Sleeping In Church

Posted on February 6, 2025 by heatonkent

For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. (1 Corinthians 11:30)

Sleeping In Church

The early church experienced phenomenal growth in the first days of the kingdom. Three thousand souls were added to the church on the day of Pentecost; later, the number of men came to be about five thousand. The first converts devoted themselves to the apostles’ doctrine, fellowship, and worship. Fear came upon every soul as the apostles showed the power of God with miracles. If anyone lacked the basic necessities of life, the saints helped other saints, praising God and having favor with all the people. Men like Barnabas sold land and brought the proceeds to the church. The first days of the church were filled with unity and love. But that would not last.

Luke describes the early church as united, but trouble was brewing, and Satan was beginning to work his evil in the hearts of the saints. Problems with members of the church brought division. In the church of God at Corinth, the body of Christ was plagued by many problems, such as allegiance to certain preachers, carnality, sectarianism, open sexual immorality, brethren suing one another, questions of marriage, refusal to abide by cultural norms, mockery of the Lord’s Supper, division over spiritual gifts leading to chaos in the worship services, and teachers denying the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What was the reason for such problems? The answer Paul gave pointed to those who were asleep in church.

Jesus died to build His church. The Holy Spirit warned of the apostasy that would come as men left the teachings of Christ for their own doctrines. When Paul rebuked the Corinthian church for abusing the Lord’s Supper, he gave a reason why the brethren had failed in their worship. The Lord’s Supper is a hinge-pin to the problems that plague the local church. Instead of the reverent communion of discerning the body of Jesus Christ, the Corinthian Christians were creating an unworthy atmosphere of worship. This was caused by brethren who were spiritually weak and sick among them. Many of the saints were spiritually dead. Paul was not talking about physical weakness, sickness, or death. He reproved the brethren for the weakness of their faith. The worship service at Corinth had become a three-ring circus by brethren who failed to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. They were spiritually asleep and nearing spiritual death.

Sleeping in church has always been a problem when the members doze off (some even snoring). A greater problem is the unseen number of people sitting in the pew with their eyes wide open who are spiritually weak and asleep. They have little or no interest in the things of God. Their lives are empty shells of materialism, pleasure, and recreation. When the Lord’s Supper is passed, they have no feelings of guilt or remorse over the death of God’s Son. They take some bread, drink some juice, and go about their lives like always. Paul warned the Corinthian church about those who were sleeping in their faith. God will bring judgment upon those who sleep.

When people sleep in church, they fail to realize how close the judgment of God draws near each day. It is time for brethren to awaken from their spiritual slumber and grow in Christ. Sleeping in church comes from not knowing God in the heart. Righteousness is a learned character that comes from study and application. Paul would use the sleeping metaphor to arouse the saints from their spiritual lethargy to “arise from the dead.” If someone sleeps too much, they will die (spiritually). When the Lord returns, do not be found sleeping. Spiritual slumber will lead to the wrath of God. Wake up. Be alert. Watch and pray. And again, watch.

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A Prepared Place

Posted on February 5, 2025 by heatonkent

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world”… Then He will also say to those on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:34,41)

A Prepared Place

It has been observed that Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people. Before God created the world, He prepared to receive to Himself His creation He was about to form. The eternal plan of grace was formulated and set forth long before Adam and Eve were created. When the man and woman disobeyed Him, the Lord removed them from paradise but offered them salvation. The central theme of human history is the revelation that God wants His creation to worship Him and prepare themselves to dwell in His eternal glory. Through the Holy Spirit, the word of grace was given to man to know what must be done to be saved. The problem humanity faced was what to do with sin. Only God had the answer.

For many centuries, the Creator spoke to His creation, revealing His word. To save the seed of Christ, God formed the Jewish nation of Israel and gave them a law. Through the Law of Moses, the Jews found grace before the Lord. When Jesus came, the Gentiles had proven they could not save themselves as a law to themselves, and the Jews showed they could not be justified in keeping the law. Eternal life came through the sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Before His death, Jesus promised to open the way to everlasting life. He told His disciples He would prepare a place for them to find salvation. Jesus was not going to prepare Heaven because it had already been prepared before the foundation of the world. The Son of God was setting in place the final part of God’s plan to prepare eternal life for all those who believed in Him.

Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead on the third day to prepare the way to a prepared place. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ, anyone can find the grace of God to chart their path to eternal life. Faith without works is dead, and by finding the grace and mercy of God and obeying the will of the Father, those who prepared their lives with the blessings of God could look forward to receiving the kingdom prepared from the foundation of the world. Paul wrote about the crown of life that was prepared for him (he had his name on it). Peter spoke about the assurance of making the calling and election certain for the faithful. The New Testament church believed in a prepared place where God dwells as a promise given by God – who cannot lie.

There is another prepared place. This place, like the home with God, was prepared before the world began. What makes this place different is the character, makeup, and purpose for which it would serve. Satan and his angels existed before the creation of the world. In God’s eternal plan, Jesus would become flesh and walk as men on the earth. He would be killed by the ruthless hatred of men and buried. What changed everything eternally was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. When God brought Jesus out of the grave, the Son of God conquered death, Hades, and Satan. Now, the purpose of Hell was revealed.

Jesus says the everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. In truth, the lake of fire and brimstone was not purposed for humanity but the devil and his angels. The judgment of the Lord demands a righteous accounting, and all those who follow the wiles of the devil will suffer the same punishment. A greater tragedy takes place when a man refuses to honor God and chooses rather to follow after Satan. There is no doubt in the mind of Satan what his eternal destiny is. He knows without a shadow of a doubt that Hell is real. In the time before the final judgment, the devil is trying to take as many of God’s creation with him to the place of darkness. The evil of Satan is heightened by the bloodthirsty desire that if he is damned to Hell, he will take as many as he can with him.

Heaven is a prepared place, expecting the faithful of God to dwell with the glorious hosts. God created the heavenly paradise to bless the godly with eternal life. Heaven fulfills its grand purpose by filling itself with the praises of glory and honor to God. Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. It grieves the heart of God to send men to Hell when that was not His plan. His grace demands it. Divine mercy requires it. Justice will be meted out, and the boundaries of Hell will fill with the devil, his angels, and all humanity that does not do the will of the Father. As they languish in eternal torment, someone may say, “I am not meant to be here.” And they will be right – too late.

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The Miracle Of A Global Flood

Posted on February 4, 2025 by heatonkent

For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. (Isaiah 54:9)

The Miracle Of A Global Flood

The Bible is a book of miracles. From the first page of Genesis to the conclusion of John in the Revelation, God’s handiwork through the power of miracles is established time and again. Everyone who comes to the Bible is faced with the choice of believing the miracles or denying them. Genesis 1 is the beginning of all miracles as Moses tells the story of creation. God spoke the universe into existence in a series of six days from nothing. The power of the spoken word illustrates the magnitude of God’s divine power. Many centuries pass from Adam to Noah, and the second greatest miracle happens when God brings a flood of water upon the earth that covers the tallest mountains more than twenty feet. How is that possible?

Nothing has changed in the size of the earth from its beginning. The Earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate spheroid with the widest points at the equator (3,963 miles) and a polar radius of 3,950 miles. Measuring through its center, Earth is 7,926 miles. At present, the land mass of Earth is 57,308,738 square miles out of a surface mass of 196,900,000 square miles. Contrary to a popular song, it’s not a small world after all. Earth is a massive sphere where God placed Adam and Eve, and humanity began to thrive. In the days of Noah, God covered 196,900,000 square miles with water to a depth covering the tallest mountains by more than twenty feet. Using present-day Mt. Everest as a guide, the water would have been approximately 29,052 deep, covering the whole earth.

The creation of the universe was an impressive miracle, and the second miracle of scripture is no less impressive. It is beyond the wisdom of man to imagine a flood so extensive to cover the face of the earth with such force, volume, and destruction. Isaiah declares the flood covered the world because that is what God did. The Lord speaks through the prophet to tell His people of His power. Many more miracles follow in holy writ, leading to the greatest miracle in the resurrection of God’s Son from the dead. If a man does not believe in the power of the flood in the days of Noah, he will not believe in the power of the resurrection of Jesus. Faith requires the belief and acceptance of the word of God to the magnitude of the flood to cover the earth.

