 |
| If you enjoy this, the entire AOC Sunday Report is RIGHT HERE! |
All Saints’ Day.
[November 1.]
The Collect.
O
|
ALMIGHTY God, who hast
knit together thine elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body
of thy Son Christ our Lord; Grant us grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in
all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those unspeakable joys which
thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love thee; through the same thy
Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
¶ This Collect
is to be said daily throughout the Octave.
The Twenty-Second Sunday after Trinity
The Collect.
L
|
ORD we beseech thee to keep thy household the Church in continual
godliness; that through thy protection it may be free from all adversities, and
devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory of thy Name; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
7 And
when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations
which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them
together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the
earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and
fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev 20:7-10)
In the early decade of the 1990's, Jean Raspail, a French journalist, wrote a
controversial book entitled, "The Camp of the Saints." The
book was a novel of prophetic dimensions. It quite well articulated historical
policies of the French government and people for the post-war years, and drew a
wise and accurate prophecy of where those policies would soon lead. He
emphasized the liberal immigration policies of the French government in the
last few decades, and then, he drew an amazingly perceptive conclusion as to
where these would lead. The French people would be inundated from their own
land, their culture (what was left of it) destroyed, and their religion
declared 'verboten' by Muslim and Near Eastern hordes who flocked, unabated,
into France. The French Federal Court banned Mr. Raspail's book in France -
they had not gained a great deal of expertise in 'political correctness' at
this point so resorted to brute force. But the consequences of keeping one's
culture and religious society pure and undefiled was a lesson that applies to
all nations.
Yesterday was Reformation Day. It signaled a return to Holy Scripture as the
sole rule of life for the Christian Church. Today is All Saint's Day. It had
its beginning last evening (at sunset) as All Hollows Eve. Both holi(HOLY)days represent the duties and
responsibilities of the saints of God to protect their faith and their culture
from ungodly movements such as that of Islam.
It is distressing to note the compromising attitudes of formerly godly churches
surrendering to sins of the flesh such as homosexuality in the wake of the
decision of five ungodly judges who happen to be political appointments on the
US Supreme Court. Which law takes precedence - God's or man's? And listen to
the resounding plurality of pulpit voices proclaiming that the Christian Church
and Islam "worship the same God after all." There are a few
characteristics of the satanic Allah that do not measure up to the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - of you and me. Allah is by no means a god of mercy.
He demands total justice with no hope of redemption - and that justice he
demands is twisted by a thirst for blood and torture. Allah has no Holy Ghost.
He broods alone over the darkness of Hades and the underworld. There is no Holy
Ghost to guide and direct the understanding of the Muslim, he, therefore, is
left to his own devices, and the deceit of mullahs and imams, to discover the
truth of his wretched book.
Allah has no Son and is, admittedly, incapable of visitation of his presumed
creation on earth. It seems, according to the wicked Quran, that Allah began
his creation with a clot of blood. Where this blood came from, and what was its
DNA, no one knows. But blood has been on Allah's mind from the beginning and he
sheds the blood of innocent and defenseless women and children as a 'bonus' of
war. Rape and slavery are also a mainstay of this brooding satanic idol. The
Quran has the temerity to claim that Christ never died on the cross - that God
the Father had someone else (who looked like Jesus) die there in His stead.
What a stretch of wicked imagination - that one man should die in the place of
Christ when Christ only could have died for all men!
The sands of the Levant of Syria and Iraq, and a hundred other venues, are
turned to crimson from the shed blood of Christian innocents, and countless
others - even little children and babies - by a religion where men lack courage
to stand against a standing army in the field. A Christian cannot deny his
faith, but a Muslim can lie outright to save his skin. So many young children
are beheaded because they will not renounce their faith. Satan is a genius, and
he has hit upon a religion that comports perfectly with his evil plan to
destroy every vestige of God and His Creation on earth. The media and political
culture of America make Islam into a sacred cow. You may curse the Christian
faith, destroy its Book, and cast all manner of ungodly aspersions against the
Lord Jesus Christ, but do not dare to serve bacon in our restaurants, or forbid
Muslim prayers in our schools.
Why do you believe the political forces of America are so solidly behind
exalting Islam? It is not because they honor Allah (intentionally), or believe
a single Sura of the Quran! It is because Islam is totalitarian and Fascistic.
