Last week I talked about the narrow and wide gates and looking for the narrow door, as there is only one way, one truth and one life. We must be standing in the right line and following the right path in order to go through the right gate. Going through the right gate means eternity with God and going through the wrong gate means you have missed eternity with God and will spend eternity with satan instead. What makes this hard for some people is that standing in the wrong line can appear right, while standing in the right line can appear wrong, but this is far more than appearances and feelings because appearances and feelings can be deceiving as you can see from this verse. 2 Corinthians 11:13 “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” Standing in the wrong line will garner lots of support, it may even feel comfortable and exciting, while standing in the right line will draw much criticism and can often be long and arduous. Standing in the wrong line can give you a false sense of security as there are many who have joined you, while standing in the right line can appear as if there is no line at all. Jesus said, Matthew 7:14 “Small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” You may think because traditions, reasoning and experiences all support this line leading to the wide gate, it must be right. You will also have the leaders all telling you this line heading for the wide gate is the right one, but remember when the true prophets spoke, they were few in number compared to all the false prophets who spoke as one.
Standing in the right line, those looking for the narrow gate, cannot be based on feelings, traditions, reasoning, experiences, size of crowds or the words of man, but solely on the word of God. Standing in this line can even feel like you have been abandoned or forgotten by God. This is why you do not base this rightness on your feelings, but on what the word of God clearly states. Being on this path may give you cause to fear because satan does not want you in this line, but God says we do not need to fear for He is with us. Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Everything can be against you, failure looming, health failing, and the voices are whispering and shouting in an effort to get you to turn away from God. satan is constantly trying to get you to curse God and die, just as he has always done. Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Job 1:11 “But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job 2:9 “His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” The masses may give the appearance that this is the right way to go, but in the end leads to Matthew 25:41 “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Many have fallen to this way. Proverbs 16:25 “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end, it leads to death.” Following the right path may appear wrong, but in the end leads to eternal life. God says, Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.”
Every Sunday the masses gather, some large and some small, but the format is roughly the same; worship and preaching for a period of time and some do it much better than others. Most who call themselves Christians think attending church is what the church is and some churches have gone to great lengths to draw a crowd. Some worship can feel as though you have been transported into heaven. For some, worship is like attending a concert week after week and the inspiring preaching is like listening to a keynote speaker at a special event week after week. For others, worship is cringeworthy and the preaching less than inspiring. Go online and watch some of the services of those with a global reach and it will look as if the very presence of God must have descended on that place as hands are raised and voices praise. Listen to the preaching and it will appear as if the very word of God is flowing from their mouths as full attention is given to them. But you must test the spirits to make sure. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Last week I talked a little about the false teacher Joel Osteen. Before the sermon everyone says, “This is my Bible: I am what it says I am; I have what it says I have; I can do what it says I can do. Today, I will be taught the Word of God. I'll boldly confess. My mind is alert; my heart is receptive; I will never be the same. I am about to receive the incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living Seed of the Word of God. I'll never be the same - never, never, never! I'll never be the same, in Jesus' Name.” Is there some truth here? Yes! But no, you will not be taught the word of God from this false teacher, even though you are voicing with all the people around you that you will be taught the “incorruptible, indestructible, ever-living Seed of the Word of God.” Sadly, most will sit there and listen thinking God is surely in this place and speaking through this man, but He is not present as there is much deception and delusion taking place. Just read some of the comments as to how great this servant of God is, but remember the verse above about the masquerade taking place in the church. As Paul said, 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Even though the church has a vague resemblance of the church Jesus started, it is not. Isaiah 58:1 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.” Jeremiah 8:4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, do they not get up? When someone turns away, do they not return? 5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. 11 They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. “Peace, peace,” they say, when there is no peace. 12 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when they are punished, says the Lord. 13 “‘I will take away their harvest, declares the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine. There will be no figs on the tree, and their leaves will wither. What I have given them will be taken from them.” Because of this rebellion, the church as a whole, is a desolate wasteland even though there is the appearance that the church is doing just as God intended it to do. The appearance given by the church looks as if the line you are standing in is the one heading for eternal life, but it is not. Going to a church is not the same as being the church. It is not just the well-orchestrated, guru led churches that are teaching its followers to go through the wrong gate, it is most churches as there is only a remnant of survivors scattered throughout the world who are left. The church as we know it is a long way from the highway of holiness. Isaiah 35:8 “And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.” Each group that calls themselves the church, all teach that they are the way, truth and life and by following their doctrines and theology, you will receive eternal life and by all appearances the church can look gardenesque, but in reality, this gathering of those heading for the wide gate is a desolate wasteland.
