A WARNING FROM GOD’S WORD: Awake Christians Need to be Alert 31 DECEMBER 2018

The beauty of the lie creates a temptation to believe it. This is a message on the lies of our modern crooked generation enveloped in the Matrix in crooked places. Fairy tales used to be introduced by saying: “Once upon a time,…”, but now they are passed on as news reports, expert advice, scientific studies & science. In spiritual battle, the spiritual warrior must be alert, as temptations come quickly & responses must be quick & correct. This post is to help our preparedness.

A PROPHETIC TRUTH. God’s Word warns us of a prophetic truth: “For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them.”(A) This reminds me of the instructions given to communist national and intel leaders to always hide the state of affairs, to paraphrase: “When weak, pretend to be strong. And when strong, pretend to be weak.”

A CROOKED GENERATION. Today’s generation loves to bend & spin reality into fiction and to mix the “genuine imitation” with the genuine. The millenials have looked forward to robot people, cyborgs, part human-part animal creatures, the digitization of everyday life (a “Max-Head-Room reality” and other new virtual realities) including smart items like smart clothes & cybernetic implants. Many look forward to the elimination of hard copies & the digitization of knowledge, which will create rewriteable knowledge (a la 1984 book style). Recently, my textbooks in college were on the computer, but some of us old-school students got the actual textbooks…which were much easier & advantageous to use. When I was recently in college (2015-16), the millenials believed they were the first generation to get things right, like the elimination of gender. I was reminded of PRV 30:12: “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.” The Word warns that evil hates the light. (B) Nations that hated the light of truth were referred to as a “crooked nation” in Scripture. (C) Those whose ways were crooked are also mentioned. (D)

WARNING FROM THE WORD. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”(E) The Word contrasts God with a crooked generation in DEUT 32: “ A God of truth…just and right (F)…they are a perverse and crooked generation.” (G)

HOW THE WORLD SYSTEM DETERMINES TRUTH. Approved experts dispense “truth” rather than allowing truth to speak for itself. In contrast, the song says, “I know He lives because He lives within my heart.” The Holy Spirit’s truth, established with righteousness & goodness, can speak for itself. No need for proof from the World. For example, you know you exist. Duh, common sense. But the World’s philosophers must jump through philosophical mental hurdles to arrive at: “I think, therefore I am.” It is similar to New Testament times which the Scripture describe: “For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:”(H) And yet “the world by wisdom knew not God”(I) Because the religious leaders wanted a sign from heaven to prove Yahshua was for real, Yahshua repeatedly called them “perverse” & “crooked”. So “truth” in the World System of systems is established by experts who give “signs” and “wisdom”. Is seeing really a good way to believe?? Countless false images are displayed by the World, and were even in Biblical times. Many Christians have then fallen victim to this worldly “truth” process, following false teachers, false Bible translations, and false criticism of God & His Word. We need to be on guard for how things can be twisted & spun by the experts. When people rail against Christ, I tell them he is spiritually discerned; which is true, if you are evil and hate the light you will not see that he is majestic and full of truth. As Christ said as quoted by John, try his words and you will discover they are from God!

THE RIGHT FOCUS. Christ said we must lose our life in the World to find it in Him. “He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.”(J) What gifts (talents & blessings) has God given you?? We should have thankful hearts and “make melody in your heart”(K) Spiritual war is ugly, like war in general. The victor from spiritual war with the world will look filthy and often has been injured, but has lived to fight again. There is usually no easy way to win in spiritual warfare. We need to be alert and have a living faith in God & His Son Christ. Therefore, we should be kind to those of the faith who look filthy and injured from their spiritual battles, rather than rejecting & belittleling them. Every day we will be confronted with the beautiful lies of the World. We must put on our spiritual armor each day and be alert to these temptations. Have a blessed new calendar year in Christ my brothers & sisters!

REFERENCES. (A) 1 THS 5:3 (B) JN 3:20 (C) PHIL 2:5 (D) PRV 2:15, cf. ISA 59:8, LAM 3:9 & others (E) ISA 5:20-21 (F) DT 32:4 (G) DT 32:5b (H) 1 COR 1:22 (I) 1 COR 1:21a (J) MT 10:39 (K) EPH 5:19