Judas

Blog for Podcast #186 (The Judas Effect)

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Intro

This is Dreamwalker1960. As a reminder you can read the transcripts of all my podcasts at dreamwalker1960.com. You can use most podcast platforms if you wish to listen. All you need to do is do a search for Dreamwalker1960.

Discussion

Just so we all understand from the start. Judas was chosen by Christ. Aka saved.

Judas was sent out to teach the Truth. He cast out to demon and healed the sick:

Mark 6:7-13 NKJV – And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!” So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

Christ said he was clean. Aka saved.

John 15:1-6 NKJV – “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

What else do we learn from the verses we just heard in addition to the fact that Judas was clean when he heard this message? The answer: He stopped abiding in the Vine who is Jesus Christ. These verses, in other words, were a warning to Judas to not stop abiding in Jesus, which he eventually did. He chose to abandon his salvation. Aka he was no longer saved. Which millions eventually do, for humans are fickle as was made clear in Hosea.

Hosea 1:2 NKJV – When the LORD began to speak by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: “Go, take yourself a wife of harlotry And children of harlotry, For the land has committed great harlotry By departing from the LORD.”

For those that call themselves “Christian” have committed great harlotry by departing from the Lord. This is why Peter said this:

2 Peter 2:20-22 NKJV – For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A DOG RETURNS TO HIS OWN VOMIT,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Any who says they cannot lose their salvation are saying they no longer sin.

1 John 1:8-10 NKJV – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Millions actually call Jesus Christ a liar and are equal to Judas. They have taken their thirty silver and say they are one with Christ and have no need of anything.

Revelation 3:15-17 NKJV – “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—

Their earthly riches. Their earthly wealth is their thirty silver. Accordingly, like Judas, they are vomited from the Body of Christ. The are removed from the Vine and cast into the fire.

Christ makes it a very clear division. It is cold or hot. It is black or white. It is God or money.

Luke 16:13-15 NKJV – “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

What is highly esteemed among men?

1 John 2:15-16 NLT – Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

They seek after and are rewarded with these things that never came from the Father. Never came from Jesus. They no longer abide in Christ.

What is required to show you desire to abide in the Vine who is Jesus Christ?

Mark 10:17-21 NKJV – Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY,’ ‘DO NOT MURDER,’ ‘DO NOT STEAL,’ ‘DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER.'” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

“Go your way. Sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross and follow Me.”

Note: the young rich man followed the commandments. He put on the show that he was following God, for we are all called to follow the commandments if we love Christ.

John 14:15 NKJV – “If you love Me, keep My commandments.

To show our devotion to God through Jesus Christ we are to downsize, for this is a commandment from Christ Himself. Yet, millions ignore this command, for it is not meant for them. They are allowed to keep their thirty silver. They are allowed to be the lukewarm and keep their riches and wealth.

What was Christ answer to this belief?

Mark 10:23-25 NKJV – Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

This is the Judas effect. They can keep their riches. For they are not the young rich man. However, they ignore the Wording of these verses.

“How hard it is for those who trust in riches.”

“Those” is reference to any who seek after and keep earthly wealth. For they trust in their riches more than they trust in God through Jesus Christ.

Any who seeks after the huge house, the fancy clothes, and expensive vehicles show where their loyalties lie. Which is why it will be hard for them to enter into the kingdom of God. They would rather keep their thirty silver than to throw it away so they can enter freely into the presence of God. This is why Christ says this in Luke:

Luke 14:33 NKJV – So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Any seeking after wealth pursues to be Judas. They seek to no longer abide in Christ willingly, because their comfort, their status, their possessions are something that they can see and hold on to. For they don’t see their Savior, and since they cannot see Him, abiding in Him is not of any value to them. Their eternal life offers no dividends to them now. For their focus is not upon their eternal life, but their temporal life, which means they are fixated upon their death. Not temporal, but eternal. For the mentality of those that pursue their Savior follow a different path:

2 Corinthians 5:1-10 NKJV – For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

“Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”

To be well pleasing to Him is to follow His commandments, which includes downsizing as well as praying in private, never publicly.

As we quickly approach the soon return of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is extremely important to come to understand that we must follow the commands given us by Jesus. Any who refuses these Truths. Any who refuse they can lose their salvation wish to be someone who has taken the thirty silver and sold Christ unto death in their own souls.

However, God through His eternal love for all humanity. Offers us all a chance to repent of our sins and to return to Him. If we accept the Truth and return to Him, if we accepted Him as our Savior, then we will willingly and with vigor seek to be with Him. We do this by submitting to His teachings within the Bible.

God Bless

Blog for Podcast #134 (Those who Betray with a Kiss)

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Intro

This is Dreamwalker1960. As a reminder you can read the transcripts of all my podcasts at dreamwalker1960.com. You can use most podcast platforms if you wish to listen. All you need do is do a search for Dreamwalker1960.

Discussion

The other day someone posted in social media this statement:

“Judas was not just a disciple of Jesus; he was the money keeper of the twelve.”

My reply was this:

It may be true that he was the money keeper. However, any that hear the call of Christ are His disciples.

This is a lesson in free-will.

Even after seeing all the miracles and even bringing others to Christ and baptizing them. Judas chose the world over Jesus and betrayed Him in an action of love.

Judas chose to abandon his salvation for riches. As most now do. Keeping their fancy houses and fancy cars and clothes. Christ makes it clear:

Matthew 6:24 NLT – “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

Judas chose money and then when it was too late realized his error and hung himself.

Very soon many will awaken to the truth. I wonder how many will choose to kill themselves than to fix their relationship with God through Christ and get rid of their worldly possessions.

I sat and prayed and thought on this further. For to me it did say a lot but at the same time felt incomplete.

Then the inspiration of the Holy Spirit led me to a key element in what I had stated.

“Judas chose the world over Jesus and betrayed Him in an action of love.”

How many truly believe they love Christ, yet they have chosen to betray Him? All the time professing their love for Him.

Christ told us the answer Himself.

Matthew 7:13-14 NKJV – “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

The narrow path is difficult because people do not believe they must surrender their earthly possessions and property.

However, as mentioned in my reply in social media there is only two choices. To follow God through Christ or worship money and all it gives you.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 NKJV – Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

“For which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness.”

When these words were inspired by God and written down on parchment. At that time, it is truly “some have strayed.”

Now though. Now we are in the time of the “lukewarm.” Which means that most that now profess to loving Christ have betrayed Him with a kiss. Just for money.

Revelation 3:15-17 NKJV – “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—

“Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.’”

Most that profess to being “Christian” at this time live in fancy houses. They have expensive cars and wear fancy clothes. Keeping most of their wealth for their own wants and desires. All the time professing their “undying” love for He who died upon a cross for their sins. That they may stand before the throne of God in white garments. However, due to their love for money that is not their fate. Their kiss upon His cheek nothing more than a great betrayal on par with that of Judas. They hang themselves in ropes of their own making. Made of gold and fancy cloth.

Christ made it clear what we are to do with earthly wealth and possessions.

Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV – “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

” For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

There your heart aka your love will be.

Let us return to 1 Timothy chapter 6:

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV – Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

“Ready to give, willing to share.”

But how is this accomplished if all their wealth is tied up in a huge house, a fancy car, in fancy clothing, invested in stocks, bonds and 401ks?

The answer is simple. It is impossible. Thus, they openly betray Jesus Christ every single moment of every single day. All because their wants and desires, that will last only a few decades, are greater than their desire to live in the service of God for billions upon billions of years.

This is how the Pharisees thought as well for this is witnessed in Luke:

Luke 16:14-15 NKJV – Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him. And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.

As I have discussed in the past the Greek word which translates to “abomination,” is used only six times in the New Testament. Four of those times it describes the antichrist and those that follow that person.

This is how God perceives those that seek after comfort and luxuries. This is how God sees those that can be called the “lukewarm.” This is those that are rich in this temporal existence we now live within.

This is why it is so important that people that profess to being a follower of Christ downsize and follow the teachings of the Bible. For it is made clear that if they do not do this, then God is not in them and will use their earthly wealth to pass judgement upon them.

1 John 3:17 NKJV – But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

James 5:1-3 NLT – Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver are corroded. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This corroded treasure you have hoarded will testify against you on the day of judgment.

What many do not understand or mayhaps wish to hear. Is where the desire to accumulate wealth for oneself comes from.

James 3:13-18 NKJV – Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

“But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

Let me restate that last part once again:

“This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.”

Those that seek after earthly luxuries follow demonic desires. This is why this is said in 1 John chapter 2:

1 John 2:15-16 NLT – Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.

It is due to demonic influences that those who seek after earthly wealth and all that comes with it are not in the service of God but of Satan.

This shows that they are not headed to stand before the throne of God in robes of white. They are to stand before the Great White Throne Judgement. Which is why Christ says this:

Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Then once these Words are spoken they will realize that their names which at one time, may have been written down in the Book of Life, has been blotted out by Christ Jesus. Then they are to take their place in the second death for all eternity.

Revelation 20:11-15 NKJV – Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

God Bless

The Judas dilemma

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When we look to the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ we see humanity coming face to face with God.
We see their willingness. We see their desire to shine above the rest. We see their bickering and arguing at times as well. Simply we see a true reflection of man, while on the other hand in Jesus we see the God who has become man and see he is different.
However, that is not the main point of this article.
The main point is we can also say even though they were flawed and did not at first act correctly. For the most part their hearts were in the right place, for they had been called by name, by Christ Himself.
Now in this light we can in essence say they were “saved.” Even though Christ had not yet died for their sins. How they acted after in another story for another day.
What we are going to deal with is the fact they were called by Christ to be taught by the Son of God Himself. Before it was over they came to know and understand that yes He was the Messiah. Yet, one still clung to the world, still desired the riches and notoriety of this temporal existence.
This one even though knowing Christ was the Son of God chose the world instead. That was Judas.
He saw the miracles, and may have even performed some himself, yet he could not understand or grasp the reality he himself was experiencing.
Was he overwhelmed? I do not know.
Was he beyond caring for the truth before him? Again the answer of that is beyond my knowing or understanding.
Even though he was seeing, even though he was doing. Still he could not comprehend the reality of God. The power of God. The understanding that we were created by God. That all he saw, that all he did was only due to being part of the overall plan of God’s tapestry, woven throughout the known universe, which itself is just now being seen as that very thing, a woven tapestry.
Many today are like Judas and in many cases aren’t even aware of their own rejection of the Christ. Thus the dilemma. They do not see God nor His Son as who they truly are. They worship the world yet say they are His children. Showing nothing but contempt towards He they said they would surrender their life to. They seek out their own thirty silver in the form of fancy houses, cars, and then turn and spend their blood money on unnecessaries, instead of giving to those in need. They bury their wealth hording it and refusing to release it.
They are the new Judas’s and in most cases even if they realized the truth as the original Judas did wouldn’t even do has he did, kill himself. For even though they had seen Christ’s grace and glory the world is more what they now lust after and desire for it satisfies them and their own selfish desires and lust. Unaware that the Day of Judgment will come and they will be standing before Christ as they say:
“Lord, Lord.”
And He will say,
“I never knew you.”

The free-will dilemma: The Judas factor

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Judas is one of the most known and obvious examples of free-will ever in Christianity, but he is the one person I personally have never heard anyone ever talk about in this manner. Why? Most likely due to that fact that doing so they loss anyway of escaping the truth. The truth that we can due to our free-will choice decide to literally betray Jesus Christ and ultimately His Father the Creator of the universe.
We must remember that Jesus Christ picked out those that were to be His disciples. Each one had the potential of doing great things in the in service of God. We must also remember that the Bible clearly states that ALL the disciples did miracles. It did not say eleven of them did and Judas was off to the side watching, it was ALL of them. So per the Bible when the Pharisees accuse Jesus of being of Satan it says this:
Matthew 12:24 – But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. 25 And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devilsp l  by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.
So since all of the disciples performed miracles and cast out demons in the name of Jesus all were one with Christ and God.
Yet would Judas be allowed into heaven? Those that preach “once saved always saved,” must say yes, nevertheless they can’t for it is made clear that Judas is seen as unclean as is shown in the beginning of the book of Acts.
This in absolute clarity makes it shown that the man-made doctrine of “once saved always saved” is a creation of humanity. A creation that permits and allows sin to live on and not lead to salvation but to the same damnation that Judas is to suffer.
Judas desired the world over Christ, for he sought out worldly compensation for his act of betrayal against the Son of God. This is the same sin that most now suffer from. They seek after worldly comforts and rewards, not realizing that they are in fact rejecting their Savior. Why? Because they do not realize they are doing so for people are not saying what needs to be said and what needs to be heard. Which is why the once proud nation of the United States of America is in dire straits.
Most are living in a religion they think is “Christian,” but in reality it is not. In most places that were once called “churches” people glorify their power over the world and seek out more and more rewards from the creation than from the Creator, when it is Christ they should be asking for help from. In many of these buildings sins are be allowed into them. Sins that caused entire cities to be destroyed in a rain of fire several thousand years ago, yet those within them think they are one with God, when in reality they are one with the betrayer of the Creator of all the universe.
This is all due to our free-will. A free-will that is both a curse and a blessing. A free-will that should be used to place God at the center of every single action that we do. From simple things like driving down the road and following the speed limit. To difficult things like picking a servant leader to not only head our church but our nation. For people have not been correctly taught that God MUST be involved in every decision that we make, not just those that have to deal with a group of people that call themselves a “church,” but from how we speak to others to how we choose to live in a modest house instead of a seeking after luxury.
God and His Son must be in every single thing we do. We must ask ourselves will this glorify God, will this please God, will this honor God? Trust me. This is hard to do. It is something I struggle with every single day of my life, but it is the way we are to be if we truly wish to serve the Creator of ALL the Lord our God through His Son the true Savior, Jesus Christ.