Who Is Jesus? An Unpopular Truth

2 Peter 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

The King James translated this verse to say “by the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” The difference is that the Jehovah’s Witness will use the KJV to prove that Peter is speaking of two different identities, rather than calling Jesus God.

In the Greek it does literally say  “of God our and Savior Jesus Christ” (too The-oo hemone kai Soatheros I-asus Christoo).

To better understand this verse let’s take a look at verse 11 – “For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

In the Greek it literally says ” of Lord our and Savior Jesus Christ” (too Kuri-oo hemone kai Saotheros I-asus Christo0).

The only difference in the two is in one verse Peter uses God and the other he uses Lord. Grammatically translating into English is not always as simple as word for word in the same order. The same is true in translating other languages such as Spanish into English.

The preposition “of” (too) brings both God and Savior together in verse 1 as well as Lord and Savior together in verse 11. Peter is literally referring to Jesus as God in verse 1.

But, in verse 2 Peter changes it up and actually does refer to God the Father and Jesus our Lord. “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

In the Greek it literally reads “of God and Jesus of Lord our” (too The-oo kai I-asus too kuri-oo hemone).

Notice the “of” (too) for both? Each has their own preposition.

So, what does Peter believe about Jesus? He believes the same as what Thomas did in John 20:28 “My Lord and my God!”

Do not allow anyone to tell you that Jesus was just a man or just a prophet or another God among many gods. Jesus is God just as much as the Father and the Holy Spirit is God.

I will not say that the King James translated it wrong but the way it is translated it could be used as an argument either way. But, in the original there is no argument.

Why is it so important to understand the divinity of Jesus Christ? We are living in a time that many are teaching that all religions worship the same God but by a different name. I can argue against that point but let’s keep one thing clear – Jesus Himself said that there was no other way to get to the Father except through Him.

I saw a survey recently that said that over 40% of Christians believe that all religions worship the same God. We have to study the Word of God or there will be many who think that they know what is right and will be dead wrong. Eternity is at risk.

• The Mormons teach that Jesus and Satan are brothers and that one day they will become a god as Jesus did.
• The Jehovah’s Witness teach that Jesus is just another god.
• Islam teaches that Jesus will return but will be submissive to Mohammed’s teachings.

It is very important to know your Bible and know the God of the Word. If Jesus does not return soon it may be illegal for me to write such things. This teaching is what got many Christians killed in Rome in the early centuries. History has a way of repeating itself.

Is Jesus God?

To find awesome iPhone & iPad apps for the Christian Walk and Ministry go to n8slist.com

Salvation Through Joseph Who?

From the standpoint of many the very simple means of salvation is elitist. They feel that the simple message of Jesus is unfair because it offers only one way to God. According to scripture salvation is through Jesus Christ. Simple? It should be and yet many want to find other doors.

• John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
• Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
• 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.

But this is not what the Mormon church teaches (LDS). Take a look at the following and discover their idea of salvation:

• “This church…only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth” (Doctrine and Covenants, 1:30)
• Apostle Bruce McConkie states: “There is no salvation outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” (Mormon Doctrine, p.670).
• Marion Romney said, “This Church is the ensign on the mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. It is the way, the truth, and the life” (Conference Report, April, 1961, p.119).
• Mormon president and prophet Brigham Young declared: “he that confesseth not that Jesus has come in the flesh and sent Joseph Smith with the fullness of the Gospel to this generation, is not of God, but anti-christ” (Journal of Discourses, vol.9, p312).
• (There is) “no salvation without accepting Joseph Smith” (Joseph Fielding Smith, in Doctrines of Salvation, vol.1, p.190).
• “No man or woman in this dispensation will ever enter into the celestial kingdom of God without the consent of Joseph Smith” (Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, vol.7, p.289).
• Bruce McConkie states: “If it had not been for Joseph Smith and the restoration, there would be no salvation” (Mormon Doctrine, p.670).
• Brigham Young stated: “Every man and woman must have the certificate of Joseph Smith, junior, as a passport to their entrance into the mansion where God and Christ are” (Journal of Discourses. vol.7, p.289).

Either Jesus was right or He was wrong. If He was wrong then that why is scripture so incorrect. If scripture is incorrect then it is a free-for-all on what truth really is. Could I not start a teaching that says that only those who eat at KFC will enter heaven? Come on!

