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Beyond Measure, but Not Beyond Belief (TRUST)

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Michael J Erdel

2 Corinthians 1:8-10 ⁸ For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹ Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us

The passage of scripture above is one which illustrates the biblical phrase very well “we walk by faith and not by sight” (II Corinthians 5:7).

Many Christians would say “Amen” to walking by faith and not by sight, without considering the implications or counting the cost. The passage we are considering today, is a small window in walking by faith, when what is experienced presents itself as contrary to God’s will and is difficult to endure.

Remember that which appears contradictory to our faith, is not always contradictory, but can be complimentary, and even catalyzing to our faith and practice.

“For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia”

Paul wanted them to understand the “what” and “why” behind the difficulty faced, how GOD was sovereign in and over it, and that there is a purpose in the pain they suffered for Christ.

Let me say from the beginning, there is nothing we experience, as followers of Christ, that is random.

God, our Father, either ordains or allows the circumstances of our lives. Nothing takes Him by surprise, when it comes to His children, as He is there before we arrive and present with us when walk through the pain or the peace. It is most often the painful and uncertain times, which reveal His nearness most, as illustrated by our passage.

How About Some Context?

Paul wanted the Corinthians to understand GOD’s activity, before during and after, the apostle’s time in Asia. The Greek meaning of “Asia” is actually referring to “Asia Minor” or the western shore of Turkey. “Asia” would have been east of that portion of Turkey’s geography. This is important when understanding chronological context of Paul’s “trouble”.

Acts 16:6-10 ⁶ Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. ⁷ After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. ⁸ So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

The region named “Mysia” refers to Asia minor, the region on the west coast of turkey. While passing through this region, Paul desires to go and share the gospel in parts east of Mysia, in Asia.

He was “forbidden” and then not permitted by the Holy Spirit to go to Bithynia. This had to be frustrating to the apostle. The Lord then gave him a vision to go to Macedonia.

Someone declaring they have had a vison could cause any red blooded charismatic to sweat with gleeful anticipation. In America, in our time, having a personal vison is seen as in line with a scriptural perspective, although that may not be the case most often. In fact, in many circles, it is taken for granted, that visions are a sign of God’s favor on a person; again not necessarily the case.

It seems many are looking for confirmation, excitement and a justification for doing what we believe God’s called us to do. We often do this, rather than learning to be led by His Spirit practically, as intended (Romans 8:14).

Although a person having a vison from God, may relay God’s favor or calling, biblically speaking, those visions are almost never about personal blessing. In fact, the person having the vision or dream, usually suffers when walking through the vison (Remember Joseph or Isaiah who was sawn in half for His visions and godly character).

Let us consider how joyfully awesome Paul’s life was after he was given the vison of the Macedonian man. Of course I am being sarcastic a bit.

2 Corinthians 7:5-7 ⁵ For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. ⁶ Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, ⁷ and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.

Remember that Paul had a vision from God leading him and his companions to the cities of Macedonia. We might think, that since God called him, there ought to be little resistance. That, of course, was not Paul’s experience… “when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears”.

When we began, we started with II Corinthians 1:8-10, which sounds strikingly similar to II Corinthians 7:5-7. Most interestingly is that II Corinthians 1:8-10 and II Corinthians 7:5-7 are book ends to Paul’s travels Acts 16 to Acts 17. What were the difficulties which cause Paul’s consternation in Macedonia.

The first place Paul visited in Macedonia was Philippi.

Acts 16:11-15 ¹¹ Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next day came to Neapolis, ¹² and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. ¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met there. ¹⁴ Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. ¹⁵ And when she and her household were baptized

Acts 16:16-19 ¹⁶ Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. ¹⁷ This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” ¹⁸ And this she did for many days. But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour. ¹⁹ But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

Paul begins his foray into Macedonia by bringing Lydia to Christ, then casting out a demon, which was oppressing a young lady. Hallelujah! The vision brought awesomeness, but also fearful and painful circumstances for Paul and Silas, as state in verse 19.

We understand that the two Christian companions were delivered from jail in the Macedonian city of Philippi, but they still had to face the difficulty of being shackled and confined. After that, the trouble continued and continued.

Acts 17:1-4 ¹ Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. ² Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, ³ explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” ⁴ And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

Acts 17:5-6 ⁵ But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.

After these fearful circumstances Paul and Silas went to Berea, where the trouble makers followed them. Now that we understand the historical context, let’s look at the struggle throughout and why the LORD our GOD led them through such a time.

^“5For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side”

While walking through the circumstance of this period, Paul and his companions were beyond physical exhaustion. Facing literal physical beat downs, as well as mental assaults from threats and the potential “what if’s”, left them numb and without strength. This was the case for there was trouble or “tribulation” like threats surrounding them.

“Outside were conflicts, inside were fears”

Paul distills down the trouble on every side, by declaring them conflicts, or continued attacks. In addition, he reveals inward fears, which challenged him concerning what he believed about GOD, His goodness, His nearness and His plan.

This left them feeling a very particular way, which is described in I Corinthians 1:8-10

2 Corinthians 1:8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

“of our trouble”

The word “trouble” is the same word used for “tribulation” and means and effort to stop one from practicing their faith, through death or causes them to flee. This understanding helps us understand what Paul reveals next.

“that we were burdened beyond measure”

The phrase above means to be knocked flat on your face, like a fighter knocked down, but cannot get up, and keeps stumbling to falling flat on one’s face; while attempting to get up. We can call this spiritual CTE or Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or concussion syndrome. In this state, we cannot think clearly, having wrong obsessive thoughts. This often leads to confusion and despair.

This state, arising from constant tribulation, is used by Satan, through fear and anxiety to stop the reformation of the mind, we are called to (Romans 12:1-3). In that mental anguish the burden increases to burden down our spirit, soul and body (I Thessalonians 5:23).

“that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength”

We must be careful not to associate every struggle and trial we face with passages like II Corinthians 1:8-10, because we often make our own difficulty and at times assign normal trouble as a satanic attack. But, if one is seeking to be fully surrendered to the Lord Jesus and His will, they will face times like Paul.

2 Timothy 3:12 ¹²Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Why would God, who loves us, whom we love in return, place us in these times of tribulation?

2 Corinthians 1:9-10 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, ¹⁰ who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us

There are more than a few reasons for our persecution, which deal with God’s glory, His power being demonstrated over the power of the enemy and many more, but in this instance, Paul declares it is a matter of relational trust.

YHWH wanted Paul and his companions to have no other option, avenue of escape or thought to look for an earth-bound solution. He did not want the mountain of pride or arrogance produced by our figuring a way out for ourselves. He wanted them to TRUST that God, our present Father would win the day, and continue to do so.

Every sincere follower of Christ in every generation unit He comes, must learn this lesson as well.

Do you and I truly trust in Him who raises the dead? Is He our chosen option, whatever the circumstance we are in?

Is He truly enough for us, so that we are content whether being abased or when abounding? Can I declare with Paul in the most difficult times, where human wisdom, strength and ability are nowhere near sufficient, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:10-13)?

May we all determine in heart to say yes, and seek Him, that Christ is fully formed in us, for His glory, as we persevere trusting Him alone.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged burdened beyond measure, God's sovereignty, hindered by satan, II Corinthians 1:8-10, Paul's vision | Leave a comment

What We Behold, We Become! PART II (II Corinthians 3:18)

Posted on February 8, 2026 by Michael J Erdel

2 Corinthians 3:18 ¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

After my last article we understand we become what we behold. For the Christian, we are to behold the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, which is the impetus of our being transformed into that which behold.

The “glory of the Lord” is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and we behold Him in the written and spoken word of God, as the Holy Spirit illuminates, instructs, leads and empowers to become God powered representations of Christ.

How do we “behold”?

I believe beholding is simple, practical and attainable, if we lay hold of the truth, that from the moment of our salvation, the Holy Spirit is with the follower of Christ personally.

John 14:17 ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

We can trust the Holy Spirit will enable us to behold Christ (in the word of God), and make sure we are transfomred, from glory to glory.

