Does the Bible say what it means or not? This is a valid question. Christianity today by and large follows the allegorical interpretation of scripture. Once you assume for yourself what belongs to Israel in the Bible you create hundreds if not thousands of problems and contradictions that were not there before. Now you need explanations for all the verses that don’t make sense. Here is where the theologian steps in. We trust these men to make sense of the problems in scripture WE CREATED! We read the verses with our predetermined ideas and then wonder why we can’t understand the doctrinal issues in the Bible. Replacement theology has infiltrated ALL the denominations to differing degrees. ALL the denominations and non-denominational churches today I know of assume things that belong to Israel in scripture. Hence the need for commentators and highly educated people to tell us what the verses mean. I teach and implore people every Sunday to believe the verses AS WRITTEN. ALL the verses! This means being willing to believe the Bible OVER the years of denominationalism we have been indoctrinated into. Paul tells us we need teachers. Teachers should be held accountable to God’s word rightly divided. God’s word rightly divided is the answer to all the confusion we see today. We don’t need theologians held up as the be all end all answer to Bible understanding. Why, because they can’t answer all the questions. Jesus did not question the OT prophets so why are you? Jesus believed the OT prophets as I do. The apostle Paul was called a heretic as I am for believing my Bible. The OT teaches Messiah would come TO ISRAEL! Why then must you say that Jesus didn’t do this? Why then must you say Jesus EARTHLY ministry was to Gentiles when he said it wasn’t? My advice to you is stop listening to commentators, theologians and preachers and start believing the Bible EXACTLY as it is written. The OT teaches that when Israel ACCEPTED the Messiah that Israel would minister TO US. This is the plan Jesus came to fulfill. This is what the Bible actually teaches for itself. This is why Jesus WAS NOT ministering to gentiles, because ISRAEL COMES FIRST. This is exactly why Jesus had to come to Paul and send him to the Gentiles. Because our hope was resting in Israel’s OBEDIENCE. When Israel rejected the messiah that left us with NO HOPE, resulting is Jesus himself calling Paul and sending him to the Gentiles with a NEW MESSAGE of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. If you keep these two distinct and separate ministries where they belong, they both are clear and easy to understand, NO theologians needed. If you mix these two ministries, you better have a theologian on call because only confusion can result. Look around you. All the denominations arguing over BASIC doctrines. You can see clearly! You can understand! Separate what God has separate in the Bible and it all will make sense. YES it is this simple.
Wow, what a statement. No doubt some already took offence to this statement. The fact remains that your beliefs don’t matter. Christians today have learned the quick way to end any conversation about religion is to just say; “Well I just don’t believe that”. I have heard this one quite a few times. Let me be clear, God’s word rightly divided matters and what you or I believe does not. What is my proof? The FACT that within 30 miles of your house there are dozens of churches that read the SAME BOOK and believe DIFFERENT THINGS. What do we do, we simply just rattle off the phrase I don’t believe that; when you in most cases have NEVER studied the doctrine and beliefs of all those other churches. How then can you say you don’t believe it when YOU DON’T KNOW. As I have said before; do you really want the truth? If so, then why do you bury your head in the sand and pretend that you can’t be wrong when you really don’t know if you are? The fact is, if the other churches could show you your wrong would you have the guts to admit it and change? I can answer for you; Most of you by a long shot would not. At church you have friends, positions, titles, reputation, security, comfort, and people telling you, that you can’t be wrong every Sunday. Most Christians won’t even entertain the idea that they might be wrong about doctrinal things. But here is the truth; What about all those little things you read and heard over the years that didn’t make sense or you can’t understand? What about the times when you spoke with others and they showed you verses you can’t handle? All the questions you have but never ask or ever come to an understanding of? What about all the UNANSWERED prayer? What about all the “promises” you hear preached but you have never seen realized in your life or the life of others? Shall I go on? No, I actually will stop here. Please for once think critically about these things. Don’t you want an answer? The confusion comes from the lack of properly applying scripture written TO YOU. The confusion comes from falsely applying promises and scripture found in the Bible that IS NOT written to you. Rightly dividing the Bible as we do here IS THE KEY to understanding the Bible. Not just the verses pastors repeat over and over Sunday after Sunday! ALL THE VERSES. Paul tells us to rightly divide the Bible. You can pretend your preacher does this but I know better. I know how many churches actually do this. They are few and far between. This is because when you start to properly APPLY the Bible your tradition and pet doctrines start to fall apart. You start to see religion fall apart. You face YOUR PRIDE square in the eyes! For most this is where you turn back. We have to protect our pride at all costs. I was wrong about many things. Since I understand this, I understand pride is the main deterrent to a proper understanding of the Bible. PUT IT TO THE TEST. Give truth a chance. Your beliefs DO NOT COUNT because the dozens of churches that surround us full of sincere people CAN’T all be right. Right division brings clarity to all the confusion. ASK the tough questions! Stop hiding from those doubt’s you have. Apply the Bible as it tells you to and you will get the answers you are looking for. Beliefs don’t mean anything if they are based on scripture not written to you. As I like to say: YES, it is this simple.
