Marriage and Divorce

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Is the sin of adultery in your camp? "Cast out the accursed thing"!

Doctrines concerning marriage and divorce

Please read Mark 10:2-12. A husband and his wife become one flesh when they marry one another. Jesus said that it was only Moses who allowed the people of Israel to write a "bill of divorcement "due to the "hardness of heart". "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause......they twain shall be one flesh....." Jesus finally warned, "Therefore, what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Pharisees wanted to put away their wives and came to Jesus and asked Him tempting whether it was lawful for a man to put away his wife "for every cause"? (Matt.19:3). Jesus gave this commandment to the Pharisees who sought to put away their wives. The Pharisees wanted to know from Jesus the cause for such a divorce. Jesus replied that it was Moses who gave this commandment due to the hardness of their hearts. Jesus did not give any commandment to us for putting away our unfaithful spouses. Jesus simply quoted the commandment of Moses as mentioned in Deut.24:1 to 4. According to the Mosaic law of divorce, a man could write a bill of divorcement if she found no favor in his eyes because he had found some uncleanness in her. The cause for divorce according to the Mosaic law was "some uncleanness in her". The husband could not tolerate this uncleanness in his wife due to the hardness of his heart. She could not find favor in his eyes due to this uncleanness. Can we apply the same standard of "some uncleanness" for divorcing wives under the New Covenant? No. God forbid. The apostle Paul exhorts the husbands to love their wives "even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it" (Eph.5:25). If some preacher quotes the Mosaic law to justify divorce, he is truly a false teacher. Jesus said very clearly to the Pharisees, "but from the beginning it was not so" (Matt.19:8). According to Jesus, the matter of divorce was not in the heart of God when He created Adam and Eve. If anyone wants to divorce his spouse even on the ground of adultery, he or she must be in the category of the Pharisees only.

Jesus did not want to overrule the law of Moses but attached a string to the law of Moses. If anyone wants to divorce except on the ground of adultery, he/she should remain unmarried and should not marry during the life time of the other spouse.

If a couple becomes one flesh after marriage, nobody should or can separate each other in flesh, either by divorce or otherwise. Only the death of a spouse separates each other in flesh. No man or judge has any power to separate what God has joined together. To our great surprise, we find many pastors solemnize such unholy and unscriptural marriages. To add salt to the injury, they also encourage their congregations to divorce their spouses and marry again.

Paul said in I Cor.6:16, ""..Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith He, shall be one flesh". A man who is joined to a harlot is in one flesh with the harlot. "Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman that put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery".

Let us now look into what Paul says about marriage. I Cor.7:1 to 17 may be read. "And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband. But if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife". If a wife decides to depart from her husband, she should remain unmarried or should be reconciled to her husband. Then Paul speaks about unbelieving husband or unbelieving wife being sanctified by the believing spouse.

"But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases but God hath called us to peace. " (Vs.15). If an unbelieving husband of a woman wants to depart from her, let him depart. And the sister concerned is not under obligation to serve her husband. She should remain unmarried only. Of course, she can live in peace without being persecuted by her husband. But, she cannot remarry another person during the life time of her husband, in view of the Lord's commandment in Mark 10th chapter.

"Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife" (Vs.27).

If any man is bound to a wife, he need not seek to be loosed from the marriage bond. If any man is loosed from his wife (through death), he need not seek a wife. A married man who has become one flesh with his wife is freed from her only after she dies in flesh. Secondly, a widower need not seek a wife. If you are loosed from a wife, you need not seek a wife. Please note the next verse which begins with "But and if". "But and if thou (the person who has been loosed from his wife) marry, thou hast not sinned....." Contracting a marriage is not a sin. Here, Paul does not talk about remarriage of divorced spouses at all. A man, who is a widower, or a woman who is a widow can re-marry another person (not a divorcee with a living spouse) and he/she does not commit sin at all. Paul says that marriage is not a sin here because he wants to distinguish this marriage i.e. a marriage after the release of one of the spouses due to death, from an unlawful or unscriptural marriage i.e. a marriage by a person whose spouse is alive.

Paul addressed his epistle to the unmarried and widows and then to the married. This whole chapter is meant for them, and not for divorcees. (I Cor.7:8, 10). We should bear this fact in our mind while reading the whole chapter.

"...If a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. ..." A virgin means a spinster who has vowed to be a virgin throughout her life. She may reconsider her decision at any time for marriage. If she marries, she does not sin at all.

In his epistle to Romans, Paul writes about the status of a married woman after the death of her husband.

"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man......" (Rom.7:2-3).

A wife or a husband is loosed from the marriage bond only through death. Paul used the same words "loosed from" in his epistle to Corinthians as mentioned above. This clearly shows that a spouse is loosed from the other spouse or from the marriage bond only through death and not through divorce.

"Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge"(Heb.13:4)

Preachers are misinterpreting the words of Jesus and the epistle of the apostle Paul to justify divorce and remarriage. The words of Jesus and the apostle Paul need no interpretation at all as they are simple truths so as to be understood by a man of common prudence. I challenge anyone to show me from the New Testament any word uttered either by Jesus or His apostles justifying divorce and re-marriage. Pauline epistles should be read from beginning to end. We should not pick up some verses and quote the same out of context.

The evil of divorce and remarriage has destroyed thousands of God's families throughout the world. This is a cancerous growth in the body of Christ as many people of God have divorced their spouses and then remarried. In these last days, the Holy Spirit wants to perform a surgery on the body of Christ to remove this cancerous growth. It is indeed a painful work for the Holy Spirit to perform on the Body of Christ.

Questions and Our Answers

Question No.1:

After a Christian claims to be born again, can he/she divorce her/his spouse to marry again when the spouse concerned is still alive and had not died? If he/she marries again and remains in this marriage will he/she be judged by hellfire or will he/she be judged on the sin of adultery?

Answer:

After one gives his/her heart to Jesus, and they marry another man/woman knowing the truth "not to commit adultery". That means that after rebirth, he/she has fallen into the sin of adultery by marrying another man/woman when their first husband/wife is still alive.

His/her first husband/wife also lives in the sin of adultery if he/she has married another. Both of them have to repent and die for this sin once and for all. They should then should decide to forsake their "unlawful" mates immediately and go the Lord for further guidance. They should take up the cross and follow Christ Jesus only. The same judgment of God meant for adulterers is meant for them also. They will be beaten with more stripes than those who do not know the Lord.

The judgment of God will be severer than those outside the law. They will be judged under the law (Bible). If God's word says that the adulterers will be in the hellfire , then so will these adulterers, they will also be in the hellfire only (Pro.9:18). In the eyes of God, he/she is an adulterer only and not a child of God.

