The word mediocre is defined as:
Of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; BARELY adequate.
We use this word to describe the efforts of those who do not apply themselves to a task at hand. We use this word to describe our children's efforts when they bring home report cards laden with C's. But could this word also be applied to a more celestial figure, namely Jesus?
How do we know if something is mediocre? A label of mediocrity can only be applied when a purpose/task is defined. Therefore, if the leadership of the CEO of a company produces break-even results for the fiscal year and profitability was the task then we can label the CEO as mediocre. So what does this have to do with Jesus?
What was Jesus' purpose?
Why was Jesus born? For what reason was Jesus sent? What was Jesus' purpose?:
1 John 3:8b
The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.
Here we have the clearly defined purpose of Jesus. This is the reason for his coming. The reason was 'to destroy the works of the devil'. But what does that mean? We can only know if Jesus is fulfilling the task if we understand the task. So what does it mean to destroy the works of the devil? The word destroy here is the Greek word 'luo' and it means to 'to reverse the result of tying by untying - to untie, to loosen'. Okay now we have clarity; so Jesus' reason for coming to earth was to REVERSE THE EFFECTS of the devil. So when did Satan begin to have an effect over mankind? It began in the garden and it was at the point of the fall of man that Satan began his work.
What does the work of Satan produce in mankind?
We can see the effects of evil all around us. Murder, hypocrisy, fornication, and every other thing that God regards as sin. The results of this effect is shown in the bible:
1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
Ephesians 2:2
...in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
2 Timothy 2:26
...and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
Revelation 12:9
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
From these verse we can confirm that the works of the devil are:
Corrupting the whole world
Working in the sons of disobedience
Captivating mankind to do his will
Deceiving the whole world
From these we can further deduce that this is the cause of the condition of our world today. Now we can precipitate a definition for the works of the devil:
The devil works in mankind holding them captive and deceiving them, thus binding them to corruption and rendering them disobedient.
This is the work of Satan.
Is Jesus fulfilling his purpose?
If the purpose of Jesus is to UNDO the effects of the devil, I ask you, honestly, is he effective at that task? Consider that by Christianity's measurement there are BILLIONS of souls in hell RIGHT NOW.. Why are they there? Well they are there because they are unsaved. So if there are billions unsaved and Jesus' purpose was to undo the effects of the devil that MUST mean that he is mediocre. But we have a problem, consider:
Isaiah 55:11
So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
God is speaking here and he is saying something important. Who is the WORD OF GOD?:
John 1:14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The word of God IS Jesus. Okay, so what does God say about this Word?:
'It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.'
Okay, so what is the desire of God? To UNDO ALL (not SOME but all) that the devil has done. What has the devil done to mankind? He 'holds them captive, deceiving them, thus binding them to corruption and rendering them disobedient'. My question to you is, do any die in this bound up state? Yes, billions do. So what does that mean? It means either Jesus is mediocre (only ABLE to save a few) or that there is work yet to be accomplished in the future.
Yeah, but...
I can hear it now, the fervent cries of free will! Okay consider this analogy. You go to the store to purchase a toaster. You do this because you want toasted bread. You unbox the toaster, plug it in and begin to toast. Question, why do you use a toaster to do this? Because a toaster IS SUPPOSE TO TOAST BREAD! That is its PURPOSE. Now imagine if you will this brand new toaster begins toasting, and out of ten slices of bread the toaster ONLY toasts four slices. What do you do? Do you take the six slices of bread back to the bakery and say 'Mr. Baker sir, this here bread don't toast'? That would be ridiculous because you would KNOW that that CAPACITY to toast bread was NOT IN THE BREAD ITSELF. That capacity is ONLY found in the toaster. If we applied our ideas of salvation to the bread we think that the toasting process had SOMETHING to do with the bread. When in fact:
Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
The grace is from GOD and the faith is from JESUS. And to further deny you ANY part in this process he says:
Ephesians 2:9
...not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This 'not a result of works' includes your so called 'acceptance' of him. The work of Jesus is to 'toast' every man. Consider:
Mark 9:49
“For everyone will be salted with fire.
So will Jesus be successful in his work of UNDOING all the works of the devil? We have these witnesses:
1 Timothy 4:10
For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
A greater witness is this:
1 John 4:14
We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
And since the Word of God 'will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it', I DARE TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL SAVE THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!
Monday, November 21, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Sheol Contradiction
The word hell is used 31 times in the King James version of the Old Testament. Each one of those times the word hell is translated from the Hebrew word Sheol. The problem is that there should be some correlation between the number of times that hell is used and the number of times Sheol is present. The word Sheol shows up in the Old Testament a total of 65 times. Okay here is the issue, if Sheol is translated hell then how do we have hell 31 times but Sheol 65 times. Shouldn't there be a closer reconciliation?
Let us at this time define the meaning of the word Sheol. Sheol is defined as: a place to which people descend at death, a grave. This is cause for concern. Consider how the word was used at its first mention in the bible:
Genesis 37:35
Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
This passage is talking about the time when Jacob thought that he had lost his son. It tells us that Jacob lamented that he will go down to Sheol in mourning. What is more interesting is that the King James version translates Sheol in this instance as grave and herein is the contradiction. Research will show that the word Sheol is translated hell in some instances and grave in others; but does this even make sense? Look at the definition of the word grave:
A place where a dead body is buried. It is essentially a hole in the ground where a dead body is buried
Okay let's get a definition of the word hell:
A place of everlasting fiery punishment in the afterlife
Now there are instances where a word can have more than one meaning, but can ANYONE tell me how ONE word can mean a hole in the ground AND AT THE SAME TIME mean a place of fire and burning and punishment no end!!!! Are these concepts even interchangeable? The first person to tell me that these things are ONLY understood in the spirit will get a VIRTUAL SLAP!!! Consider:
Where is John Smith? He died and we buried him. (Grave)
Where is John Smith? He died and he is burning forever in a fiery hell hole. (Hell)
One question, was there a shortage of words that necessitated the Hebrews to cause the word Sheol to do double duty? How would they EVER be able to communicate? How would they ever know to what the other person was referring; heaven help us if it was written down and used in a sentence because a whole council would have to be called just to interpret!
The King James interpreters ran up against this problem pretty early on as they now had a dilemma. If Sheol is to be translated as hell (a place of everlasting burning) then how could it be used in connection with the righteous of the Old Testament:
2 Samuel 22:6
The cords of Sheol/HELL surrounded me (David); The snares of death confronted me.
Here is a funny one:
1 Kings 2:6
So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.
According to this verse it is possible to go down to HELL in PEACE. Seriously?