All this desolation is because the church refuses to obey the word of God. We were told Leviticus 26:14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, 15 and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: 31 I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. 32 I myself will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. 33 I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. 34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. 35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.” Jeremiah 4:5 “Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say: ‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’ Cry aloud and say: ‘Gather together! Let us flee to the fortified cities!’ 6 Raise the signal to go to Zion! Flee for safety without delay! For I am bringing disaster from the north, even terrible destruction.” 7 A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. 8 So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned away from us. 9 “In that day,” declares the Lord, “the king and the officials will lose heart, the priests will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled.” Jeremiah 12:7 “I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance; I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. 8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me; therefore I hate her. 9 Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts; bring them to devour. 10 Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. 11 It will be made a wasteland, parched and desolate before me; the whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares.” Jeremiah 9:11 “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.” Jeremiah 22:5 “But if you do not obey these commands, declares the Lord, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’” 6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah: “Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. 8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’ 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.” Jeremiah 25:7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.” 8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Habakkuk tells us the result of the enemy’s invasion. Habakkuk 1:6 “I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.” Habakkuk 3:17 “the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.”
One dictionary defined a desolate land as “barren or laid waste; devastated: a treeless, desolate landscape. Synonyms: bleak. deprived or destitute of inhabitants; deserted; uninhabited.” Another said, “A wasteland is someplace that's empty and desolate, with no sign of life or growth.” There are many in the church that are looking, as they say through rose colored glasses, and say the church is just how it was supposed to be. Looking through rose-colored glasses as one person defined it, “is a happy or positive attitude that fails to notice negative things, leading to a view of life that is not realistic.” This also does not lead to repentance. Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” Many in the church cannot even fathom that satan is in the church masquerading and do not believe, especially in their own church, that false prophets and teachers are everywhere teaching a different Jesus and other gospels, even though scripture makes it clear this is already happening. They think because Jesus rose from the grave means the battle was over with satan. That is only partially true. Just as Jesus was victorious over the grave, the church was given the power to be victorious over our enemies but there was still a war raging with satan as the war was not over. Remember the drowning of the pigs. Matthew 8:29 “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” 30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” 32 He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.” The pigs died, not the demons. So that means they were still present. Philip cast out demons. Acts 8:7 “For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.” Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 12 He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” Because of the rebellion in the church, God has allowed our enemies to prevail against us instead of continuing to destroy the work of the devil. 1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” The church is powerless to defeat the work of the devil.
Daniel warned us, as did Jesus about the abomination that causes desolation. Daniel 9:27 “And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Jesus said Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.” Paul said 2 Thessalonians 2:4 “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” This attack on the church is far worse than the Babylonians and the Assyrians and millions have been deceived and deluded and will not see eternal life. If it wasn’t for the promise to David that there would always be a remnant, the church would have been destroyed just as Jesus said about no survivors, but God is merciful and will not break His promise, so there will be a remnant that survives this astounding destruction that has left the church a desolate wasteland. Jeremiah 33:25 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, 26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’”
The church, even though clearly warned, did not listen and the false teachers went out and sowed what is false instead of truth. Even though Joel Osteen says you will receive the “ever-living Seed of the Word of God,” that is not the seed you are receiving. Malachi 2:8 “You have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. 9 “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.” These false prophets will not get away with it. Jeremiah 51:24 “Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.” 2 Peter 2:13 “They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. 17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.” Scripture is filled with warnings about false teachers and prophets, but still the church does not listen to God’s warnings. This is not something out of the past or something that will happen far into the future, the church already lies in desolation because 2 Peter 2:1 “there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” Paul said Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” This happened even when Paul was still alive and continued to happen. Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all.” The way of truth continued to be brought into disrepute with the Reformation. Instead of just the Catholic church distorting scripture and a few others, the Reformation brought an explosion of ways, which led the church even further away from truth, even more so than the Catholic church already had. Instead of listening to the word of God, each group thinks the other group is introducing destructive heresies, even though all groups are doing it and are following wicked ways. From there, people who follow each of these groups accept those false teachings as truth and continue down a path to destruction and death, all the while praising God, even though it is the devil they are unknowingly following. 1 Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”
The church is a desolate wasteland but because of the deception from satan and the delusion brought on by God, the church thinks all is well with their soul and does not see the devastation cause by the abomination that causes desolation. The devastation can only be seen with spiritual eyes. Matthew 13:15 “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.” 2 Corinthians 3:14 “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” The news gives us plenty of desolate wasteland to see. Wherever there is a war, you see towns and cities completely wiped out and people dying and fleeing. Here is the spiritual view. Matthew 24:15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” Remember this is so deadly that Jesus said “22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive.” Daniel said Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” The good news in all of this is our enemies will be defeated. Jeremiah 51:6 “It is time for the Lord’s vengeance; he will repay her what she deserves. 56 A destroyer will come against Babylon; her warriors will be captured, and their bows will be broken. For the Lord is a God of retribution; he will repay in full.” Habakkuk would go on to say Habakkuk 3:16 “Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.” Jeremiah would also say Jeremiah 50:18 “Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. 23 How desolate is Babylon among the nations!” Even though our enemies have left the church a desolate wasteland, there is hope and we will talk about that hope in a moment.
