by Just Another Christian
by Just Another Christian
Philologos Religious Online Books
Philologos.org
Chapter 5 (part 2) | Table of Contents | Chapter 7
THE GREAT DREAM
by Just Another Christian
| John.8:46 | Which of you convinceth (can convict) Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? |
| Whether or not Christianity turns out to be THE ONE TRUE RELIGION depends entirely on the CREDIBILITY of Jesus Christ. There is an immense difference between "believing IN" Jesus and BELIEVING Jesus. A child who is raised in a Christian home is likely to SAY that they "believe IN" Jesus: BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? How did they know that there ever was a Jesus? What do they know ABOUT Jesus? What little children know about Jesus is what their parents and other adults tell them. I think it is FAIR TO SAY that little children are rarely told the WHOLE TRUTH about Jesus Christ. | |
| Matt.19:13 | Then there were brought unto Him little children, that He should put His hands on them, and pray: and His disciples rebuked them (who brought the children). |
| 14. | But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. |
| Jesus DOES NOT tell us to COMPEL or FORCE our children to come unto Him; BUT RATHER, He tells us to forbid them not. Why do you think that EVEN His own disciples thought that it was INAPPROPRIATE for little children to come unto Jesus Christ? The word Suffer used in this place is the Greek APHETE: which means [to permit; tolerate; endure; TO SUFFER]. WHY would a PROFESSING Christian ever forbid their child to come unto Jesus Christ? AND WHAT, I ask you, is there for YOU to suffer if your child becomes acquainted with Jesus Christ? Ask a little child who attends Sunday School to tell you what he knows about Jesus Christ, and what you will hear is a ROMANTIC DESCRIPTION of a "nice man" who was ALWAYS NICE, OBEYED HIS PARENTS, WORKED MIRACLES, and HELPED EVERYONE who ever came to Him. Ask a little child about WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US, and he is likely to tell you that "Jesus taught us to LOVE everybody", and "Jesus taught us to always tell the truth", and "Jesus taught us to say our prayers". If you ask a little child about the people that DIDN'T LIKE Jesus: you will be told about BAD WICKED PEOPLE: people with UGLY PERSONALITIES; people who are SO OBVIOUSLY EVIL that they couldn't fool a pious soul even for a minute. In the END, the "Jesus" that is usually presented to little children is not much different than ANY OTHER PERSON that their parents want them to admire and respect. They say the SAME THINGS to their children about Jesus as they would say about Grandmother and Grandfather, EXCEPT, that Jesus is "better". THINK ABOUT IT. | |
| We tend to withhold the "hard facts of life" from little children because we hope that by doing so, we can preserve their happiness. Loving parents do not tell their children about their own fears and sorrows, for they KNOW that fear and sorrow will come soon enough. You may be consumed with insecurity because of MONEY PROBLEMS; you make desperate prayers in the night; you weep in private; you curse the cause of your problems; you complain bitterly about God or man, BUT YOU DON'T TELL the little children, DO YOU? You wish for yourself that YOU COULD LIVE in THEIR WORLD, where EVERYTHING that is CRITICAL and NECESSARY is taken care of by SOMEONE ELSE. We DON'T WANT THEM TO KNOW that it's possible to STARVE TO DEATH, or to be HOMELESS, and to FREEZE TO DEATH in the cold. We don't want them to know that it's possible to GET SICK, STAY SICK, and only get WORSE and WORSE until THEY DIE. We don't want the little children to know that "Uncle So and So" is a drunkard; or that he beats his wife. We don't want the little children to know that Daddy is UNFAITHFUL to Mommy; and that Mommy often contemplates SUICIDE. We try, AS LONG AS IS POSSIBLE, to shield the little children from the UGLY REALITY of this HARSH and COMPETITIVE world. We suffer at the prospect of their FINALLY having to learn that THE WORLD that they have come into is a RAT RACE: in which they will find themselves engaged in a desperate TUG OF WAR with EVERYONE ELSE over MONEY, PRESTIGE, and COMFORT. | |
| So we DECEIVE our children, and describe for them a world that DOESN'T EXIST. We teach them that if they work hard, they must succeed: NOT TRUE. We teach them that mankind is essentially good: NOT TRUE. We teach them that they can be ANYTHING THEY set their minds to be: NOT TRUE. We teach them that EVIL MEN always ACT LIKE DEVILS: NOT TRUE. And we teach them about a "Jesus" that NEVER EXISTED; a "Jesus" who never did or said anything that Mom, or Dad, or the Pastor, or the Policeman, or the President wouldn't like. No, NO! We wish to keep them insulated in a "pretend" world: where in order to shield them from the EVIL, we find it necessary to shield them from THE TRUTH. | |
| So......FINALLY, the little children begin to grow up.....and they spend THE REST OF THEIR LIVES finding out that they have been lied to. There IS NO Santa Clause. Daddy WAS NOT a good man. When you work hard, you get used. If you can CHEAT CLEVERLY, you win. Evil people are publicly admired and rewarded. AND....the "Jesus" they were told about when they were little children has very little in common with the Jesus of the Bible. | |
| When little Joey was only 4 years old, he thought the world of his Uncle Joe; he was proud that he was named after his Uncle Joe. BUT NOW, little Joey KNOWS that Uncle Joe is a drunkard; and little Joey can see the bruises on his Aunt Felicia's face, AND HE KNOWS WHY THEY'RE THERE. Little Joey got a job and he worked real hard: but instead of a promotion, he got fired, because the owner's son, who was lazy and irresponsible, felt threatened by him. One thing after another happens to PROVE to little Joey that his parents LIED to him about almost everything in the world. And also, when Joey finally begins to read the Bible, he learns that his parents AND his Sunday School teachers LIED to him about Jesus, TOO. | |
