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Monday, 4 May 2026

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-3-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

There is a cry for unity within The Church. There is a shout for harmony amid the saints. There is a call for one accord among the brethren. Many have asked why the different factions within The Church at large cannot simply coexist. If the criterion for this concord is simply believing in Christ or acting in His name, we can be off to the races. Slam dunk. Case closed. Polly, put the kettle on. However, the issue is more involved than that & those who kick up a significant amount of the dust concerning the matter, know this without a doubt. First, there is a systematic throwing up of hands, identifying denominationalism as the obstacle. Or there is a stubborn folding of the arms across puffed out chests, blaming doctrine for the schisms. After that, there is a furrowing of prayer hardened brows, accusing the devil of deceiving all concerned. No one seems willing or prepared to consider the fact that The Lord Himself makes a difference between those who are His & those who are not. Ignoring this fact, there are still those tacit accepters, who wring their soft hands & humbly ask; ‘..can’t we all, just get along?’, before quoting Psalms 133. No mate. We can’t. Not if you’re asking & expecting those who are on The Lord’s side to relax the grip they have on their swords & cozy up to heretics, idolators, perverters of truth, liars & thieves. Why is The believing Church at large so eagerly lowering the bar to such an extent that all & sundry can skate across the line with relative ease, while whispering peace, unity & solidarity as if they were secret passwords? Since when did The Church refuse to stand up for doctrinal purity & against blasphemous heresies & questionable practices? What do we realistically expect from those whose hands are on their hips, instead of on their hilts? The Lord Jesus Christ is not handing out sweeties to excited children. He is delivering Divine instruction to His Church for the days in which we live. Like Moses, He demands to know who is on His side, rallying the remnant. Like David, He is receiving His disciplined, mighty fighting men, imbued with an inspired understanding of the times & a knowledge of what to do. They are the ones to whom I write. The nothingers.

¹¹And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are… ¹⁷ Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. ¹⁸ As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. ²⁰ Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; ²¹ That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ²² And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: ²³ I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me (John 17:11 & 7-23).

Before you go any further, take some time to read John 17 in its entirety. This is paramount in its importance, because many have abused the words of The Lord Jesus in this passage. Christ is preparing Himself to go to the cross. To suffer painfully. To bleed agonizingly. To die horrifically. Don’t you think He was conscious of the fact that whatever He said & did was significant & specific? Yet this seems lost on those who are pushing their own version of unity, harmony & accord, otherwise known by its pet name; ecumenicism. Cute, isn’t it?

When The Lord prayed this prayer, there weren’t the denominations that we have today or any of its derivative cults. There were Israelis & there were Gentiles. Among the Jews there were the Scribes; the Pharisees; the Sadducees; the Zealots; the Sicarii; the Herodians; the Essenes & of course, the Samaritans. Quite a thing.

If the ecumenical agenda that is being pushed today claims its foundation in the words Jesus spoke back then & from the subsequent teaching of His Apostles, surely it would follow that those words were equally applicable to those groups during The Church’s early ministry too. Surely? Unless…no it couldn’t be…but…no, no, no. Well, I may as well say it. Unless the ecumenists are telling porkies. Just sayin’. If they are right, we ought to fall in step with the wishes of The Head of The Church. However, if they are wrong, then the disgust, frustration & sense of betrayal felt by the faithful few is justified.

Was Jesus praying that those differing sects within Judaism would forget their differences, reach across the aisles in the temple & form one organised cooperative? Was Jesus praying that the various Gentile denominations within The Church at large would relegate the importance & essential nature of core beliefs & biblical convictions in order to embrace miscellany? Afterall, it has been said, ‘..diversity is divine but division is diabolical..it’s the glory that glues us together, not the doctrines.’. Don’t take my word for it. Just ask Bishop Tony Palmer.

The reasoning of ecumenicalism is logical, but what have we said about that previously? Just because an argument is logically sound does not necessarily mean that it’s theo-logically sound. It isn’t enough for a teaching to make sense. It has to be TRUE. It has to be SO (Acts 17:11).

The Lord defined His terms clearly in His prayer. Believers are to be unified in the same manner that the Godhead are. Take that in. There is no division between their persons. No diversity. They are one (Deuteronomy 6:4). Believers are sanctified or separated by & to the truth. The truth of His Word. No divisive doctrine. Just the truth of The Gospel. Paul says, ‘Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel.’ (Philippians 1:27). The Gospel.

Before there can be any real cohesion between various groups which name The Name of Christ, we need to examine why they exist. Why the divisions? Why the splits? Why the numerous denominations? The Lord Jesus Christ set the Gospel template Himself. The Apostles taught His doctrine. The Church continued in their teachings. The unity, harmony & accord we hear of today, is not the same thing that The Lord prayed for, before He went to Calvary. However, viewed in ecumenical isolation one would be forgiven for thinking that it is.

If diversity is genuinely divine & if doctrine is truly divisive, Jesus, the Apostles & The Scriptures have lied to us all. Our fidelity, loyalty & faithfulness to The Gospel of Christ & to The Christ of The Gospel have been misplaced & misapplied. But if Jesus, the Apostles & The Scriptures tell us otherwise, it means that our resistance is justified & that our allegiance isn’t blind. It is armed. Who is on The Lord’s side?

It is supremely ignorant & contemptuously arrogant of The Church at large to take the words of Christ & apply them solely to itself, without considering that The Gospel is to the Jew first. The Scriptures are replete with examples of what The Lord was praying for in John 17. Examples that have been ignored by those keen to push their own surreptitious agenda.

Any Jew hearing Christ’s words would not have thought of a Gentile Church. It wasn’t a thing. Neither would they have considered the epistles. They hadn’t been written yet. So what would possibly have sprung to mind?

¹¹ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out. ¹² As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day… ¹⁶ I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment… ²³ And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. ²⁴ And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it… ³⁰Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. ³¹ And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 34:11-12; 16; 23-24; 30-31).

¹⁶ Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: ¹⁷ And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. ¹⁸ And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? ¹⁹ Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. ²⁰ And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. ²¹ And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: ²² And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: ²³ Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵ And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. ²⁶ Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. ²⁷ My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ²⁸ And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore (Ezekiel 37:16-28).

Go back to John 17 & read the words of The Lord Jesus again. Before The Gospel & the witness of The Apostles reached the Gentiles, it went first to Israel. As a people, they waited for their Messiah. Here He was. They were to truly be one nation under God. Jesus says, ‘I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. (John 10:14-16). Those who heard these words of Christ, knew exactly what He was alluding to. Ezekiel 34 & 37.

⁴⁹ And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, ⁵⁰ Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. ⁵¹ And this spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; ⁵² And not for that nation only, but that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad (John 11:49-52).

¹⁴ Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people (John 18:14).

My point is simply this; John 17 is not a foundation for ecumenicism. It is the culmination of YHWH’s promise to unite Israel just as He is one in Himself, under the Kingship of Messiah & the truth of God’s Word. That is the ultimate cohesion. It is watertight. The Lord Jesus Christ was not praying that the various Jewish sects would get along, any more than He was praying that Gentile denominations would magically come together, hold hands & be willing to sacrifice doctrine in order to present a united front to the world. Why bother? The Church at large is comfortably in bed with the world anyway!

He set the template. He set the standard. He is Messiah, Lord & Christ. His bat. His ball. His game. His rules. Anyone who cannot or will not accept, serve or worship Christ as He is, will find that their quest for ecumenical union is the only thing they have, because Jesus doesn’t recognise or acknowledge it.

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Wednesday, 22 April 2026

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-2-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

Whatever is happening within The Church at large right now, is only symptomatic of issues that have been below the surface for a long time. Some have seen it & are acting accordingly. Some are blissfully unaware & are basking in torpor & indolence. If ever we needed discernment among believers it is now! Those that are perceptive, seem to be few & far between. Who are they? Where are they? The Scriptures speak of a remnant; a core group who are not in the majority. Called such, not because they’re elite, but rather because their focus & goal is Christ & Christ alone. I call them the nothingers, because The Church at large, as it is, has nothing to offer them. Yet ironically, they have something to offer The Church. It is to the nothingers that I write these articles, because soon & very soon they will be called upon. Not necessarily by man. But certainly by God. This is quite a thing.

¹⁴ Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens: ¹⁵ And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute (Genesis 49:14-15).

Let’s put something to bed before we go any further. There is no such thing as the ‘Issachar Anointing’. I’ve heard the sermons. I’ve seen the books. I’ve watched the on-line clips. This erroneous codswallop attracts absent minded & self-willed individuals who are encouraged to claim callings & giftings that do not exist. Oh, …it also makes a lot of money for those who crank out this unmitigated twaddle. I’m sure that they experience a laughing anointing. All the way to the bank!

You could try The Issachar Anointing by Phillip Rich, who writes, ‘Issachar was one of the twelve tribes of Israel. They had understanding of the times and seasons. They were very sensitive to know things in the spirit. Some people say that they studied science and knew a lot of natural things but I don’t agree with that interpretation. I believe they were a very spiritual people, sensitive to God’s direction. They had some insight into things because of their sensitivity to God. The word “Issachar” means reward, compensation, benefit, salary. They were people whose lifestyle rewarded others. Your sensitivity to God is compensation to other Christians because you are able to know things in the Spirit, able to pick up things in the Spirit. You are a blessing and a benefit to other Christians.’.

If that doesn’t give you goosebumps, you could try The Soul of the Issachar Seer by Ken Cox. Ken says, ‘This time in history is unparalleled. The need to determine the seasons and times is at an all-time high. We need the Issachar gift today. Apostle Cox has put together this book for aspiring Issachar gifted prophets. "The Soul of The Issachar Seer," is a step by step process that stresses the soul development of the soul of the seer. Our soul is the key. Apostle Cox connects us with the opportunity of the now day generation Issachar prophet. "The Soul of the Issachar seer," will open you up to the possibilities and allow you to become a valued vessel of God.’.

Well what about The Issachar Anointing: Understanding Times and Seasons to Leverage Change by Kwabena Dauty Akufo? He waxes lyrical thus. ‘Do you know how to discern the significance of the times? Do you understand the times and seasons that are governing your life? Have you experienced stunted growth in an aspect of your life no matter how hard you tried? Are you able to flow with the times and seasons that are governing your life? This book will give you insights to deal with these questions and more. The Issachar Anointing is the unique anointing of the men of Issachar that enabled them to understand the times and seasons to influence and lead Israel to establish the greatest dynasty of all time, perpetuated by the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can use the Issachar Anointing to understand the times and seasons that govern your life and then leverage the Issachar Anointing to change the times or seasons to favour you.’.

What a load of rubbish. It is faddism. It is fashionable, but it is unbiblical. The inordinate Pentecostal & Charismatic obsession with such & such spirits or such & such anointings, is nothing more or less than spiritism & mysticism.

Jacob didn’t say to Issachar, ‘..this is going to be your anointing. You’ll receive a portion of the Issachar spirit, hallelujah..’. Before there was any understanding of the times or knowledge of what to do, there was significant time of character building & consistency! The nothingers have been the donkey couched between the burdens. They’re balanced. The nothingers have found their place. They’re productive. The nothingers are yielded to the task. They’re compliant. The nothingers are slavish in their service. They’re faithful. By the time they became allied to David they were a representative minority of two hundred leaders with some 87,000 at their command; but their wisdom & knowledge outweighed their numbers.

There are those who will teach that the ‘Issachar Anointing’ can be prayed for & received from The Lord. Can it? No. Why not? Because there is no such thing. Instead, we have a majority who do not understand the times & have little or no knowledge of what should be done. No wisdom. No character. No consistency. But they will happily settle for signs. Beware of that which is experience led, but not biblically supported.