Today is four years since we started our assembly. About seven years ago I looked for a church in my area that rightly divided the scriptures. There was none. I was surprised at the time that there were no churches that believed their Bible literally that way I had been learning to. Now four years after starting our church I am no longer surprised. It seams to me that most Christians today will fight for their beliefs but have no idea if they are fighting for the truth. Why? Christians today won’t listen to anything outside of what they currently believe to be true. This is akin to telling the Holy Spirit “I know it all, let me just coast through the rest of my life sitting in this pew and being content.” I know this to be true because in the last four years on numerous occasions I have tried to share the mystery of Christ with Christians and the pride of denomination, education, and experience shows up immediately. There is a reason Paul told Timothy to not let anyone despise his youth. Once Christians get older, they become so set in their ways they won’t listen to any criticism of their beliefs. When you become hardened to a challenge to your beliefs you have become cold to the Holy Spirits teaching in the worst possible way. You have decided you have nothing else to learn and you sit proud of all the years you have under your belt. There are people sitting in our church every week that have studied their Bibles for decades and sat under preachers with higher education that have learned something different. We have learned that sitting in church week after week for 40 or 50 years MEANS NOTHING if you were being taught the Bible so as to defend denomination and agenda instead of learning the Bible itself. Your experience as a Christian does not prove nor guarantee you know your Bible as written. The people in our church have learned to be open to God’s word and to let it have free course because we have seen the doctrines that we were taught fall apart when compared to the Bible believed literally. We have at the same time seen doctrines become so easily understood when you remove man’s ideas and agendas. Salvation is clear and easy to understand once man’s agendas are removed and God’s word is rightly divided. We are open to criticism because CRITICISM makes us prove whether we are standing in the TRUTH. I do not hide from criticism. In the last 4 years I have seen how easily people become offended when you challenge their beliefs over and over. I read the criticism others write about the literal interpretation of scripture. The problem is Christians will not listen to my critique of their trust in pastors that get paid to defend their denomination. Paul tells us “knowledge puffeth up.” We know the verse, so then why can’t we see our own pride as we so easily dismiss the critique of others. I understand we are conditioned to be prideful every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I understand when you sit in a building multiple times a week where everyone believes they are right it becomes almost impossible to listen to a challenge of your beliefs. All I can tell you is once you learn to rightly divide your Bible, you will never be the same. Only then will you come to realize how your pride has hindered your growth. Growth does not come by experience alone when is comes to scripture. Growth comes by understanding the scripture as God intended. Trust me, there is a big difference. Give yourself the freedom to be wrong, it might just change your life.
