QUESTION LIST #19:
| To list of all questions on Website | Possible Rapture originator, the Catholic Jesuit Priest, Francisco Ribera, was a 'converted' Jew.
A reader writes:
ANSWER:
I am aware of this. But there is a problem. Misunderstanding of terms like 'tribulation" cause some to find "Rapture" teachings in old church documents when they were not Rapture teachings at all. One of the oldest examples is the so-called Ephraem’s Teaching on the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, in A.D. 373 (not A.D. 306 as you say). But a careful read of the document shows that Ephraem was referring to God's wrath as the "Tribulation," not as to our understanding of the Tribulation which comes before God's wrath. It must also be noted that this document was passed around behind the Bishop's backs because it was really a mocking of the corruption that the early church had fallen into. Below is the quote that so many Rapturists want to believe indicates an early church teaching of a pre-Tribulation Rapture dogma:
Sounds good for the Rapturist's cause, doesn't it? Well, there is a problem, they selectively edited the original quote to omit the part that damns their theory. Observe the WHOLE quote:
Ephraem was saying that the end of the world was coming upon them then. He speaks of harvest and angels with sickles; we know this to be the wrath of God. This happens long after the Tribulation had begun. He apparently didn't know to separate the Great Tribulation and the final wrath of God; to him they were one event. We now know better, but go easy on him for he wrote at a time when much was yet unknown (4th Century A.D.). But my gripe is with modern day Rapture Doctors who PURPOSELY omitted the sentence that follows after their quote BECAUSE it contradicted their pre-tribulation rapture farce. Shame on them! Like I said, the Rapture is a doctrine of devils, is it any wonder that we find deceit and treachery surrounding it at every turn? I will say this, however, I am coming to believe that there was one before Mary MacDonald who planted the Rapture theory. And that it was this writing that MacDonald got her ideas from. I refer to:
For those interested in following the tail of the serpent up to it's head, the abovementioned Jesuit Priest, Francisco Ribera, was a 'converted' Jew. Well, many conversions back then weren't genuine, but rather under threat of death and burning. In fact, the Jesuit priesthood itself was a Jewish endeavor and it's founder Ignatius Loyola (not his real birth name) and the first three Inspector's Generals of the Jesuit Order were Jews.
More research needs to be done, more records need to be uncovered, but there seems to be a Jewish Catholic Jesuit priest somewhere in the mix. So where did Mary MacDonald get her 'vision'? Who knows!?! But it wasn't from God; nor is the Rapture Doctrine from God.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page More on: was Jesus God?
A Reader writes:
ANSWER:
Look at those Scriptures in the Greek. Let me know what you find of the word "of" there. My point is that the word "of" is not there. It reads in the Greek as: ...God Father and Lord Jesus Christ.... Also be aware that all punctuation is of man's design, the original manuscripts had not the punctuation that our modern Bibles have. So don't let the commas and colons prejudice your interpretation. The red italics words in the below Scripture were words added by the Translators to improve English readability (often this is necessary, and it is acceptable when translating to add words from one language to another, but sometimes they reflect the translators understanding of the Scripture more than the true interpretation of the Scripture itself):
NOTE: For some reason the King James Bible only places the word "In" in italics (and not the three occurrences of the word "the", which is key! But all the red letters in the above are not there in the Greek Manuscripts; this you could check out for yourself if you have the Biblesoft PC Study Bible Complete Reference Library 3.0 software that we use here. Below is the text of the King James Bible reflecting in red italics the words that they place in italics. This you can check out in your KING JAMES Bible version (other Bible versions do not show the italics that the Translators reflected, so you don't know who added what when. For more on Bible versions see our ...Newer Bible Versions...):
And you stated:
And I find it amazing when people make
false accusations. I never denied that Jesus was the Son of God. Don't
be telling stories.
