An Explanation of the Truth of Christ versus the Anti-Christ

A subject about which so much is said and written, yet so lacking in sound reasoning as to render the average reader devoid of any facts from the standpoint of the Biblical perspective. This is due to the vain ideologies of men educated within seminary colleges who think that any doctorate awarded to them by their fellow man could ever contain sufficient authority to match the Will of God by His Holy Spirit, (Luke 16:15, 16). Our sufficiency and ordination can only be of Yahweh God in Christ, (John 1:12, 13, & 15:1, 4, 5, 15-16, 2Cor. 3:5, 6), and not of men, and our walk is with God and not man. (Psalm 146:3 Isaiah 2:22 2:17 Acts 4:7-12 5:29-32, 38, 39 & 10:34, also 1Cor. 2:11-16 and Col.2:1-8).

From the days of the Apostles there have been men who, in their cunning sophistries of pride and ambition for the sake of status or selfish gain, have sought to lord it over Gods heritage, (Ephesians 4:10-16 & 1Timothy 2:4), by denying the simplicity of the faith, (2 Corinthians 11:1-15 ), and introducing vain philosophies or Gnostic heresies, (false knowledge, 1 Timothy 6:20,21), through production of these teachings of demons in order to draw away men after themselves, and in order to gain and keep control of the masses of mankind, (1 Timothy 4:1). By doing so they seriously maligned Gods Holy, merciful, loving character and plan. They took away the key of true knowledge, substituting this false knowledge and man-made theosophy intermingled with pagan beliefs and hence, in time, caused a falling away, (2 Thessalonians 2:3-17, & 2 Timothy 4:3,4), into the Babel of confusion and errors so long promulgated by the Roman Catholic church, which is called Babylon in the book of Revelation, and her daughters of the nominal church systems that carry any form of her doctrinal heresies. Interestingly, in the Babylonian language, the word Babylon meant “Gateway to God,” yet the same word in Hebrew means “confusion.” Webster’s College Dictionary places its definition as: “Any city regarded as a place of excessive luxury and wickedness.”

Did you know that the Vatican, the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, is the richest institution on earth? As far as wickedness is concerned, did you know that it was the Roman Catholic Vatican that ordered the so-called Holy Inquisition in which thousands of innocent Christian people were slaughtered because they would not bow to this man-made and man-run system of false worship of icons, saints, statues, the clergy, and the Pope?

The Pope and his priests practice the Mass with the liturgy of the Eucharist, where the symbols the symbols of the wine and the wafer are supposedly changed, through "transubstantiation," after being blessed by the priest, (or the Pope), into the actual body and blood of Christ, in his hands for the very purpose of sacrificing him afresh. Webster’s College Dictionary defines it so: "transubstantiation 1.The changing of one substance into another. 2.(In the Eucharist) the conversion of the whole substance of the bread and the wine into the body and the blood of Christ, only the appearance of bread and wine remaining."

We read from the publication Harvest Gleanings Vol.3: "High mass is a particular sacrifice of Christ for a particular sin by a particular individual. Low mass is a sacrifice of Christ for the general sins of a congregation. Roman Catholics claim to believe in the merit of Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary, that it covered original sin, general sins that are past; but they also claim that the daily sins, shortcomings, and blemishes of every individual, require to be cleansed by fresh sacrifices of Christ from time to time."

This doctrine is in direct contradiction to the Bible which states that Christ died "..ONCE for ALL," (Hebrews 10:10-21,), (Emphasis mine), and that his sacrifice was sufficient for ALL mankind, and does not need to be repeated, and indeed, cannot be repeated by imperfect men.

Our Lord Jesus Christ set up the Memorial Supper with the symbols of bread and wine to illustrate to his disciples and to us the giving of himself in that one sacrifice for all mankind, and, inviting those who desire so, to partake of these symbols, saying: “do this in my remembrance.” (Luke 22:19.)

The Apostle Paul so explained it in 1Corinthians 11:23-26, where he states: "For I received from the Lord, what I also delivered to you, - That the Lord, on the night in which he was delivered up, took a loaf, and having given thanks, broke it, and said, 'This is that body of mine, which is broken on your behalf; this do you for my remembrance.' In like manner, also, the cup, after the supper, saying, 'This cup is the New Covenant in my blood; this do you for my remembrance.' For as often as you may eat this bread, and drink this cup, you DECLARE THE DEATH OF THE LORD till he come." (Emphasis mine.)  The Apostle Paul also wrote that we, who are consecrated members of the body of Christ, partake of the communion, or common union, hence the participation in the blood and body of Christ in so doing, (1 Corinthians 10:16,17). We have regard for the giving, once for all, of his sacrifice of self upon the cross, and of our participation with him in his sacrifice of self in Gods service as members of Christ’s body, although we add nothing to the merit of his sacrifice.

Returning to Harvest Gleanings Vol. 3 we further read that: “Thus from their standpoint, (emphasis ours), as represented in the mass and as practiced by the Roman Catholics and Greek Catholics and high church Episcopalians, Christ is being sacrificed afresh all the world over every day. This "Mass" in the Holy Bible is called an abomination in Gods sight, because it disregards, sets at naught, the statement of that Bible that Christ dieth no more and that by one sacrifice he hath perfected forever all who come unto the Father through him, (Romans 6:9).”

So we can now see without a doubt that this is a false practice of men and the false doctrine of the Mass as one man-made.

Another man-made doctrine, the Trinity, was formulated gradually as the Nicene Creed, or the Semi-Trinitarian Creed, in the fourth century, by the Council of Nice, (AD 325), and later on, further developed into the Athanasian Creed or The Trinity as it is known today. The Athanasian Creed has been long ascribed to Athanasius, a theologian of the fourth century, but now generally allowed not to have been composed until the fifth century, around the time of a known forger, Virgilius Tapsensus, who forged the text often cited by Trinitarians, found in 1 John 5:7, at the latter end of the fifth century, and which Bible verse of “is not contained in any Greek manuscript written earlier than the 15th century, and is not cited by any of the Greek ecclesiastical writers, nor by any of the early Latin fathers, even when the subjects upon which they treat would have naturally have led them to appeal to its authority. It is therefore evidently spurious…” (See Benjamin Wilson’s footnote in the 1942 Edition, Emphatic Diaglott, New Testament translation on 1 John 5:7).

