unbelief

Being led astray

A key analogy that God used to describe Israel’s need for a Savior was sheep without a shepherd. The prophet Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). The Hebrew word that is translated gone astray, ta’ah (taw-awˊ) means “to vacillate” (H8582). Ta’ah is used to refer to deceiving or being misled as well as to err or wandering in both a physical and spiritual sense. In his parable of the lost sheep, Jesus asked, “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountain and go in search of his one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray” (Matthew 18:12-13).

Israel had a history of going astray, but God didn’t blame them for it. God said through the prophet Jeremiah, “My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten the fold. All who found them have devoured them, and their enemies have said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their habitation of righteousness, the LORD, the hope of their fathers” (Jeremiah 50:6-7). The shepherds God was referring to were Israel’s kings and priests who were unfaithful to him. Isaiah said of Israel’s irresponsible leaders, “His watchmen are blind; they are all without knowledge; they are all silent dogs; they cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. The dogs have a mighty appetite; they never have enough. But they are shepherds who have no understanding; they have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all” (Isaiah 50:9-11). Ezekiel condemned Israel’s idolatrous elders stating, “these men have taken their idols into their hearts and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces” (Ezekiel 14:3).

Jeremiah delivered a stern warning to the remnant of Judah who remained in the city after the fall of Jerusalem who were thinking about escaping to Egypt. Jeremiah said:

 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath were poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so my wrath will be poured out on you when you go to Egypt. You shall become an execration, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. You shall see this place no more. The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.” (Jeremiah 42:18-22)

The people’s unwillingness to do what God told them to was the reason no one was left in Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar’s army destroyed the capital of Judah.

Jesus warned his disciples that one of the signs of his second coming would be the deception of believers. Jesus said, “See to it that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray” (Matthew 24:4-5). Peter compared the false teachers of the last days to the false prophets who led the people of Judah astray before they were taken into captivity. Peter said, “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as  there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even destroying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Revelation 12:9 indicates that Satan is behind the deception of the world. Revelation 13:14 tells us that an individual identified as the second beast will cause the inhabitants of the earth to worship the first beast and to make an image for him. Revelation 13:15 -17 states, “And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” Revelation 19:20-21 tells us that after Jesus’ return, the beast was captured, “and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image.”

Jesus’ defeat of Satan will put an end to his deception and will rid the world of the evil one whose influence has caused everyone to go astray (Revelation 20:7-10). In his final letter, Paul wrote about godlessness in the last days (2 Timothy 3:1-9) and encouraged believers to remain faithful. Paul said if we endure we have the assurance of future blessing and will reign with Christ when his kingdom is established on earth (2 Timothy 2:10-13). Paul indicated the key to remaining faithful was to continue in what you have learned from the Scriptures. Paul said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:12-17).

An ungodly lifestyle

Paul’s ministry to the Thessalonians was focused on grounding these Gentile believers in the gospel and giving them the appropriate doctrine to live in a manner that was worthy of God (1 Thessalonians 2:12). Paul told the Thessalonians that the word of God was at work in them (1 Thessalonians 2:13) enabling them to live a life that is pleasing to God. Paul said, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8). Paul differentiated the born again Thessalonians from their Gentile past and indicated that God had not called them for impurity, but in holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7). The Greek word that is translated holiness, hagiasmos (hag-ee-as-mosˊ) is also translated as sanctification in verse 3 of this passage. Holiness is the resultant state produced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Hagiasmos refers not only to the activity of the Holy Spirit in setting man apart unto salvation and transferring him into the ranks of the redeemed, but also enabling him to be holy even as God is holy (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Israelites, who were delivered from slavery in Egypt and given possession of the land that God promised to Abraham (Genesis 15:7), were sanctified or made holy by being set apart to God. The Israelites devotion to God was the basis of this sanctification. When Jeremiah began his ministry, he brought God’s charges against the Israelites. Though they had enjoyed a special relationship with God, the people failed to acknowledge what he had done in the past and had turned instead to idols (note on Jeremiah 2:1-19). Jeremiah 2:1-3 states, “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD and the firstfruits of his harvest.”’” The Israelites were devoted to God initially, but as time went on, they became more and more corrupt like the people around them and eventually, forsook the LORD altogether. The extreme sinfulness of God’s people is emphasized in Jeremiah 3:1-4:4 as “both Israel and Judah are characterized as unfaithful wives (Jeremiah 3:1-13) and are urged to return to the Lord (Jeremiah 3:14-4:4)” (note on Jeremiah 3:1-4:4). Jeremiah 3:6-10 states:

The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

Israel’s ungodly lifestyle was a result of their unbelief. Paul explained in his letter to the Romans that Israel was broken off because of their unbelief and said, if they do not continue in their unbelief they will be grafted in, “for God has the power to graft them in again” (Romans 11:23). It was also explained in the letter to the Hebrews that the people of Israel had become hardened in their sin (Hebrews 3:13). Hebrews 3:12-19 states, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.’ For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses?And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.”

