What the Bible says about Separation of Righteous from the Wicked
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Ezekiel 20:37-38 Notice that the sheep pass under the rod. Besides being an instrument of both offense and defense—the rod was, in effect, a two-foot club—it also functioned as a tool, under which the sheep passed. What does this picture? First of all, it pictures counting. The shepherd would count the sheep in his flock to make sure they were all present and accounted for. It pictures something else too. As the sheep passed under the rod—a symbol of the Word of God—they would undergo a close scrutiny. The shepherd would run his rod backward or across the grain, as it were, of the wool. The rod separated the wool, allowing the shepherd to look down onto the sheep's skin. He was then able to see both the quality of the skin and of the wool. God is illustrating that by means of His rod, He is giving us careful, close scrutiny for two reasons: One, it gives Him the opportunity to evaluate the quality of His sheep. Two, it provides a means of separation. Quality and separation are the two reasons for His scrutiny of us. Recall Matthew 25 and the separation of the sheep and the goats. The rod aids in identifying or making sure of possession. Sheep's ears were often bored through or distinctively notched as a mark of identification. Sometimes, since the shepherds could not always see that identifying mark due to several flocks being mixed together in the pasture, they would make the sheep pass under the rod. When they did, the shepherd would flip back the ear to see the mark of possession. Again, it also gave them a chance to evaluate and determine the relative health and quality of that sheep. We are all under the rod right now. Now is the time of our judgment (I Peter 4:17), and we are under evaluation to determine to whom we really belong: God or Satan. Who is our shepherd? The rod is a vitally important instrument for a shepherd. No good shepherd would be without one. John W. Ritenbaugh Psalm 23 (Part Three) Related Topics: God's Judgment | God's Possessiveness | Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd | Judgment on House of God | Judgment, God's | Psalm 23 | Separation | Separation from the World | Separation of Righteous from the Wicked | Separation of Sheep from Goats | Sheep | Sheep as Metaphor | Shepherd | Shepherd as Metaphor | Shepherding the Flock

Malachi 3:18 After He spares the God-fearing, it will be clear who is really part of His ekklesia. God will intervene on behalf of His people! Will Christ intervene directly to correct His church? Most members hope that He will. Most agree that problems exist. They agree that they dislike what is going on. But their justification for remaining with it is that they expect that Christ will intervene. If Christ is going to intervene, then why did He not intervene during the Ephesian era? If He would have intervened then, the Catholic and Protestant churches would never have begun. But He did not intervene. Instead the Ephesian church broke into small groups of those who wanted to hold fast to the doctrines that the apostles had given them. The main body went on and eventually blended back into the world. So how will God make the distinction between the righteous and the wicked (Malachi 3:18)? What form will His intervention take? The context of Malachi 3 indicates it, but a clearer prophecy of this time can be found in the book of Revelation. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent . . . . And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:14, 17) This is how He will intervene! This is how He will fulfill what He said in Malachi 3. He will cause a separation! Those who are to be spared will depart from the main body and be protected from the great time of trouble just ahead. The other group must prove their dedication to God by bearing the full force of Satan's wrath. There must be two separate bodies of people, or they would share a common fate! The exact time the separation is to occur is not given. Revelation 12 only shows that it will occur. When it occurs, it will be abundantly clear who was faithful and righteous and who was not. Compare these scriptures with Revelation 3:10-11, 16-19. John W. Ritenbaugh Guard the Truth! Related Topics: Distinction between Righteous and Wicked | Ekklesia | God's Intervention | Place of Safety | Separation | Separation from the World | Separation of Righteous from the Wicked

John 17:17 Sanctify means "to render or set apart as pure," and when we obey God's Word, we are set apart and purified. Jesus confirms here that everything that God originally authorized to appear in the Bible is truth. This means that every law, statute, illustration, example, and principle is good for us, helping us to have a better life now by building godly character in us. John O. Reid The Whole Truth Related Topics: Building Character | Character | Character, Building | Sanctification | Sanctification as Growth | Sanctification as Process | Separation | Separation from the World | Separation of Righteous from the Wicked | Set Apart

 

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