By Wylie Marshall
July 26, 2022
When I was five years old, I was the only one of my siblings that had not started school, we lived on a farm in central Texas. I had pretty much the run of the farm, so one day I decided to see what would happen if I got an oil can that had been discarded after being emptied. Remember when motor oil came in quart cans and they were metal, and you had to open them with a can opener? You placed the opener on the edge of the can and lifted up and put a triangular hole in the top of the can, and then on the other side of the can you did the same thing, but only put a small air hole in the can so the oil would pour properly.
Well, I took an empty can and filled it with gasoline from one of the fifty-five-gallon barrels of gas that we had for the tractor. Then I sat down and leaned up against the barrel of gasoline, put the can of gas between my outstretched five-year-old legs and with a kitchen match that I always carried in my pocket, thinking that I was going to create a candle like fire from the hole in the oil can, lit the can of gasoline.
You can imagine the shock I felt when that fire erupted from that can of gasoline! It was like nothing I had ever seen before, but something happened to me at that very moment. I had a geyser of fire between my legs, pinning me up against a barrel of gasoline, that I didn’t know could explode at any minute, but something guided me to put my hand on the side of that can and gently push it over with my legs spread as far apart as possible. The fire spread out over the ground and kept burning, but with much less force and I was able to slide out from between the fire and the barrel. I then began to throw dirt on the fire until I had it under control. I don’t remember having one hair on my body that was singed.
Another instance where really bad stuff should have happened, was when I had been home from my Vietnam tour just three days. My wife and I were in our 67 VW Beatle on the Gulf Freeway in Houston, Texas at night and we were going over an overpass and met a man in a 62 Buick LeSabre, on our side of the freeway with his lights off. Of course, a head on collision occurred immediately. A 62 Buick LeSabre is much like a Sherman Tank. We pretty much bounced off of that vehicle. I must add that both vehicles were very well built back in the sixties. They didn’t crumple up like the vehicles of today tend to do. My wife knocked the windshield completely out of the VW. I received a small cut on my right arm that required three stitches and my wife would get glass out of her forehead occasionally for years after that, but other than that, we did not suffer any serious injuries.
Did I deserve God’s love and protection? I would have to say no! I did not know God, I did not obey God, I did not give God one minute of my time or care! So why do you think I was spared terrible consequences in those two instances? I also might add that there were other instances that I have been able to look back over my life and see where I should have not come out of them so well.
I do know that we are required to build Godly character, and you can’t do that without some suffering in your life. God granted us free moral agency to choose our own paths. Some of those paths can bring a lot of pain, but I do know that God loves us and has a purpose for all of us, and we don’t know what purpose He may have for us or for our descendants! Did you catch that? It may not be us per see’ He is protecting, if He is protecting us, at any one time, but one of our descendants! God might have a huge purpose for a descendant of ours further up our family tree. It sure seemed that God was right there with me when I needed Him during my military career and pulled some strings when they needed to be pulled, and my three sons were not yet born. And it seemed He did the same for others I know that had amazing careers during that terrible war. Whatever happened, He still has unconditional love for us all! And that unconditional love is what we are going to have to learn to have for God and for our fellow man, whether it is now or later! It sure appeared that God protected me even when I did not deserve it. And it could be the reason I am writing these articles today, trying to warn a people who are perishing for lack of knowledge. Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. I would not want God to forget me or my children or grandchildren! This is a very key verse to our problems, both as a nation and as individuals. Stop and think about that last verse for a minute. Do you keep God’s Law? Did or do your parents keep God’s Law? Did your Grandparents keep God’s Laws? Did your Great Grandparents keep God’s Law? If you can answer yes to any of those questions, then you are blessed! Now before you start patting yourself on the back, Do you know what God’s Law is? The Ten Commandments, with the Seventh Day Sabbath, the Test Commandment! Better read that verse again!