Moses did not witness the flood. He wrote about it with stunning words of divine revelation. He had heard the stories of the flood all his life, but when the Lord revealed the details of the flood through revelation, it must have astounded the mind of Moses. How could such a flood take place? Without knowing the scientific analysis of the earth’s size, Moses could appreciate the volume of water required to cover the earth. Men like Isaiah read about the flood and believed God had the power to perform such an act. The flood covered the earth. What a concept. It proved to hearts of faith the divine power of a God full of grace.

To deny the flood is to deny Jesus Christ. During the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God spoke of the days of Noah as the days before the flood. Jesus said the flood came and destroyed all those outside the ark, and only Noah and his family were saved. The flood that Jesus spoke of covered the earth. If God has the power to cover the earth with a flood, He has the power to save the world through His grace. Noah and his family were saved by God’s grace and mercy. Believing the word of the Lord and obeying the command of God, Noah saved himself and his family.

The story of the flood is the story of the gospel. God’s grace warns of a coming destruction. It will never be a flood, but a judgment of fire is coming. God has told the world it is coming. The Lord has also instructed men what to do to be saved. Through the knowledge of the Bible, the gospel of salvation has been preached, showing all men how to save themselves. Like Noah, those who believe in the gospel must respond to the grace and mercy of God by being obedient. Peter likens the flood in the days of Noah to salvation through Jesus Christ, where eight souls were saved through water. In Jesus Christ, baptism is where one is saved from their sins. When a man believes God can cover the earth with a flood, he will accept the word of the gospel and obey.

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Our Twelve Stones

Posted on February 3, 2025 by heatonkent

That all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever. (Joshua 4:24)

Our Twelve Stones

The crossing of the Jordan River was a powerful statement for Israel and their new leader, Joshua, son of Nun. Like the crossing of the Red Sea, God showed His power when the feet of the priests who bore the ark of the covenant dipped the edge of the water; the waters that came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap. The act of dividing the Jordan River was proof of God’s promise to drive out the people of the land. God instructed Joshua to have the priests bearing the ark of the covenant stand still in the midst of the Jordan, letting the children of Israel pass over on dry land. After the people crossed the Jordan on dry land, the Lord instructed Joshua to take twelve men who would gather twelve stones from the midst of the Jordan. These men would carry the twelve stones across the Jordan to where they would lodge that night.

Joshua set up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan as a sign and memorial to the events of the Red Sea forty years earlier and the crossing of the Jordan River before the conquest of the land. Twelve stones represented the mighty hand of the Lord and brought about fear in the minds of those who saw the stones as a reminder of the Lord’s greatness. God wanted the people to have a memorial to remember the great things done through divine grace and mercy. Israel did not deliver itself from Egypt. The promised land was given to the Hebrews by the hand of God. No man could claim the power to possess the land without the will of God. The twelve stones became a memorial of the inability of man to save himself and the divine power of God to carry out His will.

A memorial is established to turn the mind back to a person or an event. Twelve stones served the purpose of turning the hearts of the people back to how God delivered them. The stones remained for a long time to remind Israel of the grace of God. Jesus became the symbol of hope and grace when He offered Himself as the lamb before the slaughter. He was the metaphorical twelve stones reminding all men they could not save themselves. Only through God’s divine will and the grace of a loving Father can man find salvation. The Bible is a grand memorial declaring all God has done for His glory. Reading the text of holy writ tells the story of God’s deliverance. The conclusion is determined that man could not save himself. It took the grace and mercy of God for man to find salvation.

The Lord’s Supper is a direct memorial to the reminder that man could not save himself, and there is nothing man can do to repay the debt owed to the Father in heaven. Like the twelve stones, the Bible and the Lord’s Supper are testimonies that all the people of the earth may know the hand of the Lord is mighty, and there is a need to fear the wrath of God. The Bible is the mind of God revealed to man to understand who God is and what purpose man has on earth. God created man to glorify Him. The Bible reveals this glory. Taking the Lord’s Supper is a proclamation that God loved the world and sent His only begotten Son. It is called a memorial because it will remind the child of God of His saving grace. Israel crossed the Red Sea and the River Jordan by the power of God. The child of God is forgiven of his sins by the power of God.

