Fishers of men
Jesus called Simon Peter and Andrew his brother “fishers of men” in this verse:
Matthew 4:19 "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."
That means that instead of catching fish, for they were fishers by occupation, they would now be catching men. The words “follow me” in this verse also means that whosoever follows Jesus, he will make them “fishers of men.” Therefore, every born again believer who is a follower of Jesus Christ is also a “fisher of men.” Connect this to:
Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."
The term “fishers of men” is a figurative term of course. To catch men is to win souls. Solomon tells us in this verse “he that winneth souls is wise,” and his fruit (the labour of his work) is a “tree of life.” What is a tree of life? Compare these verses:
Proverbs 15:4 "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit."
1 Timothy 6:3 "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;"
Wholesome words are the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, every word of God in the 66 books of the Holy Bible. Moreover, the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that come forth out of the tongue of a soul-winner is a tree of life. Every word of God that proceeds from the tongue of a soul-winner is a tree of life.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."
The word that proceeds from within came from the gospel of Jesus Christ that was sown in the good ground of an “honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15) of a born again believer. It is a tree of life to whosoever will believe in it.
Luke 8:15 "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
The born again believer will “bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15) This connects to Proverbs 11:30 which tells us that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. The gospel of Jesus Christ sown by a born again believer in the capacity of a soul-winner (fisher of men) will result in more people being born again by the same gospel preached to them.
Matthew 4:4 "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Jesus tells us in this verse that while bread is food for the body, every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God is “food” for the soul of a person that will produce eternal life in him or her. Connect this to:
Matthew 5:13 "¶ Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
A born again believer is called the “salt of the earth” in this verse. What does salt do for the food? Jesus tells us that salt is used to “savour” the food, to make it palatable for consumption. Therefore, that is the job of a soul-winner. His job is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, to savour the word of God, to break it down, so that it is palatable to the soul that feeds upon it.
Acts 8:27-31 "And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. 30 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? 31 And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him."
This passage of scripture was the eununch of Ethiopia who desired that Philip should expound the book of Isaiah unto him.
Acts 8:32-35 "The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
It was then that Philip the soul-winner opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, preached unto him Jesus.
Acts 8:36-37 "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
So after Philip preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to the eununch of Ethiopia, he understood from the book of Isaiah, and believed in the word of God. That was a fine example of how a born again believer should be doing soul-winning. As the salt of the earth, his job is to savour the word of God, to break it down so that it may be understood by the hearer, and in so doing, make the word of God palatable for the soul that feeds upon it. However, in the same verse in Matthew 5:13, Jesus also used the term “good for nothing” for Christians who received the gospel but won’t preach it to others and produced no fruit. Connect this to:
John 15:2 "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit."
John 15:6 "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned."
The end of those “good for nothing” Christians is to be cast out because they beareth not fruit, so that they will wither off and be cast forth as a branch into the fire to be burned (in Hell). Connect this to the Parable of the Talents:
Matthew 25:24-30 "Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. 26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. 29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
The Christian who hid his talent in the earth is the wicked and slothful servant who received the gospel of Jesus Christ but brought forth no fruit, so that the end of this unprofitable servant would be to be cast into outer darkness (Hell), where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Connect this to:
Hebrews 6:4-8 "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. 7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: 8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned."
Those would be the Christians who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.
Matthew 13:5-6 "Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away."
Luke 8:13 "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."
Those would be the stony ground heart Christians who once received the gospel of Jesus Christ with joy and for a while believe. Even though the seed did bring forth a shoot, however, because their stony ground hearts have no deepness of the earth, and so when the sun was up, the shoot was scorched, and they “fall away” as withered branches. Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us that it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. Hebrews 6:8 tells us the end of those Christians which beareth thorns and briers (“beareth not fruit” John 15:2) would be to be rejected by God and be burned in Hell.
1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
For rejecting the word of the Lord, king Saul was also rejected by God from being king over Israel. The word "king" in the context of this verse is not just a king of the land, but it is also "kings and priests" in Revelation 1:6. Every born again believer is a king and a priest.
2 Samuel 7:15 "But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee."
The Bible tells us in this verse that God took his mercy away from Saul, who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. King Saul is an example of a Christian who heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and anon with joy receiveth it. But because he have no root in himself due to his stony ground heart, his “faith” only lasted for a while, and in the time of temptation, fall away as a withered branch to be cast into the fire for to be burned.
2 Peter 2:20 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning."
The latter end of those stony ground heart Christians will be worse with them than the beginning. Many will be like king Saul who after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome. Their latter end will be worse with them than the beginning. King Saul turned to witchcraft as an alternative to the word of God in his latter end.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 "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;"
The word “fall away” connects to “falling away” (Greek: apostasia) in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and this was Paul making a reference back to the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8. It is to be noted that the root meaning of “apostasia” is found in the word “apostasion,” which is translated as “divorcement” in Matthew 5:31, Matthew 19:7 and Mark 10:4. Therefore, the “falling away” according to Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 will be signified by the idea of “divorcement.” It will be Christ giving a writing of divorcement to put away those Christians who would receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads, so that they should not be killed for the testimony they once held as believers, that they may continue to buy or sell like everyone else who likewise, have received the mark of the beast.
Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
That would be Jesus Christ blotting out the names of those Christians who will receive the mark of the beast out of the book of life, so that they shall have their part in the second death, to be burned in the lake of fire for ever and ever.
A genuinely born again believer who believes in every word of God in the 66 books of the Holy Bible was saved through his faith in the word of God by the grace of God, and faith in the word of God means that he will never take the mark of the beast. He would rather lose his life than be an offence to his heavenly Father. Well, this also goes to show that for Christians who take the mark of the beast for whatever reason, they were never truly born again to begin with, and those would be the ones who shall “fall away” as withered branches to be cast into the fire.
Numbers 14:32 "But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness."
The falling away will happen as a result of the mark of the beast being implemented, and it will be a very spectacular event to watch out for. All of a sudden, billions of people all over the world would be turned into living dead which cannot be saved. The COVID19 scamdemic is a taste of that which is to come. By taking the mark of the beast, they will become temples made with hands that God will not dwell in (Acts 7:48; 17:24). They will all be “fallen,” so as to say, and the term “congregation of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16) aptly describes those who will be taking the mark of the beast in the future to come.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 "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; 4 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."
The Devil wants to sit in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God. But first, he has to hijack it, and that would be via the mark of the beast (transhumanism). The falling away is not just "apostasia" in the Greek language. Of course, it would involve literal apostasy from the faith. But the greatest betrayal of all is the surrendering of the temple of God to the Devil. That’s why Judas Iscariot was also called the “son of perdition,” as in:
John 17:12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled."
There are only two places in the 1611 King James Bible that this term “son of perdition” is found. One is a reference to that man of sin — the son of perdition in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and the other is a reference to Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver out of the love of money. Likewise, there will be many stony ground heart Christians who, out of the love of money, will willingly surrender their temple of God to the Devil, so that the Devil as God shall sit in the temple of their body, shewing himself that he is God.