THE GOSPEL TRUTH THAT LEADS TO ENTERAL LIFE
Rev. Steve Marlowe
Is it not one’s desire for self and loved ones to have good health and long life? Is it not the desire of good people to live in peace, harmony, and happiness? And yet the world is full of violence, crime, and sickness. Wars, hunger, and distress are very prevalent around the world. And yet according to the Bible there is hope for all those who love God in spirit and truth. God has promised a future Kingdom. The God of love will establish His government upon the earth, however, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” (1 John 4:8). “All Your works shall praise You, O Lord {YAH}, and Your saints shall bless You. They shall speak of the glory of Your Kingdom, and talk of Your Power, to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His Kingdom. Your Kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom, and Your Dominion enduresthroughout all generations. The Lord {YAH} upholds all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down.The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:10-16). “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, as raindrops on the tender herb, and as showers on the grass. For I proclaim the name of the Lord{YAH}: Ascribe greatness to our God. He is theRock, His work is perfect; for all His ways arejustice, a God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:1-4).
And yet, the vast majority of mankind are not lovers of God and sinfulness is on the increase. “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in the Christ YAHSHUAwill suffer persecution, but evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in the Messiah YAHSHUA. All Scripture isgiven by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:1-16).
The apostle John writes, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this, we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in Him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Fathers, I have written to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many Antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that YAHSHUA is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:3-23).
Is it possible to be Christian, and not be known, or know, God? Why do Christians not heed the warnings of the Gospel? We are warned to, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult isthe way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Today, in our time, Christian leaders are reluctant to talk about the harsh realities of not following YAHSHUA in spirit and truth. These Christian leaders will face a great awakening, as their expectations will be found to be empty on the Day of Judgment when they face the Lord YAHSHUA. They will cry out: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:21-27). Build on the Rock, and that Rock is Christ!
After the judgment, what a change on this planet! There will be no more wars, nor any suffering anymore. Hatred, selfishness, violence, and crime will be gone. Instead, there will be perfect Shalom (peace) and security in this world. “Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord,trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass (Psalm 37:1-5).
“Oh, continue Your loving kindness to those who know You, and Your righteousness to the upright in heart” (Psalm 36:10). It is the Lord YAH that will bring it about the end to all evil. That is something that no human ruler, no scientist, no physician, can do. Is it reasonable that God’s only purpose for man is that he spend eighteen years growing up, another twenty-two years getting knowledge and skills, only all the while growing older and older, and finally in three scores and ten suffer and die? The Lord YAHmade man to live, not to die. He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord YAH will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.And it will be said in that day: Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation” (Isaiah 25:8-9).
How can one be sure that this Kingdom will come? Because the Lord YAH promised that His Kingdom will be coming soon. It is according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, but has in due time manifested His word through preaching in the name of YAHSHUA, our Lord and our God. It will not be easy, for we must enter by the narrow gate, and difficult is the way that leads to eternal life. “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ YAHSHUA will suffer persecution.But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ YAHSHUA. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:12-17). “Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed itby an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:17-18).
God’s Word of Truth is very clear, that we are fast nearing a worldwide change. YAHSHUA had foretold the end of this age. And YAHSHUA answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:4-14). Many will come and preach in the false names never revealed by God, such as Jesus, Iesus, and Iesous. Since there is only one name by which we must be saved, YAHSHUA, then what of these counterfeit names Jesus, Iesus, and Iesous? How do people know the one true name of salvation, when all these preachers teach in counterfeit names. These preachers do not heed the Scriptures, the very Gospel, for it is written: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Long ago, in the days of the prophet Daniel, the king of Babylon had a dream, and Daniel was the only one to interpret this dream. And Daniel said, “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure” (Daniel 2:31-45).
In Chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a statue made of four different materials, identified as four kingdoms:
Head of Gold, Explicitly identified as Babylon(v. 37–38).
Chest and arms of Silver, Identified as Medo-Persia (v. 39).
The belly and thighs of Bronze, identified as Greece, a third kingdom that shall rule over all the earth (v. 39).
Legs of iron with feet of mingled iron and clay. Identified as the fourth kingdom, that is the Roman Empire, strong as iron.
Then comes the nations some strong and others weak, and the earth will be divided, as the feet partly of clay and partly of iron show it shall be a divided kingdom (v. 41).
“For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior (the Lord YAHSHUA), who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). “Seek the Lord {YAH}, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger” (Zephaniah 2:3).
The Stone is Christ, for He alone is the Rock (Isaiah 44:8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). “YAHSHUA spoke these things; and raising His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, so that the Son may glorify You, just as You gave Him authority over all mankind, so that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and YAHSHUA Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth by accomplishing the work which You have given Me to do. And now You, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world existed.“I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have followed Your word. Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You, for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they receivedthem and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours, and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer going to be in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, so that they may be one just as We are. While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name, which You have given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
But now I am coming to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sake I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. “I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. “Righteous Father,although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them” (John 17 NASB). This is my prayer:
May the Lord YAH bless you and keep you;
May the Lord YAH make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;May the Lord YAH lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.” ’
