Updated: The Risk Of Loving The Truth

We've reached the point where the last days "Apocalyptic" Biblical prophecies and current events have intersected. The evidence is all around us, and increasing daily. As a people, we have some very serious analysis and decisions to make concerning these events that are impacting us. We cannot afford to make wrong choices at this critical juncture. The problem is, we are making wrong choices as a nation. Our focus needs to be on the causes, not the effects, of our predicament. The costly losing wars, the destruction of economies, corrupt politicians and judges, invasion of our borders, and bodies by toxic injections that were deceitfully represented, skyrocketing crime, sexual perversions permeating our societies, et al are the result of our embracing lies in all aspects of our lives according to the Biblical record. And the most critical point we need to understand, we have walked away from our heritage and the truth of the word of God. Instead, it is our self-righteousness, thinking that on one level we are a God-fearing Christian nation, therefore, what evil can come upon us? [Micah 3:11]. Take a look around.

The apostle Paul answered this question. He said about our current last days, "For that day [the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ] will not come until there is a great rebellion against God ... and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." [2 Ths. 2:10-12]. This is a strong warning from our Lord. Will we heed it, or toss it aside not believing what we are told? Well, at least until it's too late?

If Christianity, rather than Churchianity, truly is our way of life, and not just a sop, then we need to be tenacious, adept and implacable when it comes to pursuing the truth, both secular, and the word of God, so we can apply it in our lives. Indeed, it can be said that the epitome of wisdom is loving the truth of the word of God. Otherwise, our energies and actions are nothing more than a religious placebo, chasing the wind on an interminable treadmill with disastrous results, falling prey to the lying sowers of hate. Americans need to realize, their Constitution will not save them from this lawless onslaught, which is an effect, not the cause of their predicament. [2 Ths. 2:9, 10].

It's obvious that our society is collapsing under the daily onslaught of lies and contrived deceits dumped on us by devious and evil lying elites who seek our destruction. So, get another "Covid"shot, they say. Trust us, this one works ... to what end? Injure and kill us even more?  [Falling Prey In Perilous Times]. One way to make it easier for our adversaries to do this is to snuff out our curiosity, whether it be with the origins of "Covid" or our Biblical heritage. We are not gentiles. [Matt. 15:24; Eze. 34:30, 31; 1 Cor. 10:1-4; also the Feature article, Paul Was An Apostle To The House Of Israel, Not The Gentiles]. A sense of curiosity is nature's original school of education as Smiley Blanton pointed out. And as Einstein stated, "Never lose a holy curiosity." He also said, "It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." 

However, our man-made educational system, not to mention the big tech social media sites, have been hijacked by anti-Christian elements. For many, this has snuffed out one of the most vital aspects of our nature, and replaced it with mind-numbing, no-think, no-question, lowest common denominator sewers of hate propaganda based on lies intended to destroy us by the false prophet leaders of the so-called New World Order.

It is of utmost urgency, then, that our curiosity is joined by diligence, moral integrity and discovering the truth of the word of God with joy. This is what leads us to the path back to lost freedoms and liberties. Our great reset, therefore, needs to be with the steadfast and unwavering love of the truth of the word of God rather than with globalist organizations and religious traditions and customs that have taken us to the doorstep of perdition. [See the Feature article, The Princes Of A Plundered House]. 

The Christian age is, beginning in the first century, a prelude to the first resurrection, when at his return Christ harvests his first-fruits, those who live their love of the truth of the word of God. It includes those called and chosen in the body of Christ [Rom. 12:3-8], who have been baptized and received the Spirit of God, that goodwill down payment given to us by our Father in this age of what we are to be in the coming age. [Acts 8:15-17]. For those chosen to share in Christ’s royal power and authority at his return, the second death has no power. [See the Feature article, You Know You're A Christian When ...].

