‘Mid-Acts-ers’ have pre-assigned Romans chapters 9-11 as being about Israel .... so they boycott all those verses having to do with salvation, even though ‘their apostle’ Paul specifically said this was the message ‘we’ preach when he gave the details of the gospel. They won’t ‘use’ verses about ‘calling’ on the Lord’s name, or about ‘the mouth’. They attach them to Israel.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it (What saith ‘the righteousness which is of faith’ - from Rom 10:6)? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart:
that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
The first of that verse came way back in the scriptures from Moses, so ‘mid-Acts-ers’ reject it:
Deut 30:14 But the word is very nigh unto thee,
in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
Paul showed that ‘what Moses said’ is the SAME word of faith that he and others (we) preached, so the last part of Rom 10:8, presents a problem for ‘mid-Acts-ers’. Even though Paul also said there is ‘one faith’ (Eph 4:5), ‘mid-Acts-ers’ deny that Moses and Paul shared in the SAME faith.
Neither will ‘mid-Acts-ers’ preach the clear gospel from these next 2 verses in the Romans 10 passage. Even though Paul wrote it, and even though it has the SAME elements of trusting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, ‘mid-Acts-ers’ still ignore the gospel here, because of its ‘confession with the mouth’ factor:
Rom 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness;
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Then the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ separate themselves further by discarding the next verse since it quotes the OLD testament (even though it teaches simple faith in Christ):
Rom 10:11 For the scripture saith,
Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Paul used the same OLD testament reference in the previous chapter:
Rom 9:33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence:
and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
The prophets taught the saints to have a calm assurance and to patiently wait .... knowing that God would provide their deliverance .... not from physical pain and death .... but to eternal life.
Isa 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation:
he that believeth shall not make haste.
Isa 49:23 And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:
for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Jer 17:7, 13 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
'Mid-Acts-ers' teach that the 'earthly' Jesus was 'another Jesus' from the 'risen, glorified Lord' that 'CALLED' Saul on the road to Damascus. What about the 'risen, glorified Lord' that appeared to His disciples after He rose from the grave? Were there 2 different 'risen, glorified LordS' (one that commissioned the disciples, and another that commissioned Saul)? No! The scriptures teach that it was the SAME Lord!
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ just choose one phrase out of this Romans 10 passage ("there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek"), and then they leave the rest for Israel:
Rom 10:12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ opt themselves out of the ‘calling’ terminology, even though ‘their apostle’ Paul wrote it. Since it is located in Romans chapters 9-11, which they deem for Israel, they chuck it:
Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ scorn PAUL’s use of the ‘calling’ because PETER taught it in Acts 2, and they say Paul and Peter preached 2 DIFFERENT gospels:
Acts 2:21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Keep on backing up, and see that Peter brought the ‘calling’ forward from JOEL’s OLD testament prophecy:
Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.
A lot of times ‘mid-Acts-ers’ try to squeak by .... explaining their ‘dividing Paul’ doctrine (dividing ‘early’ Paul from ‘late’ Paul) for an excuse. But that won’t work with this ‘calling’ issue either:
1 Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth,
to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
2 Tim 2:22 Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
There are SO many verses that prove ‘mid-Acts’ doctrines wrong. It is personally embarrassing that I used to be in that mess. I respected a man with a chart and I accepted his paradigm. But, no more!
Psa 118:5, 8 I called upon the LORD in distress:
the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.
8 It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.
I called on the Lord .... His word .... in my heart and in my mouth!
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ Have Difficulty in Math
God repeated the promise He made to Abraham. Abraham’s seed would be multiplied, and every nation would be blessed through it:
Gen 22:15-18 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Paul showed that this time of Gentile salvation was prophesied.
Therefore, it could not have been a mystery:
Gal 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Peter also presentated the dispensation of grace, and the death and resurrection of Christ, as prophesied .... not mystery. (But ‘mid-Acts-ers’ wrongly divide grace .... to say that Paul preached a ‘mystery-grace’ but Peter had a different grace called ‘prophesied-grace’.)
