When the Bible talks about unity, it is for unity among the believers. When the Bible talks about loving your brother, it is talking about your brother in Christ. When it talks about acceptance, it is not about accepting sin.
The enemies of the gospel, Christ, and the cross are our enemies as well. They are the ones who are sold out to Satan. They hate the gospel, they hate Jesus, they pervert scripture, and they hate His sheep. These people are not the same as the lost who are living their lives in ignorance. The lost, for the most part are just plain ignorant about God. They don’t really care. The enemies of the gospel are different. They have made up their minds. They hate God, His Word, and His gospel. They also hate His followers and everything that He says is good.
They push every sinful agenda you can think of. These agendas are part of a larger, “Death Culture” worldview. They love every defilement of what God says is good. Just to name a few things; atheism, gender perversion, gay marriage/defilement of marriage, fornication, adultery, liberalizing of the Church, drug use, and so on. They love anyone who agrees with them and they hate anyone who disagrees. They preach tolerance while being some of the most intolerant people in the world.
So in the wake of this election, I’d like to share a different perspective and line of advice. I am not preaching love, tolerance, peace, unity, and acceptance solely for their own sake. No, I’m preaching being in the world, but not of it. I’m preaching, put on the full armor of God, pray for your enemies… they are your enemies. Don’t make the mistake of thinking they are simply your neighbors and coworkers. These are the folks that the Bible says will turn you over to the authorities to be martyred, your sons and daughters.
Remember folks, this is a life of death war, eternal life is on the line. We are to blame for turning our Church services into entertainment for goats. Church is for the saved of God, to give glory to God! We are to worship Him together with our brothers and sisters. We are to go out and be the ones who deliver the uncomfortable truth! You are sinners! Repent and believe the gospel! Hell is real! Jesus is God!
I don’t care how many people are triggered. I want to trigger them all! They need to be shaken down to their cores! I don’t care how many of them are scared! They very well should be scared! They are headed straight to Hell for all eternity! We need to scare them! How else can we love our enemies? This is true love, to tell them the truth, to give them the gospel that can convert their hearts. So, offend them, offend them all in the name of God!
There are plenty of books out on Heaven currently. This is one among them. Scot Mcknight is a talented writer. His book is interesting to read. I can agree with much of what he said, if I give him the benefit of the doubt in some areas.
The difficulty I have with Christian books is that I look for books that will add value to the Christian’s library. In the world of Christian books, I read works of scholarly endeavor, and works for the laymen. In those two groups I apply the same standard, “Does this book rise above the current crop and add value to my library?” Both categories are flooded, and in my opinion encumbered by copious amounts of average to damaging works. Every once in awhile I run into a book that does add value to my library. I heartily recommend those books. In the laymen’s category, I loved, “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. I also loved, “The Holiness of God” by R. C. Sproul. In the scholastic category, I relished, “Evangelical Influences” by J. I. Packer. Books like those don’t come around often.
To answer the question formulating in your mind, “Nope, this isn’t one of them.” Like I said above, “Scot Mcknight is a talented writer.” Unfortunately, this book just sets in the middle of the field. This book was not aimed at scholars. It was aimed at the average Christian. It kept things pretty simple. It is obvious that Scott leans a little to the left theologically. He seems like, “emergent lite.” He obviously thinks Calvinists are wrong. (Read page 174) He quotes John Henry Newman and Richard Foster. One is a Roman Catholic, and the other is an emergent Church mystic. He makes speculations based on only four options expressed by Jerry Walls, about how God ensures that everyone, even the dead get to hear the gospel. He does this without ever really presenting the gospel. The four presupposed options are severely lacking. This is done on pages 160, 161.
In Chapter 23 he claims purgatory is a doctrine that has divided the Church. To that I can only shake my head in astonishment. Unless, in his horrible ecumenism he thinks the Roman Catholic Church is part of the catholic faith, he is including them as Christian. It also seems that he is teaching that we do things for an eternal reward primarily. He fails to teach that we should be doing things primarily for the glory of God. We know that there are rewards for us in Heaven, but that should not be our primary motivation for doing things that are pleasing to God. He also seems to place an undue amount of importance on the environment. I don’t know if he understands that God is going to destroy the world with fire. He tends to speculate where scripture is silent.
So if you are looking for a book on Heaven, that will add value to your library, purchase, “Heaven” by Randy Alcorn instead. “The Heaven Promise” by Scot McKnight is just mediocre. It has some problems. It gets some stuff right, but ultimately it is just o.k.
God is triune. He is one being, in trinity. This means, one being, three persons. Father, (πατήρ) Son, (υἱός) and Holy Spirit. (πνευματι αγιω) God is eternal. He has always existed just as He is. He has never, not existed. Everything that is, has been made by Him. Everything is sustained by Him. All persons of the Trinity have likewise always existed, as one being, one God. God’s nature/attributes are immutable. This means He never changes. He has never changed. He has always been as He is. He has always been the Trinity. The incarnation at advent did not change His nature. The hypostatic union did not change the deific nature of God, as the two natures were perfectly joined without mixing. A human is one being, in one person. A dog is not a person at all, but is one being. We don’t have any trouble believing in a being that isn’t a person at all, like the dog, but when it comes to God as one being, and three persons we stumble. God is omnipresent. God is in all places, during all times, and times without time. He is in the future, present, and the past. He exists in the in between spaces we now call hyperdimensional space. To be in all places includes hyperdimensional space. If you think about it, that almost necessitates a being who is more than one person. Here is a short video that attempts to explain the Trinity. It does a pretty decent job, but some of course it can’t do a perfect job.
It is amazing to me how accurate the men were who composed this creed considering the time that it was written in. Remember, the word, “catholic” here does not have anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church. It is from the Greek word, “katholikos” and means universal.
Athanasian Creed
1. Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith;
2. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
3. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity;
4. Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
5. For there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit.
6. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.
7. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit.
8. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated.
9. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.
10. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal.
11. And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal.
12. As also there are not three uncreated nor three incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one incomprehensible.
13. So likewise the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, and the Holy Spirit almighty.
14. And yet they are not three almighties, but one almighty.
15. So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God;
16. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God.
17. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord;
18. And yet they are not three Lords but one Lord.
19. For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be God and Lord;
20. So are we forbidden by the catholic religion to say; There are three Gods or three Lords.
21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten.
22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten.
23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.
24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.
25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another.
26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal.
27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.
28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity.
29. Furthermore it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
30. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man.
31. God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of substance of His mother, born in the world.
32. Perfect God and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.
33. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood.
34. Who, although He is God and man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.
35. One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh, but by taking of that manhood into God.
36. One altogether, not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.
37. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ;
38. Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead;
39. He ascended into heaven, He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty;
40. From thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies;
42. and shall give account of their own works.
43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.
44. This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved.
So to sum things up, if you don’t believe and worship the Triune God, you’ve made an idol to worship. If you find that you, in your ignorance had been worshipping a god that is not the God of the Bible, please repent. The true God of scripture is faithful and just to forgive you if you come to Him in faith and repentance. Jesus, the Eternal Son paid the price for all of your sins on the cross, including wrong beliefs about Him. Confess, and ask forgiveness. If you are one of His sheep, He will be your Lord and Master. He will be your good shepherd. By the will of the Father in election, and the regenerating, convicting work of the Holy Spirit as your seal for redemption, and the justifying work of the Son on the cross, all three persons are at work in the gospel justifying sinners to Himself.
Jer 23:16 — Jer 23:17
”
Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.
They are leading you into futility;
They speak a vision of their own imagination,
Not from the mouth of the Lord.
“They keep saying to those who despise Me,
‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;
And as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart,
They say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’
” (http://olivetree.com/b3/Jer.23.16-17.NASB)
“ 13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. 19“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”
He wasn’t talking about making Peter the first Pope, nor was He talking about the Roman Catholic’s claim to Apostolic succession. He was saying, they may call you Peter the rock, but I’m the true rock, the chief cornerstone, or foundation stone, that I will build my Church on. Then He tells all the Apostles, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” 20Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.”
If you don’t believe me, look what Peter had to say about it in 1 Peter 2.
4And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, 5you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6For this is contained in Scripture:
“BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone,
AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
7This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,
“THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,”
8and,
“A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE”;
for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
I think from this it pretty obvious what He meant.
There are no other true gods anywhere. There are none in other solar systems. There are none on any other planets. There is no true God except for the God of the Bible, and He is triune.
If you deny these truths, you are not Christian, but an idolator! You have made up a god to believe in, and you are in a very, very, very bad sin. Believing in the wrong god will not save you. It will damn you to Hell!
Please repent of your Mormon beliefs! I love my LDS friends, and desperately don’t want you to go to Hell. Some of you, who I maintain ties with, are exceedingly nice people. I’d love for you to become true brothers in Christ.
What Mormonism Teaches
Mormonism teaches that there are potentially an infinite number of gods, and currently there are countless ones ruling countless solar systems/planets. Mormonism teaches that the only eternal things are matter and intellect. It claims that its people worship only the god of this world/solar system.
The Bible says the god of this world is Satan. The Bible is clear that there is only one true God. He created everything. That includes all solar systems and worlds. Logic dictates that there would have to be one original originator—uncaused causation. If there were many gods, there would be no true god among them. God cannot share His power with other gods, nor can He be known as many gods. He is one God in trinity.
To Jehovah’s Witnesses and Assemblies of Yahweh
For the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Assemblies of Yahweh cult members, repent of your Aryanism! You and the Mormons share this in common. You believe that Christ is not the incarnate second person of the Trinity, the Son, but rather a created being, and brother to Satan.
You believe that both are the true children of a father god, and mother god, who copulated to produce them as spirit children. They are only two of millions upon millions. You believe in a lie. You must repent!
Read the Old Testament, keeping an eye out for the Christophanies. If you do that, you will see Christ from the beginning. Read John 1:1-14. How can you study the Bible and believe such lies about Christ our God, Saviour, Lord/Master κῦρος, Prophet, Priest, Prince, and King?
The Word of the Lord
“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. ‘Who is like Me? Let him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, From the time that I established the ancient nation. And let them declare to them the things that are coming And the events that are going to take place. ‘Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God besides Me, Or is there any other Rock? I know of none.'”
Joseph Smith’s “First Vision”
The Mormons believe in Joseph Smith’s lie called, “The First Vision.” In this supposed revelation from god, he claims that god the father and Jesus both appeared to him at the same time, and that they both appeared in flesh and bone.
The Bible says otherwise:
“21 Jesus *said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’ 25 The woman *said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when He comes, He will declare all things to us.’ 26 Jesus *said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’” — John 4:21-26 (LSB)
On the LDS site, they hide this now problematic information, and only show people the 1838 account of it, but at last count there were over 27 different accounts of the first vision. Joseph Smith wasn’t even consistent within himself.
Nonetheless, if you look at their Doctrines and Covenants, the same information is laid out, and has not been scrubbed yet.
Doctrine and Covenants 130:22 (Recorded in 1843)
“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”
Why Mormonism Is Not Christian
This are just a few of the reasons Mormonism is a cult, and not Christian. There are so many glaring, and obvious, deceptions, it is amazing to me that people call them Christian.
The only way this can happen is that people are so egregiously biblically ignorant, and have absolutely no relationship with God as their Savior, Father, & King, they easily believe lies, and are themselves deceived.
Trinitarian Bible Society (T.B.S.) was kind enough to send me a copy of their Family Bible in KJV translation for review. As usual it was packed very well, and arrived in perfect shape.
This Bible comes in a clamshell type retail box. It should be retained for storage.
T.B.S. as usual has been great to deal with. They always package their Bibles well, and are nice to correspond with. I gotta hand it to them, they have been pretty consistent.
The Family Bible is a Cambridge layout of their large print text Bible. L.E.G.O. SpA (LEGATORIA EDITORIALE GIOVANNI OLIVOTTO)of Vicenza Italy printed and bound this Bible. They did a fine job. I have seen a few Bibles from them. They seem uniformly consistent in quality.
The cover is black calfskin leather. It has a pronounced grain and is comparable to the calfsplit leather covers on Cambridge Bibles.
It is durable and provides a good sturdy exterior to hold on to. This is a case bound Bible with a liner that matches the black color of the cover.
The spine is decorated with the words, “Holy Bible” and the TBS logo in gold colored hot stamping.
The page edges are art gilt. This means there is a red color under the gold color. When the Bible is closed the page edges present a gold appearance. When the pages are shifted, like when it is opened the red color is visible.
There is one, black ribbon marker. I like to see at least two ribbon markers.
The spine is sewn to ensure durability and flexibility. A sewn spine should be a prerequisite for a Bible binding. There are decorative head and tail bands in the Cambridge red and gold.
This is a double column, verse format, black letter edition, with self-pronouncing text. The paper is opaque and strong. A 10 pt. font is utilized. It is bold and well inked. The text stands out well and contrasts with the paper nicely.
This Bible is called a Family Bible because of the records pages in the front. Back in the old days before all of the government interference in our lives, people used to keep their records in their Bibles. Since then, the practice has fallen out of popularity. People have been more than willing to accept the government forms and records. I have a feeling this might change in the near future. As the government becomes more intrusive. The records pages are from Cambridge, and are printed on a sturdy card paper.
To sum things up, I was pretty impressed with how sturdy this Bible feels. I was also impressed with the good looks of this Bible for the price. It is just under $100.00 dollars and is worth the money. Not only does it give you a great place to record your family history, it also would make a terrific wedding gift. If you are in the market for a family Bible or if you need a large print text Bible this would fit the bill nicely. Give T.B.S. a try if you haven’t already. They have been one of the best organizations I’ve dealt with. Keep up the good work T.B.S.
I was curious when I saw the tweet in my feed. It said, “Equality? => Feminist NYC Pharmacy Charges Men More With ‘Man Tax'” I was surprised because they are charging men 7% more than women as a, “man tax.” Can this even be legal? Men probably aren’t even complaining to anyone. Most of them are just voting with their dollars by going to another pharmacy.
“Habakkuk 1:1-4 NASB The oracle which Habakkuk the prophet saw. (2) How long, O LORD, will I call for help, And You will not hear? I cry out to You, “Violence!” Yet You do not save. (3) Why do You make me see iniquity, And cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; Strife exists and contention arises. (4) Therefore the law is ignored And justice is never upheld. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore justice comes out perverted.”
Notice, his cry to God could be our cry today in the midst of a godless, secular, America. Now look at God’s reply,
“Habakkuk 1:5-11 NASB “Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days– You would not believe if you were told. (6) “For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans, That fierce and impetuous people Who march throughout the earth To seize dwelling places which are not theirs. (7) “They are dreaded and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves. (8) “Their horses are swifter than leopards And keener than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen come galloping, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour. (9) “All of them come for violence. Their horde of faces moves forward. They collect captives like sand. (10) “They mock at kings And rulers are a laughing matter to them. They laugh at every fortress And heap up rubble to capture it. (11) “Then they will sweep through like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.”
Do you see what God was doing there? He was giving the prophet Habakkuk His word that He is using the pagan Chaldeans for His purposes. He was raising them up to use as judgment against His people. Israel had rebelled and neglected God’s word as revealed through the prophets. Make sure to read the last part of verse 11, “But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god.” The Chaldeans were going to be held accountable by God in His justice.
Habakkuk’s reply to God,
“Habakkuk 1:12-17 NASB Are You not from everlasting, O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die. You, O LORD, have appointed them to judge; And You, O Rock, have established them to correct. (13) Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they? (14) Why have You made men like the fish of the sea, Like creeping things without a ruler over them? (15) The Chaldeans bring all of them up with a hook, Drag them away with their net, And gather them together in their fishing net. Therefore they rejoice and are glad. (16) Therefore they offer a sacrifice to their net And burn incense to their fishing net; Because through these things their catch is large, And their food is plentiful. (17) Will they therefore empty their net And continually slay nations without sparing?”
At first it seems that Habakkuk understands why God is going to punish Israel, but then he goes on pleading with God. His questions seem to call for God to not allow this to happen. Sometimes we can be like that. We live in a great land. Many of us are like the Chaldeans. We put our faith in the strength of our military, or our wealth. We trust a nationalistic ideology called America. We offer our sacrifices to it. We neglect God and His word. We rebel against Him. We kill our young and call it a woman’s right to choose. We make legal all types of perverse abominations and call it progress, and liberty. Just because we legislate it and make it legal does not make it moral. Just because a secular majority deems something to be good doesn’t make it so.
As Christians we have an external moral authority Who is immutable. He never changes and is eternal. His decrees of good and evil stand for ever, no matter what human government makes legal. The political candidates we have to choose from, the debased minds that many of our fellow Americans have, the perversions that are abounding, are all punishments from God. We are under judgement. We need to be outside of our Churches, evangelizing so that people might be saved and come in. We need to repent of our personal sins. We need to repent of the attractional model of Church. We need to stop begging goats to come in to our Churches. We need to go out to them and preach the gospel of Jesus, which is repentance from sin and faith in Christ’s work on the cross.
When people are miraculously changed by God they will become sheep. They will come to Church without the need of the gimmicks of silly centers. They will hunger for the preaching of God’s word, fellowship with brothers and sisters, praising God with hymns, prayer, and the glory of God will be their aim. Don’t be bashful, now is not the time. Be bold for Christ and His gospel to go forth! Are you saddened by the damage and hurt you see being done by sin in the lives of your friends and neighbors? Do you think that you love them? If you do, then you must give to them the only cure for their brokenness. You must give them the only thing that will heal them and make them whole! Give them the gospel of Jesus! It is truth and love!
So if you find yourself crying out to God much like Habakkuk did, ask yourself why God is doing what He is doing. Ask yourself what the proper response is to what He is doing. Then I think you will come to the same conclusion.
Snyder's Soapbox 