The Heaton File

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10)

His Coming Is Like A Thief

The Holy Spirit is very descriptive in the language He uses to declare the word of God. Since the fall of man in Eden, the Lord has told man of an impending day of judgment. This message has taken on many forms through the centuries as God warns the world of His wrath against those who reject His word. Noah was told to build an ark for the saving of his household but was not told when the global flood would come. The day came when the Lord told Noah to gather the animals and his family to enter the ark. Then the waters burst forth, and the world was destroyed. There was no warning, no timeline declared, and no mercy given to those unprepared. When God told Noah to enter the ark, it was too late for the world to repent.

Jesus would use the story of Noah to describe the world on the last day. When God told Noah to enter the ark, the world was frolicking in its pleasures, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and living life without a care in the world. Men were in the field working, women tended to the needs of the family, and children played in the fields, unaware of the impending doom. Like a thief in the night, the judgment of the Lord came upon the world. When a thief plans to enter a victim’s home, he does not give a warning or notice. His purpose is to strike unaware and without warning. If someone knew a thief would break in and steal, he would prepare for the moment. God has told the world a day of judgment is coming, and there will be no warning.

The world has survived more than two thousand years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. One of the central themes of the gospel is what a man must do to be saved. The reason this is so important is because salvation is necessary to understand the peril of eternal damnation that awaits all who disregard the word of the Lord. A day of judgment for all men is coming. This day is as certain as death. God has never hidden the fact that all men will face His judgment. Jesus described the judgment as separating sheep from goats. Those on the right hand enjoy eternal life, and those on the left face Hell. No warnings will be given to let men know the final day has arrived. Like a thief in the night, the world will pass away with a great noise, and the universe will melt with fervent heat. Everything man knows will be burned up.

The Son of God has said that no man knows the day His Father will bring final judgment upon the world. There are many people who declare they know when the Lord is coming. They are liars of the highest caliber. What purpose would be served if God told men when He was coming? There will be no warning. The world can end before the reading of this paragraph ends. What happens most often is the world does not end, and the heart of man settles into complacency and apathy. Know this and know this well. A day is coming. There is no warning. God will not give a hint of His wrath. You will be doing what you always do. In a moment, in the twinkling of the eye – the world ends, and you face the wrath of God. If you are not a child of God, you will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and eternal darkness from the face of God. It is then you will understand the language of the thief and the coming of the Lord. But it will be too late. Today is the day of salvation. Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Be faithful unto death. Live for Jesus. Be watchful. He’s coming like a thief.

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight! Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man! (Isaiah 5:20-23)

The Woes Of Israel

A woe is an interjection and a denunciation. God uses the language of woes to tell the people of Israel of sins they have done to provoke Him to wrath. The woes are specific and dangerous, and the consequences are eternal. Israel is failing, and the prophet Isaiah preaches against the apathy and pride destroying the people of God. His mission is to turn the people’s hearts back to God, but they are not listening. The appeal of sin has entrenched itself so fully into their hearts that they have changed the moral compass of God to their own desires. They no longer see sin as the depraved nature declared by God. The heart of the wicked change what God has said is evil into something that is good. What the Lord says are the works of darkness are not accepted as the fruit of light. The bitter taste of evil has been turned into the sweet nectar of delight.

God’s word has been cast aside for the wisdom of men who seek their own counsel to say what is right and wrong. The world accepts the norm: there are no absolutes, and everything is allowable for the heart of man to please himself. Everything in the world has become the pursuit of passion and self-desire. Injustice abounds in the world, righteousness is ridiculed, and those who believe in God are mocked as fools. Morality is served by the desires of the flesh through sexual immorality, drunkenness, deceit, murder, stealing, and cursing God.

Marriage is no longer described by one man and one woman. The world of Israel is unsure of what a woman is. Homosexuality and transgenderism abound as the normal acceptance of one’s sexuality. Men are with men, and women with women, and children are taught the acceptance of perverted sexuality. It is not uncommon for someone to kill a rival. The government is corrupt, society is immoral, and families have so many last names no one knows who the fathers are. Goodness is now the evil. Marital unfaithfulness is expected. Couples live together and have children together, and there is no shame.