So, why is there still so much confusion out there and so many who cannot discern the word of God? It is because they just do not want God telling them what to do! I have said that many times, and I will say it again! They just do not want God telling them what to do! For example, and here is where it started with the children of Israel rejecting God; 1 Sa 8:7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Hearken to the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. They wanted a King to rule over them like all the other nations around them. How did that work out for them? If you know their history, you will know that it didn’t turn out so good for them! But they got their king and What happened? God would have established Saul’s kingdom upon Israel forever, but Saul did not obey God! Saul did not keep God’s commandments! 1Sa 13:13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God which He commanded you; for now the LORD would have established your kingdom upon Israel forever. 1Sa 13:14 But now your kingdom shall not stand. The LORD has sought Him a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be prince over His people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” We have example after example in the bible showing us that we must keep the Law of God, but man just don’t want God to tell him what to do even if it means his own destruction!
I read this just this past week…
Will the Real Good News Stand Up? And then went on to confuse the works of the law, which were the sacrificial laws, which ended with the death of Christ on the cross, with the Law of God, which are God’s Ten Commandments. Jesus very clearly said in Matthew 5: 17-20 He did not come to abolish the Law! He came to magnify the Law, and then showed us how He magnified the Law to include our very thoughts!
Some men try to make the word of God fit their own agenda so that it will appear to be too confusing for others to understand and will have to rely on others to tell them what the bible is saying! God is not the author of confusion, Satan is! 1Co 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. God makes it very simple. “Obey My Voice.” Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. “Live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’ ” What were those words that proceeded from the mouth of God? Exo 20:1 And God spoke all these words, saying, You can read all the words spoken by God in person, through His very mouth here in Exodus Twenty, starting in verse two! Exodus 20: 2-17. They are called The Ten Commandments!
Most of what was written in that article is so confused and convoluted that it makes no sense at all! If we are going to be judged by God’s Law, then does it not make sense that we need to know what the Law says and that we should be living by that Law? Is it fair that we should be given a ticket for speeding if there is nothing telling us what the speed limit is? Let me ask you this. Why do we even need to seek out a minister or civil court to get married if we are not required to continue in our marriage vows. Of course, in the last several decades, it has become clear that many do not keep their marriage vows, or bother to get married and look where that has gotten us. Broken homes, children without one parent or the other. Many living in poverty. Many children just abandon all together! So, how is that working out for us? Not very well is it? It is really sad when we do not live by the rules! Don’t you think God knew what He was doing when He gave us His Laws to live by? Just stop and think about each of the 10 Laws. If we would live by just those 10 Laws, this would be a perfect world to live in! Just those 10 Laws!
Then the article says righteousness comes through faith. Where does God say righteousness comes from? 2 Pe 2:21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment that was delivered to them. So, the way of righteousness comes from keeping the commandments of God! How simple is that? It is man that wants to twist and turn and confuse you, because Satan has twisted and turned and confused man! Satan never gives up, 1Pe 5:8 Be sober! Be vigilant! For your adversary the devil is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking anyone he may devour. And he has devoured many that do his bidding! Always rely on God’s word to guide you! Never take the word of man for doctrine. Look in your own bible to see if it is true or not! You may have to look at several scriptures to get the full meaning, especially Paul’s writings, because the word for “law” is all the same in English. So, when Paul talks about God’s Law, it looks the same as the word for law when he talks about the works of the law, the sacrificial laws, or the law of circumcision. The sacrificial laws and the law of circumcision came to an end at the death of Christ because Christ was our perfect sacrifice once and for all, and now our hearts are circumcised when we are buried in baptism. You have to be careful to know which law Paul is referring to. Peter warns that Paul’s writings are hard to understand…2 Pe 3:16 As he has also in all his epistles, speaking in them concerning these things; in which are some things that are difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable are twisting and distorting, as they also twist and distort the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. Peter didn’t mince any words in his warning did he? Peter knew Paul’s writings were hard to understand for those who were still on milk.
