The Faith Once Delivered

When He returns, will He find faith in the earth ?

Beloved, I was anxious to write to you concerning our shared salvation, when necessity arose to write you exhorting you to contend for the faith once delivered to the holy ones. For certain men crept in unawares, long ago pre-scribed for this judgment, ungodly men, transforming the grace of our God into licentiousness, and denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.         Jude vv. 3-4

For many deceivers went forth into the world, ones not confessing Jesus Christ coming in the flesh; this is The deceiver and The antichrist. Watch yourselves that you may not lose what we worked for, but rather may receive a full reward. Everyone going forward and not abiding in the teaching of Christ does not have God; the one abiding in the teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.  2 John vv. 7-9

Now we request you brothers, with regard to the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you not quickly be shaken from your mind, nor disturbed, neither by a spirit, nor by a word, nor through an epistle as by us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no man deceive you by any means, because [it will not come] unless the apostasy (falling away) comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition.        2 Thess. 2: 1-3

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To Those Who Share the Faith of Jesus Christ

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     For nearly 2000 years, at least since before the penning of Paul’s second epistle to the church at Thessalonica, various positions have been offered regarding the day of the Lord and the apostasy of the Church. At that time deceivers were creeping in and introducing traditions that were not built upon the foundations of the apostles and the prophets – in short, teachings of “Babylonian” religion. Paul saw this “mystery of lawlessness” growing in the body of Christ and he, like Peter, Jude, and John, warned the congregations about it.

As we move quickly now towards the days of Elijah, and “the restoration of all things,” and since it is a central message of the gospel that we are saved “by grace through faith” it should be most visible on our radar screen to make sure the faith in Christendom is fully consonant with “the faith once delivered.” Indeed, we are encouraged by the apostle Paul, just as he wrote to Timothy and to the Thessalonians to carefully examine all things, to teach only what is in accord with the teachings of Christ and its objectives.

The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have strayed from these ways and turned aside to empty talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not understand what they are saying or that which they so confidently assert. (1 Tim. 1:5-7)

If anyone teaches differently and does not consent to wholesome words, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the teaching that accords with godliness, he has been puffed up, understanding nothing, but being diseased with questionings and battles of words, out of which come envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions, perpetual wranglings of men having been corrupted in the mind and destitute of the truth, supposing godliness to be profitable.   (1 Tim. 6:3-5)

Do not extinguish the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt, but test all things. Hold fast to what is good.  Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thess. 5:19-22)

For we who make up the body of Christ in this time of the end, it is our responsibility to ask the questions concerning just how much of Christendom is truly adhering to the doctrine or teachings [Gr. didaskalia] of Christ.

When was “the faith delivered once for all” actually delivered?

What is “The Faith” about which the apostles speak?

What is “the mystery of lawlessness?”

When will “the apostasy” or ‘falling away’ actually occur, or did it occur already?

What does abiding in the teaching of Christ involve?

What does a confession of “Jesus Christ coming in the flesh” really mean?

Is greater Christendom today faithful to the “faith delivered once for all,” or is today’s Christian community replete with leaven? Has the gospel been corrupted and faith transformed into lawlessness, a new covenant with no law written in the heart?

It is a sad truth that the vast majority of Christians in the world today would not be able to answer these questions in a way consistent with biblical truth. They cannot hear the voice of the Good Shepherd. They do not follow His voice. Today’s Christian faith does not closely resemble the faith “delivered once for all,” the “faith of Jesus Christ. And this is not a trivial topic, but lays at the core of salvation.

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.   (Gal. 2:16)

And be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God based on the faith.   (Php. 3:9)

It is a certain and immediate conclusion of these scriptures that apostasy or ‘falling away’ from “the faith” means to fall away from “the faith of Jesus Christ,” and that the “faith of Jesus Christ” is the faith which he revealed and manifested to his “chosen” apostles, and thus He delivered once for all to the holy ones.

Faith is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8), and it was delivered by God’s own Son – thus delivered “once for all.” And it was delivered to the saints (lit. ‘holy ones’).

So as we contemplate Jude’s admonitions to the faithful, to earnestly “contend for the faith once delivered,” and if we further reflect upon John’s and Peter’s similar warnings concerning false and deceptive teaching and teachers, it would certainly be warranted to conclude that we must hear these words as directed to every Christian throughout all time as well.

