They Loved Not The Truth
Eli
http://www.pastorrandyshupe.com
The following was taken from http://www.babylonthegreatisfalling.net
They Loved Not The Truth
2002-02-01
In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, Paul reveals the root cause of why this
terrorized turbulent world will soon experience the wrath and judgment
of God. He simply states....."they received not the love of the truth,
that they might be saved." Clearly, Paul is talking about people who
have never genuinely fallen in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and his
teachings. If you read the verses prior to this blunt statement, you
will find that Satan is bringing his kingdom, which includes all
nations on Earth with their political-religious systems, to a final
showdown with the truth of Jesus Christ.
Satan's man for this showdown, the Antichrist, will then be revealed
and offered to this troubled world as the great peacemaker, who will
bring war and terrorism to an end. Isn't the stated goal of this war on
terrorism....a new world order?
I have nothing but compassion for the multitudes who have never truly
loved Jesus. Some of them are my friends and family. It hurts deeply
when I consider their eternal condition. Jesus has for two thousand
years called people to his love and forgiveness. But, a time of
judgment is coming, to separate good from evil, to chain Satan and his
bandits in Hell for a thousand years.
Tragically, some who once loved Jesus with all their hearts, are today
losing their first love for him. I know this, for I was one of them. I
know and have experienced the utter confusion of becoming lukewarm, and
trying to love Jesus and this world system. I know what it's like to
stiffarm the convicting words of the Holy Spirit within me. I know how
it feels to return habitually to the lusts of the flesh and the
constant pursuit of the money and pleasures of this world system. And
then attempt to twist the meaning of scriptures to ease my conscience,
thereby rationalizing my desires for worldly wealth and pleasures.
This twisting of scripture is the perverted contribution that Christian
Psychologists and the Health and Wealth gospel gang have made to
Christendom. However, I must not blame them for my personal failures.
They will answer to the Lord for teaching their lies just like everyone
else. I hope and pray they repent for attempting to Christianize the
carnal desires that need to die on the cross.
I also know what it's like to fake repentance and to give lip service
to a holy loving God. It's a horrible thing to lose your first love and
then pretend that you haven't. As I wrote in an earlier article, it
wasn't until I faced open heart surgery and the paralyzing fear of
death from a weak heart, that I began to come out of my carnal
delusions. This fear that controlled me was the fruit of a sinful mind.
But, Jesus was still inside me, reaching out to me. The same Jesus who
saved me years earlier was using my fear and self-inflicted heart
disease to chasten me and present me with a clear choice. I could love
him and walk with him as before or perish.
Jesus broke my spiritual heart when he reminded me that I was sinning
against him, that he was killed by the hands of men, and that included
me. He reminded me that my sin was separating his relationship with me.
For I had stopped hating sin, which is the only thing that can hurt our
oneness with him. The shame and sorrow in me hurt so much that it was
almost unbearable. He wanted to cleanse me from sin, not excuse or
cover it up. Do you know what Jesus wants from us when we sin? Honesty.
He knows our fleshly bodies are still a powerful force warring against
Him in our new hearts. In my case, I was bringing sin into my heart
where he lives. That's much more dangerous than the sins of the mind
and the body.
Another symptom that comes from not truly loving Jesus is the
indifference toward the reading of the Bible. You see, when our hearts
are pure, his voice jumps from the written pages into our very soul.
Listening to his voice come alive through the written word, then
becomes more refreshing than anything. We desire it above all other
things. But when sin is in control, reading the Bible becomes
mechanical or just a religious ritual, if it's read at all.
Another symptom of a lukewarm heart is the gradual weakening of our
longing and looking for the imminent return of Jesus to end Satan's
kingdom on Earth. Our desire to see him face to face, to be with him,
diminishes. We become like an unfaithful husband who can't look his
wife in the eye. Christendom is today drowning in indifference toward
his imminent return. This is why many who claim to believe in it are
willing to take up arms and kill the enemies of America or Western
civilization, to protect their earthly riches, pleasures and political
freedoms. This willingness to kill one's enemies is outright rebellion
against the teachings of Jesus Christ. Please understand, the time will
come that Jesus Christ will kill his enemies. He is the only one who is
qualified to execute that eternal judgment, so until he returns we are
to demonstrate his love and warn people to flee from the coming
judgment.
Please don't be confused by the biblical commands to Israel to execute
criminals, to wage war, and Paul's referring to civil authorities in
Romans 13 as ministers of God, and the teaching of Jesus to love one's
enemies. Civil government of any kind, democracy or dictatorship, is
allowed by God to restrain violence and prevent anarchy, in spite of
them being created and manipulated against each other by Satan. After
all, Nero the nut, who burned Rome and hated Christians, was Emperor
when Paul wrote his letter to the believers there. Paul calls us to
obey and respect the civil authorities, even the Neros of the world,
but not to join with them in their violence, Romans 12:17-21. We are
also not to resist or rebel against the Neros or British kings either.
For God allows human government only because men reject the government
of Jesus Christ. Regrettably, men would rather rule themselves or have
others rule over them.
Lukewarm militant Christians have forgotten that followers of
Jesus....."sit together in Heavenly places," Ephesians 2:6....."are
citizens of Heaven," Philippians 3:20.....are ambassadors for Christ,"
2 Corinthians 5:20. Have they traded freedom from sin and Satan through
the blood of Jesus Christ for political freedom that Satan's kingdom
offers? Are they exchanging eternal life for the riches and pleasures
of this life? To me, the answer is heartbreaking. I've been there. Have
they forgotten these scriptures or have they sadly lost their first
love and are not obeying the Lord?
One of my founding fathers, not George Washington, but Paul of Tarsus,
has in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, declared that Jesus will...."in flaming
fire take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." This includes everyone that loves not
the truth, both those who have never loved Jesus and those who have
become lukewarm. You can turn away your ear from what you have just
read or you can fall in love with the King of Kings. It's your call.