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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!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged healing in Christ, I Thessalonians 5:23, Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 61:1-3, perfect soundness, sanctification, we were menat to live for so much more | Leave a comment

Satanic Sucker Punches are Meant to Induce Faith Forgetfulness

Posted on September 30, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

With a title like the one above it is important to remember that all Satan’s attacks, from the world the flesh, occur under God’s sovereign control.

Romans 8:28 ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

To be clear, Satan is given a lot of rope, under God’s sovereignty to carry out his counter attacks on God’s kingdom. It is for this reason we are warned in scripture to “be sober be vigilant; because your adversary, the Devil, walks about, like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8-10).

We are then called to “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”.

Why the line about “knowing these same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world”?

This line is used because being ambushed by Satan, as a lion ambushes a herd of animals, is a confusing, disorienting circumstance, which causes us to forget we are not the only ones suffering.

Remember, a lioness hunting looks for stragglers from a herd who are young, old, or injured. All three scenarios scream limited movement and, in chaos, isolation. This is why Satan ambushes us, but let’s use another analogy, if you will permit me: that of being sucker punched.

For the person who gets sucker punched, there is an automatic disorientation, which after the fact, when the injury lingers from the traumatic moment, we would say, why me, and/or why didn’t someone warn me or protect me, or stop the attack before it occurred.

A satanic ambush, whether it be an attack from the lost world or from inside the church of Jesus Christ, is a vulgar display of power that can leave us disorientated, confused, and if it lingers, forgetful about God’s character, nearness to us, and sovereignty over the attack ultimately. In this forgetfulness, we can begin to doubt God is with us. We may even question what we did to deserve such righteousness and evil against us.

From the outset, let us always pray we do not forget that even if we suffer a satanic sucker punch, believing we are being treated unfairly is a zero-sum gain.

In the first place, let us remember that if we are doing well, in Christ, that does not mean we get a life of bliss or even relative peace. For anyone seeking to love the Lord with all heart, soul, and strength, they are guaranteed to suffer persecution (John 15:18-6-4, 33; II Timothy 3:12).

Secondly, brethren, we never get what we deserve, because of Christ. Remember, by birth we are children of wrath deserving of eternal separation from God. Therefore, the suffering we face now has no comparison to what God freely gives us, in Christ, as the redeemed of the Lord.

This leads to a very practical necessity, where the LORD uses Satanic attack for the purpose of our sanctification.

Hebrews 12:3-6 ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. ⁴ You have not yet resisted bloodshed, striving against sin. ⁵ And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; ⁶ for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”

All that being said, the reality is no one likes getting ambushed by the enemy, where you are hit with a devasting, disorientating, confusing sucker punch, which leads to our forgetting the goodness of God, His nearness to us, or His true disposition of loving care as we deal with the fall out.

Recently, I have been led to meditate on my own response to the many varied satanic attacks against me and my family over the years. I do not believe every undesirable circumstance is generated by the Devil, but a number of them have been, from a life of 28 years, seeking to follow Christ. Below are my findings.

WHAT SATANIC SUCKER PUNCHES HAVE ATTEMPTED TO MAKE ME FORGET

That our God and Father is always present, whether I am able to experience His presence or not.

Scripture is clear, that even for the those outside of Christ that God is very near to humanity. In Acts 17 Paul begins to address the pagan population at the Athenian Areopagus, where he reveals a wonderful truth about God’s character and nearness to all humanity.

Acts 17:23-28 Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: ²⁴ God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. ²⁵ Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. ²⁶ And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their pre-appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, ²⁷ so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; ²⁸ for in Him we live and move and have our being…

Even prior to our being saved, we must admit that God is near to all humanity, waiting for them to receive the gospel through repentance and faith; as stated in Acts 17. How much closer is God to those who follow His Son in faith? Especially when we are in the midst of Satanic sucker punches and demonic ambushes. Paul says as much in Philippians 3.

Philippians 3:10-11 ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, ¹¹ if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Adversity stirs up impurities, negative patterns of thinking (strongholds), which can cloud your memory and sensitivity to the Lord present with us and in us, through the presence of the Holy Spirit. David, from and Old Testament reveal the awareness we are to have concerning God’s presence and our sin.

Psalms 51:4 “Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight”

Hopefully, our awareness of God being with us, will aid in dying to self and refusing to take the bait of temptation. More important is the realization that God is always near to us, because we are His children, through Christ’s finished work, as we are saved by grace through faith.