Unbelief leads to an ungodly lifestyle because the unbeliever’s heart is attracted to evil rather than that which is pleasing to God. Paul associated sanctification with abstaining from sexual immorality and knowing how to control your own body in holiness and honor (1 Thessalonians 4:3-4). Paul elaborated on the process of sanctification in his letter to the Colossians and described it in terms of putting off the old self and putting on the new self. Paul said believers are to, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:5-15).

God encouraged the unbelieving Israelites to return to him, stating, “Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 3:12-13). Josiah, the king of Judah, who was reigning at the time that this message was delivered to Israel, did turn back to the LORD with all his heart, soul, and strength (2 Kings 23:25; Jeremiah 34:15), but God’s judgment against the Israelites had already been set in motion and shortly after Josiah’s death, Jerusalem was captured by Nebuchadnezzar and the people of Judah taken into captivity (2 Kings 24-25). Jeremiah prophesied about this disaster, stating, “Behold, he comes up like clouds; his chariots like the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles—woe to us, for we are ruined! O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved. How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim. Warn the nations that he is coming; announce to Jerusalem, ‘Besiegers come from a distant land; they shout against the cities of Judah. Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she rebelled against me, declares the LORD. Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart’” (Jeremiah 4:13-18).

An ungodly lifestyle originates in the individual’s heart. Jesus explained to his disciples that it was not what they ate that defiled them, “but what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person” (Matthew 15:11). When Peter asked him to explain the meaning of the parable he was using to illustrate his point, Jesus asked, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone” (Matthew 15:16-20).

“The word repent means to ‘turn or to change.’ It is best illustrated by the picture of someone who is walking one way (towards sin) and out of conviction turns 180 degrees in their spiritual heart attitude and heads in the opposite direction of that sinful thought, word, or deed” (Fundamentals, Guilt and Repentance, p. 78). When God encouraged the people of Israel to return to him, he was expecting them to repent or turn from their sin and head in the opposite direction toward him. God said he would not look on them with anger because he is merciful (Jeremiah 3:12). God’s mercy makes it possible for a person to change their ungodly lifestyle into a godly one because it provides a pattern, model, and the strength for the godly person’s life to be directed toward God (H2623). Many of the people that Jesus encountered during his ministry on earth cried out to him for mercy (Matthew 9:27, 15:22, 17:15, 20:30). In his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus illustrated the difference between an ungodly lifestyle and a godly one. Jesus said:

 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)

Jesus said the tax collector went down to his house justified. The Greek word that is translated justified, dikaioo (dik-ah-yoˊ-o) is spoken of character and means “to declare to be just as one should be, to pronounce right” and is “spoken especially of the justification bestowed by God on men through Christ, in which he is said to regard and treat them as righteous, i.e. to absolve from the consequences of sin and admit to the enjoyment of the divine favor (Romans 3:26, 30; 4:5; 8:30, 33; Galatians 3:8). The tax collector’s statement, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13), is what the LORD was referring to when he told the Israelites, “Only acknowledge your guilt” (Jeremiah 3:13), and then promised, “I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding…At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart” (Jeremiah 3:17).

The prostitute

One of the key themes that is found throughout the Bible is faithfulness. Faithfulness and believing are connected in that the Hebrew word âman (aw-manˊ) is translated both ways. It says of Abraham in Genesis 15:6 that he believed (âman) in the LORD (KJV) and of Moses in Numbers 14:11 that he was faithful (âman) to God. The opposite of course is unbelief or faithlessness (G570) which was identified numerous times by Jesus as the cause of Israel’s and more specifically, his disciples lack of spiritual success (Matthew 13:58; 17:20; Mark 6:6; 9:24; 16:14). Israel’s unfaithfulness was linked to their continual involvement with idolatry. Israel was forbidden from making covenants with the inhabitants of the Promised Land because of their tendency to worship other gods. The people of Israel were told before they entered the Promised Land:

“Observe what I command you this day. Behold, I will drive out before you the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim (for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.” (Exodus 34:11-16)

The LORD used the phrase whoring after their gods to describe idolatry. The Hebrew word that is translated whore, zânâh (zaw-nawˊ) means “to commit adultery… (figurative) to commit idolatry (the Jewish people being regarded as the spouse of Jehovah)” (H2181). Zânâh appears in most of the Major and Minor Prophets’ writings in conjunction with God’s judgment of Israel and the surrounding nations that influenced her to practice idolatry. Isaiah said of Jerusalem, “How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers” (Isaiah 1:21).

