Apathetic Babylonians Part 2: Don't Gaslight Me
This is a follow-up post to my complaints in "Apathetic Babylonians." I will start by thanking those who showed great humility, and then, I wanted to address the demons working through people: Don't gaslight me.
Introduction:
Out of frustration the other day, I wrote a post of deep complaint to readers where I addressed the great apathy many have chosen. I knew the post wouldn't make many happy, but I was surprised by the amount of kind and humble emails I received after the fact.
While I will not put them all here, there were many people who seriously reflected on what I wrote and did not grow angry with me. This post will include some of those emails, as well as some of my thoughts on accusations against me. By the way, the majority remained apathetic. They said nothing, and that is to be expected as the lukewarm church is rampant in these times. If you are apathetic, pray against the spirit of apathy now in Jesus’s name.
Anybody who took the time to write me some encouragement, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Instead of judging me or mocking me, you empathized with me. Now, that is Christ-like! That is beautiful! That really changed my perspective, and I thank God that the Holy Spirit worked through so many people to write to me. You know who you are.
The following is an email I received permission to include. I felt like it was just so sincere, and there were no excuses in it. It was entitled "I'm sorry."
- I’d really like to apologize to you personally. I’m a very disconnected person and have trouble replying consistently to even my closest family. I’m really sorry if my silence contributed to your current feelings. Your newest post is felt within me, as for the past week I’ve sinned in apathy. I wasn’t thinking of Jesus Christ first and foremost. I was waking up scrolling to YouTube videos and going to sleep scrolling to them. In the back of my mind I knew it was just a waste of time, yet I did it. I didn’t know what to ask for when you asked if there was anything I’d like you pray for. Please, forgive my lack of reply… I genuinely couldn’t think of anything you (likely) aren’t already praying for. Would you please pray for Jesus to keep me on the correct path and to please give me the strength to not succumb to apathy? I’ve had a few moments of prayer recently that have felt amazing, I have felt His presence, but I know my recent sins are damming me. And I’m tired of letting Him and myself down. Frankly it lets us all down, as we are all making up the body of Christ. Please forgive me, Sister. I love you both, and will pray for all of us as God’s children. I am joining your fast and will at the very least fast for 2 meals a day. I hope the donations keep you going and bring more people to our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, I hope you can forgive my silence. Please don’t give up on this community. I love you both. God bless in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.
I am not done with the emails, as they are scattered throughout this post. First, though, I’d like to address some accusations made against me. By the way, these were a minority in reply, and I don’t hold any grudges against anybody. Rather, I thought I’d use this post to address them, since I have been praying, fasting, and asking God.
Don't Gaslight Me
My entire life has been full of abuse and manipulation. Whatever people want to claim about me, I am an extremely intelligent woman. I know I am. That is one thing I can 100% say about myself is that I am intelligent, and I can see through people easily. To be clear, my whole life my abusers have tried to convince me to feel insecure and low about myself, but one thing I can claim is that I am intelligent, and I don’t find that arrogant to claim.
I have been a writer my entire life in many capacities, and I evaluate the writing sent to me. When people send me emails, I analyze and evaluate them, especially when they are critical of me.
I am not talking about grammar or anything like that. I evaluate them based on cohesiveness, flow, and reasoning. I evaluate them through the use of wisdom and the Holy Spirit.
I find many of my critics have very disorganized, strange writing. It's hard to explain, but I believe that writing is often the reflection of our souls. Remember, the Bible is all written on paper for a reason. The Bible, is in fact, perfectly written, as it is a direct reflection of God working through man - God breathed.
So, through online, written communication, I can easily determine if people are writing to me from the Holy Spirit or from another spirit.
Anyway, many "gaslight" me - trying to make me question myself and the confidence I have in my viewpoints. Instead of praying about what I write and asking God, they try to attack my character or understanding of Scripture in some way.
So, let me use some Scripture to defend all I do on this blog.
Claim 1: Witness 2 is Self-Righteous
How many humiliating things have I written about myself? I was a drunkard. I betrayed men. I idolized my job and vanity. I was not a good person. I participated in tremendous sin. I have laid out many of my sins to the world, where thousands upon thousands have access to judge. How many can claim to do that? How many of you have openly laid out your sins to thousands upon thousands of people on a daily basis?