The council of Nice was summoned by Emperor Constantine, in AD381, who used Christianity to meet his personal agenda of solidifying, or unifying, his kingdom, and who supported these self-exalting men in their vain, empty, philosophies that sounded fine, but denied the True Doctrine of Christ, being not of Biblical foundation, but of man’s ideologies. Emperor Constantine and an ambitious man by the name of Athanasius opposed the pure, original, and sound doctrines of the Bible being defended by Arius, a devout, pious man of God who held to the original pure doctrine of Christ uncompromisingly. (Note: Gibbon, a well-noted historian’s historian, says in his preface to History of Christianity, “If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism. The pure Deism of the first Christians ... was changed, by the Church of Rome, into the incomprehensible dogma of the Trinity. Many of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized by Plato, were retained as being worthy of belief.”)

Scriptural citations that note the singularity of God.

"Hear O Israel, the Lord thy God is One Lord," (Mark 12:29)," ... No one is good, except one, God." (Mark 10:18, Ephesians 4:5 )

"My Father is greater than I," (John 14:28).

"I can of mine own self do nothing...my judgment is just, because I seek NOT mine own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me." (John 5:30). "...as my Father has sent me, so send I you." (John 20:21). "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, unto MY GOD and your God." (John 20:17).

"For there is ONE GOD and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus: who gave himself a ransom for ALL, to be testified in due time." (1Timothy 2:5, 6).  (Emphasis  mine.)

Our Lord plainly stated the relationship he had with God as the man Christ Jesus after coming to Earth, having been divested of his spirit nature as the Logos, who was that angel in the wilderness that gave the Law to Moses, (Acts 7:37-38),
³⁷ “This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.’ ³⁸ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who with our fathers received living oracles to give to us..."

And then, becoming a flesh and blood man, albeit a perfect man, as Adam had been in order to ransom Adam and his seed, the entire human race.

Thus it is written: John 5:31-39,
³¹ “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. ³² There is another who testifies about me, and I know that the testimony which he testifies about me is true. ³³ You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth. ³⁴ (And I do not receive testimony from people, but I say these things in order that you may be saved.) ³⁵ That one was the lamp which was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice for an hour in his light.
³⁶ “But I have a testimony greater than John’s, for the works which the Father has given to me that I should complete them—the very works which I am doing—these testify about me, that the Father has sent me. ³⁷ And the Father who sent me, that one has testified about me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. ³⁸ And you do not have his word residing in yourselves, because the one whom that one sent, in this one you do not believe. ³⁹ You search the scriptures because you think that you have eternal life in them, and it is these that testify about me."

Also as it is written:  John 1:17-19,

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the one and only, God, the one who is in the bosom of the Father—that one has made him known.”

The prehuman spirit Logos and the man Jesus Christ, (Yahshua Anointed), has made Yahweh God known.

 And it is written: 1 John 4:11-13,

11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we reside in him and he in us: that he has given us of his Spirit.

 And it is written: John 6:45-47,

45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who hears from the Father and learns comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—this one has seen the Father.) 47 Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes has eternal life.”

So we have 2 witnesses, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Apostle John’s testimony regarding the facts. No one on this Earth has ever seen Yahweh God at any time except His son Jesus Christ while he was as yet in his prehuman existence as the spirit Arc Angel Logos in Heaven. God could not have come to Earth as a man either as 2 in one substance or otherwise! So we have Christ's and the Apostle John’s testimony clearly refuting that notion! He plainly declares that he is God's son and that his Heavenly Father is his God as it is written: Jesus said to her "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, "I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." (John 20:17)

  If anyone disagrees with the forgoing testimony of Christ, it is written: "you do not have his word residing in yourselves, because the one whom that one sent, in this one you do not believe." (John 5:38)

Christ, a "priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." (Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 7:17)

 YHWH has sworn, and does not relent, “You [are] a priest for all time, according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4, Literal Standard Version) 

17For it is attested [by God] of Him,

“YOU (Christ) ARE A PRIEST FOREVER

ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” 18 For, on the one hand, a former commandment is canceled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God] 19(for the Law never made anything perfect); while on the other hand, a better hope is introduced through which we now continually draw near to God. 20 And indeed it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made priest] 21(for those Levites who formerly became priests [received their office] without [its being confirmed by the taking of] an oath, but this One [was designated] with an oath through the One who said to Him,

“THE LORD HAS SWORN

AND WILL NOT CHANGE HIS MIND or REGRET IT,

‘YOU (Christ) ARE A PRIEST FOREVER’”). 22 And so [because of the oath’s greater strength and force] Jesus has become the certain guarantee of a better covenant [a more excellent and more advantageous agreement; one that will never be replaced or annulled]. (Hebrews 7:17-22, Amplified Bible)

The 2 Scriptures shown above testify to the fact that Christ is a "priest forever," and it is a fact that one cannot be a priest unless one serves God. This clearly distinguishes Yahweh God from His son and shows two separate beings, two stations, and two functions as such.  The lesser, Christ, serves His Father Yahweh God the Most High, and glorifies Him forever as a high priest, never to change in that function of service. This takes away the co-equality claim of the Trinity.

So then, all of the foregoing proves the premise of the Trinity as false!

A Wheat Class and a Tare Class of Men

At first, the concept of the trinity did not catch on, but with continued pressure from the emperor, the bishops, for the sake of expediency, compromised their position for that of the emperor. These erroneous beliefs were carried forward, and in time other false doctrines emerged as men sought to further their own plans. In AD 381, 300 years after the Christian church began, the Holy Spirit, which is God's Holy influence and power, was declared to be a god, and the dogma of the trinity was forged by the Trinitarian wing of the church at the Council of Constantinople. They defined the trinity as three gods in one substance. This was not a Biblical teaching held from the inception of the Christian church. This was the forging of a tradition of men that would plague the church from thence even unto our day.

Why did God allow these things to occur? In the parable of the wheat and the tares, found in Matt.13:24-30&36-43 of the Bible, our Lord Jesus explained that this tare class of men would spring up among the wheat and cause troubles, as they were planted by Satan, and that this would be allowed by God for a time in order to develop and test the True wheat, the humble people of God, but the eventual outcome will be that the proud, self-exalted tares will be plucked up from the wheat class of men to be consumed with the destruction of the false system of worship that they set up, and seek to maintain at the cost of denying the truth.

