Those who honestly serve God serve Him in Spirit and truth. 

John 4:22-23

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.” John 4:22-23

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are those who serve God in Spirit and truth. The hour of worshipping God in spirit and truth came when Jesus Christ atoned for sin.

Jesus is speaking as a Jew and as the Son of God when He said the Samaritan woman/Gentile had no idea what is worshipped. Jesus then talks about Salvation coming from the Jews, then talks about the day when true worshippers will serve God in Spirit and truth. Salvation does come from the Jews because the Lord Jesus Christ is a Jew from the tribe of Judah and His family tree goes all the way back to Adam. However, Jesus brought the New Covenant which changed the monopoly which the Jewish people had on God and the Holy scriptures. True worshippers are no longer exclusively Jewish but are those who worship God in Spirit and truth. “Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham.” Galatians 3:7 “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.” Galatians 4:28 That is good news for the Samaritan woman, every unclean Gentile, and every non-Jew, which includes you and me.

Today, people are serving something, and they have no idea what they are giving their life to. It has power over physiology and is able to form what they think, feel, say and do, as it lives and speaks through them. It makes them feel intelligent, empowered, righteous, socially acceptable, and emotionally pleasant. The Bible refers to it as the image of the beast which relates to the mark of the beast which is of Satan. The thing which forms thoughts, emotions, words, and behaviors is what enables the image of the beast to live and speak through people. It considers itself to be bringing salvation to the world as it talks about peace, harmony, human dignity, democratic principles, etc. in the process of establishing the agenda of the global government of the beast. The Bible refers to it as the object of God’s judgment and is heading towards severe global tribulation. People in every city around the world are conformed to the anti-Christian global culture as they are groomed to the mark of the beast by what theyb say and do.

Salvation comes by believing in Jesus Christ who gives us the Holy Spirit by the remission of sin. True worshippers are those who worship God in Spirit and the Gospel truth. We want our human spirit to bond with the Holy Spirit. The thing which forms what people think, feel, say and do has thrown the spirit and truth to the ground because it says and does anything to harden the human spirit against the Spirit of Christ. They will never speak the truth relating to the Spirit. Their only goal is to sit in the temple of God, our body, as if it is God and it does that by forming what people think, feel, say and do. If it told spiritual truth, it would not have a place within the soul. God is looking for people who worship Him in Spirit and truth, and those are the people who come to the Lord Jesus for the remission of sin and the infilling of the Holy Spirit.

We can assess that followers of Jesus Christ know the God we worship. Those who serve the thing forming what they think, feel, do, and say do not know they are serving the image of the beast grooming them to the mark of the beast. The diagnosis is that worship of God is through the spirit, which is discarded by the thing which has power over physiology to form thoughts and feelings. To sow to the flesh results in corruption but to sow to the Spirit results in eternal life. The plan is to worship God in spirit through Jesus Christ by not being overcome by a focus on carnal, earthly, and materialistic concerns. We know the plan is successful as we become rich in spirit and the things of this world becomes dimmer and dimmer.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
  In the light of His glory and grace.
(Church Hymn)

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1