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Beware of the times we're living in; don't be deceived!
Fred R. Coulter—May 10, 2025
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Now this week had been a momentous week and now we're going to see on a grand scale those who profess belief in God but actually follow Satan the devil, just like Jonathan pointed out with Adam and Eve. {message: You Believe IN God, But Do You Believe God?}
This week I was on the phone talking with someone and we were discussing about when they would elect a new pope. I said, well, I'll turn on the television and see what's happening. I turned it on and it said they've elected a new pope.
So that was quite a coincidence that that happened there. I stuck around and watched everything, watched it until the new pope came. He was born in Chicago so he is an American citizen but he is actually Italian, French and Spanish by inheritance, so he's not one of the sons of Jacob. His name is Robert Francis Prevost, age 69. He took the name Leo XIV.
He was the first American to be selected as head of the Roman Catholic Church. He's also a member of the Augustinian religious order, which means that he follows the philosophies of Augustine.
Now you will find this with the Catholics, just exactly as Jonathan said. They will profess God. They will use the name of God. But they don't believe what He said even if they read parts of the Bible!
Before he was raised to be pope, he was the Perfect of the Dicastery of Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He's age 69. Now this tells us something.
Let's say that this man is duplicitous in everything that he does. He sounds sincere, which I'm sure he is, but sincerely wrong! So, when he began to speak in English, he says:
God loves us, all of us. Evil will not prevail. We're all in the hands of God and among ourselves we'll go forward. We are disciples of Christ. Christ goes before us and the world needs His Light.
Oh, doesn't that sound very Scriptural? But where was he saying this? He was saying this in the Vatican, St. Peter's Basilica, on the porch where they introduced the new pope to the world. What's all around on top of the buildings right in Vatican Square? Idols!
Then before that, on Sunday, I watched the complete mass that they had in St. Peter's Basilica. You see all these men—and I like to put it this way—dressed up as women. Now then, everything was scripted. There wasn't one thing that was spontaneous from the heart. The cardinal who performed everything for that Mass, and of course the Mass, the Eucharist, that's not of God!
They think it is of God. Well, when we read in 1-Cor. 10, Paul says, you can't eat the bread of demons and the drink of demons, because everything that they do is not for God! I just summarize that. You go back and read that.
The bread they had was a round wafer, and then they raise it up. They have the cup there, and the one who's performing the ceremony has incense and he goes around and sprinkles it. Behind him is the great altar, and on top of the great altar is the sunburst showing that they're worshiping the sun!
Then they gave portions to whoever would come up. A certain one went over to where all the cardinals were that would be voting for the new pope, and they all took the little wafer and dipped it in the wine and ate it! Now, that is not anything close to the Passover of Jesus Christ, but it's convincing.
People look at it and they think this is wonderful, and they think that this is really good and God will accept it. Then they had one man take this very big decorated Bible, and he had escorts, and he walked up to a podium and laid it there and opened it up. Then the one who was reading read John 21 all the way up through to Peter. I wonder why they stopped at Peter? Because they believed that the church was built on Peter! We've covered that before.
Now back to what this new pope was doing. When he spoke in Italian, he was revealing that the Catholic religion is a true 'mystery religion.' So, here is the blessing that he gave in Italian; that is after he greeted all of those in Latin America in Spanish. Now listen to this:
Excerpts from: Robert Prevost's first speech as Pope Leo XIV
{https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xvi-peace-be-with-you-first-words.html}
God loves us all!....
And I'm sure that he will say it's unconditional love just like the Protestants. What he said shows that the Catholic Church has nothing to do with the true God but is the Babylonian mystery religion! Now if you've never read the book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop written in 1800s. I think 1850s or 70s was the first publication of it.
By the way, the Catholics only agreed that Mary was received bodily into the heavens in the 1800s. Now how are they going to know 1800 years after she has died? They don't know! But let me read it. Here's his blessing translated from the Italian.
Today is the day of the Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary…
Not the Father:
- How were we to pray?
- What does Matt. 6 tell us?
- What did Jesus tell us? Our Father!
Isn't it interesting that all of these unmarried priests and cardinals are called 'father'? In some cases they are because there are probably a lot of illegitimate children from their promiscuous ways! Let's go on here.
…Our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, to be close, to help us with her intercession and her love….
