Jim X was a very successful London-based salesman. His travels often found him away from home for days at a time. One Thursday morning he caught a plane bound for the continent, where he expected to clinch an important contract over the weekend. The deal would net his company millions, not to mention Jim's substantial cut. Jim kissed his wife goodbye and set off. But when he arrived at his destination and met his prospective client he soon realized that the deal was a non-starter. There had been a big misunderstanding. You know what it is when people speak different languages. Anyway, it quickly became apparent that his journey had been a waste of time: so Jim decided to catch the next flight home. He arrived back at his London home at midnight. Not wanting to disturb his wife he quietly let himself into his house and entered the bedroom. What he saw shattered his life to smithereens. His wife was in bed with another man!

The story, with variations, is familiar. It happens every week in every country; men and women being caught in the act of adultery.

• Adultery is glamorized in the media. Not surprisingly therefore:
• Adultery is popular; it always has been.
• Adultery is on the increase.
• Adultery scars the lives of children; of this there is little doubt.
• Adultery shatters marriages!

But is adultery wrong? Should Jim have been upset? And if it had been the other way around, should a returning wife be upset to find her husband in her bed with another woman? What are the moral issues involved here? Does anyone know?

Human beings are incapable of formulating moral laws. Actions considered acceptable in one country are condemned in another. Even the generations within a country have different opinions about what constitutes good moral behavior. Parents argue with disagreeing teenagers, teachers with pupils, authorities with the population. Everyone it seems has his/her own opinion on what constitutes good moral behavior.

But I repeat: Human beings are incapable of formulating moral laws. Because of this fact we must needs look to YaHuWaH - the one who created us in the first place - for guidance on what constitutes good moral behavior. Here is what the Almighty says, yea commands, concerning this matter of adultery.

Perhaps the most well known act of adultery recorded in Scripture is when king David took Bath-sheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite. The woman became pregnant and the king sent Uriah to his death. The story is recorded in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12.

What was YaHuWaH 's reaction to king David's sin? The Most High was extremely angry with the king David:

King David repented deeply. He confessed his sin and YaHuWaH forgave him: but the inevitable results of David's sin could not be reversed. Later his son Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar and another son Absalom committed adultery with David's concubines on the same palace roof from which David had seen Bath-sheba bathing. David was pardoned for his sins. He will be in the kingdom of YaHuWaH. But he was unable to reverse YaHuWaH 's punishment for his adultery and murder. These are facts of history.

The Most High has not changed. Even in this generation He sees, He notices. Nothing escapes Him and He punishes those who disobey His commandments. Let all who read the following prophecies about adulterous behavior - beware!

Spiritual adultery is the act of mixing truth with error; incorporating pagan worship in the service of YaHuWaH Elohim of Israel. Spiritual adultery is infinitely worse than physical adultery. Alas! it was found in ancient Israel and is currently practiced by almost every Christian denomination. For details see Iniquity in the Church.

What about practicing adulterers: is salvation possible for them? The answer is yes. Forgiveness and salvation is possible for all sinners who repent and forsake their sins: no matter what those sins may be. But no one should delude themselves into thinking that the Ten Commandments are obsolete and that acts of adultery - albeit fashionable - are going to be ignored by the Almighty YaHuWaH. They will not.

The Day of Judgment is fast approaching when every unpardoned sin will be punished. This is the day of Salvation. Do not let it slip away and find you still sinning; because adulterers, fornicators, homosexuals etc, will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.