As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; (Matthew 13:40,41)
"Thou shalt not surely die" was spoken in the beginning by the serpent. "Thou shalt not surely die" is being spoken today by the serpent to numerous evangelical pastors and their followers. "Even though the Scriptures command you to practice righteousness, holiness, and stern obedience to the Father, you shall not surely die if you do not do what the Word commands because you are saved by grace." So goes the current teaching and preaching.
The wheat of the Lord consists of those who are married to the Lord Jesus
Christ. The tares are the wicked of the earth. Those who are in the
"middle," so to speak, the "church Christians" and the
casual, will have to make their decision whether to be married to Jesus or to
become a tare. There are multitudes in the valley of decision as the Day of the
Lord draws near.
In the present hour the wheat and the tares are growing side by side. They will
continue to do so until the Day of Judgment arrives.
In the Day of the Lord the messengers of Christ will go forth and separate from
the Kingdom of God all who are not truly married to the Lord Jesus. There will
be a clear division between those who truly belong to Jesus, who are living in
and by Him, and those who bear Christ's name but who do not live in and by Him.
These are the "believers" who are called by the name of Christ but
who eat their own food and wear their own clothes.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather from his
kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity [lawlessness];
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing
of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. (Matthew 13:41-43)
Many factors are operating today that are designed to remove the tares from the
wheat, the "singles" from those who are married to the Lord. The Lord
is speaking to His true Bride to arise and put on her beautiful garments of
righteousness and praise. The Bride is being chastened by the Lord and
commanded to fight the good fight of faith.
Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under the apple tree: there thy mother brought thee forth: there she brought thee forth that bare thee. (Song of Solomon 8:5)
The "singles" will not accept the concept that the Bride is being chastened. They will quickly withdraw themselves from the Lord's holy fire and will join with those who find their strength and help in their fellow man. "Togetherness" is the cry of the "singles." But the Bride is being guided into the "wilderness" in order to perfect her relationship to her Lord.
The Lord will employ persecution to remove the
"singles" from the true Wife of the Lamb. The Bride always is ready
to suffer and die for the Lord. The spiritual "singles" look for what
the Lord will do for them, how they can profit from bearing His name. When
persecution and offenses arise the "singles" will find it convenient
to set aside the name of Jesus for a season.
It appears to us that there are true saints in
all the Christian denominations. They love the Lord Jesus above their
particular group. They belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. They are married to
Him. They hear His voice. They are His Bride, His Body, His true Church, His
holy city, His Zion, His true Israel.
Today the wheat and the tares are mixed together
in the Kingdom of God. We know, therefore, that Christ will not come at the
present moment. The way of the Lord has not been prepared. The holy and the
filthy are joined together in the Lord's churches.
The Wife of the Lamb is called to be without
blemish. She is the "only one of her mother." She is fairer than all.
Her beauty brings the greatest joy to the heart of Christ.
It is not so today. There are "spots"
on us and among us. They must be removed.
The Divine fire that even now is coming upon us
will test every man's work to reveal of what sort it is. Only that which can
live in Jesus, who is the consuming Fire of God, will survive. The wood, hay,
and straw will be burned.
God has many devices for reducing the ranks of His "Gideon's army." After God removes the greater part of His Church He will refine the remnant who remain until they are perfect in His sight:
And it shall come to pass, that in all the
land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third
shall be left therein. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and
will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they
shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and
they shall say, The Lord is my God. (Zechariah 13:8,9)
The time is at hand for the removal from the Kingdom of God of those who profess faith in Christ but are unwilling to be married to Him. They are workers of iniquity, of lawlessness. The name of Christ is on their lips but their heart is in the world.
To be
continued.
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