The Place to Start...1
Our Purpose
The Messenger (Updated ~ 05/03/2011)
It has been wisely said that before considering the integrity of any information, one needs to consider the source. If an individual is understood to be a liar, what is the purpose in listening to anything they have to say? Biblically speaking, there is little reason for indulging a fool or a liar.
The Message
Therefore, when it comes to investigating the accuracy of any assertion, the first consideration is always the character of the person who provides the information. However, in the final analysis it should always be the message that is scrutinized, no matter who the messenger is. Many times opponents will seek to discredit the messenger in order to question the message, when in reality it is the truth of the message which in the end must stand on its own merit. Because, even a liar can speak the truth, and the truth should never be penalized because of the person proclaiming it.
Frame of Reference
In past centuries it was considered an act of integrity for a historian (who essentially is a teacher that presents information concerning the past) to present his own presupposition (which included his bias, prejudice, and frame of reference) "before" making his presentation to aid the learner in determining the accuracy and relevance of what was taught in light of the historian's worldview concerning the subject matter.
And while history is always to a certain point subjective in that it is "his"-story; it is in understanding the frame of reference of the presenter that the learner can evaluate the accuracy of what's being said. In reading a book which questions the Holocaust, it would be pertinent in first knowing that the author was an "SS" officer who maintained his rationality for "the final solution of the Jewish question," before determining the validity of any assertions that are made in the book, or that the book was even worth reading in the first place.
Principles - Not Personalities
As such, understanding who we are as a ministry becomes important not by focusing on an individual, but by creating a reference point in consideration of the validity of the information given. It is with this in mind that this page is dedicated. This web page, "About us," has more to do with the presuppositions & principles that are held by this ministry, known as our doctrinal statement; and less to do with the individuals' particular histories. It is our doctrinal statement that should be evaluated as the messenger of what is being said, however, it is the validity of the information that is presented that should be the final consideration.
The Real Battle
It is the heartfelt desire of this ministry that believers living in this day and age would dig deep into God's Word, not only reading it, but studying it; maturing from a place of the consumption of milk to the digestion of the meat of God's Word. The enemy of our soul (Lucifer / Devil / Satan), who in past centuries primarily focused his attention on attacking the castle from the outside; has in these last days made his greatest encroachments by disguising himself (or his emissaries) as one of us (2 Corinthians 11:13-15), attempting to talk the guards into opening the gate from the inside.
While Satan conducts dual attacks, those on the outside blatantly demanding that "God is dead;" the real harm is what takes place inside of the kingdom. It is the dumbing down of Christianity which in the final analysis robs the church of its power. It is when believers stop digging deep into God's Word concerning doctrine, that those things that build Christian maturity ("the mind of Christ" ~ 1 Corinthians 2:1-16), fall by the wayside, yielding to greater carnality, seen in self-indulgence and self-centeredness. This all occurring during a time when Christians have access to more teaching aids and tools than any other time in history, yet there is greater ignorance concerning the deeper issues of the Christian walk, and less application of those insights than any other time.
Our Purpose
There are three foundational issues that this ministry is concerned with maintaining, they are:
The preeminence of Jesus Christ (addressed in Part 1 of "Something to Think About")
The authority of God's Word (addressed in Part 2 of "Something to Think About")
The comprehension of authentic Biblical faith (addressed in Part 1 & 2 of "Faith?)
These foundational issues are addressed in propagating the gospel (Matt. 28:19-20); wherein the preeminence of Christ (Joh. 5:39), and the affirmation that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God (Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:23; Matt. 24:35), and that Biblical faith is the catalyst and source of faith ("faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" ~ Romans 10:17; "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" ~ 1 Peter 1:23), are supreme.
Wherein, these first two issues are firmly established within orthodox Christianity, it is this issue of Bible faith that has many times suffered due to improper focus on self and experience; rather than by meticulously examining God's Word, in which it becomes obvious that the author wrote from outside our time domain, knowing the "ending from the beginning" (Isaiah 41:22-26; 43:9; 45:21; 46:9-10); whereby establishing a faith that increases based upon God's Word, rather than by experientialism or emotionalism (which is walking by our senses - yet we are to: "walk by faith, not by sight" ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7).
It is only rationale, according to God's design that as the believer witnesses God moving within their life that faith increases, yet this is anecdotal, and never meant to be the foundation of Christianity. It is a shame that so many people are hooked on the icing at the expense of the validity of the cake, and when trials and tribulations occur (which they will), many of these individuals will display an inability to truly trust God when all seems lost, because the foundation of their faith, was not based primarily upon God's Word, but upon their experience (They have believed the lie that good things happen to good people ~ which is a humanist, un-biblical mindset. It is because of sin in the world that bad things happen to good people, and that good things happen to bad people [Matthew 5:45]. The Bible teaches that God is the Boss [Romans 9:14-21], and it is His Will that is righteous; and that because of man's freedom and choice to sin, life became unfair because the world became a sinful place, and there is nothing more unfair than that. To introduce complete righteousness back to the world; sin and by extension mankind, who is sinful would have to be destroyed. This is what will eventually occur with the creation of a "New Heaven" and a "New Earth" [Revelation 21:1 &2] but only after God has given sinful men an opportunity to come back to Him through grace by faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross, a substitution for man's sin. Injustice and sin are allowed to exist because of love, God's love for man; because to destroy sin mandates the distraction of sinful mankind. This is why the silliness of the scoffers question of "how can a good God allow evil to exist" is so ironic, the answer is - LOVE.).
