The first heathen—Being the first natural born man, and being conceived after Adam and Eve had sinned, like all of Adam’s offspring, sin and death passed upon Cain (Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5). Cain “knew God,” but he “glorified him not as God” (Romans 1:19-23). Cain refused to bring to God the only acceptable sin offering: the offering which God commanded. Instead he brought the work of his own hands (Genesis 4:3). By faith in the word of God (Romans 10:17), Cain’s brother “Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain…” (Hebrews 11:4-6) When the LORD encouraged Cain to do right, Cain continued to rebel against God. Then Cain, who “was of that wicked one…slew his brother…Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” (1John 3:12; Genesis 4:8) The history of “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) abounds with similar examples.
Author: Bill Pierce
WHO ARE THE HEATHEN? Psalm 2:Part One
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?” (Psalm 2:1)
According to the scriptures—The word “heathen” occurs 104 times in the scriptures. The heathen are also called “the people” (Psalm 2:1), “the nations” (Deuteronomy 4:27; Genesis 18:18), “the wicked” (Psalm 9:5, 15-17), and “the Gentiles” (Malachi 1:11; compare Galatians 1:6; 2:9 with Acts 26:17-18).
CALLING OF THE SPIRIT
TWO OR THREE WITNESSES ARE REQUIRED
UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES
The LORD declared: “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” (Deuteronomy 19:15; Hebrews 10:28; Matthew 18:16) The two essential and separate witnesses of the three “that bear witness in earth” (1John 5:8-10) in these last days are the word of God and the Spirit of God.
SOCIALISM
This brief study is published with the hope that many spiritually blind people will be delivered from the subversion of Socialism and escape the eternal damnation of their souls, because of their unbelief in the incorruptible word of God whose “word is truth” (John 17:17). Unless otherwise credited most of the following information and quotations are taken from the very informative book, SOCIALISM, by William J. Federer.
PRECIOUS THINGS
The sure hope of believers—God has promised us, his redeemed children (Hebrews 6:19), that our “expectation shall not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18; 24:14). Through faith in the Holy Bible all the children of God may know—with absolute and infallible “assurance” (Isaiah 32:17; Colossians 2:2; 1Thessalonians 1:5; Hebrews 6:11; 10:22), about the precious things of eternity. Believers are assured: “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2Corinthians 4:17-18) Those who hate the knowledge and counsel of the LORD will eventually face the great calamity of “eternal damnation” (Mark 3:29; Proverbs 1:24-33).
REPENTANCE FOR FELLOWSHIP
The damning sin of unbelief—Unbelief is the sin of the world from which men must repent to escape eternal damnation. God saves all those who repent (turn) from their unbelief and believe in their hearts the gospel of Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 10:9; Acts 16:31).
REPENTANCE TO SALVATION
All forms of the word repent appear 112 times in the Holy Bible. In his 1828 dictionary Noah Webster gives the following definition of REPENT: ‘To feel pain, sorrow or regret for something done or spoken…A person repents only of what he himself has done or said…To express sorrow for something past…To change the mind in consequence of the inconvenience or injury done by past conduct.’ Hopefully the next two studies on repentance will settle any controversy, and show clearly that God commands that every sinner must repent to be saved!
FULL MINDED MEDITATION
Prosperous and successful meditation—The LORD, who said, “I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Isaiah 48:17), has established and prescribed a very wonderful and prosperous meditation for his people. All forms of the word ‘meditate’ appear twenty times in fourteen chapters of six books in the entire Holy Bible. However there are at least fifteen different Bible synonyms for the word ‘meditation.’ They are: “muse” (Psalm 143:5), “imagine” (Genesis 6:5), “study” (2Timothy 2:15), “ponder” (Proverbs 4:26, “HIGGAION” (Psalm 9:16), “Selah” (Psalm 3:2), “plot” (Psalm 37:12), “care” (1Samuel 10:2), “commune” (Psalm 4:4), “consider” (Deuteronomy 4:39), “think” (Proverbs 23:6-7), “devise” (1Kings 12:33), “learn” (Proverbs 16:23), “examine” (Psalm 26:2), “weigh” (Isaiah 26:7), and “cogitations.” (Daniel 7:28)
EMPTY MINDED MEDITATION
Vain and dangerous meditations—Everyone should be aware of the vain and dangerous forms of meditation that have been devised by and are practiced by men in the world. The word of God warns: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2Timothy 3:13); believers are also warned that “the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1Timothy 4:1). This study will repeat some of God’s warnings concerning the world’s counterfeit meditations. The next study, FULL MINDED MEDITATION, will explore the exceedingly excellent meditation that has been ordained by “the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 40:28).
THREE WITNESSES
THREE BEAR RECORD IN HEAVEN “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” (1John 5:7). Since his glorious resurrection from the dead the Lord Jesus Christ possesses all power “in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). In him “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9). He is now sitting at the right hand of his “Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21) in heaven, till the Father makes his enemies his “footstool” (Psalm 110:1; Mark 12:36). THREE BEAR WITNESS IN EARTH “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1John 5:7-8). The three which bear witness in earth are unmistakably and precisely identified by the scriptures:
