Followers of Jesus Christ are given liberty in the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Acts 21:25-26

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

“But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Acts 21:25

The leaders over the Church of Jesus Christ [such as the Apostles] made it clear that born-again Believers had no need to be brought under the bondage of the laws of Judaism, such as the requirement to be circumcised. Born-again Gentiles [all non-Jewish Believers] live in the liberty of the Holy Spirit and have been set free from the written laws of Judaism. The four guidelines were given first to the Christians in Antioch at Syria, written in Jerusalem by the elders of the way of Christ [including such as Peter and James]. This is found in the posts on Acts 14:26 through Acts 15:35.

The four guidelines are listed below;

• Abstain from things polluted by idols. The worship of idols was a regular, routine, and common practice within the Roman Empire. In Acts 14:8-20, the Gentiles saw Paul and Barnabas as being the gods of Zeus and Hermes. This type of reverence for false gods is a distraction from reverence for the Living God. Today, we are not to serve the false god that gives people what to think, feel, say, and do. That beast distracts from God by replacing the conscience and spirit while oppressing the presence of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is being exterminated by this idol worship.
• Abstain from blood. The Gentiles had a practice, as was common within the Roman Empire, to use blood mixed with flour and vegetables, etc. in their food preparation. This is like the “black puddings” of more modern times. As followers of Jesus Christ, mixing blood with food is like mixing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the teachings of today’s atheistic culture. This amounts to practicing humanism, which is the fig leaf worn by those who serve the beast that gives them what to think, feel, say, and do. They are preaching a different Jesus than the Gospel we are taught by the word of God, and people are putting up with it by accepting it. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!” 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
• Abstain from things strangled. A law and custom of the Jewish people was to bleed an animal completely before eating or sacrificing it. An artery would be sliced and the blood allowed to flow out of the animal. By strangling an animal, the blood does not drain properly. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to strangle belief in the Living God, not to strangle forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and not to strangle the presence of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus gave His life on the Cross, His blood was poured out as His heart was pierced from the side. The flow of His blood is applied to our heart to atone for sin, reconcile to God, and live in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We are not to strangle the message of the Cross.
• Abstain from sexual immorality. Sexual immorality was rampant within the Roman Empire and among the Gentiles. Much of this came from serving false gods that required sexual intercourse as part of worship ceremonies. The focus on the pleasures of the flesh was a distraction from the Living God, Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Today, the false god with power over physiology; feelings and thoughts, uses physical sexuality and sensuality to enliven the passions of the flesh. By focusing thoughts and feelings on carnal pursuits, people are distracted from living in the presence of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. By focusing on the flesh, people become willing to live by the beast that gives them what to feel, think, say, and do. That beast gives breath/life to the image of the beast to speak by speaking and living through people. They are groomed to the mark, name, number of the beast by what they are given to say and do.

“Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.” Acts 21:26

As we see in the next post on Acts 21:27-29, Paul being in the Temple was enough to cause the Jewish people to want to beat Paul to death. We can appease today’s culture by being “…subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men…” Titus 3:1-2 but when they see us in the temple of God they are riled up. Our body is the temple of God, which we dedicate as the home of the Holy Spirit. Today’s culture considers the body as being the possession of the beast that governs through people’s words, actions, thoughts, and feelings.

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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, 3:11