Most pseudo-Christian sects & some denominations are based in misunderstandings of the Old Testament. In the New Testament we found the revelation of many things that were just shadows of Christ or a mystery in the Old Testament. People can find salvation & the simplicity of Christ by reading the New Testament alone, but that won’t happen by reading the Old Testament by itself.
Reformed/Calvinist theologians & Catholics teach the church is now ‘Israel‘ (Replacement Theology), but that’s NOT what the New Testament shows, please check in that link the 73 times the word ‘Israel’ is used int he NT. Also with some variations the Church of God & Hebrew Roots teach that Christians are ‘Israelites’.
These sects also teach Jesus only came to save the house of Israel by twisting Matt.15:24, & say for that reason we believers have to be Israel. But in the original Greek there is no word ‘only‘ neither the word ‘save‘:
” ὁδὲ ἀποκριθεὶςεἶπενΟὐκ ἀπεστάληνεἰμὴεἰςτὰπρόβατατὰἀπολωλότα οἴκου Ἰσραήλ” – (here or here)
The but answering [He] said, not I was sent, if not to the sheep – being lost of [the] house [of] Israel.
Recall back in the post, Snake on the pole, we talked about how the people of Israel worshiped the serpent that Moses made? The snake was destroyed by king Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:3-4) but unfortunately it didn’t end there, and the worship to the snake still continues to this very day?
In this post we’ll try to show you a glimpse of that. In the past months of May-July, there was an art exhibition in New York at Rockefeller Center: ‘Uraeus‘ (Sacred Serpent) by Kabbalist (1) artist Anselm Kiefer:
The word Antichrist means = One who opposes Christ, or who puts himself in the place of Christ, a false Christ.
In the Scriptures we find 2 main concepts of Antichrist:
1 / A spirit – That operates in false believers, heretics, etc. who oppose Jesus Christ Divinity, His teachings, etc. (1 John 2: 22-23, 2 Jn.1:7) and of these kind there are many in the world. But also there are some men who usurp Christ’s place and who call themselves saviors, messiahs, etc. So they operate under the influence of this spirit of antichrist.
2 / A man – The bible also speaks of a particular man coming, the man of sin, the son of perdition, that by Satan’s works at the end of times, will make great signs and that will oppose Jesus Christ teachings and put himself in Christ’s place, deceiving many.
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. . .18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichristshall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. ” (1 Jn 2: 15 -18)
“Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or look, there you are, do not believe him, for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will perform great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, Even to the elect, I have told you before, so that if they say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness,do not go out, or behold he is in the chambers, do not believe it, for like the lightning that comes from the east and it shows up to the west, so will also the coming of the Son of Man. ” (Mat. 24: 23-27)
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ (Day of the Lord-judgment day) had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away (apostasy) comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrainswill do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.. .“ 2 Thes. 2: 3-10.
It’s expected that the church will no longer be here when this man takes power, ( although it’s possible that the true church may still be here for his peace treaty but not when he takes power after his deadly wound is healed). The Scriptures call this man, antichrist, man of sin, son of perdition, wicked one; whose advent is by the work of Satan, & will show great power and signs and wonders, but everything are lies and deception.
In the book of Revelation the antichrist is called the beast (Rev.13), his kingdom & his authority comes from Satan, the dragon (Rev. 12: 9) “And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will break the saints of the Most High, and will think to change the times and the law, and they will be delivered into his hand until time, and times, and half a time.” Daniel 7:25. He will be empowered to act with world authority 42 months = 3 ½ years, (Dan.12: 11, Rev. 11: 2; 13: 5).
The Antichrist will appear first as a smart man, full of good ideas in the political and economic arena, (Daniel 11: 21-24, 28), helping with the peace process in the Middle East, he is like a political savior, giving direction and advice to a world in chaos, most probably a chaos caused by wars in the Middle East, (& UFO phenomenon disclosure) and his motto will be world ‘peace’.
The day that he is revealed, or very close to that date, he will sign or rather confirm a peace treaty for 7 years (1 week of years in Hebrew, Dan.9:27), to achieve the peace of Jerusalem, which is at war with neighbors in the MiddleEast, and he will help rebuild the 3rd Jewish temple. This will cause many Jews to proclaim him as the messiah, (but he does not yet have world power), he himself will break that treaty, and will cease the daily sacrifice, Daniel 9: 26-27, Mat.24: 15; 2 Thess.2: 3-4;(This means that the 3rd Jewish temple must have been rebuilt already, for the daily sacrifice to occur, most likely in the place that the ‘Mosque of Omar’ occupies today, or near by).
