Word Of Wisdom Ministries
By Cheryl Arnold

Published in 2010 in “Crucified Getting the Mind Of Christ”

I have a serious thought here and it is not doctrine of any kind but my spirit is wondering about this and I want to present it and ask my reader to consider it and check to see if it falls in line with Scripture. Here is what I believe will most likely happen. If indeed we are the last generation of the church to be gathered and if indeed the believing but not sanctified believers will be spewed into the great tribulation. To be made sure, then I believe many saved but not sanctified believers will be brought to physical death just before his return for the bride.
I think natural disasters, illnesses, pestilences in wars, etc. Will be used to accomplish this.

These, I believe, will be precursors to the events in Matthew 24… Birth pains. It is happening in the news as we speak.

[I am going to reiterate here, as I am recording this, during this pandemic in March 2020, that these are excerpts that I wrote in 2010, in my book Crucified].

The natural disasters around the world right now are unprecedented in all of history. And we know that those who are are losing their lives in these disasters are both believers and nonbelievers… This has always been the case. It has always been the case but I believe the frequency and intensity of these events will accomplish this. “Blessed are the dead he die in the Lord”.

I think that God wants to spare as many of his precious children as He can from entering this time. It will be a time of unthinkable horror. He would rather them die of illnesses and the like to be sanctified and than to see them sanctified through this horrifying period that the word is probably about to enter. This is just my suspicion… It is no more than that; I wonder if it could be so. I think it is reasonable enough to consider. I am not saying that any believer who dies in these last days is not sanctified… Not at all. It may just be there time to go; but my point remains.

In first Corinthians 7:14, Paul says that the unbelieving husband or wife is sanctified by their spouse (who is sanctified) and their children are made holy. To be holy is to be sanctified. Now the idea that a sanctified believer who is raptured today will leave behind a spouse and children is unbearable to think of. But the Scriptures say something about this: the spouse of a believer will be sanctified, and one righteous parent makes their children holy. To be holy in the Lord’s sight is the same as being sanctified. So I believe that anyone sanctified who has an unbelieving spouse and children will cause their spouse and children to be considered holy unto the the Lord.

Look a little further down in first Corinthians 7:16: Paul says that “who knows… Maybe we will save our unbelieving spouse?” He uses the wife here but the other Scriptures tell us that this applies to wife and husband… We get truth by searching the WHOLE word of God and not just one verse.

Another scripture I am thinking of that bolsters the same idea is found in Matthew 5:16 where Jesus says this: “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven”. Think about that… if we are doers of the word and not just speakers of the word, then we are considered to sanctified, right? The single minded believer is a doer of the word. The spouse who lives the word before her husband will sanctify him. This verse in Matthew says it. If we will do the word, we will lead those watching to glorify God. It is the double minded believer who may turn others away from Christ because they see little or no truth lived out through the believer’s life. Also, think of the verses in Matthew that tell us that whatever resides in a man’s heart comes forth out of his mouth. As a man thinks in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

This makes sense. We are told in 1 Peter 3 that believing wives just may win their unbelieving husbands by there holy conversation (includes behavior) to have holy conversation, we must have a holy and purified heart… I think this is a sanctified life here. It takes several scriptures to explain the notion that a sanctified believer does indeed sanctify his or her spouse and also this makes their children holy. Otherwise the scripture say, the children would be unclean. So God makes a special provision here. He will Open the eyes of the blind by way of a sanctified believers life. Remember how Lydia was pursuing the one true God so God opened her heart to receive Christ. Now this could also mean that the spouse and the children of the same divide the lever may have to be certified through the great tribulation, I don’t know. But remember that he will sanctify every believer somehow. This Hass to be the case. We are saved through sanctification.