If we must live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matt. 4:4) we must live by this word and now the yoke of Christ is upon us to fulfill this command – and without burden since His yoke is easy, and His burden is light.

During the remainder of this writing, we will entertain the critical areas of teaching that are accepted commonly in Christian circles today which are leaven which may be of “the Pharisees,” science or knowledge falsely so-called, flights of fancy and myths which tickle the ears and are generally Babylonian in nature, teachings of demons, and even “the deep things of Satan.” (Lu 12:1, 1 Tim. 6:20, 2 Tim. 4:3-4, 1 Tim. 4:1-3, Rev. 2:24)

This may be a tough indictment, but it is a charge laid by God upon the physical House of Israel, and as the physical Israel was the shadow and type of the One spiritual House of Israel, the Church of Christ, this is the charge leveled upon God’s House spiritually.

The details and particulars of the indictment are so complex and numerous that it would take a full treatise to illuminate the many departures including the fundamental and damaging charge of betraying the nature of God and Christ, by blaspheming God’s Name in the way of attributing qualities of the adversary to God and His Son. Such mischaracterization amounts to proclaiming “another Christ” and worshiping another God, apart from the God of Jesus Christ. (2Cor. 11:4)

And this grave error leads to another gospel because it is proclaimed by other spirits who impart teachings of demons. It is a gospel in which somehow righteousness is imputed to the flesh in the glorification of the creature, viz. the follower of Christ, rather than giving all glory to God and His Christ, where it belongs. For this reason it is imperative to be able to discern the spirits (1 John 4:1). Many false prophets and many antichrists have gone out into the world, and it is the loving obligation of all followers of Christ to point out departure from the teachings of Christ.

In this manner we can join the apostle Paul in the spiritual battle which means:

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful in God for the destruction of strongholds, destroying reasonings and every lofty thing lifting itself up against the knowledge of God, and taking captive every thought to the obedience of Christ.    (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

Yes it has been a war for nearly 2000 years in terms of the gospel and the faith once delivered, and many “lofty” people have raised up their logic and reasoned from the fleshly mind to offer another Jesus and another gospel.         

Currently, major attacks upon the faith of Jesus Christ are launched on all sides in violation of the simple words of John in the second epistle cited above. We must remain in what Christ delivered and not laud ourselves for being so bright and so ingenious as to “go forward” or “go beyond” what was taught and what is written (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6). Unfortunately, this is the hallmark of the old nature of the beast, namely to put one’s own imprint upon God’s Word, and not to be grateful and satisfied with God’s final imprimatur about a matter.

In examining threats to the faithful in the way of strongholds, let’s look at some of the fortresses being erected against the word of God; some because an encyclopedic treatment of even all the major heresies (Gk. opinion) would require a sizable book. As a preliminary thumbnail, consider a brief list detailing principal areas of concern.

