Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14-15.
Today the LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
There is a doctrine out there that is surfacing again which advocates removing anything that causes division between people so that all may be one, and indeed, this sounds good and sounds like Me. Jesus prayed as His heart’s desire that all would be one in Him as He was One with Me, with all living in Him and Him living in Me and I living in you so that we were all one in love, unity, victory, and goodness.
But the way it is being represented today, which was used by the devil many times before including with the Greek empire, is very misleading. Today “all must be one” means unity as man with man but not with Me. All man, no God. The idea is you each keep your own beliefs to yourself and otherwise just be one with everyone in goodness and love with each left to believe as he wishes. But to be one you really must be in agreement on everything. For how can two walk together unless they agree? If you disagree on the issues of life you cannot be one.
In the devil’s idea of oneness, and that is all this is so you know it is to steal, kill, and destroy whatever is true, excellent, and lovely, you must accept the beliefs of the dominant to be the “one” you become. And if you will not bow to whatever is the defined norm for oneness they will subject you to it by force, which then becomes a dictatorship, usually resulting in imprisonment and terror for those who believe in Me. It is the age of the Maccabees all over again, which is the history behind Hanukkah and also underlying history behind the casting of the demons into the pigs that took place when Jesus healed the demon possessed man in the Gadarenes.
And if you read the Book of Revelation, this same deception of “one world,” is what happens in the time of the great tribulation. What starts as a call to oneness of all men, ends up in worship of the beast and the devil, which turns from world “peace” into chaos and violence and the total domination of a godless society that must accept the mark of the beast to prosper. The devil and those he takes captive start out by allowing the Jewish people to restore the temple and have sacrifices, but soon he puts a stop to that and sets up his own image and that of the beast in the temple.
And this has proved true over and over again in the past with the dictatorships, empires, kingdoms, and nations that have now fallen and are no longer in power. But Satan is always ready to try the same deception that worked over the centuries again. In fact, he just keeps repeating it and raising up new godless leaders that promise the people oneness and prosperity and end in violent suppression and terror. You would think people would see through the tactic by now but it works well so Satan is not giving up no matter how many times it has destroyed a nation because he comes to destroy.
And as it works in nations, so it works in your individual lives as well. Be careful who you yoke yourself with for your spouse, family, friends, business partners, workplace, school, and even where you go to worship. There are unsaved people who have not been born again in many places.
And the devil can disguise himself as an angel of light, by that I mean he can deceive you with what appears to be good, pleasing, and perfect.
The lawless one whose presence is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12.
I warn you that in the latter days there will arise false Christs (anointed people) and false prophets who will show great signs and wonders of healing, prosperity, and many doctrines and philosophies for taking control of your own lives, trying to show the same results and miracles that I promise in My Word as available without Me.
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance. Matthew 24:24-25.
Unbelievers can be sincerely good people but they are still born as children of the devil because of Adam and they have spirits that are dead to Me and alive to sin. They are using their dominion authority as much as they can to keep themselves from evil practices and addictions but they are not saved and they are not in covenant with Me by faith, as Abraham was. If there is no faith there is no openness to My salvation and their lives are not pleasing to Me. Without faith you cannot please me because you must believe that I exist to come to Me and you must believe that I reward those who seek Me, in other words that I am good and forgiving.
You may say that Cornelius was a pagan and yet he was so pleasing to Me I sent him Peter. But you will note that I tell you that he had a heart wide open to Me and was trying to join in My Covenant by faith with the Jewish people. He was praying to Me and offering works of charity to Me by doing them for those he had met who believed in Me and My Word. And when Peter told him about Jesus and the forgiveness of sins, he immediately believed and accepted salvation. He did not have a hard heart to Me or continue to follow the pagan gods of Rome any further. But not all those outside the Covenant were like him. They like Esau, cared little about the Covenant and the true blessing that makes one rich and adds no sorrow with it.
Be careful who you give your heart to. Samson gave his heart to Delilah, an unbeliever in Me and a worshipper of idols, and she destroyed him though she was beautiful and so very sweet to him. She fascinated him and he felt, though she was of the enemy, he must have her and that he could continue to live in sin and yet escape any of its consequences because of the covenant of his people with Me. He thought he could join and yoke up with an unbeliever and not be harmed.
When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. Judges 16:18-21.
If you give your heart to an unbeliever who is refusing to give their heart to Me, you are headed for trouble, especially if you join them in their godless ways to please them while you think you are holding yourself aloof from such beliefs.
