Dan A. Rodriguez Articles, Books, and Podcasts

A Great Falling Away

Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings. (1 Timothy 4:1 NET)
10 And then many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one other. 11 Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 This Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:10-14 Tree of Life Version)
1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion (the falling away, the apostasy) comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NET)
Many deserting or turning away from the faith means it will be a great falling away or apostasy, and it is already happening! You are foolish if you don't see it! 
That is a subject that my dad, Israel Rodriguez, preached about often. After I received Jesus in December of 1973, I watched and heard my dad preach and minister for 10 years before he passed away and went to heaven in 1983. He must have preached hundreds of times about the great falling away, the antichrist, the mark of the beast, the wrath of God, judgment, hell, and the lake of fire. He preached often from the book of Revelation and the prophetic Scripture that dealt with the end-times. Of course, he also preached about healing, repentance, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and tongues, and the promises of God, but he leaned heavily on the former.
Unfortunately, I did not want to pay too much attention to his messages of hell, fire, brimstone. When he would begin to preach on all that, I thought it was either condemnation or bordering on it, but it was delivering, healing, and saving truth. I often disliked those fiery messages because I thought they weren’t “good news.” How wrong I was! Did you read my previous post on “Gospel Preaching Versus Anemic Sermonettes”? It will straighten out wrong ideas about what is Gospel preaching.
My understanding of “good news” has changed dramatically since my dad preached those mighty sermons, especially over the last 12 years. It was a slow process of learning for me. Mentally, I am pretty sharp, but this has little to do with mental capacity and everything to do with receiving spiritual understanding by the Spirit. It took a while to get this straight in my spirit. 
Let me summarize good news preaching by stating this:
“Good news” is whatever the Holy Spirit gives you to minister to the people, based on the Scripture. That is true even when the message is harsh, tough, and offensive. If it comes from Him, then even if it is speaking about God’s wrath and the lake of fire, then that is “good news”, and the anointing will rest upon it. 
During the ministry of Hispanic evangelist, Yiye Avila (from Puerto Rico-now deceased), I learned that he often preached and ministered along the same lines as my dad. After a message like that you wondered who could receive Jesus. To my surprise, deaf ears and blind eyes would be healed, and the crippled would walk in every one of his crusades. The miracles were intense, varied, and abundant. 
During a Yiye Avila crusade in Miami (around 1980), my Dad and I sat on the platform in the section reserved for visiting ministers. Dad knew Yiye for many years, even before Yiye was saved. Yiye preached for almost two hours about the antichrist, the great falling away, the great white throne judgment, the lake of fire, and the coming of the Lord. He also preached about living holy lives and being a witness. Then he prayed for the sick and the power of God electrified the place. It was like sticking your finger in the electrical outlet! Paralytics walked and many other miracles took place. Wheelchairs, walking sticks, and braces were lifted in the air above people's heads, and the miracles flowed like water. It was awesome to watch and hear the mighty healing and miracle testimonies. After that, he called for people to come to repentance and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. Hundreds responded to the call! Some people ran to the front to receive Jesus. The gospel was preached as a witness (undeniable proof or evidence), and people streamed to the front! 
John the Baptizer preached “good news” to the people that came to hear him. (Luke 3:18) Have you ever read what he preached? Let me give you a taste of it:
John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9)
You won’t hear that in most churches!
Those words came from the fiery neighborhood prophet of God! How would you like to wake up to, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” Then, Luke 3:18 has the unmitigated gall to call ALL he preached GOOD NEWS. It was good news because it woke people up to the truth and brought many to repentance! It also brought persecution and vitriol from the religiously brainwashed people, and those that loved their sin.
It was good news when John rebuked the adulterous relationship Herod had with his brother’s wife! Herodias was still married to Phillip, but she left him and went away and married Herod the tetrarch! (Luke 3:19, 20) It was adultery times two! How could that rebuke and others for Herod’s many sins be good news? In John’s case, the “good news” preaching led to his martyrdom. Herodias deceived Herod. She made her daughter dance sensually before Herod and he fell for the trap. The dancing forced Herod’s hand after he promised the girl anything she wanted. She asked for the Baptizer’s head on a platter! Herod granted the wish. 
My dad always gave many Scripture references during his anointed messages. He was an excellent student of the Word. Often, he would stay up most of the night to study and pray. To top it off, my dad was an anointed, passionate, authoritative, Bible preacher. His preaching oozed with zeal, authority, and power. Let me add this: I saw some of the most amazing miracles under his ministry that I have ever seen.
I’ve seen many wonderful miracles and healings as I have ministered the anointing of the Holy Spirit to the people through the laying on of hands. There have been many undeniable proofs! I saw the same and more under dad’s ministry. Many were saved, healed, baptized in the Holy Spirit with tongues, and delivered from demons under that anointing he carried and wore so well. Dad had manifestations of unusual miracles like Paul did. (Acts 19:11, 12)
As a side note: Don't ever return to the Covid-caving churches and pastors that closed their doors for months, and became supporters of antichrist activities, UNLESS they publicly and vocally repent of their sins! Why? They are either already dead or they are dying UNLESS they repent! (Luke 13:3, 5) Any and every church that closed, supported the antichrist agenda of closing down the assembling of the church as a body (Hebrews 10:25), rejected continuing evangelism, baptism in water, (Matthew 28:19, 20), altar calls, laying hands on the sick for healing and anointing with oil for healing and repentance (Mark 16:18; James 5:14-16), the Lord's supper (1 Corinthians 11:25-30), the laying on of hands to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues (Acts 19:6), and just about every other church activity! What about baby dedications, preaching the Word to the saints, visiting prisons, hospitals, and performing wedding ceremonies? It was a suspension of Church fellowship and activities that totally contradict what the church in Acts did when they were commanded to stop preaching in the Name of Jesus and end their meetings! (See Acts chapters 4 and 5!) I will come back to that in a moment. 
Repentance is not possible without being brutally honest with yourself. Blame others for your sins and you will NEVER get out of them! 
I have seen people do that. I've done that. It is like Adam and Eve after they sinned. Adam blamed God for giving him "that woman" that gave him the forbidden fruit to eat. Eve blamed the fact that the fruit looked good to eat and it was all the serpent's fault! (See Genesis 3.) There was no excuse. It was their fault, but they refused to admit that they were at fault, and they did not repent, at least not in Genesis 3. 
Never postpone repentance! Never! Postponing repentance is like playing Russian roulette consistently with a .44 magnum revolver! Sooner or later you will eat a bullet!
It could cost you eternity with God and you wind up in a devil’s hell if you postpone repentance. Hell would have received me had I died in the condition I was in before repenting. I was a mess. I was a sinner, even though I had been an anointed minister of the Gospel. I had gone back to wallow around in the muck and miry vomit of the world.
For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them. It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:20-22 NASB)
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB)
Thank God for the gift of repentance! Thank God for His mercy and goodness! He never fails to forgive and cleanse from unrighteousness all those that will humble themselves and repent of their wicked ways and turn back to God! It will work even for backslidden preachers! I am living proof of that!
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1John 1:9 NASB)
The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy. (Proverbs 28:13 NET)
But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble… Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. (James 4:6, 10 NET)
What did I do to get out of that demon-inspired and fear ridden mess that began March/April of 2020?
I quickly turned off all social and the lying news media. Yes, all the alphabet soup news had to go! Next, I hooked into ministries, churches, and pastors that refused to bow their knee, and were propagating the truth. Finally, I quit giving my tithes and offerings to the dead, and ONLY tithe and give to two churches that NEVER surrendered to the lying Covid antichrist spirit. That is what changed me completely! I am getting REFIRED, RENEWED, and REFRESHED every time I go to their services or attentively watch them online! 
I didn’t want to be one to speak up now and tell pastor, ministers, and Christians all this via writing. Some of it is really embarrassing and it certainly doesn’t get you invitations to preach! It is too graphic and thorny a reality for most pastors and churches to take in. They lack the fortitude, the “testicles” to face the truth about their compromise and sin during this Covid-lying mess. You better find your "testicles" in a hurry before you are destroyed by the enemy!   
Unfortunately, the Spanish-speaking and Latin churches (I am from Puerto Rico) folded like a deck of cards when the Covid mess hit. Many of those churches in the U. S. A. are still closed because they lacked the “spine” to take a stand for the Lord! I say, REPENT NOW, all you cowardly Latin pastors and churches that submitted to the lies of the devil and closed your doors, agreed with the wicked government lying narrative, and obeyed an antichrist spirit. Closed churches with all their social distancing, alcohol gels, "vaccine" compliance, and masks, obeyed the false prophets of Covid (like Baal)! Many lukewarm Christians in the Latin churches are cowardly afraid of a virus with a 99.97% post-infection survivability rate! Seriously?! That's not even the issue. The issue is your damning unbelief against Jesus being your healer and your refusal to trust in Him in the midst of it all!
Do you remember the scriptural truth that all the cowards and the cowardly submissive will have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone! You don’t? See, I answered for you. Here it is.
But as for the cowards and the ignoble and the contemptible and the cravenly lacking in courage and the cowardly submissive, and as for the unbelieving and faithless, and as for the depraved and defiled with abominations, and as for murderers and the lewd and adulterous and the practitioners of magic arts and the idolaters (those who give supreme devotion to anyone or anything other than God) and all liars (those who knowingly convey untruth by word or deed)—[all of these shall have] their part in the lake that blazes with fire and brimstone. This is the second death. (Revelation 21:8 Amplified Bible)
It is time to repent for being cowards! The unbelieving-faithless are the unfaithful to the Lord and His Word. Right now, many people in Christianity qualify for at least the first part of that verse! They are “scared to death” of a sickness because they don’t believe the Scripture when it tells us that Jesus bore their pains and carried their sicknesses and diseases! (Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4, 5; 1 Peter 2:24) They don’t put their trust and confidence in the Lord according to Psalms 91 and 103:1-5! They have fallen away from the faith or they deny the truths of God’s Word. You are bare and naked before God! (Hebrews 4:12, 13) You can’t hide anymore behind your worthless religion, church, denomination, or pastor. Your façade has fallen off. With you wearing that external mask, your lukewarm spiritual mask is showing! Your true colors are visible. You can’t deny your lukewarm-ness anymore. Everybody knows your true spiritual condition now. You have a form of godliness, but you DENY the power of God! (2 Timothy 3:5) 
The great falling away has begun! Don’t be fooled! It’s here now for all to see. It is not the time for “nice” preaching. Too much is at stake. “Nice” will not save or deliver anybody! I know some will disagree and think I am taking this too far, but more teaching along the fire and brimstone type messages are called for now. The church NEEDS this now to prepare to be presented to the Lord. Many need to repent before it's too late.
I was dismayed in 2008 when I saw that many pastors and ministers were falling for the deception espoused by hyper or pseudo (wrongly taught) grace, once-saved-always-saved, Calvinist teachers and prophets. I saw the direction they were headed with that ungodly teaching. I could see that they were leading themselves and those they were teaching into loose living and sinful lifestyles. They were teaching grace without repentance or faith-faithfulness. They were espousing doctrines of demons. At that time, the message of “repentance” flooded my heart and soul. Unfortunately, I didn’t take up the mantle of a “zeal” for repentance. I did not wear it very well. I kept putting it on and taking it off. It was extremely uncomfortable. It was way out of my comfort zone.
“Repentance” for the lukewarm and backslidden lit up my spirit again in 2013 and culminated in January of 2015 when my book, A CALL TO RETURN was published. The Church at large was not ready to hear or read about repentance. The book went over like a lead balloon. Hopefully, many are ready to be called out to repentance, but we must face an unfortunate truth. It could be that many are less likely to hear about needing to repent now that their lukewarm and cowardly façade is visible for all to see it. They could harden themselves. God wants to give them mercy, and He will give it IF they humble themselves! I believe all cowardly Christians will have the opportunity to repent. Whether they do repent or not will be on them. Let me say this. The open door of repentance for the lukewarm and for the rebellious or backslidden in the churches will come to an end. Don't let the door slam in your face!
Have you ever read Matthew 25:1-13? It is the parable of the ten virgins. Five were devoid of oil for their lamps or the anointing that produces light or the fire of the Spirit. They were asleep or they were not ready to meet the Lord. The five alert virgins with oil for their lamps were ready and they went into the wedding banquet with the Lord. The door was slammed shut and the five unprepared virgins were left outside with the words, "I never knew you." Have you ever heard that before? I quoted it above in Matthew 7:21-23 when speaking about the backslidden ministers. 
Thank God that many other ministers are stepping up with a message similar to this one. Some ministers are out there telling Christians-in-name-only to REPENT! They took up the zeal for repentance seriously and are running with it. I'm so blessed to see that!
I am the least likely for a mission like this one, at least in my own thinking. It is almost like the Lord is telling a joke by using me for anything in this area of ministry. Haha on the devil! You would think God would choose a “better qualified” candidate with no "history" against him. If you look at my past, it is fraught with stuff that would seemingly disqualify me here. Maybe God does the choosing of the “less likely” on purpose! No one can look at my history admirably! I certainly have NOTHING to offer anyone in my own self. In Christ there is EVERYTHING good and righteous to offer everyone that will receive from Him!
The message presented is very simple. Humble yourself and come to repentance! If you do that, He will show up mightily in your life, pull you out of the miry clay, and set your feet on a solid rock! How this message affects you will depend on you. Reject repentance and you are already signed up for your own horrific death. Accept repentance and God's holy presence will get in you and on you and supernatural change will take place in your life! Take the forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness that Jesus bought and paid for with His own blood! Repentance is the way back to His goodness, mercy, and blessing! It is available right now! 
Do you know what is happening in the church right now? 
The Lord is sifting His Church like wheat. He started doing that a few years ago. It intensified many-fold in 2020. (Matthew 13:24-30, see below) The lukewarm and masquerading Christians (tares) were forced out of the closet! They couldn’t hide their unbelief and lukewarm-ness anymore. They are being rooted out and will be separated. If they don’t repent, they will finally be gathered up and burned in the fire. Jesus taught that ominous and damning truth. I am just a repeater of His message. 
Another parable He set forth before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while he was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed also darnel (weeds resembling wheat) among the wheat and went on his way. So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the darnel (weeds) appeared also. And the servants of the owner came to him and said, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have darnel shoots in it? He replied to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, “Then do you want us to go and weed them out?” But he said, “No, lest in gathering the wild wheat (weeds resembling wheat), you root up the (true) wheat along with it. Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather the darnel first and bind it in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my granary.” (Matthew 13:24-30 AMPC)
That is a truth that most evangelical, Pentecostal, Word-of Faith, Prophetic, Spirit-filled, or independent churches stopped preaching long ago. Forget the art and seeker-friendly sissified gatherings that many have mistakenly labeled as “churches”. They are pusillanimous social clubs (pubs). They never preach the truth of Scripture because they no longer preach the Bible. You will hear in those weak churches, “We just preach love and acceptance”. Instead, they should be preaching “repentance and the kingdom of God” in the fire of the Holy Spirit like Jesus did!
Now after John was imprisoned, Jesus went into Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. He said, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel!” (Mark 1:14, 15 NET)
Repentance for the forgiveness of sins is what Jesus commanded us to preach in His name to all nations, but most churches do not preach repentance. They preach “feel good” messages that never confront sin.
…And repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (Luke 24:47 NKJV}
From that time Jesus began to preach this message: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near!” (Matthew 4:17)
The apostles were authorized and anointed by the Spirit through the ministry of Jesus. Here is what they preached and did.
So they went out and preached that all should repent. They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with olive oil and healed them. (Matthew 6:12, 13)
Have you heard all the sissified monotone voices of some preachers that are more feminine than they are masculine? Have you seen the clown show at the churches with those “pastors” wearing their tight-fitting obscene jeans with holes in them? Are they in their mid-life crisis now? Are they really men or are they conforming more to the world’s gender neutrality abomination and becoming more femininized? Instead of being like John Wayne, they are more like “Jane” Wayne, and that might be pushing it a lot!
Monotone preachers are not the fiery and very masculine hero prophets and preachers like Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptizer, Paul, Peter, James, Stephen, or Jesus. That is only naming a few in Scripture. How about preaching like Whitmore, Dowie, Lake, Richey, Bosworth, Wigglesworth, others from the last few centuries that preached with the fire of God! Many today don't even have the guts or “testicles” that women like Sarah, Deborah, Esther, Rahab, or Jael had. Jael drove a tent peg with a mallet through the temples of Sisera (enemy army general) into the ground while he was hiding under a rug and slept (Judges 4)! That godly woman had no fear of repercussions or even of death! What a woman! What about women like Maria Woodworth-Etter, Aimee Semple-McPherson, Lillian Yeomans, and others? Yep, the sissified monotone preachers are a bunch of “Jane” Wayne’s and don't even come close to having that kind of fortitude! 
I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally. … I tell you, No; but unless you repent (change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally. (Luke 13:3, 5 AMPC)
Getting back to John the Baptizer, remember that he was sent to tell the religious leaders what hell-bound sinners they really were, that they had to repent, and to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord! Tough ministry, but it was righteous. It was not glamorous and was greatly despised by many that were bound by religious demons and going to hell. Their only option was to repent!
Hey John, please pass the locusts and wild honey! Camel’s hair? No. I’ll pass on that. Too itchy. I think I will stick to cotton. Hanes will do fine. T.M.I., I know, but I don’t care. I got over caring what others think about me or this message. Read my lips: I DON’T CARE! I do care about people coming to repentance. I just don’t care if you like me or you don’t. It is liberating when you come to realize that likes or dislikes are irrelevant. Take that to your Fakebook  or Twit page! That was on purpose.
You should already understand that NOWHERE in the entire New Testament are we told to shut down our churches because the government tells us to. The early Church would not stop preaching in the Name of Jesus even after severe warnings, threats of imprisonment, or beatings. They would not shut up or shut down!
But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.” Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” After further threats they let them go. (Acts 4:17-20 NIV)
Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail… “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood. Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!... They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah. (Acts 5:17-18, 28-29, 40-42 NIV)
BIG Haha! Threaten them, command them not to preach and teach, jail them, and beat them with whips, and they go right back out to continue with their ministry! They NEVER stopped! That is what the churches should have done, but they didn’t! They were told to shut down and they disobeyed the Scripture and the example of the apostles in the book of Acts, and they bowed their knee to Covid restrictions and mandates! Repent! Do it now, and then repent publicly because your actions were public when you surrendered to the world and the devil!
We are supposed to heal the sick, and not be afraid of any disease! I’ve laid hands on a lot of sick people. Some had transmittable diseases. I’ve never been sick over any of that. Never! Churches allowed the devil to stop their ministries, many of them for months! Some of them were not doing the Word anyway with their sissified and corrupted ministries of preaching fluffy cotton candy messages. These must be confronted with the truth that THEY SINNED, and that they must repent, that is, IF they want mercy and grace from the Lord. If they don’t repent, their fate is already sealed with the enemy. They need to get out of that stinking religious trash and begin to preach the Word without compromise.
What will it be pastors and churches that have succumbed to the enemy? What will be your next step? Choose this day whom you will serve!
And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15 NKJV)
Download a free PDF copy of “A CALL TO RETURN: Restoring the Roots of our Relationship with Jesus” here unless you want to pay for a physical copy or purchase more. Barnes and Noble, Christian Book , Westbow Press have it available. It would be good seed to get extra copies and send them out. It would benefit the Kingdom of God. The church at large needs this message more right now than ever before! Buy a thousand copies and send them out! I receive VERY little per copy sold. Making money was never the reason for the book. The point of the book was and is to bring to repentance the lukewarm and backslidden in the churches. 
How tragic that more churches didn’t listen to this message in 2015. Had they done so much of what has happened could have been averted. What can be done now? You can help get this timely message out by sending this article to everybody you know. Forward the podcast. Send them "A Call To Return." Do your part to get this message out. Be like an evangelist and be fervent about it! 
________________
Now to today’s podcast message:

Could this be a Forerunner to the Mark of the Beast?

I am for America, and I am for the truth, even if it is inconvenient, tough, offensive to feelings, and goes contrary to everybody and everything! 
I am against bad government and the violation of our constitutional rights. I am against government on any level ordering the closure of churches and businesses. I am against wearing useless masks, social distancing, and surrendering to extremely dangerous so called "vaccines." I am against "vaccine" passports and restricting access to businesses and government buildings based on vaccination! I am against injectable medical chips.
Many Christians believe that the mark of the beast will be something overt. I agree, but it will come as a deception. In other words, it will be clearly from the devil to those that can see spiritually, but you must remember that Satan loves to transform himself into an angel of light! (2 Corinthians11:14) The devil loves masquerade and playing the part of an angel of light. So do his masquerading ministers and churches! (2 Corinthians 11:15) They are those that "look" righteous but are not because they don't obey the Scripture. They have a "form of godliness but denying the power of God". (2 Timothy 3:5) OK now. Back to the subject.
I don't believe it will necessarily have a literal 666 in it. Why? That would be too clear even for the world. Where would the deception be in a literal 666 tattooed onto your forehead or your right hand? Listen closely and read why I have come to this conclusion.
"He also caused everyone (small and great, rich and poor, free and slave) to obtain a mark on their right hand or on their forehead. Thus no one was allowed to buy or sell things unless he bore the mark of the beast - that is, his name or his number. This calls for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the beast’s number, for it is man’s number, and his number is 666." (Revelation 13:16-18 NET)
The number 7 refers to God's perfection as in the 7th day after He finished creation with the creation of man. Remember that it was Adam, the creation of God on this 6th day, that betrayed God. The number 666 represents the number of a man. It is something of man, for man, and made by man. “Earthly, natural, and demonic” (James 3:15), and “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life are from the world and not from the Father” (1 John 2:16) seem to fit the bill of 666. You can believe what you want, but the mark of the beast is going to be something that will make absolute sense to large portions of the world. If it does have a literal 666, it will be well hidden. It will not be obvious because it will be a great lie and deception from the father of lies, the devil. (John 8:44) The world and many capitulating "Christians" will fall for Satan’s mark because it will be "wisdom" and only plain smart to get an injectable chip, QR (invisible to the naked eye) code, or some other device under the skin that will eventually wind up tracking movement, medical and bank information, personal data such as address, social media, cell number, family, occupation, social security number, driver's license, etc., and allow you to buy or sell. 
If you cannot see how all these Covid restrictions and mandates are training the world and preparing weak "Christians" to receive the mark of the beast, then I really feel sorry for you! If you can't already see the similarities between the mark of the beast and all the Covid mess, then even the Scripture above will seem far-fetched to you.  
I am shocked by the number of pastors and Christians ignoring this. It is pitiful to watch people grovel before the huge deception of wearing masks, social distancing, getting an unproven mRNA experimental “vaccine,” or one that alters your genes. Many pastors do not want to hear any of this because they caved and surrendered to all the Covid mess and closed their churches without resistance. They are too proud to repent and admit that closing the churches was a demoniacally inspired SIN! Read the previous 3 articles to get the fullness of these comments, and why I am saying this. 
Do you know what will happen to all those that wind up taking the mark of the beast? It's not pretty!
"If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, that person will also drink of the wine of God’s anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. And the smoke from their torture will go up forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have no rest day or night, along with anyone who receives the mark of his name.” (Revelation 14:9-11 NET)
All these Covid restrictions and mask mandates, the talk of medical chipping, digital passports, and more seem like a trial run for the antichrist. Could the man of sin or lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:3-12) be coming just around the corner? Unless the Church rises up against this evil NOW, the great apostasy already rearing it's ugly head will continue to grow and expand, and our time will be cut short upon the earth. Listen closely to the words of Jesus.
21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. Matthew 24:21, 22 NIV)
The followers of Jesus that serve God and obey His Word, these are the elect. That clarification is just in case you are wondering.
Don’t think that there is no danger of the days being cut short here. They will be cut short because Jesus also said, “As it was in days of Noah so shall it be at the coming of the Son of man.” (Matthew 24:37) The time for the end is fast approaching because of the violence, corruption, and wickedness that has increased exponentially in all the earth. (Compare Genesis 6:5, 9, 10)
Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah,” and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth-pains. ‘Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. (Dan’s note: All those that teach an extreme and unbiblical “grace”, a Calvinist theology that espouses the false doctrine of “once saved always saved”, or so-called "eternal security", you are in direct violation of the words of Jesus!) And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. ‘So, when you see standing in the holy place “the abomination that causes desolation,” spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no-one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no-one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!  Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equaled again. ‘If those days had not been cut short, no-one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah!” or, “There he is!” do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.  See, I have told you in advance. ‘So if anyone tells you, “There he is, out in the desert,” do not go out; or, “Here he is, in the inner rooms,” do not believe it.  For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.” (Matthew 24:4-29 NIV) 
I truly believe that we are in what Jesus called the "birth pangs." Things will progressively get worse for those without God's Psalms 91 protection!
Don't despair! There is good news here because God is moving in the earth! There will be great areas where the anointing and the power of the Spirit will be manifested in consistently greater and greater real “Book of Acts” style signs, wonders, and miracles. The rest of the world will be going from extremely bad to getting even worse. The gospel of the Kingdom will be preached as a testimony, which means with evidence that cannot be denied! It's not over yet because the "fat lady" has not sung her last opera, and the real Church of Jesus Christ will fulfill its mission! We, all the true believers and followers of Jesus, will be covering the earth with the gospel with undeniable testimony or evidence! There is a short period of time for this to happen before the time is cut short and we are out of here!
The Lord sees the condition of the planet with the apostasy of "Christians" that has already begun. Yes, these were real Christians at one time because you can't turn away from faith and your love grow cold unless at one time you had you had a turned on faith and piping hot love for God and His kingdom! (Compare 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 2:4, 5) Because of the exponential growth of lawlessness and believers' love growing cold and turning away from faith-faithfulness, and because of hatred, violence, corruption, and wickedness spreading on the earth, He will finally cut the time short. Suddenly, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 and the catching away of the real Church will happen, and we will be caught up and meet the Lord in the air! Then, after that glorious event, the man of lawlessness or sin (the antichrist) will show up. Things will then unfold quickly in preparation for the physical return of the Lord to rule and reign upon the earth for a thousand years.
During the brief attempt of Satan's leader, the beast, to rule the world, things begin to happen all over the world that thwart his demonic plans. The wrath of God will come upon the kingdom of the antichrist. Everyone that worships the image of the beast and takes the mark of the beast will have horrible days of cataclysmic events.
Many lukewarm "Christians" that weren't caught up to meet the Lord in the air will be on earth at that time. I know that is shocking, but absolutely true. Those "Christians-in-name-only" fell away from the faith and lost their first love. Those masquerading Christians were spewed out of the mouth of the Lord (Revelation 3:14), and they will be here on the earth during Satan's attempt at world domination. 
The Covid mess is preparing lukewarm Christians now for the reception of the antichrist and his demonic mandates and totalitarian orders. If you fell for all this Covid mess and closed your church, if you wear useless masks, submit to deadly vaccines, and think Covid passports and injectable medical chips are good ideas, you are already a candidate for the mark of the beast! I have one word for you, "REPENT!" Don't waste another second! Do it now! REPENT because you are already in danger of the lake of fire!
We are so close, so VERY close to the end! I believe the end could still be a little bit further out in the future. BUT, I could be wrong and Jesus could meet us in the air today or tomorrow! We are getting close, and the Lord will come when He receives the order from the Father! Nobody but the Father knows the day or the hour, but it will not be like a thief in the night for God's people! (See Mark 13:32; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-7.) We can tell it is getting closer than its ever been, and we see more and more evidence of His appearing as the days go by. One would have to be spiritually blind and deaf not to see it!
2 Thessalonians 2:7 teaches that believers can be a restraining factor against the manifestation of the man of sin and lawlessness and his attempt to control the planet. By the way, the man of lawlessness will never rule the whole planet. From what I see in the book of Revelation, he will only get about a third of the planet to follow him and take his mark. The antichrist will try relentlessly to get the whole world on his bandwagon, but he will fail miserably. Everything goes south for him pretty quickly after he comes into ruling power. Here are a few of the supernatural events coming upon the antichrist's kingdom:
Angels preach from the heavens the eternal gospel to the people of the earth that they should only worship God and not follow the beast or get his mark! No internet or social media censorship will work against that! Haha! (Rev. 14)
The man of sin will have to contend with the glorious ministry of 144,000 Jewish, Holy Spirit-anointed evangelists roaming the earth making great gains for the kingdom of the Lord Jesus on the earth. Haha, again! (Rev. chapters 7 and 14)
Then, there will arise two fire-breathing prophets that will ruin every day for the devil! If you try to hurt them, whatever hurt you tried on them will boomerang and come on you! Oh, BIG haha! (Rev. 11)
On top of all that, the world falls apart in many ways with bloody waters everywhere, 100 pound hailstones, skin boils, attack of the scorpion-like creatures that sting people, and the water sources becoming poisonous. Oops and haha!
Great meteors and other weird unnatural phenomena will strike the earth mercilessly, and the antichrist won't be able to stop or control any of these horrors! The antichrist will be like the screaming guy or girl in a Freddy Kruger or Dawn of the Dead movie when they gets sliced and diced or eaten alive! Oh-oh! The tables will be turned on him! I love it! Victory!
All the devil's followers will gnaw their tongues in pain, refuse to repent, curse God, go through seemingly endless days of darkness, and they won't even be able to put themselves out of their misery! Death will take a hike! That means suicide will be out of the question. Jumping off a building, mountain, or bridge will bring you back to earth's temporary hell! No way out for the wicked and the woke! Hey, not to worry because it's temporary. Right? Wait for it, because it gets worse with the antichrist and the wicked being thrown into the lake of fire, and that will be forever! (See Revelation chapter 20 and 21. For all the plagues and wrath of God poured out on the earth during the reign of the antichrist, see Revelation 6, 8, 9, and 16.)
2 Peter 3:12 tells us that it is possible to “hasten” or to “hurry up” the coming of the Lord. The real Church has to be made presentable to the Lord as a holy Church without blemish. It is not anywhere near that yet!
To sanctify her (the Church) by cleansing with the washing of the water by the word, so that he (Jesus) may present the church to himself as glorious—not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. (Ephesians 5:26, 27)
The Church is not ready to be presented to the Lord! Frankly, the Church seems further away than ever to being presentable! Jesus is not presenting to Himself a slutty, dirty, despicably dressed, and raunchily ornate Church! He is not presenting to Himself a a surrendering-to-the-enemy, capitulating, crippled, powerless church. There are many that have a form of religiosity but deny the power of God! (2 Timothy 3:5) They are not carrying out the great commission according to Mark 16:15-19 and Matthew 28: 18-20. Most of the church is anemic right now! They are not bringing people to repentance, laying hands on the sick, casting out demons, ministering the Baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues, and preaching the Word without compromise. No internet-bought sissy sermons with no spiritual power or substance should be among us! All those art, seeker-friendly, and hyper-grace churches must repent or perish! (Luke 13:3, 5) Denominational churches that capitulated and closed their doors must repent! Most churches aren't ready for the return of the Lord! Most are cold and dead! I know that the Lord can accelerate things (redeem the time) so what could take decades can happen in weeks or months.
Even though Matthew 24:22 tells us that those days before the coming of the Lord will be cut short upon the earth for the sake of the elect, believers can hold back some of the evil things until they get their job done in the earth. Once that restraining is accomplished, the true and real Church can get its job done in the earth with less hindrance from the enemy, and get gloriously ready to meet the Lord in the air!
Paul wanted to get to Rome to minister, but Satan often hindered him. (Romans 15:22) He was also hindered or thwarted repeatedly from ministering to the Thessalonians. (2 Thes. 2:18) Don’t you think Satan is attempting to thwart what the Spirit of the Lord is wanting to do on the earth during these last days? Yes, the devil has already begun, and all this Covid trash is Satan's initial hindrance. We can develop great restraining power and overcome him as more and more of the Church takes a stand against him with the power of binding and loosing (Matthew 16:19), the authority, power, and presence of Jesus in His Name (Mark 16:17, 18), and the agreement of believers in faith (Matthew 18:19).
The mask mandates, church closures, social distancing, etc. all halted much of the work of Churches around the world. Don't you see Satan's hindering hand in stopping evangelism, church services, altar calls, and the ministering to the saints and the world with the power of God? Satan MUST be restrained! In the authority and power of Jesus, we can get it done!
It is true that the dragon (Satan) will try to make war against the saints and overcome them because we do the commandments of God and keep our faith in Jesus. That is the devil's plan, BUT… there is a plan from Heaven!!!
BUT they overcame him (the devil) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. (Revelation 12:17 NET)     
Glory to God!
The way to overcome the mark of the beast and the antichrist attempting to manifest himself even now, is found in the verses already quoted.
I left one out the following verse from Revelation 14 after the quote about what will happen to those that bow down, acquiesce, or surrender to the mark of the beast and worship his idol in 14:9-11. Look at verse 12!  
This requires the steadfast endurance (or perseverance) of the saints—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to (who keep) their faith in Jesus (or faithful to Jesus because lexically “faith” can mean faith or faithfulness). (Revelation 14:12 NET, but I added most of the NET notes in parentheses.)
We win as we stay unmovable from God’s Word or commandments and are faithful to Jesus! Churches and ministries closed down all over the planet because they were not following the Word or being faithful to Jesus! That can change, and it all starts with repentance!
Brethren, I pray that the Body of Christ, the real, anointed, on-fire-for-the-Lord, Church, that we unite in faith against the works of hell so we can have a reprieve or a little bit more of time before all hell breaks loose. I pray that we be washed continually by the Word and empowered gloriously by the Spirit of the Lord!
Now to the podcast message:

It May Not Be the Antichrist Yet, But It is Getting Close!

Scriptural and natural truth is coming at you right now that will change your perspective on what is going on in the earth. If anything sounds like rhetoric to you then read to the end and see the many links to information that proves what I am telling you. I am not imagining anything or coming up with things out of the air. There is solid, factual evidence, and you will find it at the end of this article.
Covid-19 was never as bad as espoused by the lying news media because it has a 99% survivability rate! The only vulnerable population were the people over 80 and those with underlying health issues. What Covid-19 did was to provide an open door to huge overreaching by the government, and to restrictions that took away our rights as American citizens. Of course, as bad as it is in America, it is much worse in other countries of the world. Totalitarian, fascist, and socialist government dreams and aspirations received a great push forward through the so-called pandemic. A one-world government takeover received an immense boost through the vehicle of a planned false pandemic.
To top it all off, many churches and ministers capitulated to forced closures. Many churches closed without so much as a whimper of disapproval or resistance. Good little sheep that they are! Many are still closed.
What are we seeing in all this? What is beginning to show its ugly head on the earth? You call yourself a Christian and can’t see it? Are you that blind and hard-hearted? May this message bust it open for you!
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NASB)
The antichrist man that opposes everything of God and His Word, the one that will force a one world government and religion isn’t supposed to be able to show his ugly head until the true and real Church is removed from the earth. Though that is true, we are seeing the antichrist spirit demonstrating great deception in the earth. Covid-19 is the tip of a humongous iceberg of lies and deceptions that has spread into all the earth. The worst part of it is that Satan has used the Covid mess to stop the church, restrict evangelism, impede laying hands on the sick, stop the preaching of the gospel message, stop having altar calls, and so on. That is the biggest lie he successfully spread into most parts of the world, and pastors, ministers, congregants, and entire denominations ate it up!
Could this be a part of the great apostasy prophesied above in Paul's words? Could this be that falling away from the faith? Could this be the beginning of these churches and ministers believing a lie and conforming to an antichrist system? It has all the trimmings, earmarks, and the massive signage that it is! It's like having the words "Great Apostasy" up in lights as the churches shut down all over the world contrary to the Word of God. You talk about "a deluding influence so that many will believe what is false" (a lie)! This is either that great apostasy or for sure the beginning of it showing up on the world's stage of events because the entire Church was affected by it. Nothing like that has ever happened.
The rest of Satan's plan is well under way with his attempt to remove human rights, make people subservient to governmental orders, shut down small businesses, restrict people’s movement and travel, and bring people to their knees before a tyrannical false god called Covid-19.
Don’t you get what Satan is trying to implement even now? Are we to ignore what is going on because it is too negative to contemplate and just focus on "good stuff" and the presence of God? My Bible tells me this:
So that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes). (2 Corinthians 2:13 NET)
The messages of many ministers online in this crucial time in history are about, for example, "7 steps to a better you" and "Why I lost my mojo"! That is not far from some of the stupid and irrelevant titles to messages you can hear a-dime-a-dozen on the net. It's amazingly stupid stuff that has no bearing on the nature of the hour. It's like many ministers are sticking their fingers in their ears refusing to look at this mess directly in the face for what it is, and recognize the enemy's hand in all these things. They are ignorant of Satan's devices and he is eating them for lunch! They are not standing AGAINST the wiles or schemes of the enemy at all, but instead, they they are acting like they are blind and deaf to the devil's lies. They don't know their enemy and it is costing them dearly! If you are not aware of Satan's tactics, guess what will happen? You will be outflanked and exploited by Satan. 
Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:11 NET)
The devil is trying to fast-track the beast governmental system of the antichrist and we, the true church, need to stand up and restrain him!
16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16, 17 NASB)
That you can't buy or sell should be disgustingly obvious with all the mask mandates and restrictions. There are many restaurants, stores, shops, grocery stores, government offices, etc. refusing to give you service without a mask!
Any way you slice and dice it, COVID-19 mandates came because of darkness growing in the land. They are not here because of faith, repentance, prayer, and DOING the Scripture. The mandates found an entrance because of a lack of the Church being doers of the Word! (James 1:22) If all the churches would have taken a stand against the lies of the devil and refused to close, America and other countries would not have suffered all the mess of lockdowns, curfews, social distancing, useless masks, and the rest of the perverted mess!
Watch as some of the churches begin opening. Their congregations will be gone or greatly decreased and never return. Church buildings are already going up for sale all over the country.
Remember all the churches that closed when the Covid mess started? Did you know churches are opening up as vaccination centers? They subjected themselves to a lie and a huge deception with masks, social distancing, and much more, and now they are serving as death and injury distribution centers. Death camps?
Church, it is time to repent! America, it’s time to repent! It is time to humble ourselves, pray, seek to please the Lord, repudiate any sinful practices and heresies so the Lord will respond from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land, yes, even from the tyrannical and totalitarian socialists and false pandemics! (2 Chronicles 7:13, 14)
All the churches and pastors in the land that surrendered to the antichrist demands of government need to repent for closing their churches! They received and implemented government orders that were contrary to Scripture.
Nowhere in the New Testament are we told to shut down our churches when the government decides we should. It tells us the exact opposite!
Not forsaking or neglecting to assemble together [as believers], as is the habit of some people, but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another, and all the more faithfully as you see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25 AMPC)
The Church of the Lord Jesus also has a GREAT commission that didn't expire with the so-called pandemic, or better stated, “lying plandemic.” (Mark 16:15-19; Matthew 28:18, 19) Most churches shut down operations without so much as a whimper. Why? Because most were not following the Scripture and obeying it. They were dead or close to dead anyway so it was natural to cave and bow the knee. 
What really shocked me was how most evangelical, word-of-faith, prophetic, Pentecostal, and independent Spirit-filled churches shut down immediately upon orders from their local government. I am not including here the dead denominational churches. They all closed. I am referring here to all the supposedly Bible-believing and Word-doing churches. I am specifically referring to all the churches that said they believed in God’s healing power and espoused the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in other tongues as part of their church doctrine! What happened to the following Biblical instructions  concerning healing when churches closed?
14 Is anyone among you ill? He should summon the elders of the church, and they should pray for him and anoint him with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness. (James 5:14-16 NET)
You can’t anoint anybody via internet, and you can’t lay hands on them for healing either!
“In my Name (Jesus)… they will lay hands on the sick and they will recover!” (Mark 16:17, 18)
Water baptism of new believers and participating in the Lord’s Supper or communion cannot be done via video conference! (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 11:25-31)
Most churches capitulated, submitted to, surrendered, and agreed with local authorities instead of agreeing with God and His Word! “We must obey God rather than people!” was how the Church leaders in Acts responded to calls from governmental leaders (those in authority) to stop what they were doing in the Name of Jesus. (See Acts 5:29, and Acts 4:19.)
We follow the laws of the land UNTIL they violate the Scripture! Then, we follow God’s Word regardless of the consequences. That is DIVINE order! That is the way it is supposed to be for the church!
The church in America (and around the world), almost unanimously, demonstrated how weak, pusillanimous, and sissified they really were. Instead of being the triumphant church, churches were generally a bunch of wusses. Instead of suffering persecution and jail time if necessary, they took the route of disobedience to God. 
As I stated in the previous article, there were a few exceptions in the United States, and a few pastors were arrested, fined, or jailed for refusing to bow down to the idol of Covid-19, but they were regrettably VERY few and far between.
Yes, I will state the following things again from my previous comments. It is too important.
For a couple of years before the “pandemic”, I assisted a well-known Word-of-Faith church. I won’t mention their name or location because I still hope that the pastor and church repent publicly. They need to. I had great respect for their ministry. When the so-called pandemic hit, they folded like a deck of cards and shut their doors just like all other sissified churches. I was shocked and despaired temporarily. I couldn’t believe it. That church preached Scripture every Sunday and Friday, but when the test came, they fell for the lies of the devil like every other church in the area. I am talking about a church that had miracles, signs, and many manifestations of the Holy Spirit. They believed in God's healing power and taught it profusely, but they capitulated to government mania over a so-called pandemic just like all other churches did. What a tragedy! Sadly, even after they opened, they opened to masks with all the trimmings of believing a lie, in things like social distancing, alcohol wipes, and disinfecting agents. As far as I’m concerned, they are still closed because they are still under bondage to the lies of the enemy. Where is that mighty church that believed and taught God's healing and miraculous power? They are gone UNLESS they repent! They will be with little to no anointing unless they repent. I left that church and won't go back not even for a visit, UNLESS they repent.
The only two churches that remained open in my area in Florida were the River Church in Tampa with pastor Rodney Howard Browne (https://www.revival.com), and the Foundation Church in Englewood (https://www.foundationchurchfl.com) with pastor Tom Laipply. They didn't just talk the talk but walked the walk! I truly admire these men of God. Pastor Rodney Howard Browne was arrested for a refusal to close his church. Much of what I am saying and writing here are things these ministers have mentioned or spoken about at some point since March of 2020. I am thankful to God for these ministries sharing the truth of God's Word and the truth about Covid, socialism, and bad government. The links and other comments come from my own research. 
Don’t miss a single Sunday service and the rebroadcasts of the River church (revival.com) or the Foundation Church, and the Tom Laipply podcast! The River has live services every night but Saturday. Get these services and listen to them closely.
By the way, no leader from the River Church or The Foundation Church has ever authorized me to state these things or to "advertise for them." It's certainly not name dropping because I don't have a personal friendship with either of these pastors, nor am I seeking one. It's what the Lord has put in my heart. It is doing my part to get the word out to you for your benefit.
Listen to the Tom Laipply podcast through Apple podcasts, Rumble, and others. Pastor Laipply is powerful in the Word and has a clear handle on all the lies being perpetrated in the government and so on. Powerful stuff, and he doesn’t mince words! If you are the emotional and sensitive type, you will not like him. You were probably from the group of idiot Christians that voted for the demonrat party and all its baby butchering candidates! At one to two million abortions (murders) per year in the USA, that is genocide! They are baby butchers! Sensitive "Christians" thought Trump was too harsh and mean so they voted for demon-inspired murderers and their leaders Joe Biden and Kamala Harris! Good job Covid caving Christians, pastors, and leaders! 
If you love the truth, you will love Pastor Laipply’s fiery teaching every Sunday and his no B.S. podcasts!
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-tom-laipply-podcast/id1508562859
https://rumble.com/c/tomlaipply
https://blubrry.com/tom_laipply/archive/?pi=1
https://podcastrepublic.net/podcast/1508562859
Redundancy is necessary for his podcast because it has been banned on some social media sites.
Facebook, Twitter, Google, and YouTube are controlled by a socialist agenda that restricts and bans freedom of speech. They deny our Constitutional right according to the First Amendment that guarantees all Americans freedom of speech! That each one of their platforms censor conservatives and Christians is not even in dispute anymore. The oligarchs of technology don't want us to question their devil inspired narrative. They want us to conform to the mainstream media’s talking points and the lying government narrative, or they will censor you or ban you if you state anything to the contrary. We refuse to bow down to their false god of lies and deception, and we will not conform to their world view! We will not conform to this world but we will be transformed by the renewing of our minds to the truth! (Romans 12:2)
