Daily Devotional – DECEMBER 20 (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner, Part 2: “Pharisee-ism Today!”)
By admin On February 9th, 2021.
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Daily Devotional, Year 2 – DECEMBER 20
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The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner,
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Part 2:
“Pharisee-ism Today!”
To read Part 1, click here…November 3rd (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner!)
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“Enter into the Rock, and hide thee in the dust,
for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of His majesty.
The lofty looks of man shall be humbled,
and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down,
and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
For the day of the LORD of hosts
shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty,
and upon every one that is lifted up;
and he shall be brought low:”
Isaiah 2:10-12
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“BUT MY CHURCH ISN’T BABYLON!”
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There are many churchgoers who insist that their church is still faithful; therefore, they have no intention of leaving their beloved congregation… “My church isn’t Babylon! We don’t have bands that play sensual-sounding “praise” songs! We still sing the old hymns! We don’t allow lewd or provocative clothing! Nor do we allow jewelry or make-up! Our pastor preaches right out of the Bible!……”
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And that’s a normal reaction to this horrible message about God’s people making a last day Exodus from out of the local congregations.
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It’s understandable!
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Church choir singing – Wikimedia – Share-alike License
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APOSTASY OFTEN HARD TO DETECT!
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But what many do not realize is that apostasy isn’t always so easy to detect.
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Apostasy isn’t just discovered in the camp of so-called, “liberals”.
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Oh yes, the greater portion of today’s churches fall into this camp. And it doesn’t take much observation to see the apostasy in the form of sensual music, giddy-loud-joke-telling preachers, amusement-driven and prosperity-driven gospels, circus acts, dramas, clubs, car washes, comedies, dramas, parties, dances, sports, etc…..
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No, it doesn’t take much observation to see this kind of apostasy!
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Audience hands – cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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But what about the few really conservative churches, which don’t have all those decadent and sensual attractions? How can they possibly be apostate?
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Question Marks – At a loss – svg – Wikimedia Commons – Share-Alike License
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EXTREMELY CLOSE COUNTERFEITS
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It must be remembered that Jesus warned us… “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” Matthew 24:24
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Now from this above verse, it becomes evident that Satan’s counterfeits will get really close to the true!
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Yes, Satan’s counterfeits are so close, that they might “deceive even the Elect”!
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ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel – www.signsofheaven.org
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MORALITY HARDER TO DETECT
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What we must keep in mind is that the spirit of the Sadducees and Pharisees is still alive and well.
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And while Sadducee-ism is mostly just the spirit of faithless unbelief, Pharisee-ism is the spirit of pride and morality!
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And let’s face it! Morality can look really, really close to true Christianity!
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Because good and correct and neat-n-clean behavior looks almost exactly like true Christianity!
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But there are some tell-tale signs of the Pharisees, which can be detected, when closely examined.
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James Tissot – The Pharisee and Publican – Brooklyn Museum & Wikimedia – US Public Domain
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PHARISEEISM POINTS AT OTHERS
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For one thing, phariseeism doesn’t think of itself as being “chief of sinners”.
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It’s “those other folks” who are the chief of sinners. Not us proud and morally-correct ones!
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And so, Phariseeism does a lot of self-righteous finger-pointing at others.
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Oh yes, there is a time and place to expose the apostasy of the churches.
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But never do we judge another individual’s heart nor the motives of his or her heart.
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Nor do we scorn others, thinking we are more righteous and “holier than thou!” Isaiah 65:5
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SATAN FIERCELY ASSAULTS TRUE SHEEP
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And any true worshipper of God will probably be so heavily assaulted by the 
“Accuser of the Brethren”, Satan, that he realizes just what a dirty rotten sinner he (or she) really is!
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In other words, there will be no pretentious humility.
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It will be the real thing!
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Because, truth-be-told, we all have pharisee-ism and sadducee-ism within us!
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And it is by frequent trials and afflictions, that God purifies us from all such wickedness.
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As a goldsmith purifies gold by fire, so also, God sends us through many fiery trials to burn away the dross of sin, that we will become as pure and precious gold in His sight!
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Protest – Anti-Christian rally in Chicago – cropped image – Wikimedia
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MANY NOT SUFFERING SO MUCH
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But those who are NOT truly on the pathway to the Celestial City of God, are not suffering so much.
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Oh yes, they experience the some of the same trials that unbelievers are going through.
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But these will not suffer the kinds of fiery trials which cause true worshippers to fall to their knees daily and cry out for God’s mercy!
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PS Krøyer – Hip hip hurra! Kunstnerfest på Skagen – 1888 – Wikimedia – Public Domain
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WE MUST BE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST
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To fill up the measure of Christ’s suffering in our body is what we have been called to partake of!
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We must have our, “Old Man of the flesh”, crucified with Christ!
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And that, dear Christian, is a war that we just cannot avoid!
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But because Pharisees (the unrepentant proud and moral) are yet unsaved, they are most likely having a somewhat smooth existence.
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And they are certainly not falling to their knees, pleading for God to remove their filthiness and sin!
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“LOVE FOR EARTHLY MAMMON”
Matthew 6:24
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Now the Bible says that the Pharisees, “were covetous” (Luke 16:14).
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And while conservatives love to point the finger at those crazy “name-it-and-claim-it” churches over there, the conservatives merely call their own version of the prosperity-driven gospel, “The American Dream”, or “The Entrepreneurial Spirit”
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Mall Market culture – Jakarta – Wikimedia – share-alike-lic.
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PAUL FORSOOK ALL!
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After all, we are to imitate the Apostle Paul!
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And did Paul load up on the things of the world?
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Listen to Paul…“And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” 1st Timothy 6:8.
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And Paul lived by these words!
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And he is writing this exhortation to all true worshipers of God!
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Paul Tentmaking – La Vista Church of Christ – Creative Commons License
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IS ALL THIS CRITICISM NECESSARY?
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Now, having said all this, doesn’t this entire article sound very judgmental and finger-pointing?
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Yes, it absolutely does!
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Be that as it may, these tell-tale signs of Pharisee-ism, nevertheless, must be pointed out, since they are so easily overlooked in today’s church-world!
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And how, by keeping silent, can God’s people ever realize that ALL the churches are apostate, not just some!
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GOOD NEWS! A PLACE OF REFUGE!
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Well, the Good News is, that God has provided a place of refuge for all who are escaped out of Babylon.
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Listen to Isaiah…“And there shall be upon every high [spiritual] mountain, and upon every high [spiritual] hill, rivers and streams of [living] waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers [churches] fall.” Isaiah 30:25 (words in parentheses supplied by Webmaster.)
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God has promised to all those who come out of Babylon, rivers and streams of living waters, outside of the churches.
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And our spiritual bread shall be given to us, and our living waters shall be assured! (see Isaiah 33:16)
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Picture – Lot Escapes Sodom – www.thebiblerevival.com offers free Bible clipart – Public Domain.
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TO READ PART 3, GO HERE…
January 6 (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner, Part 3: “Worshiping the god of Respectability!”)
Young business people – Cropped Photo – Wikimedia – the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
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TODAY’S PRAYER…
“Dear Lord, Help me to understand this fearful message, to come out of Babylon! And if it’s true, then help me to make this great modern-day Exodus…
Woman Praying – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… Fleeing to the Mountains: The Abomination in the Church, Part 1, or you can also read…“May 12th (Come Out of Her, My People?)”
Question book magnify svg – Wikimedia – GNU license
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THE END
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TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
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“THE SCORNER (THE PHARISEE)”
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“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, AN EVIL EYE, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:18-23
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Please tilt your head to the left. Do you see a man with a very long pointed nose. 
(Obviously, the sketch to the right is just an exaggeration in order to help you find the face in the photo to the left.)
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Do you see an angry look? His right eye-brow is raised as if he is judging.
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This second face in the Moon appears to be that of a combination of a man as well as a fox. Or maybe a wolf. Doesn’t he have a long narrow nose like a wolf or fox? Maybe even a dog. Nevertheless, the expression on his face, as he appears to look down upon the Earth, is that of scorn. Unlike the first Moon-man’s sad shock and awe; this ‘man/fox/wolf/dog’ appears to be that of anger and scorn. As if he is disgusted at the sinful planet below.
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He is very moral, you see!
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READ MORE…
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Moon Into Blood Trilogy: 2nd Face: The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner”
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TOMORROW:
DECEMBER 21 (Come Out of Her, My People! Part 31: “Are There Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors & Teachers, Today?”)
Paul the Apostle – cropped & brightened photo – Artist – Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier – circa 1500s – Wikipedia – Public Domain
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EXCERPTS FROM THE OPEN FORUM 
QUESTION/ANSWER RADIO TALK-SHOW…
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ALL ‘NOBLE BEREANS’ (open-minded seekers of Bible truth) are encouraged to listen to this Open Forum #37, a small 30 minute sampling of the late Harold Camping’s nearly 50 year long series of 90 minute nightly talk shows…
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ABOVE PICTURE: Holy bible – Wikimedia – Creative Commons lic.
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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, and tags, etc.. Most Images cropped & reduced in size.