In other words, Mary stands between the people and God! Now also think on this. What is one of the main doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church that the Protestants follow? We're going to see the Protestants become more and more Catholic. They may not have all the ritual that the Catholics have.
So let us pray, Mary our mother….
So, what is the prayer?
…Mary our mother. Hail Mary full of grace. Our Lord be with you. Blessed are you among women. Blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus. Holy Mary mother of God. Pray for us sinners now at the last hour of our death. Amen….
How's that for a little blasphemy? Yes indeed!
Was Mary the mother of God? NO! She was the mother of the Son of God, from God the Father! Read Luke 1, the angel said that the Holy Spirit is going and that which is being begotten in you, present tense at the time he was speaking, shall be called the Son of God—not God!
When you have that 'Mary is the mother of God,' it means she's superior to Jesus! And that if the Catholics pray to Mary, she will turn to Jesus and say, 'Oh, Son, will You do this for us?' Well, she never went to heaven, and she'll be in the first resurrection.
…Holy Mary mother of God, let us pray for our sin, pray for us sinners now and at the last hour of our death.
Now then, let's look and see what kind of worship that this really is.
We're going to see a lot of things take place and I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of ministers, maybe even some in the Churches of God who will say that this is the last pope. How will we know if he is the last pope or not?
Now as we're talking about Babylon the Great, and we'll talk about it here a little bit later. Now we have looked at the popes down through time and seen how that they have done a lot of things to try and bring others into the fold. Let's see what this pope will do. If he's going to be the last pope, then we will see he'll have to do miracles. The Beast Power will have to come up sometime during his tenure as pope. So, John saw this vision:
Revelation 13:1: "And I stood on the sand of the sea; and I saw a beast rising up out of the sea..."—Babylon the Great!
So the whole world is going to be Babylon the Great. Could it be what we're looking at now is the final development that will end up being Babylon the Great at its highest point ever?
Now remember this: All nations or countries or empires fall right after they reach the highest point of their development!
Verse 2: "And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, and his feet like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion; and the dragon… [Satan the devil] …gave him his power, and his throne and great authority."
That's coming! That's not here, yet. This will end up being the King of the North, as we'll cover in prophecies a little later.
Verse 3: "And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death, but his deadly wound was healed; and the whole earth was amazed and followed the beast."
Even some Protestant ministers say that this verse applies to Trump, because he was wounded in the ear. Well, it barely graced his ear. It wasn't the wound under death. And even though Trump is religious and professes Jesus pretty powerfully, he does so as the leader of a nation, not one who is truly converted and in the Church having the Spirit of God in him!
Now notice what the world is going to do. This follows up on what this new Pope Leo XIV said when he read about Mary. They worship the dragon (Rev 12) that's Satan the devil.
So. this shows that the Babylonian Mystery Religious System is worshipping Satan the devil!
Verse 4: "And they worshiped the dragon, who gave his authority to the beast. And they worshiped the beast, saying, 'Who is like the beast? Who has the power to make war against him?' And a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to him… [I don't think Donald Trump's doing that from what I've seen] …and authority was given to him to continue for forty-two months" (vs 4-5).
Then we come to the false prophet, v 11[transcriber's correction]: "And I saw another beast rising out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon."
Perfect description of the whole Catholic system! The Protestants will flock back whenever the pope—whoever he is—whether he's this one or another one to come, we don't know.
- we have to know them by their fruits
- we have to know what they do
"…he had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon."
In other words, just like I pointed out here, the pope:
- speaks one thing to this group of people
- speaks another thing to this group of people
Sidebar on this—It is thought, that he was perhaps chosen as pope because the Vatican Bank is about ready to go broke and Pope Benedict didn't fix it and Pope Francis didn't fix it. So, they're turning to someone and this pope says that he's not a socialist, he's a capitalist. we'll see what happens.
But since he was born in Chicago, think what's going to happen when he comes and visits America. Think how much money will pour into the Catholic Church because of that.
So, we've got a lot to see, a lot to look at ahead of it here. IF he is the last pope, then he has got to endorse making images of the beast! He's got to endorse the mark of the beast about buying and selling.
So there's a lot to happen. Now a lot of the pieces we can see in the world today are out there developing and we'll look at this Babylonian system. Let's think of it this way God is going to let it rise to its greatest power and glory that this whole system has ever seen.