Our part is to behold, that the word of God would dwell in us richly (Colossian 3:16),that the precepts, commands, and character of Christ dwelling in us, would be seen by a world looking for the Light

The truth of the word of God dwelling in us richly, calls us to understand the necessity of the process of how beholding works. This reveals a truth that is often forgotten, when temptation presses.

Psalms 119:9-13 ⁹ How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. ¹⁰With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! ¹¹Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.
¹²Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. ¹³With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth.

In reference to the word of God hidden in the heart, we understand the “heart” is referring to the human soul, linked with the mind. Biblically this is considered the seat of our individual personality and emotions.

We are comprisied of spirit, soul and body (I Thessalonians 5:23); therefore, we do the work of hiding the word of God in our heart, with God’s help. It is at this point of intersection, that the Holy Spirit, joined with our spirit, induces the work of “beholding”, which leads to the transformation.

The problem is that many are committed to treating the process like a time of cross training, weight lifting or working out, which is a portion of time during our day. For the Christian, beholding is an all day every day, 24 hour a day pursuit.

Psalms 1:1-4 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. ⁴The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

This passage lays out how the word of God is hidden in the heart, so it can dwell in us with all wisdom.

In eastern meditation, a person strives to empty their mind and self of everything, which will lead to potential wisdom, or so they say. That form of meditation is not biblical but worldly and satanic. Biblical meditation means to fixate and be filled with God’s Word, whereby the old man and his patterns are driven out, as Christ’s character grows in us.

This is an endeavor of longsuffering and consistent delight.

The word “meditates” means to “chew the cud”. The phrase “chew the cud” refers to how a cow eats and assimilates that food, which is better than most animals.

For your information, a cow has four compartments to their stomachs, and they basically eat all day, even until sleep, so “day and night”.

A cow, eating grass will pluck the grass up, chew it, then swallow. The grass goes into compartment number one and digests it to a degree. Following this, the cow then regurgitates the grass, which is digested a little and picks some fresh grass with the regurgitated grass. This is what it means to chew the cud.

The “cud” is then swallowed again, digested and the previously digested enters stomach compartment two, the freshly chewed in compartment one. This process repeated, all the way to stomach compartment four, at which juncture, the digested cud is almost entirely assimilated into the body. This is why we love steak!

Remember this process occurs day and night for a cow, and the reason they are so muscled up and happy.

Firstly, how awesome the LORD gave such a present illustration for the Jews and for us to chew on (pun intended). to mediate means we, like the cows chew on (mumble) the word of God day and night, till its assimilated.

Many Christians, believe they are doing well to read the word of God daily, but reading is not what we are called to, but to behold.

We are called to take what we interact with in the Bible and chew on it, by mumbling questions, listening to how the Holy Spirit illuminates the word of GOD with answers, and empowers us to live out those answers. This is not to be a one time of the day endeavor, but a disciplined, ongoing intimate conversation with God.

Romans 8:14 reveals that as many as a led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. What does that mean to be led by the Spirit of God? It means we walk with God from the here and now until eternity with Him, like our children walk with us when we are out and about.

In this illustration, a loving father maintains observational control of their child’s, by holding their hand when little, until the child is able to be led and directed by voice command. This takes time to build up, but as the child learns the intimate and close care of the father, they resist his hand leading and embraces submission to their Daddy’s direction. It is very similar, with “beholding” and how we are transformed, by our Father’s leading.

Proverbs 3:5-8 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own uderstanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. ⁸ It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones.

Some would say this is impossible or not what God meant, but it is what God our Father intended in Jesus Christ our Lord; it is the outcome of our salvation in the life we live until we are with the LORD forever.

Hebrews 8:10-12 ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

So, we understand it is Christ we behold in hiding the word in our heart—it is into the character of Christ we are transformed as empowered by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, what we behold, moment by moment and day by day, should it be the Christ and His character, is what we will be transformed into.

Ah, but remember this ministry we all receive, we are not to lose heart with. We are not to lack sobriety in its necessity or justify being lazy to practice it day and night. (II Corinthians 3:18-4:2).

Be encouraged read the word of God, but listen for what the Lord desires you to chew on day and night.

Write it down, look at it and ask him questions throughout your day—at lunch take a walk speak the Word to yourself and pray for God’s direction—let Him fill your soul with connections to other places in His word—share with your family what you are learning about God from the word at dinner—thank Him before bed for speaking to you and revealing Jesus the Christ in the word throughout the day—repeat the process the next day and so on.

Why?

Galatians 2:20 ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Because, if we are not beholding the glory of God, in the mirror of God’s word, and inwardly as Christ lives in us, we will behold other things.

The Problem

Since it is true with Christians, that what we behold we become, then it is also true that if are not beholding Christ consistently, then what we are beholding we can become, apart from Him. Scripture is clear.

Galatians 6:7-9 ⁷ Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. ⁸ For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. ⁹ And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Although using an agricultural metaphor, the meaning is the same as “beholding”. What we lay hold of and handle consistently, we become. In the context of western Christianity (America, parts of Europe, Australia, Canada), the idea of sowing or beholding, moment by moment is considered outdated or archaic, at best.

From the earliest age we are taught to compartmentalize our lives. We have our faith/religion compartment, which is mainly a short time in the morning or night and Sunday morning—we have our work or school compartment—our time with friends’ compartment—our family compartment—we have our political department—and our entertainment compartment.

In these basic categories, faith in Christ is important, we may say the most important, but it often is not.

First thing is first. Christ is THE focus, not a compartment. He is the One who leads us in all the varied aspects of our life. This leading is not to come from a revelation from a morning devotion or message alone.

His leadership is to become, at times, moment by moment, often, where we are aware of His presence in all aspects of our lives, and we at least acknowledge He is with us.

Romans 8:14-15 ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Proverbs 3:5-7 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.

The call to be true to the reality of beholding, cuts across the grain of our American lives, but is absolutely essential for our lives with Christ, if we are to be transformed into His image, as by the Spirit of the Lord, from glory to glory.

Yes, we must be sober about the temptation of beholding carnality from the world, the flesh and the Devil, but much more the stuff we would not consider carnal, like politics, fringe theological arguments or distinctives and entertainment we may see as allowable.

Our faith in Christ is so important and under assault from the world the flesh and the Devil, that we must check in with and check out the Lord’s directions, often. We can slip into something that seems good, but is detrimental to our faith, and that of others, very easily.

Consider, that over the last 25 years, the church has become an arm of the Republican party, where it is believed the will of the party to be God’s will. This is an unbiblical, damaging and foolish perspective.

Our kingdom is not of this earth and tied to no political structure. As Christians we can appreciate some aspects of conservative political policy, but our Christianity is not a national political movement.

Our faith in Christ transcends the limitations of human government. Therefore, our ambassadorship is to the kingdom of God and its King, Jesus Christ. His will is what we live for, and His will is often at odds with both the republican and democrat parties.

Yet the more we behold YouTube, Facebook and other social media monoliths, the more we are twisted to fear the other side and ally ourselves with a Christian nationalism, which treats politicians as potential saviors, to defeat our enemies.

Over the last ten years, I have seen beholding of this kind split Christian families and churches, because beholding these fears and potential salvations from suffering, turn us into people anxious and cynical, rather that people of bold faith and powerful Christian love for each other, the lost and ultimately our God.

Let us return to beholding Jesus the Messiah, our God and King, who is the glory of God.

Because, at the end of the day, we become what we BEHOLD!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beholding, Christian nationalism, Galatians 6:7-8, II Corinthians 3:18, Proverbs 3:5-7, Romans 8:14 | Leave a comment

What We Behold, We Become! (II Corinthians 3:18)

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Michael J Erdel

Just a cursory reading of II Corinthians 3:18, reveals a main point which seems straight forward enough… “What we Behold, We Become”.

This statement for Christians, ought to seem right, assuming we understand what we are beholding and what we are becoming.