| They never told him that Jesus EVER said anything like this: | |
| Mark.9:47 | And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, then having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. |
| because in their view, "this kind of Jesus" is too harsh and demanding, and doesn't understand how we are "saved by grace". Besides, they are not so sure that they have met this requirement themselves. You can safely presume also, that they never told little Joey that Jesus ever said anything like this: | |
| Luke.12:51 | Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: |
| because they want little Joey to believe that Jesus always brings families, friends, and communities, together. They also never told little Joey that Jesus ever said anything like this: | |
| Luke.16:15 | Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for THAT WHICH IS HIGHLY ESTEEMED AMONG MEN IS ABOMINATION IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. |
| because they want little Joey to think that he lives in a "nice" old world, where goodness and truth are always esteemed among men. No, they never told little Joey that Jesus said this either: | |
| Matt.6:19 | Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. |
| BECAUSE they want Joey to be "financially responsible", and to KNOW that WHEN he grows up, he will have to provide for himself. And OH! They CERTAINLY never told little Joey that Jesus said THIS: | |
| John.15:19 | If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world HATETH you. |
| BECAUSE they always wanted Joey to believe that IF HE WAS a "good" Christian, EVERYONE would like and admire him. And OF COURSE, they NEVER told little Joey that Jesus said THIS: | |
| Matt.24:4-5 | ...Take heed that NO MAN deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I (Jesus) am the Christ; and shall deceive many. |
| BECAUSE they are themselves the VERY PEOPLE that Jesus was warning about. They say "Jesus is Jesus" alright, but THEN, they describe to little Joey a FALSE JESUS, a "make believe" Jesus, a "Jesus" who shares little more than a name with THE REAL JESUS: a PHONY JESUS THAT NEVER DID AND NEVER WILL EXIST. They have ALREADY told little Joey what a "good" Jesus would do and say, and the Jesus of the Bible isn't ANYTHING like that "good Jesus" they have described. Were ANYONE ELSE to come along saying THE SAME THINGS that Jesus actually said: they would be labeled as CRUDE, INSENSITIVE, IRRESPONSIBLE, REBELLIOUS, ANTISOCIAL: a SPAWNER OF INSURRECTIONS, a DESTROYER OF FAMILIES, a WET BLANKET, a SOUR and NEGATIVE PESSIMIST: an INSANE MAN preaching destructive false doctrine: motivated by DELUSIONS OF SELF-IMPORTANCE and the need to make trouble where none was. | |
| Most people have been taught by their parents what a "good Jesus" would be like: BUT, the Jesus of the Bible says the kinds of things that they have been told to avoid, refuse, despise, and reject. "Their Jesus" SAVES EVERYBODY who IS WILLING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF VERBAL CONCESSION to Christian doctrine; but the Jesus of the Bible says: | |
| John.8:53 | ....Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. |
| Certainly, little children are not able to face up to and understand everything Jesus said: but to DESCRIBE a "Jesus" to your children who CONDEMNS and DISAGREES with the Jesus of the Bible, is to TRAIN YOUR CHILDREN to be the ENEMIES of Jesus Christ. YES, there is ANOTHER JESUS: and ACTUALLY, there are as many "other Jesus's" as there are INSINCERE and DISHONEST Religious Pretenders that "like" to call themselves Christians, while ignoring, contradicting, or explaining away everything the Bible says Jesus said. | |
| When Jesus said Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; he DID NOT ask you to "cover" for His "lack of sensitivity" to the needs and minds of children. He did not tell you to "make up a nice Jesus" that you wouldn't have to apologize for. Yes, there is something for YOU to suffer if your children become familiar with THE REAL JESUS: they may even decide that they don't want to be Christians at all! They may even see YOUR HYPOCRISY, YOUR FAULTS, and YOUR DISHONESTY; and so you forbid them from coming to THE REAL JESUS, and INSTEAD, you make up your own "custom built Jesus"; a "Jesus" DESIGNED to YOUR specifications; a "Jesus" who ALWAYS CONFIRMS and "goes along with" YOU. Those poor little children! Surrounded by FALSE PROPHETS from the day they are born: FALSE PROPHETS that they have no power to refuse or resist: THEIR OWN PARENTS. | |
| Matt.19:14 | But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me: for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. |
| Jesus says that little children are more suited to hear from Him than their parents are. For OF SUCH is the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus IS NOT saying that simply being young guarantees entrance into heaven: for if that were the case, we could guarantee their salvation by KILLING THEM ALL as soon as we can: lest by growing older, they end up in hell. Jesus is describing a QUALITY that will be found in EVERY PERSON who will eventually get to Heaven. | |
| Matt.18:3 | ...Verily, I say unto you, Except YE be converted, and become AS little children, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. |