Let's see the prophecy in Isa. 47 because this is a prophecy not of the Babylon that we find in Daniel with Nebuchadnezzar and the other successive kingdoms after that. This is the end-time Babylon as we will see; it's called Babylon the Great.
Isaiah 47:1: "Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon… [that's an interesting ironic phrase, because she's anything but a virgin] …sit on the ground. There is no throne for you, O daughter of the Chaldeans…"
- What is the pope going to sit on? A throne!
- Do you think the leader of the coming Europe combination—that's going to come together—might sit on the throne? Don't know!
"…for you shall no more be called tender and delicate. Take the millstones and grind meal. Push back your veil, draw up your skirt, uncover your leg, pass over the rivers. Your nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, your shame shall be seen; I will take vengeance and I will not meet you as a man" (vs 1-3).
It's going to meet the whole Catholic system and the whole Catholic world as the returning Christ in power and everything.
Verse 5: "Sit silent, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the lady of kingdoms."
Now that's applied to the Catholic Church, and all the religions. Now it's interesting that this Pope Leo XIV, one of the things that he said is that God 'loves all of you.' That's the same thing that Francis said. He said 'all religions are a pathway to God.' So, this shows that there will be an amalgamation of all the religions of the world. This is what he's talking about here in Isa. 47.
Verse 7: "And you said, 'I shall be a lady forever'…"
Now especially with this young pope that's going to revitalize the whole Catholic system especially since he was born in America.
"'…so you did not lay these things to your heart, nor did you remember the latter end of it. Now then, hear this, O lover of pleasures, who sits securely; who says in her heart, "I am…"'" (vs 7-8)
Amazing that whole system including the Beast Power and the religious system claim that they are authentic from God. That's what the Catholic Church proclaims concerning the church. They miss quote Matt. 16. I don't know if we'll get there or not, but you can be sure of this: Peter was never in Rome!
We've got on Church at Home nine half hour segments showing Biblically and historically that Peter was never in Rome!
Was Peter Ever in Rome? {https://www.cbcg.org/peter-rome/was-peter-ever-in-rome.html}
But you see from the very beginning what do we have. The foundation of the Catholic Church is based upon a lie!
"…'I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, nor shall I know the loss of children.' But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come upon you in their fullness for the multitude of your sorceries, and for the great abundance of your enchantments, for you have trusted in your wickedness… [we will hear this more and more] …you have said, 'No one sees me.'…. [no one really understands me] …Your wisdom and your knowledge has perverted you; and you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else.'" (vs 8-10).
Now isn't that what the Roman Catholic system says, 'they're the one true church' No they're not!
The one true Church is made up those who love God and keep His Commandments!
Now let's come to the fulfillment of this in Rev. 18. We will see that this is Babylon the Great, the whole world system that is coming. Now think of it this way.
What was it said of Lucifer in Ezek. 28. He said that the merchandising, your merchandising, has corrupted you! So, this whole world economic system is going to blossom into the mark of the beast. We need to be aware of that as we also read this here:
Revelation 18:1: "And after these things I saw an angel descending from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried out mightily with a loud voice, saying, 'Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen…'" (vs 1-2).
That will probably be something that everyone is going to see from heaven just like the three angels message that you find there in Rev. 14.
"'…and has become a habitation of demons, and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hated bird" (v 2)—for all nations!
This shows that the whole system, the world system that's going to be invoked by the beast, and what will happen as we read recently in Rev. 13 and I won't cover it here because it's in my coming letter for May.
But ten kings give their power and authority to the beast and these make war against Christ. So, that shows the great grandiose picture of it.
Verse 3: "Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication… [no virgin, indeed] …and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her…"
What happened there at any of the funeral of Pope Francis. All the heads of states were there. Just like it says in Rev. 13 that this system has 'royal power' over all the kings of the earth. There they were all together and I was amazed when I was watching that that the Eastern Orthodox had a delegation of high ranking priests from the Greek Orthodox—I don't know if Russian Orthodox was there—but they had a special dedication. They came up and they sang chants over the body of Pope Francis lying in state.
Then they had a special prayer for him and they waved the incense all around his coffin as they were giving their rendition of what they would call 'a Mass for the dead.' So, all nations!
