Unlearning Tradition, Relearning Scripture

Month: November 2021

  • Love One Another

    “Love one another,” a commandment given by the Lord Jesus Christ for His disciples, then and now, may be found in John 13:34-35.

    “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.””

    Denomination battles make no sense if Christians fail to love one another. Not just loving each other, but loving in the same manner as Jesus loved the church. See Ephesians 5:25-27.

    Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

    The apostle Paul highlighted the importance of love within the church; see 1 Corinthians 13:1-8.

    “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

    The disciples asked Jesus Christ about the time and impending signs of His return and the end of the age, vis-a-vis His proclamation of the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. So Jesus answered, saying,

    “And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:4-13)

    Endures in faith or in love? Can a Christian truly separate faith in Christ from loving one another?

    The quick answer may be found through Matthew 25:40-45.

    “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’”

    So we see, faith in Christ Jesus and loving one another cannot be separated, ‘cause it was and still is the commandment of Jesus for everyone who claims to be His follower or a Christian.

    Ironic, isn’t it? True Christian love is a rarity within the Christian congregation. Make no mistake, Jesus Christ clearly said, “It is by loving one another that people may know that we are indeed His disciples.”

    See the context of John 13:34-35 and you will see the New Commandment was given after Judas had left, hence it was for the eleven apostles, who without a doubt endured to the end.

    Why then do we have a loose idea of Christianity? It’s more self-preserving than loving each other.

    Salvation indeed comes by faith in Christ alone. But faith goes hand-in-hand with obedience to God’s word. Certainly, Jesus’ commandment is the Word of God. Hence, Matthew 25:45 should be a reminder to everyone who claims to be a Christian.

    Blessings!

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  • Parousia Myths

    Despite clear utterance from the Lord Jesus Christ that His return or parousia would be during the lifetime of the apostles, it has been rejected and denied by the futurists – actually, that includes the majority of professing Christians. See my blog “Confused Christianity” on Jesus’ assurance concerning His return.

    One of the most often used arguments may be found through the writings of Luke, see Acts 1:9-11.

    “And when He (Jesus Christ) had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.””

    They believe “Jesus returning in the same manner as He was taken” means a physical return. Was it?

    First, let us see where Jesus was going at His ascension. See John 20:17.

    “Jesus said to her (Mary), “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’””

    Jesus was ascending to His glory, to God the Father in heaven. Isn’t that where Jesus exactly told the disciples He was going? See John 14:2.

    “In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

    Sometime after His ascension, Jesus Christ appeared to Stephen. See Acts 7:55-56.

    “But he (Stephen), full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.””

    In other words, after His ascension, Jesus Christ, now glorious, is at the right hand of God. Finally, Paul also said the same about Jesus after His ascension. See 1 Timothy 3:16.

    “Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He (Jesus Christ) was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

    Nowhere in Scripture would you find Jesus returning in the flesh, but with the cloud. Isn’t that what Luke wrote in Acts 1:9?

    “And when He (Jesus Christ) had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:9)

    Consequently, the angels were testifying about the imminent fulfillment of God’s kingdom and judgment as prophesied in Daniel 7:13-14.

    ““I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

    Incidentally, Jesus made it clear He wasn’t establishing a physical kingdom; see John 18:36.

    “Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But My kingdom is not from the world.””

    Finally, Jesus said His kingdom cannot be observed but is present. See Luke 17:20-21.

    “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He (Jesus Christ) answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””

    Aren’t futurists proclaiming the exact opposite of Jesus at His return and the conflicting realities of His kingdom?

    Note: Futurist are those who insist and teach that Jesus’ Return is yet to come.

    Blessings!

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  • Hallucinations of a Rapture

    One of the major doctrines of the futurist camp has to do with the belief in a rapture. Futurists are those who supposed the Return of Jesus Christ is yet to happen. See my blog “Confused Christianity” for the futurist perspective. Again, as I have said in my previous blog (Delusions of Rebuilding the Temple) futurists are great storytellers, though having no valid biblical passages to support their claim. They are good at sensationalizing from nothing.

    Now, the supposed “rapture” doctrine was taken from a verse found in the letter of Paul, see 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

    “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.”

    The translation “caught up together” is presented by the futurist camp as the rapture. Here is a summary of their storytelling, at least the most popular version of their narrative:

    The rapture of 1 Thessalonians 4:17 would be succeeded by a period of Seven Years Tribulation, after which Christ Jesus together with the church would return. Without going any further in their storyline, I detected an error with their presentation.

    The futurists also said only true Christians would be raptured, leaving nominal or professing Christians behind for a second chance to surrender to Christ.

    Would any dare say Christians today are better and more faithful as compared to the apostles James, Peter, John, and the rest?

    If indeed only the faithful ones would be raptured, why then was the apostle John enduring the tribulation and left behind? See Revelation 1:9-10.

    “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet”

    Without a doubt, John claims he was already in the tribulation, yet he was not raptured to escape the tribulation as suggested by futurists.

    John also said, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day”, literally referring to the Day “belonging to the Lord (Greek #2960)” – an adjective pertaining to the “Day of the Lord”. See 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

    “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

    In other words, John was already in the tribulation, which Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 relates to His soon coming, an event preceding His Return, fulfilling His words concerning the Day of the Lord – God’s Judgment Day. See Matthew 24:15-21.

    ““So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”

    The reference to Daniel’s prophecy has to do with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. See “Delusions of Rebuilding the Temple” for perspective.

    So what happened? John said the tribulation was happening, occurring in his days. He was suffering and exiled for his faith but not RAPTURED.

    There are loose ends in the futurist storybook. Here is a guide from Scripture concerning prophetic teachings. See Deuteronomy 18:18-22.

    “I (God) will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put My words in His (Jesus Christ) mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And whoever will not listen to My words that He shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.”

    It is easy to tell a wonderful story that is nice to hear and comforting to the heart. But if it isn’t founded on the truths of the Scripture, then it should be better not to fall into such hallucinations and embrace it as truth.

    Blessings!

    If you want to follow our journey of unlearning tradition and relearning Scripture and stay updated, you can head to our about page and subscribe directly to receive notifications in your inbox.