He/she cannot live in the sin of adultery and profess to be a born again child of God (Rom.1:22). There is no different judgment for those who commit this sin and who claim to have received the Spirit of Christ. They crucify the Son of God afresh. They trample on foot the Blood of the Covenant. Their end will be terrible! A Christian who claims to be born-again will be judged by the Word of God, the Bible, which is also the law for him or her. I am not talking only about the law of Moses. The whole Bible is a law for the born-again children.

God forgives these adulterers if they repent and confess their sin to Him. The Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses them if they confess their sins and forsake their sinful ways. But it will not cleanse or condone anyone who tramples it under foot. They cannot continue to live in this terrible sin which takes them to the hellfire (Pro.9:18). "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (I Cor.6:18).

"And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not".(Rev.2:21)

The words of Jesus judge us and bring to light the hidden things. The Light brings the hidden things to the open. We are naked before the Light. The Word of God spoken by Jesus calls this act of union by a divorcee and another "adultery" so long as they choose to live in it. One must choose whom they serve.

But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul. (Pr 6:32)

Cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. (Ho 4:2)

And He said to them, "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery. (Mr 10:11,12)

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness. (Ga 5:19)

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. (Re 2:22)

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1 Co 6:9)

Question-2:

What about King David who committed adultery and lived with many wives?

Answer:

David did commit the sin of adultery but repented. He took Bathsheba as his wife only after the death of her husband Uriah and not before that. King David had multiple wives and concubines under the Old Covenant. But his wives were not the wives of other men who lived during the life time of their spouses. A child of God redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ is not under the Old Covenant but under the New Covenant. If anyone is saying that they are like David under the Old Covenant, THE JUDGEMENT UNDER THE OLD COVENANT WILL DEVOUR THEM WITHOUT ANY MERCY. They had better be careful. They will be judged through the mouth of their words.

Commandment: (Exodus 20:14) "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Question-3:

Just as the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, so we need to understand that the Law was made for man and not man for the Law. The Law is a tutor to help us not make mistakes that will cripple us and destroy us. But CHRIST is the end of the Law. The New Covenant Law is proclaimed in Romans 8:2 and results in us being set free from The Law Of Sin And Death. The Law Of Sin & Death is the letter interpretation of the Law which simply says that the wages of all sin is death.

There are also millions of Christians trapped in marriages that Satan is also using to destroy their souls. Many are unequally yoked because of brash mistakes made in their younger years when they did not know the LORD. Many are unequally yoked because of parental pressures on marriage. Others are yoked to wicked people who have no conscience. There are also children yoked under a wicked parent.

Beyond these there are still other issues involved ....

Are divorced people who re-marry excluded from salvation? Is there no pardon for their sin? Why is their sin worse than other sins?

Answer:

The past sins of the people before they had received Christ into their lives stand fully covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ. The question is about their entering into the adulterous marriages before becoming the children of the light. After coming to the knowledge of the truth, the saved spouse should not continue to live with her/his remarried spouse with whom she/he was living earlier before salvation. The unscriptural marriage needs to be dissolved and forsaken on repentance.

In many cases, even children of the light are yoked to unbelievers due to parental pressures or otherwise. Even in this case, the unbelieving spouses are sanctified by the believing spouses. Divorce is not the solution for marital discord even in such cases.

We do not in fact preach on the Law of marriage and divorce nor on the Law of Moses. We merely stress the commandment of Jesus Christ to preserve the God ordained institution of marriage. The words of Jesus Christ are not part of the Law of Moses. The words of Jesus Christ are life for us. The commandment of Jesus Christ for the Church is a pivot on which the institution of marriage rests. If this foundation is shaken, then our life in Christ will also collapse.

Divorced people who remarry will be definitely saved by His grace. On their new birth, restitution has to take place. If a spouse on new birth had divorced and forsaken his/her former spouse unceremoniously and if that spouse is still unmarried, the former should go to the original spouse for restitution of marriage. On salvation, the saved spouse just cannot continue to live in the sin of adultery. The sins of divorcee on rebirth are forgiven. Even if a divorcee has remarried and then repents, he/she will be forgiven and restored to grace. But restitution process is there. A penitent spouse/divorcee has to reconcile with the former covenant spouse on new birth. If the former spouse is not willing to forgive and accept her/him, then the matter will be different. However, the penitent spouse has to remain unmarried if the marriage is not restored.

We agree that the Sabbath was made for man and that man was not made for Sabbath. In this case, the Sabbath is the very commandment of Jesus Christ for preserving the sanctity of our marriage covenant. It was made for man. It is not some legalism.

The commandment of Jesus Christ is quite different from the law of Moses. It was the Law of Moses that allows the people to divorce due to the hardness of their hearts. But the commandment of Jesus Christ is the very foundation for our marriage institution. We are not under the Law of Moses but under the grace that came through Jesus Christ. Grace means unmerited favor with God through the Blood of Jesus Christ. This very commandment of Jesus Christ is part of the grace only. Knowing the consequences of re-marriage by divorcees, Jesus simply gave us this commandment to the divorcees not to remarry.

We explain this in a parable. I am standing on the roof of my house. If I have to get down, I have to use the stairs to come down. But I want to come down quickly by jumping from the terrace of my house. But my father says, "Do not jump. Use the stairs". Can you say that this is a law for me? It is not a law for me. It involves my very life. It is a question of life and not a question of mere law. Even if my father has not given me any commandment, by instinct, I know that I should not jump down. However, my father gave me this commandment out of his love. The commandment of Jesus Christ is for our life and saves us from the death. Hope I have explained this to you. It was by the grace of my father who gave me that commandment that I was saved from the disaster of falling to death from the terrace. See how grace and the commandment of my father work together. I cannot separate the grace from his commandment. The stairs are the stages of grace for me to inherit the eternal life.

Paul calls even the Law of Moses "holy and just "and "spiritual" (Rom.6:12-14) and calls himself "carnal". Paul says, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members..." (Rom.7:22-23).

The commandment of Jesus Christ is of the law of God after the inward man. But the law of our mind brings us into captivity to the law of sin. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ enables us to obey the Law of God which is above every law.

Question 4:

What about the innocent spouse divorced by her/his cruel spouse? Why cannot she/he remarry?

Answer:

If a child of God redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ divorces his/her spouse and then remarries, the former is not innocent. If an unbeliever divorces his/her spouse and then remarries, the former may be innocent. If a child of God is divorced by his/her spouse, then the former should try to reconcile with the latter with much prayers. God will definitely restore that marriage. In case the reconciliation fails, he/she should remain unmarried.

A message for the pastors

Dear pastor, is this sin of adultery in your camp? If so, you have to tell the truth to your congregation, and you should get rid of this sin from your congregation.

The children of Israel under the leadership of Joshua could not stand before their enemies but turned their backs before them "because they were accursed". The whole house of Israel was accursed just because Achan, the son of Carmi, took an accursed thing and brought the same into their camp. (Joshua 7:11, 12)

"But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel" (Joshua 7: 1).