Think of it this way, too, and remember this: it's amazing and I thought about this when I turned on the television and we asked the question: Is there a new pope? Turn on the television, there it is they just elected a new pope live!
Could that happen a hundred years ago? No! Think about this with the many prophecies in the Old Testament and in the book of Revelation. These are worldwide events! Today if something happens we know right away. We found out about the pope being elected instantly! As soon as they came out after burning the white smoke they said we have a pope and the masses of people out there… I don't know about you but I couldn't stand being in big crowds like that. They're all cheering and cheering!
Verse 3: "Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the fury of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the power of her luxury' And I heard another voice from heaven, saying…" (vs 3-4). This is for:
- everyone in the Church
- for the descendants of Jacob
"…'Come out of her, My people…'"
That's why now we'll talk a little bit about some of the things that we need to watch for and some of the things that we need to watch for with the Churches of God.
Sidebar concerning myself: There are a lot of people in the different Churches of God who think I'm the worst thing that ever happened, to this day, because they believe I was disfellowshipped for sinning.
That is not true! I was never disfellowshipped! They may have proclaimed that I was disfellowshipped, but I resigned before they made any proclamation of that. When I resign and no longer part of it you can't disfellowship me because I left to stand for the Truth because Herbert Armstrong was preaching a false gospel overseas by saying that Allah and God are the same to these world leaders.
He was out there 17 years doing that. I knew, because I heard the Thursday before I resigned on the day of Atonement 1979 that he ordained Stan Raider, Ellis Laravia, and Joseph Tkach as evangelists.
I knew that that was the death knell-of the Church! And God inspired me to say that if someone is not standing in the pulpit in Pasadena and saying to the people, amend your ways, then the forces will be set loose which will tear the churches under! Did that happen? YES! It took a number of years.
But the whole thing is this. It's the lesson for every one of us and most of you out there who are online today watching and listening is this: We must always stand for the Truth of God! As Jonathan brought out in his first message here, believe God and not have any false doctrines! And treat the brethren the way they should be treated and teach them. Not rule over them, because we're all going to be in the first resurrection. We need to learn about God in every way. That's why this is saying: 'Come out of her, My people…'" (v 4).
Verse 5: "For her sins have reached as far as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her as she has rendered to you; and give to her double, even according to her works. In the cup that she mixed, give her back double" (vs 5-6).
Verse 7: "To the degree that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, give to her as much torment and sorrow. For she says in her heart… [right out of Isa. 47]: …'I sit a queen enthroned, and am not a widow; and in no way shall I experience sorrow.'"
That's the confidence that they're going to have. I think we're going to see a revival of false Christianity, Catholicism, and the gathering of all nations to come under the umbrella of the Roman Catholic Church!
Verse 8: "For this very reason, her plagues shall come in one day—death and sorrow and famine; and she shall be burned with fire; for the Lord God, Who executes judgment upon her, is powerful. Then the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication with her and have lived luxuriously, will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off for fear of her torment, saying, 'Woe, woe…'" (vs 8-10).
Talk about a collapse of the stock market? All their wealth will disappear in one day. Because this world is going to be something.
Now let's talk about a little bit more about what we need to be careful of, especially in the Church of God, because we've been talking about the Churches of God and we'll get there in a minute.
What did Jesus say? Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word of God! Someone's going to say, 'What about all the sacrifices and all of that sort of thing? God Himself destroyed the temple and got rid of the whole system because:
- He wants conversion
- He wants us to have the Holy Spirit
- He wants us to know His Word
- He wants us to grow in grace and knowledge
- He wants us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and being
That's what God wants!
Now then, that's one of the reasons we have produced the things we have produced: to sustain the Truth!
I've told the story how we came about the Bible. I'll probably go over that again so different ones will know how that came about. I didn't sit down and say, 'Well, I'm going to do the Bible.' NO! I'll explain all of that later.
Luke 6:46: Jesus said, "And why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' but you do not practice what I say?"
Matthew 7:22[transcriber's correction]: "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out demons through Your name? And did we not perform many works of power through Your name?' And then I will confess to them, 'I never knew you….'" (vs 22-23).
Why? Because they didn't believe God as Jonathan said. They didn't believe the Word of God.
So, what we're going to read in Deut. 12 applies to everyone who comes in contact with God and His Word all the way down through history.
