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Honoring the Father and the Son

Peter and Rohnel, bond servants by the will of God, to those who share our precious faith of Jesus Christ; grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Christ our Lord.

We are commanded to possess our bodies in sanctification, which honors our Lord and our God. These Commandments from the Lord were passed down to the Apostles and to each succeeding generation, including ours. Part of all things being made new is the dramatic changes in how we live and possess these clay vessels for the remainder of our time in the flesh.

1Th 4:2 NKJV for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

1Th 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

1Th 4:4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

1Th 4:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

We are putting to death all the various lusts that live in our flesh. Doing so is impossible, but through the indwelling Spirit of Christ, it is accomplished in making all things perfect. If we belong to the Lord, the Living Word fails not, and thus we are being sanctified after we receive the Promise.

Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Rom 6:11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

We learn to be diligent and vigilant in the fight of our faith, as the enemies, these fleshly lusts and carnal thoughts, are always seeking an opportunity. We are truly strangers in this dark world, always reminding one another of the Commandments to abstain from the worldly lusts that war against our souls.

1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

1Pe 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Our victory in Christ does not happen in an instant by any means; however, meaningful progress is evident unless we have received the grace of God in vain. We do not reason within ourselves of what is right or wrong, as we know the Commandments, and thus we no longer justify ourselves by the carnal law of sin and death. Just obeying the Commandments justifies us.

Gal 5:4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

We are admonished not to receive the grace of God in vain, but put it to use by separating from the ungodly things within and without ourselves.

2Co 6:1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain.

2Co 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2Co 6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

Our obedience and remaining set apart from the unclean bring honor to the Lord and show our reverence for His Commandments. Thus, the purposes of judgment, to save us and cause us to obey the Lord, are being realized and manifesting today in our lives.

Joh 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

Joh 5:23 That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

Pro 3:9 Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

The Lord received honor and glory from the Father, and so shall we in our appointed time. We are the beloved Sons of God in whom the Father is well pleased (speaking of things that are not yet as if they already were). When we serve the Lord first by our obedience, the Father honors us as His sons.

Joh 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor.

2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honor and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Formerly being brute beasts in the flesh, we overcome our sin and bring glory and honor to the Lord our God. There is no boasting except that we now know the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. There is no more pride, no more rebellion, all is submitted to the Lord, and we sing praises with our tongues for the great salvation He has wrought in our lives.

Rev 19:1 And after these things I heard a great voice of many people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God:

Holiness is the by-product or the result of our being sanctified. To sanctify is a verb; it is an action, and we likewise are proactive in choosing and striving to speak or act congruently with our faith. Doing so, we thus wash ourselves and one another’s feet [symbolizing our walk] daily with the Commandments.

2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Joh 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

Once we hear the Gospel, the first coming of Christ to us, we tarry and wait for the Lord. He comes suddenly with the power of salvation that is the Promise. We are thus washed and purified in the fire of the Commandments as Christ, the Promise of God, has come to us. The Lord works quickly and is a swift witness against our fleshly lusts that defile us. The Living Christ is come to sanctify us and make our offerings righteous and pleasant to the Lord. The promised Savior has now come; today, we are being visited.

Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mal 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:

Mal 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Mal 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

The living Word of God, the Commandments, are washing us clean and purifying our evil consciousness, that is, the carnal mind. A new way, the Living Christ, the bread of life, has been made available to us. We draw near to those Commandments in full assurance that God is able to deliver. The Lord is preparing us to be His chaste virgin Bride.

Heb 10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;

Heb 10:21 And having a high priest over the house of God;

Heb 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

All of our unrighteousness is being washed away; this is our sanctification, which is salvation.

1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Both our heaven and our earth are cleansed by the Living Christ, beginning with our mind. In due time, the fire of God works its way across our entire earth, purifying all our behavior. This is accomplished by truth and by grace, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. First comes truth, the Commandments, and then comes the grace, the fiery trials that transform and change us into holy vessels.

Psa 76:8 Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still,

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

We are not departing these clay vessels, passing onto the spiritual realm, before all this is fulfilled in our lives. Today is the day, and the fervent heat of our trials, the great tribulation, is making all things new.

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth [YOURS] shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

The sooner we engage the fight, earnestly contending for our faith, the sooner we are hastening the appearing of the Lord and the remaking of a new you. If we do not fight for the faith, contending against our sins, we are overcome and do not grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. The battle for purity and sanctification starts in our heaven, and the Commandments are the weapons of warfare.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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 heaven

We flee from all evil, which includes our lusts, and strive to obey the Commandments, taking every contrary thought captive in obedience.

1Ti 6:11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

We are reaping what we are sowing. Glory and honor to God are reaped, meaning they come to all who are conducting themselves in the will of God, being sanctified and purified from the evil of the world. We are learning how to possess our bodies with sanctification and honor to the Lord.

Rom 2:6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:

Rom 2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

Rom 2:8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

Rom 2:9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;

Rom 2:10 But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:

Being redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are now bondservants to our Lord and Master. Bondservants live in subjection to their Master and strive to obey the Commandments. We are losing our lives, shedding blood in the Spirit, to overcome our sins. Without the shedding of blood in spirit, there is no suffering, and thus there is no remission. We resist all our fleshly temptations at great cost, enduring much suffering to please and honor God.

Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

One who is sanctified is dead to sin, and thus we no longer live in those sins or routinely practice them. We are to examine ourselves to see if we are living in the faith or fooling ourselves.

Rom 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

Rom 6:2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

One who is dead to sin is bearing the fruit of righteousness. A tree is known by its fruit, and we know we are on the right track when we see fruit budding forth in increasing volume.

Rom 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

All who used to know us know us no more, as we are changed, and all things have been made anew. The life we now live is radically different from the life that defined us before Christ came to us.

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

The coming of the Promise, the quickening Spirit, raises us up from our spiritual graves, abiding in death, being enslaved to the carnal mind. All men are in bondage to the devil, who is the prince of the world, before Christ comes and quickens us to new life.

Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

When Christ comes, judgment comes to us, and we are henceforth crucifying, meaning putting to death, the lusts that live in our flesh. We are taking heed and following the truth that we know now and hear in our heavens speaking to us the right way to walk. The Scriptures tell us what these various lusts include that we are putting to death in our process of being sanctified. The light of Christ is revealing them in us, so we can be washed.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Before we are sanctified of heart, we honor the Lord with our lips, but our hearts and minds are far from obeying the Commandments. Being washed and purified in the fire is being cleaned on the inside, that is, our hearts and minds. What is on the inside works its way to the outside. Flesh prioritizes the outward appearance, and in our self-righteousness, we first clean the outside of the cup, paying no heed to the inside.

Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.

Mat 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.

Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

What comes out of us is what defiles us and reveals the true nature of our hearts. Lord willing, we overcome and see much less of that which defiles coming out of our mouths when the grace of God appears to us. We are made new into a new creation, no longer being defiled.

Mar 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders

Mar 7:22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:

Mar 7:23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Flesh concerns itself with the outside, but the Lord looks to the inside of our hearts. It is there that He finds His chosen ones to be faithful, who are the apple of His eye.

1Sa 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

The outward appearance means nothing to God if the inward is full of death and sin. Christ Himself in a physical body was of no reputation and not attractive to the flesh, notwithstanding the Babylonian portrayals of the blond-haired, blue-eyed Jesus.

Isa 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

We live by every word, including being Pharisees and faking it for a time, appearing righteous on the outside. But we are not fooling the Lord with our lips and appearance of righteousness. He sees everything; our hearts and thoughts are all open to Him. Bondservants of the Lord, do not fake it or play games to look good. We serve the Lord with sincerity and truth, having the fear of God in our hearts.

Col 3:22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

In our day of judgment, the Lord is bringing these hypocrisies and insincerities to light so we can repent and turn back to the Commandments. The Lord makes all vessels, those of honor and those of dishonor, according to His will for every man. The first vessel is always the vessel of dishonor, so it can be destroyed and remade in His hands, and thus make known the riches of His glory to those precious few being saved in this age [See Romans 9:20-23, Jer 18:1-4].

In these last days, our focus is on the Commandments. The Living Christ, who is the indwelling Commandments, is the Spirit and the Truth, and what is, was, and will be sanctifying us through many fiery trials. It is through these pure words, purified in the furnace of our many fiery trials and tribulations, that our hearts and minds are being cleansed of the fleshly lusts that wage war against the Lord. The Lord prays for the truth to come to us and is sending ministers of the Gospel to build His church and, in time, brings the Holy Spirit to every man that cleanses us of all our sins.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Rom 15:16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Knowing these truths, Peter asks what kind of man or woman we should be. Those of faith are pressing into the Commandments, embracing the cross, the suffering, and thus hastening to the Lord and the remaking of their heaven and earth into one of righteousness.

2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

We thank our Lord for His great mercy in opening our eyes to His Commandments and giving us the zeal to be cleansed and purified of all our sin.

Studies

Signs of the End Times – Part 2

June 7, 2026June 7, 2026 Peter

Watching and Being Ready for the Lord

Peter and Rohnel, servants of Christ, to the scattered saints who share a like precious faith. Grace and peace upon the Israel of God and those to whom the Lord is being revealed in these last days. May the Lord quicken our senses to remain alert for the signs that confirm our election, and thus strengthen our faith so we endure to the end.

This study is written to bring comfort and understanding of the Lord’s plan for His saints. What is promised and lies ahead is amazing, but our focus is to be on the IS, the TODAY, that is our day of the Lord.

Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

Part 1 of this study provides a macro overview of these inward spiritual events: Click Here for Part 1. Part 2 is to specifically walk through the signs of the end the Lord spoke and apply them to our lives. We do not look out there anymore, or watch the news to know the time. We look within.

Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

We are looking inward, into our life experience and thoughts, and our spiritual progress, to see the signs of the kingdom of God, which has come upon us. We are being made into kings and priests, sons of God with Christ, who is the Living Commandments, the Promise, now dwelling in our hearts and minds.

Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

We are comforted with this knowledge but we do not forget the Lord and keep our focus on remembering and doing the Commandments.

Jer 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you …

The Lord is faithful to show His servants what He is about to do before He does it. We are blessed indeed to be given to see these things and marvel at the wonderful works of God. The Lord even works evil, causing brothers to fall in the city and thus separates and winnows the flock, as was recently experienced. We were given to see it coming before it happened, as the Lord is faithful.

Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

Isa 42:9 Behold, the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them.

Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

The Lord, via His Christ, who are the angels who bring in the harvest of the saints, reveal the hidden mystery of the Gospel and the Lord’s process of saving us from our sins. We know what lies just ahead before it comes to pass.

Rev 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

The last days have come for those chosen for salvation. Today is the day, and we speak of a spiritual day, our day of the Lord, which is also our 1,000-year reign with Christ. We reign with Christ until the death of death, meaning our carnal mind is destroyed by the casting of Satan into the lake of fire, that is the Commandments. We abide in the fire continually and it is those who are being made righteous and are being taught the fear of the Lord.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Isa 33:14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

Isa 33:15 He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil;

Having heard the Gospel, the power of the living Commandments, they are now actively at work within us to advance God’s plan of salvation. The Living Word has begun its good work in remaking a new heaven and a new earth in all who have heard and received the Gospel. The return of Christ for salvation is the end of the old you and the dawn of a new age. Our day of salvation and the acceptable time is come, and the light of the Gospel has risen upon us.

Isa 49:8 Thus saith the LORD, In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages

Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

When the Living Christ, the Gospel, comes to us, the light of Christ begins shining upon our lives and into the nooks and crannies of our hearts and minds. The light of the Commandments is exposing our sins and our chastening in the day of the Lord is commenced in earnest. All things are becoming new by this process, and the end of our carnal age has come.

1Pe 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.

Psa 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

In the latter days, the Lord is building His Temple within us by the Word of His Commandments. All the signs of the end tie directly to the work of the Living Christ, the Commandments, to first tear down the old temple and then build a new one in which the Lord and the Father, the Holy Spirit, shall forever dwell. Those given ears to hear and eyes to see become aware of the Lord’s work and their election of God for salvation in this age.

The signs are progressive as we gradually grow in the grace and knowledge of the Commandments, which have their climax before we depart these clay vessels. Our judgment and salvation are completed, and we are made perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. Here are the key signs of the end preserved for us in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and witnessed also in the Old Testament and the Epistles. Look and think within, in the kingdom of God, and in our life experiences.

Deceivers arise, and the flock is winnowed
Wars and rumors of wars
Appearance of earthquakes and pestilence
Hated by all men, persecuted, dragged before councils
We see the abomination of desolation and Jerusalem is surrounded
More false prophets and antichrists come forth
We see Christ [the Commandments, our obedience] appearing in our heaven [thoughts] and on our earth [walk, deeds]

These signs read as if they happen in a precise sequence, but that is not how the Living Word, the Spirit of God, operates. The Lord is, was, and is to come in our lives, and thus the signs that confirm His coming share this characteristic.

Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

When we read these signs, do not think sequentially and cumulatively, but think of them as always present [is, was, and will be] and manifesting to the end of our physical life. Christ appears in us little by little, and the work is not done until our race is run all the way to the finish line. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, and all the points in between in our lives.

Rev 1:8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty

The Lord’s ways are higher than our ways. When He declares something, it is already done as it has been declared, before it comes to pass. Speaking of things that are not yet, as if they already were [Rom 4:17], is one way the truth in the Scriptures is hidden from the carnal world.

Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

As Christ in this world, our mindset is to be like Christ and to believe we already possess what we desire or need. As our faith is, so it is unto us. The sooner we embrace this in the hope of our faith, meaning we believe wholly, the Lord’s work is hastened in our lives.

Mar 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

When Christ shows His disciples the signs of the end, they are just around the corner, as the time is now, and our life in the flesh is a mere vapor. Before the disciples departed their clay vessels, all the signs of the end were fulfilled in their lives. Their race was finished. So, it is for disciples today that hear His Word: the time is at hand, for the Gospel has been preached.

Mat 24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

The outward fulfillment of these Scriptures comes first is another principle of Christ. First the natural and then the spiritual. Physical Jerusalem was surrounded by enemies and sacked, and the physical Jewish temple was thrown down in the years after Christ’s ascension back to the Father.

1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

The Scriptures are written in parables and symbolism that hide the meanings and keep those not ordained for salvation in darkness, awaiting their appointed day. What men make complicated by adding to and taking away from the Scriptures is, like all things of Christ, much simpler. Deception plays a significant role in the Lord’s plan to separate a people unto Himself, as this study undoubtedly confirms. The simplicity of Christ is in just doing the Commandments.

2Co 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Those on whom the Lord has mercy and opens their eyes know and understand the Gospel and the plan of God for salvation. The Lord awakens us, and we now watch for the times and seasons that confirm the covenant and strengthen our faith. Those found faithful who remain watchful are children of the day.

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

1Th 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

1Th 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

We are being prepared as Christ’s Bride and made perfect as we see these signs of the end coming to pass in our lives. The faithful few are taking heed and grabbing hold of eternal life today. Grab hold of the Gospel and the Commandments and never let them go.

Pro 4:13 Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go. Guard them, for they are the key to life.

1Ti 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

Let us review the various signs of the end of the age which the Lord gives us in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 and link them to other Scriptures from the Old and New Testaments. Every matter of truth is always established in the matter of two or three witnesses.

Deceivers Arise, and the flock is winnowed: The first sign marking the time of the end is the manifestation of deceivers, and thus the Lord exercises His purposes in election. Many are led astray, and only a precious few escape and follow Christ out of spiritual Babylon, which is also spiritual Jerusalem, when the Gospel is preached. A little flock is kept in the Truth and follows Christ.

Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

The Lord creates deceivers and sends them forth to try the faith of the remnant elected by grace in every generation. Many are led away, deceived, and do not recognize or hear the voice of the shepherds the Lord has raised as the true Christ in the world. The Lord thus sifts the flock, winnowing the flock from many called, to a few chosen, and then to the faithful few in the end.

1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

Act 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

Winnowing is an agricultural term, speaking to the separating of the wheat [true ones] from the chaff [false brethren]. In the natural, the wind or air is used to do the separation, and so it is in the spiritual, as the Living Christ, the Spirit of the Commandments causes the separation. The hand of the Lord intensifies as we walk further into the last days, and thus deception is cited by Christ twice more as a pivotal sign of the end.

Wars and rumors of Wars: The battles and wars, the fight of faith, are inward, in our hearts and minds, which is in heaven. The weapons of the carnal mind are the law that is the accusing and excusing mindset that defines flesh before Christ comes. Wars and rumors of wars refer to the back-and-forth fighting that every carnal mind naturally engages in.

In the end times, Christ, the Commandments is come to us, and the natural enmity of flesh wars against the Spirit spawning many wars and thoughts/rumors of wars within us [See Gal 5:17, Rom 8:7]. These battles apply both within us and also without, as we are being separated from the world and our brethren not marked for salvation. We are always tempted by those outside the faith who remain bound to the accusing and excusing law of the carnal mind.

Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:

We obey the Commandments and as a result there is much enmity and opposition, the spiritual battles and wars we engage in fighting the fight of our faith. The world hates us spiritually and we are engaged in an ongoing war and are thus commanded to always have on the whole armour of God.

Eph 6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

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.

Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Zec 14:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

The kingdom of heaven within us suffers much violence, that is, these wars, until the Lord comes with the Promise and begins to deliver us from our bondage.

Mat 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

Mat 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

The accusing and excusing mindset that is the law of the Gentiles holds on for dear life when the Commandments come, and thus the natural enmity of flesh with the things of God ensures many wars are experienced. Servants of Christ, submitted to the Commandments, learn not to fight or engage in this violence. We are taught by the Lord to rest in the Commandments and pursue peace with all. In the end, the spiritual violence on our earth is subdued, but that takes the coming of Christ in power to subdue the inward enemies of God.

Isa 60:18 Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise.

These wars are both within us and without, and are the beginning of the end of our beast. But the end is not yet; we endure many sorrows waiting for the power of the Gospel, the Promise to come, and then walking out our faith and overcoming our sins. Our bondage to the carnal mind, our father the devil, who is the dragon, is broken when Satan is cast out of our heaven by the Living Commandments. It takes many battles, many tribulations to complete.

Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Appearance of earthquakes, famine and pestilence: The Commandments coming to us bring conflict. All things in our lives are being changed and made new. These experiences are the beginning of sorrows as our old life fades away. The Lord brings the spiritual battles within our minds and without, and as a result, there are a variety of spiritual earthquakes, seasons of famine, and pestilences in our lives as the old is torn down to make way for the new man. Our enjoyment in the flesh is being turned into mourning for His purposes.

Mat 24:7 … and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

We are the earth [Jer 22:29, Isa 1:2], and these earthquakes are the many tribulations we endure as the Lord remakes us into Sons. The shaking of the earth so that only faith remains is a constant experience in our day of the Lord after the Gospel has come. When we disobey the voice of the Lord, the Commandments, we have every expectation of an earthquake to follow, as sin is no longer going to rule us, and the power of grace wins the day.

Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

Heb 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

The earthquakes are a sign from the Lord that He is having vengeance for His Temple, which Temple we are. The Lord is visiting us, and while it is a blessing, it comes with much sorrow to our flesh.

Isa 29:6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.

The earthquakes come more frequently and with greater intensity at the end of our carnal life. When the last bowl of wrath is poured upon us, the biggest earthquake of our lives completes the work of God in saving us from our sin.

Rev 16:18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.

The Lord brings seasons of famine of hearing the Word of the Lord, which causes us to err from His ways and disobey. This is the Lord’s way, showing us our sin and need for a Savior, turning our hearts and minds back to the Father and the Commandments. These experiences teach us to have no confidence in the flesh. Apart from Christ, we can do nothing, and it is all being worked for the greater good of our salvation.

Eze 5:16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:

Amo 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

Without the Living Bread being eaten daily into our hearts and minds, spiritual pestilence soon manifests, making us sick and weak and in need of a Spiritual Physician. The old man of sin needs to be destroyed, and the Lord is creating the occasion for judgment to come in power and restore Israel for His name’s sake. The strange work of the Lord becomes the wonderful works of God to the children of men in the end. We forsake Christ, the Commandments, and He turns us back by using the wicked that is His sword.

Psa 17:13 Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:

Deu 28:20 … because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me.

Deu 28:21 The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

Eze 5:17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.

When the Lord withholds the rain that is His Spirit, spiritual famine, plagues, and sickness inevitably result. The Lord is humbling us by these many plagues to turn our hearts back to Him, our first love, that is, the Commandments we have forsaken. When we turn back to Him, He is there to save and heal us.

2Ch 7:13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Healing and restoration restart when we turn back to the Commandments and suffer many things.

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

When the end comes, judgment comes, meaning we are found dead in our sins and trespasses. Our natural rebellion against our heavenly Father is over; the Lord is come for salvation. Having eyes open to see our situation, the famine and pestilence are a blessing, as it is a sign the Lord is coming to deliver us.

In the last days, we are hated by all men: The Lord is separating a people unto Himself by the Gospel. The separation widens in time as we choose not to engage in worldly pursuits, and those outside the faith reject our stand for the Commandments and are inherently separated from us. Christ and Christ in us are not esteemed in their hearts and minds. We are following the example of our Lord, who was hated [killed in spirit] by His own people for obeying the Father’s Commandments.

Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

It is our own kinsmen, brethren, who turn against the faithful remnant the Lord is saving because we now preach and obey the Commandments. This is because we are standing for Christ, His namesake. Separation and loneliness are part of the journey as the Lord is calling a people out of the world unto Himself. We are not recaptured by the prison of the carnal mind and speak the wisdom of Christ, the Commandments, in our answers to those who oppose us. Jesus Christ was betrayed, and so is His Christ by those with whom they have walked together for a long time.

Luk 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name’s sake.

Luk 21:13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.

Luk 21:14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:

Luk 21:15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Luk 21:16 And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.

The costs of following Christ to the end require us to forsake all and lose many things, including relationships with physical family, friends, and spiritual brethren. Being hated by men for our stand for righteousness is a definitive sign of the end.

Joh 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Joh 15:20 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.

We follow the examples of Christ and the Apostles, who pleased not men, but obeyed God and counted it all joy to suffer and endure persecution for righteousness’ sake. The more we press into the Commandments and put Christ first, the more hatred and rejection come upon us both from the world and those of our own households.

Love waxes cold: The world we live in and are being separated from abounds in inequity and ensnares many of our brethren as we follow Christ. Only a faithful few continue to follow Christ and are given the zeal to endure to the end and be saved from their sins in this age. We are greatly tempted and for a season wax cold ourself yet the Lord loses none of those He has chosen.

Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

All of us slip and fall down, but the righteous being saved get right back up and keep walking after Christ. The light of the Commandments shows us our errors as the Lord has come to deliver us from our disobedience. We endure these seasons of famine and darkness until the Lord grants us repentance.

Rev 2:4 Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Rev 2:5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Christ and the Apostles warn of the need for diligence and for staying the course toward salvation, knowing that many fall away. Faith and grace can be received in vain, and some do not endure to the end.

1Co 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

1Co 15:2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

The Lord sifts the flock and separates the faithful remnant chosen for salvation from the rest in the appointed time. We should not be surprised when these things happen; it confirms the times in which we walk. As an example, Demas and Titus, beloved sons in the Gospel of Paul, later forsook him and departed from walking with Christ.

2Ti 4:10 For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.

The Lord wastes nothing in His many works with us, His clay. The evil and wickedness buried deep in our flesh, that is the bottomless pit, is the beast that was, is not, yet is. For the remnant being saved, all things work together for the greater good. Nothing is separating us from the love of God, not even our sins, that is, our nakedness in spirit. The Lord is working all of these experiences and signs of the end for the counsel of His will.

Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Psa 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Psa 139:8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

The end of the age is many things and fulfills the Scriptures. The Promise comes, and the light of Christ exposes our sins. The Lord causes us to err from His ways to bring judgment and humble us so He can then raise us up in the power of the Spirit. The processes and many experiences we have studied in the Scriptures are coming to fruition. The end of all things, especially our sins, is at hand as all things are being made new. When He comes and sits in our hearts, it is done, and we are just living out all these signs of the end.

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Seeing the Man of Sin, the Abomination of Desolation: We see our sin before the Promises come, yet we see it with a bright spotlight that is Christ after the Promise comes, and there is no missing them. After the Promise comes, the implanted seed of Christ begins to grow in us unto maturity to fill our entire earth with God’s glory. We have not arrived, the end is not yet, and we are fulfilling all the Scriptures to run the race to make an end of sin. The trials now coming all test our obedience to the Commandments. We are not perfected except by many exercises that teach us, through mistakes and victories, how to walk as Christ. The light of the Gospel, the Living Commandments of the Lord, is showing us the man of sin that still lives in us. By the Lord’s mercy and through the Commandments, we increasingly see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place in an is, was, and will be manner.

Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand:

Daniel was shown the signs of the end, which speak to the abomination that makes desolate, the man of sin. This occurs midway in the final week [the latter days] of the 70 weeks. The Lord comes to take back His Temple and destroy the man of sin, which confirms the covenant of the Promise.

Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

At the beginning of the end times, we know the Commandments, but we are unable to keep them. We remain bound to the law of sin and death that is our carnal mind, which Christ is come to destroy.

Rom 7:15 For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.

Rom 7:18 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.

Rom 7:19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.