The Lord then commanded the children of Israel ".... neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed thing from among you.." Then Achan was taken out of the camp and all Israel stoned Achan and his children and burned them along with all the things and animals that Achan brought into the camp from the cursed city of Jericho built by Ai. The Lord's anger against the whole house of Israel was turned away only after the total elimination of the "accursed thing". Today the "accursed thing" is the sin of adultery that the people of God commit, ignoring the commandments of God and His Son.

Until and unless this "accursed thing" is burnt in your camp, you cannot expect God to bless your congregation and your nation.

If anyone lives in the sin of adultery without knowing the truth of the Word, he or she can approach us for our ministry. We will prayerfully guide the person concerned.

In these last days, the Antichrist is setting up the abomination of desolation in the holy place. The people of God commit this horrible sin due to certain false doctrines being preached from the pulpits. We exhort the people of God to flee the abomination of desolation to save themselves from the wrath of God.

My open letter to David S. Kirkwood, Disciple Making Ministries and Andrew Strom, Revival School, USA on the issue of divorce and remarriage

Job Anbalagan

Andrew Strom's views on the divorce and remarriage are as follows:

"In some circumstances, it seems that if one partner is a Christian and the other partner is not - and is pouring on the 'abuse', it may be permissible to walk away from a marriage like that. However - better to win the partner over, obviously. I hate seeing divorce unless absolutely necessary - even in these cases.

In the case of adultery by one of the partners, this makes it permissible to walk away from the marriage. -And it seems likely that one could remarry in this case also".

I have given the following reply to Andrew Strom:

You have said. "In the case of adultery by one of the partners, this makes it permissible to walk away from the marriage. And it seems likely that one could remarry in this case also. I do not agree to the second part of your message that "one could remarry in this case also". Where is the word of God? What did Jesus say about this subject? Do not give any message assuming something to be "most likely" or like that?

Of course, if the spouse continues to live in the sin of adultery, the other spouse can separate himself/herself from the sinning spouse if the reconciliation failed. If we allow the people of God to remarry after divorcing their spouses, then we are transgressing the very commandment of Jesus Christ. The whole thrust of my message is against remarriage of divorced couples.

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce My servants to commit fornication.....

And I gave her space to repent of her fornication: and she repented not.

Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts; and I will give unto every one of you according to your works." (Rev.2:20-23)

Andrew Strom has relied strongly on the teachings of David S. Kirkwood which may be seen at the following URL link:

http://www.shepherdserve.org/pdf/dmm/dmm_13.pdf

Please note that Jesus gave this commandment to preserve the sanctity of the institution of marriage. If Jesus had not given us this commandment, the institution of the holy matrimony would have remained a farce. I now quote certain excerpts from the teachings of David S. Kirkwood and give my views.

David S. Kirkwood states:

The Law of Moses

It is not until we come to the third book of the Bible that we find divorce and remarriage specifically mentioned. Contained within the Law of Moses was a prohibition against priests marrying divorced women:

They shall not take a woman who is profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband; for he is holy to his God (Lev. 21:7).

Nowhere within the Law of Moses is there such a prohibition addressed to the general population of Israelite men. Moreover, the just-quoted verse implies (1) that there were divorced Israelite women and (2) that there would be nothing wrong with non-priestly Israelite men marrying women who had been previously married. The above-quoted law applies only to priests and divorced women who might marry priests. There was nothing wrong under the Law of Moses with any divorced woman remarrying, just as long as she didn't marry a priest. And there was nothing wrong with any man, other than a priest, marrying a divorced woman.

The high priest (perhaps as a supreme type of Christ) was required to live by even higher standards than regular priests. He was not even permitted to marry a widow . We read just a few verses later in Leviticus:

A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people (Lev. 21:14).

Does this verse prove that it was sinful for any and all Israelite widows to ever remarry or that it was sinful for any and all Israelite men to marry widows? No, certainly not. In fact this verse strongly implies that it would not be sinful for any widow to marry any man as long as he wasn't the high priest. And it strongly implies that any man besides a high priest was permitted to marry a widow. Other scriptures affirm the complete legitimacy of widows remarrying (see Rom. 7:2-3; 1 Tim.5:14).

This verse also implies, along with the previous verse we considered (Lev. 21:7), that that there would be nothing wrong for any Israelite man (other than a priest or high priest) to marry a divorced woman or even a woman who was not a virgin, "profaned by harlotry." It likewise implies that, under the Law of Moses, there was nothing wrong for a divorced woman to remarry or for a woman "profaned by harlotry" to marry, just as long as she didn't marry a priest. God graciously gave both fornicators and divorcees another chance, even though He was very opposed to both fornication and divorce.

My comments:

According to your message, a priest under the old covenant was prohibited from marrying a divorcee. Who is a priest under the New Covenant? All the children of God redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ are the priests. Jesus never gave a separate message for His disciples who served Him and for the people of Israel. Under the New Covenant, all of us are priests. If any child of God other than pastor or a full time minister of God or any minister reads your message, he or she will get the impression that he/she can divorce and remarry.

David S. Kirkwood sent me a reply email and clarified his points as follows

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

So, because the Old Testament forbade priests to marry divorced women, and because a verse in the New Testament says that believers are priests, then no New Testament believer should marry a divorced person. That is your logic. If we accept your logic, then every command given to old covenant priests is binding upon new covenant believers. I would suggest that you read all the instructions given to old covenant priests and begin to teach new covenant believers that those laws given to old covenant priests are binding upon them. That would make for interesting Christianity. We could all start paying tithes to ourselves, since the tithe belongs to the priests! But we couldn't own any land. That wouldn't go over so well. But we would all get to wear very special clothes and sacrifice animals in the temple.

You have annulled what Scripture plainly teaches with what is not found in Scripture. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that says that any commandment that was binding on old covenant priests is binding upon new covenant believers because they are priests. As I have just proved in the portion of my article that you quoted, under the old covenant, only priests were forbidden from marrying divorced women. All other Israelite men were permitted to marry divorced women. That is crystal clear in the Old Testament.

My further comments:

We are not supposed to follow the Old Testament commandments which have been superseded by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The commandment given by Jesus Christ against contracting marriage with divorced people is a pivot on which the institution of marriage rests. There is no ambiguity on what Jesus spoke on the remarriage of divorcee. Jesus gave us this commandment to preserve the sanctity of the institution of marriage. It is part of grace only.

The commandment of Jesus Christ is quite different from the law of Moses. It was the Law of Moses that allows the people to divorce due to the hardness of their hearts. But the commandment of Jesus Christ is the very foundation for our marriage institution. We are not under the Law of Moses but under the grace that came through Jesus Christ. Grace means unmerited favor with God through the Blood of Jesus Christ. This very commandment of Jesus Christ is part of the grace only. Knowing the consequences of re-marriage by divorcees, Jesus simply gave us this commandment to the divorcees not to remarry.

