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  • The reliability of Bible

    Hi John,

    I’ve been wondering about several things regarding the Bible. . .

    In all your research of the development of Christianity (Xty) your book, The Iron Kingdom, you’ve discovered glaring errors and inconsistencies in many translations, and you’ve found that some manuscript texts were deliberately mistranslated — sabotaged by churchmen and King James, and you’ve uncovered despicable corruptions in the history of the institution of Xty, too numerous to mention. Additionally, you’ve researched the early writings of the fathers of Xty — the “apostolic (apostate) fathers” — and found their propagation of myths and falsehoods to be incomprehensible; plus, your research on Trinitarian doctrine has proven, to my satisfaction, that churchmen also misrepresented the truth regarding the Father, the Son and the holy Spirit.

    So, my first question is: If men have done so much damage to the manuscripts that exist, in interpretation and/or translation, why do we accept the validity of the canon of scripture? Didn’t Xtn churchmen arrange the canon of scripture, or did God (via the influence of the holy Spirit)?

    Why are the Gnostic gospels not acceptable? (I’ve never researched them; just curious.)
    Why are some of the Apocrypha, the Catholic books, not included in the regular Bible?
    Who are the men who compiled the Bible and why should we consider their choices reliable, especially since you have plainly seen so many instances of Xtn error and intentional manipulation in the history of the Bible?

    The reason I am curious is because there is this new trend in our culture of introducing the possibility that Judas and Mary Magdalene and Thomas (and even Jesus Himself) wrote a “gospel” book, but they were disregarded or hushed-up by the patriarchy of the Xtn Church as being invalid, inauthentic hoaxes. I would like to know how to respond to those who are proposing this possibility that these other books might shed more light on the truth about Jesus, which they claim have prevented mankind from knowing the “whole story.”

    I hope I haven’t asked too many questions.

    Now, I am aware that those who are making such claims as “Jesus might have been married,” etc., do not have the spiritual understanding that comes with the holy Ghost. They are usually scholarly Christians who are trying to revise what they believe are the misconceptions and/or suppressed truths of Xty. They are often led by feminist agendas, and sometimes by scholars who, like your seminary professors, are essentially unbelievers, and want to discredit the Bible, and paint a different picture based on their own imaginations, and being without the power of God to guide them properly, they’ve invented these notions because they don’t know the truth.

    I know, by my experiences, that Jesus is alive and is still communicating with all His children. I know the depth of the revelations you have received regarding the truth about the Father and the Son. I know that speaking in tongues is the sign of the new birth, and it’s substantiated in the scriptures, both OT and NT. And the Pentecost experience proves the validity of Jesus’ sacrifice, etc. . .

    Hope you will address my questions, soon. The Iron Kingdom book might well influence a lot of people, even if self-published, because God’s people, especially, need to hear that truth and escape the inevitable destruction of that religion called Xty. I hope you will return to writing on it soon, after you’re satisfied with the completion of God Had a Son Before Mary.

    My best guess is that the spirit of unbelief compels men and women to find some other explanation for Jesus’ life and death. They ignore the holy Ghost and the importance of repentance and the New Birth experience, and devise other ways to explain Jesus’ purpose on earth, being careful to not disregard His “divinity”, but essentially making Him out to be less than who He really is, to suit their own imaginations.

    Brad
    ==============

    Hi Brad.

    I have read and re-read stories about how the present canon of scripture came to be what it is, but there is knowledge absent in all of them which only Jesus can provide us. Until he does, we can only speculate what that process of selection really entailed.

    Some of the apocryphal books, a few of which you mentioned, are mythological foolishness, written by Christians and/or others who knew nothing about whatsoever God or the truth of the gospel (The books of Judith, Tobit, Bel and the Dragon, etc.) In a few of the apocryphal books, however, one can sense an occasional spark of truth, which leaves the impression that there may have been an original document worth reading but was corrupted by later editors. The present state of all the apocryphal books, though, is such that we are left with hardly anything edifying. I have yet to find a book reckoned among the apocryphal books, or “lost books of the Bible” that is worth spending much time with.

    We know from the Bible itself that anointed men of God wrote books that have been lost, such as Paul’s letter to the Laodiceans. Until those books are discovered (wouldn’t that be great?), we have to be content with what we have (which is also great).

    The best we can do is to learn well the books of the Bible well, the books we know are of God. With the guidance of the Spirit, we can do that; and, if we do that, we will be able to discern what is of God and what is not of God when we are confronted by it, whether it is a gospel that men say Judas or Thomas wrote, or a Christian minister claiming to represent Christ. Knowing God is more than knowing the scriptures, as you know. And if we know God, Jesus said, we are living in eternal life (Jn. 17:3).

    I hope you are recovering well from your surgery.

    Pastor John

  • last night’s meeting

    Pastor John,

    The message and music last night felt so clean. Where can you go and here such truth and feel these things that God has for his children? What a refuge city we have entered into! God is so good to us!