1. False teaching imported from Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Greece. Much of this impacts the nature of God, His sovereignty, His motives, capabilities, reasons for creation and the ends of creation, and the way of salvation. Some of these false teachings include the so-called Trinity (a teaching imported into Rome from Egypt, and one which can be found in all the harlot religions throughout the world), the transubstantiation of the bread and wine in the actual body and blood of Christ, the role of some individuals to govern the spiritual lives of others (Nicolaitanism) and of course many of the new efforts to return to the old covenant.
2. Mythologies which came out of the religions of man that have crept into Judaism, and likewise Christianity. These include the childish preoccupation of those who believe that angels had sexual relations with women – certainly spirit does not emit physical seed, as God is the only Creator and to allow spiritual insemination would besmirch the beautiful uniqueness of His own capacity to make Mary to be with child apart from a physical seed. This myth actually arose out of Greek mythology, and gave rise to stories of the Titans, that eventually found their way into Jewish circles and corrupted biblical teaching by the time of Christ.
3. Spiritual science – Myriad attempts to bridge new consciousness science, an amalgamation of world religions, high tech approaches to human development, Ufology, and worship of angels, have yielded a New Age religious smorgasbord that not only appeals to those disaffected by the hypocrisy of Christian denominationalism, but also to those of the Star Trek generation who see salvation in science and technology. Do not be misled, variations on this theme have crept into the Episcopal church and many other mainline branches of Christendom. The product: once again people walking as enemies of the cross, denying Christ in subtler and subtler ways while embracing self-help Christianity.
4. False prophets – from Mohammed to Joseph Smith, so many have gone forth just as it was in the days of ancient Israel where false prophets dominated the scene and Ezekiel was inspired to reveal that God causes this surfeit of deceivers to speak falsely and to mislead all who prefer to hear smooth words. Today we have a burgeoning industry of false prophets and false teachers, who are misled by voices and visions, and teach the falsehoods which evil spirits inspire in them. Among their inspired topics are UFOs and ETs, fallen angels and giants, building New Age cities as part of the kingdom on earth, and actually all teaching which hijacks the reality that God will establish the kingdom through Christ and His Elect “anointed ones” who will serve as His rod of iron to rule during the millennial reign upon earth. Everyone from the Vatican to the masonic orders and the LDS church have capitalized on this theme to the loss of their faithful who have apostatized and departed from the faith once delivered.
5. Obedience – Teachings of demons are not necessarily evident worship of dark forces, but rather more subtle inventions that cloud the nature of God and impute to Him what would amount to weakness, incomplete Sovereignty, only partial love, or even what amounts to Sin. Sadly, this category of teaching is embedded in almost all of the many thousands of Christian sects and will only be extricated bully by Christ’s appearance. Since even demons “believe and shudder” it is not enough to proclaim Christ as Lord, but failure to proclaim the true Christ amounts to nothing less than idolatry and does not guarantee faithfulness and obedience. Even demons must obey the Lord of all the earth, but Christians largely do not emphasize “obedience of the faith,” or “obedience to the gospel.”
6. The deep things of Satan, whose name means “opposer” or “adversary,” the most damaging and insidious teachings which have been insinuated into the churches. It means little that people would deny their church accepts the deep things of Satan. Fleshly minded teachings substitute the kingdom of heaven within, soon to be established as a spiritual kingdom on earth, with a physical kingdom that man can establish. Soon this will be manifested in an attempt to proclaim a version of God’s kingdom that can only be characterized as a counterfeit. The external formal establishment of the kingdom of the “god of this world” will help reveal finer details of these teachings which are the “depths of Satan.”
7. The Hebrew roots movement – becoming enemies of the cross, vast swaths of Christianity are returning to the old covenant and nullifying the power of the cross. A modern form of “the circumcision faction” advocates keeping some of the law – notwithstanding the teaching of Paul stating clearly that if one promotes keeping the law, it must be every law, and not just one. Christ’s ministry and teaching made a clear and unequivocal statement that the law was being changed. This too will affect the view of what is the kingdom and who will establish it and how it will be established. The righteousness of God gets overthrown again, giving way to man’s own righteousness in making his own way to the kingdom – the saving sacrifice of the Lamb of God is overthrown. Consequences of this return to Judaism and Jewish leadership are evident in fleshly matters, such as that Hebrew is “God’s language,” one should follow the Mosaic law, rather than the law of the Spirit of Christ, or simply “the law of Christ; and in a covenant theology that fails to grasp the new covenant and change of law (Heb. 7:12), or alternatively proclaiming two covenants and two peoples, thereby nullifying the one new man in Christ that Paul proclaims in Ephesians and elsewhere. It should be evident that such belief requires a discard of the Pauline epistles if not of the entire NT as scripture and a betrayal of Christ as the Savior. Such is this major play which is in motion and represents a denial of Jeremiah’s proclamation that there will be a new covenant unlike the covenant made in the day which YHWH took His people by the hand out of Egypt (Jer. 31). The variations of “circumcision” are ubiquitous and one can see that faction very powerful in the work of the Worldwide Church of God and all its offshoots, after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong.
8. Idols of the heart (Ezek. 14) – This is the licentiousness which Paul mentioned to Timothy. The extreme materialism seen in the West, the most universal embrace of Mammon, does not end at the walls of the church. Christendom itself is sorely afflicted with this covetousness that is decried by Paul, Peter, John, and all the holy ones, and has pushed out Christ Jesus from being the central focus and longing of all His people.

Now: can there be any wonder that Jesus spoke of the return of Elijah saying he would come and restore all things? Among all those things, would anyone be out of line in saying that the gospel, and the “faith once delivered” are central such restoration of the truth of God and His Plan of salvation?

