Message 8 - By Leroy Surface
MIXTURE
Be ye not unequally yoked together
with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath
light with darkness? And what concord hath
Christ with Belial? or what part hath he
that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God
with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
II Corinthians 6:14-18
Introduction
God hates mixture. Our text begins with a direct command that
the children of God be not yoked together with unbelievers. There is no area of life where this is
acceptable with God. Our fellowship is not to be with unbelievers. We are not to “partner” with unbelievers, whether in business or in other
relationships. Most especially, if there
is any one area that is most important in this command, a believer is forbidden
to marry an unbeliever. As believing parents, we are not to give our daughters
in marriage to unbelievers, neither are we to receive their daughters in
marriage to our sons. To reinforce his
command, Paul questioned us about a series of things that cannot be brought
into the same yoke. “What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with
Belial?” If righteousness and
unrighteousness find no common ground for fellowship, how then will the
righteous find fellowship with the unrighteous? If light cannot commune
with darkness, how can the children of light commune with the children of
darkness? Paul continues, “What concord hath Christ with
Belial?” “Concord” speaks of “harmony.”
The Greek word used was “sumphonesis,” kin to our English word “symphony.” There is no harmony between
Christ and Belial (worthlessness, also a name for Satan). You will never
see Jesus Christ and the devil singing a duet, for they have no “concord.” “What part hath he that believeth with an infidel?” The word “part” speaks of “share,” they have nothing in common to share. Finally, Paul asks, “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God.”
To ignore the command not to be unequally
yoked with unbelievers is to create that thing called “mixture,” which thing God hates. Sadly, we have come to this
last day when even the churches are seeking to “mix” righteousness with unrighteousness, light with darkness, and
thus, Christ with Belial. Our message will begin with the world that was
before the flood, and show by the scriptures how “mixture” has repeatedly weakened and destroyed God’s people
throughout the ages of time. May God
open our hearts to hear.
“sons of God and Daughters of
Men”
And it came to pass, when men began to
multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the
sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them
wives of all which they chose. And the
LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is
flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
Genesis 6:1-3
These verses have been a point of
controversy with many for hundreds of years.
There are those who teach that fallen Angels are those spoken of in this
text as the “sons of God.” Their view
is that the angels married human women who gave birth to children that grew up
to be giants. This is certainly not what these verses say. In Hebrews 1:5 the scriptures say, “For unto which of the angels said he at any
time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee?” There has never been
a time that God called an angel His son. The “sons of God” have always been the righteous among men. In Luke
3:38, Adam was called the “son of
God.” Adam had no parent, but was the offspring of God by creation.
He bore the image and likeness of God, breathed the Spirit of God, and was
crowned (clothed) with the glory of God. He was the flesh and blood
image of God until the transgression, at which time he fell into depravity. Adam’s firstborn son was Cain, a “murderer (I John 3:11-15)” who slew
his righteous brother Abel. As punishment, Cain was driven away from his
family and people. Genesis 4:16 says, “And Cain went
out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of
Eden.” Notice that he “went out from
the presence of God.” In the land of Nod, Cain began to build a city.
His descendants became a highly intelligent and ambitious race of men, building
cities, developing flocks of sheep and cattle, inventing musical instruments,
and discovering and working with brass and iron, but there is no record that
they ever sought the LORD. It is obvious
that they were prosperous and powerful, but there were also an ungodly race,
continuing in the murderous ways of their father, Cain (Genesis 4:23-24).
Adam had lived a hundred and thirty years
from the transgression before Seth was born.
Cain and Able were grown men who had entered their own lives and
occupations (Genesis 4:2) at the
time Cain murdered his brother. We know
that Cain was married, and beginning his own family in the land of Nod before
Seth was born. Genesis 4:25-26
records it this way, “And Adam knew his
wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she,
hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to
Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.”
It was Seth and his children after him that began to “call upon the name of the LORD.” They became a righteous race of
people, one that knew God and walked with Him (Genesis 5:24). These were the people that became known as the
“sons of God.”
