Twisting the Bible – Part 2 – The Holy Spirit Has Left the Building

Someone wrote to agree with what I talked about yesterday and said:

But the tech itself is not bad; it’s the leverage

Well said, Steve – very well said. Technology isn’t the problem. WE are the problem.

(Click HERE for Part 1) – | – (Click HERE for Part 3)

All that technology has done is act as a lever to magnify the efforts of our sinful nature. Technology is the lever, and it is our hand wielding this lever.

Furthermore, I see that this lever has been used to pry us away from the Holy Spirit. We have quenched the Spirit, and that has left us vulnerable to foolish doctrines that have led some pastors to preach damnable heresy.

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Twisting the Bible – Part 2 – The Holy Spirit Has Left the Building

My background is about as hardcore Independent Baptist as you can get. We were so Calvinist that even John Calvin wouldn’t have found a place in our midst.

And, those Southern Baptists?

Dangerous liberals.

We were so rigid and cold, that we were rendered useless. God stuck us off in a corner, where we couldn’t cause too much trouble, and used others for His work.

Intellectual Analysis Doesn’t Work

However, I wasn’t satisfied in my corner and about thirty years ago began reading my Bible. I had read it before, but what I had been doing was taking out my microscope and subjecting the words of God to intellectual analysis.

And, I can tell you that an intellectual analysis of the Bible will NEVER work. It will lead you off into all kinds of ideas that are not true – ideas that God did not intend for you.

Why?

The Bible Is Meant To Be READ

Because the Bible was meant to be read. You’re supposed ask God for direction, submit yourself to the Holy Spirit, and then drink in His words for YOU. Do that long enough, and the Bible will make sense.

I did that thirty years ago, and quickly ran into trouble. My soul was being laid bare, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. And, this verse kept hammering away at me:

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.Matthew 7:20

That verse was painful to read, because I had no fruit. All that I had was intellectual knowledge – and proud of it too. (And, God HATES pride.)

Reading my Bible turned my life upside down. It opened my eyes, and I could never go back to what I was. And, years of reading the Bible, cover-to-cover, has deepened my understanding of God and His intentions – something that a library of commentaries could never have done.

The Bible Will Humble You

However, there is a ‘problem’ with depending on the Holy Spirit for guidance. It takes time, and we find ourselves having to say things like:

I don’t know

or:

I’m not sure

I’m really a lot like you. I do NOT like to say that there is something that I don’t understand, that I cannot understand. It’s a humbling experience, and I hate humbling experiences. I am, at heart, a very proud man.

Pride Is An Abomination To God

But, God hates pride, and there’s another verse that always takes a whack at me, every time I read it:

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.Proverbs 16:5

Pride is an abomination to God, and we all are guilty of it – myself, more than most. Instead of submitting ourselves in abject humility to the Holy Spirit, we have turned our back on Him and looked to our own intellect. And, when you turn your back on the Holy Spirit…

…well, He leaves.

And, when the Holy Spirit leaves a church, heresy fills the void.

Stop The Commentaries, And Grow Up

Please, set aside your commentaries. Burn them, if you have to. They aren’t going to give you what you need, right now – because, we are in desperate need of the Holy Spirit, if we are to survive what is coming.

Now, I’m not saying that commentaries, by themselves, are bad. In fact, what I am writing here is a ‘commentary’. I also know that some of you were led to the Lord by reading a book that laid out the gospel in a way that made sense for the very first time.

Much good has come from those who have written books to help you understand the Bible. So, I get that. And, again, I fully realize that I’m writing a ‘commentary’, right now.

But, there comes a time when you need to stop being a child, and step forward into spiritual adulthood. If you need a commentary to understand the Bible, you are a child – and therefore vulnerable to heresy and the events that are descending upon us.

The Holy Spirit Has Left The Building

But, in reality, our situation is far, far worse than mere ‘spiritually stunted growth’.

When Paul was speaking to the Thessalonians about the Antichrist, he said this:

And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.2 Thessalonians 2:6-7

It is clear to me that, since the 1800s, we have denied the Holy Spirit for so long that He’s left the building. We have quenched the Holy Spirit for so long, that He’s hard to find in any church in America.

When was the last time that your pastor talked about sin?

My guess is that he has NEVER talked about sin. But, maybe you’re lucky to have a pastor talks about it often. I certainly hope so.

Mark Of The Beast Heresy

This is turning into a pulpit-pounding sermon, so let me get to the point that sent me into a fit of outrage, Friday night. It has to do with this verse:

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.Revelation 14:11

You can parse that verse any way you like. You can look at original Greek and try to argue about conjunctions. But, it will still say the same thing:

If you take the Mark of the Beast, YOU WILL GO TO HELL.

No exceptions. Period.

If you accept it, and then remove it later… you would still go to Hell.

Why?

Because it is the act of receiving it that condemns you. It’s what the verse says.

Pastors Are Preaching This Damnable Heresy

And, there are pastors preaching that you can take the Mark of the Beast, and still be able to go to heaven. And, I am so outraged by this, that I can hardly contain myself.

The fact that a pastor would dare to say such a thing is a true abomination.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to contain my shock and outrage as we talk about this tomorrow.

Are you ready for this?
(That’s a link. Do more than just think about it.)

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If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment on the website. Your input is truly welcome.

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