Prophecies Happening NOW
LAWLESSNESS

What does the Bible say about lawlessness?

https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-lawlessness.html

To be lawless is to be contrary to the law or to act without regard to the law. Laws are necessary in a sinful world (1 Timothy 1:9), and those who choose to act lawlessly further sin in the world. The word for “lawlessness” in the Bible is often translated “iniquity.” According to the Bible, the root of all lawlessness is rebellion.

First John 3:4 defines sin as lawlessness: “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” To commit sin is to be lawless; that is, the sinner breaks God’s law. In this way, lawlessness is a rejection of God. Satan, who models the ultimate rejection of God, will one day empower the Antichrist, called “the lawless one,” whose rise to power “will be in accordance with how Satan works” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).

Lawlessness is contrasted with righteousness in verses such as Romans 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:14, and Hebrews 1:9. The righteous, who have the nature of Jesus Christ, hate the deeds of lawlessness. Lot, a godly man living in Sodom, “was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard” (2 Peter 2:8). The psalmist said, “I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked” (Psalm 26:5). Christians are to be law-abiding (1 Peter 4:15).

When a society ignores the law, lawlessness is the result, and chaos ensues. The time of the judges after Joshua’s death was marked by upheaval, oppression, and general disorder. The biblical historian puts his finger on the reason for the tumult: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit” (Judges 21:25). The riot in Ephesus is a good example of lawlessness in action (Acts 19). The rioters were confused and unsure even of why they were rioting (verse 32); in their lawlessness, they were ignoring proper legal channels (verse 39) and, of course, breaking the law (verse 40).

God has a purpose for establishing human government: “to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right” (1 Peter 2:14). Rulers are God’s appointees to maintain order and promote righteousness in a civil society. “Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:2). In other words, lawlessness is condemned in Scripture.

The Bible connects man’s lawlessness and rebellion against God with his need for God’s forgiveness. In Romans 4:7, Paul (quoting Psalm 32:1) says, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (ESV). God’s righteousness is imputed to us at salvation, and God forgives us of our lawlessness: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” (Hebrews 10:17, quoting Jeremiah 31:34). Christ died on the cross “to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14, ESV). Our lawless deeds resulted in Christ’s death, but God’s grace overcomes our lawless hearts.

In the judgment many will stand before Christ claiming a connection with Him that exists only in their own minds. They will rehearse their good deeds done in His name, only to hear Jesus declare them to be “workers of lawlessness” whom Christ never knew (Matthew 7:23, ESV). At that time, those who practice lawlessness will be cast “into the blazing furnace,” while those who are covered by the righteousness of Christ “will shine like the sun” (Matthew 13:41–43). Christ will have the ultimate victory and will eliminate lawlessness forever.

Bible and Lawlessness

Lawlessness Is Sin

What does it mean that sin is lawlessness?

https://www.gotquestions.org/sin-is-lawlessness.html

First John 3:4 says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.” The word translated “lawlessness” comes from the Greek word anomia, which means “an utter disregard for God and His laws.” From this Greek word we also get the word antinomianism, which is the belief that there are no moral laws that God expects Christians to obey. Every sin is a transgression against God because sin violates His moral standard for human beings. Since God created us (Genesis 1:27), He has the right to define boundaries for us. Any violation of those boundaries is a violation of His law, which means that every sin is an act of lawlessness.

The follower of God will eschew lawlessness. The blessed person is described as one “whose delight is in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 1:2). “I long for your salvation, LORD,” writes the psalmist, “and your law gives me delight” (Psalm 119:174). The contrast between lawlessness and love could not be clearer: “Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law” (Psalm 119:70).

Scripture makes a distinction between someone who sins, as we all do (Romans 3:10, 23; 1 John 1:8), and someone who “practices lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23; 13:41). A lawless person is one who has given himself or herself over completely to a sinful lifestyle. Lawless people either do not believe in God or refuse to acknowledge His right to rule their lives (Psalm 14:1). Even those living in lawlessness can find forgiveness if they turn from their sin and receive Christ’s righteousness and salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16–18).

Those who persist in lawlessness will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9–10; Galatians 5:20–21). Jesus warned that in the end times lawlessness will increase and “the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). When an attitude of lawlessness pervades the atmosphere, people stop wondering about right and wrong. They no longer know or care that absolute moral standards exist. Lawless people may consider themselves very religious and spiritual, but they have defined God as they wish Him to be, not as He is.

The Antichrist who is prophesied to appear in the end times is described as a “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8). Daniel says he will be a king who “will do as he pleases” (Daniel 11:36). The Antichrist will be one who knows who God is but declares himself to be above God, just as Satan did (Isaiah 14:14; 1 John 2:22; 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). He is called “lawless” because he will spurn all authority and be completely given over to sin. Those who follow the Antichrist during the tribulation will follow him into lawlessness, to their own destruction. Those who receive his mark will never be able to repent and find forgiveness, but will be tormented forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 14:9–10).

Lawlessness results in a culture running wild (Proverbs 29:18). The time of the judges was so tumultuous because, in part, “all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25, NLT). We are seeing the effects of lawlessness in much of the world today. God’s laws—and even secular society’s laws—are rejected as obsolete, superfluous, or repressive. Each man is a law unto himself, and the outcome of that type of lawlessness is anarchy and chaos. Sin must not be justified with a shrug and a “nobody’s perfect.” Every act of sin is an example of lawlessness because it is a violation of God’s standard of holiness and His perfect character.

1 John 3:4-9 – Sin and the Child of God

1Jn 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

1 John 5:17 – Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

1Jn 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

1 Timothy 1:8-11 – No Other Doctrine

1Ti 1:8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

Romans 3:21-26 – God’s Righteousness Through Faith

Ro 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Ecclesiastes 7: 20 – The Value of Practical Wisdom

Ec 7:20 For there is not a just man on earth who does good And does not sin.

Numbers 32:20-23 – The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan

Nu 32:20 Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, 21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22 and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord. 23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out.

James 4:17 – Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

Jam 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Romans 14:19-23 – The Law of Love

Ro 14:19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

Genesis 4:6-7 – Cain Murders Abel

Ge 4:6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

John 8:34-36 – The Truth Shall Make You Free

Jn 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

James 1:12-15 – Loving God Under Trials

Jam 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Romans 5:12-19 – Death in Adam, Life in Christ

Ro 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned … 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Romans 6:11-14 – Dead to Sin, Alive to God

Ro 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 – Be Reconciled to God

2Co 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

1 Peter 2:21-25 – Submission to Masters

1Pe 2:21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. 25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

In sin is lawlessness

Defining Lawlessness / Sin

Leviticus 19:11-18 – Moral and Ceremonial Laws

Lev 19:11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12 And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 13 ‘You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shall fear your God: I am the Lord. 15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Psalm 12 – Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

Ps 12:1 Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.
2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, And the tongue that speaks proud things,
4 Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail; Our lips are our own; Who is lord over us?”

5 “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy,

Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will set him in the safety for which he yearns.”

6 The words of the Lord are pure words, Like silver tried in a furnace of earth, Purified seven times.
7 You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.

8 The wicked prowl on every side, When vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

Psalm 52 – The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

Ps 52:1 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually.
2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.
3 You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah
4 You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue.

5 God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6 The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying,
7 “Here is the man who did not make God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”

8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
9 I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

Proverbs 6:16-19 – The Wicked Man

Pro 6:16 These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
17 A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood,
18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil,
19 A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.

Proverbs 11:1-12 – The Folly of Wickedness

Pro 11:1 Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, But a just weight is His delight.

2 When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.

3 The integrity of the upright will guide them, But the perversity of the unfaithful will destroy them.
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.
5 The righteousness of the blameless will direct his way aright, But the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by their lust.

7 When a wicked man dies, his expectation will perish, And the hope of the unjust perishes.
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, And it comes to the wicked instead.
9 The hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered.
10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices; And when the wicked perish, there is jubilation.
11 By the blessing of the upright the city is exalted, But it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked.

