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AN EXPLANATION OF THE DISTRESS
OF THE "FLOOD" OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
If
you are desperately seeking relief from a mysterious illness but do not know its
cause if the source of the symptoms are your innermost
feelings if your doctor is unable to help you because he
too has the same symptoms read on!
THE WARNING.
"The instrument of final destruction, justice in
full flood
(wasting with sickness,
yet overflowing with righteousness);
for the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, will bring final destruction upon all the
earth." (Isaiah 10:22,23 NEB & footnote). Soon, during
The Day of the Lord, almost all mankind will be
"wasting with sickness, yet overflowing with righteousness".
To make the cause
and its cure easier to understand, I have given figurative examples of
three
groups of people today.
THE FIRST GROUP.
These are people who have tried to lead an honest life, disassociating
themselves from overtly evil members of society. They have not, however,
received accurate knowledge of the Will of God for mankind through
The Christ, and so are deluded by the erroneous beliefs and Godless
notions of this world. They have led a solely fleshly life, and have not put
their trust
in God to receive spiritual knowledge and guidance. They have relied solely
on their own misguided beliefs.
Suddenly, they will begin to feel empty in spirit, unable to enjoy and
appreciate life as they did before: "Like a starving
man who dreams and thinks that he is eating, but wakes up to find himself
empty, or a
thirsty man who dreams and thinks that he is drinking, but wakes up to find himself
thirsty and dry,
so shall the horde of all the nations be that war
against Mount Zion." (Isaiah 29:8 NEB). They
will feel sad and weighed down by a sense of shame and guilt. Past sins that they
thought were concealed, will be exposed in them, forcing them to face their
true selves and allowing in them no excuse. Spiritually speaking, they will feel
naked and ashamed, as The Christ warned: "'That is the day when I come like a thief!
Happy the man who stays (spiritually) awake and keeps on his clothes, so that he
will not have to go naked and ashamed for all to see!'" (Rev 16:15 NEB).
If
a member of this first group were to allow
this situation to continue, they would then become part of the
second group, and the Lord of Hosts would
"send disease on his sturdy frame, from head to toe, and within his flesh a
fever like fire shall burn.
The Light of Israel shall become a fire and his Holy One a flame, which in one
day shall burn up and consume his thorns and his briars". (Isaiah
10:16,17 NEB). Out of fear and desperation, people of the
first group humble
themselves before God in order to appease Him. Through many prayers they seek
His mercy and forgiveness, and begin learning the spiritual requirements of God
that they might be saved. They come to realize that they must carry
out the Will of God in their lives, not merely their own will. Trusting in their Creator, they "put away all filthiness
and that superfluous thing, badness, and accept
with mildness the implanting of the Word which is able to save your souls."
(James 1:21). "The Word" is the Holy Word
of God the Bible administered from heaven through His Son The Christ
Michael and
his Spirit anointed brothers. (See Rev 20:4-6).
THE SECOND GROUP.
As
for those of the second group, they rebel
against God and are defiant, insisting on their own will and following their own Godless notions. They
choose to live according to the corrupted morals and
fallible laws
instituted by man leading to faithlessness, disunity,
racism, murder, war,
terrorism, idolatry, adultery, etc, etc. (Rev 21:8). They reject every opportunity
to come to know and worship God, and war against any form of spiritual
development in themselves or others. When they come upon true servants of God,
they make trouble for them, reproaching and persecuting them in an attempt to
discredit and compromise them to accept Godless practices. (Matt 5:11,12). Although this
second
group may have the specious appearance of law-abiding citizens,
beneath the façade they have contempt for God, preferring a life that sanctions
Godless immorality. Hence, when the Spirit of the Lord's Judgement comes upon
them and they are weighed down by a deep sense of shame and guilt, the
"veil" of
their deception is then removed to reveal their Godlessness to them. But because
Godless
defiance has become part of their spirit disposition, they are unable to find relief.