Deuteronomy 12:28: "Be careful to observe and obey all these words, which I command you…"
How many say, 'Oh, we don't have to do this. We don't have to keep the Holy Days, those are ritual Feasts? Well then, if you're keeping the Sabbath like the Church of God Seventh-Day, they have the Sabbath and the Passover, but they don't have anything else. Some small groups keep the Holy Days, as well. There are even some Seventh-Day Adventist Church people that keep the Holy Days.
But this applies to anyone coming in contact with God! It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter what you think about yourself. IF we come to God and IFwe don't repent and IF we don't believe God, you're just having 'a religion.' Maybe you'll repent somewhere along the line. But let's read it:
Verse 28: "Be careful to observe and obey all these words, which I command you, so that it may go well with you… [That's what God wants; He wants it to be good] …and with your children after you forever when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God."
That's what God expects from everyone all the time. It doesn't matter who you are.
- IFyou don't believe the Truth
- IFyou don't believe God
- IFyou don't stand for the Truth
even if it gets down to where you have nothing left or as Jonathan said, your last breath!
Verse 29: "When the LORD your God shall cut off the nations before you, where you go to possess them, and you take their place and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself…" (vs 29-30).
Now God wants every one of us to make the right choices. He's given to us an independent free moral agency, which I've nicknamed as IFMA. We all must choose! Every day there are choices we have to make.
Verse 30: "Take heed to yourself that you do not become ensnared by following them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not ask about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods that I may also do likewise?'" That's what's happened!
- look at the paganization of what happened to the Worldwide Church of God
- look at what's happening to Protestantism, it's getting worse and worse
- look at what's happened to Catholicism
Is Satan going to have a revival to bring a lot of people back? Probably so! Without a doubt!
Verse 31: "You shall not do so to the LORD your God…"
Now just put in your margin right here. Col. 2—Do not be deceived by philosophies! Those are intellectual religious arguments taking you away from the Word of God. That's the whole religious system of all religions of the world!
"…for every abomination to the LORD, which He hates…" (v 31).
Listen up all you Sunday-keepers! You say you love God? IF you love God why do you not keep the Sabbath and the Holy Days?
- you don't believe Him
- you profess Him
Sidebar on the Catholic Bible: Guess what they've done? They've taken the 2nd Commandment and removed it entirely. What for?
- so they can have all their idols and statues
- so they can pray to them
- so they can have their crosses and crucifixes
- so they can have their confession to the priest
Men who are probably homosexuals and pedophiles.
And you're supposed to go to a confession booth and confess your sins to the priest so he can say you go do so many 'Hail Marys' and 'our fathers' and you're forgiven. NO!
If you sin, get on your knees and you repent to God the Father through Jesus Christ directly, and when you do you better mean it!
"…they have done to their gods; even their sons and their daughters they have burned in the fire to their gods" (v 31).
Today we're not doing that, they're aborting them! And we're getting close to how many abortions just in America? Eighty million! Think of that. That judgment is coming.
Think about all the nations that they're unearthing starting with the Egyptians and then you go to the Cambodians and then you go to the Mayans and you go to the Peruvians. They all had human sacrifice! And one of the biggest shrines is still active and alive in Mexico, and it's dedicated to the sun!
Verse 32: "Whatsoever…"—think about this:
- Is that not an inclusive statement?
- Does that eliminate anything? No!
- Does it set anything else aside? No!
Verse 32: "Whatsoever thing that I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it."
Deut. 13—How many people want to read chapter 13? Because this tells us:
- what God thinks of false prophets
- what God thinks about those people who do what He said not to do in Deut. 12
Deuteronomy 13:1: "If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder, which he foretold to you comes to pass…" (v 2).
- Is that not going to happen with the beast and the false prophet?
- Didn't Jesus say there are going to be false prophets who give great signs and wonders?
- In order to what? Deceive the very elect!
Now IF we slack off, which we'll cover a little bit here, THEN we've got to come back to God. Now remember this: Be thankful for every blessing that you have:
- physically
- mentally
- spiritually
- financially
Because it can all go away!
I know there's one thing I appreciate, and have it right in the house: hot and cold water. What would we do without that? And Who made it?
"…saying, 'Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them,' you shall not hearken to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love…" (vs 2-3).