Oh and don't forget Job:
Job 14:13
“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol/HELL, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
How bad was Job's trials that he BEGGED God to send him to a place of everlasting burning and torment! DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE??? Job's plea was, Oh God I am in a bad place now but I beg you to send me to an even worse place. Not only that but it appears that you could escape hell:
Psalms 86:13
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol/HELL.
I guess this isn't strange since Jonah went there for three days:
Jonah 2:2
...and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol/HELL; You heard my voice.
So which is it? Can we finally put to rest this contradiction? Is Sheol a place of everlasting fiery punishment or is it the grave?
How would they know?
If Sheol was a place of everlasting torment how would the Hebrews come to know this? THINK ABOUT IT. There is no account where some Hebrew had a near death experience and came back and said 'hey you guys, that Sheol, let me tell ya that place is no joke'. Seriously, how would they know? Since this is a place that wicked people supposedly went to after death how would the know? The only way for them to know is for God to tell them. Well, did God EVER DESCRIBE Sheol as a place of torment? Where did God ever clue the Hebrews into the fact that Sheol is a place of fiery torment? Remember that this word was first used in the bible by Jacob, but when was it first used by God?
Isaiah 5:14
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
Okay this is ridiculous. This is the first time that God utters the word Sheol. He used it in connection with Jerusalem's splendor. Now this is important; can we deduce from the way that God uses this word that he is talking about some fiery place filled with burning wicked? On top of this he WAITS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF MAN TO EVEN MENTION THE WORD! It would be a matter of great importance for man to know that when he dies in his sin that he would go to a fiery hell hole forever dontcha think? Wouldn't God WANT TO WARN people of their fate? Or does he say upon death when he is casting them into fire 'oh did I forget to mention that you are going to be tormented here for EVER and EVER.
The concept of hell is NOT articulated by God or ANY of his prophets in the Old Testament. So how did the translators come to substitue Sheol in some places for the word hell? The world knew what a grave was, they had been digging them since the fall of man. It would require knowledge BEYOND what could be seen in the natural to grant an understanding of hell. The Hebrews, by the time God used the word, had been using it for thousands of years. To them it meant a hole in the ground to put the dead, nothing more. It is used THROUGHOUT the Old Testament to mean just that; you can prove this by just substituting the King James usage of hell in the Old Testament for grave and IT MAKES SENSE EVERY TIME.
What is the wages/ punishment for sin?
In my post 'The mystery of the second death' I show clearly God's ultimate punishment for sin. He NEVER told Adam that the punishment for sin would be an eternity in a fiery pit. God said that the punishment for sin is the cessation of life. That's IT; the price for sinning is DEATH. The translators who translated the word Sheol to hell will have much to answer for on the day in which God will judge the world and so will the purveyors of this teaching.
(PLEASE DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME, God will further judge the wicked when he submits them to the second death. This second death is where the wicked will undergo God's obedience program (see my post on The purpose of the Lake of Fire))
What are the implications of this understanding?
If Sheol can ONLY mean the grave then we have been duped. We have been conveying to the world the idea that God punishes sin with an eternity of burning, and we have been using Sheol as a vehicle to do it.
But doesn't the New Testament talk about hell?
Let me ask you a question. Jesus shows up on the scene about four thousand years after the fall of man. By this time MILLIONS of people have died. Could he at this time introduce to mankind a fresh new idea of how God punishes sin? At some point he would have to say to the crowd 'Oh by the way, we didn't get to mention this earlier but when you die you don't REALLY die but you go to a fiery pit where you burn forever'. WHAT, YOUR JUST TELLING US THIS NOW!!!!! Remember that to them Sheol was the grave, could Jesus now come on the scene and CHANGE this definition?
True to form the translators continued their destructive tactics in their work in the New Testament, but we can now see their error. Since we now know Sheol to be the grave can we use this information to offer clarity in the New Testament?
Acts 2:27
...Because You will not abandon my soul to Hell, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
Oh you translators, this passage of scripture is taken from the book of Psalms and there the word Sheol is used. In the New Testament where it is written in Greek the word is Hades. Based on this then we can conclude that whenever the New Testament mentions Hades it is synonymous with the Hebrew word Sheol. Now just how many times is the word Hades used in the New Testament? Ten times; and do you know that the KJV rendered the word HADES as HELL each of these times?
See what is happening here is that there was and effort to transmit a doctrine and not a translation. This is important to know because in doing so we have LOST a great understanding. Consider:
Matthew 16:18
I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell will not overpower it.
Upon reading this most Christians have fanciful ideas of Satan seeking to overcome the church with the gates of hell. What is lost here is Jesus telling the church that the gates of HADES/SHEOL/GRAVE will not be able to overpower his church. This was no rallying cry to beat back the forces of the devil, but it was a reassurance that death will not be a PERMANENT STATE for the church. It was a promise that the power of God will rob the grave of its power over the saints by RESURRECTION.
We also lose an essential understanding here:
Revelation 20:14
Then death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Again Christians have ideas of God taking up hell, filled with the wicked, and throwing it into a supposedly bigger fire. But if you understand that HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE you realize that this is a wonderful picture of God bringing an END to death.
When you understand the equation HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE you can come to see just how specific the word of God is. Consider:
Revelation 20:13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Has everyone who has ever died on the earth buried in the earth? No, because some people died at sea. Therefore the scripture says that the sea gives up its dead and Hades which is the grave which is a HOLE IN THE GROUND gave up its dead.
It is based on the fact that HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE that we can finally conclude that the story that Jesus gave of the rich man and Lazarus was indeed a PARABLE. This is evident because to the hearers of this story they knew immediately that Sheol meant the grave and since one is dead in a grave one could not LITERALLY lift up ones eyes and see anything! (see my post 'You shall not surely die...')
God inspired the use of the word Hades to be synonymous with Sheol, because he wanted New Testament followers to understand them to mean the same thing. The only word left that the translators translate as hell is the word Gehenna (Oh what a versatile word HELL is). In my paper 'The mystery of the second death' I tried to show where Jesus' use of the concept of Gehenna is in fact the book of Revelations Lake of Fire. In my post 'The purpose of the Lake of Fire' I prove where the lake of fire is the place where ALL the enemies of God are MADE TO BE OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.
