The “More Blessed” Life
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
The “more blessed” life is the cross life our LORD calls us to.
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. 24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.” Luke 9:23-24
These are the words of the Messiah – who gave His life to purchase His church. And dare we say the eternal Word was “more blessed” as a result, as He brought back His alienated fallen race? (2 Corinthians 5:19-21)
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
To lose our lives, to abandon them to Christ, is to gain them everlasting. Those living the more blessed life, are giving their lives over to the LORD daily, as Jesus instructed and in preference to Christ, their “first love.” (Revelation 2:4-5) They choose Him over themselves as Romans 12:1 declares to us to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
“He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep to gain that which he can never lose.” Jim Elliott
Lose, forsake it all to gain it all.
Our lives are not our own. We’ve been bought with the highest price. – “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
Do we begin to realize, to understand the Gospel? – to understand the price God chose to pay to buy us back to Himself out of the world, out of a life of sin, out of separation from Him?
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
The way we “glorify God in our body” is to “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1) This is how we are to be crucified with Christ our LORD and thereby raised up into new life, the life of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” (Romans 14:17)
Let’s look at and memorize our theme verse again:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35
Perhaps many times we view the above statement in terms of giving money or aid to someone in need or to the work of Christ. Yet it seems that more important than giving some thing or some money, etc., is the giving over of our lives to the LORD. And, when our lives are given over to our Maker, our Savior, all we have will be His and giving will be the result of this crucified, raised up disposition (1 Chronicles 29:14; Matthew 6:19-21; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11).
Those who give their life over to the One who gave them life are “more blessed” than what they could ever otherwise be.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
In fact the cross life is the “more blessed” life Jesus is speaking of – the life that is dead, buried, and raised up with Christ (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20, etc.). The resurrection is the healing, the wholeness! The life that isn’t “crucified with Christ” doesn’t get blessed with resurrection life and power. Only when the self-life is “crucified with Christ” can the blessing of the resurrection life of God be realized.
Of this, one writer notes:
“Healing is the resurrection. Wholeness, holiness, completeness, entireness, perfectness, undividedness are all words that describe those that are dying and RISING again with Christ.
The religious person, the legalist, humanly moral person are all divided. They are not whole or holy. They cannot be holy even if they, like the Pharisees, are strictly moral. They do not know undivided unconditional love. Even the tax collectors can do conditional love said Jesus in Matt 5:38-48. They are moral hypocrites. ‘Depart from Me. I never knew you.’ And they never knew Him.
The law says if you sow good deeds you will reap blessing. Grace says if you sow your old self into death you will reap the resurrection life and power of Christ. Thus, the Bible has redefined the meaning of sowing and reaping in the New Testament.”
The resurrection healing, wholeness, comes to those who are truly “crucified with Christ.” (Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12)
The LORD our Creator has designed/set things up so that we ourselves can only personally be fulfilled if and when we are walking in His perfect will and meeting the needs and desires of others.
It is the “mind of Christ” to give our lives over to the LORD Jesus and others. This disposition runs counter to all the self-centered notions and philosophies taught among sinful men, including the recovery-addicted false church world.
“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:3-5
The above passage is a great one to read every morning this whole week. If you do so in sincere prayer to the LORD, your life will never be the same.
We cannot and will not be fulfilled by worldly riches or pursuits but only by obeying God and fulfilling the needs of others
“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 8 Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:6-8
The LORD requires that all who will follow Him (and go to Heaven), must lay aside their own will. Jesus cried “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”(Luke 22:42) The daily cross is some Jesus mandates and all who truly know and are following Him are learning that daily cross by simple submitted obedience and the enablement of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:12-14).
True repentance means laying our lives down at His feet and being dead to self which means we have NO personal agenda! (Romans 6)
“I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” John 5:30
Regrettably, most who claim to be saved have not the slightest desire or clue as to what truly following Christ really is. This is because they are trusting what their pastor has told them instead of searching the Holy Scriptures to see what the Judge of their eternal souls says.
“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
Today, write Philippians 2:3-5 on an index card and begin to read it daily, to meditate upon it, and assimilate into your mind, thoughts, actions, and life.