See that? Just exactly as Jonathan said in his message! Love produces obedience and obedience produces love!
"…whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him" (vs 3-4).
Now then, I'm reading this because when we get back to Rev. 2 and 3, we're going to see that Satan is there to try and interfere with all seven Churches of God.
Verse 5: "And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has spoken to turn you against the LORD your God…"
Doesn't that sound like Protestantism? Oh, you don't have to do that! Who gives any man the right to do away with the Commandments of God? Jesus said:
Don't think that I've come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish, I came to fulfill.
which means complete; and He said:
till heaven and earth pass…
Are heaven and earth still here? Yes, indeed!
…not one jot or one tittle shall anyway pass from the Law until everything is fulfilled.
- Has everything of the prophecies of God been fulfilled? No!
- Will they be fulfilled? Yes!
Now, on an individual basis in our lives, our relationship with God through:
- study and prayer
- living God's way
- loving God
- loving the brethren
- doing what God wants us to do
We have to be on guard that we don't let that get polluted either! Now then notice what He said:
Verse 5. "And that the prophet or dreamer of dreams shall be put to death."
- What's going to happen to the beast and a false prophet?
- What's going to happen to them? Rev. 19! An angel will cast them alive into the Lake of Fire!
- Did they turn people away from the true God? Yes, they did!
- Did they have all of the pagan and satanic doctrines, rituals and beliefs? Yes, they did!
Verse 5: "…put to death because he has spoken to turn you against the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt…"
When we're called by God to come out of this world, the world is called in Rev. 11: 'Sodom and Egypt,] referring to the city of Jerusalem, but applies to the whole world.
"…God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slaves…" (v 5).
God redeems us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sins so that they are forgiven.
"…to thrust you out of the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put the evil away from the midst of you" (v 5).
Now then, he goes on to list; v 6: "IF your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is like your own soul, lures you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods—which you have not known, you nor your fathers."
That is the gods of the people; we need to understand that.
Now let's learn something that's very important in all of this and with the things in the world. Let's come to the Gospel of John, chapter one. We all know these verses by heart, but let's understand it this way, and this is a great thing to understand:
God—God the Father and Jesus Christ—is all things to everything! From the creation of the galaxies to the invisible nanoparticles that we don't even see. And remember, every one of us came from that which is not visible to the eye without a microscope[transcriber's correction].
Even if you've ever seen a picture of that, think on this: That was you when your life began, and look where you are today from that which you cannot see! Think about how great God's Plan is!
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things… [no such thing as evolution] …came into being through Him, and not even one thing that was created came into being without Him. In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men" (vs 1-4).
God is all things. Now let's see what Paul wrote in the book of Hebrews. Remember that God is all things to everything! Remember that as you're growing and overcoming.
Hebrews 1:1: "God Who spoke to the fathers at different times in the past and in many ways by the prophets, has spoken to us in these last days by His Son."
- Is there anything that Jesus taught or commanded that's contrary to the will of God?
- Is there any word of Jesus that He spoke that the Father didn't tell Him to speak?
- Is there anything that He did of His own self by sitting down and saying, 'Well I got a good idea?' No!
He always did the things that pleased the Father.
Think about the life of Christ and what that means, and His sacrifice and how important that is.
"…has spoken to us in these last days by His Son" (v 1).
We have what Jesus spoke written down so we know it.
Verse 2: "Whom He has appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the ages" That's the ages of time, whatever they are!
Verse 3: "Who, being the brightness of His glory and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His own power…"
His own power! That's quite a thing! By His word:
- whatever He says:
- whatever He taught
- whatever He inspired to be written
"…all things by the Word of His own power…" (v 3).
Now that's something! That's why I want you to remember: God is all things to everything! That's why our relationship with Him is important. We're living in these days when all of these things are going to be transpiring and we need to be alert and we need to stand for the Truth.
Jesus said in Luke 18, 'when the Son of Man comes will He find the faith,' meaning the true faith on the earth? Will He really? You need to examine—every one of us—our lives.
- What do we do?
- What are we thinking on?
- What do we actually believe?
For all of the elders in all of the Churches: How many of your own ideas are you promulgating and making brethren believe that you're a prophet from God or that you're going to be over the two witnesses?
