Third Day Light
  • Blog
  • Introducing Bob Hall
  • Bob's Books
    • The Church Pattern
    • Hidden Jewels from the Relevation
    • The Bible's Test for Truth
    • The Breastplate of the High Priest
    • Mysteries of the Menorah
    • Table of Showbread
  • The Shekinah
  • Proof of Messiah

Can we finish our sanctification on earth?

6/30/2015

2 Comments

 
I have recently been discussing with a friend whether or not we can finish our sanctification on earth.  I think most Christians would say it is impossible.  Yet I cannot find one Scripture that says we can finish it in heaven.  Some Scriptures seem to be saying it is possible to finish our sanctification here.  For example:

Jesus said, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect”
(Matt. 5:48).


This verse seems to be saying we can come into perfection.  It would seem strange that Jesus would say this if in fact it was impossible to be totally sanctified, for how could we be perfect with out being completely sanctified?

It says in Ephesians, 

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head–Christ (Eph. 4:11-16).

According to this verse the goal of the ministries of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teachers is to bring the body of Christ to perfection.  If that is not even possible, then why should they waste their efforts?

Paul actually prayed that we would be completely sanctified:

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 (1 Thess. 5:23).

Here, Paul prayed for the Thessalonians to be completely sanctified before the coming of Christ, not after they get to heaven.

John also seems to be implying that we can come into sinless perfection,

And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.  Whoever abides in Him does not sin.  Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him
(1 John 3:5-6).


In the book of Romans, Paul seems to be saying the same thing,

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.  For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Rom. 6:12-14).

The writer of Hebrews also tells us to go on to perfection:

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Heb. 6:1-2).

Paul said in Galatians,

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you (Gal. 4:19 KJV).

Obviously, having Christ “formed in you” is something that happens after a Christian is saved since he was speaking to Christians here.  This verse seems to suggest that once Christ was formed in them, Paul would no longer have to travail for them since he uses the word “until.”  Remember the ministry gifts of Ephesians were also “until” they came into perfection.

The way I see it, seven steps are required to complete our sanctification, just as there are seven feasts.  When we first get saved, we come into the Passover Feast.  Then we are supposed to progress to Tabernacles.  This can also be compared to the seven days of creation.  When we get to the seventh step or feast, we enter into God’s rest.  This is why the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us to labor to enter into God’s rest.  Once we do, God is finished working on us,

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.  For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.  For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:
“So I swore in My wrath,
'They shall not enter My rest,' "
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”  Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:
“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”
For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day.  There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.  For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience (Heb. 4:1-11).


While I think very few have ever made it this far in their walk, I do believe a few have.  Enoch, who walked with God and then God took him, may be one of those as well as Elijah, who was raptured up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Paul, who said he was raptured into the third heaven, may have finished his sanctification since he told Timothy that he finished his race,
                                       
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Tim. 4:7-8).

Finishing our sanctification is also likened to getting our garments of righteousness.  John said,

“So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’  For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matt. 22:12-14).

This is a parable of the heavenly wedding of the Lamb and His bride.  Obviously, this person didn’t get a wedding garment in heaven.  He had to have already attained it while on earth.

It also says in Revelation.

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15).

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."  And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.  Then he said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!'" (Rev. 19:7-9).


This is really just a sampling of the Bible Scriptures that seem to be saying we can be totally sanctified while on this earth, and we haven’t even gone into the Old Testament types that bring this out, such as Abraham having a child after he was circumcised in the flesh.  How many are going to find out they don’t have their wedding garment of righteousness when the bridegroom shows up?  Hebrews says that some must enter into God’s rest.  When we are totally sanctified, God can rest from working on us and we can enter into His rest. 

For this is the will of God, your sanctification (1Thess. 4:3).

Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1)



I hope we can finish our sanctification on earth because I can’t find any Scriptures that say we can finish it in heaven!
2 Comments

The Green Horse of the Apocalypse

6/1/2015

2 Comments

 
Most versions of the Bible do not call the fourth horse of the Apocalypse by the correct color.  For example, the NKJV calls it a pale color,

When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.”  So I looked, and behold, a pale horse.  And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him.  And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth (Rev. 6:7-8).

The actual color of the fourth horse is green, the color of the flag of Islam.  The Greek word is cloros.  Strong’s Dictionary says,

From the same as G5514; greenish, that is, verdant, dun-colored: - green, pale. 

Here are the other places the word is used:

Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.  So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties (Mark 6:39-40).

The first angel sounded: And hail and fire followed, mingled with blood, and they were thrown to the earth. And a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up (Rev. 8:7).

They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads (Rev. 9:4). 