I had given Solomon wisdom to govern and for scientific knowledge, as well as ability to run building projects and great skill in many areas of his life, but he found his foreign wives beautiful and sweet, and not wanting to disappoint them or be critical of them, he built altars to their “gods” for them and went with them to offer sacrifice. And in the end it hardened his heart to Me and he refused to follow My Words and ways so as not to disappoint the unbelievers whom he had unequally yoked himself with. And he knew My command not to do this, but he felt in his wisdom that he could handle it. And this pride caused him to fall and ruined the unity of the Kingdom of Israel. Never again were Judah and Israel one all by yoking himself with unbelievers.
So much for all being one, it divided the unity of the most powerful nation in the world at that time. Israel. Under David and in the beginning of Solomon’s reign no enemy could take that nation down. How you treated Israel determined whether you were blessed or cursed. That is, how you treated My Covenant people.
And it is the same for all those in Covenant with Me today, Old and New.
Watch out though if you enter covenant with an unbeliever, such as marriage, you will go with the dominant one. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot go to their altars and your altar and take your children to both. You must choose. And eventually one will win, either both of you go to the dominant one who pulls the most weight or both will stop what they are doing and think they have taken a neutral “no position.” But that is impossible, for if you are not serving Me there is only one other choice, the devil.
So the lukewarm, no belief, is unbelief and is of the devil. And you will be under the same judgment he is (and hell was prepared for the devil and his angels) for that is the jurisdiction you have chosen. He will shepherd you right into hell with him. The wide road of oneness with him.
And Satan will find ways to make the unbeliever appear to be a better keeper of My Word then those you know as believers. What am I speaking of? He will see which believers he can get offended, hard hearted, and judgmental of others in a harsh and unforgiving stance. He did this with the Pharisees by corrupting them with pride, selfish-ambition, and other means. There were Pharisees whose hearts were toward Jesus but the others dragged them away due to the fear of those who believed of being expelled from the hierarchy of the established leaders of the Law.
And the devil will find those in your own church who will offend and be abusive to you. You will then decide that the unbeliever you have met is so much nicer to you and yoke up with them. Do not be deceived, not all believers are true believers, you will know that by their fruit. Do not base who you join with by their actions, do it by My Word and discernment of spirits and you will know who is Mine and who is not.
Saul was a born into the Covenant and was My choice to be anointed as the first king of Israel. But greed, jealousy, and self-ambition turned his heart from Me and caused him to give his life to the evil one to do his will instead of Mine. He rebelled against Me. And I told him that rebellion was like witchcraft. Why? If you rebel against My Word the only word left is that of the devil, which is of the dark demonic realm that fights against the light and the good, it is the realm of witchcraft, sorcery, cursing others, etc. And Saul finally turned there to get answers that he could not get from Me.
And because his son Jonathan, even though he knew his father was sinning and his heart was for David, out of loyalty to his father as his own family, went with his father. And it did not end well with him. By yoking himself to his father and not seriously confronting him with his sins, he died in battle with his father and cut his life short. He was meant to be David’s right hand man.
Judas Iscariot was a believer. He was a Jew and had been raised on My Word. He followed Jesus willingly at the start of the three years of the ministry of Jesus on earth But he permitted the devil to enter his heart and pull him to another way. He betrayed Jesus and opened the way to the crucifixion and the destruction of the earthly flesh of Jesus.
How could that happen to one so convinced he left all to follow yet lost all he had gained? He became greedy of gain, it was so easy to steal from the common purse, after all, he was giving his time to work for the glory of Jesus so he was justified to share in the monetary provision. And then the incident of the alabaster jar and the costly perfume that was poured out on Jesus when it could have been sold and refilled the purse. And he thought what he reprimanded her with was the way Jesus would see it too, for He had told the rich young ruler to give to the poor. But instead of praising Judas for his good judgment, Jesus reprimanded him and supported the woman as doing a great work and did not compliment Judas for the greatness of his giving up all to follow Jesus.
Judas was offended and that offense turned to taking authority over Jesus by betraying him and making a name for himself with the leaders of the Jewish community. Greatness and gain without Jesus. He had won and was even.
Though Judas had listened to the Words of Jesus for three years, they did not do for him what they did for the others. The night of the Passover Supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, he would not give up his determination though at that Passover meal, Jesus showed the greatness of His love toward His disciples and gave them an example of service to follow by humbly washing their feet as a servant would usually do when guests came in from a journey on the dusty roads of that day. Judas was among them and Jesus washed his feet.
Peter protested at Jesus washing his feet, rather he should be washing the feet of Jesus. Jesus told him that if he did not let Him cleanse him that Peter had not part in his reign. Peter them told Jesus to wash him, and even his hands and his head as well.
Jesus answered profoundly, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, for he is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” John 13:1-11.
And He told them later that night that it was the Words He had spoken to them that had made them clean. John 15:3.