Frankly, I will not go to or visit CCC’s (coined by Tom Laipply), "Covid Caving Churches"! Guess where I go to church now? Guess where I send my tithes and offerings? These two churches and these two alone! No others need apply! "Forget the capitulating churches pastored by skinny jeans, latte sucking, boot licking, Covid-caving pastors, UNLESS they repent!" Thank you, pastor Laipply, for the visual with those reality-based words! If you go back into churches like that after they weakly open back up with all the trimmings of believing a lie, I pray you will not be lost and go to hell, because you will be one of those that bow down to Satan's mark of the beast whenever it shows up. You are already training fervently for the mark of the beast if you wear masks, social distance, submit to tyrannical government Covid-19 shut down policies, and their insistence on vaccinations!
As a side note, Pastor RHB published two books that address the Covid and socialist mess the country finds itself in. I suggest you get every one of his books and read them, particularly The Phantom Virus and Socialism under the Microscope. Go here: https://store.revival.com
All the Covid-caving Christians need to repent! Pastors that yielded to the lying, antichrist, anti-Great Commission, and unconstitutional government demands, need to repent for their heretical actions! They need to repent for submitting to government idolatry and allowing them to rise above the orders and commands of the Lord Jesus in Scripture! I heard pastor Tom Laipply say something to this effect first, and it is the absolute truth!
Don't think for a moment that you closed your church publicly in disobedience to God's Word, and that now you are going to open without public repentance because it will not work. You closed publicly and declared government as your Lord by obeying it instead of obeying the Bible, and now you must repent publicly to gain your footing and place back in God and the anointing. The humble get this. The proud will refuse to repent to their own demise. 
To help with repentance, I again give you the following list of my short studies on repentance. It is time to face the truth and repent. God gives grace to the humble but resists the proud that refuse to repent of their sins! See 1 Peter 5:5, Proverbs 28:13, and 1 John 1:7-10. I've gone to these Scriptures when I've sinned and received forgiveness and cleansing by the Blood of Jesus. The time for repentance is now!
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/q2dz2i/Repentance-_Part_1-REV.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/uwz5c9/Repentance-_Part_2REV.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/99ifp4/Repentance-_Part_3REV.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/dfea9s/Repentance-_Part_4REV.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/h3xq8q/Repentance_Part_5_REV_2020.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/x2ukz5/Repentance_part_6.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/xg76p5/Repentance_Part_7.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/bc9w6n/Repentance_Part_8.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/kxne52/Repentance_Part_9.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/889xtz/Repentance_Part_10_REV.mp3
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/fla92h/RepentancePart119u30j.mp3
What you need to know about Covid-19 government mandates on masks, social distancing, quarantines, vaccines, vaccine passports, closures, curfews, blah, blah, blah:  
Canadian doctors and medical professionals reject the closures, lockdowns, quarantines, and masks:
https://medicalkidnap.com/2021/03/10/canadian-doctors-speak-out-against-government-covid-restrictions-masks-and-vaccines-not-needed/
At the end of the article, listen to the 11-minute video presentation.
Doctors from other countries speak out:
https://healthimpactnews.com/2020/doctors-around-the-world-issue-dire-warning-do-not-get-the-covid-vaccine/
Mask mandates:
Medical studies on the use of masks reveal a few shocking things:
*Masks are useless at stopping viruses from infecting a person wearing one, and from stopping the virus from escaping the mask if someone is infected. Keep in mind the fact that ALL viruses are much smaller than the microscopic openings in the material used for masks. "It's like using a chain link fence to keep out mosquitos!" I heard someone else say that, but I don't remember who it was or I would give them credit because it really gives you a mental picture of what I am saying here.
*Masks hinder the intake of air for breathing (up to 30%) and hinder the exhaling of carbon dioxide into the air. That means that what you are rebreathing under the mask is partly carbon dioxide (a waste product that is unbreathable) and not the air you need to live! That contributes to the diminished function of a lot of internal organs!
There is evidence that surgeons have decreased mental acuity after 4-6 hours in the operating room after using a surgical mask. The real losers here are the little children being forced to wear masks for hours a day. What do you think oxygen deprivation together with carbon dioxide inhalation is doing to their developing brains and internal organs? It is criminal.
*Studies indicate that continual use of masks will have a detrimental effect on the immune system and will contribute to infections in the gums and lungs. Look at this article:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/mask-mouth-dentists-warn-prolonged-use-of-masks-leading-to-poor-oral-hygiene
https://www.globalresearch.ca/face-masks-pose-serious-risks-healthy/5712649
https://www.globalresearch.ca/studies-show-dehumanizing-masks-weaken-you-dont-protect-you/5713580
https://www.globalresearch.ca/covid-19-continuous-wearing-of-mask-aggravates-the-risk-of-infection-psychological-terrorism/5719704
You better examine these articles by medical professionals and get the real news about the dangers of wearing face masks! The media, Dr. Fauci and the governments of the world are lying to the public and causing severe harm!
Dr. Lee Merritt on the falsehoods of masks:
https://www.americasfrontlinedoctors.com/custom_videos/mask-myths
A surgeon speaks out on the falsehood of the general population wearing masks:
https://principia-scientific.com/surgeon-destroys-myth-if-masks-dont-work-why-do-surgeons-wear-them/
Penile shrinkage because of mask usage:
https://nationalfile.com/study-chemical-that-causes-penile-shrinkage-found-in-face-masks/
Men, masking up is death to your manhood! Take off that stinking mask!
Interviews with Dr. Richard Urso:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4BfPl2EzMI
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/show/conservativebusinessjournal/id/17376962
The medical profession is slowly but surely revolting against all the lies of Covid-19, and they are coming from different countries around the world. 
In some countries, and in some local socialist governments (NYC and others), they are implementing an ID card to prove you have been vaccinated or you can’t go into a business or eat at a restaurant. That is just like wearing the emblem of the beast!
The same has been done with mask wearing. This past week, I tried to get my little boys ice cream at two different shops on Treasure Island (next to St Petersburg Beach) and they would not serve me without a mask! Did I yield? No way! I went through a Chick-Fil-A drive through and got each one of my boys an Ice-Dream! Haha! Trust me, it’s not an advertisement. Chick-Fil-A closed in store service and tripled up on their drive-thru operation. They also capitulated!  
“May no man eat fruit of you hereafter forever?” Mark 11 anyone? That may have been Jesus’s attitude and words to a non-productive ice cream shop, I mean, fig tree. Hmm!
Nazi-like measures similar to those used against Jews in Germany are in place! Jews were forced to identify their businesses with a special emblem (a star) so Germans faithful to the Third Reich would not buy from them or sell them anything.
In many places you can’t buy or sell unless you have on a mask, and still, churches don't get it and try to defend their closure actions and their "bowing the knee" to lies and the father of lies, the devil!
At a SunBank/Truist bank, I was told that to come into their lobby to open an account, I had to wear a mask! Do you know that many states have laws on their books that prohibit wearing a face mask inside a bank and most businesses? It wasn’t that long ago that if you wore a mask inside a bank, you were considered a criminal trying to rob the bank! I refused to wear a mask in their bank, so, I couldn’t open the account there personally, though I found out you can do it online. 
Food, money, grocery stores, government buildings, and what else is coming? If that doesn’t sound like preparation for the antichrist's one-world government in training, then I don’t know what would!
Saint reading this, are you still yawning and sleeping?
Vaccination, forced vaccinations, vaccination passports:
These are all signs of the times where the antichrist system is being pushed to set things up for the still future man of sin or lawlessness. This is not funny! Listen to what Bill Gates is doing NOW in Africa with injections  from this medical doctor:
https://media.gab.com/system/media_attachments/files/073/075/235/original/214821d7b2498c91.mp4
Article and 55 minute interview with Dr. Kaufman:
https://vaccineimpact.com/2020/censored-dr-kaufman-they-want-to-genetically-modify-us-with-covid-19-vaccine-loses-his-job-and-willing-to-go-to-jail-to-resist/
Look at this false reporting by the CDC and the complicit news media and as this author rips it apart: 
https://www.globalresearch.ca/cdc-admits-5800-fully-vaccinated-people-became-infected-covid-19-74-died/5742861
https://www.globalresearch.ca/beware-pcr-testing-you-may-unknowingly-vaccinated-instead-tested/5742819
Frankly, you should read all the articles written by medical professionals and skilled researchers on the so called Covid-19 "vaccines" at globalresearch.ca. Educate yourself so you are not fooled!
8 ways that the mRNA vaccine can kill you by Dr. Sherri Tenpenny:
https://www.brighteon.com/3ef68971-87ad-4ac5-9a1c-8552364d8ccd
Here's one from Doctors for Covid Ethics:
https://doctors4covidethics.medium.com/rebuttal-letter-to-european-medicines-agency-from-doctors-for-covid-ethics-april-1-2021-7d867f0121e 
Vaccines can modify DNA permanently and contribute to Mad Cow Disease like symptoms and illnesses in humans:
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/science-mrna-vaccines-alter-dna/
https://naturalnews.com/2021-04-08-mrna-vaccines-may-cause-your-body-to-churn-out-prions-eat-your-brain-mad-cow-disease.html#
https://www.globalresearch.ca/what-not-said-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine/5729461
https://www.globalresearch.ca/trump-covid-19-experimental-vaccine/5739817
Dr. Steven Hotze reveals that Covid-19 "vaccines" should be called what they are, an EXPERIMENTAL GENE THERAPY! They are dangerous, to say the least. They don't even qualify to be called a "vaccine", according to the CDC's own definition of the word "vaccine." This is a very informative video. The video was transcribed so you can also read the information on the same page.
https://www.hotzehwc.com/2021/02/dr-hotze-on-the-dangers-of-the-covid-19-vaccine/
More than 52,000 medical professionals worldwide have signed the Great Barrington Declaration at https://gbdeclaration.org/ calling into question the draconian Covid 19 policies, procedures, and vaccinations:
https://healthimpactnews.com/2020/covid-has-caused-tens-of-thousands-of-medical-doctors-and-scientists-to-wake-up-to-corruption-in-the-medical-industry/
Israel’s “vaccination passport” and the violation of the Nuremberg Code:
https://vaccineimpact.com/2021/israelis-cry-out-to-the-world-to-stop-mandatory-covid-injections-as-lawsuit-is-filed-in-international-criminal-court-over-nuremberg-code-violation/
Chananya Weissman: 31 Reasons Why I Won’t Take the Vaccine. Some points have to do specifically with what is going on in Israel, but we see the same nonsense in the U. S. A.
New York Teachers for Choice:
https://nyteachersforchoice.wordpress.com/2020/09/20/top-10-reasons-why-a-covid-vaccine-should-not-be-mandatory/
Mandatory vaccines, or forcing people to get vaccinated, is a direct violation of the Nuremberg Code that was established after WW2 to counteract Nazi policies and practices.
Look at the latest official info (May 2021) on deaths and injuries from the experimental gene altering jabs falsely labeled as vaccines that already reported. These numbers are way behind the real numbers but it shows you where all these injections are doing to the people receiving them and there are many more yet to be reported. 
https://healthimpactnews.com/2021/genocide-in-the-u-s-continues-3848-deaths-118902-injuries-following-covid-injections-children-now-being-reported-as-dying-also/
These are all signs of the times where the antichrist system is being pushed to set things up for the still future man of sin or lawlessness.
We must take a stand.
The protests are going on all over the world. There is a complete media blackout on these protests going on worldwide.
Video of just ONE day of protests against the overreach and removal of our human rights by tyrannical governments:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvXXgPHyPFE
Why are not churches protesting? Where is the righteous indignation and anger against evil?
Look at all the protest videos under the hashtag "wewillallbethere" 
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/wewillallbethere .
We are not alone!
Disclaimer: There is profanity in some of the video clips. I didn't record any of these videos. I don't support the profanity, though I do support edgy and VERY tough language if it gets the message across! It's important that the Church understands that even unbelievers are rising up against the falsehoods so you will hear some cussing because they are super angry! I am 100% in agreement that we must stand and refuse to bow down to the falsehoods!
I wonder how many will have the guts to forward this message to all pastors, leaders, family members, and friends regardless of feelings and what they think? Will you be that bold even it is costs you friends and family? Are you going to rise up or cower to the lies? Are you a Christian or a pipsqueak mousy person? Are you a lion under the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Jesus) or little sheep led to slaughter? What are you?
"I am the righteousness of God in Christ," some are quick to say.
Really?
The righteous are as bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1b)
That should be us! Not only that. Those that dwell in the secret place of the Most High "will tread upon the lion and the cobra, and the young lion and the serpent will they trample underfoot." (Psalms 91:13) We are MORE than conquerors though Him that loved us! (Romans 8:37) None of that is for little weak lambs but for LIONS!
Now to the message:
 

Does the Lord’s Presence Remain With Christians That Persist in Sinful Lifestyles?

