7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. ~ 1 Peter 4:7
We must be vigilant. We are to keep our eyes open. We are commanded to watch and pray for the end of all things is at hand. We are living in a time of darkness. Christianity, Christians, and Jesus are under attack. Our beliefs are rendered antiquated and politically incorrect at best. If you notice, Christianity is the only religion whose beliefs and practices are belittled and whose deity is blasphemed daily.
It is a time of darkness with the whole world battling an unseen elusive enemy. Shutdowns and shut-ups. Shortages and scarcities. Lack and needs are going unfulfilled. Panic everywhere. We have to wake up. We can’t stay asleep any longer, the night is coming to an end, and the Son will soon break the Eastern sky to carry His bride away. When He comes, we can’t be asleep with the rest of the world, numb to the trials and tribulations surrounding His people. He’s coming soon; watchman, do you know what time of night it is?
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pay Attention To The Times.
4b …lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. ~ 2 Timothy 3:4b
Paul said that the people of his time had their minds only set on earthly things, and nothing has changed 2,000 years later. They are so caught up in pleasure and satisfying the flesh they don’t even see evil being repackaged. They wrap it up in nice, beautiful wrapping paper and tie it off with gorgeous bows and people don’t see past it.
People are so caught up in their own self-pleasure and entertainment, that they fall for the same old tricks in the book. They refuse to look past the deceitful packaging and bows to see the sin inside. Don’t let them deceive you with charming words and tasty treats that lead to death. God has written in His word what is right and what is wrong, don’t let them deceive you into believing something has suddenly changed.
Throughout history, the Devil has set the same trap for us over and over again, only changing his bait to fit the times, and we keep falling for it. He hides the evil in plain sight, knowing that we will overlook it if it is seemingly innocent enough, but Paul tells us that we are not unaware of the Devil’s schemes. He has made the Spirit of Discernment available to us; we need only ask. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he sets us on the path to discernment in his message, Deception Pt. 2: The Devil’s in the Details.
11 And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:11-16
As a Christian, we aren’t meant to be deceived by the deceitful schemes of the Devil. This is why we are meant to build our faith so that we can see through the lies of the enemy and all of his deception.
Spirit of Discernment
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
The Spirit of Discernment gives us the ability to see through the deceitful schemes of the devil and his followers. We can see through his bait and traps by the Holy Spirit. This helps us to distinguish between the spirits of good and evil.
24 When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ 25 And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first. ~ Luke 11:24–26
Evil spirits are real. The demonic is real. Possession is real. Do not be fooled into believing that it is all fun and games. Do not let the prettiness of evil all dressed up fool you.
Snow White was fooled by the pretty red delicious apple, but one bite sent her into a deep sleep that she could not wake up from. So, the Church is being fooled by programming labeled as family or children’s entertainment, but it is not.
The Christian Church must wake up. We must raise our standards. There is a war going on—a spiritual war for our very souls. We can’t bury our heads in the sand like an ostrich. We have to wake up and start to fight for not only ourselves but for our families as well. We don’t have much longer on this earth. In the blink of an eye, it can all come to an end, so make today the day of change. The day of salvation. The day of awakening. The day of fighting.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. ~ Proverbs 14:12
If you have spiritually fallen asleep, you will not recognize that you are on the wrong path because the thing that is presented to you might feel good. It might even seem good, but the end of that road is death. Snow White had no clue the apple was poisoned. Otherwise, she would not have partaken.
You see, sometimes we get so caught up in the disguise that we don’t see the evil inside until we have taken a bite, and it’s much too late because the poison has already entered our body.
This is how evil is presented to us. Nice and beautiful. Delicious and sweet. Like a red shiny delicious apple and we take a bite, and we don’t even know that we have fallen asleep.
It is not presented as evil by the most wicked person we can think of. Neither does it come from a man with horns and a pointy tail, dressed in a red suit waving a pitchfork. But rather, it comes like an innocent old lady—a grandmother type with a basket of beautiful red delicious apples.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop Eating Their Apple.
14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16a What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; ~ 2 Corinthians 6:14–18
When movies, television shows, children programs begin to invoke demons, cast spells, and conjure up the supernatural, and practice the magical arts, it is time for you to exit stage left. Do not pass Go and do not collect $200.