Do you think it is easy to do that? I am not done, of course. My testimonies are not complete. I have much more embarrassment to include, and I'm sure people will enjoy reading it (and I understand why!)
So, when I get the claim that I am self-righteous or trying to receive fame or glory, I just have to laugh. I have been clear to everyone reading that I have not lived up to God’s expectations throughout my life, but I decided to change.
When I do include things that I am doing such as praying, fasting, or giving to the poor, it is because I am sharing a very open testimony with the world. While I don't include all I do, I try to show people that if a wretch like me can pray, fast, and help others, then anyone can.
I am not some amazing person. I am not Mother Teresa, nor do I want to be. I am a true woman who is seeking God daily, and I am documenting every step of the way.
God has given me permission to write the things I write, and He always just tells me to be honest. Remember, I don't even include 5% of what I actually have done in real life, so nobody even really knows me. They only know what I represent in my stories.
I am no better than anyone reading. I just woke up one day and made a decision to change. I wanted my "book of life" to be beautiful, at least at the end. Maybe the beginning was nice, and the middle was rough, but I wanted the ending to be glorious, and that is what I am working toward in writing this blog.
I want it to say, "Here is the moment Witness 2 truly changed and NEVER looked back."
Don't you want that for yourself, too?
So, I'm not trying to fast or pray or give to the poor to receive any glory from anyone. In fact, I'm met with a lot of mockery for giving to the poor, especially Africans. People make fun of us all of the time for helping them, and they do not want to be associated with our ministry in any way. They find it "embarrassing” and they just want to go to their fake churches, where there are entertainers on stage. They think they are too good for the work that we are doing.
The point is that I am finally trying to live a righteous life and share it with others. I am proud to finally say, "I'm not sinning anymore!" Of course, I do mess up a bit, but I want to proclaim to everyone, "I'm free from sin! I am no longer bound by its chains. Come, come join me!"
Most readers have expressed that my testimonies have helped them overcome sin and bring them closer to God. They feel that they have been motivated and challenged to do better.
So, I think anyone calling me self-righteous should look at the log in their own eye.
For those reading, I am presenting my “righteousness” to the members (or readers) of this ministry - not because I am holier than thou, but I am trying to model that it is possible. No, I am not perfectly righteous, but every day I strive to be righteous like Jesus Christ. The modern, end times church has moved so far away from righteousness that the things that I talk about seem foreign to them. Giving to the poor? Huh? Helping people? Huh? Not sinning? What?
What do people do at churches anymore other than sing terrible worship songs? Seriously?
For those so far from righteousness, the righteousness I write about comes off as judgment that is not my intention. I am just trying to present to you my daily work toward pursuing righteousness, as Jesus called us to do.
- “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” Romans 6:13.
Claim 2: Fasting HAS to be Secretive
Of course, when we fast, we should do so in a way that honors God, and we should not be telling everyone we meet we are fasting. There is no verse that says we are not allowed to tell people we are fasting, or that we cannot invite others to fast, however.
People tend to forget that though I share my fasting with the world online, I am still, technically, anonymous.
So, what credit will I get from sharing that I am fasting online? In real life, I never tell anyone I am fasting, except Witness 1. I am not disfiguring my face to show I'm fasting. I fast all day at work and make sure to still look nice and nobody would ever know. They never do.
Now, when it comes to collective fasting, that is a little different. Remember, Esther called a collective fast and saved her people:
- So what did Esther do? She decided to call on a power greater than the king’s: she decided to ask God for help. She asked her maidens and the Jews in the land to fast with her. After three days of fasting, she went to the king and …
- … suspenseful pause …
- …“obtained favour in his sight” (Esther 5:2). Whew! This meant she was allowed to approach and speak to him. In the end, the Jewish people survived extermination thanks to Esther’s courage.
Like Esther, I have been calling collective fasts to help save God's people!
Honestly, I still don't get any excuse not to join. If you have a good excuse not to join our collective fasts, email us. I honestly cannot think of one.
You can still do your private fasts, but why can't you join us in a fast against evil? What is holding you back?
That's between you and God, but for those who ended up joining our fast after my last post, thank you. I think we are getting closer to 30 people now.
Claim 3: Witness 2 shouldn't care if people fast or not.
Of course, I do agree to an extent it isn't about numbers. Quality over quantity. I get it. Still, to say I shouldn't care is a really strange thing to say.
I do care. I care about the readers. I want them to be saved through Jesus Christ. I believe fasting is one of the most powerful ways to expel problems in a Christian's life, and that every single Christian should be practicing it in these end times.
Where does the Bible say I shouldn't care about other Christians?
Jesus Christ didn't walk alone, and Witness 1 and I cannot walk alone either. We need supporters, and joining a fast with us is so incredibly powerful. It is one of the most powerful things a reader can do for us, and of course, God!
The point is that I do care about the readers and what they do. I am not sitting here on a throne judging anyone. I am saying, “Hey, your soul is in danger - come fast with us!”
Well, if you think about it, it's a reflection of how much I care about God. And because I love God, He tells me to love you, and I do. I love you, even those struggling. I want you to get out of your struggles and join us. Remember, Jesus wept for people, too.
So, nobody is going to stop me from caring about others. In fact, if you seriously never concern yourself with others, you might want to reflect. No, I’m not talking about trying to control or judge others. I’m saying, if you don’t feel a sense of mourning or empathy for those who are lost, then maybe ask God to open your heart to receive those things.
We cannot be motivated to take action if we don’t care about others. Life is meaningless without others. If you were the only one alive, would anything matter? God wants us to love others as we love ourselves.
I care about myself and my fasting, so I care about others and their fasting, too.
Claim 4: Who cares about this website?
If you all want this place to survive, you have to support us. The power of prayer and fasting is beyond understanding in the natural realm. Fasting gets God's attention.
Sure, you may say, if we are the Two Witnesses, we don't need anyone, but again, that isn't Biblically accurate. Even Jesus had friends. Even Jesus had company. Fellowship is an important aspect of following Jesus Christ, and this isn't just about going to church.
Today, I received a message from a few who said that we are their church now!
In contrast, someone emailed me that no one was committed to us or what we were doing, but that statement itself has proven that person wrong.
Many are committed to us as if we are their church. They don't go to real life churches anymore; rather, they are committed to us as the final church of Revelation.
So, who would like to spiritually join our end times church? Contact us.
I am seriously willing to email certificates to people saying you are part of our end times church. Corny? Maybe. But maybe it needs to be done.
Further, maybe God chose me because I seriously don't care if people think I'm "corny" or "cringey" or whatever Satanic words they want to throw at people. Sometimes serving God is a little corny but always sweet.
Those were some of the claims thrown at me. By the way, I'm not mad at anyone making those claims, I just didn't feel like responding in email. I figured I would just address the claims to the world, and then people can pray to God and ask Him in the name of Jesus Christ.
Another Email Testimony
Here was another honest email we received, and he gave me permission to share it.
One Foot Still in the World
Hi Witnesses, I have written to you before, but it has been a while. I have been reading your site for a long time now. Thank you for all that you do in obedience to the Lord. I do feel guilty of being empathetic as you point out many are in your latest blog. I read your email calling for a fast and a private chat group 4 days ago and never replied... not because I'm not interested but because I didn't want to commit to something I wasn't sure I would actually participate in. I said I was going to participate in one of the previous fasts and I never did.
With that said I would like to share a little about my spiritual life, in an attempt to be transparent and I suppose allow you to share some sort of guidance or revelation with me that will help bring me some breakthrough and hopefully allow me to continue to be part of what you are doing. I have considered myself a Christian since I had an experience with God back in 2010, while I was still in college. However, when I compare my walk with God to what I read in the Bible I am not sure I am really a Christian at all, I wonder if I am really even saved. I think I am one of those with one foot in the world, and one foot in the Word. Almost like I am still agnostic, waiting for more evidence to boost my faith to the point that I can actually take action and live for Christ.
Your blog is really the only Christian material I read. My step-father is a Charismatic preacher, but I do not take his words to heart because I have lost respect for him over the years. This is because he calls himself a prophet but I have not seen any of his prophecies come to pass. On the other hand, I read your research and prophecies, and I do respect them. I do respect what you write because it does resonate with some part of me. However, even your writings I have doubts about and have not been able to act on them -- I think I am still just waiting for more evidence so I can actually live the way I should. For example; I often think if Trump is the anti-christ (which makes sense to me, based off of the supported research you have previously posted) then I will be able to know this much more confidently if he actually is re-elected again. So I keep chugging away -- working on my career, living like someone who doesn't know the truth, waiting to see if he gets elected or some other incident occurs to provide further evidence that we really are living in the tribulation.