Despite this reality we must fight not to forget this truth when our circumstances explode from Satanic attacks.

Before I was saved, on two occasions I experienced the reality of Acts 17:27-28. While I was tormented by demonic thoughts pushing me to take another person’s life, the Lord spoke to me “Put that knife away”, which I responded to.

After an extended period of time, those demonic voices switched their sucker punch tactics, knowing I would not take another person’s life. For months they penetrated my thoughts with suicidal thoughts. The oppression was life crippling. On the day I could not longer take hold back, in the moment I was going kill myself, God spoke again “If you kill yourself, you will meet God, as a murderer”.

It was God who was right with me, even before I knew He was, that was reaching out, calling me to obey His word “Thou shall not kill”, in the middle of chaos.

As a follower of Jesus Christ, this communication is consistent, from the Holy Spirit in us, in relation to God being “Abba, Father”.

Romans 8:14-16 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.” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God

Romans 8:26-28 ²⁶ Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ²⁷ Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

The passages above are often divided from one another and the context of Romans 8. That context is living through persecution and difficulty, in the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:11); times of Satanic ambush. Therefore we must fight for the truth concerning the Lord and His faithfulness, His relationship to us at all times, and who we are in Christ.

We must remember that Satanic ambushes are meant to invoke forgetfulness concerning our faith in the Lord. God’s word, should we hide it in our hearts and recite it to ourselves when trouble comes, aids us in remembering.

Psalms 40:11-13 ¹¹ Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD; let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. ¹² For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; They are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me. ¹³ Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me!

HE WILL FOR SURE!!!

Psalms 9:9-10 ⁹The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, A refuge in times of trouble. ¹⁰And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Psalms 103:6 ⁶The LORD executes righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.

Psalms 34:15-16 ¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. ¹⁶The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

God’s nearness to those who are seeking Him, those who trust Him by faith, is the cornerstone of the blessing of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ!

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, 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.”

In my next post, we will look into another truth we often forget in the midst of Satanic sucker punches.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Acts 17:27-28, Devil tactics, I Peter 5:8-10, Psalms 34:15-16, Psalms 40:11-13, Psalms 9:9-10, satanic ambushes, Satanic sucker punches | Leave a comment

The Truth WILL Set You FREE, But It WILL Lead To Our Death; and that is a GOOD Thing.

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

In the wake of the assignation of Charley Kirk, there is much fear concerning what it means for those who are willing to speak truth, biblically. This assassination has revealed maxim of life for Christians: The truth will and still does set us free (John 8:32), but the truth is designed to lead to our death.

When I write “the truth is designed to lead to our death”, that may mean physically and so much more as we creep closer to Christ’s return. Yet, the statement is much more defined by a death, which is necessary, for us to actually follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 9:23-26 ²³ Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

For the follower of Christ, born again supernaturally by the Holy Spirit, has a faith which calls him to deny the life we desire, for the purpose of God’s will. This is a choice to die to oneself—to die to self-seeking and self-protecting—to glorify God.

The call to take up one’s cross is a call to die daily. This means to live by the leading of the Holy Spirit, in obedience to the word of God. To die our desire and wants, for the will of God, and the praise of Christ’s glory.

Charlie Kirk, Christian and truth teller understood this and walked in the joy of this truth.

Make no mistake about it, the truth of Christ set this man free, and led him to pronounce the truth of Christ to the young adult population of the United States, on college campuses. Charlie did this through encouraging and challenging those who did not know the truth to have a discussion with him.

Although the topics ranged through many hot button topics, Charlie was gracious, humble and merciful, yet almost always undefeated in presenting a pathway to the truth, who is the Christ, which still sets humanity free.

The truth of Christ, through seeking God in the Bible, was used by Charlie Kirk to reform his mind to where his wisdom was not his, but the wisdom of God, as he was led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14; Proverbs 3:5-7).

Charlie Kirk sought to use the wisdom of God pertaining to political issues, as the leaping off point of sharing why he thought the way he did… because Jesus Christ saved His soul from eternal separation, through the cross.

Although his debating and leadership of young people have had vast effects on the young adults of this nation, inherently Charlie new political discourse would not change the sickness of the American culture.

He knew, as many of us do, that like Israel in the time of Isaiah “The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up or soothed with ointment” (Isaiah 1:5-6).

The Gospel is the foundation of truth, with the full counsel of God in the Bible, for the purpose of healing those made in the image of God. To do this truth must first expose the sickness of the abominations against God.

