Satan in Sardis

Many worship the Reformers, but Yahusha had some scathing words.

Revelation 3:1-6 KJV  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.  (2)  Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God.  (3)  Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.  (4)  Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.  (5)  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.  (6)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

This is the fouth part of a series outlining the activities of Satan within the Church Age, that period of the Age of the Gentiles between 95AD and concluding at The Rapture.

You can access the activities of Satan in Ephesus from this link.

Access the activities of Satan in Smyrna and Pergamum from this link.

You can view the activities of Satan in Thyatira from this link.

You can view my essay on Satan’s activity from all history from this link.

The Good

Finally…….

Someone in the Roman Catholic Church has stood up to the pompous BS of the Pope and his band of horny clergy…..

In 1517, German Catholic Priest Martin Luther published his 95 Theses calling for a complete reform of the Roman Catholic Church. Luther was incensed at selling “indulgences”, among other things, where people could pay the “church” to receive repentance for their evil deeds. This was one of the most Satan-inspired actions of the Roman Catholic “church” in its sorry history. They required cash and decided to milk the congregations. This is pure blasphemy, calling evil good.

Luther published his “95 Theses” fully realizing that he faced excommunication and even death for protesting the traditions and beliefs of the Catholic Church. To do so was considered heresy against God. Luther’s “95 Theses” became highly sought after by the populace and were soon translated into German for the common people to read. The printing press then enabled the wide distribution of the Theses, provoking in the people more disenchantment with the ways of the Catholic Church.

In 1521, Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church and declared him a heretic. Luther was so despised by the church that a death warrant was issued, giving anyone permission to kill him. However, Luther was given protection by Prince Frederick of Saxony, a staunch defender of Luther. Hidden in one of Frederick’s castles, Luther began producing a translation of the Bible into the German language. Ten years later it was finally completed.

It was in 1529, some 12 years after Luther had nailed his Theses to the church door, that the word “Protestant” became a popular term describing those who supported Luther’s protests against the Church. These opponents of the Church declared their allegiance to God and protested any loyalty or commitments to the emperor. Thereafter, the name “Protestant” was applied to all who argued that the Church be reformed. Luther died in 1546 with his revolutionary Theses forming the foundation for what is known today as the Protestant Reformation.

From GotQuestions.org in response to my question.

The Five Solas

The five solas are five Latin phrases popularized during the Protestant Reformation that emphasized the distinctions between the early Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church. The word sola is the Latin word for “only” and was used in relation to five key teachings that defined the biblical pleas of Protestants. They are:

1. Sola scriptura: “Scripture alone”
2. Sola fide: “faith alone”
3. Sola gratia: “grace alone”
4. Solo Christo: “Christ alone”
5. Soli Deo gloria: “to the glory of God alone”

From GotQuestions.org in response to my question.

All sounds great eh? But now……

The Bad

Bad Hermeneutics Prospered

Hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation. I use the Inductive method of interpretation, where you let the text speak for itself literally unless it makes no sense literally. Then you seek further clarification of symbolism from previous scripture uses of the word/phrase.

The most abuse of scripture occurs when you bring your pre-suppositions into the scripture finding meaningful verses that suit your theological position. Martin Luther’s protege, John Calvin, was a common proponent of creating a Theology that we call Calvinism, then finding misinterpreted supporting scriptures to back his position.

Martin Luther and John Calvin were both reformed Roman Catholics who supported Replacement Theology and were anti-semites.

Replacement theology teaches that the church is the replacement for Israel and that the many promises made to Israel in the Bible are fulfilled in the Christian church, not in Israel. The prophecies in Scripture concerning the blessing and restoration of Israel to the Promised Land are spiritualized or allegorized into promises of God’s blessing for the church. Major problems exist with this view, such as the continuing existence of the Jewish people throughout the centuries and especially with the revival of the modern state of Israel. If Israel has been condemned by God and there is no future for the Jewish nation, how do we explain the supernatural survival of the Jewish people over the past 2,000 years despite the many attempts to destroy them? How do we explain why and how Israel reappeared as a nation in the 20th century after not existing for 1,900 years?

From GotQuestions.org in response to my question

Denominationalism

There seem to be at least two major problems with denominationalism. First, nowhere in Scripture is there a mandate for denominationalism; to the contrary, the mandate is for union and connectivity. Thus, the second problem is that history tells us that denominationalism is the result of, or caused by, conflict and confrontation, which leads to division and separation. Jesus told us that a house divided against itself cannot stand. This general principle can and should be applied to the church. We find an example of this in the Corinthian church which was struggling with issues of division and separation. There were those who thought that they should follow Paul and those who thought they should follow the teaching of Apollos, 1 Corinthians 1:12, "What I am saying is this: each of you says, “I’m with Paul,” or “I’m with Apollos,” or “I’m with Cephas,” or “I’m with Christ.”

This alone should tell you what Paul thought of denominations or anything else that separates and divides the body. But let’s look further; in verse 13, Paul asks very pointed questions, "Is Christ divided? Was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name?” This makes clear how Paul feels. He (Paul) is not the Christ. He is not the one crucified, and his message has never been one that divides the church or would lead someone to worship Paul instead of Christ. Obviously, according to Paul, there is only one church and one body of believers, and anything that is different weakens and destroys the church (see verse 17). He makes this point stronger in 3:4 by saying that anyone who says they are of Paul or of Apollos is carnal.

From GotQuestions.org in response to my question.

Satan has used confusion and deception in a “divide and conquer” strategy within the Reformation movement to disrupt the movement towards Yahuah. Yahuah prophesied this through the Apostle John in the Letter to Sardis in Revelation 3.

What is the Antidote?

Exactly how the Reformation started……

In scripture alone, with grace through faith in Christ alone to the glory of Yahuah.

To maintain our stance against Satan, we are to be supported by the full armor of Yahuah.

Next, we dig into our present-day reality in the Letter to Laodicea. There is no satanic activity (apart from the continuing activity of the previous letters) in Philadelphia, the “open door” church of overcomes.

Your Kingdom Priest (Rev 1:6)