Key to the Text
Within these essays, grammatical terms, such as: verbs, nouns, verbal nouns, prepositions, conjunctions, participles; as well as: tense, mood, voice, person, number, case, gender, are identified by the use of non-italicized and non-bold light blue font. Foreign language words (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, and Latin) are shown in italicized and bold light blue fonts. Endnote reference numbers are displayed in bold light blue small fonts, in superscript. The author's writing style and teaching method indulges in run-on sentences, colored text for emphasis; and (mammoth parentheses, which are presented in gray font [the use of parentheses within parentheses are done in brackets identified in violet font]). The use of expansive Endnotes at the bottom of each essay are sometimes meant to be a lesson in itself. The author seeks to teach about many different subjects, while presenting information on a singular topic. This type of teaching is also subject to repetitious presentations, in order to foster remembrance (as per: Phil. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:12-13, 3:1-2); all in an effort to display the congruence found in God's Word as seen across the spectrum of sixty-six books which are a single volume (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:1-2; Acts 20:27), with a single author; God, concerning His Will for man (Heb. 4:12-13; 2 Tim. 3:15-17); all in the desire to aid in pointing out the Biblical reasons for having faith in the God of the Bible, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
What We Believe2
Christianity
Christianity is a religious system centered (1 Corinthians 3:11; Hebrews 10:7) on the life (John 21:25; Romans 5:6-11), teaching (Matthew 13:34-35), and most importantly the atoning death (Romans 5:8-12; 2 Corinthians 5:18; 5:19; Romans 3:25) of Jesus of Nazareth, a historical individual presented in the New Testament.
Therefore, it is the New Testament Bible (Latin: biblia sacra = "holy book") that is the founding document upon which Christianity stands or falls (1 Corinthians 2:13; 14:37; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20; 1 Thessalonians 2:4, 14). And according to the overt teachings of the New Testament, which is established upon the foundation of the Old Testament (Matthew 5:17; Luke 24:27) Scriptures (Hebrew: Tenach or Tanakh = The Hebrew Scriptures; in Greek, "The Pentateuch"), fulfilling those things that God has uttered since the foundation of the earth (1 Peter 1:18-20; Hebrews 1:1-3) to humanity, following the choice of God to interact with a man named Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-6; 17:1-8), a Hebrew ("crossed over ~ ["the river"?]), then by prophetic extension through Abraham's descendents (Genesis 21:12; Hebrews 11:18; Romans 9:7; Genesis 22:17; 26:2-5) who became a nation known as Israel (Isaiah 43:1).
God promised a divine anointed deliverer ("anointed" = Psalm 2:2, Daniel 9:25-26) referred to as the Messiah ("anointed ~ ["One"]), revealed to be Jesus Christ of Nazareth; who by the shedding of His blood became the atonement (Romans 5:11; "covering": Exodus 30:10) for man's sin (during His First Coming). God utilized the Holy Spirit to lay the foundation of the church (Greek: ecclesia = "out of," "a calling" "assembly"; Greek: kuriakos = "the Lord's), and to inspire the apostles to communicate the fullness of the gospel ("Good News") of Jesus Christ, known as the New Testament, and so working within humanity by indwelling believers, God fulfills the mystery of His Will until the completion of all things (Matthew 13:35; 1 Peter 1:18-23).
The Word of God
The Bible3 is the sole (OT = Deuteronomy 4:2; NT = Revelation 22:18-19) document for which Christianity is to be based, and is complete and without need of addition (Jude 1:3 "...once [for all ~ completely and singularly] delivered to the saints").
The Bible (“Word of God”) is the complete and only authority of God’s revelation to man. We believe in the...
• Biblical Inspiration, which is the doctrine in Christian theology (Greek: theo = "god," logy = "study or science" ~ "the study of God") which teaches the divine origin of the Bible. The Bible teaches its own divine inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).
• Plenary Verbal Inspiration, which asserts that God inspired the complete (plenary means: "full" or "complete") text of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, including both historical and doctrinal details. The word verbal affirms the idea that the inspiration extends to the very words the writers chose (Acts 20:27; 1:16).
• Biblical Inerrancy, which is the doctrinal position that in its original form, the Bible is totally without errors; neither errors of fact (material errors), nor internal contradictions (formal errors), both of which refer to the complete accuracy of Scripture (Hebrews 4:12).
• Biblical Infallibility, which is the doctrinal position concerning the subjective consequences of divine inspiration; that is, the Bible is reliable and trustworthy to all who turn to it in search of God's truth. Biblical inerrancy and infallibility may be distinguished, but not separated (Hebrews 4:13).
• Imperfect Transmission, inerrancy is generally attributed only to the original autographs, and recognizes the attention of imperfections inherent in their transmission: copying, translations (such as, a cult's intentional mistranslations in order to produce their own bibles that say what they wanted to say as opposed to what was originally written), et al., and the potential cultural, historical, and rhetorical gaps between the writer and the reader (misunderstanding due to a lack of insight into Hebraic, Greek, and Aramaic idioms, nomenclature, and rhetorical devices), due to a misunderstanding of the idioms used (an example ~ 1 Corinthians 9:20).
The Godhead
There is One God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10-11), Creator of all things (Isaiah 42:5; 45:12), infinitely perfect and eternally existing (Psalm 41:13; 90:2) in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).
The term "Trinity" and "persons," as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures are words in harmony with the Scripture, whereby we convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the being of God, as distinguished from "gods many and Lords many."
