Years ago, many years ago to be frank, there was an episode of the TV show “I Love Lucy” that depicted her taking a job as a representative of “Vitameatavegemin,” a health supplement that had vitamins, meat, vegetables, and minerals. The skit involved her shilling the benefits of the product, and, to prove the point, she took a big spoonful. As the tryout/practice continued, Lucy consumed a significant portion of the elixir. And, as soon became evident, the potion was very potent.
Well, you can guess the results. At first she grimaced and frowned at the taste. Then as the session continued, she began to exhibit the characteristics of inebriation. That skit came to mind while reading Isaiah 28. Check it out.
Woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim, And to the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley Of those who are overcome with wine! 2 Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand. 3 The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim is trodden under foot. 4 And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it. 5 In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown And a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; 6 A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate. 7 And these also reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment. 8 For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.
Isaiah begins with a little sarcasm. Other skits with Lucy show her becoming progressively more disheveled and incoherent as she continued to consume an alcohol infused product. Isaiah draws attention to the “proud crown” of the drunkards of Ephraim. Some skits showed Lucy with hat askew, stumbling around, mumbling somewhat incoherently. Sounds familiar. Isaiah repeated the description in v. 3 which he called a proud crown. He attributes this spectacle to being overcome with wine. In comparison, the Lord will bring an agent that will overwhelm the nation in another manner. “Ephraim” is another name for the northern kingdom of Israel. Later in the chapter, the nation of Judah is addressed, confirming that Isaiah has both parts of the country in mind.
He also repeats another descriptive phrase: “Woe...to the fading flower of its glorious beauty.” V. 1, 3 The debauchery is taking a toll on the nation and it will be swallowed like the first fig of summer. (V. 4) That exact event occurred in stages between 734 and 724 BC for Israel. Verse 5 inserts a glimpse into the future when the Lord will restore them.
But in the meantime v. 6-8 depict the scene of the beleaguered defenders attempting to repel the invasion. It includes the leaders, the defenders at the gate, the prophet and the priest. Verse 7 describes their behavior and it sounds exactly like our friend Lucy over 2500 years later. They reel with wine and stagger with strong drink. Picture a drunken cadre of soldiers attempting to repel invaders. You get the picture.
Verse 7 describes their demeanor and competence.
They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while having visions, They totter when rendering judgment.
Imagine a drunken Lucy defending the city, delivering a message of warning, sitting at the judge’s bench rendering decisions. Not an inviting prospect. But it gets worse. Verse 8 describes the environment in their office and even cafeteria.
For all the tables are full of filthy vomit, without a single clean place.
Imagine the stench if the whole place is covered. UGH!
This is more than a screed against the consumption of alcohol. It mirrors the actions and abilities of those who have rejected the Lord. The chapter continues to include the southern kingdom in the indictment, although in not so picturesque language. Ultimately both kingdoms were deported and placed into captivity that lasted for 70 years.
The point of this consideration is that we would be wise to avoid the types of behavior that would lead to a judicial indictment. Negative, profligate, and debauched behavior is often described as acting like a drunken sailor. “Spending like a drunken sailor,” comes to mind. Driving, walking, fighting, generally acting like a drunken sailor is not a commendable or enviable description.
Just for the record, I have enough episodes of staggering, reeling, being confused and tottering without adding an additional instigating or aggravating factor. I have enough trouble navigating life while sober. There is no telling how much damage would result from any other condition.
This is kind of a negative lesson. At least it is a sober (pun intended) reflection on the results of defying and disobeying the Lord. I want to walk a straight line. (Again, pun or allusion intended.) And thank you Johnny Cash.
Have a great, and dry day. And forego Vitameatavegemin.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Thursday, September 26, 2019
Galatians
I just love Romans. Paul lays out the perfect and complete version of Theology 101. He started with God and ended with some interpersonal interactions between believers. In between are layers of theology that cover everything from original sin, to redemption and forgiveness, to the end times. (PS the whole nation of Israel will turn back to God. End of story.)
But the little gem of Galatians kind of hides out farther back in the New Testament. The Gospel that he so carefully delineated in Romans was subject to disruption. Listen to verse 6 of ch 1:
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
He continues to declare that it is not really a different gospel, but a fake and that they should not even believe him if he presents an alternative. Pretty strong language there. And, just for the record, he also squelched the idea that even an angel could change or add to what he had delivered. Take that, cults.
Then to again spike any cannons, he outlines his credentials, including the acceptance of his Gospel by Peter and the Jerusalem church elders. (Read other apostles there.) What he preached was indeed from God and they all knew it. My intention is not to walk through the epistle but to hit the high points.
