“…as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him, “Tell us, what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Jesus answered: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For MANY WILL COME IN MY NAME, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will DECEIVE many.” (Matthew 24:3-5)
All of these, in our time, claimed to be Jesus Christ, there were more, I just listed the more well-known ones: Ernest Norman (1904–1971), Krishna Venta (1911–1958), Jesu Oyingbo (1915–1988), Ahn Sahng-hong (1918–1985), Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012), Jim Jones (1931–1978), Marshall Applewhite (1931–1997), Charles Manson (1934–2017), Yahweh ben Yahweh (1935–2007), Laszlo Toth (b. 1938), Wayne Bent (1941–), Ariffin Mohammed (1943–2016), Mitsuo Matayoshi (1944–2018), José Luis de Jesús (1946–2013), Sergey Torop (1961–)
Look what happened to all the false gods of Israel, “King Josiah commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to BRING OUT of the temple of the LORD ALL THE ARTICLES that were MADE FOR BAAL, FOR ASHERAH, and for ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN; and HE BURNED THEM outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and CARRIED THEIR ASHES TO BETHEL.” (2 Kings 23:4) This is what we must do in the last days, PUT AWAY things that distract us from serving God.
According to the Bible, assurance of salvation rests on four unshakable Pillars.
- Pillar 1: God Cannot Lie! “…EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord WILL BE SAVED.” (Rom. 10:13)
- Pillar 2: Jesus Paid It All. When Jesus died on the cross, He bore our iniquities, enduring God’s wrath, and cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30)
- Pillar 3: The Great Convincer, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called CHILDREN OF GOD! Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:1-2)
- Pillar 4: New Life in Christ. “Jesus gave his life to pay for our sins. But He not only paid for our sins. He also paid for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know God if we OBEY HIS COMMANDS. Suppose someone says, “I know him.” But suppose that person does not do what God commands. Then that person IS A LIAR and is not telling the truth. But if anyone obeys God’s word, then God’s love is truly made complete in that person. Here is how we know we belong to Him. Those who claim to belong to Him MUST LIVE JUST AS JESUS LIVED.” (1 John 2:2-6)
Your Personal Pastor -Bill Stockham