But let’s look again at a fabulously complete and descriptive portion of scripture in the Gospel of John. I have already referenced this but here it is again: Jesus is telling the disciples here in John 12:23-26 that He must die if eternal life is to be given to those who would believe on the Son of God. He says that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains one seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. How beautifully descriptive this analogy is to dying to self rule and how it is patterned after the crucifixion. We know that if we are to abide in Christ, then we must first be crucified with Christ, we must die to self rule. Well, Jesus says that only an abiding believer can produce fruit. Jesus is saying the same thing here with the kernel of wheat. Believers are called wheat, remember? We are either wheat (believers) or chaff (nonbelievers).

more next time from Crucified, Getting the Mind of Christ…

In Matthew 24, Jesus was asked by His disciples what to look for for His return and what would the last days look like.

Briefly, this is the very broad order He gave; and He left the smaller details to the prophets to greatly expound upon, in tremendous detail.

Let’s look broadly. The disciples asked three questions and Jesus answers the three questions. Here we go:

Jesus starts by telling them the temple will be destroyed so that not one stone is left on another. This happened in 70 AD. When Titus the Roman came and destroyed the temple. It has never been rebuilt.

After Jesus told them of the temple destruction, the disciples said 1- when? 2-What is the sign of Your coming ( 2nd coming)? 3-When is the end of the world?

Here is our answer in very broad strokes. If we use this as our foundation, we can begin to construct in detail the rest of the building so to speak… the details.

The destruction of the Temple has occurred…done. Next in line is the sign of His coming. He said this: there will be many false Christs, believe them not. There will be wars and rumors of wars. Not yet. Don’t be troubled when these come because this is not the end. We can say this has been fulfilled for 2000 years.
Then Jesus says nation will rise up against nation. That has been ongoing. Next He said very specifically there will be famines, pestilences and earth quakes in diverse places…THESE THINGS are the beginning of sorrows. In other words… these 3 things are the signs of His coming. They are the precursors to look for.
Alongside these things Christians will be killed. They will be hated by and in all nations (happening now more than ever in history).
People will be easily offended. They will hate each other. False prophets will deceive many. Iniquity will increase. Because sin increases, love decreases. Where there is sin, there is not Agape…God’s love.

The gospel will be preached in all nations ( this has been done). Even if someone wanted to point out a pagan people or nation, we cannot conclusively say that this has not occurred because there is a supernatural element that we cannot know of. Jesus may have already gone to these people without the world knowing. In dreams, visions and visitations.
Included in this last statement on timing, is the gospel being received by the nation of Israel… their blindness being removed. That will happen in the last 3.5 years before Jesus returns and ushers in the millennial Kingdom. So this is included in the last thing before His return.
So then we see Jesus speaking to Israel particularly because at the 3.5 year mark, the mature believers are raptured.
So we are in Matthew 24: 15. Jesus has just said that before the end, the whole world would have heard the gospel. This statement includes the last 3.5 years of Israel’s un-blinding and coming to Christ. But there is more information He wants to give us that happens right after the rapture but before the second coming.

Matthew 24:15 says, When you see the abomination of desolation that Daniel the prophet warned of…flee to the mountains. This is when Israel is unblinded and sent to Petra to be sheltered while the wrath of God is released on the world for unbelief. We know this is the very day antichrist is revealed as Antichrist. This is the 3.5 year mark. How do we know. The Bible tells us that in the middle of the 7 year last period, the antiChrist has been in power already as a peacemaker to the world. He has been in disguise. He has been here but no one knows who he really is because he is a great peacemaker who arrives when the earth was in great turmoil.

Paul tells us also that the church is gathered until Israel is unblinded. Antichrist is revealed as Antichrist the minute Israel is unblinded. This is what un blinds them. The man of perdition, lawlessness, Antichrist, sets himself up in the temple of God and says he is God. Then Israel is protected for the last 3.5 years. This is the Great tribulation.
The last 7 years are not tribulation. The first half is false peace brought to a world that is reeling from the beginnings of sorrows Jesus spoke of. What are the beginnings of sorrows right before antichrist comes as a peacemaker? 1-pestilence 2-famine, 3- earthquakes in diverse places.

We see all 3 in full blown occurrence today 3/22/20.

