THE HOPE OF PERFECTION by JOHN CORIN - HTML preview

EPILOGUE

So let us seize and hold fast and retain without

wavering the hope we cherish and confess, and

our acknowledgment of it, for He who promised

is reliable and faithful to His word.

Heb 10.23 (AMB)

The first edition of this book was published more than twenty years ago, so it is appropriate for me to express my current thinking on what it highlights. Especially since world peace and safety have continued to deteriorate; perhaps not on the scale of ‘911’ in the USA, yet each year brings new threats.

Either of war, terrorism, ‘pandemics’, and another financial meltdown and signaling, possibly, the ‘beginning of birth pains’

(Matt 24.8 NIV) Jesus said would end the age. The apocalyptic

‘fourth seal’ (Rev 6.7) may even have opened to unleash the

‘sword’ the ‘pale rider of death’ wields to take ‘peace from the earth’ (Rev 6.7,8). No doubt more ‘signs of the times’ like this will be observed in the years immediately ahead. As a fitting conclusion to this revision, I have included pertinent counsel.

Two current threats have posed a special threat to the stability of the world. The first of these, the ‘global financial crisis’ (GFC), is even poised to reoccur and bring even greater misery. For though supposedly ‘patched’, it is hardly reassuring when experts say it is a ‘house of cards’ ready to collapse again with the wrong move. The second, the so-called Covid-19 ‘pandemic’, has also left its mark on many nations, in its aftermath leaving most burdened with debt they can't repay.

However, the stronger indicator this world is probably in the ‘closing innings’ is the current breakdown in harmony and cohesion within many nations. For me, the fulfillment of a

‘sign of the times’ Christ predicted by saying ‘nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom’ (Matt 24.7). Few

doubt international conflicts between nations fulfill this scenario, but the sign speaks also of discord within the same nation or kingdom. In other words, this current rising tide of societal disharmony destroying the relative peace which previously existed between different tribes, social groupings, ethnicities, and even genders. No doubt, more than one factor has these sectors of society pitted against each other—radical Islam, multiculturalism, social inequality, and opposing ideologies in politics, social issues, and religion—but whatever the causes are, the strands within nations are unraveling fast.

Only to see this internal discord bring increased mistrust and polarization between the haves and the have-nots, between political ideologies, races, even sects within the same religion, and between law enforcement and the general populace.

Making civil war a real possibility in the future.

As this age comes to an end, these ‘birth pains’ for the new one will only get stronger and more frequent. Bringing not only further breakdown in cohesion but associated societal ills like cheating, bribery, corruption, violence, and immorality. Almost certainly indicating the ‘distress of nations’ (Lk 21.25) will soon be upon us. Any further increase in this chaos and in the erosion of societal standards and we are either blind or in denial to not see the days of ‘Noah’ and ‘Lot’ (Mat 24.37) are knocking at the door.

Thank God, a window of opportunity still exists to prepare for this trouble. It is not too late to seek the Lord to find the paths to walk in to be fortified for what lies ahead. For while scripture teaches the believers ‘found worthy’ (Lk 21.26) will escape the time of ‘Great (mega) Tribulation’ (Matt 24.21, Rev 2.22), it points out everyone alive (godly and ungodly) must endure this earlier period of trials. Though not the intense suffering of the ‘ Great ( mega) Tribulation’, the ‘labor pains’ of this earlier time of ‘much (polus) tribulation’ (2Cor 2.4) will be hard to bear. This lead-up period, then, will test the faithfulness

of every believer, demanding more than patience. To ‘bear up’

under it all requires the more robust trait of endurance, and its

‘staying power’ is dependent on having the right hope. The one the author of Hebrews says is the ‘anchor for the soul’

(6.18,19). Without this hope of perfection, believers will struggle to endure even this earlier time of trial. With more than a few backsliding while others ‘fall away’ altogether due to the suffering endured.

I also have warned about the danger of trusting in the wrong hope, and one of the worst is expecting to escape all tribulation in a silent ‘rapture’. Yes, believers subscribe to other false hopes—going bush to a ‘survival’ hideout or trusting in wealth and influence—and these too will be useless in a time of severe trial and suffering. Hence, without this hope of reaching perfection, many will not endure the trials.

Especially the associated outcome (for those who qualify) of divine protection in a ‘wilderness’ (Rev 12.6), the place of refuge known poetically as ‘under the shadow of His wings’

(Ps 57.1).