When digging deeper into the entirety of the context of II Corinthians 3-4, we can see what we become and how essential what we become is to the lost world we live in.

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 ¹ Therefore, since we have this ministry (the ministry of beholding parenthesis is my addition), as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. ² But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. ⁵ For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The ministry we have received to be the light of the world, becoming as Christ is; who is the Light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16). We are to shine forth and inject Christ’s character and teaching, into every man’s conscience, for the removal of the satanic blindness which keeps the lost in the dark.

This is to occur as we have the Treasure of Heaven, the Holy Spirit, fulling dwelling in us, Christ’s vessels (II Corinthians 4:7-11).

We are new creations, those who look more and more like Christ, every day. In this new creation life, we live and proclaim the will of God, as we live it out, as Ambassadors for Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

These are the characteristics of Christ, which we are transformed into, That transformation takes place, only as we behold a very real and powerful something, or better stated a SOMEONE.

THE MINISTRY OF BEHOLDING

“But we all, with unveiled face…”

The phrase “But we all”, implies that all followers of Christ are invited into the ministry of beholding. Far too often Christians default to a lazy position fuel that powers transformation and ministry are considered, for a select few of super saints. This is a carnal lie ginned up by the Devil himself.

Every member of the body of Christ is to be a new creation, an ambassador for Christ, and light in the darkness; by the power of God’s indwelling Spirit.

How do we lay hold of this truth practically? We begin with the truth that we are to behold the Lord Jesus Christ without a veil. This is important to understand, rejoice in and apply to our lives daily.

The word “unveil” refers to the drawing back of a curtain. You’ll remember with me, that in the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, there was a Holiest Place of all, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and where the glory of GOD would descend. Prior to His descending to the Mercy Seat atop the Ark of the covenant, the High Priest would spread the blood of the sacrificial animal, on the Mercy Seat.

When YHWH came fully in His presence, He would see the blood covering the sins of Israel, for another year.

The point is that only Moses or the High Priests, were to go behind the veil, into the presence of YHWH. The veil was a curtain, woven from top to bottom and almost 4 and ½ inches think.

When Jesus died, that curtain (veil) was torn in two by God, which was literal and symbolic. This meant that the veil that existed between God and humanity, a veil of sin, was removed, for any who come to Christ Jesus by repentance and through faith in Jesus Christ.

II Corinthians 3:15-16 illuminates this truth.

2 Corinthians 3:15-16 ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

Verse 15 reveals that to the Jew, who rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, there is still a veil between them and GOD, which makes beholding” impossible. That veil is one of sin, same as the one over the lost person’s heart that has not come to Christ, by faith and repentance.

2 Corinthians 4:3 ³ But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ

I Corinthians 2:14 reveals this to be the reason for the rejecting Jew and Gentile, in not being able to see Christ, as Savior.

I Corinthians 2:14 ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Yet, II Corinthians 3:16 reveals what removes the veil or more specifically WHO makes possible the removal of the veil… ^“Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

For anyone turning to Christ Jesus, the veil is removed, as we are forgiven and by faith become positionally Holy before God (Romans 5:9), therefore we have access 24 hours a day, to behold in the presence of God, because the veil has been removed for us.

Therefore…

Hebrews 4:16 ¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

This is important because II Corinthians 3:18, especially with beholding and the result, of transformation, calls to mind Moses in the Holiest Place communing with God and the result of those interactions with YHWH.

2 Corinthians 3:12-13 ¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— ¹³ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

Exodus 34:33-35 reveals that after Moses spoke with God, face to face, his face having absorbed God’s glory would radiate light so powerful, he had to cover his face. The glory would eventually diminish until the next time. After spending 40 years pursuing God’s with and His Presence, the glory was magnified in Moses physical form, even until his death.

Deuteronomy 34:7 ⁷ Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished

Moses was as strong at 120, as he was at 40. This was a result of the glory of God, from Moses interactions with YHWH in the Holiest Place. How much more our interaction with our God in our spirit, soul and body (I Thessalonians 5:23), ought to produce a monumental change in us. It is possible, consider Stephen.

Acts 6:8-10 ⁸ And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. ⁹ Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. ¹⁰ And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

Acts 6:15 ¹⁵ And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Moses experienced the glory of the LORD from the outside of his person, we in a very different and potentially more consistent place of beholding. More on that later.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord”

The word “beholding” means to gaze upon something to the degree that the image becomes fixed in your gaze

Children are often told not to stare into the sun, because its image will be burned into their retina and may cause partial blindness. We see a similar effect with flash photography, where even a momentary flash of bright light, can cause a temporary disruption of vison.

We are told to behold that which is brighter than the sun, the glory of the Lord. Yet remember, it is not as it was for Moses, for the glory of the Lord resides in the heart of the humanity of the redeemed, by the Spirit of Christ. Our transformation is inward to outward (II Corinthians 4:16). Yet, our beholding is realized through a “mirror”.

The mirror is God’s word, both written and spoken and hidden in the heart. His word is the mirror, which cast the image of the glory of God, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:1-3 ¹ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, ² has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; ³ who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person

Christ is the brightness of the glory of God, which is a very descriptive identity. The word “brightness” in the Greek language is the word “apaugasma”. It means “effulgence” or “off flash”. We can understand this from how we experience the sun which lights and gives warmth to the earth.

The sun is a very large sphere primarily made of 75% hydrogen, 14% helium and 1% heavy metals. It is constantly in nuclear fusion, which produces its brightness and heat. The light produced takes 8 minutes to travel the 93 million miles scientists tells us is the distance of the sun to the earth.

When that sun light hits your skin, the UVB radiation is absorbed into our cells and converted to life sustaining vitamin D₃. Let me ask the question, is the sun light that hits us after it leaves the sun, traveling for 8 minutes, less the sun than the sunlight being produced right now, in nuclear fusion at the sun’s core.

The answer is no, it is not less, but it is what we humans can handle, take in and be benefitted by. What we receive is full sun light, yet in an amount we can benefit from and assimilate.

Christ, being called the brightness of His glory, is no less God than the Father or the Holy Spirit, yet He is what we can experience of God, understand of God and be transformed by, of God, this side of heaven. Remember that Jesus Christ is the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form (Colossians 2:9).

When we behold the glory of the Lord, as in a mirror, we are stepping through the pages to fellowship with the Brightness of the glory of God, Jesus the Christ. This is not just through the written word, but as by the glory of the Lord, by the Holy Spirit’s indwelling and fullness, illuminates, as we are Transformed by Truth, into living expressions of the Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory

This means we are transformed by what we experience of the glory of Christ, as often as we acknowledge Him and fix our gaze on what we see of Him in the word read, heard and hidden in the heart.

Next time we will discover how we behold and what occurs when we are beholding the things of the world, the flesh and the Devil.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged beholding as in a mirror, II Corinthians 3:18, the glory of the Lord, What we behold we become | Leave a comment

Kirk Cameron’s Growing Pains, Are Giving the Body of Christ Angina Part II (Debating the nature of eternal punishment)

Posted on December 23, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

In my last article, we discussed ways Kirk Cameron twisted O.T. passages and the writings of “church fathers” to bolster his growing belief in conditional immortality, or annihilationism, concerning the state of those who reject Christ.

It is apparent Cameron has had growing pains, concerning his move away from what the Bible declares concerning the conscious eternal torment of the lost, which is the most widely accepted and biblically tenable position on this topic.

Kirk Cameron believes he is correct concerning hell. He is, of course, dead wrong, which makes him dangerous. In his blog he spent a lot of time, twisting N.T. passages to make his argument. His wrong dividing of the New Testament scripture began in Matthew 10:28.

Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Cameron contends that the word “destroy” hints at annihilation. That interpretation is a stretch as far across as the gap of the Grand Canyon. The Greek word by which we get “destroy” is apollymi, which can mean to destroy fully (reflexively, to perish, or lose), literally or figuratively: — destroy, die, lose, mar, perish. It certainly does not hint at annihilation, for the very nature of the word is of progression, immediate cessation.