As if any further proof were needed to show that there is something rotten in the state of Christendom and that restoration of all things must begin with “the faith,” simply note that there are now over 34,000 denominations within Christianity, an obvious sign of progress in the opposition of the stated goal of “growing into the unity of the faith” (Eph. 4:13-15). This is in keeping with the rebellious nature of the physical man, the old man, the beast who bristles at submission to God’s rule. In Christ’s parable these were typified by those who objected to the young noble ruling over them. (Luke 19:12 ff.)

Such a lamentable fragmentation of this faith once delivered stands in such stark contrast with Paul’s words to the Corinthians, “Let there be no divisions among you.” (1Cor. 1:10) The body of Christ is extremely divided, full of leaven and clearly distant from the faith once delivered.

If this is all true then the apostasy has already occurred and that condition for the revelation of the man of lawlessness is fulfilled. But lawlessness itself may not be at its zenith to where Christ’s own words in Matthew 24 will be realized: “because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of the greater number will cool off.”

To grasp that we must delve more deeply into the mystery of lawlessness, the law of faith, what it means to abide in the teaching of Christ, and what is the fullness of the scripture quoted above in 2 John. All of these things are intricately woven together, just as Love and The Law are of one piece. Even the Law of Moses, bringing in the ministry of death, hung upon Love as the epitome of its content.

Stated another way, we need to plumb the depths of several topics pertaining to the knowledge of God and Christ, mindful that “this is eternal life, to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.”(John 17:3). So to understand the depths of apostasy to which Christendom has sunk, we need to deeply study the following key areas.

1. The faith of Jesus Christ aka “the faith once delivered”
2. The mystery of lawlessness
3. Abiding in the Word of Christ

The Faith of Jesus Christ

While not immediately obvious to many, the faith of Jesus Christ cannot be separated from Truth, the knowledge of God, because that faith requires intimate knowledge of who God is, His marvelous Divine Nature, particularly His faithfulness, His boundless loving kindness, His total sovereignty over all things in the Heavens and on earth, and His singular Holiness. Not only is God the source of all good, but we must in the face of His goodness, simply deny our own as Jesus was right to acknowledge Himself:

And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good, except God alone. (Mark 10:18)

Since everything comes from God (1 Cor. 11:12), then any goodness we may feel we can ascribe to ourselves is really from Him (1 Cor. 8:6). And as Jesus made the good confession to Pilate about the truth, and as He passed along to His disciples that He is the Truth, all true faith must be inextricably tied to Truth. There can be no separation, no compartmentalization. We cannot exercise faith in a god who does not correspond to truth. That is why we must seek out our relationship with God and getting to know Him through Christ and through His word – “Thy Word is Truth” (John 17:17) – we may then truly worship Him in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23-24).

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory to the ages. Amen. (Rom. 11:36)

In this way we can see that the faith of Jesus Christ is ineluctably tied to worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth, and tied to the teachings of Christ – and any departure from those teachings is to fail to believe every word of God, to fail to exercise faith in Him. And it is for this reason that John writes what he does in his second epistle cited above.

The faith of Jesus Christ is trusting God in all things, even to laying down one’s own life in trust. It is knowing that with God all things are possible, transcending all the laws of science, and everything imaginable to the human mind.

‘Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen’

(Ephesians 3:20–21).

Such faith is “the substance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1), but there is an essential component connected with it and that is the “obedience to the faith” (Rom. 1:5, 16:26). As James hammered home the message that faith without works is dead, and Paul taught how Abraham’s faith was proven in his exercise of obedience to the Lord’s calling (Heb. 11:17), so we must come to understand faith without obedience is not faith.

And yet there is so much more to the faith of Jesus Christ, and each person who claims Jesus Christ must study to show herself approved and grow into this faith by becoming acquainted with it. Where can this be found? First, in the words of the Lord Himself where His myriad statements concerning God reveal His faith and give us a standard, or measure <Gk. ‘kanon’> by which to judge ourselves. In fact, He said His words would judge us. Second, the words of the apostles reveal the fine details of that faith for they lived and walked with Christ and were to be given the spirit of truth (Jn. 14:26) to bring back to their remembrance all that He said. The Church, which is His body, is founded on the apostles and the prophets (Eph. 2:20) and it in their transmissions from the divine Spirit that the faith of Jesus Christ is exposited in completeness.