The problem is that you cannot think
outside of the flesh to realize how that Jesus could be both Son of God and
God. Never mind that He told you so Himself, you don't believe Him, why should
I think that you are going to believe me.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor)
The Reader replied, and below is our answer to his issues:
Hi Ed, I understand where you are coming from. I feel that you are sincere in heart in this matter. But I have to respectfully disagree with you.
I don't know what sparked this in your
mind, I don't know if it was some accusation against Pastor Murray that makes
you now view this whole matter with suspicion. I don't know what crafty
argument was delivered to you. For there are some enemies that even say that
by Murray's teaching the Trinity in this matter is to say that Murray denies
the Trinity!
Nothing could be further from the truth!
In a given study you will hear Murray mention God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy
Spirit. They, in their own ignorance falsely accuse Murray because THEY do
not understand. And be sure to be careful of people who make Ad Hominem
arguments (attacking the man not the content of what he says)
Likewise I notice that you all but stated
that I deny Jesus Christ. This is where this kind of thing can lead one.
For, do you really believe in your heart of hearts that I deny my Savior? If
not then why write alluding to it? Whence cometh that spirit?
In the very Bible study that you quote me
from I stated that the concept of the Trinity or Triune Godhead is very
difficult for us humans to grasp. This is mostly because we think in the
flesh (for we are flesh) we do not think like God "For
my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
LORD." (Isa 55:8).
You cannot understand the concept. When you
read verses like "I and my Father are one." (John
10:30) you think that Jesus was saying that He and God are on the same
team. But even the unsaved Jews who murdered Him knew that He was
calling Himself God, how come you, a saved Christian, do not?
We you read "he that
hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9) you think that Jesus (a
man in the flesh) looks cosmetically like God (whom is Spirit). You miss the
whole thing, Ed; God has no flesh body, save for Jesus Christ. So how could
Jesus ‘look like' God? Ed, Jesus was telling them that He was God.
Was Phillip asking Jesus to show him a
picture of God, drawing an image in the sand, or something? Of course not,
Phillip was asking Jesus to produce God, to have Him come to them and show
Himself. Jesus goes on to declare that He Himself is that God:
Or how about when Thomas called Jesus God,
and was complimented from Jesus on it. Why, if that was an error would Jesus
let the error stand? Why would He not correct Thomas' blasphemy? For if
anyone is called God whom is not God, that is an act of high blasphemy.
Thomas didn't sin because Jesus was whom
Thomas said He was, he was both Lord AND God. But now to support your
position, in addition to alluding to me denying Christ, now you must also
convict Thomas, one of the twelve, of blasphemy; and Jesus you would have
to........, I can't even say it, you get the point. There is something very
wrong about your understanding of the Trinity, is there not?
Can you read the below Scripture and
honestly stand on the presumption that Jesus was not called God (The God) by
Thomas and that He also acknowledged the Title? You will notice that Thomas
used BOTH Kurios (Lord) and Theos (God)
I don't want to make you feel bad because I
know that are acting with the best of intentions, but what you cannot realize
is that to believe as you do actually is to say that there are THREE Gods.
This is in line with every pagan Pantheon.
How much better then is it to simply be
understood as that there is One God only, and He has three administrations or
facets or offices, however you want to ‘term' it.
Feel free to follow-up in any way that you
are led.
I believe you to be a Christian acting in
good faith to correct a brother that you feel is in some error and is teaching
same error to his readers. But I am correct on this and you in the error,
albeit you do so ignorantly―not meaning to.
No offence, I was referring to Paul's
declaration of his own past error.
I am sure that it isn't lost on you that
Paul just called Jesus God in verse 17?
Why not reread our
The Holy Spirit & The Holy
Trinity study, this time with an
open mind and without the suspicious eye. I love the Lord Jesus Christ and
would never blaspheme Him, much less deny Him. You speak carelessly about a
very careful subject.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor)
The reader once writes back, below is our response to him:
Hi Ed. Well, in my opinion, if you think that a ministry is teaching falsely then you shouldn't support it.