This is why it is unwise to make a doctrine, such as concerning the fate of the wicked, from one passage. We must remember that scripture interprets scripture. Additionally, we must remember that the second death, is about being separated from God and His glory and His grace. When Adam and Eve were separated from God’s presence after being kicked out of the garden, they surely died, but that death was over a 900-year period.

When did they start to die? At the moment of their choice to disobey God. This is why it is important to remember that death, perishing and destruction, in an eternal sense are progressive events, which continue forever. The New Testament certainly backs this truth up.

Luke 12:4-5And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell (ghenna the lake of fire; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Mark 9:42-48 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where “Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Matthew 25:41-46 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.

Revelation 14:9-11 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”

Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

It is plain, eternal punishment is Conscious Eternal Torment, not God annihilating the lost out of existence.

Let us examine some of Kirk Cameron and his son’s critiques of the Biblical doctrine of conscious eternal torment. The first of which is that conditional immortality is more inline with God’s mercy.

It is my opinion that this false precept is most egregious, as it forgets God’s greatest expression of mercy, which is the cross.

Let me be clear, in the cross we can see the love of God, the mercy of God, the justice of God and the wrath of God, greater than any other action of God in history.

God’s mercy is allowing humanity, all humanity, which is guilty before God, to consider His mercy in the cross. This mercy comes through repentance and faith in Christ shed blood, His death and resurrection. God chose to give all men mercy, in their lives, to reconcile themselves unto Him, through the death and resurrection of Christ. (II Corinthians 5:17-21).

God’s mercy is extended to those who choose it in this life. Those who do not, desire to live their lives for themselves, without God’s presence to lead guide and transform. Remember, it is appointed to man to die once and then comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). God’s mercy extends to all who are in Christ, throughout eternity, but His mercy ends when the lost die. No, annihilationism is not in line with God’s mercy, but perverts His justice.

Additionally, Cameron’s son brought up an illustration concerning how unfair eternal punishment seems to be considering a little old Granny, who didn’t follow Jesus, but has to burn forever in an eternal BBQ.

As stated by his son, her only crime would be not following Christ, although she did right by her neighbors and never did anything that bad. Is it not bad enough to reject the Christ, who literally had her sin and that of the world, written by torture into His body on the tree, as he is our indictment (Colossians 2:13-15)

This kind of thinking is not unbiblical and foolish it is also mocking God’s justice. It is as if Kirk and his son have never read the word of God. In referencing a little only lady, who wasn’t that bad, we must consider if God judges by that which wasn’t that bad, or in a much more just way.

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

There is only one Person who kept the law perfectly… Jesus. He is the standard of judgment. This is why Romans declares…

Romans 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

The problem with Cameron’s musing is that the measure of what is good, righteous or worthy of heaven is the life of Christ, not the wisdom of man. Little old Granny will never meet the measure of Christ, therefore she needs to believe in Christ for mercy, and receive it through repentance and faith, where she takes Him as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9-10).

The Cameron’s are playing a dangerous game of who deserves God’s wrath, based on an amount of good or bad. This is a human way of thinking where we judge a person’s life as relatively good or bad, in comparison to Hitler or Stalin.

This leads to us musing on a degree of punishment, foolishly, based on whether one is Hitler or a little old Granny. All of that is hogwash as the cross equalizes the measure for all. That measure is Christ, which none can measure. Hence the mercy of god in the cross of Jesus Christ.

If people reject God’s mercy in this life, they will by their own choice suffer eternal punishment, which is to be separated from God’s Presence and glory forever, whether the bible deems it outer darkness, hell fire, the lake of fire, the second death, or conscious eternal torment.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we must all hold that all men are without excuse, and deserving of God’s eternal wrath and punishment (Romans 1:18-31). To characterize that as God’s eternal BBQ”, is to slander God’s character and means of justly dealing with lost humanity.

My prayer is that Kirk Cameron, stops having growing pains concerning the biblical understanding of conscious eternal torment.

My prayer is that you will consider with me today, how merciful God is to rescue us from that which all humanity deserves, apart from Christ, which is to die eternally separated from God. That horrific reality, should be the basis of overflowing love and joy toward our Father, and fuel to call others to repent to avoid God’s righteous and eternal judgment.

And can it be that I should gain

An interest in my Savior’s blood

DIed He for me, and I caused His pain

It was for me He went to death to pursue

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged annihilationism, Conditional immortailty, conscious eternal torment, hell, Hell. the second death, judgment, Kirk Cameron, the lake of fire | Leave a comment

Kirk Cameron’s Growing Pains, Are Giving the Body of Christ Angina (Debating the nature of eternal punishment)

Posted on December 18, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

Recently, on Kirk Cameron’s Pod cast “The Kirk Cameron Show”, he had a discussion with his son, concerning the nature of eternal punishment. In this discussion both he his son, took issue with the biblical and traditional view point that the lost with suffer conscious eternal torment (theologically known as C.E.T.), after the resurrection of all th dead (Revelation 20:11-15).

It seems Kirk Cameron is experiencing growing pains in his theological understanding (pun intended). The problem is that his growing pains, given his age as a believer and time as an influencer, may cause the body of Christ spiritual angina.

The reason is simple. Cameron and his son have exchanged the biblical view point of eternal punishment, which is a revelation of the character of God, for Conditionalism.

Conditionalism or conditional immortality, is a belief that immortality is not inherent but is a gift from God, granted only to those who have saving faith in Jesus Christ; the unsaved, conversely, will face final destruction (annihilation) and cease to exist, rather than suffer eternal conscious torment in hell.

From Cameron’s conversation with his son, one could believe that conditional immortality is most in line with the mercy of God, because the person is resurrected to face judgment for their sin, and being guilty, God zaps them out of existence (annihilates them), rather than cook them in an eternal BBQ.

Cameron’s“eternal BBQ” is how he dfines what the Bible calls the “second death” and “the lake of fire”, is nothing to mock or joke about. To declare that annihilation reveals God’s merciful nature is to diminish the ultimate and forever manifestation of God’s justice, wrath and mercy, in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, Cameron’s new pet doctrine is regurgitated Arianism, where Christ is seen as a creature, the arch angel Michael, rather than the creator of the angels, and conditional immortality is the fate of the lost; to be annihilated.

So far as we know, Kirk has not accepted the first tenant of Arianism, or what we know today as Jehovah’s Witness. Sadly, it seems he has fully embraced the heresy of conditional immortality, or the annihilation of the soul.

DEBUNKING THIS HORRIFIC DOTRINE

Let us first understand that all men and woman have been made with an eternal soul. The Bible speaks of this plainly.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Genesis reveals when His Spirit, created in us the living soul, which is eternal.

Genesis 2:7 ⁷ And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

The phrase “living being” is better translated “living soul”. This is important because it is our God breathed rational soul, which makes us unique as individuals before God. It is also that which is touched by Christ Himself, when we are conceived for “He is the light that lights ever man who comes into the world” (John 1:9; Hebrews 1:1-3).

Our God is so intimately involved in every human life, why would He eradicate it out of existence? He would not. and science and the Bible corroborates this truth. The first law of thermodynamics states that matter is eternal, it can not be destroyed, but changes form over time.

God, by His very nature cannot annihilate a human soul, as He created it. The soul, spirit and body, as matter, cannot be destroyed or annihilated (I Thessalonians 5:23).

Conditional immorality does not believe in the immortality of the soul, but what they believe concerning the process of annihilation is simply sad and lacking wisdom of God.

When a Christian dies, they immediately enter the presence of God, in a spiritual sense (II Corinthians 5:8). On the day of the ingathering (rapture), their natural body, which has been decaying, will be the beginning point of the new glorious body ready for eternity. For those alive at that time they will be changed in a moment, a twinkling of an eye, fitted with a new creation body (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:50-58).

Following along the lines of the first law of thermodynamic, our new resurrection bodies, arise from our natural form, and take on immortality; not eradicated but changed.