We have every expectation of fiery judgment of the Lord to reveal this to us and destroy our adversaries.

2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Paul tells the Thessalonians who are waiting for the Promise [Christ] that when the man of sin is revealed within us by the Commandments, the day of the Lord is at hand. The light of Christ is uncovering all our sins and destroying the wickedness that lies within our flesh. The light of Christ reveals the wickedness and destroys Satan in the lake of fire that we now abide.

2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

2Th 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

2Th 2:8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

We are blessed to be shown the man of sin and are commanded to flee to the mountains, which are the Commandments, the highest place in the Lord’s Kingdom in our hearts. The end of the old us is nigh.

Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

We don’t look back; we don’t grab our defiled spiritual clothes or take anything from the old divided house of Israel with us. We go to Christ. Woe is judgment, and those in whom the Promise dwells are now being chastened and scourged to be born anew and grow unto maturity in Christ. Judgment is saving us; it is sweeter than honey in the spiritual.

Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

The Lord puts a greater condemnation on the disobedience of the elders and teachers He has set in His church. Those giving suck are those in Christ who are immature, still on milk, and have not yet reached maturity. We are growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord by these fiery experiences.

Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

We pray, meaning we strive to obey, so our journey is not unfruitful, which defines the seasons of spiritual winter and the coldness of our love for God. We likewise pray that we do the work of God on the journey and not be idle or at ease, but continually be about the Father’s business. We are in the winepress of the Lord; the great tribulation is refining us into sons of God, and we need every available tool the Lord provides. The day to ask the Lord is come and we pray for the kingdom to come and bear fruit.

Joh 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

These days are shortened, else the suffering in weak flesh is too great for us to bear. For the elect’s sake, the Lord shortens the days and does quick work in the earth.

Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

Luke’s version provides a different perspective of the same process of the light of Christ bringing the desolation into view just before the Lord comes with the living fire to save us.

Seeing Jerusalem Surrounded by Enemies: Seeing the enemies of God, our sins and carnality, completely surrounding the city of God within us, is a late sign in the process before the Lord comes to finish His good work. Satan still roams the earth and has but a short time left, so his exploits are increasing and give the Lord the occasion to bring the fire. It all works to bring about the blessing of salvation from sin. We await the pure doctrine we now have in our heaven to be seeded and grown into all of our earth, meaning our walk, deeds, and lifestyle. We pray for the kingdom to come, waiting upon the Lord to appear more and more to us.

Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

1Pe 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Jerusalem is both a positive and a negative symbol, and the heavenly or new Jerusalem is the true city of God. The old Jerusalem in our heart is trodden over by the Gentile and heathen nations with us until the appointed time for salvation comes. The time is nigh when our eyes are opened by the Commandments to see the desolation and destruction our sins have wrought. We see ourselves surrounded and encompassed by our sins. The light of the Gospel is the blessing that brings our enemies into view. The Lord’s plan for salvation is working in our lives right on schedule.

Luk 21:20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Luk 21:21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Luk 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Luk 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

The Lord is working all things, the good and the bad. Jerusalem within us is trodden down by the Gentiles and heathens, awaiting the coming of the Lord. Judgment is now upon the house of God, bringing vengeance for the Lord’s Holy Temple. The Lord creates the occasion by causing us to sin for Him to bring the fiery judgment and chastening that once and for all deliver us from our sin. We are the beloved of the Lord, the first fruits unto salvation, and the first to be scourged by our Heavenly Father.

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Signs of the times begin to appear in us [the sun, the moon, or the stars] and upon our earth as the final battle of our flesh versus the Spirit of God is preparing. This is just prior to the Lord coming to pour out the Holy Spirit, who saves us, upon the chosen of God. It is our Pentecost that was prophesied by Joel, spoken of by Christ and which Peter cited at the first Pentecost.

Act 2:19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

Act 2:20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

Act 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The powers of our heaven, being the law of sin and death, are shaken by the Commandments that come to occupy the Lord’s Temple. The time is at hand, it is come when we see these things in our lives.

Luk 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;

Luk 21:26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Luk 21:27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

Luk 21:28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Our old life and mindset, our heaven, is rolled up like a scroll, and our false beliefs, idols, and islands of our flesh are moved out of the way to make room for the salvation that is the Living Christ.

Rev 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

Rev 6:13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

Rev 6:14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

When we see the enemies of God, the man of sin, the lusts of our flesh, and the pride of life surrounding the old Jerusalem, our redemption is near. The Lord comes to destroy old Jerusalem and make her desolate. The time to be returned to the Lord is come. It is not a bad thing, it is a blessing as we are being saved from our sins.

Psa 90:3 Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

Isa 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD’S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Being surrounded and helpless, we cry out for a Savior, a Spiritual Physician to come and heal us. David’s Psalm praises the Lord for delivering him [us] from these enemies that encompass us. The Lord hears our prayers and our deliverer comes.

Psa 18:3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Psa 18:4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.

Psa 18:5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Romans 7 was Paul’s recognition of the man of sin in himself, knowing that the victory comes only through Jesus Christ and the power of His Spirit dwelling in us. The Gospel shines a light on our sins; it brings them out and gives the Lord an occasion to come again and pour out His Spirit and the resulting fire from heaven to save us. The Lord comes and creates His Kingdom in our earth, which is already in our minds, in heaven.

Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

The saints being surrounded by the enemies of God, the carnal thoughts and lusts that define all flesh, is the prequel to the end of sin and the once and for all destruction of Satan. The beast and false prophet are first to be consumed in the lake of fire that is the Commandments.

Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.

This leaves Satan, the father of death and the carnal mind, who brings about spiritual death, remaining to be destroyed from our earth.

1Co 15:25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

1Co 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The final battle against sin is also described in Revelation 20, with the ultimate destruction of Satan when the Lord comes in fiery vengeance. The destruction of Satan destroys our carnal lusts and pride of life, freeing us once and for all from the law of sin and death in our members.

Heb 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

The final battle to be won before we pass to the next life is the elimination of Satan in fullness from our earth. The fire that is the Living Commandments in our heaven rains down upon Satan, and he is vanquished from the earth. This is the hope for which we press onward and upward to a high calling. The fiery Word of God, the Commandments, rain down upon the earth, the latter rain, and Satan is no more. The work of God is finished.

Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.

Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

When the father of death is destroyed within us, there is no more death in us, and the inner torment that kicked against the Commandments is also destroyed. We are entered into the Sabbath rest in the Living Christ, the Prince of Peace. The day we have tarried long for has come.

