When God's People Stray

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Introduction

As followers of Jesus, we learn that God judges a person's sin on an individual basis. A parent's sin is not answered upon the child, for instance.

But can people be judged for good, or evil, as a body of people? Does God ever judge people collectively? More specifically, have the people through the ages known as 'The Church' ever been judged collectively?

This series of lessons takes a historical look at what has happened, and what can still happen, when God's people as a body stray. An unfortunate pattern of sin in individuals, led to a collective judgment upon the church through out the ages.

How did it happen? What people in what ages experienced a 'falling away?' Was there a way to 'see it coming?' Could it happen again?

The nature of sin—it all happened in a Garden--Sin Starts with 9 D's

When it comes down to it, sin and rebellion have never changed. This lesson examines the nature of sin as revealed in the original human temptation--Eve's encounter with Satan in the garden. We find that Satan's uses his tools of temptation today, little changed from a pattern revealed as the 'Nine D's of Sin.' What happened to Eve is what happens to us every time we sin.

A Blessing and A Curing: Words From Moses regarding Israel's Rise, Demise, and Future Return

When God's people were holy but suffering bondage, God would send a savior. When God's people were sinful and brought bondage upon themselves, God would send a prophet. For the tribes of Israel, Moses was sometimes prophet, sometimes savior.

In Moses' day, Israel, the collective 'church,' experienced times of holiness and times of rebellion. Moses shared compelling wisdom and warned the church in his day, imparting both blessings and cursings, and saw the return of His people in the last days after generations of wandering.

"Stray?" Not us, Never!"......Joshua’s Real Battle

The Bible records Joshua's great victories in battling enemies in the promised land. But Joshua's greater battle was for the minds of his people. Learn more about the struggle the church had in Joshua's day for purity of mind and thought.

First They Strayed....

Shortly after Joshua's battles for the church's land are won, the battle for the churchs' soul is losing. See how quickly the coming generation falls into iniquity.

...Then They Split

An unfortunate consequence when God's people stray, the scatter and split. See how a little disagreement between two has generational consequences for God's people.

Prophets Mourned for Pastors

At the height of the Old Testament church's misery, the evil was within the church at every turn. The prophets mourned over leaders who ruled by means.

They Worshipped the Queen of Heaven

With leadership lacking spiritual direction, the people were left to their own devices. Whatever a person seemed to imagine about God was suddenly OK. The ultimate misunderstanding comes when God's people take him for a Queen.

Burn The Words, Bind the Prophets!

A typical response: when truly inspired prophets attempted to share the word of God, their words were disregarded and those prophets castigated.

When the Prophets Cried 'Peace!'

If the story weren't true, it would almost be humorous. A king surrounds himself with 400 prophets who assure him of what he wants to hear--'Peace shall be ours!' Find out what happen when one prophet of God is invited to their party.

Dreams and Daniel--Gentile Dominion over Jews

Daniel was a prophet to the Jews while in captivity. Their captivity, imposed by Gentiles, came about because of transgression. Through interpretation of dreams, Daniel foretold all Jewish captivity, including the final captivity of the last days, which he called the "Abomination of Desolation." After enduring that tragedy, the Jews, as Daniel prophesied, would never be under Gentile captivity again.

Rebuild a Wall, Re-Find The Word

The story of Nehemiah is one of conquest and victory. An oasis of hope in the church's Old Testament desert of despair. Read what God's people can do when they are truly inspired by His spirit. Learn of their power when receive The Word and are motivated to follow it.

Nephite Folly

The people most highly blessed became the people most highly cursed. Find out what the first sign of a church's decline is, when it becomes centered upon itself rather than its Lord.

Mormon's Warning to Latter Days

Misery loves company. Mormon not only witnessed the spiritual death and decimation of his people, he had a warning for the Gentile church who would receive his words. Find out what Mormon predicted about our time as he wrote to the Gentile church the Last Day's.

Jesus' Warning to Latter Days

To the misunderstanding of many, God's work does not end with the 'church of the Latter Day.' If we read Jesus' own words to the Nephites, we learn that confusion and sin would enter the Gentile church of the last days, marking the time when he would take His word back to the original people of the House of Israel. If we read Jesus words carefully, the confusion present in the latter day church should be of little surprise and little worry. Click to Read about what Jesus had to say to the Gentile church in the last days.

The Blessing Fulfilled

From the beginning, God has told how the story ends. Punishment in days of old was often marked by scattering; blessing, in days to come, is marked by 'gathering.' The prodigal church that rebelled so often, now returns to its Father. After much tribulation, come the blessings.

The promise of gathering is not a 'Latter Day' thought, it has been since the beginning. Gathering becomes the capstone of the return of the church throughout the world to holiness.

Study this lesson to see how gathering prophesied through all scripture is much bigger than the narrow views sometimes adopted by the latter day restoration. A gathering of epic proportion is promised and orchestrated by Jesus himself, gathering those who would be 'His Church' in the final days. Read about the Final Promise.

Summary