1 Peter 1:9-12 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
God also restated the promise He made to Abraham .... to Abraham’s son Isaac in Gen 26:1-5.
Paul demonstrated that, because of faith in Jesus Christ, WE are Abraham’s seed, and thus, also his heirs:
Gal 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Jesus taught on ‘division’:
Mark 3:24-25 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Ephesians 2 is one of ‘mid-Acts-ers’ frequent chapters, but they fail to listen to it because there God JOINS us believing Gentiles WITH believing Israel. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ invent an entire NEW entity, and discriminate against those ‘in Christ’ before Paul (Rom 16:7) by leaving them out, and assigning them to a different ‘program’ and a separate inheritance:
Eph 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Paul scolded the carnal saints for dividing because of which man’s message they believed. He named himself, Apollos, Peter, and Jesus. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ are guilty of the same fleshly divisions because they reject anyone other than PAUL’s converts .... even and including saints who follow Jesus:
1 Cor 1:10-13 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
God said we are Christ’s house:
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ claim to rightly divide God’s word (2 Tim 2:15) .... but they don’t RIGHTLY divide it. Instead, they WRONGLY divide it.
They also divide God’s PEOPLE, instead of uniting them:
Eph 4:3-6 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ have difficulty in math with the number 1. There is 1 people of God, not 2. Anyone who is ‘of faith’ is in God’s household:
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ don’t understand values .... like ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’ .... neither do they ‘multiply’ nor ‘divide’ correctly.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Gen 22:15-18 And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
16 And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
17 That in blessing I will bless thee,
and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
Paul showed that this time of Gentile salvation was prophesied.
Therefore, it could not have been a mystery:
Gal 3:6-9 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
Peter also presentated the dispensation of grace, and the death and resurrection of Christ, as prophesied .... not mystery. (But ‘mid-Acts-ers’ wrongly divide grace .... to say that Paul preached a ‘mystery-grace’ but Peter had a different grace called ‘prophesied-grace’.)
1 Peter 1:9-12 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: 11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
God also restated the promise He made to Abraham .... to Abraham’s son Isaac in Gen 26:1-5.
Paul demonstrated that, because of faith in Jesus Christ, WE are Abraham’s seed, and thus, also his heirs:
Gal 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Jesus taught on ‘division’:
Mark 3:24-25 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Ephesians 2 is one of ‘mid-Acts-ers’ frequent chapters, but they fail to listen to it because there God JOINS us believing Gentiles WITH believing Israel. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ invent an entire NEW entity, and discriminate against those ‘in Christ’ before Paul (Rom 16:7) by leaving them out, and assigning them to a different ‘program’ and a separate inheritance:
Eph 2:19-22 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
Paul scolded the carnal saints for dividing because of which man’s message they believed. He named himself, Apollos, Peter, and Jesus. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ are guilty of the same fleshly divisions because they reject anyone other than PAUL’s converts .... even and including saints who follow Jesus:
1 Cor 1:10-13 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
God said we are Christ’s house:
Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ claim to rightly divide God’s word (2 Tim 2:15) .... but they don’t RIGHTLY divide it. Instead, they WRONGLY divide it.
They also divide God’s PEOPLE, instead of uniting them:
Eph 4:3-6 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ have difficulty in math with the number 1. There is 1 people of God, not 2. Anyone who is ‘of faith’ is in God’s household:
Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ don’t understand values .... like ‘greater than’ or ‘less than’ .... neither do they ‘multiply’ nor ‘divide’ correctly.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Greater Than .... Less Than
Jesus is greater than:
Matt 12:38-42 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas;
and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Paul is less than:
Eph 3:1-8 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
John the Baptist had the proper understanding of Jesus:
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ claim to follow Paul, while they call Jesus Who came to earth ‘another Jesus’.
Jesus is greater than .... Paul is less than.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ need to learn
Jesus > Paul.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Matt 12:38-42 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.
39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:
40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas;
and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Paul is less than:
Eph 3:1-8 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:
3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:
7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
John the Baptist had the proper understanding of Jesus:
John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ claim to follow Paul, while they call Jesus Who came to earth ‘another Jesus’.