The title of this article is a provocative question. It was meant to be confrontational and challenge long-held ideas, but it will end on a positive note. Sometimes you have to dismantle some things to build them up correctly. Old run down buildings will have to be gutted to fix them up. Construction often begins with destruction of the old before something new and beautiful can be built. Spiritually, that is sometimes required. (See Jeremiah 1:10.)
Plowing always comes before planting, watering, and harvest. Consider this article plowing, so that the seed of God’s words can be sown, and a mighty harvest can be produced! (See Isaiah 28:24-29, Mark 4:14-20.)
Many quote the words in the book of Hebrews, "I will never leave you or forsake you"(Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said at His ascension, "I am with you always"(Mathew 28:20). He also taught us in John 14:16 that the Helper or Advocate (the Holy Spirit) would be with us forever (John 14:16). These are glorious and powerful truths, and I treasure them. As blessed as these promises are, they do not stand-alone or exist without context, accountability, or zero responsibility.
The way many Christians use these promises leaves a very wrong impression.
Most Christians believe that the presence of the Lord will continue with a person regardless of their persistently wrong lifestyle of sin. I am not referring to you if you sin as a believer and repent of your sin according to Luke 13:3, 5 and 1 John 1:9. On those occasions, we have the grace or provision of God in the blood of Jesus available to us. I am not referring to the follower of Jesus that may sin, but the sin is not their lifestyle. I am specifically referring to those that have made sin a lifestyle even though they call themselves Christians. That is my question. Will the Lord abide with Christians forever even if they are practicing lawlessness?
Let’s study this. 
According to Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus will tell those practicing lawlessness to depart from Him because He never knew them. 
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" Matthew 7:21-23 NET) 
What does that mean? The Lord will say those terrible words of rejection to the practitioners of lawlessness, even though at one time they were used miraculously. How did the Lord use them miraculously? Obviously, these were at one time followers of the Lord Jesus, but later in life, they followed a path of breaking God’s moral laws. I know that this does not fit in with much of modern theology in evangelical Christianity, but Jesus said that. Are we going to believe His words or man-made theological ideas?
Do you know that we have numerous biblical examples of those that started out with God, but began practicing lawlessness, and finally wound up in the “dung heap.” 
Judas Iscariot is a case in point. He began as an anointed disciple of Jesus sent by the Master to heal the sick and to cast out demons. (See Matthew 10:1-8.) He was a minister anointed to do a supernatural work on behalf of the Lord. Judas Iscariot actually walked in supernatural power for a time. Something changed in him. In the process of time, Judas turned to covetousness and theft, and betrayed the Lord Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Judas finished his life by committing suicide. He died in his sin. (See Acts 1:15-19; Matthew 27:3-10.) He will be one of those mentioned by Jesus in the passage quoted above. Judas will one day stand before the Lord and attempt to use his past supernatural ministry as an excuse to be accepted, but the Lord will reject him with those terrible words, “I never knew you; depart from me.” He died as a practitioner of lawlessness, and for eternity he will perish away from the presence of the Lord. (See 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9.) 
Something is way off with our charismatic, evangelical, and protestant theology if we think that Christians practicing lawlessness can enjoy God’s presence now, or if they die in their sin without repentance. Judas didn’t get away with it, and he won’t get away with it at the judgment! He will be rejected for eternity. According to Jesus, believers that die being practitioners of lawlessness will be rejected. That applies to this life on earth as well as to the future judgment to come...
Read more by downloading the FREE 14-page PDF by using this link. 
 

The Wise Men that Came to See Jesus were Magi - Astrologers?

When I was raised in Puerto Rico in the 60's, we celebrated Christmas, but "Reyes" or "Kings" was THE celebration of when the three Kings or Magi came to worship Jesus. The night before Three Kings Day celebrations on January 6 were special nights. Children all over the island would leave grass out (generally by a manger built or prepared for the occasion) to feed the camels of the Three Kings, and they in turn would leave presents. Many times, Reyes was a much bigger celebration than Christmas. We loved Reyes!
As you grow up, and begin to follow Jesus, you learn a few things if you will study. For example, the names and the numbers of the wise men that came from the East are never mentioned in the New Testament. Not only that, but the word that is translated as wise men (magoi) is not the Greek word for kings (basileon)! Oops! So much for the tradition of the Three Gentile Kings that came to worship baby Jesus, all based on human invention. None of it is Scriptural!
The above may be disconcerting for the unlearned, but the truth will not oppress you. The truth of God's Word will make you free from the traditions of men, if you will allow it. (John 8:32) Here comes much food for thought.
The Wise Men that Came to See Jesus were Magi - Astrologers?
Does anybody but me have a problem with the tradition that the wise men were astrologers of the Magi caste from Babylon? I hope not. For many years, as a Christian, that “scratched” at me on the inside. We know from Scripture how much God despises all the pagan practices of idolatry that include sorcery (deals with potions and spells), witchcraft (those that cast spells -incantations and curses and invoke (evil) spirits to get their will done), necromancers (those that attempt to speak to the dead, mediums), soothsayers (fortune tellers, and that includes the Ouija boards of today, tarot cards, divination, psychics), spiritists (those that channel evil spirits to tell your fortune), and astrologers (those that tell of events past, present, and future by “reading” the stars and planets).
Here are a few verses of Scripture that put in view God’s perspective:
Do not defile yourselves by turning to mediums or to those who consult the spirits of the dead. I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:31 NLT)
I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community. (Lev. 20:6 NLT)
Men and women among you who act as mediums or who consult the spirits of the dead must be put to death by stoning. They are guilty of a capital offense. (Lev. 20:27 NLT)
 And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead… The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things. (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, 14 NLT)
Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD’s sight, arousing his anger. (2 Kings 21:6 NLT)
God calls these practices evil and wicked in the sight of the Lord, arousing His anger, spiritual prostitution, and a capital offense. He is the same today. He has never changed His mind on the subject. (Malachi 3:6)
Here is one portion in the Scripture that specifically referred to the astrologers of Babylon (Isaiah 47:1- 5), the very caste that the wise men that came to worship Jesus were supposed to belong to!
So, disaster will overtake you, and you won’t be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won’t be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. “Now use your magical charms! Use the spells you have worked at all these years! Maybe they will do you some good. Maybe they can make someone afraid of you. All the advice you receive has made you tired. Where are all your astrologers, those stargazers who make predictions each month? Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds. But they are like straw burning in a fire; they cannot save themselves from the flame. (Isaiah 47:11-14 NLT)
God mocks them! They cannot save themselves from the flame! Destruction was coming to them for their evil and wicked practices. Yes, these calamities will come upon you, despite all your witchcraft and magic.
“You felt secure in your wickedness. ‘No one sees me,’ you said. But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray, and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’ So, disaster will overtake you, and you won’t be able to charm it away. Calamity will fall upon you, and you won’t be able to buy your way out. A catastrophe will strike you suddenly, one for which you are not prepared. (Isaiah 47:9-11 NLT)
There are a few references in the New Testament to witchcraft, fortune-tellers, and those practicing the magic arts. The story of the woman with the evil spirit (spirit of divination) and practiced fortunetelling (which was cast out by Paul- Acts 16:16-18) is one of them. Then, there is the story of Bar-Jesus the magician-astrologer (Acts 13:6-11). Paul called him “full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness!” That, my brethren, is the Holy Spirit’s take on all that practice such things! It was the Holy Spirit that anointed Paul to speak a command to blind the sorcerer. Also, the Apostle Paul mentions sorcery (NLT, NKJV, etc.) or witchcraft (KJV, NASB, etc.) as a desire of the sinful nature, and the fact that those practicing it will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
In Revelation, it is written that after devastating plagues hit many parts of the earth:
But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood— idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk! And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts. (Revelation 9:20-21 NLT)
One more to clench the nail on the back of the board:
But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (Rev. 21:8 NLT)
Those Scriptural references just threw off for me all the connection of the wise men to the caste of Magi from Babylon, but let’s read the New Testament text, and move on from there.
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men (Gr. magoi) from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1, 2 NKJV parenthesis- my addition)
The star that they saw related to the King of the Jews was prophesied by none other than Balaam in his fourth prophecy. (Numbers 24:15-19) Balaam is a whole other problem, but I will summarize it the best I can. Balaam was a backslid prophet and became a “prophet for hire.” Balaam would bless or curse people for a price. Do we have similar “prophets” today? A few of those covetous and likeminded prophets are roaming around today among Christians. Who are they? They are those that for a fee will send you a personal “prophetic word.” The more money you send, the more personal the “word” will be. They are in the same category as Balaam was, a conniving and money hungry swindler! 
Because Balaam was backslid, he was a false prophet whose teaching was despised by the Lord Jesus. The Lord denounced those who followed the doctrine of Balaam because it led to eating things sacrificed to idols and to committing sexual immorality. (See Revelation 2:14, Numbers 31:16.) Yet, in all the prophet’s madness, the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Balaam’s mouth, and a grand prophetic word from the Lord came forth about the future King-Messiah. You may be wondering how could God possibly use a “false prophet” to bring a real word from the Lord? He anointed a heathen king to help Israel. His name was Cyrus! (See Isaiah 43:1-10, Ezra 1). There are numerous examples in the Scripture of the Lord using pagans for his purposes. So, in the case of Balaam, the Lord anointed him to speak prophetically on a certain occasion. That does not mean he was right or accepted before the Lord, but that God used him on a selected occasion to express a prophetic utterance from the Lord.
Here is the prophetic Word that the wise men followed into Israel in search of the King-Messiah.
…The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God and has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel… (Numbers 24:15-17 NKJV)
The wise men saw the star rising out of Jacob or Israel and followed it from the East. Their point of origin was in the East, presumably from Babylon. Why Babylon? The word used for “wise men” is the Greek word magos (magoi- in the plural form indicating more than one “wise man”). In Spanish, no bones are made about it, and the three kings are called the three magician kings, "los tres Reyes magos." That is really a mess in my estimation.
The tradition runs deep and scholars have not helped much in this area because they have more readily assumed the position of tradition instead of finding a solution to the dilemma. 
The Complete Word Study dictionary of the Bible (coded to Strong’s Concordance numbers) indicates (G3097) that the word magoi is of foreign origin from the Hebrew (H7248); a Magian, that is, Oriental scientist; by implication a magician: - sorcerer, wise man.
Notice what Thayer’s Greek- English Lexicon says about the same word magoi.
The name given by the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and others, to the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreter of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers, etc. It goes on to say that the oriental wise men (astrologers) who, having discovered by the rising of the remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, and that therefore thy came to Jerusalem to worship him.[1]
The acclaimed and scholarly Bauer’s “A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature” (BDAG) basically says the same thing as the other two dictionaries mentioned.
So, there is a case for the magoi (plural)- wise men to have been of this caste of astrologer-soothsayers. There is also the fact that magos was used referring to the false prophet Elymas (Bar-Jesus) in Acts 13:8.
Also, God has at times used the ungodly for His purposes. Yet, that the magoi were sorcerer magicians doesn’t sit right with my spirit and the witness of the Holy Spirit concerning the story of the wise men that visited Jesus. Too many Scriptures condemn the practices of the astrologers and sorcerers. There is too much evidence in Scripture of God’s eternal displeasure with those that practice such things. God hates all of it!
Could there be something else going on that has been ignored for centuries? In my heart, to believe that the magoi that visited Jesus were soothsayers- astrologers sounds like this:
“Wait a minute! Do you mean to tell me that astrologers and soothsayers (practitioners of witchcraft or sorcery) came to worship the Messiah because they saw the star of the Messiah-King manifested in the sky? How did they know anything about that prophetic word in Number 24:17? Does that sound right to you? Do you mean to tell me that Joseph and Mary (strict Jewish followers of Torah) would have received heathens from hell that were astrologers, soothsayers, and served false gods? Would they have received myrrh, frankincense, and gold from these pagans?”
Knowing something about Judaism in the first century, I would have to say emphatically, “No way Joseph and Mary would have received them!” The first foreign dignitaries to visit the child Jesus were magicians (wizards) and astrologers from Babylon? Yuk! The idea makes me throw up a little in my mouth because I know all those other Scriptures that I gave you above, where God rejects (and detests, hates) all forms of witchcraft and sorcery, including astrology! Scripture should be primarily interpreted with other Scripture. I think the story of the wise men has been interpreted without reference to other Scripture that should have made us reassess our conclusions. That time is here and now!
If these magoi were pagan devils, they would never have been received by Joseph or Mary or anybody of the Jewish faith that was present that day. Jews had strict laws concerning receiving pagans into their home or going to visit pagans and coming under their roof. It was considered a violation of the law of Moses. To have received foreign devil worshippers into their home would have defiled them and left them in ritual impurity. Jews did not associate with pagans!
Did you know that Jesus’ first followers and converts after the day of Pentecost were ONLY Jews and their half-brothers, the Samaritans (Acts 8)? There were no Gentiles among the believers for at least ten years after Pentecost. Read Acts chapters 2-10 as a reference. It took a supernatural vision coming to the apostle Peter in Acts 10 to open the way for salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit to be preached to the Gentiles. Until then, it was taken for granted that association with the Gentiles was verboten, and the gospel message was only for Jews. Again, there was a separation of the Jews from pagans until salvation and the Holy Spirit fell on Cornelius and all his house as Peter preached to them. (Acts 10).
Ok, if the magoi couldn’t have been pagan, astrologer, devil worshippers that came to worship the King Messiah, and I have presented Scriptural evidence that would contradict the notion that they were, what and who were they, and can it be proven?
Do you remember that I stated above that The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the Bible says (G3097) that the word is of foreign origin from the Hebrew (H7248)”?
H7248 in Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew- English Lexicon gives us these foreign words: rab-saris (H7249) and rab-mag. [2] It says these words are of Assyrian or Babylonian influence and “titles of As.-Bab. officers (that) are prob. loan words in Hebrew.” [3] Rab-mag could be a chief soothsayer (and I think that is the point that confused scholars), but BDB states this is equal to rab-mugi (chief of princes). BDB further states that rab-sarisis usually in Babylon chief of eunuchs, but it is equal to rabu-saresi, chief of the heads (the principal men). So, both titles could refer to government dignitaries that had little to nothing to do with astrology-sorcery. Chief of eunuchs (rab-saris) was also a minister or officer of the state, such as a general, governor, or prince. See the reference to the master or prince of eunuchs (sar-saris) [4] responsible for teaching a few selected children of Israel in all the learning and the tongue of Babylon. They (and Daniel was among them) were to be skillful in all wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and understanding science. (See Daniel 1:1-21.)
Wow!! Does that not start to make you think differently? Are you beginning to get some light about this? The definitions above from the Brown Driver Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB) leads us to believe that the magoi from the East that came to visit Jesus could have been governmental leaders like the Hebrews that were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar and later exalted to governmental positions overseeing his realm. Also, note the use of the word rab in the titles of these officials. You will see below why that word is so important. 
Do you remember that Nebuchadnezzar had a dream he refused to tell the magicians and sorcerers? He wanted someone to tell him the dream AND the interpretation. God gave Daniel the dream and its interpretation, something only God could do. With that supernatural event, proving that Jehovah God was the one and only true God, Nebuchadnezzar exalted Daniel and made him chief (rab) of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. (Daniel 2:48) It would make perfect sense that these magoi from the East were Hebrew dignitaries from the eastern lands where Babylon and many other cities existed during the time of Jesus. That could satisfy our search.
Did you know that there was a robust Hebrew or Jewish presence in those towns and cities of the East? Though the info is relatively sparse compared to other timeframes, some kings, queens, and whole areas seemed to have converted to Judaism. See references to the conversion to Judaism from paganism of the Adiabene kingdom in the first century. In the account of the ancient historian Josephus in his writings the Antiquities of the Jews (Book XX: Chapter 2), it shows that there was a substantial Jewish population in the kingdom. It led to the establishment of a prominent rabbinic academy in Arbela. There were Jews in many cities of the Parthian (Arcesid) empire.
One prominent city with many Jews was Babylon. Historically, not all Jews left Babylon after the return to the land of Israel under Ezra and Nehemiah. Synagogues and academies were established in many cities under the Parthian and Armenian Empires. This trend of an increasing Jewish population in the Eastern lands continued for centuries. The largest rabbinical academies were in the East.
I am emphasizing that because students of the Scripture in rabbinic schools would have read and understood the prophetic Word about the star of the Messiah-King rising out of the land of Israel. It would have signaled the coming of this Anointed one. The Jews would have sent their most able and learned leaders to investigate the matter. Now, that makes complete spiritual sense to me, especially when you begin to see that the title rab was given to especially gifted rabbinic leaders or chiefs. Rab was the title of the Babylonian sages who taught in the Babylonian Jewish academies. The titles "Rabban" and "Rabbi" (the root word being rab) are first mentioned in first through fifth century Jewish literature in the Mishnah and the Talmud. The term was first used in the Mishnah for Rabban Gamaliel the elder, Rabban Simeon his son, and Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai, all of whom were patriarchs or presidents of the Sanhedrin in the first century.
The word rabbi occurs fifteen times in the New Testament (in the NKJV) speaking about Jesus or others. Jesus was called rabbi in the first century, and He was THE Greatest of the Great Rabbis! The root word of rabbi is rab! All that leads me to believe that the magoi were not devil worshipping astrologers, but they were the most honored Jewish religious leaders from the East that knew the prophetic Scripture and came to worship the King-Messiah Jesus! Now that agrees with my heart in the Holy Spirit! That I can believe! I can now understand how the strict Jewish family of Jesus and all the Jews of Bethlehem saw nothing wrong with visiting Jewish religious leaders from the East worshipping the King-Messiah. Joseph and Mary probably felt honored and received with great joy these Jewish leaders among the sages in Babylon! 
It was all good! Much more info could be included here, but I will let it be for now. Be blessed!
Jesus was born to die in our place and to redeem us. That was the purpose of His birth, to get God’s Son into a human body! Only a perfect human without sin, the Second and Last Adam, could pay the eternal price for a guilty humanity. It was a great plan, one that changed things forever! Have you ever read my 244 page book, The Story of our Great Redemption? This is the link for the free download of the book! 
Today’s podcast gives you the story of redemption in a nutshell. Be blessed with the Word!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
NOTES:
[1] Downloaded from Thayer's in the Mantis Bible Study app.
[2] BDB p. 916, 7248-49.
[3] Coded to Strong’s numbers, p. 913, and see 7227 for both rab-mag and rab saris. I transliterated the words from the Hebrew found there. 
[4] Daniel 1:3, 7 and look up the two titles rab-saris and sar-saris in CWS. Rab-mag and rab-sarisis also found in Jeremiah 39:3, 13. These titles referred to Babylonian princes.

