in Theology!
A vivid explanation of why the world is
turning away from God!
3
A Plea To Theologians For Their Help ................ 6
Satan’s Greatest Deception ................................. 21
The Fall Of Satan And Man ................................ 30
The Gospel Jesus Preached! ............................... 35
How Our Christian Leaders Were Led Astray ... 48
Tidd-Bits Every Convert Should Know ............. 57
Scriptures Changed To Degrade The Gospel ..... 63
Once-Saved / Always-Saved .............................. 67
Peace Through Truth, Not Silence ...................... 76
The Tribulation Period ........................................ 93
A Note From The Author ................................. 132
The Golden Calf ............................................... 142
4
Free non-Denominational reading material Published September 2022 and distributed by: Ed
& Glenda Nix. All Scriptures are in italics, underlined, and quoted, from the King James version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.
To best understand the contents of this writing, it should be read in the order written. Questions that may pop into your mind while reading will most likely be answered somewhere within the text. If you have questions, or would like to debate the content or receive a free paper-back version of the book,
your
request
to:
josephenix@gmail.com.
5
An urgent plea to Theologians for
their help!
Satan’s best weapon used against God’s servants is their dislike of having to reprove someone for being in error of God’s word. Albeit, the Bible instructs God’s servants saying, “Preach the word; be instant in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine,” (2 Timothy 4:2).
To prepare them to do that in a factual and loving way; God instructs us saying: “Seek you out of the book of the Lord and read,” (Isaiah 34:16).
Also, “Study [read the Scriptures] to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” (2
Timothy 2:15). Above all else, we should remain cognizant of the fact that the Bible instructs converts saying, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12).
That said, if you hold a Doctorate in Theology, your education qualifies you to judge the importance of pertinent Scriptures herein that relate to salvation and obtaining spiritual growth but are not being taught in Seminaries. I humbly seek your help because lessor educated ministers tend to 6
follow in your footsteps. Hence, if our Lord were to impress upon you to make some changes to your message on those subjects, they would likely follow.
But first, I ask you to give some thought to the fact that the Pharisees and Chief Priest teaching during our Lord’s ministry earnestly believed they were right, and that Jesus was a fraud. They understandably believed that because they had been taught by the most respected Priest and Pharisees in all Judaism. Thus, in their minds, how could they possibly be wrong.
That phenomenon has not changed, because to this day our best educated ministers obtain their spiritual knowledge in the same way as did the Chief-Priests: Whom, in Acts 4:13 suggested that Jesus and the Apostles were unlearned and ignorant men! Likewise, due to pride, most ministers quite naturally feel that he or she is closer to biblical truth than their counterparts.
Those who studied both Church and World History learned that until the mid-1500’s the Church was divided into two factions. They were the Church in England, and the Church in Rome, each of which fought a war in Europe lasting 997
years to possess the exclusive right to control the gospel.
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Ironically, after nearly a thousand years of war and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of converts, each of whom had been taught to believe they were fighting a righteous war. The two sides ended the war by signing an agreement recognizing each other as being God’s representatives to the people.
As you know, there are now more than a hundred factions within Christianity, each of which claim to be in possession of the one true gospel.
This happened despite God’s word instructing His servants saying, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, or after the rudiments of the world, and not after Jesus,” (Colossians 2:8). The Bible states, “lest any man spoil you,” because Satan uses well-meaning carnal-minded men to unknowingly degrade the gospel Jesus preached!
However, Jesus proclaimed, “I say unto you, he that enters not in by the door [His Gospel] into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber,” (John 10:1).
Remember, words and their true meaning are of utmost importance: Not only in legal matters, but especially for those seeking a relationship with Christ Jesus.
Jesus prayed on our behalf saying, “That they all may be one as thou, Father, are in me, and I in 8
Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me,” (John 17:17-21). Indeed, people would be more inclined to believe that Jesus is the Christ if all of Christendom preached the same message.
The atrocious and autocratic doctrines taught by the church during the Dark-Ages, and the evil deeds committed by its leadership has since been recorded in both Church and World History.