Your life is going to change now. God is going to begin undergirding your thoughts and life, orchestrating His perfect will as He conforms you to the image of Jesus Christ.
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:28-29
Get out of your own world disciple of Jesus. Embark on this cross journey. You are Jesus’ servant and student. Look around you. Anticipate the needs and legitimate desires of your mate, your children, your family, your friends, and those you don’t yet know. If you will help with the business of others, God will take care of yours.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
Crying out with John the Baptist….
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” John 3:30
Jesus came and empty Himself (Philippians 2). The Son of God withheld nothing. Christ gave all. He poured out His whole heart and life to please His Father and to bless fallen mankind (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Acts 3:26). God bankrupted Heaven to redeem us.
The measure of your spiritual maturity and state can clearly be seen in how you are given over with reckless abandon to the LORD and to serving others.
Why would God raise up someone who is already alive, alive to self, in self? He will not. It takes the cross to liquidate the old man – a laying down of our own lives, our will, our agenda, our way. God only raises up, resurrects those who are willingly dead and buried with Christ. Those live in the dead and buried posture, are being raised up in the power of God, blessed, and mightily used of Him! There is no other way for us – just as there was no other way for Jesus to redeem the world without the cross and buried. He defeated sin, Satan, and death by dying and being raised up! (Romans 8:11; Hebrews 2:14-15, etc.).
Here’s the “remnant” of Christ described:
“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward: 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” Isaiah 37:31-32
Note in the passage above that the remnant escaped from that which claims to represent the LORD while subverting His truth – “enemies of the cross of Christ.” (Philippians 3:18-19) God is calling out His remnant to lay down our lives and in doing so there will be a separation, a coming out of the cross-less apostate modern church world (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). If it’s a cross-less gospel, it’s a false gospel. The redemptive cross of Christ and the one He commanded we take up, are at the center of the original Gospel message. This is how we know who is true and false.
Being Jesus’ Disciple
“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33
Jesus instructed us to “Remember Lot’s wife.” Genesis 19 records the escape from Sodom, from divine judgment upon the inhabitants. As she was obeying the command of the angels not to look back, while she was escaping judgment, Lot’s wife looked back and perished. She was judged with the wicked and make no mistake, this is exactly was our LORD wants us to “remember.” Many today, like Lot’s wife, were saved and yet then they turned back to the old, to the evil, to the fires of eternal judgment that were once behind them. Now they face those same fires of damnation and the torment will be even “worse with them than the beginning.” (2 Peter 2:20-22) They’ve turned back to what they were delivered from and are perishing.
“Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” Luke 17:32-33
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come to You in Jesus’ name and ask You to forgive me for my self-idolatry, my heart rebellion, my uncleanness, and ever other sin I’ve committed against You. LORD, I know You are holy and ask You to make me holy as You are holy. Please set me apart unto Yourself and grace a broken, contrite heart of flesh. Here and now I lay my life in Your hands. I am crucified with Christ. I am dead and my life is hid with Christ in God. Thank You this moment Jesus for washing me clean of all sin in Your precious blood LORD Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Abiding
Delighting in the LORD [podcast]
Many have set up their altar to the false gods of church, church attendance, mere men in ministry, etc., and not at the feet, the throne of Jesus Christ. These are examples of some of the most insidious, the most subtle forms of damnable idolatry.
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 22:1
Our lives in Christ must be built around His throne and not a certain church building or Sunday morning event (Jeremiah 17:12; Colossians 3:1-4; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 22:1).
Memory truth:
“A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.” Jeremiah 17:12
Heaven is where God is and He’s your headquarters. The LORD Himself is “the place of our sanctuary.”
For many, going to “church” seems to take the place of diligently seeking and knowing, loving, and obeying the LORD. The foundation of such a person will not sustain them in this last hour (Matthew 7:19-29; 24; Luke 21; Hebrews 12:24-28).
The LORD speaks much of the importance of foundations (Psalms 11:3). Those who base their life in Christ on a certain ministry or church gathering or organization, do not have the sure, divine foundation to sustain them in this late hour. Everything is going to be shaken and only that which is truly and soundly grounded in Christ will be left standing.