No one can argue ignorance on the final day. All the peoples of the earth can know the will of the Father. The Bible teaches the fear of God. As memorials, the Bible and the Lord’s Supper declare the message of God to give His only begotten Son as a sacrifice to save them from their sins. There is nothing more God will give the world than the revelation of His word and the revelation of the Word, Jesus Christ. These memorials testify that God is mighty. He is powerful. The Lord is full of love and grace. Embrace the twelve stones of God’s memorial contained within the pages of the Bible and the remembrance of the death of Jesus.

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The Bible Is All Truth

Posted on February 2, 2025 by heatonkent

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Bible Is All Truth

The Bible is the only source of truth given to the world. Written over a span of 1500 years by forty different men living in different times of history, the Bible is a complete record of the mind of God telling man what he must do to be saved. Many books are written that inspire men and explain the questions of life, but none are as sufficient as the sixty-six books that make up the Bible. God is the author of the book. The fall of man is the subject of the book. Jesus Christ and salvation is the message of the Bible. Everything a man needs to know about life is found on the pages of the Bible.

In a world starving for hope and answers, few souls will venture into the pages of the Bible. It is the most popular book published in the history of man and the least read. Many preachers never mention the Bible in their sermons. Instead, they soothe the guilty hearts by caressing and cajoling the people with great stories and positive messages with little or nothing to save their souls. Fresh from the seminary, a young man said, “Must I confine myself in my preaching to the Bible?” That is like a shrimp asking, “Must I confine my roaming to the Atlantic Ocean? Imagine a minnow saying, “Must I confine myself to the ocean?”

The Bible is the message of salvation given to the world to explain the questions of life and death. Reading it will not make one rich or bring better health, but it will enrich the soul with eternal truths, heal the broken spirit, and mend the troubled heart. Paul told Timothy the value of the scriptures is eternal when he writes, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Seeking the answers to life begins with the Bible. Learning your purpose in life begins with the Bible. Reading and meditating on the words of the Bible will bring hope, peace, and joy to life. The Bible is written to comfort the afflicted and it is written to afflict the comfortable. God also wants the world to know the dangers of disobedience and failure to follow His word. There are many stories of God’s love in the Bible and many more stories of God’s wrath. The Bible is written for our learning.

The Bible is the compass everyone should have to guide them in the way of truth. God’s word is the only truth. To reject the Bible is to turn away from the only ark of safety in the ocean of life. God did not give us a book we cannot understand. Read it to be wise. Neglect it to the danger of eternal condemnation. The Bible is the only revelation given to the world to know what a man must do to be saved. Jesus is the message of the book and, through His death, established the eternal scheme of God’s plan for salvation.

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He Can Be Resisted

Posted on January 31, 2025 by heatonkent

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

He Can Be Resisted

Satan is a potent enemy that must not be underestimated. His goal is to destroy every soul in Hell, along with himself and his angels. The principalities of wickedness, powers of evil, rulers of the darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness align themselves in the war of righteousness against unrighteousness. Satan is crafty. He presents himself as an angel of light. Through deception and manipulation, he tempts the soul to follow his pernicious ways. Like fiery darts, the devil places the lust of the eye, pride of life, and lust of the flesh in the path of the righteous to bring them under his control. Satan is powerful. And he has great success in his evil plans.

As powerful and seductive as the devil can be, the child of God can resist him. It is possible to withstand the allurements of his crafty ways. The child of God can stand up to Satan and refuse to allow his evil influence to harm them. God has given His children the means to oppose the work of the devil. Fighting emboldened with the armor of God, the Christian can stand against and quench all the impositions of the great adversary. The power to overcome Satan does not derive its source from the feeble hearts of men. This can only come through the power of God.

Satan cannot make anyone do anything they do not want to do. It is imperative to understand that God has limited the power of Satan, and he has always been incapable of forcing his will on anyone. If a man sins and disobeys the word of God, the sin lies in the heart of man. Satan is the ultimate reason for sin, as in the garden when he deceived Eve, but it was Adam and Eve who made the choice. God’s wrath will be poured out on Satan in judgment when he is cast into Hell (he knows this), but God will also cast all those who follow him into the lake of fire. The tragedy of sin is that it did not have to consume the heart of man. Satan can be resisted.