The lost, upon dying, go to Hades which is the temporary place of the dead, in the heart of the earth. Our Lord lays this out in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. In this parable, from Luke 16:19-31, we see two dead men, fully conscience in Hades.

One, Lazarus, was in Abrahams’s bosom, a paradise where they had cool water and what was need to comfort them. This place, adjacent to Hades in the heart of the earth, was for the faithful awaiting the resurrection of Messiah. When Jesus ascended into heaven, He emptied Abraham’s bosom, once and for all. In the New Testament period, all believers who die are immediately ushered into the presence of the Lord.

The other man we read of, the rich man, is in Hades, which is a place of torment and pain, where they await the final judgment. In this place, they are conscience and aware of their estate.

In Kirk Cameron’s view, which is conditional immortality, God takes those in Hades, who are conscious of where they are, He resurrects them only for the purpose of declaring “Your judged, now you don’t exist”.

This view point is silly, why not simply eradicate them at death? It also flies in the face of what the Lord Jesus declares in Matthew 25:41, concerning the final judgment.

Matthew 25:41 ⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Cameron’s Argument from the Old Testament

Without giving solid evidence from the Old Testament, Cameron declares that the Old Testament reveals the wicked perishing quickly in a move of annihilation from God. He then goes forward to cite Augustine, as one who believed in annihilation of the wicked dead, which is a tent pole of his argument, because Augustine was a church father.

Augustine was not a church father, as he was not alive until the late 4^th to early 5^th century. He is the father of the Roman Catholic apostacy, so what he wrote need be taken with a grain of salt, if not with great skepticism.

He cites various real church fathers of believing in conditional immortality. In reality, of those church fathers who were discipled by an original disciple of Jesus Christ or by a person discipled by a person who was discipled by an apostle, there is a consensus on preaching and belief in the conscious eternal punishment of the wicked (not conditional immortailty).

This includes church fathers such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Ignatius, and John Chrysostom. Despite their true ministry, and proclaimation of conscious eternal torment, let us remember that what they said was not divinely inspired; only the word of God is Divinly inspired.

In addition, let me say, it is poor theology and practice to build New Tesament doctrine and practice, from Old Testament passages. We must remember that the New Testament scripture reveal the intended fullness of Old Testament passages, which are germane to our practice and faith.

The book of Revelation is a wonderful example of this reality, for it is filed with passages that give greater clarity to Old Testament prophecies concerning the second coming of Messiah at the end of the world.

That said the Old Testament has several passages dealing with the eternal nature of the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked.

Psalms 1:4-6 ⁴ The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. ⁵Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. ⁶ For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

First let us acknowledge that conscious eternal punishment is to be separated from God, like the wicked blown away as the chaff, not standing in the congregation of the righteous (II Thessalonians 1:1-10).
“…but the way of the ungodly shall perish” to perish means to be in the process of dying forever, being undone”.

Isaiah 66:15-16 To render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. ¹⁶ For by fire and by His sword the LORD will judge all flesh; and the slain of the LORD shall be many.

Isaiah 66:24 forth and look upon the corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire is not quenched. They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

This very passage is quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ in Mark 9:44-48, more on that in a moment, but the idea is eternal punishment.

Daniel 12:1-2 ¹ “At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, very one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

This passage is quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ in John 5:29. It must be noted that being resurrected to everlasting shame and contempt is a condition experienced by a real eternal soul.

The wicked, are not annihilated, but plucked up and taken away from God, His presence, love, provision and glory. In my next post we will dive into the deep end concerning what the New Testament teaches concerning the punishment of the lost in eternity. Until then ponder this question.

Is it possible that conversations which remove the teeth of God’s wrath on the sinner, make evangelsim even harder?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Conditional immortality, conscious eternal punishment, hell, Kirk Cameron, the second death | Leave a comment

Release the Flood! #2 (Zechariah 13:1-3)

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

Zechariah 13 :1-3 Fulfilled in the Church from Acts to the Ingathering

Zechariah 13:1-3 ¹ “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness.

Although the primary context is in reference to the remnant of the Jews (through out time and orior to His coming), it is important to note that the effects of this flood on the end times Jewish remnant, are first experienced in those who follow Jesus Christ, who are not Jewish.

This is a reality from the apostles and to every sincere follower of Christ, until He comes. This truth is reality because of what the Lord Jesus Christ declares in John 7:37-8.

John 7:37-39 ³⁷ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

This flood is not the measure of the Spirit we receive, when sealed by the Holy Spirit, at the moment of our salvation, but most often subsequent and to be continuous. Zechariah’s prophecy is referring to full infilling of the Holy Spirit received when baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4). Ephesians describes this event as not only being plunged into “all the fullness of God”, but “being filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-21).

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit is resident with us to teach and comfort, which is foundational to sanctification; but that is only the beginning. When baptized in the Spirit and subsequently filled with the Spirit, we enter a union with Christ, where our sanctification is amplified, as is our ability to witness, worship, love God and His people and understand and love His Word, in obedient actions.

The amplification is the River of Living water Jesus prophesied, which is a cleansing flood of the Holy Sprit, which desperately needed, from the practical aspect.

This is what is referred to as being filled with the Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18-21 ¹⁸ And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God.

We must remember that to be filled with the Holy Spirit is a past tense event, occurring in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but it is also a continuous and progressive event, until we are with Him.

Let us consider the phrase “but be filled with the Spirit”. The word “be” is better translated by the phrase “be being filled”. This indicates, we can contiue to be filled, cleansed and empowered by the Rover of Living Water, or we can cause the open fountain to be damned up, by a lack of faithfulness in our walk.

The fullness of the Holy Spirit is given to us, by Christ in the baptism of the Holy Spirit, to empower us in being holy and righteous witnesses, whose lives match the message we proclaim. This expectation is in Zechariah’s prophecy.

Zechariah 13:1¹ “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness

“In that day a fountain shall be opened… for sin and for uncleanness”.

The fountain of Living Water, is to wash away the patterns of sin, still existing in our lives. Note, that I said the pattern of sin. This is important for Christ has already taken care of the record of our sin, and its reigning power, as it was nailed to the cross with Him; hence sin shall have no dominion over you (Romans 6).

Amen and Hallelujah!

Sin’s rulership in our life has been destroyed, but its influence is still felt by the patterns of sin which are still present. This is where the fullness of the Holy Spirit aids us in cleansing those long-entrenched patterns or strongholds, which need broken. In the first place those areas of sin, deal with transgressing the law of God, which is attached to the old man’s now dethroned iniquity.

Secondly, the flood reveals and cleanses all areas of uncleanness.

To the Jewish person that would mean areas where the worship of YHWH was being mixed with pagan worship. This was common prior to Jewish exile in Babylon. One would think that after such chastisement, those returning to the land of Israel would have no temptation to mix the world with their worship of YHWH. Sadly, in less insidious ways, the retuning Jews, were compromising.

This is especially true with the universal lesser deity known as mammon. Remember that Jesus warned the disciples only 400 years later…

Matthew 6:24 ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

The little “g” god “mammon” goes by many names around the world, most notably “fortune”. In the false worship of this deity, one pitches money at his feet, where he is standing in a pond. Yes, this is where the wishing well comes from, but the principal is giving some to get a big return. Sound familiar.

One would think this would not tempt the church in our day, for we know that God supplies all our needs through the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). Despite this fact and that God clearly tells us not to worry about what we will eat or drink or put on, for our Father knows what we need, Christianity in America is filled with attachment to mammon, which infect the mind with “I need more and desever more”.

Jesus commands us to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, knowing all other things needed will be added (Matthew 6:24-33). Despite this truth, it has little effect on the insidious way mammon has trained us to think worldly, while calling it godly prosperity.

Despite knowing these truths, you often hear the refrain of mammon in statements calling Christians to sow a little more and God will bring abundance—or a tithe only is a small portion for us when God will throw open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing which cannot be contained (Malachi 3:10).