Heb 4:8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

Paul described the same process of salvation in simpler terms. The coming of the Lord is revealed to us from our heaven with his mighty angels that are His Commandments and those who preach them.

2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

2Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Many false prophets arise and deceive many. In speaking on the signs of the end, the Lord gives both a second and third admonition about deceivers and false prophets. The further we advance into the time of the end, the more deceivers and antichrists are manifested. The Lord is trying His people with hard trials of faith so that only the faithful shall remain. False prophets and antichrists are a vehicle of choice for the Lord to divide and winnow the sheep.

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

The elect of God do not stray from the Gospel or heed the calls of deceivers saying they have Christ. We have heard and know the truth and the voice of strangers we take no heed of and do not follow. No man takes our crown.

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.

A divided house cannot stand both within and without. Christ is One, and there is no division in the true house of God revealed in the last days. Keeping the unity of the Spirit is a Command and is essential for the health and spiritual growth of all the sheep of the flock. Getting rid of the divisiveness and bringing about unity or oneness is accomplished by cutting off [dividing] the true sons of God from the false ones.

Eph 4:4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

Eph 4:5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Division and separation are big markers of the time of the end. The Lord separates His Israel from families and brethren in both the physical and the spiritual realms. The time of the end, the last days, are marked by the coming out of many deceivers and antichrists. The Lord uses deceivers that He makes and directs to bring trials and temptations to those being saved. The harvest is the time of division and separation of the wheat from the chaff, both within and without.

Luk 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:

Luk 12:52 For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.

The Lord gathering His wheat into the barn requires separation of the true ones from the false brethren who creep into our assemblies unawares. When the harvest comes, the Lord is winnowing the flock, as only the wheat, the true seed of Christ, is brought into the barn. Thus, the Lord creates heresies and controversies to sift the flock.

1Jn 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

Those not marked of God are known by many names and terms, including false brethren, deceivers, antichrists, false circumcision, wolves in sheep’s clothing, false apostles, deceitful workers, and others. On the day of salvation, we, the true Sons of God, are being separated for the Lord’s purposes, and we cannot hold onto the past. See Study on Deceivers HERE.

Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

The angels of the Lord who preach the Gospel are the reapers, watchmen, and shepherds who initiate the separation and have a duty to guard and teach the little flock until Christ is formed in them. The same are the ministers and priests of God who were raised by Christ first, to perform the greater works.

Mat 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

Mat 13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this age.

Mat 13:49 So shall it be at the end of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just

Here is a second parable, as the truth is always established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. We cannot be respecters of people or judges in the flesh; the duty of those the Lord sets in the church is to do as commanded.

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

The deceivers and antichrists in our midst are revealed when the Gospel is preached and becomes the focus of our walk. This, the true light of God, reveals the darkness within and without ourselves in the last days.

2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,

1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

The day of vengeance is the judgment of God. Carnal men have preached many lies about the wrath of God, including the lie of eternal torment and the lie that enduring the wrath of God is not for the people of God. Both are false gospels. Enduring the wrath and judgment of God is how we are saved. The fire that is His wrath, the chastening of the Commandments, does not harm the new man while destroying the old man. When the Lord’s wrath accomplishes its purpose for which it was sent, that is, salvation, the wrath stops.

1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

All of these signs, collectively, when we see them in our life, prove that judgment has fallen upon the house of God, which house we are. The end of all things is now at hand; the Lord’s Word does not fail to accomplish the purposes for which it is sent.

1Pe 4:17 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?

Time is short when these signs progressively appear in our lives. We are always about the Father’s business in preparing for the Lord’s coming and watching diligently. Seek ye first the kingdom of God. Worldly distractions and fleshly pursuits are passing away.

1Co 7:29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none

1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.

The Lord is coming quickly with the power to dwell in us and make an end of sin and transgressions. Be alert, watchful, and diligent not to be seduced by others.

Rev 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

When we begin to see these signs inwardly in our hearts and minds, we know the time is at hand. We are watchful and ready for the Lord’s coming.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree: The Lord gives us the parable of the fig tree and all the trees as a sign to be watchful. Fig trees are a summer fruit, and when we see the shoots of new life come forth in the springtime, we know that summer is near. We are the trees of the field and the fruit trees of the Lord, created to bear fruit unto righteousness. The shoots of new life coming out of us represent our obedience, that is, our doing of the Commandments. We do what is right and not what the world wants us to do. When we begin to do these things, we are being raised out of our sins, and the Lord is coming quickly to complete the work of salvation by pouring out the Spirit of Grace upon us.

Luk 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Luk 21:30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Luk 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Luk 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Salvation is the blessing and gift of God, given to us at the time of the end. We cannot remind ourselves too often of the need to endure and not grow weary, but to keep working in the Kingdom until the end, until the Lord finishes His works in us.

Rev 2:26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:

Heb 3:14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;

Keep the faith, stand strong in the Lord’s Commandments and many promises, wearing all the armor of God. The end of the matter is better than the beginning. Our mourning turns to joy as we sing a new song of obedience to the Commandments.

Ecc 7:8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Job 42:12 So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning:

Being shown these truths about the end times by the Lord’s angels, we embrace the tribulations and pray the Lord to come. We likewise ask the same grace come upon all of our brethren in the faith.

Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

To those who have received the Gospel, the end of all things is now at hand. We remain sober and watchful, always praying, striving to do the Lord’s will and obey His Commandments. The power of God, the Commandments, and the Gospel keep us hoping and eagerly awaiting the revelation of Christ in our lives so that we become a light unto the world.

1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Our attitude is press forward to the high calling and never cease from striving to be doing the works of God.

1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

May the Lord use this study to broaden your understanding and increase your joy and hope in the Lord and His precious promises. Study the Scriptures as they are profitable for doctrine and reproof. Read and meditate on the many studies and articles posted here on this website. This work is needed to buy oil and have it ready for the Lord’s call. The Lord is near, at the very door of your heart. Open to Him when He knocks. Receive the Gospel, which is filling your lamps with oil.

Mat 25:4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.

Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.

Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

Mat 25:7 Then all those [wise] virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps…

Mat 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Grace and peace to all who share our precious faith.

Commandments

The Commandment Against Jesting

June 4, 2026June 7, 2026 Peter

Ceasing from Joking and Foolish Talking

All our behavior is to become holiness unto the Lord. As the chosen of God, today in our day of the Lord, the Commandments are shining light on our actions that miss the mark. We are always about our Father’s business, working in the Kingdom of God, speaking and, above all, doing the Commandments. Christ was always about the work of the Father, and so are we now sent as His faithful witnesses through our words and deeds. The things we used to do in our former ignorance, we stop doing as we are now called unto holiness.