The one rejecting me and not receiving my words has one who judges him; the word which I spoke, that will judge him in the last day. (John 12:48)

For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord, in order that we should not be condemned with the world. (1Cor. 11:31-32)

Of course, there is an antithesis to this perfect faith, given by “the author and the finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2), Jesus Christ, even as there is an antithesis to the Spirit of Christ which is the spirit of antichrist. There is in Christendom another mystery apart from “the mystery of the faith” (1 Tim. 3:9), to which Paul exhorts Timothy to hold, and it is a mystery which does not support the mystery of Christ in you, the hope of glory (Col. 1:26-27), but it is a mystery that was seeded into the communities of faith by men that crept in unawares, sowing destruction in their wake.

This brings us to the outworking of this mystery which Paul saw at work in the church, and of course a mystery which ultimately comes from God (cf. Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 11:12), namely, “the mystery of lawlessness,” to which we now turn.

The Mystery of Lawlessness

The New Testament makes a number of references to the mysteries of God, the mystery of Christ, the mystery of the faith, but there is another mystery or ‘sacred secret’ [Gk. mysterion] at work in the church which moved Paul to issue a warning to the Thessalonian church, a brilliant and compact teaching on the man of lawlessness and the mystery of lawlessness already at work. (2 Thess. 2:1-12)

So, has lawlessness <Gk. anomia>, lit. ‘without law,’ been put to rest by a watchful leadership in Christendom, or has it been increased and can we expect to see it growing without resistance in the future?

The text is clear in verse 7: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.”

All restraints will be removed when the gloves come off. The one who restrains lawlessness can only be Jesus Christ who brought the law of the New Covenant, “the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). And in that respect the mystery of lawlessness must be connected with the man of lawlessness who will conclude his own covenant, one that replaces Christ as “Savior of the World” and which blasphemes against the Law of the Spirit of Christ, or Law of Faith.

We are seeing the extreme chaos introduced by lawlessness by any person or any group. The impending entry of the man of lawlessness is signaled by the growing lawlessness, particularly in the leadership of America which has been known as a light on a hill in demonstrating the justice which is a consequence of a society governed by the rule of law.

However, by God’s design and according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11) He has fostered the mystery of lawlessness for a similar reason that He created the tree of knowledge of good and evil

See how clear it becomes that Christ removes the restraint from the man of lawlessness so that the mystery of lawlessness can come to its fullness. Just as the Israelites could not enter the promised land until the sin of Amorites was full, so the remnant of the Church in the person of “The Elect” will not enter in with Christ in the first-fruits harvest until the sin of the Gentile Church, another of the harlot daughters of Babylon, becomes full. That is, the leaven must fill the lump.

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”     (Matt. 13:33)

Yes, it is God’s Plan – not a defensive move by the Almighty Creator <El Shaddai> in response to Satan’s gambits – but it is a sifting and sorting so that many will be deceived. Why? Because they did not love the truth!

The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thess. 2:9-12)

This is nothing new, but is part and parcel of God’s process of creating sons, giving them experience for discerning good and evil so they may be like Him. Consider the words of the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. They established YHWH’s rationale and strategy for deceiving the people, as Christ Jesus Himself recounted for them.

And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their punishment — the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike — that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor defile themselves anymore with all their transgressions, but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”         (Ezek. 14:9-11)

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
            keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Make the heart of this people dull,
            and their ears heavy,
            and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
            and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
            and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said:

“Until cities lie waste without inhabitant,
            and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
            and the Lord removes people far away,
            and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
And though a tenth remain in it,
            it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
            whose stump remains when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump. (Isaiah 6:8-13)

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled. (Mt. 13:110-14)

It is within the Light of these divine revelations of the strategy and tactics in creating sons of God, that we can understand just why God will confound the people, why Christ hid things, why the Lord instructs His servants to blind the people so they may not understand and return to Him and be healed. They must be razed to the ground, completely reduced of their own hard heartedness, and brought through the fires of judgment and purification, and then they will be able to return.