We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God, who is one Lord, as a Trinity or as One Being of three persons, and still be absolutely Scriptural (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
But we acknowledge that a finite man should have trouble defining an infinite God and are humbled in the attempt.
Christ taught a distinction of persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, yet as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible (Luke 1:35; 1 Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 11:25-27; 28:19; 1 John 1:1-3).
There is unity of the One Being of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Accordingly, there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Ghost which constitutes Him the Holy Ghost and not either the Father or the Son. Wherefore the Father is the Begetter, the Son is the Begotten; the Holy Ghost is the One proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty (John 1:18; 15:26; 17:11, 21) and His name is One (Zechariah 14:9).
There is identity and cooperation in the Godhead. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are never identical as to personage; nor is there confusion as to relationship; nor is there division in respect to the Godhead; nor opposition as to cooperation. Concerning the relationship of the Father and Son:
• The Son is with the Father and the Father is in the Son, as to relationship.
• The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship.
• The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority.
Hence, neither one of these Persons of the Godhead either exist or works separately or independently of each other (John 5:17-37; John 8:17-19), nor is there division or opposition concerning the Holy Spirit (yet there is less information provided about the Holy Spirit, which is in subjection to God's Will in regards to the anonymity He holds). We believe...
The Father
God the Father is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalms 40:10;1 John 1:9), pure (Psalm 12:6) and true (Psalm 119:160); while also merciful (Nehemiah 9:31; Psalm 103:8) and forgiving to His own (Psalm 103:17), yet righteous and just (Psalm 11:7; 19:9), beyond human understanding (Romans 11:34); all present (Psalm 139:8), all powerful (Isaiah 40:26) and all knowing (Acts 1518; Romans 11:33); beyond compare or contrast.
The Son
Jesus Christ is preeminent in the Bible (John 5:39), which presents Him as God incarnate (John 1:1-3), Messiah of Israel (Daniel 9:26), and Savior of the world (Luke 2:11; 2 Timothy 1:10), who according to God's Will (Acts 2:22-24) was crucified for our sins (1 John 4:10) making atonement for mankind (Romans 5:11; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21); was buried, and bodily resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39).
That Jesus was conceived of the Holy Ghost (Luke 3:22) and born of the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:27), was predicted in over 300 Old Testament passages (Hebrews 10:7) as the deliverer (Romans 11:26) of mankind, sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21). He is presently seated with His Father, on His Father's Throne (Hebrews 8:1; 12:2), and will return to establish His Kingdom on the Planet Earth where He will rule on His own throne (Luke 1:21; Revelation 3:21) for a thousand years (Revelation 20:6). The biblical doctrine of preeminence belongs solely to Jesus Christ, and is seen in the following areas:
• The title, "Lord Jesus Christ"
The appellation, "Lord Jesus Christ," is a proper name (found over 116 times). In the New Testament it is never applied to either the Holy Spirit or the Father, and therefore belongs exclusively to Jesus of Nazareth (Romans 1:1-3, 7; 2 John 1:3).
• The Lord Jesus Christ, "God with Us"
The Lord Jesus Christ, as to His divine and eternal nature, is the proper and only begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper "Son of Man." He is, therefore, acknowledged to be both totally God and totally man (beyond human understanding, because to do so would lower Him to our level); who because He is God and man is "Emmanuel," meaning: "God with us" (Matthew 1:23;1 John 4:2, 10, 14; Revelation 1:13, 17-18).
• The title, "Son of God"
Since the name "Emmanuel" embraces both God and man in the One Person, the Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title "Son of Man," describes His proper humanity, wherein the "Son of God" refers to His deity. Therefore, the title, "Son of God," belongs to the order of eternity, and the title the "Son of Man" to the order of time (Hebrews 1:1-13; Matthew 1:21-23; 2 John 1:3; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 7: 3). Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of deity, and to give Him all the honor and glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead (except those which express relationship as noted above) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father (John 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:8; Revelation 5:6-14; Philippians 2:8-9; Revelation 4:8-11; 7:9-10).
• Transgression of the Doctrine of Christ
Wherefore, it is a transgression of the Doctrine of Christ to say that Jesus Christ derived the title, "Son of God" solely from the fact of the incarnation, or because of His relation to the economy of redemption.
Therefore, to deny that the Son is a real and eternal Son, is to deny that the Father is a real and eternal Father, and therein a denial of the distinction and relationship in the Being of God; and a displacement of the truth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh (2 John 1:9; John 1:1-2, 14, 18, 29, 49; 1 John 2:22-23, 4:1-5; Hebrews 12:2).
• Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord
The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; angels and principalities and powers (ranking entities created by God mainly known as Angels: "messengers" - Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 2:15) having been made subject under Him (Colossians 1:16; Titus 3:1).
And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Ghost that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall make everything become subject to the Father, that God may be all in all (Hebrews 1:3; 1 Peter 3:22; Acts 2:32-36; Romans 14:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
• Equal honor to the Father and to the Son
Wherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of deity, and to give Him all the honor and glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead (except those which express relationship as noted above) and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father (John 5:22-23; 1 Peter 1:8; Revelation 5:6-14; Philippians 2:8-9; Revelation 4:8-11; 7:9-10).
The Holy Ghost
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 5:7), an individual whose ministry is to glorify our Lord Jesus Christ in anonymity (John 16:13-14), to convict men ("reprove" ~ John 16:8), regenerate the believing sinner (Titus 3:5), and indwell (John 3:5; 14:17), guide and instruct (John 14:26), and empower believers (Luke 24:49), equipping the Saints (Greek: hagios = "set apart ones") for the work of the ministry (Greek: diakonua = "service") of the church (Ephesians 4:11-12).