| This is pretty CLEAR CUT, wouldn't you say? If you are not converted, and if you do not become AS little children, ye shall NOT enter into the kingdom of heaven. You see, little children do not have to EXPLAIN everything so that it "fits" into their "life plans" or their philosophy. When a little child hears Jesus say, Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods, ask them not again, he KNOWS perfectly well what that means (Luke 6:30). ONLY THE GROWN-UPS find it necessary to "explain" the things that Jesus said. To be AS a little child is to TRUST and BELIEVE Jesus Christ, without demanding that He "explain" what He "really meant"; instead of obeying what He really said. The attempt to escape or "explain away" the SIMPLE MEANING of the teachings of Jesus Christ is to try and CREATE "some other" Jesus: ANOTHER JESUS. | |
| 2Cor.11:3 | But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. |
| 4. | For if he that cometh preacheth ANOTHER JESUS, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not (originally) accepted, ye might well bear with him. |
| It is possible then, that someone may then come preaching ANOTHER JESUS: and WHAT will be the fate of those who embrace this OTHER JESUS? Shall it be well with them? Would you suggest that it DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE "which Jesus" that one believes in? How can we know whether THE Jesus that WE believe in is THE REAL JESUS, or just an IMAGINARY "Jesus"? | |
WILL THE REAL JESUS PLEASE STAND UP | |
| John.8:25 | Then said they unto Him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. |
| Permit please, my correction in the translation of John 8:25. | |
| John.8:25 | Then they (the Pharisees) said unto Him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, |
| Literal Greek | Altogether that which also I say unto you. |
| Alt. Trans. | The sum of that which also I say unto you. |
| My Paraphrase | I and My sayings are the same from the beginning. |
| KJV | Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. |
| In the King James Bible, you will notice that the words the same are italicized, because they have no corresponding words in the Greek Original. This means that the KJV translators found it necessary to add the same to make the text more readable. Unfortunately this addition has caused most people, when reading this verse, to think that Jesus is saying: "I've been telling you that I am the Christ all along." I do not deny that Jesus is IMPLYING that He is the Christ: but if that is all He meant to communicate here, that He is the Christ; He could have just said: I AM THE CHRIST. Jesus answers the question, Who art thou? by saying that He can be known and understood by His WORDS. | |
| 1John.5:7 | For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. |
| For 20 centuries, Christendom has used the words the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, to describe the TRIUNE manifestation of God towards men. Where is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in The Father, the word, and the Holy Ghost? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). OBVIOUSLY,"the Word" is a NAME or TITLE of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Why do you think that the Divine Author of the Bible was CAREFUL to MAKE SURE that we would IDENTIFY Jesus Christ as the Word? | |
| Luke.6:45 | A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. |
| WHAT YOU SAY will GIVE YOU AWAY. Jesus declares that whatever any man SAYS reveals his character. This does not mean that a man is FINALLY and TOTALLY characterized by what he blurted out in his moment of fear or anger; but by the SUM TOTAL of all that his mouth speaketh. You and I are full of contradictions: we can speak words of DOUBT and REBELLION in one minute, and words of FAITH and LOVING SUBMISSION in the next. RIGHT? God is taking notice of ALL the things you say: in PUBLIC, in SECRET, and in PRAYER. | |
| Matt.12:36 | But I say unto you , That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the Day of Judgement. |
| In the Day of Judgement, The Judge shall ADD UP and SORT OUT all the words that EVER came out of your mouth. From ALL THOSE WORDS which have come forth from the abundance of YOUR heart, The Judge will produce a SUMMARY of your words. For God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Eccl. 12:14). The secret things may very well CANCEL OUT or OUTWEIGH the PUBLIC THINGS. The Apostle Peter DENIED that he even KNEW Jesus 3 TIMES (Mark 14:66-72); but this won't send Peter TO HELL. The Judge knows about EVERYTHING you ever said or thought; God sees the TOTAL, or SUMMARY of your thoughts and words, and from these He identifies a CONCLUSION. This CONCLUSION is what YOU HAVE REALLY BEEN SAYING ALL ALONG. | |
| Make no mistake about this: you are daily describing what you REALLY ARE by all the things you SAY. For it is written, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Rom. 14:11). | |
| Jesus says that by THY WORDS thou shall be justified, and by THY WORDS thou shalt be condemned (Matt 12:37). In other words: you ARE pronouncing YOUR OWN JUDGEMENT. The Judge won't have to SAY ANYTHING; because YOU will confess to God in YOUR OWN WORDS and BY YOUR OWN MOUTH whether you should be forever blessed or forever damned. WOE unto the man who feels ANY FEAR on the Day of Judgement and begins to MAKE APOLOGIES and EXCUSES! | |
| Matt.7:22 | Many will say to Me in That Day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? |
| 23. | And then will I profess unto them, I never knew YOU: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity. |
| You can spout all the doctrinal formulas about WHO IS and WHO ISN'T saved that you want, FOR NOW. Those "doctrines" and those "formulas" will ALL be ABSOLUTELY MEANINGLESS both to YOU and to God on the Day of Judgement: they won't even come to mind. Every man that ever lived on this earth is going to meet the Lord Jesus Christ PERSONALLY, and the Jesus that they meet WILL NOT BE the "imaginary Jesus" of WISHFUL THINKING. Jesus Christ the SAME yesterday, and today, and forever (Heb. 13:8). The Jesus that all men meet in the Day of Judgement is THE SAME Jesus that is described in the New Testament: and out of the abundance of HIS heart, HIS (Jesus's) mouth speaketh. The Jesus of THE FUTURE will not be any different than the Jesus of THE PAST, and neither will the Jesus of THE FUTURE have anything to say that disagrees with or contradicts what we find Jesus SAYING in the New Testament. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away (Matt. 24:35): SO SAYS Jesus Christ. Anyone who thinks that the Jesus they will meet in the Day of Judgement will be any different from the Jesus Who is EXPRESSED and DESCRIBED by His OWN WORDS in the New Testament is looking for another Jesus. If you would like to gain assurance that you will be happy to meet Our Lord Jesus someday, then get yourself one of those Bibles that have all the Words of Christ printed in red ink: READ ALL THE RED INK, and learn to like what you read. If you can LOVE the Jesus of the Red Letters, you will LOVE the Jesus Who sits in Judgement: for they are ONE and the SAME. | |
| Fifteen centuries before Jesus was born, God, through the mouth of Moses, describes Him in these terms: | |
| Deut.18:18 | I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. |
| 19. | And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will NOT HEARKEN unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I WILL REQUIRE IT OF HIM. |
| Here, it is written, that those who make some kind of concession to the Divinity of Jesus Christ, but will not hearken unto the words which He shall speak; are going to have to explain WHY they felt no need to take those words seriously. | |
CONCESSION IS NOT CONFESSION | |
| Luke.6:46 | And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? |
| here is a difference between "believing in" Jesus and BELIEVING Jesus. The world is full of people who "believe in God": but they don't BELIEVE the SAME THINGS about God; for the god of one religion or culture may CONTRADICT the god of another. Thou believest that there is ONE God; thou doest well: THE DEVILS ALSO BELIEVE, and tremble (James 2:19). The fact that the devils believe in God does not save them. Many think that if they are willing to SAY that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that they are "made right with God" by this "confession". HOWEVER, EVERY tongue shall EVENTUALLY confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:11); and for many, this "confession" will be a cry of fear; for it is TO THEIR DISMAY that they are forced to admit this. | |
| Luke.4:41 | And DEVILS also came out of many, CRYING OUT, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And He (Jesus) rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they (the devils) knew that He (Jesus) was Christ. |
| If EVEN the devils can SAY that Jesus is the Christ, Son of God; does that not establish that there is a "confession" which is really only a CONCESSION? | |
| Consider: A man may live in a country that is ruled by a certain King. He admits that the King is the King; but he really doesn't like the King. He thinks the King is a bad King, and he would like the King to change, or be replaced by ANOTHER King. HOWEVER, he does not go about slandering the King in public: BECAUSE he is AFRAID of the King, or has some need of the King's friends. When the opportunity arises for the man to get a job in the King's government; he even swears LOYALTY to the King. When he appears before the King, he joins in with everyone else in saying LONG LIVE THE KING! When he is among the King's friends, he doesn't contradict them when THEY say complimentary things about the King. He even says NICE THINGS about the King HIMSELF in order to insure his own safety and position. ALL THE WHILE, he continues to think that the King is a BAD King. He thinks the POLICIES of the King are not good; but for FEAR OF THE KING or the King's friends, he doesn't COME RIGHT OUT and SAY SO. INSTEAD, he just INSINUATES or HINTS that the policies of the King are NOT GOOD. He is careful to listen for HINTS from other people that they ALSO disagree with the policies of the King. He provokes probing conversations with those he suspects MIGHT agree with him, and tries to "draw them out" WITHOUT exposing his own TREASONOUS OPINIONS. When he is CONFIDENT that he has found someone who truly agrees with him; he finally reveals what HE REALLY THINKS about the policies of the King. After he has found enough people that agree with him about the policies of the King, he begins to plot the overthrow of the King. He, and those that agree with him, wait, as it were, in AMBUSH: they wait for the King to FALTER, and then they rise up together to overthrow the King. All the while, he has ADMITTED or CONCEDED that the King is the King. | |
| The SAME THING is going on in Christendom TODAY. Everyone ADMITS that Jesus is the King; and no one DARES to PUBLICLY criticize the POLICIES of King Jesus. At the same time, they continuously DENOUNCE the POLICIES of King Jesus by INSINUATING that they are BAD POLICIES. Jesus said Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth (Matt. 6:19) and Take no thought for tomorrow (Matt. 6:34); BUT THEY SAY: "Anyone who does not put away some savings against TOMORROW'S NECESSITIES is IRRESPONSIBLE". | |
APPLAUSE IS NOT OBEDIENCE | |
| Ezek.33:30 | Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people are still talking about thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses (church- houses?), and speak one to another, everyone to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. |
| 31. | And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as (if they were) My people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. |
| 32. | And, lo, Thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. |
| Even when the teachings of Jesus Christ are read aloud in a church-meeting, everyone just says AMEN, and then goes about their life the same way they always did. If Take no thought for tomorrow and Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth is read to the congregation; NO ONE dares to stand up and say "Jesus is STUPID! We all know that you have to save up for TOMORROW". No, they won't SPEAK EVIL of the POLICIES of King Jesus in PUBLIC. They say "AMEN"; and then they go home and look over their RETIREMENT plans, and calculate how much money they will have saved up for their old age. Jesus said, Why call ye Me Lord, Lord, and DO NOT the THINGS which I SAY? The REASON WHY they don't DO the things which Jesus SAID, is because their heart goeth after their covetousness. They DO NOT BELIEVE that if they TRUST and OBEY Our Lord Jesus Christ, that their needs will be met. They may "believe IN" Jesus; but they don't BELIEVE JESUS. They may SAY "Long live King Jesus", but they live their lives as if Jesus was a FOOL, and as if Jesus didn't know what He was talking about. They look around to find others who agree with their DISAGREEMENT; they gather together in groups; they call themselves DENOMINATIONS. They come together in their church-houses, and say, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. After the "meeting" they hang around the doors and lean upon the walls and "talk about the Lord" with great seriousness, as if they really took the word that cometh forth from the Lord SERIOUSLY. They may even meet together in a restaurant after "church" and continue the "discussion". They may even have additional meetings in their own homes where they "discuss" Christianity some more. BUT IN THE END, after all the PROFOUND PRONOUNCEMENTS, they WILL NOT DO what Jesus Christ has TOLD THEM to DO. They treat their RELIGION as a FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT, and after "the show" is over, they APPLAUD; they go home; they live their lives in OUTRIGHT CONTRADICTION to the teachings of Jesus Christ: AND THIS, is what they call "FAITH". By IGNORING, DENYING, and EXPLAINING AWAY the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, they have created a "Christianity" WITHOUT CHRIST HIMSELF; for by REJECTING the WORDS of Jesus, THEY HAVE REJECTED JESUS. This "Jesus" of wishful thinking can be likened unto an Aspirin Bottle filled with rat-poison. The Bottle says "Aspirin" but behind the label and inside the bottle is NOTHING BUT POISON. They demand that everyone submit to their "POISON JESUS" and think of themselves as champions of The Faith. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast THOU to do to declare My statutes, or that THOU shouldest take My covenant in THY mouth? Seeing THOU hatest instruction, and castest MY WORDS behind THEE? (Psalm 50:16-17) | |
| John.12:48 | He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My WORDS, hath one that judgeth him: the WORD that I have spoken, the SAME shall judge him in the last day. |
| Jesus Christ says that receiving not His WORDS is the SAME THING as rejecting Him. I ask you AGAIN about the CREDIBILITY of Jesus Christ.....Did Jesus TELL THE TRUTH? Can Jesus BACK UP WHAT HE SAYS? Will Jesus PROVE TO BE FAITHFUL to those who TRUST and OBEY Him? Oh! How SICK and SAD it is that God should have to send me to tell you this! Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you THE TRUTH? (Gal. 4:16). likely so: for this IS...THE AGE OF APOSTASY. I myself, will continue to cling to the Jesus of The Red Letters, for I LOVE the Jesus WHO SAID all those things. I want THAT Jesus to be Lord of ALL. I want THAT Jesus to be King, and RULER over my life. The Jesus to Who DIED FOR YOU has ALSO told you HOW to escape from the SINFUL DRUDGERY of this present world. If you are UNWILLING to DO LIKE Jesus tells you; it is BECAUSE you don't believe Him OR trust Him, OR love HIM; and He said, If ye love Me, keep My commandments (John 14:15). | |
CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT CHRIST | |
| Isaiah.30:8 | Now go, write it before them in a tablet, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come (Heb. THE LATTER DAY) forever and ever: |
| 9. | That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear (give any heed to) the law of the Lord: |
| 10. | Which say to the seers (men whose judgements are enlightened by Divine wisdom), See not: and to the prophets (men sent by God with a specific message), Prophecy not unto us right things (that reflect God's opinions): speak unto us smooth (pleasant and flattering) things, prophecy deceits (the particular lies we want to hear): |
| 11. | And which say to both the seers and the prophets: Get you out of the way (the public eye), turn aside out of the path (that we have chosen to take), cause the Holy One of Israel (Jesus Christ) to cease from before us. |
| Isaiah 30:8-11 is NOT just "another one" of those prophetic denunciations that are so characteristic of the Prophets. This is a PROPHECY which is SPECIFICALLY addressed to The Last Days (2 Tim. 3:1): a term which always designates a UNIQUE and CHARACTERISTIC period of history that ENDS in the Day of The Lord (Isaiah 2:12). The Day of the Lord begins with THE GREAT TRIBULATION (Isaiah 2:12-19); lasts for 1000 years (2 Peter 3:8-10); and ends in the Day of God (2 Peter 3:12). | |
| BEFORE the Day of The Lord comes, there is a falling away FIRST; that is, A GREAT and FINAL APOSTASY of Christendom (2 Thess. 2:3). This falling away (Grk. THE APOSTASY) is the MAIN FEATURE of The Last Days; and EVERY mention of The Last Days or of ANY similar term such as The Latter Times (1 Tim. 4:1) in the New Testament describes THIS APOSTASY. In the Old Testament EVERY mention of The Last Days or any similar term such as The Latter Days refers to THIS APOSTASY (Jer. 23:20); and/or to THE GREAT TRIBULATION (Isaiah 2:12-19 & Rev. 6:15-17); and/or to THE MILLENNIAL KINGDOM of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Isaiah 2:2-4 & Rev. 20:4-6). | |