So, it is so important to understand that just because you see a church with people in it, doesn’t mean that is actually the church you are seeing. Just because those people talk about Jesus and hold up a bible doesn’t mean that the Jesus they are talking about is the true Jesus and the gospel they say they are teaching does not mean it is the true gospel. The reality is when you look at a church, with spiritual eyes you would be seeing ruins and desolation, kind of like Notre Dame when the fire ravaged the building. Or as Jesus said to the Pharisees, Matthew 23:27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.” The church is not the church Jesus built. We know this because Jesus responded to Peter when Peter said,” Matthew 16:16 “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, 18 on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” The church does not look like what Jesus described nor is that kind of power happening. Instead, hades has overcome the church and the church has no power, but most think the church is exactly how Jesus intended it to be, but if the veil was lifted and eyes were opened, all around us we would see a desolate wasteland. Ask God to open your eyes and ears.
The answer as to why the church lies in desolation is disobedience. From the very beginning when God’s people disobey, God responds with wrath, destruction and death. Adam and Eve disobeyed, and death came to the world and they were removed from the garden. The people of Israel disobeyed and were vomited from the land of promise just as they were told would happen. And now the church has been decimated by the abomination that causes desolation and God has turned His face from the church. Daniel said Daniel 8:12 “Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.” God said to David, 2 Samuel 7:15 “my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” God said to Solomon, 2 Chronicles 7:19 “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, 20 then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. 21 This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ 22 People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” Solomon did not obey and lost his father’s kingdom and eventually the people were removed from the land of promise because of their rebellion against God. Isaiah 59:12 “For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13 rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 14 So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. 15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.” Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Because of this the land dries up, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea are swept away. 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” Jeremiah said Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. 14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder? 15 Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted. 17 Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the Lord your God when he led you in the way? 19 Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me, declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty. 20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke and tore off your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve you!’ 21 I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine? 25 But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods (other gospels), and I must go after them.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ 28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you, Judah, have as many gods (other gospels) as you have towns. 29 You have all rebelled against me,” declares the Lord. 30 “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion. 32 Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number. Yet in spite of all this 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; he is not angry with me.’” Jeremiah 11:9 “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods (gospels) to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.” Jeremiah 9:12 “Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals (other gospels), as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them. 19 The sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How ruined we are! How great is our shame!” Jeremiah 25:2 “So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem: 3 For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made (man-made church), and you have brought harm to yourselves.” 8 Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
The broad path leading to a wide gate, is a path leading to death and destruction. It may have the appearance of being the right path, but it is far from it. Jeremiah laments, Lamentations 1:1 “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! 5 The Lord has brought her grief because of her many sins. 6 All the splendor has departed from Daughter Zion.” Lamentations 2:1 “How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion with the cloud of his anger! He has hurled down the splendor of Israel from heaven to earth; he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his anger. 2 Without pity the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob; in his wrath he has torn down the strongholds of Daughter Judah. He has brought her kingdom and its princes down to the ground in dishonor. 3 He has withdrawn his right hand at the approach of the enemy. 5 The Lord is like an enemy; he has swallowed up Israel. 6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting. 7 The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has given the walls of her palaces into the hands of the enemy. 8 The Lord determined to tear down the wall around Daughter Zion. 9 The law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the Lord. 11 My eyes fail from weeping, I am in torment within; my heart is poured out on the ground because my people are destroyed, 14 The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading. 15 All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at Daughter Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?” 16 All your enemies open their mouths wide against you; they scoff and gnash their teeth and say, “We have swallowed her up. This is the day we have waited for; we have lived to see it.” Lamentations 5:15 “Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 17 Because of this our hearts are faint, because of these things our eyes grow dim 18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate, with jackals prowling over it.”