Man
Man was originally created in the image of God (Adam alone was created in God's Holy image: Genesis 1:26-27; ~ You & I are created in the image of fallen man, who was originally created in God's Holy image), and given a free will; freely chose to disobey God (Romans 5:12-19) by refusing to display trust in God and His ability to deal with the sin (Greek: hamartia = "missing the mark") of the woman Eve and so became a fallen or sinful creature. Therefore, as the lineage of man flows from Adam after the fall and whereby having sin introduced into humanity: "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
Salvation
Salvation is by grace through faith, and faith alone (Ephesians 2:8), which is complete reliance upon God (in the shed blood of Jesus Christ ~ Luke 22:20); referred to as the gospel, ("good news" is defined in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) concerning God's propitiation ("appeasing God's wrath" that we would be reconciled to Him ~ Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10) for sin (Greek: hamartia = "missing the mark") in the form of the sacrificial and atoning (taking our place by covering our sins and paying the price for them) death of His Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6) in order to impute (declare it legally acquitted) onto man undeserved forgiveness ("mercy" ~ 1 Peter 1:3; 2:10; Romans 11:30-32).
Faith gives man what man did not deserve ("grace" ~ Hebrews 4:16; 1 Peter 4:10; Titus 2:11; 3:7) by being adopted as sons and daughters (Ephesians 1:5; Galatians 4:5), sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:23; 4:30), and that this faith (Greek: Písteuo? = "to believe to the point that behavior is changed based upon that belief" ~ Hebrews 10:38; Galatians 3:11;- better yet Hebrews 11:1-40) which is the foundation of a relationship with God, culminates in repentance of sin ("to change one's mind" = "to put one's trust in God and to believe Him as opposed to perdition" ~ Mark 1:15; [REPENTANCE IS NOT A MERE VERBAL CONFESSION - IT IS A CHANGING OF A PERSON'S MINDSET - TRANSFORMING FROM MAN'S SINFUL SELF RELIANCE & PRIDE TO TRUSTING SOLEY UPON & IN GOD, AS ACCORDING TO HIS WORD], it is far more than stopping a particular sin - it is life changing because a person's whole belief system changes), which is a synonym for Biblical faith (in that believing what the Gospel says about sin and changing a person's direction from going their own way to God's way concerning sin and salvation is repentance), which displays a full committed reliance upon God (Matthew 6:8; 6:25-34), not based upon human (Proverbs 3:5) perceptions (2 Corinthians 5:7), nor contingent upon human effort (Ephesians 2:9), but fully and completely grounded in faith alone (Hebrews 11:6) wherein God chooses to make us right with Himself (Romans 3:24).
Faith is more than mere belief, which is cognitive (James 2:19), and is always seen in behaviors which display (James 2:17-18) this trust (Psalms 23:4), yet never presumptuous concerning (1 Thessalonians 5:17) petition (1 John 5:14:”... according to His will"), used as a tool to attempt to manipulate God simply to receive self serving desires (James 4:3), it is the vehicle by which Christ lives in our hearts (Ephesians 3:17; 1 Peter 3:15).
Faith is a lifestyle (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:39), commonly referred to as a walk (Romans 4:12), which is seen in habitual behaviors displaying this reliance (1 Peter 5:6-7) upon God (James 2: 14) as opposed to self (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Faith is to be based upon God's Word as opposed to experience. While experience may add to faith, if a person's faith is based solely or even mainly upon experience (which can be common these days), then it is based upon human senses (the word experience mandates the use of the five senses ~ human senses), which are inconsistent and this is opposed in Scripture ("for we walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Cor. 5:7). Experience can be misunderstood, deceitful, and inconsistent; yet God's Word is none of these. Experience is subjective at its best, and misleading at its worst. It is only when experience is based solely upon God's Word and not human interpretation or intuition that experience can be utilized rationally.
It is this author's primary presupposition that by analyzing God's Word and identifying the internal inexplicable, enigmatic, unfathomable, and incomprehensible insights that are found in and below the text, that the only conceivable explanation is that this book could not have been engineered by human contrivance. Therefore, the only rational conclusion is that the Bible is divinely designed and authored by God (men were the scribes, using their own words that were engrafted by the Holy Spirit, something only God could do), and that if God wrote a book this proves His existence. And that due to the infallibility of this book - it is solely worthy as the only guide for our daily walk. And based on this infallible "Word of God;" faith (faith - there is no other virtue known to man that pleases God [Heb. 11:6], therefore, it is faith that deserves our unending attention in learning how to please God more and more) is achieved by reading and studying it (salvation starts with God's Word ["Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" ~ 1 Peter 1:23] and grows with God's Word). Romans 10:17 states: "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by [through] the Word of God"
Water Baptism
Water Baptism is by water immersion, which is biblically commanded (Acts 10:48) as an outward expression ("declaration") of our personal understanding of being saved by Jesus' sacrifice and of being united in God's family (baptism: "being immersed / combined with" ~ in God), and understood to be a sacrament of the Church (Matthew 28:19).
The Lord's Supper
The Lord's Supper is an outward expression (1 Corinthians 11:24) of the believer celebrating Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in place of the sinner until Christ's return. This is to be observed until Christ returns, and is understood to be a sacrament of the Church (Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:24-27).