Now, this ‘blessed hope’ is associated with an ‘appearing of…Jesus Christ’ (Tit 2.13), and for me, this has to be His secret return. But whatever is believed about this ‘appearance’

and its timing, the events surrounding this event will be difficult to bear even for those with a tight grip on this hope of perfection. What is to be loosed upon the earth will severely test everyone, especially when demonic powers add to the trauma with dark thoughts of despair, ripping even this hope from some believers. Such thoughts can morph into apathy and indifference, suggesting the determination to remain faithful to the Lord can quickly dissolve. Yet, having this hope of perfection firmly within the heart gives the best chance of withstanding all the doubt, suffering, and bitterness of this period.

I now want to close with some of what the Lord is saying currently through inspired apostles, prophets, preachers, and teachers. Believers with ‘ears to hear’ these vessels ‘lift up their voice like a trumpet’ (Is 58.1) recognize the central ‘word’

they announce is this—it is time to prepare. Before calamity and judgment arrive, Heaven is using the period of grace left to get the attention of the church; in the main, to address what must be remedied within its ranks. As John the Baptist was sent before Christ’s first arrival to ‘make ready a people prepared for the Lord’ (Lk 1.17), a time of preparation before His second coming has been allotted. Vessels anointed with the

‘spirit and power of Elijah’ (Lk 1.17) even now are being raised up to ‘blow the trumpet in Zion’ (Joel 2,1) to ‘turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just’ (Lk 1.17). That is, to give the rebellious

‘children’ (of God) a chance to repent and embrace the

‘wisdom’ of righteous ‘fathers’ in the faith.

Repentance, then, is at the core of this preparation; the biblical tenet many have lost sight of, both as to the need for it and how (in practical terms) to walk in it. Unless remedied, many will not be ready for what the future holds. Hence, in the following paragraphs, I detail the lapses in righteousness believers are being called to turn away from. (I cover this more fully in my book titled ‘The Keys to Living in the Kingdom’.

Request a free copy as an eBook from me.)

‘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’. According to Jesus, ‘lawlessness’ is the primary sin believers must turn from; confirmed by Him also saying, ‘many will say 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?'…then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

(Mat 7:21-23) . Notice, not a few, but ‘many’ (v22) will be

deeply disappointed to hear those words. (Incidentally, this

‘lawlessness’ is not disobedience to the Law of Moses as some claim.) Signs are everywhere of this lawlessness, i.e., disobedience to the commands or laws of Christ and the Kingdom. Mostly in the ungodly trends believers now embrace and spelled out below. To reverse this slide into iniquity requires nothing less than genuine, heartfelt repentance.

First off, too many Christians have lost sight of their calling to be ‘separate from sinners’ and the ‘world’. Hence, the

‘trumpet’ is sounding loud and clear, ‘Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you’ (2Cor 6.17). A separation from all that is ‘unclean’

as taught throughout scripture; no more so than when John says not to, ‘love the world or the things in the world’ (1Jhn 2.15), or as James says in doubling down on this, ‘to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God’ (Jam 4.4). For too long, the reality of ‘being in the world’ has been interpreted by the church as the inability to escape its culture and social milieu. This is a distortion of the truth and must change.

In fact, the opposite has happened. The world is ‘now in’

the church, a recipe for disaster no different than when ‘water is in the boat’ instead of the ‘boat being in the water’.

Wherever one looks, the morals, integrity, and standards exhibited by believers as a whole do not differ appreciably from those of the ‘world’. Overall, sexual mores appear to be much the same, lack of integrity in paying taxes much the same, greed and pursuit of wealth also the same as is the desire for constant stimulation from entertainment and sport. Now, making valid applications out of the tenets found in the Sermon on the Mount is difficult, I realize this. Hence, some have made grievous errors in attempting this interpretive challenge. But if nothing else, surely, all believers can agree this seminal

‘sermon’ is when Jesus lays out the core ‘principles or tenets governing the Kingdom of God’. That is, the ethical and moral

precepts central to its life and function. In particular, the ones believers are to embrace so their lives differ from the ungodly.

In other words, Jesus spoke this sermon to ensure the behavior of His disciples would be so distinctive the ungodly would ‘see the good works and glorify (the) Father in heaven’ (Mat 5:16).

