The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Heavenly Jerusalem, #32

But the fearful, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and sulfur: which is the second death. (Revelation 21:8)

The fearful (timid; cowards). It is difficult to enter the Kingdom of God if the individual is timid and fearful. Courage is an important element of faith in God. The Israelites displeased God and brought His wrath down on themselves by being afraid of the Canaanites. Through the Spirit of Christ the Christian can conquer fearfulness.

The unbelieving. It is impossible to please God apart from faith. The righteous live by faith. To exercise faith is to place complete reliance on Christ so our whole life is resting on His wisdom and power.

Notice that the first two of the Ten Commandments have to do with placing our trust in God alone. Also, the first two sins that result in eternal torment in the Lake of Fire have to do with placing our trust in God alone.

The abominable. Today the world is full of abominations. The educational systems are teaching self-worship and self-indulgence. The physical body is being perverted and corrupted. Lust is a universal mental illness. Parents are refusing to exercise the patience and self-denial required to nurture children; and in some instances the children are controlling the household. Children are abused sexually by their parents. Fetuses are murdered before they come to term. Homosexuality, a sin condemned in both the Old Testament and New Testament, is being regarded as acceptable behavior. People are revolting against authority., All these are abominations in the sight of Almighty God.

The churches of today keep on telling the peoples of the world that God loves them. If the ministers of the Lord do not also warn the peoples of the world that they will be cast into the Lake of Fire if they do not cease these abominations, the ministers are false witnesses of Christ. The blood of millions will be on their heads.

The murderers. People are impatient. They demand their pleasures now. What they cannot get lawfully they will wrench by violence. They will kill those who stand in their way. Their father is the devil. So great is the wickedness of people today that human beings are being murdered before they are born. Such wild animals will not be unleashed so they can rend and tear the inhabitants of the holy city whether or not they profess the name of the Lord Jesus.

The whoremongers (lewd; adulterers). Adultery, fornication, and other forms of lustful behavior have attained epidemic proportions. All these are the worship of Satan and express his personality and works. The demons find release in the misconduct of humans but the humans suffer the consequences.

The appetite of demons for bodily lusts is the meaning of the curse on Satan: "dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." The "dust" that the demons "eat" is the flesh of humans. Whenever lust is given free reign it eventually expresses itself in cannibalism.

All expressions of the spirits of lust bring damage to the human personality, producing loss of strength of character, silliness, foolishness, and also bodily illness. In addition, the family unit is destroyed. Lust is a mental illness. It destroys its slaves. Lust will not be allowed to enter the new Jerusalem.

To be continued.