2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

[Hidden In Him]

Satan's Coming Assaults Upon The Christian Traditions

     Did you know that there are supposedly "ancient texts" that insinuate that the Lord Jesus Christ long ago secretly engaged in homosexual rites? Are you aware of the arguments homosexuals use to explain away the clear Biblical prohibitions against homosexuality? Did you know that spiritual uncleanness, more specifically the invitation to demonic spirits to enter the body on legal grounds, was actually the main reason why homosexual practices were to be avoided?
     Throughout history, Satan has used sexual temptations as a means of seducing the faithful into sin. Yet, because sexually immorality is clearly forbidden in orthodox Christian teaching, Satan must first attack the traditions of the church. If he can lower the church's defenses, he can weaken their resistance to temptation.
     Such was the case during New Testament times. The sexual licentiousness Simon preached in the name of "Christianity" was a direct attack against the true Christian traditions that espoused holiness in sexuality, as in all else. So Paul now reminded the Thessalonians that they needed to hold fast to the true Christian traditions as had been handed down by the apostles. God had poured out His Holy Spirit upon them for the sake of sanctifying them, and making them holy: 

     But we ought always to give thanks to God concerning you, brothers, who have been beloved by the Lord, in that through the sanctification produced by the Spirit and the faith produced by the truth God chose you unto salvation, to which end, through our gospel, He [even] called you to attain to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold tightly to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or by our epistle. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15)
 
     As Paul told the Corinthians, some had indeed formerly practiced these things as fornication and homosexuality, but they were now leading a different life:

     Or do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor those who are covetous, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

     Unfortunately, the Gnostic "Christianity" founded by Simon is now experiencing a resurrection in our times through books and movies, and through them accusations against traditional Christianity are once again on the rise. Just as in New Testament times, the faithful must again hold fast to the true Christian traditions as originally handed down by the apostles, and defend them against the attacks now arising in the earth once more. 


Did Jesus Secretly Engage In Gnostic Homosexual Rituals?

     As blasphemous as it may seem to those indwelt by the Holy Spirit, a heresy is emerging in our time that the Lord Jesus Christ not only performed secret Gnostic sexual rites, but did so with those of the same sex. Satan is putting forth this heresy through the manipulation of passages like John 11:38-44, the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.
     The actual story as related in the New Testament goes like this:

     Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” (John 11:38-44 NIV)

     The Gnostic account, however, as related in the so-called Secret Gospel Of Mark, gives a different account. In Secret Mark, after raising Lazarus from the dead, Jesus initiated him into a secret mystery known only to a few by engaging in a homosexual ceremony with him.
     Picking up the story where Jesus raises him from the dead:   

     "... and Jesus went forward and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. And immediately he went in where the young man was, stretched out his hand and raised him up, grasping him by the hand. But the young man looked upon him and loved him, and began to entreat him that he might remain with him. And when they had gone out from the tomb, they went into the young man's house, for he was rich. And after six days Jesus commissioned him. And in the evening the young man came to him, clothed only in a linen cloth upon his naked body. And he remained with him that night, for Jesus was teaching him the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. And from there he went away and returned to the other bank of the Jordan." (Secret Gospel of Mark)

     This Gnostic lie has made its way into television documentaries such as the History Channel's Banned From The Bible II, which spends two hours bemoaning numerous "Christian" documents that never made it into the official cannon of the Church.


Satan's Attempts To Vilify And Discredit The Apostles

     The teachings on holiness have long since been well established within the Church of Jesus Christ. Satan knows that in order to attack such teachings, he must first slander the character of the New Testament apostles who first laid down these foundational doctrines a means of discrediting their teachings. His primary target has been, and continues to be to this day, the apostle Peter, who is often portrayed as a woman-hating bigot.
     Several passages in The Da Vinci Code hint at this:

    "Peter said, 'Did the Savior really speak with a woman without our knowledge? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?' And Levi [Matthew] answered, 'Peter, you have always been hot-tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like an adversary'" (The Da Vinci Code, P.247).