Finding Genuine Faith on the Earth: A Matter of Believing Alone? Part 4

 
 
Four times was Genesis 15:6 quoted in the New Testament. It is insinuated a number of other times. This verse is especially important in the epistles of Paul.
Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Romans 4:3, 9, (v.23 is a partial quotation), Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23 NKJV).
Two major doctrines of the New Testament are stated in that verse: believing and righteousness. These are BIG theological words, and we want to look at them briefly. 
 
Righteousness 
Righteousness is a gift through trust and faithfulness (faith) in Jesus’ blood (His sacrificial and substitutionary death on our behalf). Many will agree with that statement.
Though the above is true, many will reject the notion that righteousness, from Genesis to Revelation, refers to righteous living. Righteousness includes righteous behavior according to God’s Word, dictates, and commandments. There is no such thing in Scripture as being only righteous on the inside (spiritually) without also being righteous in one's actions (physically). Internal-only-righteousness is a fantastical and imaginary doctrine taught by pulling verses out of context and reinterpreting Paul’s teaching according to a relatively modern theology!
That may be contrary to what you have believed and heard taught, but don’t be so quick to dismiss it. Read the next paragraph and look up the Scripture references. Convince yourself if it is true or not.
Internal and external righteousness are inseparable in the Bible. Bible righteousness refers to relationship, both with God and with others. There are vertical and horizontal dimensions to righteousness in Scripture. Paul and John taught both and so should we! Look at the following verses in the New English Translation (and others) to begin to get a picture of Biblical righteousness-justification. You will see doing, practicing, and living in righteousness as well as receiving the gift of righteousness. These are two sides of the same coin, and they are inseparable! See Matthew 3:15, 6:1, 11:19; Romans 3:25-26, 4:22-25, 5:17, 6:12-23; 2nd Corinthians 6:14; 1st Thessalonians 2:10; Titus 2:11-12; James 2:20-26; 1st Peter 2:24; 2nd Peter 2:21; 1st John 2:29, 3:7, 10; Revelation 22:11, Deuteronomy 9:4-6; Ezekiel 18:1-32, and there are many more. [1] Please read the notes.
Some are quick to reply, “But Brother Dan, it is by believing in the heart that we come into righteousness. Paul said, “With the heart man believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10). I agree with that verse fully, but I am telling you that our interpretation has been incomplete and we need some exposition-interpretation.
 
Why so much interpretation?
Recently on my Facebook feed, one pastor stated (maybe as a rebuke?), “Some want to give you Biblical interpretation instead of just accepting what the Bible says.” It was written in another language, so that is my loose version. The pastor’s statement sounds spiritual, but it’s not. It shows huge ignorance concerning Biblical language studies. If you were only dealing with modern English or Spanish, then the pastor’s statement could be applicable. When you are dealing with ancient languages and texts written thousands of years ago, that is when you are confronted with issues of interpretation.
Let me give you some examples from the English and Spanish languages. Sometimes if you look at things in more familiar terms, it may help.
Before I refer to older texts, I have been to places in the world where the English of the region was like hearing an unknown foreign language! Even in the U. S., when I first heard the people in the Appalachians speak in the mid 1960’s, I couldn’t understand ¾ of their words! I was in the car with my parents in 1964. We got lost in the mountains, so my dad stopped along a mountain road and called to a man plowing his field. When the man began to speak in answer to my dad, we were shocked. It sounded like a foreign language. Once the man finished, my dad politely thanked him, and got back into the car. My mother asked him, “Do you have any idea what he said?” Dad answered, “Wha wha wha to the right, and wha wha wha to the left.” That was all he understood after about a minute or two! We needed an interpretation!
Have you tried to read English or Spanish documents from a few centuries ago? Please try it. Suddenly, you will be faced with the fact that the language, spelling, and grammar were different than they are today. Sometimes these will be so drastically different that you will not be sure what you are reading. For the modern English or Spanish speaker, in order to get a proper “interpretation” of the text, they must go beyond reading and simply accepting the text the way it’s written. We must go further or we will misinterpret and misunderstand the text unless we find out what the words meant in their historical setting.
Unless you are an 11th or 12th century student or scholar of ancient Spanish, the oldest known poem in Castilian Spanish, El Cantar del Mio Cid, will leave question marks all over your face. Here is an excerpt:
“De los sos ojos tan fuerte mientre lorando tornava la cabeça y estava los catando vio puertas abiertas e uços sin cañados alcandaras vazias sin pielles e sin mantos e sin falcones e sin adtores mudados sospiro mio Çid ca mucho avie grandes cuidados fablo mio Çid bien e tan mesurado grado a ti señor padre que estas en alto esto me an buelto mios enemigos malos”
I am fluent in Spanish, but it doesn’t look much like it. The poem had no punctuations in the original text. That alone is a problem, but what in the world is, “uços sin cañados” or “adtores mudados”? Even if one could translate most of this poem, would their interpretation be correct? Probably not without quite a bit of study!
How about in English? Do you know the words euene, forsothe, weren, borun, watris, or erthe? They are very unfamiliar, aren’t they? All those words are in a familiar portion of Scripture from the 1395 A. D. Middle English translation in the Wycliffe Bible:
In the bigynniyng God made euene and erthe. Forsothe the erthe was idel and voide, and derknessis weren on the face of and derknessis weren on the face of depthe; the Spyrit of the Lord was was borun on the watris.
That is Genesis 1:1-2, but if you read an original copy, get ready for a real chore! The lettering style Wycliffe used is h-a-r-d to read. Do you see all the strange words I was telling you about? If you were not familiar with the text, would you have understood it? I don’t think so. I know I would be scratching my head. I would need interpretation!
A more drastic need for interpretation applies to ancient languages that existed long before Jesus walked the earth! The further back you go into the history of any language, the more you will need to study and interpret. Some words and phrases in the ancient texts make no sense to the modern reader unless you have interpretation AND historical context.
 
Misunderstood words and phrases
The idiomatic peculiarities of a language can be translated word for word, but unless they are explained, or interpreted, you will misunderstand the word or phrase. One short list of Hebrew idioms is found on the website: Ancient Hebrew Research Center. Here are the idioms mentioned on their list from Psalms and Proverbs. In the parenthesis to the right, I added what these idioms are not referring to. You would be surprised at the funny ways people often misinterpret these idiomatic expressions. Some I have heard are roll-in-the-floor funny!


Ps 3.7

Break teeth

make powerless  (not a reference to losing teeth in a fight!)


Ps 4.1

Enlarge space

set free  (not a reference to getting a bigger space!)


Ps 5.9

Their throat is an open grave

they speak deceitfully


Ps 6.7

Eye is consumed

vision is blurred


Ps 7.3

Iniquity in my hands

guilty


Ps 7.9

Hearts and kidneys

thoughts and emotions  (not a reference to your blood pump or kidneys!)


Ps 10.5

Snorts

scoffs


Ps 11.6

the portion of their cup

their destiny


Ps 12.2

double heart

duplicitous


Ps 17.8

Little man of the eye

pupil


Ps 24.4

Clean hands

act purely  (not a reference to hygiene after toilet use!)


Ps 25.1

Lift up my soul

pray  (not a reference to coming out of depression!)


Ps 27.8

Seek my face

seek me  (not a reference to seeking the face as opposed to the hands!)


Ps 33.18

Eyes are upon

watches over


Ps 41.9

Lifted heel against

turned against  (not a reference to kicking someone!)


Ps 73.9

Tongue struts through the earth

arrogantly order everyone  (not a reference to gossip or slander!)


Ps 75.5

Lift horn

defy God  (not a reference to becoming great without God!)


Ps 89.13

Right hand

might  (not a reference to being right-handed!)


Ps 89.22

Son of wickedness

wicked person


Ps 90.12

Number days

use time wisely  (not a reference to length of life!)


Ps 94.9

Planted

created  (not a reference to being solidly built on a foundation!)


Ps 102.2

Hide your face

refuse to answer  (not a reference to being ashamed!)


Ps 121.1

Lift up eyes

look up toward  (not a reference to vision!)


Ps 124.3

Swallowed alive

killed  (not a reference to eating something that’s still alive!)


Pro 17.22

Dries bones

drains strength  (not a reference to osteoporosis!)


Pro 22.9

Good eye

generous  (not a reference to good or clear eyesight, good luck, or wishing goodness on people!)


Pro 23.6

Bad/Evil eye

stingy  (not a reference to being single-minded, bad luck, or putting a curse on someone!)


Pro 18.20

Fruit of the mouth

what someone says


Pro 24.20

lamp will go out

will die  (not a reference to a lack of light at one’s house!)


Go to the link and read the idioms from the other books of the Hebrew Bible. There are hundreds more idiomatic expressions that are not included in that list. Any of these could be easily misunderstood unless explained.
Did you know that many words in English meant one thing years ago that today mean something completely different? Nice used to mean silly, foolish, and simple. Silly was something worthy or blessed. Something awful was something worthy of awe, and naughty used to be one that had nothing! Gay used to mean light-hearted and joyous! My, my, my, how gay has been highjacked and misrepresented! To be a husband originally meant you owned a house or land and had nothing to do with marital status. To broadcast was the way you swept your hand to sow your seeds in the field! Buxom was not related to female anatomy, but meant that someone was meek and obedient! The list could go on for many pages! [2]
If you only look at the English language in the last few hundred years, you will see that word order, grammar, definitions, and punctuations have changed. New words have been added, and many words have gone into disuse.
Some words from 1960’s and 70’s have disappeared! Do you remember words like: groovy, having a gas (nothing to do with passing gas!), bug, crash (nothing to do with automobile accidents!), pad (not a reference to your iPad!), and far out. Did you ever get the question, “What’s your bag, man?” Did you hear the expression, “What a bummer”? If you remember any of these, then we dated you! Most reading this need interpretation from just 40 or 50 years ago! How much study and interpretation do you think we would need for languages 2 to 3 thousand years old? It is ludicrous to believe you need to accept the text as it is written without explanation or interpretation.
If you follow the logic of the pastor that thought interpretation was not necessary, and that we should take the verses as they are written, then many Scriptures could be misinterpreted.
 