In chapter 3 he declares:
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
And the focus of his concern is revealed. A “works” component has been added to some of the teaching there. It essentially said that we are saved by grace, yes, but that we have to keep ourselves saved by our actions. It even implies that this “finished” salvation provided by Jesus is a little deficient. We can lose it, or take ourselves out of it, or fail to maintain it. Paul’s response was... “Bull hockey!”
Well, he was a little more discrete, “Are you so foolish?” And chapter 3 looks back to Abraham to confirm that it is by faith alone. (V. 6-9) Paul continues to point out that keeping the law is a futile enterprise. No one ever could, and no one ever can. We had to have a substitute, (there’s that word again) to remove the curse from us for failing to complete the transaction of keeping the law.
Verse 15 to the end of chapter 3 is a masterpiece of logic. If no one can alter a human contract unilaterally, then it is preposterous to believe and claim that God’s covenant can be amended. Since no one is able to keep the law, the whole world is “shut up” or bounded by the law so that the promise delivered by Christ can be afforded to everyone. (V. 22) Review quickly. God gave a promise to Abraham, His covenant: righteousness based on faith, and the extension of that promise to the entire world. So if Abraham got the promise by faith, it is ludicrous, literally nonsense to assert that there would be a different formula or recipe for others.
Was the law an enemy antagonist to faith? V. 21 b. Paul’s and my favorite negation: “May it never be!” Me genoito in Greek. That is repeated in Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2.; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11. (I told you Paul liked that. But I digress.) Paul, in his most strenuous language rejected that idea. The law was a tool, a school master to show us what our deficiencies were. A good teacher does not teach the class what they already know. He counters ignorance by teaching what they do not know. (I did that for years. Maybe I still do.)
Then in chapter 4 he extends the argument. An heir, the son of the land owner, is like a slave when he is a child. Both are under guardians and masters until the date that the father has designated for the son’s identification as such, or to use a Biblical term, adoption. Then the son has full privileges and responsibilities of ownership and leadership in the family.
We have received the adoption as sons (4:5) and now are full participants in His family. Verse 9 presents Paul’s anguish:
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, (been adopted into the family as the heir-ed) how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
Why do you want to return to the tutorship of the slave who “raised” you? The term, “foolish” comes to mind here, once again. Paul’s literal anguish is explained in 4:12-20. Then in chapter 5 Paul gets very stern and pointed.
Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?
Pay attention to what you are asking. Paul then appeals to Jewish history to compare Isaac with Ishmael. One was the son of a slave and the other was the son of Abraham’s wife, and the heir of the Promise that God had given. And for the final comparison, we turn back to Genesis,
“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
(That was in Genesis 21.) Do you want to be a slave again?
So Paul points out that people who put themselves back under the law are following an inferior relationship and inheritance. Ishmael got to wander in the wilderness, alone with no father. Isaac lived with his father and inherited the promised blessing. Sounds like an easy choice.
Paul turns to specifics in chapter 5.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (V. 1)
Slavery is the practice of keeping the law in order to please God. The specific item of dispute was being circumcised. Ironically, some today urge people to keep Jewish traditions and feasts as a means of “walking more closely with the Lord.” There is nothing wrong with observing them, but there is no inherent spiritual value or merit in them either. God doesn’t love us for keeping the feast of whatever any more than He loves those who do not keep it. This is even true for Jews. Ask Michael Rydelnyk, a Messianic Jew. (I suspect that he has read Galatians a time or two.)
Paul concludes the treatise in 5:7:
You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
The “caller” to observe the law and all of its customs was not “Him who calls you.” Don’t go there. But then just in case someone decides that good relations between “brothers” is superfluous to the Christian life, Paul spends the next two chapters outlining our responsibilities to each other. His paragraph headings speak for themselves.
5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit
Then chapter 6 finalizes the mandate to care for others and don’t behave like spoiled brats. And 6:17 is Paul’s final admonishment.
From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.
Shape up and don’t cause me so much trouble. What a fantastic lesson in applied theology. Paul wants us to all live like sons and treat others as if we like them. We do. I just love Galatians. I hope you do too.
But the little gem of Galatians kind of hides out farther back in the New Testament. The Gospel that he so carefully delineated in Romans was subject to disruption. Listen to verse 6 of ch 1:
I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;
He continues to declare that it is not really a different gospel, but a fake and that they should not even believe him if he presents an alternative. Pretty strong language there. And, just for the record, he also squelched the idea that even an angel could change or add to what he had delivered. Take that, cults.