     While the author of The Da Vinci Code only hinted at Peter being a bigot, other Gnostic authors have not hesitated to drag the apostle's name completely into the dirt. Building on this myth that Mary Magdalene was the most highly-favored disciple of Christ and a supposed spiritual threat to the apostles, Gnostic authors now claim the apostle Peter resented her spiritual "superiority." According to author Lynn Picknett, he "felt humiliated and angry at her pre-eminence."
     In quoting numerous Gnostic documents, she goes on to add:

     Any mild suspicion that Peter may have actually loathed the Magdalene is substantially reinforced by another passage from the Pistis Sophia, in which Mary herself says to Jesus, "My Lord... I am afraid of Peter, because he threatened me and hateth our sex (i.e. the female gender)." Peter, the bluff, hot-tempered "Big Fisherman" clearly absolutely detests Mary, saying to Jesus, "Lord, let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life"... To the likes of Simon Peter, women should know their place: in the home behind the cooking pot or washing the men's clothes... (The Secret History Of Lucifer, P.79)

     By this means, Satan works to nullify the apostles' authority, and make it appear as if their teachings on sexuality were and are based merely on personal biases and prejudices. It opens the door to claiming that any form of sexuality, regardless of whether the apostle's disapproved of it or not, is in reality fully acceptable with God, including homosexuality.     


The "Proof" That Homosexuality Is Acceptable To God

     Some mainstream Christian denominations now teach that homosexual relationships are acceptable with God, so long as the relationship is long-term and involves commitment. The Episcopal Church, for example, has ordained several homosexuals to the ministry. While some Episcopalians are still raising objections over the issue, it would appear the leadership of the Episcopal Church has already made their decision:

     Two sexually related topics are currently placing extreme stress on the Episcopal Church, USA, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the rest of the Anglican Communion: Whether qualified gays and lesbians in committed relationships should be eligible for ordination as priests and consecration as bishops, and whether a church ritual recognizing and blessing committed same-sex unions should be available.
     During the 2003 General Convention, the answers to both questions in the Episcopal Church, USA appear to be a qualified "yes." Delegates confirmed the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire. He is in a long term, committed relationship with another man. Delegates to the same convention overwhelmingly approved a compromise resolution which, in effect, has introduced a local option into the church: It recognized that some priests had already been performing blessings of gay and lesbian couples in some dioceses in the U.S. (Religious Tolerance.Org, The Episcopal Church & lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered persons and transsexuals)

                                               

     What is their defense of this position? How does the leadership of the Episcopalian Church justify ordaining practicing homosexuals to the ministry? In a nutshell, the defense of this position was put forth succinctly by the late Rev. Peter J. Gomes, a Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard Divinity School. In the video entitled For The Bible Tells Me So, a documentary exposing the supposedly "false" interpretations and misconceptions about what the Bible teaches on homosexuality, Gomes argued that Paul never made derogatory remarks about loving homosexual relationships, only abusive ones.

     "His reference, of course, is to exploitive same sex relationships among pagan Romans and Greeks. Paul certainly never contemplated the kind of monogamous, long-term relationships that are very much normal among homosexual people today."

                                                                   

     Apparently, God never contemplated the thought of monogamous homosexual relationships either, for He flatly forbid without any qualifications whatsoever a man from having sexual relations with another man in the Book of Leviticus:

     Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman. It is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22)

     By Gomes' reasoning, would not bestiality, which is mentioned in the very next verse, be equally acceptable in the sight of God as well, provided it is in the context of a long-term, monogamous relationship?  No specific qualifications are given here either:

     Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it. It is an abomination. Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled. (Leviticus 18:23-24)

     In the same documentary, Comes adds that “There are [only] about six or seven verses in all of scripture that speak to even remotely what we might call homosexual activity or homosexual conduct,” after which the Reverend Steven Kindle of Clergy United chimes in with this:

     “This particular one is in Leviticus, Chapter 20, verse 13. It says, ‘If a man lies with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall be put to death. Their blood is upon them.’ If you read the Bible on a face value level, that reading disregards several very important things. The first is that just a few verses before that, Moses teaches in Leviticus that it is an abomination to eat shrimp… It is an abomination to eat a rabbit.” (For The Bible Tells Me So, 2:19:18 - 2:19:57)

     Yet these men are themselves the ones interpreting the scriptures at face value. Restrictions on foods were given by God precisely to represent taking within oneself clean or unclean spirits, whereas to engage in homosexual practices would quite literally invite them in. As stated in the text, they to do so would be an abomination to God because they spiritually defiled the person, meaning such practices would open a person up, through legal grounds, for the indwelling of unclean spirits. As we shall see, this position was firmly supported by statements made in the New Testament as well.


Spiritual Uncleanness: Why Homosexuality Is An Abomination

     Those who break God's commandments, especially in areas of sexual immorality, are not doing so merely by their own initiative. According to New Testament teaching, they are being goaded by unclean and filthy spirits assigned by Satan to entice them into sin and eternal damnation.
     Let us start with one of the primary passages in the New Testament that forbids homosexuality:

     Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to uncleanness, so that their bodies were dishonored amongst themselves. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is forever Blessed. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to dishonoring passions, for both their women exchanged natural use of their bodies for that which is contrary to nature, and in like manner also the men, having abandoned the natural use of the female, became inflamed in their lust towards one another, men committing indecent acts with men, and receiving in themselves the due recompense of their error. (Romans 1:24-27)

     Paul stated clearly what the consequence of engaging in homosexual practices would be: The Lord would give them over to uncleanness, i.e. over to unclean spirits, who would inflame them with burning desires for even greater perversions. He would allow the demons who had successfully seduced them into sin the permission to enter and inhabit their bodies, that they might "receive within themselves" the just recompense of their sins.   
     The word "uncleanness" used here is a reference to the influence of unclean spirits, in keeping with the passages where Jesus and the apostles cast "unclean spirits" out of those who were demon possessed.

     In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an unclean spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God!” “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all, and came out without injuring him. (Luke 4:33-35)

     The demons associated with sexual perversion are indeed "unclean" in every sense of the word. According to Harold Pittman, a Baptist minister whom the Lord took up in spirit in 1979 and revealed to him the activity of demonic spirits first hand, the class of demons associated with sexual immorality and perversion are exceedingly unclean in both appearance and smell, and loathsome even to look upon.

     Finally, my escorting angels brought me to a group of these odd-looking beings... This group of demons had the most despicable shapes and forms of any in all of Second Heaven. In many cases, the forms of some of them were so repulsive that just to look upon them produced nausea.... I was astounded to learn that these were the creatures who held all the expertise in the area of "perversion." (Pittman, Demons: An Eyewitness Account, P.53)
 
                                                             

     Thus, heavily liturgical denominations such as the Episcopalians are succumbing to a demonic deception, and with no great surprise. Whenever "Christianity" becomes little more than empty ceremonies and lifeless sermons, demons move in to fill the spiritual void left by the departure of the Holy Spirit from a church. In fact, this sad state of affairs will characterize the entire unified denominational church prophesied to arise in the end-times. Having reduced herself to mere religious formalism, the false church will eventually become little more than a "the habitation of demons, and a prison for every unclean spirit" (Revelation 18:2)


Prophetic Dream About A Demon Of Homosexuality

     Already some churches are becoming the habitation of demons, as the following dream points out. This is a dream a brother related to me back in June 2017 regarding his church situation. Upon the Lord giving me the interpretation, it became clear that a powerful demon of homosexual lust was operating behind the scenes in his church.
     The following is the exchange I had with this brother in Christ, who I will simply refer to here as "Vic":