12 He who is devoid of wisdom despises his neighbor, But a man of understanding holds his peace.

Proverbs 12:22 – The House of the Righteous Shall Stand

Pro 12:22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight.

Proverbs 24:28-29 – Further Sayings of the Wise

Pro 24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, For would you deceive with your lips?
29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”

Isaiah 5:20-25 – Impending Judgment on Excesses

Is 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

24 Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, And the flame consumes the chaff,
So their root will be as rottenness, And their blossom will ascend like dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them
And stricken them, And the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets.

Isaiah 29:15-16 – The Blindness of Disobedience

Is 29:15 Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord,
And their works are in the dark; They say, “Who sees us?” and, “Who knows us?”
16 Surely you have things turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;
For shall the thing made say of him who made it, “He did not make me”?
Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, “He has no understanding”?

Isaiah 47:8-15 – The Humiliation of Babylon

Is 47:8 “Therefore hear this now, you who are given to pleasures, Who dwell securely,
Who say in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me;
I shall not sit as a widow, Nor shall I know the loss of children’;
9 But these two things shall come to you In a moment, in one day: The loss of children, and widowhood.
They shall come upon you in their fullness Because of the multitude of your sorceries,
For the great abundance of your enchantments.

10 “For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, ‘No one sees me’;
Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you;

And you have said in your heart, ‘I am, and there is no one else besides me.’
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you; You shall not know from where it arises.
And trouble shall fall upon you; You will not be able to put it off.
And desolation shall come upon you suddenly, Which you shall not know.

12 “Stand now with your enchantments And the multitude of your sorceries,
In which you have labored from your youth— Perhaps you will be able to profit, Perhaps you will prevail.
13 You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels; Let now the astrologers, the stargazers,
And the monthly prognosticators Stand up and save you From what shall come upon you.
14 Behold, they shall be as stubble, The fire shall burn them; They shall not deliver themselves From the power of the flame;
It shall not be a coal to be warmed by, Nor a fire to sit before!
15 Thus shall they be to you With whom you have labored, Your merchants from your youth;
They shall wander each one to his quarter. No one shall save you.

Ezekiel 18:4-9 – A False Proverb Refuted

Ez 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
5 But if a man is just And does what is lawful and right;
6 If he has not eaten on the mountains, Nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife, Nor approached a woman during her impurity;
7 If he has not oppressed anyone, But has restored to the debtor his pledge;
Has robbed no one by violence, But has given his bread to the hungry And covered the naked with clothing;
8 If he has not exacted usury Nor taken any increase,
But has withdrawn his hand from iniquity And executed true judgment between man and man;
9 If he has walked in My statutes And kept My judgments faithfully—He is just; He shall surely live!” Says the Lord God.

Matthew 5:21-22 – Murder Begins in the Heart

Mt 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Matthew 5:27-30 – Adultery in the Heart

Mt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

Matthew 15:18-20 – Defilement Comes from Within

Mt 15:18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.”

Matthew 18:21-35 – The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Mt 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. … 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

Matthew 24:48-51 – The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

Mt 24:48 But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Mark 7:20-23 – Defilement Comes from Within

Mk 7:20 And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

Mark 10:17-19 – Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

Mk 10:17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” 18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

Romans 1:28-32 – God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

Ro 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Romans 8:12-13 – Sonship Through the Spirit

Ro 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God

Romans 12:9-21 – Love in Action

Ro 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 14:11-14 – Put on Christ

Ro 14:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Romans 16:17-20 – Avoid Divisive Persons

Ro 16:17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Do Not Sue the Brethren

1Co 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Galatians 5:19-21 – Walking in the Spirit

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 6:7-10 – Be Generous and Do Good

Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Ephesians 4:25-32 – Do Not Grieve the Spirit

Ep 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 5:1-7 – Walk in Love

Ep 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them.

Colossians 3:5-11 – Not Carnality but Christ

Col 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 – God’s Final Judgment and Glory

2Th 1:6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

James 4:13-17 – Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

Jam 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

1 Peter 2:1-3 – Our Inheritance Through Christ’s Blood

1Pe 2:3 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

Revelation 3:14-21 – The Lukewarm Church

Rev 3:14 “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, …15 “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. 21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

Revelation 21:7-8 – All Things Made New

Rev 21:7 He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Defining Sin

Confessing Sin/Lawlessness (Saved)

John 3:16-21 – The New Birth

Jn 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Ephesians 1:7 – Redemption in Christ

Ep 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Titus 2:11-14 – Trained by Saving Grace

Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

1 John 1:5-10 – Fellowship with Him and One Another

1Jn 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Proverbs 28:12-13 – The Righteous Are Bold as a Lion

Pro 28:12 When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.

13 He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.

Psalm 51:1-6 – A Prayer of Repentance

Ps 5:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 32:1-5 – The Joy of Forgiveness

Ps 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

Romans 4:5-8 – David Celebrates the Same Truth

Ro 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, 6 just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered;
8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Isaiah 1:16-20 – The Wickedness of Judah

Is 1:16 “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil,
17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

18 “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;
20 But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Mark 3:28-30 – The Unpardonable Sin

Mk 3:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Hebrews 8:12 – A New Covenant

Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”

Hebrews 10:15-17 – Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

Heb 10:15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Micah 7:18-19 – God Will Forgive Israel

Mic 7:18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?

He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities.

You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

Psalm 103:6-14 – Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

Ps 103:6 The Lord executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

1 John 5:1-5 – Obedience by Faith

1Jn 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1 John 2:1-11 – The Test of Knowing Him

1Jn 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. … 8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Ezekiel 18:4-9 – A False Proverb Refuted

Romans 6:15-19 – From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

2 John 1:4-6 – Walk in Christ’s Commandments

2Jn 1:4 I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. 6 This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.

Romans 13:8-10 – Love Your Neighbor

Ro 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

James 5:13-16 – Meeting Specific Needs

Jam 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

2 Corinthians 6:14 – Be Holy

2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

Hebrews 1:8-9 – The Son Exalted Above Angels

Heb 1:8 But to the Son He says:

“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”

Ephesians 2:1-9 – By Grace Through Faith

Ep 2:1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 5:8-14 – Walk in Light

Ep 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.”

Romans 6:20-23 – From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

Ro 6:20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Confessing Sin

Consequences of Unconfessed Sin/Lawlessness (Unsaved)

John 3:16-21 – The New Birth

Isaiah 64:4-7 – A Prayer for Help

Is 64:4 For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him.
5 You meet him who rejoices and does righteousness, Who remembers You in Your ways.
You are indeed angry, for we have sinned—In these ways we continue; And we need to be saved.

6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.
7 And there is no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to take hold of You;
For You have hidden Your face from us, And have consumed us because of our iniquities.

Isaiah 59:1-15 – Separated from God

Is 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.

4 No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth.
They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
5 They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;

He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.

6 Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
7 Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
8 The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways;
They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.

9 Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
10 We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.
11 We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:
13 In transgressing and lying against the Lord, And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
14 Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
15 So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

Isaiah 5:18-25 – Impending Judgment on Excesses

Is 5:18 Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, And sin as if with a cart rope;
19 That say, “Let Him make speed and hasten His work, That we may see it;
And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come, That we may know it.”

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe, And take away justice from the righteous man!

25 Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people;
He has stretched out His hand against them And stricken them, And the hills trembled.

Romans 1:18-32 – God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

Ro 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, … 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

Matthew 23:27-28 – Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees

Mt 23:27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Matthew 7:21-23 – I Never Knew You

Mt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

2 Peter 2:12-17 – Depravity of False Teachers

2Pe 2:12 But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, 13 and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. 15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Mark 3:28-30 – The Unpardonable Sin

Mk 3:28 “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation” — 30 because they said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

2 Peter 2:6-11 – Doom of False Teachers

2Pe 2:6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, 11 whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord.