Then to again spike any cannons, he outlines his credentials, including the acceptance of his Gospel by Peter and the Jerusalem church elders. (Read other apostles there.) What he preached was indeed from God and they all knew it. My intention is not to walk through the epistle but to hit the high points.
In chapter 3 he declares:
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
And the focus of his concern is revealed. A “works” component has been added to some of the teaching there. It essentially said that we are saved by grace, yes, but that we have to keep ourselves saved by our actions. It even implies that this “finished” salvation provided by Jesus is a little deficient. We can lose it, or take ourselves out of it, or fail to maintain it. Paul’s response was... “Bull hockey!”
Well, he was a little more discrete, “Are you so foolish?” And chapter 3 looks back to Abraham to confirm that it is by faith alone. (V. 6-9) Paul continues to point out that keeping the law is a futile enterprise. No one ever could, and no one ever can. We had to have a substitute, (there’s that word again) to remove the curse from us for failing to complete the transaction of keeping the law.
Verse 15 to the end of chapter 3 is a masterpiece of logic. If no one can alter a human contract unilaterally, then it is preposterous to believe and claim that God’s covenant can be amended. Since no one is able to keep the law, the whole world is “shut up” or bounded by the law so that the promise delivered by Christ can be afforded to everyone. (V. 22) Review quickly. God gave a promise to Abraham, His covenant: righteousness based on faith, and the extension of that promise to the entire world. So if Abraham got the promise by faith, it is ludicrous, literally nonsense to assert that there would be a different formula or recipe for others.
Was the law an enemy antagonist to faith? V. 21 b. Paul’s and my favorite negation: “May it never be!” Me genoito in Greek. That is repeated in Romans 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2.; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11. (I told you Paul liked that. But I digress.) Paul, in his most strenuous language rejected that idea. The law was a tool, a school master to show us what our deficiencies were. A good teacher does not teach the class what they already know. He counters ignorance by teaching what they do not know. (I did that for years. Maybe I still do.)
Then in chapter 4 he extends the argument. An heir, the son of the land owner, is like a slave when he is a child. Both are under guardians and masters until the date that the father has designated for the son’s identification as such, or to use a Biblical term, adoption. Then the son has full privileges and responsibilities of ownership and leadership in the family.
We have received the adoption as sons (4:5) and now are full participants in His family. Verse 9 presents Paul’s anguish:
But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, (been adopted into the family as the heir-ed) how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?
Why do you want to return to the tutorship of the slave who “raised” you? The term, “foolish” comes to mind here, once again. Paul’s literal anguish is explained in 4:12-20. Then in chapter 5 Paul gets very stern and pointed.
Tell me, you who want to be under law, do you not listen to the law?
Pay attention to what you are asking. Paul then appeals to Jewish history to compare Isaac with Ishmael. One was the son of a slave and the other was the son of Abraham’s wife, and the heir of the Promise that God had given. And for the final comparison, we turn back to Genesis,
“Cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”
(That was in Genesis 21.) Do you want to be a slave again?
So Paul points out that people who put themselves back under the law are following an inferior relationship and inheritance. Ishmael got to wander in the wilderness, alone with no father. Isaac lived with his father and inherited the promised blessing. Sounds like an easy choice.
Paul turns to specifics in chapter 5.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (V. 1)
Slavery is the practice of keeping the law in order to please God. The specific item of dispute was being circumcised. Ironically, some today urge people to keep Jewish traditions and feasts as a means of “walking more closely with the Lord.” There is nothing wrong with observing them, but there is no inherent spiritual value or merit in them either. God doesn’t love us for keeping the feast of whatever any more than He loves those who do not keep it. This is even true for Jews. Ask Michael Rydelnyk, a Messianic Jew. (I suspect that he has read Galatians a time or two.)
Paul concludes the treatise in 5:7:
You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion did not come from Him who calls you.
The “caller” to observe the law and all of its customs was not “Him who calls you.” Don’t go there. But then just in case someone decides that good relations between “brothers” is superfluous to the Christian life, Paul spends the next two chapters outlining our responsibilities to each other. His paragraph headings speak for themselves.
5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
5:25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit
Then chapter 6 finalizes the mandate to care for others and don’t behave like spoiled brats. And 6:17 is Paul’s final admonishment.
From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus.
Shape up and don’t cause me so much trouble. What a fantastic lesson in applied theology. Paul wants us to all live like sons and treat others as if we like them. We do. I just love Galatians. I hope you do too.