Israel takes what God has said is good and calls it evil. There is no longer a view that sin is the darkness of hell but the enlightenment of a new world. The consequence of sin and its bitter taste has become the accepted flavor of a perverted world. Men are wise in their own eyes, rejecting the word of God as outdated, outmoded, and out of touch. Life is filled with frivolity, drunken feasts, and corruption. Isaiah preaches against the evils of a doomed nation. There is little hope as the nation falls further into the pit of damnation and despair.

Israel was destroyed 2600 years ago when the Babylonians burned Jerusalem and the Temple to the ground. This became the fulfillment of a nation that changed evil to good and good to evil. God warned the people of the consequences of sin and the coming judgment, but they would not listen. The greatest failure of humanity is the inability to learn from its past. When history lessons are not viewed as a template for today, the world tends to repeat itself. What is found in the world today is not a new form of sin or a new philosophy. It is Israel repeating itself.

The world now views the goodness of God as evil and accepts wickedness as goodness. What man does not realize is that while they say the darkness is light and light is darkness; what God has called darkness is still darkness, and what God has called light remains light. The philosophies of men can be likened to someone who calls the Moon the Sun and the Sun the Moon. No philosophy of man will change the nature of what they are. The Moon is a dead rock, and the Sun is a fiery, brilliant star. Light is light. Darkness is darkness. Sin is Sin. Righteousness is righteousness. God is.

“Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 23:30-32)

Stealing The Word Of God

Truth is older than error, and false teachers have existed since the beginning of time. Satan is the father of lies and the greatest thief of God’s word. The world in the days of Noah was destroyed because the hearts of men believed the lie more than the Creator. Israel was warned not to trifle with the word of God to add or take away from its holy commandments. They were destroyed when they began to be like the nations around them. Rejecting the word of God, the Jews followed after false gods promoted by false prophets. As Israel sank further into the mire of apostasy, men like Jeremiah warned of the consequences of neglecting the commandments of the Lord.

Jeremiah spoke the word of the Lord in truth, but many prophets tickled the ears of the people. Through deception and deceit, the prophets stole the pure word of God from the hearts of the people, leading them to believe in themselves. Apostasy comes from denying the word of God. The prophets stole messages from others, claiming they had divine revelation. Jeremiah calls them smooth-tongued prophets, falsely claiming what they said was from the Lord. Their flagrant lies led the people of God into sin and destruction. As a result of false prophets, Israel was destroyed. God would not tolerate a people who turned away from His words to heed the doctrines of men.

Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God on earth which was accomplished on the Day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem. The twelve apostles preached a sermon of repentance to a crowd of devout Jews who were convicted that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, the Son of God. In response, three thousand people were baptized and had their sins washed away in the blood of Jesus. Luke writes that the Lord added those who were saved to the church. The church of Christ began to grow and prosper under the teachings of the apostles, who were led by the Holy Spirit. Congregations of New Testament saints began establishing themselves throughout the Roman Empire until Paul wrote to the church at Colosse the church that the gospel was preached to every creature under heaven.

The Holy Spirit began to warn the early disciples of a coming apostasy. Men began to have itching ears to heed the doctrines of men rather than the teachings of God. In the past two thousand years, doctrines differing from the word of God have turned souls away from the truth and seen the creation of many churches that are not found in the New Testament. False preachers and teachers have stolen the word of God away from the hearts of the people, leading them into the path of apostasy. Many believe in false doctrines because of the glitter and entertainment of men and women preaching a foreign gospel that God never approved.

Like in the days of Jeremiah, the Lord is against those who preach a perverted gospel, who steal the words of God for their personal gain. Many smooth-tongued preachers convince the people they are preaching from the Bible. God is against them as they lie to the people and lead people into perdition. As in the days of Jeremiah, the challenge is to test whether the spirits are from God. Everyone can read and understand the Bible. God did not give the world a message they could not understand. If there is religious division, it is not a creation of God but man. There is only one book of divine knowledge, one church, one Savior, one Lord, one faith, one path to eternal life, and one hope found in Jesus Christ. Read the Bible. Learn the one truth from the one and only Lord God Almighty. Do not allow men to steal your soul from truth and the hope of eternal life.

“Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? (Jeremiah 23:29)

The Fire And Hammer

When God spoke, the universe came into being. No words in the human language can explain the power of the word of God. Everything in creation was established through the spoken word of “God said!” Human wisdom can never match or come within a glimpse of the power of God to establish the world by the word. The revelation of the word of God has the power of dynamite to change the hearts of sinful, corrupt, and evil men. Jeremiah describes the word of God like as a fire and a hammer. God created fire for good and to destroy. A hammer can create masterpieces or tear them into pieces with its fierce blows. Jeremiah shows the power of God as something for good and a force to destroy those who trifle with its content. Like a hammer, the word of God can create a new heart from corruption, and it will destroy anything that resists it.

Fire has great value in warming a home, cooking food, and creating metal strengthened by the flame. The same flame can burn a house down, destroy lives, and devastate the land. When fire is controlled, it serves the purpose of a blessing but let a flame escape uncontrolled, and the results can be catastrophic. God’s word is given to show the heart of man God’s love, mercy, and grace. The character of man is strengthened by the flame of truth that burns from the word of God. When the heart is filled with the word of God, the soul solidifies into the mold of strength, courage, hope, and peace. Someone rightfully said the word of God is given to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. Great peace comes from spending time in the word, but there can be greater conflict when the heart of man seeks to rebel against God’s will.

A hammer is a tool designed to build and create. It is a simple design that is easy to use and effectively constructs what it is purposed to build. In the hands of a craftsman, a hammer can create great edifices that will last for many centuries. A hammer is also used to tear things down. It can be used as a tool to destroy. The word of God is a tool designed to build trust in God in the heart of man. It will create a soul confident in the grace of God to save. The same hammer will also resist those who try to change the word of God. As the anvil of truth, the Bible has stood the test of time against a world bent on its destruction. All arguments against the word of God have been destroyed by the hammer of God, which is truth.

The Bible is a book of controversy. One of the reasons most people reject the Bible is because it exposes their sinful life. God’s word reveals the conscience of evil that men enjoy. As Creator, God condemns all those who challenge His authority, declaring penalties for those who refuse to obey Him. Like a fire and hammer, the word of God convicts the soul of sin, crushing everything that is evil. Human wisdom cannot change the revelation of the mind of God because it is settled in heaven. False religions have created false doctrines to their own destruction, but the word of God remains the same. The Bible was first written down by Moses 3,500 years ago and has remained unchanged as it developed over the centuries. Only the power of the spoken word of God could produce the universal message of hope and salvation. Read the Bible to be wise, but do not challenge its content. The fire and hammer of God endure until the end.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)

One Life, Live It

The philosophy of life is to live it with all the gusto possible. Everything a man has in this life should focus on getting all that can be drained from the life experience before death. The world believes there is one life to live. Death is the final act in the drama of life. With this in mind, the purpose of life is to have as much fun, gain all the pleasures, and slide into death like a homerun king. The man with the most toys wins. Popularity and fame will secure a man’s place in history. Books will be written, statues commissioned, and streets named after the movers and shakers of the world for those who succeed. The great human tragedy is thinking there is one life. Because of this, no preparation is made for a greater reality – the second life.

Everyone is born the same way, and everyone dies the same way. From the birth of Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, every human being is born of a woman. There is no other avenue of life as God has given man and woman the creative power to bring life into the world. Only God creates life. By the same creation of life, the Lord God has determined the days of man are like the grass of the field. They blossom one day and then are cut down. Cain was the first child born into the world, and his brother, Abel, was the first to experience death (killed by Cain). The two children of Adam and Eve are the story of life that has continued for thousands of years. This reality will continue until the coming of Jesus Christ.