In a Christian world where preachers and teachers stand in front of large crowds of people in nice suits and beautiful buildings I can tell you Christians are less knowledgeable than ever. How can I say this? There are several reasons but I’ll mention just this reason today. People sit in churches all across America and listen to “preaching” every Sunday and CAN’T tell you what the gospel is. As we worked on our new building this past week, we had the opportunity to talk to a young man in his 20’s and I personally asked him what the gospel is. More specifically, how is a person saved today. This young man who was well spoken and knowledgeable of the Bible could not tell me how a person can know that they are saved. If I told you the type of denominational churches he had attended or visited in the past you all would know them. How can it be that this young man can have attended churches in his lifetime that most would call “fundamental” or even “Bible believing” churches and he DOES NOT know the gospel? How is this possible? I tell you this, it’s not his fault. Most Christians trust their preachers and teachers too much. As you know, I tell you to be skeptical of what you hear from anyone. I tell you find out for yourself. I tell you that you will give account of YOURSELF. Stop trusting your eternal destiny to a preacher that was trained at seminary to use the Bible to defend his chosen denomination. This is what seminaries do you know. We have failed to clearly explain the gospel to those sitting under us. Why? The failure to rightly divide the Bible leaves most Christians mixing the gospel of the kingdom given to ISRAEL with the gospel of the grace of God that was delivered to the Apostle Paul. This leaves Christians saying things like we must “ask Jesus into our heart”. There is NO VERSE with this phrase in it in the Bible. And you don’t have to ASK to be saved, you need only BELIEVE. You can find scores of verses in Paul’s books where we are to believe to be saved. NO PRAYING REQUIRED. Just belief in what Jesus accomplished on the cross. The clearest verses in scripture showing how a soul is saved are found in Ephesians 1:13-14.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. Notice the order of salvation. After you hear the gospel (Paul’s gospel of the grace of God) you put your belief and trust in what you heard. Once you believe and trust you are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Spirit Baptism). Notice this DOES NOT require asking, just believing. 1Co 15:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: The gospel is simple and easy to understand when we follow our Apostle Paul. Salvation is trusting in the finished work of the cross, Jesus’ death burial and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins. NO water, NO works, NO rituals, I challenge you, I dare you to walk around your church and ask people what the gospel is and I pray you don’t get blank stares and long awkward periods of time as Christians struggle to find words to explain the gospel like I have seen. Preachers, YOU are at fault just like I was. For following tradition over the clarity that rightly dividing your Bible gives. We have failed because people walk in and out of churches every week that can’t articulate how a soul is saved according to the Apostle Jesus sent to US, our Apostle Paul. Jesus is our Savior; Paul is the Apostle Jesus sent to us with the message that saves a soul today in the age of grace. It is this simple. Are you teaching it? If there’s a question Christians wonder about it is; What is God’s purpose for my life? What a shame that youth leaders in churches across the world teach kids that God has some kind of “special” purpose for their life. Kids then pray and wonder what this “special” purpose is, “waiting” on the lord. So, instead of actually DOING something they blindly pray and wait. We have been falsely led to believe we need to find God’s purpose for our life. Let me help you understand the truth. God DOES have a purpose for you. It’s not some special purpose that only you can fulfill because God planned it for you prior to birth as Calvin would teach. God’s purpose for your life is not something you must pray to find because you can actually just read it for yourself. Your youth leader and your pastor were wrong just like I was for a long time. God’s purpose is two-fold. He has a purpose for the EARTH and he has a purpose for HEAVEN. His earthly purpose WILL BE fulfilled BY ISRAEL. His purpose for the heavens WILL BE fulfilled by the body of Christ. Read about Paul’s “cause” below.
