A relationship with God is important for us who have been chosen by God in this age to be involved in the preaching of the gospel to the world as a witness, prior to the return of Jesus Christ, as we read in Mathew 24:14: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” We are also admonished to grow in Christ’s grace and His knowledge which helps us get close to God the Father. 2 Peter 3:18 says: “… grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

The key element for developing a close relationship with God is ODEDIENCE, which almost seems like a dirty word to some people.

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Many are under the misimpression that no matter what we do, God will always love us. Not too long ago, we published four Q&As on the concept of “unconditional love.” We follow up on them in this Q&A and add some clarifying comments, lest someone misunderstands.

In part 1 of our series (https://www.eternalgod.org/does-god-love-everyone-does-the-bible-teach-unconditional-love-part-1/), we stated the following, citing and then discussing Paul’s words in Romans 9:9-13:

‘”For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”’…

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We take it for granted that you know that Satan and his demons exist. It is not the purpose of this Q&A to address that fact; we have written and spoken many times about this.

As this year’s Halloween is behind us—a feast dedicated to the forces of evil—we are moving towards the holiday of Christmas by the end of 2024 and New Year’s Day and the holiday of Easter in 2025. All these days have one thing in common: They are all connected with evil spirits. It was believed that during these days the “underworld” or “Otherworld” gave up their “dead” who walked around among the living as “ghosts” or “spirits.” Since dead people do not live in an “underworld,” those spirits were demons. They had to be appeased with gifts or frightened with noise.

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As members of the Church of God, we trust God because He is the great Creator and the source of all power.   He is the greatest being in the universe and knows all that is going on in our lives and what we need.   Human beings are fallible and make mistakes.   God does not.

Is it compatible to say that a man can trust both in God and man?  Let us start with Psalm 118:8 where we read: “It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.”

The explanations given by a number of Bible Commentaries on this verse are helpful.   Let us look at a few of these:

Barnes Notes on the Bible states:

“It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man – This is stated apparently as the result of his own experience. He had found people weak and faithless; he had not so found God. Compare Psalm 40:4; Psalm 62:8-9.  Literally, ‘Good is it to trust in Yahweh more than to confide in man.’ This is the Hebrew form of comparison, and is equivalent to what is stated in our version, ‘It is better’ etc. It is better,

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In part 3, we looked at the fact that paganism is the very opposite of belief in a supreme Creator God and is inextricably linked with occult practices.  We looked at a small selection of verses from the Bible to show its consistency in condemning such practices.

In the last part of this four-part series, we will look at a number of well-researched sources that show that paganism has been a part of mainstream Christianity for a very long time.  This practice is called syncretism—the mixture of godly and ungodly practices. Syncretism was extant in Old Testament times.   Let us look at just one section of Scripture outlining this in Deuteronomy 12:29-32:

“When the LORD your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD  which He hates they have done to their gods; for they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

Continue reading "How do you view paganism today, and exactly what is it? (Part 4)"

In the second part of this series, we specifically looked at Deuteronomy 18:10 in some detail.   This section of Scripture showed that the practices mentioned were those which the people of God should not get involved with.

Let us now look at Deuteronomy 18:11: “(There shall not be found among you) one who conjures spells.”

J R Dummelow listed “this evil practice as the device by which one claimed to weave magic spells and curses by tying knots, etc.” By no stretch of imagination can this be related to “getting information from God”.  Consulter with familiar spirits” – such persons, pretending to speak with ghosts or spirits, “were probably ventriloquists who claimed to hold communications with subterranean spirits.”

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In the first part of this series, we looked at paganism in its many forms in the UK and the USA.  Different websites gave us a brief but clear picture of the growth of this phenomenon in these two major nations, which are revealed in our free booklet “The Fall and Rise of Britain and America.”

theconversation.com reports that “Nature religions, commonly described as Paganism (or neo-Paganism), are growing in Australia. In the last Census, 33,148 people claimed affiliation with a nature religion: including Animism, Druidism, and the many traditions of Wicca, the most practised Pagan pathway.”

ca.paganfederation.org reports as follows: “With almost half a century of experience, the Pagan Federation (PF) started in England and shortly thereafter sowed the seeds for its sister organization: the Pagan Federation International (PFI), to respond to the needs of Pagans who did not reside in England. Now PFI has local branches all over the world: including Asia, South America, Australia, United Kingdom, Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands, Hungary, Germany, Belgium and of course Canada and the USA, and this list only continues to grow!“

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In October 2022, Antonio Pagliarulo wrote a piece on the nbcnews.com website under the heading “Why paganism and witchcraft are making a comeback” and below are a few excerpts:

“Two weeks ago, in the run-up to Halloween, I visited Salem, Massachusetts, for the first time since the pandemic began. In renewing my annual Halloween pilgrimage, I was bowled over by what I found in the Witch City: bigger crowds, longer lines and a wider and welcome array of merchandise geared toward many different religious traditions and ethnic identities.   

“Amid the curious crowds in black capes and conical hats, bags overflowing with DIY spell kits and candles to enhance prosperity, I overheard the same question: Is magic really real?

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In the previous installments of this series, we showed that both the last revival of the Roman Empire [through the raising up of the ancient Chaldeans, and their subsequent defeat] and the preaching of the gospel are described as the Work of God. We then concentrated on God’s Work in these end times, as it relates to the preaching of the gospel and to the warning of the nations. In this final installment, we will talk about the connection between aspects of the Work of God and our salvation, as well as the marvelous Truth that the more we are involved in God’s Work of preaching the gospel, the more we will overcome our sins and our human nature… which is necessary to be able to enter the Kingdom and Family of God.

First, we need to understand that some aspects and tasks might have been referred to as the Work in the past, even though that may not necessarily have relevance for us today. But whenever God used people to do His Work, they had to do it with their whole heart, and in complete obedience to God’s instructions.

Continue reading "What is the Work of God? (Part 5)"

In the previous installments of this new series, we have pointed out that at the time of the final revival of the ancient Roman Empire in Europe, God’s Church will be busy, with renewed strength, to fulfill its end-time commission to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God in all the world as a witness, prior to Christ’s return. As the European power will only survive for a short time, so the preaching of the gospel will likewise be short-lived.

We showed that both the last revival of the Roman Empire [through the raising up of the ancient Chaldeans, and their subsequent defeat] and the preaching of the gospel are described as the Work of God. We then concentrated on God’s Work, as it relates to the preaching of the gospel.

In this installment, we will discuss that God’s end-time Church has been given the Work of warning the nations, which is actually part of the proclamation of the gospel message.

We read in Amos 3:4-9, 13-14:

Continue reading "What is the Work of God? (Part 4)"