I am made to wonder about this doctrine of hell when I consider the following:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
Let us at this time define the meaning of the word Sheol. Sheol is defined as: a place to which people descend at death, a grave. This is cause for concern. Consider how the word was used at its first mention in the bible:
Genesis 37:35
Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
This passage is talking about the time when Jacob thought that he had lost his son. It tells us that Jacob lamented that he will go down to Sheol in mourning. What is more interesting is that the King James version translates Sheol in this instance as grave and herein is the contradiction. Research will show that the word Sheol is translated hell in some instances and grave in others; but does this even make sense? Look at the definition of the word grave:
A place where a dead body is buried. It is essentially a hole in the ground where a dead body is buried
Okay let's get a definition of the word hell:
A place of everlasting fiery punishment in the afterlife
Now there are instances where a word can have more than one meaning, but can ANYONE tell me how ONE word can mean a hole in the ground AND AT THE SAME TIME mean a place of fire and burning and punishment no end!!!! Are these concepts even interchangeable? The first person to tell me that these things are ONLY understood in the spirit will get a VIRTUAL SLAP!!! Consider:
Where is John Smith? He died and we buried him. (Grave)
Where is John Smith? He died and he is burning forever in a fiery hell hole. (Hell)
One question, was there a shortage of words that necessitated the Hebrews to cause the word Sheol to do double duty? How would they EVER be able to communicate? How would they ever know to what the other person was referring; heaven help us if it was written down and used in a sentence because a whole council would have to be called just to interpret!
The King James interpreters ran up against this problem pretty early on as they now had a dilemma. If Sheol is to be translated as hell (a place of everlasting burning) then how could it be used in connection with the righteous of the Old Testament:
2 Samuel 22:6
The cords of Sheol/HELL surrounded me (David); The snares of death confronted me.
Here is a funny one:
1 Kings 2:6
So act according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to Sheol in peace.
According to this verse it is possible to go down to HELL in PEACE. Seriously?
Oh and don't forget Job:
Job 14:13
“Oh that You would hide me in Sheol/HELL, That You would conceal me until Your wrath returns to You, That You would set a limit for me and remember me!
How bad was Job's trials that he BEGGED God to send him to a place of everlasting burning and torment! DOES THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE??? Job's plea was, Oh God I am in a bad place now but I beg you to send me to an even worse place. Not only that but it appears that you could escape hell:
Psalms 86:13
For Your lovingkindness toward me is great, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol/HELL.
I guess this isn't strange since Jonah went there for three days:
Jonah 2:2
...and he said, “I called out of my distress to the Lord, And He answered me. I cried for help from the depth of Sheol/HELL; You heard my voice.
So which is it? Can we finally put to rest this contradiction? Is Sheol a place of everlasting fiery punishment or is it the grave?
How would they know?
If Sheol was a place of everlasting torment how would the Hebrews come to know this? THINK ABOUT IT. There is no account where some Hebrew had a near death experience and came back and said 'hey you guys, that Sheol, let me tell ya that place is no joke'. Seriously, how would they know? Since this is a place that wicked people supposedly went to after death how would the know? The only way for them to know is for God to tell them. Well, did God EVER DESCRIBE Sheol as a place of torment? Where did God ever clue the Hebrews into the fact that Sheol is a place of fiery torment? Remember that this word was first used in the bible by Jacob, but when was it first used by God?
Isaiah 5:14
Therefore Sheol has enlarged its throat and opened its mouth without measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her din of revelry and the jubilant within her, descend into it.
Okay this is ridiculous. This is the first time that God utters the word Sheol. He used it in connection with Jerusalem's splendor. Now this is important; can we deduce from the way that God uses this word that he is talking about some fiery place filled with burning wicked? On top of this he WAITS THOUSANDS OF YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF MAN TO EVEN MENTION THE WORD! It would be a matter of great importance for man to know that when he dies in his sin that he would go to a fiery hell hole forever dontcha think? Wouldn't God WANT TO WARN people of their fate? Or does he say upon death when he is casting them into fire 'oh did I forget to mention that you are going to be tormented here for EVER and EVER.
The concept of hell is NOT articulated by God or ANY of his prophets in the Old Testament. So how did the translators come to substitue Sheol in some places for the word hell? The world knew what a grave was, they had been digging them since the fall of man. It would require knowledge BEYOND what could be seen in the natural to grant an understanding of hell. The Hebrews, by the time God used the word, had been using it for thousands of years. To them it meant a hole in the ground to put the dead, nothing more. It is used THROUGHOUT the Old Testament to mean just that; you can prove this by just substituting the King James usage of hell in the Old Testament for grave and IT MAKES SENSE EVERY TIME.
What is the wages/ punishment for sin?
In my post 'The mystery of the second death' I show clearly God's ultimate punishment for sin. He NEVER told Adam that the punishment for sin would be an eternity in a fiery pit. God said that the punishment for sin is the cessation of life. That's IT; the price for sinning is DEATH. The translators who translated the word Sheol to hell will have much to answer for on the day in which God will judge the world and so will the purveyors of this teaching.
(PLEASE DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME, God will further judge the wicked when he submits them to the second death. This second death is where the wicked will undergo God's obedience program (see my post on The purpose of the Lake of Fire))
What are the implications of this understanding?
If Sheol can ONLY mean the grave then we have been duped. We have been conveying to the world the idea that God punishes sin with an eternity of burning, and we have been using Sheol as a vehicle to do it.
But doesn't the New Testament talk about hell?
Let me ask you a question. Jesus shows up on the scene about four thousand years after the fall of man. By this time MILLIONS of people have died. Could he at this time introduce to mankind a fresh new idea of how God punishes sin? At some point he would have to say to the crowd 'Oh by the way, we didn't get to mention this earlier but when you die you don't REALLY die but you go to a fiery pit where you burn forever'. WHAT, YOUR JUST TELLING US THIS NOW!!!!! Remember that to them Sheol was the grave, could Jesus now come on the scene and CHANGE this definition?
True to form the translators continued their destructive tactics in their work in the New Testament, but we can now see their error. Since we now know Sheol to be the grave can we use this information to offer clarity in the New Testament?
Acts 2:27
...Because You will not abandon my soul to Hell, Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
Oh you translators, this passage of scripture is taken from the book of Psalms and there the word Sheol is used. In the New Testament where it is written in Greek the word is Hades. Based on this then we can conclude that whenever the New Testament mentions Hades it is synonymous with the Hebrew word Sheol. Now just how many times is the word Hades used in the New Testament? Ten times; and do you know that the KJV rendered the word HADES as HELL each of these times?
See what is happening here is that there was and effort to transmit a doctrine and not a translation. This is important to know because in doing so we have LOST a great understanding. Consider:
Matthew 16:18
I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hell will not overpower it.
Upon reading this most Christians have fanciful ideas of Satan seeking to overcome the church with the gates of hell. What is lost here is Jesus telling the church that the gates of HADES/SHEOL/GRAVE will not be able to overpower his church. This was no rallying cry to beat back the forces of the devil, but it was a reassurance that death will not be a PERMANENT STATE for the church. It was a promise that the power of God will rob the grave of its power over the saints by RESURRECTION.