The Church
The Church of God is the "body of Christ;" composed of those individuals who through personal faith in Jesus Christ have been indwelt (John 1417), regenerated (Titus 3:5), sanctified (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:26; Hebrews 13:12), empowered (Acts 1:8), and equipped by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:11); in order to fulfill the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:11-12) as ordained by Jesus Christ until the day in which He gathers the church, those "out called ones" ("belonging to the Lord") to Himself.
The Rapture
The Rapture (Greek: harpazo = "caught up," to be "snatched away by force" ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:17) is the imminent ("soon..., and without warning"), return of Jesus Christ in the clouds (Acts 1:9 ~ Luke 21:27), not to the Earth, yet to the atmosphere to draw the believers to Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:17) to take back with Him to heaven until all is fulfilled and He returns with His Saints to the Earth itself.
The following Scriptures reference support the Rapture: John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-15; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 5:1-5-9; 2 Thess. 2:3-5; 2 Thess. 2:1-2; 2 Thess. 2:6-8; 2 Thess. 2:9-11; Jude 1:14 (the only explanation for Christ coming with His Saints at His second coming, is that the Saints were are ready caught up with Him prior to this event).
If the doctrine of the Rapture is a myth, then by necessity, after His first coming to die for the sins of the world, Christ would only return one other time, which we call "the 2nd Coming of Christ" - it would be a one-time occurrence. Therefore, if they are our descriptions of 2 quite different events concerning Christ's returning to earth (once only to the air / clouds [1 Thess. 4:17]; and the other to touch His feet upon the ground [Luke 17:30] ~ ), then by necessity one of those must be the Rapture. It needs to be remembered that the 2nd coming is with Jesus touching upon the Earth, where as the Rapture is Jesus' only coming in the air and collecting His own to take back with Him to heaven prior to the seven-year period referred to as the Tribulation.
The tribulation is a 7 year period of time in which there is a distinction between the first 3 and a half years in the second 3 and half years. During the first 3 and a half years, the Antichrist sets up his rulership, and makes a 7 year covenant, most likely referred to as a treaty with Israel. Halfway through the treaty, 3 and a half years after the start of the tribulation is when he reveals his true identity because of the behaviors which the Bible attributes to the individual we refer to as the Antichrist. This last half of the tribulation (3 1/2 of the years) which is the time referred in the OT as: "Jacob's Trouble's" (Jer. 30:7 ~ Matt. 24:3, Mk. 13:3) is a time in which Great Tribulation is normally recognized due to the severity of events and is a time so terrible which has never been known before upon the earth, nor never after (Matt. 24:21). In considering the doctrine of the Rapture, perhaps the best tool of examination of this doctrine is that of comparison and contrast.
Rapture Second Coming
Translation of believers No translation
Translated saints go to heaven Translated Saints return to earth
Earth is not judged Earth is judged
Eminent – any moment Follows defined predicted signs
Sign-less Has Signs
Not in the Old Testament Predicted in the Old Testament
Affects believers only Affects all men
Before the day of wrath Concludes the day of wrath
No reference to Satan Satan is bound
Jesus comes for His own Jesus comes with His own
Jesus comes to the air (Clouds) Jesus comes to earth (Mount of Olives)
Jesus comes to claim His bride Jesus comes with His bride
Only His own see Him Every eye shall see Him
Great tribulation begins Millennium begins
Church believers only Old Testament saved raised later
The following Scriptures display the differences between the Rapture & the Second Coming:
The Rapture The Second Coming
John 14:1-3 Daniel 2:44-45
Romans 8:19 Daniel 7:9-14
1 Cor 1:7-8 Daniel 12:1-3
1 Cor 15:1-53 Zech 14:1-15
1 Cor 16:22 Matt 13:41
Phil 3:20-21 Matt 24:15-31
Col 3:4 Matt 26:64
1 Thess 1:10 Mark 13:14-27
1 Thess 2:19 Mark 14:62
1 Thess 4:13-18 Luke 21:25-28
1 Thess 5:9 Acts 1:9-11
1 Thess 5:23 Acts 3:19-21
2 Thess 2:1, (3?) 1 Thess 3:13
1 Tim 6:14 2 Thess 1:6-10
2 Tim 4:1 2 Thess 2:8
Titus 2:13 2 Peter 3:1-14
Heb 9:28 Jude 14-15
James 5:7-9 Rev 1:7
1 Peter 1:7, 13 Rev 19:11-20:6
1 John 2:28-3:2 Rev 22:7, 12, 20
Jude 21
Rev 2:25
Rev 3:10
Eschatological Timeline
1. The Rapture (1 Thess. 4:17)
2. The Judgment Seat ("Bema Seat") of Christ (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10)
3. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rev_19:7)
4. The Second Coming of Christ (Luk_17:30)
5. The Judgment of the Nations - Sheep & Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
6. Satan Bound for 1000 Years (Rev_20:3)
7. The Final Judgment - White Throne (Rev_20:11)
8. The New Jerusalem (Rev_21:2)
The Second Coming of Christ
The Second Coming of Christ is the personal return of Jesus Christ (Revelation 19:11) to and on the Earth to fulfill all prophecies concerning God's Will in judging the world and establishing His millennial (Greek: chilliasm "thousand") kingdom. Every eye shall see Him (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7, Revelation 19:11-21).
The Millennium
The Millennial Kingdom of Christ is 1000 year period (Revelation 20:4) in which Jesus will literally fulfill (Luke 1:21; Revelation 3:21) those predictions that the Messiah would rule over Israel upon David's throne. A time at which Christ and those chosen believers will rule (Revelation 20:6) on Earth from Jerusalem, where Satan will be bound (Revelation 20:2) and then loosed at the end (Revelation 20:3), and will culminate in the white throne judgment of unbelievers (Revelation 20:5).