From Matthew 24:15-32 we see basically instructions to Israel on how to make it through till Jesus returns to gather His elect. This elect is Israel only. Here’s why: Paul tells us that once the mature believers are raptured, the great lie sets in so that no one but Israel can believe.
The lukewarm church who has been thrust into the Great Tribulation, has already been martyred, beheaded for their faith in Jesus before the rapture. They were left on earth and did not go in the first resurrection. They are believers just the same but not the Bride. They are a friend of the bride. They will not dwell in New Jerusalem but on the New Earth only. They will be able to visit New Jerusalem but not dwell there. They are in the family of God, one flock, but with different rolls in the millennium and in eternity.

Now in verse 32, Jesus says this: In the same way when a fig tree puts forth leaves we know that Summer is close ( figs, fruit bearing); likewise, when you see all these things come to pass, know that it is near, even at the door step.
“Truly, I tell you that this generation shall not pass till all these are fulfilled”.

He goes on, but before we look at that, let’s answer a few questions that arise from the above statements.
Why a fig tree? A fig tree is used to refer to Israel.

Jesus is speaking to believers here and expects them to know the prophets. If we do, we know what He means by when the fig tree is blossoming. “Behold, can a nation be built in a day?” The fig tree blossoming refers to the last and final gathering of Israel as a nation again in the land. This happened just like the prophets said it would, in a single day, in 1948.

Jesus said once you see the nation Israel gathered again as a nation in the land, that generation (most likely 70-80 years) will not pass away until all of the things He just told us, happen or are fulfilled. 2020-1948=72 years.

Now a generation in the Bible roughly refers to the life span of man. Right now it is around 72-73 years of age. So the life span of the generation alive when Israel became a nation, is around 70 or so years.
Psalm 90:10 says this: “For the days of our years are three score years and 10 (70), and if by reason of strength they be for score (80).

So clearly, the generation of man in our day is between 70-80 years. We are 72 years along since the nation Israel was regathered in 1948. We are right at it.

Good deeds do not erase bad deeds. However, bad deeds totally erase good deeds.

Who says? God. We see this in Ezekiel and elsewhere in the Word of God.

Do righteousness and sin not.

You might say, “What about the sanctified then…who go up with the Lord…are they not blessed?” Yes! They died in the Lord by dying to self-rule. Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord.

How can we explain Revelation 6:11? It is very strange. Listen: the tribulation Saints, who have been beheaded under the altar, are crying out to God concerning the avenging of their blood. They are told to rest a while until their fellow servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. What! Why do they have to be killed as their brethren where? I am thinking, like I said before, that it is because they must be sanctified by death in order to enter Heaven. Without a pure heart, no one can see God. So it is with us. “Blessed are the dead that died in the Lord.”

maybe some believers will die to self rule during this time and they will not be beheaded; I don’t see any hint of that idea taught anywhere in the word, however. There is also something to learn about the fact that the tribulation saints are under the altar. This speaks of them as offering themselves to God as pure… We can look back at the offerings in Leviticus and see a pattern (Lev. 4:7). Remember that all things offered upon God‘s altar must be pure. We can also make a connection between Abel’s blood crying out to God and the tribulation saints crying out to him. They are now an acceptable offering to God… Pure. The flesh has been cut off. There is a pattern here and it does relate to the fact that they are beheaded.

The 144,000 are different. They are different because the church has been formed. This may be evidence that only the nation of Israel is saved during this period and the beheaded saints are those who had believed before the tribulation but we’re not sanctified. At this point, God is dealing with the nation of Israel and completing the 70 weeks of judgment that begin with king Cyrus’ decree to rebuild Jerusalem after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity. They are hidden for 3 1/2 years because God supernaturally preserves them as His wrath is being poured out on the wicked. This is clearly a literal hiding in a literal location. Israel is not raptured here.
I believe we are in the generation where holiness and righteousness are hard to find and not welcome in the church as a whole. I see a great falling away of some of those who started to follow Christ. This is why God is speaking this message so fervently for the last day generation. Just look again at the churches in Revelation just before the rapture. He says to the Laodecian church that their lukewarmness will get them spewed out of his mouth. The scripture does not say that these are unsaved but that they are Luke warm. Jesus says they are naked. Now go way back to Ezekiel 16 where he said that Israel, though she was betrothed to Him, was an infant who was naked. He did not clothe her and cover her nakedness until she was mature and ready for love. He is chastening the Laodiceans and remember… He says that He only chastens those whom He loves… His sheep. I think this is what will happen at the rapture and is what I just mentioned.