The True wheat class, faithful unto death, (Psalms 82:6, 7), in defense of Christ’s pure doctrines, will then be gathered into the barn of their Heavenly reward to be with Christ forever. The false system of worship continued up through the time of Catholic Papal dominance in Rome through the Dark Ages, at that time, with their scheming, murdering agenda for control over mans affairs, and for riches, treated anyone who disagreed with their false claims to be the Kingdom of Christ on earth, with terrible persecutions. Anyone can read about and investigate these crimes of history by reading Foxe's Book of Martyrs. These innocent Christians, falsely accused and tried through the so-called holy inquisition, were subjected to imprisonment, torture and death, usually by being burned at the stake or by being put to the sword, with over 1 million men, women, and children murdered throughout the Dark Ages.

One example of these horrible persecutions, just the tip of the iceberg historically, can be found in the wholesale slaughter of the Albigenses by Pope Innocent II, in 1209 wherein the city of Beziers was attacked, with sixty thousand Christians murdered, including women and children!

Another heinous example of Pope Innocent’s murderous work is found in the year 1211, when the citizens of the city of Lavaur were without discrimination put to death, with four hundred burned alive, and the country of Languedoc was devastated, its cities burned, and its inhabitants murdered by fire and sword. It is estimated that one hundred thousand Albegenses fell in one day!

All those who helped to accomplish this fiendishly murderous, horrific task were offered the reward of a phony passport to heaven by the Papacy, without having to pass through purgatory, a place that is not based upon any Scripture found within the Bible, and certainly is not found in God’s plan for mankind as written in that wonderful Book of books!

The system of Papacy, from the Vatican in Rome, produced the crusades, seeking to capture and possess Jerusalem in Israel, and were backed up by civil power, (the illicit marriage of church and state), upon which they exercised their claims of being Gods representatives through superstitious, man-made hellfire of eternal torment dogma, subterfuge, bribery, and intrigue in order to achieve their ends. Forbidding the Bible to be read, their Bishops chained it to their pulpits and kept it translated into the dead language of Latin, keeping all else in the dark concerning its precepts and Truths. They even burned the Bible wherever they found it published to keep it from the hands of the people!

This same system of Papacy, this same Vatican in Rome, holds the Pope to be a god, and to be reigning in place of, or as vicar, of Christ up to the present day! This is what the Apostle Paul referred to as the man of sin or more properly translated as the man of lawlessness, (See 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12), and whom he shows to be the developed Tare Class of men in the form of an apostate system which misleads all who would align themselves with it and who received not the truth in the love of it, (verses 10-12).

This is the system that the present and reigning Lord Jesus, as a spirit being returned to take away Satan’s dominion, will consume with the breath of his mouth, (his Truth), and make powerless by the appearing of his presence. We, as Bible students, know that this system of Papal dominion from 539AD until 1799, (The 1260 year period as foretold by the Prophet Daniel and as found in Daniel 12:7, The time, times, and half a time in which a time equals a 360 year period.), lost its former power during the Reformation, the “cleansing of the sanctuary,” and that in 1878, the Roman Catholic Papacy was identified for the false religious system that it is.

The cleansing process extended then and extends now to those individuals who recognize by the Bible truth the errors contained within that system or any of the daughter systems of man-made origin who subscribe to the Mother, (Catholic), churches methods and dogmatic teachings, and seek to go out from them intellectually and eventually physically remove themselves from them altogether.

Any so-called church of man-made origin and doctrines which attempts to set itself up as the Way to God and life eternal, is of falsehood, as ONLY CHRIST is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, (John 11:25 & 14:6), regardless of any claim by the nominal churches that their denomination is the door to life, (Revelation 3:7,8).

Examples of erroneous man-made doctrines:

#1.) The doctrine of a hellfire of eternal torment, #2.) The doctrine of the trinity, #3.) The doctrine of the mass, and #4.) The doctrine of the immortality of the soul. The Almighty God of Israel and of Jesus Christ is speaking to ALL men and women who are of inquiring mind as to His Word when He states “Come, let us reason together,” (Isaiah 1:18), and from His word we can clearly discern that anyone who truly seeks Him through his Word and His son Jesus Christ will find Him, and will become through that Word which he receives, after having been given the Holy Spirit from God, a priest of the Most High God, (1Peter 2:9,10). 

The Apostle who received his authority directly from God by His Holy Spirit at Pentecost, (Acts1:7,8 2:1-4), stated in 2 Peter 11:17-21, “For we have not been following cunningly devised tales, in making known to you the power and appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were beholders,” (onlookers... interlinear reading, Emphatic Diaglott), “of that greatness. For having received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice of this kind was brought to him by the Magnificent Glory,
'This is my son, the beloved, in whom I delight.' And this voice which was brought from Heaven we heard, being with him on the Holy Mountain. And we have the Prophetic Word more confirmed, to which you do well, taking heed, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, till of which a day may shine through, and bringing light may arise in the hearts of you, this first knowing, that all prophecy of Scripture is not of its own solution,” (own interpretation, own loosing... interlinear reading, Diaglott, ), “for not at any time was prophecy brought by the will of man, but being moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke of God.”

We can see from the foregoing Bible verse that men do not possess the capabilities to understand completely everything concerning the Truth until given the Holy Spirit from God, (Romans 5:5 and John 3:27), having first believed in Him and His son Jesus Christ in faith, (Romans3:22-31), and having prayed for the understanding to do His Will, (Proverbs 28:5 & 4:all, and 2Timothy 2:7), and then making a consecration to lay down even life itself in following Christ, (Romans 1:16,17), and then acting in obedience to His Will, (Acts 5:5), and not to that of men in their vain dogmas, creeds, and traditions, they are then called with the Holy Spirit, (Ephesians 4:ALL). God then places them on trial for life, since Christ has now imputed his merit to them in this present evil world, with the opportunity to live and reign with him in his thousand-year kingdom for the purpose of restoring the remainder of mankind to the standing that Adam had in the garden before he fell from grace. 

These called-out ones, the elect saints, are following in Christ’s footsteps, being guided by him and growing in grace and in knowledge by “a step of knowledge and a step of grace,” and in “showing forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light,” to all who have an “ear to hear and an eye to see” until they complete their courses in death and hear the Lord Jesus Christ’s words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” This is the High Calling of God, and the Inheritance of the Saints, (Ephesians1:5 & 2:All), to be a part of a family, a close personal group, sons of God, (Romans 8:14), to be associate kings and priests with Christ during his Millennial reign for the uplifting of the rest of mankind to the perfection of mind and morals, and the raising from the dead of all of the families of the earth who are in their graves.