1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

1Pe 1:15 But as he who 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.

The Commandments forbid us from engaging in jesting and a related sin of foolish talking. Neither act is convenient or fitting for the people of God and have us forgetting to be sober and alert. Such behaviors are likewise poor witnesses and testimony to Jesus Christ. These are unclean activities and behaviors that defile the temple of God that we have become. We are not entering into our promised inheritance unless we overcome these sins. No blemishes or impurities, no matter how small or harmless carnal minds may think they may be, are entering into the holy city and kingdom of the Living God.

Eph 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

Eph 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

Jesting is the act of joking, kidding around, and making fun of people and generally acting in a silly or clownish way. This includes us trying to be humorous, teasing others, and being facetious or pretending in our communication. It reflects a lack of seriousness about who we are in Christ. Jesting includes making fun of, insulting, or ridiculing someone or something in a derisive manner. As the Lord’s witnesses, our words are spoken in sincerity and truth and not in any form of deceit.

Pro 14:5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.

Pro 14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit.

Making jokes about one’s appearance, speech, weight, job or anything can be considered jesting. It does nothing to edify another and defines an action that the world engages in. A little leaven has us straying from the narrow way, leading us away from Christ and the Commandments to be holy in all our conversation.

To the flesh, these Commandments seem overly harsh and restrictive, and the truth is not well received. We are different, not being part of the world, merely being in it, but set apart. Sons of God and those in the making, do not jest or make jokes to gain laughs at the expense of others. We speak the truth and are careful to say nothing to offend a brother. Laughing about others is a worldly behavior and tradition that is not fitting for the people of God. Similarly, pranking others or embarrassing them in jest is not acceptable behavior for the people of God. We are to be alert, sober, and grave [serious] in our life and about our purpose in Jesus Christ.

1Ti 2:1 I exhort, then, first of all, there be made supplications, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings, for all men:

1Ti 2:2 for kings, and all who are in authority, that a quiet and peaceable life we may lead in all piety and gravity,

1Ti 2:3 for this is right and acceptable before God our Saviour

Like our Lord, we are serious and focused on doing the Father’s will, having laid down our lives for the greater good of becoming servants of all. Anything we do that is contrary to building up and comforting our brethren is an action we should take a pause over engaging in.

1Th 5:11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

Does this mean we cannot laugh at funny things or with one another? No, it does not mean that, but we need to be circumspect in our behavior and ensure we are not being a stumbling block to others. We are free in Christ, but not all things profit our hearers and us. We are learning to choose actions that are expedient to the well-being of others, which reflect the light of Jesus Christ. Jesting and joking around is eating the meat of idols, which we can do, but only if we are careful about our witness to others.

1Co 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

1Co 10:24 Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth.

There are no examples of Christ or the disciples laughing and joking around. They, like our Lord, were about the Father’s business. The Lord has given us His talents, and we are to use those talents to do the Father’s business until He returns to try our faith. Engaging in jesting and joking around takes our focus away from God’s work and leads to sloth. Christ is always at work.

Luk 19:13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’

Luk 2:49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

Joh 5:17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.

Our robes are made white by the blood of the Lamb as we die on our cross and suffer many tribulations in standing with Christ and obeying His Commandments to cease from our worldly behaviors and customs. We are being transformed and leaving behind what is not expedient.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

As Christ, we are rejected and persecuted for our stance, being spoken evil of and called many names. “Come on, have a little fun”; “don’t be so serious” are carnal reasons we are sure to hear when we cease participating in and engaging in jesting and joking. We do not concern ourselves with their rejection, criticism, or even persecution for not engaging, because we are here to please God and not men. We now have a different purpose for our lives from that of those blinded by God.

1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

1Pe 4:3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries:

1Pe 4:4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:

Jesting and foolish talking are dissipations of the world. There are times for laughing, yet we are circumspect in how we walk to not stray from the path and speak deceit or make fun of that which is forbidden by the Lord. Our consciousness is convicted by the Spirit of the Lord that dwells in us, if we have strayed. Ask the Lord if in doubt.

1Jn 3:21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Our time to laugh is after we are humbled and purified by heavy trials. Drawing near to God is no laughing matter and brings affliction and weeping as we suffer many things and give up the lusts of the flesh.

Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

There is a time for every purpose under heaven, and that includes a time to laugh. But that time is not now in the day of the Lord.

Ecc 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven …

Ecc 3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance

In our day of the Lord, our laughter and joy in the flesh turn into mourning. Playtime is over; the Lord is serious about His work of saving us from our sins. Our whole heart and mind are being turned solely to the Lord. All of our idols and continued engagement in the flesh as we wandered in the wilderness are over.

1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.

The time to laugh is when we have overcome, when the Lord has finished His work in saving us from our sins. The Lord fills our mouths with laughter as we sing praises unto His name and for His marvelous works.

Luk 6:21 … Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.

Job 8:21 Till he fill thy mouth with laughing, and thy lips with rejoicing.

Psa 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.

We are admonished to remain alert and sober for the trials and tests of our faith. Being sober-minded means maintaining a seriousness in our focus, a sincerity and gravity, whereby we give up the attractions and wants of our flesh. Our speech is blameless, above reproach, so jesting and joking around is very unwise behavior. Paul admonishes the young in the faith.

Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

Tit 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

This sounds so negative to the flesh, and it is. Yet we who are afflicted and seek the Lord have a new joy that sustains us. Our love of the Father and our keeping of His Commandments are our joy and our strength. We no longer live for the world and its way of life. The joy of the Lord is the Father’s Commandments, and they have become our joy.

Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Joh 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.

By the Lord’s mercy, we have been given the knowledge and power of the Commandments. It is through Christ that we find the strength to overcome and cease from speaking corruptly out of our mouths. With the mindset of a servant and a minister, we are looking to the spiritual well-being of our neighbors and not ourselves.

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

We are to be careful in everything we speak, having heard the Gospel and now knowing the Commandments. Judgment is now on our house, and the Lord requires us to give an account of every idle word we say that is contrary to the Commandments. Far better to be justified by the Lord than to be condemned for speaking foolishly.

Mat 12:36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.

Mat 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Jokes and stories are not the truth; they are a form of deceit in the spirit. The world has waxed so much worse that the jokes have become filthy and full of ungodliness. We do not engage in them, even the so-called clean ones, being His set-apart people. We are the representation of Christ, who is the truth, the way, and the life.