Marriage with the Ungodly
From the beginning of the world, God has
forbidden His righteous people to mingle with and marry the unrighteous. This “mingling”
and “mixing” was the root cause of
the condition that brought the destruction of the ungodly by the flood. The righteous descendants of Seth became
known as the “sons of God,” and the
ungodly descendants of Cain were those that were called the “daughters of men.” God had driven Cain
and his seed into the land of Nod even before the birth of Seth. God had made a separation between the ungodly
seed of Cain and the godly that would descend from Seth. The time came,
however, that the descendants of Seth looked upon the daughters of Cain, saw
that they were beautiful, and “took them
wives of all which they chose.” This is the first recorded incidence of “mixture” between the godly and the
ungodly given to us in the scriptures. The result of these unions was
disastrous. Genesis 6:4 tells us, “There
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of
God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same
became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” The word “giants” in this text does not
necessarily speak of men of enormous size as Goliath and his brothers were, but
they were “powerful” men, whether
physically, politically, economically, or otherwise. The Hebrew word carries the connotation of “bullies” and “tyrants.” They were men that not only had great power in the world
order, but they abused that power for their own personal gain. These were
the children of Cain, highly developed, and mightily ambitious. It was
their daughters that the sons of God looked upon and desired, young women who
were beautiful to look upon, but children of an ungodly and sensual
culture. The children born to these marriages became “mighty men of old, men of renown.” The Hebrew word translated “mighty men” meant “powerful,” and implies that they were “warriors and tyrants.” They became highly successful in their day,
making a name for themselves, but what a name it was. Their success, their riches and their fame
were derived by murder and mayhem. These were such as Isaiah spoke of in Isaiah 5:8, “Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till
there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!”
These were the tyrants. They were constantly at war with their neighbors
to add their houses and fields to their own, making slaves of men, and
slaughtering all who would object.
What a horrible change took place among
the “sons of God” when they mixed
with the “daughters of men.” The wall
of separation was torn down. The
ungodliness of Cain’s race was brought into the culture of the righteous.
The only possible result was what followed.
Righteousness was in danger of perishing from the earth, and it all
began with marriage of the godly with the ungodly. God saw this and gave
His first warning: “My Spirit shall not
always strive with man” (Genesis 6:3).
In Genesis
6:5-6 the result of these forbidden marriages is seen. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was
great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually. And it repented
the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
The depravity of these people knew no bounds. They became vicious; they
were morally corrupted and perverted.
God said that every imagination and every thought of their heart “was only evil continually.” There were
no redeeming factors. There was never a
good thought or imagination, never a compassionate moment. Their thoughts
and imaginations were “only evil.”
God also said that their thoughts and imaginations were only evil “continually.” There was never a moment
of relief. The mind was always in operation, exercising their hearts with
covetous and corrupt practices (II Peter
2:14).
When the righteous mix with the
unrighteous the result is always unrighteousness. In the New Testament, Paul asks the question
of the Corinthians, “Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump (I Corinthians 5:6)?” Paul is speaking in allegorical terms. The “leaven”
he warns about is the “world” in the “church.” In particular, he refers to a
man in that church that was called a “brother,”
but was also a “fornicator,” guilty
of incest. In plain language, Paul is
saying, “Don’t you know that fornication
will fill the church if you receive the fornicator as a brother?” That
church was unconcerned about it all.
They thought themselves “mature
enough” to overlook the “brother’s”
weakness. They would just keep on
lavishing love upon him, with the hope that someday he would “grow” out of his “weakness.” With that attitude, they would gather on the Lord’s Day
to rejoice and glory in their own “spirituality.”
Paul continued, “Purge out therefore the
old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed
for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the
leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and
truth.” Paul finishes his discourse with these words, “Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (I Corinthians 5:13).