We also lose an essential understanding here:
Revelation 20:14
Then death and Hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
Again Christians have ideas of God taking up hell, filled with the wicked, and throwing it into a supposedly bigger fire. But if you understand that HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE you realize that this is a wonderful picture of God bringing an END to death.
When you understand the equation HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE you can come to see just how specific the word of God is. Consider:
Revelation 20:13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
Has everyone who has ever died on the earth buried in the earth? No, because some people died at sea. Therefore the scripture says that the sea gives up its dead and Hades which is the grave which is a HOLE IN THE GROUND gave up its dead.
It is based on the fact that HADES=SHEOL=GRAVE that we can finally conclude that the story that Jesus gave of the rich man and Lazarus was indeed a PARABLE. This is evident because to the hearers of this story they knew immediately that Sheol meant the grave and since one is dead in a grave one could not LITERALLY lift up ones eyes and see anything! (see my post 'You shall not surely die...')
God inspired the use of the word Hades to be synonymous with Sheol, because he wanted New Testament followers to understand them to mean the same thing. The only word left that the translators translate as hell is the word Gehenna (Oh what a versatile word HELL is). In my paper 'The mystery of the second death' I tried to show where Jesus' use of the concept of Gehenna is in fact the book of Revelations Lake of Fire. In my post 'The purpose of the Lake of Fire' I prove where the lake of fire is the place where ALL the enemies of God are MADE TO BE OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.
I am made to wonder about this doctrine of hell when I consider the following:
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Laying up treasures.
The parable that Jesus gives in Luke 12 is most awesome in that it DIRECTLY confronts the wisdom of the world and a destructive heresy adopted by the church. The parable is of a rich man who was able to amass a considerable amount of wealth. The parable addresses what the man does with the wealth:
Luke 12:16
16 And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was very productive.
Nothing wrong here is there? In fact it was God who had blessed the land of the man so that it could bring forth a great harvest.
Luke 12:17-18
17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? 18 Then he said, This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
These verses completely describes the wisdom of this world and the church has adopted these concepts as 'wisdom'. In response to an abundance of wealth the man initiated a retirement plan. Note that he was NOT a profligate, but one who introduced a REASONED response that ANY PERSON WOULD CONSIDER RESPONSIBLE. He was preparing for the future. Well isn't that what we are supposed to do? Isn't this wisdom? Aren't we suppose to save and invest for when we are not able to work?
Luke 12:19
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.
According to our wisdom, and yes this IS the wisdom that has been adopted by much of the church, the state of the man in verse nineteen is EXACTLY the goal we aspire too. This is NOTHING MORE THAN A REASONABLE RETIREMENT PLAN. In fact this is what passes as sensible. This is what makes God's statement all the more troubling:
Luke 12:20
20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?
God calls this man a fool! He calls a man that is doing what is called wisdom a fool. But WHY?:
Luke 12:21
21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Jesus CONDEMNS the actions of this man because the man was not being what he calls 'rich toward God'. All the efforts of this man was summed up by Jesus as wanting. He had a plan that he acted on, he was not a profligate, he save responsibly ; all things that we accept as wisdom. God calls FOOLISH!!! What is more flabbergasting is that in this verse Jesus says that storing up treasures is not the same thing as being rich toward God. Now what follows in the very next verse is what God calls wisdom:
Luke 12:22-23
22 And He said to His disciples, For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
THIS IS INSANE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING! Jesus just castigated a SOLID RESPONSIBLE case of financial planning calling it FOOLISH and he counters with the above verses. Jesus tells us NOT to worry about our lives. So EVERYTHING that this man did by responsibly securing for his future was what Jesus would determine WORRY. I tremble as I contemplate these words because this is saying that our ideas on how we should order our financial steps are an affront to God. In fact what Jesus is advocating here is a carefree lifestyle where we do not do the things that are determined as good sense and we adopt this lifestyle that he calls 'rich towards God' and does not involve storing up and saving for the future. What about my children's college tuition? Shouldn't I store up for this? Or what about retirement? What about my future? Jesus does not console us in our insecurities but goes on to talk about ravens and lilies and concludes by saying:
Luke 12:28
28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
God calls a life where NOTHING is secure and NOTHING is paid for in advance and NOTHING is responsibly prepared a life of faith. So how are we SUPPOSED to acquire all the things we need:
Luke 12:29-31
29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
He tells us to NOT be responsible as the world understands in fact he calls that worrying. He tells us to cast that all aside and seek his kingdom and somehow all the other things will be added to us. WOW, now isn't that a kick in the head!!!! That requires FAITH. Now I see why Jesus asks the question:
When the Son of man comes will he find faith on the earth?
Can you live like this? Can you live irresponsibly? I invite you to walk on the side of faith because after all:
Whatever is NOT of faith is sin. Roman 14:23
Jesus continues:
Luke 12:32
32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
The reason he says to you not to be afraid is because the life that he just described would cause you to fear because one would only have faith in a God that he could not see in order to live a life of promise. But now comes the hard part. How does one acquire a life that is rich toward God:
Luke 12:33
33 Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
Luke 12:16
16 And He told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man was very productive.
Nothing wrong here is there? In fact it was God who had blessed the land of the man so that it could bring forth a great harvest.
Luke 12:17-18
17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops? 18 Then he said, This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.
These verses completely describes the wisdom of this world and the church has adopted these concepts as 'wisdom'. In response to an abundance of wealth the man initiated a retirement plan. Note that he was NOT a profligate, but one who introduced a REASONED response that ANY PERSON WOULD CONSIDER RESPONSIBLE. He was preparing for the future. Well isn't that what we are supposed to do? Isn't this wisdom? Aren't we suppose to save and invest for when we are not able to work?
Luke 12:19
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.