In light of this, then, it is odd to see so many believers closely follow the dress fashions and fads of the ungodly, enjoy the ‘pleasures of sin’ they do, emulate them in laying up excessive ‘treasure on earth’, and like them, indulge in ungodly sexual practices. Or the lack of wisdom many show in frequenting places where the ‘unclean thing’ is touched, e.g.

gambling venues and services rooted in the occult (e.g. reiki healing). Yes, Paul warned about a ‘monastery mentality’ of not associating with sinners altogether, yet too many go in the opposite direction to form unwise and dangerous liaisons with the ungodly, with some even marrying them. What is the balance in this? It is to turn away from the ‘love’ of the ‘things of the world’ even as we are to repent of the ‘love’ of money.

Many of these ‘things’ are essential for everyday existence (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and, therefore, are kosher as long as any attachment to them is not addictive or compulsive. To review, then, what is ‘loved’ and repent if it is out of divine order will prove to be the wisest choice.

In preparing the ‘way of the Lord’, the Holy Spirit is also calling believers to turn away from a proud heart. What the prophets constantly warned of and expressed by saying every,

‘mountain and hill …(is to) be brought low’ (Is 40.4). Now, we expect the ungodly to have a proud heart (Ps 10.4)—pride of face, pride of race, or pride of place—but this odious sin has infected God’s children far more than realized. No more evident than in the self-determination, self-sufficiency, and self-confidence now in vogue within the church—this, even though God ‘resists the proud’ (Jam 4.6) and ‘hates the proud look’ (Prov 6.16). These traits celebrated by the world have

sufficiently polluted the ‘temple of God’ to see humility, lowliness, and meekness—qualities believers are to exhibit—

lose out.

Now, I cannot emphasize enough this expectation of reaching full maturity or moral perfection has a caveat. Namely, the goal of perfection will not be attained unless the church is blessed with an abundance of grace from an unprecedented outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Yet, when God ‘gives grace to the humble’ (1Pet 5.5), the chances of reaching this goal are slim to nothing if believers are not genuinely ‘poor in spirit’.

This mandates certain truths such as this one, ‘everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted’ (Lk 18:14) must be held front and center.

When God’s children at the end of this age are to be greatly exalted, so must their humility be great. Holding a position of exalted power and authority without the corresponding humility only asks for trouble.

Now, a word of caution: in not wanting to live like the world, some believers have fallen into the trap of adopting a self-righteous, sterile version of Christianity. What is abhorrent to the Lord because it replicates the Pharisees who ‘trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others’ (Lk 18:9). The righteousness believers exhibit is meant to be the work of the Holy Spirit (ours is ‘filthy rags’ (Is 64.5); self-righteousness (often with legalism attached) is a travesty of true Christianity.

Any child of God listening to these ‘trumpet’ sounds will also hear the ‘trumpet’ call to ‘beautiful holiness’ (Ps 29.2).

The radical holiness the ‘bride’ of Christ embraces to ‘make herself ready’ so she is ‘arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints’ (Rev 19.8).

Why is Heaven so focused on holiness? Because Christ is returning for a ‘wife’ who is pure, without ‘spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish’

(Eph 5.27). Holiness must be at the forefront of what believers aspire to, particularly when the modern ‘Laodicean church’ has been warned to, ‘buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed’ (Rev 3.18).

I trust you noticed this verse underscores the fact these holy garments come at a cost. For some, not a small price as it will mean putting off wayward, rebellious behavior to embrace the

‘narrow pathway’ of a disciple. Indeed, walking on the

‘highway of holiness’ (Is 35.8) can cost a believer everything—

their reputation, a cozy lifestyle, beloved pleasures, and vices held dear. If that is not enough, suffer the persecution often included.

This call to holiness, then, is not some optional extra but critical if Heaven’s purposes for humanity are to be realized.

The prior calls to embrace repentance and humility are but the foundation pillars of a life dedicated to ‘pursue holiness’

(12.14). Hence, this call is not an invitation but a command, one to be taken seriously. And when the greek for ‘pursue’ is the word translated also as ‘persecute’ this suggests the passion required to pursue holiness. Namely, the diligence persecutors show in hunting down those they seek to harm. Holiness for Paul was of paramount importance as shown by his words here,

‘I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me’ (Phil 3.12), or his exhortation to, ‘ run in such a way that you may obtain (the prize)’ (1Cor 9.24). The latter, an appeal for believers to make the same effort in seeking to be holy as the runner does in striving to win a race.