Ephesians 3:1 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, 2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: 3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, 4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) 5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: 7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. 8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; 9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. YES!!! God has a purpose! I hope you read the words from Paul very closely. Verse 11 states his purpose was an “eternal purpose.” YES, I understand this means it’s not all about YOU, it’s actually all about HIM. It’s all about what HE is doing. Why must we make everything about me me me? God’s eternal purpose for YOUR LIFE is for you to share the manifold wisdom of God. Your purpose is to share the mystery of Christ to the world. We should be operating in “boldness” and “confidence” as stated in verse 12 above. Instead, we want to wait around and pretend God is going to “show me” my “special” purpose. If you just read the 12 verses above and can’t agree this is unbelievably special then I’m not sure what else I could ever say to help you see the truth. As I’ve said before, STOP PRAYING about God’s special purpose and start doing it. To fulfill God’s “eternal purpose” you must let go of your tradition and choose to follow Paul so you can truly understand what Christ would have you do now. Friends, it’s this simple. Stop praying about what the Bible clearly teaches you. Rather pray to God how thankful you are he made this plan for your life so EASY to understand. Throw away all those books about finding God’s will. There wrong. Get on board with what God is doing now. Jesus sent you a spokesman and Apostle specifically to guide you into his will. Why won’t you get on board? The cause of much confusion among Christians today is caused by application, or more specifically the wrong application. We were taught to pay little attention, if any, to who is being spoken to in scripture. Teachers constantly want to find some way to apply every verse in scripture to us. Teachers ask; “what does this verse mean to you.” The Bible is very clear in most places about the group being spoken to. Are you paying attention to the application? You could save yourself much grief and frustration by figuring out who a verse applies to. More than 90% of the Bible applies to Israel. You could understand the Bible so much clearer just understanding this simple FACT. Jesus’ earthly ministry did not apply to you either. I say this because Jesus told us so. Jesus sent the Apostle Paul as his apostle to the gentiles. But even in Paul’s books there are times Paul talks specifically to Jews or is speaking about the Jews. This means you must constantly be reading to understand the application of the verses you are reading. MOST of Christianity does not do this. How can I know this? I have read the doctrinal statements of many different denominations. As I read these statements, I notice many verses taken from Israel’s context and inserted into ours. It’s been said every verse has three applications: 1. Historical 2. Spiritual and 3. Doctrinal. We can learn much about history from the Bible. We can gain spiritual insight about God and his character from scripture. Doctrine however is where the rubber meets the road. Doctrine is how we learn what to believe and how to believe. Sadly, most Christians were taught to get their doctrine from anywhere in the Bible they wish. Many verses have a doctrinal context we can learn from but, you must discern if the doctrine is yours for today or is it about Israel’s past or Israel’s future? Since MOST of the Bible is addressed to Israel or written about Israel, you MUST be careful to not apply doctrine to yourself that the Bible does not apply to you. Righty dividing the doctrine taught in the Bible is of utmost importance. Look around you. The vast majority of all the things Christians are confused about is caused by MISAPPLICATION. Many verses have doctrine in them but this does not mean the doctrine is for you or about you. I constantly say; “leave the verses alone” “God says what he means and means what he says” We must trust the Holy Spirit and stop changing the verses. We must learn to give the Bible free course in our life regardless of our statement of faith. A statement of faith is worthless is it is not based on verses WRITTEN TO US. God will restore Israel! Because he said he would. If your church statement of faith if full of Israel’s promises and Israel’s doctrine, it’s time to find a church that trusts God at his word.
When I was growing up Gilligan’s Island was a popular TV show. As you probably already know, every opportunity for the cast aways to get off the Island always ended up in defeat leaving them stranded on the Island. The Apostle Paul has something to say about cast aways. He asks a simple question in Romans 11:1. The question is “Hath God cast away his people.” Paul then very clearly answers his own question in verse 2 with, “God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew” No doubt your church teaches doctrine every week that would seam to make the opposite argument that Paul does. By and large most churches today pay no attention to Paul’s statement. Churches that teach openly about the many guarantee’s God made to Israel of their restoration into their land are rare no doubt. Israel’s restoration does not preach well nor does it teach well I must assume. The Bible however OVERWELMINGLY teaches that Israel WILL BE restored into their land. Why I ask you would Jesus have quoted from the following section of scripture at the start of his earthly ministry if he never intended to do these things?