| Before The Day of The Lord, there is the falling away (APOSTASY) FIRST. The word APOSTASY in the New Testament is the SAME WORD used for DIVORCE; and what we are talking about here is that in The Last Days, Christendom will DIVORCE (leave, renounce) Jesus Christ. Christendom is likened unto the wife of Jesus Christ (Eph. 5:22-32); who has NOW been beguiled by the serpent (Devil) in the SAME WAY that the serpent beguiled Eve (Gen. 3:1-5). Christendom has left the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). | |
| By SIMPLICITY is meant SIMPLE, CHILDLIKE OBEDIENCE. The Lord God told Adam and Eve to not eat of the tree of THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL (Gen. 2:17). To eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is to DEMAND and PRESUME the RIGHT and the ABILITY to make YOUR OWN DECISIONS about what is good, and what is evil. Instead of just TAKING GOD'S WORD as FINAL and TOTALLY TRUSTWORTHY, Adam and Eve demanded to know WHY they should not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they even thought such knowledge would make them wise (Gen. 3:6). The result of that decision was that they became afraid of God and hid from Him (Gen. 3:10). When God asked them why they didn't SIMPLY OBEY His Word in the matter; they proceeded to make EXCUSES (Gen. 3:11-13). | |
| Luke.6:46 | And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not (refuse to actually do) the things which I say? |
| Those who have APOSTASIZED from the faith ONCE delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) in these Last Days, have done EXACTLY the same thing that Adam and Eve did: they LISTENED TO THE serpent (Devil), who challenges the wisdom and goodness of God (Gen. 3:4-5); they REFUSE to SIMPLY OBEY the things which Jesus says; and they MAKE EXCUSES. These EXCUSES are usually in the form of "explanations and interpretations", by which they attempt to OBSCURE the SIMPLICITY that is in Christ. Instead of OBEYING or even trying to obey, in simple childlike trust: they EXPLAIN "what Jesus really meant": When they are done "explaining", SIMPLE OBEDIENCE is not necessary. They MISREPRESENT Jesus Christ by putting words into His mouth that He NEVER SAID, and by "explaining" His teachings so that they actually CONTRADICT what He said. They believe in and they present to others ANOTHER JESUS, and they live and teach a CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT a "real" CHRIST. The Original, Historic, Jesus Christ who SAID the things that He SAID is offensive to them, so they then create their OWN "custom built" Jesus that won't contradict the "doctrines" they are teaching to JUSTIFY the way they conduct their affairs. | |
| AND WHEN someone LIKE ME comes along and asserts that we are bound to OBEY the teachings of Jesus Christ in simplicity; they say You get out of the way! You're blocking MY path! Cause the Holy One of Israel to CEASE from before us! (Isaiah 30:11). | |
CREATING GOD IN YOUR OWN IMAGE | |
| Jesus Christ is the express image of His (God's) person (Heb. 1:3); the VISIBLE image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15). ANYONE who dares to MAKE UP, CREATE, or DESIGN their "own version" of Jesus Christ is GUILTY of presuming to be as God (Gen. 3:5): for they "make" a Jesus Christ who is patterned after THEIR OWN IMAGE. Jesus said: Heaven and earth shall pass away: but My words shall not (never, ever) pass away (Luke 21:33); but those who create for themselves ANOTHER JESUS think to EXPLAIN His words away. They may still be talking about Him by the walls and in the doors of the church-houses (Ezek. 33:30); and they may spout off "Praise the Lord" on cue; but in the final analysis they say, We will NOT have THIS Man to reign over us (Luke 19:14); for they WILL NOT DO the things which Jesus SAYS (Luke 6:46). They take cover in the refuge of LIES (all their "explanations"), thinking that by these LIES, they have made a covenant with death in which they have obtained eternal life. They have made an agreement with Hell: A PEACE TREATY with the Devil, his demons, and the WICKED WORLD by which they hope to prosper (Isaiah 28:18). Jesus said: | |
| Matt.7:26 | And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them NOT, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: |
| 27. | And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: AND GREAT WAS THE FALL OF IT. |
| IT SHALL NOT BE WELL with those who have embraced ANOTHER JESUS. | |
THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED | |
| AND SO, dear Reader, because the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself are being IGNORED, REJECTED and EXPLAINED AWAY by ALL the "leaders" of Christendom TODAY: Christianity has been reduced to JUST ANOTHER LABEL for the cause of MORALITY and PUBLIC ORDER. The "made to order" Jesus of APOSTATE Christendom is really just a "rubber stamp signature" that they feel free to USE to add Divine Authority to their only REAL CONCERN: which is to create "model citizens" that will ALSO attend and support the churches. Jesus would NOT BE WELCOME in any of today's churches: NO HE WOULDN'T! | |
| THINK ABOUT IT: If ANY man came into one of our "modern" churches and stood up to address the people, and said, Whosoever he be of YOU that forsaketh not ALL that he hath, he CANNOT be Christ's disciple (Luke 14:33): and then DID NOT "explain away" the SIMPLE and OBVIOUS meaning of this statement, he would be DENOUNCED and REJECTED: yes he would! What if a man stood at the pulpit to preach to the people and said, Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, and Take NO THOUGHT for tomorrow (Matt. 6:19-34); and then he dared to suggest that these words of Jesus Christ may have something to do with their "savings accounts, insurance policies, and retirement funds": COME ON, is there ANY HONESTY LEFT? | |