We explain this in a parable. I am standing on the roof of my house. If I have to get down, I have to use the stairs to come down. But I want to come down quickly by jumping from the terrace of my house. But my father says, "Do not jump. Use the stairs". Can you say that this is a law for me? It is not a law for me. It involves my very life. It is a question of life and not a question of mere law. Even if my father has not given me any commandment, by instinct, I know that I should not jump down. However, my father gave me this commandment out of his love. The commandment of Jesus Christ is for our life and saves us from the death. Hope I have explained this to you. It was by the grace of my father who gave me that commandment that I was saved from the disaster of falling to death from the terrace. See how grace and the commandment of my father work together. I cannot separate the grace from his commandment. The stairs are the stages of grace for me to inherit the eternal life.

Paul calls even the Law of Moses "holy and just "and "spiritual" (Rom.6:12-14) and calls himself "carnal". Paul says, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members..." (Rom.7:22-23).

The commandment of Jesus Christ is of the law of God after the inward man. But the law of our mind brings us into captivity to the law of sin. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ enables us to obey the Law of God which is above every law.

We need not pay tithes to ourselves. There is no question of paying tithes to priests under the new covenant. We have to give free willing offerings to those who preach the gospel. The concept of priesthood under the new covenant is not dependent upon any verse of the epistle. When Christ died on the Cross, the curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom. This means that all those standing outside the Temple can enter the Most Holy Place through His blood. This clearly tells us that we are all priests. No unbeliever enters the Most Holy Place. The distinction between the Levitical priesthood and the people in the outer court is done away with.

I need not pay tithes to myself. I should pay free-willing offerings to my fellow priests who are missionaries/apostles serving the Lord in distant mission fields, pastors in the churches, evangelists in the mission fields, prophets in the wilderness, etc. Owning land? We, the priests, do not own any land and building for ourselves at all. We are stewards. The land and buildings that we possess belong to the King of Kings.

David S. Kirkwood states:

A Second Specific Prohibition Against Remarriage

How many "second chances" did God give divorced women? Should we conclude that God gave divorced women just one more chance under the Law of Moses, permitting just one remarriage? That would be a wrong conclusion. We read later in the Law of Moses,

When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance (Deut. 24:1-4).

Note that, in these verses, the sole prohibition was against the twice-divorced woman (or once-divorced once-widowed woman) remarrying her first husband. Nothing is said about her incurring guilt for remarrying the second time. And once she was divorced the second time (or widowed from her second husband), she was only prohibited from going back to her first husband. The clear implication is that she would be free to remarry any other man (who is willing to take the chance on her). If it were a sin for her to remarry anyone else, then there would have been no need for God to give this kind of specific instructions. All he would have had to say was, "Divorced people are forbidden to remarry."

Moreover, if God permitted this woman to marry a second time, then the man who married her after her first divorce could not have been incurring guilt either. And if she was permitted to be married a third time, then any man who married her after she was twice divorced would not be sinning (unless he had been her first husband). So the God who hated divorce loved divorced people, and He mercifully offered them another chance.

My comments:

The above message given by Moses was not endorsed by Jesus Christ who clearly said that the divorcee should not remarry at all. Jesus said clearly that this commandment was given by Moses, and not by Himself. He only added a rider to the said commandment of Moses by telling, "whosoever divorces his wife.........." Divorce and remarriage even for one time or for two times are not for the people of the new covenant. According to your argument, a woman divorced by her first husband can remarry another person (and not go to the first husband). This commandment of Moses clearly contradicts the commandment of Jesus. Which commandment we should follow? Should we follow Moses or Jesus Christ?

Please note that Moses gave that commandment to divorce the wife who had uncleanliness in her. He did not use the word "adultery". If you justify remarriage of divorcee under the New Covenant, then the same standard should be applied here i.e. uncleanliness in women. Can we divorce our wives on the ground of uncleanliness in their bodies?

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

So according to your logic, anytime Jesus said the words, "Moses said..." or whenever Jesus gave Moses the credit for something in Law of Moses, we may safely conclude that what Moses said cannot be trusted to be the Word of God, and that Jesus may even disagree with what He quotes Moses as saying. And you state that "the commandment of Moses clearly contradicts the commandment of Jesus." That is a strange teaching indeed, and one that the large majority of all Christian teachers would vehemently disagree with on very scriptural grounds.

When Jesus said, "For Moses said, 'Honor your Father and your mother'" (Mark 7:10), are we to conclude that because Jesus said it was Moses who said that, that the Ten Commandments were not divinely-given by God, but those commandments came solely from Moses, and that Jesus might not agree with all those commandments? That seems rather unlikely, especially since Jesus called that very commandment He quoted as being from Moses a "commandment of God" in the preceding sentence (see Mark 7:9). You would be much wiser to attempt to reconcile Jesus and Moses than set them against each other. That is precisely what I have done in my article.

My further comments:

Jesus never meant to say that Moses should not be trusted. He said very clearly that the commandment to divorce was given by Moses and not by Himself due to the hardness of the hearts of the Israelites. Jesus came into the world to fulfill the Law and not to destroy it. The words given by Jesus allow a spouse to divorce the other spouse on the ground of adultery but do not allow the former to remarry after the divorce. It is very clear.

David S. Kirkwood states:

Paul on Remarriage

Before we tackle the problem of harmonizing Jesus' words on remarriage with Moses', we need to realize there is one more biblical author who agrees with Moses, and his name is Paul the apostle. Paul clearly wrote that remarriage for those divorced is not a sin, agreeing with what the Old Testament says:

Now concerning virgins I have no command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who by the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy. I think then that this is good in view of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you should marry, you have not sinned ; and if a virgin should marry, she has not sinned. Yet such will have trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you (1 Cor. 7:25-28, emphasis added).

There is no doubt that Paul was addressing divorced people in this passage. He advised the married, the never-married, and the divorced to remain in their current state because of the persecution that Christians were suffering at that time. However, Paul clearly stated that divorced people and virgins would not sin if they married.

My comments:

Paul never addressed this to the divorcees but to the unmarried/widows and to the married. We should always find out to whom Paul in all his epistles addresses. He addresses the unmarried and widows and then the married in this chapter. (I Cor.7:8, 10).

"Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife" (Vs.27).

If any man is bound to a wife, he need not seek to be loosed from the marriage bond. If any man is loosed from his wife (through death), he need not seek a wife. A married man who has become one flesh with his wife is freed from her only after she dies in flesh. Secondly, a widower need not seek a wife. If you are loosed from a wife, you need not seek a wife. Please note the next verse which begins with "But and if". "But and if thou (the person who has been loosed from his wife) marry, thou hast not sinned....." Contracting a marriage is not a sin. Here, Paul does not talk about remarriage of divorced spouses at all. A man, who is a widower, or a woman who is a widow can marry another person and he/she does not commit sin at all. Paul says that marriage is not a sin here because he wants to distinguish this marriage i.e. a marriage after the release of one of the spouses due to death, from an unlawful or unscriptural marriage i.e. a marriage by a person whose spouse is alive.