Consider the tithe, as a requirement for Christians, who are not under the law. in the first place, I am not agaisnt a Christian who tithes regularlly, so long as it is given from a cheeerful heart. In that vien I beleive it may be a good place to begin for a person who is learning to follow Christ. That said there is no New Testament command for the individual to tithe.

Our Lord never suggests it’s pactice will continue since all beleivers are priest and the temple of God. Quite the contrary Jesus very cleary reveled “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3).

Truth is that “God loves a cheeful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7). The word “cheerful” in the Greek language is “hilaros“, which intimates a person who gives with such joy it causes others to laugh at the ridiculous nature of the offering. Meaning it is not measured, but given with no regard to percentage, because the gift exceeds a mere percentage. Consider the offering of the widow, who monitarilty put in the smallest amount, but put in more than the rich, because she gave all she had (Mark 12:4-44; Luke 21:1-4).

Consider that in the ealry church, most clearly seen in Acts 2:40-46 and Acts 4:32-37. In both of these passage we see people who were “cheerful” in their giving and their giving was well over 10 percent (Bible says “all”).

It is also important to consider that no where in Acts of the apostles is the tithe mentioned, nor through out the New Tesament, except in Hebrews 7:1-10. In that passage in Hebrews, the paying of tithes by Abraham was not to invoke a commnadment binding on Christians, but to reveal Melchizedek’s greatness as a type of Christ.

One can make an argument on tithing as a New Testament practice, as flimsy and in err as it will be (from Old Testament), but that does not change the truth that tithing is not a command on Christians. To use Malachi 3:10 to guilt Christians into tithing is in err. We must ask why this type of preaching takes place, given what our Lord reveals to us in John 4.

John 4:21-24 ²¹ Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The worship of Christ Jesus, has no material temple or vessels to keep up, because we are the material and the vessels (I Thessalonians 4:3; I Peter 2:8-10). Yet, in the west the idea of mixing mammon worship with that of Christ takes place with the full and undiscerning support of most of the leadership. Remember tithing is not a New Testament principal or requirement, for we are not under the law but grace. We are called to be cheerful givers.

So why is the tithe pushed in error? Firstly, because God wants all our heart, which means we possess nothing for our own purpose or self. This is very difficult for modern people who spend a lifetime trying to get a head. Secondly, because churches have infrastructure God never intended us to have. Because of this reality, we need steady income streams and tithing provides that.

Let face facts: to preach “cheerful giving” is to have to trust God for what is needed, rather than wanted. Because our wants have become needs, preachers misuse passages like Malachi 3:10, and reap a sow prosperity tropes, to make sure the bills are paid. Make no misake, this is to mix the holy with an obsolute Old Testment principal for our own finacial gain. This is to raise an idol of obsoletion before God’s people.

Once more, tithe if that is your cheerful gift, but if you do it beleiving your are meeting the requirment, your tithe has become an idol. If the church taught cheerful giving we would never lack for what the body of Christ trutly needs.

The fullness of the Holy Spirit is also supposed to cleanse us of all idols, yet in the Church in America there are several idols we are beholden to.

Mammon (with a false peace and prosperity not promised by God).
Worldliness in how we minister, fellowship and live
A culture of celebrity leaders with various titles, which are biblical, just not for them.
The worship, devotion and funding of our buildings and properties, which we rely upon to draw people, rather than the drawing of the Holy Spirit.

Where do the idols come from and why are they undiscerned by Christians?

It is because of false prophets and teachers, who promote doctrine and practices aligned with these idols. These false prophets and teachers are prevalent in the United States, in the church, and they all subscribe to the “sowing” and “tithing is required” false theology.

It is the Holy Spirit, in this flood that exposes the false prophet, and the unclean spirits behind them.

² “It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land.

When a fellowship of saints hits their stride, in flowing in the flood of the Holy Spirit, truth rains, discipleship is seen in powerful sanctification, the saints ARE salt and light and no Christian is in need.

Herein lies the solution and the problem.

1 Peter 4:17 ¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Times of persecution have served as and will serve as the judgment coming to the house of God. What is this house of God?

Ephesians 2:19-22 ¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:9-10 ⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

The time has come for the release of the flood of the Holy Spirit to reveal, sin and uncleanness, idols, prophets and the unclean spirits which desire to lead the church into apostacy.

Time is short, our Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon, Maranatha!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cheeful giving, the river of living water, throw down your idols, titing, Zehcariah 13:1-3 | Leave a comment

Release the FLOOD (Zechariah 13:1-3)

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

(Zechariah 13:1-3) ¹ “In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness. ² “It shall be in that day,” says the LORD of hosts, “that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they shall no longer be remembered. I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. ³ It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD.’ And his father and mother who begot him shall thrust him through when he prophesies.

There are three layers to this prophecy from Zechariah. In order to understand the message for Christ’s church, we must unpack these three layers.

In the first place, this prophecy speaks to the Jewish remnant, which awakens to Christ in the very end of days. Secondly, what we read speaks specifically to the church in every age, until He comes; which we will examine in detail later in this article. Ultimately, this prophecy’s fulfillment is in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwells righteousness (Revelation 22).

FOR THE JEWISH REMNANT

The time is coming when “all Israel will be saved”. This must be understood to mean the remnant Paul speaks of in Romans 9-11, remembering that the true Jew is one with a circumcised heart. Lest we fall into the error of dual covenant theology, which suggest the Jews are saved by adhering to the Old Covenant, rather than through repentance and faith in Christ, we must hold that Jew and Gentile are saved through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore the audience is the Jewish remnant of which Paul speaks.

Romans 11:5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

This is important regarding when the fountain Zechariah describes will be poured out on the remnant, which sometime around the midpoint of the last seven years of earth, before Christ’s return. Revelation 11-13 reveals the approximate time. Specifically in Revelation 11’s.

Revelation 11:3 ³ And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”

These two witnesses prophesy against antichrist for 3 ½ years, before being killed. Prior to their ministry a third temple will be rebuilt. These two witnesses are likely a civil governing leader and on of the Levite priestly class, as this follows the pattern set up in Zechariah’s 3 and 4. In these chapters two men are symbolized as two olive trees and two lamps stands, just as the two witnesses in Revelation 11:4.

In Zechariah the civil leader is one Zerubbabel, who oversaw the construction of the temple. The second is Joshua the high priest. As Antichrist seeks to build the third temple, it is likely the two witnesses are initially involved in its construction, but come to discover who the Antichrist is. At that time, which is at the beginning of the tribulation, they begin to prophecy and are untouchable, until their death.

Their ministry and death’s will awaken the Jewish people to the deception of Antichrist.

At that time, Satan, who is cast down from heaven as “the prince of the power of the air” (Revelation 12), will attempt to destroy the Jewish people, but be unsuccessful, after which He turns his hate on those who “keep the commands of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:17), who are Christians. He is then given authority to make war against the saints and overcome them (Revelation 13:7).

It is this collection Jewish believers we discover the “all” of Paul’s desire for “all Israel to be saved”. Once they see the suffering of the church and our testimony of Christ, revealing YHWH, they will “then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn”.

Wow! Hallelujah!!! What a great day. This is when the “fountain will be opened up” for the amplified purification of His remnant.

It is after this awakening, when our Jewish brethren, filled with the Holy Spirit, join us in our longsuffering, against Antichrist’s holocaust. We can surely know then, that our blessed Hope is near.

THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT IN THE NEW HEAVENS AN THE NEW EARTH

Before considering how Zechariah 13 1:1-3 concerns the Church of Jesus Christ, we will discuss the prophecy’s ultimate fulfillment, which comes about when Christ has made all things new and we dwell in a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

In Jerusalem, after Christ has made all things new, where the throne of God and of the Lamb rests, we find this awesome fountain, which continuously restores and heals the nations.

(Revelation 22:1-5) ¹ And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. ² In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. ⁴ They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. ⁵ There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

(Ezekiel 47:1-2) ¹ Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. ²He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.

As this Fountain, this Flood, moves eastward gets deeper and wider and eventually ends spilling into the Dead Sea which is healed.