Do not fall for the story lines of anyone who has a teaching that is contrary to what the Bible says! The message is simple; it is through Jesus Christ and Him alone!

Is Jesus God?

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

There are not many who will disagree that John was writing about Jesus, referring to Him as the Word. But, there is a group of people who will disagree with the translation. According to the Jehovah’s Witness and their translation, it should read “and the Word was a god.”

It is upon their translation of this verse that they have established that Jesus was one of many gods, of which they can be too.

This may go a little deep, but hold on. It works.

I received a paper from a Jehovah’s Witness which gave other bible translations which I had never heard of who translated “a god” in John 1:1. The authors of Should You Believe in the Trinity? on page 28 explained that in the Greek, given the grammatical circumstance, the translator has the freedom to use the article “a” if they feel that it fits with Theos (the greek word for God), even when the article “a” is not written.

Therefore, by their own argument, this verse can not be used to prove whether Jesus was God or a god.  It’s up to the translators!

What about John 1:18 where the sentence begins with Theos with no definite article, just like John 1:1.  Why did your translators choose to change their rules?

If they translate “a god” in John 1:1 why did they not translate it the same way in John 1:6 or John 1:12 or John 1:13?  Not only are these verses in the same book, written by the same author, but they are also in the same chapter.  Should we pick-and-choose with God’s Word which rule we use?

Again, let’s see how scripture explains itself. In John 20:28 Thomas makes this declaration, “My Lord and My God!”

Here is where it gets really crazy. Although most of the New Testament was written in Greek with the word Theos used for God, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have gone through and picked out which ones they want to translate as Jehovah and which ones they translate as god. Of course it was John 1:1 and John 20:288 they chose not to translate the word Theos as Jehovah. Something screwy going on here!

In Isaiah 9:6, a verse which most every accepts is about Jesus, He is called the “Mighty God”.  The answer they gave me is that this is not Jehovah, just a god.  But what about Jeremiah 32:8 where Jehovah is also called the “Might God”?  If both Jesus and Jehovah are “Mighty God” what separates them?

And, I can not forget about Matthew 1:23 which says “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” This is a quote from Isaiah 7:14. Immanuel does not mean “a god with us.”

Let’s stay in the Word!

Racist Book

I can never understand how the keepers of slavery could honestly back their practice up with scripture. While it is true that scripture does refer to slaves, slave owners, masters, and servants, it never gives approval to the practice. Rather, scripture teaches equality and is the bases by which our understanding of freedom was based upon, despite the practice at the Nation’s foundation.

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Not only is slavery not taught in scripture, neither is racism. Yet, did you know that the Book of Mormon is a racist book? If you do not believe me, take care and read the follow scriptures from their bible. Be warned, if you believe in equality it will make your blood boil:

2 Nephi 5:21 And the Lord had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them.

Alma 3:6 “And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men.”

3 Nephi 2:14-15 And it came to pass that those Lamanites who had united with the Nephites were numbered among the Nephites; and their curse was taken from them, and their skin became white like unto the Nephites;

Moses 7:22 And Enoch also beheld the residue of the people which were the sons of Adam; and they were a mixture of all the seed of Adam save it was the seed of Cain, for the seed of Cain were black, and had not place among them.

Have you heard enough? I have and yet the Mormons want to claim that the Book of Mormon is as holy as the Bible. They call it “Another Gospel.”

Keep in mind that Moses was married to a black woman and Philip led a black man to Jesus. We are brothers and sisters in Christ!

Hell

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a story that seems to cause a few people some problems. It’s a story of a rich man and a poor man who both die. The poor man is in the presence of God and the rich man ended up in torments.

The problem is that the Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that anyone not right with God will just disappear. The soul ends. Therefore, they have a great problem with this story and call it a parable.

Let’s look at some definitions.  This story in Luke has to be a parable, fable or a true story.

1. A parable is a principle explained through a true life happening.  Of the other parables Jesus told, all could have happened.  Could there have been a prodigal son?  Could a woman have lost a coin?  Can a farmer sow seed and it end up on four types of soil?  Can a man sell everything he has to buy land that has treasure on it?  Yes to all.  Thus, a parable uses a real life situation, and we know that Jesus often spoke in parables.