I believe the word teaches us that the righteous, (the sanctified), will go only; those who, like Enoch, walk with God. They are the believers who loved not their own lives onto death and therefore gained fullness in Christ. They, like Abel, gave a sacrifice that cost them something (remember the pearl of great price). Those who won’t die to self-rule can be likened to Cane. They do not bring the first fruits of the flock. They bring offerings to God, but these offerings are inferior because they do not require death… Blood, crucifixion (resist sin to the point of bloodshed). The saved but lukewarm will be spewed into the great tribulation with the unbelievers where they will have to go through death to be done with sin. He is talking to a group that is called the church, remember. Some of them are believers. This death is not an atoning death. Only the death of Christ could accomplish salvation. This is death to self rule. It is the pearl of great price that they would not pay while they had the chance, so now they will pay it. But they will gain the great treasure for paying it.

more next time…

Was it Paul? I don’t think so. We aren’t told so we can’t assume. How do we know this? Paul tells us.

Paul, closing 2 Thessalonians, curiously tells us how we can know if a letter from him is genuine. In other words, not only do we see a foreshadowing here that false letters would come to deceive and even bear his name, but, he is giving us a clue that sets a precedent for us to always know if he wrote something. He always signed it and declared that he was the author and if a letter was not signed by him, he did not write it.

He did not sign Hebrews. God would have made sure he signed it if he wrote it.

The purpose for this letter in 2 Thess. , we know, was to correct a lie in the church then that said the rapture had already come, and they missed it. Paul is showing them that he signs what he writes.

So who wrote Hebrews? Oh my word, I think God did! It’s so obvious! Did He use an author? I don’t think so. I think He wrote with His own hand. Don’t we remember Him doing this twice in scripture?

Who wrote the Ten Commandments on stone? God did…using His own hand!

Who wrote on the Wall in Babylon to Belteshassar? It was God’s actual hand. He did not use a man’s hand. How cool is that!

Hebrews is one of those books that Peter said would be hard to understand and it is! God wrote it. It is a very, very amazing work that God decided to write Himself and there is much more to be said on this topic and so much more to investigate.
Now, He also wrote the entire word of God in absolute perfection, also using His hand, that was within the believer who He used to write it. It was His hand within Peter who wrote 1 and 2 Peter. But… I think He wrote Hebrews without the use of a human hand and there is tremendous insight here and a treasure to be found.

God bless you today! Go search it out!

Amen!

Righteousness! This is the only currency of Heaven and the only thing that spends there and here for the believer.

As we watch the stock market plummet these past few days in this, the end of February 2020, I can’t help but think that wealth can come and wealth can go here on earth…which is what God has told us. But the wealth of Heaven is forever.

A good steward in the Kingdom of God stores up treasures in Heaven where moth and rust cannot destroy. But how do we store up treasures in Heaven? The Bible tells us that also…our righteous acts and obedience to the Spirit of God, expressed through the word of God!

When we abide in Christ, obey Him, we then can produce fruit for the Kingdom of God. This is our currency from God and it is spendable here on earth but it is also spendable in Heaven when we arrive there. Will we arrive with nothing stored up for us or with great treasures? It’s our choice. That’s what is so great. It is our choice.

What am I doing with what God has given to me? Have I hoarded it for myself, feasting sumptuously and forgetting others? It’ll all vanish one day. Am I pouring out what He has given to me to glorify His name and to feed and bless others…using all the gifts He has poured out to me? Then it is stored up in Heaven for me.

Righteousness spends in the kingdom of God here and then. It is incorruptible currency and God is the One who controls the economy.

Whatever you have today, whatever you do today, do in His name, for His glory and with His Spirit guiding you, and you are storing up treasure in Heaven, where moth and rust cannot destroy.
Build your wealth today. Walk in righteousness, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself, and live like a king here and now.