Jesus is greater than .... Paul is less than.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ need to learn
Jesus > Paul.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Sons of God that Overcome and Inherit
In the end, our mother, the heavenly city Jerusalem will come to earth with men:
Rev 21:2-4 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The heavenly city, new Jerusalem is our mother:
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
4 points to think about:
We will overcome ....
we will inherit all things ....
God will be our God ....
we will be His sons:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh
shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son.
God, through Paul, wrote for us to overcome:
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
God, through Paul, wrote for us to inherit all things because we are in Christ:
Eph 1:10-11 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together
in one
all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;
even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
God, through Paul, wrote that He will be our God
and we will be His sons:
2 Cor 6:16-18 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ teach that we have nothing to do with any verse in the Revelation (the revealing) of Jesus Christ .... but the verses we just read where Paul taught 4 of the same things, proved 'mid-Acts-ers' wrong.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Rev 21:2-4 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
The heavenly city, new Jerusalem is our mother:
Gal 4:26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
4 points to think about:
We will overcome ....
we will inherit all things ....
God will be our God ....
we will be His sons:
Rev 21:7 He that overcometh
shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son.
God, through Paul, wrote for us to overcome:
Rom 3:4 God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar;
as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings,
and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
God, through Paul, wrote for us to inherit all things because we are in Christ:
Eph 1:10-11 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together
in one
all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven, and which are on earth;
even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
God, through Paul, wrote that He will be our God
and we will be His sons:
2 Cor 6:16-18 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18 And will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
‘Mid-Acts-ers’ teach that we have nothing to do with any verse in the Revelation (the revealing) of Jesus Christ .... but the verses we just read where Paul taught 4 of the same things, proved 'mid-Acts-ers' wrong.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Saturday, August 14, 2010
The Earth in the Heavens?
During Sunday Evening Story-Time this past week, with the ‘teaching elder’ .... about 1 Thess 4:16-18, when he was talking about the transformed body we will have in the resurrection .... he referenced:
1 Cor 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Then he went to Mary in the garden with Jesus after His resurrection, who was not allowed to touch Him .... and then he said that 2 hours later the women in the garden touched His feet. The ‘teaching elder’ related how Jesus appeared in the upper room with His disciples and let them touch His nail prints from the crucifixion. He ate food with them, and then He disappeared suddenly from their midst. Then the ‘teaching elder’ likened our resurrection body to a body like the Lord Jesus Christ. He said we were literally going to be reshaped, not connected with Adam, and that we would be a new kind of humanity.
Did the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ forget that ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach that ‘earthly Jesus’ was ‘another Jesus’ from the ‘risen, glorified Lord’ that appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus? ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ make 2 different Jesus’: ‘one Jesus’ in His earthly ministry BEFORE His crucifixion, and ‘another Jesus’ AFTER His resurrection and ascension, they call ‘His heavenly ministry’ (which they teach is ‘unique’ to Paul). But in the end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it is the SAME ‘risen, glorified Lord’ Who appeared to His disciples after His resurrection and commissioned them .... as Who called Saul on the Damascus Road. Woops! That messes up the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ .... ‘Paul is unique’ paradigm!
The ‘teaching elder’ made some very surprising statments that I NEVER heard before during all my nearly 30 years of being a ‘mid-Acts-er’. I can’t help but wonder what caused the turn-around. He said,
‘When we talk about being in the heavens ....
the earth is in the heavens ....
the earth is the command center ....
earth will be in the realm of where we are.’
How odd! Could his comments be an intentional effort to BLEND what he has been teaching (for many years) as separate, distinct locations (heaven and earth) for separate, distinct entities (Israel and the body of Christ)?
A double dose of VERSES .... from both JOHN and PAUL .... would cure his divisions .... if he would swallow them:
John 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should
gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Paul showed that ‘those things in heaven’ .... will be UNITED together .... with ‘those things on earth’ in the end:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Further, Paul explained that the saints will be assembled together when the Lord comes (also see 2 Thess 1:4-10):
2 Thess 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren,
by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (what day? the day of Christ, the day Christ comes to gather us together in one) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Jesus also taught the gathering at the harvest, which is the end of the world, at the trumpet sound:
Matt 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matt 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Maybe the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ is beginning to peddle backwards. He certainly ought to. As of this week's Sunday Evening Story-Time, he now has the earth in the heavens! How convenient .... to adjust his 2 distinct places!
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
1 Cor 15:35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
Then he went to Mary in the garden with Jesus after His resurrection, who was not allowed to touch Him .... and then he said that 2 hours later the women in the garden touched His feet. The ‘teaching elder’ related how Jesus appeared in the upper room with His disciples and let them touch His nail prints from the crucifixion. He ate food with them, and then He disappeared suddenly from their midst. Then the ‘teaching elder’ likened our resurrection body to a body like the Lord Jesus Christ. He said we were literally going to be reshaped, not connected with Adam, and that we would be a new kind of humanity.
Did the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ forget that ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach that ‘earthly Jesus’ was ‘another Jesus’ from the ‘risen, glorified Lord’ that appeared to Saul on the road to Damascus? ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ make 2 different Jesus’: ‘one Jesus’ in His earthly ministry BEFORE His crucifixion, and ‘another Jesus’ AFTER His resurrection and ascension, they call ‘His heavenly ministry’ (which they teach is ‘unique’ to Paul). But in the end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, it is the SAME ‘risen, glorified Lord’ Who appeared to His disciples after His resurrection and commissioned them .... as Who called Saul on the Damascus Road. Woops! That messes up the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ .... ‘Paul is unique’ paradigm!
The ‘teaching elder’ made some very surprising statments that I NEVER heard before during all my nearly 30 years of being a ‘mid-Acts-er’. I can’t help but wonder what caused the turn-around. He said,
‘When we talk about being in the heavens ....
the earth is in the heavens ....
the earth is the command center ....
earth will be in the realm of where we are.’
How odd! Could his comments be an intentional effort to BLEND what he has been teaching (for many years) as separate, distinct locations (heaven and earth) for separate, distinct entities (Israel and the body of Christ)?
A double dose of VERSES .... from both JOHN and PAUL .... would cure his divisions .... if he would swallow them:
John 11:52 And not for that nation only, but that also he should
gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Paul showed that ‘those things in heaven’ .... will be UNITED together .... with ‘those things on earth’ in the end:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Further, Paul explained that the saints will be assembled together when the Lord comes (also see 2 Thess 1:4-10):
2 Thess 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren,
by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day (what day? the day of Christ, the day Christ comes to gather us together in one) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Jesus also taught the gathering at the harvest, which is the end of the world, at the trumpet sound:
Matt 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matt 24:30-31 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Maybe the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ is beginning to peddle backwards. He certainly ought to. As of this week's Sunday Evening Story-Time, he now has the earth in the heavens! How convenient .... to adjust his 2 distinct places!
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Friday, August 13, 2010
WHEN The Conquering Hero Comes .... He Will Subdue All Things Unto Himself
During Sunday Evening Story-Time with the ‘teaching elder’ .... about 1 Thess 4:16-18, he talked about "the idea of a shout being a Conqueror shouting orders, to take up reign of His universe, and announce His presence." He referenced Exodus 32:18, Numbers 23:20, and Joshua 6:5. Then he said, ‘Paul is "using a term" .... a concept of a shout is often times of a conquering hero .... a shout of victory, a shout of joy.’
Question: WHY would PAUL be "using a term" if that term was not "applicable" to us?
Answer: He wouldn’t!
Yet ‘mid-Acts-ers’ claim it had no relation. But if it were not relative, then Paul would not use it! But, the fact is, Paul DID use it, and it DOES apply! That’s WHY he used it! Also, that’s WHY Paul used SO MANY ‘OLD’ testament scriptures .... because he was applying them to the church, the body of Christ, yes, the ‘NEW’ testament saints.
On the subject of Christ returning, with a shout, as the Conquering Hero, to change our bodies (1 Thess 4:16-18, 1 Cor 15:51-52), the ‘teaching elder’ said that He will subdue all things unto Himself. Yes, He will:
Phil 3:20-21 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
But, interestingly, the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ did not use these other verses about WHEN Christ will subdue all things unto Himself.
Was it because he did not want to mention that it will be at the END?
1 Cor 15:23-28 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet.
But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Clearly and simply, according to those verses written by inspiration of God through the apostle PAUL .... when Christ comes, then it will be the END. That is EXACTLY the SAME issue that Jesus’ disciples asked Him about:
Matt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Yet ‘mid-Acts-ers’ deny that it is the same thing. They teach that it is 2 different ‘comings’ separated by ‘more than 7 years’ of time (several years of what-they-call ‘a prophesied GAP’ and then the 70th week of Daniel).
Nestled in Paul’s record in 1 Cor 15:23-28, at Christ’s coming, ‘then cometh the end’ .... is the issue that .... death (the last enemy) will be destroyed (1 Cor 15:26). That is the SAME point he made in a companion passage later in the SAME chapter about when Christ comes (at the SAME coming):
1 Cor 15:51-54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Not only the prophet Paul, but other prophets also testified (see Hos 13:14), that death will be destroyed at the END:
Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Death (and hell) will be cast into the lake of fire at the 2nd death (Rev 20:14):
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
When Christ returns as the Conquering Hero .... He will raise the dead and subdue all things unto Himself. And that’s ‘The End’.
(Next time we will look at a 'new' teaching from the Cunning Royal Jester about "the earth is in the heavens".)
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Question: WHY would PAUL be "using a term" if that term was not "applicable" to us?
Answer: He wouldn’t!
Yet ‘mid-Acts-ers’ claim it had no relation. But if it were not relative, then Paul would not use it! But, the fact is, Paul DID use it, and it DOES apply! That’s WHY he used it! Also, that’s WHY Paul used SO MANY ‘OLD’ testament scriptures .... because he was applying them to the church, the body of Christ, yes, the ‘NEW’ testament saints.
On the subject of Christ returning, with a shout, as the Conquering Hero, to change our bodies (1 Thess 4:16-18, 1 Cor 15:51-52), the ‘teaching elder’ said that He will subdue all things unto Himself. Yes, He will:
Phil 3:20-21 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
But, interestingly, the ‘Cunning Royal Jester’ did not use these other verses about WHEN Christ will subdue all things unto Himself.
Was it because he did not want to mention that it will be at the END?
1 Cor 15:23-28 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet.
But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
Clearly and simply, according to those verses written by inspiration of God through the apostle PAUL .... when Christ comes, then it will be the END. That is EXACTLY the SAME issue that Jesus’ disciples asked Him about:
Matt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Yet ‘mid-Acts-ers’ deny that it is the same thing. They teach that it is 2 different ‘comings’ separated by ‘more than 7 years’ of time (several years of what-they-call ‘a prophesied GAP’ and then the 70th week of Daniel).
Nestled in Paul’s record in 1 Cor 15:23-28, at Christ’s coming, ‘then cometh the end’ .... is the issue that .... death (the last enemy) will be destroyed (1 Cor 15:26). That is the SAME point he made in a companion passage later in the SAME chapter about when Christ comes (at the SAME coming):
1 Cor 15:51-54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Not only the prophet Paul, but other prophets also testified (see Hos 13:14), that death will be destroyed at the END:
Isa 25:8 He will swallow up death in victory;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Death (and hell) will be cast into the lake of fire at the 2nd death (Rev 20:14):
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
When Christ returns as the Conquering Hero .... He will raise the dead and subdue all things unto Himself. And that’s ‘The End’.
(Next time we will look at a 'new' teaching from the Cunning Royal Jester about "the earth is in the heavens".)
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Searching for The Lost Brethren?
During Sunday Evening Story-Time with the ‘teaching elder’ ....
he spoke of Christ being the firstborn .... from the dead:
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence.
OK.
He also spoke of Christ being the firstborn .... among many brethren:
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
OK.
Then he said of these .... ‘They were a whole line of people that were going to come in resurrection .... That’s who the ‘body of Christ’ is .... God doesn’t need the ‘body of Christ’ to be in the earthly government .... He has the agency of Israel to do that.’
Not OK.
We must not allow the Cunning Royal Jester to define Christ’s brethren as who-he-calls the ‘body of Christ’ .... which-he-defines as ONLY those saints that have been saved through what-he-calls ‘Paul’s gospel’.
Jesus Himself identified His brethren:
Matt 12:46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
For those who have Jesus as their Master, they are all brethren:
Matt 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi:
for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Jesus taught that ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Him’:
Matt 25:31-40 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Paul taught the same principle "to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord," (1 Cor 1:2) that Jesus taught .... ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Him’.
1 Cor 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
God said Jesus and His brethren are all ONE. That’s how Jesus and Paul both taught ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Christ’. Everyone who is sanctified is 'brethren' with Christ:
Heb 2:11-12 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one:
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Here is that same verse in the old testament. Here the church is called the congregation:
Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
The apostles, elders, and the entire church at Jerusalem chose Judas and Silas from the brethren .... to accompany Paul and Barnabas to the church at Antioch .... and say hello to the Gentile brethren. Although ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach they are 2 SEPARATE sets of brethren .... in the scriptures, there is NO indication that ‘these brethren’ are DIFFERENT than ‘those brethren’:
Acts 15:22-23 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church (at Jerusalem), to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner;
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
When Judas and Silas met with the Antioch church, they exhorted and confirmed the brethren there:
Acts 15:30-32 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
When Paul wrote to the brethren at Corinth, he made NO distinction between them and the brethren who saw Jesus after His resurrection. No matter who the brethren were .... they were ALL classified as ‘brethren’:
1 Cor 15:1-8,11 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me (Paul) also, as of one born out of due time. .
11 Therefore whether it were I or they,
so we preach, and so ye believed.
Paul said that the brethren in the church in Thessalonica (who suffered of the Gentiles) followed the example of the brethren in the church in Judaea (who suffered of the Jews):
1 Thess 2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
Paul repeatedly called the Thessalonians ‘brethren’ when giving them information about the coming of the Lord (1 Thess 4:15) in the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2). There is NO hint, expression, nor signal .... that these events are DIVIDED by years of time, as the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach:
1 Thess 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1 Thess 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1 Thess 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
The church of the firstborn are ‘written in heaven’. Who do you suppose ‘mid-Acts-ers’ think that is?
Heb 12:22-24 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is the mother of us all - Gal 4:26), and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all (also see John 12:48; Acts 17:31, 10:42; Rom 2:16; 2 Tim 4:1,8; 1 Pet 4:5), and to the spirits of just men made perfect (also see 1 Cor 2:6, Eph 4:13, 2 Tim 3:17, Heb 7:19),
24 And to Jesus the mediator (also see 1 Tim 2:5) of the new covenant (of which WE are able ministers - 2 Cor 3:6), and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Would ‘mid-Acts-ers’ say the ‘church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven’ is the ‘body of Christ’? Oh, no! They would not say that .... because this verse is in Hebrews. They deny that, yet they claim this:
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Don't forget that these (Col 1:18, Rom 8:29) are the 2 verses we began with .... and look how they matched up with so many other scriptures:
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The teaching elder is a Cunning Royal Jester, in that, he has convinced a group of people who identify themselves as ‘mid-Acts-ers’ .... that they have NO relation with any brethren "outside of PAUL" .... even though they are ONE in CHRIST. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ have lost their brethren. They need to wake up and find them!
Come back for the next 2 thoughts of the day, when we consider 2 other issues the teaching elder brought up during Sunday Evening Story-Time.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
he spoke of Christ being the firstborn .... from the dead:
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence.
OK.
He also spoke of Christ being the firstborn .... among many brethren:
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
OK.
