The End Time Church: From the Cathedrals to the Catacombs

By Dan L. White

Copyright 2022 by Dan L. White, all rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB) which is in the public domain.

Chapter 105

End Time Religion –
God’s Love versus Satan’s Love

Did God make a mistake with Ananias and Sapphira?

Acts 5
1) But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession,
2) and kept back part of the price, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
3) But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
4) While you kept it, didn’t it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn’t it in your power? How is it that you have conceived this thing in your heart? You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”
5) Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and died. Great fear came on all who heard these things.
6) The young men arose and wrapped him up, and they carried him out and buried him.
7) About three hours later, his wife, not knowing what had happened, came in.
8) Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” She said, “Yes, for so much.”
9) But Peter asked her, “How is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
10) She fell down immediately at his feet, and died. The young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her by her husband.

What about that?

Ananias and Sapphira sold some land. Let’s say that it sold for a hundred gold coins. They then gave fifty gold pieces to the flock, for food and sustenance.

That was a sizable donation, half the price of the land. Surely that was more than most people have ever given to support a Christian cause. But they did not donate all of the money they received, while pretending they did.

They didn’t ask for their donation money back. They just lied about how much they had and how much they gave.

So in spite of their large gift, these were the last words that Ananias would hear –

“You haven’t lied to men, but to God.”

CLICK.

Three hours passed. During that three hours, Sapphira had time to think about what they were doing, and what she would do. She did not have to do what her husband did, even if he ordered her to. Everyone’s first obedience is always to God.

But she came in, blissfully unaware that she was now a widow. She willingly went along with Ananias’ evil.

Suddenly her ears heard this: “the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Then there were footsteps. Then –

CLICK.

Did God make a mistake there? Was that wrong? Was just telling a lie a capital offense? Did God’s punishment fit the crime? I mean, after all they did give a bunch of money for the cause. Shouldn’t that count for something?

If someone did that same deed with a local church, what would the church do? If a person said he had won a lottery of fifty thousand dollars and he was giving it all to his church, and they discovered he actually won a hundred thousand dollars, what would a church do?

Of course, they wouldn’t execute him. Even the Roman Church doesn’t do that, at least not any more. But wouldn’t a church say to that person, “Because you lied to God about your gift, take all your money and go with the devil?” Would they say that?

Now that’s a far weaker punishment that Ananias and Sapphira got, but do you think a church would tell them to take all their money and be gone?

Probably not.

What would a church do?

“Well, you have done a wonderful deed in donating to the church. We must reprimand you for telling a white lie, but it was just a little bitty white lie so we will surely forgive you for that. After all, the good you have done with your donation far outweighs the little evil that crept in.”

Isn’t that pretty much what most churches would do? And maybe all?

In other words, wouldn’t most Christians kinda think God made a mistake in the way He dealt with Ananias and Sapphira?

God is love.

1John 4:7-8 (WEB)
7) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God.
8) He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

So since God is love, what God did with those two liars was an expression of love – God’s love.

People think that God thinks like them. They think that God’s love must match what they think.

Scientists think that God does not exist because they can’t see Him, they can’t hear Him, and they can’t measure Him. And that is the most egocentric thinking possible, because they’re assuming that they can see, hear and measure everything that exists. They think there is nothing that they can’t perceive.

They do not allow for the possibility that their thinking and their senses and their abilities might be limited. I mean, if God is God, He will not be limited by human limitations. Why? Because He ain’t human. Therefore God is not subject to human measurements.

In the same way, people’s ideas of what love is should not be expected to match what God’s love is. People are just people. They fuss, fight, divorce, and war, so it is not be to expected that they would have an understanding of love, as understood by God.

Read again what John said in that passage –

1John 4
8) He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love.

To the degree that we don’t know God, we don’t know what love is. So when He booted Ananias and Sapphira to boot hill, we’re not real sure about that.

The two great commandments are love of God and love of neighbor.

Matt 22
36) “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
37) Yeshua said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
38) This is the first and great commandment.
39) A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
40) The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

That is from the World English Bible. The King James says in verse 40, “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

That Greek word for hang is used in –

Acts 10:39 (KJV)
39) And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: [referring to Christ.]

Acts 28:3-4 (KJV)
3) And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
4) And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand…

“Hanged on a tree” and “hang on his hand” is the same word used in “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

So you have the two great commandments up above, and then hanging down from them are the Commandments. The Ten Commandments hang down from the two great commandments. Hanging from the first great commandment to love God are the first five of the Ten Commandments, telling how to do that. Hanging from the second great commandment are the last five of the Ten Commandments, telling how to love your neighbor.

So the love of God is obeying the first five Commandments. You honor His being, His form, His name, His Sabbath, and the people He put in charge of teaching you about Him, your parents.

Conclusion? You love God by obeying His Commandments. You never love God by breaking His Commandments. Again you honor His being, His form, His name, His Sabbath and your parents.

1John 5:3
3) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous.

His Commandments don’t cause you grief. Breaking His Commandments is what causes grief.

John 15:9-10 (WEB)
9) Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love.
10) If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and remain in his love.

This is an absolute ironclad principle. You love God by obeying the Commandments that He spoke, and wrote, and keeps by His side in the Ark of the Covenant at His throne in heaven. Saying that you love God without obeying His Commandments is a lie from Satan. From what happened with Ananias and Sapphira, we know what God thinks of liars. He even has a Commandment about that.

People want to claim God’s love without showing Him the love of obeying Him. God rejects unrepentant “love,” as He did with Ananias and Sapphira.

Notice what Yeshua instructed His disciples.