You may pick up the dust of the world on your feet as you walk through life as it is now, but My Son’s Blood and the Word of your testimony continually cleanses you as you keep walking in My light. It is by My Word you are born again and made clean of all the filth that was on your head (mind) and your hands (actions) from sin.
But you know from this, i.e., the fact that he was not clean, that though Judas had heard My Words through My Son, he had not received them in to cleanse his heart. Instead Satan had entered his heart. John 13:27.
For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. Hebrews 4:4-6.
Jesus loved Judas and saw greatness in him. Jesus considered him worthy of being one of the inner group of twelve. And I had spoken this to Jesus as well.
Please understand that I give you every opportunity to fulfill and do the great plans I have for you and the excellencies I see in you and I do not curtail that even though I see all time and know whether you will live them out or not. I am just and I always give you the opportunity to be the amazing person I made you to be, like I did with Samson, Saul, Solomon, and Judas. Others, however, like Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Daniel, Mary, and so many others ran with the vision and opportunities I opened to them and never abused them.
That night of the Passover Supper, Judas was the only one that did not call Jesus, “Lord,” he merely called him “Rabbi.”
Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. As they were eating, He said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” Being deeply grieved, they each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” And He answered, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.” Matthew 26:20-25.
Do you see Jesus heart in this? He was trying to stop Judas from going into this evil pull of the devil that would cost him the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was deeply grieved by the apostasy of Judas.
When Jesus had said this, He became troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” John 13:21.
Jesus loved Judas, and I also did. I love every one of you and it is not My desire that any of you perish but that you would be saved and come to know the truth. I want you with Me forever, but if you will not come, I will not force you, I must let you go your own way.
What did Jesus finally say to Judas after so many warnings and confirmations of His love for Judas did Jesus tell him? Therefore Jesus said to him, “What you do, do quickly.” John 13:27.
Peter later, in the upper room as the believers gathered together waiting for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit after Jesus had ascended back to My right hand, prayed for the wisdom for them to fill the vacancy that Judas had left in the chosen twelve and they narrowed their choice to two candidates. And Peter’s prayer over the decision to be made reveals so much here, “And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” Acts 1:24-25.
They all wanted Judas to still be there with them but they had to let him go in the way he was intent to go.
You can offer salvation to those close to you. You can pray with them and read Scripture to them, you can show them in your life what you believe and you can serve them. And yet there are those who, like Judas, will never receive what you are trying so hard to give them. There will come a time, as it did in the lives of Samson, Saul, Solomon, and Judas, that you have to let them go their own way that they are intent to go. There is a point when they have just gone too far to return.
If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not unto death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not to death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death. 1 John 5:16-18.
Do not join yourself with one who is sinning unto death. Jonathan did with Saul and he lost everything with Saul.
When Joshua came into the Promised Land to conquer the territory and take possession of what I had freely given them I told him never to make covenant with the unbelievers that were present in the land, not even to let them remain in their midst. For they would be a snare to them to lead them into immorality, harm to their children, and lead them to worship other gods, to intermarry with the unbelievers, and to be destroyed by them.
You have to understand what I am telling you here. If you join with unbelievers you may think you can pull them to Me and save them in the marriage, partnership, business contract, or numerous other ways of yoking up with an unbeliever or an ungodly believer but the majority to times it will not. Pray for all peoples to be saved and come to know the truth, for I ask you to do that. Love with the desire to save but never let the unbeliever (or an unbelieving believer) pull you down with them to the place they intend to go.
I watch over you to save you. I did with Jehoshaphat when he foolishly aligned himself with Ahab, who committed more evil before Me than any other king, and though I sent My prophet Elijah with signs and wonders to stop Ahab’s course of self-destruction he would not stop. And Jehoshaphat almost got himself killed in going into a battle so as to make Ahab happy and show him his oneness with him though My prophet told them not to go. Be careful who you take as your friend and into our family. Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, married Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter and when Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, Jehoram became king in his place. And what do you think happened to all the wonderful work Jehoshaphat had done during his reign to bring the whole nation of Judah back to Me and true worship, so that the even routed three enemy armies united to destroy them by singing My praises? Yes, by uniting with an unbeliever and even and permitting his son to intermarry with that unbelieving line that was stout against Me, the good he had done was lost by his son.
Now when Jehoram had taken over the kingdom of his father and made himself secure, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the rulers of Israel also. Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah because of the covenant which He had made with David, and since He had promised to give a lamp to him and his sons forever. 2 Kings 8:16-19; 2 Chronicles 21:4-7.
I love you. Be careful how you live, guard your heart, and make the most of your time. And do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. You cannot pull together when you are unequally yoked.
Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the LORD and do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18.