I also think even if this isn't the end times, it IS the end of time for me -- because life is short whether I live to 100 or I die tomorrow. My days are numbered here and I should already be living like judgment day is today. Despite these thoughts I continue to play video games, I continue to look at porn or instagram models, I continue to hide the faith I do have and rarely share it or live in a way that would enable others to see that I am different or that I am walking a different path then the status quo. Honestly, I am fearful of my salvation and I am fearful of the salvation of everyone I know and care about. Most of my circle are "christians." Many of them attend Church regularly, read the Bible more often than me, and even go on missions trips and for the most part lives do seem pretty largely to revolve around Christianity. However, I know these people. In private they are not kind, they are not generous, they are not patient, and overall they are not very loving. These mission trips they take seem more like christian tourism to me, and more about changing their own lives -- not touching others lives. Not that I am anyone to judge, because in many ways I am worse than them but as someone who is very observant I could go on and on about how in my opinion it is a shallow, "plasticy", social media type of christianity that differs greatly from the example that Jesus portrayed of the suffering servant.. not this starbucks sunday western christianity with no heart in it.
I say all this to frame my primary excuse: If all of these people I know, and all of these people I read about are not really living the sort of life the gospel requires -- what makes me think I can be the one to do it? Am I really supposed to be the modern Elijah of my tribe. It seems egocentric to even think it. So I give up and do nothing. I just read your blog, read some news, and watch as everything falls apart and gets worse around me, hoping and often praying God will enable me to truly follow him and wake up from my slumber. I think this is already pretty long, so I will stop. I hope you can pray for me, and if you have time maybe share some wisdom with me. I will read it. Your book on "The More Rational Worldview" I think is the best document I have ever read, apart from the Bible. I have shared it with dozens of people. None of have read, not one. They can't be bothered to read 400 pages, they can only scroll on Tiktok. I digress again. I would consider you two to be my pastors. and I would like to be a part of the private chat if that is okay with you. Thank you for all you do with https://twowitnessesofrevelation.com/ Peace be with you,
I did reply to his email, but I will shorten my response here. First of all, thank you for the honesty. That is such an important aspect of growing closer to Jesus Christ.
Whether my prophecies come to be or not, I have this questions for readers:
- Is this world getting any better for Christians?
Can anyone realistically see things improving in the next few months or years? You don’t have to be a prophet to see the signs all around us.
Still, even if it isn’t the end times, any of us can die at any moment. Life is but a mist. We must all be very aware of the fact that we could be taken at any time, even if we aren’t planning on it.
Whether anyone wants to hear this or not, I believe if one dies in sin, there is likely one place they will go: Hell.
Sure, you can rely on God’s mercy, but I really don’t know if anyone should take that chance.
I am not trying to be mean to anyone. I am not trying to hurt anyone with my words. I am saying that if you do not turn away from sin, the wage is death.
Either way, I appreciate the honesty of this email, and I ask you all to join in prayer for this man to be able to get his foot out of the world. I pray God blesses him for sharing his testimony with the world.
I will be honest: It is all in His hands. I gave him some advice, but he already knows. I pray for him to take that one foot out of the world in Jesus's name. I have faith he will do so!
I shared his writing, though, as I know many readers can relate!
Again, I seriously have no idea what churches are teaching, nor do I attend them anymore. That leads me to another email.
This was sent from a woman named Lindsey, and she gave me permission to share. I will not include any commentary for this email, as I believe it stands alone. Thank you, Lindsey, for taking the time to encourage me. It changed the course of my destiny! In fact, all of the emails I receive do.
Just to note, there is one interesting part about a voice telling her not to pray for us. She quickly realized that was NOT the Holy Spirit, and I encourage readers to ask the Holy Spirit about us and our site, as demons are doing everything they can to stop our messages.
No Turning Back
Hi Witness 2,
I connected a lot with your most recent post (The Apathetic Babylonians: Collective Prophecies of Witness 2) and I wanted to reach out to you. First off, this is a message of gratitude and encouragement and I have prayed that the Holy Spirit give me words that will lift you up.
I’m not sure how to start this, So, I guess I’ll begin by telling you a little about myself.
My name is Lindsey, I’m 35 years old, a mother of 5, and work full time as a remote customer service manager (AKA, NPC Complaint Hotline Operator, haha). I live in the US.
I grew up in a “Christian” household, in the glorious (sarcasm) 1990s/early 2000s emotionally manipulating youth group era. We didn’t learn the bible aside from cherry-picked verses, our mission was to get our friend's asses in the seats, and a relationship with God through independent study, self-reflection, and prayer was never mentioned. This left us to think that our relationship was bound to the church. But hey, the music was pretty great I guess I’ll give them that. I liked to throw up my rawkfist, I won’t lie.
My parents divorced when I was two and are both narcissists. So, I was raised to appease them and appease my church and I thought that this is what being a Christian was. In reality, I was suffering from codependency and anxiety and had no self-image or worth. I lived to be validated and I tried to read people (because talking about negative feelings was strongly discouraged) and tried to guess how to make them happy. I would take whatever people told me I was or what my worth was as truth and I honestly worshiped the misery of trying to get people to say I was good. Once I aged out of youth group, I didn’t know what to do, so I just stopped everything and threw myself fully into trying to please the world and was influenced into many things I wish that I could take back.
Fast forward to 2014 and the Holy Spirit started working through my husband and boy did that hurt. He was asking me deep questions, I didn’t have any opinions and he wasn’t giving me hints to find the right things to say to make him happy. He pushed me to read the bible, to pray, even to visit churches and I was in a tailspin over it. If I’m honest, I started doing all 3 to try to make him happy.
Every church I visited, I’d have a terrible feeling once I was inside the doors. I chalked it up to anxiety about being in church by myself, but that wasn’t it. It was discernment that these places were self-serving corporations under which people flocked to stroke their egos. I visited all types of denominations of varying sizes, and I think the best way to sum it up is I’d leave thinking “I felt welcomed and invited, but God is not invited or welcome in that place.”
This sparked the investigator in me, I’ve always loved mysteries/research and so I started reading the bible, praying, and self-reflecting. This is where my relationship with the Holy Spirit began for the first time and it’s the first time in my life that I felt bold and unshakable. It may honestly even be the first truth I’ve decided to hold in my entire life and not let anyone talk me out of it.
I will add my notes from that time at the end of this email, it’s the best way to sum up my experience and includes the verses that really drove it all home for me.
Where I feel a connection to your post in all of this is because I understand that once you’re dialed into the spiritual realm and can see things for what they really are, it’s really hard to watch everyone around you flailing around in their folly. It’s exhausting, discouraging, and extremely sad. In the early season of my walk with the Holy Spirit, I was so angry and hurt once I realized I’d been duped my whole life and masses upon masses of the body of Christ were corrupt. I didn’t know how to move forward, I wanted to shout from the rooftops that they were ruining their lives and wanted to take the entire American Christian institution down. I wanted to run into churches and scream, I wanted to be a thorn in their sides, I wanted them to wake up.
The Holy Spirit was very gracious at that time, I’d cry out to him truly enraged, asking what I could do. I’d read a post from someone online and want to leave paragraphs of how what they were saying was a lie. But, the Holy Spirit reminded me to pray over things and would clearly tell me while I was reading a FB status “That person is deceived, why are you surprised? Why are you angry? Pray for them, it’s not your time to say something to them.” That was so hard for me, haha. I wanted to say something so bad, but over time, the Holy Spirit replaced my anger with empathy and I was able to look at these people as deceived, pray for them, and wait for further instruction on a time to strike. If I’m honest, most of the time, I was not given an opportunity to strike because I wasn’t strong enough yet, but the times that I was, those words HIT the person I was speaking with which was encouraging.
Unfortunately, I’ve gone back and forth in my commitment to God since that time. With seasons of falling back into obsessing over relationships I have with other people and making an idol of misery and comfortability. I’ve been walking with Christ again since 2020 and admittedly my walk was weak most of the time. I am grateful that God protected me and my family and put it on our hearts to not get vaccinated and gave us the discernment to be able to see the swirling evil that has become more and more bold and visible over the past few years.