Charlie Kirk did this and God worked through him to move millions of young adults to search for the Truth, to find freedom.

Charlie tried to lead college students to God’s word and Christ ultimately.

Charlie Kirk was killed for speaking the truth in love. He knew the risk and accepted it, because of his love for Christ, who set him free form sin and the fear of death, amplified his faith to joyful boldness.

Charlie Kirk was great in this generation, not because of inherent greatness, but because of his faith in Jesus Christ, who alone is the Great God and our Savior.

THE TRUTH STILL SETS US FREE, BUT WILL LEAD TO OUR DEATH, IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

Many conservative commentators and Christians who live sharing the truth of the Gospel, are experiencing trepidation and fear, wondering if they will be next. They will either continue to throw themselves in with Christ, receiving the risk and denying themselves, or they will become silent.

As Christians in America, we must be led by the fear of God and our overwhelming desire to be lovingly devoted to our Savior’s testimony, and the truth which sets us free, rather than the fear of man, shrinking back into irrelevancy.

Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

Matthew 10:28 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.

As Christians we are called to die to our self and not worry about the risks, for the truth does set us free, but calls us to deny our self-seeking disposition.

Christians in America often cry foul in situations such as this assassination, declaring “it’s not fair”. This is an egregious and harmful error, because our Lord told us we would face this.

John 15:18-20 ¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.

John 16:1-3 ¹ “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. ² They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. ³ And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

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

WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM CHARLIE KIRK?

Being a Christian means surrendering our life, for the purpose of living out God’s will, THE CAUSE, that is greater than our own life.

American Christians tend to take their Christian faith as we do most other things; a thing that benefits the person who holds it. This is an error. Our life with Christ, is about our love for Him, because He first loved us.

Like Charlie Kirk we need to understand that saying “Yes” to Jesus is not about the proliferation a better life for us, in the way of our material life being easier. Saying “Yes” to Jesus Christ, means He purchased us with His own blood (Acts 20:28).

What are the implications of Christ owning us?

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Let us remember, the two previous scriptures were not written to those who are ministers or public facing Christian people only; but to all those who are followers of Jesus Christ.

Our life, what we want and think we need, is no longer the life leading principle. Because we are given the Spirit of God, as our resident president, we are to lovingly and with joy, want to walk in God’s will, regardless of the risk.

Christians must learn that as Christ followers we are all to be salt and light in our own sphere of influence (Matthew 5:13-16). To be salt and light, we must engage with the people of the world around us and bring down the lies which keep people in bondage rather than free. This is inherently life giving and risky at the same time.

We must use effective Holy Spirit empowered communication of truth, in a gracious manner, to glorify God and be a source of truth setting captives free.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 ³ For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. ⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Let us understand that the strongholds, arguments and high things, are ways of thinking, speaking and living, that are in direct opposition to God’s word and will. They are prevalent throughout society, and this is what pastors, evangelists and regular Christians must meet head on with truth.

Charlie Kirk was able to discern, by the Holy Spirit, what was truth from error and how to dismantle those strongholds, through God’s word. We must pursue this path as well, to know God’s wisdom and the truth, found in the Holy Bible, which brings freedom, through destroying Satanic lies.

Make no mistake about it, today’s woke ideology, sexual perversion as acceptable, diminishing and destroying the reality of our being made in the image of God, and the removal of the fear of God, is what we are call called to battle against. These things are inherently in opposition to the Gospel.

All Christians are to function as vessels of discernment and truth telling and when not employed in this path, we are immature and able to fall away.

Hebrews 5:12-14 ¹² For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. ¹³ For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. ¹⁴ But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

We must actively seek the reformation of our minds, to think as the Lord Jesus thinks.

Romans 12:1-2 ¹ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

When the soul is regenerated by the Holy Spirit, He (The Holy Spirit) remains to comfort, lead and teach us. In this ministry, we enter the renewal of the mind. This takes place as we judge and discern the information we received, considering how scriptures define it.

We are no longer seeking the accumulation of knowledge, but to think as Christ Himself thought and thinks. In fact, we are to have the pause of distrust of our own thinking.

Proverbs 3:5-6 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.

When we chose to live in this manner, we are living in the wisdom of God, therefore we must accept…

To live for Christ is to be at risk from the very people we are attempting to reach.

1 Corinthians 2:14-15 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. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one.

This is where we see the graduation of the faithful to their purpose and ultimately their eternal reward, just like Charlie Kirk.