It's the Word of God, the Truth of God! That's the whole story of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and the whole story concerning the Churches of God.
We're going to be confronted with an awful lot of things coming up. So we need to be ready. Notice what Jesus did. He emptied Himself to become a pinpoint of life just like you were and was begotten in the womb of the Virgin Mary!
God the Father was His Father; He was the Son of God!
He was born just like us, His umbilical cord had to be cut, and He had to take His first breath. He had to get His nourishment from His mother, and she had to take care of Him just like us. Who cleaned us up as we were babies? Our mothers!
So, He came as a human being so that no one can tell God, under any circumstances: 'God, You don't know what it's like to be human.' No, He does!
He suffered, and He knew what was going to happen to Him as He told His disciples.
"…when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high; having been made so much greater than any of the angels, inasmuch as He has inherited a name exceedingly superior to them" (vs 3-4).
Verse 5—this is going to apply to every one of us in the first resurrection. Think about that!
- We're to be the sons and the daughters of God! Is that not correct?
- In the Family of God! Is that not true?
Even with our being grown up as we are, or however old we are, or whatever we think, that is a tremendous and deeply, almost unfathomable thing for our mind to fully comprehend!
Verse 5: "For to which of the angels did He ever say, 'You are My Son; this day I have begotten You'?...."
- Have you received the Holy Spirit of God as a begettal? Yes you have!
- What are you going to do to grow and develop and overcome? That's the whole challenge for today!
We're seeing that Satan's world is being all developed into Babylon the Great. We're going to have to live in it and hold to the Truth! We're going to have to hold to it to our very last breath, as Jonathan said. That's what it is.
"…And again, 'I will be a Father to Him, and He will be a Son to Me'?" (v 5).
How do we pray? 'Our Father'?
Verse 6: "And again, when He brought the Firstborn into the world, He said, 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.' Now, on the one hand, of the angels He says, 'Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire.' But on the other hand, of the Son He says, 'Your Throne, O God, is into the ages of eternity'" (vs 6-8).
- this is what God has called us to
- this is why the things that we do must always be in Truth
- this is why we need to pray and study every single day
- this is why the older we get, the more we need to have:
- that faith
- that love
- everything
more staunchly in our very being and believe it even more than any time when we were younger! That's what God wants!
"…'Your Throne, O God…'" (v 8).
What does it say about those in the first resurrection?
- we're going to have a crown of righteousness
- we're going to be kings and priests
- we're going to rule the world
- we're going to bring the whole Kingdom of God to the whole world
Think about that! All the people that there are today.
"…is into the ages of eternity; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom" (v 8).
No combining human ways, no combining other gods.
Verse 9: "'You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness… [Isn't that something?] …because of this, God, even Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.' And, 'You, Lord, in the beginning did lay the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of Your hands'" (vs 9-10).
That's quite a thing! So, as we look at the world today and we look at what's going to happen, we don't know how much more time we have. But isn't it interesting all the way down through time, beginning with the disciples just before Jesus ascended to heaven, said, 'Lord, will you restore the Kingdom to Israel at this time?'
He says, 'It's not for you to know the times and seasons that the Father has in His own authority.'
Then when you read the first verse in Rev. 1. It is God—the authority of the Father—telling us in the book of Revelation what's going to happen from that time until the setting up of the Kingdom of God. And then even after that, New Heaven and New Earth and New Jerusalem!
So you see, everything is there because of God!
Scriptural References:
- Revelation 13:1-5, 11
- Isaiah 47:1-3, 5-10
- Revelation 18:1-10
- Luke 6:46
- Matthew 7:22
- Deuteronomy 12:28-32
- Deuteronomy 13:1-6
- John 1:1-4
- Hebrews 1:1-10
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- 1-Corinthians 10
- John 21
- Matthew 6
- Luke 1
- Revelation 12
- Matthew 16
- Ezekiel 28
- Revelation 14; 13
- Colossians 2
- Revelation 2; 3; 19; 11
- Luke 18
- Revelation 1
Also referenced:
Message: You Believe In God, But Do You Believe God? by Jonathan Coulter
Book (secular): The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop
Series on Church at Home: Was Peter Ever in Rome? {https://www.cbcg.org/peter-rome/was-peter-ever-in-rome.html}
FRC:bo/po
Transcribed: 5/15/25
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