As It Was In The Beginning...Part 2

Paul wrote in Romans:

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
(Romans 12:19-21 KJV)

Paul tells us that we are not to move into vengeance. The word vengeance is defined as punishment inflicted in retaliation for an injury or offense. But in place of vengeance we are to make a place for wrath. Wrath is defined as Gods righteous judgment. The word place is the word topos. It is the same word we get topography from. Topography is the study and charting of physical features of a place or region. In this case the actual place is a moment in time. What Paul is telling us is that if we respond as Jesus has told us to, an actual spot is created that God will judge the offender for.

Jesus said that offences must occur and that there would be divine retribution on the offenders.

"Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!"
Matthew 18:7 (NKJ)

Notice that Jesus said that offences must come. He did not say that offenses might come, or that maybe there will be a few here and there. He states that they must come. Why?

There seems to be a mentality that permeates Christendom that once you enter the kingdom, all will be rosy and well with you. A frame of mind that believes that since I'm saved and with Jesus, my life will be without strife. This cannot be further from the truth. Jesus himself stated:

Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than

his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

(John 15:20 KJV)

Jesus gives us fair warning that the kingdom road will have a lot of bumps, potholes and barriers on it. The reality of kingdom life will be treacherous at times and deadly at others. The "gentle Jesus meek and mild" mentality is one that all but guarantees inaccuracy and deception in the life of the believer and must be rooted out of our thought processes if our intention is to fulfill the Fathers will and be victorious in our walk in this realm. For offenses must come…

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory

and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of,

but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer,

or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the

house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be

of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved,

where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer

according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him

in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
(1 Peter 4:14-19 KJV)

Peter releases accurate technology in this passage and he offers great encouragement for the suffering, but at the same time tells us that all (the saved, the ungodly and the sinner) will each experience it. He begins by equating the name of Christ with the reproach. The word name is the word 'onoma' and means character. The issues for the believer will begin when we exhibit a Christ like character in our lives. But remember that the good, the bad and the ugly will also face issues, but our concern is with the believers' response in suffering and Peter tells us that when it arises 'Be Happy'!

In modern vernacular the phrase happy are ye, sounds ridiculous and in fact, that is not what Peter is telling us. The word happy used here is 'makarios' and it describes one that is supremely blest and he tells us why we are. He says that when this persecution arises, the Spirit of glory AND the Spirit of God rests upon us. At that moment and time you accurately manifest as a vessel of God. Makarios is the same word used by Jesus in the beatitudes where he states:

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,
and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the
prophets which were before you.
(Matthew 5: 10-12 KJV)

Peter also gives us insight into the reality that Godly judgment and suffering is a kingdom operating principle and that it begins with the house of God; us. Moreover Peter tells us that our sufferings will be according to the will of God and for that reason we must adapt accurate reflexive responses for when we are exposed to it. (We will explore accurate responses later)

Paul states:

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

(2 Timothy 3:12-13 KJV)

Once again take note that not some will suffer persecution, but all that would live Godly lives in Christ Jesus. And he follows that revelation with the fact that evil men and seducers would wax worse and worse. Many curious points can be seen in this passage.

First, Paul uses the use of the word wax to describe the increase of the evil men and seducers. Wax is the Greek word 'prokopto' and means to drive forward as if by beating. This speaks of an extremely forceful advance that will propel this evil deception. It not only describes it as being forceful, but also that it will increase in frequency and intensity. This is re-enforced by the repetitive clause of worse and worse. It will present us with a season that "just when you thought it was over", Bam! It just got worse. Paul also applies this repetitive clause to the deception itself, it too will increase in strength and frequency.

Second, Paul's inclusion of the seducers into the mix provides us with a deeper insight into the season. A seducer is a 'goes' (go'-ace). In its proper form it is someone who is described as being a wizard, as one muttering spells or incantations, but is also used to imply that one is an imposter. When one conjures up a spell or speaks incantations, the soul purpose is an attempt to force their will upon someone else or to get someone else to align with their agenda or desires. If we combine that thought with the concept of one being an imposter, we can very easily see how that would fit into the deceptive period that Jesus warns of. As we discovered earlier, the "name of Jesus" is an issue of character, but many of the deceivers (deceivilers!) will invoke it as if it were a magical incantation. Oddly enough, this is the only usage of this particular word in the New Covenant and in order to glean additional insight into these individuals we must look for similarities in other passages.

