Hello, John and Doves,
Mikey, Why do most people scoff at the revealed identities of the 1st and 2nd beasts?
It
is because the Devil, who is Satan, so desires to be worshipped by the
man on the street that he must appear as an alternate “good” deity.
It is written,
Paul and the False Apostles
1I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 2For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride
to one husband—Christ. 3But
I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be
corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 4You
happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a
different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit
than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one
you believed.
5But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. 6I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.
7Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? 8I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. 9And
when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become
a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia
brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I
never will be. 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece
will ever stop me from boasting about this. 11Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.
12But
I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those
who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just
like ours. 13These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15So
it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants
of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked
deeds deserve.
2 Corinthians 11:1-15 NLT
Please
do not see this passage for what it is not. It is not an excuse for
not giving to your favorite Bible-based local congregation.
For it is written,
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two
1After this the Lord appointed seventy-two
others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2He told them, “The
harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the
harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you. 7Stay
there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker
deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. 9Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ 12I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.
Luke 10:1-12 NIV
Again, it is written,
6And
between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I
saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and
with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all
the earth. 7And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8And
when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and
golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
Revelation 5:6-10 ESV
Now, kings have an intrinsic right to collect tithes and such.
Concerning priests it is written,
Support for the Priests and Levites
8The Lord
gave these further instructions to Aaron: “I myself have put you in
charge of all the holy offerings that are brought to me by the people of
Israel. I have given all these consecrated offerings to you and your
sons as your permanent share. 9You
are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is not burned
on the fire. This portion of all the most holy offerings—including the
grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings—will be most holy,
and it belongs to you and your sons. 10You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy.
11“All
the sacred offerings and special offerings presented to me when the
Israelites lift them up before the altar also belong to you. I have
given them to you and to your sons and daughters as your permanent
share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat of
these offerings.
12“I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings to the Lord—the best of the olive oil, new wine, and grain. 13All the first crops of their land that the people present to the Lord belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food.
14“Everything in Israel that is specially set apart for the Lord also belongs to you.
15“The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the Lord will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn of ceremonially unclean animals. 16Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver (as measured by the weight of the sanctuary shekel, which equals twenty gerahs).
17“However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the Lord. Sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 18The
meat of these animals will be yours, just like the breast and right
thigh that are presented by lifting them up as a special offering before
the altar. 19Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the Lord. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your permanent share. This is an eternal and unbreakable covenant between the Lord and you, and it also applies to your descendants.”
20And the Lord
said to Aaron, “You priests will receive no allotment of land or share
of property among the people of Israel. I am your share and your
allotment. 21As
for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will compensate them for their
service in the Tabernacle. Instead of an allotment of land, I will give
them the tithes from the entire land of Israel.
22“From
now on, no Israelites except priests or Levites may approach the
Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and will
die. 23Only
the Levites may serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held
responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law for
you, to be observed from generation to generation. The Levites will
receive no allotment of land among the Israelites, 24because I have given them the Israelites’ tithes, which have been presented as sacred offerings to the Lord. This will be the Levites’ share. That is why I said they would receive no allotment of land among the Israelites.”
25The Lord also told Moses, 26“Give
these instructions to the Levites: When you receive from the people of
Israel the tithes I have assigned as your allotment, give a tenth of the
tithes you receive—a tithe of the tithe—to the Lord as a sacred offering. 27The Lord
will consider this offering to be your harvest offering, as though it
were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own
winepress. 28You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a sacred offering to the Lord. This is the Lord’s sacred portion, and you must present it to Aaron the priest. 29Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.
30“Also,
give these instructions to the Levites: When you present the best part
as your offering, it will be considered as though it came from your own
threshing floor or winepress. 31You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle. 32You will not be considered guilty for accepting the Lord’s tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.”
Numbers 18:8-32 NLT
Now you know why God gave His only Son. He is the very best.
~Blessings,
Mike