When the New Testament Quotes or Alludes to the Old Testament
Besides reading and studying ancient texts in their historical, cultural, and linguistic context, we must look at verses in the right context when they are alluding to other passages of Scripture.
Here is an example that will hit you like a ton of bricks because of the implication for dearly held evangelical ideas:
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us to get it for us and make us hear it, that we may observe it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may observe it (Deuteronomy 30:11-15). 
First, did you notice that God’s commandments were not too difficult? That flies contrary to Christian teaching that says that the law of God was difficult, harsh, or cruel!
Paul quoted part of this portion of Scripture in Romans 10:6-10.
But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (NASB).
Generally, people think that our salvation in Christ is only based on believing it and saying it alone. They miss Paul’s intended and fuller meaning. The complete passage reveals something more than believing and speaking alone. Paul’s statement about believing in the heart and confessing with the mouth was also stressing that God’s moral commandments were within reach of every covenant person. God’s moral commandments were not burdensome, harsh, or cruel. (See 1st John 5:2, 3 in different translations.) They were not too difficult or out of reach, as stated in the context of Deuteronomy 30:11-15!
Come on, let’s read the context! It was as close as a word spoken in the heart or by the mouth, so that you may observe it or do it. The Word wasn’t in your heart and mouth for the purpose of agreement with Church dogma, or so that others may call you a Christian. “Believing in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confessing Jesus as your Lord with your mouth” was emphasizing obedience to the Gospel of Christ, and receiving His Lordship over your life (see Romans 10:16).
 
The Lordship of Jesus over our Lives
Jesus taught us concerning the meaning of having His Lordship over our lives, and it is not based on spoken words alone!
“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built” (Luke 6:46-48 NASB). 
Speaking or confessing Jesus as your Lord, and even doubling up on it (“Lord, Lord”), is incomplete. Note the three things Jesus mentions as those that truly are under His Lordship:
You come to the Lord Jesus.
You hear His words.
You act on His Word, or you DO it!
Notice that all three parts stated together. It is a threefold cord, if you would, that cannot be broken. Confessing His Lordship over our lives was always a reference to OBEDIENCE to Him whom is Lord! It always meant obedience to His Word and will. His message to the Gentiles was that, through the gospel of Christ, they were to be brought into the obedience of faith (Rom. 1:5, 16:26).
“Not everyone who says to me, ʻLord, Lord,ʼ will enter into the kingdom of heaven - only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21 NET).
Just as important, we must understand that practicing the things that are in opposition to God’s Word (commandments) is a denial of His Lordship over our lives. 
“On that day, many will say to me, ʻLord, Lord, didnʼt we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do many powerful deeds?ʼ Then I will declare to them, ʻI never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!ʼ” (Matthew 7:21, 22 NET) 
Others translate lawbreakers as “workers of iniquity.” Another translation says, “those that practice lawlessness.” For us in Christ, the lawbreakers are the ones who rebel against God’s Word and His will, and live based on some past work of God in their lives. Disobedience and rebellion are at the very core of lawlessness. Frankly, even if you were at one time used by, or had a relationship with God, if you have fallen away, only repentance will bring you back (2nd Peter 3:9; Luke 13:3, 5). 
Those that live in the obedience of faith in Christ right now will not hear those terrible words, “I never knew you”, and “go away from me, you lawbreakers”! Thank God! Those that live in disobedience and rebellion will hear them. It will be a horribly bad day for those that were once believers, but now live in lawlessness. Don’t get angry with me over this. I didn’t say it. Jesus said it, and I am only a messenger repeating what He said.
Look at few verses down from Romans 10:9-10, and notice the connection between believing and obedience in verse 16.
But not all have obeyed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” (NET) 
To obey the good news is to believe the report! Did you get that? Paul made the connection, and so should we.
 
Abraham “believed”
If you look at the Greek word επιστεσευσεν [3] translated as "believed" in Romans 4:3, it is defined as; to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, to place trust in Jesus or God, and so on. It would be incomplete to think believe means only that Greek definition because the quote came from Genesis 15:6.
As we saw in previous articles in this series, Paul usually quoted from a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scripture known as the Septuagint (LXX). The Septuagint was a word-for-word translation that kept the original Hebrew word order. Therefore, to stop with a Greek definition of a word in the Septuagint or New Testament that quoted from it is to partially interpret the Scripture. Actually, it is worse than that because sometimes the Greek and Hebrew are opposed to each other. Their concepts were often worlds apart. That is why looking at the Greek alone can be VERY misleading.[4]
Paul was not thinking pisteuo alone. If he was thinking believing alone, then why quote Genesis 15:6, a Scripture reference from a Hebrew source- the Old Testament? What was the word in Hebrew? What was running through Paul’s heart and mind as he used this Greek word pisteuo? He was quoting the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew text, but he knew what the Hebrew text said and meant.
The Hebrew word translated believed in Genesis 15:6 is heemin, from the Hebrew root word aman.[5] It does not mean Christian beliefs or to believe alone. The word is used in the sense of support, confirm, be faithful, uphold, be established, be firm, sure, lasting, confirmed, sure, verified, reliable, to trust, and to believe- in the sense of trusting that what someone has said can be relied upon as the truth. The word faithful means loyal, constant, staunch, steadfast and resolute. [6]
These Hebrew concepts and definitions are at the center of Paul’s teaching and interpretation of believing in Romans 4 and Galatians 3. Let’s not forget the exposition of James 2.
After looking at the emphasis in Hebrew in comparison to Greek-only definitions, these questions must be asked of every follower of Jesus after studying the definitions. I got them after reading the synonyms for the word faithful and the powerful synonym discussion on the Merriam-Webster dictionary site:
Are you a support to the cause of Jesus, the kingdom, and the Father in Heaven? Do you have the Lord’s interest in your mind and heart, or are you after your own way and will? Is it your will be done or is it His will that you want for your life?
Are you faithful to God’s Word and His moral commandments? Are these a description of your life since you declared your sworn allegiance to Jesus as your Lord? Or are you the kind of “Christian” that says “Lord, Lord” but refuses to do what He says (Matthew 7:21-23)? If you love Him, you will obey His Word/commandments (John 14:15, 21, 23, 1John 2:5)!
Are you firm, sure, and lasting in the things of God and the Lord Jesus or are you an indecisive (or wishy-washy) Christian with no moral backbone? Are you one day an upright example of Christian moral principles according to the New Testament, and the next day you act like a heathen with your words or actions?
Can the Lord depend on you? Are you reliable? Can the Lord expect you to live according to His Word and obey His dictates for your life?
Do you trust (rely fully) in Jesus and His sacrifice for you? Do you have an assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of God and His Word?
There is much more to discuss, but this should reveal that to believe in Jesus or the Gospel is not to have a mere belief, conviction, assurance, or credence. It is much more than believing alone!
I often summarize what I have learned about this pregnant word by saying it is better defined by trust, faithfulness, loyalty, and obedience to the Lord and His Word. Like righteousness, it is a covenant term used of the faithful, loyal and obedient, and it describes relationship with God and with others. There is no believing without trust. There is no believing without faithfulness and loyalty. Don’t say you believe the Gospel and yet disobey and rebel against the Lord and His Word because these are completely incompatible!
The obedient to God and His Word/commandments are the ones that truly believe. All others are pretenders and need to repent!
Notes:
[1] For “a fresh look at the old doctrine of justification by faith”, see Dunn and Suggate, The Justice of God (W. B. Eerdmans: Gran Rapids; 1993) pgs. 31-42. I will email you a 22-page PDF on this subject by James D. G. Dunn. Request it at dr@danalanrodriguez.com. There is no charge for the PDF.
[2] Read an interesting article, Is English Changing? ; https://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/english-changing. Also see: http://mentalfloss.com/article/54770/15-words-dont-mean-what-they-used; and http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/words-literally-changed-meaning-through-2173079
[3] From πιστευω- See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, G4100- pisteuo; Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon 511a.
[4] If you can handle a scholarly, difficult, and sometimes boring book, see Thorleif Boman: Hebrew Thought Compared to Greek, (SCM Press LTD, 1960) for further study. The differences between these two languages and their ways of thinking are truly monumental! For the benefit of any detractors; I am not saying that Hebrew is to be preferred above Greek as a language, or that Hebrew is in general better than Greek. The Greek language brought us science, mathematics, philosophy and many other things. Greek has value in its proper place. It would be ridiculous to deny the clear influence and contribution of Greek culture to most of the world. In these studies, I am only referring to the importance of the Hebrew language insofar as Biblical interpretation goes. In the case of Biblical thought and interpretation, Hebrew is highly preferred, and should be primary. If you haven’t done it, read the previous articles in this series.
[5] H539- See Brown, Driver, Briggs- אמן
[6] See the definition for faithful, the synonyms, and the synonym discussion at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faithful.
 
Please listen to the short audio message: Living Healthy vs. Living in Anxiety. Be mightily blessed!

Finding Genuine Faith on the Earth: Part 3- Faith is Steadiness, Faithfulness, and Fidelity

Our Westernized meanings of faith (beliefs, believing, conviction) were not what Paul had in mind when quoting the Hebrew Old Testament from Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11! Read the first two articles because we cannot repeat all we studied previously.
The word emunah, erroneously translated “faith” in Habakkuk 2:4 in most translations, does not refer to what you believe or your beliefs alone. According to the Brown, Driver Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB), emunah means firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, faithfulness, trust, and steadiness. When speaking of our faith in God and Jesus, the most accurate definition of faith portrays how you live your daily life in the Lord. Real Bible faith describes our character and our relationship with Jesus. Faithfulness describes firmness in relationship-fellowship with the Lord that is unmovable from the Covenant in His blood, steadfastness that will not quit on Him, and a steady lifestyle of trust and obedience to Him demonstrated in our words and by our actions.
What about injecting those powerful definitions into every mention of faith in the New Testament? If you separate any of these from faith in the New Testament, you are subscribing to either an erroneous idea of faith, or at best, an incomplete definition.
The subject of faith is not a side issue, when you consider that it is mentioned hundreds of times in Scripture. Not only does that make the subject a central teaching of the Bible, faith in God is also a foundational teaching of Christ (Hebrew 6:1, 2; Mark 11:22).
So that we get a revelation of what emunah means in Hebrew, and therefore what Paul had in mind by quoting Habakkuk 2:4, look at a powerful word picture in Exodus.
Moses commanded Joshua to gather Israel’s warriors and go defeat Amalek. Moses sat on a hill overlooking the battle, and as long as he kept the rod of God in his hand held high, Israel won, but when he dropped his hands with the rod because of weariness, Israel lost. So, what did they do?
But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun (Exodus 17:12 NKJV).
Aaron and Hur were helpers to Moses and made sure that his hands were steady until Israel won!!
Do you see the word “steady”? It is the same Hebrew word (emunah) wrongly translated “faith” in Habakkuk 2:4! Remember that one of the definitions of emunah is steadiness. Moses’ hands stayed firmly (emunah) in the air until the victory was won.
Here is another translation of emunah:
Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, And the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure (Isaiah 33:6 NKJV).
Emunah is stability in that verse.
Emunah is often translated in the Psalms as faithfulness (33:4, 36:5, 37:3, 40:10, 88:11, etc.). Faithfulness is stability or staying power. It doesn’t change.
God is our supernatural ROCK, and therefore He is faithful (emunah) in Deuteronomy 32:4 because He doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6, 2 Timothy 2:13). In the same way, Jesus is stable and faithful because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
Faithfulness is abiding power. In John 15:4-10, Jesus taught us to abide in Him. To abide refers to staying, enduring, continuing and remaining in His sphere of influence through obedience and yielding to His commandments, Word, and Spirit (John 8:31, 32, 14:15-17, 21-23, 15:7, 10; 1 John 2:3-6, 17, 3:6, 9, 24 NET).  
Are you ready for this? 
Stay calm. Kick over those sacred cows of traditional interpretations. Let them crack, break apart, be ground to powder, and may the wind of the Spirit of God blow it away forever. Let that traditional nonsense be like Humpty Dumpty. Let it fall from the wall, crack, and don’t put it back together again!
Let these truths bring God's light to you! Allow the Holy Spirit to minister this to you. Don't resist the truth. Renew your mind to God's Word (Romans 12:1, 2).
Take as an example one of the words BDB used to translate emunah. Let's look closely at the word fidelity.
Synonyms for fidelity are: adhesion, allegiance, attachment, commitment, constancy, dedication, devotedness, devotion, faith, faithfulness, fastness, fealty, loyalty, piety, steadfastness, and troth.[1]
Note that faith is stuck in the middle of the synonyms given by this dictionary, but it is surrounded by words that describe something different than believing or the general idea of faith.
Here is Merriam-Webster's rich synonym discussion on fidelity found under this word, and note that faith and believing are nowhere to be found:
Allegiance, fealty, loyalty, devotion, piety means faithfulness to something to which one is bound by pledge or duty. Fidelity implies strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty. Allegiance suggests an adherence like that of citizens to their country. Fealty implies a fidelity acknowledged by the individual and as compelling as a sworn vow. Loyalty implies a faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray. Devotion stresses zeal and service amounting to self-dedication. Piety stresses fidelity to obligations regarded as natural and fundamental.
That is what emunah is all about: allegiance, fealty, loyalty, devotion, piety, faithfulness, obligation, duty, trust, zeal, service, dedication, and steadfastness! Wow! The synonym discussion, without trying to, has given us a powerful description of emunah in Hebrew.
Did you notice the word allegiance? Citizens of our country pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. It is a pledge of loyalty and respect for our country and flag. We pledge allegiance, standing up at attention, and certainly NOT as some kneeling fools are doing today! I despise and reject disrespect and dishonor for our country and flag. I reject all disrespect for our military and police officers. You may hear me say it strongly, without compromise, and no apology: “If you don’t like our country, LEAVE IT!” I mean that with all the sincerity I can muster. I don’t agree in the least with everything happening at the hands of some ungodly people in our country, but I love our country. I pray for our leaders and the USA (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
Though I honor and pray for the President and the First Lady, my first allegiance is to the Lord Jesus, His Father, and to the Word of God! It’s similar to what President Trump said, “In America, we don’t worship government; we worship God!” Our first allegiance must be to the One that created the heavens and the earth, that is, IF we call ourselves Christians!
Now proceed to apply these truths about the word fidelity to your Christian life and your relationship-fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Does the above synonym discussion describe you in the Lord? If not, maybe it is time to repent and grow up in Jesus. Don’t look at someone else. Look at and examine your faith (just like I do mine), but now, you (and me) are armed with the proper understanding and definition.
Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you - unless, indeed, you fail the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5)
Here are some questions to stir you up based on the synonym discussion of fidelity above:
Is my allegiance firstly to the Lord Jesus? Is my life pledged to Him?
Am I loyal to His cause, kingdom, and gospel message? Am I loyal to His orders and commands? Am I devoted to prayer, holiness, and the love of God and love towards others?
Is my faithfulness to the Lord and His Word so firm that I am duty bound to obedience?
Do I consider myself under obligation to be faithful and to trust Him, or is my Christianity the kind that requires nothing of me?
Does my allegiance to the kingdom of God suggest adherence to the rules of the kingdom like that of the citizens of a country?
Does my fealty to God, Jesus, and His Word compel me as much as to a sworn vow?
Is my loyalty so firm that it is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray the Lord or His Word?
Does my devotion stress zeal and service amounting to self-dedication?
Does the piety (godliness) in my life stress fidelity to the Lord Jesus and God’s Word? Do I see fidelity as stressing obligations regarded as natural and fundamental as a member of the Body of Christ, the kingdom of God?
Now you are equipped with a fuller definition of faith, as Paul understood it. Plug these definitions into every mention of faith in the New Testament, but especially in Paul's writings.
How do these definitions change our outlook, our responsibilities before the Lord, and what we are accountable for in Christ? 
It is time to take inventory!
NOTES: 
[1] See Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, 2017, s.v. “fidelity,” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fidelity .
 