"...If a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. ..." A virgin means a spinster who has vowed to be a virgin throughout her life. She may reconsider her decision at any time for marriage. If she marries, she does not sin at all.

In his epistle to Romans, Paul writes about the status of a married woman after the death of her husband.

"For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man......" (Rom.7:2-3).

A wife or a husband is loosed from the marriage bond only through death. Paul used the same words "loosed from" in his epistle to Corinthians as mentioned above. This clearly shows that a spouse is loosed from the other spouse or from the marriage bond only through death and not through divorce.

Jesus further continued to speak on the subject to His disciples. His disciples told Him, "If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry..." But Jesus said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb; and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it...."(Math.19:10-12). In this passage, Jesus addressed His disciples and not Pharisees. He had referred to the law of Moses while talking to the Pharisees. But while talking to His disciples, He gave a very clear message. Jesus said that all men cannot receive this message but only to whom it is given. He further said that he who is able to receive it, let him receive it.

An eunuch is a person who has some deficiency of sexual development or a castrated man or an ineffectual person, ...... There are some people who are born as eunuch with some deficiency in sex. These people cannot enjoy sex in their lives. God has created them like that. There are some people who are made eunuchs. This category of boys and girls are not allowed to marry mainly due to the teachings of men, mostly religious preachers. They are made by men as such. The third category of people are those precious people of God who do not marry and enjoy sex for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. A man or a woman has to marry not only for sex but for the spiritual union with the other spouse and for giving birth to godly children. A divorcee can remain as such without entering into any unlawful marriage.

David S. Kirkwood and Andrew Strom are not interpreting the Word of God. By this false doctrine, these servants of God are injecting a little leaven into the Body of Christ. People reading their messages may of course feel that that though divorce and remarriage is not for good, yet it can be practiced in certain exceptional circumstances where there are abuses and cruelty. This is not what God has commanded in the book of Malachi and of what Jesus has said in the gospels.

Paul did not contradict what Jesus said in the gospel. Paul's message should be read in conjunction with what Jesus said in the gospels. Jesus never meant "remarriage by divorcee". How can these servants of God quote the Paul's epistle to justify remarriage by divorcees?

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

So according to your interpretation, when Paul says, "Art thou loosed from a wife?", he was referring to a man whose wife has died. So that would mean that when Paul wrote directly before that, "Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed," he was instructing Christian husbands not to kill their wives. Hmmm.

My further comments:

How can you say that Paul meant to instruct Christian husbands not to kill their wives? The word "loosed" should be read in the context of Paul's letter to Romans 7:2 "...but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband". Paul meant to say that it was the death and not the murder through which a wife is loosed from the husband. There was no need for Paul to tell the Corinthians, who were saints, not to kill their wives. The Corinthians to whom Paul wrote this epistle were saints washed by the Blood of Jesus Christ. There was absolutely no need for Paul to teach the Law of Moses, "Thou shalt not kill..."

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

How is it that "loosed" in Paul's first sentence means "divorced," and in his very next sentence it means "separated by death"? You twist the Word of God and are clearly mistaken. Unless Paul was a complete idiot, he did not mean "divorced" in his first sentence and "separated by death" in his second sentence. And so when he said, "But if you should marry, you have not sinned," he was clearly speaking to divorced persons. And what he said completely harmonizes with God's Word in the entire Old Testament. So the problem then is to reconcile God's Word through Moses and God's Word through Paul with God's Word through Jesus. Again, that is what I have done in my article. You have only taken Jesus' words and misinterpreted them, clearly proved by the fact that you have made them contradict both Moses and Paul.

My further comments:

I have not twisted the epistle of Paul. Paul did not mean "divorce". He meant only "death". In I Cor.7:39, Paul says very clearly without any ambiguity, "The wife is bound by the law so long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord...." Where does Paul say about divorce even in an indirect manner? IF HER HUSBAND BE DEAD, SHE IS AT LIBERTY TO BE MARRIED.

According to you, "But if you should marry, you have not sinned,"; Paul was clearly speaking to divorced persons. You are not correct. If one reads the entire epistle of Paul to Corinthians, Paul did not keep the divorcees in his mind at all. He was aware of the words of Jesus Christ concerning marriage and divorce. Paul was upholding the words of Jesus Christ.

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

Hmmm. Your definition of a "virgin" is also indeed quite interesting. On what authority do you redefine words in the English language? And how is it that a woman who makes a vow to remain unmarried all her life may reconsider it any time, and if she decides to marry she does not sin at all? Have you ever read 1 Tim. 5:11-12?

My further comments:

1 Tim.5:11-12 speak about "younger widows". According to Paul, the younger widows could marry without any hitch. Virgin is "a maiden; a woman who has had no sexual intercourse ........" This is what we understand the term "virgin". Mary, the mother of Jesus was a virgin. Can you say that a virgin is a divorcee? If a virgin decides to marry, she does not sin at all. A virgin may decide to remain unmarried for the sake of the Kingdom of God. If that virgin or any other virgin decides to marry, she does not sin at all. A divorcee cannot be a virgin at all. This is what we understand the definition of the term "Virgin" in English.

David S. Kirkwood's further clarifications and my comments

More interesting logic! So anytime we read the word "loosed" in the Bible, it always means "death"? So when Jesus said, "Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," He meant that whatever we kill on earth will be killed in heaven? And when Scripture says that the tongue of Zacharias was "loosed" (Luke 1:64), that means his tongue died?

My further comments:

I did not apply the meaning of the term "Loosed" to every incident mentioned in the Bible. In the context of Paul's epistle to the unmarried, widows, spinster, etc, the term "loosed" has to be applied, and not to the other incidents or the other topics of the Bible.

"I will send My messenger"

Job Anbalagan

The Lord gives us a very clear message in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the last prophetic book of Malachi. In the second chapter, the Lord gives us a commandment for us, the priests of the New Covenant. If we do not hear and do not lay it to heart, He will send a curse upon us and will curse our blessings. He will also corrupt our seed. His Covenant sealed under the Blood of Jesus Christ is a covenant of life and peace (2:5). This covenant sealed by the Blood of Jesus Christ protects the institution of marriage. It is a covenant of life and peace. It gives life to the marriage bond and brings peace between the husband and the wife even in the event of strife between them. It restores peace amongst them. It will never separate them under any circumstances. The commandment of God the Father in this chapter pertains to the sanctity of the marriage covenant that we make with our spouses. This commandment was endorsed by our Lord Jesus Christ when he spoke about marriage and divorce.