The Penalty and the Ransom

Let’s look back to the warning given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. He was instructed not to eat or to touch the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Look it up for yourself and read that the penalty was: for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die. (Genesis 2:17 Psalm 146:4), and the Apostle Paul states, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ,” (Romans 6:28) , and when Adam sinned, what did God tell him? God said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it, Cursed is the ground for your sake In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you And you shall eat the plants of the field By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken for you are dust and to dust you shall return.” (See Ecclesiastes 2:14-16 & 3:18-20 & 9:2-10). 

This is the full curse, the curse of death, Adamic death, which is called sleep by our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ because it is temporary, (Matthew 9:24, Luke 8:52, John 11:11, 1Corinthians 15:20). How can this be? Because when our dear Lord Jesus offered up his perfect life, his perfect flesh, upon the cross, and by the shedding of his perfect blood, he satisfied Gods perfect justice, and ransomed Adam and his unborn children, the fallen race of mankind from the curse of death brought about by Adams disobedience, (Isaiah 53:1-12, Psalm 51:5). He, (Yahweh God Almighty), provided His dear son Jesus Christ as a ransom for Adam. (Mat. 20:28 Mark 10:45 1Tim. 2:6 and Job 36:17,18 ). God gave mankind a fore gleam of this hope when He showed it as a type, or picture, through Abraham and the preparation for the sacrifice of his son Isaac upon Mount Moriah, although God did not allow Abraham to complete that sacrifice but spared his son who could not have been a ransom adequate for Adam. (Moriah is Hebraic for “Yah will provide.”)

We have seen from the foregoing the disobedience of Adam, the just sentence given for that disobedience and the extent of the punishment involved with it, no more, (no hellfire of eternal torment!), and no less, (no immortal soul), but death, extinction, from which we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, and which blood is applied first to his church, the “Church of the firstborns“, (Hebrews 12:23), and then, after these elect saints have all been gathered, the blessing of life shall be extended to the rest of mankind through Israel in Christ’s Kingdom, (Jeremiah 31:27-40). 

Now, what did Satan say to Eve precipitating Adams sin? Satan said “You surely shall not die!” (Genesis 3:4). This is the same lie that has lived on through the doctrine of the immortality of the soul, (see Ecclesiastes 3:19, 20). The word spirit found in the passage in Ecclesiastes which states that the spirit will return to God who gave it is translated from the Hebrew word “ruwach,” (Strong’s Concordance #7307), which means “breath” as in the original “breath of life,” (oxygen), breathed into the nostrils of Adam when he was created by God. Satan sought to gain control of our first parents, and the human race, utilizing Eves naivety and Adams inexperience to gain his ends. The Almighty Heavenly Father permitted this to happen in order for all of Adams progeny to see the exceeding sinfulness of sin through disobedience to Gods good and perfect Will, and to have this knowledge in order to make a future decision based upon their experience with the fallen sinful state into which they were born. When they then see the goodness of Christ’s Kingdom, and the far better results of humble obedience to His righteous authority, they will appreciate it from the standpoint of hindsight and experience. What mankind has suffered through for the past six thousand years has been a lesson never to be forgotten. In the restitution, when all of the dead are brought back from the grave, they will be given the full reasons for all that they underwent in their former existence, through the blesser nation of Israel, (Hebrews 8:11,12). Yes, from Christ head and body, (Romans 6:3), the Messiah, (Christ and his True Church, the Elect 144.000 saints, inheriting the Divine Nature with him, Ephesians1:18-23), through Israel as the blesser Nation, the blessings of the New Covenant will go forth to all who seek them, throughout the whole world, (Jeremiah 31:31-40 33:7-11 ) and you may recall the promise God gave to Abraham in Genesis 22:16-18.

"By their fruits you shall know them." (Matthew 7:15-27)

The elect of God, those possessing the Holy Spirit, should be showing the fruits of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22 as, "...love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, self-control, against such there is no law." and the opposite of these virtues is found in the works of the flesh, as found in the antichrist, for the Apostle Paul in Gal.5:13-21 states, "Now, brethren, you were invited to freedom only take care lest this freedom become an occasion for the flesh, but through love be you subservient to each other, for the whole law is fully set forth in this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. But if you bite and devour each other, beware lest you be consumed by each other. Now I say, walk by the Spirit, and fulfill not the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires the contrary of the Spirit and the Spirit the contrary of the flesh for these are opposed to each other so that you would not perform the things which you wish. But if you be led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the works of the flesh are manifestly these: fornication, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, quarrels, jealousies, resentments, altercations, factions, sects, envying, inebriates, reveling, and things similar to these, respecting which I tell you before, even as I previously told you, that those who practice such things shall not inherit Gods Kingdom." (See also Romans 2:1-11 1Cor. 3:1-9 Psalm 103:1-18).

To possess the Fruits of the Spirit is to have Christ-likeness, to be like the son of God, (John 1:13). We of ourselves are quite unable to come up to this standard, except that we first consecrate ourselves to God through Jesus Christ, and through obedience to His word are called, and praying for understanding, are given the Holy Spirit from God, (Luke 11:13, John 6:4445, Acts 11:17, Romans 5:5, Colossians 9:9-29), having believed on Christ, and then consecrating their lives thenceforth to follow him, are imputed Christ’s robe of righteousness, which covers up our imperfections in the sight of God, (Isaiah 61:10 Romans 23:25), and which then enables us, as consecrated Christians to walk in the narrow way of sacrifice and self-denial for the sake of Christ’s ministry of the saints, as footstep followers of Christ, seeking to be Christ-like so that if we are faithful to our covenant of sacrifice unto death, (Philippians 2:5-21), we may have a share with him in the restoring of the mind, morals, and perfection of the remainder of mankind of all of the then willing and obedient upon the Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35:1-10), in Christ’s Kingdom on earth. After having faithfully completed our courses, if chosen by God, we receive our change to spirit life on the Divine Plane of existence, as a part of the 144,000 elect and precious ones of our Heavenly Father, YAHWEH, (see pages 6 & 7), and comprise the body of His Son Jesus Christ in the first resurrection as joint heirs. 

This, again, is the high calling, the invitation to become sons of God, (Galatians 4:26 Ephesians 1:5), to those who have been granted, by their honest-hearted faith in Christ and his testimony, an opportunity to be of the Church of the Firstborns, being offered now to those who would lay down their lives in service to Christ the head and the little flock, his body, at this time, as the Apostle Paul states in Philippians 4:18, "I entreat you therefore, brethren, by the tender mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well-pleasing to God, your rational religious service, and do not conform yourselves to this age, but transform yourselves by the renovation of your mind, in order that you may prove what is the will of God, the good and well-pleasing, and perfect." This self-sacrificing to God in Jesus Christ their Lord by the laying down of life in service, growing in grace and knowledge, by a step of knowledge and a step of grace, learning of Gods Holy plans and of serving his people, is in order to become sympathetic high priests for the purpose of helping the rest of mankind up the Highway of Holiness in the Kingdom of Christ to be established soon, the Millennial Kingdom. (Ephesians 2: 1-22 Colossians 1:1-29; 2:1-15).

The Two Salvations

Many do not know that there are two types of salvation in Jesus Christ. The Nominal Church system does not teach this doctrine that is clearly taught in the Bible. God told Abraham that his descendants would be "as the stars of the heavens and the sand of the seashore." This denotes 2 natures, one Heavenly and one Earthly. Thus is the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, first is the resurrection of the saints to their Heavenly reward of joint heir-ship of the Earth with him as the "Bride of Christ," and afterwards the resurrection of all mankind who ever lived from the grave and the perfecting of all here upon the Earth to be so perfected by the Great Physician, Christ Head and body, Christ and the 144.000 elect saints.

We further read in Genesis 22:16-18,

16 and said, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

Jesus Christ told Nicodemus that "That which is spirit is spirit and that which is flesh is flesh." What does this imply? We already know that there are spirit beings called angels from the Bible. We know that man is flesh and is a living soul. What is confused by men is the false doctrine that man has an immortal soul. The Bible is replete with verses that refute this notion that is taught within the Nominal Church system. One such verse can be found way back in Ecclesiastes 3:19 which states: "For the fate of the sons of man and the fate of the beasts is the same.",(Emphasis mine.), "As one dies so dies the other, indeed, they all have the same breath, and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity."

Do you see what is said here? Apparently there was a notion that man lived on after death even in King Solomon's day, and this wise King sought to refute it in this text of given to him by Yahweh God through the Logos, the messenger of God. Solomon had prayed for wisdom to guide the people of Israel and Yahweh God gave it to him in abundance. So, we can obviously see from this Biblical citation that when a man dies, his life and consciousness are extinguished altogether just as the beast of the field is when they die, and he goes to the dust from whence he was taken as it is written in Genesis 3:19, "For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." Did God tell Adam a lie? Did He say or do anything other than what is written in the preceding verse? Certainly not! Adam died and is in the grave without any sort of conscious condition of separation or suffering of any sort!

And what is written of this thing called death that we all face where some have imagined and therefore taught out of ignorance or arrogance the erroneous doctrine that men still get transferred to some otherworldly or ephemeral void or realm of punishment or purgation of sin? The Bible clearly states in Job 3:17-19 that: "There, (in death, see Job 3:11), the wicked cease from raging, and there the weary are at rest." (Emphasis mine), "The prisoners are at ease together; they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster. The small and the great are there, and the slave is free from his master." If you read the context in full of this chapter of Job you will see that he longs for death to come to him to relieve him of his misery. Job knew what death is, the cessation of conscious thought, and that his suffering would be over! He also longed for the resurrection morning to come!

It is written in Acts 24:15 that: "There shall certainly be a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked.", and again, men have taken the notion and have taught erroneously that those resurrected get placed immediately before a White Throne to be judged and placed either in Heaven or in a Hell-fire of eternal torment. This erroneous line of thought was brought about by the misunderstanding of the Book of Revelation which conveys the whole of the Gospel age and the ensuing Millennial reign of Christ in symbolic language and the heresies of the Hell-fire of torment and the immortal soul that assume man goes on after death and does not actually die, the original lie of Satan to Eve. The Bible states and premises another thing altogether, as it is written about Yahweh God, "For He does not need to consider a man further that he should go before God in judgment." (Job 34:23) Another verse to consider is from Revelation 14:13, “Their works do follow them.” This verse implies that the judgment of the Saints found worthy is before their deaths and that their work is continued into the spirit life that is their reward for faithfulness unto death. Indeed throughout Revelation and the various churches from Ephesus down to Laodicea, the Lord is judging continually those who will be his or cast into the second death.

Therefore, there is no need for a place or time for God to recall or retrieve the acts of men, for he already knows those acts and has already judged them, nor does He need to consider those previous acts of men in such a scenario, but rather, He has made a place according to His merciful plan in which to convict and correct them of their wrongdoing and to allow them time to correct themselves to the point of loving "God with all their hearts and minds and their neighbor as themselves" in the resurrection process to come during Christ's Messianic reign. That place will be upon this Earth and they shall be again flesh and blood mankind. Each man is prophesied 100 years of grace to come into harmony with God’s plan. (Isaiah 65:18-25)

It is in the “Little Season” period at the conclusion of Christ’s Millennial Kingdom there will be a final judgment of perfected mankind in which those found to be not in heart sympathy and obedience to God’s arrangements will be cut off. Satan has his final time of loosing to bring out those who would rather be in harmony with his agenda of control, (Revelation 20:3), and these shall be cut off with him at its conclusion.

Those of mankind who are now presently consecrated followers of Jesus Christ and are saints of light seeking to live righteously in this age are covered by Christ's robe of righteousness, but even so, are judged now accordingly if doing wrong and either corrected or sentenced to eternal death, the Second Death, Gehenna.

 Those who are of the "over-comers", (Rev. 2:7, 2:11, 2:26, 3:5, 3:12, 3:21), of this age, shall also reign with Christ as Divine spirit beings as his joint-heirs and assist in the resurrection process of the wicked race of mankind back to the perfection lost in the garden of Eden as it is written in Job 36:7-12, wherein it is prophesied of those whom God rewards and also chastises: "He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous, but with kings on the throne He has seated them forever, and they are exalted. And if they are bound in fetters, and are caught in affliction, then He declares to them their work and their transgressions, that they have magnified themselves, and He opens their ear to instruction, and commands that they return from evil, If they hear and serve Him, they shall end their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. If they do not hear, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge."