According to our wisdom, and yes this IS the wisdom that has been adopted by much of the church, the state of the man in verse nineteen is EXACTLY the goal we aspire too. This is NOTHING MORE THAN A REASONABLE RETIREMENT PLAN. In fact this is what passes as sensible. This is what makes God's statement all the more troubling:
Luke 12:20
20 But God said to him, You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?
God calls this man a fool! He calls a man that is doing what is called wisdom a fool. But WHY?:
Luke 12:21
21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
Jesus CONDEMNS the actions of this man because the man was not being what he calls 'rich toward God'. All the efforts of this man was summed up by Jesus as wanting. He had a plan that he acted on, he was not a profligate, he save responsibly ; all things that we accept as wisdom. God calls FOOLISH!!! What is more flabbergasting is that in this verse Jesus says that storing up treasures is not the same thing as being rich toward God. Now what follows in the very next verse is what God calls wisdom:
Luke 12:22-23
22 And He said to His disciples, For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
THIS IS INSANE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING! Jesus just castigated a SOLID RESPONSIBLE case of financial planning calling it FOOLISH and he counters with the above verses. Jesus tells us NOT to worry about our lives. So EVERYTHING that this man did by responsibly securing for his future was what Jesus would determine WORRY. I tremble as I contemplate these words because this is saying that our ideas on how we should order our financial steps are an affront to God. In fact what Jesus is advocating here is a carefree lifestyle where we do not do the things that are determined as good sense and we adopt this lifestyle that he calls 'rich towards God' and does not involve storing up and saving for the future. What about my children's college tuition? Shouldn't I store up for this? Or what about retirement? What about my future? Jesus does not console us in our insecurities but goes on to talk about ravens and lilies and concludes by saying:
Luke 12:28
28 But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
God calls a life where NOTHING is secure and NOTHING is paid for in advance and NOTHING is responsibly prepared a life of faith. So how are we SUPPOSED to acquire all the things we need:
Luke 12:29-31
29 And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
He tells us to NOT be responsible as the world understands in fact he calls that worrying. He tells us to cast that all aside and seek his kingdom and somehow all the other things will be added to us. WOW, now isn't that a kick in the head!!!! That requires FAITH. Now I see why Jesus asks the question:
When the Son of man comes will he find faith on the earth?
Can you live like this? Can you live irresponsibly? I invite you to walk on the side of faith because after all:
Whatever is NOT of faith is sin. Roman 14:23
Jesus continues:
Luke 12:32
32 Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
The reason he says to you not to be afraid is because the life that he just described would cause you to fear because one would only have faith in a God that he could not see in order to live a life of promise. But now comes the hard part. How does one acquire a life that is rich toward God:
Luke 12:33
33 Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The Mystery of the Second Death
What is God's ultimate punishment? In the mind of God what was the highest form of punishment that he could devise against mankind for sin? Christians the world over imagine an eternity in the fires of hell to be God's highest form of punishment. This is blasphemy! God is not a sadist; he does not find pleasure in torture NOR does it satisfy him. What does God regard as the greatest punishment for sin? Consider:
Genesis 2:17
...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely DIE.”
Here we see God explaining to Adam the consequences for sin. The answer to the question of God's ultimate punishment is DEATH. It is confirmed by Paul:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is DEATH...
Romans 1:32
...and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are WORTHY OF DEATH, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Romans 6:20-21
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? FOR THE OUTCOME OF THOSE THINGS IS DEATH.
So, we see that the highest form of punishment that God meets out to all mankind is death, or said another way the cessation of life. (My post titled 'You shall not surely die...' gives a clear understanding of the effects of death on the human being. In it I show that dead means dead). An understanding of how God punishes with death is essential for grasping the mystery of the 'second death' spoken of in the book of Revelation.
What happens after death?
The scriptures say what happens after death:
Hebrews 9:27
...And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Christians assume that judgment takes place immediately after you die, but what does the word of God say:
Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed A DAY, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained...
God tells us that he has appointed a day when he will judge the world. Judgment does not happen on the day you die but on the 'appointed day in which he will judge the world'. At the time of judgment what happens?
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Now, on the day that the wicked are resurrected we see that they are judged. Where does the judgement of God lead them?
Revelation 20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if ANYONE'S NAME was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE.
So where does the judgment of God lead them? TO DIE AGAIN of course; this is why it is called the SECOND DEATH.
What specifically is the lake of fire?
The Lake of Fire is the wrath of God fueled by his anger (It is important that you read my post on 'The purpose of the Lake of Fire' to get a seamless understanding here) , consider:
Romans 2:5
...But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Colossians 3:5-6
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things 'sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience
These verses show that the wrath of God is for the sons of disobedience; the bible also classifies them as 'the wicked'. This wrath is experienced in connection with judgment.
The wrath of God has different effects on different types of people.
This is a strange statement because most people think God an equal opportunity destroyer. But consider that the scriptures make a clear distinction regarding the wicked. All the wicked find their place in the Lake of Fire, but they experience it differently. For the purpose of this post let us offer a classification of the wicked:
Wicked 1.0
Wicked 2.0
The wicked 1.0 is your run of the mill unsaved, unredeemed, unbeliever from all of antiquity up until the time of the beast. The Wicked 2.0 is all those who 'worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand'.
Why was it necessary to use the word 'alive'?
Revelation 19:20
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown ALIVE into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
If all who experience this lake of fire are alive when they are cast into it then why is it necessary to distinguish that the beast and false prophet were cast in ALIVE?
Revelation 20:10
...and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages.
Where is it EVER written that ALL the people who are wicked are:
1- alive in the fire and brimstone
2- are tormented
The smoke of WHOSE torment ascended up for ages of ages?
Revelation 20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
What is the state of those who are thrown into the lake of fire? Are the alive or are they DEAD? Consider Jesus' words:
John 15:6
If anyone DOES NOT ABIDE in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and DRIES UP; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
This drying up is death. This branch is DEAD when it enters the fire to be burned.
Matthew 3:10
The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 7:19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
What happens when you cut down a tree? It dies.
Who is ALIVE when they are cast into the Lake of Fire?
1- the beast
2- the false prophet
3- Satan
4- those who take the mark of the beast and worship his image
Revelation 14:9-11
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends up to ages of ages: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The church upon reading this assumes that this is ALL the wicked. This is a VERY SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE! These people receive the WRATH OF GOD WITHOUT MIXTURE! THEY ARE ALIVE in the Lake of fire. Consider the use of the words 'without mixture'. This phrase denotes a CONCENTRATION of wrath. If wrath was only experienced in ONE FORM why would it be necessary to specify 'without mixture'?
THE SECOND DEATH (lake of fire) KILLS THE WICKED 1.0. They enter it DEAD. They are DEAD as the power of God's judgement SALTS them with fire. These are then made alive in Christ since there impurities will be burnt away. Those in the four categories listed above will get the FULL MEASURE OF THE WRATH OF GOD WITHOUT MIXTURE.
What is the end result of all these things?
Zephaniah 3:8-9
“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My INDIGNATION, All My BURNING ANGER; For all the earth will be devoured By the FIRE of My zeal. “For THEN I will give to the peoples purified lips, That ALL OF THEM may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
Genesis 2:17
...but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely DIE.”
Here we see God explaining to Adam the consequences for sin. The answer to the question of God's ultimate punishment is DEATH. It is confirmed by Paul:
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is DEATH...