Pro 26:18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,

Pro 26:19 Is the man who deceives his neighbor, And says, “I was only joking!”

There are very few examples of jesting in the Scriptures, yet here is one in the Book of Kings. Some youths jested and mocked Elijah on his way to Bethel, and therefore, they were cursed and slain by the Lord. Think spiritually about this parable. Those who continue to engage in jesting and joking behaviors are not alive to Christ but abide in spiritual death.

2Ki 2:23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

2Ki 2:24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths

We see Elijah mock or jest with the prophets of Baal in demonstrating the power of the Lord. Yet this was under the law and the prophets and not the law of faith. The bar for holiness is raised by the coming of Christ from what was permissible under the law of Moses. The law came by Moses, but grace and truth come by Jesus Christ coming to dwell in us and the standard of righteousness is likewise increased.

1Ki 18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

In closing, the carnal mind wants to be charmed, to be entertained, and thus jokes and jesting are attractive to fulfill those lusts. Like a snake, a carnally minded man bites when his fleshly lusts are not met or placated. A foolish talker is a babbler who is swallowed up in their carnal mindedness.

Ecc 10:11 A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different.

Ecc 10:12 The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, but the lips of a fool shall swallow him up

Losing our lives to save them means our lives are going to be boring by the world’s definition, devoid of lots of fun and laughs. As the first fruits unto the Lord, His Elect, our reward is in heaven, and we labor for it and not the treasures and enjoyments of this present world. We are receiving the spiritual blessings and the mind of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah, and we can be merry and rejoice in the mighty works of God in our lives.

Commandments

Speak Evil of No Man

June 3, 2026June 3, 2026 Peter

Guarding Our Speech

As the Lord’s chosen witnesses, lights unto the world, there is to be no corrupt speech or communication coming out of our mouths. We are to guard and watch our tongues with all diligence.

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

The tongue is a fire that, if not controlled, defiles our hearers and us, and plunges us into greater inner torment of the accusing and excusing mindsets. Only the Lord by the Commandments can tame the tongue.

Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

Peter wrote commanding us to keep our tongue from evil and linking doing so with being compassionate, loving, pitiful, and courteous; all of which are further Commandments we obey with our brethren and all men.

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

1Pe 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

1Pe 3:10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

We are commanded not to speak evil of anyone. Speaking evil is finding fault, criticizing, looking down upon others, and doing this is what the carnal mind loves to do in making accusations and excuses. If we are in Christ, no evil or carnal judgment is expected to come out of our mouths. There was never any guile in our Lord’s mouth, who set the example we, His elect, now follow.

1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

1Pe 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:

Rev 14:5 And in their [the elect’s] mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.

These words are written and shared with the flock to admonish all of us as we are likewise commanded to do. These words, the Commandments, are what wash our feet and keep us walking the narrow road. The Living Christ washed our feet, and we now wash one another’s feet.

Joh 13:14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

Joh 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

A fault-finding spirit, speaking evil of others, is the work of the adversary within us, that is, our carnal mind, which is always looking to find fault in others. The pointing of the finger is the work of Satan, who is to be kicked out of our heavens by the Commandments. We crucify those lusts in our flesh by laying down our lives in obedience to the Commandments.

Rev 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

It is the spirit of the Pharisee [outward righteous but inward full of death] within us who is quick to find fault, showing no mercy, that wants to point the finger and judge others.

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

Mat 7:3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

We condemn ourselves when we judge others, when we ourselves are guilty of doing similar things. We forget to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees that we all are first, which is hypocrisy.

Rom 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.

We are reminded of our own sins and from whence we have come, and by what power, and our carnal and ungodly accusations, slander, and finger-pointing stop. It is one of the ways the Lord works our sins to bring salvation to us. We are stopping from looking out there to make judgments and are turning our spiritual eyes inward to ourselves to make righteous judgments.

Joh 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

If we want to see the Lord in our walk, we are pursuing peace at every turn by striving to obey His Commandments in our interactions with all men. Obeying Christ is loving our neighbor as ourselves, and thus we fulfill the royal law of Scripture. When we speak evil of others, we are knowing men after the flesh, which we are to know them that way no longer. All our Christ’s servants, clay in His hands and doing exactly what the Lord has them doing. We are to obey the Commandments and not utter negative and slanderous things against those outside the fellowship of faith.

Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:

Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.

If we are not diligent in controlling our thoughts and our tongues, we can be overtaken by a spirit of bitterness that thereby defiles us and greatly impedes our witness and testimony for Christ.

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Slandering others is speaking derogatorily and is evil speaking, which makes us fools if we engage in it. Such words destroy our testimony, our witness, and our walk if we are not released from the snare. The light of Christ does not shine forth from the mouth of fools.

Pro 10:18 … he that uttereth a slander is a fool.

Pro 18:7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.

We should always be ready to hear, slow to speak, and refrain from making any carnal judgments, which is the sacrifice of the foolish.

Ecc 5:1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

Ecc 5:2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.

Speaking evil of others is the manifestation of the pride of man that we have died to. The mind of Christ, that is our heaven, and the temple that is our walk and actions, are cleaned out of all things that defile us in our day of the Lord. Speaking evil of others is judging others in the flesh. We are not judges but are doers of the law of God who obey the Commandments.

Jas 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another

We belong to Christ, and thus we no longer partake of the customs and practices of the world that speak evil of one another, always seeking to find fault and justify themselves. We are different, we are peculiar people, a holy people who show praises to our God by obeying His Commandments. The Prince of Peace, the Living Christ, is ruling in our hearts, and the flesh that once ensnared us in bondage has been put into subjection.

Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.

Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another

We are all first the Pharisee who despises others and speaks evil of them until the Lord brings the correction and admonishments needed, the fiery grace, to burn this spirit out of our hearts and minds.

Luk 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Remember the power of the tongue to defile us and to kill us spiritually. We are diligent and circumspect in examining ourselves and walking in obedience. We are reaping what we are sowing with our tongue. Reap eternal life, not spiritual death that comes from our sins of the tongue.

Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Seek the Lord, and we shall live in His presence. Keep this Commandment to speak no evil at the forefront of your mind. Let us rather do Christ and become the shining light in this dark world that is full of evil.

	Peter on Speak Evil of No Man
	morhardtd on Speak Evil of No Man
	Peter on Be Patient in Tribulation
	Peter on Be Patient in Tribulation
	darryl hugh Morhardt on Be Patient in Tribulation

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