In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus is in the midst of what has come to be known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” In this magnificent proclamation He covers a variety of subjects, one of which concerns those whom salvation-seeking men have chosen to lead their various perverted versions of the true church which Jesus Himself calls “the Church of God.” This is the ONLY NAME BY WHICH GOD CALLS HIS TRUE CHURCH, which He does 12 times in the New Testament. This SINGLE CHURCH, of which Jesus is THE ONLY HEAD, is not to be confused with the religious group that calls itself by that name. As do all of the other counterfeit churches, the false church of god has chosen “another Jesus” to be her head just as the Apostle Paul warned about in Second Corinthians 11:4. Each group’s “Jesus” brings with him a different set of “truths” and a different name. Ironically, each of the hundreds of “churches” claims the same Biblical Jesus as its head. The Biblical Jesus has nothing to do with any of those cults, each of which calls itself “the church.” Only the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) could create this religious debacle and sell it to billions of people. He has pulled off this scam by blinding their eyes and closing their ears to God’s Gospel. As a result, billions of people do not know that the gospel they are being taught is not the Gospel Christ preached and commanded to be preached until His return. What the modern religionist hears and reads is a perverted version of Christ’s true Gospel (Gal. 1:6-9).

Beginning with verse 13, Jesus addresses those who wish to enter His God-empowered, Holy Spirit-led church, as well as those who would reject it and look elsewhere for religious accommodations more to their individual preferences. Here He refers to two gates and two paths relative to the gates. In this parable He refers to the “gate” (door) that leads into his sheepfold (church). In John 10:9 He declares of Himself.: “I am the (only) door to the (only true) sheepfold (church).” All who become part of THAT ONE TRUE CHURCH must enter through (by obeying) Him. In verses 13 and 14 he tells us that to be one with Him and His Father we must enter His STRAIT (restrictive, difficult, narrow) gate and walk (live) according to His strict, no-options way to eternal life. “Few,” He laments, will search for, “find” and “enter” the one true gate leading to His sheepfold (church).

As was noted in the previous posting, God’s legitimate church, which Jesus calls His “little flock” (Lk. 12:32), lives in the shadows, the outer-reaches of so-called “Christianity.” God’s people are rejected by the masses of heaven-seekers who, as verse 13 attests, choose to enter the wide (“come as you are”) gate and walk the broad (“stay as you are”) way that leads to destruction. Notice that “many” simply “go in” through Satan’s wide (“you want it, you got it”) gate and stroll down his (“only believe”–“it’s all good”) path. As one woman said after coming out of her weekly communion, “Well, I’m good for another week.” having had her previous week’s sins prayed away, she was free to sin at will until the next mass. A man agreed with her theology by saying that “My lady (Mary) takes care of it” (his repeated sins).”

The other half of professing Christendom also has a “lady” who “takes care of” their sins. Her name is Grace. Considering that there are billions of “sinners saved by grace” (and Mary), these “ladies” are obviously extremely busy. This attitude was also expressed by a woman who explained that she joined a certain denomination because: “They do what I like to do.” I will not repeat what it is that this church and this woman like to do. Like billions of other “saved” people, she believes that she gets away with repeatedly sinning because she “believes in Jesus” Whom she has supposedly “taken as her Savior.” And Satan smiles for he knows that one must obey Jesus as his LORD during this life in order for Him to become his SAVIOR at the beginning of the next life. If Jesus is not our LORD/MASTER in this life, He will not be our SAVIOR in the next life. Read Luke 6:46.

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus directions and addresses the “why” relative to professing Christendom’s wretched spiritual condition. He places the primary fault on FALSE PROPHETS AND OTHER CHURCH LEADERS. Recall that He promised that HE, JESUS HIMSELF would place in positions of leadership those who would lead the people to the righteousness necessary in order to receive eternal life upon His return to earth (Eph. 4:11-16). The church’s apostasy, which began not long after her founding, came about because her leaders failed to exert the Holy Spirit power necessary to cause the people to fear God, which is the “beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). When we sin we declare our lack of fear of the Almighty. As a man, Jesus feared God, which is why God heard His prayers (Heb. 5:7). Church sinners who claim to fear God are double liars: they lie to both themselves and to others.