Like Abel, who chose to do things God’s way and no other way, those who do the same, will be established in Christ the Rock and not be moved.
“And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29 For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:24-29
Regrettably, so many, who have simply gotten lost in the church crowd, have not established that intimate, individual place in the sanctuary of the LORD. The coming storms will inevitably uproot them if there is no change, no repentance, and seeking the face of the LORD for themselves. Jesus saves us to establish us.
“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Colossians 2:6-10
False churches today seek to sell families on the need to join their country club where’s there’s fun for the whole family. These beguilers cater to the urban family to build their church business, with no intention of preaching the whole counsel of God’s Word, the cardinal doctrines of the original Gospel (Jude 3-4). Their goal is to entertain and to grow their church enterpri$e and not to ground their prey in Christ (Colossians, etc.). It’s all surface level, cosmetic. There is no blood of Jesus, no King James Bible, no cross – no crucified life, no Holy Ghost baptism, no repentance, no holiness, no Christology, no readiness for the soon return of Christ, etc.
If you memorize this Bible verse below and speak it, often, your heart, your direction, your life will be divinely moved upward to the LORD! Memorize 1 Chronicles 16:11 beginning now.
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
Those who delight in the LORD, delight to do His will.
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalms 40:8
“STAY UPON THE LORD”
This is a Recurring Theme in Isaiah and Throughout Holy Writ
“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall STAY UPON the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.” Isaiah 10:20
“For they call themselves of the holy city, and STAY THEMSELVES UPON the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.” Isaiah 48:2
“Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and STAY UPON his God.” Isaiah 50:10
The LORD is NOT available to the casual seeker. Think about that.
“He is a rewarder of THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM.” Hebrews 11:6
Our LORD rewards those who “diligently seek him.”
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 12 Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. 13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.” Jeremiah 29:11-14
In the ensuing verses (Jeremiah 29:15-19), God pronounces a judgment on His people for following those false leaders who sit upon the seat of David yet didn’t have an obedient heart after the LORD. Today is no different where you have people following false leaders who pretend to be representing Christ and yet, are compromised with false doctrine and worldliness.
Shannon Cook writes:
“Delight yourself in the LORD (Jesus) and He will give you the desires of thine heart. Jesus Christ IS in fact, the greatest desire of the heart of man. ‘Delight yourself in Me (Jesus), and I will give Me to you.’ Makes perfect sense!”
May God bless us with a John 17 and John 15 oneness abiding relationship with Him, possessed with a poor in spirit disposition, and pure heart after the LORD (Matthew 5:3, 6, 8). In Jesus’ Name.
We have nothing outside of what we have in Christ! Read Colossians 1 and 2.
So love Jesus and aren’t seeking His holy face daily, diligently? Not. Turn back to God in repentance, now.
The bless-ed word “delight” appears several times in God’s Word.
“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4
Having a heart after God is something that is a daily, a moment to moment choice, a decision, which must be cultivated in us.
David, the man after the heart of the LORD, is a glorious example to us.
“I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” Acts 13:22
“One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple. … When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.” Psalms 27:4, 8
“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.” Psalms 57:7
“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” Psalms 63:8
As can be seen in the following verse, legal or religious mindset causes obedience, serving God to the LORD to seem like drudgery.
“To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” Jeremiah 6:10
Those living under grace operate in grace, in their heart of hearts, delight to obey their Savior.
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3
No matter what’s going on – good or bad – WE KNOW that the song is true …. that our “God is so good, God is soooo gooood, God is so good, He’s so good to me…..” … There’s NO way to sing this simple song of praise and not get happy in Jesus! Impossible.
The LORD our Maker alone can truly satisfy, all the way to the marrow of the bone, to the depth of the human heart!
“For I have satiated (fully satisfy) the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.” Jeremiah 31:25
All who are not full of Christ via knowing and seeking Him, delighting in and worshipping Him perpetually, are full of misery – from which they shall never escape, unless they repent and let Jesus be the King, the LORD, the Master of their lives.
