Elected, But Not Yet Inaugurated

Please forgive me for using a political term, but it really is a good example of our status as Christians. Just as a president who has been voted in has not yet assumed office, we the elect of God are not yet in our final blessed state.

Christianity sure involves a lot of waiting, does it not? In fact, it is the hallmark of our faith, the ability to wait. If you have ever been in a church that teaches that the millennium has arrived, you will be surrounded by people who feel that our present situations are a result of God's reward.

Got lots of money? That means you have pleased God and have been given your reward. It's rough being poor in such a church. But these people are ignorant of the Bible. According to them, Jesus was out of the favor of God because he was not rich. Certainly, Peter and Paul were in the same category. Silver and gold, they had none.

But Jesus plainly taught that our reward is future, not in the present. So, we were elected by God before the world was made (Ephesians 1:4). Our "offices", our rule, will take place on God's inauguration day.

Church Theology or Bible Theology?

Seems like an obvious choice. But people who otherwise would never think of "religion" opt for church theology every Sunday. You can see how tempting this is. Tempting, because the theology of the corporate church has been designed to please. "But we follow the Bible" is the plea of every division of our religion.

So, why so many churches, and why such deep divergences? If you invent (or someone invents for you) a theology of your own, you may expect variations as different as the private lusts and fears of humanity. That is pretty varied.

Let me suggest a simple way to escape this confusion. It is a way to escape from the domination of ideas found nowhere in the Word of God. A simple, and uniform solution is to base your religion on a study of the Bible instead of one where you interpret the Bible according to your preconceived ideas garnered from our fallen natures.

But this would involve new seminaries, ones free from man and devil-made concepts. Yes, and this is just what I would love to see. You know my formula--a study Bible and a concordance.

Seems awfully sparse, but what a start. It could mean two new books in your living room book shelf. Then--and this may seem contradictory--Bible books of all kinds, from Augustine to modern writers. Check each one using your study Bible.

A pattern will develop--a pattern of truth. This pattern will guide you to understanding the Bible as no corporate preacher can.

It will also (guaranteed) brand you as a heretic. You will be in the best of company though, with Jesus and Paul, for example. You will not find peace with your family, friends, or church members. Only chaos and enmity will result as you contradict fallen human nature, even Satan himself.

But as one who has lived this path for many years, I offer another guarantee. You will have peace with God.

Someone to Trust In

I don't like heights. After stepladder high I get nervous. But in my youth I became an airport "bum". I hung around a little private airport. My friends liked to parachute and urged me to try it. I decided I would, and a date was set.

First, I was to see my 'chute packed by a professional in the basement of his home. Not as rough and ready as it sounds. He had a nice finished basement and it was equipped with a series of long smooth tables, each over the length of a parachute panel and its shroud lines. He laid out my 'chute which had recently been jumped. He carefully picked off leaves and sticks from the recent jump and laid it out on a long, smooth table. Then he blew his breath under each panel at a time creating a bubble that saved walking the length of the table as it traveled along and laid that section in place.

On the walls were pictures of him and some 'chutes he had used. One was triangular. To be certified he had to jump a chute that he had packed. His kind, calm manner soon put me at ease. I became convinced that if anything went wrong, it would not be on his part.

The last step was to place release pins in the cover, attached to the all-important rip cord, or release. Soon I was standing on the step of a light plane. The pilot nodded and I released my hold on a wing strut. I counted to three and pulled the rip cord. After a short delay there was a tug as the 'chute opened and I began my slow descent.

A preacher I knew asked how a chicken like me could make such a jump. The answer was easy. I had watched the preparation and come to know the packer.

As you know, I am soon to die. And friends ask, "Aren't you afraid?" I marvel at this common question. God has assured me of salvation in such a foolproof way that not even I can mess it up. Jesus has told us that he is going to prepare mansions for us so that we can be with Him forever. My question is, why would anyone not want to take Him up on this offer? Don't we trust Him?

These Men Aren't Drunk, It's Only Nine O'clock!

For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. Acts 2:15

Is this not a strange defense against drunkenness? It's too early in the day! Not, as some would have us believe, that the wine of the Bible is merely unfermented grape juice. According to these people, the folks at the Pentecost meeting only drank Welch's grape juice, which they kept in refrigerators so it would not go "bad".

You may rightly ask, in a world falling apart and filled with Adamic people, who know not the way of peace, what difference does the "wine or grape juice" argument really make? I only mention it because it is an example of how Christians misinterpret the Bible to favor their private agendas.

"But alcoholic beverages are evil," they will say. As if it was an excuse to try to wrest the Word of God.

This morning I was listening to the Acts of the Apostles in a modern version. When it came to the story of Simon the sorcerer, they had the apostle threaten him with hell. In the original, he was warned about "perishing". For Simon was a baptized believer and in no danger of eternal death.

God can and does bring about premature death to people in deep sin. This is what Simon was in danger of. There is no record of him dying in such a manner. He was warned, and I believe, repented of his mercenary ambitions.

The Bible has sufficient warnings. Must people try to modify it to attempt to make it fit their private doctrines?