Isa 61:1 ¶ The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. 4 ¶ And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. 6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. THESE VERSES ARE NOT ABOUT YOU! The Bible gives these verses to Israel. Jesus said these verses to Israel. Paul believed these verses just as they are written. Why must Christianity take these verses guaranteeing Israel’s restoration and put them on cards and signs? I hear “beauty for ashes” in Christian songs and read it in Christian books but never in the context of Israel’s restoration. It’s a sad state of affairs in Christianity today that people have no problem rewriting scripture to give something they want to themselves. We complain each time Congress votes themselves a raise, while we take anything we want from Israel and apply it to ourselves. Stop stealing what is not yours. The reason you struggle understanding the Bible is because of application! Stop trying to apply anything you find in scripture to yourself. If the Bible does not apply it to you then it’s NOT YOURS. Understanding the Bible is this simple. Israel has not been cast away forever. Israel is temporarily blinded as Paul explains later in Romans chapter 11. Ro 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. Israel is spiritually blind right now while God is dealing with mankind in GRACE. This period of time Paul describes as a mystery. In other words, it was kept secret. God is showing mercy to everyone right now. (Rom 11:32) Notice this time we are in IS NOT permanent. In verse 2 of Isaiah chapter 61 shown above Jesus mentions the acceptable day of the Lord (Luke 4:19) but stops before mentioning the wrath Isaiah talks about. Why? Because Jesus knew about the mystery we are in now. Jesus knew the wrath comes later. These things become clear when we rightly divide the scriptures and leave God’s programs alone. All we do here is let God say what he says TO WHOM he says it. Then, we leave it TO WHOM it is given. Stop mixing things God made separate and the Bible will become understandable! If this sounds too good to be true, ITS NOT. God actually made it this simple. Mar 7:20-23 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
Jesus here speaking in Mark 7 is listing the things which defile a man. There are some pretty bad things in this list. In this list is the word PRIDE. There is good reason for the majority of references to pride in the Bible being negative. God hates pride, Jesus taught about the evil of pride and to these teachings Paul agrees. We know this fact but inevitably fall prey to it. Pride works to hinder our growth and understanding of God’s word. Pride says; “I can’t be wrong.” Pride says; “my church can’t be wrong.” Pride says; “My pastor can’t be wrong.” Pride says; “My education can’t be wrong.” Obviously, we could go on for some time with this list. Pride drops an anchor in the form of our “beliefs” and we never learn beyond this pre-conceived set of doctrines. Pride keeps us from listening to teaching that sounds different. I see this pride creep up almost every time I try to share the blessing of the mystery of Christ. Almost every time I attempt to show another Christian how easily they could understand the Bible, the pride of education, denomination, and tradition show their face. I am willing to listen to any challenge of my teaching because I know how long I was wrong and how long I defended a denomination instead of the Bible alone. If I was wrong for so long, I understand how others can be resistant to any instruction from outside their church. As we know, the Bereans were complimented for the fact that they listened, then compared what was said with scripture. I have personally witnessed and experienced the fact that today Christians never get past the LISTENING. By and large Christians will not listen to anything outside their agenda. So they never experience the comparing to scripture part. They never dig in God’s word to search for the truth. Pride closes their ears to any challenge of their beliefs. THIS IS THE REASON God hates pride! Christians are so worried of being “indoctrinated”. Let me tell you something as clearly as I can; if someone can show in from the Bible with words spoken TO YOU why you should change your beliefs, YOU SHOULD CHANGE YOUR BELIEFS. When I found out the denomination I was part of DID NOT teach the Bible literally, I CHANGED. I was wrong and I changed. Did this hurt my ego? Probably. Was I disappointed that I had taught probably thousands of people tradition instead of a literal interpretation of the Bible? Yes I was. Did I ask myself over and over “How did I miss this?” YES! I cannot explain to you how thankful I am for accepting the fact that I could be wrong. I cannot express the joy you feel when you finally come to the realization that the Bible is meant to be understood and you DO NOT need to be a Greek expert, read commentaries, or go to Bible College to understand the Bible. All you need is a willing heart to let the Bible have free course and start following the example of the apostle that Jesus sent to you; the apostle Paul. Right division of the