"COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE"

The Apostle Paul wrote, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas (Peter); and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?"

"For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" 1 Cor 1-3.

"For where envying and strife is, there is confusion (as at Babel), and every EVIL work." Ja 3:16.

The denominational system, was never God's plan, but, man's carnal attempt to control the Gospel with his various traditions. The Scripture refers to this Catholic/Protestant religious system, as the "Mother of harlots." Rev 17.

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world, is enmity with God? Whosoever will be the friend of the world, is the ENEMY of God." Ja 4:4.

The prophets, Jesus, His disciples, and God-fearing Christians, have been tortured and martyred for the Gospel, down through the centuries. It is said, that, there were more Christian martyrs in the 20th century, than, in all other centuries combined. Even as we speak, our brethren are suffering for their faith.

So, why aren't we suffering persecution in the USA? Perhaps, because, we are no longer, a serious threat to the powers of darkness. Have we forgotten, that, we are in a spiritual warfare with Satan, having eternal consequences?

Christian comedy, entertaining sermons, politically-correct sermons, fund-raising from the pulpit? Milk, rather, than strong meat? When did Jesus and His disciples participate in such things? They were martyred for preaching the Gospel.

Do you love Him enough to be martyred for Him?

The signs of the end are upon us. It is time to surrender our various church traditions, and cleave to God's Word, alone. I have found, that, most error results from incomplete study of the Scripture. The entire reference for ever doctrine is Genesis-Revelation.

Let us imitate the Bereans: "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, searching the Scriptures, daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11.

The Greek word for church, is "ekklesia," which, is defined as, "called-out ones." The Lord has, always, had a remnant people.

"And I heard another Voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities." Rev 18:4,5.

Do you hear His Voice?

Jesus said, "My sheep hear my Voice and I know them and they follow me." John 10:27.

The Lord desires a people for His own
possession; sanctified for His glory,
His kingdom, and His purpose!!
The Lord will shake the tree of denomin-
ations down to its very root. If it
is not found to abide in the Vine; it will
be cast aside. Only the true fruit will
remain. Learn the lesson of the fig tree!! :-D

The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths strait!!
O generation of vipers-religious leaders-who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance-ye shall know them(the people of God) by their fruits-and begin not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham for our father("I made a "decision" for Christ __ years ago")
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

It seems as though the greatest problem Jesus Christ faced on this earth was the religious establishment. Or perhaps, the devil working through the religious leaders. "Ye are of your father the devil, [i]and the lusts of your father ye will do[/i]"

If the Son of man were to return to the earth in a body of flesh, what sort of reception would He receive? Think of the preaching of Christ:
"Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
"Ye CANNOT serve God and mammon"(be materialistic)
"Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he CANNOT be my disciple"
"Many are called, but few are chosen"

The question is clear; when the Son of man returns, will He find faith on the earth? Or does He find the "Christians" fullfiling the lusts of the flesh, and fighting and warring amongst one another?
(Rev 3:15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

(Rev 3:16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

(Rev 3:17) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

(Rev 3:18) I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see.

Oh, that we would we leave the wretchedness of our religious systems and cling to Christ! Do we preach the cross, or do we defend our doctrines?
Pure doctrine is vitally important, terribly important, but so often we are simply defending a doctrine and not bringing glory to Christ.
[b]Looking unto Jesus;[/b] let us buy of Him gold tried in the fire![b]

Excerpts from Escape From Churchianity – Chip Brogden

An intellectual Christianity is what Organized Religion brings. It cannot impart Life. What do I mean by an intellectual Christianity? It is the ABC Gospel. Perhaps you have heard it. Salvation is obtained in three easy steps: "A" stands for "admit you are a sinner"; "B" stands for "believe on the Lord Jesus to save you"; and "C" stands for "confess Jesus as your personal Savior." What is wrong with that? Simply this: there is no Life there. "ABC" will not save us. With "ABC" there is no encounter with Jesus, Who alone is Life. There is only an intellectual acceptance and affirmation of what is presented as "Three Easy Steps". I believe this, I say that, and that makes me a Christian, right? No, it just makes you religious. There are many people who "get religion", but they don't get Jesus.

Organized Religion can bring doctrine, teaching, and belief. Some of it may be morally excellent and good. Some of it may even sound Biblical, like "Three Easy Steps". Nevertheless, Organized Religion cannot impart Life. Why? Because it has no Life to give. Jesus Christ is the Life. And Jesus does not live within the matrix of Organized Religion. He gives HIMSELF. How can any man, organization, or movement claim to give away another man, much less impart the very Life of Jesus Christ? Only Jesus can give Himself as our Life.

You see, then, that the most anyone can do is point people to Jesus as the sole Source of Life. They may contact Life through us, but we cannot give them Life. To those bound by Organized Religion, Jesus cries "You search the Scriptures, because you think in them you have Life. You are content to read about Me, but you will not come to Me that you may have Life (John 5:39,40, paraphrased)." Come to Me! Not, "Memorize these Three Easy Steps and attend the Church of your choice this Sunday." Come to Me! He is Life.