In Mark, Jesus states:

For false Christ's and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders,
to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed: behold,
I have foretold you all things.
(Mark 13:22-23 KJV)

Many places in the New Testament make reference to false Christ's, false prophets and false teachers and even false apostles. Any function that can operate within the Body of Christ will have a “false” counterpart. Since this is the case it seems an understanding of what exactly defines “false” would be in order.

The prefix used for false in all of the above functions is the word 'pseudes', (psyoo-dace'). As can be expected, it literally means something is not true. It infers that something is erroneous, deceitful or wicked. It comes from the root word 'pseudomai', which means to utter an untruth or attempt to deceive by falsehood. All these definitions seem applicable in light of our study, but lets go deeper. The word erroneous is quite possibly the most enlightening of all.

One of the issues that arise when we begin to look at the concept of deception within the Body of Christ is one of intentions. ­

What is the intention of the deceiver?

Are they aware of their actions?

Do they understand the consequences of their actions?

I believe that the word erroneous and its definition will illuminate our understanding and possibly answer these questions, but also incites many more.

Erroneous is defined as something containing or derived from error. It has also been described as to wander or stray: deviating from the right course.

For something to be erroneous, a conclusion based upon inaccurate information must have been drawn. An assumption or an error must have entered into the process of establishing the position of stance. The stance is the place of standing on a matter. In this case, it is a religious one.

An example:

A ship leaves port in New York City bound for London, England. The crew has been trained and the Captain has been tested on open water. The course has been charted and the weather has been checked, but unbeknownst to anyone is the fact that the compass is off by one degree. Seven days later the ship arrives in Spain.

"It was only off a little". They arrived at their conclusion by error. An erroneous assumption had been made. In light of our example, no real damage has been done. For back tracking is allowed. One of the crew probably had the responsibility of checking the compass for accuracy and making simple adjustments, but assumed that since it was okay thus far...

The same is true in the body ecclesia. Did the "compass checker guy" wake up one morning and say, "I want to go to Spain, so I'm going to readjust the compass and not tellanyone"? Absolutely not! In fact he probably would lose his job or even end up in jail if that were the case. The same is true concerning the intension of the deceiver. He did not wake up one morning and determine to lead the church into error. He, like the "compass checker guy", arrived at a conclusion based upon error and assumption. In fact, his intention is to assist us in becoming the best possible Christian that we can be, but because of his inaccuracies in doctrine, he is inadequate to provide the necessary guidance to our internal compasses.

For many, many years, the church has blindly followed captains that have been using the same compass, without thought of checking it for accuracy. Who is at fault? All of us!

Each one of us has been called to kingship. That translates to "captain" of our own vessel. We don't have compass checker guys with which to rely upon. We are the chief cook, bottle-washer and, finally, the compass checker guy of this dinghy! No one else has that responsibility and/or right!

Are the deceivers aware of their deception? No they are not!

Quite frankly, they believe that they are absolutely on course. In fact, they believe that they are the only ones that are on course and are absolutely right in their own minds. And they are correct!

A simple rule of thought on this or any position is this: Jesus said that the deceivers would come, therefore, they will. They must or Jesus lied. The concept Jesus could or would lie is not even a remote possibility, nor open for discussion.

For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and wonders,

to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. But take ye heed:

behold, I have foretold you all things.

(Mark 13:22-23 KJV)

If Jesus said they are going to come, they are coming. Whether you, any religious leader or I disagree is irrelevant, they are coming. In fact, they are already here. And how is it that they are unaware of their deception or the fact that they are deceived themselves?

In looking back throughout biblical history, there are multitudes of events in which one would wonder, "What were they thinking? Can't they see what's going on? Are they blind?” These are relevant questions that require insight. Perhaps through examination we can glean the answers we have need of.

