Rev.14: 1 “ And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads….. 4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb

SPIRITUAL DEFILEMENT

In the old Testament, marital infidelity is spoken of metaphorically as idolatry (Hos. 1:2+). And when God was describing Israel’s defilement in this regard, He said “…How dare you say ‘I am not defiled, I have not run after the Baals?’. Look at your footprints in the valley (the valley of Gehenna to the South of Jerusalem where Children were sacrificed to the god Topheth. Jer. 7:31 and Lev. 18:21+) and acknowledge what you have done. A frantic she-camel running in all directions bolts for the desert sniffing the breeze in desire; who can control her when she is on heat? Whoever looks for her will have no trouble; he will find her with her mate. Beware! Your own foot may soon go unshod, your own throat may grow dry. But ‘who cares?’ you said, for I am in love with STRANGERS and they are the ones I FOLLOW” (Jer. 2:23-25) JB.

Is this not the perfect picture of what is happening today in the Church? Have we not left our lover – Christ Jesus and are chasing after other ‘gods’ and ‘masters’ by our ways of life? Are we not having more of the tradition of the world in the Church and less of our supposed ‘heavenly conversation’?

What proof do we have of a heavenly community on earth today? We have followed the world like the Israelites of old. But the word says, the 144,000 follow(ed) the lamb withersoever He goeth’ (v. 4). That means they kept their faith and the teachings of Christ only. (3 Jon. 9).

 

When God remembered the days and the effect of the initial intimacy between Him and the Israelites within the covenant, He said

“I remember the affection of your youth, the love of your BRIDAL DAYS, you followed me through the wilderness, …Israel was sacred (holy) to Yahweh” (Jer. 2:2-3) JB.

 

These same people that were so holy and had followed God all along in their initial zeal and love eventually got corrupted with the system of other nations around them. They lost out to human tradition instead of the guiding light of God’s Spirit. Now before you pride yourself of the power you are manifesting and the glory you seem to be enjoying in your religious kingdom, hear the word of the Lord to a Church that has the testimony of Christ confirmed on her and that was not lacking in any Spiritual gift. (1 Cor. 1:7)

 

“I am anxious for you with deep concern of God Himself – anxious that your love would be for Christ alone just as a pure maiden preserves her love for one man only, for the one who will be her husband. But I AM FRIGHTENED, fearing that in some way, you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to our Lord, just as Eve was deceived by Satan … you seem to be gullible; you believe whatever anyone tells you; even if he is preaching about another Jesus than the one we preach, or a different spirit than the Holy Spirit you received, or shows you a different way to be saved. You swallow it all” (2 Cor. 11:2-4) TLB.

 

Can you see that the same spirit can work in the midst of those you may call spiritual giants today? Don’t be deceived my brother in the Lord, not all messengers are of God, and the prevailing system of things around us can deceive us. Come to think of it, Demas, a one-time co-worker of Apostle Paul forsook him for the world.

“For Demas has deserted me for love of this present world…” (2 Tim. 4:10).

 

But can we not imagine that Demas was spirit filled? Yet he got defiled. And so the word of God says

 

“you are like an unfaithful wife who loves her husband’s enemies – Don’t you realize that making friends with God’s enemies – the evil pleasures of this world – makes you an enemy of God? I say it again that if your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of this unsaved world, you cannot also be a friend of God, or what do you think the Scriptures means when it says that the Holy Spirit whom God has placed within us watches over us with tender jealousy”? Jm. 4:4-5 TLB.

 

Now, let us quickly consider a checklist of what happens when the spirit of the world is at work in you or a church. “…when you follow your own wrong inclinations, your lives will produce these evil results: impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism (that is encouraging the activity of demons) hatred and fighting, jealousy and anger. Constant efforts to get the best for yourself, complaints and criticisms, the feeling that everyone is wrong … and there will be wrong doctrine, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild parties and all that sort of thing. Let me tell you … that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God” Gal. 5:19-21 TLB.

 

What are we saying? The virgins of the Lord have no trace of these elements in them. For they are totally under the influence of the Spirit of Christ.

So you see my friend, that these things defile as they are from the world. Therefore “…strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not evil things people want. In the past you wasted too much time doing what non-believers enjoy … sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild parties and the hateful idol worship (1 Pet. 4:2-4) NCV.

 

Now see this, Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (KJV)

So what does it means to be a friend of the world? It is simply the knowledge of the world.Ruling your life with the p[philosophy and ideologies of this world makes you a friend of this world. Look at it, the Bible described Abraham as a friend of God ..

 

“Jas 2:23, And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God”.

 

How is Abraham the friend of God? As it is commonly said; ‘only your friend knows your secret’. Jesus said to his disciples, “ John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.”

 

So then when God wanted to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, we are told;

 

“17 And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;

18 Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?

19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”.(Gen.18:17-19).

 

And this is also what made Abraham a Prophet Gen,20:7, not because he was seeing visions for people or predicting the future. But he simply knew the mind of God. For God will do nothing except he first reveals it to his prophets. So that is how Abraham became the friend of God.

 

Meaning if you are a friend of the world, you will know the dept of the world’s ways of life and conduct. Just like the Jews, who were killing the saints, ..referred to as the synagogue of Satan ..except the rest in Thyatira.. as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan..(Rev.2:9-24)

 

This tainted way of life is what defiles men in the household of faith. You see people bringing in their natural wisdom into spiritual matters and even trying to advice the Apostle of the house who is commissioned to build the house with carnal earthly wisdom on how to run the house.

 

May God deliver us from being spotted with the spirit of this world that we may retain our purity for Christ alone both in thought and deeds.

 

Friends, these 144,000 as a people separated unto God, were not defiled with women, the apostate church system, for they were pure, singled minded and eyed into the Lord. For “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light”. Math. 6:22 (KJV). Again we state that these people are spiritual Israel not the Israel of old.

 

To be continued…

 

© 2016 – Dr. David O. Ogaga