To think ‘ perfect(ing) holiness in the fear of God’ (2Cor 7.1) can be achieved without ‘striving’ is, therefore, a delusion. To become holy takes much time and effort and those careless or unconcerned about reaching it will go unrewarded.

‘Therefore, having these promises…let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in

the fear of God’ (2Cor 7:1). It can't be plainer than here in this verse: holiness involves cleansing the flesh and spirit of ‘all filthiness’ (defilement, impurity). Now, most believers lay aside the major sins of the flesh without too much delay, the ones clearly offensive to God. But not so much the hidden sins of the heart as these are harder to overcome. Yet no one can escape the requirement to deal with both and why a prophet not long ago announced in my hearing, “It is time for the plow to go deeper”. If the ‘bride’ of Christ is to be without ‘spot or wrinkle or any such thing’ (Eph 5.27), any soiling or stain of her ‘linen garments’ must be addressed. This includes speech, desires, the intents of the heart, interests, entertainment, attitudes to others, and what believers give their attention to.

All must come under the ‘spotlight’ of the Holy Spirit, and turned from if shown to make a believer ‘filthy’. As the ‘plow goes deeper’, many will find God no longer allows much of what He did in the past.

Gaining victory over sin, then, is the challenge of the hour; not just some, but every sin when it is only a temptation and has not led to transgression. All who pursue holiness must win this battle; for most, a long ‘military campaign’ with many reversals until the war is finally won. Thank God, His mercy, patience, and forbearance continue as long as there is the willingness to get up after every fall. As Winston Churchill said, “If you are going through hell, make sure to keep going”!

No matter how long the battle, Heaven is with a believer in the fight. In Revelation Chapters 2 &3, the ‘overcomers’ are promised certain rewards—incentives so they continue to fight the enemies of righteousness. Now, lest you think it is easy to be an ‘overcomer’, this honor is awarded to those who defeat an enemy who has strongly resisted. If the fight was easy and only a low hurdle surmounted, it doesn’t count. Overcomers have all valiantly struggled to win.

Finally, those with ‘ears to hear’ will recognize another call of the Holy Spirit; the one to, ‘ Watch, therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man’ (Luke 21:36). Some see this as watching ‘for the signs of His return’ (a legitimate exercise), but it has far more to do with remaining alert to the devil’s crafty wiles to deceive and tempt. Therefore, this is not a warning to take lightly. The primary role the ancient ‘watchman’ on the wall had in assessing danger was to spot the threat while it was still far off.

If these traps are not to ensnare, believers must do likewise. No doubt prophets will be commissioned to ‘lift up a trumpet’ to sound other alarms in addition to those already heard, but in preparing for the end of the age, it is important to heed the ones I have highlighted.

THANK YOU

Thank you for reading my book. If it has helped give a greater understanding of scripture, please consider leaving a review where it was found. I would also be grateful if you could share the book with friends, relatives, and others who would benefit. Kind regards, John Corin.

Other books I have written that you may find helpful in preparing for the endtimes are,

The Keys to Living in the Kingdom

You Can be Free from Fear

Understanding the End-Times

Prepare for Glory

All titles are available for free as eBooks by requesting a copy from me.

I welcome any comments or other correspondence you may want to share with me.

My email is; johncorinbooks@gmail.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

John Corin was born in Wellington New Zealand in 1943, the great-grandson of the founders of the Methodist church in his locale. Converted in 1960 at age seventeen, he served for several years in Youth for Christ and Open-Air Campaigners.

Married to Dulcie in 1974, he relocated to Auckland with his family to assist an independent Pentecostal church. He served there as a nighttime Bible College lecturer before his appointment in 1981 as Dean of Studies for the full-time Bible College after leaving 15 years as a retail pharmacist.

He later relocated his family to Perth Australia after an invitation to be Dean of Studies of an independent Pentecostal Bible College and on the staff in the local church as a Pastoral Counselor. This tenure lasted for nine years with the final year as Principal of the College. In 1993 he was appointed the inaugural Dean at the Perth campus of Tabor College, an independent Charismatic educational facility.

While at Tabor, he completed a B.A. in Ministry and resigned in 1995 after serving for three years as first Dean and then Registrar. In 2000, with his wife Dulcie, he founded a Prayer Counseling ministry for inner healing and deliverance but is now retired from active ministry to write and publish books to prepare believers for the end-time purposes of God.