Please listen to me, do not be deceived into staying in the water because it feels fine. It’s still comfortable, but before you know it, it will be too late, the water will be too hot for you and for your children to jump out.
Just like Snow White was unaware of what was in the bright shiny red delicious apple until it was too late, so it will be with each one who takes the occult into his or her home.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Beware of Poisoned Apples.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ~ Hebrews 13:8
Some things for us, Christians, do not change. We are held to a higher standard, and no matter how they try to blur the lines, mix the religions, turn evil into good and wickedness harmless, we must keep ourselves separate from the evil and wickedness. It doesn’t matter how innocent it is presented to us and to our children; we have to discern the difference between good and evil according to the Scripture, not culture.
I would venture to say that more children have read the Harry Potter book series than they have read the Bible. The very words of life.
Remember this one thing. You can open spiritual doors. When you bring the accursed into your homes either through images, books, or television, you can open spiritual doors. You can invite spirits into your homes and into your lives.
Be careful of the occult. Be careful of falling asleep. The time is short. The time is now.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Careful of the Boiling Water.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ~ Romans 3:23
No matter how they try to blur the lines, there is a difference between light and darkness, good and evil. The days are upon us when those who are not in communion with God won’t recognize the difference because of the great delusion. They, in essence, have fallen asleep.
They are now calling good evil and evil good. They have blurred the lines to the point where those Christians who have fallen asleep struggle to tell the difference. Things that have been settled by the Church for 2,000 years are now being brought into question and accepted because it is deemed to be politically correct.
Don’t fall for the disguise that the world has put on. What the world calls progress isn’t always progress. Don’t let them lull you to sleep. Take everything they tell you with a fine-tooth comb. Compare everything they say to Scripture. Don’t fall into the trap they have set for us, for we as sheep amongst wolves, so be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Look Beyond Their Disguise.
20 For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. ~ 1 Corinthians 4:20
Today’s Church has become very judgmental of the very idea of miracles performed today. There is a large number of Christians who reject the very idea of Spiritual Gifts. Why? Because our enemy is smart. He is cunning. He understands that if we are filled with the power of God, then we will turn the whole world upside down as Jesus and the early apostles did. That we will grow closer to God. That more people could be saved, so he keeps us powerless.
Why would the Kingdom of God consist of power in Paul’s day but not ours? Did God suddenly change? No. God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, the enemy tries to weaken the Church because it’s through gifts that we not only encourage ourselves, but we encourage others. Sickness, depression, anger, disease are running rampant, and the world can do nothing about it. This is the enemy’s game, weaken the Church, and the whole earth is his.
Therefore, we all need to awaken from our spiritual slumber that has kept us weak and in the dark. We must learn to walk in the power of God and not just talk. When Christ returns, we can’t be caught sleeping. We need to awaken. We need to walk in Spirit and Truth.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk in Spirit and Truth.
Cain has become the center of many conspiracy theories of the Bible. The biggest probably being his origin. Where did Cain come from? Now, this may seem like an easy question to many people, but many believe that Cain’s origins may have been a bit more interesting than just Adam and Eve. Many believe that Cain is the offspring of the Serpent and Eve. But is that true? Is Cain the son of the Serpent? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he investigates these claims of the Biblical origins of Cain in his video, Who Is Cain?
Genesis 4:1–2 John 8:42–47 1 Corinthians 2:13–14 Genesis 7:22–23 Genesis 9:8–9 1 John 3:12 1 John 3:1–2 Matthew 13:36–39 1 Chronicles 2:55 Genesis 4:1–2a Genesis 4:17 Genesis 4:25 Genesis 16:4
Who Is Cain?
The Genesis Account of the Origins of Cain
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
Genesis 4:1
John’s Possible Account of the Origins of Cain
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
1 John 3:12
Jesus’ Possible Account of the Descendants of Cain
39 They answered Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to Him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”
John 8:39-47
Conclusion
Cain is not the physical son of the Serpent, the Devil, but the Spiritual son of the Devil. Just like we are not the physical children of God or Abraham, but we are Spiritual children of God and the Spiritual children of Abraham. Those who sin, are children of the Devil, but those who walk in the ways of righteousness are the children of God.