The Great Resurrection
The Great Resurrection of the dead (and those alive as well) to either everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; or to the White Throne Judgment of the unbeliever to eternal and everlasting conscious punishment in hell (1 Corinthians 15:42; Revelation 20:5; Hebrews 6:2; Philippians 3:11).
Who We Are
• The goal of the original parent corporate ministry was that of fulfilling Jesus' words as recorded in Matthew 25:35-45, and of following James' admonishment as recorded in James 1:27; by seeking to meet the needs of the impoverished and needy, to present the Gospel to them by providing Bibles and literature to orphans, widows, prisoners, and the indigent. The idea was that of freely meeting the needs of those (Matthew 10:8) who could not afford to pay for it themselves, and to help those individuals who are many times neglected by the church. It is one thing to pastor a church that has become self-sufficient according to the tithes of the parishioners; it's quite another thing to give away resources and money to those who can never pay it back (Luke 6:33-35).
• The means by which this ministry would seek to fulfill this goal mandated that they would not solicit funding, nor utilize marketing or other man-made tools of gathering finance, but that they would pray and work for the finances themselves (Acts 20:34; 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 ["12b"]), or that God would provide in His own way, thus this ministry would be completely dependent upon God to meet all financial necessities. Therefore, they would not solicit funding, nor make their needs known as an act of faith that God alone would supply their necessities.
Fund-Raising Styles
It has been pointed out that there are basically three ways of funding ministry as noted by the approaches of three individuals; Dwight Moody, Hudson Taylor, and George Mueller.
• As was Dwight Moody's (1837-1899) habit, when he would reach a town in which he was conducting a revival, the first thing he would do is ask who was the richest man in town, and then go to that man's house and demand that he donate funds for the revival.
Moody used: Aggressive prayer, gave full information, and made aggressive solicitation.
Moody said: "I show my faith when I go to men and state to them the needs of the Lord’s work and ask them to give to it."
Moody’s church was the largest in the entire city of Chicago. During the Chicago World's Fair, 1893, Moody conducted meetings in the largest halls in the city and with the assistance of famous preachers from all over the world; millions heard the gospel preached during this campaign.
• Hudson Taylor (1832-1905), who founded the "China Inland Mission," and served as a missionary to China from 1854 until his death in 1905, was known for his refusal to solicit funds; only making known his plans, yet without making mention of the financial aspect. Taylor modeled his fund raising after the example of George Mueller.
Taylor used: Aggressive prayer, provided limited information, and made no solicitation.
Taylor said, "The apostolic plan was not to raise ways and means but to go and do the work, trusting His promise who said, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. We have $.87 and all the promises of God."
Hudson started a ministry through which over 800 missionaries served in China under the auspices of the China Inland Mission under Taylor’s leadership of prayer and faith.
• George Mueller (1805-1898), founded and directed 5 orphans' homes in England during a time of there worst financial depression. When millions were dying, especially children who were orphaned by their parents and dying in the streets because of starvation. He was perhaps the most well-known “faith mission” proponent. Mueller never accepted a salary, even while pastoring a 1,200 member church. He never asked for donations, nor published his needs or the needs of the orphanages, yet miracle after miracle occurred with people supplying the needs of the orphans according to God' miraculous power.
Mueller used: Aggressive prayer, provided no information, and made no solicitation.
Mueller said, "It is not enough to obtain means for the work of God, but that these means should be obtained in God’s way. To ask unbelievers for means is not God’s way. To press even believers to give is not God’s way; but the duty and privilege of being allowed to contribute to the work of God should be pointed out, and this should be followed up with earnest prayer, believing prayer, and will result in the desired end."
In the course of his life Mueller received from the pious and charitable no less than 1,500,000£ ($7,200,000); he educated and sent out into the world no fewer than 123,000 pupils; he circulated 275,000 Bibles in different languages, with nearly as many smaller portions of Scripture; and he aided missions to the extent of 255,000 pounds. He supported 189 missionaries, and he employed 112 assistants.
Parent Corporate Ministry
The original parent ministry, "Flying for Jesus Outreach Ministries," was incorporated in 1979 as a federally recognized 501(c)(3) religious organization that functioned as a public charity. It, along with all subsequent corporations which came from it, followed George Mueller's example concerning the support of the ministry by not soliciting finances, nor publishing needs.
This was their means for addressing the goal that God had placed upon their hearts; and one of their main ways of reaching their goal was to utilize small aircraft to fly into the South American villages to hand out Bibles and literature; and present the gospel of Jesus Christ (hence the corporation's name).
Also, they started a jail and prison ministry in the Oakland California area, along with other ministries to help the indigent. In order to meet their finances they maintained 3 thrift stores which produced income to support the ministry. The CEO was tragically killed in an airplane accident which destroyed the ministry's aircraft and rendered the ministry's aviation outreach untenable, this eventually changed the focus of the ministry and led to its relocation to Reno, Nevada in 1988.
