good number. You're misapplying it!

Verse 9: "Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God… [God owns all of it!] …In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your manservant, nor your maidservant…" (vs 9-10).

That means today all of your electrical slaves must be turned off on the Sabbath! No! Because they are not persons!

"…nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates" (v 10).

Notice why; here's what you are to remember. Think about what it is in the world today. How many people know about God? What would it be if I told one of you to get a camera and a microphone and record. Go around everybody in Santa Cruz and ask them:

• Who is God?
• Is there a God?
• Do you believe in God? They don't!
• Why? Because they're taught evolution in the schools!

Verse 11: "For in six days the LORD made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them…"

That is something worth meditating on and thinking about a lot! Not just at one setting, but a lot!

What I'm going to say, some people here might not like, but it's practical. God has invented two things for us as human beings that's really very good. Sometimes, it really helps us.

• saliva

You wouldn't think of that, but have you ever tried to eat with a dry mouth? I remember one time I was visiting a man who wanted to know about baptism, and he had a his saliva glands removed because of cancer. He lived in this almost vacant building and he must have had 200 cats there, so you probably know where he got the cancer. Anyway, we're sitting there talking and he has this little squirt bottle spraying water into his mouth.

Saliva is quite a thing. It help begin your food to digest, and it's easy to swallow. God made it that way! If it were runny like water, you would have water coming out of your mouth every time you opened it. How would that be? When you're talking, spewing water on everyone!

So, saliva is really good. He gave it to all of the mammals, as well. Look at a cow that has to chew the cud. You've got to have saliva!

• mucus

So you can cough up things you need to get rid of and you can spit it out, which you couldn't do if you didn't have mucus. Same way with blowing your nose. What if there weren't mucus and all you had was like water? Your nose would be running all the time, your mouth would be spewing all the time.

So, when you think about all that God has made, really think about how great that is from the smallest little thing that there is to the greatest vastness of the universe, and God made it!

God wants us to know that, and to worship Him. Then He begins to reveal Himself and His plan!

Look at the first part of Lev. 23 and what they miss. I know there are going to be people who will get it—and I put a paragraph in the opening part of the God's Plan book—that it's going to be difficult for people who have never studied the Bible to understand it. But if you apply yourself and follow through, you will be able to understand.

This is what we start out with creation before Gen. 1—The Beginning and the Ending.

• How many people know that angels inhabited the earth? Very few!
• How many know that there was a first flood? Very few!

So, they're going to learn an awful lot of things in this book. Here's the key:

Leviticus 23:1: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them…'" Notice that these are the words of God!

What did Jesus say about how we're to live? Every word that comes out of the mouth of God! And don't make a dividing line and say that's for the Jews. No! it's for everybody!

"…''Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, "Concerning the appointed Feasts of the LORD…"'" (v 2). They're His!

• What is appointed?
• If you have to go to a doctor, what do you have to do? Get an appointment!

If not, you go to emergency and they charge you an 'arm and a leg' for going there.

God has set this as an appointment for us with Him! Think about that, and how important that is!

"…which you shall proclaim to be Holy convocations, even these are My appointed Feasts" (v 2).

Can any man invent or create anything—though he thinks it's really good and he has all kinds of 'brilliant' minds to help him do it—can add anything to what God has said? and it becomes what God must do? Think about that!

"…My appointed Feasts." Doesn't say the Jews'; it says, God's! Does God still exist? Yes, He does! Notice the first one, which is the key. Without this, the Sabbath, you don't even get out of dugout to get a bat to swing at a ball, because you know nothing!

Verse 3: "Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a Holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings."

Why does He put that there? He does so to show that the Sabbath Day sanctifies all the Holy Days! That's why!

With all the Holy Days, he puts only the days to observe them. That's all! So, this also means that you've got to know about the Calculated Hebrew Calendar.

I would like to read you a letter, which will help explain part of the situation we're into. This is not the message that I had planned to bring, but whatever it is, is! This is from a man in Honolulu, Hawaii:

I've been watching your videos on Church at Home and your Sabbath services at TruthofGod.org for about six to nine months now.

Isn't it interesting that we also have people who say that they have done it for a year or two? Why? Because the most deceitful thing in the world has been the Christianity of this world! You read it in the Bible, like with the Sabbath, and then they go to their pastor and tell them they just read that God said that you ought to keep the Sabbath Day. 'Oh well, we changed it to Sunday.' How are they to know?