Bible answers all the questions you have. Will you listen long enough to hear them? I’m sitting here tonight processing the past 12 or so days. It has been a challenging time for our family. No doubt many of those reading this blog have walked through similar times. The loss of my mother in law Donna was not expected and one of the things we dread in life. When I started our church about three and a half years ago she was there and pretty much every Sunday since. She was so thankful to gain an understanding of how clearly the Bible can be understood by simply following the words in the Bible and not preconceived agendas created by man. She loved her Bible and studied every day. She was truly a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. She loved encouraging others and spent many hours praying for those around her. Paul tells us that every part of the body of Christ is important and needful. Every part fulfills a purpose and is vital to the edification of the body. Parts of the body of Christ can’t be voted in nor can they be voted out. These are contrivances of man. You become a member of the body of Christ by salvation and the sealing of the Holy Spirit. With each member of the body that goes home to be with the Lord those of us left behind must fill in the space left vacant and fitly compact the body again so we can continue to fulfill our purpose to share the mystery and to reconcile the world to Christ. How awesome it is to be able to be thankful in days like these. We sorrow yes, but not as others who have no hope. We mourn the loss but are fully assured of the day we will see our loved ones again. The Bible is clear when we set aside man’s ideas and opinions. If you struggle to understand the Bible, there’s nothing my mother in law would love more than to see you understand the scriptures as God intended. You only have man’s tradition to lose but you have a lifetime of understanding to gain. Interested?
Have you noticed the Jehovah’s Witnesses are now talking about Jesus when they come to your door? The last 2 groups I have talked to bring up Jesus and talk about him. This new tactic of theirs is quite interesting since they don’t believe who he is. I figure they sat down in a meeting and tried to figure out how to get people to listen a little longer and mentioning Jesus was the plan. Church growth plans abound in the world today. I always take time to talk to them because they need saved just like anyone else you might come across in life. I tried to explain to the last two JW ladies that came to my door that they were stealing things that belong to Israel. This is exactly what I try to show my Christian friends. All the lady kept saying was “But Israel rejected Jesus” So, her excuse for stealing what God promised to ONLY Israel was that Israel rejected Jesus. This basically is the exact same reason Christians use to steal Israel’s promises and write themselves into Israel’s prophecy. I didn’t get very far with the JWs at my door. Do you understand that God IS NOT going to finish what he started with Israel because they deserve it? By the way we don’t deserve it either. Ezekiel 36 gives us the reason God IS going to finish what he started with Israel. Please take the time to read this whole chapter. Let look at a few of the verses.
Eze 36:21 But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went. 22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. Eze 36:32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel. Eze 36:36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. I ask you why do the JWs think they get what belongs to Israel? For the SAME REASON Christianity has assumed whatever they want from Israel’s promises and prophecy, SOMEONE taught them they can! Why do I say this? Because the Bible does not teach it. Christ’s SUFFERING was foretold in prophecy just as his GLORY. God knew Israel would fail to accept their Messiah. God DID NOT write off Israel, so WHY ARE YOU? Eze 37:13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, 14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. I can’t say it any better that Ezekiel. God IS NOT finished with Israel. I ask again, why must you take the things Jesus said to his people during his earthly ministry to Israel alone and force them into the age of grace and the body of Christ? If you truly want clarity and understanding when you read and study your Bible, separate what God has separated and you can have it. Yes, you must let go of hundreds of years of man-made tradition to have it. Are you willing to give up your tradition? I did. The rewards of understanding your Bible are more that I can put to words. God will finish what he started with Israel because HE SAID HE WILL. No, you don’t get to take their stuff. It is this simple. This is the essence of rightly dividing your Bible. |
AuthorSteve Schoenberger is a student of the Bible and the teacher at Abundant Grace Bible Fellowship, A Mid-Acts Dispensational Bible church teaching the Bible rightly divided according the revelation of the mystery delivered to the Apostle Paul Archives
April 2024
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