Hebrews 10:26-27 – The Just Live by Faith

Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Matthew 13:40-42 – The Parable of the Tares Explained

Mt 13:40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

1 John 3:10-15 – The Imperative of Love

1Jn 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

John 8:23-24 – Jesus Predicts His Departure

Jn 8:23 And He said to them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Consequences

Lawlessness in the Last Days

Matthew 24:12 – The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age

Mt 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” … 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 – The Great Apostasy

2Th 2:3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 – Perilous Times and Perilous Men

2Ti 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!

End Days

Garden of Evil By Hal Lindsey

https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-1-9-2022/

On his third day in office, Manhattan’s new District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, instructed his staff to stop the prosecutions of many serious crimes. They will no longer prosecute people for resisting arrest, prostitution, theft of services, or most instances of trespassing. Where he can, the new District Attorney is downgrading crimes like armed robbery from felonies to mere misdemeanors. That means people using a gun to commit robbery will, in some cases, be back on the streets without ever seeing the inside of a jail cell.

These changes, he said, will “make us safer.”

Imagine a James Bond-style master villain with practically unlimited resources. Let’s say this villain wants a global police state. That’s a tall order. Our villain will have to move strategically. So, he starts with the world’s most influential nation — the United States.

How would one go about turning a free nation into a police state? When you think about it, the answer is obvious. Inundate that nation with the seeds of lawlessness, then water those seeds. Encourage the weeds of crime while removing good and fruitful plants. Get rid of things like order and justice. Open the prisons. Make arrests meaningless. Reward evil and penalize good. Carefully nurture a garden of evil.

This, in turn, will make life so miserable for ordinary citizens that they will not only tolerate more government reach into their lives, they will demand it! The villain’s goal is to make them want peace and safety at all costs. That’s where Manhattan, Los Angeles, and other major jurisdictions across the United States are headed.

This country has chosen to embrace and even celebrate all kinds of sin and debauchery. Unless the US turns from this wickedness, it will fall. And that fall will devastate democracies everywhere. On our way down, the villain (in this case, Satan himself) plans to use American dysfunction to bring ever-increasing chaos to the whole planet.

The Bible describes these two seemingly contradictory things both coming true in the last days — lawlessness and a police state. In Matthew, chapters 24 and 25, Jesus gives a discourse on the time leading up to His return. In Matthew 24:12, He said, “Lawlessness will abound.” [NKJV]

Revelation 13 describes global government control so complete that people will be required to worship its leader. It describes a control mechanism so strict that people will not be able to buy or sell without government approval in the form of the mark of the beast. The technology enabling that level of economic control has only recently been developed and is just now coming into use. To enforce such draconian rules will take a surveillance state backed by a police state.

How could people ever put up with such changes? Fear. And a big part of that fear will be the fear of lawlessness. People are beginning to hear the chaos of the streets pounding on the doors of their homes. More and more are afraid to go out. They fear every random sound in the night. As this gets worse, they will demand police protection at any cost, including the cost of their freedoms. In the long run, defunding police and failure to prosecute criminals will mean an increase in both police power and in government control.

Garden of Evil By Hal Lindsey

Lawlessness and Other Proof :: By Terry James

https://www.raptureready.com/2021/10/01/lawlessness-and-other-proof-by-terry-james/

My daily emails and conversations usually include a statement similar to: “With everything going on, we must be very near the end.”

This usually means that this generation of anti-God rebels alive on the planet must be about to get their comeuppance; God must be fed up much like He was with the likes of the inhabitants at the lower end of the Dead Sea during the days of Lot.

It was a time of evil, debauchery, and violence, as we read in Genesis 19. Jesus gave condemning words by saying that the time He returns (that is, when He is next revealed to an unsuspecting world) will be just like it was in Lot’s day in Sodom and during Noah’s day. (Lot’s day in Sodom was a microcosm of what the entire world was like during Noah’s day.)

In both instances—Noah’s day and Lot’s day—God found mankind so repulsive in the way they were acting that He had to destroy all but the very few He found to be righteous. The biblical account says the destruction in both cases was complete. To the believer in biblical truth, that is proven to be the case as we look around.

The antediluvian world is no more. There’s not a trace of it, except perhaps in geographical sites, etc. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah can’t be found, either. We do have proof that they existed and were destroyed, however, as we will look at a bit further on.

First, it’s interesting to consider that Noah’s day and Lot’s day bore similar characteristics. We will, in this case, look basically at only one similarity: violence was rampant. Jesus said, by inference, that the time He is next revealed will be in a period of extreme violence.

This is because Genesis chapter 6 said that violence filled the whole earth during the time just before the Flood that destroyed all but Noah and his family. It must have indeed been a murderous time, one when everyone did what was right in their own eyes, with little or no attention paid to God’s prescription for living.

So we are looking at “proof” for the lawlessness—the violence that stems from throwing off God’s Law and instead doing what is right in our own, sinful eyes. Is there any evidence that this generation is coursing toward violence of such significant levels? Are we in the time like Noah’s day and Lot’s day that Jesus was talking about in the Olivet Discourse? (Matthew 24:36–42 and Luke 17:26–30). Are we at the very end of God’s holy patience, as were those earlier generations?

The following excerpt of an article may give us a clue.

Our violent, blood-soaked culture has produced a violent, blood-soaked reality in our streets. The final numbers for 2020 have finally been released by the FBI, and they are stunning.

Prior to last year, the largest one-year increase in the murder rate in the United States was 12.7 percent, and that came all the way back in 1968. Needless to say, many of you that are reading this article were not even alive in 1968. Well, we didn’t just break the old record last year. We more than doubled it. According to the FBI’s annual report on crime, the nationwide murder rate was up about 29 percent in 2020…

The United States in 2020 experienced the biggest rise in murder since the start of national record-keeping in 1960, according to data gathered by the FBI for its annual report on crime.

The Uniform Crime Report will stand as the official word on an unusually grim year, detailing a rise in murder of around 29%. The previous largest one-year change was a 12.7% increase in 1968. (“The Largest One-Year Increase in Murder in the History of the United States,” by Michael Snyder, Prophecy News Watch, 9/24/21)

In our book, LAWLESS: End-Times War Against the Spirit of Antichrist, a number of authors delineated the exponential increase in every sort of anti-God activity. Just since the recent release of that book, we witness even greater increase in violence in every direction as we look across the prophetic horizon. Thus, we must conclude that the answer to the consistent comments in the emails and the conversations have proof to back up the near-consensus. We are living at the very end of this Church Age (Age of Grace).

Proof that God is dealing with absolute evil from which people refuse to repent now confronts the eyes of mankind, if we will believe what we see.

Archaeologists have unearthed physical proof of what points to the destruction of Tell el-Hammam in the Jordan valley, the region of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old Testament, and what they found was really wild. They found evidence of an incredible explosion that occurred in the skies above ancient Sodom, an explosion so intense that buildings down below were destroyed and things were literally vaporized…

FROM THE JERUSALEM POST: Tell el-Hammam in the Jordan Valley might have inspired the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, according to a new study that has spanned 15 years. In the study, published in the journal Nature on Monday, archaeologists researched the remains of Tell el-Hammam in an attempt to discover what destroyed the ancient city during the Middle Bronze Age. During the period, there were roughly 50,000 people living in the area of the Jordan Valley in three cities: Tell el-Hammam, Jericho, and Tell Nimrin, with Tell el-Hammam the biggest of the three, implying that until its destruction, it would have been the political center of the area. Radiocarbon dating dates the destruction to within 50 years of 1650 BCE.

Examination of the remains revealed evidence of a destructive event that involved high temperatures, such as pottery pieces that were melted and boiled on the exterior, but normal on the inside. The buildings of Tell el-Hammam were made of mud bricks, some five stories tall. In the upper part of the city, the destructive force demolished the buildings to the height of their foundations in the walls, and little mud-brick remained. Of the palace that was in this part of the city, the first-floor walls and the upper stories are missing, and most of the mud-brick was pulverized. (“Archaeologists Discover Physical Proof for Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,” Jerusalem Post and NTEB, 9/23/21)

It is more evident by the hour that we are in a time similar to those in which the Lord said “enough is enough.” Judgment is coming. But for those who believe in Jesus Christ for redemption from sin and rebelliousness, the moment of God’s next catastrophic intervention into man’s history will be a glorious one, not one to dread. Christ’s shout from above, “Come up here!” will instantaneously take all believers into His magnificent presence.