One of the principal influences that led to Israel’s downfall was Assyria’s world dominance. At the height of the Assyrian Empire’s success, the king of Assyria, referred to as Sennacherib, defied the LORD and challenged King Hezekiah to give up his faith in God. The king of Assyria sent a message to King Hezekiah stating “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Razeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’” (2 Kings 19:10-13). Sennacherib compared Hezekiah’s God to the gods of other nations that had failed to protect their worshippers from Assyrian attacks. Hezekiah took the letter from Sennacherib and spread it out before the LORD and asked him to intervene because Sennacherib had mocked the living God (2 Kings 19:16).

Isaiah recorded God’s response to King Hezekiah’s prayer. Isaiah 37:21-32 states:

Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him:

“‘She despises you, she scorns you—
    the virgin daughter of Zion;
she wags her head behind you—
    the daughter of Jerusalem.

“‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?
    Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted your eyes to the heights?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!
By your servants you have mocked the Lord,
    and you have said, With my many chariots
I have gone up the heights of the mountains,
    to the far recesses of Lebanon,
to cut down its tallest cedars,
    its choicest cypresses,
to come to its remotest height,
    its most fruitful forest.
I dug wells
    and drank waters,
to dry up with the sole of my foot
    all the streams of Egypt.

“‘Have you not heard
    that I determined it long ago?
I planned from days of old
    what now I bring to pass,
that you should make fortified cities
    crash into heaps of ruins,
while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,
    are dismayed and confounded,
and have become like plants of the field
    and like tender grass,
like grass on the housetops,
    blighted before it is grown.

“‘I know your sitting down
    and your going out and coming in,
    and your raging against me.
Because you have raged against me
    and your complacency has come to my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will turn you back on the way
    by which you came.’”

“And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

God pointed to the return of the exiles from Babylon as a sign of his future judgment of Assyria. The prophet Nahum’s entire message concerns the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. “Nahum prophesied in the time between the Assyrian capture of No (Thebes) in Egypt (see Nahum 3:8-10), which is known to have occurred in 661 BC, and the final destruction of Nineveh in 612 BC (Nahum 2:8-13). Since verse fifteen of chapter 1 suggests that the feasts were being observed in Judah, it is probably that he ministered during or just after Josiah’s revival. This means he would have prophesied around 620 BC, or about the time of Habbakuk, Zephaniah, and the early part of Jeremiah’s ministry” (Introduction to Nahum).

It says in 2 Kings 19:35 that an angel struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians the night after Isaiah’s prophecy about Sennacherib’s fall. It states, “And when the people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.” Nahum referred to this incident in his condemnation of Nineveh. Nahum wrote:

Woe to the bloody city,
    all full of lies and plunder—
    no end to the prey!
The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel,
    galloping horse and bounding chariot!
Horsemen charging,
    flashing sword and glittering spear,
hosts of slain,
    heaps of corpses,
dead bodies without end—
    they stumble over the bodies!
And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute,
    graceful and of deadly charms,
who betrays nations with her whorings,
    and peoples with her charms.

Nahum used the Hebrew word zânâh when he referred to Nineveh as the prostitute whose countless whorings had brought about God’s destruction of the Assyrian army. The prostitute is mentioned in Revelation 17:1-6 in connection with the martyrdom of Christians during the great tribulation. It states:

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations.” And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

When I saw her, I marveled greatly.

According to Bible teacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee, the great prostitute is the antichurch or false religion that is established for the purpose of worshiping antichrist. The references to sexual immorality have to do with idolatry, the worship of false gods (G4203). John indicated that a name was written on the forehead of the prostitute, “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth’s abominations” (Revelation 17:5). John wanted his readers to understand that the antichurch would be the culmination of all false religions and would serve the purpose of leading a revolt against God that would threaten the existence of believers in Jesus Christ. Immediately following his discussion of the great prostitute and her relationship to antichrist, John went on to talk about the fall of Babylon (Revelation 18) and Christ’s return to earth (Revelation 19), suggesting that Antichrist’s brief world dominance will trigger the end times events that shift the balance of power back to worshippers of God.

Overcoming unbelief

One of the primary obstacles that Jesus faced in his mission to save the world was the unbelief of the people of Israel. Mark’s gospel tells us when Jesus came to his hometown, they “took offense at him” (Mark 6:3). The Greek word that is translated offense, skandalizo (skan-dal-idˊ-zo) means to “scandalize.” In a moral sense, skandalizo means “to be a stumbling block to someone, to cause to stumble at or in something, to give a cause of offence to someone. It says in Mark 6:1-6:

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.