| NO.....instead, all the "preaching" in Modern Apostate Christendom is about TRIVIAL DISTINCTIONS between various "creeds"; in which each group is taken up with competing with "that other" group. | |
| Psalm.14:2 | The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. |
| 3. | They are all gone aside from the Truth, they are altogether become filthy (Heb. THEY STINK); there is none that doeth good, no, not one. |
| 4. | Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge of the Truth of God? Who eat up (use up) My people as they eat bread (for their own advantage and welfare), and call not upon the Lord? |
| But then....since the teachings of Jesus are not presented to the people, there is nothing left to do but engage in a "religious gang warfare", in which NEW BUILDINGS, BIG CROWDS, and POPULAR ACCLAIM are the GOAL and the VICTORY. In the midst of all this vain jangling (1 Tim. 1:6); the dignity of Christ AND the welfare and happiness of the individual are both FORGOTTEN. Jesus said: The words that I speak unto you, THEY are spirit, and THEY ARE LIFE (John 6:63). It is the WORDS of Our Lord Jesus Christ that MAKE THE DIFFERENCE between Christianity and "just another religion" that is used to prop up PUBLIC MORALITY and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. You need neither RELIGION nor CHURCH to understand what PUBLIC MORALITY and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY are.......DO YOU? | |
| And since "we" have decided that Jesus didn't REALLY mean what He said when He said: Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not ALL that he hath, he CANNOT be My disciple; we also cannot "take His word for it" when Jesus says: | |
| John.8:51 | Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep My saying, HE SHALL NEVER SEE DEATH. |
| because this statement seems to be just as UNREASONABLE as all the other things Jesus said. The rejection and/or explaining away of the teachings of Jesus Christ has taken all the BEAUTY, the WONDER, the MAJESTY, the COMFORT, and THE GLORY out of the Christian religion. Like I said at the beginning of this writing: Whether or not Christianity turns out to be THE ONE TRUE RELIGION depends entirely on the CREDIBILITY of Jesus Christ; AND; there is an immense difference between "believing in" Jesus and BELIEVING JESUS. If you really think that Jesus is TRUSTWORTHY, and that He is ABLE to back up His words, you will be WANT TO OBEY Him; and you will not be always trying to find some way to "explain" the teachings of Jesus Christ so that they FINALLY come to NOTHING. | |
| Mark.16:16 | He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. |
| 17. | And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; |
| 18. | They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. |
| No single statement by my LORD JESUS CHRIST has weighed upon me more heavily over the years than These signs SHALL follow them that believe. Jesus didn't say, "These signs shall follow the Apostles"; neither did He say "These signs shall pass away in a few hundred years". What shall we do? Shall our FAILURE to have these WONDERFUL MANIFESTATIONS of divine power in our lives mean nothing to us? Shall we be content to watch the sick and the oppressed file by, and wonder WHY we cannot do anything for them except to recommend doctors, diets, and counseling? And when the evil disease or the heartbreaking tragedy strikes in our own homes and families; shall we just EXCUSE OURSELVES? Shall our claim to be "men and women of faith" turn out to be a HOLLOW BOAST? Look: I DIDN'T WRITE THE BIBLE. It's NOT MY FAULT that Jesus said these things. Don't be angry at me, or try to "imagine" what my motives are if I seem to challenge the validity of your faith. I am, dear Reader, bringing myself to judgement about these things every day. HOWEVER, lest you think that there have been no SIGNS in my life either, let me set the record straight for you. There HAVE BEEN such signs in my life, BUT NOT MANY, and I have not been reliable to show the proof of God's power in my life for those who have looked to me. In NO WAY does my own failure to demonstrate the power of God in my life in a RELIABLE WAY prove that I am not supposed to have THAT POWER, and I am daily crying out to God to reveal my errors and grant me repentance even now. | |
| Mark.16:20 | And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen. |
| Acts.14:3 | Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the name of the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of His grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. |
| There is not so much as a HINT in the Bible that the signs were ever supposed to stop following the word. If we will count these words of Our Lord Jesus as Truth: then we are all JUDGED by those words. There can be NO OTHER REASON for our failure to HAVE THESE MIRACULOUS POWERS other than that we DO NOT FAITHFULLY REPRESENT Our Lord Jesus Christ: but rather, we have become heralds of some "lesser cause", and God will not confirm OUR words. Oh, that all the EXCUSES and "explanations" would END! If we really cared about those who are sick; IF WE REALLY CARED about those who are broken hearted (Luke 4:18); we would JUST QUIT MAKING EXCUSES and start admitting our fault in the matter. | |
| Matt.15:8 | This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips: but their heart is far from Me. |
| 9. | But in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men. |