I've learned so much and have so many questions answered. I've been a faith Christian since I was a kid, and have been on and off with this most of my life. I'm 57 now. I could never put my finger on it, but something just made me wonder what it is that the Protestant churches teach, because it never seemed to match up with what God says.

So, when the Protestants say that they keep the Ten Commandment and read the Bible, so the people read the Bible and come to church on Sunday, and that's not what God said.

I never knew about the seventh-day Saturday Sabbath and how important that it was. I'm now learning about God's Holy Days. I tried to practice the last few since January. I really didn't know what I was doing, but I kept them as Holy Days and stayed home so I could honor God.

That's a start! That's how you do it!

The Protestants teach: say a little prayer and you're saved. That's just never made sense to me. From there they get into debate of 'once you're saved, you're always saved' or not.

Amazing! That is true! You've heard the little prayer.

Since I found your website, I have learned so much, and I'm finally beginning to understand what God says in His Word. I'm currently working on repentance, and I must say that it is very difficult.

Yes, you have a lot to unlearn! Too bad so many years your mind was taught one thing when the Word of God says another thing. That's awfully hard to turn around. But with prayer and study you can!

I know that God will help me, but mostly I have to repent on my own. That's what I'm working on now. I still have a way to go, but my plan is to fully repent and be baptized in a full water submersion and receive the Holy Spirit of God.

I will probably have to fly out to California to be baptized. I don't know any church here in Hawaii that I could trust to baptize me. If I have to fly out to see you guys to get baptized, when God says I'm ready, I'll do it!

Quite a letter!

I might also mention that all of you out there, you need to go and watch Church at Home {churchathome.org} all the time. That's completely different than the messages we have here. They are geared to disaffected Protestants and Catholics, and those who want to know about God. You will see that there's a lot of good information there for you.

Now one other thing we need to cover. Here's what happens. Remember, we read about the scribes and Pharisees and what Jesus said.

I know you! You do not have the love of God in you! For had you believed Moses—and that's the one you think you're going to get salvation by—He wrote of Me, but you didn't believe Him!

Why? Most people don't understand it! God works on a spiritual level, even with people in the world! The spiritual level is this, and here we're talking about scribes, Pharisees and priest who were keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days. How were they keeping them? Their way, with their traditions! Which is proof that you cannot add men's philosophical additions to the Word of God and God must accept it! It won't happen!

Why? Something happens in the mind when you reject God! It's in the way of your thinking, your choices and how your free moral agency becomes a block so that"

• you can't see
• you can't hear
• you can't understand

John 12:37: "Although He had done so many miracles in their presence, they did not believe in Him."

Stop and think about that. The other day I was going through one of the Gospels and Jesus came to this place and He healed all who came to Him. Even if they just came up to Him and touched the hem of His garment, they were healed! All of them! Everywhere He went! Thousand and thousands!

• What happened to them? They saw the miracle!
• What about those of the 5,000 and 4,000[transcriber's correction] that ate of the bread and fish?

Think about it! Put yourself in their shoes. Here you are following this Man who is doing healing everywhere. Maybe your daughter/son or husband or one of your friends was healed by Jesus, so you followed Him and wanted to be with Him. They were with Him for three days.

His disciples came and said, 'Lord, it's getting late, why don't you dismiss them so they can go into town and get some food?' Jesus said, 'I'm not going to send them away hungry, they've been with Me three days and they'll be faint.' So, God was concerned for them.

So, He said, 'How many fish and loaves do you have?' They told him! Well, with five or seven loaves and a couple of fish He fed 5,000 and 4,000[transcriber's correction].

• What happened after that? They got baskets and collected all the baskets full of food left over!
• How many of those people were baptized? Very few if any! We don't know of any.

We read in John 3 & 4 that Jesus was baptizing and he disciples were baptizing. We don't read where after the big feast that people repented and said, 'This is God,' and He told the disciples to go down to the river and prepare for baptizing thousands of people. Why? We'll find out, because every one of these Protestants know the difference between Sabbath and Sunday. Yet, they're willing to follow the teachings of Rome.

Note our booklet: Rome's Challenge to the Protestants; it's also Appendix N in The Holy Bible in Its Original Order.