This is where your site comes in, my husband showed me it a few months ago and I want you to know that your messages are reaching the people who need to hear them to be equipped for what’s happening. I want you to know that your posts have revealed things to me that I’d been deceived about, such as demonic interference. I’d chalk up my shortcomings to my being broken and would feel immense guilt. Through your writings and praying on your writings, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that because I have discernment and am committed to following Him, I will get attacked and I can cast out the things that hold me back. He revealed my sin to me, something that I had previously rarely prayed about, mostly out of fear because I knew once I asked, he’d tell me and I’d have to make efforts to change. I signed up for the fast under the name NoTurningBack, God revealed my sin of cowardliness to me recently and it has been SO FREEING to let go of that. This will be the first fast I’ve ever done and I’m looking forward to it. Your reminder that the Holy Spirit will tell us exactly what to change was my motivation to ask and it’s been life-changing even in the short time since I repented of that sin.
I feel for you when you write about people attacking you, lying to you, and mocking you. I’m sorry you’re going through that, truly. I know it’s exhausting and disheartening. Thank you for continuing to push forward and I’ll continue to pray for both you and Witness 1 as well as pray for those who are taking your blog to heart to be more vocal in letting you know that you’re being heard and helping equip us.
Funny side note, when I prayed for the two of you a couple of weeks ago, the thought “Be careful praying for them” came through. I paused and replied “Yeah okay, who is this? Is this, is the Holy Spirit?” and it was not, so I pressed on. I think this is a great testament that your works are important and you’re doing a great job because whoever that was did not want me praying for you, haha.
Something else that has been cool is that sometimes I'll get a prickly feeling like something is going down in the spiritual realm and I'll get snippets of context and then a few days later, I'll see you posting something that aligns with the context clues I've been given. So I know that I'm getting these inklings from the Holy Spirit.
While I don’t see myself ever stepping foot into a church again, I do miss fellowship deeply. I can see how it could wear you down to not have a lot of that, either because some readers are either flat-out bothered, cherry-pick or hateful and I commend you for taking those things to the Holy Spirit and pressing on. I was excited when I saw your post mentioning that there may be opportunities to connect with you and other readers in the future because I want fellowship with people who are truly following Christ. I will be praying over this as well and I hope that a network of encouragement can be established under the Holy Spirit.
Thank you again, for what you’re doing and I hope this encourages you, we all need that from time to time.
Sincerely,
Lindsey
Here are my notes from my time visiting churches in 2014 that I mentioned, it’s long, but I think it’s important to add:
Connecting The Dots…
I want to stand up in the middle of every room I enter and yell God loves you! God loves you so much! And you’re missing it!
Verses:
Hosea 7:14 They did not cry out to Me with their heart When they wailed upon their beds. They assemble together for grain and new wine, They rebel against Me
James 1:23-24 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in the mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God, good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder
Luke 11:11-13 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
1 Peter 4:5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead
1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household, and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
Galatians 4:9 But now that you know God- or rather are known by God- how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Romans 10:2-4 FOR I CAN TESTIFY ABOUT THEM THAT THEY ARE ZEALOUS FOR GOD, BUT THEIR ZEAL IS NOT BASED IN KNOWLEDGE. SINCE THEY DID NOT KNOW THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AND SOUGHT TO ESTABLISH THEIR OWN, THEY DID NOT SUBMIT TO GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS. Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Romans 10:21 But concerning Israel he says “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people”
Matthew 24:10-12 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise and deceive many. AND BECAUSE LAWLESSNESS WILL ABOUND, THE LOVE OF MANY WILL GROW COLD.
Matthew 24:46-51 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:8-12 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding, and the door was shut. “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ “Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.”
Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Matthew 7:16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
Matthew 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’.
Matthew 10:27-28 Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light, and what you hear in one ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 10:32-33 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before man, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before man, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 10:34-39 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 12:25 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”
Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Matthew 13:49-50 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 15:8-9 ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
Matthew 24:2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all of these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
Matthew 26:7, 10-13 a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always. For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Matthew 26:24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.
Matthew 26:52-54 “Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” **No resolution without conflict**
James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
James 2:12-13 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
James 2:25-26 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 3:9-10 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it, we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
James 4:4-5 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
James 4:8-10 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:13-14 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
What are we doing here?