Then he said of these .... ‘They were a whole line of people that were going to come in resurrection .... That’s who the ‘body of Christ’ is .... God doesn’t need the ‘body of Christ’ to be in the earthly government .... He has the agency of Israel to do that.’
Not OK.
We must not allow the Cunning Royal Jester to define Christ’s brethren as who-he-calls the ‘body of Christ’ .... which-he-defines as ONLY those saints that have been saved through what-he-calls ‘Paul’s gospel’.
Jesus Himself identified His brethren:
Matt 12:46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
For those who have Jesus as their Master, they are all brethren:
Matt 23:8 But be not ye called Rabbi:
for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Jesus taught that ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Him’:
Matt 25:31-40 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Paul taught the same principle "to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord," (1 Cor 1:2) that Jesus taught .... ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Him’.
1 Cor 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
God said Jesus and His brethren are all ONE. That’s how Jesus and Paul both taught ‘whatever is done to the brethren, is done to Christ’. Everyone who is sanctified is 'brethren' with Christ:
Heb 2:11-12 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one:
for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
Here is that same verse in the old testament. Here the church is called the congregation:
Psa 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren:
in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
The apostles, elders, and the entire church at Jerusalem chose Judas and Silas from the brethren .... to accompany Paul and Barnabas to the church at Antioch .... and say hello to the Gentile brethren. Although ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach they are 2 SEPARATE sets of brethren .... in the scriptures, there is NO indication that ‘these brethren’ are DIFFERENT than ‘those brethren’:
Acts 15:22-23 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church (at Jerusalem), to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren:
23 And they wrote letters by them after this manner;
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
When Judas and Silas met with the Antioch church, they exhorted and confirmed the brethren there:
Acts 15:30-32 So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle:
31 Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.
32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them.
When Paul wrote to the brethren at Corinth, he made NO distinction between them and the brethren who saw Jesus after His resurrection. No matter who the brethren were .... they were ALL classified as ‘brethren’:
1 Cor 15:1-8,11 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
8 And last of all he was seen of me (Paul) also, as of one born out of due time. .
11 Therefore whether it were I or they,
so we preach, and so ye believed.
Paul said that the brethren in the church in Thessalonica (who suffered of the Gentiles) followed the example of the brethren in the church in Judaea (who suffered of the Jews):
1 Thess 2:14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews:
Paul repeatedly called the Thessalonians ‘brethren’ when giving them information about the coming of the Lord (1 Thess 4:15) in the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2). There is NO hint, expression, nor signal .... that these events are DIVIDED by years of time, as the ‘mid-Acts-ers’ teach:
1 Thess 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1 Thess 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
1 Thess 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
The church of the firstborn are ‘written in heaven’. Who do you suppose ‘mid-Acts-ers’ think that is?
Heb 12:22-24 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (which is the mother of us all - Gal 4:26), and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all (also see John 12:48; Acts 17:31, 10:42; Rom 2:16; 2 Tim 4:1,8; 1 Pet 4:5), and to the spirits of just men made perfect (also see 1 Cor 2:6, Eph 4:13, 2 Tim 3:17, Heb 7:19),
24 And to Jesus the mediator (also see 1 Tim 2:5) of the new covenant (of which WE are able ministers - 2 Cor 3:6), and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Would ‘mid-Acts-ers’ say the ‘church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven’ is the ‘body of Christ’? Oh, no! They would not say that .... because this verse is in Hebrews. They deny that, yet they claim this:
Col 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church:
who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead;
that in all things he might have the preeminence.
Don't forget that these (Col 1:18, Rom 8:29) are the 2 verses we began with .... and look how they matched up with so many other scriptures:
Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The teaching elder is a Cunning Royal Jester, in that, he has convinced a group of people who identify themselves as ‘mid-Acts-ers’ .... that they have NO relation with any brethren "outside of PAUL" .... even though they are ONE in CHRIST. ‘Mid-Acts-ers’ have lost their brethren. They need to wake up and find them!
Come back for the next 2 thoughts of the day, when we consider 2 other issues the teaching elder brought up during Sunday Evening Story-Time.
This is David Dowell, saying, "Think about it!"
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