Verse 38: "So that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled who said, 'Lord, who has believed our report?…."

Because if they go along and they come to something new and say, 'That's not what my minister said, and I like my minister so 'm going to believe him and I'm not going to believe the Word of God.'

"'…And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?' For this very reason they could not believe…." (vs 38-39).

There comes a block, and we'll see what that block is.

"…because again Isaiah said, 'He has blinded their eyes… [automatically; they do it to themselves; God setup the mechanism to do it] …and hardened their hearts so that they would not see with their eyes and understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I would heal them'" (vs 39-40).

Look at that. Wouldn't you think that the most important thing that Christ wanted to be done was to get a lot of people converted? Isn't that what Protestantism wants to do? Say this simple little prayer and 'you're born again; you're saved.' Fake conversion; not true!

Verse 41: "Isaiah said these things when he saw His glory and spoke concerning Him. But even so, many among the rulers believed in Him…" (vs 41-42).

Notice the politics! Everyone wonders what their compatriots are going to think. 'After all, this Man came from Galilee!' They didn't check out that He was really born in Bethlehem, like the prophecy said. Read how they got there; that was a very clever way of God, to have Jesus born in Bethlehem but not live there. Think on that!

"…but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so that they wouldnot be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of God" (vs 42-43).

Let's see what it is an what happens; same thing today. That's why it's so important that we guard the door of our mind so that we don't let anything deceive us.

(break@38:50)

Let's look and see why when people read something, they're still blinded. If they're blinded, how can they read it? It's a very interesting thing, because this is what has happened to all of those out there Protestant land, like we read about from the man in Hawaii.

All of his years in the Protestant churches, but every time he read the Bible he couldn't match it up with what they were saying. Yet, he couldn't understand it. Why?

2-Corinthians 3:11: "For if that which is being set aside…"

That is the covenant that God made with Israel; the covenant is being set aside, not the Laws.

"…came into being through glory, to a much greater degree that which remains is glorious. Now then, because we have such hope…" (vs 11-12).

• What is our hope? Eternal life!
• Can you have any greater hope? Absolute assured promise from God Himself, Who cannot lie!

Great hope!

"…for we are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not gaze to the end upon the glory that is now being set aside. But their minds were blinded…" (vs 12-14).

• What is blinded? That's like a veil over their eyes!
• What begins to remove that veil? You begin to believe God!

"…for to the present hour the same veil has not been removed, but remains at the reading of the Old Covenant; which veil is removed in Christ" (v 14). That's quite a thing!

• How can you see, but be blind?
• How can you read, but not understand?

The only way you can do it is:

• with repentance
• with belief and faith in God

Verse 15: "For to this day, when Moses is read, the veil lies upon their hearts. But when their hearts turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away" (vs 15-16).

Just like what happens with everybody, when they want to find out about God and they make up their mind they want to know about God and they find out about the Sabbath, and they start keeping the Sabbath, then they begin to understand; not until! You can understand certain things, but not like He wants it to be done.

• How do you keep the veil of blindness from coming back on?
• Could it?

This is very interesting. We've gone over this before, but let's see what it really says. How many people have you seen come into the Church and then when it become convenient for them, poof, they're gone! Some you wonder, how did that happen? Especially if they were ministers and elders; how did that happen? We'll see!

Revelation 3:14: "And to the angel of the Church of the Laodiceans, write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness…" 

Faithful to God the Father; true witness because Jesus said, 'I only speak what the Father told me to speak.' So, He's witnessing what the Father gave Him to do.

"…the Beginner of the creation of God" (v 14). So, this goes clear back to when God was beginning the creation! That's Who we're dealing with; that's Christ!

Verse 15: "I know your works…"

It's interesting, you can read about the seven churches, and not one of them does it say, 'I know your faith.' It's says, "I know your works…"!

Why is that important? Here's the thing you need to learn: Whatever you believe that's what you do! Because what you believe will be translated into works that your do.

Look at the atheists; they don't believe in God! How do they live their lives? Without God!

"…that you are neither cold nor hot…" (v 15). Cold means that you don't want anything to do with God. Hot comes from zealous.

"…I would that you be either cold or hot" (v 15). God says, 'All right, I can deal with you.' In the world, 'I'll take care of you at a later time.' In the Church we're to be diligent, on fire or hot!

Verse 16: "So then, because you are lukewarm…"

Notice that we read that at the reading of Moses the veil is taken away.

• Can the veil come back? If you are not really coming to God!
• What does that do? We'll see!

"…and are neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth" (v 16). That means that He's going to correct you very severely.

Verse 17: "For you say…" Let's think of all the Protestants and some of the Churches of God! I don't know a single Church today that is rich and increased with goods.

But look at the Protestants and they have a lot of money, a lot of people, and what? We'll see!

"…'I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'…" (v 17).

What does that mean? That we don't need anymore instruction from God! 'The way we understand it now is the way that we're going to do it.'

I remember coming back from a trip and we stopped in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and there is a large Protestant seminary there. This man got on the plane who was obviously a student at the seminary because he had a Bible. At that time we only had the New Testament, and I'm sitting there and watching him and I thought: I'm going to give him this N.T. so I gave it to him. He took it, and about ten days later I got what was leftover of that N.T. with the cover torn off. And because it taught keeping the commandments, and he was from a Protestant seminary in Tulsa where the Law is done away, he said, 'Oh, this is heresy, get rid of it.' Have need of nothing!

"…and you do not understand… [or see yourself and your sins and laziness] …that you are wretched… [Isn't that the way of a lot people in the Church? A lot of ministers? How about the Protestants?] …and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked" (v 17). All of that is toward God!

Verse 18: "I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire…" In other words, pure works of God!

Why does He emphasize this so much? Because God gives us the Holy Spirit when we repent and are baptized! We're to grow in the Spirit and knowledge, and continue to grow continuously.

Here's what Paul says about the works that we have. He's talking about the work that he was doing and what Apollos was doing.

1-Corinthians 3:1: "And, I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to those who are spiritual… [meaning you have God's Spirit and it is leading you in understanding] …but as to those who are carnal—even as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, and not meat; for you were not yet able to receive spiritual meat; and neither are you able now, for you are still carnal. For since envy and contention and divisions are among you, are you not carnal? And are you not walking according to human ways?" (vs 1-3).

Remember this concerning "…human ways" when they're good: there are some good human ways, but remember that in the world everything comes from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil! So, the good that is in the world may be good temporarily, but it's not the good from God!

Why? Because the sap that contains the evil is still flowing to the good, and after a while the evil overtakes it! So, you can't take the good of the world and say that you're going to apply this spiritual to the brethren. It won't work!

"…are you not carnal? And are you not walking according to human ways? When someone says, 'I am of Paul,' and another one says, 'I am of Apollos,' are you not carnal? Who then is Paul? And who is Apollos? They are but ministers through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one" (vs 3-5).

Elders are not to be above the people. We're not to rule them. We're to teach them! The most important thing that we teach is the Word of God so you can live your life and make your decisions by the Word of God, make right choices, and you do the correcting of yourself with God's Spirit through prayer and study! That's how God wants it! That's called spiritual self control!

Verse 6: "I planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. Therefore, neither is he who plants anything, nor he who waters; for it is God Who gives the increase" (vs 6-7).

Back there with the Laodiceans, they weren't getting the increase!

Verse 8: "Now, he who plants and he who waters are one, but each shall receive his own reward according to his own labor."

This is how it is with us. We don't look upon someone and say, 'Oh, he's the minister, he's good, he teaches us.' NO! God says, 'Will you listen and do!' That's what it is.

Verse 9: "For we are God's fellow workers; and you are God's husbandry, even God's building."

With the Holy Spirit of God, God is working with each one individually. Think about that for a minute! Think about that the God Who controls the whole universe—when you're baptized and receive God's Spirit—is working in your life and wants to continue to keep working in your life to see you perfected unto the day of the resurrection! That's quite a thing! There's a whole lot that goes on!

Verse 10: "As a wise architect, according to the grace of God that was given to me, I have laid the foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each one take heed how he builds upon it."

• How do each one of us evaluate our spiritual life before God? You can't say that because you keep the Sabbath all the time! God requires that!
• Do you love God? That's where it is!

God love you; He sent Christ because He loves us! But He wants the love back.

• Why does God want the love back? So He can give us of His Spirit so we can grow even more!

It's a two way communication!

Like Paul said in Rom. 1:17, from faith, our faith, to Christ and His faith back to us. It's a constant thing of growing and overcoming, a lifelong process that is going on. So, when people get complacent and don't do that, what happens? It's like anything else!

I was cleaning out the refrigerator and there was something that had been in there a long time. I didn't know, because it was kind of wrapped up. I think it was come old cheese. When I got it out to throw it away, I opened it up and there's all this mold! Why? Because we didn't use it, eat it, and take care of it and clean it up, so now I have this mess when it comes time to clean it up.

It's the same way with our spiritual lives. If we're not growing and praying, guess what's going to happen? Carnal mold is going to grow!That's what happened. So, you have to be careful how you build on it.

Verse 11: "For no one is able to lay any other foundation besides that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds upon this foundation gold…" (vs 11-12).

That's what He asked the Laodiceans. Why did He ask them 'gold' and not the others? Because the gold means all of God's Word was available to them, but they didn't use it!

"…silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble" (v 12).

When the fire—or trial—comes, how do you think wood, hay or stubble is going to be? Stubble can have spontaneous combustion in certain environments. It can just explode and it's all burned up!

Verse 13: "The work of each one… [What did He say to the Laodiceans? I know your works!] …shall be manifested; for the day of trial will declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire… [which means that we're going to have fiery trials. What does He tell the Laodiceans?] …and the fire shall prove what kind of work each one's is. If the work that anyone has built endures, he shall receive a reward. If the work of anyone is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved…" (vs 13-15).

He's going to lose his reward, and might even lose salvation, if it's bad enough. Notice why; this tells us why in Rev. 3 that John is so concerned about the Laodiceans.

Verse 16: "Don't you understand that you… [each individual] …are God's temple… [that's why He doesn't need a temple building; He wants to be in our mind] …and that the Spirit of God is dwelling in you?"

We come to John 14 to understand what God is doing. God is doing very magnificent things, but in a way that is not done with a lot of 'pomp and ceremony.' It is a way that is done by repentance and loving God, and you loving God, and God loving you and giving you His Spirit.

John 14:23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me [Christ] he will keep My Word…'"

What does that tell us about the Laodiceans? There's not keeping the Word of God the way that they should! Notice what will happen:

"…and My Father will love him…" (v 23).

I want you to think on that, meditate and pray on that; how important that the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe is involved in each one of our lives.

• He gives us of His Spirit!
• He gives us of His Word!
• He removes the blindness from us!

"…and We will come to him and make Our abode with him" (v 23).

That's why we're called a temple of God! With His Spirit, God begets us, Christ is in us, the Father is in us and that's the whole purpose of baptism and the whole thing that we need to grow in grace and knowledge as we come along each year in growing.

Now let's look at the delusion; Revelation 3:17: "For you say, 'I am rich, and have become wealthy…'"

They're looking at all the physical things that they have! The day is coming, and it's going to happen when Christ is on His way back and the wars and everything is going. All the wealth, all the building and things that everybody has trusted in is going to go POOF! one way or another.

"'…and have need of nothing'; and you do not understand… [Why? Because the veil has come down over them again!] …that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from Me gold purified by fire so that you may be rich… [the true spiritual riches] …and white garments…" (vs 17-18)—the righteousness of the saints!

So, they're not keeping the commandments! IF the white garments are the righteousness of the saints, and righteousness is keeping the commandments of God—and He tells them to buy white garments—that means they are not keeping the commandments of God!

• Is that not true of those in the Churches of God who are very lackluster in their growth and overcoming? Yes!
• Is that not true of the Protestants? A hundredfold more!

Think about that!

Wade is familiar with some of the Jehovah Witnesses, and 'only they know,' but they won't read the Bible.

"…so that you may be clothed, and the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and to anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock…." (vs 18-20).

That has an illusion to His second coming, but more in the way of conversion.

"…If anyone hears My voice…" (v 20).

What does it mean to hear? You hear, believe and do! To hear without believing and doing doesn't produce any fruit.

"…and opens the door, I will come in to him…" (v 20).

• Is this telling us that they don't have the Spirit of God? "…I will come in to him…" (v 20).
• Didn't we read in John 14 that the Father and Christ make Their dwelling in us? Yes, indeed!

"…and will sup with him, and he with Me…. [that you have a relationship with Him through prayer and study] …To the one who overcomes will I give authority to sit with Me in My Throne, even as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His Throne. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (vs 20-22). That's quite a thing!