But how can he achieve so much authority? He will have a powerful helper, the ‘False Prophet’ a religious leader, a key is to unite all religions together, with the excuse of ‘peace and tolerance’ (justice). These religions will sign treaties and agreements forming an officially organized World Religion.
Whoever doesn’t enter into this agreement will be persecuted, with the excuse of removing the roots of violence or religious intolerance. Christians who enter into this agreement seeking equanimity first with Catholics (Ecumenical Movement, 1), later with unbelievers (Interfaith, 1), will adopt false doctrines such as Catholic mysticism& Kabbalah, honor and worship of creatures or images (Romans 1:25), will adopt a differentJesus (2 Cor.11), many will leave sound doctrine to go after religious experiences, contemplative prayer, Ignatian (Jesuit) spirituality & mystic manifestations. Many believers will apostatize (they will abandon) the true faith, (1 Timothy 4).
A world religion was formalized in a summit in New York, on August 28-29, 2000, but it still doesn’t have an official leader. All the popes after the 2nd Vatican Council, have been instrumental in bringing all religions together. In 2014 Shimon Peres proposed a ‘United Nations of Religions‘ with pope Francis as leader (Will he make changes to his church in order to become an interfaith leader?)
Actual pope Francis, elected March 13th, 2013
Interestingly enough, the word ‘Vatican’ and word ‘prophecy’ (Latin=vaticinium) come from the same Latin root. Vatican City really means the ‘City of Prophecy’.The ‘False Prophet‘ which will be the right hand of the Antichrist, is described as the other beast that rises from the earth like a lamb but speaks like a dragon (or looks like a Christian but speaks like Satan), serves as spokesman to the antichrist, induces people to worship him, & is the one who induces people to take the ‘mark of the beast’ (1).
“Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb and he spoke like a dragon. 12 He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence and causes the earth and those who dwell on it to worship the first beast, . .He causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one may buy or sell, except he who has the mark or the name of the beast or the number of his name.
18 Here is a call for wisdom: Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast. It is the number of a man. His number is six hundred and sixty-six” Rev.13: 11-18.
The Antichrist will be of Jewish descent: “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers” Dan.11:37 (referring to the God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob), many believe he will be a descendant of the tribe of Dan (Gen.49: Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, compare with Gen.3:15). He will practice high-level occultism (Luciferianism, Kabbalah). Also for the Jews to accept him as Messiah he must be of Jewish descent. Sadly the Jewish people are ready to accept the Antichrist, as their expected messiah. If you ask Jews today, how the will they recognize Messiah? most will agree in these:
Is a Jewish leader – descendant of King David
Will bring peace to region
He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1).
Will bring all the Jews to observe the laws of the Torah (even many won’t mention: & Non Jews to observe the Noahide Laws )
Will build the 3rd Temple (This point & peace process, are the most important ones to recognize him )
Talmudic Jews believe that when their real ‘Messiah comes, he will destroy the Christians’, (Sanhedrin 99a). Most Jews expect their Messiah as a man or great teacher, but not as God, and they are really confused about if he is a king (Ben [son] of David – 2 Sam.7:12-13) or a servant (Ben Joseph, Gen.39:17; Is.53:11). But in order to explain things, rabbis had written many occultic & mystic things (& apparitions) in the Talmud, Midrah & Kabbalah. Kabbalsits believe in more than one messiah, (King Cyrus the Persian a gentile, being one of them for his decree to rebuild the Temple. Check who is considered like Cyrus today: News 1, 2, (Beware those news are run by kabbalists). They identify Messiah ben Joseph (also called ben Ephraim – son of Joseph) the leader of the Ten Lost Tribes (America), he could be a gentile and will be a forerunner of ben David & may help on the rebuilding of the 3rd temple. They say the principal and final function ascribed to Mashiach ben Yossef is of political and military nature. He shall wage war against the enemies of Israel. But the true Messiah ben David, they say will reign as a Jewishking & will bring redemption to the Jews. Most of this are just conjectures because according to them everything depends on the spiritual condition of the Jewish people at the time their Messiah comes. They are working really hard to fulfill their plans & predictions but God alone Has the last word & things will happen according to the Scriptures.
It is said that in biblical times, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they were coming in peace Jud. 5:10; 10:4; 12:14; 2 Sam. 16:2. I have no doubts that their false Messiah (Antichrist) after bringing peace will enter Jerusalem one of these days, riding on a white horse, & they will receive him. If they could only understand (please pray that God will give them revelation & lift the veil of their hearts 2 Cor. 3:15) that Jesus their Messiah, came first as a servant & die on the cross for our sins, but He will come back as a King to reign!! Praise be to our Lord & King!
This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Born Again
The gospel is ‘ good news’ for sinners, it is eternal salvation available to everyone. In the New Testament we find the rest of the instructions that we need to learn in order to know God better & to do His will, which in reality its the best for us (to benefit & protect us). For example, in book of Corinthians we find the following verse, which it’s called the ‘Gospel in a nutshell’. It is the only true gospel that the apostles preached:
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. . .
And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And ifChrist is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 1 Cor. 15: 1-4 & 13-17.
Some today that call themselves ‘Christians’ don’t believe that Christ rose bodily from the dead, but this is a very important part of the gospel. Many others believe Jesus resurrected as a spirit, but that’s not a resurrection at all.
The Watchtower for example teaches body recreation & not resurrection. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that God pulverized the body of Jesus and recreated it a new & different one. But Jesus and his apostles resurrected dead people, e.g Lazarus, Dorcas, etc. & it were the same bodies raised from the dead. See John 11:44, Acts 9:40, etc. Resurrection = Anatasis (in Greek), means ‘rising again’; and it is used in the original text for all these miracles as well as for Jesus resurrection, why wasn’t a different word used, if they were different events? Why wasn’t the word ‘recreate’ used instead of resurrected?
Luke 24: 36-43,But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. 38 And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see;for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.“
Jesus even ate with them. Was Jesus deceiving them trying to make them believe that he was not a spirit, but in reality He was? Of course not, “God forbid! Let God be true, and every man a liar. ” Rom.3:4
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in sins, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and He raised us up and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, 9 not of works, so that no one should boast. Eph.2:4-9
Listen to what the apostle Paul says in Romans 10:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you
confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus
and believein your heartthat God has raised Him from the dead,
you will besaved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoeverbelieves on Him will not be put to shame.”
In order to be save we need to believe the entire gospel, which includes Jesus bodily resurrection (if we don’t, then our faith is futile; & we are still in our sins!).
Vs.11 is also found in Rom.9:33 : “As it is written: “Look! I lay in Zion a stumbling stoneand rock of offense, and whoever believes in Him will not be ashamed” & found in 1 Peter 2:6-8 as well.
The Scripture the apostles Paul & Peter are referring here about Jesus is from Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I lay in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, firmly placed; he who believes shall not act hastily“.
That stumbling stone & rock of offense for Israel is Jesus. But we also find it in Isaiah 8:13-14: “Sanctify the Lord of Hosts Himself, and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread. He shall become a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, and a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.“
Isaiah is saying here the Lord of Host Himself (Jesus) is the stone of stumbling! There is no doubt the apostles believed Jesus to be God.
Some verses above that we just read, like 1 Cor.15:15 & Rom. 10:9 say that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Numerous times we are told that “God” raised up the Lord Jesus from the dead, but the Scripture declares all three persons of the Trinity (God) were involved in the resurrection of Jesus.
John 5:21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.
Acts 5:30 “The Godof our Fathers raised up Jesus“. Also Acts 2:24, 2:32, 3:15, 4:10, etc.
In John 2: 19-21, Jesus says: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” … But he spoke of the temple of his body “
Rom. 11:8 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that lives in you.“
Things we learned in this study of Born Again -John 3:
1/ We all need to be born again, or born of the Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God! (Jn.3:3-6)
2/ Nobody is a child of God unless they receive & believe Jesus Christ.
3/ We need to know that Jesus isn’t just a good teacher or a great man. But that He is God! Jn 8:23-28, 58, 1 Jn.4:3, etc. Jesus is God & the son of God. (Jn.1:1-14). Jesus is not the Father, but He has the same Divine nature & same attributes as His Father.
4/ Nobody is elected unto salvation. Salvation is forwhosoever believe, is by FAITH that Jesus Christ paid for our sins on the cross. (Eph. 1:13. etc). Salvation is not by works. Ephe. 2:8, Phil.3:8-9
5/ To be converted we need to repent from our sins and go to God. He sent His son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.John 3: 12-15. Acts 3:19
6/ God loves us, Jn 3: 16. He wants also that we love Him & love one another 1 Jn 4:11. The ‘agape’ love is the fruit of the Spirit. Gal. 5:22
7/ Goddesiresall men to be saved, He doesn’t want to condemn the world. He who believesin Jesus is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already. Jn 3: 17-18
8/ Jesus is thelight of the world!Whoever follows Him (not men) shall not walk in darkness anymore. John 8:12
9/ Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Rom. 10:17.