The descendants of Seth, a righteous
people that “called on the name of the
LORD” and were known by their “walk”
with God, became as ungodly and vicious as the descendants of Cain. The ungodly “culture” of Cain utterly destroyed the godly culture of Seth when
it was brought into the community of the righteous through the marriage unions
of the “sons of God” with the “daughters
of men.” People of God, we must understand: we cannot bring the “culture”
of the world into the church without the “church”
becoming just like the world.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of
the LORD. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and
perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Genesis 6:8-9
There are three things we are told about
Noah, which explains why he “found grace
in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis
6:8). Noah was “righteous;” He
was “perfect in his generations;” and
he “walked with God.” This writer
believes that Noah, being “perfect in his
generations,” had never intermarried with Cain’s ungodly race. Neither Noah, his sons, nor any of his
forefathers had ever mixed their blood in marriage with the ungodly seed of
Cain. We can follow the lineage from
Adam to Jesus Christ and it is never defiled with the lineage of the ungodly. Noah was “perfect
in his generations,” and, “he walked
with God.” The entire creation of man was corrupted with the exception of
Noah and his household.
Filled With Violence
The earth also was corrupt before God,
and the earth was filled with violence.
And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt, because all
flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The
end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence
through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Genesis 6:11-13
God looked upon the earth and saw that it
was corrupt; it was “in ruins.” The
reason? “…for all flesh had
corrupted his way (course of life) upon
the earth.” All lines of separation between the righteous and the
unrighteous were erased. The sins of the
seed of Cain had become the sins of the seed of Seth. When the ungodly
are mixed with the godly, whether in government, culture, community, or church,
it is like an infestation of termites.
It may seem to be a small thing at the beginning, but if it is not
stopped, the entire building will soon lie in ruins. So it was with the culture in the days before
the flood. The evil imaginations continued until the entire culture of
that society was in ruins. They were entertained by the evil imaginations
of wicked men. They were ruled by the
thoughts of the same. Evil permeated the
culture of the earth until it was “filled
with violence.” Violence did not just happen. God said, “…for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
The Hebrew word that was translated “violence” is “chamac.” “Strong’s Concordance” defines it as follows: “violence; by implication, wrong;
by metonymy, unjust gain:” It was
translated variously as follows: “cruel,
damage, false, injustice, oppressor, unrighteous, violence, violent, wrong.”
According to this definition, violence can be committed in a back alley by an
illiterate thug, and it can also be committed in a courtroom by a highly
educated judge. Violence can be done to the Word of God in our churches,
and it is often committed against our Constitution in our courts. Decent ordinary people are “violated” continually with little
recourse. Innocent women are violated,
little boys and girls or violated, with powerful people in high places refusing
to punish the violators. Our people are
entertained by violence, and manipulated by the same. The systems of this present world are filled
with violence, with unjust gain (the love of money) as the motivating
factor. In this modern violence filled
world it doesn’t necessarily require a gun to rob the people. It can be with the stroke of a pen, the click
of a mouse on a computer, or the decree of an unjust judge. Violence fills the land in many forms and God
is certainly taking note. It was because
of the “violence” that filled the
earth that God finally brought the flood upon the ungodly.
The Mixed Multitude
And the children of Israel journeyed
from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand
on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even
very much cattle.
Exodus 12:37-38
According to the scriptures, there was a “mixed multitude” that came out of Egypt
with the children of Israel. These were
Egyptians that had seen the mighty power of God manifested in the plagues
against Egypt. Whether it was based upon
fear, or the expectation of riches and great glory, their decision to leave
Egypt was not properly founded upon the love of truth and the LORD God of
Israel. They were like Simon the Sorcerer whom Peter confronted during
the revival in Samaria (Acts 8:13-21).
They saw the miracles, heard the promises, and determined to get their “portion” of the “milk and honey.” Whatever their expectations were, they were soon disappointed. Numbers
11:4-6 gives us insight into the heart of the mixed multitude. “And
the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of
Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We
remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the
melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick:
But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna,
before our eyes.” The history of the children of Israel in the wilderness
is one of almost continual murmuring against God and Moses. It was something that had to be dealt with on
almost a daily basis. In this incident, the murmuring began with the “lusts” of the mixed multitude and
spread to the children of Israel.