Here is how to make sure your eternal soul is prepared to leave this wrath-bound planet when the Lord calls.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9–10).

Lawlessness and Other Proof

Who is the man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12?

https://www.gotquestions.org/man-of-lawlessness.html

See Antichrist

The man of lawlessness in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 is the Antichrist who will come on the world scene at the beginning of the Day of the Lord. This Day, sometimes called the “end times,” starts after the rapture of the church in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11). It is good to note that the Day of the Lord is not a twenty-four-hour period of time; rather, it is an extended period of time that includes the seven-year tribulation, the return of Christ to put down all rebellion against Him, the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth, the final defeat of Satan, and the Great White Throne Judgment.

The Antichrist is given the title “man of lawlessness” because he will oppose in every way the biblical God and His law. He will be completely lawless. Daniel 7 speaks of this man as a “boastful” king who will “try to change the set times and the laws” (verses 11 and 25). He will come offering a false peace to the world and will with his charismatic personality, incredible promises, and breathtaking miracles unite all nations politically, economically, and religiously under his leadership. At the same time, he will make a covenant with Israel for three and one-half years (cf. Daniel 9:27, where “seven” indicates seven years). In the middle of the seven years, the man of lawlessness will break his covenant with Israel, stop their sacrifices (Daniel 9:27), and enter the temple to set himself up as “god” and demand worship (2 Thessalonians 2:4). This is the “abomination that causes desolation” that Jesus spoke of in Mark 13:14.

Satan works through the Antichrist, for Satan himself is not able to become incarnate. By possessing and controlling the Antichrist, Satan is worshiped in the temple where the biblical God is to be worshiped. No wonder the Antichrist is called the man of lawlessness. To act as “god” is the ultimate rejection of the biblical God’s character and laws.

This action of the Antichrist will cause an upheaval in his worldwide kingdom, and forces from the East will gather to fight against him. But instead of fighting each other, the forces of the world unite to fight the King of kings and Lord of lords, who comes to put down the man of lawlessness and his allies in the great battle of Armageddon (Revelation 16:16; 19:19). Of course, the man of lawlessness loses that battle. He and his false prophet are then cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:20). The Word of God (Revelation 19:13), Jesus Christ, will be the Victor.

A quick observation of the happenings in our world today reveals that lawlessness is on the rise. Such lawlessness will continue and increase (2 Timothy 3:13), and when the man of lawlessness appears on the scene, he will be welcomed with open arms. Those who have rejected the true Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, will fall for the Antichrist’s empty promise of peace. It is vitally important that each of us is sure that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and are living for Him. “Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come” (Mark 13:33).

Man of lawlessness

THE RISE OF WICKEDNESS

The Rise of Wickedness - Part 1

Get A Life Media Ministries - The Final Countdown

The Rise of Wickedness - Part 2

Get A Life Media Ministries - The Final Countdown

The Rise of Wickedness - Part 3

Get A Life Media Ministries - The Final Countdown

The Rise of Wickedness - Part 4

Get A Life Media Ministries - The Final Countdown

The Rise of Wickedness - Part 5

Get A Life Media Ministries - The Final Countdown

Rise of Wickedness

Defund the Police

How should Christians view the “defund the police” movement?

https://www.gotquestions.blog/defund-the-police.html

In response to several recent examples of race driven police brutality, signs that say “Defund the Police!” are popping up. Thankfully, what most people mean by “defund the police” is “reduce funding to police departments,” not “get rid of the police entirely.” But, since “significantly reduce funding to police departments and find other ways to enforce order in society” doesn’t fit well on a sign, they go with “defund the police.”

Sadly and terrifyingly, though, there are some who actually think disbanding police departments would be a good solution. In contrast, the idea that society could function without the police is sheer lunacy to most people.

Who is right? Or, more accurately and more importantly, what does the Bible say?

According to Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17, one of the core responsibilities of government is to promote order and restrain/punish evil. The primary way governments accomplish this in modern society is some type of police force. The police exist to enforce the laws the government passes, to deter crime and arrest criminals, to protect the citizenry, and to encourage peacefulness. As Christians, we should view the police as God-ordained, and beyond that, as a gift from God.

What would a world without police look like? Yikes!

“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 17:6)

“…the wickedness of man was great in the earth…every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Genesis 6:5)

“They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-32)

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18)

Only a person with a decidedly unbiblical understanding of human nature could propose the elimination of police departments. Are there inherent and systemic problems with some police departments? Yes. Do many or perhaps all police departments need to be restructured? Yes. Should governmental budgets be adjusted to divert some responsibilities currently given to the police to other departments that could likely perform those tasks better? Likely.

Significantly defund the police? No way. Eliminate the police? I’m out!

How should Christians view the “defund the police” movement?

Defund the Police

Stupidocrisy: Defunding Police is Marxism in Action

Stupidocrisy: Defunding Police is Marxism in Action :: By Bill Wilson

https://www.raptureready.com/2021/06/06/stupidocrisy-defunding-police-is-marxism-in-action-by-bill-wilson/

Defunding the police is a Marxist revolution linchpin aimed at destroying the United States with the help of the Democratic Party and various anarchist and communist groups.

To most law-abiding Americans who love their country, the freedom and opportunity it provides, defunding the police is just a dangerously stupid idea. Many of those who want to defund the police are emotionally driven by class division, racial, and equality arguments and are duped into what is detrimental to their existence. Among them are the most hypocritical people in America—politicians.

A story by Breitbart News about the failings of Democrat-run cities that defunded the police is just the tip of the iceberg on this revolutionary concept. Breitbart reports:

“New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to reinstate $92 million to build a new precinct cut from the budget last year. From January 1 through May 23, 2021, there were 531 shootings in the city, up from 295 during the same period last year.

In Baltimore, Mayor Brandon Scott, who, as a city councilman, led efforts to cut the police budget by $22 million, is now proposing a $27 million increase.

In Oakland, California – where by mid-April the city had recorded 41 homicides, up from 13 over the same period last year – city lawmakers voted in April to put $3.3 million of the $29 million it had slashed back into the police budget….

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti wants an increase in police spending of about $50 million after the city cut $150 million last year.”

All part of the Marxist plan, as revealed by Nathaniel Flakin. Flakin of the Left Voice, a “revolutionary socialist news site,” revealed to Kshama Sawant, a socialist on the Seattle City Council, in an open letter on August 23, 2018, that a goal of the socialist revolution is to “disarm and abolish the racist police.”

In chastising Sawant for voting to confirm the Seattle police chief, Flakin wrote:

“Socialists, going back to Karl Marx, have always been irreconcilably hostile to the police because the police are the “chief instruments of state power” …Marx explained that workers, in order to liberate themselves, will need to destroy the capitalist state apparatus. This is impossible without smashing the institution of the police. Every successful revolution in history has involved working people standing up to the police and winning… the police are forced to surrender and drop their weapons.”

We see that a primary goal of the Marxist-influenced groups, such as Antifa and the Black Lives Matter Organization, are arms of this radical revolutionary concept, and Democratic Party politicians in many cities are willing accomplices or willing dupes. While the revolutionaries are hoping to deconstruct law and order and abolish property ownership, the majority of Americans want law and order. They also want their freedom and their property secure.

Now, after harming the people who elected them by defunding law enforcement, these stupid and hypocritical politicians are quietly refunding the police.

Psalm 82:2 says, “How long will you judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?”

Apparently, as long as We the People let them. These people who buy into defunding the police are self-destructive.

Say it with me…Stupidocrisy.

Violent Crime Is A Collapse Indicator

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/violent-crime-collapse-indicator

BY TYLER DURDEN

MONDAY, SEP 19, 2022 - 05:00 PM

By the author of Be Ready for Anything and Three Miles via The Organic Prepper blog,

Everyone I know has a story about the increase in violent crime.

