Jdgs. 21:25 π Psa. 110:1 π Mt. 4:17 π Mt. 7:21 π Mt. 7:22-23 π Mt. 13:41 π Mt. 25:29 π Mt. 25:41; 2nd π Mt. 25:46 π Lk. 19:14 π Lk. 19:26 π Lk. 19:27 π Rom. 5:10 π Rom. 5:12 π Rom. 5:14 π Rom. 5:21 π Rom. 8:5-7 π Rom. 8:13-14 π Rom. 11:22 π Rom. 14:17 π 1 Cor. 15:24-26 π Gal. 6:8 π Eph. 1:10 π Phlp. 3:18-19 π Col. 1:21 π Col. 1:21-23 π 2 Ths. 2:10 π 2 Ths. 2:11-12 π 1 Tim. 4:1 π 2 Tim. 4:3-4 π Tit. 1:16 π Tit. 2:14 π Heb. 1:13 π Heb. 10:12-13 π Jas. 4:4 π 2 Pet. 2:1-2 π 2 Pet. 3:13 π 1 Jn. 2:15-17 π Jude 4 π Rev. 2:11 π Rev. 20:6 π Rev. 20:14
At the end of the parable of the minas (Luke’s equivalent to Matthew’s parable of the talents – a mina was worth about three months’ wages whereas a talent, a weight and not a coin, was worth as much as 10 years’ wages), Jesus has the king in the story say, “But bring here those enemies of mine who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.” ( Lk. 19:27 ) What does Christ give us that would be comparable to this large sum given to servants required to responsibly increase their master’s wealth? The only satisfactory answer to this question is His life. Though the “church” wants to spin these parables off as teaching the responsible handling of money, in reality, these parables teach the necessity of responsibly handling the life of Christ so as to prevent our losing the life that He gives, (see Lk. 19:26 , Mt. 25:29; top – “...even what he has will be taken away.”) These parables, when seen in their true light, are a somber warning indeed.
At the end of this parable, the culmination of human history is brought into view. In the administrative outworking of the completion of the times, God will “gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth – in Him.” ( Eph. 1:10 ) This will be the complete fulfillment of God’s promise to His Son: “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ( Heb. 1:13 , Psa. 110:1 , also see Heb. 10:12-13 ) Simultaneously, it will be the fulfillment of Paul’s prophecy: “Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” ( 1 Cor. 15:24-26 ) John recorded, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire [ “the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels – Mt. 25:41 ]. This is the second death.” ( Rev. 20:14 ) It is a profound mystery that the King of life culminates and gathers all things into Himself by executing (killing, ending the life of) His enemies. Yet this is exquisitely appropriate: “…through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned – [thus] death reigned… and sin reigned in death…” ( Rom. 5:12 , 14 , 21 ) When all of Christ’s enemies are made into His (lifeless) footstool, sin and death and the agents of darkness, both angelic and human – elements that are all foreign to God’s kingdom – will be forever removed from His kingdom ( Mt. 13:41 ) and only righteousness (that which is right, good and true in God’s eyes) will be allowed to dwell (abide, remain, stay) there. ( 2 Pet. 3:13; top )
We have little difficulty believing (even when having a great deal of difficulty understanding!) these things. But far too often we do not take seriously just who and what is considered the enemy of God. We like to believe that death will one day be destroyed. We like to believe that the devil will be destroyed too, even though far too many might wonder why such an inept buffoon needs to be destroyed anyway. We are eager to believe that “heretics” and “infidels” will be eternally executed but perhaps we ought not be so eager – perhaps in our ignorance that inept buffoon is really ingeniously clever and has quietly conned and deceived us into being a “heretic” or “infidel” worthy of execution even while we blindly believe ourselves to be a blessed and eternally secure child of God. And as soon as we begin to ask or even think such questions, quite conveniently it would seem, some “theologian” or Bible “scholar” is right there to reassure us that if we just know the right facts, we are saved – and then he pulls out a couple of proof texts to “prove” his “doctrine.” Lost or overlooked is the fact that one can find any number of “theologians” or “scholars” who espouse and propagate opinions directly opposite to what this first one is reassuring us is “truth”! No – only a fool rests his hopes for eternal life on what “theologians” argue over!
James wrote, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” ( Jas. 4:4 ) In the same vein, John wrote, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” ( 1 Jn. 2:15-17 ) And Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” ( Mt. 7:21; top ) Someone who loves this world or its things is God’s enemy and will be one of those who are eternally executed on the last day – no matter how much they professed and practiced their own version of “Christianity.”
Paul wrote, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. …if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” ( Rom. 8:5-7 , 13-14 ) Paul also wrote, “He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” ( Gal. 6:8 ) He also wrote, “For many walk [conduct themselves], of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame – who set their mind on earthly things.” ( Phlp. 3:18-19; top ) Carnality is a cornerstone of much “church” activity but it remains enmity against God. Those who practice carnality, no matter how much it serves some “church,” are those who will be eternally executed on the last day.
