When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest. In 2 Timothy 3:7 we read: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." In John 14:6 we read: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Only by Jesus - not by any religion, denomination, ministry, alternative belief, doctrine or any other effort or door. Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way (not his sins - his own way) , and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our G-d, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Every time any prophet of the Lord, Jesus and/or His Ministry spoke the truth to religious men - the religious men got angry and attacked, killed, stoned, beat or crucified them and/or blasphemed the truth. Do you know that Jesus was hated more for what he said than what he did? The religious people wanted to stone Him and/or cast him down a hill for telling them the truth and they finally killed Him for telling them the truth. Religious people simply hate the truth - especially if that truth tells them they are believing wrong. In Acts 7:51-54 we read: "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.” Look at how furious these religious people got after Stephen simply told them the truth. They gnashed their teeth at him. In the next few verses we see that they didn’t want to hear Stephen’s words any longer and finally they became so angry that they got hold of Stephen and killed him. All Stephen did was tell the truth. Stephen was only doing what G-d called him to do when these religious men of Israel stoned him to death. Denominational or religious people often get very angry when confronted with the truth especially if you say they are sinning or have missed the mark of their high calling. Stephen was not guilty of doing anything wrong. The religious people didn’t want to hear what Stephen had to say about the truth so they stoned him to death.
The Apostle Paul was hated for telling the truth . . . Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Paul suffered much more - please see 2 Corinthians 11:23-33. Jesus disciples were all horribly treated and/or killed for telling the truth to religious people. In Acts 12:2. we read that King Herod had James “put to death with the sword.” It has been said that Peter was crucified upside-down on an x-shaped cross in Rome (John 21:18). The following are the most popular “traditions” concerning the deaths of the other apostles: Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound. John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully. James, the brother of Jesus, was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club. This is thought to be the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the temptation. Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed in present-day Turkey and was martyred for his preaching in Armenia, being flayed to death by a whip. Andrew was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers, they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: “I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.” He continued to preach the truth to his tormentors for two days until he died. The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there. Matthias, the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded. The apostle Paul was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero in Rome in A.D. 67. There are traditions regarding the other apostles as well, but none with any reliable historical or traditional support. Why did they allow themselves to be martyred? Why were they all willing to die for the truth?. People will only die for something they know to be the truth. The fact that they were all willing to die horrible deaths, refusing to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, is tremendous evidence that they had truly witnessed the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The question is very simple would you really be willing to die for what you have been taught by man? What if you knew you had heard the Lord? Would you then be willing to be hated by all religious men for telling them the truth that you have received from the Lord? In Matthew 10:22 we read: "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved." See also Luke 21:17 and Mark13:13. In 1 John 3:13-14 we read: "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
Jesus says the devil "is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44) ". . . He does not hold to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language." Jesus always used the phrase, "Truly, truly, (verily, verily) I say to you . . ." Matthew 18:3; John 3:3-12; 5:24-26; 6:47-59; 8:34-35, 51-59; 10:1; 14:12; etc. Satan lies in order to separate us from our families, our brethren and our Lord Jesus Christ. The father of lies has worked ever since the Garden of Eden to sow the following seven deadly sins into our lives. Pride is excessive belief in one's own abilities, that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of G-d. It has been called the sin from which all others arise. Pride is also known as Vanity. Envy is the desire for others' traits, status, possessions, abilities, or situation. Gluttony is the desire to consume more than that which one requires. Lust is the craving for the pleasures of the body. Anger is manifested in the individual who wants only his own way. It is also known as Wrath. Greed is the desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. It is also called Avarice or Covetousness. Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work. Those sins are sown into us via Satan's lies they cause us not to be in agreement with G-d and His commandment that we love one another. When we accept Satan's lies, we blame others for our sins and we reject G-d's Truth and forgiveness.
There was a prophet of G-d named Micaiah. His story is found in 1 Kings 22. Micaiah lived in the days of wicked King Ahab of Israel. The King wanted to pick a war with his neighboring country Aram (Syria), claiming that one of the cities in their land, Ramoth Gilead, belonged to Israel. King Ahab asked his friend King Jehoshaphat (Judah) for help and was given this advice: "First seek the counsel of the Lord." So King Ahab brought together his prophets - 400 of them . . . "Shall I go to war against Aram or should I not?" The false prophets did not bother to consult G-d . . . they just wanted their own way. "Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand." Ahab's friend Jehoshaphat must have been a little skeptical about 400 prophets all agreeing so completely on something. So he asked Ahab "Is there not a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?" Ahab said; "I hate him because he never said anything good about me, but always bad." (You see, truth is not always nice, but it's still the truth. Eph 4:15; "Instead, speaking the truth in love..." Telling the truth sets us free – Jesus said: "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) The Lord loves those who are truthful - Psalm 15:1-3; "LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman . . .") So they decided to send for Micaiah. A messenger was asked to fetch Micaiah and said to him "Look, as one man the other prophets are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably." If someone came to you and asked you to tell a lie would you do it? Or would you tell the truth and risk losing your friend and possibly be ill-treated? Or would you tell a lie so that your friends would welcome you into their group? Micaiah said, "As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him ONLY what the Lord tells me." This man of G-d was not afraid of anybody. He was not afraid of the consequences. In fact, he was only afraid of G-d - he honored G-d - He would only say what G-d wanted him to say. Prov 6:16-19 "There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." Obviously just because a certain opinion or beLIEf is held by the majority does not mean it’s right. Here, there were 400 against 1, yet the 400 were wrong. Just because the world or your denminational church says so, it doesn’t mean it's the truth. What is important is only what G-d is saying. Before the two kings and 400 false prophets, Micaiah stood his ground and told them the truth. He said openly that the 400 false prophets were lying. "G-d has decreed disaster for you." - The war will be a disaster. The King was not happy. And his man went up to Micaiah and slapped him in the face. He was hated and persecuted for telling G-d's truth! The man of G-d correctly prophesied that King Ahab would die in the war: The King refused to listen - he said, "Put Micaiah in prison until I return safely". Micaiah declared, "If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Mark my words, all you people!" King Ahab died in the war. He tried to disguise himself, yet he was killed. No one can run away from the truth of G-d!
In Proverbs 12:22 we read: "Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight." In Ezekial 2:7 we read: "And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they [are] most rebellious."
In Jeremiah 23 we read: "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD G-d of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings. Am I a G-d at hand, saith the LORD, and not a G-d afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD. And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living G-d, of the LORD of hosts our G-d. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
In Matthew 23 we read: "Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ (1 John 2:27); and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted. But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of G-d, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes (Ephesians 4:11-32): and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. ( 1 Peter 2:9) See Revelations 17 & 18) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he (Luke 19:14) that cometh in the name of the Lord.
When we give others the impression that we are righteous or more honest (1 timothy 1:15) than we actually are, this is the same as being false, or telling a lie. Jesus pronounced many curses on the religious leaders in Matthew Chapter 23 He also cursed the great whore and her harlot daughters in Revelation Chapters 17 and 18. It is possible to tell a lie without even opening our mouths. Ananias lied to the Holy Spirit without saying a word - when he pretended to 100% committted (Acts 5:1-5). Caution: Romans 14:12, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to G-d.” Romans 12:19, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” G-d WILL avenge us of those who have wronged us in this life and vise-versa. G-d's judgment will be a thorough judgment. Not one stone will go unturned. Matthew 12:36, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.” Are you ready for the day of judgement dear one?
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