The Bible is music to the ears of truth-seeking followers of Christ! They pour prayerfully of the words of Holy Scripture daily, as they seek the face of the LORD.
Times of fasting and prayer are doing yourself a favor and not God. Yes. You are crucifying self, getting self out of God’s way so that Christ is reigning in your life in place of sinful self! This should be viewed with absolute delight! (Psalms 37:4; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13, etc.). You are crying, you are driving a stake in the ground and declaring: “LORD, You must increase but I must decrease! (John 3:30) That’s the “daily” operation of the cross God has ordained to be transpiring in our lives (Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20, etc.).
“We would worry less if we praised more. THANKSGIVING is the enemy of discontentment and dissatisfaction.” Harry Ironside
Powerful resurrection life teeming in and through our lives requires a going down deep into the death the resurrection of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:10-12). There is no shortcut.
“WE WOULD SEE JESUS.” John 12:20-21
Detox your inner man! Detox your spirit, soul, and body! How? Fasting and Prayer! Delighting in the LORD (Psalms 37:4). Fasting and prayer begins with being done, being fed up, being exhausted of the iniquitous nature that has driven us into darkness, into dismal ditches with guilt, shame, and forfeited blessings the result! Our desire now and henceforth is for Christ to reign supreme in our lives and not self! Self, sin must be dethroned. Serving self instead of the Savior has ushered in every single evil thing into our lives and we now stand forth and declare that Christ must increase but we must decrease! (John 3:30) We do this now with more than just words – also with a holy resolve, a driving of the stake deep into the ground, singly focused on the reign of Heaven’s coming KING, on the seat, the throne of our hearts. The reins of our lives are reserved for Him to reign, no longer us!
“Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:14
“It has been said that no great work in literature or in science was ever wrought by a man who did not love solitude. We may lay it down as an elemental principle of religion, that no large growth in holiness was ever gained by one who did not take time to be often long alone with God.” Austin Phelps
Anita Villarreal exhorts:
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…..do this and you will live.’ Luke 10:27-28
The death of Jesus. Christ on the Cross is what has drawn men to Himself. Christ did this out of Divine Love for humanity, and LOVE ALWAYS DRAWS. It is the LOVE that men and women need, and wherever they find it they want to come and rest in it’s warmth and tenderness. God’s love is the purest form of true, sincere and unselfish love. Of you haven’t received or known this kind of love, ask Jesus to show you this love and by faith receive it. Let Him cleanse your soul of all impurities and forgive you of all your sins.”
We were created to know Him!
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3
“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” Exodus 25:8
Our union, our oneness with God is from which all else in His kingdom emanates….
“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17
“We are truly living in a time of great apostasy and I would urge each person to seek to know the Lord for yourself as Jesus said in John 17:3 that this is life eternal that we know the only true God and His Son Jesus Christ. In the book of 1 John 5:20 John states that Christ came to give us understanding of the one true God and His son Jesus Christ. David said in Psalms 27:4 that one thing he desired of the Lord and that he would seek after that He could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of life to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. I urge people to examine the scriptures and stop trusting in flesh (mere men) for the scripture states that curse is the man that trust in man and makes flesh his arm whose heart has depart from the Lord (Jerm 17:5). Any real man that God has called will only point you to Lord not himself. Wake-up Church those who have an ear to hear what Lord is speaking to His true body.” Matthew Washington
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Abiding
“He Appeared to put away sin by the Sacrifice of Himself” [podcast]
Why did Jesus come?
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he
said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave
up the ghost.” John 19:30
This revelation in the above words of the Messiah— “It is
finished”—is consistent with the whole divine unveiling of
Holy Scripture—the redemption of mankind after the fall.
Jesus came to do something and that’s why while dying on
the cross for the sins of the world, He declared “It is
finished” (John 19:30). These are the three most powerful
words ever spoken! What exactly was “finished”?
