The speaker used a popular ‘mid-Acts’ phrase, ‘a saint of the Most High God’. Ever wonder where that came from? Did PAUL use that term? Or did the speaker go OUTSIDE of PAUL to get that 'title'? Oh, no! ‘Mid-Acts’ horror! It is in DANIEL .... 4 times .... and worse yet, it is in the CONTEXT of the LAST DAYS and the END of the WORLD and the COMING / APPEARING / RETURN of the LORD back to EARTH (also see Matt 24:3):
Dan 7:13-28 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20 And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; (WHICH saints? The saints of the most High? from vs. 18?)
22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Could these be the saints who will judge the WORLD, of whom PAUL wrote?
1 Cor 6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
Let’s continue in Daniel:
(Dan 7:) 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
It was JUDGMENTAL of the speaker to find it "funny and interesting" "to go to a mall and watch people" or "sit in a room" .... so he could "pick out saved - or - not saved" (assuming by outward appearance and behavior, since he did not mention talking to any of them).
1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
The speaker equated ‘departing from the faith’ with "not living in the doctrine laid out by Paul" .... and .... "to start teaching other things OUTSIDE of Paul’s epistles as doctrines for today."
FYI, the same Greek word that is translated "shall depart from" in 1 Tim 4:1 is also used about withdrawing from GOD in Heb 3:12:
Heb 3:12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Departing from ‘the faith’ and from ‘the living God’ .... are NOT AT ALL the same as what the speaker indicated was departing from ‘MID-ACTS DOCTRINE’! Again, his JUDGMENTAL attitude was offensive.
May I ‘step outside of Paul’ to call to remembrance 2 verses from Matthew?
Matt 7:1-2 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
FYI, also, the same Greek word in 1 Tim 4:1 and Heb 3:12, is the same word that is translated ‘fall away’ in connection to ‘time of temptation’:
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root (also see Rom 11:17), which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
Jesus warned of falling away from the faith, from God .... denying Him .... because of the threat of one’s physical life being taken:
Matt 10:28, 33 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.
PAUL gave the same warning as Jesus did .... if ‘we’ deny Him:
2 Tim 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:
if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Oh, speaker .... if we find a verse that is OUTSIDE of PAUL .... may we still use it .... if we can find a verse INSIDE of PAUL that teaches the same thing? Or do they have to be DIFFERENT things .... even though they are the SAME WORDS .... since ‘mid-Acts’ doctrine teaches ‘the last days’ of PAUL are ‘DIFFERENT last days’ than ‘the last days’ of PETER .... and the ‘coming/appearing of the Lord’ in PAUL is ‘a DIFFERENT coming/appearing of the Lord’ than in PETER?
PAUL PROPHESIED a falling away .... a forsaking .... an apostasy .... a departing from the faith, from God .... combined with the son of perdition being revealed. In that context, PAUL told the saints not to be deceived (also see Matt 24:4,11 and Luke 21:8):
2 Thess 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
It will be a world-wide tempting time:
Rev 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The temptation and tribulation will be great .... to save one’s own physical life (even though just for 3-1/2 years), to be able to do any business or buy groceries, to deny the faith and the Lord, to worship the image of the beast, and to receive his mark:
Rev 13:15-17 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Jesus encouraged people to endure affliction and persecution: (also see Mark 4:17, 2 Thess 1:4-10, 1 Pet 2:19-23):
Mark 8:35-38 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
The speaker’s topic was to ‘Walk Intelligently’ .... well, it is better to be prepared by rightly dividing the word of truth with a correct understanding about the resurrection and coming of the Lord .... than to have one’s faith subverted or destroyed:
2 Tim 2:15-18 Study to shew thyself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.
17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus;
18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