Baptist Mythology

I love Baptists. Most of my Bible books were written by them. They are my favorite denomination, though they get mad if you refer to them in that way (or call them Protestants). But Baptists drag around more myths than Marley did cash boxes.

Let me list them:

• that Baptists are the original church, the only true one
• the immortal soul
• the sacred cow of fallen man's free will
• the Age of Accountability
• the omission of elders
• the almighty infallible dictatorial Baptist Pope, their preacher
• and, I believe, their favorite, the flaming Baptist "Devil's hell". Baptists love hell!

Let me start with their idea that they are the first church. In extreme cases (Landmark) they may teach that Jesus was the first Baptist, being baptized by John the Baptizer. "My, Grandmother, what big egos you have!"

I know that all of them do not teach this, but they are very firm on their being the original church. So their timeline is this: John the Baptist to Jesus, unto this day. They brag that every church has an historical starting point, except them.

The facts are quite different. There were no Baptists until Martin Luther had been dead for 63 years. The original Baptists, first called Anabaptists, or "re-baptizers" started with Roger Smythe in Leyden. The issue was that they were against infant baptism and did not consider it effectual. In comes the issue of "believer's baptism".

But what if a child dies before it is 12? Will it go to a Baptist hell? Not the kid's fault. So in comes the 12 year old age of accountability. A cynic one suggested that all children be machine gunned before the age of twelve. Then they will all go to heaven.

The idea that man's free will remained intact at the Fall in Eden is, of course, shared by many Roman Catholics and is nowhere in the Bible. There, it is plainly taught that we all have a sin nature.

I will not go on with my Baptist bashing. Though the Baptists are plainly wrong on these points, they were willing to die for their beliefs on baptism. Many were martyred. Their worst critics cannot say that the Baptists lack zeal. That is why I love them so much.

The End of the Times of the Gentiles

They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:24, NIV

We all have our favorite Bible verses, and rightly so. We see them posted on billboards in front of churches. John 3:16 is very popular. There are even John 3:16 churches.

But there is a verse spoken by Jesus that is not ever so posted. In fact, in some churches, it is never read at all. I was in such a church. I taught Bible there. It was my joy to read it aloud each time I taught Daniel chapter two. For even the second part of Luke 21:24, though never ever read aloud in some churches, is very, very, important.

Jesus spoke it near the end of his earthly ministry. Poor, faithful Jews were puzzled. Where was the promised Kingdom of David?

The church I was a member of taught that the Kingdom of David had been transmogrified, taken over by the church. After all, they said, His kingdom is not of this world. This strategy works for most people. That is, those who do not take the time to read the verse that contains these words. The church--and they--leave out the all-important word NOW (John 18:36). For when it comes to time, these churches are as blind as mole rats.

His kingdom is not of this world NOW. You would think they could get the meaning of a three letter word! But they choose not to. So while Jesus supposedly has His heavenly kingdom, these guys will run the only one they really care about--the world- and its money, property and prestige.

But the times of the Gentiles are coming to a close. Jesus will take His beloved church out of the world, judge the disobedient Jews, and then return to re-establish the kingdom of David.

Gabriel promised Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:32) that their virgin-born son would sit on the throne of his father David. This is to be an earthly throne. It will be of this world. But not until Daniel 2 is fulfilled. Just not NOW!

The Woman Who Sits in Seven Chairs

The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. Revelation 17:9

Ever hear of anyone distorting the book of Obadiah? Imagine someone storming out of a church, never to enter again, because of what they consider a false interpretation of Micah? You might say, "These books are pretty straightforward, aren't they? Besides, who really cares about them?"

But when you come to the book of Revelation, things really change. Like a balloon man at a children's party, the trick is to see how many things you can create. "Can you make a giraffe?"

You can see how important a book is by how many ways it is distorted or even villified. "You can read anything into this book," people often say. I'm sure some folks can, but others, like myself, really try to be more logical, more stringent.

So let's look at the woman who sits on seven mountains as an example. She is much discussed. Usually it goes like this: "Seven mountains. Must be Rome because it is the city of seven hills." Hills, mountains--close enough. And what is in Rome? The Vatican! And what religion does the Vatican represent? It's the Roman Catholics. Therefore, the woman who sits on seven mountains = The Catholic church.

Boy, that was easy. I mean how logical can you get? And, how wrong!

For the history of the woman is of one who has dominated, or been carried, by seven kings (verse 10), five of whom have fallen. At this point, the "hills of Rome" analogy breaks down.

Five of the hills of Rome have not fallen. In fact we're not looking at physical hills (or mountains) at all, but nations. And what nations are they that have fallen? Out of the empires of Egypt--Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, and restored Rome of the last days--five had fallen when the book of Revelation was written.

So the woman has dominated--and will dominate--all the great empires. Far earlier than the Vatican, and far greater in scope and influence, this religion has ever persecuted God's elect. She is the mother of all evil religions. Like the big fat whore she is, she sits on a series of chairs. Wherever she is, at whatever time, she has a throne in all of them.