The immediate result of not loving the truth and keeping the obedience of the faith is to be deceived and to perish (2 Thess. 1:7-9, 2:7-10, 2 Peter 2:12, Jude 14-15). While the remnant tenth and stump of the great tree is brought through the fire, the later judgment is even more severe, designed to cause the spiritual death which was not taken as judgment to the self by the individual. The death of this old nature must be induced from above by a sheltered place of fire and divine energy (cf. Rev. 20:13-14)

For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1Pet. 4:17)

For, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. (Rom. 1:18)

Finally, we are brought to the point of realizing the linkage between faith, salvation, and the obedience of the faith. Suppression of the truth has resulted from twisting the words of Paul (2 Pet. 3:15-16) and not believing every word spoken by Christ. Whereas, once it was viewed as the Law of Christ to “love your enemies,” a commandment to be held dear, it has become permissible in Christendom to return to the old covenant and law and to hate your enemies. It is not uncommon for Christians to vote to reign fiery hell down on the heads of people who are living in other cultures that may not accept Christ. This is to hold the truth in unrighteousness. This is NOT obedience to the faith, and a direct expression of the ‘mystery of lawlessness.’

In the final section we explore the link between faith and being set free from the law of sin and death, of being set free from the old beastly, sinful nature that desires the destruction of ‘the other.’ We will hear how abiding in the Word of Christ, keeping His Commandment, is abiding in the Spirit of Christ, remaining in Him, with He and the Father making their home in us as we grow in the new nature of the Son of God. This is one who loves his neighbor as himself and thus, in one word, fulfills the law (Gal. 5:14).

This will prove to be the antithesis of the mystery of lawlessness, and will result in the greatest of blessings:

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (John 14:23)

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:20-21)

It is a well-worn statement that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17), and that type of faith is underlying the ethos of the mystery of lawlessness, the same message of Cain, namely, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Such stands at great odds with the way of Christ, which is to live the words of Gal. 6:2, viz. “bear one another’s burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ.” In the next section we will understand this as the true meaning of keeping His Word, abiding in His Word.

Abiding in the Word of Christ

The lost piece for Christendom is the covenant incumbent upon the bride of Christ within the New Covenant, namely:

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

And there is the rub. Abiding in the word is like a covenant of marriage – you must remain. ‘Abide’ is the translation for the Greek word meino, which is ‘to remain,’ or ‘continue.’ In which word then must the disciple abide? Every one!

John confirmed this abiding in the ‘word’ or ‘teaching’ of Christ Jesus

Anyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. (2John 1:9)

This abiding or remaining in the teaching of Christ — and consequently the abiding in the Life and Being of Christ — requires diligent examination of every word of Christ and His apostles, and a healthy restraint from the temptation to add or subtract from His words – or to be distracted by interesting myths and ear-tickling speculations that built fortresses against God. (2Cor.10)

Part of abiding in His teaching, and a point that is forgotten by the vast majority of those who claim the name of Christ is the keeping of His commandments – this amounts to the same thing as abiding in His word.

The Sum of the Matter

Returning now to the questions we put to ourselves in the body of Christ at the beginning of this writing, it becomes clearer and clearer that there has been a ‘falling away’ or apostasy from the faith once delivered, but still Christendom is contending to hold on to that faith of Jesus Christ. We can conceive of a time with the fullness of the days or time of the Gentiles when the vessel of Christianity as a daughter religion of the great harlot, Mystery Babylon, becomes full of leaven and the apostasy is complete. At that time the minority view of the faith will be hated and hunted by those in power, and this will be the manifestation of the prophecies of Christ which He spoke to His disciples and through His servant Daniel the prophet. The remnant which are ‘Elect’ will be the object of hatred by those who loved not the truth. It will be as it has always been, the old Adam, wearing the mark of Cain, and not getting the best of Sin, will deliver to death those whose living sacrifice is accepted by the Lord. Those who bear the mark will be the ones who are not victorious over the ‘Beast’ and his image (Rev. 15:2).

Prior to the close of the age and the judgment on Babylon, witnesses will work in the spirit of Elijah, restoring the full teaching of Christ, whose words will be like a fiery judgment and may cause a plague upon those who claim Christ, but are disobedient to the gospel. They will comfort themselves in the mystery of lawlessness, unable to see the truth because their eyes will veiled for not loving the truth. The mystery of lawlessness will reach its zenith in a world religion that many Christians will embrace with the false Messiah being given the Sanhedrin “good housekeeping seal of approval.” But theirs is the ‘house of wickedness,’ in Hebrew Beth-aven. And it shall collapse around them and go up in spiritual fire at the coming of the Lord.