However, it must be understood that, no matter how powerful and holy a leader is, man has been granted free moral agency. Samuel was a man of godly power and authority (the right to use God’s power). When he spoke to the people it was as if God Himself was speaking. The people feared him–for a while. There came a time when they rose up against God’s appointed leader and declared that they were tired of being under the dictatorial hand of God’s man. Rather, they wanted to be gently coaxed by a king of their own spiritual kind. The wanted someone on their own spiritual level to rule them, someone they could persuade and manipulate. God gave them the leadership they deserved. He gave them Saul, and the rest is history.

This declaration on the part of the people hurt Samuel terribly. When he lamented to the Lord about the people’s rejection, God told him that the people had not rejected him (Samuel), that in fact they had rejected HIM–GOD HIMSELF. Like Adam and Eve, they had heard another, more soothing, user-friendly voice that introduced them to another, much softer and more gentle way of life. Samuel had refused to bend to the people’s will. Today, the false church has followed in their footsteps. She rejects God’s message and the men He sends to her with His message. In so doing she reveals her true feelings toward the Holy Godhead. By rejecting Their Law those in the modern day (Laodicean) church proclaim that they DESPISE BOTH GOD AND CHRIST (Lk. 10:16).

Since the beginning of the church’s apostasy, church people have rejected God’s message and its His messengers, preferring instead to follow the lead of the various leaders who have put forth a “better gospel” than the one found in the Holy Bible. Each of these leaders have gathered around them those who agree with them, forming a cult now called a “denomination.” Each cult then labeled itself “the church” and set out to infect the rest of the world with its perverted gospel. The result has been hundreds of cults with hundreds of gods, christs and plans of salvation. The Lord calls their brand of religion “darkness.” He goes even farther, labeling their religious system “great darkness” because it is presented as His light. It is understandable that they hate those who proclaim God’s true Light. Satan’s darkness hates God’s Light because it exposes the darkness for what it is–an abomination unto the Lord.

Division is not a new problem within the spiritual world. The Prophet Isaiah had to deal with those who did not like to be told what to do and how to do it, not even by the One who created and chose them to be His own people. They rejected God’s firm hand and asked the prophet to be more ego-soothing and ear-scratching in his messaging. Notice what God said about them in Isaiah 30. In verses 8-11 He tells Isaiah to “… write it (His words of warning) on a table and in a book so that it (His Words) may be for THE TIME TO COME, FOREVER AND FOREVER.” THIS MEANS THAT THE FOLLOWING WORDS APPLY TO US TODAY. The God of the Old Testament (who became Jesus of Nazareth) said about those who rejected His Words: “This is a rebellious people. They are lying children who refuse to hear the LAW OF THE LORD. They say to My prophets; ‘Do not see what we do; do not prophesy about right things; speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. Get out of our way; do not tell us about the way of the Holy One of Israel; do not tell us about the path He commands that we follow.” Those who claim to be God’s people have a long history of apostasy which continues unto this day. For this reason He calls them lying, rebellious children who reject His Law, even to the point of destroying it.

Paul addressed one of the church’s original abominations (denominations) in First Corinthians 1:11-13. His question to those who would divide the church into different segments (denominations): “IS CHRIST DIVIDED?” To which Satan replies through the modern church: “YES.” To which Almighty God replies through Apostles Paul and Peter: “NO” (1 Cor. 1:10/ Eph. 4:4-6). Rebellion against the commands of God began in Eden and continues today in the great (Catholic) whore–“mystery Babylon”–and her “harlot (Protestant) daughters” (Rev. 17:1-5). As Jesus warns us in the Apocalypse, “mystery Babylon” will one day return and rule the world for 3 1/2 years. Only God’s Very Elect will be protected from her wrath. This period is called The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. The return of Jesus Christ will bring her reign to a sudden and permanent end. Read The Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Key word–Tribulation. L.J.