"Withholding the Condemnation."

Matthew 12:38-45:

38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees
answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign
from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and
adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and
there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of
the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in
the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this
generation, and shall condemn it: because they
repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a
greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment
with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she
came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the
wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon
is here.
43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I
came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept,
and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits
more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so
shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

The amazing thing about these 7 verses, (and, truly, every verse
of the one and only, "Word of God," is amazing), is their, Truth,
Relevance and applicability concerning the times that we are
living in.

They were admonishing, Prophetic and chastising in their
disclosure of the nature of this wicked generation.

The Lord said that the men of ancient Nineveh; the capital
of Assyria would rise in judgment against this generation
because they repented when they heard the Prophet Jonah's
message.

He also said that the Queen of the South would rise up and
condemn this wicked generation because she came and
listened to the Wise words of Solomon.

And, each time he mentioned, Jonah or the Queen of the
South, he said, "A Greater than, Jonah/the Queen of the
South, is here."

There was pertenance in the message that He was trying
to relay to us.

He went on to say, that the unclean spirit had been cast
out of the world, (which happened when He was crucified),
and that it had been emptied, swept and garnished.

Emptied: He cast the unclean spirit, ( the prince of this world),
out of this world so that men could be free.

Swept: He cleaned-out all the old fables, superstitions, lies
and misunderstandings and the darkness that shrouded men's
minds with the, "Glorious Gospel of Christ."

Garnished: He gave men, "All things that pertain to Life and
Godliness," so that they could adequately please the, "Father;
Abba,"

But, the stern, concise and dire message that He had for this
generation/us was, that we would be judged as a wicked
generation because He did all of this for the world but they
rejected His Knowledge and allowed the unclean spirit to
return.

And, He said that the latter condition would be worse than
the former.

All of the Scriptures tie in together and confirm one another
even though some were written years, sometimes centuries
from each other and by different men from different cultures;
all with the same message.

In one place, it is written, that Satan, (adversary; one who
opposes God or men), would be bound for a thousand years
and that after that thousand years had expired, he would once
again be loosed to deceive the world again, and we see that
happening.

It began in Europe with the, "Renaissance; Age of Enlightenment,"
when philosophers and men and science began to reason God
out of his mind.

In Acts 2:38,39 Peter said this:

38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins,
and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that
are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

When the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts it does what the Lord said
would happen:

Empty, Sweep and Garnish so that the condemnation He said would
come doesn't happen to us.