“For then must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world: but now once in the end of
the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself.” Hebrews 9:26
Jesus declared mercy and forgiveness over mankind while
He was dying to provide redemption on that cross: “It is
finished” (John 19:30). This simply means “paid in full.” The
price for sin has been fully paid. The claims of the Father’s
justice were perfectly satisfied, paid in full by the precious,
sinless blood of the Son of God. All men are now invited to
come to Him, repent and believe upon the LORD Jesus Christ
for redemption—mercy and forgiveness (Colossians 1:14).
On that cross, the LORD Jesus declared: “It is finished” and
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”
(John 19:30; Luke 23:34).
Prayer: Father I rejoice in the precious blood of Jesus shed for
my sin—to bring me to You for an eternal relationship.
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Apostasy
8 Classes of Sinners Guaranteed to Spend Eternity in the Lake of Fire [podcast]
8 Classes of Sinners Guaranteed to Spend Eternity in Hell
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” Revelation 21:8
“The second death”
[which is the second death] The second death is the lake of fire, or the second separation from God in hell (Rev_2:11; Rev_20:14; Rev_21:8).
Of Revelation 21:8, Adam Clarke writes the following:
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful – Δειλοις· Those who, for fear of losing life or their property, either refused to receive the Christian religion, though convinced of its truth and importance; or, having received it, in times of persecution fell away, not being willing to risk their lives.
And unbelieving – Those who resist against full evidence. And sinners, και ἁμαρτωλοις, is added here by about thirty excellent MSS., and is found in the Syrian, Arabic, some of the Slavonic, and in Andreas and Arethas. On this evidence Griesbach has admitted it into the text.
The abominable – Εβδελυγμενοις· Those who are polluted with unnatural lust. (sodomites, lesbians Romans 1)
And murderers – Φονευσι· Those who take away the life of man for any cause but the murder of another, and those who hate a brother in their heart (.
And whoremongers – Πορνοις· Adulterers, fornicators, whores, prostitutes, and rakes of every description.
Sorcerers – Φαρμακοις· Persons who, by drugs, philtres, fumigations, etc., pretend to produce supernatural effects, chiefly by spiritual agency.
Idolaters – Ειδωλολατραις· Those who offer any kind of worship or religious reverence to any thing but God. All image worshippers are idolaters in every sense of the word.
And all liars – Και πασι τοις ψευδεσι· Every one who speaks contrary to the truth when he knows the truth, and even he who speaks the truth with the intention to deceive; i.e., to persuade a person that a thing is different from what it really is, by telling only a part of the truth, or suppressing some circumstance which would have led the hearer to a different end to the true conclusion. All these shall have their portion, το μερος, their share, what belongs to them, their right, in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. This is the second death, from which there is no recovery.
“21:8 But not all are overcomers. Some are cowardly, afraid to confess Christ; unbelieving, unwilling to trust the sinner’s Savior; sinners, all those who remain in their sins, whether guilty of the gross iniquities listed here or not; abominable, given over to disgusting immorality; murderers, malicious and savage killers; sexually immoral, practicing fornication and other forms of sexual sins; sorcerers, those who traffic with evil spirits; idolaters, insulting God by worshiping images; and all liars, compulsive deceivers. These will be assigned to the lake of fire as their final destiny.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
“And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. … 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:10, 14-15
One source notes the following:
“Brimstone and fire” refers to the fiery imagery of divine judgment and eternal punishment found in the Bible. It symbolizes God’s wrath, often describing the fate of sinners in hell, and is a phrase used in religious sermons and literature. “Brimstone,” an old word for sulfur, is a key component of this imagery, evoking a smell and heat associated with inescapable, fiery destruction.
Biblical origins
Old Testament:
The phrase originates in the King James translation of the Old Testament, used to describe God’s destruction of enemies. A key example is the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
New Testament:
The imagery is used to describe eternal damnation, a common theme in both the Old and New Testaments. In the book of Revelation, for example, it describes those who worship the beast being tormented in a lake of fire and brimstone.
Etymology:
The phrase is a calque of the Biblical Hebrew and Ancient Greek words for “sulfur and fire”.
Geological evidence:
Archaeological and geological evidence of sulfur deposits and charred formations in areas like the Dead Sea region have been noted as consistent with biblical descriptions of fire and sulfur-related events.”
“But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 8:12
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