Where a family member lives in Georgia, someone recently opened fire in the middle of an upscale family neighborhood. The culprits fired 13 shots into a Jeep stopped at a traffic light and someone who had stopped for a hot dog at a cafe on the side of the road died by a stray bullet. Three others were injured.

Someone opened fire at a park in a mid-sized town in Pennsylvania where my friend’s grandchildren used to live, bullets flying through a residential neighborhood.

Asheville, North Carolina has double the violent crime rate per capita over the average in the United States. This sleepy, beautiful mountain town is now considered one of the most dangerous cities in America.

These are just a couple of smaller towns and cities.

It’s a drop in the bucket compared to New York City, New Orleans, Chicago, and Memphis. And I’m only naming a few places. Violent crime is increasing dramatically across the country.

Violent crime is an indicator

Selco has written many times that when consequences are no longer a deterrent, we’ll begin to see the worst in humanity. He watched it happen. And as we look at a nation hell-bent on sending social workers instead of law enforcement officers to crime scenes, we can see this prediction unfolding right in front of our eyes. There’s a way to police with compassion and still provide consequences, but folks are so busy screaming “defund the police” that they aren’t even considering more mental health training for officers.

As people struggle to provide food and housing for their families, not only will we see violent crime “just because they can,” but we’ll also see property crime increasing.

I recently wrote about Illinois doing away with bail, and this not only means people will be instantly released and asked to come back for trial, but it also means that many won’t even be arrested in the first place, because what’s the point?

All of this is an indicator that our country is in a stage of collapse.

An increase in violent crime is a sign that the civilization we’ve enjoyed is beginning to crumble. Watch this sobering video. (Warning: Graphic Content) It’s clear that managing your safety is up to you, and you alone.

Tucker Carlson: This is what the collapse of civilization looks like

(Fox News)

WARNING-Graphic footage: Fox News host Tucker Carlson breaks down the rise in violent crime across the United States on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'

Violent Crime Is A Collapse Indicator

Abolish Local Police Departments?! :: By Daniel Payne

https://www.raptureready.com/2020/06/09/abolish-local-police-departments-by-daniel-payne/

There is one thing in particular that is preventing us from being raped, tortured, and brutally murdered in our own front yards: local Law Enforcement (LE), all through the will of God.

The following is an excerpt from a recent article in the New York Times:

Across the country, calls to defund, downsize or abolish police departments are gaining new traction after national unrest following the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck for nearly nine minutes on a busy Minneapolis street. [1]

If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will.

If you live in the United States of America, your local and state police are the hands of a justice system, at the heart of which is the very unique American Constitution. Do they make mistakes? Of course they do. Do they have ability to abuse their authority? Yes, but the vast majority don’t.

Those who live in America should be very thankful for the American Constitution. Many other countries modeled their own constitutions after the American Constitution after witnessing not only the resulting freedom, but also the prosperity once afforded our great nation.

Our Constitution is viciously, maliciously, and persistently being attacked by the forces of evil because it is a force for good. Somehow, as of the writing of this article, most of the protections and freedoms afforded to Americans by the Constitution are amazingly (perhaps miraculously?) hanging on by a thread. Even those with dull senses can now see even that will not last much longer.

We all know just how easy it was for millions of Americans to be deceived into giving up their First Amendment protections. What will be next?

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a growing trend in which Satan wants to take those who are, by and large, being protected by LE and turn them against LE. Satan only wants to bring about our pain, suffering, and violent deaths. He couldn’t care less about our freedoms and our prosperity, except to bring them to ruin.

Focusing on the very few bad apples in LE with the goal of abolishing all local LE is outright insanity.

I have to admit that it’s still absolutely stunning for people to look at the exact same thing I see, and yet the very thing I see as evil, they call good, and the very thing I see as good, they call evil. I’m in complete shock at the absolute and total depravity of humankind.

Right is now wrong, and wrong is now right (Isaiah 5:20).

Human beings are completely lost without the Holy Spirit of God, and their minds are completely controlled by Satan. The most amazing part of that is, they are completely blinded of their own path to destruction.

Most Americans are aware, thanks to Hollywood and their local news, that power is sometimes abused and corruption exists. Just because a bully might be wearing a uniform who disrespects your constitutional protections doesn’t mean it makes sense for you to disrespect the bully. Again, this for our own protection. We’ve heard it before: “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

If you happen to be pulled over for whatever reason, what difference does it make if LE does not end up harassing you (or worse) because you were polite and courteous?

Yes, that’s a bit sarcastic, but we all know that God does not advocate disrespect and disparagement toward those in authority, just because they have the potential to abuse their authority.

Think of the respect Daniel must have had to show such ‘bully” kings as Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. Remember “the writing on the wall”? Hopefully, none of us would have despised Moses or Aaron if we happened to believe that they were abusing their authority.

I’m sure we can all at least come together in agreement that we don’t want our families to be violently tortured or murdered. Currently, by and large, American LE is the force that is restraining all-out mob rule in America.

Mob Rule: Control of a situation by those outside the conventional or lawful realm, typically involving violence, intimidation, and murder.

Think about this: When the rare circumstance of the violent physical abuse of power by a law enforcement officer does occur, people usually get upset because the particular officer in question stepped outside the bounds of the law, right? They were acting outside of the protections provided by our Constitution. They operated according to their own human judgment and not according to the law. In other words, for a brief period of time, they acted like a lawless man or woman.

We all know what the Lord said about the dangers of lawlessness (Matthew 24:12).

So, what would you rather have, a system of law and justice that is still held in place by our Constitution, or the complete removal of that system, thereby leaving your neighbors, and LE, up to the will of their own conscience?

I believe the movement to “defund” local police departments is part of the plan to finally do away with the U.S. Constitution and implement world law enforcement in America. It’s quite obvious what the result of a greatly reduced (or absent altogether) local police force would mean: mob rule.

By holding back all-out rebellion against LE, we are holding back all-out rioting by barbaric and cruel mobs ruling the streets. Just take a look at certain lawless places around the world to see what the erosion of our justice system would look like.

Actually, just take a look at the streets of America right now.

If the streets of America end up like the streets of Bagdad, then the door will be wide open to allow a world police force to rule our streets, without the U.S. Constitution to restrain them. That would be the final nail in the coffin of American freedom and prosperity.

Even though things are not looking good for our future while we remain here on earth, God is still in absolute control over what His true children and their families will experience. Just when things look hopeless to the human eye, God can change everything.

“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” (Psalms 2:4).

Although many of God’s cherished believers have died violent deaths in past generations, and still are in this generation, it is still possible for God not to will for you and other servants to die that way.

Regardless of what the future holds, Jesus told us whom we need to fear:

“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

All of us of like faith continue to have this blessed hope: “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:51b-52a).

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/defund-police-floyd-protests.html

Abolish Local Police Departments?!

"Murderapolis": Ground Zero For 'Defund The Police' Movement Now Suffering Horrendous Crime Wave

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/murderapolis-ground-zero-defund-police-movement-now-suffering-horrendous-crime-wave

In the mid-1990s, the murder rate was so high in Minneapolis that it earned the nickname, "Murderapolis."

Now, more than two years after the Democrat stronghold turned into ground zero for the 'defund the police' movement after the murder of George Floyd, Murderopolis is back.

In a kind of Newtonian response, the city became the epicenter of the culturally seismic "Defund the Police" movement. But that progressive local effort fizzled with a decisive referendum last November.

Now, with its police department under investigation by the Department of Justice, the city of 425,000 is trying to find a way forward amid a period of heightened crime that began shortly after Floyd's death. -CNN

In 2020, murders jumped from 46 to nearly 80. In 2021, 93 people were killed in the city. This year, homicides are on track to surpass 2020.

"The criminals were celebrating. They were getting rich" after police withdrew from violent neighborhoods in the wake of Floyd's killing, said longtime resident, KG Wilson. "They were selling drugs openly."

Wilson's 6-year-old granddaughter was killed in May of 2021 after getting caught in the crossfire of a shootout in north Minneapolis.

