If we love Jesus Christ, we will allow His Word to change us (Eph 5:25-27; James 1:22-25); for indeed, HE IS THE WORD, (John 1:1-4; 1 John 1:1-4). We do not need to be theologians or learned men and woman to comply with this basic principle! Yet, we can by no means adhere to this important principle if we do not KNOW the Word of God, and we can only know the Word by reading it regularly and studying it in context of its full coverage.
In the passage of the sower in Matthew 13, Messiah indicates that the field of the harvest will not only contain wheat but amongst the wheat, the enemy will also sow ‘tares.’ The word ‘tare’ in this passage refers to “Darnel” – a weed resembling wheat! Envisioning this parable, we can imagine a field sown with wheat; yet, among the ‘true grain’ sprouted some weeds with the ‘outer appearance’ resembling the wheat. In the light of this understanding, Messiah prohibits the disciples who wanted to immediately remove the ‘fake grain,’ so to speak. He commands them to leave the grain until the time of ‘the final harvest at the threshing floor,’ . . .
Before the Lord will appear in His great glory and splendour to establish His glorified Kingdom on this earth with the blowing of the 7th and Last Trumpet, this generation will witness two very distinct events, namely a great apostasy and the revelation of the Antichrist. The apostle Paul emphasizes that these two events are forerunners to the Day of the Lord, and that the Body should ‘not be quickly shaken from their composure or be disturbed by a spirit or a message or a letter. Let us thus heed this warning and be vigilant . . .
Baptisms, it seems, would become one of the greatest controversies in the Body of Messiah. There are two extreme doctrines on water baptism, marginalizing Believers into those who believe that baby baptism seals children into the covenant of salvation, and those who immerge repentant Believers into water as a testimony of their identification with the death and resurrection of Messiah. Many sincere Believers assert . . .
In fact, if we see these things coming to pass, let us take courage, remembering the words of Luke, saying, ‘ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near . . .
What separates the five wise virgins form the five foolish virgins in this parable is not the lamps, but the oil! They all kept their lamps ready, but half of the virgins were ready to enter the time of distress with ‘extra oil,’ while the other half had none to trim their lamps. This parable calls all virgins . . .
The first question asked by the Lord is, ‘Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?’. A slave, in typology, indicates a position in relationship, namely one who is in service of a superior master. A slave is . . .
There is one central theme in Messiah’s teachings in the parables relating the season of His Second Appearance, namely to be sober and alert . . .
If a teacher adheres to the foundation of the gospel as laid down by the 12 Apostles, namely ‘that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared,’ having shown Himself as the resurrected Son of God (1 Cor 15:1-8), we carefully proceed to judge how he continues to build on this foundation, for false teachers will eventually . . .
The close connection between teaching the true Word of God and the office of a prophet becomes evident in the second epistle of the apostle Peter. Peter warns, ‘But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction . . .
Contemplative Prayer has been practiced by mystics for ages. This form of prayer is now known among the believing communities, especially among the Emergent Church, as “centered prayer.” This very disturbing practice has become part of many congregations, and many sincere people are not discerning the severe dangers of engaging in this form of meditative prayer. As always, the Deceiver inspires false teachers to quote Scriptures out of context, drawing these people in to an ancient form of occult practice, and thus opening themselves to ‘other spirits,’ (1 Tim 4:1; 1 John 4:1).
A new movement is emerging in this postmodern age, especially among traditional churches. Having lost the power of the true gospel, and leaving people with a religious form of worship (2 Tim 3:5), many are searching for the place of the church in modern society, the true power of the gospel, and the relevance of the Word in the time we live. We do see many Believers living defeated lives, lacking the powerful testimony of the early church who was willing to die for the truth, (1 Cor 2:4-5; Gal 6:14). Admitting the legitimate case at hand, it is indeed time for us all to heed the prophet Jeremiah’s call to ‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls,’ (Jer 6:16). Nonetheless, many of those who lead the post-modern emergent movement reject the Word as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and are moving away from the foundations laid by the apostles and prophets of old, (Eph 2:19-22).
The prophet Amos had a vision of the LORD standing by a vertical wall with a plumb line in His hand, warning that He was not going to spare His people Israel any longer, for their measurement of righteousness was perverted, and they corrupted their inheritance with false worship, (Amos 7:7-9). One of the most prominent warnings given by Messiah as a sign of His imminent return is the increase of deception in the latter days, a deception so refined . . .
Hyper-Grace teachers, among whom Joseph Prince is most prominent, claim that believers should not be guilt-ridden and live in fear of falling into sin, for the price for sin is once for all paid by the death of Messiah, (Heb 10:12). They simply claim that you need not ‘worry about sin in your life . . .
Apostasy, in Greek ‘apostasia,’ means ‘to stand from’ or ‘to depart from.’ The concept is not new to the faith once for all delivered to the early church, for the Jewish believers of the early church were quite familiar with the term. Israel, who were entrusted with the oracles of God, the priesthood and Temple Worship, and who understood God’s standard of righteousness through the Ten Commandments (Rom 9:3-5), was considered apostate when they chose to depart from the truth entrusted to them by Moses and the prophets. The Hebrew word for apostasy is ‘meshubah,’ having its root in ‘to turn away from the Lord’ instead of ‘to turn from your sin in repentance.’ The basic understanding of the word in Hebrew in ‘to fall away’ or ‘to backslide.’
About Liezel
Liezel is a motivated and passionate student of the Word with a strong zeal for the truth. Her end time study on the book of Revelation developed into a few Women’s Study Groups, mainly in Jerusalem. Eventually, after 16 years of study, the teachings were transcribed into a study book; Autumn Feasts in Revelation – Unveiling the Glory of God. The book encourages a self-study, guiding the reader through the book of Revelation in the light of the Old Testament prophecies, and New Testament predictions of the end times. Under the authority and covering of her husband, she has taught many Bible studies since the Lord has led them to minister in Israel. She also counseled many people, guiding them back to biblical principles.