The Elect will do battle for Christ with the 10 kings of the earth, destroying all falsehood and taking captive every thought to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). They will be the devouring fire of Christ that burns Babylon (Rev. 18). So shall the major attacks listed earlier in this paper be vanquished. False teachings, and conflations with other religions will be rejected by those who come out of Babylon.

“When we come to see that we are spiritually in bed with Jezebel, we then realize that we have been committing spiritual fornication, and spiritual adultery. We have been believing the lies and false doctrines of Jezebel instead of going to the Word of God and seeing what is really the Truth. At this point judgment begins and we begin to come out of Babylon and we begin to search the scriptures, and to try the spirit of Jezebel, the doctrines of Balaam, and the deeds of the Nicolaitans.” (Mike Vinson, “Revelation”)

The Elect remnant will make the true confession of “Jesus Christ having come in the flesh,” and that “He died for all.” (Variations of that message proclaim another gospel, another Christ.)  Their witness will stand in stark contrast to the counterfeit, the one who manifests the antichrist Spirit and works according to the power and activity of Satan. At that time the few who are chosen and remain upon earth will witness to just how Jesus Christ manifested the name of YHWH, and revealed the very image of God in the flesh, and how upon His return, He will manifest the full image of God in the Spirit. His complement, the first fruits, the first born with Him, will likewise manifest that very nature and image at the first resurrection. When He is revealed, they shall be like Him.

Until that day, it will be the work of the Elect to labor in the fields to restore the burnt stones and help the living stones in the body of Christ to come out of Babylon, to abandon all of the false teachings that do not conform with the teachings of Christ, and prevent souls from abiding in Him and His teaching. It is the work of the Elect to help all the people of God conquer each and every one of the enemies within and without that are detailed in the eight substantial threats to the Church outlined beginning with page 5 above.  And when the Lord returns, it will be in fire, seen in the imagery of Psalm 97:

Fire goes before Him,

            and burns up His adversaries all around.

His lightnings light up the world;

            The earth sees and trembles

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of YHWH,

            At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. (Ps. 97:3-5)

This depicts the fiery restoration (Acts 3:21) – Gk. apokatastasis – which in greater fulfillment of the fiery work of Elijah can depict none other than Christ Jesus Himself, the Lord of the whole earth, turns all enemies to stubble, while the “Holy Seed” passing through the fire is transfigured into the glory of the Lord – to be one with him forever.

Faith ————- Obedience ———— Abiding

Will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night? Will He continue to defer their help? I tell you, He will promptly carry out justice on their behalf. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” To some who trusted in their own righteousness and viewed others with contempt, He also told this parable… (Luke 18:7-9)

Indeed, He will bring about justice for the sake of His elect, and yet the question hangs heavy in the air: will He find faith on earth? Most will be worshipping the work of their own hands, trusting in their own righteousness, and viewing others with contempt. Those who belong to Him, however, will love one another and will exercise faith in God alone, not trusting in their own righteousness. They will boast in the righteousness of Christ, and they will believe every word of God, and they will keep all the words of Christ, bearing witness to Jesus and keeping the Commandments of God (Rev.12:17, 14:12, 22:14). This threefold affirmation of the dual completion of the saints illuminates the way of righteousness, the righteousness which is by faith (Heb. 11:7).

Is there really one faith?

Our conclusion must be in accord with the unity that Christ and the apostles both preached and demonstrated. In a world of Christian faith claims divided by some 34,000 sects worldwide, do Paul’s words to the Corinthians even resonate anymore?

Now I exhort you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1Cor. 1:10)

So there it is, first among the tasks of Elijah in the restoration of all things, viz. the restoration of the faith of Jesus Christ, “the faith once delivered to the saints.” (Jude 3)

That there is one faith and that its unity is a task and an objective for the holy ones, God’s Elect, was magnificently laid down on the beautiful litany of divine unities in Ephesians chapter 4. This spiritual paean echoes the words of Peter, John, James, and Jude in their teachings on the faith.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. . . for the equipping of the holy ones for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:4-7, 12-13)

This is the beauty and fullness found with the faith of Jesus Christ, the faith which He Himself delivered face-to-face to His Holy Ones, that they might live as He in full measure of the stature of Christ, as true sons of God.