     Vic: "Last night I had a vivid and disturbing dream. Here it is: I was visiting a man and woman who lived in a Spanish style hacienda in some type of jungle. These were tall, olive skinned people with large amber colored eyes and waist length silky black hair.They were wearing red robes and gold sandals. The woman was voluptuous. Her only jewelry was a ruby nose ring. The man had some type of tribal tattoo on the side of his neck... so anyway we engaged in things that are too vulgar to share here. While this was going on at one point I looked up and noticed a panther crouched in the doorway of the bedroom. It's eyes were glowing like green lamps. It was wearing a thick gold collar with sharp spikes …”

     In contacting him about his situation, Vic directed me to another thread about his church situation, where he confided that the minister now serving at his church was a reformed homosexual. There were also a lot of gay people in the congregation, and the worship leader was still currently involved in a homosexual relationship himself. I sensed this is what the dream was about, so I asked him for a few more details. He responded as follows:

     Vic: "The song leader is defiantly feminine in mannerisms and has testified about being H.I.V positive and that he's still involved with his gay lover. The pastor was ordained by my bishop. He (the pastor) is very open about his past but has made it clear that he's no longer sleeping with men and has no intentions of doing so. In fact he's showing interest in getting married to a woman and has introduced her as his fiancé. My bishop allows him to teach every Sunday morning service and also the Thursday night bible study. He seems to have repented from his gay life style.. but he still speaks, walks, and moves like a woman… All I know is that I didn't used to have gay dreams until he started preaching\teaching at my church. While I was with the man and woman team in my dream I felt dirty but excited at the same time. It's a feeling that I can't really describe. I was too conflicted and embarrassed to share the dream with anyone from my life, which is why I decided to share it on CF. Btw… I was in the dominant position with the man, but when I saw the panther, the man was preparing to get behind me. The woman was naked and pressing against my front. That's about all I'm comfortable sharing. And now I'd just like to forget about it."

     Hidden: "Does this man (the pastor) have spiritual gifts?"

     Vic: "He has given prophecy to certain people which turned out to be true. So I guess he has this gift.Other than that he seems like a nice, Christian person."

     Hidden: "Ok, well the dream clearly suggests he is exerting some sort of spiritual power/influence over others. This could simply be as a result of his position of leadership over the church, but there is a strong demonic element at work here, probably the demons associated with his lust, and the lust among many in the congregation. The following words seem to suggest who this 'woman' in your dream is, possibly. 'The song leader is defiantly feminine in mannerisms and has testified about being H.I.V positive and that he's still involved with his gay lover.' And these words right here are telling: 'In fact he's showing interest in getting married to a woman and has introduced her as his fiancé. My bishop allows him to teach every Sunday morning service and also the Thursday night bible study. He seems to have repented from his gay life style... but he still speaks, walks, and moves like a woman.'"

     Speaking about the pastor's fiance', and the possibility that she was the woman in the dream, I then added:

     Hidden: "That he has a female finance' means nothing, unless she is the female in your dream in that she fully assents to his lusts. But if she is not playing a prominent role in the church somehow yet, then she is not the one. It is the song leader, and the two are well aware of each other's lusts and are secretly entertaining them together, not necessarily physically, but in spirit, on a non-verbal level or 'channel' if you will."

     Vic: "Wow. I never even thought of it like that. Wow....  I think I'm gonna need time to digest this. Talk to you later and thanks."
     Hidden: "Ok... did I say something wrong?"
     Vic: "No. It's just me. You're hitting the nail on the head and it's kind of spooky."
     Hidden: "Take some time... maybe all of tonight at least. Every bit of the specifics represent something, so the clearer we define things the more perfectly you will understand what you are dealing with spiritually.... [But] this pastor even needs you, because the panther is either Satan or a very strong demon... and a predator."