Paul wrote, “You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the good news which you heard…” ( Col. 1:21-23 ) Many “church”-ites live their lives as if God’s plan of reconciliation was a completed thing in their life and they never live up to God’s requirements, never continue to be rooted and steadfast in the faith and they are routinely moved away from the hope of ever being reconciled to God. Too often “grace” is used as the excuse for living sinful, self-centered, even demonically-dominated lives. Paul wrote that when we were enemies of God we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son so that, all the more, we shall be saved by and through His life. ( Rom. 5:10 ) Paul did not write that we were reconciled to God so that we could claim to be His friends and children while we clandestinely or even overtly continue to practice enmity against God. Paul wrote that such as these “profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being abominable (detestable), disobedient, and disqualified (worthless) for any good deed.” ( Tit. 1:16 ) Paul goes on to say that Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” ( Tit. 2:14 ) Christ did not buy us back from destruction so that we could practice with immunity the wicked works that made us His enemies in the first place! (see again Col. 1:21; top )
In the parable of the minas, Jesus said that the citizens of the nobleman’s realm “hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’” ( Lk. 19:14 ) It is easy to see the application of this parable to the Jews who crucified their King. But it is none the less applicable to today’s apostate “Christian” who denies Christ’s right to rule in totality over his or her life. Today’s “church”-ite does not desire truth but rather wants to feel “loved” or at least “accepted” or wants to know “truth” that has no attending responsibilities or that does not require submitting to God’s Spirit of truth in order to know these “facts” and “theologies.” Such as these have not received the love of the truth that enables them to enter into salvation ( 2 Ths. 2:10 ) and have turned their ears away from the Spirit of truth, preferring to have their ears scratched with man-made or even demonic fables. ( 2 Tim. 4:3-4 , 1 Tim. 4:1 ) Peter prophesied that many would follow after false teachers who would stealthily build up destructive divisions (sects) that would deny the sovereignty of (right to be King) of Christ. ( 2 Pet. 2:1-2 ) Jude added that these men would creep in unnoticed and turn the grace of God into lewdness, denying Christ His right to be King over their lives. ( Jude 4; top ) These prophecies are being fulfilled in our own time.
In the days of the judges, it is recorded, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” ( Jdgs. 21:25 ) If our lives declare that we secretly hate Christ and that we refuse to have Him reign over us, we will be able to do only what is right in our own eyes. Still worse, we will deceive ourselves into believing that what is right in our own eyes is what is right in God’s eyes. In time, God Himself will even give us over to strong delusion so that we will believe the lie we prefer over His righteous standards. ( 2 Ths. 2:11-12 ) The New Testament labels this “lawlessness.” In His teaching about the day of judgment, Jesus said there would be many who would come before Him thinking they had a right to be in His kingdom but who would be rejected because, rather than doing what was right in God’s eyes, they had done only what was right in their own eyes. “Depart from Me; you who practice lawlessness!” ( Mt. 7:22-23; top )
This is the second death – where death becomes the footstool of Christ. This is Christ commanding that all His enemies who did not want Him to reign over them be brought before Him and summarily and eternally executed. Jesus said, “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ( Rev. 2:11 ) And John writes, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power…” ( Rev. 20:6; top ) Only those who overcome in this life and whom God deems worthy to be included in the first resurrection will escape this second death.
When we read that Christ will have His enemies executed, we must not suppose they will die in the same manner as humans die now for death itself is one of the enemies that will be slain! When all things in heaven and on earth are gathered up in Christ and God, all that enters into that state will be eternal. The temporal will be swallowed up in the eternal and infinity that is God! Thus the devil and his angels and all who served them (whether overtly and willfully or in deceived blindness and religious hypocrisy) will be eternally consigned to what Jesus called “the everlasting fire” whereas the “righteous,” those washed in the blood of the Lamb, will enter into eternal life in the presence of Christ and God. (see Mt. 25:41 , 46; top )
Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God. On those who have fallen away, severity, but toward those who steadfastly abide, goodness – if these continue to abide in Him and in His goodness. Otherwise, even these will also be “cut off.” (see Rom. 11:22 ) This is the gospel – that those who will enter into God’s reconciliation may live forever in the righteousness, peace and joy of His kingdom (see Rom. 14:17; top ) but equally those who persist in their enmity against God will receive everlasting punishment.
The call is sounding forth again: “Repent! The kingdom of God is at hand.” ( Mt. 4:17 , etc.; top) Each person who hears this call from the Holy Spirit of God must confess their own sins to God and turn from them, forsaking them and this world and all the deceptions of the devil and the demonic. Anything else or less is simply enmity against God and, if left uncorrected, will bring the one who does such things under the summary judgments and final, eternal execution as ordered by the Lord of life and glory Himself. The choice to remain God’s enemy or to enter into His magnanimous offer of friendship is ours to make.
Let he who has ears hear.
- Presenting the King - Neil Girrard - ( in Adobe/pdf format ) Do you know what it means to have a King? Many people don’t.
- Friends of the King - Neil Girrard - ( in Adobe/pdf format ) When a king of a realm gives a command and it is disobeyed, the crime against the king is called treason and betrayal – and the penalty is almost certain to be death.
- A Defeated Devil - Neil Girrard - ( in Adobe/pdf format ) Many who claim to follow Christ hold to the idea of a defeated devil, ridiculing his schemes and devices as just the foolish floppings of a “toothless old tiger” too stupid and inept to be of any harm or threat to their eternal security in Christ. But is this an accurate portrayal?
- Carnal Followers and Lawless “Theologians” - Neil Girrard - ( in Adobe/pdf format ) If we are to come out of lawless churchianity, we must first recognize the hidden sin of the leaders and spiritual fathers who contributed to the making of it.
- It Doesn’t Take a Genius - Neil Girrard - ( in Adobe/pdf format ) If it doesn’t take a genius to make the world a better place, what will it take?
- Denying the Master - Neil Girrard Based on Jude’s and Peter’s prophecies, many people expect the end time apostates to be those who simply deny Christ’s transcendency and deity – but this is a complete misunderstanding of what the apostles said.
- The Last Enemy - Neil Girrard The people of Christ are engaged in a life or death struggle – but few seem to know which one is which.
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