2 Samuel 16 tells a story of King David fleeing Jerusalem from his son Absalom for reasons irrelevant for this expository. While on the way out of the city, a relative of the now deposed King Saul, Shimei, runs alongside David throwing stones and dust at him and all the while cursing him. David's armor bearer, Abishai the son of Zeruiah says to David: "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over, I pray thee, and take off his head". (2 Samuel 16:9 KJV) (Accurate Christian response at it's best!) David replies to Abishai:

And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? So let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, wherefore hast thou done so?

(2 Samuel 16:10 KJV)

But the king replied, "what concern is my business to you, sons of Zeruiah?" Let him curse! If Yahweh has said to him, "Curse David!" what right has anyone to say, "Why have you done so?"

2 Samuel 16:10 (NJB)

"No!" the king said. "What am I going to do with you sons of Zeruiah! If the LORD has told him to curse me, who am I to stop him?"

2 Samuel 6:IO (NLT)

Notice David's response. Instead of looking at the man (Shimei), He looks to God. David recognizes that God is in control of the situation. Not only is God aware of where David (the believer) is, but is also in control of the deceived (Shimei). And David announces this revelation to Abishai. Further study into this event yields a wealth of insight.

First, the name Shimei' means something heard and comes from the root word 'shama', which means to hear intelligently, and often implies obedience. By definition Shimei was acting upon that which he had heard. Who did he hear it from? David states: "If the LORD has told him to curse me, who am I to stop him?" Which one of us, if we heard the Lord clearly would not do the same? But David is a picture of accuracy that reforming Christians should model.

Second, 'Abishai', the son of Zeruiah, who actually represents believers also, is an example of inaccuracy. His name means a gift. How sweet is that? But when combined with his father's name, 'Zeruiah', it means a gift that cracks under pressure! And it should also be noted that Abishai had a penchant for this type of response.

In 1 Samuel 26 is the account of David finding Saul sleeping with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. At this season in history, Saul is looking to kill David and David has the opportunity to end the attempts upon his life at this moment. Once again our clear thinking alter ego, Abishai, responds:

Abishai then said to David, 'Today God has put your enemy in your power;
so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke!
I shall not need to strike him twice.'

1 Samuel 26:8 (NJB)

It appears that Abishai is of the "warfare camp". It seems his basic impulse is to kill all that oppose him or his belief system. He is of the "kill' em all, let God sort it out" mentality! David on the other hand realizes that even though he has an opportunity to end it all and possibly live in peace, God has his hand in the mix.

And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can stretch forth his hand against the LORD'S anointed, and be guiltless?

(I Samuel 26:9 KJV)

David's use of the phrase 'the Lords anointed' reveals that he understood that God had placed Saul in the position that he was in: both as the king and as the pursuer. He understood that circumstances and events were in motion here that were greater than his understanding could comprehend and he was determined to allow them to play out, regardless of personal consequence. For all that he knew, Saul could rise up and kill him the next day, but he acknowledged that God was in control and accepted that possibility. He also released God to do with Saul whatever He desired, but David was not going to be the assassin. Abishai, on the other hand, would not have hesitated to kill Saul and would have been operating in error with his wrong response.

Was Saul deceived? The only obvious answer is yes. He was deceived into thinking that David was his enemy. But where did this deception come from? Where did it begin? If traced to its origin, we might think that it began with David smiting Goliath, but in reality it began with Saul disobeying God. Goliath was the hero of the Philistines and a mighty large man! All of Israel trembled at the thought of fighting this brute, including Saul. David on the other hand was connected to God and didn't fear. Saul by this point had already been rejected from the kingdoms throne by the prophet Samuel (1 Sam 15:26) and knew that the Lord was not with him. After David slew Goliath in a righteous battle, the people of Israel began lifting David's conquests higher than Saul's. This infuriated Saul to the point of wanting to kill David. But notice where the spirit came from:

And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God

came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house:

and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was

a javelin in Saul's hand. And Saul cast the javelin; for he said,

I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out

of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD

was with him, and was departed from Saul.

(I Samuel 18:10-12 KJV)

Why would the Lord either put or send an evil spirit upon someone?