Attempting to demolish the strongholds, demonic arguments and thinking which elevates itself over God’s wisdom, can be thwarted, but the risk it real. Those who are on the wrong end of God’s wisdom, often seek a means for eradicating the message and the messenger of God’s wisdom, because they cannot overcome God’s wisdom.

This occurs in churches and the world at large. Are we willing to stand as light in the darkness, seeing our life in Christ, for His glory and purpose alone?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Charlie Kirk, followers of Christ, Luke 9:23-26, The Truth will set you free | Leave a comment

Have We Become A Lovely Mausoleum? (Matthew 23:27-28; Revelation 3:1-)

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

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What kind of church is being built in the world today? One need only to look at chapters two and three of Revelation to see that the kind of church being built, is in the hands of those in leadership and laity, in each assembly.

To be truthful, we must remember that God’s design for His church is the same, fellowship to the fellowship. Yes, there can be colloquial differences, ethnic differences and language differences, but each fellowship is to be growing towards maturity in Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).

When considering kind of church, who would want to be in a DEAD church?

Many would categorize a dead church as having boring music, little social activity, few programs, or milk toast preaching. To follow that line of thinking would imply that a living church is full of program, in the way of cool music, atmosphere, hip preaching and cool connective activities.

In this diagnostic, we can see the flaw of improper judgment. as activity does not always indicate life. Consider for a moment a person who has died of a heart attack, one hour earlier. Once at the hospital, a doctor may attempt to revive he who has died by using a automated external defibrillator.

Even if the body is dead for an hour, shocking it with electric current makes the body move, and if you hold the paddles on the body for a time, it would appear there is life, even though it’s just a dead body being moved by electricity.

Our Lord Jesus warned the pharisees, lawyers and religious of His day, that they were individuals, who thought they were alive but were actually dead.

Matthew 23:27-28 ²⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. ²⁸ Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

These people believe themselves to be righteous, by their adherence to their own theological norms and practice, which added to the Bible doctrine and theology; and eventually superseded it. Jesus declares to them not so fast… you are like nicely painted tombs, looking beautiful and good, but still filled with death on the inside.

To them the word “tomb” meant, an above ground sepulcher, like the picture on the side. In many places in our time, this is the case as well. These sepulchers were used for common people and as you can see are uninformedly white. The reason was to point toward their being with God, clothed in righteousness.

For those more well off the sepulchers were much more fancy, as seen below.

The point, Jesus was making, was that the apparent righteousness of the religious leaders of His day, was only makeup on a structure holding the decay of death, with no ability to give God’s life to a soul.

This meant they pretended to love God and follow His word, yet were lawless or disobedient to God’s moral law.

Our LORD Jesus’ point was that no matter how reverent, holy, or prettied up the religious leaders pretended to be, they would never be able to give God’s life to others, because they were spiritually dead. Although they appeared to be righteous and set apart to God, they were merely pretenders, either knowingly or unknowingly.

The religious leaders were…

hypocrites, acting to be followers of God
The played at outward devotion like tithing, praying and fasting; but it was only a for a show, to impress others.
They exercised no love, justice, mercy, or faith.
Although they looked as if they had the key to God’s live, they were empty wells, with no river of living water to even entice another soul to God’s love, in Christ.

Most Christians would not see the warning in this for themselves, but I assure you there is a warning. Christians can be accountable for the very same sin. Consider a few passages.

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.

Let us not miss Christ’s point… It is His intention that each Christian, be filled with the Holy Spirit, and that the Spirit of God overflow our inner life, to be experienced by others. To say it another way, we are to have the Holy Spirit overflowing our life, with God’s life, for others to desire God’s life giving water.

It is possible for Christians to fall short of this consistently, or to never experience the fulness of the Holy Spirit at all. For the follower of Christ, both are untenable situations.

Ephesians 5:15-21 ¹⁵ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 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.

The complete translation is “be being filled with the Holy Spirit”. This means continuously. Is it possible to stray so far from Christ, while thinking we are close to Him, to where we are devoid of the life of God, in His Spirit? Yes.

We need only to look at the church of Ephesus or Laodicea, in Revelation 2 and 3, to see this danger. Yet, there was another church in Revelation 3, which was an actual lovely mausoleum, which may aid in our understanding even more.

Revelation 3:1-3 ¹ “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. ²Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. ³ Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent.

Before we break down this passage, it is imperative we acknowledge how church-like a mausoleum looks like a modern church building. It really is uncanny. Behind the house I live in, is a cemetery, and in that cemetery, there are two huge mausoleums, which are beautiful and reverent looking, but still only filled with the bones of the dead.

That said , our LORD Jesus states “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive…“. To translate this into modern speak, Jesus is saying “I know your works, that you have a name and that has convinced you that you are alive”. It would seem that because they had a unique Christian name associated with their fellowship, they believed they were a church alive in Jesus Christ.

This shouldn’t shock us, who have been formed in the church in America. In the United States, there are two things, which fellowships believe they need, in order to be an actual church: a building and a really good name. This may seem silly but it is true.

When it comes to a building, let me ask how many house churches there are in the United States, as opposed to church buildings. We are so focused on the spaces we worship in, that we make silly statements, like “I’m going to church” and that almost exclusively means a building.

This thinking is entirely unbiblical, for the church of Jesus Christ is not a building or worship space we meet in. The church is living stones, you and me, being placed next to other living stones (Ephesians 2:19-22; I Peter 2:1-10).

American Christians are also obsessed with choosing the correct name. Consider some of these names and how they are really marketing realities more than character definition…

Velocity Church
Little Hope Baptist
Church by the Side of the Road
Church of the Living Bread
Cowboy Church
1st (insert your favorite denomination)
Scum of the Earth Church
Elevation Church
Transformation Church

An article I found on church planting declares that naming a church is the most public and consequential decision a church planter will ever make. I find this kind of thinking so unbiblical and unnecessary.

In this logic we see the Church of Sardis, as not being far from our own obsession. Like the thinking that if there is activity it signals a living church, so Sardis believed that because they had a Christian name they were alive.

How wrong they were for they had little work of the Spirit that was maturing the body of Christ, ““I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. They were dead as Jesus declared “for I have not found your works perfect before God“.

Therefore, the Church of Sardis was a lovely mausoleum to those inside and outside, as it lacked progressive sanctification and the ability to give life.

Despite is dead nature, there were a few souls, who were alive, but being crushed by the deadness of the majority of the Church. Therefore the LORD instructs the messenger of the Church to “strengthen the things which remain that are ready to die“.

The Church in America, as a whole, and this is a broad brush stroke, is very much like Sardis. The Church in the U.S. is very immature in our needed sanctification, because we lack he fullness of the Holy Spirit. Without this sanctification, which comes from obedience, and brings the reception of the Fulness of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32), we are in a precarious and perilous position.

Which brings us back to the core of the what makes a church, a fellowship of Christians, a life giving entity; that of being filled with the Holy Spirit…

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.

Let us leave behind distinctive doctrine on how we are filled with the Holy Spirit, for another discussion and focus on the results of being a Spirit filled person. The Spirit filled person, has the Holy Spirit, as a river of grace, love and power, flowing from them, to the other living stones and those who live in the world; a world which is a desert of sin.

Our greatest decision is not the name of our church, but are we going to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into fullness, which takes our meager lives and makes them meaningful to those around us.

This is accomplished because we are not only those from which the Living Water is supposed to flow, but also fruit bearing trees, which they are to sample and tase and see that the LORD is good.

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; ² But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. ³ He 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.

This jibes well with the imagery in Revelation 22, which speaks of our proximity to God, and our fruitfulness to heal the nations.

Revelation 22:1-2 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.

The Church in America needs to take stock inwardly, as to if we have life, or think we have life because of we have a name or a flurry of activity; but are actually devoid of life.

Our greatest decision is to deny the desire for name recognition or marketing, that we can embrace sanctification and discipleship, leading to effective gospel ministry among the lost.

That decision will mean the difference between death and our being those who give the life of Christ to a dying world. Sooner or later, the LORD will judge us as He did Sardis.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged John 7:37-38, lovely mausoleum, Matthew 23:27-28, Revelation 3:1-5, Sardis, sepulcher, the dead church | Leave a comment

FEAR GOD ALONE

Posted on August 14, 2025 by Michael J Erdel

During a 1933 speech, concerning the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. The former president’s point was we ought to be very concerned about being controlled by fear.

In his mind fear would stifle creativity and paralyze the country into inaction, when action was necessary to get the country out of economic disaster.

Whether or not we agree with Roosevelt’s actions to get the United States out of the Great Depression, matters little, his statement is a true statement; except when the fear we have is the fear of God.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Some, in discussing the fear of the LORD, desire to distill it down to being simple reverence for God. Although there is reverence in the fear of the LORD, the truth conveyed in the word “fear” is much greater than that, meaning “being in awe or terror concerning something, which produces reverence”. Reverence itself is “a deep feeling of respect and awe, which causes veneration or bowing adoration”. The fear of the Lord is the only fear we are to have in our Christian life.

Often Christians, at least in America, diminish the awesome, immeasurable, holy and terrifying nature of GOD, who is larger than the universe He created, yet so close to humanity, that when we sin, He is present to see it (Psalm 51:4) We forget that…

1 Timothy 6:14-16 ¹⁴ that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, ¹⁵ which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

We are to have no fear of death—no fear losing our jobs—not fear of not having the daily needs of our body—NO FEAR, NO ANXIETY (Matthew 6:24-33), only to FEAR GOD.

THE FEAR OF MAN IS A SNARE

Proverbs 29:25 ²⁵The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

Rising fear from what men can do to us, is a terrible catalyst for life choices. The passage above reveals this truth. The word for “fear” means quaking or trembling anxiety caused from what unpleasantness men can do to us, in the future (either immediate or in the distance). The idea is whatever the threat is, it is to cause us to change life course, from God’s will, to the desire of the person making the threat.

When we operate under the fear of man, it becomes a snare to us, which like a bird snare, with a noose, tightens with each movement made to avoid what we fear. The classic commentary “The Pulpit Commentary” gives us great insight.

“He who, through fear of what man may do to him, thinks or says of him, and does what he knows to be wrong, letting his moral cowardice lead him into sin, leaves his duty—such a man gets no real good from his weakness, outrages his conscience, and displeases God”

The fear of man presses us to avoid the terror of what men can do to us, which leads us away from God and His will. The decision to move at the fear of man, makes us more susceptible to the fear of man in the future. We are warned by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to fear only God.

Matthew 10:27-31 ²⁷ “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 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. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. ³⁰ But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

FEAR ONLY GOD, FOR HE VALUES YOU!

Jesus acknowledges that people, wicked people, will often have power over the saints, in the way of hurting us physically, emotionally, financially; even to take our lives. The New Testament has many passages revealing this to us, the list below is a small sample size.

John 15:18-6:4
II Timothy 3:12
Revelation 13:5-8, 7*

Despite this truth, we understand, we are not to seek to save our lives, but lose them for the sake of Christ (Luke 9:23-26), and lay hold of eternity with Him, by faith. Jesus tells us do not fear those who can kill the body but fear Him who after the body dies can place our souls in Hell.

Interestingly, that fear of the GOD is equated with trusting that He is with us, has His eye on us, and will bring us through this life, no matter what we face, until we are with Him forever.

This simply call to trust in the LORD, who is master of the soul and decider of where we spend eternity, is through out the entire written word of God.

Ecclesiastes 12:12-14¹² And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. ¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. ¹⁴ For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

The simple command to fear God, will become so very important in the very near future for Christians, in Western countries. Soon and very soon the governments of the world will seek to implement, “their” new economic system, of digital currency and identification, which is very close to the end times antichrist one world economic system.

In this system, if you do not participate, you’ll be nonexistent and shut out of all essential services. DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO CAN ONLY KILL THE BODY.

We must remember that God is present with us, in the temptation to fear man, because He loves us and we are valuable to Him, even precious in His sight.

Titus 2:11-14 ¹¹ For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, ¹² teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, ¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

1 Peter 2:9 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;

Acts 20:28 ²⁸ Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

The fear of man, presses us to forget that we belong to GOD, through Christ’s shed blood—to forget that GOD is present with us—to forget that God is sovereign over us, and those who are exercising terror over us, and the situation we are in.

Remember that if God is our Father, and He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, He is not surprised by our situation, but has allowed it or ordained it, for our good and His glory.

Romans 8:28 ²⁸ And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

LET US CHOOSE GOD NO MATTER WHAT

Early in the history of the church they were under persecution, where they were commanded two times, to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, or else. Their responses were awesome.

Acts 4:18-20 ¹⁸ So they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

Acts 4:23-31 ²³ And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, ²⁵ who by the mouth of Your servant David have said: ‘Why did the nations rage, and the people plot vain things? ²⁶ The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the LORD and against His Christ.’ ²⁷ “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together ²⁸ to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 5:29-32 ²⁹ But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men. ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. ³¹ Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. ³² And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

In the coming days, months and years, chose to obey God out of the fear of the LORD and love for GOD. He is always with us. This world is not our home but a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness .

2 Peter 3:11-13 ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ¹² looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

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