The articles we have posted in the Prophecy section of redshoe.com, and chapters five and six in The Blind Man's Elephant, as well as The Hijacked Elephant paint the big picture and provide details of our story in the Biblical record from the creation of the heavens and Earth in Genesis to the new heaven and Earth in Revelation. They show us our place in the Biblical record and the relevancy of our current events. [See the pivotal Feature article, The Relevance Of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days].

As the apostle John told the ekklesia in the first century, "Behold what manner of love our Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now we are the sons of God [Greek, sons of theos, as in the family of God; see the Sneakers article, One Two Three, More Or Less], and it does not appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him [see 1 Cor. 15:52; 13:12, 13]; for we shall see him as he is. [By contrast, see Exd. 33:17-23]. And every man that has this hope [Greek, elpis, expectation] in him purifies himself, even as he [our Lord] is pure." [1 John 3:1-3; also see Rev. 22:1].

While the prophecies tell us what has been determined will, and is coming to pass for all 12 nations of Israel, as individuals, the ekklesia, we still have the opportunity to purify ourselves, to be counted worthy to escape the evil that now is in our world paving the way to the sixth empire, Babylon the Great. "Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." [Luke 21:36].

However, knowing prophecy has a downside if we are fooled into thinking it’s spiritual growth. Yes, it helps us understand the events taking place around us, teaching us that God directs the course of human affairs. [Dan. 4:35-37]. But, knowledge of prophecy is not a substitute for spiritual growth guided by the Spirit of God. [1 John 2:27]. Prophecy is of value when it is a motivational force for us to take action in our Christian lives vis a vis our moribund society. And while the majority of people may not like to think of it this way, knowing prophecy doesn’t give us any special standing before God. In fact, prophecy is vanity when we are missing one key ingredient.

As the apostle Paul pointed out to the ekkelsia in Corinth, "And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith that so I could move mountains, and not have love, I am nothing." [1 Cor. 13:2]. The truth and love of God go hand in hand for any Christian. And it is a stronger force than the evilness in the world. Curiosity motivates us to start pursuing the love of the truth of the word of God. Without this, our journey in this life heads off in the wrong direction, and continues unabated in that direction.

The Greek word love used here is agape. It is benevolence, an affection and good will expressed in our actions that is Christian love. This stands in stark contrast to the hateful lies permeating society. Therefore, this is the love we must have in all that we do every day regarding God and our fellow man as Paul said. In the book, Love Or Perish, Smiley Blanton writes, "... love shows itself as a harmonious attitude toward life in general. It is a steady, unflinching desire for constructive action which permeates the whole personality. Love is in this sense a basic emotional approach that we must develop in our work, in our relationships with other people, and also in our attitude towards ourselves."1 In addition to our occupational work, it must also apply to our Christian profession. "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." [Heb. 4:14].

If we stood outside a church at Easter, and asked those exiting, "Do you have Christian agape?" more than likely each person would answer in the affirmative. As a Christian, however, our agape must start with an unwavering love of the truth of the word of God, which is why we are admonished to "Seek first the kingdom [power and authority] of God." [Mat. 6:33]. Otherwise, we love a falsehood, a deception that eventually leads to our death. Let us not be deceived. This is our case with the pagan Babylonian goddess Ishtar, her anglicized name being Easter, who our first century Christian ancestors did not venerate. [See the updated Feature article, Easter, Babylon And The Antichrist].

Therefore, knowing prophecies concerning the House of Israel and Edom, for example, while at the same time justifying our participation in Easter or Christmas, which angers our LORD [Jer. 10:1, 2; 10:10], who considers them lying vanities, is not spiritual growth. It's our death sentence as our end time prophet Ezekiel warns us, unless we turn away, with all haste, from the lies and deceits that we have come to accept. Now is not the time to dilly-dally when it comes to loving, and living the truth of the word of God daily. [Pro. 14:12; see the Feature article, Is That You, Big Brother?].