The church should also be lamenting because it is also a desolate wasteland, but this is a spiritual battle and doesn’t look like a city that has been destroyed by war where you can see the devastation. When Norte Dame Cathedral burned, that picture is more accurate than the finished restoration. Nehemiah 1:3 “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” When you drive by a church on Sunday and the people gathering, worshipping and praising God, you don’t see it, but it is a desolate wasteland. To see it you have to look through the eyes of scripture. This is why we desperately need our eyes and ears opened so that we can see what is really happening. Isaiah was told Isaiah 6:9 “He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, 12 until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken.” Jeremiah was told Jeremiah 9:6 “You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,” declares the Lord.” God said Jeremiah 5:20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob and proclaim it in Judah: 21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: 22 Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord. “Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 24 They do not say to themselves, Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’ 25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.” Ezekiel was told Ezekiel 2:7 “You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious.” Ezekiel 12:1 “The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.” Isaiah 42:18 “Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see! 20 You have seen many things, but you pay no attention; your ears are open, but you do not listen.” 21 It pleased the Lord for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. 22 But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, “Send them back.” 23 Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come? 24 Who handed Jacob over to become loot, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned? For they would not follow his ways; they did not obey his law. 25 So he poured out on them his burning anger, the violence of war. It enveloped them in flames, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.”
The broad road to the wide gate is a road many are on and appears to be the right one, even though it is not. At this point, very few are actually looking for the narrow gate. Luke 13:24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.” Matthew 7:13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” God said, Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” To find the right way, we must follow God’s word as he leads us along the right path. Psalm 23:3 “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” His leading can take us through dark valleys and right into the midst of our enemies, but fear not, He is God.
King Nebuchadnezzar of all people came to understand that God’s Daniel 4:34 “dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” Hosea 14:9 “Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” God’s ways are always right but not always pleasant or easy. The people didn’t like God’s word and said to the prophets Isaiah 30:10 “Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. 11 Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!” Those leading you down a broad path to a wide gate are more than willing to do that for you, but those leading you down a path to the narrow gate will only speak the word of the Lord and that word not everyone wants to hear. God’s plan can be long and very difficult which is why when we walk down that path you never take your eyes off Jesus and you live by God’s word and God’s word alone. Hebrews 12:1 “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Joseph was on the path that God had for him, even though he really had no idea what would happen. He had a vision, but that vision did not include all that would happen to Joseph before God’s plan that Joseph saw went into effect. His brothers hated him so much they intended to kill him, but instead sold him into slavery which was basically the same as murdering him. He would never be seen again, that is until God’s plan went into effect. The path Joseph was on looked hopeless. He was a slave, accused of rape, thrown in prison and that to most would not seem like the right path. His family didn’t seem to think so. Genesis 37:10 “When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” Then that day came and, Genesis 41:39 “Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. 40 You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the throne will I be greater than you.” Genesis 42:6 “Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.” Even though Joseph’s journey was long and extremely hard, God’s plan would come to fruition.
Job was also on the right path to the narrow gate. Job was a faithful man of God. Job 1:8 “Then the Lord said to satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” Job would then be severely tested, and his path literally looked like a desolate wasteland. Everything he had was taken from him and even his body was ravaged with sickness. satan’s goal was to get Job to curse God. satan had said, Job 1:10 “You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” After he lost everything, Job said Job 1:21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” satan then used his wife and friends to get Job to curse God. After Job lost everything, his wife said, Job 2:9 “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!” 10 He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” Then most of Job is about his friends arguing with Job and trying to convince him that he was a sinner, which would explain the devastation in Job’s life. But Job refused to listen to them. Job 27:2 “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made my life bitter, 3 as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils, 4 my lips will not say anything wicked, and my tongue will not utter lies. 5 I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. 6 I will maintain my innocence and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.” As with Joseph, it must have felt that God abandoned him, but he did not give up. Job said, Job 23:2 “Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 3 If only I knew where to find him; 8 “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 9 When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. 10 But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. 11 My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. 12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.”
But God did not abandon Job and like Joseph, he was on the right path. He said Job 19:25 “I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes— I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” Like Joseph, Job would end up seeing God’s plan come to fruition because he was faithful and did not give up. James 5:10 “Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” His wife, friends and family were all wrong because Job was actually on the path to the narrow gate. Job 42:10 “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before. 11 All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. 12 The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part.” Through all of this, Job had no idea about the conversation God had with satan, yet he remained faithful. We on the other hand have it all written down, so we are without excuse. People ask why do bad things happen to good people? The answer - read Job. Ask yourself if you would have remained faithful to God?