I guess it comes down to what you consider
false teaching. Is minor differences of opinion and/or interpretation to be
considered false teaching? I don't think so, I don't think that any two
Christians agree 100% on everything. We all have our little different
opinions. I think that if the error is understandable, and there is no
heresy, then honest disagreement is fine. And since you are not totally sure
of the answer yourself, perhaps to move too hastily will cause you some grief
later if it turns out that you were wrong and he right.
I however can see what you are saying. I
see how that you can take the Scriptures as you do.
This topic is very hard.
I see that I alienated you when I stated
that Jesus spoke to God audibly for our benefit. But Jesus was the one who
said that Himself:
You ask "did Jesus have His own
personality?" Boy Ed, you are making me jump from the pan into the fire
aren't you? :o)
Let me try to explain it as I understand
it. You may agree or you may disagree.
I believe that the Scriptures are clear
that God was to come and save His mankind.
I believe that Jesus was God, made a little
lower than the Angels for the suffering of death (Heb 2:9). So then, did God
die? No, He cannot die, but the flesh that He was in died, that flesh being
the man that we know as Jesus Christ.
This is not at all remarkable when you
understand that when, say, you and I die -- we do not die, just the flesh men
that you and I were dies. Our spirit goes back to God (Ecc 12:7).
So then, we could say that God made His
angels to be men because of the fall in the 1st age. Then God Himself became
flesh to save His angels/men.
We have many similarities with God (don't
read any spiritual mumbo-jumbo into that!), but then He is so much more than
we.
God IS an entity, a personality, a living
being in a different realm.
Likewise we have an identity that transcends realms (at the appointed
time; i.e., death).
God has a Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit
because God is Holy.
We also have a spirit, it is our spiritual
body that cannot be seen and it is inside of our flesh bodies. It is this
spirit that returns to God at the instant of our flesh death (Ecc 12:7).
God also had a flesh body, because He
willed it, that was Jesus Christ; and evil men killed that flesh body.
We also have a flesh body, you know what that is because when you look in the
mirror that is what you see.
The problem or confusion as I see it is how
can we understand that God was in Heaven, the Eternal Father, and yet at the
same time Jesus Christ was on the earth talking to Him.
I know that this is hard to comprehend.
Did not Paul even call it a mystery?
So if Paul, whom was more knowledgeable
than us, and whom himself been to the third Heaven (age) called it a mystery,
how can we possibly hope to fully grasp it?
And if it be so great a mystery and such
a 'hard saying,' then we cannot justify leaving a congregation over the
misunderstanding of such a great mystery.
Ya know?
Nowhere in Scripture is the perfect
understanding of the Godhead any requirement for salvation nor is it ever the
standard wherein we are instructed to judge a ministry as able or flawed.
As far as your tithes, that is between you
and God, he will lead you to give or not to give. Neither is a tithe required
for salvation but rather as freewill gift out of ones heart. As the Lord
blesses us, some of us are led to bless others.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page
Why does God let innocent children be killed?
Our reply to Shirley's e-mail:
Hi Shirley:
There is no such thing as that God "has a number to kill" "even children to make up that number" to fulfill some timetable or purpose. What a terrible thing for that man to say. (I hope that this isn't some Rapture theory regarding 'rapture timing' -- if it is please let me know.)
God didn't kill those children, the drunk driver and the child who was driving the off-road vehicle on the road did. It was a terrible accident.
It is not that God wills or wishes that children die the first death, He just allows it.
Had God spared those five children's lives, then what about another five who died elsewhere, shouldn't He then in all fairness save them? And if them then why not all children everywhere? And if no children be permitted to die then what of teenagers? And if no teenagers be allowed to die then why adults.
For that matter, why should God let anyone die?
Well, there is a time coming like that, wherein no more shall die, and there shall be no more tears. That time and place is Heaven - but it is not yet time for that, death has not yet been brought into submission; but it shall be.
Take comfort in knowing that the children are innocent by virtue of their ignorance. Adults know more and are thus held to more regarding the Judgment Day when all men must give account to Him "from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away".
