The Doctrine of Idolatry – Part 75: Spiritual Adultery With Demons - Part 36
January 15, 2012
OUTLINE:
The Value of Testing
Testing is how faith is validated in the A.C., making it paramount to the spiritual life.
Passing Our Tests
One must possess “launchable” wisdom (epignosis), otherwise there’s no real power available for deliverance from testing.
1Ti 1:14
and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant, with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
*** click here for the Critical Discernment graphic ***
The Value of Testing
Testing is how faith is validated in the A.C., making it paramount to the spiritual life.
Rev 13:15
And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. [martyred]
In Life and In Death
How you live is highly related to your attitude towards death.
Relating To Death
It’s the quality of how we spend our time with our Lord that counts, not how much time we have left on earth with Him.
Relating To Death
How we spend our time has everything to do with how we think about death!
Relating To Death
God has given us Truth about eternal life so that we are delivered from the fear of death. Time is not a factor when we orient to God’s reality.
God’s Reality
Through the eternal lens of God, the reality of physical death represents promotion for the believer and instills immediacy in the mature believer regarding the
production of evidence for the A.C. appeal trial.
Testing Our Faith
Wisdom (epignosis) removes the fear of death as well as the fear of life.
Testing Our Faith
Christ’s mind (Bible doctrine) must be “real” enough to a believer in order for them to live or die gracefully.
Testing Our Faith
Christ’s mind (Bible doctrine) provides a believer with a scale of values based on eternal things, not things on earth.
Testing Our Faith
The believer with maximum doctrine in his soul cannot be corrupted by fear of death any more than he could be corrupted by fear of failure in life.
Death In the Tribulation
Death will be a very real threat in the Tribulation (Rev 13:15). This poses a magnificent opportunity for the faith of the Tribulation saints to be put to the test!
Tribulation Evangelism
- The 144,000 Jews (Rev 7:4-8)
- Their converts (Rev 7:9-17)
- The two witnesses (Rev 11:3-14)
- The angel with the everlasting gospel (Rev 14:6-7)
“witnesses”
from martus – means heralds; refers to two human beings with a prophetic ministry that teaches the Gospel and speaks to TLJC’s 2nd Advent
The Two Witnesses
Their ministry is coterminous with Satan’s desperation.
“prophesy”
from propheteuo – means two things: 1) to fortell the future; 2) to teach Bible doctrine; the 2 witnesses will do both of these things
“two anointed ones”
are the prototype for the Rev 11:4 reference; the two olive trees provide the oil for the lampstand
The Two Witnesses’ Weaponry
The 2 witnesses are permitted to use weapons to defend themselves. This is required due to Satanic opposition and orders to kill believers (ala Rev. 13:15)
Dealing With Violence
One important point here is that spirituality doesn’t always mean you lay down and die when attacked! Violence may be necessary to achieve whatever plan has been set before you.
God’s Grace Protects
As long as God has a plan for you, His grace will provide protection for your life.
God’s Wake Up Call!
These two witnesses will also possess the supernatural powers to effect the economy (rain/agricultural analogy being used in Rev 11:6).
Crisis Evangelism
Removal of certain blessings and details of life forces man back to the basics to find answers – Bible Doctrine holds the answers.
“the beast”
refers to Abaddon (means destruction); Satan’s number two man in his organization; he is the prince of all of Satan’s undercover and terrorist activities
“in the street”
refers to one specific street “of the great city” (Jerusalem) where the Tribulation temple will be constructed; the two witnesses will have held their ministry there