Verses 10 and 11 speak about the covenant of the fathers that we profane by dealing treacherously with our brothers and about profaning the holiness of the Lord by marrying “the daughter of a strange god”. It is an abomination committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. Any marriage covenant that we make with other men's wives /other women's husbands is of a strange god. We are not supposed to enter into any unlawful marriage covenants by dealing treacherously with our brothers and sisters. By divorcing our spouses and marrying other persons, we deal treacherously with them. Verse 14 says very clearly that “the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant”. Our forefathers have handed us marriage vows which are given below:

Oath taken by the man:

“Wilt thou have this woman to thy wedded wife, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, honour, and, forsaking all other, keep thee only unto her, so long as ye both shall live?

Oath taken by the woman:

“Wilt thou have this man to thy wedded husband, to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey, him, and serve him, love, honour, and keep him in sickness, and in health; and forsaking all other, keep thee only unto him, so long as ye both shall live?

According to the marriage vows, the husband and the wife have to live together till the death separates them. We have now replaced the word “death” with the word “divorce”. Our Lord before whom we make our marriage vows is also a witness to this marriage covenant. "The LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth".

In our Indian churches including Anglican and orthodox churches, no priest or pastor solemnizes marriages by divorcees. The marriage vows that we make at the time of marriages were handed to us by our spiritual forefathers who came to India from the West. Today, the churches in the West have profaned the marriage covenant and the marriage vows by solemnizing such unlawful marriages.

Verse 15 says that God is seeking a godly seed. We are supposed to give birth to godly children through our lawful marriage covenants.

Verse 16 says in an unambiguous term, “For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away (DIVORCE): for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

Verses 7 and 8 speak about the priest's lips that should keep knowledge of the Lord's commandment. “But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts”. The priests of the Lord who are supposed to keep knowledge of the Lord's commandment are causing many to stumble. They have become the false prophets by giving a message of their own. They have corrupted the covenant of Levi. The Lord made them His ministers through the Covenant of the Blood of Jesus Christ which they have corrupted by making many stumble.

Chapter 2 begins a message about “My messenger”. Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. John the Baptist who cried in the wilderness was His messenger. He prepared the way before the Lord. Today, the Lord is raising up a small group of people who would do a similar ministry of John the Baptist. They will condemn the sin of adultery in high places. John the Baptist warned Herod, “It is not lawful for thee to have her....” Herod coveted the wife of his brother Philip and he and the wife of Philip lived in the sin of adultery. In a similar manner, today, many people of God have forsaken their spouses on the grounds of adultery and cruelty. The divorce has legally separated them but not separated them in flesh. Only the death separates them from each other. If the divorcee marries another person during the life time of the other spouse, it amounts to the sin of adultery in the words of Jesus Christ. A divorcee with a living spouse is still another man's wife or another woman's husband as the case may be. The decree of divorce has only separated them in a legal manner but not in a spiritual manner because the divorcee and the living spouse are still one flesh.

“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts” (3:5).

Preachers always quote the passage from this book about giving tithes to God, and not about the sin of adultery and divorce.

The book of Malachi, the last prophetic book of the Old Testament is very important to us.

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:5-6).

The last two verses of the last prophetic book tell us about the coming of Elijah the prophet. He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children. We have our spiritual children in our churches. We have to remind our spiritual children about the sanctity of marriage covenants and about the consequences of living in adulterous relationships and in living with their boy and girl friends without the marriage bond. If the churches condone and permit such sins, the world would mock at us. We have to turn the heart of our children to our forefathers who have handed us the marriage vows. If we do this ministry in our midst, revival will break out in our churches. If we do not do this ministry, the Lord will smite the earth with a curse.

Let us preach the message of John the Baptist boldly in our churches. Let the John the Baptist be beheaded. But the prophetic voice cannot and will never be stifled because the gospel of Christ is not bound. The preachers of the truth can be bound but the truth cannot be bound at all. Let us preach this message from the house top. Let us preach this message in our churches.

Let us preach the gospel unadulterated. People reading your messages will be encouraged to divorce their spouses and remarry. You are diluting the words of Jesus Christ. Are we wiser than God and His Son?

Of course, if a person is born again, his/her old life including divorce and remarriage committed during the earlier life will be washed away by the Blood of Jesus Christ and he/she will become a new creature. As such, the past sins will stand covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ. But if a child of God remarries after divorce, it will amount to living in the sin of adultery.

The Church in Thyatira

Job Anbalagan

Revelation 2:18-23

18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass;

19 I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.

21 And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.

22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds.

23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Today the church of Thyatira is in our Midst. It is typical of those churches who are known for their works, charity and service, faith, patience. "The Lord knows thy works, charity, service, faith, and thy patience and thy works and the last to be more than the first". But there is a category of ministers in these churches who teach some false doctrines through which the Lord's sheep are permitted to commit fornication and to sacrifice to idols. The Holy Spirit calls the saints in these churches "My servants". Every child of God under the New Covenant is supposed to be His servant. This category of ministers who call themselves prophets/prophetesses mislead the Lord's servants in these churches. The Lord's judgment on these false teachers will be very harsh because they seduce His servants to commit fornication and to sacrifice to idols.

We have countless false teachers who call themselves prophets/ prophetess who seduce the children of God to commit fornication/adultery and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. These false prophets do not speak against fornication/adultery at all, THEY ONLY ENDORSE IT. Many are fornicators and adulterers themselves! Just to hide their own sins, they tell others that adultery and fornication are not sins at all, and that the Lord knows that since they (the people of God) have needs, God would not want them to live alone, and instead, would encourage re-marriage after divorce with a living spouse. They teach the people of God that if fornication is committed by a spouse, the aggrieved spouse is free to seek divorce in a court of law and to remarry after divorce (Matthew 19:9). They speak LIES, LIES LIES in the name of Jesus Christ!

The children of God believe these false teachers because they do not know the word of God! They never read it for themselves! They just believe and trust in what they are told to do by these false prophets. They believe in the books that they are buying and reading from these false prophets. Many run from website to website to get the latest new prophetic word, digesting whatever they read, not even knowing if it lines up with the scriptures. Nor do they know the lives of these so called prophets/prophetess. They do not know if they live righteous HOLY lives or if they live in sin. They "assume" they live righteous lives. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I, the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me:(Deut. 5:9). Anyone who puts self, or MAN, before God hates God!!! One cannot believe his own truth or another's truth, one must believe the only Truth, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life! Find HIS truth in the Word of God only! READ IT FOR YOURSELVES!

God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies: (Nahum 1:2)

The members in the Thyatira church never search the scriptures for themselves. If they did they would not be so easily deceived. "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" ( Matthew 15:14).

Books, tapes, false doctrine, everything is consumed in the Thyatira church except THE WORD OF GOD! But Jesus answered and said, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)." The people of God should live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. These days, the people of God covet only some promises of God regarding financial or material prosperity or healing.