Thereby, enabling those serving Christ today to look back and see the many self-aggrandizing mistakes made by our predecessors.
Our ability to share God’s word in Spirit and in truth is now being recorded in heaven. Therefore, we should give some thought to what those historians will say about us! Will they say that we were able to learn from the mistakes of our predecessors? Or will they say that while professing ourselves to be wise, we too became complacent and unteachable?
God called this writer, such as I am, into His service to make me aware of what Seminaries teach, and what they refuse to teach. Then, to make that information available to educated men and women holding a Doctorate in Theology to give them an opportunity to judge for themselves the spiritual importance of key Scripture’s Seminaries refuses to teach! Also, to remind His servants of the 9
following three most basic elementary spiritual truths.
First basic truth: Adam and Eve walked and talked with God; hence they knew Him in the true sense of the word. Albeit, Lucifer, (Satan) was jealous of mans’ relationship with God, and he then set out to bring mankind under his control by deceiving them into disobeying God.
However, despite their disobedience, God’s love for the fallen man and his wife was unchanged.
Hence, He then introduced the Levitical Law through which man could redeem themselves. After which, God saw that due to Satan’s now undue ability to corrupt the minds of carnal-minded men instituting the Law; man would not be able to live by the Law alone.
Later, when God saw that Abraham’s love for Him was so great that he was willing to sacrifice his son in obedience to Him: And that Isaac’s love for his father was so great that he was willing to be sacrificed. God again intervened on behalf of man by sending His own Son into the world to show mankind how to establish a relationship with Him by being born of the Holy Spirit. Through which, man would be made aware of Satan’s influence in his life and empower him to resist temptation.
When describing our Lord’s death on Calvary, Matthew stated, “Jesus, when He had cried again 10
with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold,
the veil of the temple [separating the congregation of the people who were offering their sacrifice, from the most Holy Place] was rent in twain from
the top to the bottom.” Thereby, signifying that man no longer needed to depend on another man to receive forgiveness of his sins.
The Bible clearly states, “For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ,” (Romans 5:17).
Jesus explained how in St. John 14:21, which is one of the most important Scriptures in the entire Bible. In it, our Lord states exactly what is required of us to be born-again, He said, “He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves me, and he who loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I too will love him, and will manifest
[reveal] myself to him,” (John 14:21).
Brethren, know assuredly that just as what you see when you look into a mirror is real; Jesus will reveal Himself to those who are putting forth a genuine effort to be obedient to Him. Know also that when Jesus manifests Himself to us, we are no longer a believer because we then factually know that Jesus is the Christ.
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However, as you see, that verse begins with
“He who has my commandments and keeps them:”
Meaning that acts of repentance is required on our part before Jesus will reveal Himself to us. Hence, it cannot be fulfilled in our lives through Lip-Service alone, which explains why Jesus said:
“Strive [put forth great effort] to enter in at the straight gate: For many I say unto you will seek to
enter in and shall not be able,” (Luke 13:24).
Clearly, St. John 14:21 does not fit the perverted narrative of the Gospel mentioned in Galatians 1:6-7. Therefore, it is being censored out of the salvation message being taught in our Seminaries and churches.
However, we must remember that the very reason God was willing to sacrifice His only son was to make a way for mankind to spiritually know
Him! That one simple fact is what separates Christianity from all other religions, whose members merely believe in the god they claim to serve?
For all practical purposes, complacency and fear on the part of our predecessors during the Dark-Ages allowed Satan to reduce Christianity to the same level as all other world religions. Clearly, the fact that Jesus gave His life to make a way for converts to spiritually know Him; has evolved into believe in Him.
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Hence, those who grew up attending church in this church-age were taught to believe they could merely believe in Jesus. In fact, that belief is reinforced every time you hear a pastor refer to himself as a believer, because doing so sends a sublime message to his congregants that they too can merely believe that Jesus is Lord.
The truth is, members of other religions simply make a conscience decision to believe in the god they claim to serve. Whereas our Heavenly Father requires those who believe in Jesus to make a conscience decision to accept Him, accompanied with an unshakeable faith that Jesus will manifest Himself to us as stated in St. John 14:21.
Jesus even defined the true meaning of eternal life saying, “This is eternal life, that they
[believers] might KNOW thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent,” (John 17:3). Again, I remind you of the fact that words and their true meaning are important. Also, that Jesus knew the difference between believing and
knowing.
The following explains how Jesus reveals Himself to us. The Bible states, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God,” (Romans 8:16). And “We know that we dwell in Him, and He in us because He has given us His Spirit,” (1 John 4:13). As you know, 13
there is a world of difference between the words believing and knowing.
Second basic truth: Acts 2:38 states, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” For over 1800 years that one verse formed the totality of novice clergymen’s’ proof that a convert receives God’s Spirit in his heart the moment he accepts Jesus.
However, due to advancements in education during the 19th Century; God was finally able to show them that their novice interpretation of the word and as used in Acts 2:38 was incorrect: And that John 1:12, Acts 8:14-16 and Acts 19:1-3 all proved them to be woefully in error of the Scriptures! (More on this subject in chapter titled; How Satan led our Christian ministries astray).
Nonetheless, after being baptized, I was told that I was a born-again Christian. A few days later while reading Matthew 10:37-38, which states:
“He that loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: And he that loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that takes not his cross and follows me, is not worthy of me.”
After reading those Scriptures, realizing that I did not love Jesus in that manner, I felt condemned 14
and in anger threw the Bible in the trash. However, in defense of my actions, no one had ever told me what to expect after accepting Jesus.
Albeit God Himself described the changes that take place within us when His Spirit takes up residence in our heart. He said, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh [His Love].
And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause
[empower / help] you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements and do them,”
(Ezekiel 36:26-27).
After being reminded of those words, and my wife urging me not to give up the fight to know God. I pulled the Bible from the trash and started reading again. I did so in part because I knew that what she was experiencing in her life was lacking in mine, and I wanted to know if it was humanly possible for me to know and love Jesus in that manner.
A few days later, one of my old coursing buddies asked me how much time I planned to devote to finding out if I could know Jesus. I answered saying, “I’m not sure, but I will know when I have put fourth sufficient effort, and when that time comes and I don’t know Him, I’ll tell you 15
first, and then I’ll tell the world that Jesus is a fraud.”
With that, I started doing what Jesus said in St.
John 14:21 by no longer committing willful sin.
Now don’t get the idea that I was successful at putting willful sin out of my life overnight, because that would not be true. However, I was genuinely putting fourth an effort to do so while also reading the Bible in search of truth for myself.
By the end of the first week, I had read the New Testament text and was halfway through Genesis.
Several weeks later, Jesus rewarded me by revealing Himself to me thereby creating an indescribable feeling of elation mixed with many tears of joy and happiness.
The Holy Spirit then awakened a portion of my brain to the spiritual realm of life and filled my heart with God’s love as stated in Romans 5:3.
Which states, “And hope makes us not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us.”
Brethren, when that happens in our lives, we then truly love Jesus more than all else, including our parents, spouse, and children. The fact is, God gives us such a powerful love for Himself because He knows that that type of love is the catalyst that empowers and incentivize us to preserver and keep 16
our thoughts and actions under subjection in obedience to Him!
Hence, through that experience I learned that, although our sins are forgiven immediately upon accepting Jesus, it is merely the first step toward being born-again. The Bible states virtually the same thing stating, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name,” (John 1:12).
Notice that the words received Him is past tense, albeit after accepting Jesus we are then given the power to become born-again, which is future tense. Jesus and the Apostles explains the salvation process perfectly in the chapter titled; The gospel Jesus preached.
Third basic truth: God seeks to be our Bible teacher! However, that fact flies in the face of everything we’ve been taught. Therefore, God wants you to use the common-sense He gave you to judge for yourselves the spiritual significance of the following Scriptures pertaining to His instructions on obtaining spiritual knowledge.
The Prophet Isaiah said, “Whom shall He
[God] teach knowledge? And whom shall He [God]
make to understand doctrine”? He then told us whom God will teach and make to understand His 17
word saying, “Them weaned from the milk and drawn from the breast,” (Isaiah 28:9).
Meaning; those no longer feeding from the milk God ordained man to teach and are reading the Scriptures in search of truth for themselves. This is why our Creator instructs us saying, “Seek you out of the book of the Lord and read, not one of these
shall fail,” (Isaiah 34:16).
Jesus explained how God makes us to know spiritual truth. He said, “Howbeit when He, the
Spirit of truth is come [Holy Spirit], He will guide you into all truth: for He will not speak of Himself
[meaning; He will not beat on your chest saying I am in you now, let me help you] ; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall he speak, and He will show you things to come,” (John 16:13).
Pay attention to the fact that Jesus said “The Spirit of truth” will speak to you about those things
He hears. For example, while reading the Bible (if God’s Spirit is in you), He hears the words as they are formulated in your mind and teaches you accordingly. Jesus said, “He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine [His word] and shall show
[teach] it to you,” (John 16:14).
John taught converts saying, “These things I have written to you concerning them that would seduce you. But the anointing [Holy Spirit] which you have received of Him abides in you, and you 18
need not that any man teaches you: but the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as “it” has taught you, you shall abide in Him,” (1 John 2:26-27).
Jesus said, “But the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said to you,”
(John 14:26).
Jesus explained why the above-mentioned Scriptures are never mentioned nor debated in our Seminaries or churches. He said, “There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and they shall show great signs and wonders insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very Elect,”
(Matthew 24:24). Jesus used the words, “if it were possible,” because it is not possible to deceive those taught by the Holy Spirit! (More on this subject in chapter titled; A note from the author).
The Bible explains why natural man finds it so difficult to understand what it means to be born-again. Paul said, “The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned,” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
Also, “As it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived of what God has prepared for those who love Him. But 19
God has revealed it to us [born-again converts] by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For whom among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit in him?
In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We [those born of the Spirit] have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit, which is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in the words taught to us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words,” N.I.V. (1 Corinthians 2:9-13).
Natural man cannot fully understand God’s word before being born-again because only the Holy Spirit can teach us the deep things of God. Just as a new-born child must grow in knowledge and stature to reach maturity, so must a new convert in Christ. Becoming a true Christian requires more than a mere belief in Jesus and lip-service, which is why Jesus said, “Strive to enter in the straight gate.”
Speaking on that subject, Peter said, “As in all of his epistles, speaking in them of these things; some of which are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrestle [those not taught these things] as they do also the other 20
Scriptures, unto their own destruction [spiritual downfall]. Therefore, beloved, seeing that you know these things, beware lest you also be led away with the error of the wicked, and fall from your own steadfastness,” (2 Peter 3:16-17).
In an effort to comfort mature converts in the Thessalonian church who had grown wary of exhorting others to live in obedience to the Scriptures. Paul said to them: “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8).
Satan’s greatest deception!
The two greatest powers on earth are those of GOOD and EVIL, both of which use people to do their bidding. Therefore, God’s word warns us saying, “Woe be to the inhibiters of the earth and of the sea! For the Devil is come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows that he has
but a short time,” (Revelations 12:12).
The only way Satan can get back at God for casting him out of Heaven, is to destroy those seeking a relationship with Jesus. And the best way 21
he can do that is to degrade and pervert the salvation message Jesus preached.
God’s word warned us in advance that would happen stating: “There were false prophets among the people, and there will be false teachers among you, and they shall privately bring in damnable heresies even denying the Lord that brought them,”
(2 Peter 2:1-2).
When Jesus gave up the ghost on Calvary, Satan felt victorious. However, three days later when the stone rolled back from our Lord’s tomb, he then knew that he would have to fight for the souls of man. He then immediately began recruiting novice ministers whom he could coerce into degrading the message Jesus preached.
In fact, he recruited so many into his service that when comparing himself and others preaching truth with those corrupting God’s word, Paul stated:
“We are not as many [as those] which corrupt the
word of God,” (2 Corinthians 2:17).
In fact, the Apostle scolded converts following such ministers saying, “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you and would PERVERT the gospel of Christ,” (Galatians 1:6-7).
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The perverted gospel produces only carnal-minded converts unsure of their salvation. Albeit God wants His children to be certain of their salvation, hence He instructs converts saying:
“Examine yourselves to discover whether you are in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know you not
your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you
except you be reprobates,” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
A reprobate is a convert who has received a
taste of God’s Spirit when he accepted Jesus, but due to his belief of false doctrine, the Holy Spirit has not yet taken up residence in his heart.
Therefore, he is deemed to be unworthy remaining in a lukewarm state believing that he is a Christian, but uncertain of his salvation!
Speaking of such converts, Jesus said, “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would that you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth,” (Revelations 3:15-16).
A lukewarm convert is not cold because he has accepted Jesus, albeit he is not hot because he has not received the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Referring to lukewarm converts the Bible states they, “Have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof, from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with 23
divers’ lusts. Ever learning, [through Bible studies] but never able to come into the knowledge of the truth,” (2 Timothy 3:5-7). Such converts deny the Holy Spirit of His power to teach them by depending on man to obtain spiritual growth.
However, Jesus does not want those seeking Him to be deceived by Satan’s wolves. Therefore, He warned us about the three primary methods Satan uses to destroy believers, He said: “The thief comes not, but for to STEAL, and to KILL, and to
DESTROY,” (John 10:10).
Satan first attempts to steal believers’
opportunity to know Jesus by deceiving them into believing they were born-again the moment they accepted Jesus. After which, He then uses his wolves to insult their intelligence by stating that; believing in Jesus is the same as knowing Him. If Satan fails with that tactic, he then goes to number step two, which is to kill us spiritually by having his wolves teach us a degraded version of the gospel.
If that fails, he then goes to plan three, which is to destroy us through adversity and temptation.
Albeit converts that know God and are rooted in His word know that; “Greater is he [the Holy Spirit] that is in you, than he [Satan’s seducing spirits] that is in the world,” (1 John 4:4). This is 24
why the Bible states, “Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling,” (Philippians 2:12).
Satan perverts the gospel by using carnal-minded ministers to teach converts to believe that the Holy Spirit took-up residence in their heart the moment they accepted Jesus. However, Hebrews 6:4-5 describes the sequence a convert becomes born-again, from conception, to maturity.
Verse four states, “For it is impossible for
those who were once enlightened [heard the gospel and accepted Jesus] and have TASTED of the
heavenly gift [were given a taste of the Holy Spirit which gives the convert power to sense the Holy Spirits presence] and were made partakes of the
Holy Spirit” [and due to obedience, he or she then received the fullness of the Holy Spirit].
Verse five states, “And have tasted the good
word of God, [while reading the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit began teaching the convert] and the
powers of the world to come, [things that only the Holy Spirit can teach and make us understand].
The Greek text quotes Jesus saying, “The Spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it [carnal man] beholds it [the Holy Spirit]
not, nor knows it; but you know it, because it abides with you, and will be in you.”
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The translators of the Greek text referred to the Holy Spirit as It because they did not want converts to wrongly believe that Jesus was referring to Himself when He said, “For He dwells with you,
and will be in you.” Note; those with Jesus when He said that could have seen Him with their eyes, whereas the Holy Spirit cannot be seen with the eye!
Our Lord’s words, “But you know Him”
indicates that those listening to Him at the time had received a taste of the Holy Spirit, thereby enabling them to sense God’s presence during times of praise and worship. However, when Jesus said, “And will
be in you,” He made a definite distinction between His Spirit being with us versus abiding in us.
John 20:22, states that Jesus had breathed His Spirit onto the Apostles, meaning that the Holy Spirit was merely with them until the day of Pentecost. This is the same manner that God’s Spirit is with us when we first accept Jesus, which is why carnal-minded converts often feel unsure of their salvation. This explains why without the Holy Spirit abiding in him, Peter, who had walked on water, and seen the dead raised back to life, denied knowing Jesus three times on the night our Lord was arrested.
To obtain a perfect understanding of this subject, bookmark this page now and skip over to 26
the chapter titled; How our Christian leaders were led astray. That chapter vividly explains how Satan deceived all Christendom into believing the biggest lie ever perpetrated on mankind…!
The bottom line is this, God loves you, and He has made a way for you to know Him. Hence, He said: “Let him that glories glory in this, THAT HE
UNDERSTANDS AND KNOWS ME, that I am the Lord that exercise loving kindness, judgement, and righteousness in the earth: For in these things, I delight saith the Lord,” (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
That said, if you have accepted Jesus, but don’t feel saved, it is most likely because you have been taught to believe false doctrine. But not to worry, because the following will aid you in resetting your beliefs and enable you to find what heretofore has escaped you. However, you must lay your pride and prejudices aside because unbeknownst to you, Satan has been using them to destroy you.
For example, Catholic’s are taught to believe they are in God’s perfect will, and all other denominations are in err of God’s word. Protestants are taught to believe they are correct, and the Catholic’s are being deceived. Pentecostals believe they have tapped into God’s power, and other denominations are being deceived. I could go on and on, but you get the point.
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Clearly, most of us possess a natural tendency to think more highly of ourselves than we should.
Likewise, most converts tend to believe their spiritual beliefs are correct, and those who disagree with them are wrong.
For that very reason Jesus stated, “For with what judgement you judge, so shall you also be judged: and with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why behold thou the mote [something you believe to be false], that is in your brother’s eye, but considers not the beam
[false beliefs] in thine own eye.
Or how will you say to your brother, let me pull out the mote [false beliefs] out of thine eye; and behold a beam [even more false beliefs] is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; [which can only be done by reading the Bible in search of factual truth] and then shall thou see clearly to cast the mote out of your brother’s eye,” (Matthew 7:1-5).
Referring to carnal-minded ministers using God’s word deceitfully, the Bible states, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ: And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into and angel of light,” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14).
Paul warned converts saying, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 28
against powers [unclean spirits]. Against the Rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” (Ephesians 6:12).
The “Spiritual wickedness in high places” are the spiritual leaders responsible for the message currently being taught in our institutions of higher learning. They also control the “Articles of Faith”
taught in our Seminaries that students must obligate themselves to preach before being ordained. For example, if you are a Baptist minister, stop teaching once-saved / always-saved and see how long you last before being reprimanded or dismissed.
God said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that thou shall be no Priest to me,” (Hosea 4:6). Albeit, Jesus stated, “Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be the Priest of God and of Christ and shall rule and reign with Him for a thousand years,”
(Revelations 20:6).
As previously stated, Jesus said, “Strive to enter in at the straight gate: for many I say to you will seek to enter in and shall not be able,” (Luke 13:24). Clearly, those seeking to enter the straight gate, but unable to do so, are those being deceived by Satan’s wolves in sheep’s clothing.
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Adam and Eve fell from grace because they disobeyed God by partaking of the tree of knowledge. However, had the tree not been in the garden, the man and his wife would not have been in control of their lives. Instead, they would have been controlled subjects, not having the freedom to choose their future. Albeit, God is the founder of freedom, hence the tree was there to give them the freedom to choose their destiny!
The last verse in Genesis chapter two states,
“And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” They were unashamed of their nakedness because God had created them to be more attuned to the spiritual realm of life. Albeit, that attribute was lost when they partook of the tree of knowledge.
However, due to their fall, each of us are born into this world spiritually dead. Thus, for us to establish a relationship with God we must be born of the Holy Spirit, which awakens a portion of our brain to the spiritual realm of life!
Concerning Satan, who he is, and how he works to deceive those seeking Jesus; the Bible states that God created Lucifer (Satan) to be the most powerful of the three Archangels, which were 30
Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. Also, that Lucifer was created to be God’s second in command, meaning that none of the Heavenly beings could approach God without Lucifer’s permission.
The Bible states that God created man in His image and for His pleasure, after which, He would then come down to earth and fellowship with Adam. Thus, man had direct contact with God, which made Lucifer jealous, and he then set out to bring man under his control as well.
Speaking of Lucifer, God said, “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, the Sardis, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: The workmanship of thy tabrets was prepared in thee in the day thou were created.
Thou art the anointed Cherub that covers
[second in command]; and I have set thee so: you were upon the Holy Mountain of God [the third heaven]; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire [the planets]. You were perfect in thy ways from the day thou were created till iniquity [sin] was found in thee.
By the multitude of thy merchandise, they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: Therefore, I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God and I will destroy thee, O-31
covering Cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire [the celestial bodies]. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness [power]: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee,” (Ezekiel 28:13-17).
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning, how art thou cut down to the ground, which did weaken the nations,” (Isaiah 14:12). Satan weakens the nations by using carnal-minded ministers to unknowingly degrade and pervert the gospel Jesus preached.
Due to Satan’s deception, Adam and Eve suffered a spiritual death, therefore, we are all born into this world spiritually dead. However, as previously stated, God made a way for man to be reconciled to Him by being born of the Holy Spirit, which awakens us to the Spiritual realm of life.
After which, we then receive God’s kind of love and the power of the Holy Spirit within us to help us resist Satan’s undue influence in our lives.
Before His transfiguration, Jesus was led up into the mountains to be tempted. There, “The devil said to him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore will worship me, all shall be yours. Jesus answered saying, get thee behind me Satan: for it is written, 32
thou shall worship the Lord thy God, and him only shall thou serve,” (Luke 4:6-8).
Make no mistake about it, Satan became the God of the physical realm of life by deceiving Adam and Eve. Therefore, when Satan offered the world to Jesus, he was offering a world he controlled.
The Bible explains how Satan deceived Adam and Eve stating: “Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made,” (Genesis 3:1). The word "Subtle" means skillful, ingenious, cunning, crafty and devious; now imagine the serpent being possessed by Satan, and that should give you an idea what Adam and Eve was confronted with that day.
“And he [Satan] said to the woman, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden,” (Genesis 3:1). Satan asked that because this was his first encounter with Adam and Eve, and he was on a fishing expedition to find out how their mind worked in hopes of gaining an advantage over them.
“And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But of the fruit of the tree, in the middle of the garden, God hath said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die,” (Genesis 3:2-3). After hearing the words lest, you die, Satan then knew 33
that Eve was thinking of death in the physical sense, and that gave him the advantage he was looking for.
He then answered her saying, “You shall not surely [immediately] die: for God doth know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil,” (Genesis 3:4-5). Notice that Satan did not lie to Eve, albeit he told her half-truths causing her to believe a lie, which is how he works to deceive those seeking Jesus today.
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasant to the “Eyes,” and a tree desired to make one wise: She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband there with her, and he did eat.” The next verse states: “And the eyes of them both were opened
[only to the physical realm of life], and they knew they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons,” (Genesis 3:6-7).
As you can see, after suffering a spiritual death, Adam and Eve’s attention was suddenly focused only on the physical realm of life and were then ashamed of their nakedness. However, we then see an expression of God's great love for the fallen man and his wife, “The Lord God made coats of skins, and clothed them,” (Genesis 3:21).
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Due to their spiritual downfall, Jesus said,
“Except a man be Born-Again he cannot see the kingdom of God,” (John 3:3). But not to worry, because Jesus told us how we could be born-again saying, “He who has my commandments and keeps
them, he it is that loves me, and he who loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I too will love him and manifest [reveal] myself to him,” (John 14:21).
Remember, to establish a spiritual relationship with our Lord, God requires that we possess a firm belief in Him accompanied with an unshakable faith that Jesus will reveal Himself to us as He promised in St. John 14:21.
The gospel Jesus preached!
The last verse in John’s gospel states, “And there are also many other things Jesus did, the which, if they should be written, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” The Apostle was referring to the many miracles worked by Jesus, but not mentioned in the Bible. Some of which have been recorded in the historical records of the Jewish, Greek, and Armenian people.
Hence, to earn a doctorate in theology in a highly rated seminary, one must study the evidence 35
of our Lord’s accomplishments as recorded in the records of those three cultures. After which, he or she can then conclude with a higher degree of certainty that Jesus is the Christ.
However, the good news is that God made a way for us to factually know that Jesus is the Messiah. Albeit that can only be accomplished by being born-again in strict compliance with the gospel Jesus preached.
Jesus said, “I say unto you, he that enters not in by the door [the message He preached] into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber,” (John 10:1). The other way is the degraded and perverted version of the gospel currently being taught by mostly well-meaning, lukewarm theologians unknowingly being used by Satan.
Before ascending into heaven to take His seat on God’s right hand, Jesus said, “John truly baptized you with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence. And you shall receive POWER after the Holy Spirit is come upon you,” (Acts 1:5-8). The power Jesus mentioned is the Holy Spirit’s ability to convict us of sin, help us control our fleshly desires, and awaken us to the spiritual realm of life and teach us.
Jesus proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: No man comes to the Father, but by me,”
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(John 14:6). “I am the resurrection and the life, and he that believes in me, though he were dead shall live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die,” (John 11:25-26). Jesus was in the flesh when He said that, therefore those who believed in Him at the time were merely believers.
The Apostles and 120 believers that had remained with Jesus throughout His ministry received the born-again experience on the day of Pentecost. Whereupon they then received the fullness of the Holy Spirit, which fully awakened them to the spiritual realm of life. Afterward, they were no longer mere believers because they factually knew that Jesus is the Christ.
Jesus prayed for those who believed on Him saying, “And this is life eternal, that they
[believers] might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent,” (John 17:3).
Notice that Jesus said, “that they might KNOW
you.” Rest assured, God created all races and all languages, and He knew the difference between believing in someone and knowing that person.
That said, there are three things every convert should be informed of at the outset. First, they remain carnal-minded when starting out on their faith-walk because, as you are about to discover in our Lord’s own words: The Holy Spirit is merely 37
with us during that stage of our quest to build a relationship with our Savior.
Secondly, all converts walk by faith, but the measure of faith one possesses depends on whether he or she has received the Holy Spirit baptism. This is because it is much easier to have faith in, trust and obey a God whom we know exist, than one we merely believe exists.
Third, when starting out on our faith-walk, our faith meter is on empty, but when the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our heart, it immediately jumps too half-full. Afterward, while reading the Scriptures, the imperceptible work of the Holy Spirit gradually moves our faith meter toward the full mark.
Jesus explained the manner we can know Him saying, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends,” (John 15:13).
As you know, friends are people with whom we maintain a personal relationship. But not to worry.
Because Jesus explained how we can become His friend saying: “Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock; if any man hears my voice and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup
[fellowship] with him, and he with me,”
(Revelations 3:20).
Jesus told us how to make that happen saying:
“If a man loves me, he will keep my words: and 38
my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our Abode with him,” (John 14:23).
Jesus said, “I say unto thee, except a man be
born of water, and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God,” (John 3:5). As embryos, we developed inside a sack of water in our mother’s womb. At full term, her water broke and lubricated the birth-canal in preparation for our physical birth into this world. Notice that Jesus differentiated between the two births saying, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit,” (John 3:6).
Speaking of our spiritual birth, which is the born-again experience, God said: “A New Heart will I give you, and a New Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause [empower or help] you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements and do them,” (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
Approximately six hundred years later, the Apostle Paul acknowledged that God fulfilled that promise when he proclaimed: “The Love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us,” (Roman 5:5).
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The truth is, God is love, and when His Spirit takes up residence in our heart, so does His love, and it is only through God’s love abiding in our heart that we are then capable of loving Him more than all else in our lives.
Jesus told us what we must do to be born-again saying, “He who has my commandments and keeps
them, he it is that loves me, [the type of love Jesus is referring to here is what we feel for our fellow man] and he that loves me, shall be loved by my Father, and I too will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21).
The Greek text states, “I will Love him, and Manifest myself to him.” The NIV states, “And I
will Show myself to him.” The Amplified Bible states, “I will make myself real to him.” Regardless of which version you choose to read, Jesus made it perfectly clear that He will reveal Himself to those who are putting forth a genuine effort to live their lives in obedience to Him.
Jesus prefaced the above-mentioned verses saying,
“If
you