The outsiders:
“God knows my heart” It’s okay for me to do whatever I feel like because God knows that deep down I love him.
“I listen to K-love now and like also pray before bed sometimes oh and I’m reading Jesus calling” Zeal without knowledge, choosing the world over Christ every day, doing nothing to show that they even know Him, let alone try to lead others to him. Think that there is a level of doing their best that they are achieving by doing what makes them feel good and keeps them comfortable.
“I don’t want to go to church, it’s just a room full of cliques and hypocrites” Somehow excused from the hypocrite category even though they do nothing for Christ in their lives….
“Getting up and going to church today so I can get my worship on and get filled up” Justify meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
“I love you with all my heart, amen” That love is treated like a phrase or a feeling it’s not! It’s a commitment, a sacrifice, a submission, and an abandonment of all else that dwells in your heart.
Christianity is defined by many in our society as a symbol, mindset, calling card, or label. There’s no muscle behind it, no sacrifice, no thought. We’re supposed to feel justified because we are saved and think that in time we will do better, draw a little closer, and love a little louder. But what about now? Our past is forgotten, our future bright with promises, but our present is ours to do as we wish?
We’re fighting with strangers on the internet, we’re becoming enraged at a world that isn’t even our home, and we’re waking up every day and doing whatever we want and not thinking about what we believe.
KNOWING THE LOVE OF GOD AND UNDERSTANDING THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST IS NOT MEANT TO BE TREATED LIKE A PASS. KNOWING IT SHOULD BRING YOU TO YOUR KNEES, FILL YOUR HEART WITH SORROW FOR THE HOPELESSNESS THAT SURROUNDS YOU, AND LEAD YOU TO COMFORTABLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY ABANDON YOUR LIFESTYLES, OPINIONS, IDEAS, AND HURT. GOD IS LOVE, GOD IS HEALING, GOD IS FORGIVING, GRACE IS IN PLACE BUT YOU PLAY A HUGE ROLE IN THE RELATIONSHIP TOO. IT’S NOT JUST GOD SAVING YOU, BUT YOU LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE TO BE RECONCILED TO HIM. YOU HAVE TO RECONCILE YOURSELF.
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“Thus are all you that are never passed under the great Change of Heart, by the mighty Power of the SPIRIT of GOD upon your Souls; all that were never born again, and made new Creatures, and raised from being dead in Sin, to a State of new, and before altogether unexperienced Light and Life, (however you may have reformed your Life in many Things, and may have had religious Affections, and may keep up a Form of Religion in your Families and Closets, and in the House of God, and may be strict in it,) you are thus in the Hands of an angry God; 'tis nothing but his meer Pleasure that keeps you from being this Moment swallowed up in everlasting Destruction.
Prov. 20. 2. The Fear of a King is as the Roaring of a Lion: whoso provoketh him to Anger, sinneth against his own Soul.
And tho’ he will know that you can’t bear the Weight of Omnipotence treading upon you, yet he won’t regard that, but he will crush you under his Feet without Mercy; he’ll crush out your Blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his Garments, so as to stain all his Raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you in the utmost Contempt; no Place shall be thought fit for you, but under his Feet, to be trodden down as the Mire of the Streets. Proverbs 1:25-26
God hath had it on his Heart to shew to Angels and Men, both how excellent his Love is, and also how terrible his Wrath is.
When will God call upon the whole Universe to behold that awful Majesty and mighty Power that is to be seen in it? Isai. 33. 12, 13, 14.”
- from Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God, Jonathan Edwards, July 8th, 1741
Thoughts:
Morality is not a fruit of the Spirit, anyone saved or unsaved can do good to others.
We have to reconcile ourselves to God, it’s a transforming RELATIONSHIP, not a puff of magic that suddenly eradicates our sinful nature.
We can deceive ourselves into mistaking our zeal (or passion, or loving feeling) as worship or a sign that we’re doing well.
The wisdom that comes from heaven is SUBMISSIVE and with that submissiveness comes an opportunity to harness and utilize a type of love that we can’t reproduce on our own as humans. The world is going to abandon me. I’m going to lose people over this. It’s going to be okay. God help me not to be offended or blindsided by anything that is said or felt about me.
God bless you all in the name of Jesus Christ,
- Witness 2