²⁴ Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: ²⁵ But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD (Psalms 106:24-25).

Not the men of Issachar. These particular men ‘..saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant.’. They were not short sighted. They carried this distinguishing trait. Do not underestimate what is written for our learning here. Nevertheless, the knowledge & understanding these men possessed caused them to become an allied resource to David. They had seen Saul’s life. They had seen his death. They had seen those around him. They had nothing in him. Nothing.

Look at Saul’s character. Look at the men who followed him.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. ² And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³ And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers. ⁴ Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. ⁵And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise on the sword, and died. ⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. ⁷ And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them (1^st Chronicles 10:1-7).

Cowardice & fear. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing new. Nothing else. Saul, Saul, Saul! He should have remained small in hie own eyes.

¹⁶ Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. ¹⁷ And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel?’ (1^st Samuel 15:16-17).

The bloke didn’t even have the chutzpah to go & fight Goliath himself. He willingly let a boy go instead, while he hid in his tent, probably having his nails done. (1^st Samuel 17:37b). Saul should have been the one to step up to the fight. However, in providence David did the job, just as The Son of David would.

Beware of leaders who do not lead. Beware of teachers who do not teach. Beware shepherds who do not feed. They will take your money. They will make empty promises. They will lie to you. They will deceive you. They will make merchandise of you. No wisdom. No character. No consistency.

Look at David’s character. Look at the men who followed him.

¹ Now these are they that came to David to Ziklag, while he yet kept himself close because of Saul the son of Kish: and they were among the mighty men, helpers of the war… ⁴ And Ismaiah the Gibeonite, a mighty man among the thirty, and over the thirty… ⁸ And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains… ¹⁵ These are they that went over Jordan in the first month, when it had overflown all his banks; and they put to flight all them of the valleys, both toward the east, and toward the west. (1^st Chronicles 12:1, 4, 8 & 15).

Do you notice the oh so subtle difference between the two sets of men? Into David’s group, YHWH places the nothingers; the men of Issachar. Hebrews 11:34 reminds us of such men. Despite their ability & prowess however, notice that they also needed knowledge & understanding. I say again, they had seen Saul’s life. They had seen his death. They had seen those around him. They had nothing in him. Nothing. If you’re a nothinger, you’ve seen this for yourself. These men are runners, not fighters. They set no example except a bad one, but they are happy for others to take the weight & take up the slack. Men such as these have the stomach for a fight, when it is necessary. They prefer to oppose rather than appease (Ephesians 5:11).

¹ Now the sons of Issachar were, Tola, and Puah, Jashub, and Shimron, four. ² And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred. ³ And the sons of Uzzi; Izrahiah: and the sons of Izrahiah; Michael, and Obadiah, and Joel, Ishiah, five: all of them chief men. ⁴ And with them, by their generations, after the house of their fathers, were bands of soldiers for war, six and thirty thousand men: for they had many wives and sons. ⁵ And their brethren among all the families of Issachar were valiant men of might, reckoned in all by their genealogies fourscore and seven thousand (1^st Chronicles 7:1-5).

¹⁷ And David went out to meet them, and answered and said unto them, If ye be come peaceably unto me to help me, mine heart shall be knit unto you: but if ye be come to betray me to mine enemies, seeing there is no wrong in mine hands, the God of our fathers look thereon, and rebuke it. ¹⁸ Then the spirit came upon Amasai, who was chief of the captains, and he said , Thine are we , David, and on thy side, thou son of Jesse: peace, peace be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers; for thy God helpeth thee. Then David received them, and made them captains of the band (1^st Chronicles 12:17-18).

³² And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment (1^st Chronicles 12:32).

Having seen & heard these things, what do we do? Do we buy more misleading books that have been written by misleading people? Look at the landscape of The Church at large & name those who understand the times & know what should be done. I’ll wait for your emails.

Some will send me the identities of the usual suspects. Those whose prophecies fail. Those whose healings are fake. Those who twist Scripture. Those who constantly need money. Those people are liars. They are in the character of Saul, not the character of David.

Because of these things, we also need those who are in the character of the sons of Issachar. Mighty men. Men of valour. Brave men. Bold men. May The Lord deliver us from softies & lily livered scaredy cats. We need character more than we need charisma. That time isn’t coming. That time is here. The clock is ticking.

The Lord Jesus said, ‘..When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? (Matthew 16:2-3). Does this remind you of anything? He also said, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.’ (Matthew 11:28-29). The Lord wants to build believers with His character, for the task ahead. But not everyone is up for the job. Are you?

Monday, 20 April 2026

Thank you!!

We want to thank everyone who has helped this work move forward over the past ten years. This includes our dissenters & critics as well as those who encourage & pray for us. May The Lord bless & keep you all.

March 2026 was our tenth anniversary. I know. Ten years already!

Below is a list of countries that this blog has reached so far, by the grace of God, so we thought it apt to take some sound advice & set up a Facebook page where readers can meet virtually & we can interact with them on a semi-regular basis. Perhaps in the future some of us can take part in live interactions.

Just let us know who you are, where you’re from & how you came across this work, which occupies a very small place on the world wide web & give us a like, comment & follow if you want to.

This blog has found its way to the following nations, but only because people like you read it. If it has helped you in any way at all, We are glad & grateful to God. Thank you once again, each & every one of you. We will be praying for you & for the regions that you call home.

The United Kingdom, The United States of America, Albania, Nicaragua, Mexico, Ecuador, Singapore, Russia, France, Ireland, The Ukraine, The People's Republic of China, Laos, Qatar, Tajikistan, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Austria, Canada, Portugal, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, The Republic of South Africa, Lebanon, Chile, Panama, Pakistan, Morocco, Kenya, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Argentina, Peru, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Romania, Algeria, Nepal, Syria, Oman, Italy, Poland, Kosovo, Tunisia, The Philippines, Azerbaijan, North Macedonia, Myanmar, The Netherlands, Uruguay, Ivory Coast, Spain, Vietnam, Indonesia, Luxembourg, Sweden, Denmark, India, Brazil, Bolivia, Greece, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Belarus, Costa Rica, Finland, Turkmenistan, The Seychelles, Columbia, Honduras, Moldova, Paraguay, Hungary, Hong Kong, Slovakia, Ethiopia & Turkey.

Simply click on the Facebook link below, or email thediscernerquarterly@gmail.com

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We’re looking forward to seeing you there. Comment & follow. We don't bite.

Yours in His grip.

TDQ.

Sunday, 12 April 2026

The good, the bad

& the ungodly

-1-

choosing the lord’s side in the current christian civil war

When I first came to Christ, I was told to bring my bible & my Brain to church services. I did this as dutifully & as faithfully as possible. I still do. There is nothing that compares to the anticipation of biblical worship. There is nothing to parallel the expectation of biblical teaching. Nothing. However for many, that sentence is significantly shorter, namely; there is nothing. It is to the nothingers that I want to speak in this series of articles. I hear you. I see you. I understand you. I do. Listen. I too am a nothinger. Bear with me. After years or even decades of believing false teaching, you have found yourself delivered, but also destitute & damaged. This is very hard spiritually, emotionally & psychologically. The issues of faith in God & the trust of man loom large because leaving a false system involves abandoning beliefs, friendships, family & connections. This unfortunate situation is ground zero & before there can be any rebuilding, there has to be a systematic clearing away of a lot of rubble. Make yourself a pot of tea brethren & let’s talk honestly. This is quite a thing.

¹ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. ² And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. ³ And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. ⁴ And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. ⁵ And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. ⁶And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play (Exodus 32:1-6).