10/ We need to hold fast to the true gospel & the Word of God. Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, was buried but raised bodily from the dead. We Christians take our cross daily (Luke 9:23) to die to our own plans and ambitions, & live by faith in Him and FOR HIM!
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal.2:20. That’s what the baptism in water symbolizes, we died to our old life, are buried (under water) & have risen up as a new creature in Christ.
To be a Christian is to deny ourselfdaily to follow Him, it’s not a title you get one day, but is a life style. Are you willing? You wont do this alone or on your own strength, His Holy Spirit will be with you, to help you & guide you every day.
“Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have thewords of eternal life.” John 6:67-68
Are you born again?
If you want to be born again, then you need to truly repent from your sins (we all are sinners) and go to God in prayer, choose to turn away from your life style and choose God’s ways. The Greek word for repentance is ‘Metanoia‘ & means a change of mind (change of heart), just come as you are, but surrendered & He will clean you. With your own words ask Him to forgive you, (He knows your heart) tell Him that you receive & believe Jesus Christ His son. Let Him know that you believe His only son Jesus, die on the cross to pay for your sins & that He raised from the death according to the Scriptures.
Ask Jesus to take His rightful place in your life as your Saviour & your Lord. If you believe this then thank Him for what He has done, is doing & will do in your life. If you repented & talked to God from the bottom of your heart, then heavens rejoice for your decision (Luke 15:7), you just passed from darkness into light! So now walk as a children of light (Eph.5:8). Reading a Bible with help you to do that. As a baby that is learning to walk, you might stumble a few times, but repent & get up, you are not alone! You have now become a member of the family of God! (1 Jn.3:2). When you have an opportunity confess to others the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom.10:8-11). I pray that the Lord will guide you through His Word & help you find a good church (or a house group)- avoid Mega churches- were you can grow & mature in God. May our loving God bless you & keep you!!
– If you recently accepted the Lord Jesus, or accepted Him long time ago but have not study Christian doctrine in a deeper way, and find a little complicated to study the meanings of word, etc. Then don’t worry and start learning & understanding the words that our Lord Jesus spoke, this words are there for us, all of His followers, it would be a good idea to start reading the entire gospel ofJohn first, then other books on the New Testament & when you know all these 27 books & understand who you are in Christ, then read the Old Testament. Sound doctrine is important to grow healthy.
1 Tim. 4:16 “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine (G1319=teachings, precepts); continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
Check all that others teach you, comparing everything with the Word of God (Acts 17:11). Use a good bible translation like these versions. Keep yourself away from churches or teachers than contradict His Words. Remember we follow Jesus Christ, not men or their interpretations.
God made promises to Abraham (Gen.12:1-3, 17:7) & his’ Descendant/The Seed‘ (Christ, the Messiah was coming from Abraham’s lineage), but the Jews stumbled on this (Isaiah 28:16, Rom. 9:33), they misinterpreted it & took it the blessings were just for all Abraham’s descendants in the flesh, Israelites. Sadly many Jews still believe that today!
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word H2233 Zera, = “seed” is a singular noun that can also mean offspring. Many modern bibles translate or change the Hebrew word “seed” as “descendants,” “children,” (plural only). This makes it even more difficult to understand, altering the scriptures & the doctrine. To know if ‘seed’ has singular or plural meaning we need to read in context. In Greek there are distinct words for seed (spermati) & seeds (spermasin).
This entry is part 2 of 4 in the series Born Again
God made promises to Abraham (Gen.12:1-3, 17:7) & his’ Descendant/The Seed‘ (Christ, the Messiah) but the Jews stumbled on this (Isaiah 28:16, Rom. 9:33), they misinterpreted it & took it as it was just for all Abraham’s descendants in the flesh, Israelites. Sadly they still believe that today! Most of them believe in salvation because of their race. But we’ll talk about this on a next post ‘Who is Abraham’s Seed‘.
All through out John chapter 3 we notice so many times that salvation if for whosoever believes in Jesus Christ. The King James translates the Greek word ‘pisteuōn‘ in ‘beliveth‘ to indicate the verb is in present progressive ‘believing‘, the action still continues.
This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Born Again
Studying the Book of John, Chapter 3, we found there is so much about salvation condensed in this chapter alone, that we decided to share it in two or three posts. This chapter not only contains the most popular bible verse (John 3:16) which summarizes the main point of the Christian faith, but also this same chapter explains some critical points about salvation & how a ‘genuine’ Christian life should begin.