Change in Focus
To aid in facilitating the ministries new direction, I, Brent Bolin became the new CEO, with its corporation changing it's name to "Faith Outreach Ministries Inc.," because of its new focus on orphanages, and youth corrections facilities. Eventually, the ministry discontinued it's outreach activities (to my shame), leaving only it's distribution of free Christian books maintained by the widow of the original CEO, who was the chairman of the board. In 1997, I incorporated a video ministry; and with the permission of the remaining Chairman of the Board, reincorporated its name to Faith Outreach Ministries Inc. (to continue the outreach, along the aims and goals of the original ministry), with a commitment to the same means of meeting the above mentioned goal by focusing on those that cannot meet their own needs. This was done by providing church services at rest homes and extended care facilities, hospital chaplaincy, and producing two TV programs; consisting of videotaping Sunday morning services of four different churches (a mainline denominational church, a Pentecostal denominational church, a Bible Church, and a Christian Fellowship Church ~ all Bible centered and Christ focused) that we partnered with, providing free airtime at no charge. Eventually, the ministry partnered solely with Reno Christian Fellowship, producing two weekly broadcasts of their Saturday night service and Sunday morning service, utilizing public access to reach "shut-ins," who had been estranged from their congregation due to physical constraints. The ministry also produced community-based secular events, and independent Christian concerts and seminars for such noted individuals as Dr. Wayne Barber, Stuart Briscoe, and others; while never charging for services or even receiving donations.
Current Corporate Ministry
In 2001, the ministry underwent yet another change when I relocated to the North Texas area. Currently the ministry's outreach activities focus mainly on providing Internet teaching materials (web pages and downloadable essays), as well as cable distribution of my video teachings (on hiatus until March 2011). With this new focus, the ministry reincorporated as "Faith Video Ministries Inc." Faith Video Ministries Inc., and its parent ministry have always maintained the same goal and means of providing ministry without charge or even receiving donations, and have done so as a very small operation that has always been based on volunteerism, sometimes on a part-time basis, with prolonged periods of very little or no activity. Faith Video Ministries Inc. is a corporation that is federally recognized as a 501(c)(3) religious organization that functions as a Private Foundation. It is God and His sovereignty that has used many situations, events, and environments in training and utilizing those He has called in this ministry. Currently, the ministry is administered by my wife, myself; and Rocky Ellis. It is our desire to humbly serve the Lord in attempting to meet those objectives and directions we feel that the Holy Spirit has laid upon our hearts.
Currently the teaching branch of this ministry is "Faith Bible Ministries" (a division of Faith Video Ministries Inc.). We have started a new blog site, which is an outreach of Faith Bible Ministries meant to be interactive, located at: "faithbibleministries.wordpress.com." Rocky and I are the administrators.
Teacher's Training
NEW - When I first started this project over 2 years ago, I avoided any reference to myself, even to the extent of using third person pronouns. However, individuals had stated that this lack of transparency, though for the purpose of humility, has a tendency to appear as potential deception which many heretical movements, and cultic pseudo-Christian false ministries display. Therefore, I started identifying myself, and changed to the use of personal pronouns; taking ownership of this teaching in an attempt to be completely transparent. Lately, I have received questions concerning my academic and theological training which I will now address. After having become born again at age 18, my first formal Christian training was under Bill Gothard and the "Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts" seminars. I later took classes at "Life Bible College" in Los Angeles. I next attended classes taught by Walter Martin in apologetics while attending "Melodyland School of Theology." I have also taken classes with "Koinonia Institute" and graduated their basic program, with advanced studies afterward. I attended college for my licensure and certification in my secular occupations; both in the field of law-enforcement and in licensed counseling where I specialize in substance abuse. I have received honors in every subject I have completed post high school and have been on the Dean's list as well, graduating with a 4.0 score. Informally, where I have learned perhaps more than any other concerning Biblical studies, I have studied the work of many notable teachers and preachers; but to mention a few: Sir Robert Anderson*, E.W. Bullinger*, Charle Hodge, Herbert Lockyer*, Alfred Edersheim, N.L. Geisler & W.E. Nix, J.I. Packer, F.F. Bruce, A. W. Pink, Kenneth S. Wuest**, Walter Martin***, W. W, Wiersbe*, Josh McDowell (the early years), Spiros Zodhiates, W. A. Barber*, Stuart Briscoe, W. E. Vine, J. D. Pentecost, J. P. Green, F. J. Dake, W. E. Scott, L. V. Crutchfield, J. W. Hayford, Ray Stedman, Lee Strobel, C. W. Smith, and Chuck Missler;** (an asterisk * indicates a greater influence).
Final Note ~ Teaching Style
My writing style and teaching method is unusual in that it seeks to teach many different subjects, in diverse areas, while presenting information on a singular topic. It has been described as hunting with a shotgun, rather than a rifle, or going down a road which has many rabbit trails during the course of the journey. There is a thought within Christian philosophies of education, that the human mind is so ingeniously created, that it can learn many different things, while addressing a primary focus on a singular subject (this is not multitasking, which may be problematic for some; yet it is multi-subject oriented, which can seem confusing at times). This is the premise behind the webpage presentations, as well as many of the essays produced by this ministry. Some people are put off by what seems to be a preoccupation with rabbit trails; however this is done on purpose; therefore, it may be helpful if the reader is mindful of the fact that these divergences are intentional and temporary, as I will return to the original topic.
This teaching style is not for everyone. And many times the subject matter I cover seems strange or abnormal; therefore, those that are more easily offended by this may find this ministry is not the best fit for them.
To indulge in controversies, folklore, curiosities, or other tantalizing subjects for the sake of enticing those with itching ears is wrong. However, humans become far too comfortable when things are always uniform or standardized. Therefore, we need to stay mindful of this tendency concerning uniformity and familiarity, but also we need to be watchful in not allowing things that are provocative to dominate our decisions concerning what to investigate and consider in regards God and His Word. God does not do things according to what we are comfortable with, and many of God's dealings are beyond our comprehension, and in fact when examined closely they appear quite unusual.