     This was for the most part the end of the conversation. But the important part was my final statement. The real predator in "the room" was not the pastor or the song leader. They too were positioned to be preyed upon by the demonic spirit who was dominating over all involved, and potentially the entire congregation. I was reading another of this brother's threads about a month or so later, and it turns out he and his family departed from that church fairly soon thereafter. What has become of that congregation since then only the Lord knows, but this testimony goes to prove just how predatorial the spirit of homosexuality is, and how dangerous it has become to the welfare of the church. 

     
Christian Traditions: Our Protection From The Fires Of Hell

     The most tragic part in all this is that these teachings regarding homosexuality, which were inspired by the Devil specifically to send souls to Hell, are unfortunately having their intended effect. As was revealed to Mary K. Baxter through the visions of Hell she was shown, there are now countless souls already burning in eternal torment today because of the seductive lure of homosexuality.

     I walked a little further with the Lord, and I was crying in the spirit but there was no tears. And I saw a river flowing of fire and blood. And skeletons chained together with a big black chain. And the cries of the dead were echoing through the chambers of Hell. And then you could here the cries and the regret and the moans and the screams of people  wishing they had listened to a preacher; wishing they had listened to somebody, a woman, a man, a child, to tell them to repent of their sin.
     And the Lord walked me over to the river and said, “Look.” And in the air, in the flames, were big black letters out of the Book of Romans. And it said, “Lovers of their own flesh more than God’s commandments. Men loving men, women loving women, and with no fear of God.” It was the word of God written in the fire. And I looked, and said, “Jesus.” And I heard a man’s voice scream, “Why wasn’t I warned? Why didn’t somebody tell me?” (Mary K. Baxter, Homosexuals in Hell, Youtube)

     What must the church do to maintain the Christian standards regarding holiness? Stand by and affirm the traditions as they were handed down to us by the apostles. And to do this will require a dependence on the infilling and leading of the Holy Spirit.
     Paul explained this to the Corinthians:

     Do not be deceived: Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor homosexuals... will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
 
     From its inception, true Christianity was never religious formalism. It was being baptized in the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul meant by "But you were washed, you were sanctified." First they were "washed" through water baptism, and then the Holy Spirit descended upon them to sanctify them, in keeping with how He descended upon the Lord Jesus Christ as a dove. This was the power which enabled them to depart from lives of sin and lead a life of holiness.
     As Paul here wrote to the Thessalonians:

     But we ought always to give thanks to God concerning you, brothers, you who have been beloved by the Lord, in that through the sanctification produced by the Spirit and the faith produced by the truth God chose you unto salvation.... (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

     In New Testament times, the outpouring the Holy Spirit was regarded as a proof of being beloved of God. Hence the use of middle and past tense verbs in referring to the Thessalonians as those "who have been beloved by the Lord." It was a tangible evidence of God's love, and His desire to be spiritually intimate with His people. The Christian's proper response was to continue in this love through incessant prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17), continual study of the word (Acts 2:42, 46), and praying in the Holy Spirit, all of which enabled the believer to keep himself in "the love of God":

     But you, dearly beloved, by edifying yourselves upon your most holy faith [and] praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, anticipating the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21)

     This, then, was the hope for maintaining the Christian traditions. Keeping themselves as congregations in "the love of God," i.e. His Presence by continuing to give themselves to prayer, worship, and especially the exercise of the spiritual gifts. These were the means by which God the Father was giving them "an eternal exhortation," since the Spirit was continually exhorting congregations through the use of the gifts, prophecy, tongues and interpretation of tongues in particular:

     But may our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father, the One having loved us and through grace given us an eternal exhortation and good hope, exhort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

     So, too, was the Holy Spirit our "good hope," given to us as a "pledge" of eternal life (2 Corinthians 5:4-5, Ephesians 1:14). Through His continual Presence among the congregations of God, they can be assured that if they remain in His love they will be protected again every form of spiritual deception that comes their way, no matter how powerful it may seem to be confirmed by demonic "signs and wonders."