Colossians 1:19: "For it pleased the Father that in Him [Christ] all the fullness should dwell…"

Who was speaking to the Church of the Laodiceans? Christ!

"…and having made peace through the blood of His cross… [now we are with God instead of against Him] …by Him to reconcile all things to Himself; by Him, whether the things on the earth, or the things in heaven. For you were once alienated… [without having the Spirit of God] …and enemies in your minds by wicked works…" (vs 19-21).

That's what we are carnally! But a lot of those wicked works don't appear to be wicked, because they're based on what men say is good. 'It's a good thing to keep Sunday so we don't have to suffer the persecution the Jews are going through.'

No, that's wicked because you're leaving the Sabbath of God! You have to base everything on the Word of God!

"…but now He has reconciled you in the body of His flesh…" (vs 21-22).

Remember what we have covered in Rom. 6, that we are conjoined into the death of Christ! It's almost as if symbolically this is true. In order to have our sins forgiven we are conjoined to the sacrifice of Christ. In other words, symbolically when you're put in that watery grave you are being joined to Christ's crucifixion, because you are crucifying yourself in the body of that water for baptism!

"…through death, to present you Holy… [look at the change that He wants to bring to us] …and unblamable and unimpeachable before Him" (v 22).

I think there are over 1200 IF statements in the Bible. All of them apply to people, not God.

Verse 23: "If indeed you continue in the faith… [not just a part-time thing, but on a continuous basis] …grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which you have heard… [that's what we try to teach and explain, the hope of the Gospel is eternal life] …and which was proclaimed in all the creation that is under heaven…"

That's a prophetic statement, because it wasn't done then. But think of all of the Bibles—including digital—that are in the world; billions and billions! The more Bibles there are, the fewer people that believe! What a contradiction, but that's the way it is with the world and Satan and human nature.

They wouldn't believe you if you told them. How do you think those in 'big Tech Valley' would believe? You walk in there on the Sabbath and say:

This is the Sabbath, God commands you to repent and keep the Sabbath. All of you are sinners, against God, against the people of God.

The guards would be right there and take you out in nothing flat! But that would be true! Could they handle it?

And furthermore, you're a bunch of liars, yourself. You take away freedom of speech from those who would need freedom of speech.
And we'll throw in a little future thing:
And you have cutoff everybody who names the name of Christ.

That day is coming!

"…of which I, Paul, became a servant. 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, 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; even the mystery…" (vs 23-26).

What we have, brethren, is that we can understand it because of the Word of God and the Spirit of God! But we understand a mystery that the world cannot understand. They can't get through the resources that they have. There's no way! Like we started out, when does it become important?

• when you start keeping the Sabbath the way God wants
• you start using the Sabbath to draw close to God, understand the Word of God, etc.

"…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…" (vs 26-27).

We're here because of the will of God! Think about that! None of us can say that we're here because 'I'm a good little boy or girl.' That isn't true! We're all sinners and we need forgiveness! That was the sin of the scribes and Pharisees:

The Messiah has to recognize us because we're so good. We have all of these laws and things. Look at how we control the people. Look at that!

But they didn't believe Him!

"…to make known what are the riches… [Did we read that in Rev. 3] …of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory" (v 27).

That's the whole thing that opens up to us when the veil is removed!

Col. 2—Paul says that he's worried about them because of the philosophy of men. He's making it clear that you don't add the philosophy of men to the Word of God.

That's not what I wanted to bring, which I'll try to bring next week: How Do You Heal a Broken Heart! That's a big chore that only God can do!

Scriptural References:

• Exodus 20:8-11
• Leviticus 23:1-3
• John 12:37-43
• 2 Corinthians 3:11-15
• Revelation 3:14-18
• 1 Corinthians 3:1-16
• John 14:23
• Revelation 3:17-22
• Colossians 1:19-27

Scriptures referenced, not quoted:

• Genesis 15
• Deuteronomy 16
• Genesis 1
• John 3; 4
• Romans 1:17; 6
• Colossians 2

Also referenced:

Books by Fred R. Coulter:

• The Christian Passover
• God's Plan For Mankind Revealed by His Sabbath and Holy Days 2nd edition (coming soon)

Booklet: Rome's Challenge to the Protestants by Cardinal Gibbon

FRC:bo
Transcribed: 7/29/21

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