Even if all my possessions are taken from me here, there are eternal riches that nothing can touch of I walk with Jesus Christ and serve Him alone. Thank You Lord!!
We know that all things in Him are “yes” and in Him “Amen”. But what is the caviat? In Him! Is it in Him? Then it is Yes!

Amen!

It seems that there are conflicting sentiments in the body of believers about the all-important and life-giving truth of forgiveness.  Forgiveness is the very heart of God.  If that is true then it ought to be the very heart of the believer too.  We see this all through out the word.Forgiveness is freeing and nurturing and spiritual food for the forgiver even more than for the one who receives so much by being forgiven.  And we all need forgiveness, right?
It is the unique quality of followers of Christ.  The parable of the wicked servant is a picture of who we do not want to be.  The servant was forgiven tremendous debt by his master.  He was over joyed but when it came time for him to pass on that forgiveness to his debtors, he would not.  This is what made him the most despicable of servants.  He was a taker and not a giver…a hypocrite.
But is there occasion where a believer is not to forgive?  Is there something that must happen first in order for the one who needs forgiveness to be forgiven?  Yes!
”  Take heed to yourselves.  If your brother trespasses against you, rebuke him.  And if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3)  “And if he trespasses against you 7 times a day, and 7 times a day turns again to you and says I repent, you shall forgive him” (Luke 17:4).
So there is a qualification for forgiving others.  They must repent. Now is there anything wrong with forgiving even if they do not repent?  Of course not!  Forgiveness brings joy and peace and is the heart of God.  But is there occasion to retain one’s sin against him? Yes.  But the aim is so the person WILL repent.  It is not to exact vengeance.  God says vengeance is His and not ours. He repays.
So Jesus sent His disciples out and breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit.  Then look ”  Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them;  and whose soever sins you retain they are retained” (John 20:23).
Now this is an example of the obligation of believers to act as ambassadors of the Kingdom of God.  The reason for retaining ones sins against them (and we have the authority to do it if we are disciples of Christ…not just believers but disciples (mature and fruit bearing believers).  Why?  It is in order to help other believers caught up in sinful ways to grow and change; to repent and become more like Christ.  It is exactly what a good parent would do for the child he loves who has been disobedient and refuses to admit it and correct it.  The parent who provides no consequences for sin and bad behavior will encourage the child in the bad behavior.  This is exactly what we see here.  What happens to the child whose parent never corrected rightly?  The world will correct him and then it is a very painful thing to watch.  The world is not so loving as the parent.  Best for correction to be done in-house. I’m quoting, in paraphrase, pastor Chuck Swindoll, in a sermon about disciplining our children.
Now elsewhere in the Bible it simply says that if we do not forgive then we will not be forgiven.  But we have to put that in context with the whole word on the subject.  When we do we see that this obviously is referring to one with a spirit of unforgiveness and that even when the offender is sorry and repents, they still won’t forgive.  And forgiving someone does not necessarily mean buddy buddy friendship now.  It just means that we have remitted the sin against them in our hearts and really do hope and long for their mending.
Now the reason this authority is given to the mature, or spiritual believer only (you can do your research on that and will see this conclusion in the word) is because the immature believer will assert his own interests and not God’s.  He will probably act vengefully and this has NOT been given to man.  Only God can do that in all holiness.
But to retain an offender’s sin against them (if we are spiritual in Christ…the immature do not have that ability, God won’t hear it) is a very beneficial thing for the offender.  We can actually see the hand of God pressing down upon the offender with Fatherly discipline and it is a result of the prayers and petitions of the disciples who would die for the sheep if it were necessary…but at the moment must retain their sin against them for their own good.
May we all get to the point where forgiveness is something so welled up inside of us that it is a burden when we know that the forgiveness we long to give is not right at the moment .  May we be so forgiving that the abundance of it in our hearts has to be restrained in some rare and unusual circumstances…all for the lifting up and purifying of the church, the body of Christ.
Food for thought…

Love, C

Some will say, but I celebrate His resurrection! That’s good. Did Jesus ever say to celebrate His resurrection? No, not by itself. There is no resurrection without a death.
Jesus only said, “do this (the Passover feast, eating His flesh and drinking His blood, with the bread and wine, in remembrance of Me… Proclaiming My death till I return” 1 Corinthians 23-26.

