I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO DIE FOR CHRIST or Allah! (Part II)
Part II of …..DYING FOR CHRIST or Allah
Phil 1:23
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Webster
23 But I am pressed by both, having the desire for (the) departure and being with Christ, [for] [it is] very much better,
Darby
The following is taken from Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved:
[For I am in a strait betwixt two] Namely, the dying now, and being immediately (in a sense of time at the Rapture) with Jesus; or living longer to preach and spread the Gospel, and thus glorify Christ among men. ( if I died right now. the next thing I would be aware of is the Rapture!)
[Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ] Teen epithumian echoon eis to analusai. It appears to be a metaphor taken from the commander of a vessel, in a foreign port, who feels a strong desire analusai, to set sail, and get to his own country and family; but this desire is counterbalanced by a conviction that the general interests of the voyage may be best answered by his longer stay in the port where his vessel now rides; for he is not in dock, he is not aground, but rides at anchor in the port, and may any hour weigh and be gone. Such was the condition of the apostle: he was not at home, but although he was abroad it was on his employer’s business; he wishes to return, and is cleared out and ready to set sail, but he has not received his last orders from his owner, and whatever desire he may feel to be at home he will faithfully wait until his final orders arrive. (Nicely put, eh?)
The word depart, analusai, is only used in one other place in the Bible in Luke 12:36 in regards to Christ’s return, specifically his 2nd Coming for Israel:
36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
KJV
1 Thess 4:13-17 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep (dead), that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep (the dead). 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. NASB
God can’t bring anyone with Jesus back to heaven, if everyone is already there! Come on people, the Bible has to make sense. There is no life immediately after death; there is no transmigration of the soul. (I’m not sure this knowledge would make any difference to the Islamo-facists group called ISIS, but it should). When Jesus drew his last breath, BAM he was dead! His soul no longer existed anywhere; no breath = no life. Anyone teaching anything contrary to this is in error. Every mortal who has ever lived and died with the exception of Jesus Christ is Resting in Peace.
R.I.P.
(TBC)
Part IV of the Apocalupsis of John, the Book called Revelation
In the preceding 3 posts I have established beyond any doubt that the miscalled “churches” in The Apocalupsis of John are in reality assemblies or congregations of Jews, members of the Nation of Israel. To give you an example of how unsound some believers can be, a woman, whose blog I used to follow, said to me, “If Jesus called them churches, then that’s what they are!” Unfortunately Jesus has had nothing to do with how translators have chosen to translate most of the words in the Bible. Out of 17 Bible versions or translations in my PC Bible program only these 3 translate ecclesia properly:
Rev 1:4
John to the seven assemblies that [are] in Asia:
YLT- Young’s Literal Translation
Rev 1:4
4 John to the seven assemblies
Darby
Rev 1:4
4 John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia:
WEB- World English Bible
If you are a serious workman of the Word or want to be you must invest in some PC Bible program or buy a lot of Bibles! On my way home from NY last Sunday by way of Chicago I had the opportunity to sit next to a young Jewish girl who had recently become a Christian. She was very well versed in the “mainstream” doctrines of Christianity. She was surprised to hear many things I had to say about beliefs she held and took a copious amount of notes on her phone. I was able to show her from the Scriptures (on her phone) passages which substantiated what I had to say, but she could not find one Scripture to substantiate anything she believed! Everything she believed hear-say and much of that was heresy!
She was even astonished to see from 1 Corinthians 10:32 that the apostle Paul established that there are only 3 types of people in the world; Jews, Gentiles and the Church of God. She was equally surprised to see these verses:
Gal 3:28-29
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
KJV
She was insisting that she was a Jew for Jesus. What an absurd belief. I tried to explain to her that once a Jew or a Gentile became born again of the spirit of God by confessing Jesus as their Lord and believing God raised him from the dead, they became members of the Church of God. She could not let go of her ancestry and she could not understand how I could be of the seed of Abraham. She really imploded when I told her that Abraham was a Gentile and not a Jew!