How hard is it to explain God's demand for Abraham to sacrifice his own son? We become dull of hearing, concerning this story, yet in reality if we put on a fresh perspective, this story becomes very uncomfortable. It was the pagan false religions that practiced child sacrifice, which God Himself abhorred and condemned. Was God being a hypocrite? The obvious answer is no, because He stopped Abraham from completing the act. God did this to test the faith of Abraham, which caused his faith to grow in the process. God does things according to His own choosing, as He interacts with man, and especially as He chooses how to test/grow man's faith (Faith only grows when it is stretched by tribulation [which are: problems, hard times, difficulties, calamities, trials, and testing; they're all synonymous concerning the "trying of our faith"]. Faith can only grow incrementally, as more and more is demanded of it. This is because trust is a process contingent upon experience, as someone proves they are trustworthy situation after situation, we trust them more and more. In this way faith is analogous to a muscle which must be torn before growth can occur. Therefore, we must always realize and therefore understand that testing is not done simply as a process whereby God attempts to validate the existence of our faith, or its degree, which might appear cruel on the surface; these trials are necessary for faith to grow, and that without these trials, it is impossible for faith to mature ~ James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:12).
God has a habit of not repeating Himself too often in the way He may do something, or the types of trials He places us in so that we do not become used to the form, style, system, or way that He does things. This would be synonymous with changing the test questions concerning a subject that is repetitively taught, in order to guarantee that the student really learns the lesson, and not just what the answers are on the test sheet. God seems to be doing the same thing concerning the types of trials He places us in so that we do not simply respond to Him according to that type of trial, but that we display that we truly do trust Him. It is also obvious that God has a tendency to not just change the type of trials He places us in, but has a propensity to change the way He does things within His own creation.
How often have churches or whole denominations become dead in their worship and ministry because their perception of God which places Him in a box, and have systemized their responses to what God would have them do, or go through, as opposed to trusting Him in faith.
There is an old story that concerned Jesus speaking to a man, and the man becoming healed, and those that witnessed this miracle started the "Speak and be Healed" ministry. Later, Jesus touched a man, and the man became healed, and those that witnessed that miracle started the "Touch and be Healed" ministry. And even later, Jesus spit upon some dirt, made mud and placed it on a man's eyes, with the man becoming healed; and those that witnessed that last miracle started the "Spit and be Healed" ministry. The point is all three groups had witnessed miracles at the hand of Jesus and were correct in understanding that Jesus could use all three different methods in healing people, yet when they placed Jesus in the box by demanding that it was only the way that they had witnessed, that was appropriate for the healings, they deviated from the truth. This is a constant problem for believers, and may be one of the reasons there are so many denominations. The Potter has no responsibility to function according to what the clay considers to be orthodox.
Therefore, it is our willingness to color outside the lines (review and even overturn man's traditions ~ Matthew 15:3,6; Mark 7:8-9), to consider the unusual, to go where the evidence takes us, and to see what God would say to us in spite of our own objections because the subject matter is uncomfortable.
With this in mind, I teach on subjects which are even strange to me, in order to remind myself that God cannot be put into a box. Yet, I do so vigilantly. Because many have compromised the gospel of Jesus Christ and His Word by not validating scripture according to Scripture. The Bible is its own best commentary.
Because all of us are subject to the limitations imposed by the presuppositions we bring to a topic. It may be essential to step back out from time to time and reestablish a fresh perspective.
The only certain barrier to truth is the presumption that we already have it.
Endnotes
1. "The Place to Start...," is an amalgamation taken from the essay series: Biblical Perspective
Biblical Perspective is an ongoing topical series dealing with abstract thoughts, ideas, and insights into God’s Word and its practical application for today’s Christian. While not meant to be the ultimate authority on any subject, our purpose is to be a resource, and more importantly a catalyst to motivate people to search and study God’s Word. Our main focus is always on Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world, God incarnate, He alone deserves preeminence in God’s Word. God’s Word, the Holy Bible stands alone as our source of guidance and direction, and is our singular foundation for and of faith. Biblical Perspective is an outreach ministry of Faith Video Ministries Inc. You may contact us at our e-mail address:
bb@faithbibleministries.com
2
. "We Believe That...," is an amalgamation taken from the essay series: Biblical Doctrine
Biblical Doctrine is an ongoing topical series that presents diverse insights into major and minor doctrines of God’s Word, the Bible. Much of the subject matter is uncommon and may deal with obscure themes. The purpose, as with all our essays is to build faith in God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and in His Holy Word. Our main focus is always on Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of the world, God incarnate, He alone deserves preeminence in God’s Word. God’s Word, the Holy Bible stands alone as our source of guidance and direction, and is our singular foundation for and of faith. Biblical Doctrine is an outreach ministry of Faith Video Ministries Inc. You may contact us at our e-mail address:
bb@faithbibleministries.com
3. Further reading concerning "The Inspiration of the Bible," by theologian and scholar; A.A. Hodge
(1823-1866), son of the respected theologian Charles Hodge, can be found at
:http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/aahinsp.htm
These essays are presented for examination and download. Copyright is maintained in that none of the essays may be edited in any way, shape, or form. However, all material may copied and shared with anyone, at any time; and dispersed freely to any that would be interested ("... freely have ye received, freely give" ~ Matt. 10:8).