2. A fable uses a story that can never happen in order to teach a principle such as Esops Fables.  If this story in Luke is a fable this would be the only fable Jesus told.  It would be totally out of character for Him.  Fables were not His method.

3. Could this be a true story?  For most parables which Jesus taught from was usually noted by Jesus or the author of that particular book as being a parable.  If it was a series of parables the author would signify the first as a parable and the rest just fell into that category.  This happens in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 15.  The question is, does Luke 16:19-31 fall into the same parable list which began in chapter 15 since there is a break in 16:14-18?  Just an interesting thought.

So, what is the conclusion?  If it were a fable then it could not have happened, yet it would make those who claim it to be a fable prophets with spiritual insight, understanding it to be a fable when there is no record of Jesus telling fables.  There is no evidence that Jesus ever associated Himself with anything false.

If it were a parable then it was told as if it really could have happened.  If it were a true story, then we know that Jesus would have been the only one who could have known of this happening.  Therefore, unless this is a fable it must have been a true happening or could really happened!

Could communication happen between the rich man and Abraham? It is the spirit world. What details do we have? Jesus would know better.

Was judgment passed on who was rich and who was poor? Nothing is mentioned about their spiritual state, righteous or evil. What we do know is that the heart of the rich man was not righteous but self-centered. They were not judged on what they had but what was in their heart that was revealed through their lives.

Is there a hell? If there was not then why would Jesus even mention it? What purpose did it serve? And, why would he associate with falsehood? He did not associate with falsehood nor would He. Therefore, Jesus gave us some insight as to what hell is like.

Another Gospel?

Joseph Smith

Galatians 1:8, “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.”

Joseph Smith, in 1820, involved in using a “peepstone” used in the occults, who was also a treasure hunter, said he went out into the woods to pray and that he was seized upon by some powerful being of the unseen world.  He said that thick darkness gathered around him. His tongue was held bound so that he could not speak and he was sinking into despair, ready to succumb to this being from the unseen world with great powers, when, all of a sudden, there appeared over his head a pillar of light in which two personages appeared. He asked them which Christian church was right.

He said, “I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all of their creeds were an abomination in his sight, and that all their teachers were corrupt.”

This was the beginning of a new religion taking foundational principles from the Bible. They teach that about 600 years before Jesus was born jews came to America and established a new civilization.  They became the ancestors of the Indians.  They built large cities of concrete.  Their prophets recorded everything on gold plates.

After Jesus rose from the dead He came to America to teach this other Jewish nation about Himself.  Then in the early 1800’s a man named Joseph Smith was given these golden tablets from God along with a prophet named Moroni, Mormon’s son who had come back to life.  God gave Smith the power to translate these ancient writings and then took the gold plates back to heaven with Him.  There are eleven witnesses who say that they saw the gold places, each having very little reputation for reliability.

This religion? The Church of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons. Their major recognized truth is called “The Law of Eternal Progression” which says, As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become.

Here is the problem. In the very introduction of their book of Mormon it refers to their book as “another gospel.” As in the scripture above, Paul said not to believe it. Therefore, I can not believe it.

I do not believe in bashing other Christian groups, followers of the teachings of Christ, but can we accept the teachings of another gospel when we were warned over 1,900 years ago not to? Here are some of the frustrations which Mormon scholars face:

• No Book of Mormon cities have been located.
• No Book of Mormon names have been found in New World inscription.
• No genuine inscriptions have been found in Hebrew in America.
• No genuine inscriptions have been found in America in Egyptian or anything similar to Egyptian, which could correspond to Joseph Smith’s “reformed Egyptian.”
• No ancient copies of Book of Mormon scriptures have been found.
• No ancient inscriptions of any kind in America, which indicate that the ancient inhabitants had Hebrew or Christian beliefs, have been found.
• No mention of Book of Mormon persons, nations, or places have been found.
• No artifact of any kind, which demonstrates the Book of Mormon is true, has been found.

Click to access Book-of-Mormon.pdf

Becoming A God?

The Mormon Church (LDS) is not considered a Christian faith because of their view of God. Not just a disagreeable view but one that is totally non-scriptural and follows the same vein as what the serpent told Eve in the garden.