Organized Religion has caused Christianity to morph into Churchianity, a gospel which is easy to believe in but progressively more difficult to live up to.

If God would grant you a moment by His side and allow you a fleeting glance at His Church you would at once understand what a pitiful substitute we have in Organized Religion. There is no vanity so deep as religious vanity, nothing more sickening and diametrically opposed to the heart and ultimate purpose of God.

And we who are in Christ Jesus ARE seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6).

If God is pleased to grant you this vision of His Church then you will come to appreciate it as a blessing and a curse. A blessing, because to see things as He sees them is true Wisdom and Oneness with Him and His people. A curse, because to see things as He sees them will ruin you for life, for you will never again be able to accept the surrogate, the counterfeit, even the good, at the expense of the Holy. His Church, His Treasure, how holy and pure and wonderful and unspeakable it is! Before you would casually call this thing and that thing "church" just like everyone else does and find it socially acceptable, but now your skin will crawl and your stomach will twist in knots when you hear others call some building the "house of God", knowing full well that His House is not this dead thing made with human hands!

Jesus said, "Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall ENTER into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.

MANY will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" ("Christians" do works in His name.)

And then will I profess unto them, I NEVER KNEW YOU: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." (lawlessness). Matt 7:21-23.

"And hereby we do know that we know him, IF we keep his commandments. He that saith, I KNOW HIM, and keepeth not his commandments, is a LIAR, and the Truth is not in him." 1 John 2:3,4.

James 2:10,11, tells us, that, if we break one of the commandments, we become transgressors of His law and are guilty of breaking all of them.

My dear brethren, that includes the fourth.

Jesus prophesied of the apostasy in the last days:

"And because iniquity (lawlessness) shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Matt 24:12.

In the Book of Revelation, there are two churches represented:

In Rev 18:4,5, the Lord charges the "Mother of harlots," with, "sin," which, is the "transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and "iniquity," which is "lawlessness."

When Jesus gave us the "Two Greatest Commandments," He was quoting the law. Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18.

These two are a summation of The Ten.

If you love the Lord, supremely, you will not worship or, bow down to other gods, take His name in vain, or, profane His holy day. Isa 58:13.

If you love your neighbour as yourself, you will honor your parents, do no murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness, or, covet.

"By THIS we know that we love the children of God (#2), when we love God (#1) and keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:2,3.

Not to those under the New Covenant, who have His Covenant (Deut 4:13) engraved upon their hearts and minds. Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:10.

The Bride of Christ keeps His commandments:

"And the dragon (Satan) was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev 12:17.

"Here is the patience of the SAINTS: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev 14:12.

At the very end of the Book of Books, the Apostle John makes a connection between keeping His commandments, and entering Heaven:

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have RIGHT to the tree of life, AND MAY ENTER IN through the gates into the city." Rev 22"14.

thank you jeanette,

the question has to be asked of us...have we come out of babylon to the holy city Jerusalem?? do we still try to keep our life and have the best of God and man or have we been crucified to this world and been planted in Christ?? anyone can leave an institution to be still bitter and bound by babylon inside.. have we escaped babylon..spiritually as well??

just some thoughts.

sscr01 wrote:
The denominational system, was never God's plan, but, man's carnal attempt to control the Gospel with his various traditions. The Scripture refers to this Catholic/Protestant religious system, as the "Mother of harlots." Rev 17.

As one who is without denominational affiliation, may I ask where you would have us flee to? This is a practical question, based on the fact that many of the house churches that I have encountered are just as much (if not more) institutionalised than those with a building and a logo on the door.

Perhaps a better question to ask would be what is it about the denominational church that makes it the "Mother of Harlots"? Could the thing that we are missing be the "hiddenness" of the true church? Every group wrestles with the temptation to assert itself as the "remnant", saying that everyone else is at best "second class" or at worst "apostate".

Shouldn't church be about "peers being amongst peers" with each having their own specific function? What if we were to look [b]for[/b] the church [b]within[/b] the "church". Across every denomination I have met both true and false believers, who have varied greatly in the level and methods of objections against the official stances. Some amongst those that I would consider to be true have been ordained, and others have not, but both pretty much ignore this ordination, seeing it only as a tool serving a purpose, rather than the basis of asserting their own authority.

I agree, in part, with the earlier statement about the coming out not necessarily being physical. I personally spent two or three years as a "missionary to the institutional church", after I began to realise what real church is about. My physical departure only occurred because of functional issues, rather than doctrinal.

Now our small fellowship is struggling with the issue of temptation to focus on what's wrong with the church, rather than just getting on with it. When people leave the denominational structure it is common to be highly critical of what they left, in similar ways to how people demonise ex-boy/girlfriends after they break up with them.

It would be wise to be mindful of the parable of the "wheat and the tares" when wading into such and issue.

When what is taught in my church, doesn't line up with Scripture, I speak up. Some get irritated, but, others encourage me.