One of the foundational elements of sin is pride. As the seed of evil, pride leads the heart of man to follow after his own will and desires. Satan feeds this desire by tempting the heart with the broken promises that are lies. The first thing that must be done to resist the devil is to remove the proud and arrogant heart. Victory over the devil begins with humility before God. A proud heart cannot stand before God. There is nothing God can do with a man who exalts himself until he humbles himself before the mighty hand of his Creator. Man’s heart must empty itself of pride so that he can learn how to resist the devil.

Humility is the first step toward resisting the devil. When a man humbles himself before God, the Lord will lift that man up. Casting all the care and concern of life to the will of God will bring about the joy of resisting Satan. It takes great courage to stand against Satan. A sober mind fortified with vigilance will defeat the wiles of the devil. Peter describes Satan as a lion, but a lion can be tamed and caged. Satan may be called a roaring lion, but that is all he can do – roar. A roar does not harm or destroy. When the weak hearts of proudful men allow the wiles of the devil to overcome their hearts, they will be devoured and destroyed by Satan. If they had stood against his roar and stood with faith in God, it would have only been a noisy event.

The most amazing part of resisting the devil is that James tells us the devil will flee from our faith. Imagine the puny creation of God on earth having so much power that he can cause the serpent of old to flee in fear. Drawing near to God with a humble heart will drive Satan away. It is possible (and needful) to live in such a way the devil is always running away from our faith. If you are looking for a goal in life, live in such a way you keep the devil on the run. The closer you are to God, the more the devil runs. Keep him running. The end of the road for Satan is Hell. Let him run at a furious pace into the abyss. Resist him. You can do it.

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Good And Evil

Posted on January 30, 2025 by heatonkent

Seek good and not evil, that you may live; so the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you have spoken. Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate. It may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph. (Amos 5:14-15)

Good And Evil

God has always given humanity a choice. Man was created as a free moral agent able to decide for himself. Adam and Eve were given a choice, and they chose to follow the path of evil. In the days of Noah, the world had become so corrupted with evil that the Lord destroyed all life. Only Noah and his family were saved. Moses warned the nation of Israel to obey the word of the Lord, or they would face His wrath. The Israelites chose to follow the path of unrighteousness and were destroyed. Jesus came to bring salvation to all men, imploring them to follow the goodness of God. They killed Jesus and persecuted the early church. Evil reigned over the hearts of men.

Evil is a choice. During the tumultuous days of the divided kingdom of Israel, the prophet Amos sternly warned God’s people to repent and change their ways. As a prophet, he knew what God would do to the people if they did not change. Repentance is making a change and choosing good over evil. Israel did not repent, and they were destroyed. Goodness must be sought after. Life comes from seeking the righteousness of God. To seek goodness, one must hate evil. It is impossible to love good and evil at the same time. Jesus explained that God and mammon are not compatible. A choice must be made. The point is that a choice can be made.

Amos told the people of God to seek good and hate evil. Israel was being destroyed because the people were seeking evil and hating goodness. They loved evil. There was no justice in the land as the poor were being mistreated, immorality was rampant, and God had been forgotten. Evil was promoted as the pleasures of life took over the hearts of the people. They were no longer seeking after the good things of God but rather the carnal desires of the flesh and mind. These were the people of God following in the same ways as the nations around them. Little has changed in the years since Amos warned the people. The world remains under the sway of the devil, and evil is promoted everywhere.

God desires to be with His people, and this can only be done when men seek goodness and hate evil. The heart must seek those things that are true and righteous and, at the same time, have an aversion to anything evil. Goodness does not come on its own. Jesus taught His disciples to seek first the rule of God in their life. Those who would seek are those who will find. Finding goodness will only come to those who are seeking goodness. There must be a hatred for unrighteousness, evil, and sin. Job was a man who hated evil, and he reflected such. The corruption of a good heart comes when evil is tolerated.