The “mixed
multitude” was very large in number, hence called a “multitude.” They were citizens of Egypt and had never been slaves
to Pharaoh. They had never felt the lash
of the whip, or suffered their babies to be destroyed before their eyes.
They may have been of the poorer class in Egypt, but their lot had been better
than the children of Israel’s by far. Even if poor by Egypt’s standard,
they were accustomed to many of the “better
things” of Egypt that Israel knew nothing about. It was the mixed multitude
that first began to lust after the things they had left behind. They
remembered the fish that was in abundance in Egypt, along with the cucumbers,
melons, leeks, onions, and the garlic. “Our soul is dried away,” they cried, “and there is nothing at all beside this manna before our eyes.”
Incredible! Manna was the “bread
from heaven.” The psalmist called it “angels’
food,” the “corn of heaven” (Psalms 78:24-25). This wonderful manna
that God gave them was a type and a shadow of Jesus Christ. He told us in
John 6:35, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and
he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
It is still the “mixed multitude” that murmurs against the bread from heaven. They do not want the word of God, and they
refuse to believe the truth of the gospel.
To them, the “Land of milk and
honey” is simply greater abundance of the same things they had in the world
they claim to have left behind them. Jesus said, “I am come that they might have life…” (John 10:10). If we stop
here, in the middle of this verse we understand what Jesus is saying. If
Jesus has not come, we do not have life.
The mixed multitude does not have life. They are “dead while they yet live” (I Timothy 5:6). Jesus speaks to such in John 5:40, “And ye will not
come to me, that ye might have life.” Jesus
also says in John 10:10, “…that they might have life; and that they
might have it more abundantly.” I heard one of the teachers from the mixed
multitude quote this text recently, saying, “Jesus
came that we might ‘have and enjoy life.” She was teaching about material
things of this present world. That is
the message of the mixed multitude.
The mixed multitude has filled entire
churches today. They are bringing the things of Egypt (the world) with
them. They hate “manna,” and
they love “flesh.” The “flesh” they desire is the culture of
the ungodly world, such as their music, their entertainment, their philosophy,
and their psychology. The apostle John tells us to, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him” (I John 2:15).
The mixed multitude loves both the world and the things that are in the world,
because they do not love the Father. If
these worldly things are not in the church, it is the mixed multitude that are
the first to murmur. All too often, the
murmuring will spread to foolish saints as the cry for “flesh” increases. They will murmur against any faithful man
of God just as they murmured against Moses in his day; and if possible, they
will bring mutiny against him. So many
men of God have lost their pulpits, and have been driven from their churches;
because of the murmuring of unrighteous people in the church. Their cry today, as it was in that day, is
for “flesh.”
Flesh
And say thou unto the people, Sanctify
yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the
ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore
the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat.
Ye shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days,
nor twenty days; But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils,
and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is
among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt?
Numbers 11:18-20
And there went forth a wind from the
LORD, and brought quails from the sea, and let them fall by the camp, as it
were a day's journey on this side, and as it were a day's journey on the other
side, round about the camp, and as it were two cubits high upon the face of the
earth. And the people stood up all that
day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails: he
that gathered least gathered ten homers: and they spread them all abroad for
themselves round about the camp. And while the flesh was yet between
their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the
people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague. And he
called the name of that place Kibroth-hatta'avah:
because there they buried the people that lusted.
Numbers 11:31-34
History repeats itself! The cry for
flesh increased in the camp of Israel until God Himself was wearied. He said to the people, “I will give you flesh… until it comes out your nostrils, and it be
loathsome unto you.” This was not God’s blessing upon the people; it was
his punishment. The psalmist spoke of this incident in Psalms 78:30, that God did not separate
them from their lust. He sent a strong
wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall to the ground by the
camp of Israel. The quail came until, for a day’s journey around the
camp, the quails were two cubits high on the ground. Israel gathered
quail for a day and a half, until they had a months supply on hand. Imagine this, they had cried for flesh, and
suddenly they were “knee-deep” in
flesh. They had to wade through flesh,
and they thought it was a great blessing from God. God had said they would eat flesh for thirty
days “until it comes out your nostrils.”