A necessary note is that this is an actually event in salvation history, as well as an indication of what the Lord Jesus Christ does to heal the nations now. In considering the imagery of Revelation 22:2 we see trees bearing 12 kinds of fruit for the healing of the nations. When considering Psalm 1 we can see that this reveals to the saints of God.

(Psalms 1:1-3) ¹ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; ²But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

In my next post we will discover the specific nature of this prophecy to the church and the remnant, and be challenged to let the fountain flow as intended, rather than damning it up. But until then, let me ask, are you a tree of Christ, where the lost can taste the fruit and see that God is good?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Antichrist, Christian persecution, John 7:37-38, the remnant, the two witnesses, Zechariah 13:1-3 | Leave a comment

Confidence in CHRIST Alone!

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

In the classic 1950’s film “The Sound of Music”, Maria, a want to be nun, is given an assignment before she is to take her vows of chastity and commitment. On the bus ride to her assignment to being a nanny for the Von Trap family of 6 children, she is anxious and begins to sing a song, to work up her CONFIDENCE.

As She departs the bus and walks to her assignment she sings…

I have confidence in sunshine,
I have confidence in rain.
I have confidence that spring will come again!
Besides which, you see, I have confidence in me!

All I trust I leave my heart to.
All I trust becomes my own.
I have confidence in confidence alone…

I have confidence in confidence alone!
Besides which, you see, I have confidence in me!

To be clear, I am not normalizing something that is institutionally Catholic and biblically wrong. Being a Roman Catholic nun has zero scriptural basis and comes from the vestal virgins of Babylonian and Roman paganism.

For the sake of explanation, allow this example, as many have a frame reference to “The sound of Music”.

The last lines of what Maria sings “I have confidence in confidence alone” and “Besides which you see, I have confidence in me”.

The character is merely attempting to offset her anxiety with proclamations of what she can do with her confidence.

The word confidence is defined as “the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something: firm trust”. In Maria’s case, she was proclaiming she trusted in herself to get the job done. In Christian circles we must be careful. Confidence is a biblical word, but that confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence must be in God alone.

(1 John 5:14-15) ¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Maria reveals what confidence and faith is, from a natural human perspective. Biblically speaking, confidence not wishful thinking or whipping oneself into believing what we say. This kind of mentality leads to disappointment and grief when obstacles to what we desire arise.

Confidence in God, which is closely connected to faith, is not human wishful thinking, but supreme confidence in God our Father—in His person and presence with us—in His word and what it declares, and in His faithfulness to perform His will.

The word “confidence” in the Bible comes from the Greek word “peithō” meaning to be persuaded of the Lord’s faithfulness.

The word of “faith” in the Bible comes from the Greek word “pistis”, which means conviction of truth to the degree that one moves in action according to what they have confidence in. Confidence is in assurance which calls us to action, whereas faith is to move according to the confident trust we have in God.

The church in America is more apt to have confidence in God’s word and His Christ, while not moving into the arena of faith, which brings new creation life, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to our lives. It is the difference between hearing God’s word, knowing it is true, and doing it and not doing it, which is disobedience. Authentic faith needs obedience to reveal our confidence and faith in God.

This will sound so overbearing, but it is the sin of Israel’s first king, Saul, where he heard the command of the Lord, clearly, yet obeyed only 95% of it (I Samuel 15). You’ll remember that for his 95% obedience, which we would think pretty good, he had the kingdom taken from him.

In fact, Samuel the prophet, on behalf of YHWH, declares a very weighty judgment on Saul. Saul’s 95% obedience, which in God’s eyes is rebellion and self-worship.

1 Samuel 15:22-23 ²² So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. ²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”

By that measure, we ought to take stock of our confidence and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. How well do we desire and seek to move our confident belief in mind and heart, into the realm of obedient faith actions?

Sanctification

Simply put, sanctification is the expected effect of our salvation on our spirit, soul, and body.

(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) ²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

Sanctification is a partnership with the Holy Spirit where our entire life is cleansed from the patterns of sin still affecting our lives, and the reformatting of our life, after Christ’s life and character. Essentially, we, who belong to Christ, are set apart for God’s service and purpose alone. This is a foundational aspect of our faith in Christ’s finished work, where every area of our lives is progressively transformed into a representation of Christ’s.

Sanctification is the process of us being made practically holy, that we are actually new creations, in Christ, rather than professing this alone.

1 Peter 1:13-16 ¹³ Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; ¹⁵ but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶ because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Is our confidence in His word concerning us, as sanctified and holy vessels, mere proclamation or actually proliferating for His glory?

Healing

Most Christians would declare that God still heals without exercising any actions which reveals we believe He does. Let’s examine two passages, one in the Old Testament and the other in the New Testament, which reveal the promise of healing to our entire person.

Isaiah 53:5 ⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

1 Peter 2:24-25 ²⁴ who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. ²⁵ For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

When coupled with James 5:14-15 we begin to see that confidence in healing through Christ’s atoning work, requires actions which display what we are confident in.

James 5:14-16 ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

How confident are we, that when sick or physically broken, God will heal by His divine power? Do we obey the prescription in James 5:14-16? Whether we do or not, reveals our confidence and ultimately our faith in Christ.

Let us never have confidence in our confidence alone, or confidence in ourselves. That may work for Maria, but not for those who follow Christ. Let us not have a stilted halfhearted faith, which professes faith, but denies that faith and confidence we say we have in Christ, by actions contrary to what we profess.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged confidence in Christ, faith in action, I John 5:`14-16, Maria Von Trapp, the sound of music | Leave a comment

“All Day Long… As Sheep to the Slaughter” (Romans 8:35-39)

Posted on November 20, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

In just ten months this year, 7800 Christians have been been killed for their faith in Jesus Christ in Nigeria. Despite this wickedness, the church in Nigeria continues to meet together, pray together and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. May God lead us to pray for them and change our perspective on life and faith, as we consider their faithful example.

Recently the new Syrian government, which replaced an old regime, sympathetic and protective to Christians, has begun a campaign of persecution against our Christian brethren. The killing, imprisonments and torture are horrific. The government executing this plan of terror against our brethren, was put in place and supported by the U.S. government. May God open the eyes of ministers close to politicians, that they may carry the cause of our Syrian brethren to those who can make a difference.

Just today, I came to understand that the Ukrainian Government led by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has been persecuting Christians across Ukraine, through expropriating congregational gathering places, and burning church buildings. The Ukrainian government is persecuting the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, accusing clergy of being sympathetic to Russia (even though they are not), by raids, banning activity, and arrests of clergy and laity. The Ukrainian government is supported by the United States Government. Let us pray for the the Holy Spirit to give us the heart of God for our Ukrainian Christian brethren.

Hebrews 13:3 ³ Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.

Christians are systematically persecuted across Africa, the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, North Korea, and South Eastern Asia, with growing numbers daily. In addition, the beginnings of persecution are being felt across central and south America, England, Ireland, many parts of Europe and in small ways in the United States.

It is time Christians in America wake up to the truth…

Romans 8:35-39 ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

There is persecution in America from secular society and government, in pockets, but that is not the genesis of what will be the most harsh persecution to come. the harshest persecution to come will arise from the apostate Christian church, which is tied to Christian nationalism that has redefined our faith, in error, since the era of president George W. Bush.

The apostate church is in line with president Donald Trump’s vision for America and is watered down to accept sin, and false doctrine, contrary to the doctrine of Christ. The apostate church (or the “falling away” as defined in II Thessalonians 2:3) diametrically opposes God’s call to holiness, promoting salvation without repentance and faith toward God. This apostacy, promotes a shallow moralism and will justify the plan future plan of antichrist, as we wee in the CO-Exist religious movement. This of course is the for-runner to the Antichrist’s once world government, religion and economy.

This is based in apostate Christianity’s dispensational understanding of suffering tribulation, which is dead wrong,. The basic understanding is that Christians will not suffer the tribulation (the last seven years of the world as we know it prior to Christ’s visible return), because we will be raptured prior to that time.