Genesis 3:4-5 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormons taught the following: “I will prove that the world is wrong, by showing what God is…God himself was once as we are now and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! That is the great secret…I am going to tell you how God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see.” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.345) “God himself…is a man like unto one of yourselves…God himself, the Father of us all, dwelt on an earth…You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves” (Times and Seasons, val.5, pp.613-614) “Here then is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves…the same as all Gods have done before you…To inherit the same power, the same glory and the same exaltation until you arrive at the station of a God” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p.346-347).

Brigham Young taught: “He (God)…was once a man in mortal flesh as we are, and is now an exalted being…It appears ridiculous to the world, under their darkened and erroneous traditions, that God was once been a finite being” (Journal of Discourses, vol.7, p.333) “The Lord created you and me for the purpose of becoming Gods like himself.” (Journal of Discourses, vol.3, p.93).

According to an interview by Richard Ostling for Time magazine, “President Gordon Hinckley says that concept of God having been a man is not stressed any longer, but he [Hinckley] does believe that human beings can become gods in the afterlife.”

The problem is that none of this can be argued by scripture. Rather, scripture teaches just the opposite:

• Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent…”
• Psalm 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
• Psalm 93:2 Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.
• Hosea 11:9 “…For I am God, and not man…”
• Malachi 3:6 For I am the Lord, I do not change…

Mormons sometimes will refer to passages in scripture that speak of God “repenting” as evidence that He changes. The problem is that these scriptures are evidence of the change of His actions but not of His nature.

Therefore, according to scripture, God was never man nor will we be a god one day. If we attempt to change scripture then it’s foundation crumbles. It is no longer reliable. For, who can trust a God spoken truth if it changes.

Click to access Book-of-Mormon.pdf

The Tail of Two Sticks – Ezekiel 37:15-17

Judah and Ephraim

Ezekiel 37:15-17 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand.”

What do you read in these verses? That God gave Ezekiel a visual aid with two sticks?

There is a group who declares that the word stick is a mistranslation – rather, it should read “scroll.” Therefore, this has become the foundational verse that the Mormons (LDS) use to prove that there were two scrolls; the Bible and the Book of Mormon.

The problem is that the word used for stick means stick – “‘ets”. It literally means stick. There is a word for scroll, “sepher” which literally means scroll. Nowhere in the bible has “‘ets” ever meant scroll, but has always been translated stick.

Not only are they sticks but the exact words that were written on the sticks are listed in the scriptures above, no more and no less.

So, what do these two sticks represent? There were 12 tribes of Israel, 13 if you include the tribe of Levi. What happened to the kingdom after King Solomon? It split in two. What do the verses above say? One is for Judah, the description of the southern kingdom, and one is for Ephraim, the description of the northern kingdom (Isaiah 7:1-9; 11:13). Take a look at the following verse.

Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

It would seem that God is making a promise that one day there will be a whole nation again with all of the tribes. Refer back to my blog on the Tribes of Israel on May 27, 2009.

So, when a Mormon comes knocking on your door and begins with this “proof” in scripture that there are two gospels, you remind them that these were sticks only and that Paul wrote that even if an angel come preaching another gospel that it should not be accepted, Galatians 1:8. They may get offended that you refer to their Book of Mormon as another gospel, just remind them that they are the ones who have described the Book of Mormon as “another gospel of Jesus Christ,” not us.

To find awesome iPhone & iPad apps for the Christian Walk and Ministry go to n8slist.com

Making God Like Man?

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

human gods?

I am trying to be careful not to take up defense against things that really do not matter. But, I really feel that when people are trying to describe God as something that He is not it chisels away at the power and ability of God and risk making scripture not as secure as it needs to be. Let’s look at the teaching of God by the Mormons (LDS)

“God is an organized being just as we are who are now in the flesh” (Gospel Doctrine, p.64)

“The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

God is not omnipresent…cannot be physically present in more than one place at a time”; “If God possesses a form, that form is of necessity of definite proportions, and therefore of limited extension and space. It is impossible for Him to occupy at one time more than space of such limits” (Talmage, A Study of the Articles of Faith, p.43,48)

Brigham Young declared: “Some would have us believe that God is present everywhere. It is not so” (Journal of Discourses, vol.6, p.345).

Carfred Broderick writes: “God is a procreating personage of flesh and bone: (Dialogue: A journal of Mormon Thought, Autumn, 1967, p.100-101).

So, what is so wrong to believe that God has a physical body? First, this teaching is opposite of what the Scriptures teach us. Second, it makes Him into our image. Third, Rather than being a God of creation, space, and time, he is being made into a god of limitations.

• John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time.
• John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth”
• Luke 24:39 Jesus speaking – “Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
• 1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise…
• 1 Timothy 6:16 Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see…

Now, I hesitate to do this but to show contradiction in their own bible I am including two verse from the Book of Mormon.

Alma 18:24-28 says, “And Ammon began to speak unto him with boldness, and said unto him: Believest thou that there is a God?  And he answered, and said unto him: I do not know what that meaneth.  And then Ammon said: Believest thou that there is a Great Spirit?  And he said, Yea.  And Ammon said: This is God.  And Ammon said unto him again: Believest thou that this Great Spirit, who is God, created all things which are in heaven and in the earth?”

Alma 22:9,10 says, “And the king said: Is God that Great Spirit that brought our fathers out of the land of Jerusalem?  And Aaron said unto him: Yea, he is that Great Spirit, and he created all things both in heaven and in earth.  Believest thou this?”

Not only does their teaching contradict scripture, but it also contradicts their own bible.

So, do not be misled. Search the scriptures. Everything must measure up to it’s truth! God is Spirit and has always existed. That is hard for us to comprehend because we measure everything by time and space. God is not contained by time and space. Jesus Himself said that “before Abraham was I am.” Outside of time. 

Is not God nothing more than a superman if we believe that He is limited by time and space and has a physical body?

If you would like to read more, go to http://www.apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/Book-of-Mormon.pdf

The Book Of Mormon

There goes another set of bicyclers in white shirt and tie giving away the Book of Mormon to anyone who will open the door to them.

According to one of the three witnesses the Book of Mormon says witnessed the translating that Joseph Smith did, every word was translated word for word, letter for letter:

“Joseph Smith would put the seer stone into a hat, and put his face in the hat, drawing it closely around his face to exclude the light; and in the darkness the spiritual light would shine. A piece of something resembling a parchment would appear, and on that appeared the writing. One character at a time would appear and under it was the interpretation in English. Brother Joseph would read off the English to Oliver Cowdery, who was his principal scribe, and when it was written down and repeated to brother Joseph to see if it was correct, then it would disappear, and another character with the interpretation would appear.” (Address to All Believers in Christ, Richmond, Missouri, 1887, p. 12).

And yet there are thousands of grammatical and spellings errors that have been corrected from edition to edition. Not only was this “word for word” miraclulous translation from God contain many mistakes but there are many contridictions with the Bible as well.

1. Alma 7:10, And behold, he shall be born of Mary at Jerusalem. BUT, Matthew 2:1 says Bethlehem.
2. Mosiah 18:17 dated the birth of the Church at 145 B.C. but the Church began in Act 2, approximately A.D. 33.
3. Helaman 14:20,27 says that there were three days of darkness at the crucifixion of Christ. BUT, Luke 23:44 says that the darkness lasted three hours.
4. Esther 1:34-35 states that at the tower of Babel the Jaredites had their own langauge. BUT, Genesis 11:1 says that there was one language for the whole earth.
5. Ester 3:8-9 speaks of God having flesh and blood. BUT, John 4:24 says that God is a Spirit.
6. Alma 46:13,15 claim that people wearing the Christian name about 75 years before Jesus was even born.

So, why should we even think about adding more to the Scripture we already have? How can any intelligent human believe a book with so many evident mistakes? The list could go on!

Some will argue that the errors in the Book of Mormon are no different from all of the different translations of the Bible. There is a big difference. Our english bible is translated from original text which we have. The Book of Mormon is described as being translated by God Himself into english with Joseph Smith’s head in a hat.

Hold to the Bible and keep that as your foundation. The Bible has more and more evidence being discovered all the time that it’s stories really did happen. Where is the evidence from the Book of Mormon? Please, someone give me one.

http://mormonchallenge.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG0XKVbgK9g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sECvoqzi4A&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J86PXBEzx7A&feature=channel