Jesus’ family, friends, and neighbors saw him as an ordinary man. Rather than accepting him as their Messiah, the Son of God, the people in his hometown associated Jesus with his occupation, and referred to him as “the carpenter” (Mark 6:3). Mark said that Jesus could do no mighty work or miracles there because of their unbelief.

Unbelief is the state a person is in before embracing the gospel, but it can also be a violation of faith or apostasy (G570). The writer of Hebrews admonished the people of Israel because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:12-19 states:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The writer of Hebrews associated unbelief with the heart, and also indicated that a person could become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

In his parable of the sower, Jesus identified different locations that the seed could end up after it was sown and explained to his disciples that the seed represented the word of the kingdom or the gospel. Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). According to Jesus the intended destination for the gospel is the heart, but Satan tries to keep us from understanding God’s word so that it doesn’t have any effect on us. Jesus went on to explain that the seeds that fell on rocky ground are, “the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away” (Mark 4:16-17). The seeds that fell on rocky ground may have been a direct reference to Jesus’ twelve disciples, who were noted by Mark as abandoning Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark said, “They all left him and fled” (Mark 14:50). After Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, he came to his disciples in the middle of the night walking on the sea. Mark tells us, “And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51-52).

The reason why Jesus’ disciples were utterly astounded when he walked across the water and got into the boat with them was because there was no logical explanation for what had just happened, they may have even thought they were losing their minds or were hallucinating. Mark says, “When they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost” (Mark 6:49). Mark’s assessment of the situation was linked to what had happened the day before. Mark said, “They did not understand about the loaves” (Mark 6:52). The Greek word that is translated understand, suniemi (soon-eeˊ-ay-mee) means “to bring together in the mind, to grasp concepts and see the proper relation between them. Hence, to comprehend, understand, perceive” (G4920). At this point in the disciples’ relationship with Jesus, it is likely that they were grappling with the fact that God had become a man, that the man they knew as Jesus, was actually God. In one of Jesus’ final conversations with his disciples, John lets us know that his disciples still couldn’t completely comprehend how Jesus, a man, could also be God. John writes:

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. John 14:8-11)

Jesus told Philip that the Father dwelt in him, that he was in the Father and the Father was in him. Jesus was speaking “of the relation in which one person or thing stands with another…thus to remain in or with someone, i.e. to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will” (G3306). Jesus concluded his conversation with Philip with the statement, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works” (John 14:11). Believing means that you have faith in someone or something. “Particularly, to be firmly persuaded as to something…with the idea of hope and certain expectation (Acts 18:8)” (G4100). The Greek word pisteuo (pist-yooˊ-o), which is translated believe, is derived from the word pistis (pisˊ-tis), which speaks “(of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or the religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation” (G4102).

Jesus’ miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish was motivated by compassion. Mark tells us about Jesus, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). The Greek word that Mark used that is translated shepherd, poimen (poy-maneˊ) is translated pastors in the King James Version of Ephesians 4:11 where Paul talks about the various manifestations of grace in the context of unity in the body of Christ. Paul said, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, but craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul identified the goal of Christianity to be attaining the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. The role of the pastor or shepherd in this endeavor is to act as a spiritual guide for believers whose faith is being developed as they grow in their knowledge of the Son of God.

Paul said in his letter to the Romans that the Israelites were like branches that had been broken off because of their unbelief, and then added, “But you stand fast through faith (pistis)” (Romans 11:20). Standing fast implies that there is a force that is trying to move you or perhaps, knock you down. The Greek word histemi (hisˊ-tay-mee), which is translated stand fast, is used metaphorically in Acts 7:60 as “to impute, e.g. sin unto someone” (G2476). Histemi is used three times in Ephesians 6:11-14 where Paul talks about putting on “the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Paul concluded his discussion of spiritual warfare with the statement, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:16-18). Paul indicated that we must take up the shield of faith, suggesting that faith involves an intentional effort on our part to protect ourselves from spiritual attacks. Paul said that we can not only use our faith to protect ourselves from the enemy’s attacks, but we can also use our faith to launch a counter attack by praying in the Spirit at all times. From that standpoint, it could be said that prayer is a weapon that believers have at their disposal to overcome their unbelief.

Unbelief

Jesus identified unbelief as the major cause of unanswered prayer. When he was asked why they couldn’t cure a demon possessed boy, Jesus told his disciples, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20, NKJV). The Apostle Paul admitted his own short coming in this matter when he told his spiritual son Timothy, “although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Timothy 1:13, NKJV). Paul’s comment seems to suggest that unbelief doesn’t keep us from being saved, but it can keep us from doing God’s will.

The writer of the book of Hebrews compared the unbelief of the Jews who rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Israelites who had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. He stated:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
In the day of trial in the wilderness,
Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me,
And saw My works forty years.
Therefore I was angry with that generation,
And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart,
And they have not known My ways.’
So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest.’ ” (Hebrews 3:7-11, NKJV)

According to this statement, the source of unbelief is a hard heart. The author of Hebrews went on to say, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” (Hebrews 3:12-13). The progression from sin to unbelief might take place instantaneously or it could happen slowly over a number of years. What is clear from the standpoint of unanswered prayer is that unbelief indicates there is definitely a lack of connection with God. A person who is acting in unbelief does not have the power of the Holy Spirit working in his life.

According to the author of the book of Hebrews, the remedy for unbelief is the word of God. He said, “For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 3:12). Basically, what he was saying was that the word of God has the ability to convict us of our sins and to bring us to the point of repentance, even when our sins are hidden deep within our hearts. The Apostle Paul is a prime example of this because he was defiantly opposing the spread of Christianity until Jesus met him on the road to Damascus and asked him the question, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4, NKJV). After Jesus identified himself as God, Paul immediately responded, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (Acts 9:6, NKJV).

Antichrist

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was primarily a follow-up to the one he had previously sent them. The topic of Christ’s return remained the central focus of Paul’s communication. Apparently, the Thessalonians were convinced that Jesus was going to return at any moment. Paul told them, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). Paul wanted the Thessalonians to understand that the rapture was only one of a series of events that would take place during the end times. He explained, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Antichrist’s appearance on the religious scene will be evident by his impersonation of God. This will only be possible because God will remove his Holy Spirit from Earth and allow Satan to be in full control of the world during the Great Tribulation (2 Thessalonians 2:7). Paul told the Thessalonians, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish: because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10). Paul indicated that Antichrist would be successful in establishing his kingdom on Earth because of a deliberate rejection of God’s word. Because unbelief will become the norm, Paul told the Thessalonians, “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” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12).

Paul’s introduction of the man of sin, whom he also referred to as the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3), emphasized the uselessness of Satan’s attempt to overthrow God’s kingdom. Paul referred to Jesus’ second coming when he said that the Lord would consume Antichrist with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The Apostle John described the scene of Antichrist’s defeat in Revelation 19:11-16. Afterward, John said, “The beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh” (Revelation 19:20-21).

Unbelief

 

At the close of Jesus’ ministry, the Apostle John summarized his accomplishments by saying, “But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him” (John 12:37). The primary cause of the Jews unbelief appeared to be their concern for other things that they thought were more important. John said, “For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:43). Jesus’ parable of the sower revealed a deeper problem that was evident during his ministry. Using the analogy of seeds being sown on different types of soil, Jesus showed that the words he spoke about God’s eternal kingdom were not received because “the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22, ESV).

Jesus identified some extenuating circumstances that may have been preventing the Jews from recognizing him as their Messiah. He said, “And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them” (Matthew 13:14-15). The primary issue that Jesus was pointing out was that the Jews were content with their situation. They didn’t want their lives to be disrupted by his radical teaching.

The central point of Jesus’ ministry was his death and resurrection. Just before he raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus told his sister Martha, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die” and then he asked her, “Believest thou this?” (John 11:25-26). Martha’s response showed that she had a limited understanding of what Jesus was talking about. She said to him, “Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (John 11:27). Martha’s acknowledgement of Jesus’ identity, but avoidance of the topic of his resurrection probably meant that she wasn’t convinced at that point that life after death was possible.

Jesus warned his twelve apostles repeatedly that he was going to be put to death, and yet, after he was crucified, they didn’t expect him to come back to life as he had promised. Mark reported that after Jesus “appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen” (Mark 16:12-14). In other words, in spite of eye witness accounts, Jesus’ apostles actually refused to believe that he was alive until they saw him themselves.

Jesus said of himself, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46). The Greek phrase Jesus used that is translated “abide in darkness” meno en skotia could mean to live in obscurity (G3306/G1722/G4653). What Jesus may have been trying to say was that belief in him would bring meaning or purpose to life, an understanding of what life was really all about. With that in mind, it seems likely that the reason the majority of the Jews’ were trapped in a state of unbelief was because they had already established a relationship with God and already knew about his plan for the world. In their case it wasn’t a matter of knowing too little, but of knowing too much.