The people who dwell within the Thyatira church are eating things that are sacrificed to idols. Idols need not be objects of worship. There are idols in the form of Mammon, images of servants of God, etc. The people in this church are exhorted to sacrifice to these idols. They are supposed to sacrifice at the altar of God by ministering to the poor saints and by giving their offerings to mission and evangelism. The false teachers within the system of Thyatira church covet the "tithes" of God's people for promoting their own ministries/churches. Let us understand as to how they are eating the things sacrificed to these idols. One offers his sacrifice to God at His altar out of his material possession. If he offers to someone other than God, it amounts to sacrifice to idols. By virtue of his offering to idols, his material possession out of which he sacrifices gets contaminated or becomes unholy. He thus enjoys or eats the things sacrificed to idols so long as his material possession does not get sacrificed at the altar of God.

THEY DO NOT OBEY THE COMMANDMENTS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. JUST BEFORE HIS ASCENSION INTO THE HEAVEN, JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF COMMANDED HIS DISCIPLES TO TEACH THE PEOPLE TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER HE HAD COMMANDED THEM (Matt.28:20). BUT THESE FALSE TEACHERS SAY THAT THE COMMANDMENT OF JESUS CHRIST REGARDING MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE IS LIKENED TO THE LAW OF MOSES AND IS NOT BINDING ON THEM. "IF ANY MAN LOVE ME, HE WILL KEEP MY WORDS; AND MY FATHER WILL LOVE HIM, AND WE WILL COME UNTO HIM, AND MAKE OUR ABODE WITH HIM" (John 14:23).

The deepest revelation you will ever find is to know how to love JESUS with all your heart, strength, soul and mind wanting nothing for yourself, but surrendering all to Him. If you love Jesus, you have to obey His commandments and to walk in His footsteps and follow Him.

THE PEOPLE IN THIS CHURCH CONTINUE LIVING IN SIN WITH NO TRUE REPENTANCE BY FORSAKING THEIR SINS. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire (2 Peter 2:22)

The Lord has given the Thyatira church a space ie. (time frame) to repent, but she repented NOT because she does not think she is in any sin at all, because she knows NOT the truth in the word of God. THEY DO NOT REPENT OF THEIR DEEDS.

She does not live by EVERY word of God, but lives by certain portions of the word, especially, those words which suit her life style. She lives by what she has been taught by the false teachers, without searching the scriptures herself to even see if what she is doing lines up with God's word or not. "What thing so ever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32)

When she does reads God's word, it is only to suit her sins by adding her own interpretation to the scriptures, by adding what SHE WANTS IT TO SAY as to make herself feel better, so that she is not CONVICTED of her ABOMINABLE SINS! When she hears the truth she rejects it, because it PRICKS her hardened heart. Conviction SHOULD lead to repentance, but in the Thyatira church it does not! The Lord sends her the sign of Jonah the prophet. And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet: (Luke 11:29)

The Thyatira church is deceived by the spirit of Jezebel. The spirit of Jezebel is very active in their midst. It is a spirit of deception that works through many servants of God who call themselves prophets/prophetesses. They teach from the Bible justifying marriages by divorcees during the life time of the spouses divorced quoting from the Law of Moses. These false teachers seduce the people of God to commit fornication. Many people of God have fallen into this snare. God hates this abominable sin in the Body of Christ. In these last days, the Antichrist thus sets up the abomination of desolation in the Most Holy Place. God is raising up a small group of His servants, Elijahs, to fight against this spirit of Jezebel.

The Jezebel spirit, which is evident in the Thyatira church calls evil GOOD and good EVIL: (Isaiah 5:20) WOE unto her!!!! O the Lord shall repay her! She WILL be cast into a bed and THEM who commit adultery WITH HER into great tribulation EXCEPT they REPENT of their deeds! God will KILL her children with DEATH and all the churches shall know that He which searches the reins and heart will give unto every one of you ACCORDING to your works!

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; (Romans 1:28)

O RUN from the GREAT WHORE!!!! Get away from her NOW!!!

Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell. (Proverbs 5:5)

And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH: (Revelation 17:5)

HEED TO GOD'S WARNING IN HIS WORD!

"Oh, the agony in the Heart of God!

The first agony in the heart of God

The first agony in the heart of God through the mouth of the first prophet of the prophetic books concerning Judah and Jerusalem is –

“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me (Is.1:2).

God is calling the Heavens and the earth as the witnesses. The children whom the Lord has nourished and brought up have rebelled against Him. The people of Israel whom the Lord had nourished and brought up in the wilderness rebelled against Him with the result that they, except a remnant, could not enter the Promised Land.

The same thing happens even today. God had saved many people through the precious blood of His Son. He had nourished them in the churches. But they have rebelled against Him by way of disobedience.

Today many children of God presume that God is pleased with them just because they have been saved through the Blood of His Son. They think they can live in any manner according to their will; they need not obey His commandments just because they are under grace.

The second agony in the heart of God

The second heart cry of God is that His people do not know and consider, though the ox knows his owner and the ass his master’s crib (Vs.3). Truly, the ox can recognize and know his owner and the ass his master’s crib. These animals obey their masters by recognizing their voices. But the people of God do not know their God. In other words, they do not have the knowledge of their God – His attributes of judgment and righteousness. They only know about His attributes of love and mercy.

A sinful nation

God calls His people who have rebelled against Him and do not know and recognize Him “Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters”

Though there were some righteous people in the land of Israel, God called the whole nation “a sinful nation”. Though God was pleased with the minority of His people who were righteous, His heart was burning in agony over the majority of His people who were unrighteous. He had to call the whole nation “sinful”. Today, due to the sins and unrighteousness of the majority of His people, God calls the whole House of God “a sinful nation”. Though there is a very small remnant doing His will, yet God in His agony calls the whole house “sinful”.

Let us further meditate on the agony in the heart of God. God declares through His prophet that His people had forsaken Him and had provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger and are gone away backward (Vs.4). When the chosen people of God choose to forsake Him, and to backslid from His Word, it grieves the holy God.

A great woman of God lived in the Tirunelveli District of Tamil Nadu. He lived and died for Christ Jesus. She is Gnanamani Ammal. On 14-11-1994, she entered glory. I translated her testimony from Tamil into English. She described in the following words how Jesus agonized and wept with her.