When Israel left Egypt, passed through the Red Sea & came to Sinai, they were to receive The Law. But they were not yet out of the woods. It is interesting to see the behaviour of a people without the parameters of God’s Law. Running wild. Acting foolishly. Removing their clothing. Becoming a spectacle. Does any of this sound familiar? Has anything like this happened in modern times, I wonder? I’m surprised none of the Israelites were rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically & making animal noises. They were literally, lawless. This is called antinomianism, but we will circle back to that point at a later date. ‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ (Proverbs 28:19). The word perish indicates the throwing off of restraints.

Just imagine you’re part of the scene. Tap-tap-tap on the shoulder. Someone needs to raise an offering.

“Can we borrow your earrings please, mate?”.

“What for?”.

“Aaron said he needs them.”.

“Oh Aaron, Moses’ brother. We like him. We trust him.”.

Snap. Snap. Jingle. Jingle. You faithfully & obediently handed your money, jewellery or property over to fund the work. Things rapidly go off the rails & your contributions are used for immoral purposes. Everyone seems equally enamoured with the golden calf being erected, except you. Perhaps this was residual of Egypt’s Apis cult, which involved a bull. You scratch your head. You raise an eyebrow. You rub your chin. You sigh deeply.

Maybe you’re wrong. Afterall, there was an altar being built & a proclamation made by Aaron, Moses’ brother. We like him. We trust him. Anything goes as long as folk kid themselves that it’s for The Lord & they can tag Jesus’ name onto the end of it. ‘Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.’. There are few things worse than deified devilism & so it remains.

In creeps an unhealthy feeling of silent disgust, self-doubt, isolation & the burning question; where in the world is the man, Moses!?!

Not a lot has changed in modern times. Fake prophets & false teachers will still coax the ‘wealth transfer’ you left Egypt with, out of your hands. Is there a knot forming in the pit of your stomach & a sharp pinch bruising your conscience? Is there? Israel loved their deliverance & their deliverer once they’d escaped Egypt. ‘And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.’ (Exodus 14:31). But their double minds soon changed. Don’t worry, the fickleness of folk is nothing new. Such is the case with the carnal.

It is also true of the world. ‘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.’ (2^nd Peter 3:3-4). You’ve seen it. You’ve heard it. You’ve been right there. But you have no real way of escape & nowhere to go even if you could.

You see where your earrings went! You see where your money went! You see where your property went! Spent on idolatry! A-class jets; huge homes; luxury cars; expensive hotels; designer clothing.

You cannot simply cut your losses & walk off into the wilderness. What about your friends? What about your family? What about your marriage? What about your job? What about your salvation? You wrestle with staying or leaving, while the silent build-up of anger brings sweat to your brow, tears to your eyes & the stinging question:

WHERE IS MOSES!?!

¹⁸ And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18).

Of course, Moses was with The Lord, Who told him what was happening in the camp. He lost it spectacularly & shattered the tablets in anger, when he saw Israel’s idolatry. Oops! No jelly & ice cream for Moshe Rabbeinu. But catch this; Moses pleaded with YHWH not to wipe Israel out & The Lord heard his intercession. This doesn’t mean that there wasn’t judgement. There was. But there was no annihilation.

I’m not half the man that Moses was, because had it been me, I would have pulled up a reclining chair, made myself comfortable with a pot of tea & watched the heavenly fireworks.

It is here that the nothingers begin to pay careful attention to things that are occurring. In the midst of the chaos & craziness, a real man of God with The Word of God, will say & do what needs to be said & done. Sometimes with raised voices, Bible thumping & tablet smashing. Nevertheless, such men are not afraid. Where were Aaron’s guts? What a complete melt & milquetoast. Not Moshe though.

How many times have you seen weak leadership pushed around by bolshy & controlling people that they haven’t the chutzpah to stand up to …& they’re so rude! ‘Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.’. Up! Get up! Come on, you! Do it & do it now! Right now! What a rebellious & unfaithful mob! They simply could not wait.

On the one hand they affirmed being delivered through Moses & then on the other they were willing to give their allegiance to an idol. Some things do not change; ‘..and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it.’. Things have not changed. It must have been like holding their feet to a fire, for the sons of Levi. In the midst of the debacle & debauchery, they waited patiently for Moses, just as the faithful remnant within The Church waits for the coming of The Lord.