Matt 10
11) Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy; and stay there until you go on.
12) As you enter into the household, greet it.
13) If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn’t worthy, let your peace return to you.
14) Whoever doesn’t receive you, nor hear your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet.
15) Most certainly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.

Who said that?

Christ said it.

What did He say?

If people don’t listen, shake the dust off your feet and shake a leg and git on down the road.

That’s exactly what Paul and Barnabas did.

Acts 13
46) Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
47) For so has the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.’”
48) As the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of God. As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
49) The Lord’s word was spread abroad throughout all the region.
50) But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and threw them out of their borders.
51) But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came to Iconium.

A common Christian teaching is that you can love God without obeying His Commandments. T’aint so. Ananias and Sapphira’s offering was rejected when they broke the ninth Commandment against lying, among others. When they did that, they didn’t love God, as they pretended. They hated Him.

Deut 7
9) Know therefore that Yahweh your God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with them who love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,
10) and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him who hates him, he will repay him to his face.

You love God by obeying His Commandments. You hate Him by disobeying His Commandments.

How, then, do you love other people?

The last five Commandments show love for others, where you don’t kill him/her, adulterate his present or future mate, steal his stuff, mislead him, or want anything that is his. All this is shown by Christ’s statement, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Just like loving God, love for people is always obeying God’s Commandments.

Humans usually think that love is accepting the breaking of God’s Commandments.

Let me repeat that.

People usually think that love is accepting the breaking of God’s Commandments.

Wonder where that idea comes from?

That’s not true love. That is fake love.

We’ve heard a lot in the last few years about fake news, and we’ve heard of lot of fake news in the last few years. Love that approves breaking God’s Commandments is not love at all. It’s feel good, phony, fake love.

In this end time world, where we are inundated with fake news and fake love, it’s critical to remember that love for people is obeying God’s Ten Commandments. Love for others is never approving or accepting their breaking the Ten Commandments.

But Satan has turned that around. The world says that love is accepting, approving and encouraging Commandment breaking. Even further, Satan’s forces say that obeying and teaching God’s Commandments is hate and hate speech. If you do not approve and accept their Commandment crushing, they will call you a “hater” – for not showing love.

And you know what?

They will hate you for that.

Why did Ananias and Sapphira want to make a big donation to Christ’s flock?

Acts 4
31) When they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were gathered together. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
32) The multitude of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Not one of them claimed that anything of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common.
33) With great power, the apostles gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Yeshua. Great grace was on them all.
34) For neither was there among them any who lacked, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
35) and laid them at the apostles’ feet, and distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need.

Why did Ananias and Sapphira want to make a big donation to Christ’s flock? Because everybody was doing it. Apparently every Christianos who owned property sold it and put their money in the pot. When they needed to eat, that’s what the pot was for.

This is often cited as an example of socialism/communism.

Tain’t so.

Socialism/communism always requires elites to spend other people’s money for them. The elites then take other people’s money away from them by force. That’s called taxes. And of course, the elites, the party bosses, the politburo, the bureaucrats are very well paid for their noble efforts in running people’s lives. As in – the richest zip codes in America are right next to Washington, DC.

There were no elites in Jerusalem taking people’s money from them. All those Christianos had free choice as to what they would do with their property. No, Yahweh is not a socialist. Yahweh is a yahwist.

Those first Christianos, of their own free choice, sold out and gave it away. One of those Christianos who did that was, for whatever reason, specifically named.

Acts 4
36) Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race,
37) having a field, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

So Barnabas was recognized then and forever for what he did.

Ananias and Sapphira wanted to do that. Actually they wanted that… recognition.

Think about what they did.

They had surely been in Jerusalem on that Pentecost when Christ’s flock was begun. They had seen the miracle of the flaming tongues. They had seen the miracles of people being healed. They had seen the miracle of people turning away from self-love, which is always putting the self first. To turn away from self is also a miracle.

Ananias and Sapphira surely had seen all that, been right in the middle of it, and had seen and heard and probably personally talked with Christ’s disciples, the apostles.

‘Shalom, Peter! What’s up?’

Moreover, they had also probably been in Jerusalem for the Passover/Unleavened Bread Feast when Yeshua was sacrificed –

Sacrificed for them!

In spite of all that, instead of loving God, they decided to hate Him. They broke His Commandments.

‘Yeah, that’s all we got for the land. Ain’t we somethin’ special?’

That is wicked.

People judge a crime by the specific act that is committed. God judges by the heart. Holding back part of the sale money was of itself not an evil act. That wouldn’t have been as giving as the others, but to do so would not have directly broken the Commandments. Their money was their money. They had the God given choice as to what they would do with their property. There was no socialism.

But when they lied to God, that was wicked, from the inside out and all the way through.

Self-love was still their prime motive in life – in spite of all they had seen. Given the right extreme situation, say with their own lives at stake, they would have done anything, any crime, any atrocity, to save themselves. That’s the way self-love is.

God did not make a mistake with Ananias and Sapphira, although almost everybody thinks He did. The love of God is obeying His Commandments. Love for other people is obeying God’s Commandments and never approving their disobedience.

You see, when Ananias probably led Sapphira into their scheme, he did not love her. And Sapphira could have saved both their lives by saying “NO, Ananias. I will not do that! You are horribly wrong. Don’t lie about the money. Repent and ask for forgiveness.”

But Sapphira did not do that. She did not show her husband his sin. She approved his sin. She was tolerant and inclusive and she killed him.

Breaking the Commandments and approving commandment breaking is never showing God’s love. That’s Satan’s love.