It's about being in the system, but, not of the system - just as with the Bereans.

The Ecumenical Movement, sacrifices Scriptural doctrine for unity.

To the Bride of Christ, His Word, alone is life:

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." John 1.

The Word of God - nothing more, and nothing less.

in my life, i am presently at the same institutionalized system that i grew up in. the difference is because of what God has done in me, i see what God's true church is (us believers) and what it is not (buildings, denominations, etc). this has given me freedom because i am not bound or limited by what "church" or demonination that i am a part of, but rather to seek to love, edify, rebuke, and encourage the true church. now fellowship is not limited to a day (sunday) or time (10:00 am) or place (in a building), but true fellowship in Christ happens all day and in any place where the believers are (in a house, park, store, on the street, etc).

since He has revealed to me what His church is, i am no longer bound by man's religion or man's systems. i don't care about programs, fads, and everything else that will be burned with the fire and found to be wood, hay, and stubble. i only care about Jesus the head, His church the body, and reaching others with the gospel of Christ. that is all that really matters.

in light of Christ, all other things just simply fade away.

I have demonstrated in my posts, "Daniel, Revelation & World History Reveal The Antichrist," and "Revelation 13:11 - Protestant America," that, the "Mother of harlots," will be the system, used by The Antichrist.

If they are not archived on this site, they can be found on many others, including, www.prophecytalk.com. (I use "Herald," on most sites.)

Peter, "lovingly," counseled Jesus, that, He did not need to go to the cross. Jesus looked at him, and said, "Get thee behind me, Satan!"

When James and John thought, that, they would follow (denominational?) precedent, they wanted to call fire down from heaven (as Elijah had done) upon the Samaritans. Jesus looked at them and said, "Ye know not what spirit you are of!"

These disciples were with Jesus 24/7, but, when they trusted in their own understanding, they were used by Satan, who was trying to thwart the plan of God.

When Jesus said, that, one of them would betray Him, none of them knew who it was. Judas arose from within the ranks.

The greatest deception, is that, which, is the closest to the Truth.

The fourth commandment, contains, the three components of a seal: #1 His name, #2 His authority, #3 His domain. The fourth commandment is the SEAL of the Covenant.

So, what is the MARK of the Beast?

The "Little Horn," (Antichrist) "...thinks to change times and laws." Dan 7:25.

The Sabbath was "changed" to Sunday, at the Council of Laodicea, 364 A.D. He, only, "thinks to change," because, no man/institution can over-rule our Creator and change His law.

The, only, commandment in the Covenant (Deut 4:13), dealing with time and law, is the fourth, concerning the seventh day Sabbath.

"Question.-Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?"

"Answer.- Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her,-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." - Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174.

"Of course the Catholic Church claims the change was her act...and the act is a MARK of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters." Thomas, H.F., Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath.

"It's (Sunday's change for Saturday) the MARK of our authority to OVER-RULE God's law." Father Enright, C.S.S.R., President of Redemptorist College, History of the Sabbath, page 802.

"Sunday is our MARK of authority...The Church is ABOVE THE BIBLE, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact." The Catholic Record, Sept. 1, 1923.

"The Bible says, 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.' The Catholic Church says, 'No! by my DIVINE power, I ABOLISH THE SABBATH DAY, and COMMAND YOU to keep holy the first day of the week. And, lo! The entire civilized world, BOWS DOWN in reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church." Father Enright.

(Emphasis added)

A mark in the forehead, symbolizes worship. A mark in the hand, symbolizes service.

Constantine instituted the first Sunday law in 321 A.D. Constantine, a Christian? He was a sun worshipper. He had his brother-in-law, wife and eldest son murdered. He had a vision of the cross of Mithra (sun god), and heard a voice saying, "In this sign, conquer..."

Jesus never used the state to further the Kingdom of God. He said, that, His kingdom was not of this world, or else His servants would fight. He taught us to fight spiritual warfare for the souls of men.

In Revelation 17, a woman rides the Beast. Vatican City, has long used states to further her agenda. She is a country unto herself. That is why, nations send ambassadors to the city.

Many Protestants in America, think, that, they can use the state to get this nation back to God. They are making the same error.

The Lord wins hearts, and the rest follows.

Pope John Paul 11, Pat Robertson, and Jerry Falwell have called for re-instituting the Sunday, or, "Blue Laws." They are, still, on the books in 26 states. In Virginia, the third infraction meant death!

Does this sound far-fetched? How about a tree in the garden of Eden, determining the fate of all mankind?

Just as in the garden, it is a question of allegiance.

Is your allegiance to the "Mother of harlots"?

Or, is your allegiance to our Creator: Jesus (John 1:3), who sanctified and blessed the seventh day Sabbath at Creation.

He never changed, or, abolished it.

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities (lawlessness); who healeth all thy diseases...As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed out transgressions (of the law) from us...TO SUCH AS KEEP HIS COVENANT, and to those that REMEMBER his commandments to do them." Ps 103.

Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15.

He is, only, Lord to those who obey Him.