Dear Who Me,
The apostate churches of this world mix in works to the Gospel and limit salvation to this age. Both teachings are false and come from the spirit of anti-Christ that invaded the church in the 1st century AD.
Here is how Christ saves mankind, starting with the elect:
Shortly after Paul's death, 100% of the babes (no sheep were spared) in the churches fell away and began teaching "perverse things" (Acts 20:29-31). Those perverse teachings quickly became common place and were fully accepted by orthodox Christianity. By the time John received the vision recorded in Revelation, the churches had already begun teaching and following "another gospel" - the one that Paul warned would come after his "departing". Nothing has changed over the centuries since that time, even up to today.
The churches of this world are still following Satan's false gospel.
So how does Satan's gospel differ from the true Gospel of Christ?
Satan's gospel mixes the works of man with the works of Christ.
The Old Covenant was based solely on the works of man for a person to be acceptable to God. It failed.
The New Covenant is based solely on the works of Christ for a person to be acceptable to God. It succeeds.
The two covenants should NOT be mixed together as the churches do. Don't be thinking that your church is different because it is not.
Prov 23:26 My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. 27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. 28 She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increases the transgressors among men. 29 Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? 30 They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine (Old & New Covenant mixed together). 31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red (Old Wine), when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moves itself (man’s works) aright. 32 At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder.
In this age, when Christ decides to begin the salvation process within a person, He will come to them in their unbelieving spiritual state and freely (without their permission or asking for it) give them a small measure of the Holy Spirit. In the farming analogy, the small measure of the Holy Spirit is called the Early Rain. The Early Rain will give a person a measure of faith and other gifts but it will leave them carnally minded, spiritually blind and unconverted. Scripture calls this new believer a "babe" or "virgin". They have been called to be a saint but are not a saint yet. The Early Rain begins a babe's time of waiting for Christ to return with their salvation.
The time of waiting occurs between the Early and Latter Rains.
Heb 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
James 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receives the EARLY and LATTER RAIN. 8 Be ye also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Hos 6:3 Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he (Christ) shall come unto us as the Rain, as the Latter and Early Rain unto the earth.
The time period of waiting is referred to as "time, times and a half, 3 1/2 years, 42 months and 1260 days". When you read a scripture that contains these terms, know that the verse is teaching on the spiritual events that occur to a babe between the Early and Latter Rains. During each babe's time of waiting for Christ to return to convert them, they will come under the deceptions of the spirit of anti-Christ and will fall away. They fall away because they have accepted Satan's false gospel which mixes works with faith. For this reason, a babe's time of waiting is called a time of GREAT TRIBULATION and the time of Elijah's 3 1/2 years of drought.
As a result of the indwelling of the spirit of anti-Christ and the babe's acceptance of Satan's false gospel, the babe will become "worse than the first" (Mat 12:43-45) and will become a MAN OF SIN/ANTI-CHRIST/BEAST WITH SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS & CROWNS. These spiritual terms represent all apostate babes. THERE WILL NOT BE A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL CALLED THE ANTI-CHRIST WHO RISES TO POWER AT THE LITERAL END OF THE AGE. That is a false teaching from spiritually blind apostate teachers.
The mixing of works with faith is the "sin that leads to death" (1John 5:16). It is founded upon the false Doctrine of Free Will. When a babe mixes works with faith, they have consumed the mixed wine presented in Prv 23:29-32 which I quoted above. This makes the pathway of Christ "crooked". Christ requires His pathway to be "straight" (faith alone) before He will appear to a babe for their conversion.
Since all babes fall away, how can an apostate babe be saved before they die?
For the ELECT babes ONLY, Christ will come again to them before they die and will pour out the Latter Rain. The Latter Rain is the baptism. This event will cause them to repent of their works which will restore their faith. With the pathway now made "straight", Christ will "appear" to them (the second coming) and convert them.
1Sam 12:17 Is it not wheat harvest to day? (day of salvation/conversion) I will call unto the LORD, and he shall send thunder and Rain (Latter Rain); that ye may perceive and see (spiritual blindness healed) that your wickedness is great (have become apostate/man of sin), which ye have done in the sight of the LORD, in asking you a king.
AFTER AN ELECT PERSON IS CONVERTED, THEIR SALVATION IS ETERNALLY SECURE. The phrase "once saved, always saved" applies at this point.
Paul's conversion is the type that all elect believers will follow. Paul received the Early Rain on the Damascus Road. He "typed" falling away during his three days in Damascus. After his three days were complete, Christ came again to Paul and poured out the Latter Rain. Paul’s spiritual blindness was then healed and the scales fell from his eyes. Christ then appeared and converted Paul. This was Paul's day of salvation.
For the apostate babes who are NOT elect, Christ will NOT give them the Latter Rain before they die. They will die in their sins and they will receive their portion with the unbelievers in the Lake of Fire (a symbol for judgment/not literal fire). But because Christ came to save the world (1John 4:14), He will not forget the balance of unsaved mankind. In the final age, Christ will include MERCY, FAITH, AND JUSTICE during His judgment of the lost. His mercy will birth a new child of God and will leave the child of the Devil in the Lake of Fire to perish. This death will satisfy justice.
These verses apply:
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law: JUSTICE, MERCY AND FAITH: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun (Christ is the Sun) to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain (the Early and Latter Rain) on the just (elect) and on the unjust (non-elect).
After the last person of mankind has been converted, the verses below will be testified to be true:
1Tim 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; 4 who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Phi 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 and that every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Joe