Romans 1:32
...and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are WORTHY OF DEATH, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
Romans 6:20-21
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. Therefore what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? FOR THE OUTCOME OF THOSE THINGS IS DEATH.
So, we see that the highest form of punishment that God meets out to all mankind is death, or said another way the cessation of life. (My post titled 'You shall not surely die...' gives a clear understanding of the effects of death on the human being. In it I show that dead means dead). An understanding of how God punishes with death is essential for grasping the mystery of the 'second death' spoken of in the book of Revelation.
What happens after death?
The scriptures say what happens after death:
Hebrews 9:27
...And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
Christians assume that judgment takes place immediately after you die, but what does the word of God say:
Acts 17:31
Because he hath appointed A DAY, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained...
God tells us that he has appointed a day when he will judge the world. Judgment does not happen on the day you die but on the 'appointed day in which he will judge the world'. At the time of judgment what happens?
John 5:28-29
Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Now, on the day that the wicked are resurrected we see that they are judged. Where does the judgement of God lead them?
Revelation 20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if ANYONE'S NAME was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the LAKE OF FIRE.
So where does the judgment of God lead them? TO DIE AGAIN of course; this is why it is called the SECOND DEATH.
What specifically is the lake of fire?
The Lake of Fire is the wrath of God fueled by his anger (It is important that you read my post on 'The purpose of the Lake of Fire' to get a seamless understanding here) , consider:
Romans 2:5
...But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Colossians 3:5-6
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things 'sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience
These verses show that the wrath of God is for the sons of disobedience; the bible also classifies them as 'the wicked'. This wrath is experienced in connection with judgment.
The wrath of God has different effects on different types of people.
This is a strange statement because most people think God an equal opportunity destroyer. But consider that the scriptures make a clear distinction regarding the wicked. All the wicked find their place in the Lake of Fire, but they experience it differently. For the purpose of this post let us offer a classification of the wicked:
Wicked 1.0
Wicked 2.0
The wicked 1.0 is your run of the mill unsaved, unredeemed, unbeliever from all of antiquity up until the time of the beast. The Wicked 2.0 is all those who 'worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand'.
Why was it necessary to use the word 'alive'?
Revelation 19:20
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown ALIVE into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
If all who experience this lake of fire are alive when they are cast into it then why is it necessary to distinguish that the beast and false prophet were cast in ALIVE?
Revelation 20:10
...and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where [are] the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night -- to the ages of the ages.
Where is it EVER written that ALL the people who are wicked are:
1- alive in the fire and brimstone
2- are tormented
The smoke of WHOSE torment ascended up for ages of ages?
Revelation 20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 21:8
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
What is the state of those who are thrown into the lake of fire? Are the alive or are they DEAD? Consider Jesus' words:
John 15:6
If anyone DOES NOT ABIDE in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and DRIES UP; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
This drying up is death. This branch is DEAD when it enters the fire to be burned.
Matthew 3:10
The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 7:19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
What happens when you cut down a tree? It dies.
Who is ALIVE when they are cast into the Lake of Fire?
1- the beast
2- the false prophet
3- Satan
4- those who take the mark of the beast and worship his image
Revelation 14:9-11
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascends up to ages of ages: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
The church upon reading this assumes that this is ALL the wicked. This is a VERY SPECIFIC GROUP OF PEOPLE! These people receive the WRATH OF GOD WITHOUT MIXTURE! THEY ARE ALIVE in the Lake of fire. Consider the use of the words 'without mixture'. This phrase denotes a CONCENTRATION of wrath. If wrath was only experienced in ONE FORM why would it be necessary to specify 'without mixture'?
THE SECOND DEATH (lake of fire) KILLS THE WICKED 1.0. They enter it DEAD. They are DEAD as the power of God's judgement SALTS them with fire. These are then made alive in Christ since there impurities will be burnt away. Those in the four categories listed above will get the FULL MEASURE OF THE WRATH OF GOD WITHOUT MIXTURE.
What is the end result of all these things?
Zephaniah 3:8-9
“Therefore wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up as a witness. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, To assemble kingdoms, To pour out on them My INDIGNATION, All My BURNING ANGER; For all the earth will be devoured By the FIRE of My zeal. “For THEN I will give to the peoples purified lips, That ALL OF THEM may call on the name of the Lord, To serve Him shoulder to shoulder.
Friday, November 4, 2011
The Poison that is Pastoral Ministry
Have you ever wondered how a function (notice I said function and NOT office--more on this later) that is listed in the New Testament all of TWO times has become the dominant face of Christian work? The pastor has become the centerpiece of the body of Christ, but is this even scriptural? Consider this:
A man says that he has heard from God and has received a calling to 'ministry'. He then gathers a people unto himself. He becomes the repository of God's word to the people. He speaks to God on behalf of the people and to the people on behalf of God. He baptizes you, performs marriages and funerals. He becomes an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist and a healer. He eventually becomes quintessential; the 'be all and end all'.
One question. WHERE IS THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENCE FOR THIS? What if someone came to you and said that God has called them to a rocking ministry? You would be puzzled as you ask them just what is a rocking ministry? They tell you that a rocking ministry is where you walk up to an unbeliever and quietly rock back and forth, and the unbeliever would come to know Christ in this way. You would at least search the scriptures to see if there is any basis for a rocking ministry, wouldn't you? My point is that the scriptures are our point of reference for our lives, and should be the foundation of ALL our beliefs. That said there is no precedence for pastoral ministry as we have come to know it.
Functions not offices
A function for our purposes is defined as a role distinguished by a particular activity. An office is defined as a position of authority. The difference between the two is that one is concerned with action and the other is concerned with position.
God was particular in collectively comparing those born of God to a body. This is important to know; because the body though composed of different parts all the parts have FUNCTIONS. The clergy has taken on the role of OFFICES which is diametrically opposed to how a body works. Your liver functions WITHIN the body. This act of 'functioning within' is important in that it is DEPENDENT on OTHER functions to preform its function. This therefore creates INTERRELATIONSHIP and INTERDEPENDENCY within the body. The clergy acts as an OFFICE in that activities, people and works flow TO IT. The clergy/office system sets itself as the FOCAL POINT. The body has no focal point but ONE, and that is the head which is represented by Christ and not some pastor.
Temporary in function
Consider this:
Ephesians 4:11-16
...And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
The apostles: these functioned to establish the oracles of God. They were the foundation of the church. The apostles were purposed at establishing the accepted doctrine of the church. They gave the word of God to us. Their purpose was temporary, because once a foundation is set it DOES NOT CHANGE.
