THE OPPOSITE OF WICKEDNESS IS . . . . . ?

WICKEDNESS:

EVIL SUFFICIENT TO RESULT IN THE FLOOD!

Genesis 6:5-7 - And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.  And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.

The word "wickedness" has been defined as being evil, unholy, hateful, and being a worker of iniquity; it is the characteristic of mankind that makes us like the "wicked one," Satan (see Matthew 13:19, 38; 1 John 2:13-14; 3:12; 5:18). 

John 8:44 - You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own:  for he is a liar, and the father of it.

In the King James Version, "Wickedness" appears 118 times in the Old Testament, and just 9 times in the New Testament.  However, the word "wicked" appears 461 times in the Old, and 33 times in the New.  On the other hand, the word "love" appears 610 times!

WICKEDNESS:

THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE!

Deuteronomy 6:5 - And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Matthew 22:37-40 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.

Galatians 5:13-14 - For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.  For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Romans 13:8-10 - Owe no man any thing, but to love one another:  for he that loves another has fulfilled the Law.  For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  Love works no ill to his neighbor:  therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law.

YOU ARE NOT COMMANDED TO LIKE EVERYONE,

BUT YOU ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE EVERYONE,

EVEN YOUR ENEMIES!

WHAT IF THE NEW JERUSALEM IS NOT A CUBE, BUT IT IS A PYRAMID?

A CUBE:  THE MOST COMMON VIEW OF THE NEW JERUSALEM!

Revelation 21:1-2, 16 - And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:  for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. . . . And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs.  The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

There are a few problems with this theory:
1.  It is based upon the misconception that the word "foursquare" means a cube; the problem with this is that a cube has six equal sides, not four.
  
2.  Nowhere else in Scripture does the word "foursquare" describe a cube.  It describes the base of an object; the height or thickness is never the same measurement.  See Exodus 27:1; 28:16; 30:2; 37:25; 38:1; 39:9; 1 Kings 7:31; Ezekiel 40:47; 48:20.
  
3.  Though this has nothing to do with the meaning of the word, it is interesting that a square is a four-sided figure where each of the sides is the same length, and the four corners consist of 90 degree angles, which, when totaled, add to 360 degrees, sort of "squaring a circle!"

A PYRAMID:  A REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE VIEW!

From the modestly titled book

The Greatest Book On Dispensational Truth in the World

by Charles Larkin.

Some thoughts on why a pyramid shape makes more sense than a cube; a pyramid can have a square base, and its height can be the same length as one of its sides:

1.  Clearly, God Almighty must dwell in the most high place; of the forty-eight verses that contain the words "most high," none is more to the point (pun intended) than Acts 7:48-49: Howbeit the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands; as the prophet said, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool:  what house will you build Me?

2.  While square buildings are typically built having four corners, and therefore, four cornerstones, Jesus is identified as the "Chief Cornerstone," a name that, perhaps, could be the equivalent of a "capstone" for a pyramid.  Such a "capstone" would have the same shape and proportions/angles as the pyramid as a whole.  If the Great Pyramid of Giza is a symbol that represents the New Jerusalem (I am not saying it was intended to be so, but it IS possible), then the fact that the Great Pyramid has no capstone seems to say that Jesus has not yet taken His ultimate, rightful place.

3.  If the Great Pyramid is a picture of the New Jerusalem, it is fitting that the "body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27), the Church, has yet to be called home.  Apparently, the King's chamber of the pyramid has never been occupied.  The Church also represents the "bride of Christ" (Revelation 21:9), and the Queen's chamber has never been occupied.

4.  In the Great Pyramid, beneath the "city," there is a chamber with finished walls but an unfinished bottom or floor; it is ironically called the "bottomless pit."  Such is a fitting name for the place where Satan is cast during the Millennium (Revelation 20:1-3).  Of course, Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet will not spent eternity there; their eternal destiny is to be the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10)!

THE SHAPE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

IS NOT IMPORTANT WHEN COMPARED

TO HOW ONE GETS TO GO THERE!