In large part, it is our acquired love of these two deceitful events over the millennia that has led us to our current day circumstances in the world, far from the truth delivered by Christ and the apostles to our Christian forefathers in first century. [Again, see the Feature article, You Know You're A Christian When ...]. Despite our rapidly deteriorating predicament, no doubt, most will slog forth once again to partake in the enchanting pagan lies that are killing us, rather than seeking and holding fast the life-saving truth of the word of God.

And no matter how sincere our misdirected actions are regarding lying vanities, it cannot be a Christian love because our Redeemer Jesus Christ is the LORD God of truth. [Psa. 31:4-6]. When we love God, we love the truth and vice versa. When we love the lie, our actions show we love the author of it, all our verbal justifications to the contrary. [See John 8:44]. "For this lawlessness is already at work secretly [in the first century], and it will remain secret until the one [our Lord] who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed [666, Antichrist, Babylon the Great], but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. [On the other side of the Apocalypse, however]. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception [Videos: Evil Covid Lies Vs. Truth; All The Details] to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth." [2 Ths. 2:7-12, NLT].

For verification, we need only to read our daily headlines, which reflect the hate and lies that we have come to accept in place of the love of the truth of the word of God. [See the Newslink section]. The question is, however, who is it that you believe, and by your actions, follow? For both the pagan origin Christmas and Easter are lies engendered by the hate of our Adversary for the chosen of God in order to destroy Christianity and the ekklesia, for which there is ample evidence. [Eph. 6:10-20].

Therefore, our knowing prophecy is nothing of itself. It doesn’t get us one step closer to the kingdom of God. We need a resolute Christian love of the truth for that. As John noted, " ... every man that has this expectation [of eternal life as the sons of God] in him purifies himself ..." meaning removing the lies from our lives by living the truth. When purifying gold by fire [see Rev. 3:18], borax and soda ash are used to separate the gold from inferior metals and dross. The love of the truth of the word of God acts as our borax and soda ash, the catalyst that causes us to separate the truth from the evil deceits and lies, the impurities in our lives, allowing us to grow in faith and hope. For truth destroys the lies, which in turn destroys the liars.

If we wish to push against the way we are headed in our troubled world, it begins within each of us as individuals. "Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God [of truth] with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments of love hang all the law and the prophets." [Mat. 22:37-40]. Neither of these two great commandments mentions knowledge of prophecy. And neither of these two commandents are in use by our national leaders today.

The Wicked One is restrained for now, but not his princely minions. As Christ said, when the fig tree puts forth its leaves, summer is near. Well, the fig trees are in full bloom. And the evil princes are pollinating the lies. The prophecies have shown us what to look for leading up to the days of the sixth beast and the Antichrist. [See Rev. 13; also the Feature article, Why Do We Believe The Lies?]. But without love, beginning with the love of the truth of the word of God, we are nothing before God. Knowledge of prophecy is nothing if we don't use this knowledge to put into daily practice the love of the truth. Lukewarm lip service is a self-deceiving false savior. [See the Sneakers article, We Don't Believe You].

Many of our Feature articles2 deal with the non-prophetic aspects of the truth as do the articles in other sections including Sneakers as well as the chapters in the Elephant book trilogy. These chapters and articles are not as popular as the prophecy articles, but the prophecy articles do not require any effort on our part to purify ourselves, to grow in Godly love and truth that would save us. More important than wanting to know “What’s gonna happen?” we need a “What can I do?” attitude, which means internalizing curiosity, which in turn generates a love for discovering the truth and putting it to work daily in our lives. This is the key to our near term futures. Otherwise, we deceive ourselves with a false Christian, self-righteous attitude. “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—" [Rev. 3:17].