Monday, September 2, 2019
Cleansing
When rain falls, it hits the highest peaks first. That said, a cleaning process logically and logistically begins with the highest elements and progresses down the body of the object to be cleaned. When God cleans His church, the same principle will apply. The “highest” or most prominent and quite possibly the most Christ-like will experience the cleansing bath before anyone else.
Ironically, this came to mind in a dream. I was addressing a group of camp counselors and their charges. I do not remember the topic or passage from which I was speaking, (probably a good thing, now that I think about it) but as we progressed through the message a number of the leaders began to express repentance and contrition. Some merely wept quietly, while others got up and went to the altar and knelt. This was followed by others doing the same or approaching each other, whispering a few seconds, then embracing, often with tears.
The lesson didn’t seem to be that profound when I wrote it, but the Holy Spirit was using it in a mighty way. Now, mind you, this was a dream. But it made me think of two real-life situations. First, is the real predicament with which the church faces both the society in general and the coming future. And our second situation is this world itself. God’s message has been discarded and disregarded for decades. Is there hope?
Several pastors have recently discussed revival and, to a man, they commented that no revival in history has commenced without a movement of prayer preceding it. And we will not experience revival without prayer. A Christian radio network pauses every day at 12:00 to remind us to pray for our world, our country, our church, and our family. They present striking examples of how prayer “worked” in the past, and challenge us to emulate that posture today in our situation.
Weather disasters, military defeats, and spiritual confusion are just some of the examples cited. We literally face all of those things today. Our country, our churches severally and Church corporately, and our families are struggling with issues that seem unprecedented in history.
The second thing about revival after being introduced by prayer is that it “hits the highest peaks” first. Revival will begin at the top and wash down. The time for Jesus to return is drawing near. And, like the rain, the realization of His work will fall on the highest peaks first.
I grew up on a farm with a small septic tank. (This will tie into our thought, just hand on.) In an attempt to not overfill and thus cause a “toxic or noxious” spill, we conserved water. One way we did that was the washing machine did not empty into the septic system. It discharged out back under a tree, which I am sure benefited from the phosphates in the detergent. But I digress.
The practical application was that when we took baths, we shared the water, again to avoid overtaxing the capabilities of the limited septic system. And the smallest, and usually the cleanest, took their baths first, then we older, dirtier ones took ours last. God the Holy Spirit will begin to cleanse His family, the church. He will address the “cleaner” ones first, then progress down (literally) the line to the rest of us.
But the key issue is that He will clean us and prepare us for His service. This is our second point of application. This world is drying up and dying like the tomato plant that we put in our yard. We got a few plum-sized fruit from it, and the tomato lover was pleased with the crop. But the end is coming, both for that plant and for the world. The Lord is at the door. The angel is holding his trumpet to announce His return. 1 Corinthians 15:52
...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
That refers to His coming for the church, then seven years later He will return, with His church, all dressed in white to cleanse the world of those who reject Him. (Revelation 19:11, 14) That is just like the Flood in Noah’s day. What a spectacle! The Groom comes riding on a white charger and His Bride, in full regalia, that is a wedding gown, comes riding behind!
(Historical disclaimer. I think it was Queen Victoria in 1840 who began the tradition of a bride wearing a white gown. But she surely did not invent the concept. It was right there in Revelation. She merely copied it. That said, the “bride” in Revelation will probably not be wearing a “ball gown” such as we have come to expect at weddings. The white clothes, representing purity are not a vestige of historical interpretation. They are real. And they are the focus of our thoughts.)
(Second disclaimer. I heard a guy saying that “the last trump” (KJV) is the current President. He is a Trump. Can you say, “Bo-gus!” with gusto and disgust? The trumpet in Corinthians is a literal trumpet. My Dad called me son, but I did not light up the world. A coincidence in names is not a prophetic revelation. Don’t be foolish. Nuff said.
(Well maybe one more thing. I was dating a girl in college named Joy and she dumped me. I talked to my counselor and told him that I had just that morning read a verse that said, “...that I may finish my course with joy.” (Acts 20:24) That was a promise, I claimed, that Joy and I would live life together. “Nope,” (you dope, he didn’t say) “that is just a coincidence in words. It is not a prophetic comment.” Read the Bible carefully, but intelligently. Now nuff said.)
Back to cleansing. Purity begins at the top. Personal note: I wash my hair and head first, then down to the trunk and armpits, followed by, uh, well you know, then the legs and feet. TMI, probably. Top-down is the point. The pure church will be produced by cleansing from the top down. Pray for our leaders, that they will experience the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. Then we open ourselves to His purifying touch. Finally, let the “cleansing bath” wash all over the society and world.