The thirty-third verse says, “And while the flesh was yet between their
teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people,
and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.” For thirty days
the people feasted and rejoiced over the “blessing”
of the “flesh” God sent to them. It must have been on that thirtieth day that
the plague hit. The psalmist said, “They were not estranged from their
lust. But while their meat was yet in
their mouths, the wrath of God came upon them, and slew the fattest of them,
and smote down the chosen men of Israel” (Psalms 78:30-31). What a horrible plague it must have been,
as the “flesh” literally came up through
their noses in their dying moments.
I said that history repeats itself.
There has been a cry for flesh for so long in the churches of America that even
now we are wading knee deep in flesh. There is a rush to gather the
flesh, and to feast upon it, not knowing that it is the righteous judgment of
God against the mixed multitude. The
“mixed multitude” by definition is a “mixture” of the righteous and the
unrighteous. The whole must of necessity
end up unrighteous because of the mixture. God calls His people to come
out, and be separate. When He saved us He separated us unto Himself where
we are to continually abide. The righteous judgment of God will always
begin with the mixed multitude. That is the reason Peter said, “For the time is come that judgment must
begin at the house of God” (I Peter
4:17). We need to hear and heed the words of Paul in II Thessalonians 2:10-12 concerning
this generation we live in: “…they
received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.”
Who is LORD?
And when the people saw that Moses
delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together
unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for
as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the
golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your
daughters, and bring them unto me. And
all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and
brought them unto Aaron. And he received
them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it
a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee
up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar
before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the
LORD. And they rose up early on the
morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the
people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
Exodus 32:1-6
In Mark
7:6-7, Jesus said an incredible thing.
Quoting Isaiah, Jesus said, “Well
hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from
me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men.” It is an incredible thing to realize that man can
worship God, and it would all be in vain. In Elijah’s day it was King
Ahab that brought “mixture” into the
land of Israel. First, he disregarded
God’s commandment and married a heather princess named “Jezebel.” Jezebel was a worshiper of Baal, and used her position
as Queen of Israel to bring four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal into
Israel. She systematically began to kill the prophets of God, and in a
short time the entire land was such a “mixture”
that the people did not know who God was.
There were only seven thousand in all the land that had not “bowed the knee to Baal” (I Kings 19:18). It took a catastrophic
miracle from God to set things right in Israel, a “fresh outpouring” of fire from heaven, and the deaths of the
prophets of Baal. When it came, the people rejoiced and cried aloud, “The LORD, He is God: the LORD, He is God”
(I Kings 18:39).
Israel had scarcely been out of Egypt
three months when that same ignorance of the true and living God prevailed in
the camp. They had seen the plagues
against Egypt. They had seen the Red Sea
open, and they had passed through on dry ground. They were eating the manna from heaven, and
drinking water from the rock. They had heard the voice of God as He
audibly spoke the Ten Commandments to them. Yet, for all these things,
they did not know God. Moses had gone up
into the mountain for forty days to receive the commandments graven in stone
when the murmuring started again. They
had murmured at the Red Sea, and God parted the waters for them. They had
murmured for bread, and God sent manna from heaven. They had murmured for
water, and God brought it out of a dry flinty rock, enough to supply the
multitudes. Now, they were murmuring against Moses because they did not
know where he was. They came to Aaron, saying, “Up, make us gods which shall go before us.”
Obviously not even Aaron knew God at that
time. He had spoken the word of God before Pharaoh, but he had received
it from Moses. God, in His anger, had
given Aaron to speak for Moses: “And he
shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to
thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God” (Exodus 4:16). It is a sad state when
men and women are speaking the “word of
God,” but do not know God. They do not know, nor can they speak
anything but what they have received from man.
Certainly they can never “reveal
God” to the people, but only fill them and confuse them with concepts and
principles that can never bring life.