Following is message #30, "Do not Worry or be Anxious about Tomorrow" from the audio series: Removing Doubt from the Heart.
Be blessed!

Finding Genuine Faith on the Earth- Part 2: Where did Paul’s definition of faith come from?

 
“…When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8b NET)
Evidently, real, vibrant, Bible faith will be in comparatively short supply when Jesus returns. Will we have the genuine kind of faith He is looking for? (See 1st Peter 1:7 in the NKJV.) I pray that we do. That is the purpose of these articles, to examine our faith as Paul stated in 2nd Corinthians 13:5.
I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints (Jude 1:3 NET).
We are contending earnestly for the faith once for all entrusted to the saints in these articles!
Grandma, grandpa, your mother or father, or your denomination probably never taught faith quite like you will read in these articles.
“Well, I was taught that faith is just believing God, and that is all there is to it.” Have you ever heard that?
Many believe firmly that their particular Church doctrinal statements are their faith. Then, you have a multitude of people that ask, “What is your faith? To what faith do you subscribe?” Of course, they are asking you about the particular Christian group you associate with or belong to.
Others take faith into the realms of believing and trusting, full persuasion of God’s promises, speaking the Word, or believing (trusting) that you receive your answer to prayer. There are sound Biblical truths to be studied in those areas, but faith is much broader in scope in Paul’s epistles and the rest of the New Testament than these definitions alone.
Did you know that obedience is an intimate part of faith? How often do you hear from today’s pulpits that obedience is an integral part of faith? Paul connected them forever.
Through Him we have received grace and our apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles on behalf of his name… and through the prophetic scriptures has been made known to all the nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith (Romans 1:5, 16:26 NET).
Did you know that there are teachers today that reject the idea that obedience to God and His Word are essential parts of your faith in Christ? Can they read? Paul began and finished his great epistle to the Romans with the principle of obedience of faith. Obeying the Lord is not an option in Scripture in the Old and New Testaments, that is, IF we want God and the Lord Jesus by His Spirit working in our lives (John 14:21-26; 1 John 2:3-6 NET).
These articles will tear down some traditional interpretations, but they should not be construed as a denial of other areas of faith not covered in them. Faith is a BIG subject! For that very reason, I am adding audio messages to these articles that give you some other sides of Biblical faith. I hope you listened to the audio message, “Only Believe” with Part 1 of this series of articles. I suggest you listen to all the 37 audio messages in the series, “Removing Doubt from the Heart.” Only Believe was #28 from this series.
Bible faith as Paul understood it, was solidly based on the Old Testament or the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-17). He also based his understanding of faith on the words and example of Jesus in the Gospels. Jesus was the Word of God made flesh, so He and the written Word must agree (John 1:1-3, 14). That must be included in any assessment of Paul’s view of faith.
As we saw in the first article, Paul used the Scripture profusely in his epistles, either by direct quotations or by allusions. By allusions, I mean that he was constantly hinting at Scripture even though he was not necessarily quoting verses or naming the books where they were found.
Here is an oft-quoted verse used to establish Paul’s teaching on faith. There is no guessing game here!
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17 NKJV)
“The just shall live by faith” is a quotation of the second part of Habakkuk 2:4.[1]
 
Where did Paul’s definition of faith come from?
Was it from some special revelation only given to him? Paul’s definition of faith was confirmed by his choice of a proof text from the Old Testament, written almost seven centuries before he wrote Romans 1:17.
Paul almost exclusively used the Septuagint (LXX) Greek when quoting the Old Testament. The Septuagint was an ancient Jewish translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. The language was analyzed and the conclusion is that the Pentateuch was translated near the middle of the 3rd century B.C., and the rest of the Old Testament was translated in the 2nd century B. C.[2] The Greek of the New Testament reflects the Septuagint in hundreds of places.[3]
Gustav A. Deissmann (1866–1937), the renowned German Protestant theologian, said it like this:  
"A single hour lovingly devoted to the text of the Septuagint will further our exegetical knowledge of the Pauline Epistles more than a whole day spent over a commentary… Every reader of the Septuagint who knows his Greek (New) Testament will after a few days’ study come to see with astonishment what hundreds of threads there are uniting the Old and the New."[4]
Follow me in this. I am not splitting hairs here. It’s information every single believer should have.
Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4 in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11 by using the Greek word for faith (pistis) as it came to him from the Septuagint, but that was not its origin. The Hebrew original text was standing behind the Greek Septuagint and Paul’s usage. Hebrew has to be the place to look for the original meaning. That makes perfect sense to me, yet many prefer to see only the Greek, and do their best to dismiss the Hebrew standing behind it. That, my friends, is a huge lack in judgment!
Going back to the original Hebrew that stands behind the Greek is not only necessary, but it is doing an honest word study, whether you are a scholar, preacher, teacher, or a student of the Word. If one refuses to admit or rejects the Hebrew that stands behind all Greek Septuagint quotations (and word usage) in the New Testament, then one subscribes to a dishonest form of Biblical study. I don’t think any of us want to be accused of dishonesty.
What is the Hebrew word translated faith in Habakkuk 2:4, quoted by Paul in Romans 1:17 and in Galatians 3:11?
Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (BDB) is relevant today, even though newer dictionaries are in circulation. The Hebrew word that is generally translated faith in Habakkuk 2:4 is emunah, and BDB states that it means: firmness, fidelity, steadfastness, and steadiness. (See H530, 53b.) Those definitions are the ones found in the summarized version of the BDB on the Bible software on my cell phone. When looking at the definition of emunah (H530, 53b) in the full BDB, [5] we see that faithfulness and trust are added to the definition.
On page 53, column b, under entry #530, around the center of the page, we come to the BDB translation of Habakkuk 2:4: “a righteous man by his faithfulness liveth.” Pay close attention to the code right after the translation: (>faith LUTH AV RV). The list of abbreviations at the front of the dictionary is the place to decode it. The parenthesis means that the preceding translation of emunah as faithfulness is preferred to how Luther, the Authorized KJV, and the Revised Version translated it as faith! Luther, the KJV and the AV (among others) did not translate emunah. They injected into Habakkuk 2:4 their translation from the Greek New Testament back into the Old. That is backwards!
I am suggesting that we do the exact opposite, take the Hebrew definitions and inject them into the New!
Faithfulness is not “by faith alone” or “believing alone”. Not even close! Oops! That is contrary to centuries of protestant theology that began with Luther emphasizing “by faith alone”, one perpetuated by the KJV, RV, and the majority of versions.
Look back at these definitions of emunah. The words faith and believe are completely lacking in the Hebrew definition. “By faith alone” is missing in the BDB translation of Habakkuk 2:4.
Look at the NKJV translation of Habakkuk 2:4, one basically in agreement with the KJV and RV:
“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith.” (NKJV)
Translations like the NKJV are simply bringing into the Hebrew original text a translation of the verse according to the Greek New Testament that came from the Septuagint. They paid NO attention to the original Hebrew text!
Now, watch what happens when you don’t take the Greek as the final word or inject it back into the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. The Hebrew original text of Habakkuk 2:4 gives us a completely different picture.
“Look, the one whose desires are not upright will faint from exhaustion, but the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness” (NET).
A few other translations have the better word faithfulness: God’s Word, Good News Translation, Lexham English Bible, New International Revised Version, NIV, New Living Testament, Voice. Young’s Literal Translation has steadfastness. The Common English Bible has live honestly. The Complete Jewish Bible has trusting faithfulness. The Message has loyal and steady believing. All of these are much better than the word faith.
The New English Translation in Habakkuk 2:4, under note 15 says about the traditional translation of emunah as faith that it “nowhere else refers to ‘belief’ as such.” “Honesty, integrity, reliability, faithfulness” define emunah when used in reference to human conduct and character, as in this verse.[6]
Belief, faith, and believing are not even in the equation!
Here’s where it really gets messy.
Even though the NET gets it right in Habakkuk 2:4, they ignore the Hebrew background in Romans 1:17. They honestly believe it is the best scholarship to translate the text from the Greek and let it stay that way without elucidating the Hebrew behind it. They missed the point of Habakkuk 2:4 in Paul’s reference.
Don’t misunderstand me. Translators are working with the texts in front of them to the best of their abilities. They translate a word, generally, looking for a word or words that convey the meaning clearly into their target language. I believe translators are doing an excellent job, as far as word-for-word translations go, especially in the newer translations like the New English Translation and others. The issue I am referring to is in the realm of looking at the original language behind the Greek when Old Testament verses and allusions are found in the New Testament.
When the original emunah is translated from the Greek pistis as faith in the New Testament, without further explanation, it is misleading and woefully incomplete. It has to be elucidated based on Habakkuk 2:4, and other Old Testament verses we will get to. That is especially true if the verses are quoted in the New Testament!
Translators could include a footnote next to the word faith (and many others) in the New Testament. There should be a fuller explanation and definition based on the Hebrew original, but these are nowhere to be found! It’s better to translate faith (and believe) as a phrase based on the Hebrew definition. My God! That would have enhanced richly our faith in Christ in so many ways, and kept the church out of many strange and unfruitful interpretations. 
If I had known that Bible faith was, and is, correctly defined by faithfulness, steadfastness, loyalty, obedience, and trust, it would have made a huge difference in so many ways. Fidelity, firmness, and steadiness are not primarily (nor secondarily or even thirdly) your beliefs, but your Covenant relationship-fellowship with Him, your lifestyle, and actions according to His Word. Glory to God!
I learned some powerful lessons in the realm of faith from 1974 until 1986 (and I am still learning), such as trusting in the promises of God, speaking to the mountain to be removed, speaking of things that are not as though they were, getting your words to agree with God's Word, and so on (Romans 4:17-22; Mark 11:22-26). 
When I first learned some of the things I am sharing in these articles, sadly, I started to discard many of the things I learned earlier. I did not realize that what I was learning was not to take away from my faith, but to tweak and adjust me in it. God’s purpose was to take me further into the realm of faith than I had ever been. I threw out the baby with the bathwater! That was not a good idea! 
Now in 2017, I can look back, grin, and laugh at how ignorant I was, but it was no laughing matter then. It was havoc and sheer hell! That is one story that I will spare you from. I stepped away from the Lord and His Word over my errors (and sins) from 1989-1999, but (PTL) I came back to Him through repentance and renewal in April of 1999.
Looking back, since my initial commitment to Jesus in early 1974 (under the big tent of R. W. Schambach, Tampa Florida), I can truthfully say, that I am finally getting a clue! As I continue to study, finally, I am receiving from the Lord some understanding on how all these areas of faith complement each other and work together. They are not contrary to one another.  
I trust that these messages will take you much further in Him, and in faith, than I have ever been. I also trust that it will happen for you in a whole lot less time. 
Be mightily blessed! 
 
NOTES:
[1] Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38 also repeat, “the just shall live by faith.”
[2] https://www.britannica.com/topic/Septuagint
[3] An interesting question is, which Hebrew text stands behind the Septuagint (LXX)? According to the evidence of the Dead Scrolls, there were a few Hebrew manuscript traditions. One agreed more with the MT, one was like the LXX, and another like the Samaritan text of the Pentateuch. Then, there was the one that was different than those, like the one reflected in the great Isaiah Scroll, and there were more. This is important because scholars believed, until the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and examined, that the LXX had many Christian additions. The DSS proved that assumption wrong because they were pre-Christian! They found clear evidence of a textual tradition similar to the Septuagint. See Ostling, Richard N., “Dead Sea Scrolls” yield “major questions” in Old Testament understanding, (University of Notre Dame; https://news.nd.edu/news/dead-sea-scrolls-yield-major-questions-in-old-testament-understanding/, accessed 10-26-17); Tov, Emanuel; Searching for the “Original” Bible, (https://members.bib-arch.org/biblical-archaeology-review/40/4/10, accessed 10-26-17), and Tov, Emanuel. Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible. 2nd Rev. Ed. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2001, 114-117; where he states that Qumran-specific texts were 20%, Proto-Masoretic texts – 35%, Proto-Samaritan texts – 5%, Proto-Septuagint texts – 5%, Non-Aligned texts – 35%. 
[4] Deissmann, The Philology of the Greek Bible, its Present and Future, (1908, Hodder and Stoughton, London), pp. 12, 13.
[5] The BDB Hebrew and English Lexicon, (Hendickson Publishers, Massachussetts, 1996) coded to Strong’s numbers. Reprinted from the 1906 ed.
[6] The Lumina NET at Bible.org, translation note 15 in Habakkuk 2:4, https://lumina.bible.org/bible/Habakkuk+2 (accessed October 17, 2017)
 
________________
 
The audio message that follows is #29 from the series, “Removing Doubt from the Heart.” The name of the message is: Light Burden vs. the Devil's Heavy Weights. Messages 1-28 are already published on our website.