There is a divine appointment for everyone, and that is death. While death is a reality, that is the minor player in the divine story. Every human is an eternal creature. This is the one story that most people in the world deny and never accept. When a man believes death is final and nothing beyond, he becomes like an animal. An animal is not an eternal creature, which separates man from animal. God created the human form in His divine image of eternity. When an animal dies, it ceases to exist, but when a man dies, there is another life. A man can deny that he is an eternal creature and that he lives like an animal, but this does not change; after death, there is another life. When a man closes his eyes in death, he may think he is finished, and there is no more. As his eyes open in eternity, he realizes there is life after death, and unprepared, he finds himself standing before the judgment bar of the Lord God Almighty. It’s too late to admit there is a second life.

God created the world and everything in it. He formed man and woman as eternal creatures for His glory. Billions of people have died since Abel, and the majority of those billions never believed in life after death. God sent His son to open the vistas of eternity, warning those who trifle with the word of God that there is life after death. All men die. It is a divine appointment and decree. Nothing man can do will change that. All men face life after death. That is a divine appointment and decree. Nothing man can do will change that. There will come a day when no one will die, but all men will cease to exist in their human form: the day Jesus Christ returns. Then, life after death will happen to everyone. No one escapes. The few who believed in life after death and prepared themselves in the grace of God will rejoice. Those who lived life thinking there was one life will not rejoice. Do you believe in life after death?

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

Love And Commandment Keeping

God has never asked man to do anything that he was unable to perform. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, the only restrictive law was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat of every tree but not the one forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve understood the commandment of the Lord. There was nothing difficult in keeping the commandments of God. The Lord provided everything for life and happiness in the garden because God loved His creation. Satan attacked the word of God immediately, questioning whether the commandment was too harsh and unfair. He suggested if the woman ate the forbidden fruit, she could be like God. Sin entered the world when Eve took of the forbidden fruit.

Satan’s most successful tool to claim the hearts of men is to convince them of the unfairness of the Lord God. There is no need to keep the commandments of the Lord. Freedom is doing whatever a person desires without any consequences. If God said that something is a sin, that is unfair and unjust and too harsh. Seeing the tree in the midst of the garden and not being able to take of its fruit was such a burden. Why would God be so unfair? It was such a grievous law to restrict the freedom of the human spirit. God was cruel to expect man not to enjoy the forbidden fruit.

The philosophies of human wisdom try to devalue the need for commandment keeping. This falls in line with the same tactic used by Satan in the garden and his continual attempts to convince the world that God is a cruel, unloving, uncaring, and brutal ruler who demands too much. Satan has repurposed the Lord God into a loving, caring, benevolent ruler who expects no one to keep commandments but only to love one another and love God because God loves everyone, and no one will ever anger God. Jesus said the devil is the father of lies, and the influence of the evil one proves this every day. There is no greater lie perpetuated by the adversary of righteousness than convincing people to love God and not worry about keeping His commandments. Jesus asked why people called Him Lord and did not do what He commanded. The world has bought into the lie of the devil to love God and love who God is and bask in the love of God, and that is all a man needs to do.

Commandment keeping is an expression of love. Refusing to keep the commandments of God is a show of defiance rooted in hatred. The bottom line becomes very simple. If a man refuses to do the will of the Father, he hates God. There is no other way to look at the rebellion of the human heart, refusing to abide by the precepts, commandments, laws, and covenants of Jesus Christ, than to see a spirit that hates Jesus Christ. What is the love of God according to John the apostle (inspired by the Holy Spirit)? The love of God is keeping His commandments. If you do not keep the commandments of God – you hate God, you hate Jesus Christ, and you hate the Holy Spirit.

Face the truth. None of the commands of God are difficult to follow. You can complain and whine about what God tells you to do all your life and die, and then you will no longer whine and complain about what God told you to do. The reality of Hell is there are no complainers and whiners. Everyone there realizes two things: first, they recognize the commandments of God are not burdensome. Second, they wished they had made a greater effort to keep the commandments. But it is too late. God loves you. He does not want any to perish in eternal perdition. Jesus died to save you from your sins. If you refuse to keep the commandments of God, you will die in your sins. It will not be a pretty picture. What can you do? Keep the commandments of God. Then, and only then, can you show how much you love God. If you love God, you will keep His commandments.