Aaron took the golden earrings from the
people and had them fashioned into a calf of gold to go before the people. The announcement was made: “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought
thee up out of the land of Egypt.” When Aaron saw the golden calf, he built
an altar to it, and declared, “Tomorrow
is a feast to the LORD.” Everywhere we find the word “LORD” used in the Old Testament, it is translated from the Hebrew
name for God, but so translated because of the ancient Hebrew’s fear of
pronouncing that sacred name. Aaron went
beyond declaring that this “calf” was
a “god;” he was telling the
congregation that this golden calf was the true and living God of Israel that
had plagued Egypt, opened the Red Sea, given them manna and fresh water, and
spoken to them from the mountain. They
were to worship this “calf” in the
name of the living God. The scripture records, “And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and
brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose
up to play.”
The “golden
calf” was in reality one of the many gods of the Egyptians. Jewish tradition says it was mostly the “mixed multitude” that feasted and
danced before the golden calf. Almost
certainly it was one of the Egyptians among them that took the gold and
fashioned the calf. Many of the children
of Israel were caught up in the excitement of worshiping the calf. Exodus 32:6 describes their worship
service: “they rose up early on the
morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the
people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.” Exodus 32:17-19 says they “shouted,” they “sang,” and they “danced,”
and they did it all in the name of the “LORD,”
but it was before the gods of Egypt that they worshiped. As Joshua came
down the mountain with Moses, he heard the shouting in the distance and thought
there was war in the camp. Coming closer, he heard the singing, and must
have thought revival had broken out.
Soon they came close enough that they saw the golden calf, and the
people dancing before it. Now they realized the entire event was an
abomination before God that would bring the anger of God against the camp of
Israel. Sadly, it was Aaron that was ultimately responsible for this evil
that came into the camp. He had been in charge during the absence of
Moses. He would suffer the shame of His error.
How many pastors have bowed to the will
of the “mixed multitude” in their
houses of worship? Excitement fills the
auditorium once more. The shouting, the
singing, and dancing before the Lord: surely this is the way it is supposed to
be. Some can remember the times of great
revival and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. The sights and the sounds
of the singing, the shouting, and the dancing were something glorious, along
with the sights and sounds of convicted sinners weeping and repenting in the
altars of God. They tell us this is the same thing: that this is what God
is doing in this generation, but something is missing. Where is the conviction of sin? Where
is the weeping and repenting in the altars?
Look a little closer, and all too often, the shouting, singing, and
dancing, is before a rock and roll band, or a rap group, on a stage emphasized
with strobe lights, black lights and vapor machines, along with various other
special effects. It is not revival; it is an abomination, and it brings
spiritual death with it. It is “mixture,” and God hates it. He calls His people out of it.
And the LORD plagued the people,
because they made the calf, which Aaron made.
Exodus 32:35
Separation
And Moses took the tabernacle, and
pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the
Tabernacle of the congregation. And it
came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle
of the congregation, which was without the camp.
Exodus 33:7
Moses not only called for the people to
separate themselves from those who worshiped the golden calf, he also took the
tabernacle out of the midst of the camp and pitched it in the wilderness far
away from the camp. The “camp”
of Israel had been defiled. God would
not receive those who worshiped in the defiled camp. “Everyone
which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle… which was without the
camp.” God required separation between the “camp” that had defiled itself and those who would seek the living
and true God. It was no longer a matter
of “convenience” to serve and worship
the LORD. Everyone that “sought the
LORD” went to the Tabernacle. At the door of the Tabernacle, it was
seen that the presence and glory of God came to Moses and Joshua, and that God
spoke to Moses as man to man, yet the people would not go out to the
tabernacle, but worshiped in their “tent
doors.” They remind me of those I have met over the years that insist they
need not assemble with the saints of God to worship, because, as they say, “Television is my church.” These are
they who “worship in their tent door.”
Admittedly, it is not an easy thing to find a true church that preaches the
truth and stands for righteousness, but television can never be the
alternative. If you must go outside the camp of the churches, go to seek
the Lord with all your heart and soul, and He will lead you to good pastures.