God promises to be with those who are righteous, seeking truth, and hating evil. The grace of the Lord comes upon those who direct their lives in the pursuit of those things that are true and holy. It takes effort and prayer to have a heart of righteousness. Those who do evil and seek after every evil thing will not be blessed by God. He will turn them away. Without repenting, they will face God’s wrath. Seeking eternal life is running away from those things that are unholy and unrighteous. Stop doing wrong things and start following the right things. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, but His face is against those who seek evil.

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Corruption

Posted on January 29, 2025 by heatonkent

For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. (Acts 13:36-37)

Corruption

The death of Jesus was not a chance happening. Before time began, God planned for His Son to die for the sins of the world. The coming of Jesus to the earth was in the fullness of time. There was no other time in history that would complete the work and mission of Jesus than the time of the Roman Empire. Jesus began His ministry at the age of thirty and would be killed nearly three years later. During His ministry, Jesus often spoke of His “hour” and when that time would come. There was a prescribed time for Jesus to die and the Lord worked everything according to the time plan.

Old Testament prophecies spoke about the death of Jesus. The story of Jonah became a metaphorical foretelling of the death of Jesus. During His ministry, Jesus referred to His death as the time Jonah was swallowed by a great fish. The sign of the prophet Jonah became the story of Jesus. Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, and Jesus would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. There was a divine plan (and promise) that Jesus would not remain in the tomb longer than three days.

The prophecy about the death of Jesus established that when Jesus was buried, He would not see corruption. This refers to the corruption of the body. According to Jewish culture, when someone died, they were buried the same day. After the burial, the family would spend three days with the deceased, mourning and grieving. Before the close of the third day, the tomb would be sealed because, near the fourth day, the body began to show visible signs of decay. There was great concern when Jesus decided to raise Lazarus from the dead on the fourth day. Martha, the sister of Lazarus, warned Jesus about the stench of anyone who had been dead for four days. The power of the miracle was not only that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead but that when Lazarus came forth, he was whole again without the decay of death.

When Paul arrived in Antioch in Pisidia, he and his party went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. After reading the Law and the Prophets, Paul was allowed to speak. He told the story of Jesus of Nazareth based on the events of the Old Testament. Paul tells the audience how the Jews killed Jesus in fulfillment of the word of God. But God raised Him from the dead and was seen by many people after He rose. The apostle then compares David and Jesus as an illustration of the plan of God. David died and was buried, and his body decayed and corrupted until it was nothing but dust. Jesus died and was buried, but His body did not experience the decay of death. Before the decay of death (sin) took hold of the body of Jesus, God raised Him.

The resurrection of Jesus is powerful because of the resurrection, but the third-day resurrection confirmed the power of God over death. Jesus did not suffer corruption, paving the way for His followers to believe in the final resurrection when all corruption will be removed. God will take away all pain, suffering, and tears. There is no corruption for the child of God. Death is certain, but without the corruption of sin to face the wrath of God. There is joy in knowing Jesus did not suffer corruption so that I can look forward to death with no corruption – eternal glory.

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Satan, The Serpent Of Old

Posted on January 28, 2025 by heatonkent

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9)

Satan, The Serpent Of Old

The great nemesis of all things righteous is the adversary, the Devil. He first appears in scripture as the serpent who deceived Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. It is not until the end of the Bible that he is positively identified as the “serpent of old” and that he deceives the whole world. The Bible is the story of Jesus Christ and the scheme of salvation. Everything in the revelation of God points to the need to save man from the wrath of God. There is much that is omitted from the pages of holy writ because it does not pertain to the plan and revelation of God.

Everything known about Satan is found in the Bible. What is known about the Devil is limited because the Bible is not about his story. He is a central figure in the scheme of redemption because Jesus came to destroy his works. There are two things certain that can be known about Satan: his origin is unclear, and his future is certain. He is certainly real and a formidable force to reckon with. He is not to be underestimated. Through his influence, he brought the world to its knees, bringing about the nearly total destruction of humanity in the days of Noah. Only eight souls were saved.

Satan has limited power. He cannot force anyone to do anything. When he tempted Eve, he deceived her into believing a lie, but Eve was the one who took the fruit. She and Adam were punished because they made that decision. Sin is always a choice. Satan is an influence that tempts the heart of man, but he has no power to make someone do something they do not want to do. Jesus demonstrated His power over Satan when He cast out the demons possessing mortals during His ministry. No demon disobeyed the word of the Son of God. All were under the authority of the word of God.