| The word vain means USELESSLY; POINTLESSLY: their worship is just a noise in their own mouth; and when they are done, they go about their lives just as they always have. NOTHING EVER HAPPENS; and THEY DON'T CARE. The man in the wheelchair rolls into the meeting, listens to all the boasting about how "the power of God" is in "this church", and rolls out of the meeting: he is not healed, and NEITHER HAS ANYONE ATTEMPTED TO TELL HIM WHY. No one wants to own up to the fact that EVERY ONE of us is supposed to be able to lay hands on the sick, and see them recover. Instead, they are driven from meeting to meeting, and from preacher to preacher; LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS THE ANSWER, since the Christians in their own church and their own family have no power with God. All concern for doctrine goes out the window, in the desperate scramble to find someone with power and signs and LYING wonders (2 Thess.2:9) who can "do the trick". At the same time, Christendom is full of CHARLATANS who claim to have the power; but for some reason or another, the CHARLATAN can never do anything for YOU. These CHARLATANS are always being exposed for their fraud, and so you begin to suspect that ANYONE who claims to have the power is a LIAR. The very POSSIBILITY that God can or will work a MIRACLE for YOU becomes doubtful. Because you are left to conclude that MIRACLES only happen for certain people, the promises of miraculous help that are given to everyone that believeth, become a "fairy tale"; a MYTH; and if it is concluded that PART OF the Bible is just "fairy-tale and wishful thinking", then ALL of IT becomes doubtful. Don't tell me it isn't so! The HYPOCRISY that underlies all these excuses for why the "average Christian" cannot work miracles is revealed when those who make these arguments REALLY NEED a miracle for themselves. EVERY MAN KNOWS that IF there IS a GOD; then THAT GOD can do ANYTHING. I have seen them: laying on their death bed; BEGGING ME to pray to God for them: FOR A MIRACLE. For their whole life they were NOT CONCERNED about the fact that God NEVER seemed to RESPOND to their prayers. They were NOT CONCERNED about the suffering of those around them ENOUGH to find out WHY their prayers didn't make any difference! But now, that THEIR HOUR is come; they SUDDENLY want to find The God Who CAN and WILL work a MIRACLE for them! Suddenly, in their hour of fear and crisis; they believe that "just anyone" (including the likes of me) SHOULD BE ABLE to work a miracle. Maybe....if they had been a little concerned about WHY there was no POWER in their faith during all those years they CLAIMED to be "faithful" Christians, they wouldn't even be IN THE SITUATION that requires a MIRACLE NOW! This lack of concern for HAVING the POWER OF GOD is not only a "snubbing" of the words of Our Lord Jesus Christ; but is also a PROFOUND LACK OF LOVE for others: they DON'T CARE about WHY there are no miracles unless THEY need one! | |
| John.15:7 | If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. |
| SHALL WE NOT find wisdom in abandoning our excuses, and kneeling in humble repentance before Our God? Is it not BETTER to acknowledge that we are "not very good Christians"; than to "explain away" OUR FAILURES by trying to "make up" ANOTHER JESUS Who wouldn't OR DIDN'T say THESE THINGS? | |
FALSE TEACHERS AT THE END OF THIS AGE | |
| Matt.24:5 | For many shall come in My name (in the authority of My name; as if sent by Me), saying, I (Jesus) am the Christ; and they shall by this means deceive many. |
| Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke these words in answer to the question: What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world (Grk. AGE)? And Jesus said unto them TAKE HEED THAT NO MAN DECEIVE YOU, For many shall come in the authority of MY name. These are not "Christ impostors"; they are NOT claiming TO BE Jesus Christ; or else Jesus wouldn't have said that they shall come in My name. To come in "someone's name" is to come as their representative, as if SPEAKING ON THEIR BEHALF. Now these men are coming AS IF sent by the Lord Jesus; and they say, "Jesus is the Christ"; and by THIS, they deceive many. They then MISREPRESENT Jesus by teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men. | |
| THEY PASS OVER, IGNORE, REJECT, DENY, and EXPLAIN AWAY all the teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Their OUTRIGHT REPUDIATION of the words of Jesus Christ is concealed by their appeal to other parts of the Bible; as they attempt to justify all their "explaining" by using the words of the Apostle Paul, or Peter, or some other writer to water down or contradict the teachings of Jesus. They CONSTRUE these teachings of the Apostles in such a way that they seem to COMPROMISE or CONTRADICT the things that Jesus Himself said. Jesus, Himself, they consign to being a silent DEMAGOGUE in the background, Who has very little to do with the "Christian Life". These men are a SIGN of THE GREAT and FINAL APOSTASY of Christendom, and they are the LEADERS of THIS APOSTASY. | |
| 1Tim.6:3 | If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, EVEN THE WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, and to the doctrine which is according to Godliness, |
| 4. | He is proud, knowing nothing, BUT DOTING ABOUT QUESTIONS AND STRIFES OF WORDS (explanations and interpretations), whereof cometh envy, strife, railings (bombastic speeches), evil surmisings (against the CREDIBILITY of Jesus Christ), |
| 5. | Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is Godliness: FROM SUCH WITHDRAW THYSELF. |
| And SO IT IS that the REASON WHY they want to "explain away" the teachings of Jesus is BECAUSE they completely contradict the wisdom of this world (1 Cor.1:20). Anyone who goes around saying the same things Jesus said, and especially, anyone who attempts to live like Jesus said, shall suffer persecution (1 Tim.3:12). Thus it has always been, and thus it shall be till He comes. | |
| John.11:25 | Jesus said.....I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: |
| 26 | And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall NEVER die. BELIEVEST THOU THIS? |
| And, Jesus also said this: | |
| Mark.8:38 | Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. |
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