Then the article brings in scriptures like Revelation 7: 9-17 which are about the great multitude that came out of the tribulation and repented of their sins and are sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. And tells you that they are in heaven and heaven is nowhere mentioned in any of those scriptures, Remember what the bible says about going to heaven. This Great Innumerable Multitude is about the laborers in the vineyard. Mat 20:1 “The kingdom of heaven shall be compared to a man, a master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire workmen for his vineyard. Mat 20:2 And after agreeing with the workmen on a silver coin for the day’s wage, he sent them into his vineyard. Mat 20:3 And when he went out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; Mat 20:4 And he said to them, ‘Go also into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ Mat 20:5 And they went. Again, after going out about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did likewise. Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all the day?’ Mat 20:7 They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘Go also into my vineyard, and whatever is right you shall receive.’ Mat 20:8 And when evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the workmen and pay them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.’ Mat 20:9 And when those who were hired about the eleventh hour came, they each received a silver coin. Mat 20:10 But when the first ones came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a silver coin. Mat 20:11 And after receiving it, they complained against the master of the house, Mat 20:12 Saying, ‘These who came last have worked one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have carried the burden and the heat of the day.’ Mat 20:13 But he answered and said to them, ‘Friend, I am not doing you wrong. Did you not agree with me on a silver coin for the day? Mat 20:14 Take what is yours and go, for I also desire to give to the last ones exactly as I gave to you. Mat 20:15 And is it not lawful for me to do what I will with that which is my own? Is your eye evil because I am good?’ Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first shall be last; for many are called, but few are chosen.”
Those who God called down through the ages, in the early morning, in the third hour, the sixth hour, the ninth hour, have had to live their lives in constant battle against Satan and his demons, Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. These are those that John 6: 44 & 45 have happened to. No one can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. Joh 6:45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore, everyone who has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes to Me. But for those who were called in the eleventh hour, they had to live through the tribulation as well! And I think Matthew 20: 10 through 15 is there for us to learn that we are not to complain about anything, for who would complain about receiving eternal life, the silver coin, and what could be more than eternal life in God’s Family?
And how about the Hundred and forty-four thousand out of every tribe of the children of Israel? They were also sealed with God’s Holy Spirit and resurrected in the 1st resurrection. What does the bible say about Israel being saved? Rom 9:27 But Isaiah cried out concerning Israel, “Although the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. Rev 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed: one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel.
The Great Innumerable Multitude were called at the eleventh hour and came up in the 1st Resurrection with all those God has called down through the ages as well as the last to die, the Two Witnesses, fulfilling Matthew 20:16. They were the last called and the first to be resurrected in the 1st resurrection. But they did not go to heaven. They reigned here on this earth with Christ for one thousand years. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
You need to study your bible and not rely on other people to tell you what it says. There are few people that can rightly discern the Word of God, and you will be led astray. Not necessarily intentionally, but because there have been many learned men of all ages who have longed to be able to discern the Word of God, but discernment was not given to them, because they did not keep God’s Law! John 14:21 The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.” Isa 28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. Isa 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: Most people think that they can just keep God’s commandments the way they want to keep them and that will be good enough. They think that keeping Sunday as their sabbath is okay as long as they keep one day a week to worship on. But that is not what God says to do in His commandments. God says to keep the Seventh Day Sabbath and to Keep it Holy! Christ also magnified the Law to include our thoughts! We have to control our thoughts. Not to hate our brother, or lust after anyone or anything! We have to keep God’s Law the way God says to keep God’s Law. God gave us His test commandment, the 4th commandment, to see if we would obey Him or not. That is not a passive commandment, God has to see you keeping that commandment, you have to do something to keep that commandment, as I explained in my last article “Can Repentance Save this Nation?” 2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Are you going to keep that stiff-neck and wait too long? How long is God’s “longsuffering to us-ward” going to last?
I have been accused of being legalistic. If reading and believing what God is telling me in the Bible is being legalistic, then I guess I am. But when you are standing before God in the Great White Throne Judgement and you are asked to account for why you did not keep His Law, what are you going to say? “Well God, I just didn’t want to be legalistic!” The unpardonable sin is the sin that was not repented of!
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E-Mail Wylie Marshall: sirwylecoyote@yahoo.com