Nothing is known about the origin of Satan, and it is a fool’s errand to make any supposition about where he came from. The Bible is the only source of information about the deceiver, and if it is not in the Bible, it is not truth. God did not reveal the nature of the Devil, thereby shutting the door on any speculation. The story about Satan is not about his origins but his future. Jesus came to destroy Satan, and when the Son of God rose from the dead, He accomplished the divine will of the Father. Satan tried to destroy Jesus throughout His life and thought he had gained the upper hand when he saw the world kill God’s Son. What he did not realize is the death of Jesus would be nothing more than an injury to the heel of the foot; while the resurrection of Jesus would strike a blow to the head of Satan. God prophesied this in the Garden of Eden when he pronounced a sentence upon the woman.

Through the resurrection of Jesus, the future of the Devil is sealed. Jesus spoke a great deal about Hell in His ministry. He told the disciples that Hell was prepared for the Devil and his angels. God never intended to condemn men to an eternal fire. It was set to be the punishment of Satan and his angels. But rebellious men will join the Devil in eternal torment because of their obedience to the wiles of the Devil. Satan knows what is coming. He fully understands his existence is set to burn in the lake of fire and brimstone. His future is sealed by the hand of God. There is nothing that will change that pronouncement.

Where Satan comes from does not matter. What will happen to Satan does not matter. The only thing that should concern anyone is to answer the question: where will I be in eternity? Most people (according to Jesus) will be with Satan and his angels. The majority of people that have existed do exist, and will exist on the planet will go to an eternal place of horror, darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth, and everlasting punishment. The few who serve God in righteousness will find the blessings of Abraham’s bosom and an eternal home with God in Heaven. The only person that matters is you. It is your decision to be saved or lost. If you are lost, you cannot blame Satan. You both will be spending eternity in Hell. You can choose to follow Jesus Christ. If you love Jesus, you will obey His word. The blessing of obedience is eternal life. Don’t let Satan take away eternal life. You will have to decide.

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Seeking The Right Answers

Posted on January 27, 2025 by heatonkent

I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things, to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. (Ecclesiastes 7:25)

Seeking The Right Answers

God created man to be inquisitive, asking questions, seeking what is beyond the horizon, and investigating the unknown. It is in the nature of man to know more about his world. He is driven to discover greater meanings in life and understand the whys of things in life. Only man has the ability to formulate knowledge that separates him from the animal world. A monkey can ride a bicycle, but only a human can build one. Animals do not have a moral conscience. All men have a moral conscience. What separates man from animals is the knowledge of right and wrong.

From the beginning of time, man has been a free moral agent. God gave Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He commanded them not to eat its fruit, but they disobeyed His word. God removed them from the garden and gave them a law to live by to find righteousness. There has never been a time in the history of the world that man has known and recognized law. What has challenged the heart of man is whether he needed to seek the wisdom of God. From the earliest days, men began to call upon the name of the Lord. When the days of Noah came, men had stopped calling on the name of the Lord and filled their lives with foolishness and madness. God destroyed all life on earth, with the exception of Noah and his family (eight people).

The difference between a righteous man and a fool is what they seek in life. A wise man will seek the wisdom of what life is all about. Fools follow the senseless carnal pleasures that lead to destruction. Wise men commit themselves to understanding, learning, and searching for wisdom and truth from the Creator. That knowledge also affirms the foolishness of following the pleasures of life. Wisdom is a two-edged sword. It grants the knowledge of truth and the stupidity of an evil fool. True wisdom is not found in the human dogmas of men. God created man and gave him His word to guide, protect, and help him find eternal life. A fool rejects God and tries to find happiness in his own wisdom.

A wise man will decide to learn everything there is to know about what life has to offer from the view of God. In this process, the wisdom of folly is exposed for the senseless pursuits of worldly pleasures. Wisdom then guards the heart from those things that are vanity. God made man with a purpose and gave him the knowledge he needed to fulfill that purpose. Only when a man surrenders his will to the purpose of God will he find true worth and happiness. The answers to life can only be found in the word of God. Any other pursuit is vanity and foolishness.

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