Very few things people claim are true are explicitly stated in scripture in a single context.
"Look
Jesus said this mysterious thing at the end of a parable & Paul
briefly mentioned something that sorta sounded like it had something to
do with what Jesus was talking about & bam! Now we have a doctrine
that we can write 100s of books about & that we must hang our lives
upon."
Even the idea of having doctrines is shady.
"Here
is some prepackaged truth that makes you feel like you should get
closer to God but in all practically prevents you from relating to Him
because Jesus is The Truth means the truth is Jesus! You have no use in knowing the Father. Just learn crap & try hard so you can feel better about yourself."
Jesus
didn't hire scribes to write books for Him. Jesus wasn't coming to give
us another religion of how to get to God. Jesus' message was
essentially, "God our Father loves you. Trust me so you can experience
His love from my Spirit." It was "Know God & his love for free!" It
wasn't study & serve & strive to know God.
Showing posts with label doctrine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label doctrine. Show all posts
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Eternal Torment, Annihilation, Ultimate Reconciliation? How about a little of each?
This is Part 2 of 2, See Part 1: Saved? Saved from What?
Revelation 20:10 says, "The devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever." There is no mention of this eternal torment for the people that are thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 20:14-15. For them it is described as "the second death."Annihilation
"The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out justice to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (obeying the gospel means trusting in Jesus). These people will pay the penalty of eternal DESTRUCTION, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Here, as Revelation 20:14-15 suggests, those who fully reject Christ are destroyed forever, as in annihilated, never to come back to life. To come back from death requires a resurrection. No resurrection is spoken of for these people after the lake of fire. There is no resurrection from the second death. Even John 3:16 has perishing (destruction/death) as the opposite of everlasting life. The opposite is not eternal torment.
A Second Chance?
Once people are thrown into the lake of fire there can be no resurrection or "ultimate reconciliation." If there were an afterlife reconciliation available it would have to be before someone is thrown into the lake of fire. Scripture says that old testament people were given a chance in the afterlife to be saved by faith. "The gospel was proclaimed to those who are now dead so that they could live like God in the spirit" (1 Peter 4:6). "Jesus went and made proclamation of the gospel to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient" (1 Peter 3:18-19). Notice it says they were "once disobedient" suggesting that they became obedient to the gospel and are now saved. The context says the people from the days of Noah, the worst people ever in the history of the world who were presumably warned by Noah for years, were given this chance to hear the gospel & trust Jesus. Jesus died for everyone past, present, & future so it would have been unjust for God to leave these people condemned without knowing about the freedom Christ has made available. I think it is possible that everyone who died before Christ died could indeed be saved & born again.
Every Knee Shall Bow..
"For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will give praise to God” (Romans 14:10-12). This scripture lets us know that the "every knee bowing" event clearly happens on judgment day, the same day people are later thrown in the lake of fire. This event is described in Isaiah 45, showing EXACTLY what God says to people on that day.
“Thus says the Lord, who created the heavens, “I am the Lord, and there is none else. I have not spoken in secret, I, the Lord, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright. Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations. They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the Lord? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength."
Men will come to Him, and all who were angry at Him will be put to shame. In the Lord all the offspring of Israel Will be justified and will glory” (Isaiah 45:18-25).
Here we have God telling people who He is, even calling Himself a Savior on the day of judgment. He says, "Turn to me & be saved." God offers "all the ends of the earth" salvation on judgment day. It is beautiful & worth rereading. Isaiah then writes that "all who are angry at him will be put to shame." In SEVEN places God promises, “Whoever trusts in the Lord will NEVER be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:4). If you are put to shame you are not saved. Shame is literally the opposite of grace. If you are put to shame you have not chosen to receive God's grace. So we see that there are some who choose to retain anger towards God. They angrily bow. Those who come before the Lord in judgement will acknowledge Him as God and give Him praise at the very least by the fact that they are in His almighty presence at judgement. But those who retain anger (hatred, murderous feelings & thoughts) towards Him in their hearts are thrown into the lake of fire. They did not call Him Lord from their heart. "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). This statement from Romans 10:9 does not have an expiration date just because your body dies. We see that the resurrection is so integral to the gospel that if someone even in the next life does not trust in it, they will not be saved. You cannot hate God & live forever. God is life. If you hate God you hate life & thus you have chosen death for yourself.
Isaiah says, "In the Lord all the seed of Israel Will be justified and will glory." The true seed of Israel are all who are saved. "God exalted Jesus and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:9-11).
Eternal Torment
Scriptures (Matthew 18:8, 25:41; Jude 1:7) still speak of "eternal fire" and it is true that the lake of fire is eternal. However eternal experience (torture) in this fire is only said to be for the devil, the beast, & the false prophet. Below some scriptures are examined to this point.
Revelation 14:9-11 says, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in FULL STRENGTH in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.”
It says the smoke of their torment goes up forever but doesn't say that their torment lasts forever as it does about the torment of those mentioned in Revelation 20:10. These subtleties of language reveal the truth! It also says that they are tormented in the presence of Jesus "day and night." Later on in Revelation 22:5 it is said that "There will no longer be any night because the Lord God will illumine his people forever and ever." So it is impossible for this to be speaking of eternal torture because in God's presence there will eventually only be day. Those 3 mentioned in Revelation 20:10 are away from God's presence & still have night. Thus those who take the mark of the beast are tortured at least one day & one night but no longer than the time span between Revelation 14:11-22:5.
Jude speaks of people for whom "the utter depths of eternal darkness have been reserved." The darkness is eternal but the experience thereof is not. It says these people will perish (be annihilated) unless they are "snatched out of the fire." Matthew 25:41 says that God prepared the eternal fire for the devil & his angels. The devil's angels are not mentioned in Revelation 20:21 but Jude says that certain angels are being kept in eternal bonds under eternal darkness. Jude hints that the place of eternal darkness is also the place of eternal fire, which is the lake of fire.
Jesus said in Mark 3:29, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be pardoned, but is guilty of an eternal sin." Some of the Pharisees did this specific blaspheming, which was to credit to Satan the works of God (ie Satan empowered Jesus to heal people). If the sin is eternal one could think the punishment could be as well. But of course the 2nd death is a punishment of eternal death.
God's Wrath on Judgment Day
Scripture refers to judgment day as, "the day of wrath." It is just one day of wrath for mankind. God "stores up wrath for the day of judgment" for the sake of justice (Romans 2:5) so that those who hate Him, even after He offers them one more chance on that judgment day, can justly have the second death (which is annihilation) that they have chosen.
Why does Revelation 20:12 say God judges by deeds? Why oh, why wouldn't it say He judges them by sins? Because Jesus has already taken the sinful deeds of the world away! "The sting of death is sin" (1 Corinthians 15:56). God wants to take away that sting as much as He can, even for those who reject Him! He judges them by their deeds to ease the sting of death that sin has earned them.
But still how can a loving God punish anyone? God tormenting Satan isn't out of love for Satan but out of love for those who Satan has deceived. Likewise God's wrath for those who hate Him & those who embraced the beast is out of love for Jesus.
God is the giver of all good things and He holds all things together. If God's wrath includes separation from God His mere absence is the cause of the torture. Perhaps where God's goodness does not have influence there can only be torture and pain. Without Him there is no good left. All good things on earth are because of Him. His love is spread all over the world.
What about Hell?
There are three words translated as "hell" in the bible & two of them are different things.
Gehenna
Gehenna, also called "Gehenna of fire," referred to a literal place, the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned. Gehenna pictures the lake of fire. That lake is also called the "lake of fire & sulfur" meaning it smells, Gehenna smelled.
Hades
Hades pictures the realm of the dead or the grave. Sheol is the old testament (Hebrew) word for Hades (a Greek word). The "hell" spoken of being thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 20 is Hades, not Gehenna. The lake of fire will not be thrown into itself. Hades is also spoken of as the grave in contrast to Jesus' resurrection.
The "parable" of Lazarus happened in Hades not Gehenna & it is told as a true story not as a parable. It speaks of flames & torment. Christ spoke the good news to these people in Hades after He died (1 Peter 3:18-19,4:6, quoted above). Interesting it says, "they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead." But the "they" that are spoken of aren't the people in Hades, it is the people living on earth. Lazarus sounds like he would be persuaded & he likely was when Jesus spoke to him there after His death on the cross. Hades & wrath reveal God's desperate love to save the otherwise unwilling.
Today there is still a Hades because it is spoken of as something that is thrown in the lake of fire in the future, not something abolished at the cross. Remember Hades is Sheol, "the grave."
Jesus often spoke of an "outer darkness" & a "furnace of fire." In Luke 13:28 He said of it, "In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out." He says the people in that place will see Abraham, just like Lazarus did! He was speaking of Hades, a temporary place with pain & misery.
"The gates of hell" that will not prevail against the body of Christ are the gates of Hades. Jesus was saying that death will not prevail over His people because they have His resurrection power within them & live an everlasting life. Remember He broke the power of sin & death. In Revelation 1:18 Jesus said, "I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." Jesus has the keys of Hades and thus the power to release people from there who will trust Him on the judgment day. Hades itself will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Perhaps Jesus' gates of hell statement speaks of His people speaking to those in Hades as Abraham did because they cannot be stopped by the gates & Jesus holds the keys to the gates. I have not seen any place in scripture where Satan & Hades are even mentioned together. The gates of Hades does not picture the power of Satan & his forces but instead the power of the grave to stop the gospel. The grave will not stop God's people from proclaiming the gospel to those who have died! As Jesus & Abraham spoke to the "spirits in prison" so shall we. The gospel is about Christ conquering death so why assume He cannot conquer some one's first, bodily, death when it comes to saving them?
Why does God pour wrath out on the earth in Revelation?
Revelation 16:9 says, "Men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not change their minds so as to give Him glory." We can see that in torment there are people who refuse to glorify God & live. They choose to suffer instead. The wrath of God that comes upon the earth in Revelation is God's last resort in getting people to choose Him & live because they would by no other means do so. This is also part of why people suffer in Hades. There is little to no time left for these people in Revelation to suffer in Hades so God has to bring wrath to the earth. "During those days men will seek death, but will not find it; they will long to die, but death will elude them" (Revelation 9:6). God makes these people suffer but without killing them. God does not kill people. He is not a murderer but a rescuer. So during His wrath people will suffer and not die. Likewise in Hades people suffer without a "death" event to end it. God essentially brings "hell on earth" because there is almost no time left for people to choose God & live. Wrath is the worst way of getting people to choose life but in the most extreme cases people need to be scorched to wake up & realize the danger of death.
What about "Narrow is the Way?"
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" (Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14).
Jesus says, "the broad gate LEADS to destruction." He did not say, "to enter the broad gate is to guarantee destruction." Also note that it leads to destruction, not to eternal torment. The narrow way is eternal life begun on earth. Eternal life on earth is important & it guarantees no second death. Life & love matter now!
Jesus says, "few find it." He uses comparative terms. Few are reborn on earth compared to the many who are reborn on judgment day. Few find it because most people look for God in religion which distorts & misrepresents Him. An innumerable amount of people will have been saved even before judgment day as Revelation 7:10 says, "I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes."
What's the point?
People who ask, "Well what is the point of doing good if people will go to heaven anyway?" don't understand grace or salvation & especially don't understand love. God is love. If we know Him we will want to love others with Him.
Why spread the gospel? 1. Because knowing God is good news! 2. Because people are suffering & are missing out on our amazing Father. The gospel is not spread out of obligation or fear for some one's eternal destiny. It all comes out of our love for the goodness of God & our love for people. Why wouldn't you want someone to experience the enjoyment of the greatest gift of all time as soon as they possibly can? The gospel isn't urgent because of the danger people are in. The gospel is urgent because of the good people are missing out on! Someone who loves would want others to enjoy the goodness of Jesus ASAP. It is not just good but good news!
Summary
I've personally never heard the viewpoint which I've adopted espoused by anyone else. Scripture doesn't have to be justified by men who hold polarized viewpoints to back themselves up, it just needs to be studied out by the leading of the Spirit. He leads you to truth. You don't lead yourself.
Those who retain their anger towards God at judgment will be annihilated in the lake of fire. God is love AND God is not unjust. God gives everyone a chance on the day of judgment to trust Him. Some are annihilated. Most, I think, are saved.
Is everyone saved in the end? No, but God is completely loving & completely just in all His dealings with mankind. Some men simply loved the darkness too much to ever embrace the light of life.
So with God all things are possible but nothing is forced. Mankind's free will determines their destiny. God doesn't force a totally two-way reconciliation nor has He left anyone without a second chance. God gives opportunities but the expiration date is the day of judgment where people will either choose Him & live or reject Him and die.
God created a universe where you can "have it your way." A universe where love is not something that manipulates you into servitude but instead is something to be enjoyed at will. "Your way" is not without consequences in this universe. God wants to show you His Way, Jesus, so you can have abundant life & never face the consequence of death. His way is to love you at all costs. You can have His love as long as you want His love.
"Whoever trusts in me has victory over sin & death, he will not be hurt by the second death. I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also was victorious and sat down with My Father on His throne" (Revelation 2:11, 3:21).
"As I live!" declares the Lord God, "I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way to My Way, Jesus the Savior of mankind, and live. Why then will you die?" (Ezekiel 33:11, New Covenant paraphrase)
"I have set before you life and death. Therefore choose life, that you may live!" (Deuteronomy 30:19)
This is Part 2 of 2, See Also Part 1: Saved? Saved from What? & Second Chances & Why God Killed
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Mistranslation of Words in The Bible
Many words are poorly translated in the Bible because of the lens the translators look through. Pretty well all of them look through an institutional or authoritative lens (concerning men). I think it is fine to say, "This word was translated wrong. It does not mean what the authors intended." Just because we see a word in the Bible does not mean it is the right word, a good word, or a word to defend. I don't think Christianeze is helpful especially when the original words in the text were common words of the times and not special, exclusive, religious, or spiritual words.
Most words that you'd only hear in church are translated wrong and are common words and should be translated as such. The Spirit will teach truth but the Bible warns so much about false teaching because lies told as truth blind you to the real truth. That is a fact and millions have been deceived. I never intend to fight about words but to expose the truth. Improper word usage can leave you confused (usually unknowingly) and even lead to poor choices and beliefs.
The King James Version translators had a rule from King James and Anglican Archbishop Richard Bancroft to "use The Old Ecclesiastical Words," that "the Word Church is not to be translated Congregation etc." They wanted the words used by the organized church to be used in the translation to validate themselves to the people who will now have the Bible available to read. Before this "authorized version" came about several people who translated scripture into English were murdered for doing so. Interesting that one of them, William Tyndale, used "congregation" instead of "church" in his translation.
Most translations follow the KJV in one degree or another and because institutional churches still stand today we get the same ecclesiastical words in our new translations. Protestants retranslated the words "bishop" and "presbytery" which are found in the KJV because those words don't apply to protestantism, they aren't protestant "positions of authority" so there was no need for them to use these words to back themselves up for having those positions. Of course they still retained the words pastor & deacon in their scriptures because their lens supports their non-biblical hierarchical authority system that displaces Christ.
Most words in scripture, are regular words defined by context. English translators took these common, neutral words and chose to translate them into special words that existed in the church systems of their era. Some mistranslations are intentional or started out that way and some remain because of ignorance. Be assured that the translators do know the real meanings of these words but their bias or lens keeps them from translating them properly.
Preach
One outrageous example of translators bias is how the Greek word behind "preach" means "proclaim" or "announce." It has been translated as the special word "preach" when referring to Jesus or the apostles but when "common men" who were healed by Jesus "preach" the translators chose to use the word "proclaim." They should use proclaim or announce in every case but they decided, because of their authoritative lens, to only use the word "preach" when referring to the "special" men and not with the "common" men. There is no justification for this distinction. It is simply the biased lens they look through. From what I've seen intentional or unintentional lies make it much much harder to trust God because they hide His trustworthiness.
Doctrine
A doctrine is "a teaching." I wouldn't need a doctrine about my wife because I just have a relationship with her. Since God is invisible and relates to many people teachings about Him are useful. Doctor is an old religious word for "teacher" so doctrine is a religious word for "teaching." I'd rather not use the word "doctrine" because it conjures up the idea of overly intellectual academic facts or beliefs that don't really affect how we live (even if they should) that are meant to be argued about. Some view the word "doctrine" as spiritual, official, established, and true but it only means "a teaching," one that can be true, false, or mixed.
Ministers
The only flip-flop translation I can think of is minister. Today we think of minister as a leader but the Greek word it was translated from simply means "servant" which is the opposite! Someone grows up in a church & hears the word minister being used only for leaders so when they go to read the Bible and see the word minister they think of the leader guy at the church building and not a servant. I don't think God is the author of such confusion.
Common Mistranslations, etc.
Faith - Trust
Believe - To Trust
Forgive - Remove A Burden, Take Away, Set Free
Forgiveness - Freedom, Removal
Grace - Favor, Loving Favorable Opinion
Gospel - Good News
Fear - Revere, Respect, Worship
Confess (in 1 Jn 1:9) - Agree, Say the Same Thing As Another
Repent - Change your mind
Repentance - Change of mind
Convict - Convince
Righteous - Right With Relationally, Guiltless
Justified - Made Right With, Made Blameless
Minister - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Pastor - Shepherd (not an authoritative position)
Elder - Older Person (not an authoritative position)
Deacon - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Bishop - Overseer, Guardian (not an authoritative position)
Evangelist - One who proclaims good news
Apostle - Delegate, One Sent on Behalf of another
Prophet - Spokesman
Ministry - Service
Church - Assembly
Ordain - Recognize
Doctrine - A Teaching
Preach - Proclaim or Announce
Sanctuary, Altar - Not Found in the New Testament
Sermon, Pulpit, Surrender, Revival, Rededicate - Do not Appear in the Bible
Devil - Adversary
Angel - Messenger
Prophecy - Message from God
Prophesy - Speak from God
Baptize - Immerse
Believer - One who Trusts
Faithful - Trustworthy
Hypocrite - Actor, Pretender
Heresy - Sect
Scripture - A Writing
Holy - Pure
Saint - Holy person, Pure person
Sanctify - Purify
Sanctification - Purification
Related Posts
The Problem with Mistranslations
How "Preach" is Used with Bias in Translating the Bible
All Posts on Mistranslations
Most words that you'd only hear in church are translated wrong and are common words and should be translated as such. The Spirit will teach truth but the Bible warns so much about false teaching because lies told as truth blind you to the real truth. That is a fact and millions have been deceived. I never intend to fight about words but to expose the truth. Improper word usage can leave you confused (usually unknowingly) and even lead to poor choices and beliefs.
The King James Version translators had a rule from King James and Anglican Archbishop Richard Bancroft to "use The Old Ecclesiastical Words," that "the Word Church is not to be translated Congregation etc." They wanted the words used by the organized church to be used in the translation to validate themselves to the people who will now have the Bible available to read. Before this "authorized version" came about several people who translated scripture into English were murdered for doing so. Interesting that one of them, William Tyndale, used "congregation" instead of "church" in his translation.
Most translations follow the KJV in one degree or another and because institutional churches still stand today we get the same ecclesiastical words in our new translations. Protestants retranslated the words "bishop" and "presbytery" which are found in the KJV because those words don't apply to protestantism, they aren't protestant "positions of authority" so there was no need for them to use these words to back themselves up for having those positions. Of course they still retained the words pastor & deacon in their scriptures because their lens supports their non-biblical hierarchical authority system that displaces Christ.
Most words in scripture, are regular words defined by context. English translators took these common, neutral words and chose to translate them into special words that existed in the church systems of their era. Some mistranslations are intentional or started out that way and some remain because of ignorance. Be assured that the translators do know the real meanings of these words but their bias or lens keeps them from translating them properly.
Preach
One outrageous example of translators bias is how the Greek word behind "preach" means "proclaim" or "announce." It has been translated as the special word "preach" when referring to Jesus or the apostles but when "common men" who were healed by Jesus "preach" the translators chose to use the word "proclaim." They should use proclaim or announce in every case but they decided, because of their authoritative lens, to only use the word "preach" when referring to the "special" men and not with the "common" men. There is no justification for this distinction. It is simply the biased lens they look through. From what I've seen intentional or unintentional lies make it much much harder to trust God because they hide His trustworthiness.
Doctrine
A doctrine is "a teaching." I wouldn't need a doctrine about my wife because I just have a relationship with her. Since God is invisible and relates to many people teachings about Him are useful. Doctor is an old religious word for "teacher" so doctrine is a religious word for "teaching." I'd rather not use the word "doctrine" because it conjures up the idea of overly intellectual academic facts or beliefs that don't really affect how we live (even if they should) that are meant to be argued about. Some view the word "doctrine" as spiritual, official, established, and true but it only means "a teaching," one that can be true, false, or mixed.
Ministers
The only flip-flop translation I can think of is minister. Today we think of minister as a leader but the Greek word it was translated from simply means "servant" which is the opposite! Someone grows up in a church & hears the word minister being used only for leaders so when they go to read the Bible and see the word minister they think of the leader guy at the church building and not a servant. I don't think God is the author of such confusion.
Common Mistranslations, etc.
Faith - Trust
Believe - To Trust
Forgive - Remove A Burden, Take Away, Set Free
Forgiveness - Freedom, Removal
Grace - Favor, Loving Favorable Opinion
Gospel - Good News
Fear - Revere, Respect, Worship
Confess (in 1 Jn 1:9) - Agree, Say the Same Thing As Another
Repent - Change your mind
Repentance - Change of mind
Convict - Convince
Righteous - Right With Relationally, Guiltless
Justified - Made Right With, Made Blameless
Minister - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Pastor - Shepherd (not an authoritative position)
Elder - Older Person (not an authoritative position)
Deacon - Servant (not an authoritative position)
Bishop - Overseer, Guardian (not an authoritative position)
Evangelist - One who proclaims good news
Apostle - Delegate, One Sent on Behalf of another
Prophet - Spokesman
Ministry - Service
Church - Assembly
Ordain - Recognize
Doctrine - A Teaching
Preach - Proclaim or Announce
Sanctuary, Altar - Not Found in the New Testament
Sermon, Pulpit, Surrender, Revival, Rededicate - Do not Appear in the Bible
Devil - Adversary
Angel - Messenger
Prophecy - Message from God
Prophesy - Speak from God
Baptize - Immerse
Believer - One who Trusts
Faithful - Trustworthy
Hypocrite - Actor, Pretender
Heresy - Sect
Scripture - A Writing
Holy - Pure
Saint - Holy person, Pure person
Sanctify - Purify
Sanctification - Purification
Related Posts
The Problem with Mistranslations
How "Preach" is Used with Bias in Translating the Bible
All Posts on Mistranslations
Friday, April 20, 2012
What Jesus Hates & Despises
What Jesus Hates
"Yet this you do have assembly in Ephesus, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6).
"You assembly in Pergamum have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:15).
Nico means to rule over. Laitans means laity which simply translated means "people." God hates the deeds & doctrines (teachings) that involve some people ruling over other people in His body. That means God hates hierarchical authority in the body of Christ.
Interesting that the assembly in Ephesus is the first one written to, it represents the first century body of Christ, those who had not adopted the ungodly doctrine and deeds of hierarchical authority.
The assembly in Pergamum is the third one written to. Pergamum means "mixed Marriage" or "perverted marriage." Jesus says they "have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" meaning hierarchical authority. He says hierarchical authority is "a stumbling block" and it causes people to "commit acts of immorality" (Revelation 2:14-15). The assembly in Pergamum represents the beginning of the institutional church from around the third century which began to have "leaders" (bishops, priests etc) rise up over other people thus usurping the headship of Christ. Headship which of course points to marriage thus setting up a "mixed marriage." How hate worthy is the thing that causes someone to cheat in their marriage? That friends is what hierarchical authority in the body of Christ is.
Hierarchical authority is the only thing in the New Testament that Jesus personally says that He "hates." The entire institutional church is built on hierarchical authority. No church of that sort can claim to "hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans" like Jesus said those in Ephesus did because they are all doing those deeds and in fact not only approve of the deeds but highly exalt the deeds.
Jesus also spoke harshly to the self-righteous but notice that those self-righteous people were exclusively people in positions of hierarchical authority. Hierarchical authority is the fertilizer that makes self-righteousness grow.
Here are two other places where Jesus spoke against hierarchical authority:
Jesus said, "Do not be called leaders because you have one Leader, Christ and you are all brothers" (see Matthew 23:1-12). In this context Jesus speaks against accepting (allowing others to call you by) honorary titles. He also speaks against lack of humility, laying burdens on people, bossing people around, doing things to be noticed by others so you can receive acclaim, loving to be in places of honor, & being greeted as better than others based on your position.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The kings of the Gentiles have power over/exercise authority over them but it shall not be so among you" (see Luke 22:13-30). In this context Jesus speaks against exercising authority over brothers and sisters in Christ (abusive or non-abusive), seeking status over others, & using honorary titles to make yourself seem kind or superior.
What Jesus Despises
The writer of Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the cross, meaning He felt all the shame and disgrace that mankind has ever felt because of sin. Christ despises the shame we feel, not us but the shame that causes us to feel far from Him as it did with Adam and Eve in the garden (compare Genesis 2:25 with Genesis 3:10). Shame is disgrace, the literal opposite of grace. It is the feeling or perception of disfavor, that you've lost favor with God. God gives grace not disgrace. “Everyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:4). He wants us to know His love. Imagine if something made someone you love feel as if you didn't love them or that you loved them less. That is how Jesus felt on the cross when He was despising the shame. The God who loves us without measure felt how unloved we feel.
Conclusion
Sadly hierarchical authority & shame meet at the pulpit, an unbiblical place at every church institution where the so called "leader," "pastor," or "man of God" slings shame and condemnation over a subdued crowd. I have yet to hear a sermon that didn't at some point disgrace grace. I don't say this to shame anyone but to warn of the danger in it. If those on top don't suffer, those on the bottom will and in ways many can't begin to imagine. Usually both suffer but are fooled into thinking that this is "God's way." Be assured that it is not. Heed the words of Jesus. Drop your titles, leave your positions, become a brother or sister and let Christ do what He came to do, build His people.
Jesus did away with the old covenant system of hierarchical authority when He rose again and sent His Spirit. This allowed Him to be the only & perfect mediator between mankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). He made all of God's people kings and priests, all honored but all equal. What an amazing Lord we have!
Related Posts
"Yet this you do have assembly in Ephesus, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6).
"You assembly in Pergamum have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:15).
Nico means to rule over. Laitans means laity which simply translated means "people." God hates the deeds & doctrines (teachings) that involve some people ruling over other people in His body. That means God hates hierarchical authority in the body of Christ.
Interesting that the assembly in Ephesus is the first one written to, it represents the first century body of Christ, those who had not adopted the ungodly doctrine and deeds of hierarchical authority.
The assembly in Pergamum is the third one written to. Pergamum means "mixed Marriage" or "perverted marriage." Jesus says they "have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans" meaning hierarchical authority. He says hierarchical authority is "a stumbling block" and it causes people to "commit acts of immorality" (Revelation 2:14-15). The assembly in Pergamum represents the beginning of the institutional church from around the third century which began to have "leaders" (bishops, priests etc) rise up over other people thus usurping the headship of Christ. Headship which of course points to marriage thus setting up a "mixed marriage." How hate worthy is the thing that causes someone to cheat in their marriage? That friends is what hierarchical authority in the body of Christ is.
Hierarchical authority is the only thing in the New Testament that Jesus personally says that He "hates." The entire institutional church is built on hierarchical authority. No church of that sort can claim to "hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans" like Jesus said those in Ephesus did because they are all doing those deeds and in fact not only approve of the deeds but highly exalt the deeds.
Jesus also spoke harshly to the self-righteous but notice that those self-righteous people were exclusively people in positions of hierarchical authority. Hierarchical authority is the fertilizer that makes self-righteousness grow.
Here are two other places where Jesus spoke against hierarchical authority:
Jesus said, "Do not be called leaders because you have one Leader, Christ and you are all brothers" (see Matthew 23:1-12). In this context Jesus speaks against accepting (allowing others to call you by) honorary titles. He also speaks against lack of humility, laying burdens on people, bossing people around, doing things to be noticed by others so you can receive acclaim, loving to be in places of honor, & being greeted as better than others based on your position.
Jesus said to His disciples, "The kings of the Gentiles have power over/exercise authority over them but it shall not be so among you" (see Luke 22:13-30). In this context Jesus speaks against exercising authority over brothers and sisters in Christ (abusive or non-abusive), seeking status over others, & using honorary titles to make yourself seem kind or superior.
What Jesus Despises
The writer of Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus despised the shame of the cross, meaning He felt all the shame and disgrace that mankind has ever felt because of sin. Christ despises the shame we feel, not us but the shame that causes us to feel far from Him as it did with Adam and Eve in the garden (compare Genesis 2:25 with Genesis 3:10). Shame is disgrace, the literal opposite of grace. It is the feeling or perception of disfavor, that you've lost favor with God. God gives grace not disgrace. “Everyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:16, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27, Isaiah 45:17, 54:4). He wants us to know His love. Imagine if something made someone you love feel as if you didn't love them or that you loved them less. That is how Jesus felt on the cross when He was despising the shame. The God who loves us without measure felt how unloved we feel.
Conclusion
Sadly hierarchical authority & shame meet at the pulpit, an unbiblical place at every church institution where the so called "leader," "pastor," or "man of God" slings shame and condemnation over a subdued crowd. I have yet to hear a sermon that didn't at some point disgrace grace. I don't say this to shame anyone but to warn of the danger in it. If those on top don't suffer, those on the bottom will and in ways many can't begin to imagine. Usually both suffer but are fooled into thinking that this is "God's way." Be assured that it is not. Heed the words of Jesus. Drop your titles, leave your positions, become a brother or sister and let Christ do what He came to do, build His people.
Jesus did away with the old covenant system of hierarchical authority when He rose again and sent His Spirit. This allowed Him to be the only & perfect mediator between mankind and God (1 Timothy 2:5). He made all of God's people kings and priests, all honored but all equal. What an amazing Lord we have!
Related Posts
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Intellectual Knowledge vs. Relational Trust
In some sense I don't think it does matter what I believe. It does
matter who I trust. If you as my friend have some wrong information
about me that doesn't mean I will disown you. Neither will Jesus disown
those who trust Him if they are wrong concerning facts about Him. God
values our relationship with Him more than us knowing a checklist of
facts about Him. The Holy Spirit will lead God's children to all truth.
Of course it is better to know the truth (facts) about the Truth (Jesus)
but we should never let what we believe cause us to be less loving
towards others.
There are only a handful of falsehoods that disqualify someone from being able to know Christ. The bible says in various ways that whoever trusts in Jesus will have eternal life and Jesus defines eternal life as knowing The Father and The Son. Jesus came first to the Jews so they had some idea of who He was. Still Jesus nor the apostles handed out a written test to see if someone could earn grace by their knowledge of God.
Trusting Christ is the qualification. Jesus said that the will of the Father is to trust in the Son. Jesus even once answered the question "What should we do that we might do the works of God?" by saying, "This is the work of God that you trust in Jesus Christ whom God sent." The very work of God is trusting in Jesus! I would hate to have to take a works based or knowledge based test to earn grace from God.
We can only know the real Christ through the spirit not through doctrines and facts. Paul said, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Falsehood is terrible but none of us know God fully and all of us are wrong about Him in some way at least in the sense that we don't know Him fully yet.
Focus: Essential Doctrines or Essential Person?
I guess the question for those who push essential doctrines is, "Is it more wrong to be mistaken about Jesus or to be ignorant about Jesus?" Truth is very important to live and grow by but I think God examines the heart far more than the head when it comes to salvation. Did the thief on the cross know that Jesus was born of a virgin?
The facts/truth about Jesus does not replace knowing Jesus spiritually as the basis of whether someone is a Christian or not. We can know the right things without knowing God. The right things are very important but not as important as the right One, Jesus. You could know a lot about me but if you've never encountered me in your life then you don't really know me at all.
How do we define what is essential? If someone trusts Christ in their life but gets even one of these "essentials" wrong or is ignorant of one of them does that mean they are not a Christian? This mindset is similar to being saved by works but instead of a checklist of deeds to do it is a checklist of facts to believe.
Those who push for essential doctrines as the basis of unity are really looking for a non-relational agreement between entities (church institutions, denominations, organizations). Our focus should be on the essential person of Jesus. We can "believe" all of the essential doctrines and not know the essential person of Jesus Christ. You can have all the essential ingredients of a pie but if no one makes the pie out of those ingredients having "the essentials" doesn't mean squat. Belief in doctrines doesn't produce salvation, trust in Christ does.
There is a grave danger in a "gospel of doctrines" that says "if you consider this list of things to be true then you know God." To expose that absurdity here is a comparative saying, "If you believe these 3 facts about George Washington then he is your best friend."
Agreeing vs. Loving
We look so hard at "who is Christian and who is not" & "who is wrong and who is right." We are so preoccupied with 'Christianity at large,' the 'church in America,' and tons of people we have never and will never meet. The only thing we should be looking for is "Who does Christ want to love through me today? How do I follow the Spirit of God in me today so that I may love whoever God puts in my path today?"
I'm not talking about compromising the truth but I don't think every occasion a falsehood comes up is my opportunity to correct someone. Jesus withheld truth from people. It was in His wisdom. We are in Christ just as Christ is in the Father so we can determine when to do this too. We should "accept one another as Christ has accepted us." That means, like Jesus, we meet people where they are. It means we humbly understand that no one has it all figured out despite our systematic theologies.
God wins people by His love. One way of loving is telling people the truth about God but you don't have to "have it right" or even accept my words about God for me to love you, whether you are a Christian or not. If the truth (facts) causes us to love someone less then we are not following The Truth (Christ).
If I'm more concerned about someone agreeing with me about facts than I am about enjoying the Father with them then I have a problem. We don't need to get our facts\truth straight we need to get our faith\trust straight. God will get us to the facts in His wise timing if we go to Him in faith.
It is the same thing when Paul said, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." At first glance that doesn't sound like much but Jesus is the illimitable God and He is all we need to know. In the Truth there are all the many little truths that God desires we know.
There are only a handful of falsehoods that disqualify someone from being able to know Christ. The bible says in various ways that whoever trusts in Jesus will have eternal life and Jesus defines eternal life as knowing The Father and The Son. Jesus came first to the Jews so they had some idea of who He was. Still Jesus nor the apostles handed out a written test to see if someone could earn grace by their knowledge of God.
Trusting Christ is the qualification. Jesus said that the will of the Father is to trust in the Son. Jesus even once answered the question "What should we do that we might do the works of God?" by saying, "This is the work of God that you trust in Jesus Christ whom God sent." The very work of God is trusting in Jesus! I would hate to have to take a works based or knowledge based test to earn grace from God.
We can only know the real Christ through the spirit not through doctrines and facts. Paul said, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Falsehood is terrible but none of us know God fully and all of us are wrong about Him in some way at least in the sense that we don't know Him fully yet.
Focus: Essential Doctrines or Essential Person?
I guess the question for those who push essential doctrines is, "Is it more wrong to be mistaken about Jesus or to be ignorant about Jesus?" Truth is very important to live and grow by but I think God examines the heart far more than the head when it comes to salvation. Did the thief on the cross know that Jesus was born of a virgin?
The facts/truth about Jesus does not replace knowing Jesus spiritually as the basis of whether someone is a Christian or not. We can know the right things without knowing God. The right things are very important but not as important as the right One, Jesus. You could know a lot about me but if you've never encountered me in your life then you don't really know me at all.
How do we define what is essential? If someone trusts Christ in their life but gets even one of these "essentials" wrong or is ignorant of one of them does that mean they are not a Christian? This mindset is similar to being saved by works but instead of a checklist of deeds to do it is a checklist of facts to believe.
Those who push for essential doctrines as the basis of unity are really looking for a non-relational agreement between entities (church institutions, denominations, organizations). Our focus should be on the essential person of Jesus. We can "believe" all of the essential doctrines and not know the essential person of Jesus Christ. You can have all the essential ingredients of a pie but if no one makes the pie out of those ingredients having "the essentials" doesn't mean squat. Belief in doctrines doesn't produce salvation, trust in Christ does.
There is a grave danger in a "gospel of doctrines" that says "if you consider this list of things to be true then you know God." To expose that absurdity here is a comparative saying, "If you believe these 3 facts about George Washington then he is your best friend."
Agreeing vs. Loving
We look so hard at "who is Christian and who is not" & "who is wrong and who is right." We are so preoccupied with 'Christianity at large,' the 'church in America,' and tons of people we have never and will never meet. The only thing we should be looking for is "Who does Christ want to love through me today? How do I follow the Spirit of God in me today so that I may love whoever God puts in my path today?"
I'm not talking about compromising the truth but I don't think every occasion a falsehood comes up is my opportunity to correct someone. Jesus withheld truth from people. It was in His wisdom. We are in Christ just as Christ is in the Father so we can determine when to do this too. We should "accept one another as Christ has accepted us." That means, like Jesus, we meet people where they are. It means we humbly understand that no one has it all figured out despite our systematic theologies.
God wins people by His love. One way of loving is telling people the truth about God but you don't have to "have it right" or even accept my words about God for me to love you, whether you are a Christian or not. If the truth (facts) causes us to love someone less then we are not following The Truth (Christ).
If I'm more concerned about someone agreeing with me about facts than I am about enjoying the Father with them then I have a problem. We don't need to get our facts\truth straight we need to get our faith\trust straight. God will get us to the facts in His wise timing if we go to Him in faith.
It is the same thing when Paul said, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." At first glance that doesn't sound like much but Jesus is the illimitable God and He is all we need to know. In the Truth there are all the many little truths that God desires we know.
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