The non-prophecy chapters and articles are far more valuable in terms of garnering the love of the truth that we might be “ … counted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.” Understanding prophecies can be used as a prod, motivating ourselves in seeking the truth so we will grow in the fruits of the Spirit that bring us closer to God. [See Eph. 5:8-14; Gal. 5:22-26]. "… speaking the truth in love, we grow and increase becoming more like Christ, who is the head of his body ..." the ekklesia. [Eph. 4:15]. With a love of the truth, what is given to us in the Biblical record for our edification and spiritual growth, the word of God, by faith must be transferred into action daily for it to be of any value. [Gal. 5:6; for a bit of perspective, take a few moments to read 2 Ths. 1].

Our square one is the love of the truth of the word of God. The importance of putting the love of the truth into practice daily in our lives, whereby we engender spiritual growth, cannot be overstated. As we noted, there is no time left for dilly-dallying. Spiritual growth leads us to a true love of God, the brethren, and our fellow man, by purging the lies and the works of the flesh. And it's this putting to work the love of the truth in our lives that we bear fruit as the ekklesia, the body of Christ. This is what the apostle Paul refers to as "going on to perfection" in Hebrews chapter six. [Also see 1 Cor. 12:12-31]. And by doing so, we please our Father in heaven and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who deliver us from the evilness in this world. [Gal. 1:3, 4].

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians about love for the word of God, "As you know how we exhorted and comforted and charged every one of you, as a father does his children, that you would walk worthy of God, who has called you to his kingdom [basileia, royal power, kingship] and glory. For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is, in truth the word of God, which works effectively [Greek, energeo] also in you that believe." [Greek, pisteuo, verb, belief, confidence in that which is true, from the root, pistis, a conviction of the truth, 1 Ths. 2:11-13].

As Paul continued to the ekklesia in Thessalonica, "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief [Greek, pistis] in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." [2 Ths. 2:13, 14].

And as John noted above, “… it does not appear what we shall be ….” But we will fully see this with the obtaining of the glorious promise of our Lord. As Paul wrote, “For now [in the flesh with the Spirit of God], we see through a glass darkly, but then [at the first resurrection] face to face: now I know in part, but then I shall know even as also I am known. For now continue in these three, faith [Greek, pistis, conviction of the truth], hope and love [Greek, agape], but the greatest of these is love.” [1 Cor. 13:12, 13]. Paul is telling us to always have a love of the truth of the word of God for the expectation of the glorious power and authority of God at Christ’s return.

Now you would think that we, as Christians, would have an unfeigned love of truth rather than the lies. But we don't, as is obvious with our worsening situation in the world today. [Mat. 7:16-20]. If asked, would we say that we are smarter than a rat? Of course. But if a rat had two options, one lever gave him food, and the other an electric shock that eventually would kill him, how long would it take a rat to hit the food lever and never touch the shock lever? Probably a couple times at most. Yet, we Christians are given an instruction manual as to which lever to hit to keep ourselves from curses, evilness and death. It's called the Bible. The truth is we keep falling for the lies, as did Eve and Adam, hitting the electrification lever time after time, despite the increasing intensity of our shocks. We have no clue as to the cause and effect of our apostate actions. Score one for the rat. [See Moses' Message For Us In The Last Days; for more details, see the Sneakers article, A Life And Death Pickle Of A Predicament].

To put all this into everyday analogous terms, according to the wonderful promise given to us, at Christ’s return those few who follow the advice given to us by our Lord and Savior, as well as Paul, the apostles and prophets, will be raised to immortality at the first resurrection, chosen as the “executive management team,” kings and priests, of God. From a secular perspective, who of us, if given a ground floor opportunity to buy stock in Apple, Google, Microsoft or Amazon, knowing what we know now, would pass it up? We'd likely sell everything we owned and would borrow as much as we could knowing full well the huge return on investment.

Yet, we are given an opportunity so far greater as to not be comparable. However, the vast majority aren't aware it exists because our Adversary, the father of the lies, buried it long ago, "the mystery of lawlessness" beginning in secret in the first century as Paul told us. [See the Feature article, Moving Forward]. In its place, we're deceived into settling for "a dead fish floating downstream" counterfeit, and ignorantly accepting the laissez-faire deceit, "we're going to heaven!" No effort required to change our ways. We lack the curiosity needed to dig up the truth. [See the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait].

