Our Gathering Together unto Christ is Our ONLY Hope of Glory - NOT Death!

 The Father of Lies

Among other things, Jesus Christ came to expose Satan’s methods. Chief among these is the Devil’s consistent contradiction of God’s Word.

John 8:44 (KJV)
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

In John 10:10a (KJV), Jesus clearly revealed Satan’s intentions: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy….” Satan’s ultimate goal is to promote death and destruction, as the Bible makes clear.

Hebrews 2:14
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil.

The Devil holds the power of death, and one of his most effective aids in exercising this power is the lie that death is in reality the gateway to everlasting life and ultimate wisdom. He first told this lie early in Genesis.
Perhaps you recall that Satan’s first recorded utterance in Scripture was a challenge to the veracity of God’s Word. Satan said, “…Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1 – NIV). This deceptive misquote of God’s revealed Word led to his second utterance, “…Ye shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4 – KJV), which was just the opposite of what God had said to Adam.

Genesis 2:16 and 17 (KJV)
(16) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
(17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

God said, “thou shalt surely die.” Satan said, “…Ye shall not surely die.” Scripture makes clear who was telling the truth.

Romans 5:12 (KJV)
Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Death, both spiritual and physical, was the result of man’s believing Satan’s lie. The idea that there is really no such thing as death is still being promoted today, even within the Christian Church. Satan’s purpose has remained the same: to promote the idea that humans do not actually die, but go on living after their death whether they believe God’s Word or not. In this way, he obscures the light of the good news of Christ and his resurrection, one’s only hope of deliverance from death unto everlasting life.

 False Hope

The false doctrine that the dead are alive and already in heaven or hell is so well entrenched in the average Christian’s mind that he has probably never considered its harmful ramifications. Understanding that Satan is the “father” of this lie explains why the consequences of believing it are so serious. The first, and perhaps most serious, consequence of believing this doctrine is that it changes the Christian’s focus from the appearing of the Prince of Life, Jesus Christ, to the coming of one’s own death.

How sad it is to teach God’s people that the hope of a Christian is his own death, and how opposed to God’s perspective that death is an “enemy,” as 1 Corinthians 15:26 (KJV) clearly states: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” Biblically, death is a thief not a benefactor. Death takes away life; it does not give a greater life.
In attempting to preserve the traditions of historic, orthodox Christianity, such teaching that the “dead” are “alive” blatantly contradicts God’s Word and further entrenches the Christian Church in this error. Those who have mistakenly propounded this doctrine have apparently overlooked the many verses plainly stating that the focal point of a Christian’s hope is not his own death, but the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven. For example:

John 14:2 and 3 (KJV)
(2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
(3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

1 Thessalonians 2:19 (KJV)
For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?

1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17 (KJV)
(16) For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
(17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Titus 2:13 (KJV)
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

It is the occasion of Christ’s appearing from heaven that Christians should anticipate as the way of deliverance from the bondage and corruption of death. Jesus Christ is the only gateway to everlasting life and the only means by which believers will have access to God’s presence in Paradise. When Jesus Christ comes again, he will fashion new, glorious bodies for us (Phil. 3:21). Apart from having these new bodies, there is no hope of entrance into the presence of God. Near the end of his life, the Apostle Paul wrote the following about this occasion:

2 Timothy 4:8 (KJV)
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Shifting the event that triggers our entrance into the presence of God from Christ’s appearing to our own death is nothing short of satanic subterfuge. In the minds of many, Satan has subtly changed the gateway to eternal life from Jesus Christ to death itself. Considering the past actions of God’s archenemy, this clever trick is totally consistent with his methods. The Christian’s hope is not death, but the appearing of Jesus Christ. When he appears, each Christian who is still alive will exchange his mortal body for a glorious immortal body, and each believer who has died will be raised to glorious and everlasting life.

 Who Needs Resurrection?
A second consequence of believing the doctrine that the dead are alive is one that has drastic implications for biblical integrity and harmony. Believing that all the dead are conscious in heaven or hell reduces the great truth of resurrection to virtual insignificance. Death must be true death if resurrection is to be meaningful. If death involves only the body, with the soul and / or consciousness living on, then resurrection has lost at least half its significance.
If all believers have gone into the presence of God at their deaths, the monumental importance of Jesus Christ’s resurrection is negated. If Abraham, David, Job, and others were already in heaven as disembodied souls or spirits, enjoying the presence of God in “eternity,” then our enemy, death, had already been vanquished before Christ’s resurrection and eternal life was available without Christ. In fact, if it were true, as many teach, that Enoch, Elijah, and Moses went to heaven bodily, then Jesus is not even the only human in heaven with a body. Such teaching contradicts the Word of God, confuses sincere Christians, and dilutes their joy of hope.

If a body is not required for life in the “hereafter,” then God is going to a lot of trouble for no apparent reason by “reuniting” everyone with his body. And the physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, serving only to allow the disembodied soul or spirit to be united with a body that it obviously can do without, seems to be of little significance.
The teaching that the soul lives on after death destroys the uniqueness of Christian doctrine, that is, that Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection is prerequisite to anyone being given everlasting life. With so much biblical emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, any doctrine undermining it is highly suspect.

 That Sounds “Familiar”
A third consequence of believing the doctrine that souls live on after the body dies is that it plays into the hands of those who promote the practice of communicating with the dead. Today, many people, both Christian and non-Christian, attempt to communicate with the spirits of the dead, often in séances or via “channeling.” Such practices are similar to ancestor worship, historically a practice of most non-Christian religions. Pagans believe that the spirits of departed ancestors intervene in their lives, both for good and evil. Thus, as godlike beings, they must be worshiped and entreated. Superstition and fear of the unknown are always hallmarks of such false doctrine.
If there really are “departed souls” or “spirits” that are conscious and have knowledge of eternity or other matters of interest to those of us still earthbound, why not communicate with them? Because they are not there to answer. What will answer are evil spirits (fallen angels currently under Satan’s dominion) impersonating the dead. In the Old Testament, however, God expressly forbade communication with such “familiar spirits.” For example:

Leviticus 19:31 (KJV)
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.

Leviticus 20:6 (KJV)
And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

Deuteronomy 18:10 and 11 (KJV)
(10) There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.
(11) Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

2 Kings 23:24 (KJV)
Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

They are called “familiar spirits” because these evil spirits are familiar with people who have died and can even reproduce their likenesses and personalities as if they were still alive in the realm of the “hereafter.” The judgment of God against Saul, Israel’s first king, which led to his death, was in part caused by his attempt to divine the LORD’s will through a familiar spirit impersonating Samuel (1 Sam. 28:7–9; 1 Chron. 10:13 and 14). It is appalling that the orthodox Christian position cites this record as evidence that the dead can appear and communicate to the living.
Sometimes a familiar spirit will appear to a person who is not actively seeking to contact the dead. Although such experiences are very convincing to those who see what appears to be a dead friend or relative, God’s Word exposes this counterfeit as another satanic attempt to convince people that the dead are actually still alive.
Scripture makes it plain that contacting the dead is a sin forbidden by God. Surely those supposedly living in heaven with God would not sin by initiating or participating in contact with the living.
There is nothing in the New Testament that changes God’s Old Testament prohibition against attempting to communicate with the dead. The reason for this is simple: The dead are unconscious in “gravedom” and cannot communicate with the living. If anything is communicated, it will be from evil spirits attempting to deceive people into accepting that the dead have not “surely died.”

Psalm 116 contains a verse that is often recited at funerals to teach that God is overjoyed because he has killed someone and now has another dead person in heaven with him.

Psalm 116:15
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

If God killed people and it was God's will for people to die, then why did Jesus Christ not go around killing people? Jesus Christ always did God's will, right? So if it was God's will for people to be sick and die, wouldn't Jesus Christ have carried out that will and gone around making people sick so they would die? If God wanted sick people and God wanted dead people, then who did Jesus Christ think he was going around healing them? Jesus Christ always did his Father's will, so healing people must be God's will. The teaching that God kills people and makes them sick is so unscriptural it is astounding that people can be so blind as to believe it. If God kills people and makes them sick, then why bring the devil into it? What is he doing if God does all the nasty things in life? Quite the contrary, it is the devil who kills people and makes them sick.

Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

So how do we explain Psalm 116:15? There is nothing to explain. If something is precious, it is valuable, it is costly. A rare diamond is precious because it is extremely costly. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, means costly in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. It costs God when his people die. Our deaths cost him dearly.

There is no good side to the god of this world. At one time Lucifer was full of beauty and wisdom, and was perfect in all his ways, but that has all changed. He has no mercy. He has no compassion. Deceiving folks into believing that God is doing all the nasty things to them when it is the devil himself doing them keeps him hidden and happy. One can readily see why God had the book of Job written first so we would know it was the devil doing all the nasty stuff in life. If we do not know this and believe God makes us sick and kills us, our spiritual integrity is at great risk. The lie that the dead are not dead is pivotal to the god of this world's deceptions. Without this lie, his power to steal, kill, and destroy is greatly diminished.

Another scripture misused in this regards is the translation of Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5
By faith [believing] Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.

Without getting into a lengthy debate, very simply, this verse does not say Enoch did not die, it says he never saw death. Had God meant Enoch did not die, the verse would read: By faith Enoch was translated that he should not die. The word see in the Greek, is eidon, which means to look at with actual perception with one's eyes. Enoch never saw death, he never saw anyone die. However, he himself died. How do I know? The word says so a few verses later.

Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith [including Enoch], not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

There are a few other scriptures used to teach that the dead are alive and there is a place called purgatory, such as the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. A parable is a story, a fiction, a make believe fable to illustrate a point, that's all. There never was any dead rich man in real life living in some burning hell begging for some dude called Lazarus to come quench his thirst. They were merely fictional characters in a parable, a story Jesus Christ made up. Does that require any further explanation? Look, just because Captain Kirk visited some alien world and met Klingons does not mean that Klingons exist. They are make believe, fictional characters that live in a make believe world. Parables were merely stories Jesus Christ made up to illustrate a specific truth. You cannot make a literal doctrine out of a fiction. Well, the vatican does so it can defraud grieving families and take their money.

Regarding spiritualism, if the bible is right, and it is, then the dead people mediums and spiritualists call up in their séances and meetings are not what they purport to be. In real life, folks do actually hear voices of dead people at these séances, and they recognise these voices, so what's the answer?

Jane Fletcher has lost her husband and she is grieving. She is missing him terribly. Someone tells her he's really alive and she could talk to him at a spiritualist's meeting, at a séance. Along she goes and she hears his voice and he tells her things, little secret things it would be impossible for anyone else to know. She rejoices because in her heart she knows her husband is alive and enjoying the afterlife. It brings her comfort and hope for the future. Or so the spiritualists would have us believe. If the dead are dead, who or what was this woman talking to, and how did it know the little intimate secrets she and her husband shared?

The discerning of spirits field is without doubt the largest field of human understanding imaginable. The devil spirit kingdom is breathtakingly immense and diverse, stunningly powerful and unbelievably deceptive. To have any chance of understanding the spiritual depth to life we must take the word of God as our standard for truth and work everything else from that premise. The dead are dead, it is that simple. Whoever or whatever it was that talked to Jane Fletcher, it was not her husband. So what was it?

Devil spirits have jobs to do and the bible teaches us much about it. Some devil spirits work well in politics and power. Some are good at depressing and oppressing folks, driving them to despair and suicide. Others are adept at working in religious circles, deceiving those who seek to know the truth, deafening their ears so they neglect the word, blinding them and leading them into ditches.

Another job spirits have is to watch people. The bible refers to these particular devil spirits as familiar spirits. Their job is to watch people, to become familiar with them. They watch people all their lives from the moment they are born until the moment they die. Then they move onto another person. They do this century after century, building vast archives of knowledge about people. They become familiar with people, which is why they are called in the bible familiar spirits. Incidentally, these are the same devil spirits behind the lie of reincarnation.

Jane Fletcher goes to the spiritualist meeting. The medium asks a few questions. The devil spirits possessing the medium get information. They then find the spirit that is familiar with her dead husband and it is summoned. Jane has a chat with this devil spirit, which is quite capable of impersonating her dead husband's voice through the medium, and it tells her all the little secrets they shared. These spirits can mimic the actual voices of dead people while they speak out through the mediums they possess. It is a puerile trick, but it is effective.

The record of Saul and the witch of Endor is another scriptural record used to teach that the dead are alive. However, the bible doesn't teach that the dead are alive, it teaches that the dead are dead. So who was Saul talking to at that séance with the witch of Endor? The bible doesn't say it was Samuel, the bible says that Saul perceived it to be Samuel.

1 Samuel 28:7,12-14 Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

It wasn't Samuel because Samuel was dead, it was a devil spirit impersonating him. Unlike David, Saul obviously didn't get up early to study his bible every morning or he would have known this. Consequently he had a head full of spiritualistic horseshit which led to his death.

The whole realm of witchcraft and spiritualism is built upon the lie that the dead are not dead, that they are alive. But why? Why would devil spirits go to such lengths? Whatever their motives are, it is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Was this lie effective against Eve? Oh yes, do not underestimate its power.

To further illustrate, two young women once explained how they went to a spiritualist meeting in the Philippines. Over 70 people attended this meeting. The medium's particular emphasis that day was faith healing. Everyone was there to get healing. However, the medium refused to minister to these two women. Everyone else was ministered to and they were all healed. The two women left, without being healed. Later, they learned about spiritualism from the biblical perspective. Out of curiosity, they tracked down every person who had been ministered to at that meeting in the Philippines and were stunned to discover that every single one of them was dead, just like Saul. This is a true story. Little children, keep yourselves from idols, keep yourselves from tarot cards, fortune tellers, hypnosis, magic, horoscopes, psychics, witches and all the rest of the devil's horseshit for it will take your life.

Witchcraft is a spiritual trap, a snare, a baited hook dangled to take your life. The bible has to be our only standard for truth if we are to live powerful, abundant lives. Once we are redeemed from the power of the god of this world, he no longer has jurisdiction over us. We can learn to walk in power and deliver people from his deceptions and cruelty.

1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Just as with the trinity, the teaching that the dead are alive entrenches vatican doctrine, as well as all other religions, clearly within the realms of paganism and witchcraft. Their doctrine is unscriptural, their beliefs pagan. The jesuits may cloak themselves in religious robes and claim they know what is best for the world, but in truth, they serve their god Lucifer. Rather than bringing us peace on earth, they are destroying it on behalf of their god. The end justifies the means only when it is the god of this world issuing the orders. So the next time you hear the pope praying for world peace, smile warmly as you realise that what he is really praying for is your extermination.

If this all seems a little overpowering, remember that light dispels darkness. Switch on a light and there is no darkness. Darkness cannot exist in light. It is that easy to dispel darkness. How you turn on spiritual light in your life begins with opening your bible and reading. Or is television or something else more important to you? Whether you live in darkness or whether you live in light is a choice you make.

Death: Friend or Foe?

A fourth consequence of believing the doctrine of immediate entrance into heaven at death, and the corollary teaching that death is God’s will, is that it may subtly undermine a Christian’s will to live by causing him to accept death as a “friend.” But God’s Word is clear:

1 Corinthians 15:26 (KJV)
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

If a person is persuaded that death is a “friend” that will introduce him to the glories of eternity, he may adopt a cavalier attitude toward his own death. Satan can then wield the power of death more easily, manipulating the untimely death of his victims by fatal disease, murder, suicide, or accident.
Why should a Christian aggressively cling to life on earth and endeavor to live it to the fullest when a much brighter and higher existence awaits him with God “on the other side”? Does this teaching motivate a Christian to behave in a manner that will cause him to prolong, preserve, and enjoy his earthly existence and service to God? To the contrary, one’s belief in an immediate afterlife might even cause him to hasten his own death. In fact, history contains a great many records of Christians who have committed suicide so that they could “be with Jesus.” Tragically, they have often taken others with them to the grave by murdering them first.
One effect of this false doctrine may possibly be seen in the context of a serious illness. It is generally understood that an individual with a strong will to live is more likely to survive a life-threatening illness. How ironic that Christian believers who have access to God’s miraculous, supernatural power for deliverance often negate it by a truncated will to live based on their misunderstanding of the true nature of death. Unbelievers who think that this life is all there is can too often muster more of the innate and God-given instinct for survival than does a child of God. Does it glorify God that His people should have less desire than unbelievers to live as long as they can on earth? Does this help win the lost and persuade them of the benefits of following the way of Jesus Christ?
In the same vein, many Christians are very fatalistic about the moment of their deaths. Perhaps to deal with the fear of death, they assume the Lord already has the day picked. When their “number is up,” they will die regardless of their behavior, thoughts, or even prayers. They think that God alone determines the day of their death when He is ready.
There is, however, no biblical justification for the idea that the day of one’s death is “set in stone.” Rather, the Bible is replete with examples of men and women shortening or prolonging their lives by the way they lived—for example, Saul (1 Chron. 10:13) and Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1–6).
Although believing that God determines the day of one’s death may seem comforting to a misguided believer in, say, an airplane bouncing through turbulence, it actually may work against him. In a critical situation, intense prayer and supplication would be much more beneficial than passively waiting to see what God’s will is. It is obvious that our own choices go a long way toward determining what kind of life we live and for how long. Thinking fatalistically, one is probably less likely to do those things that make for a long and healthy life.
If it were true that it is God who determines one’s appointed time to die, then death would be a friend and God would be its cause. Neither is true. God’s will for man is a long, healthy, and prosperous life as a testimony to His love and goodness (Prov. 4:10, 9:11; Eph. 6:3). Jesus said that he always did the Father’s will (John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 17:4), and he healed all who came to him in faith (Matt. 4:23, 8:16, 9:35; Luke 9:11).

Of course, most Christians who teach that God kills His people seldom say it that way. They usually say, of a Christian who has died, that God “called him home.” What an incredible euphemism! Think about it. “Home.” What visions the word carries with it: a hot meal, a warm bed, a loving family. But what are people really saying about a saint who has died when they sweetly say that God “called him home”? They’re saying that God, Who is love, light, and goodness, ran him down with a bus, ate out his insides with cancer, or had him beaten to death in an alley. Repulsive? Yes, death is just that.

The Word of God clearly states that God is “good” (Mark 10:18) and that death is an “enemy” to His people (1 Cor. 15:26). God tells us also that it is the Devil who holds the power of death (Heb. 2:14) and that the Devil was a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44).
It should be noted here that although death is of the Devil, this does not mean that a Christian who dies is “bad” or “out of fellowship” or “possessed.” Because of the fall of Adam, physical death is the inevitable end of life for each person unless he is still alive when Christ again appears.
If the Church fails to change its wholly untenable biblical position that the “dead” are actually “alive,” it will unwittingly continue to play into the hands of spiritualists, adherents of Eastern mysticism, and the proponents of the rapidly growing New Age movement, who deny both the significance of Christ’s resurrection and the unique opportunity for everlasting life through faith in his name. It will also continue to offer people a weak and false hope based on paganism rather than the comforting and satisfying truth of God’s Word.

ALL miss this verity of TRUTH!!

“…As the Messiah, Jesus Christ had to fulfill certain genealogical requirements promised in the Old Testament among them, (1) he had to be a descendant of Adam; (2) he had to be a descendant of Abraham; and (3) he had to be a descendant of King David. The Old Testament further stipulated that the Messiah’s royal lineage would trace its way through King David and Solomon. Finally besides being the son of Adam, Abraham, and David, the Messiah would also have to be the Son of God. That Jesus Christ had all of these qualifications will become indisputably clear in studying his conception and genealogy.

Jesus Christ’s genealogy, as with all people, was determined by his mother and her predecessors and his father. So in researching God’s Word for the great truths of Jesus Christ’s genealogy we need to begin by noting certain details regarding his conception…”
Mat 1:18
(18) Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit].
“…Before they came together” means that before Joseph and Mary had sexual intercourse Mary was already pregnant, and the child she was carrying was conceived in her by God, who is the Holy Spirit…”
Luk 1:35
(35) And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
“…Therefore, from a physical, genetic point of view, Jesus Christ’s Father was God and his mother was Mary. Joseph, Mary’s husband, became Jesus’ human father by the circumstances in which he found himself, but not by his genetic contribution. Joseph by God’s direction accepted the responsibility of rearing Jesus as a son in his household.
There is no question that the Bible teaches divine conception, that God was literally Jesus Christ’s Father. In any conception there are two necessary elements: the egg and the sperm. The egg is supplied by the mother, who in this case was Mary. The sperm is supplied by the father, who in this case was God, who is the Holy Spirit. Being Spirit, God did not, of course, have sexual intercourse with Mary, for spirit cannot cohabit with flesh. Rather, by divine creation, God put seed inside Mary [I would add that if Mary had sex with God she would no longer be a virgin who gave birth.] That is how Mary, who had never had sexual relations, had Jesus conceived within her. This is the miracle of Jesus’ conception…[And…only Mary fulfilled all the prerequisites necessary in order to carry the promised seed. God said He would have an only begotten Son, and He chose Mary in whom to create the seed that would give birth to that one Son.
There are several genetic and physical considerations involved with Jesus Christ’s conception. The Bible teaches that all men since Adam are born *“dead in sins” (Eph 2:5). Man is conceived and born with a sinful nature. Psalms 51:5 states, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity*(ORIGINAL SIN - FOLKS!!); and in sin* did my mother conceive me.” Romana 5:12 states, “Wherefore, as by one man [Adam] sin* entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all have sinned.”
Not only is man born spiritually separated from God, he is born* physically with sin, corruption, and impurities in his blood and in his soul life. This soul life which is the natural life of man, and attested to by a person’s breathing, is found in the blood.
Lev 17:11
(11) For the life of the flesh is in the blood…
While the mother and father both make genetic contributions to the flesh and blood of a child, the soul life in the blood is contributed by the sperm, the seed. It comes from the male side. In the conception of Jesus Christ, this truth is pointedly stated in Hebrews.
Heb 2:14
(14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers [Greek: “koinoneo,” to share fully] of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part [Greek: “metecho,” to take a part or portion] of the same [flesh and blood]…
All children share fully of both the flesh and blood, genetically* passed on to them since Adam and Eve the first man and woman, but Jesus Christ took only part. He did not share “fully.” Here in Hebrew 2:14, the figure of speech “metonymy” of the adjunct is found, in which the word “blood” is used to represent the soul life in the blood. This usage of “blood” is common in the Bible, especially when it is used with the term “flesh,” which here is used for the physical part of man as opposed to the soul part. In partaking of the flesh and blood, all people have inherited* their bodies and their soul life from Adam and his descendants. This soul life in the blood is corrupt with a sinful nature* inherent within it.
This is why it is necessary to understand from Hebrews 2:14 that Jesus Christ “took part of the same.” What part did he take? He did not “share” fully in both the flesh and blood of man. Physically, according to the flesh, part of Jesus’ genetic makeup came from Mary. However, the soul life in his blood was not* inherited from Mary, Adam*, or any other human being. The life of the flesh is in the blood, according to Leviticus 17:11, and the life within the flesh of man, within his blood, is corrupt*. But Jesus Christ’s came from God. That is why Jesus Christ’s soul life was conceived without* sin or corruption.
As we have seen, natural life, which is called “soul life,” is in the blood. Sin is transmitted through this soul life, in other words, through the blood, and not through the flesh. That is why Hebrews 2:14 is such a tremendous statement. How marvelously God arranged for a child to be conceived that would be completely a man, having complete freedom of will, but also having a sinless* nature.
With masterful foresight God prepared for the sinless birth of His Son, Jesus Christ, from the very beginning. In order to produce a sinless man descended from Adam, God provided a way whereby Jesus would have a human body derived from Adam’s line, yet uncontaminated by Adam’s sinful soul life. To accomplish this, God created the sperm containing a perfect soul life which impregnated the egg in Mary’s fallopian tube. Therefore, the dominate characteristics of the genes determining the makeup of Jesus Christ came from his Father, God.
The miracle of the birth of Jesus Christ was his divine conception in Mary. His birth [itself] was not miraculous, for like any infant he developed within Mary’s womb and was born according to natural processes. But, the miracle of his divine conception enabled man’s redeemer to come into the world as a sinless, perfect human being, yet having the freedom of will to sin or not to sin; to believe or not to believe God. God did not go beyond any of His previously instituted laws to bring His son into the world.
Understanding all of this, many scriptures concerning Jesus’ descent from the linage of David become much more meaningful. That is why the following scriptures are so accurate.
Act 2:30
(30) …that of the fruit of his [David’s] loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ…
Rom 1:3
(3) Concerning his [God’s] Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which [who] was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
These verses do not say Jesus Christ was of the seed of David “according to the flesh and blood.” That would be totally inaccurate. These verses all say “according to the flesh,” for Christ’s soul life in his blood came from God. It did not come from David or David’s descendant, Mary. But physically, according to the flesh, Jesus Christ can properly be said to be of the seed of David. That is the great accuracy of these key verses of scripture…”
Read the genealogy of Christ, the Messiah at Matthew 1:1-17.
“…A person’s standing in a family was normally recognized by the lineage of the father. From a human point of view Jesus needed patrilineal credentials in order to function in a society built upon paternal genealogy. He would not be accepted in the Judean society without a pedigree traceable through both parents. Since few would believe that on his Father’s side he needed no pedigree, his Father being God, he had to have socially acceptable credentials through the human being whom society considered to be his father, Joseph. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility for Jesus as his son, it was Joseph’s line that gave Jesus full legal standing in the house of David. Whereas Joseph’s genealogy listed in Luke 3 gave Jesus his standing in the House of David by the assumed responsibility of Joseph, it was in truth the genealogy listed in Mathew 1 which gave Jesus Christ true standing in the House of David with the right to inherit his throne by the family line and genetic contribution of Mary.
The genealogy given in Luke 3 is not Jesus Christ’s royal lineage. Mathew 1 indicates his royal lineage from Solomon and others who sat on David’s throne...
…Both lineages, - that of Mary, in the Gospel of Matthew, and that of Joseph, in the Gospel of Luke – have Abraham and David common to their ancestry. Since Joseph assumed the responsibility as Jesus’ father, this gave Jesus during his earthly walk a legal standing in the house of David. But as Mary’s son by birth, Jesus had more than legal standing in the House of David; because of Mary’s genealogy, Jesus Christ was descended from the royal line of the House of David, so that he could genetically and legally inherit the throne of David. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit (who is God) Jesus was the true and only begotten Son of God, the “ssemah” or offspring of God.
Jesus was the offspring of Mary and God. Thus he was born with no sinful nature in him, yet he was totally a man, a male child who would have to mature and learn in order to complete his God ordained mission. As the offspring of both God and Mary, the Christ came into the world fulfilling all the genealogical requirements of the promised seed: he would be a descendant of Adam, of Abraham, and of David. He would also be the only begotten Son of God, the promised seed, God’s perfect plan for man’s redemption.”

Children of God - The Father

Romans 10:9-10
   That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

     When a man or woman confesses with his or her mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believes in his or her heart that God raised him from the dead [Romans 10:9-10], that person receives holy spirit within.  He or she is born again.  With God's holy spirit as seed within us, we are the sons and daughters of God.  We are God's children and He is Our Father.

1 Peter 1:22-23
   Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth [Romans 10:9-10] though the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:
   Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and aideth for ever.
   The first time you were born you were born the son or daughter of your natural father because his seed is in you.  When you obey the truth as presented in Romans 10:9-10, God places His incorruptible seed in you and you are born again - this time with spiritual seed from God.  This makes God your Father.   Before the day of Pentecost believers were servants of God, the blood line of Israel, and they referred to God as Jehovah, Yahweh (YHWH), "the God of Abraham" or other such titles.  Only Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, could rightfully call God his Father.  The truth regarding our sonship and the father/son relationship we have with Him today can only be found in the epistles written to the church after the day of Pentecost.  In these seven church epistles you see God referred to as Our Father rather than Yahweh or Jehovah.

Romans 1:7
  To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 1:3
  Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 1:2
  Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:3-4
  Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

Ephesians 1:2
  Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philippians 1:2
  Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:2
  To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1:1
  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-2
  Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
  Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sons of God

Romans 8:15-17
   For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but the ye have received the Spirit of adoption [sonship], whereby we cry, Abba [daddy], Father.   [Aramaic reads: Father my Father]
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Galatians 4:4-7
   But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons [sonship]. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba [daddy], Father.  [Aramaic reads: Father my Father]

   Abba is an Aramaic word. It means "father" and is used as we use the more personal term "daddy." The translators left the Aramaic in the Greek translation. However, in the Aramaic translation Abba occurs twice and is rightly translated as Father my Father.

We are not servants as believers were in the Old Testament.  We are born again sons with holy spirit in us.  We are able to have a father/son relationship with God.  We can approach Him and call Him "daddy" because He IS our Father in truth.

1 Corinthians 2:9-12
   But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
   But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
   For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
   Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

   The greatness of that which God has prepared for us was not made known to man before it was revealed to the Apostle Paul.  We can know the deep things of God because we have His gift of holy spirit born in us.  Today, we can walk and talk with God our Father.

 Ephesians 1:4-5
   According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
   Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children [sonship] by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

  The words "adoption of children" are the Greek word huiothesia from huios meaning "son" and tithemi meaning "to place." God made us His sons not by "adoption" but by placing His holy spirit in us. God is our Father and we are His children.  Now, we can truly fellowship via spirit with our loving heavenly Father.

Philippians 2:13-15
   For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
   Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
   That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

   This is the real greatness of our father/son relationship.  It is God at work in you to will and do His good pleasure.  When we walk in light of God in us we shine as lights in this dark world.  We let the world see "the sons of God!"

1 John 3:1-2
  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
  Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

   Our sonship is not a future thing.  Beloved NOW are we the sons of God and we call God OUR FATHER!

NO AUTOMATIC IMMUNIZATION - By V. P. Wierwille

NO AUTOMATIC IMMUNIZATION
By V. P. Wierwille

Most fundamental, Bible-believing Christians believe that once they are born again of God’s spirit the adversary (Satan, the Devil) cannot touch them. They believe that he has no influence over them, that he cannot do anything to them because they are Christ’s. Now if that is not about the height of stupidity, I would like to know what is the height of stupidity! That is just what the adversary wants, because if he can keep us blind, he can keep us stupid, and he has done such a masterful job that there is hardly anybody in the Christian believing field today who knows the basic principles that are the groundwork on which the adversary lives and operates in people’s lives. This idea that simply because you are a Christian nothing can touch you is a trick of the adversary.
1 John 4:4: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
This is literally true from the moment that you are born again, and yet that is not seen in the lives of Christian believers consistently, so there is either something wrong with God’s Word or with our understanding. Well, I want to tell you there is nothing wrong with God’s Word; it has been in our misunderstanding, or lack of understanding, regarding the truth of it.
Christians have gone around and said, “Well, greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world,” and thought that this immunized them against the adversary .That is exactly what has been taught, that we as Christians had a spiritual immunization, that the adversary could not get to a Christian. I would call it “Automatic Immunization”, because people think that if they are born again, then they are automatically immunized against the adversary, that they automatically are protected. If we are automatically immunized and automatically protected simply because greater is he that is in us than the adversary who is in the world, then you have got to explain how the adversary gets such an advantage of Christians time and time again. It is simply a trick of the adversary to get Christians to believe that they are automatically immunized and that nothing can hurt them; so then, he can just come and defeat them because they go along and think, “Oh, I’m automatically immunized,” yet all the time they are getting beaten down. He just keeps fooling Christians like this.
Ephesians 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
He has blessed us, so Christians go around and say: “Well, look I’m blessed! I’m blessed with all spiritual blessings! I’ve got Christ! He that’s in me is greater than he that’s in the world! I got all the blessings!” And so, they think that they are immunized against the adversary , that he cannot touch them. Christians think this simply because they read it in a verse of Scripture, but reading something and making it your own is as different as can be. To say that we believe and to actually believe is sometimes as different as day and night.
Ephesians 1:4: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.
Christians read that and say: “Well, He chose us; I did not have anything to do with it, therefore I am His. The adversary cannot touch us Christians.”
Ephesians 1:8: Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
They say, “We have got all of it, therefore the adversary cannot touch the Christian.”
Ephesians 1:9: Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.
“We know His Mystery, therefore the adversary cannot touch us.” This is what Christians say.
Ephesians 2:10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Therefore they say: “Well, if we’re His workmanship, the adversary can’t touch us. We are God’s workmanship.”
Ephesians 1:19: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and [now we are] of the household of God.
“And, if you’re of the household of God, the adversary can’t touch you,” they say.
Ephesians 3:20: Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.
And the scripture says that God is at work within us to will and to do of His good pleasure, therefore they say, “Oh, the adversary cannot touch the Christian.” That is not true!
Colossians 2:9, 10: For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him,…
And so they say: “Well, if we are complete in him, the adversary cannot get into that completeness. Therefore, the Christian simply cannot be controlled or possessed or taken over by the adversary.”
Let us delve into God’s Word and find out some of what it tells us about what the adversary is.
John 14:30: Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
Here he is called “the prince of this world”.
2 Corinthians 4:4: In whom the god of this world...
In John he is “the prince of this world”, and here it says he is “the god of this world”.
Ephesians 6:11: Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
“The wiles of the devil.” The word “wiles” means “cunning, crafty, sly”.
2 Corinthians 11:3: But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The adversary is referred to as the serpent and as being subtle. He is “the prince of this world”; he is “the god of this world”; he is “the serpent” showing his subtlety and slyness.
2 Corinthians 11:14: And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
If the adversary ever came to the Christian and portrayed himself like he really is, the Christian would not have anything to do with him. He has to get to the Christian subtly, slyly. He has to get to the Christian to say, “Has God really said?”, as he did to Eve in Genesis. Then he has to get the Christian to omit a word, add a word, change a word. When he finally has him hung then he can say, “God is all wrong.” But, the adversary never says this at the beginning. He would not dare to say it even half-way through, because if the adversary showed himself and declared his intentions to the Christian believer, the Christian would not have anything to do with him. He has got to work the Christian around to the place where he finally gets the Christian so engrossed that he is not even cognizant mentally that the adversary has engrossed him.
1 Thessalonians 2:18: Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
In addition to those things that we have already read, the adversary is a hinderer.
1 Thessalonians 3:5: For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
There he is called “the tempter”.
Ephesians 2:2: Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.
In John 14:30 he is called “prince of this world” and here he is called “prince of the power of the air”, thus he is prince of both.
1 Peter 5:8: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
The adversary roars to freeze us in our tracks so that we do not do anything for God, like a lion does to freeze his prey in its tracks before he springs.
Revelation 19:19: And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
There he is referred to as a “beast”. He is not a very kind-hearted fellow; he is a beast.
1 John 5:18: We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.
There he is called “the wicked one”. There are many more in the Bible, but these are some of the great ones in the Bible that tell you what the adversary is.
Luke 4:12: And Jesus answering said unto him [the Devil, the adversary], It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Jesus said to him; him who? The adversary. If Jesus was not immune to the adversary, do you think you and I will be? Do you think any Christian is going to be immune? Do you think there is automatic immunization?
Since he is the prince of the air and he is the god of this world, he arranges circumstances and situations so that when people come to them they are impressed by the situations and by the circumstances which he has altered to suit himself. He is always after God and His people, so he cuts the Word to pieces, because the Word is the only thing that gives an accurate knowledge of the true God and of the desires that He has for His children.
2 Corinthians 12:7: And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
Paul’s thorn in the flesh was people. The people were the thorns in the flesh; the people were the messengers of Satan; they were the ones who buffeted Paul’s ministry.
2 Corinthians 11:3: But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
In the adversary’s use of situations and conditions he gets to people’s minds.
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
The minds are corrupted. That is how he gets the ground prepared, he corrupts our minds. How does he do this? He does not come and say, “Well, I’m taking over today.” No, no, no, no! If he did, he would be rejected. He organizes the world, situations and circumstances so that as people walk day by day they are walking right into his workings and so it gets to the place where their minds become corrupted. Instead of following the simplicity that is in Christ, the minds of Christians have been corrupted by what they hear, see, smell, taste and touch in the world that is round about, through people or situations that the adversary has arranged.
Matthew 16:23: But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but, those that be of men.
Jesus said to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan,” for you are “an offence unto me”, and yet Peter was one of his right-hand men. It was Peter, James and John whom he took along on the Mount of Transfiguration and when he went in to raise the young girl mentioned in the Gospels. And yet, to that same Peter at another time he said, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” The adversary operates through people, circumstances, the environment or situations which influence people. The reason that he organizes people, circumstances, the environment or situations is to get to people. Jesus had to say to Peter, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Who had influenced Peter? The adversary.
1 Thessalonians 2:18: Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
“We would have come unto you,” Paul said, “but Satan hindered us.” Paul was wanting to go, but the adversary hindered. He obstructed through people, situations, environment, whatever was involved, that kept them from going.
Acts 5:3: But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
“Why did the adversary fill your mind?” How did the adversary do that? Everybody was bringing their plurality and laying it at the apostles’ feet. Joses, the Levite, had sold his single possession and laid the money at the apostles’ feet (Acts 4:36, 37). The adversary organized things in such a way that Ananias was influenced. “If I would sell that one property that I have
and lay that money at the feet of the apostles, look what advantage I would have, because they only sold their plurality. If I really went all out and sold that one single…” How do you think the adversary influenced him? These people were selling their plurality so he started Ananias thinking: “How can I promote myself? How can I get myself at the top of this thing?” And Peter said to him by revelation, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?..”
Matthew 13:19: When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
A man listens to the teaching of the Word and it is sown in his mind, but if he does not understand it to the end that he walks on it then the adversary comes and he catches it away. This is a description of the Word and how this Word falls in different places and the reactions to it. There is only one thing that ever keeps any of us from not being controlled by the adversary, and that is the knowledge of God’s Word that we have and that we walk on. A person can have a tremendous knowledge of God’s Word, but if he does not walk on it, he will still faint in the mind and the adversary will snatch it away.
The adversary cannot get in the spirit of one who is born again, for it is eternal life, incorruptible seed. But, the adversary is the god of this world and so he influences people, circumstances, the environment or situations, and the born-again believer still has body and soul and is in this world. He lives in this world. He eats in this world. He sleeps in this world. He breathes in this world. He travels in this world. If he is not taught God’s Word, or if he does not believe it, the adversary will get an advantage of him and operate by affecting the mind. The man has freedom of will to believe the adversary’s deception or not to believe his deception, and if he chooses to believe his deception, the adversary sees to it that there is more deception presented, and that is just the way that his vicious cycle runs.
If you do not understand formed, made and created, body, soul and spirit, you get lost in the shuffle. After the new birth the mind is still the same, but we have the privilege of putting on the mind of Christ. To the end that we put on the mind of Christ we become more than conquerors; only to that end do we manifest that which we read in Ephesians. We are not automatically immunized simply because we are Christian, but because we are Christian we have the potential, the power, to renew the mind.
Most Christians are still walking for the adversary, because they are as much in the world and the world is as much in them as it is in any other person. They live for what they want. They eat what they want, go where they want, see what they want, do what they want, say what they want, spend their money any way they like, use their time as they please and squander their talents as they will. They are concerned with: “How can I get ahead? This is my life. I can do with it as I please.” That is how the door is opened. And all of this is so human; it is just so natural, isn’t it? It is just what all of us have done at one time or another, to a lesser or a greater degree. Do you know how to get rid of it? You never get rid of it any other way except in the category of the
renewing of the mind, “be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).” James 4:7 tells us: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Do what? Resist him! Resist him! Resist him! You are never going to get rid of him by enjoying his presence or by simply saying to him: “Now look here, I’m a Christian. Please don’t do that to me.” The only way you can get rid of him is to submit yourself to God and to resist the Devil. You have got to take a very sharp stand, like Jesus did. Do you think Jesus enjoyed saying to Peter, one of his best friends, “Get thee behind me, Satan”?
2 Corinthians 10:4 and 5: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
You cannot stop the adversary from coming to your mind, because you are living in the world in which he is boss. He sets the things up using people, circumstances, the environment or situations. You cannot stop him from coming, but you can sure stop him from controlling the mind, because you can pull down the strongholds and deliberately bring into captivity every thought—you control your thinking, and you bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
Do you know why we think wrong? Because we want to. Do you know why we think bad thoughts about one another? Because we want to. We have got to quit blaming anybody else. We have got to simply say: “Well, I have not brought into captivity my own thinking. I have freedom of will, I can control it. I can think what I want to think.”
We have to have a center of reference for truth outside of the individual seeking, and we have come to the conclusion that there is only one center of reference for us, and that is the integrity and accuracy of God’s Word, for it means what it says and it, says what it means. This Word of God is our only rule of faith and practice, so we do not go by what people say, by circumstances, by the environment or situations. We can only go by the Word, and to the end that we go to the depth of this Word and bring every thought into captivity we will pull down the strongholds of the adversary, where he will not have the influence over us.
1 John 5:4: For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
What is He talking about, “overcometh the world”? The adversary, because he is the god of this world. “Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,” provided the latter part of that verse is obeyed: “our faith”, and faith is believing. Our believing of God’s Word overcomes the adversary.
2 Corinthians 2:11: Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
We are not stupid. We know from God’s Word how the adversary gets advantage of us. We are not ignorant of his devices. Since we are not ignorant of his devices, if he gets an advantage of us it is because we have given him the freedom to do so.
Most of the fundamental, Bible-believing Christians believe that once they are born again of God’s spirit, the adversary (Satan, the Devil) cannot touch them. They believe that he has no influence over them, that he cannot do anything to them because they are Christ’s. Now if that is not about the height of stupidity, I would like to know what is the height of stupidity! That is just what the adversary wants, because if he can keep us blind, he can keep us stupid, and he has done such a masterful job that there is hardly anybody in the Christian believing field today who knows the basic principles that are the groundwork on which the adversary lives and operates in people’s lives. This idea that simply because you are a Christian nothing can touch you is a trick of the adversary.
There is no “automatic immunization” for the Christian. We do not need to be ignorant of the adversary’s devices but we can lead every thought captive and manifest the victory that overcomes the world by our believing of God’s wonderful matchless Word.

How Will Believers Be Present With The Lord?

The Church and Israel are two distinct groups with whom God has a divine plan. The church is a mystery, unrevealed in the Old Testament. This present mystery age intervenes within the program of God for Israel because of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah at His first advent. This mystery program must be completed before God can resume His program with Israel and bring it to completion. These considerations all arise from the literal method of interpretation. Other rapture views deny or weaken the dispensational distinction by placing the Church in the Tribulation which is otherwise noted as “the time of Jacob’s trouble [the Tribulation].”
I Thessalonians Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians has much to say about the issue at hand. The most popular passage, of course, is found in I Thessalonians 4:13-18. The event described here includes a return of Christ in the air (not to the earth as the Second Coming is described in Zechariah 14:1-5 and Revelation 19:11-21), a resurrection of the dead in Christ, a rapture of living believers, and a reunion with those who have died in Christ. Paul penned these verses in order to clarify a misunderstanding that the Thessalonians embraced concerning the relationship between the resurrection and the saints who were asleep in Christ to the rapture. The question is this: Does the death of a believer before the Lord comes cause him to lose all hope of sharing in the glorious reign of Christ? Paul’s answer is a reassuring affirmation that the living at the time of the rapture have no advantage over those believers who have died. Those who sleep will be raised to reign with those who remain. Both groups will share in the kingdom. If Paul and the Thessalonians were speaking of a rapture at the end of the Tribulation, it seems illogical that they would sorrow over believers who were fortunate enough to die and miss the horrible judgments that await these last years.

Paul anticipated, “to be absent from the body and present with the Lord.”? 2Cor 5:8. Does this say that to be absent from the body is to be immediately with the Lord? No. The time between death and the out-resurrection will seem, to those who die, to pass in an instant. For this reason Paul could covet death knowing that from his perspective the next thing He would know is being with Christ. In the context Paul speaks of three states: 1. Clothed in the body 2. Unclothed 3. Clothed with our Heavenly body. Paul did not want to be “unclothed” (dead) but clothed in the Heavenly body. When will we be clothed in our immortal body? Paul taught “that this mortal will “PUT ON (be clothed with) immortality” when the dead rise at the Second Coming (1Cor 51-55). How do the dead in Christ get to be present with the Lord? By the out-resurrection (1Thess 16-17). Indeed, the Apostle Paul was anticipating the return of Christ in his lifetime, as do we now. Now:
The rapture, which is pre-trib, is not technically a resurrection, for all, in the group, born again believers, are not dead, as some remain alive, therefore the word of God refers to this as an out-resurrection, as only some are resurrected, of that group! no rapture/gathering together mentioned in O.T./ Gospels/ Revelation, sure:
THE GENEVA BIBLE AND SIX PRIOR BIBLES BEFORE KING JAMES USED THE WORD " A DEPARTING" OR "DEPARTURE" INSTEAD OF A "FALLING AWAY" IN 2 THESSALONIANS 2:3.
Greek - "he apostasia" means THE Departure - from the circumference of a circle, directed outward, away from the circle.
NOTE "A DEPARTING"COMES FIRST, "AND THAT THAT MAN OF SIN WILL BE DISCLOSED". DON'T FORGET IT ALSO SAYS “NOW YOU KNOW WHAT WITH HOLDITH" AND "HE WHO LETS SHALL LET TILL HE BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY." WHAT OR WHO DO YOU BELIEVE WILL BE TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY? IT MAKES ALSO MAKES NO SENSE THAT PAUL WOULD TELL A VERY NEW AND SMALL CHURCH IN THESSALONIA, THAT A SIGN OF BEGINNING OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION WOULD BE A FALLING AWAY FROM THE CHURCH WHEN THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE MANY CHRISTIANS THERE TO FALL AWAY. ALSO HE WAS REFERRING TO SOMETHING HE HAD TOLD THEM ABOUT BEFORE. WHAT HAD HE PREVIOUSLY TOLD THEM? 1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words. IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE HE TOLD THEM ABOUT “A DEPARTING OR DEPARTURE” THEN A FALLING AWAY. AS A MATTER OF FACT PAUL DID NOT DESCRIBE “A GREAT FALLING AWAY” AT ALL AND ACTUALLY SAID IN 1TIMOTHY 4:1 THAT ONLY “SOME SHALL DEPART FROM THE FAITH” 1Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; SO ALTHOUGH HE BELIEVED EVEN THEN, THE TIMES WERE EVIL, HE DID NOT EXPECT A GREAT FALLING AWAY OF BELIEVERS BUT THAT THE EVIL WOULD GET WORSE. 2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. AND TO THE CORINTHIANS PAUL SAID THIS: 1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1Co 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 1Co 15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1Co 15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
OTHER TRANSLATIONS THAT USED DEPARTING OR DEPARTURE. The first seven English translations of apostasia all rendered the noun as either " departure" or " departing." They are: the Wycliffe Bible (1384); Tyndale Bible (1526); Coverdale Bible (1535); Cranmer Bible (1539); Breeches Bible (1576); Beza Bible (1583); Geneva Bible (1608).
Bible study to bless the saints of the "Body of Christ".
Be sure to look at all of the verses in this study.
The Body of Christ will not go through Israel’s tribulation. To begin with, Israel and the Body of Christ are not the same. Neither are God’s plans for them. God’s plan for Israel concerns Christ returning to earth in a spectacular event called the Revelation – to inaugurate His Kingdom in Jerusalem (Matt. 24-25; Rev. 19-20. This plan was “spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21; see Luke 1:70). God’s plan for the Body of Christ is completely different. It concerns our heavenly inheritance, not an earthly kingdom. Jesus revealed this program to Paul only as a mystery “kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25; see Eph. 3:3-9). In that it began as a mystery, it will likewise disappear in a mystery called the Rapture; an any moment event whereby Jesus returns for us in the air (1 Thess. 4:16-17), snatches us from earth, and takes us back to Heaven with Him as He promised (John 14:2-3) – when “the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25). Then comes “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7; see Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:15) – aka tribulation. The tribulation - as it is most commonly known (Moses: Deut. 4:30; Jesus: Matt. 24:21, 29; John: Rev. 7:14) - is part of God’s earthly program for Israel. It is also called “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:15), Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Dan. 9:26-27), and “the hour of temptation” (Rev. 3:10. It has no bearing on the mystery Body of Christ, which will be gone before it begins. From the beginning it was prophesied to Israel (Deut. 4:30), and thus is primarily for Israel (Jer. 30-31; Dan. 12:1, Zeph. 1:15; Matt. 24:21, 29). Its purpose is to punish sin and sinners (Jer. 30-31; Zeph. 1; Joel; Rev. 6-19), and prepare earth and Israel for the Revelation of the Messiah and the Jewish (Millennial) Kingdom promised to David in perpetuity through Covenant (2 Sam. 7:8-16), and sealed with an oath (Psa. 89:3-4, 20-37; see Luke 1:31-33). While the prophets revealed the tribulation as a horrific but integral component in the Day of the Lord (Isa. 2:12, etc ), it was Daniel’s prophecy where its duration was revealed as the final week of seven years in his seventy week prophecy for Israel (Dan. 9:24-27; see Rev. 11:2-3; 12:14). To wit, while we can easily find Israel and the anti-Semitic Gentile nations on earth during “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:15), the heavenly Body of Christ - which has been promised deliverance from this divine punishment (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; 2 Thess. 2:5-7;) - is conspicuously absent (Rev. 2-19). There isn’t a prophecy or a single verse anywhere in the Bible conclusively identifying the Body of Christ on earth during Israel’s tribulation without pulling from context and redefining the words “saints” and “elect” - which in Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and Revelation specifically refer to Israel. In lieu of these factors and others we are convinced that the Body of Christ will not go through Israel’s tribulation!
 We know that death still has a sting, that the corruptible has not yet put on incorruption and that the mortal has not yet put on immortality.  But we also know that our enemy death will be destroyed and that the dead in Christ shall rise and we who are alive shall be changed and that we will meet  our lord in the air and forever be with him.  What a glorious day that will be!

INCARCERNATION! WHAT?

Jesus Christ: Incarnated or Created?

We now will examine the historical background of the development of what has become the cornerstone of Christian orthodoxy, the doctrine of the “Incarnation.” We will see that this doctrine arose neither in a vacuum, nor strictly from the text of Scripture. It was the result of the influence of certain beliefs and attitudes that prevailed in and around the Christian church after the first century. Pagan mythology, Gnostic views of redemption and human pre-existence, and the misunderstanding of Johannine language all contributed to the teaching that God Himself became a man, which is the essence of “Incarnational theology.”

Although the “Incarnation” is assumed to be a basic tenet of Christianity, the term is used nowhere in Scripture. This is even admitted by Trinitarian scholars: “Incarnation, in its full and proper sense, is not something directly presented in Scripture.” The doctrine of the Incarnation was actually formulated during the next several centuries. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church verifies this fact:

The doctrine, which took classical shape under the influence of the controversies of the 4th–5th centuries, was formally defined at the Council of Chalcedon of 451. It was largely molded by the diversity of tradition in the schools of Antioch and Alexandria…further refinements were added in the later Patristic and Medieval periods.