In 1 Samuel 15, God sent Saul on a mission to wipe out the Amelekites. The Amelekites had ambushed Israel when they were coming out of Egypt. They had come up from behind and slaughtered many and it is said, "he (Amalek) feared not God".

Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God. (Deuteronomy 25:17-18 KJV)

This assault upon Israel did not go un-noticed by God. He told Moses that the day would come when God would command Israel to "blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it". (Deuteronomy 25: 19 KJV) This is what God had told Samuel to relay to Saul. The command was very specific.

Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have,

and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling,

ox and sheep, camel and ass.

(I Samuel 15:3 KJV)

Gods command concerning the destruction of Amalek and the Amalekites was precise and definitive: wipe them out completely! Not just the human beings, every being, everything! Man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camels and ass AND all of their possessions. Destroy their remembrance from the earth! God's word to Moses was that they would "blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven". When something is blotted out, it is utterly removed to the degree that proof of their existence would be difficult to find. That was Gods command. What was Saul's response?

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

(I Samuel 15:7-9 KJV)

Was God not clear in His command?

Why would Saul not have followed the command to the letter?

Could Saul have been deceived and if so what was Saul's deception?

Saul's deception was in that he thought he knew what was best.

Back in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had been exposed to the knowledge of good and evil, and Saul was moving in that: the knowledge of good and evil. At issue here is whether or not Saul truly knew what was best. In Saul's mind the killing of the healthy animals served no purpose at all and why destroy the spoils of the battle when they can be used for reward? Yes, he did kill all the people and the sick or feeble animals, but the good stuff, all that was good, he kept. How did Saul determine what was good?

Good for food = lust of the flesh
Pleasant to the eyes = lust of the eyes
Be desired to make wise = pride of life

Sound familiar?

Was this not Eve’s issue also?

And what was the consequence for his disobedience?

Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that

I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me,

and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel;

and he cried unto the LORD all night.

(I Samuel 15:10-11 KJV)

No amount of intercession on Samuels's part was going to change the outcome of this disobedience. What is curious is the interaction that occurs between Samuel and Saul.

And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD:

I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, 'they have brought them from the Amalekites:

for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.
(I Samuel 15:13-15 KJV)

Busted!

But to make matters worse notice Saul's Adamic response: They have brought them! He
responded as Adam did when confronted by God: "Lord that woman you gave me"! Saul blamed the people rather than excepting responsibility for failing to follow Gods command. The biblical principle is when leaders lead, people follow. Why did the people bring home and not destroy the good stuff? They did as Saul did! He was the decision maker in this circumstance and he made wrong decisions based upon his limited knowledge of good and evil. He understood good and evil from a carnal (fleshly) point of view. God on the other hand always knows what is best.

The basic problem with our knowledge of good and evil is that our decisions are usually based upon our circumstances, our desires and our perceived needs. Notice I said our perceived needs. Our knowledge of good and evil is always based upon what we perceive that we need. Not necessarily what would be best for our growth in the kingdom. In our perception, anything bad or uncomfortable is definitely not needed!

The Word declares in Matthew (6:8) that God knows what we have need of even before we ask, and I submit that He knows what we have need of even if we don't or won't ask! His knowledge of good and evil is not based upon perception, but reality. 'Perception' is defined as: the attaining of awareness resulting from the use of senses, the awareness of one's environment through physical sensation. Our five senses are not the spiritual receptors we perceive them to be, but rather they are flesh-focused satisfiers.

Our five senses are flesh devices. Without flesh we would not have our five senses. No man can see into the spirit with his natural eye, nor can he hear in the spirit with his natural ear and if we were to remove our eyes and ears we would lose those senses. But we tend to rely on our physical senses to make decisions that must be spiritually discerned. Paul attempted to explain this to us:

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

(Romans 7:18 KJV)

There may be times when we hear God, but that hearing is spiritually received and discerned. It may seem as if we are hearing Him with our ear, but it is not so. This does not mean that God could not aurally approach humans, but as a norm, He speaks to us in our spirits; for God is a spirit, He is The Spirit.

The writer of Hebrews endeavored to explain the correlation between our senses and the knowledge of good and evil, and that because of erroneous doctrinal positions that knowledge has been hindered.