"For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of ALL men, specially of those that believe." (1 Timothy 4:10 John1:12&5:24).

What does "specially" mean in this verse? It indicates a special salvation, a spirit birth onto a higher plane of existence, the gift of the Divine Nature!

These specially saved ones, throughout the Gospel age, have had the great privilege of service in the Ministry of Reconciliation, (See 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 and Isaiah 61:1,2), of men to the only true God in explaining His loving kind and merciful character, as Christ did, and His beneficent Plan of the Ages for ALL of mankind through Jesus Christ our Lord, His dear son, to those with the “ear to hear and the eye to see” and to bind up the brokenhearted who have endured grief, pain, suffering, and loss of loved ones due to the great enemy of mankind, death, even as our dear Lord Jesus explained Him while here on earth, (John 1:18 5:19), and in ministering unto the Lords people, with humble hearts, seeking to uplift, to edify, to admonish and to strengthen their faith by all that we do and say, (and we should be humble before God, since all that we know we have been freely given from Him in Christ, along with the trust that we would do the proper acts in harmony with that trust.), we are to show forth the praises of Him “who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light,” in living by what we know to be His Holy , merciful, loving, forgiving, all encompassing, benevolent, Plan of the Ages for all of mankind, and of His four attributes of Love, Wisdom, Justice, and Power, all equal, and in perfect balance.

So, now having established by Holy Scripture who properly should be considered to have the authority to be ministers of Gods Holy Truths, we can go on to explain the opposite of these humble followers of Christ.

The Anti-Christ, the False System Of Religion And Those Who Support It

Briefly, the Anti-Christ is any doctrine of men which denies the ransoming merit of Jesus Christ’s precious blood for all of mankind, from Adam and Eve on down to us and our progeny, whether good or bad of character, because it is written, "There shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15; John 5:28;29), "...for we are all by nature Children of Wrath," (Ephesians 2:3),

So "There is no one who does good, not even one," (Psalm 14:2-7), and, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:21-26).

The Anti-Christ is also any system of men, which usurping Christ’s authority, sets itself up as the only means by which mankind may approach God and obtain the salvation that is found only in Christ, contrary to what is written in John 14:6,

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' "

The Apostle John explains further in 1 John 2:22, "Who is the liar, but he who denies that Jesus is the Anointed one? This is the Anti-Christ, he who denies the Father and the son." Yet we see these systems as the nominal churches who have the Papacy as their head, and the Pope as their father, ("Pope" means "Holy Father"), and the Catholic church as their mother, which now recently again has stated publicly that it is “the only true church,” still holding to the traditions and creeds of men, such as the Mass, and the false doctrine of transubstantiation rather than the Truth of God, (1 John 4:6), which Truth teaches justification by faith. This system of man-made worship has been based upon the illicit marriage of church and state, (nominal churchianity backed by civil power), never authorized by Christ, who said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36). It has foisted its form of worship upon mankind since the days of the emperor Constantine. It does not worship nor glorify the true God of Heaven and earth, but a false image set up by men.

When Satan tempted our dear Lord Jesus in the wilderness, one of the temptations was to join together with him and the kingdoms of this world in order to obtain the results he desired. The instance is recorded in Matthew 4:8-10.

We read, "Again the enemy/accuser, (Satan), takes him, (Christ), to a very high mountain and shows him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and says to him, “All these I will give thee, if prostrating thou wilt worship me.” Then Jesus says to him; Get thee behind me Adversary; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

Christ did not fall to this temptation, but worldly, ambitious men did! Thus then began the illicit marriage of church and state, the misuse of the temporal power of kingdoms and governments by the false church system to cause all to be subordinate to them. Ungodly men unlawfully lording it over Gods heritage and over their fellowmen to their own enrichment of worldly goods and positions, not of the things of God, nor of His Spirit.

Christ said of men such as these in Matthew 11:12, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of Heavens suffers violence, and violent men seize it for themselves." (Marginal reading, NAS Bible). This is the condition found throughout the nominal church systems' dogmas of control over the masses.

"Mystery Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots"


In the Book of Revelation there is identifying testimony as to who Babylon is, and the description fits the foregoing explanation of that system. That Roman Catholic system of religion has colluded, or been in illicit union with civil powers. Our Lord Jesus never taught any man to do so. His saints would never compromise their faith in Yahweh God to provide for their growth in grace and knowledge alone by joining with any man-made secular power base. It therefore is evident that the system of Papal rulership and all that it claims of Gods authority is false. It persecuted the true saints of Jesus Christ and Yahweh God unto death.

Revelation 17:1-6

 17 "And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, ² with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality, and those who live on the earth became drunk with the wine of her sexual immorality.” ³ And he carried me away into the wilderness in the Spirit, and I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns. ⁴ And the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, holding a golden cup in her hand full of detestable things and the unclean things of her sexual immorality. ⁵ And on her forehead a name was written, a mystery: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth.” ⁶ And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

And I was greatly astonished when I saw her"


God has stated "...there is no savior besides Me.," (Hosea 13:4)

The Hebraic name for Jesus Christ is Yahshua the Messiah, which name means “Yahweh is the savior,” and again, by one of Gods prophets, or teachers, He states, "No man can by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him." (Psalm 49:7-20), because mankind is fallen and imperfect, but great is Yahweh Gods wisdom, foreknowledge and mercy, for God Himself had already provided the ransom for all from “before the foundation of the Earth,” (1Peter 1:19,20; Rev. 13:8,9), and so sent His only begotten son to die upon the cross at the proper season, (1John 4:10-21& 5:1-6,9-21), thus redeeming all of mankind from the death that was in Adam, (Adamic death), paying the needed price of a "perfect life for a perfect life." "For since through a man, there is death, through a man, also, there is a resurrection of the dead; for as in Adam all die, so shall in Christ all be restored to life.," (1Corinthians 15:21,22; Hosea 13,14 & Isaiah 53:1-12), "and since, by one man sin entered into the world," (Adam, in whom all sinned), "and through sin death, so also, death passed upon all men. and therefore, indeed, as through one offense, sentence came on all men to condemnation, so also, through one righteous act, sentence came upon all men to justification of life.," (Romans 5:18) . "Besides we being yet helpless, Christ at the proper time, died for the ungodly.," (Romans 5:6).

So it is we see that God, in His mercy, has "shut up together all in disobedience, that He might show mercy," (through Christ Jesus), "to all." (Romans 11:30-36). These Biblical references should clearly show that Christ’s sacrifice offered once for All, fulfilled Gods justice and the Divine requirement and does not need to be, nor ever shall be repeated, and certainly not by imperfect men! (Psalm 49:7-20). Remember, there is no other name given under Heaven whereby men must be saved. (Acts 4:12). We do not need to attend a denominational church of any name to approach God! Christ alone is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Belonging to a denomination does not secure salvation. Following Christ does! (Acts 10:43).

Times and Seasons

The Bible tells the Truth in a straightforward manner. It is men who complicate and confuse it, (2Corinthians 2:17). How? By a misapplication through a misunderstanding of its various time features, signs and symbols and, unwisely trying to make it fit to their preconceived notions, but God has made everything appropriate in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-9&11).

If you desire to know the truth on a matter, isn’t it best to go to the source? If we want to know Gods mind, we must go to Him in prayer, asking for the understanding in Christ’s name, and then go to His word in continual study, showing God our sincere desire to know the Truth. "Study to show thyself approved of God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth” “For the word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword...," (1Tim. 2:15, Hebrews 4:12&13).

These Bible verses indicate the need of a continued, diligent study of the Bible, getting a proper understanding of the times and seasons indicated in the Prophesies such as found in the Book of Daniel, and through our Lord and his Apostles. Then will the Almighty God bless you with the knowledge of His Truths as found in the Bible, for He knows whether or not we truly seek to know Him, or if we pretend to do His will while actually just doing our own. (Ecclesiastes 1:13, Galatians 6:7, Psalm 94: 9 ).

The Gift of God

To those who believe in Christ now, (Romans 15:12,13, Acts15:7-9), at the present time, when trust and belief in his sure word of testimony, (John 6:44-46), as well as faith in the promises of his Heavenly Father are a prerequisite, and are willing to lay down their lives in Christ’s service, serving his interests, against the grain of this present evil world, (Romans12:1-2113:8-14), of which Satan is the god, goes the gift of the Divine Nature, and to the ungodly, the ignorant, or the unbelieving goes the earthly resurrection of judgment or a trial and testing for life, (John 5:29), wherein God will then pour out His Spirit upon all flesh and, "all shall know him from the least unto the greatest of them and then even the wayfaring fool shall not err therein" on account of the Holy Spirits outpouring upon them.

Then shall the world of mankind be judged in righteousness by the Lord Jesus Christ and His Saints, (Psalm 9:8 96:10-13 98:1-9, Isaiah 35:1-10 40:1-8). Only the willfully disobedient of either time will be destroyed, along with Satan and his angels, in the Lake of Fire, (Revelation 20:10), the Gehenna of fire, (Matthew 5:22), the everlasting death from which there will be no hope of recovery, but where mercifully, none will suffer eternally, as is indicated in Scripture, "between morning and evening they are broken in pieces, with none to save, they utterly perish." (Job 4:19), and Psalm 146:4, "His spirit departs, he returns to the earth, in that day his very thoughts perish." Again, the word spirit found in this text of Scripture is translated from the Hebrew word ruwach, (Strong’s Concordance #7307), which means breath, as in the original breath of life, (oxygen), breathed into Adams nostrils by God when Adam was created, (Gen.1:2 & 2:7 Job 27:3 & 34:14 & 15).

The supposition of eternal torment is taken from Bible references which when not correctly investigated and harmonized with the rest of the Bible, create an incorrect thought as to the nature of the temporary Adamic curse of death from which all will be saved on account of Christ’s ransoming sacrifice upon the cross and of the eternal, or the second death from which none can be saved because they have despised Gods goodness in Christ after having been saved by Him from Adamic death and brought to an intelligent understanding of the Plan of God for all of mankind.

The word translated "torment" in Rev. 20:12 is from the Greek word "basanos," (Strong’s Concordance Greek Dictionary #931), which means going to the bottom which in turn is taken from a Greek word (Strong’s #939) meaning "base" as in a touchstone, a reminder of base iniquity.

The memory of these systems of men will be a reminder to all of mankind of the utter debasement of unscrupulous men, who in their pride of heart forgot Gods will and substituted their own, (Isaiah 2:8-22), as was done in Israel when they too missed the time of their visitation by Christ, even though foretold by prophecy, they were in expectation of it, and so reminded, they will avoid the defiling effects of such a course as these chose to pursue, (2 Thessalonians 2:all).

In Rev. 21:14, we see that both Death and Hades are cast into the Lake of Fire. How can this be?, isn’t death a condition?, a curse?, isn’t Hades a place, supposedly hell itself ? How can we harmonize these verses with the foregoing Biblical references? How can we apply our reasoning to get the proper thought? The only proper conclusion that we can arrive at would be that the Lake of Fire is indicative of Gehenna fire, the second death, utter destruction, complete annihilation of sin and of the incorrigible wicked. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9).

Expectation

Men now, at this time of the Gospel age, are in expectation of Christ’s return. What most are failing to see from the Biblical testimony of our Lord and Masters return, are his own words of answer to his disciples question, "What shall be the signs of thy presence," (translated from the New Testament Greek word parousia, which does not mean coming as it has been mistranslated by those who would cover its meaning for their own profit, but "presence," Strong’s Greek Dict..#3952, as in present, at hand, the here and now, and this is such an important key of knowledge!), "and of the consummation of the age?" (Matthew 24:3).

After our Lord Jesus explains the many tribulations of the saintly few and of their persecutions in this darkened, evil, deceptive world in which we live, he then states in Matt. 24:27, "...for as the lighting, ( The Greek word For lightning is "astrape" which means "bright shining"), "emerges from the east and shines unto the west, so will be the parousia," (again the New Testament Greek word for "presence"), "of the son of man."

This is an obvious proof, when correctly translated, of our Lords having returned while the world is largely unaware of him! Our Lord Jesus indicated through angels to his faithful few when he left as a spirit being, that Christ would return as a spirit being, ( Acts1:11), unseen to all but those whose eyes are opened to him through the Truth, the body of Truth, (Matt. 24:28) , and ears are open to his message, (Matt.24:31), by the Holy Spirit of God, for the kingdom of God "cometh not with outward show." (Luke17:20&21).

In Matt. 24:37, our Lord reiterates, saying, "for as in the days of Noah, thus will be the presence, (again, from the Greek word parousia), of the Son of Man," and Luke 17:26, "as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the son-of-man," Then Matt.24:38,39 our Lord Jesus explains further, saying, "for as in those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying, and pledging in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the Ark,"(It is interesting to note here that not one of masses of people there, excepting his family, believed Noah’s message!), "and understood not, until the flood came and swept them all away. THUS will be the presence of the Son of Man...."

In verses 40 and 41 of the same chapter of Matthew, commonly thought to be about the rapture, another erroneous man-made doctrine, four workers of our Lord, two men and two women, are co-laboring at His work, but the two taken are the two who recognize that our Lord is present, and gather, with others have their lamps filled with oil, (the Holy Spirit), and trimmed with sufficient study of God’s word, to the body of Truth which Christ is dispensing to them through the seventh trumpeting messenger of Revelation 11:15, the selfsame wise and faithful steward of Matt. 24:45.

This is the same individual spoken of by the Prophet Daniel in Dan. 12:10-12. It is this steward who recognizes from Bible chronology, (prophetic dates of the ages and dispensations for the outworking of Gods Plan for mankind), that at the end of the 1335 days, in 1874, our Lord and Master would return!

According to the Bible dates prophesied, from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation, (Papacy’s reign and the Catholic Mass), is set up, there will be 1290 days, (from 539A.D. to 1799), and from thence until the 1335 days are attained, the date comes out to be 1874! (539 + 1335 = 1874).

This could only mean that our Lord Jesus has already returned and has raised the sleeping saints out of death, and is gathering the remaining saints as they are changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at death, to spirit life with him as he sets up his Messianic Kingdom! (1Cor.15:52).

Who is the seventh messenger? We believe it would be the one who lived at that time, and who honestly and clearly set forth Gods Plans through Jesus Christ’s message, the meat in due season, promised to that wise and faithful steward. His name? Pastor Charles Taze Russell. It was he who trumpeted our Lord and Masters Presence at the correct Biblical date in his 6 volume Bible study series called "The Studies in the Scriptures."

What’s in a name?

Those who would worship God in Christ must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, (John 4:23).

What does this mean? We have already seen the necessity for the spirit of discernment and understanding which can be given only to those who seek it and pray for it, and are given the Holy Spirit by God directly. Only then can we have the spirit of a sound mind, (1Cor.2:16, 2 Timothy1:7).

We must become as little children in our character, trusting of God, full of faith in His Word, becoming innocent in intent, wise as serpents, but gentle as doves, wise in Him, not adhering to the ways of men, but humble, Christ-like, obedient to His Word in faith. (Matthew 18:2-14).

The Almighty God of the Bible and of Israel is Yahweh.

God's name can be found in the original Old Testament manuscripts, in the Torah, and is translated as it should be by the Rotherham translation, The Emphasized Bible, which can be obtained in any Bible bookstore. Many Bibles show Gods name in the marginal columns alongside the text. If yours does not, then I would suggest that you obtain a Rotherham translation. 

Now, when you hear a person’s name mentioned, what does it bring to mind? You may get a mental image of that person, but more than this, you get a remembrance of that person’s character.

God has said, "I am Yahweh, that is My Name, and My Glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images." Yahweh is understood to be The Memorial Name, (Exodus 3:14, which translated correctly from the Old Testament Hebraic text states, "And Elohim, (God), said moreover to Moses, 'In this manner shall you say to the children of Israel, Yahweh, the Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, has sent me to you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.' ", When the Almighty made this declaration, He is clearly identifying Himself and His watch care over these men and emphatically stating that we must understand His character!

We cannot truly worship Him until we get the proper understanding of His character of LOVE, WISDOM, JUSTICE, AND POWER, as those men did who knew that His lovingkindness is everlasting, (2 Chronicles 5:12-14 Psalm 106:1), and to approach Him through Jesus Christ His Son. Another very important thing that distinguishes Yahweh God Almighty from all other beings is His FOREKNOWLEDGE.

No other living being knows the future before it happens, (Isaiah 46:10). We must apply reasoning with Bible study to obtain the proper understanding of His Son Jesus Christs words of explanation, (John1:18, & 12:50), and that of all of His Prophets and all of His sons 12 Apostles, and that of His True messengers down through this Gospel Age, in order to come to know His MIND, repenting from sin to walk thereafter in agreement with Him in Christ, in order to be blessed by Him.

To do this we have need of a continual study of the Bible in faith, for without faith it is impossible to please Him, (Hebrews11:6). We must have faith that He sent His son Jesus Christ to ransom us from death.

To you, O Yahweh, is the greatness and the power and the splendor and the glory and the strength, for everything in the heavens and in the earth. Yours, O Yahweh, is the kingdom and exaltation over all as head! 

(1 Chronicles 29:11)

The following is a quote by a beloved brother and follower of Christ, well known by many back in the late 1800s through the early 1900s. It was written by Pastor Charles Taze Russell, who wrote: "How heart-searching is the Word of God when we get to understand it - not merely as a compendium of rules and regulations, but when we come to catch the spirit of it, when we come to see that its first requirement is love out of a pure heart, first to the Father, the Most High, secondly to our Lord and Head, and thirdly to all of his brethren, fourthly to the world in general, groaning and travailing in pain, waiting for the glorious blessing of the coming day."

How true are these words of our dear brother Russell, and it is our hope that you to would have the ear to hear and the eye to see and the courage to refute the errors of those who would keep you bound to false doctrines, creeds, and dogmas of the tradition of men, (Mark 7:6-13).

“COME OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE” Revelation 18:4

We who have seen the Truth are admonished by God to come out of this Babylonish system of man-made religious worship backed by civil power, the illicit marriage of church and state, (Isaiah 48:17-2252:11,12 Revelation 18:4).

True power is Gods, not man’s possession, and He has given His authority to His son Jesus Christ. (John 17:1-3 Psalms 59:5-16 & 62:1-12 & 63:1-5 Acts 3:12-15 & 4:7-31 1Peter 1:3-5).

He reveals His Truths to all who sincerely seek them. Remember, "He who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened." (Proverbs 8:17 & Matthew 7:7-12).

This implies that we must make an honest effort to come to know and understand our God, Yahweh, through His beloved son Jesus Christ our Lord and through His Word as found in the Bible.

"In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good courage, I have overcome the world." - Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ. (John 16:33).

Written by: Arthur Parker Jr.