The reason the councils and synods took hundreds of years to develop the doctrine of Incarnation is that it is not stated in Scripture, and the verses used to support it can be explained without resorting to a doctrine that bears more similarity to pagan mythology than biblical truth. Teaching the Jews that God came down in the form of a man would have completely offended those living at the time of Christ and the Apostles, and greatly contradicted their understanding of the Messianic Scriptures. This doctrine is derived most prominently from the gospel of John, and in particular from the phrase in John 1:14 (KJV): “And the Word was made flesh….” But was “the Word” synonymous with “the Messiah” in Jewish understanding? Hardly. The Jews would have understood it to mean “plan” or “purpose,” that which was clearly and specifically declared in Genesis 3:15—a “seed” of a woman who would destroy the works of the Devil. This plan of God for the salvation of man finally “became flesh” in Jesus Christ. This verse is not establishing a doctrine of Incarnation contrary to all prophetic expectations, nor a teaching of pre-existence. It is a teaching of God’s great love in bringing into existence His plan to save mankind from their sin.

Before proceeding, we must define what is traditionally understood by the “incarnation” of Christ. Keep in mind that we strongly affirm the reality and necessity of the virgin birth of Christ as the only way he could have been born without the inherent sin of mankind that would have disqualified him from becoming the Lamb of God. But the traditional “formula which enshrines the Incarnation …is that in some sense God, without ceasing to be God, was made man.”

We will quote the New Bible Dictionary, a Trinitarian source, for a working definition and explanation of this doctrine:

It appears to mean that the divine Maker became one of His own creatures, which is a prima facie contradiction in theological terms. When the Word “became flesh,” His deity was not abandoned or reduced or contracted, nor did He cease to exercise the divine functions which had been His before…The Incarnation of the Son of God, then, was not a diminishing of deity, but an acquiring of manhood.

One wonders how a pre-existent “God the Son” can become a man without any “diminishing of deity,” or that he could live a “fully human” life without ceasing to exercise the divine functions he had been exercising since eternity began. Trinitarians say this is part of the “mystery” of the Incarnation. The New Bible Dictionary admits that the concept is not developed or discussed in the New Testament:

The only sense in which the New Testament writers ever attempt to explain the incarnation is by showing how it fits into God’s overall plan for redeeming mankind…This evangelical interest throws light on the otherwise puzzling fact that the New Testament nowhere reflects on the virgin birth of Jesus as witnessing to the conjunction of deity and manhood in His person—a line of thought much canvassed by later theology.

If the deity of Jesus was not at first clearly stated in words (and Acts gives no hint that it was), it was nevertheless part of the faith by which the first Christians lived and prayed…The theological formulation of belief in the Incarnation came later, but the belief itself, however incoherently expressed, was there in the Church from the beginning.

We disagree with the assertion that the doctrine of the Incarnation was “in the Church from the beginning.” Since the doctrine is clearly not in Scripture, how can it possibly be considered a part of “the Apostles’ Doctrine”? Because scholars admit that this doctrine is biblically tenuous, we must examine why Christian theologians of the third century and later became so preoccupied with establishing it as the cornerstone of a Trinitarian Christian faith. In doing so, we will see some of the changing assumptions and beliefs that led to the development of this doctrine. We must first establish the fact that the very process of turning from historical truth to mythology was clearly prophesied by the apostle Paul at the end of his life. This is amazing but not surprising, in light of the many times in Scripture that God has warned His people about being influenced by pagan culture.

 Creation, Not Incarnation
Jesus makes clear reference to two distinct categories in John 3:6 when he says that the “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” Jesus clearly declared God to be “spirit” (John 4:24). Note that he did not say, “I am spirit,” or “God is flesh” or even “The Father is spirit.” By thus placing “God” in the category of “spirit,” when he himself is clearly a man of flesh and blood, Jesus effectively excluded any possibility that he was God. If God, being spirit, can incarnate Himself as a man, then the clear scriptural distinction between flesh and spirit disintegrates. But God the Creator, who is spirit, can create flesh, as He did in Genesis 1. His spirit brooded upon the face of the water, speaking into being things that had not existed before. These things were in “the flesh,” but were not He. They were His creation, but He stood apart from them and judged them to be very good.
Creation is the means by which God has brought things to pass outside of that which would occur naturally. He caused a human life to begin in the womb of Mary by an act of supernatural creation, not mystical incarnation (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). He waited for a willing woman to bear this child, a woman whose confession and testimony were befitting the honor bestowed upon her. In this way He brought into the world a human being who fulfilled the necessary conditions for becoming the Messiah. That was only the first hurdle. Then He had to work with the growing child to help him maintain his sinless condition until the time he could be anointed with holy spirit and thus be empowered to do the work to which he was called (Acts 10:38). Yes, God had to provide (by creation) the body that could be sacrificed, but Jesus had to obey Him flawlessly for his body to finally be the perfect sacrifice that it needed to be. Thus, God and Jesus each had a responsibility that the other could not perform, and upon which our redemption depended.
The assertion that Jesus was God in human flesh nullifies the absolute necessity of Christ’s obedience, because, as God, no temptation he faced would have been genuine. God cannot be tempted, because God cannot sin (James 1:13). It is also axiomatic that God can neither “obey” nor “disobey” Himself. Nor does He need to command Himself to do anything, for as God, the perfect moral being, He always acts in a timely and perfectly righteous manner. Another unsolvable problem caused by the “incarnation” is that it destroys the plan that God established of a First Adam and a Last Adam. Romans 5:12–19 clearly defines a critical, logical parallel between Adam and Jesus Christ in the context of the redemption of mankind. A major consequence of the doctrine that God became man is that it destroys this key parallel, for Adam is hardly comparable to an eternally pre-existent being. Rather, he was a created being made in the image of the One who created him, God. Adam was not “fully man and fully God,” “100 percent man and 100 percent God,” “co-equal with God the Father,” or “of the same substance as the Father.” Adam was a created, empowered being who chose to disobey a direct command of God, with dire consequences to himself and all mankind as a result.
Jesus Christ was also a created being, made a man in the same way that Adam was originally made, that is, a masterpiece of God’s creation, given dominion over Paradise and every creature He had made. Jesus could have no intrinsic advantage over Adam, or his qualification as Redeemer would be legally nullified. He was the Last Adam, not the first God–man. The differences between Adam and Jesus were circumstantial, not essential: Adam started tall with no navel; Jesus started short with a navel. Adam was created fully formed and fully able to comprehend the voice of God. Jesus had to learn from his parents. Adam did not have to suffer the indignity of a humble birth and be considered illegitimate, the son of common folk. Adam had only to dress and keep the garden and care for his wife. He had to keep from eating the fruit, or die and bring death to all his descendants. Jesus had to drink the cup of suffering and die so he could be raised to conquer death and make it possible for others to eat of the “fruit” of eternal life.
In a head-to-“Head” comparison, Adam had every advantage, yet Jesus overcame where Adam fell. He chose to obey God’s will, which was that he present himself as a perfect sacrifice for sin. For the legal requirements of redemption to be satisfied, whatever Adam was, Jesus Christ had to be. Scripture declares very clearly that Jesus was a created human being like Adam was. In fact, they were both the result of God’s direct creative activity.
As we have stated, the whole Bible is simply the story of two Adams. Except for the initial genetic perfection that they shared in common, the contrast between them is stark. Here is perhaps another way to summarize Romans 5:12–21:

 Two Adams

• Two created beings
• Two Sons of God
• Two men
• Two gardens
• Two temptations
• Two choices
• Two attitudes
• Two decisions
• Two results
• Two races

 Other Problems with the Doctrine of the “Incarnation”