Abram is first mentioned in Ge. 11:26; his name was changed to Abraham in Ge. 17:5. Jacob isn’t mentioned until Ge. 25:26 and his name was not changed to Israel until Ge. 32:28. The word Jew is not mentioned until the book of Esther and then it applied to a descendant of Judah. Abraham is called a Hebrew in Ge. 14:13 which means a descendant of Eber. Eber is first mentioned in Ge. 10:21. Eber lived 464 years; see Ge. 11:16.
I could go on and on, but the point you need to see is that the word Hebrew had nothing to do with Jews or Israel originally; that Israel did not exist in Ge. 11. Therefore Abraham could not have been a Jew, but rather a Gentile.
The most astonishing thing that this young Jew for Jesus had to say to me was that no one could be a Christian or a member of the Church of God without confessing and believing that Jesus was God incarnate. I asked where she got this from in the Scriptures and she did not know precisely. I showed her Romans 10:9 where it says to confess Jesus as Lord which she said means God, because God is the “Lord” God. I proceeded to show here in Acts 2:36 that God had bestowed His title as Lord upon Jesus. Jesus is my Lord, my master. Nowhere in the Pauline Epistles does it talk about the Lord God or the Lord our God. They show God as our Father and Jesus Christ as our Lord! Lord is used 241 times in the Epistles which are written directly to the Church of God and never is the title attached to God!
To the Jew God will always be the Lord; but to the Christian, Jesus is our Lord, not our God. Here is what Lord means, in case it is not clear yet:
NT:2962 kurios, kuriou, ho
he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord
a. used universally, of the possessor and disposer of a thing, the owner Matt 20:8
b. kurios
is a title of honor, expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants salute their master, Matt 13:27; 25:20,22; Luke 13:8; 14:22, etc.;
c. this title is given:
to God, the ruler of the universe Matt 1:22 (OT, Gospels and Revelation)
to the Messiah; and that:
to the Messiah regarded universally: Luke 1:43
to Jesus as the Messiah, Acts 10:36
d. of Christ (In the Epistles)
(from Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Don’t be afraid to comment; I will not delete any comments but will publish all.
(More on Revelation in the next post).
A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF (THE APOCALYPSE OF JESUS CHRIST) BOOK OF REVELATION, Part I
It is interesting to me to notice that the KJV, NRSV and NASB entitle this “book” as “The Revelation to John,” while the NIV entitles it merely “Revelation.” I would have have entitled it “The Revelation of Jesus Christ to Israel and the Gentile Nations.” “Why'” you say? Well, let us look at how it is written and “to whom” it is written:
Rev 1:1-2
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
NASB
If you have been reading any of my posts you know that God has a reason for what He says, why He says it and to whom He says it. He does not use words loosely or carelessly. What we see here is that God gave this revelation, apokalupsis, (noun, a disclosure of truth, instruction, concerning divine things before unknown) to Jesus Christ who sent and relayed it by His angel to His bond-servant John.
Rev 1:3 3
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
KJV
The words of this prophecy are just that, prophetic, things that will come to pass in the future. Preterists believe that this prophecy came to pass in 70 A.D. Futurists like myself and Fred Price Jr. believe it is still future. Time is the word kairos and means a fixed and definite time: the time occupied by what is written, i.e., the Coming of the Day of the Lord; the days of the wrath of our God. At the culmination of which, we, the born again believers of this Age, will return with Christ for the Battle of Armagedon.
Rev 1:4a
John to the seven assemblies that [are] in Asia:
YLT
Young’s Literal Translation properly translates ekklesias as assemblies, not churches. These 7 assemblies have nothing to do with the Church of God to which all born again believers belong, the Body of Christ.
Rev 1:4b
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
KJV
Here we have an undoubted reference to, and paraphrase of, the name of Jehovah, as revealed in Ex. iii. 14. It is not from the Father to His children, as in the Church Epistles ; but it is from Jehovah as He was revealed and made known to Israel. This is in perfect keeping with what we hold to be the scope of the book. Three times we have this periphrasis of Jehovah, and yet it is varied according to the emphasis we are to place upon it. Bullinger, E.W. (2011-08-21). The Apocalypse or “The Day of The Lord”: Commentary on Revelation (Kindle Locations 2486-2490). Trumpet Press. Kindle Edition.
Rev 1:4
and from the seven spirits which are before his throne;
KJV
We see from Rev 8:2 that these seven spirits are angels and more than likely the angels of the 7 assemblies as well: “And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.” KJV Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. KJV
Rev 1:5-6
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
KJV
Grace and peace are given from the Old Testament reference to YHWH, the 7 angels who stand before Him and from Jesus Christ. As we go further in this spoken and written prophecy, we will see beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Church to which you and I belong will be long gone before the unfolding of the Great and Terrible Day of the LORD!
Part II of the Kingdom of God and Heaven (What will you be doing in the Millennial Kingdom?)
What we do for 1,000 years in the Millennial Kingdom depends entirely upon us; it depends on what we believe now and what we teach others. Remember Matthew 5:19? He who breaks the least commandment and teaches other to do so will be the least in the kingdom. He who does the commandments and teaches others to do so will be the greatest. What do you want to be, the least or the greatest?
There are commandments in Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians. Two of these commandments are in
1 Corinthians 14;37-39:
If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord (Jesus).
38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.
39 Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.
KJV
Has anyone taught you to do either one of these? Has anyone taught you “not” to do either one of these?
2 Thess 3:6-7
Brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work and does not follow the teaching we gave you.
NCV
Bet you didn’t know this was a commandment.
1 Tim 1:1-5
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, who is our hope;
2 Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
3 As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
4 Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do.
5 Now the end of the commandment is the love of God out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
KJV
No other doctrine than what? Than the doctrine Paul received from the Lord Jesus, My, Paul’s, doctrine 2 Tim 3:10; Sound doctrine, 1 Tim 1:10; 2 Tim 4:10; Tit 1:9, 2:1; Good doctrine 1 Tim 4:6, 13, 16;
1 Tim 4:11-13
Command and teach these things. 12 Do not let anyone treat you as if you are unimportant because you are young. Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life.
NCV
1 Tim 6:14
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
KJV
The apostle Paul wrote everything applicable to the Church of God, the born again believer. Jesus called him a wise “masterbuilder” and commissioned him to lay a foundation for the us, the Church of the Body of Christ, of which Christ is the chief corner stone. Everything we build (our works) is to be built upon this foundation. This foundation did not exist in Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
1 Cor 3:10
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
KJV
Eph 2:19-20
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and (Christian) prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
KJV
Jesus, during his earthly ministry, lived under the Law of Moses, which he fulfilled. The 4 Gospels are in no way representatives of the New Testament because the Testator of the new Testament was still alive. We are not under the Law of Moses, but under the grace of God in Christ Jesus, our ascended Lord and Messiah.
Heb 9:16-17
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
KJV
Believers who build their life’s work upon something in the Gospels or the rest of the Old Testament, that is not in alignment with the Pauline Epistles, could very well find themselves suffering loss at the judgment Seat of Christ, while others are being rewarded for what they did build upon the foundation that Paul laid. They could also find themselves in position’s of least importance in the Kingdom of God.
1 Cor 3:14-15
If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
KJV
I have been told by a few believers that they would rather stake what they do in the Millennial Kingdom on 2,000 years of church traditions than on a couple of hundred years of a new perspective of understanding the Bible.
As you can see, the true New Testament begins with Romans. What foundation are you building upon? Are you willing to have your work burnt to ashes because you trust more in Church Traditions than in the Gospel of God and Christ as revealed to the apostle Paul?
IS THIS A RISK THAT YOU ARE WILLING TO TAKE?
The Last Days (Don’t put your foot in your mouth too)!
There is not just a little confusion over the Last Days. One of the reasons for this is because of what Peter said in Acts 2:14-21. What he said was not true and you will see that it was not true if you just look at Joel Chapter 2, from which he was quoting. The only thing Peter got right was the spirit being poured out.
Joel 2 is speaking about the coming of the Days of the LORD—“days of darkness and gloom, the sun an.d the moon are darkened, the stars quit shining, Yahweh utters his voice at the head of his army, numberless are they who obey his command, etc.” We are all guilty one time or another in a time of excitement of putting our foot in our mouths and this was one of Peter’s. After all, he did not know about the secret and wouldn’t know about it for a few years yet.
Believers spoke in tongues on the Day of Pentecost; they didn’t prophesy. the sun did not go black; the moon did not turn to blood and stars did n0t quit giving their light. What happened was not “what was spoken through the prophet Joel.”
The second usage of the words “in the last days” is in 2 Tim 3 where it says distressing times will come where people will be:
- lovers of themselves, implacable, slanderers, swollen with conceit,
- lovers of money, profligates, brutes, treacherous,
- boasters, arrogant, abusive, haters of good, reckless
- disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman
- lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
- holding to the outward form of godliness, but denying its power
Paul goes on to say that these folks are of corrupt minds and counterfeit faith, who oppose the truth. they are wicked people and impostors who will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and even themselves. Rather than spend time wondering who they are Paul exhorts Timothy and the rest of us “to continue in what we have learned and firmly believed, know from whom we have learned it (who did Timothy learn from? His teacher, his/our father in the Word, Paul).
I have covered this subject in great detail in my book, available at http://www.fredswolfe.com with my money back guarantee (if you don’t like it send it to me and I will send you your money back with shipping).
What do you think; do you think just because someone says something in the Bible makes it automatically true?
Part V of Identifying the False Prophet; the Predecessor of the Antichrist
As you have seen from the previous four segments the end is not yet. It could be said and has been said by many that “we are definitely in the end times.” As I have said before, there will be things leading up to the apokalupto of the False Prophet, but what they will be no one knows for sure. And I don’t believe anyone can tell you with absolute certainty that we are in the end times. I have shown you what will happen after being Caught Up, harpazoo, of 1Thess. 4:17, but no one knows what will be going on prior to that.
There are no prophecies concerning this Age because none of the prophets before Paul knew anything about this age. This age was kept a secret by God:
Rom 16:25-27 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel (Paul’s) and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the secret which has been kept silent since the world began but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the (Christian) prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith;
Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy (Christian) apostles and prophets by spirit; (How many Old Testament apostles can you name?)
Since none of them, no one, had any knowledge of this Secret Age, they could not have prophesied anything about it, particularly what to expect before the Gathering Together of the saints! In other words no one has any idea when this will occur. There are no worldly events which will indicate when it will happen.
Now, if I am wrong about the Rapture and there is none as many believe, at least you know what to look for concerning the False Prophet.
So, when will “the end” come? Let’s see what 1 Cor 15:20-26 says:
But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep (dead). 21 For since by a man came death, by a man also came the standing up from the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, (Remember the 5 parts of the Parousia, coming, in Part IV?) This is addressing the dead, those who are asleep.
24 then comes the end, when He, Jesus, hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death (death is not destroyed until Rev. 20:14, after the Millennial Kingdom.) NASU
When all of the “whens” have occurred, then comes the end!
WHAT IS A PERSON?
This is a question that I never imagined would need answering in my Christian walk with God and my Lord, Jesus Christ.
First of all, how is “person” defined? In my “American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language” it is defined as:
- A living human being, especially as distinguished from an animal or thing.
- The composite of characteristics that make up an individual personality.
- An individual of some specified character.
- The living body of a human being
- (my addition) consists of flesh and bones, have a body and are called people
From here we need to define “individual:”
- a. Of or relating to a single human being. b. By or for one person
- Existing as a distinct entity; single; separate.
- Distinguished by particular attributes; distinctive.
- Indivisible as an entity; inseparable
The reason this question has arisen is because of the subject of the Holy Spirit. There is an overwhelming amount of misunderstanding on this subject. The primary reason for this misunderstanding is because of a three letter word that is called an article in English grammar. An “article” is defined as:
- Any of a class of words used to signal nouns and to specify their application. In English the articles are a and an (indefinite articles) and the (definite article).
Yes, you guessed it we are talking about the article “THE.” The misplacement of this little word has caused no end of confusion. Translators are responsible for this and they will one day answer for it. What the definite article “the” does when it comes to the subject of holy spirit, is determine the capitalization or not, of the words that follow it. Some people might say, “what’s the big deal, what difference does it make?” Well, in biblical circles it is a really big deal. For example, when there is no article “the” before the words pneuma hagion, spirit or ghost and holy, it should not be capitalized, distinguishing it from when the article does appear. The difference between the Holy Spirit and holy spirit, is the Giver and the gift. God is holy and God is spirit = the Holy Spirit and that which God gives to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is holy spirit, his gift. God gives what “HE” is.
This brings us to defining spirit, what is it? In the Greek it is the word pneuma from which we get the word pneumatic. Pneuma is used 379 times in the New Testament and it means;
- NT:4151 from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy Spirit: (Biblesoft’s New Exhaustive Strong’s Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
Pneumatic tools are powered by compressed air. Air is everywhere and generally it is invisible, untouchable and unseen. Why is God called the Holy Spirit? Because there are a lot of Unholy spirits. All spirits are not holy, which is why God distinguishes “Himself” from them, with the use of Holy. You will notice how I have been putting male pronouns in reference to God in quote marks. The reason I am doing this is to note that these references are in fact figures of speech. God is spirit and spirit has not flesh and bones as people have: Jesus says in Luke 24:37-39:
37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?
39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
KJV
The figure of speech Anthroopatheia or Condescension, is ascribing to God what belongs to human and rational beings. Furthermore, Moses tells us that “God is not a man (‘iysh, a man as an individual or a male person), that he should lie; neither the son of man (‘adam, a human being), that he should repent.” Nu 23:19. Any and all human characteristics attributed to God or the Holy Spirit is a figure of speech and not literal.
Therefore there is no way in God’s creation that The Holy Spirit, The Giver, who is God Himself can be a Person, a living human being with flesh and bones. To believe that a spirit of any kind, holy or not, is a person, is foundational-less thinking. It is completely illogical and God is all about logic.
Okay, let us take a look at the first usage of the words “Holy Spirit or Ghost” used together, Matt 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. KJV You will notice that I italicized the words added by the translators. The article “the” before the words Holy Ghost was added, therefore it should read “she was found with child of holy spirit.”
Let’s look at the 2nd usage in Matt 1:20b “….for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.” Here again “the” was added. It should read, “for that which is conceived in her is of holy spirit.”
Let’s look at the 3rd usage (you can see that I am not “cherry-picking” verses to support my position). Matt 3:11: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:”It should read: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with holy spirit and fire:” If we were baptized by the Holy Spirit, we would be disintegrated! Instead we are baptized with a part of that which He is, not “He Himself.” (Note here another misunderstood concept, holy spirit and fire is the figure speech Hendiadys, which means Two for One; two words used but one thing meant).
Now let’s look at what we get from God who is the Holiest of the Spirits: Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? KJV There is no article “the” in the texts so it should read “give holy spirit,” the gift. Luke 1:15 says John the Baptist would be filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb. No article “the” there either. He was filled with the gift of holy spirit. The words “holy ghost” are used 90 times and it’s your job to figure out how many of these are the Giver and how many are the Gift.
You need a Greek Interlinear or a PC Bible program like mine from Biblesoft in order to see these fraudulent errors that Satan has perpetrated through translators of the Bible. Our Bibles today are not the Word of God as God originally moved holy men of God, who wrote it, but with Computer Bible software, we can get back to the original God-breathed Word. This is one reason why the Church needs Teachers like me who have a ministry to convey the truth. It is not my responsibility that you learn anything, that is up to you and God. I plant and I water, but it is God who gives the increase.
You can reject everything I say but once I have said it and once you have read it, you are responsible to God for it, just as I am. You can be rewarded at the Bema for believing it or suffer loss for rejecting it. The majority will not rule at the Judgment Seat of Christ as we will all stand alone. You will not be able to blame what you believed here on earth on your pastor, your spouse or anyone else.
To see more on Figures of speech in the Bible go to the link below to see that I am not the only good Teacher around:
http://www.ewbullingerbooks.com/Catalog/e-w-bullinger-figures-of-speech-used-in-the-bible.htm
GOD BLESS!
REVIVAL: ARE YOU REALLY READY FOR IT?
A lot of people have been talking about how much a Revival in the church is needed. I couldn’t agree more but think it is next to impossible, if not impossible.There are many reasons I think it is impossible since the church is so far removed from the precepts of the 1st Century Church. For example :
- The True Church is the Body of Christ, not the bride of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:27
- It was to be built upon the foundation of Paul, not the 4 Gospels, 1 Cor. 3:10-12
- Jesus was born, came into existence, as a descendant of David, Mt. 1:1
- He did not preexist his birth or live before he was born, not reincarnated Mt. 1:18
- God is not in control of the world, Satan is, 2 Cor. 4:4, Lk. 4:6
- the Holy Spirit is not something separate from God, but is God; Ps. 99:9, Jn. 4:24,
- God is the Holy Spirit while the devil is the unholy spirit
- the dead in Christ are dead, along with every other person who has lived and died, 1 Thess. 4:16, Job 14:12, Ps. 13:3, Acts 13:36, 1 Cor. 11:30
- water baptism serves no purpose other than an “emotional” high and was replaced by “spirit” baptism, Acts 1:8, 11:16
- The Secret, as revealed to Paul by the ascended Christ, is all but unknown to the church, let alone understood, Eph. 3:1-9, Ro. 16:25,26, Col. 1:25-29
- Jesus, before his ascension, was limited in knowledge, Mt. 16:28, 24:36, Mk. 9:1, 13:32, Lk. 9:27
- there is nothing written in the 4 Gospels about the Rapture, it is part of the Secret, first revealed to Paul, 2 Thess. 2:1-3
- what is written in the gospels that the church thinks is about the Rapture, is in reality the 2nd coming of Christ, when the Church comes with him to the earth, 2 Thess. 1:7b-10
- this is when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords, Rev 17:14, 19:16
- the Kingdom of God, when His Son Jesus will be King, will be set up after the battle of Armagedon, in Israel, for 1,000 years,
- the Kingdom of God and of His Son is still in the future, not on the earth today
- the 9 manifestations of the Spirit (miscalled gifts) are to be in operation in every church, all the time, that the Church may be edified, 1 Cor. 14:5,12,26
- the “equipping” ministries are to be in operation in the church for its edifying also, Eph. 4:12,16,29
- the Temple is the entire Body of Christ, not the individual, the individual is the tabernacle, 2 Cor. 5:1-4
These are but a few of the the things that today’s church have been mislead to believe or not to believe. How can there possibly any profitable revival when so much error is being practiced in the church? The word revival begins with “re” meaning to do again, do over. Here are a few definitions of revival:
- The act of reviving, or the state of being revived.
- Renewed attention to something, as to letters or literature.
- Renewed performance of, or interest in, something, as the drama and literature.
- Renewed interest in religion, after indifference and decline; a period of religious awakening; special religious interest.
The Church of the Body of Christ definitely needs a “do-over,” I will agree. But how many are willing to throw away 1700 years of error, steeped in tradition to do so? Our only hope is the gathering together of the saints, when Christ will settle it all at the Bema, where those who built upon the foundation Paul laid will be rewarded and those who did not will suffer loss. 1 Cor. 3
(see more on this subject at https://fredSwolfe.com)
Whom Do Men Say That I Am?
This is one of the more important questions Jesus asked his disciples. Here is the text:
Mark 8:27-31
And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am?
28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.
KJV
We can see here that the Christ, Christos and the Son of man are synonymous.
The devil knew Jesus was the Son of God, Mt. 4. Devil spirits knew he was the Son of God as well, Mt. 8:29, Mk. 3:11. Martha believed it as well, Jn. 11:26.
Yet, today most of Christianity believes something entirely different. The reason it is so critical to know and believe who Jesus Christ was and is, is because it is foundational. The apostle Paul laid the foundation for the Christian Church:
1 Cor 3:10-15
As an expert builder using the grace that God gave me, I laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each person must be careful how he builds on it. 11 After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that is Jesus the Messiah. 12 Whether a person builds on this foundation with gold, silver, expensive stones, wood, hay, or straw, 13 the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s action. 14 If what a person has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If his work is burned up, he will suffer loss. However, he himself will be saved, but it will be like going through fire.
ISV
If you believe that Jesus Christ is someone other than who he is your work that you are building is not “in Christ,” and consequently you will suffer the loss of rewards because of it. You will still be saved but you may be a little singed!
Some men have told me, “I would rather have 1700 years of church history on my side to support what I believe.” Really? There will be no pointing fingers at the Judgment seat of Christ, sorry. You will be all alone and solely accountable. All that matters is believing what the Word of God says, not history.
Num 23:19
“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
NASU
Who do you believe Jesus is?
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