What are we told in the first chapter of Revelation that awaits those who make the effort, see the big picture and live the truth? “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and prince [chief] of the kings of the earth. To him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests of God [Greek, theos, the family of God] and to his Father, and to him glory and dominion for ever and ever ... and we shall reign on the Earth.” This has nothing to do with "going to heaven." [Rev. 1:5, 6; 5:10; see Treasure; also the Feature article, Heaven Can Wait II].

How many of us grasp the full implication of what John is telling us? If we do, what then are we doing, without hesitation, to passionately translate it into action in our lives 24/7? Talk about a "ground floor" opportunity for eternity. Yet, most folks probably could care less. The love of the truth has become moribund, irrelevant in our daily lives. But the corrupted customs, the Christmas trees and chocolate bunnies that we adore, we hold dear no matter how bad the curses and evilness of our daily lives become. Talk about repeatedly hitting the wrong lever. Really, really stupid, and very short-sighted, to the point we don't recognize them for the lying vanities, the idols they are in the sight of God. [See 1 Cor. 10:6-11].

And then we wonder why our liberties and inheritance are being taken from us, and why our countries are falling apart all around us. It's exactly as the prophecies meant for us have warned about. And as the prophecies also state, most will refuse to hear that which would save them. [Jer. 10:8; Pro. 12:1; also see the parable regarding spiritual growth, Luke 19:11-27]. 

The apostle John, who canonized the writings of the apostles into the New Testament, and who was the last of the twelve apostles, wrote his epistles towards the latter part of the first century. As false prophets had crept into the Christian theological landscape early on, he clearly understood the value of the truth and our love for it. As John mentioned in his last epistle to the church, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.” [3 John 1:4].

And in his penultimate epistle, 2 John, he wrote, “The elder [John was likely in his late 80s or early 90’s by this time] unto the elect lady and her children [the ekklesia], whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all those who have known the truth; for the truth’s sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us forever. Grace be to you, mercy and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.” [2 John 1:1-3].

It is incumbent on us who are members of the body of Christ to purify ourselves daily with the love of the truth, heeding the advice the apostle John gave the ekklesia in his first epistle, "My little children, let us not love with words or talk, but in our actions [love] and in truth." [1 John 3:18].

Therefore, brethren, we must ask, is not the risk of loving the truth worth the glorious promise of the word of God? "For the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom [Greek basileia, the power and authority, of God in this case], and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever." [Dan. 7:18].
 

Dr. Smiley Blanton's Love Or Perish, 1956, p.14. If you can get your hands on a copy, read Love Or Perish. [Online]. It's a worthwhile, though not casual, read that provides insight for everyday life, written at a time much different than today. Dr. Blanton was somewhat prescient in identifying why our society is perishing. This is especially true regarding the hostile nature exhibited in corporate and social media nowadays. As Dr. Blanton wrote, "... love is the only true source of knowledge ... We need not remain mired in the unstable and neurotic patterns of hostility which waste our substance ... Each of us may learn the lesson of love for himself, and with its power we can correct and fortify our lives from day to day." And our first step is with love of the truth as the apostle John wrote, "He that loves not, knows not God; for God is love." [1 John 4:8].

2 A few non-prophetical articles that are helpful in laying the Biblical foundation of the truth are: The Tale of Two Covenants, We're Abraham's Seed And Heirs, Not Gentiles, What Exactly Is The Gospel? The Relevance of The Holy Days In The Plan Of God In The Last Days, and the Sneakers article, We Don't Believe You.

NLT- Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

This article appeared in its original iteration at the end of the Feature article, The Final Prophecy: It Is Done under the subheading Postscript To Prophecy. It has been rewritten, expanded and adapted as an independent Feature article.
 

Italics, bold, underline and [ ] are the author’s.

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"Watch therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."