John finished his survey of coming things with, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” Amen and amen. Be clean. (Revelation 22:20)
Ironically, this came to mind in a dream. I was addressing a group of camp counselors and their charges. I do not remember the topic or passage from which I was speaking, (probably a good thing, now that I think about it) but as we progressed through the message a number of the leaders began to express repentance and contrition. Some merely wept quietly, while others got up and went to the altar and knelt. This was followed by others doing the same or approaching each other, whispering a few seconds, then embracing, often with tears.
The lesson didn’t seem to be that profound when I wrote it, but the Holy Spirit was using it in a mighty way. Now, mind you, this was a dream. But it made me think of two real-life situations. First, is the real predicament with which the church faces both the society in general and the coming future. And our second situation is this world itself. God’s message has been discarded and disregarded for decades. Is there hope?
Several pastors have recently discussed revival and, to a man, they commented that no revival in history has commenced without a movement of prayer preceding it. And we will not experience revival without prayer. A Christian radio network pauses every day at 12:00 to remind us to pray for our world, our country, our church, and our family. They present striking examples of how prayer “worked” in the past, and challenge us to emulate that posture today in our situation.
Weather disasters, military defeats, and spiritual confusion are just some of the examples cited. We literally face all of those things today. Our country, our churches severally and Church corporately, and our families are struggling with issues that seem unprecedented in history.
The second thing about revival after being introduced by prayer is that it “hits the highest peaks” first. Revival will begin at the top and wash down. The time for Jesus to return is drawing near. And, like the rain, the realization of His work will fall on the highest peaks first.
I grew up on a farm with a small septic tank. (This will tie into our thought, just hand on.) In an attempt to not overfill and thus cause a “toxic or noxious” spill, we conserved water. One way we did that was the washing machine did not empty into the septic system. It discharged out back under a tree, which I am sure benefited from the phosphates in the detergent. But I digress.
The practical application was that when we took baths, we shared the water, again to avoid overtaxing the capabilities of the limited septic system. And the smallest, and usually the cleanest, took their baths first, then we older, dirtier ones took ours last. God the Holy Spirit will begin to cleanse His family, the church. He will address the “cleaner” ones first, then progress down (literally) the line to the rest of us.
But the key issue is that He will clean us and prepare us for His service. This is our second point of application. This world is drying up and dying like the tomato plant that we put in our yard. We got a few plum-sized fruit from it, and the tomato lover was pleased with the crop. But the end is coming, both for that plant and for the world. The Lord is at the door. The angel is holding his trumpet to announce His return. 1 Corinthians 15:52
...in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
That refers to His coming for the church, then seven years later He will return, with His church, all dressed in white to cleanse the world of those who reject Him. (Revelation 19:11, 14) That is just like the Flood in Noah’s day. What a spectacle! The Groom comes riding on a white charger and His Bride, in full regalia, that is a wedding gown, comes riding behind!
(Historical disclaimer. I think it was Queen Victoria in 1840 who began the tradition of a bride wearing a white gown. But she surely did not invent the concept. It was right there in Revelation. She merely copied it. That said, the “bride” in Revelation will probably not be wearing a “ball gown” such as we have come to expect at weddings. The white clothes, representing purity are not a vestige of historical interpretation. They are real. And they are the focus of our thoughts.)
(Second disclaimer. I heard a guy saying that “the last trump” (KJV) is the current President. He is a Trump. Can you say, “Bo-gus!” with gusto and disgust? The trumpet in Corinthians is a literal trumpet. My Dad called me son, but I did not light up the world. A coincidence in names is not a prophetic revelation. Don’t be foolish. Nuff said.
(Well maybe one more thing. I was dating a girl in college named Joy and she dumped me. I talked to my counselor and told him that I had just that morning read a verse that said, “...that I may finish my course with joy.” (Acts 20:24) That was a promise, I claimed, that Joy and I would live life together. “Nope,” (you dope, he didn’t say) “that is just a coincidence in words. It is not a prophetic comment.” Read the Bible carefully, but intelligently. Now nuff said.)
Back to cleansing. Purity begins at the top. Personal note: I wash my hair and head first, then down to the trunk and armpits, followed by, uh, well you know, then the legs and feet. TMI, probably. Top-down is the point. The pure church will be produced by cleansing from the top down. Pray for our leaders, that they will experience the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. Then we open ourselves to His purifying touch. Finally, let the “cleansing bath” wash all over the society and world.
John finished his survey of coming things with, “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” Amen and amen. Be clean. (Revelation 22:20)
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