Something is better than nothing, right? All nothingers will disagree. They know that the worship is fake. They know that the word is false. They know that the leaders are weak. They know that the followers are fickle.

I’m convinced that this contingent wasn’t necessarily large, but they were certainly influential enough to sway the weak willed & easily led. Hebrews says, ‘For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry (Hebrews 10:36-37). Jesus says, ‘In your patience possess ye your souls.’ (Luke 21:19). Moses knew what to do.

²⁰ And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. ²¹ And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? ²² And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. ²³ For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. ²⁴ And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf (Exodus 32:20-24).

Aaron blamed the people. He went full on Han Solo; it’s not my fault! It’s not my fault! It isn’t clear whether Aaron had to endure drinking the rough shake that Moses made the Israelites consume, but for his poor excuses he ought to have been beaten with his own belt! After the miraculous way in which YHWH had delivered Israel from Egypt, this is how they repaid Him. This would be the first of many such instances in their history. But great is His faithfulness. The Church at large is no better. The same elements present then, are sadly pervasive nowadays. The worship is still fake. The word is still false. The leaders are still weak. The followers are still fickle.

Cast you minds back to Eden. God plants a garden & places man in there. He goes away, presumably to do God things & in His absence the enemy appears in order to tempt mankind into sinning. Adam’s weakness won. We all know how that story ended, don’t we? Here, we have Moses leading Israel out of Egypt & when they come to Sinai, he has to ascend the mountain to speak with The Lord. Off he goes with Joshua, leaving Aaron & Hur in charge. Due to Aaron’s indolence, in Moses’ absence the Israelites descend into idolatry. After The Lord’s earthly ministry, His death, burial & resurrection, He ascends. But not before warning about false Christs & false prophets that will come in His absence, in order to deceive. Paul & Peter confirm this trend in their epistles.

²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them (Acts 20:29-30).

¹ But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of (2^nd Peter 2:1-2).

There may have been a time when you may have ignorantly gone along with whatever shenanigans were happening. The laughing. The falling. The rolling. The first offerings. The false prophecies. The lies. The false teachings. The fake healings. The second offerings. The failures. The disappointments. But one day, something was different wasn’t it? It was almost as if a light bulb lit up in your heart. Your eyes & your ears were opened. You realised that what you were seeing & hearing wasn’t ordained of God at all.

At that moment, you became a nothinger. There was nothing in the worship. There was nothing in the proclamations. There was nothing. The movements, the ministries & the messages were all built on the backs of those who willingly gave their substance to those who took it oh so enthusiastically. You found yourself staring at a golden calf.

Paul says, ‘Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.’ (1^st Corinthians 10:7-8). Some of them, not all of them. At Moses’ word, the sons of Levi stepped up, but there was an awesome task ahead of them. In some respects, the objectivity that comes with being a nothinger is helpful. You’re not living with your emotions hanging from your sleeve & your loyalties are to Christ & Christ alone.

Not only do you have little or nothing in common with the old community you’ve left, but you also have little or nothing in common with the new community you join. You don’t quite fit. You may not see it at the time, but it can be a good thing.

²⁵ And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) ²⁶ Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him (Exodus 32:25-26).

Not everyone had descended into this excessive madness & notice, Moses did not enter the camp initially; he stood in the gate. Neither did he ask who was on his side. He asked who was on The Lord’s side.

²⁷ And he said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. ²⁸ And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men (Exodus 32:27-29).

To raise the sword against the enemy at the command of God is one thing. To raise it against your brother, companion & neighbour is quite another. I am not advocating physical violence. But we live in a day when to take a stand may involve raising The Sword of The Spirit, which is The Word of God (Ephesians 6:17), against friends & family who prefer to continue in sin or in error. This is choosing The Lord’s side, in the current christian civil war. You may not see any signs of it, but it has already started. This is quite a thing.