Trust God in that He is faithful, and that it pains Him that we, especially the innocent children, should taste of the horror of death. But it must be so for a little while longer, for it is the natural way of man to die.
Our Heavenly Father is good and He conforms the dying at their last breaths; the faithful and the innocent do not die alone, He is there with them easing fears and comforting pains.
Ironically, I suspect and am quite convinced that the moment of death for the faithful and the innocent is beauty unknowable to us in the flesh; but to them who are moving into the spiritual from the fleshly it is understood exceedingly.
Those five children are in Glory at this very moment, at the very feet of the Ancient of Days (the Lord God), and if given the choice they would not return to our place. So if they now sorrow not for being taken than why do we sorrow at their going? I know, we miss them.
Trust him and His will, for He is good and merciful in ways that we cannot now fathom.
God bless the study of His Word, in Jesus
Christ' name! Back to list of questions at top of page What powers do evil spirits have on Earth now?
A reader writes of her experiences with evil spirits:
REPLY:
That is an excellent witness and you should share it sometime. You gave the right answer: "I prayed and anointed the house". The reason I say that you should share this story more often is because many people are afraid and don't know that they can thwart these things through Christ.
But I do see your concern about not
mentioning it on an Internet Talk Forum or chat Room where there are so many
false teachings and skewed understands, because were someone who was not truly
in Christ to try to cast out an evil spirit they would be torn like
the below misfortunate vagabond Jews:
But anyway, as to your question:
Well, they cannot take a life. I say that
because never in Scripture was an evil spirit allowed to kill it's host. Even
satan was forbade by God to kill Job. And even in secular history - you never
hear of evil spirits killing people, you hear about them doing all kinds of
other things, but never killing. Although I know it as not secular witness
that were seeking. Just adding it in because there is some truth in secular
teachings somewhere at the bottom.
In Rev chapter 9 we see that even the
Locust Army (fallen angels who come with satan) are commanded not to kill
anyone, only that they can hurt the unsealed for five months. The only
spiritual entity that kills is satan when he slays the Two Witnesses. I
believe that this is what ‘sets God's anger all the way off' - it is a direct
violation of a direct order from God; and from the moment that satan kills
these two the final hourglass is turned over and the time starts. We don't
know this time, but God's judgments are very ordered, and while we do not the
time between each even we can pretty much precisely determine the exact
order.
But anyway, once satan does the forbidden
(the taking of a life by an immortal) judgment and restitution are lined up to
take place in their appointed order - after three and half days God's wrath
boils over we see the end of the Bible for our age....
An evil spirit cannot enter into a saved
Christian UNLESS that Christian invites it in wittingly or
unwittingly (Example: When they Talk in Tongues or play
Slain in the Spirit games, or the Holy Laughter
absurdity they are unwittingly (unknowingly) giving themselves over to evil
spirits who operate through them. Really, we even have testimonials of this at
The Holy Spirit & The
Holy Trinity).
That does not mean that they can't enter play-Christians, or deceived religionists who call themselves Christians but are far from any semblance of Scriptural Christianity. Of course to determine who is who then we must judge, and people don't like when we make such judgments. My point is that not all who claim to be a Christians are Christians, and also, not all who claim to be God's Elect are Elect (this last one cases almost as much trouble as obviously does the first).
I also see no indication that an evil
spirit can physically injure a person (and there is an exception to this that
I will get in a moment). Let me explain.
While the spirit may cause their host to do
self-damaging acts, it cannot cause the host to harm another. So that those
who claim that they kill because they are possessed have no grounds, in my
opinion. Some people are just evil, that does not mean that all evil people
are possessed.
Scripturally, we see of no instance
where an evil spirit caused it's host to harm or kill another (except for the
exception given below). The demoniac may cast himself into the fire and to
injure himself on the ground, but none of the demoniacs hurt other people. In
fact, the demoniacs were not hunted by the population, they were known of but
never hunted for death.
What is the one exception? You know, it's
the one mentioned before:
The exception is that the people themselves
made contact with the evil spirits and because they were not protected by
Christ, because they were not Christian, and because they attempted to battle
in the spiritual realm, they were ‘fair game' to the evil spirits. Any time
you rebuke an evil spirit you had BETTER do it in Jesus Christ's name.
The above unfortunates, while naming Christ's name, had not the power because
they did not themselves believe.
Only a Christian can cast out an evil
spirit, and then only those Christians who truly believe that Christ Jesus
WILL accomplish the act for them. Any doubt in the mind of the exorcist will
cause failure and personal danger.
Can evil spirits move objects? Sure, why
not? Is every fallen plate a demon? No.
The problem is that not much is spoken of
evil spirits in the Bible, I believe that this is because God doesn't want
Christians toying with them. For they are very crafty and any deviation from
the proper method will result in perhaps great harm to the hapless Christian.
I think that God touches those that He
would use for that purpose and that they can not learn how to defeat the
spiritual realm but rather that they are taught how 'in that same hour.'
Much of the above is my opinion and I
cannot defend it all Scripturally because so little is given us of this in
Scripture.
But I think that maybe giving out any
information in this area could cause a head-strong but unprepared Christian to
enter into something that God did not wish him to. Would God step in, in such
a case, and help? I don't know; but He did tell us not to deal with familiar
spirits (entities from the spiritual realm).
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page Are all angels (spiritual entities) male? A reader asks:
ANSWER:
Angels have gender, they are male. But in the absence of 'female' there is no 'male'. When it is said (by myself) that angels have no gender, I mean that angels have no separate reproductive genderS (plural); i.e., no male & female as gender-opposite counterparts.
How do we know that angels are male, you
may want to know? Because angels are always referred to in the male gender,
i.e. "sons of God", etc. And also that every SINGLE time that an
angel is mentioned in Scripture, as having come to earth, the angel is always
described as a male. There is not one mention of a female angel in the
Bible.
The only mention of a female entity in the
spiritual realm is the Queen of Heaven which was a FALSE deity, a non
existent false goddess.
All false religions and false sects worship
female entities, the Greeks, the Jews (by the false religions they started -
too long to explain here), the Babylonians, the Chaldeans, the Egyptians, the
Sumerians, ... Even Islam venerates Mother Mary in their Koran. The
Catholics are a Mary-cult church, and Muslims observe a female figure in the
Marian Apparitions (Mother Mary, Our lady, etc., visitations), but they think
that it is the daughter of Mohammed. Yes, there are Apparition stories in
Islamic countries. Some (including myself) think that the Marian Apparitions
may be the way that Islam is reconciled with Catholicism in the end times as
the one-world Luciferian church rises upon the ashes of true Biblical
Christianity. And yes, true Biblical Christianity is already begun to be
on fire.
On a side note, there has been a rumor for
centuries that the Catholic Church actually started the Muslim religion in 600
AD, for their own purposes. But I haven't got all the documentation together
on that. It makes sense though, they left a back door open in the Muslim
religion in that Muslims regard Jesus as a Great Prophet of God (they just
don't think that He is the SON of God), and they place Mother Mary very high.
They also remember and hearken back to the fact that Jesus and His family
sought refuge in Egypt when they were warned by the angel that Herod was going
to slay the innocents in an assassination attempt upon the young Messiah.
They know of the prophecy "Out of Egypt have I called my son".
There is so much more going on religiously
on a global historical scale than most are aware of. And don't forget that
there were three Magi who came from the East to worship the Christ Child,
having been led there by a star. All will unite in the end-times to worship a
false christ, all are setup for it. This has been prepared a very long time
ago.
But back to our subject.
Jesus Christ Himself was referred to as the
"last Adam" (1st Cor 15:45), and Jesus was in the image of God for
Jesus Himself said "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John
14:9) – well, how do I say this? .... Jesus was circumcised, if you know
what I am trying to say – He was a male with male genitals.