IF YOU BELIEVE JESUS DIED

FOR YOUR SINS, AND THAT

HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD

TO BE YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR,

YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY

WITH JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF!

PERIOD!

THE LAST DAYS!

THE LAST DAYS FOR THE TRIBES OF ISRAEL!

Genesis 49:1 - And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.  [For the details, see Gen. 49:3-28.] 

Isaiah 2:1-2 - The Word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.  [The phrase "in that day" appears forty-three times in the Book of Isaiah.]

Micah 4:1 - But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it.  [The phrase "in that day" appears five times in the Book of Micah.]

THE LAST DAYS BEGINNING WITH THE CHURCH AGE!

Acts 2:17-21 - And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:  and on My servants and on My handmaidens I will pour out in those days of My Spirit; and they shall prophesy:  and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke:  the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:  and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 - This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.  For men shall be lovers of themselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, without self control, fierce, despisers of those who are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away.

James 5:1-8 - Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.  Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.  Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.  You have heaped treasure together for the last days.  Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth (the armies of the Lord).  You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.  You have condemned and killed the just; and he does not resist you.  Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.  Behold, the Husbandman waits for the precious fruit of the earth, and has long patience for it, until He receive the early and latter rain.  Be you also patient; establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.

2 Peter 3:3-13 - Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming?  For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.  For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the Word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:  whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:  but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same Word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.  But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.  Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation (lifestyle) and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?  Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells (ONLY) righteousness.

BASED UPON THE BIBLE'S DESCRIPTION

OF THE LAST DAYS, IT IS NOT ONLY CLEAR

THAT WE ARE LIVING IN THEM, BUT THAT

THE WORLD, AS WE KNOW IT, IS DOOMED!

REPENT AND TRUST IN JESUS TODAY,

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

IT IS NOT ALL THAT COMPLICATED!

IT CANNOT GET ANY CLEARER THAN THIS!

John 14:6 - Jesus said . . . I am the way . . . no man comes unto the Father, but by (faith in) Me.

THE GOSPEL:  THE MESSAGE WITH

THE POWER TO SAVE LOST SOULS!

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ:  for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.

1 Corinthians 15:14 - Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; by which also you are saved . . . For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.

BELIEVE IN JESUS:  SAVED TO EVERLASTING LIFE; 

REJECT JESUS:  CONDEMNED TO THE WRATH OF GOD!

John 3:16-18, 36 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through (faith in) Him might be saved.  He that believes on Him is not condemned:  but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the Only Begotten Son of God . . . . He that believes on the Son has everlasting life:  and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN JESUS?

IS HE YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR?

THE LUKEWARM BELIEVER IS NOT TOO BRIGHT!

ISRAEL WAS TO BE A LIGHT TO THE WORLD!

1 Chronicles 16:23-36  
[23] Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; show forth from day to day His salvation.
[24] Declare His glory among the heathen; His marvelous works among all nations.
[25] For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised:  He also is to be feared above all gods.
[26] For all the gods of the people are idols:  but the LORD made the heavens.
[27] Glory and honor are in His presence; strength and gladness are in His place.
[28] Give unto the LORD, you kindreds (Hebrew - mishpachah - families) of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength.
[29] Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name:  bring an offering, and come before Him:  worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
[30] Fear before Him, all the earth:  the world also shall be stable, that it be not moved.
[31] Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice:  and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigns.
[32] Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof:  let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein.
[33] Then shall the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because He comes to judge the earth.
[34] O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.
[35] And say, Save us, O God of our salvation, and gather us together, and deliver us from the heathen, that we may give thanks to Your holy name, and glory in Your praise.
[36] Blessed be the LORD God of Israel forever and ever.  And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

THE CHURCH IS TO BE A LIGHT TO THE WORLD!

2 Corinthians 4:1-6
[1-2] Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the Word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
[3-4] But if our Gospel be hidden, it is hidden to those who are lost:  in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of Christ, Who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
[5] For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

[6] For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

THEREFORE TRUE BELIEVER:  LET YOUR

LIGHT SHINE BEFORE ALL THE WORLD,

THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS,

AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN!