Preparation for the Last Times
Book of Jude Verses
17-25
We are a foolish
people if we do not believe that we are closer to the return of Jesus
than we have ever been before.
We can obviously see
that we live in days similar to those of Noah.
Mat 24:37 But as
the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Luk 17:26 And as it
was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of
man.
We can obviously see
that we are living in days similar to those of Lot.
Luk 17:28 Likewise
also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they
bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
Luk 17:29 But the
same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from
heaven, and destroyed them all.
Luk 17:30 Even thus
shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
We can see that we
are in the last Church Age where the church is so rich it has no
needs not even the Savior, the Jesus Christ.
Rev 3:13 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:14 And unto
the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith
the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the
creation of God;
Rev 3:15 I know thy
works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or
hot.
Rev 3:16 So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because
thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of
nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and
poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18 I counsel
thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of
thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve,
that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as
I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him
that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I
also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
We know that Israel
has once again become a nation and just celebrated a new 70 years of
existence on May 14, 2018.
We know that
technology is now available for the truth of the two witnesses to be
real from the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ in His Second
Coming.
Rev 11:4 These are
the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God
of the earth.
Rev 11:5 And if any
man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth
their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner
be killed.
Rev 11:6 These have
power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy:
and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the
earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Rev 11:7 And when
they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth
out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them.
Rev 11:8 And their
dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which
spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was
crucified.
Rev 11:9 And they
of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their
dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves.
Rev 11:10 And they
that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry,
and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets
tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
There are so many
other truths that are already in place, it cannot be long before the
return of Christ that we have a need to be prepared for the last
times!
The Holy Spirit used
Jude to remind us of something else that is the truth of today.
*****Jud 1:17 But,
beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the
apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Jud 1:18 How that
they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should
walk after their own ungodly lusts.
Maybe the most
dangerous of all the truths of the Scriptures is, the danger of false
teachers in the last day!
These false men and
women have infiltrated the Church with their lies and twisted
versions of lies, who add just enough truth to deceive babes in
Christ and many old-time believers who have not taken the time to
study the Scriptures themselves!
They do not believe
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to this earth to save
mankind.
They do not believe
that Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God.
In fact, they do not
believe anything about the Lord Jesus Christ, though they may say
just enough about Him to keep the Church from revolting against them.
They may say that
Jesus was a great teacher, but just a mere man who went about doing
good.
They may say that if
we do the same, going about doing good and being as good as we can,
then heaven's doors are open to us.
Jude along with all
the other writers led by the Holy Spirit, have taught us about these
false teachers, but now Jude teaches us what we can do about these
false people who have invaded the Church that Christ built.
We must first
remember the words of Jesus Christ and the words spoken by the
Apostles that were taught by Jesus Christ.
Remember, in reality
a mocker is someone who laughs at the truth of God!
All those who preach
the truth must remind the Church that we are in the last days and
these "mockers" are coming from every walk of life to laugh
at God!
They are coming out
of their closets and boldly walking our streets, filling the
pocketbooks of our government and infiltrating our courts!
The Apostle Paul
wrote by the Holy Spirit:
2Co 11:13 For such
are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ.
2Co 11:14 And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
2Co 11:15 Therefore
it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the
ministers of righteousness; "whose end shall be according to
their works".
The Apostle Peter:
2Pe 2:1 But there
were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable
heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction.
2Pe 2:2 And many
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of
truth shall be evil spoken of.
2Pe 2:3 And through
covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you:
whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation
slumbereth not.
The Apostle Matthew:
Mat 7:15 Beware of
false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree
bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree
that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the
fire.
What happens to the
Church?
2Ti 4:3 For the
time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after
their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears;
2Ti 4:4 And "they
shall turn away their ears from the truth", and shall be turned
unto fables.
We see all the
mainline denominations and most churches, turning away from the truth
of the Scriptures!
This is where the
Church is at today, just as Jesus taught!
Mat 24:23 Then if
any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
not.
Mat 24:24 For there
shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I
have told you before.
We must remember,
all Scripture is given to us by the Holy Spirit, and these Scriptures
may be the only truth that remains in these last days.
We are getting very
little truth from our governments and from those we use to place some
of our trust.
Rom_3:4 God forbid:
yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That
thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when
thou art judged.
When the liberal
minds of the Church take over, the Church will be on the verge of
collapse!
In times of liberty
men will give way unto their own thoughts rather than the Word of
God!
How else can we
describe them?
*****Jud 1:19 These
be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
We must be clear! A
false teacher does not have the Spirit of God no matter what they
say!
You may not like
some of the words I will use here, but get over it, we are taught to
walk in the truth.
The truth of God and
not the truth of this world!
They separate
themselves from good works and claim good works to be evil!
They may claim to be
Christian, but their actions prove that they live far from the truth
They place their
happiness in carnal pleasures.
They love to indulge
in their evil passions.
They are negligent
of the needs of others, especially those who are trying to meet the
needs of those who have sincere needs!
They are filthy,
foul, dirty, and gross and proud that they are!
They consider the
"Gospel" of Jesus Christ to be too pure to be real, and
their corrupted minds will not yield to reality!
Yet they will do
their very best to claim to be Christians!
They are taught well
by denominations that have already booted Jesus out of the Church!
They have separated
themselves from "Faith", and therefore cannot be a Temple
for the Holy Spirit!
Just the opposite
from a child of God, who is still seeking the truth of God in this
wicked and evil world!
*****Jud 1:20 But
ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying
in the Holy Ghost,
Jud 1:21 Keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord
Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
We are to build up
ourselves in Christ!
1) We must build
upon the foundation of our faith!
"Faith"
means our "beliefs".
Our beliefs must be
in the truth that is revealed to us in the Scriptures, beginning with
Jesus Christ who is the "Truth"! (John 14:6)
Our beliefs are not
our opinions, but the truth delivered to us from a Holy God, whose
name is Jehovah.
He is not Allah! He
is Jehovah!
Our beliefs are
those of the Lord Jesus Christ given to Him by His Father, given to
us by God the Holy Spirit!
Our opinions of the
Scriptures are meaningless!
The Scriptures are
not only the "truth", but the Scriptures are Holy!
Holiness is the fact
that Jehovah is entirely set apart from sin and sinners.
It is only Jehovah,
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit who can dictate
"holiness"!
1Pe 1:15 But as he
which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy "in all manner of
conversation";
1Pe 1:16 Because it
is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Our own holiness
depends on our own separation from sin and from sinners.
2Co 6:17 Wherefore
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and
touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
2Co 6:18 And will
be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith
the Lord Almighty.
If we are to come
out from them, then why in the world would we want to listen to what
they have to say!
Jehovah, the Lord
Jesus Christ, cannot condone evil or have any relationship with evil.
The followers of the
Lord Jesus Christ are to do the same!
It is the Lord Jesus
Christ who sets the moral and ethical standard for this world we live
in!
This must be
implanted in our hearts because this will never change!
Psa 11:4 The LORD
is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes
behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
Psa 11:5 The LORD
trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his
soul hateth.
Psa 11:6 Upon the
wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible
tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
God has set the
standard, and we are to do our very best to follow that standard
because our "faith" is based on the truth of God and not on
the things of this world!
2) We can build upon
the foundation of our faith by praying in the Spirit. This is praying
in the Holy Spirit!
We must pray under
the guidance and the influence of the Holy Spirit with His power and
with His energy!
We must seek and ask
for the help of the Holy Spirit when we reach into the throne room of
God!
We must focus on the
fact that the Holy Spirit is given to us to help us and we must
depend upon His help!
We must then walk in
the Spirit in our daily walk with the Lord and He will offer up
unbroken prayer!
We must set aside
some time to diligently seek Jehovah for the needs of our loved ones,
our families, our children, our grandchildren!
We must pray that
Jehovah will meet the needs of His people by fulfilling the promises
He has made to us!
1Ch 16:8 Give
thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among
the people.
1Ch 16:9 Sing unto
him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.
1Ch 16:10 Glory ye
in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.
1Ch 16:11 Seek the
LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.
3) We are never to
try to build our own selves up, because we are nothing beyond our
obedience to our Lord and our God!
We can only build
ourselves up in keeping ourselves in the love of God!
4) Our relationship
with the Lord can only be built upon His "Mercy"! It is
only by Jesus Christ that we can experience the "Mercy" of
Jehovah God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit!
We will experience
the fulness of the "Mercy" of God, when the Lord takes us
home!
Either by way of the
Rapture or by the death of this flesh as we leave this old world
behind for the "Glory of Heaven"!
It is only when we
have strived for the Holiness of our Father in Heaven, that we can
make a difference in this world!
*****Jud 1:22 And
of some have compassion, making a difference:
It is the absolute
truth that false teachers will cause confusion in the Church! Many
will begin to doubt the truth of God and the Holy Ghost will begin to
convict them with the truth.
Many will begin to
doubt their salvation because they doubt the truth. They will begin
to have that miserable feeling of being lost again.
We must know that we
all are not so high and mighty, that we can say we will never have
some time of doubting.
When we are made
aware of these things, our very first option must always be
compassion.
One of the few times
the Lord Jesus Christ shed tears was because He is full of
compassion!
Heb 13:3 Remember
them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer
adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Gal 6:1 Brethren,
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore
such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou
also be tempted.
Gal 6:2 Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Gal 6:3 For if a
man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth
himself.
Gal 6:4 But let
every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in
himself alone, and not in another.
Gal 6:5 For every
man shall bear his own burden.
Most all of us have
had little doubts of faith creep into our lives, so the first thing
we are to do when we see some in our church family go through this,
is to have compassion on them.
Remember this is why
the false teacher exist to cause Christians to doubt their salvation!
We are never to
reach out in criticism!
We are never to
reach out in harshness!
We are never to be
haughty!
We are never to be
so full of pride in ourselves, that we believe we can never fall
ourselves!
This will make a big
difference in whether this person will be reclaimed to the Lord.
We must guard
ourselves and not be caught up in the same trap as that one we are
trying to help.
We must hate sin,
"not the sinner" so much, that we reject sin in every way
as we come along side those we are trying to help!
Having said this,
there will always be other means necessary if compassion fails.
*****Jud 1:23 And
others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the
garment spotted by the flesh.
We must use
discretion when dealing with those who doubt their salvation!
We must use
discernment when dealing with those doubt their faith!
Though we are never
to hate the sinner, we must hate this evil and wicked world we live
in!
Eph 6:12 For we
wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.
We must hate the
false teachings of this world!
We must hate the
acceptable lifestyles of this world that go against the Word of God!
We must be aware of
the rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness that is in this
world!
We must know, that
some who have left their faith are on the verge of destruction!
Whether we have pity
on them or if we must use other methods, we must not have any
tolerance for the evils they have fallen into!
The garments of sin
must be treated as those filthy rags that were used to wrap the
lepers in the day of Jesus.
Isa_64:6 But we are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away.
We must avoid even
the touch of the garments of sin!
Rev 3:4 Thou hast a
few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and
they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He that
overcometh, "the same shall be clothed in white raiment";
and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will
confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
If we see that we
may be pulled into sin, then we must move on and use prayer to help
that wayward soul!
We have only one
Savior and we must stay as close to Him as possible in this life!
*****Jud 1:24 Now
unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
Jud 1:25 To the
only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power,
both now and ever. Amen.
Besides His great
"love", and His great "mercy" and His great
"grace", the most important attribute of Jehovah is, that
He is "all-powerful"!
Matthew 10:28 And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul:
but rather fear "him which is able" to destroy both soul
and body in hell.
Eph 3:20 Now unto
"him that is able" to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Php 3:21 Who shall
change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body, according to the working whereby "he is able" even to
subdue all things unto himself.
2Ti 1:12 For the
which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not
ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that "he
is able" to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day.
Heb 2:18 For in
that he himself hath suffered being tempted, "he is able"
to succour them that are tempted.
Heb 7:25 Wherefore
"he is able" also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore
lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive
with meekness the engrafted word, "which is able" to save
your souls.
Jas 4:12 There is
one lawgiver, "who is able" to save and to destroy: who art
thou that judgest another?
Jehovah God, God the
Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, "is able" to keep
us from falling if we just cling to Him.
If we keep our love
for God, God will keep us!
If we will stay
close to the Lord, then He will stay close to us!
If we draw near to
God, He will draw near to us!
He is the only One
who has the "power" to do all the things He says!
God is able to make
us blameless, when we call upon His face.
We spend most of our
time calling on the arm of God, when we should be coming face to face
with God and just listen to what our Father has to say!
If will approach God
in the name of Christ Jesus, all the power of God is available for
all things that are in His will for us!
God has the power to
come down from Heaven and personally take us home to be with Him, and
no one can change this thing that God has purposed to do Himself!
Jehovah is the only
wise God and Savior. There is no other God!
When we meet the
Lord in the clouds, we will be perfect!
When all these
things sink in and all doubts are gone, our faith is unchangeable,
our salvation becomes real, then we will never stray from our
powerful Savior, who with His own blood purchased us from the slave
market of sin!
Amen
Let's Pray!