But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

(Hebrews 5:14 KJV)

This passage reveals that in order to understand the deeper dimensions of God we must come through a process of exercising our senses. This word exercise reveals much of the process. Exercise is the Greek word 'gumnazo' and literally means to practice naked as if in the games. The reference is to the ancient athletes who would practice unclothed for the Olympic games, but the technology for us lies in the laying of our senses before us naked to understand their operation in kingdom matters. And the first step in this process is the realization that our five senses are fleshly and will lie to us! This can be seen in Saul's interaction with Samuel.

What was Saul's supposed motive:

...to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God.

With carnal perception, Saul attempts to justify his actions, unaware that God has already informed Samuel of the reality of the situation. In Saul's perception, it made no sense to destroy the good stuff. It was contrary to his fleshly senses.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
(Romans 8:7-8 KJV)

...and those who live by their natural inclinations can never be pleasing to God.
Romans 8:8 (NJB)

Saul had absolutely no intention of sacrificing the spoils from the Amalekites unto God. This can be seen in the way he acquired them:

Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD?
(I Samuel 15:19 KJV)

Samuel states that he swooped down upon the booty! [Fly upon the spoil (Heb)] He saw that it was good stuff and made the decision based upon that perception. It was GOOD. It was Good for HIM! If his mindset were one of sacrifice unto God, the spoils would have been handled in a Godly manner.

Can you imagine for a moment, picking trash out from someones garbage and then turning around and giving that trash back to the person as a gift? The person throwing it out has already deemed it worthless trash, worthy only of destruction. That is what Saul is claiming to want to do when he lies to Samuel about saving the good stuff as a gift for God.

Just for a moment, take the time to consider what your personal behaviors are when you offer a gift unto God. Do you do it hastily? Reverently? Do you swoop into action? Or rather approach God with forethought to your action?

Saul was in it for his own gain. He suffered from an intense natural inclination towards pleasing the people rather than obeying God. When finally confronted, he spills the beans and confesses.

And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the
people, and obeyed their voice.

(I Samuel 15:24 KJV)

In this season of deception the greatest voice that will be utilized against fulfilling the mandate of God will be the voice of the masses. It must be seen that the voice that deceived Saul was the voice of the children of Israel and Israel represents the church. The pressure to disobey God came from the very people that had gone into this battle with him. It was not an outside voice that caused the disobedience; it was those by his side.

Jesus tells us that in the end-time season of deception that it will be those by our side that will be the deceivers.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
(Matthew 24:4-5 KJV)

The statement "take heed that no man deceive you" is followed by "for many shall come in my character [name: onoma]" and tells us that the deception will come in a familiar package and that it will succeed in its mission; deception. It does not say that the world will deceive you. It says that false brethren will. Remember that the false brethren are defined by the characteristics of having arrived at their position based upon erroneous conclusions or doctrines.

This is also re-enforced later in the same passage when Jesus talks of betrayal.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

(Matthew 24:9-10 KJV)

Who is the "they" that Jesus is referring too? He is speaking of those that have come in his character! Those that on the outside look just like us, but Jesus told us that inwardly they are as ravening wolves.Beware false prophets, come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Beware false prophets, come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly

they are ravening wolves.
(Matthew 7:15 KJV)

Because of our inaccurate perception of good and evil, we look for deception to come to us in an ugly package. This again is based upon our reliance upon our senses, but Jesus in many passages tells us that the outward appearance is not to be the guide.

Consider liver!

Liver is (supposed to be!) good for our bodies. It contains nutrients that enrich our blood cells. BUT, my senses have a real problem with liver. I don't like the way it looks. I don't like the way it tastes, nor smells. In fact, I don't even like the sound it makes when it slaps down upon my plate! BUT, it's good for me. Watch what happens when a small child is given liver for the first time, or should I say watch what doesn't happen. This I believe is the primary reason God gave us onions! Onions have the inherent ability to change the way things smell and appear. You can grill onions and draw the masses! But liver is still liver, but now…it's liver with onions! You senses have just been deceived!

It is the same with spiritual matters. Our senses are so easily deceived into accepting evil as good.

One of the greatest evils the end-time believers will face is that of the many... to be continued