Others are blaming the pandemic.

"It unsettled settled trajectories," said former federal prosecutor, Mark Osler, who now teaches at St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. "Kids who were going to school, who would have graduated but drifted off because there is no school — we're seeing a lot of the violent crime is by juveniles."

After the left demonized cops following Floyd's murder, the Minneapolis PD headcount dropped from 900 in early 2020 to around 560 in August - a loss of more than 1/3 of the force.

The hate was so strong that a 2021 ballot measure which would have replaced the Minneapolis PD with a new "public health-oriented" Department of Public Safety, barely failed - with 56% of voters rejecting it (61% in north Minneapolis).

Then, the city council got wise as crime skyrocketed - dealing a final blow to the "defund" movement with a vote to re-fund the police by reversing a cut they'd made the prior year. Mayor Jacob Frey, meanwhile, has proposed beefing up the police budget for the next two fiscal years.

Feeling of lawlessness

According to the report, some 60% of police calls for shots fired have come from the north side, despite it making up just 15% of the population. Young men are openly selling drugs in public during the day, such as a gas station on Broadway ave. dubbed the "murder station" due to all the fatal shootings.

"You pull up to get gas -- they try to sell you drugs," said Paul Johnson, 56. "And not just three or four, but it's a bulk of people."

Johnson's friend, Brian Bogan, said he moved from north Minneapolis to relatively safer St. Paul, because he didn't want his kids growing up in an area where you don't know if "it's fireworks or gunshots."

911 wait times have jumped

After Floyd's death average 911 response times from from 10 or 11 minutes in May of 2020, to 14 minutes later in the year - jumping in 2021 to more than 17 minutes in the north side's fourth precinct, where they remain.

Some nights are so busy that the dispatchers are directed to hold all non-priority-1 calls citywide; these would include reports of property damage, suspicious persons or theft. That happened during a frenetic five-hour stretch on the night of September 8, when officers responded to multiple shootings and calls for shots fired — many of them in north Minneapolis; one near the "murder station" — that left two dead and seven wounded. -CNN

Things have gotten so bad that the Minneapolis PD has flatly refused to respond to certain crimes in a timely manner - such as thefts and stolen goods. According to the police, hostility towards officers has compelled them to take a slower approach in certain parts of town.

Police officials have characterized the slower response times as an "expected byproduct of a depleted force that has witnessed an overwhelming wave of retirements, resignations and disability leaves" due to post-traumatic stress.

"There's really been a very fundamental challenge to our sense of purpose in law enforcement," said interim Minneapolis Police Chief Amelia Huffman. "(Minneapolis) is the eye of the storm. So all of those challenges and the pressure is magnified, you know, a hundred fold -- a thousand fold."

"Murderapolis": Ground Zero For 'Defund The Police' Movement Now Suffering Horrendous Crime Wave

Human Trafficking

What does the Bible teach about human trafficking?

Human Trafficking

What does the Bible teach about human trafficking?

https://www.gotquestions.org/human-trafficking.html

Simply put, human trafficking is a modern term for slavery. Anytime a person is held in a forced labor situation, regardless of the reason, it is defined as human trafficking.

The United Nations defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”

Experts have noted that human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world and one of the most lucrative. Overall, the International Labour Organization estimated the human trafficking industry at over $31 billion per year in 2005. Some estimate that as many as 29 million people exist in slavery worldwide, more than twice the number of slaves transported during the entire Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

The problem is clearly large and growing. What does the Bible teach about human trafficking? This question cannot adequately be answered without a clear understanding of God’s value of human life. The Bible records that, when God created humans, He created them in His image (Genesis 1:26). Every life is of great value, and God loves all individuals.

As a result, God teaches love for our neighbor (Matthew 19:19) as well as love for those in need (Luke 10:25-37). Jesus was the one who taught the Golden Rule: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Further, Proverbs 31:8-9 teaches us to “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” These principles certainly all apply to those hurt through the illegal practice of human trafficking.

How can people today practice these biblical principles of helping those in the bondage of slavery? First, we must pray for those in bondage. As James 5:16 notes, “The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” God’s power is clearly required for any adequate change to occur in the problem of human trafficking.

Second, we must speak out on behalf of those in need (Proverbs 31:8-9). Those in our schools, businesses, churches, and community often are unaware of the problem of human trafficking and how to help. Perhaps God is calling you to be one of the people who would speak out and help provide justice to those without a voice in this area.

Third, we must act to help those in bondage. These actions can involve a variety of means, ranging from volunteering in an anti-trafficking organization to financial giving to teaching about the topic where you live. A growing number of organizations have emerged in recent years that provide new opportunities for Christians to serve in this area. International Justice Mission (www.ijm.org) provides many international opportunities, while others, such at Mercy Movement (www.mercymovement.com) concentrate on addressing the issue in the United States.

One additional way to provide practical assistance is through supporting fair trade and survivor-made products. Fair trade products include items sold by those who adhere to practices that remove any unfair labor practices, especially slavery. Coffee, teas, chocolate, and fresh flowers are common products that offer fair trade alternatives to help keep slavery out of the supply chain.

The retail chain Ten Thousand Gifts is an example of this practice applied to an entire store, while the Christian organization Worldcrafts (www.worldcrafts.org) offers the opportunity to buy international gifts from artisans who have escaped slave situations and other poverty-related conditions.

In summary, human trafficking is a gross indignity against men, women, and children who have been created in God’s image. As followers of Christ, we have a responsibility to pray, to speak out against human trafficking and modern slavery, and to live in ways that help create change in the lives of those impacted by this tragic crime.

The Heart of Human Trafficking Part I & II :: By Bill Wilson

https://www.raptureready.com/2020/02/23/the-heart-of-human-trafficking-part-i-ii-by-bill-wilson/

Part I

In Islam there is a religious permission to lie, “Taqiyya,” which allows Muslims to lie to non-believers to advance the cause of Islam. There is also a religious justification of human trafficking in Islam, a system known as Kafala. Kafala, originally referring to the Islamic “adoption” of children, is an exploitive “sponsorship” system that results in the organized crime of human trafficking in Gulf Cooperation Council countries Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and some neighboring states. The two Islamic religious practices of taqiyya and Kafala combine to justify participation in a worldwide network of human trafficking for sex, labor, and harvesting of human organs.

Each year the US State Department releases a report on human trafficking. The 2017 and 2018 reports mention the Kafala system in association with Arab countries and recommend replacing them. Specifically, the 2018 report singles out Saudi Arabia, “Due to Saudi Arabia’s requirement under its de facto sponsorship—kafala—system that foreign workers obtain permission from their employers for an exit visa to be able to legally depart the country, some are forced to work well beyond their contract term because their employers do not grant such permission.” In other words, once a victim has arrived in Saudi Arabia, they cannot legally leave under the Kafala system, “rendering them vulnerable to forced labor and debt bondage.”

The report also singles out a couple of countries as examples in explaining human trafficking: “in Nigeria, traffickers use fraud to recruit women and girls for jobs in Europe and force them into commercial sex when they get there. Many traffickers force victims to take a juju oath to ensure compliance and threaten death resulting from the juju curse if they break their oath, disobey their traffickers, and try to leave their exploitative situations.” The report says, “traffickers… lure potential victims with false promises of money, misleading job offers, or other fraudulent opportunities. Traffickers typically, but not exclusively, target women as potential victims, often from impoverished backgrounds, with minimal education, or originating from vulnerable populations or destitute communities…” The State Department says these schemes are carried out by organized crime syndicates.

This is what we are fighting in Ghana. One such example is told by our ministry partner Pastor William Agbeti, who says these Muslims dress up on Sundays and loiter around churches trying to lure Christian girls into human trafficking. He reports: Their modus operandi is to tell sweet lies and give superfluous promises to unsuspecting, vulnerable young girls desirous of escaping hard financial and economic situations. The whole engagement process is steeped in secrecy. On arrival at their destinations, the girls are forcefully made to surrender their passports in full view of state officials.”