Easter is not in the word of God. Where the King James says “Easter” the actual word is “Pascal”…Passover.
The disciples, the first church, kept the Passover feast. They kept it on the 14th of Nisan. There was no such thing as an Easter day or season until corruption set in, and contempt for the Jews replaced the feast given by God. This was to celebrate Jesus’ entire work on the cross, and still more work to come, bringing all things to completion.
Easter is a pagan feast and season, and its presence has gotten in the way of the church recognizing the true work of Christ on the actual day…Passover.
The word of God says, “Christ is our Passover, sacrificed for us…therefore let us keep the feast…” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

1Corinthians 11:27 has a curious warning: anyone who does this (celebrating His death and resurrection) in an unworthy manner is guilty of His blood. That should make the reader pause at the very least…consider and know at best.

Are we to be told what holy day to celebrate? No we have freedom. Paul says not to let anyone press us to keep any day, or sabbath. Why? Because faith is not a matter of a day…Neither Passover nor a sabbath rest day. But there is a caviat to that freedom…be sure you are correct before God in what you freely decide.

How can we be sure we are correct? God’s word is the only way. That’s why we have it. Traditions of man will lead you into a ditch. Emotions and sentiment will lead you into a ditch. Such is Easter. The word of God will lead you to truth and to righteousness.

The resurrection is right there in the Passover feast, for Jesus was raised on the third day which was the 17th of Nisan, the feast of first fruits. This day is right in the center of the Passover celebration which was a week. The death and resurrection are eternally linked. God thought it so important to remember and to celebrate, that He gave us the exact days without possibility of error. The church hasn’t erred, the church has gone astray…after idols…Easter with all its masking and deception.

Jesus is our Passover, sacrificed for us…therefore let us keep the feast…

Be careful in the thing that you allow as a believer, Paul said.

What did he mean? Let’s look. This section of Romans teaches us that we need to be diligent and thoughtful in the things we allow, and don’t allow as a believer, into our lives, and into our doctrine.

Paul says that we need to avoid people who argue with us contrary to the doctrine we know to be right by what God has taught us through His word.
He has admonished us not to take part in silly back and forth over words, haggling, trying to convince. Instead, he says to remove yourself from such.

We saw Jesus saying same thing and it was also over doctrine. He said to leave them alone. They are blind and they lead the blind and both will fall into a ditch.

He doesn’t say to argue or even to persuade here. Now we are always to reason, but when we see there is no reasoning with someone…depart.

If we don’t depart, then we risk corrupting ourselves. We are admonished by Paul here in Romans 14 to make our determination about what we allow, whether it’s about a holy day, a potential idol, an activity or a doctrine we hold…and be sure about it. We are to be sure about it before God. And not to be sure about what we think but about what God has said. We had better know what He has said. We are to be as the Bereans and filter everything through the entirety of His word. He guides perfectly if our motives are pure. If our motives are not pure, then we will follow a crooked path, just as our motive is crooked.

Wow. My own church allows yoga classes at the church. It allows women to teach men in a church setting. It allows crosses and candles as implements for rituals. It is very relaxed about clinging to ways of this world. It is slack concerning doctrine.

Why am I there? They do preach the gospel and in my city there is no other church I have found that does.

I have admonished leadership every single time I see one of these offenses, but to no avail. But how scary for that are in leadership. They are slack with what they allow, and Paul says what is coming to those who do such things.

Be careful as a believer in what you allow. Are you allowing a slack mind about homosexuality in society? Abortion? Drunkenness and frivolity? Ungodly business deals and practices? Be very careful, God warns.
“Happy is the man who doesn’t condemn himself with the things he allows” ( Romans 14:22). That’s word for word.

tThank You Lord Jesus for this word today! Amen and bless your name!

Cheryl