Aside from its mythological character, what are other problems with the idea of God becoming a man? First of all, it is illogical and self-contradictory when we are true to the accurate biblical usages of words. The Bible explicitly states that “God is not a man…,” (Num. 23:19), which defines two distinct categories, God and man. In terms of logic, it could be stated in this way: If God is not a man, then if someone is a “man,” he cannot be “God.”
God’s holiness precludes Him from becoming anything other than what He is. Rubenstein points out the illogic of the assertion that “God can do anything.”
Athanasius [a bishop of Alexandria who spearheaded what became the orthodox Trinitarian position] says that God can do anything He chooses to do, and that He chose to turn Himself into a man for the sake of our salvation. Jesus Christ is not one of God’s creatures, he insists, but God Himself, incarnated in human form. These sound like clear statements, but, actually, they are hopelessly confused.
Can God do anything He chooses to do? Of course—except those things that are inconsistent with being God. Can He choose to be evil or ignorant? Could He be the Devil—or nothing at all?
Perfection cannot be improved upon or changed. He is not a pantheistic “god” who dwells in everything. He is holy, meaning that He stands apart from and above His creation, yet is intimately involved with it. Therefore, God cannot alter His essential nature, which by definition is perfect, and perfection cannot be improved upon. But even if He could, in doing so He would, by definition, no longer be “God.”
If Jesus Christ is “God in human flesh,” there are other scriptural casualties. First, it renders the pathos of Gethsemane virtually meaningless, when Jesus prayed three times for this cup to be removed from me (Luke 22:42). If he is “of the same substance” as the Father, and an eternally integral part of a “Godhead,” then his will is of necessity the same as “God’s.” If he struggled only in his “human side,” as Trinitarians argue, while accepting the assignment in his “divine side,” we are certainly left unimpressed by the difficulty he faced, compared to the way we face temptation without the benefit of a “divine” side that is sure to dominate.
If it were “God’s” will that Jesus should die, and Jesus is “God” in human flesh, then it was clearly also his will to die. Why then did Jesus wrestle so intensely with the assignment to sacrifice himself, finally surrendering and saying “…nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done“? If this struggle were between his divine and human natures, then why invoke God his Father in prayer in what was really an internal, almost schizophrenic, struggle?³³
In our considered opinion, attempting to artificially exalt Christ via theological manipulation results in the complete negation of the heroic character of this free act of his will. Unless he was really a man, “…in all points tempted like as we are…” (Heb. 4:15 – KJV), with real freedom to turn his back on the assignment, the value of his act as a magnanimous sacrifice (an emptying of his own will and desire) is virtually eliminated. If he were God, he could hardly deny himself or disobey his own directive. Seeing Jesus as an empowered human being who had to obey God like we do is the proper context and backdrop for appreciating his heroism. Seeing him as essentially God, endowed with a divine perspective of human events, results in a view that he was only going through the prearranged motions. In that case, his heroic commitment and example collide with his supposed “deity” and sink into a gray and uninspiring sea of inevitability.
Along with the demise of Christ’s heroism is the destruction of the logic of Philippians 2:8–11, and a diminishing of his exaltation based upon the merits of his obedience. Scripture here reveals that God highly exalted Jesus Christ in response to his humbling himself to be obedient unto death, even a death as humiliating and painful as crucifixion. If Christ were “co-eternal” and “pre-existent ” with “God the Father,” and if he already occupied the highest position in glory before the “incarnation,” then what is the significance of this special exaltation relative to his obedience unto death? Was he not simply returning to his former elevated station, one that could hardly be denied him since he willingly gave it up with the understanding that he would be able to return to it? If we are truly concerned about giving Christ his proper due and honoring him appropriately, does it not make more sense to place his accomplishments in a theological framework in which his heroism is more apparent rather than less?³⁴ Consider the power of James Moffatt’s translation of Isaiah 9:6 in this regard:

Isaiah 9:6
For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us; the royal dignity he wears, and this the title that he bears—”A wonder of a counselor, a divine hero, a father for all time, a peaceful prince!”

Yet another casualty of the “Incarnation” is the significance of his Lordship. Acts 2:36 says that God made Jesus of Nazareth “both Lord and Christ.” If Jesus Christ were already “God,” then one cannot comprehend the granting of the title “Lord” to him as anything particularly notable, because he already had every right to the title and had already been exercising it in the Old Testament. Again we find that man-made theological attempts to exalt Christ beyond what is specifically revealed in Scripture result in a radical demeaning of the value of his obedience and accomplishments on our behalf. Man, however sincerely, cannot add to Jesus’ greatness by making him something that Scripture does not. In fact, any attempt to do so significantly subtracts from the greatness of the biblical message. When we let the Word of God speak for itself and allow every piece of the puzzle to fit together without squeezing it to fit our own traditions or preconceived notions, both God and His Son are glorified, reason is satisfied and the Christian Church is blessed as it builds upon a sound cornerstone.

Death; Life; Resurrection & Rapture(our gathering together unto him).

The Dead Will Get Up at the Rapture or 
One of the Resurrections

When a person dies, he goes to Sheol (the grave; the state of death) and returns to dust. Therefore, the Bible rightly directs our attention to the Rapture or resurrection, which is when people will be raised to life.

Job 19:25–27 (ESV)
(25) For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
(26) And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
(27) whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

Job was excited about seeing God when he was in his new body, which would happen at the resurrection. He never spoke of being with God when he died.

Ezekiel 37:12–14 (ESV)
(12) Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel.
(13) And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.
(14) And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

Speaking of those Old Testament Jews who believed, these verses are loaded with truth. Chief among that truth is that the people would know the Lord was God when He opened their graves and raised them up. If people’s “immortal souls” went to heaven when they died, that would be the time they knew the Lord was God, not much later when their bodies were raised.

Matthew 22:23–32 (ESV)
(23) The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question,
(24) saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.’
(25) Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.
(26) So too the second and third, down to the seventh.
(27) After them all, the woman died.
(28) In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
(29) But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
(30) For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
(31) And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:
(32) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

This powerful section of Scripture is also recorded in Mark 12:18–27 and Luke 20:27–38. The Sadducees did not believe in any form of life after death. They rightly understood Jesus’ message that the dead would get up “in the resurrection” so they asked whose wife the woman would be at that time. If Jesus believed that after a person died his soul lived on, this was the perfect place to say that one’s soul or spirit did not marry in heaven. Instead, because he knew dead people are dead until the resurrection, he said “in the resurrection” people will not marry.

Luke 14:14 (ESV)
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

If people went right to heaven or “hell” when they died, they would be repaid for their actions immediately after death. We are repaid after we rise from the dead, which is what Jesus taught.

John 11:21-26 (ESV)
(21) Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
(22) But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
(23) Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
(24) Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
(25) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
(26) and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

Even if Martha believed her brother was alive in a good place but still wanted him to be with her, she would have said she wanted him back from heaven. Instead, she clearly indicated she believed her brother was dead and would only live again “in the resurrection.”
The Bible has many accounts of people being raised from the dead. At no time did Elisha, Jesus, Peter, or Paul pray to God before raising the person to see if they would be willing to leave heaven and return to this fallen world where they would only have to die again someday. Furthermore, if the people who had died were in heaven, it certainly seems that they would have had something to say about what heaven was like when they returned. Even if they promised God they would not talk about heaven, it seems that someone would have asked them about it.

John 14:3 (ESV)
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Jesus told his disciples they would be with him when he came again not when they died.

Acts 4:1 and 2 (ESV)
(1) And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
(2) greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

The Apostles were not teaching that people went to be with Jesus when they died. If they had been, that is what the religious leaders would have been upset about. Instead, the Apostles were teaching the resurrection from the dead. Other verses confirm that the Apostles taught the resurrection (Acts 17:18 and 32, 24:15).

1 Corinthians 15:42, 51b and 52 (ESV)
(42) So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
(51b) …We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
(52) in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

It is very important to note that every believer is “raised imperishable” at the same time: “the last trumpet.” We do not have an imperishable immortal soul that lives with Jesus after we die. We become “imperishable” only when we are raised from the dead.

1 Thessalonians 4:13–17 (ESV)
(13) But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
(14) For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
(15) For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
(16) For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
(17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

If Paul wanted Christians not to grieve and knew that when people died their soul or spirit went to be with God, he would have said so here in order to help comfort people. Instead, he tells us that all the dead in Christ will rise at the Rapture when the Lord comes and comforts us by letting us know that even when a person dies he will rise again.

Titus 2:13 (ESV)
waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Our hope is the coming of the Lord because that is when the dead are raised and can be with Jesus.

Revelation 20:4 and 5 (ESV)
(4) Then I saw…the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus…. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

These verses separate the people who come to life in the first resurrection from those who do not. The souls of the righteous, meaning righteous people, come to life after the Battle of Armageddon (Rev. 19:11–21) and reign with Christ.

Revelation 20:11–13 (ESV)
(11) Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. (12) And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
(13) And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades [the grave] gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

These verses depict the Resurrection of the Unjust (Acts 24:15 – ESV), also called the Resurrection of Judgment (John 5:29 – ESV), and the Judgment that follows immediately afterward. At this future time, all the unjust people will get up and be judged. The souls of the wicked are not judged and thrown into Gehenna when the person dies.

Acts 2:29–32 and 34 (ESV)
(29) “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
(30) Being therefore a prophet…
(31) he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
(32) This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
(34) For David did not ascend into the heavens…

If David was in heaven, Peter should have said so. Instead, Peter said just the opposite, that David “…did not ascend into the heavens….” His point was not that Jesus was in heaven with a body and David was in heaven without one. His point was that David was dead and Jesus was not.