Contemptuous of God, and devoid of spiritual knowledge for spirit sanctification,
they are not equipped to make the
necessary spiritual changes. Consequently, when the Spirit of the Lord burns
like a "fire" within them, they will not be
able to endure it and will be consumed. For Jehovah will send upon these
"fat ones" a wasting disease, and under
their glory the Spirit of His Judgement will keep burning away like the burning of a fire,
which shall consume them as a fire consumes
weeds. (Isaiah 10:16) (Matt 13:36 43 NWT).
During this "flood" of
righteousness from Almighty God,
the majority of mankind will lament when they realize that they squandered the opportunity
of making a good repentance to gain everlasting life through The Christ.
(See Matt 24:29-31). Indeed, it is written:
"Those who
have misused My Law will be taken by surprise; their contempt for it will bring
them continual torment. All who in their lifetime failed to acknowledge Me in
spite of all the good things I had given them, all who disdained My Law while
freedom still was theirs, who scornfully dismissed the thought of penitence
while the way was still open all
these will have to learn the truth through torments after death."
(2 Esdras 9:9-12 NEB).
The Spirit "flood" of righteousness from God
will reveal to these abandoned ones how they rejected Him. The principle of the
Judgement of God is described in the spiritual essay:
The Judgement Of
Mankind.
At the arrival of The Christ Michael with the Spirit of the Lord's Judgement,
they will be made aware of their past wicked deeds that
"pierced him":
"Look! He is coming with the clouds, and
every eye will see him,
and those who pierced him;
and all the tribes of the earth will beat
themselves in grief because of him. Yes, Amen."
(Rev 1:7 NWT).
THE THIRD GROUP.
The third group are those who heed God's Spirit promptings to search out His
spiritual requirements for them, implementing them in their lives. Wisely, by faith, they depend
on Him for accurate spiritual knowledge, and humbly allow God through The Christ to guide them through progressive
Spirit
disciplines which gradually rid
them of superfluous badness.
Because they are righteously disposed, loving what God loves
and hating what He hates, they yearn for the "flood"
of His righteousness to
sweep away unclean spirits who rebel against Him. Obedient
servants of God are weary of a world that prevents them from living the
free, joyful spiritual life they strongly desire.
IN CONCLUSION.
"Accept
with mildness the implanting of the Word which is able to save your souls"
and the Spirit disciplines from God that
expose error. (James 1:21). Disciplines from God are for our salvation. When we are disciplined by
Jehovah we may suffer
shame and humiliation, but this is the way God uses to compel us to see and
accept our sinful state. (Heb 12:5-11). Through many humble supplications to
God for His forgiveness of us through The Christ our mediator we may become
reconciled to God. (2 Cor 5:20,21 NEB). As
we spiritually develop, our outlook on life begins to change, as we consider
earthly life from a spiritual viewpoint. Struggling to follow a righteous
rule of conduct, we progressively develop a Godly nature. (Gal 6:16).
The Opened "Little Scroll"
contains spiritual instructions from God to enable us to identify superfluous
things that cause stumbling. (Rev 10:8-11). To live at peace with God requires wholesouled spiritual effort according to accurate knowledge
of the truth. To implement spiritual readjustments
in our lives requires honest self-appraisal and continued endeavour.
We may all desire the rewards of peace, but are we making the necessary
spiritual effort? Are we pursuing the rule of conduct from God that makes for peace?
(James 3:17,18 NEB).
Throughout the world faithless cowards fail to achieve a lasting peace
that brings true happiness. They prefer to trust the Godless notions of mere men.
(Eph 5:6-11). Knowledgeable faith in God brings everlasting
salvation putting our trust in God that He may help and protect us in all circumstances.
(Prov 3:5 7 NEB).
Whatever spiritual changes are required of us in accordance with the Will of God,
these we must carry out. If we have erroneous beliefs that conflict with the
Holy Scriptures, we must abandon them in order to
subject ourselves to the perfect Will of God. (Rom 12:1,2 NEB). It is futile to continue
in erroneous conduct after having received accurate knowledge of the Will of God.
(1 Peter 4:1-5). Why not humbly sacrifice your former Godless way of life and devote yourself
to His service for your salvation! D. J.
Thomas.
C. B. Thomas.
SOURCES.
For further information, click on the following links:
What Is The "Hour Of Test"?
The Day Of The Lord.
The Judgement Of
Mankind.
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