It can be used as a tool for world leaders to finally, they believe, destroy
the Church and her Christ! Our Lord Jesus Christ keeps getting in the way of
dictatorships around the world. In their struggle to unite into a one world
government - compromising its own economic monopolies, religion, and social
contract - Jesus is the Stumbling Block. Our Lord asserts an exclusive
religion. "I am the Way, the Truth, and
the Life!" All of the others are willing to compromise on
that point, but not Christ! And wherever Christ is, there is the Word of God
that seems to overrule, constantly, the schemes of evil men who wish to
dominate all others and exalt themselves as gods (like Kim Jong Un of North
Korea).
If you examine carefully the text from Rev 20:7-10, you will learn a very important
point. God has always preserved His remnant among the people - even among evil,
wicked nations who have forsaken the Lord of their blessings. The remnant is
not a large host of souls. In fact, a remnant is the trimmed cloth cut away
from a pattern and cast into the dustbin. We see in the end time that the
saints of God will amount to no more than a simple CAMP. A Camp is a temporary
and remote habitation usually found in wilderness places, and the army would
not even consider it a fortress. It is small and not naturally well defended.
There will be ONE such camp at the end of time - the Camp of the Saints. And
they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven,
and devoured them. Please
note that the combined armies of all of the earth are gathered against this
small enclave of saints. But with what result? . . . . fire
came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
The Army of God is not dependent upon superior materiel and resources, or
mighty armaments, or stratagems that are brilliantly conceived, or immaculately
arrayed millions standing at arms - the Army of God has One Word sufficient to
conquer, and we all know it. The whole Creation was formed by that Word, and
the whole Creation shall be consumed with fervent heat by that Word - except
those who have accepted the Promise made to Abraham and fulfilled in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
By the way, reading further in Revelations 20:11, we see that, after the devil
that deceived those armies (verse
10) and was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone for ever and
ever, then comes the White Throne Judgment! And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. (Rev 20:11) The
Adversary of your soul (and prosecuting attorney) will not be found at that
Judgment to bring charges as he did against poor Job!
God will not place new wine in old bottles, so He takes His new Creation of the
elect and places them in a new Heaven and Earth! 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea. 2 And
I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven
saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their
God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:1-4) The Tree of Life will be restored
to that Edenic Paradise, and there will be no sorrow, pain, or death for these
are passed away with the miseries brought upon Creation by the disobedience of
Adam.
We need not worry about Muslim butchers in that Land, for all that defiles will
be shut out. 22 And I saw no temple therein:
for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And
the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the
kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at
all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honour
of the nations into it. 27 And
there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in
the Lamb's book of life. (Rev
21:22-27) Even mothers who have senselessly aborted their little babies,
and found forgiveness in God, shall feel the tender little hand of their child
grasping at theirs.
Here is the most beautiful part of all:
1 And
he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of
the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and
on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree
were for the healing of the nations. 3 And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 And
they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they
need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light:
and they shall reign for ever and ever. (Rev
22:1-5) See the miraculous appearance again of the Tree of Life? That
Tree of Life surrounds the River of Life and the streets of the City. Our Lord
Jesus Christ is that Tree rejected by Adam! His Word is the River! See, we
shall still love and know God's Word beyond this veil of unknowing.
Another important point I wish to point out to the saints hearing or reading
this sermon: Where is the Holy Name of our Lord found with the saints? It is
important to know this for allusions to it are made in other parts of
Scripture. . . . . and his name shall be in
their foreheads. Where is
His Name - is it ON the forehead or is it IN the forehead; the frontal lobes of
the brain is the portion in which decisions and judgments are made. Simply
smearing a name ON our forehead, of having a mark forcibly branded on our
foreheads does not change our hearts and minds one bit; but that which we
consciously love and accept is inside our souls - not external to them. In
actuality, if you are a saint, that blessed Name is already IN your forehead.
The wicked receive a mark IN their foreheads - not some vile word written on
the surface, or a UPC code - but a MARK of decision to follow after evil and to
reject the good. If any man
worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in
his hand, 10 The
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire
and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the
Lamb. (Rev 14:9-10) The sin nature is not forced upon
us, but a volition of the mind.
The Saints of God receive, not a mark, but a seal. Only a King is able to seal
a matter, and our King of Kings seals us to Himself. He places His Law in our
hearts and His Word in our Minds. Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor
the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
(Rev 7:3-4)
There is a current commercial aired on TV in which the gentleman at the end
asks, "What's in YOUR Wallet?" By the same token, I address the
saints who hear or read this message, "What is in your thoughts, mind and
heart, friend?"