“Ammal was led by the Holy Spirit to sit at the feet of Jesus for 6 months. During this period, she agonized and wept with Jesus when Jesus unraveled the condition of the churches and the Christian leaders. She sat at His feet day and night and learnt the Scriptures as Christ expounded all the Scriptures from the book of Genesis to the Revelation. It was exhilarating to her when the Lord explained to her how He made the man and the woman in His own image and how in the garden of Eden, they lived without sin and amidst the animals like lion, tiger, etc. which did not harm them. After finishing all the household work and the duties towards the small children in the morning itself, she would kneel down in prayer and would get up only for the family prayer at night. For six months, she did not have proper sleep. However, she did not feel weak due to fatigue. Nobody in her church knew how Lord was leading her those days. They looked at her through their physical eyes. Her children thought that their mother became mad following the home-call of their father. Jesus taught her a simple prayer as follows:

“Oh Lord, Help me to perform my duties properly and with godly fear, holiness and wisdom”. Because of her flaming love for Christ and because of her fellowship of suffering with Christ, she was able to feast on Christ’s love and sitting at His feet and learning from Him gave her indescribable joy.

Jesus wept over the tragic end of the worldly nations and over the pathetic condition of the churches. She also wept with Him. Jesus was also grieved at the backsliding state of the churches, which had begun in the Spirit. He also revealed the importance of the institution of the holy marriage and its present state. “Will you bear My burden and tell about My agony in every church, notwithstanding any objection to it? Until My second advent, will you preach my gospel along with your testimony?” Jesus pleaded her.

During this period, Jesus also explained to her the importance of the truths concerning baptism, confirmation in the Spirit, etc. He also explained to her the need of the pastors to be filled with the Spirit and fire and with the passion for the lost souls as they lay their hands on the youths who receive confirmation.

Pointing to the backsliding state of the pastors in the churches and the present condition of the churches, Jesus shed tears along with her. Jesus asked her to tell all the churches about the burden on His heart. He also revealed to her the backsliding state of the Pentecostal churches. He also convicted her of her disobedience to His voice on some occasions when she refused to pray in some prayer meetings when inspired by the Holy Ghost”.

God laments over spiritual condition of His people

In the verses 5 to 7, the prophet reveals the spiritual condition of the people of God.

God through His prophet describes the true condition of His people. He does not them call “holy” but calls their whole head “sick”. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

In verses 21 to 23, God laments over the backsliding of His chosen people. “How is the faithful city become an harlot!” In fact the early Church was full of judgment and righteousness lodged in it but the Church of today is full of “murderers” – the people who murder the commandments of Jesus Christ and His apostles – the people who murder the apostles and prophets. The early Church judged its rebellious members instantaneously and “great feat came upon all the church and upon as many as heard these things” (Acts 5:1 to 10). The apostles of the early Church stood before the kings and the religious High Priests and preached on righteousness. Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, while giving a message to Governor Felix. On hearing Paul, Felix trembled (Acts 24:24-25).

“Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water: Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them”.

God through His prophet calls our leaders “rebellious and companions of thieves” because they love gifts and seek rewards from the people whom they are supposed to serve as servants. They do not minister to the fatherless and the widows in their midst. But they accumulate assets and wealth for their generations. If a minister of God accumulates wealth and does not minister to the poor saints of the House of God, he/she, in the eyes of God, is a companion of thieves because he/she covets the offerings of the people of God for himself/herself.

In verse 8, the prophet focuses on the daughter of Zion – a people chosen by Him from Judah and Jerusalem. This refers to the servants of God who are in leadership. They are now “as a cottage in a vineyard, as a lodge in a garden of cucumbers, as a besieged city”.

The daughter of Zion has not risen up to the expectations of God. She has chosen to give a message pleasing to the ears of the people of God. The daughter of Zion, who was very close to God, has now chosen to swim with the sinful nation.

“A very small remnant”

In verse 9, the prophet comforts himself saying that they including himself should have been as Sodom and like unto Gomorrah if the Lord of hosts had not left for them a very small remnant. Today also, there is a very small remnant who listens to the voice of the Spirit of the truth. Let us thank God for this small remnant in every nation. This clearly proves that the majority of them have gone astray. Just for the sake of this very small remnant, God has not cast away the entire nation likened to Sodom and Gomorrah. It is a pity that God calls His own people “as Sodom and Gomorrah”. The people whom He loved and nurtured as His own eyes have suddenly become like Sodom and Gomorrah in His eyes! Indirectly God declares through His prophet that even His own people would not be spared when it comes to sin.

Today His judgment tarries because of this very small remnant that preaches the truth, calls the people of God to repentance and intercedes for the majority of the people. Let us thank God for this very small remnant in our midst.

Sodom and Gomorrah

God through His prophet calls His disobedient people and their leaders “ye rulers of Sodom” “ye people of Gomorrah”. The prophet exhorts them to “give ear unto the law of our God….” (Vs.10). God has given us His word which contains instructions for righteousness and godliness.

In verse 11, God says that He is not pleased with their sacrifices. In verse 12, He says that His wrath is kindled against them as they come before Him and tread His courts. He is not pleased with their worship services and their incenses of prayers. He will hide His eyes from them and does not hear their prayers also (Vs.15).

God’s judgment and restoration

In verses 24, God speaks very clearly about His judgment on His adversaries and His enemies. How His own people whom He nurtured have turned to be His enemies!

In verses 25 to 31, God speaks about His judgment and restoration. The key verse for judgment is – “they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed”. The key verse for restoration is – “Zion shall be redeemed with judgment and her coverts with righteousness”. “I will restore thy judges as at the beginning; afterward thou shalt be called, The city of righteousness, the faithful city”.

Restoration will take place only after judgment. After judgment, the people called “an harlot” will become the city of righteousness, the faithful city.

God through His prophet exhorts His people in verses 16 to 20 –

(i) Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

(ii) Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow.

Washing and ceasing to do evil

If you have to escape His wrath, you should wash your life clean once again through the Blood of Jesus Christ, and then put away the evil things before His eyes. If you have strayed away from His Word, it is high time you returned to the Calvary of Jesus Christ to get yourself washed through the Blood of the Lamb. Then, you should forsake your earlier sinful ways and should cease to do evil. You should again die to all the past sins by crucifying your flesh on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ once for all.

Learning to do well

Thirdly, we should learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, and plead for the widow. We should learn from His Word to do well. We should “learn” what righteousness and judgment are. Seeking judgment means examining and judging every matter on the basis of His Word. We should not judge in flesh. It should be righteous judgment. He that is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is not judged of no man (I Cor.2:15).

We should not forget the oppressed, the fatherless and the widow in our midst. These days, the Church is interested only in the well being of the people who are within its jurisdiction but does not bother about the work of charity. The Church should love its neighbor. The Church should manifest the love of Christ in action to the outside world. There are many churches in our midst who lay emphasis only on the material prosperity of their own congregations but are not interested in collecting funds for helping the oppressed and those people who have become fatherless and widows following natural and man-made calamities.

Blessings following obedience

If we confess our sins and iniquities to Jesus Christ and thus wash away the same through His precious blood, and if we cease to do evil and to learn to do well through judgment and charity, God will exhort us –

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”.

If we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the good of the land:

But if we refuse and rebel, we shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (16 to 20)

- Job Anbalagan