The prophet: his function is to provide the believer with a word of edification, exhortation and comfort. They were gifted by God to tell of the future. Their function is to, at the discretion of God, give us useful glimpses of the future to aid us in our lives. Their purpose is expressed intermittently and is by nature temporary.
The evangelist: his function was to go about spreading the good news of the gospel of God. They were gifted as they were able to lead persons to Christ through their preaching. After the person has been born of God he no longer is in need of the evangelist. Therefore his purpose is also temporary in the life of the believer.
The pastor/teacher: his purpose was to teach the people of God so that they can take all that the prophet, apostles and evangelist have shown them. They were to teach the ELEMENTARY truths of God. This teaching is to bring the person to the POINT OF MATURITY where they no longer are in need of milk. Their purpose was TEMPORARY.
By now you should have been...
Hebrews 5:12
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
The clergy system corrupts your development since it hinders and stops your maturity. A tree needs fertilizer while it is young, but as it matures the RESULT OF MATURITY is that it comes to a point where the tree is now able to absorb nutrients from the soil on its own. If cultivated correctly the tree now finds itself firmly anchored to the soil, and because of this deep relationship it is able to gain access to nutrients. This is important because it is no longer dependent on an external source (a farmer) for its continued growth but now is TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON THE SOIL. (Just as a side note, when the tree matures it switches the source of its dependency.) The clergy system ENSURES that you never arrive at this point, because you are always dependent on them to feed you. They have in effect usurped the relationship between God and his people.
The nature of solid food
Hebrews 5:13-14
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
When someone is mature enough to eat solid food that person is no longer dependent on SOMEONE ELSE to feed them. Babies are always in need of assistance in the way of feeding, because they are not mature. But when you mature to being able to eat solid food it is around that time when you become able to find and prepare your food yourself.
Milk comes from the breast of your mother. It has in it the necessary nutrients that helps your body to grow. It is suppose to bring your body to a point where YOU NO LONGER NEED IT. The mother in this case uses the milk to bring you to a point where YOU NO LONGER NEED HER, but where you become able to EAT SOLID FOOD. The thing though is that solid food DOES NOT COME OUT OF THE MOTHER'S BREAST. In this same way the function of the pastor can ONLY BRING YOU TO A POINT WHERE YOU ARE MATURE AND AT THAT POINT ONLY GOD CAN FEED YOU.
Remember the purpose
It is easy to forget that the pastor/teacher had a VERY distinct purpose, and it is a SHARED purpose that was accomplished in conjunction with all the other functions. What is that purpose?:
Ephesians 4:11-16
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Here we see that each of these functions were linked together, because TOGETHER they have ONE purpose and that is :
...for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; UNTIL we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Now what would be the RESULT of the accomplishment of this shared purpose:
...As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Do you see what was suppose to be the result of SUCCESSFUL functioning? Let me ask you, since the word of God says that this would be the result of the fulfillment of this shared purpose DO YOU SEE THIS ANYWHERE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST? The clergy system has produced NOTHING BUT children tossed here and there and easily tricked by schemes of men. But hold on there are more results:
...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Love? You mean to tell me that LOVE was supposed to be a result? WHERE? In addition, we were to 'grow up in all aspects into him who is head, even Christ'. Well monkey foot ARE YOU SERIOUS! How can this be when EVERY so called ministry under the sun thinks itself GOD's true one and only.
The point is that it is OBVIOUS that this clergy system FAILS us. It has NO basis in truth and is therefore ILLEGITIMATE. The functions described by Paul in Ephesians can find no place in our churches today. I have no doubt that God is restoring his established and sanctioned order and those whom he has called will see his light.
A man says that he has heard from God and has received a calling to 'ministry'. He then gathers a people unto himself. He becomes the repository of God's word to the people. He speaks to God on behalf of the people and to the people on behalf of God. He baptizes you, performs marriages and funerals. He becomes an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist and a healer. He eventually becomes quintessential; the 'be all and end all'.
One question. WHERE IS THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENCE FOR THIS? What if someone came to you and said that God has called them to a rocking ministry? You would be puzzled as you ask them just what is a rocking ministry? They tell you that a rocking ministry is where you walk up to an unbeliever and quietly rock back and forth, and the unbeliever would come to know Christ in this way. You would at least search the scriptures to see if there is any basis for a rocking ministry, wouldn't you? My point is that the scriptures are our point of reference for our lives, and should be the foundation of ALL our beliefs. That said there is no precedence for pastoral ministry as we have come to know it.
Functions not offices
A function for our purposes is defined as a role distinguished by a particular activity. An office is defined as a position of authority. The difference between the two is that one is concerned with action and the other is concerned with position.
God was particular in collectively comparing those born of God to a body. This is important to know; because the body though composed of different parts all the parts have FUNCTIONS. The clergy has taken on the role of OFFICES which is diametrically opposed to how a body works. Your liver functions WITHIN the body. This act of 'functioning within' is important in that it is DEPENDENT on OTHER functions to preform its function. This therefore creates INTERRELATIONSHIP and INTERDEPENDENCY within the body. The clergy acts as an OFFICE in that activities, people and works flow TO IT. The clergy/office system sets itself as the FOCAL POINT. The body has no focal point but ONE, and that is the head which is represented by Christ and not some pastor.
Temporary in function
Consider this:
Ephesians 4:11-16
...And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
The apostles: these functioned to establish the oracles of God. They were the foundation of the church. The apostles were purposed at establishing the accepted doctrine of the church. They gave the word of God to us. Their purpose was temporary, because once a foundation is set it DOES NOT CHANGE.
The prophet: his function is to provide the believer with a word of edification, exhortation and comfort. They were gifted by God to tell of the future. Their function is to, at the discretion of God, give us useful glimpses of the future to aid us in our lives. Their purpose is expressed intermittently and is by nature temporary.
The evangelist: his function was to go about spreading the good news of the gospel of God. They were gifted as they were able to lead persons to Christ through their preaching. After the person has been born of God he no longer is in need of the evangelist. Therefore his purpose is also temporary in the life of the believer.
The pastor/teacher: his purpose was to teach the people of God so that they can take all that the prophet, apostles and evangelist have shown them. They were to teach the ELEMENTARY truths of God. This teaching is to bring the person to the POINT OF MATURITY where they no longer are in need of milk. Their purpose was TEMPORARY.
By now you should have been...
Hebrews 5:12
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
The clergy system corrupts your development since it hinders and stops your maturity. A tree needs fertilizer while it is young, but as it matures the RESULT OF MATURITY is that it comes to a point where the tree is now able to absorb nutrients from the soil on its own. If cultivated correctly the tree now finds itself firmly anchored to the soil, and because of this deep relationship it is able to gain access to nutrients. This is important because it is no longer dependent on an external source (a farmer) for its continued growth but now is TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON THE SOIL. (Just as a side note, when the tree matures it switches the source of its dependency.) The clergy system ENSURES that you never arrive at this point, because you are always dependent on them to feed you. They have in effect usurped the relationship between God and his people.