Exodus 21:16 says, “And he that steals a man, and sells him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.”

In sharing the gospel AND educating against this evil system, we may save many souls from both spiritual and physical destruction.

Part II

The US State Department’s yearly report on human trafficking identifies the problems and even has some stories to put a human face on this horror of horrors. But like so many things, the State Department really doesn’t call it like it is. There is a massive organized crime network trafficking in human beings, and if Islam is not at the core of it, it is a major player. In my opinion, this crime against humanity is not exposed and eradicated because so many powerful people, politicians and business leaders are totally immersed in human trafficking. And it boils down to little villages around the world like the one’s in Ghana, where the impact and the journey of horror for so many begins. Pastor William Agbeti describes it:

“The entire Islamic Kafala system is made possible by networks of well-organized agents, organizations, companies and criminal gangs with deep pockets and long arms with universal reach. The suppliers of girls for the Kafala system are ruthless and operate everywhere, even on university campuses especially in Nigeria. In exception of a few countries that had some activists campaigning against the system, the larger Arab-sphere has in-country political systems that actually turn blind eyes to the atrocities committed by the proponents of Kafala. Not a single Government in those countries would seriously prosecute perpetrators of Kafala who enslave, kill, maim and exploit poor female migrants. This is because it is entrenched in their social fabric and has become a largely accepted Islamic practice and system.

“Hundreds of Ghanaian girls, and others from neighboring countries, as well as places like the Philippines are spirited away regularly to feed Kafala. These end up in homes and workplaces where they are totally dehumanized, prevented from going anywhere, and virtually become slaves owned by wealthy individuals. In many cases, the girls are imprisoned in homes behind lock and key and raped repeatedly by the children and visitors of their “owners”! At the time of writing this Daily Jot, a leading social media news outlet has reported two missing girls from a Ghanaian neighborhood. The outlet has published photos of the girls (very beautiful, slim and young). We know some parents are weeping right now.

“We also know the Government of Ghana, like many other Governments in both the under-developed and developed worlds, are not taking up any arms against the practice. Already, as a country, tens and maybe hundreds of girls have gone missing and still go missing on a weekly basis from many homes. Meanwhile, some wealthy Arab maniacs (or possibly European or American rich-men) somewhere are eagerly waiting for the recently missing two girls from Ghana to surface in their homes.” These Islamist agents of human traffickers are scouting Christian churches in Ghana to find their prey, especially in rural areas. This is what we are up against.

Psalm 127:3 says that “Children are a heritage of the Lord.” You see what God’s enemies have in store for the Lord’s heritage. Please consider them in your heart, prayers and support.

Posted in Rural Africa Outreach, The Daily Jot

https://dailyjot.com

The Heart of Human Trafficking

WOR 710 New York Covers Explosive Veritas Whistleblower Story on Exposing Human Trafficking (Project Veritas)

Project Veritas released a new video today featuring a whistleblower working within a federal government agency called the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity & Efficiency [CIGIE].

The whistleblower, Tara Lee Rodas, volunteered to assist the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] with the processing of unaccompanied migrant children and was deployed to the Emergency Intake Site in Pomona, California.

Rodas sat down with Project Veritas founder, James O’Keefe, and described how precarious she believes the current child sponsorship program is for these minors.

“The tax dollars of people who are listening are paying to put children in the hands of criminals,” Rodas told O’Keefe.

“Our sponsors typically are not citizens. They’re not permanent residents. They don’t have a legal presence,” she said.

“The sponsor can hold up an ‘Order of Deportation’ to a [migrant] child and say, ‘This is your Order of Deportation. If you do not do what I say, when I say, I’m going to call ICE on you myself.’ We are paying to put children in the hands of criminals.”

The whistleblower affirmed that she has questioned federal government bureaucrats about the potential wrongdoing happening within their institutions, and the response has usually been dismissive of her concerns. She believes she has suffered retaliation at work for raising these issues.

“I said [to the command center executives], ‘We’re getting ready to send another child [to Austin, Texas],’ and they said, ‘Tara, I think you need to understand that we only get sued if we keep kids in care too long. We don’t get sued by traffickers. Are you clear? We don’t get sued by traffickers.’ So, that was the answer of the United States federal government. HHS did not want this information to get out,” Rodas said.

“They knew I had made protected disclosures and they retaliated against me as a whistleblower and had me kicked off the site so I could no longer research the cases,” she said.

As a result of Rodas’ stepping forward, Project Veritas journalists visited several physical addresses provided by the whistleblower in order to interview individuals and investigate whether trafficking was taking place.

A Veritas journalist spoke to a migrant female minor on one of these occasions, who revealed that she had been put through sexual abuse by her sponsor.

“An aunt [sponsored me], but she kicked me out of her house. She was pimping me and I didn’t like that. She would pimp me to men,” the child said.

“I just escaped one night. I told her [aunt], ‘I’m going to the laundromat.’ She [aunt] went to the laundromat and didn’t find me there. Later on, she called Immigration.”

Project Veritas will be releasing more information on this issue this week as the story continues to develop. Whistleblowers who are aware of similar situations are invited to contact VeritasTips@protonmail.com with information the public deserves to know about.

WOR 710 New York Covers Explosive Veritas Whistleblower Story on Exposing Human Trafficking

Sheriff: Disney Worker Among 160 Arrested During Human Trafficking Sting

https://www.breitbart.com/crime/2022/09/09/sheriff-disney-worker-among-160-arrested-during-human-trafficking-sting/

Florida’s Polk County Sheriff’s Office arrested 160 suspects during a human trafficking enforcement operation that began August 30, the agency announced Friday.

“Two trafficking victims, and another five possible victims, were identified. All prostitutes taken into custody were offered services by the social services organizations at the operation. Follow up will be conducted with those who are suspected to be sex-trafficked or exploited,” the press release said.

The sheriff’s office highlighted several of those arrested, namely 57-year-old Guillermo Perez. The suspect was taken into custody after allegedly soliciting a prostitute.

The man answered an online escort advertisement and reportedly agreed to pay $80 for sex with an undercover officer.

“Perez is employed as a bellhop at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort,” the agency explained.

In addition, a 26-year-old man named Samy Claude was also accused of soliciting a prostitute. The man is a self-employed photographer who often had contracts with Disney.

Human trafficking occurred when someone used force, fraud, or coercion to acquire labor or commercial sex acts, the Blue Campaign’s website read, adding millions of people fell victim to trafficking every year.

During a press conference on Friday, Sheriff Grady Judd addressed the recent operation, dubbed “Fall Haul 2”:

News conference: Operation Fall Haul 2 - Human Trafficking (Polk Sheriff)

Sheriff Judd gives details about Operation Fall Haul 2, a multi-law enforcement agency seven-day undercover investigation focusing on human trafficking. 160 arrests were made during the operation, to include school teachers, a state corrections officer, a Deputy Police Chief from Georgia (read the release here: https://tinyurl.com/2p92dfjm), 26 married men, 15 people from other states, and a Disney employee.

Representatives from the following social services organizations are also in attendance and participated in the operation, providing on-site services to identify potential trafficking victims: One More Child, Heartland for Children, My Name My Voice, and the Children’s Home Society of Florida.

Read the news release here: https://tinyurl.com/yvmnd67u

Sheriff Judd also said in a statement:

The online prostitution industry enables traffickers and allows for the continued victimization of those who are being trafficked. Our goal is to identify victims, offer them help, and arrest those who are fueling the exploitation of human beings (Johns) and those profiting from the exploitation of human beings. Prostitution is not a victimless crime – it results in exploitation, disease, dysfunction, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, and broken families.

In August 2021, several arrests occurred when suspects believed they were meeting teenagers to have sex but had actually communicated with undercover detectives in Florida.

Among those suspects were three Walt Disney World employees, and the nearly week-long operation targeted those accused of using the internet to prey on children, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office..

