It
was the custom of the early church to sell all their property and
commit the money to the apostles for equal distribution among the church
that there would be no lack for anyone.
Acts 4
33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, 37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.
They did such acts with a willing heart. It was not a law of God that they do this. They were free to keep the land.
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Acts 5
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things. 6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
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The lies told to other men go into the ears of God.
When Jesus sent forth HIS disciples to do the work of God, HE said to them:
Matthew 10:24 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
While men will try to lie to us and deceive us, God will bring forth the truth to us one way or another.
And
we, who are born again by God, live honestly before the unbelievers who
sit in church groups and also before unbelievers of this present
world.
God has given us good hearts by HIS Holy Spirit.
Ezekiel 36 God says:
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put MY spirit within you, and cause you to walk in MY statutes, and ye shall keep MY judgments, and do them.
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Jesus tells HIS disciples the sign of the end of this world:
Matthew 24
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in MY name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
They would come saying, "Jesus is Lord," and
because they said that the real church people, who were chosen by God
and born again by God's Spirit, would think these deceivers were really
Christians and by this saying of "Jesus is Lord" they would deceive many.
This is one of the first signs of the end times and the apostasy coming into the church groups.
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The apostle John shows us in the Bible that antichrist is a spirit and not just one man as many churches teach today.
I John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
19 They
went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us,
they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they
might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
They
came into John's church and stayed for awhile and then left when they
found they could not set up their own doctrinal preferences. These were
"antichrist", holding doctrines opposite to the teaching of Christ
though they said "Jesus is Lord".
John said this was a spirit of antichrist, showing us there are many antichrist and not just one antichrist. (I John 4:3) It is like there is a devil whose spirit operates in many men.
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Paul,
speaking to the elders of the church at Ephesus, show us how some
sitting there among the elders were just waiting for him to depart so
they could bring perverse doctrines into the church group.
Acts 20 Paul says:
30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
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And Paul spoke in 2 Thessalonians 2 of
the second coming of Jesus and how before Jesus could return to gather
the elect there would be apostasy in the church groups.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (of the Lord) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
In 1982, while I was reading the above scripture, God said to me: "The falling away are not people leaving the church groups. The falling away are the church groups leaving the scriptures."
This is the end time apostasy that comes into the churches in the last days before Jesus returns.
This
is happening right now as churches fall away from various scriptures
and change doctrines to approve people without repentance from specific
sins.
An example:
They permit divorced women to remarry and they approve marriages where
men in the church marry divorced women. They cast away the instructions
of Jesus given in the following scripture.
Matthew 5:32 Jesus says: But
I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the
cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever
shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
* The man who divorces a faithful wife will be the cause of her committing adultery when she remarries after divorce.
* The man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Romans 7:2-3 For
the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so
long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the
law of her husband. 3 So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
Mark 10:11-12 And HE (Jesus) saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. 12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.
I Corinthians 7:10-11 (Paul says:) And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
39 The
wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her
husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only
in the Lord.
Concerning homosexuals & lesbians: What the Bible says.
Romans 1
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
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By
these examples we see how many churches today are churches of the end
time apostasy which must come before Jesus returns to gather HIS elect
bringing the end of this present world which will be destroyed by fire
by God.
2 Peter 3:10-14
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.
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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Apostasy in the churches before Jesus returns:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 NASB
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