The nature of solid food
Hebrews 5:13-14
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
When someone is mature enough to eat solid food that person is no longer dependent on SOMEONE ELSE to feed them. Babies are always in need of assistance in the way of feeding, because they are not mature. But when you mature to being able to eat solid food it is around that time when you become able to find and prepare your food yourself.
Milk comes from the breast of your mother. It has in it the necessary nutrients that helps your body to grow. It is suppose to bring your body to a point where YOU NO LONGER NEED IT. The mother in this case uses the milk to bring you to a point where YOU NO LONGER NEED HER, but where you become able to EAT SOLID FOOD. The thing though is that solid food DOES NOT COME OUT OF THE MOTHER'S BREAST. In this same way the function of the pastor can ONLY BRING YOU TO A POINT WHERE YOU ARE MATURE AND AT THAT POINT ONLY GOD CAN FEED YOU.
Remember the purpose
It is easy to forget that the pastor/teacher had a VERY distinct purpose, and it is a SHARED purpose that was accomplished in conjunction with all the other functions. What is that purpose?:
Ephesians 4:11-16
And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
Here we see that each of these functions were linked together, because TOGETHER they have ONE purpose and that is :
...for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; UNTIL we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
Now what would be the RESULT of the accomplishment of this shared purpose:
...As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
Do you see what was suppose to be the result of SUCCESSFUL functioning? Let me ask you, since the word of God says that this would be the result of the fulfillment of this shared purpose DO YOU SEE THIS ANYWHERE IN THE BODY OF CHRIST? The clergy system has produced NOTHING BUT children tossed here and there and easily tricked by schemes of men. But hold on there are more results:
...but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
Love? You mean to tell me that LOVE was supposed to be a result? WHERE? In addition, we were to 'grow up in all aspects into him who is head, even Christ'. Well monkey foot ARE YOU SERIOUS! How can this be when EVERY so called ministry under the sun thinks itself GOD's true one and only.
The point is that it is OBVIOUS that this clergy system FAILS us. It has NO basis in truth and is therefore ILLEGITIMATE. The functions described by Paul in Ephesians can find no place in our churches today. I have no doubt that God is restoring his established and sanctioned order and those whom he has called will see his light.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The last nail in the coffin of FREE WILL.
The REALITY: Man is a puppet
The PROBLEM: He cannot see the strings
The DELUSION: I am the master of my fate; the captain of my soul
The doctrine of free will is THE MOST destructive doctrine held by the church today. The doctrine goes something like this:
When God made man he put in him the ability to freely choose. This free will is what allows man to come to God or to refuse him.
This doctrine and variations of it has permeated the church, and has become the lynchpin for a host of heresies that in and of themselves CANNOT stand without it.
Can a person choose?
This is a valid question because if we are to lay to rest the teaching of free will this glaring reality must be addressed. The question 'can a person choose' is a good one, but it does not offer proof of free will. Yes, a person can choose; but the real question is 'Is a person FREE to choose'. As Christians we often see the world in black and white. To us there are those who are of God and those who are not. Let us examine the unbeliever.
Is the unbeliever free to choose?
We see the unbeliever as a reprobate CHOOSING to live a life of sin and refusing God. What does the bible say of him:
Psalms 51:5
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalms 58:3
The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth.
Here we have the BIBLICAL description of EVERY human EVER born. We are born NOT with a clean slate, but rather we are all born with a propensity to sin. Notice that the scripture does not tell us that we come to CHOOSE sin but that we are BORN sinners. Now since we are born this way what does this birth produce:
Ephesians 2:3
Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
Paul tells us that unbelievers 'live in the lust of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind'. Why is this? It is because they are 'BY NATURE CHILDREN OF WRATH'. Do you see that? Let me pose a question 'Are these people operating by their own will?'. Let the word of God answer:
2 Timothy 2:26
...and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
Do you see the condition of EVERY man born into the world. They are ALL being HELD CAPTIVE BY THE DEVIL TO DO HIS WILL. They are not performing their OWN will as the doctrine of free will purports. The bible says that they are in the SNARE of the devil. The word snare means trap. If you are in a trap ARE YOU FREE? Not only are they in a trap but they are being held captive to perform the WILL OF THE DEVIL. Do you see any freedom here? Whose will are they performing, their own or the devil's?
As you continue to grasp at the brittle threads of free will you may say 'well, they can escape at any time the want'. Oh really? The following verses tell us how they got into the trap in the first place and why:
Romans 11:32
For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.
Galatians 3:22
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
I have written before in the post 'Why do sinners sin' that the unbeliever can no more stop sinning than a blind man can avoid a ditch. God is the ONLY ONE who can set the sinner free from the captivity of Satan; NOT some FREE WILL. Consider:
2 Timothy 2:25
...with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, IF PERHAPS GOD may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,
But surely the Christian has free will doesn't he?
You may still want to cling to the heresy of free will by concluding that the Christian has free will since he is of God. NO HE DOES NOT. Consider this scripture:
Philippians 2:13
...for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Solomon understood this:
1 Kings 8:57-58
May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.
It is God doing then inclining! The Christian has been led to believe that it is he that is choosing to obey God by his own free will. Consider:
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has CAUSED us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
We are all slaves.
The New Testament uses the Greek word 'Doulos'. This word is translated as 'slave' in english. This is an important description because it helps us to understand how man operates. The word translated as slave means 'ONE WHO HAS NO WILL OF HIS OWN AND IS UNDER COMPLETE CONTROL OF ANOTHER'. Since this is the case we can see how the doctrine of free will can finally be defeated by the following:
Romans 6:15-22
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey –whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Remember that this 'offering' of ourselves to sin occurs at CONCEPTION. Let us continue:
...But thanks be to God that, though you USED to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Remember this obedience occurs BY GOD's WILL. Continue:
...You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
The Christian now is a slave, that is WITHOUT HIS OWN WILL, to righteousness. Notice that the condition of slavery does NOT cease; we simply move from one master to another. He continues:
...I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever- increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness.
Did you see that? Sinners are FREE FROM THE CONTROL OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Go on:
...What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.
There it is, the one born of God is himself a SLAVE to God. No free will here. In fact Paul takes it further in telling us thatWE ARE OWNED:
1 Corinthians 6:20
For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
I pray that God will grant you understanding as you too come to see that indeed we are ALWAYS slaves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)