Disney Worker Among 160 Arrested During Human Trafficking Sting

More Disney Employees Arrested in Latest Florida Child Sex Sting: Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/09/disney-employees-arrested-latest-florida-child-sex-sting-polk-county-sheriff-grady-judd-video

By Cristina Laila
Published September 15, 2022 at 5:48pm

Last Friday the Polk County Sheriff’s office announced that 160 people were arrested in the latest human trafficking sting enforcement operation.

160 people were arrested in the seven-day undercover human trafficking operation called “Operation Fall Haul 2.”

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told reporters last week a Disney worker was arrested in the sting:

Sheriff Judd on Thursday held another press conference and announced more Disney employees were arrested in part 2 of last week’s human trafficking sex sting dubbed “Operation Cyber Guardian II.”

“We arrested 173 in our fall operation, not just 160,” Sheriff Judd said.

Disney employees were among the 13 men arrested.

28-year-old Joshua Cummins of Davenport, FL was employed as a construction subcontractor and was currently building a new rollercoaster at Disney.

Joshua Cummins was charged with one count of traveling to meet a minor for sex and one count of attempted lewd battery.

42-year-old Kevin Sanders of Winter Garden worked for Disney for 16 years.

Sanders was charged with one count of transmitting harmful material to a minor and one count of using a computer to solicit a child for sex.

News Conference: Operation Cyber Guardian 2 (Polk Sheriff)

Sheriff Judd gives details about “Operation Cyber Guardian 2," a multi-law enforcement agency two-week undercover investigation during which detectives posed as children on social media platforms, mobile apps, and online dating sites to investigate those who prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity. Thirteen men were arrested to include a Disney employee, a Publix employee, an Amazon employee, and a man who installs internet safety programs in schools. Three of the suspects believed they were speaking with a parent or guardian of a child who wanted to teach their "child" to have sex or arranging for the minor to have sex with the suspect. Eight of the predators travelled to an undercover location(s) with the intention of having sex with children. Five others had sexually explicit conversations or electronically transmitted harmful material to those they thought were children. Read the news release here: https://tinyurl.com/3dh7us3a

“We will continue to conduct proactive operations like this to search out these evil predators before they get to our children. Thanks to the hard work of our detectives and the detectives in our partnering agencies, these 13 predators have been arrested. We are going hold them criminally accountable for their attempts to sexually abuse, groom, and corrupt our children. Parents please get all in your child’s business when it comes to their use of electronic devices that gives them access to online gaming, mobile applications, texting, or the internet. Check their devices regularly, and ensure parental controls are enabled to keep men like these away from your kids.” – Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement.

Full statement from Sheriff Grady’s office on the 13 men arrested during the undercover operation “Operation Cyber Guardian II”:

Polk County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested 13 men during a week long undercover operation “Operation Cyber Guardian II” during which detectives posed as children on social media platforms, mobile apps, and online dating sites to investigate those who prey upon and travel to meet children for unlawful sexual activity. PCSO was assisted in the effort by police departments from Auburndale, Bartow, Davenport, and Tampa, as well as the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Office of the State Attorney 10th Judicial Circuit, State Attorney Brian Haas. Click here for Sheriff Judd’s comments.

The suspects communicated with and solicited who they thought were children online. Eight suspects showed up at an undercover location in Polk County at separate times to meet who they thought were children, to sexually batter them. Detectives obtained warrants for five other suspects who were arrested and booked into jails in their respective counties. Three of the suspects believed they were speaking with a parent or guardian of a child who wanted to teach their “child” to have sex or arranging for the minor to have sex with the suspect.

In all, detectives arrested 13 suspects, who face a total of 41 felony and 3 misdemeanor charges which include: traveling to meet a minor for sex, attempted lewd battery, use of a computer to seduce a child, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and transmission of material harmful to a child. Two of the suspects told detectives they were married; two brought condoms; two brought illegal drugs.

Of the suspects who had warrants, all of them sent sexually explicit images and/or videos to who they thought were 13, 14, or 15-year-old girls, or 14-year-old boys. Two of the suspects are from another county and are in custody there, in Orange and Brevard counties.

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How should Christians view the “defund the police” movement?

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1 John 3:4-9 – Sin and the Child of God

1 John 5:17 – Confidence and Compassion in Prayer

1 Timothy 1:8-11 – No Other Doctrine

Romans 3:21-26 – God’s Righteousness Through Faith

Ecclesiastes 7: 20 – The Value of Practical Wisdom

Numbers 32:20-23 – The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan

James 4:17 – Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

Romans 14:19-23 – The Law of Love

Genesis 4:6-7 – Cain Murders Abel

John 8:34-36 – The Truth Shall Make You Free

James 1:12-15 – Loving God Under Trials

Romans 5:12-19 – Death in Adam, Life in Christ

Romans 6:11-14 – Dead to Sin, Alive to God

2 Corinthians 5:20-21 – Be Reconciled to God

1 Peter 2:21-25 – Submission to Masters

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Psalm 12 – Man’s Treachery and God’s Constancy

Psalm 52 – The End of the Wicked and the Peace of the Godly

Proverbs 6:16-19 – The Wicked Man

Proverbs 11:1-12 – The Folly of Wickedness

Proverbs 12:22 – The House of the Righteous Shall Stand

Proverbs 24:28-29 – Further Sayings of the Wise

Isaiah 5:20-25 – Impending Judgment on Excesses

Isaiah 29:15-16 – The Blindness of Disobedience

Isaiah 47:8-15 – The Humiliation of Babylon

Ezekiel 18:4-9 – A False Proverb Refuted

Matthew 5:21-22 – Murder Begins in the Heart

Matthew 5:27-30 – Adultery in the Heart

Matthew 15:18-20 – Defilement Comes from Within

Matthew 18:21-35 – The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 24:48-51 – The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant

Mark 7:20-23 – Defilement Comes from Within

Mark 10:17-19 – Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler

Romans 1:28-32 – God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

Romans 8:12-13 – Sonship Through the Spirit

Romans 12:9-21 – Love in Action

Romans 14:11-14 – Put on Christ

Romans 16:17-20 – Avoid Divisive Persons

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Do Not Sue the Brethren

Galatians 5:19-21 – Walking in the Spirit

Galatians 6:7-10 – Be Generous and Do Good

Ephesians 4:25-32 – Do Not Grieve the Spirit

Ephesians 5:1-7 – Walk in Love

Colossians 3:5-11 – Not Carnality but Christ

2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 – God’s Final Judgment and Glory

James 4:13-17 – Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

1 Peter 2:1-3 – Our Inheritance Through Christ’s Blood

Revelation 3:14-21 – The Lukewarm Church

Revelation 21:7-8 – All Things Made New

Confessing Sin/Lawlessness (Saved)

John 3:16-21 – The New Birth

Ephesians 1:7 – Redemption in Christ

Titus 2:11-14 – Trained by Saving Grace

1 John 1:5-10 – Fellowship with Him and One Another

Proverbs 28:12-13 – The Righteous Are Bold as a Lion

Psalm 51:1-6 – A Prayer of Repentance

Psalm 32:1-5 – The Joy of Forgiveness

Romans 4:5-8 – David Celebrates the Same Truth

Isaiah 1:16-20 – The Wickedness of Judah

Mark 3:28-30 – The Unpardonable Sin

Hebrews 8:12 – A New Covenant

Hebrews 10:15-17 – Christ’s Death Perfects the Sanctified

Micah 7:18-19 – God Will Forgive Israel

Psalm 103:6-14 – Praise for the Lord’s Mercies

1 John 5:1-5 – Obedience by Faith

1 John 2:1-11 – The Test of Knowing Him

Ezekiel 18:4-9 – A False Proverb Refuted

Romans 6:15-19 – From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

2 John 1:4-6 – Walk in Christ’s Commandments

Romans 13:8-10 – Love Your Neighbor

James 5:13-16 – Meeting Specific Needs

2 Corinthians 6:14 – Be Holy

Hebrews 1:8-9 – The Son Exalted Above Angels

Ephesians 2:1-9 – By Grace Through Faith

Ephesians 5:8-14 – Walk in Light

Romans 6:20-23 – From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God

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