John says about the green horse and its rider that Death and Hades followed behind him.  We have seen some of the violence of extreme Islam as IS conquers cities in Iraq, Syria, and other countries.  Death and Hades (usually translated “hell” in the New Testament) certainly follow this green horse.  They crucify and rape even children.  They cut off people’s heads.  They torture people.  They sell young girls into sexual slavery.  They cut off hands of even children if they are caught stealing.  These are just a few of the examples of their violence and cruelty. 

I watched the May 21, 2015 video of the John Ankerberg Show on the internet at jashow.org.                
He had three guests on his show that week.  Two were former Muslims who had converted to Christianity.  One was Kama Saleem who worked with that late PLO leader Yasser Arafat and the other was Dr. Emir Caner whose father built mosques.  The third guest was retired general William Boykin, former commander of Delta force and who has studied the history of Islam.  The three of them were exposing the infiltration of Islam into all facets of American (and European) society. 

General Boykin pointed out that people used to deny this infiltration until former President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, proudly proclaimed he was recruited by the Muslim Brotherhood while attending the University of Southern California through the Muslim Students Association.  Now it is known there are hundreds of fronts for recruiting for radical Islam in the United States.  Their goal is a caliphate, a global Islamic state or empire.  Their weapon is Jihad, and physical war is only one of the many facets they use to conquer a society.  They are conquering little by little from within.  They said that radical Muslims have already infiltrated schools, banks and financial systems, television, government and just about every facet of our society.  Many of our financial institutions are already complying with sharia law.  This means that a percentage of any transaction with any of these financial institutions goes to fund Jihad! 

One thing that is troubling in all of this is that it is difficult to tell on which side our president is.  He claims to be a Christian, but I have heard him say publically that he does not believe in the Bible.  The Bible says,

“He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God”
(John 8:47).


Obama does not hear God’s word because he does not believe it.  Yet I continually hear people say about his profession of Christianity, “When he says he is a Christian, I take him at his word.” I don’t take him at his word because I know what the Bible says about Christians.  If they don’t believe the Bible, they cannot believe in the God of Christianity.  Furthermore, his administration has begun to persecute Christians for their faith.  This is not something a Christian would do.

In Iraq fighter pilots helping in the war against IS are complaining that they have such stringent rules of engagement placed on them that their hands are basically tied.  They know they could do much more to help, but they are not allowed to.  Meanwhile, I heard a talk show host speak about a report that Christians are dying at the hands of IS at a rate of 11 per hour.  It is becoming the new holocaust.  I just read a story of IS burning an 80-year-old Christian woman alive because she would not comply with sharia law.

It can be clearly seen trampling through the Middle East that the rider of the green horse of Islam is Death with Hell following close behind.  We already know they are here in the U.S. but in hiding.  It is only a matter of time before that rider gets a hold of some nuclear weapons and uses them on our cities.  The Islamic State has billions of dollars in the bank.  They are already boasting that they could buy a nuke from Pakistan and smuggle it through South America and then across the border of the U.S.  They are recruiting more and more warriors and are getting more and more funding.  How long will it be before that green horse will be clearly seen trampling across in the red, white, and blue or United States of America?  May God have mercy on this nation because they won’t!

2 Comments

    Author

    Hosea said, After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up that we may live in His sight (6:2).  That's when God’s spiritual temple, the church, is going to be built according to God’s pattern and desire. My goal is to shine light on this pattern so the church can get ready for the wedding of the Lamb.   Learn More

    Archives

    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2018
    August 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011

    Categories

    All
    144000
    1 Cor. 11 - 14
    1Peter 5:2-3
    Body Of Christ
    Bride
    Children Suffer For Sins Of Fathers
    Chosen
    Church Error
    Church Order
    Church Pattern
    Church Structure
    Communion
    Discernment
    Election
    Election Of Israel
    Eternal Security
    Ezekiel's Temple
    Fear
    Fifth Trumpet Of Revelation
    Forgiveness
    Free Will
    Gifts Of The Spirit
    God Of Terror
    God's Foreknowledge
    God's Sovereignty
    Gog
    Harlot
    Hell
    Hope
    Hosea 6:2
    Israel And Gaza
    Jer. 3:15-17
    John 6:53
    Judging In The Bible
    Judging Others
    Judging People
    Leadership
    Living Sacrifice
    Once Saved Always Saved
    Pastors
    Pit
    Prayer Watch
    Predestination
    Rebuking
    Reverse Aging
    Salvation
    Salvation Of The Soul
    Seven Thunders
    Shepherding
    Sign Of The Son Of Man
    The Pit
    Ultimate Reconciliation
    Universalism
    Universal Salvation
    U.S. Judgment
    Zadok

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.