Never-mind there is little scriptural basis for this (quite the contrary), because tribulation is not he wrath of God, and we are not appointed to wrath (I Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 14:17-20) but this foundation leads to Christians believing that we’ll be gone before it gets to bad. Consider Jesus words in John 16:33.

John 16:33 In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

Some will say that the word “tribulation” means something different than passages concerning the “tribulation” of the last seven years of earth’s history; but it is not. John 16:33 is the Lord Jesus revealing that Christians in every generation, until Jesus returns, will face tribulation like circumstances.

Here is the solid and undeniable truth for followers of Christ in any generation…

2 Timothy 3:12 ¹² Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

understanding the last two passages, in relation to the end-times is so important. These fall in line with what we have also read from Romans 8:36 “As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

There is a crossroads coming to the church of Jesus Christ, in America. This crossroads is where the church needs to choose to follow Christ alone, with His word and will, as opposed to the nationalistic Christian populism, which is mixed with conservative politics.

This crossroads was clearly seen at the memorial for Charlie Kirk, where there was a clear delineation between true faith and apostacy. Charlie kirk was said to have truly loved his enemies and to have forgiven them, while the president expresses his desire to hate and see his enemies come to harm.

Interestingly the remark of Trump divided the crowd with cheers, comfortable and uncomfortable laughter and silence and bewilderment from many.

Soon and very soon, the apostate church, which holds sway with a majority of Christians in America, will rise against those who will not walk in the mixture of conservative nationalism and the faith once delivered to the saints.

Many pastors in so-called evangelical denominations have felt this growing persecution and have lost ministry positions, and credentials. Many who are not “yes men”, are kept from ministry opportunities, having merely obeyed God rather than men.

Oh Church of God, the time is upon us.

1 Peter 4:17-18 ¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

Let us pray for our brethren world wide, who are persecuted.

Let us pray we will be found faithful when His testing comes upon us.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Christian persecution, I Peter 4:17-18 | Leave a comment

We Were Meant to Live for So Much MORE! (Acts3:16)

Posted on October 14, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

Acts 3:16 ¹⁶ And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

While reading Acts 3 the other morning, I was struck by the sentence “Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all”, from the above passage of scripture.

Contextually, Acts of the Apostles 3:16, takes place at the time of an astounding miracle. A man, who was lame from his mother’s womb, is headlined in Jesus’ name, at the Temple, at the end of the time of prayer. The location was packed with people and many of the thousands present, at least knew of the plight of this man.

In an awesome display of faith and the gifts of the Spirit, this lame man walks, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. In this context we hear the apostle’s explanation.

First, we find that it is through faith in Jesus name that this man was made well. This is so foundational to our walk with Jesus Christ, for all we received of God’s grace, Holy Spirit empowerment and life transformation comes through faith in His name.

John 1:12-13 ¹² But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³ who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

To “believe” means to hold to truth about who Christ was, is and always will be. Salvation is to bring the redeemed into a full knowledge of Christ, who He is eternally, in His incarnation for the purpose of atonement, is His ministry to us now, and His eternal Kingship.

To break it down, to believe in His name, means we believe He is the Savior, Sanctifier, Healer and soon returning King, with all its attached truth.

To “believe” also means we respond to what we believe about Christ, in ways that display what we believe.

In the context of our passage. The lame man, upon hearing about Jesus, through Peter, had to believe that Jesus could heal him. This is demonstrated by how he took the apostles hand, which is an act of faith in Jesus’ name. Peter James and John, had to believe the Lord Jesus could heal this man, even though He had ascended. This is evidenced by Peter’s words and taking the man by his hand and lifting him up.

This miracle occurred because there was faith in Jesus name, that of Healer (Great Physician), faith expressed by all parties. This faith released the power that gave “him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all”

The phrase “perfect soundness” is interesting because it gives us a holistic view of what Jesus had come to do, through faith in His name. The phrase means “wholeness”. In our context that means physical wholeness, but the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the truth, where we believe, Jesus has come to give us “perfect soundness” in every area of our lives, not only to remove our sins.

It is a tragic and tremendously damaging error, that we in western Christianity have made the messiah’s spectacular universe shaking death and resurrection, mostly and merely about being forgiven, so we can get to heaven. We are comfortable with Christ our Savior, paying the penalty for our sins, so we can be children of God and go to a heaven of our thinking, when dead.

Not only does this diminish the gospel, but it limits our joy in Christ, as well as our ability to truly preach the Gospel of God.

It is a hopeful and joyful endeavor to hope in Christ’s return, yet that hope is to catalyze us to be what God has chosen us in Christ to be, people of “perfect soundness”, in every aspect of our redeemed humanity.

God’s word, in Isaiah’s prophecy, presents us the truth of the wholeness of Christ’s mission.

Isaiah 61:1-3 ¹ “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; ²To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, ³ to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

Many Christians have at least heard the verse one of this passage, which pronounces what Christ came to do to free us from sin and its effects; Yet, it is the following verse which reveal, what Christ has come to give us that we may have “perfect soundness” in the presence of everyone.

Of course this finished with us being “trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD that He may be glorified”. Let us not miss the metaphor.

When referring to trees, think of the mighty old oak trees, which can be seen for miles and not easily knocked over. We are called by God to be like them, but strong and growing strong in righteousness. This righteousness is not made by human effort, but by self-denial and obedience to Christ in us the hope of glory. It is literally us being transformed by His righteousness, to be righteous in practice.

This is possible because of the atonement Christ completed, on our behalf, for the glory of God the Father.

Isaiah 53:4-5 ⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

You better believe if that is to take place in us, it will take much self-denial, but our God and Father did not make it impossible, but very possible.

Matthew 5:6 ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Isaiah 53 reveals the extent of God’s design for giving us ““perfect soundness”.

He was wounded for our transgression, which is the cleansing of our account from our breaking His moral law.
He was bruised for our iniquity, which is original sin inherited from Adam and its effect of bending us away from God’s will.
The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, which means the enmity (our being His enemies by birthright), was taken out of the way, making peace.
By His wounds we have been healed from the effects of sin, spirit, soul and body.

This is inline with God’s word to us in I Thessalonians 5:23.

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ²³ Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

What’s the point?

WE WERE MEANT TO LIVE FOR SO MUCH MORE, HAVE WE LOST OURSLEVES?

YES, WE HAVE.

Reading Acts of the Apostles should encourage us to live the fulness of the Gospel, but to most Christians it is a snooze fest where we explain away the miracles, the life transformation, the power and the presence of God. Consider the awesomeness of chapter three of Acts.

Three men and a cripple trust in Christ’s name, and the crippled gets totally physically healed to “perfect soundness in the presence of you all”. After this occurs, Peter preaches and 5000 people repent and place their faith in Jesus name, and all His name means, and begin a walk where they begin to be sanctified to “perfect soundness”, in their own lives.

Do we have the holy Spirit promised to us in the same manner as they? Yes!

Should we not have the same readiness and expectation of God transforming us and empowering His church to live loud, as Peter, James and John? Yes.

Were we not meant to live for more, in Christ, that the world would experience Christ in us, in similar ways, as they did in Acts of the Apostles? Yes!

Are we living for the more that He calls us to, or are we using our faith in Jesus for us, while ignoring we were saved to live only for Him?

As the world grows darker, we will either shine brighter for Christ, or have our flame extinguished in unbelief, there are only two ways to live and die.

In closing, consider the example of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, and how thoroughly, God’s work in him brought him to “perfect soundness”.

Acts 6:8 ⁸ And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people

Acts 6:10 ¹⁰ And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.

Acts 6:15 ¹⁵ And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.

Stephen enjoyed “perfect soundness” in his ministry, his wisdom and mind and his physical appearance to a degree which made him stand out. Yes, the persecutors killed him for this “perfect soundness”, but in the end, Stephen accepted this, because his reason for living was to make His Savior know. Mission accomplished.

We were meant to live for so much more, like Stephen.

MAY WE FIND OURSELVES!

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