Even though Job remained faithful and said or did nothing wrong, he still repented before God. Job 42:1 “Then Job replied to the Lord: 2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ (speaking to Elihu who was trying to convince Job he was wrong. Elihu was not prayed for) Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.’ 5 My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. 6 Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” Job and Joseph show us that the narrow way is the right way, even though it can like God is not present. Narrow does not mean legalism or fundamentalism, but following God’s word, not man’s words. It means trusting God no matter what. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah remained faithful even though three of them would be thrown in the fire and Daniel into the lion’s den. Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah said Daniel 3:17 “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 6:21 “Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” 23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” The apostle Paul would suffer greatly as a servant of God. Acts 9:15 “The Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” And Jesus himself would suffer for all of us and die on the cross.
All of this is God’s plan, and all His ways are right. Jesus said John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That way is a narrow way. What we see in the church today is not the narrow way, but a way filled with sin, rebellion, deception and delusion. The church is a desolate wasteland but there is hope for those who would listen to God’s word and return to Him. Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” When God turns His face back to the church, the church will go to the ends of the earth, preaching the good news with authority and power and then the end will come. Matthew 24:13 “the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
You do not want to stay on the path to death and destruction, just turn around. As Ezekiel said Ezekiel 18:30 “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Here is an example of the hope we have. Jeremiah was told to buy a property even though the Babylonians were destroying everything. Jeremiah 32:2 “The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.” Jeremiah questioned God about this and said, Jeremiah 32:25 “And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’” God responded and said “27 “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah then bought the property. 13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 14 ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 15 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’” 37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 42 “This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 43 Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.”
Even though God said this, the second temple would be destroyed by the Romans because of disobedience once again. Paul had warned them with the words of Habakkuk. Acts 13:40 “Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.” They were not careful and now the church has done the same and the third temple, the body of Christ has been destroyed again because of disobedience. People are dying by the millions without ever knowing the truth. The church is not a building to be restored, so that means the restoration will be people, the body of Christ and it starts with repentance. Because God is compassionate and promised David there would always be a remnant. We also have hope of restoration. Habakkuk said Habakkuk 3:16 “I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Amos 9:11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be. “
The church must return to God’s word and call out to be saved. David said 1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.” Jeremiah 50:20 “In those days, at that time,” declares the Lord, “search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.” Jeremiah said Lamentations 5:1 “Remember, Lord, what has happened to us; look, and see our disgrace. 2 Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers. 15 Joy is gone from our hearts; our dancing has turned to mourning. 16 The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned! 19 You, Lord, reign forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. 20 Why do you always forget us? Why do you forsake us so long? 21 Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old 22 unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure.” Even though the remnant was taken into captivity, the word of Jeremiah would be fulfilled. Jeremiah 29:10 “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” God has not forsaken the church and has promised to return to us if we return to Him. Ezra 9:9 “Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.” God will do the same for the church.
When David called out to God, he said, 2 Samuel 22:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent people you save me. 4 “I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and have been saved from my enemies. 5 The waves of death swirled about me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. 6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. 7 “In my distress I called to the Lord; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears. 17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. 20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 31 “As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. 32 For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? 47 “The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be my God, the Rock, my Savior!” Isaiah 64:1 “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains would tremble before you! 2 As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil, come down to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! 3 For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. 4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. 5 You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, you were angry. How then can we be saved? 6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. 7 No one calls on your name or strives to lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and have given us over to our sins. 8 Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. 9 Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people. 10 Your sacred cities have become a wasteland; even Zion is a wasteland, Jerusalem desolation. 11 Our holy and glorious temple, where our ancestors praised you, has been burned with fire, and all that we treasured lies in ruins. 12 After all this, Lord, will you hold yourself back? Will you keep silent and punish us beyond measure?”
Though the church is in ruins and a desolate wasteland, there is still hope of salvation. Zechariah 1:14 “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure. I was only a little angry, but they went too far with the punishment.’ 16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.’” Jeremiah 31:10 “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’ 11 For the Lord will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. 12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. 13 Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the Lord.” Isaiah 35:1 “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, 2 it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God. 3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.”
When the church repents, God will turn His face back to us and He will dwell among us, and His kingdom will come near once again. Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” And then once again the church will do just as Jesus did when the church is once again empowered from on High. Ephesians 2:9 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” Ezekiel 37:12 “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
Once rebuilt, the church will go out and proclaim the good news, heal the sick and cast out demons. Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. 4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Ezekiel 36:33 “‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.” Isaiah 62:4 “No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you. 6 You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth. 11 “Say to Daughter Zion, ‘See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.’” 12 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.”
Nehemiah 2:17 “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work. 20 The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding.”