True separation is always separation “to” the Lord. Paul told the Corinthians, “I wrote unto you in an epistle not to
company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this
world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must
ye needs go out of the world. But now I
have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother
be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an
extortioner; with such an one no not to eat” (I Corinthians 5:9-11). God has not called us to physically
move to the wilderness and form an enclave. In order to separate from the
sinners of the world, Paul said we would have to “go out of the world” (leave the planet). It is the sinners
in the church who call themselves “brothers”
that we are warned about. It is the “mixture” in the church that is deadly
to the child of God. The “world”
mixed with the church, and the “church”
mixed with the world; it is a poisonous mixture indeed.
Mutiny
Now Korah,
the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath,
the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram,
the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: And they rose up before
Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of
the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: And they gathered
themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye
take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of
them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above
the congregation of the LORD?
Numbers 16:1-3
How many men of God have suffered the
same things as Moses suffered, and found under the systems of religion today
that they had no standing? How many have
been called before boards, not because of sin in their lives, but because they
dared to speak the truth to the people? I recall a pastor that was called
before a sectional board because of a complaint filed by a lady minister in his
church. The complaint was regarding the message that was being preached
in the church. Upon examination it was
discovered the lady was upset because it was preached that the children of God
are no longer sinners. For several hours
this board reasoned with this pastor, revealing the fornication that was in
their own churches, and in some cases the lusts that were in their own hearts,
seeking to “prove” that the children
of God are still sinners. I heard the report and told the pastor, “Thirty years ago you would have been called
to answer to the board of that same denomination if sin had been found in your
life. Today, you are in trouble because you preach that Jesus died to
take sin out of your life.” I have never seen such anger as is found in
many today against the same gospel that literally “turned the world upside down” in past times. Why would this
be? It is because the “mixed
multitude” has become the majority in most churches today. God hates
that “mixture,” but man loves
it. Any man of God that stands against it will be exiled by this present
religious world.
There came a day that Korah,
who was of the priestly tribe of Levi, along with Dathan
and Abiram, both of the tribe of Reuben, came to face
Moses. With them they had two hundred and
fifty princes of Israel, all of which were famous men of renown with great
influence among the people of the congregation. They brought their
charges against Moses. He had taken too
much upon himself. In their view, he had exalted himself to be their
ruler, and God had nothing to do with it.
Moses had established that only certain of the people could minister
before God (the priests of the Levites), while they believed that the entire
congregation was “holy,” and well
able to minister if they so chose. Moses fell upon his face before God,
and answered Korah, “Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and
will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he
cause to come near unto him.” He told Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and the two
hundred and fifty princes to bring censers with fire in them to appear before
the LORD. He would trust God to let it be known whom he had chosen.
The next morning Korah
and the princes came with fire in their censers, along with the entire
congregation of Israel, to gather against Moses and Aaron. The anger of God was kindled against Israel
for their rebellion, and He spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume
them in a moment” (Numbers 16:21).
Moses and Aaron again fell on their faces before God, this time in intercession
that God would spare the congregation.
When God answered, He said, “Speak
unto the congregation, saying, Get you up from about the tabernacle of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram” (Numbers
16:24)” It is believed that the “tabernacle
(singular) of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram,”
was actually a meeting place they had established for those who believed as
they did. They had built their own church. It was a place for the
mixed multitude, where the unrighteous could also minister and do their
service. It was an abomination to
God. “Tell
the congregation to get away from the tabernacle of Korah.”
Moses and Aaron told the people, “Depart,
I pray you, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs,
lest ye be consumed in all their sins” (Numbers 16:26).