Even satan is called a male (man):
So what do you think, are not angels
(spiritual entities) all male? You bet they are, but some may be able to
impersonate females; we just don't know.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page Is Cremation Ok for the Christian? ANSWER:
Hi, there is nothing in the Bible that says
that we are not to be cremated. I personally don't like the idea because it
just doesn't seem natural to me, but there is no Biblical admonishment against
cremation.
I have noticed one anomaly in your post,
though; you said:
May I correct you here? And this may help
you in your decision. We do not raise in our flesh bodies, we raise in our
spiritual bodies at the moment of death. But this raising is just our
ascending to the father, it has nothing to do with judgment. Luke chapter 16
should help you understand where we go when we die. As far as our leaving our
flesh bodies at the moment of death and going back to God in our spiritual
bodies, see:
Apostle Paul explains this in greater detail in the below Scripture:
However, it would be remiss of me if I did not mention the fact that every time there is a mention in the Bible of human bones being burnt it has to do with the intentional polluting of a false alter or wicked priest or city. But in these cases the dead bodies were dug up and the bones we burned. The use of human bones was a means to defile an altar. The fact that many times they were burned was because on the altar you were to burn the sacrifice. Burning human bones on the alter defiles it. So it is not the burning of the bones that was the object, but that the bones that were burnt were human bone that was the object -- for this defiled an altar. In fact, in Ezek 6:5 we see that merely scattering the human bones about a place defiled "...and I will scatter your bones round about your altars. ", so burning them is not necessarily the abomination. Therefore I do not see it as an admonition against Cremation. Nevertheless I will supply the pertinent Scriptures for your perusal:
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page God heals depression in some when they begin to be Christian Bible students Brenda says/asks about the end-time Rapturists:
ANSWER:
I think that a lot of them will have been
killed before antichrist arrives. What's left will follow the biggest dog.
That would be unbalanced, having thoughts of killing oneself.
I myself used to get depressed about once
every three or four months. It would last maybe a week and I didn't
understand why it happened. Then after I really got into Christianity & Bible
study it just slowly ceased until finally I was not depressed
anymore.
That's not what I said, so why should they take it that way.
It worked for me.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
Nick Goggin (Editor) Back to list of questions at top of page Gender in Heaven? A Reader asks:
ANSWER:
They (we) shall be as the angels, male
gendered form. We will be the angels:
So while they (we) are referred to in the
male gender, it means nothing there because there is no female. There
is no sexual relations there, there is no reproduction, angels are on a
spiritual plain untouched by human sexuality (except for the degenerate fallen
angels).
But in genesis chapter six, the angels that
came to earth were fully functional males bearing seed. It was only on earth
that sexual relations were possible because it is only on earth in the flesh
that female bodies exist.
Angels are not touched by sexual urges except if they are introduced in a
flesh environment where females are present and the angels themselves are vile
enough to offend God by violating the lesser human beings.
This may be a bad analogy, but, it is like
you can be a male and not practice bestiality (sex between humans and
animals) unless you are in, say, a dog kennel. Human males are fully capable
of having sexual relations with a dog, but it is vile in God's eyes, it is
unnatural, and man doesn't do this unless he is the vilest sort of fellow.
Or, look at it on this level: The angels
are far more advanced forms of God's creation, humans, while over the animal
kingdom are still far below an angel. So an analogy would be something like
this:
If a normal human being, possessing all
their wits about them, who are superior in knowledge and wisdom over a total
mentally retarded person in an institution, and if that man takes ADVANTAGE of
the weaker person (weak due to retarded rational) and uses them for sexual
pleasure by using their superior mind over the retarded mind, he commits a
crime on earth (it is considered a form of rape even if the victim does not
resist - kind of like pedophile sex) Well, when an angel takes advantage of a
human, he is guilty of great sin in Heaven because he is such a superior being
and took advantage of the weakness of the puny (compared to angels) human
mind.
God bless the study of
His Word, in Jesus Christ' name!
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