If God has you in the church of satan
OK, Hi Mark
How do you know if I could/might/possibly be one of these?..
Rev 3:4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. Rev 3:5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.
or these?
....Rev 3:10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
or these?
....Rev 3:12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
or these?
... Rev 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life....
or these?
Rev 2:13 "'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Or, maybe these?
.....Rev 2:24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Rev 2:25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.
Rev 2:26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,
In case it was not understood, these are taken from the seven churches where Jesus was walking in their midst. He gave correction and praise, both. And some received both praise and correction, at the same time.
Notice Jesus has some good things to say about some of the people in some of these churches. How is this possible? Even in these churches where satans throne is. He clearly said some had the "right stuff" to rule with him. Some had the right doctrines, the right heart, the right teachings. Is being physically present in a Church going to negate my heart, my love, my obedience, my holding on to Him? Is the physical building that strong? I say that only rhetorically. I know you know the answer. You know the building, the physical is not the Spiritual.
I am only speaking like this cause of what I took as your implication, in that highlited statement. You do not understand how I can out of Love do what I do, and give forbearance to my wife, or others, and still remain out of babylon. Fine. But I do. And I am at peace that Jesus will judge all motives and hearts someday. Including mine
And He will decide who was actually in Babylon and who wasn't. Actually, to the point, He will judge our works. And whether our works were motivated by love, and done in love, and put others before ourselves.
I do not have any quarrel with your understanding of how we are to OBEY Jesus. I so agree with that. I just do not think you understand/see that love is higher than all doctrine in the SAME manner as I do. So we have different viewpoints. I myself, would rather be totally obedient to Him in love and love all others as He does, than have all the correct doctrinal understanding in the world. And this is from one who painfully wrestled for 17 years, because of my love for my fellow man, to wrest myself from the doctrine of eternal torment, because it was too horrible for me to hold, even though I was raised and believed fully in the strictest fundamentalist baptist church doctrine out there, for YEARS, from the tender age of 12. And this was even before I read any of Ray Smiths wonderful writings. I am grateful to Ray for filling in many of the gaps I would never been able to. But even with all that, I still would rather have love for Christ, shed abroad in my heart, motivating me to pure obedience, to loving righteousness and hating wickedness, dying to myself, than have all the correct understandings that I now have (except that I could not EVER believe in eternal punishment, for that belief was destroying me) and not have this love and obey just because it was a rule. I think true spirituality is measured in the depth of your dying to self and the amount of how much you obey Christ and do His works, out of Love.