Can you hear the voice of the Spirit
calling today, as in II Corinthians
6:17-18, “Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be
my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” Under Moses, even that
which was clean and holy became unclean and unholy if it touched the
unclean. Just as you cannot take fire
into your bosom and your clothes not be burned (Proverbs 6:27), you cannot mix with the unrighteous and be
righteous. It will never be so. Again, in Revelation 18:4: “Come out of
her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues.” God hates the mixture of the world with the church. He hates the mixture of the holy with the
unholy. He is calling, and has forever
called his people out from among them. Those who remain in the mixture
will also drink of the pure wine of God’s wrath, which is “poured out without mixture….” (Revelation 14:10).
Mingled
And whereas thou sawest
iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men:
Daniel 2:43
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great
image which foretold in symbol the kingdoms of the world from his time to the
second coming of Jesus Christ to this earth. The scripture describes the
image in this way: “This image's head was
of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of
brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay” (Daniel 2:32-33). In the
interpretation of the dream Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian Empire was the head of
gold. The kingdom of the Medes and
Persians was the breast and arms of silver, the Greek Empire was the belly and
thighs of brass, and the Roman Empire was the legs of iron. That last
remaining kingdom is not so easily discerned. It is the kingdom
symbolized by the feet of iron and clay. Nebuchadnezzar also saw a “stone that was cut out without hands,”
and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in
pieces. Immediately every kingdom of this world, the gold, the silver,
the brass, and the iron, were broken to pieces and blown away like the chaff of
a summer threshing floor. We know that
Jesus Christ is the “stone, cut out
without hands.” We know He is returning to earth, and we are convinced He
will come in our generation. We
understand from history what the first four kingdoms were, but what is that
final kingdom that Jesus smites at his return? There have been many
different thoughts and opinions on this over the hundreds of years. Some
believe it was the Roman Empire after the first advent of Christ. Possibly the majority opinion in recent years
is that it is a “revived” Roman
Empire yet to come, usually designated as the European Common Market and the “anti-christ.”
It is the opinion of this writer that it is something very different, and the
indication of this is in the words of Daniel explaining the iron and the clay: “They shall mingle themselves with the seed
of men.” This last kingdom seen in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is a spiritual
kingdom. It is not the Roman Empire, but perhaps the “Holy Roman Empire.” It is Christianity mingled with paganism.
It is the church mixed with the world. Again, Peter did say, “judgment must begin at the house of God.”
As in the days before the flood, the “sons
of God” have married the “daughters
of men.” We have come out of Egypt, but a “mixed multitude” has come with us, bringing their gods for us to
worship. So as God told Moses, “Separate from them….” And as Moses told
the congregation, “Depart ye; touch
nothing that pertains to them.” And as God tells Paul to tell us, “Come out from among them, and be ye
separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you, saith God.” And finally, the last call before the
destruction of that kingdom is given in Revelation
18:4; it is the cry of the Holy Ghost to all the people of God today:
And I heard another voice from heaven,
saying, Come out of her, my people, that
ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven,
and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded
you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she
hath filled, fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and
lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she
shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
Revelation 18:4-8
This is the judgment of the great
harlot. She is a harlot because she has “mingled herself with the seed of men.” She thinks she is a queen
and that she will see no sorrow. She has
glorified herself and lived “deliciously.”
But she will receive torment and
sorrow. I wrote a message in 1996 titled
“The Lowest Common Denominator.” I
wrote about the “unity movement” of
that day when Pentecostal and Charismatic movements were seeking fellowship
with the Catholic Church. The common denominator they sought was
something they all believed, that could be used as a basis for
fellowship. The common denominator they found was that they all believed
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. That alone was the basis of whether
or not you were saved. Surely that must be the “Lowest Common Denominator,” as many in the churches laid aside
everything that had been so precious and real in the quest for unity.
Sadly, today there are powerful people in this world who believe we must find
common ground for Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, and every
other religion of this world. America and all of the western world are
being filled with worshipers of other gods, and even now there is a search for
common ground, a way to bring them all together under one umbrella. They
are “mixing” and “mingling” to come up with a concoction to soothe all. Governments will legislate to that end, and
denominations will explore the possibilities of even further unity with the
abominations of this present world. But
thanks be to God, Jesus is coming soon. “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
Message 8 - By
Leroy Surface - Mixture
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