Through the centuries, the rulers of nations forced the Jewish people to move out of their countries.
In the Bible, we see examples where Jewish Christians had to relocate.
The apostle Paul is one example of a person who had to flee for his life.
Because of the message about Jesus which Paul preached, the rulers of the Jews were often persecuting Paul and he went from city to city, sometimes barely escaping with his life.
Also it was not unusual in the Bible for the rulers, the kings, of nations to force all Jews to move from their countries.
Acts 18
1 After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;
2 And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.
3 And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers.
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Prophets are often persecuted by the Jews and in the NT by the church groups because of the message they carry by the will of God.
God instructed the prophet Ezekiel as follows:
Ezekiel 3
4 And HE (God) said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with MY words unto them.
5 For thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, but to the house of Israel (now in NT times prophets are sent to the churches) ;
6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto ME: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.
8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
10 Moreover HE (God) said unto me, Son of man, all MY words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear.
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Jesus said:
Matthew 23
1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
4 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.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
(Today's ministers usually call themselves "Reverend" and love to be called such when God did not show anyone in NT Bible calling themselves Reverend.)
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. 10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13 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.
14 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.
15 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.
... 23 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.
24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
25 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.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 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.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 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. 31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: 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:
35 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.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 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!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see ME henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
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And Jesus said:
Matthew 10:23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come.
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We seek places where we can live in peace and worship God according to the Bible at that location. But if we cannot live in peace there with them, we move and seek a place where we can worship God in truth and peace by the NT Bible.
Concerning nations of men, Jesus said:
Luke 21
20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
21Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Don't try to remain in a war zone.
Move to a place where you can live in peace as you wait for the coming of Jesus. And it is doubtful that you can return to that country where only rubble exists.
We are temporarily on this earth as we wait for the return of Jesus. We seek a country where we can live
in peace as Christians as we wait.
This present heaven and earth will be destroyed by God. (2 Peter 3:10) All that we can see with our natural will be gone. The word of God remains! And that word of God lasts forever.
Invest in the Word of God rather than gold and silver and lands which will all be gone at the end, destroyed by God.
I cannot remain in the apostate churches today. When I am troubled by the doctrine of a church group or an individual, I remove myself to a place of peace!
And I know when Jesus returns to gather HIS elect, HE will destroy the apostate churches and their followers.
II Thessalonians 2:8-12 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of HIS mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of HIS coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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I cannot be with religious people who fail to do scripture for there is no peace for me with them.
Neither can I be with worldly people or relatives who fail to believe the doctrines of Christ and discard portions of the New Testament Bible. There is no peace for me with them.
2 Corinthians 6
14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be MY people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be MY sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
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And God has taught me to do the following:
II John
8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
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So I am diligent to put myself in places where I can live in peace and to put myself around those people who do not trouble me while I wait for the return of Jesus.
The apostle Peter instructed:
2 Peter 3
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to HIS promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
(God showed me I will never be able to make this present world righteous no matter what I do. So when I see that person who will not follow NT scripture, I remove myself and go elsewhere knowing I cannot live in peace and follow God with those who reject NT scripture.)
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of HIM in peace, without spot, and blameless.
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We cannot live in peace with those people who trouble us.
And if a line of tanks is at the border of the country where we live, we may have to flee. Trying to live in a war zone is very difficult. (Turn to God and seek HIS wisdom of course.)
Possessions have a way of holding people in certain locations though they are troubled by that which they see and hear.
Matthew 24
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and HIS disciples came to HIM for to shew HIM the buildings of the temple. (where there were precious stones)
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
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Comments by Joan Boney: In 2019, God moved me to Colorado, USA, where I live in the home of another Christian. She is born again and has the Holy Spirit in her and follows the Spirit of God. We are one Spirit in God! It is wonderful.
At the present time in USA, I have found we can live in peace, although we cannot go to the apostate churches where doctrines that are not of the Bible are taught. We couldn't live in peace in those church groups.
But so far the government of USA is such that we can remain in USA. We are not forced to participate in politics or to vote. They are not persecuting us, and I am free to speak the word of God and all scriptures and all messages from Bible without restriction. So long as that is the case I can remain where I am, living where I now live and writing blog, books and recording Podcasts. If it changed, then I might have to move. God would show me if I had to move.
In the past, I have had to leave many churches when I have seen pastor teach wrong doctrine and add things not in the Bible.
In the past, I've had to stay away from certain relatives who speak doctrines contrary to doctrines of Christ. I could not live in peace and be around them.
I could not live in peace and be around people who call themselves Christians but are homosexuals and lesbians. (Romans 1:26-28) I do not approve adultery or fornication or other listed sins in the Bible. (Gal. 5:19-21; I Cor. 6:9-10; I Cor. 5:11;13)
Often I have had to withdraw and not keep company with people who say they are Christian while they are committing fornication or planning to marry in a state which would be adultery according to the Bible. And I have encountered people who say they are Christians but are homosexual and lesbians and will not heed scripture of Romans 1:26-28.
I Corinthians 5:11;13 But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat... 13 Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
So I know what it is to have to leave church groups and relatives and neighbors because of the doctrine of Christ of the Bible, which they oppose by their lifestyles.
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In 1980-84, I was on radio in several cities throughout the USA. At first God gave me messages on the subjects of: following God, taking thoughts captive, dealing with destructive thoughts.
In 1982, God said to me: "The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God."
A few days later, God showed me sins in various big-time ministries and gave me messages to deliver to these ministers.
As a result of these judgment messages, about 1/2 of my radio stations put me off the air. It was a difficult time. And much persecution came from people who attended churches but were doing sins listed in the Bible and would not repent.
I terminated the radio broadcasts in 1984.
Then in 2010 God gave me a dream showing me to start a blog on Internet. The messages go all over the world and there is no censorship. I write what I believe God has given me for the church.
In 2015, I began publishing ministry books on Amazon which go all over the world.
In 2020, God gave me a dream showing me to record and publish Podcasts which go all over the world.
The end time message for the church today is "peace".
Live in peace, seek peace, pursue peace. Don't try to live where there is a war zone. Don't try to stay in apostate churches. Don't try to stay with individuals who trouble you because they do not believe the doctrines of Christ of the Bible. You cannot live in peace with unbelievers. Just get to position where you can live in peace and follow God in truth of the Bible.
We do not try to reconstruct this world or the antichrist churches. That can't be done. When we can't live in peace, we go elsewhere to other countries, or to other church groups, And we avoid those people who trouble us, when possible.
It is the new heaven and new earth "wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Peter 3:13)
Seek peace and pursue it while continuing in the Word of God, the Holy Bible, and while continuing to follow God, doing what HE shows you by the Holy Spirit.
If they command us not to speak things from God or Bible, here is an example for us:
Acts 4
17 But that it spread no further among the people (the rulers of the temple said), let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.
18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.
19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.
20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.
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In 1982, the manager of the radio station in Seattle, Washington, USA, was waiting for me outside the door of my meeting room in Seattle.
When I arrived, he said to me: "Joan ... you have many wonderful messages. Just speak those messages. If you keep speaking these judgment messages I don't know what might happen to you. We might have to put you off the radio."
Instantly God gave me this word to speak to George:
"George ... if I don't speak the message that I believe to be from God then I don't have a message and I may as well be off the air."
(They did put me off the air.)
But later God gave me blog, books, Podcasts to speak and write which go all over the world to Christians everywhere!
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Acts 5:29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
And when one place or group rejected their godly message, they left and went to another place or group.