    Billy M

  • Tonights Meeting

    Hi Pastor John,

    What an honor to be a partaker of such holy thing! The songs, the preaching, the testimonies! Where else can you find such wonderful heavenly blessings? When you and Donna were singing her new songs, all I could do was set back in my chair and let the words of the song just resonate through my body. “Magnify our King! Let the whole world know there is a king!” I could feel every word of it in my heart, tears flowing down my face for the honor to know he is our king and the privilege to feel his sweet spirit in my soul.

    It is not a light thing if we fall in love with what he has done for us. There is no way we can sin if we do. That love of God will not let anything interfere with that sweet fellowship in his spirit. It feels to good, and we will love it too much to even contemplate any wrong thought, much less act on it. I am just so thankful for what he has done for us!

    Stuart

  • His Voice

    Hi Pastor John,

     

    I am so thankful for what God has done for us! He sent his Son so that we could be recreated in this body here on this earth. Without the spirit that his Son purchased for us with his own suffering here in this earthly body, we all would be lost. He did it because he loved us and wanted us to be where he is with his Father, and he knew the only way we could do that was by being re-created and filled with the same spirit he and his Father had.

     
    What an honor it is to be a partaker of such heavenly gifts, receiving and being recreated and filled with his spirit! He gave us everything we need to see him face to face one day. It was not just an option, an extra blessing; it was a necessity, and we cannot live holy without it. He sent the spirit to guide us nto all truth and give us the strength to do what He put in our hearts.

     
    Too many times I have seen and heard things like, “I wish I would have done this, or I felt like I should have done that” (and I have done it myself), and when we first get the spirit, we do have to learn his voice and sometime we may choose the wrong thing, but we learn from that, not just what was right and wrong, but his voice so that the next time, we will follow the voice and do the right thing no matter what it looks like.

     
    I want to honor him by following his voice and keeping my life clean before him. I want to hear his voice and move right away, and not hesitated and wonder and doubt what I am hearing from him. I know I can do that. I know we can do that, by keeping him first in our lives and not letting the things of this world rob us from hearing his voice, or giving in to some pleasure that makes this body feel good for a little while but pollutes the soul.

     
    I owe him everything, and I love what he has done for us, and it is in our hearts to do what honors him if we are thankful for what he done for us. I want to keep my ears (my heart) clean and ready and waiting to hear the voice of my Father and his Son.

     

    Stuart

  • “evil doer” license plate

    Pastor John,
    As I was sitting in traffic I saw this license plate. I couldn’t believe my eyes!
    Michelle

    ===========

    Hi Michelle.

    That is only to be expected now. The last presidential election proclaimed to the world that this country has chosen evil over good. Very many people in this country are now proud to be immoral, and they think there is something fundamentally wrong with anyone who is not immoral, especially if that person loves the gospel of the Lord Jesus. As Peter said, “They think it strange that you do not run with them.”

    It has been a long time in developing, but as that license plate indicates, this is now the kind of culture we live in. Pray that God will raise up young people to be a light for the generation that is growing up.

    Pastor John
    evildoer

  • Amy B – Rest

    Pastor John’s House Teaching Materials and Music Store

     

    Pastor John,

    I am going through some dvd’s I have from 2002, during our “Way of Grace” days. It is so amazing to me that watching these videos from 10 years ago, and hear some of the same things we are talking about now. On the video, the beautiful song “The Way of Grace” is playing and everyone is laid out on the floor. And you say periodically different things the Spirit was saying. You start out by saying “Rest…..Rest. Let him love you for a while…..You rest.” Then you tell a story about you and Uncle Joe painting one day. Here is how the rest of it went:

    When I was a little boy, I worked with Uncle Joe painting. He worked for the City School maintenance. I was sitting down and he said, “Here, let me paint a stretch while you’re resting.” But I wasn’t resting. He took the paintbrush out of my hand and made me rest. Let Jesus have your paintbrush! Don’t even think about it. Let him take it!….
    Then you quoted a few scriptures: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures”, “Casting all your care upon him because he careth for you”, “He leadeth me beside still waters.” and then the last thing you said was, “This (the rest) comes with authority.”
    He really does mean “rest” and we really do have to learn how to do that. I love how God continues to show us things until we get it! 8) He is very patient.

  • 1Peter 1:2

    http://www.goingtojesus.com/site/php/sanctification.html

    Hey uncle John.

    Aaron and I were reading in 1Peter a lil bit ago, and we were having a hard time understanding verse 2:

    “[1] Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
    [2] Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”.

    We read the tract you wrote on “Sanctification”, too, and we were wondering if “sanctification of the spirit” and “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” mean the same thing.

    Abby
    ===================

    Hi Abby!

    “Sanctification of the spirit” and “sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” are closely related, in that God sanctifies us by “sprinkling” the blood of Christ upon us. If we put Peter’s phrase, “through sanctification of the Spirit” in parentheses, and add a clarifying few words, it might clear things up:

    “[2] Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (through sanctification of the Spirit) to bring us into obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ”.

    The word, “elect” is the key here. It means to be chosen. We were chosen by God long ago to be brought into obedience and to receive the (continual) sprinkling of the blood of His Son. This all begins when we are sanctified by the Spirit.

    Uncle John
    ===================

    Uncle John,

    So Peter is saying that u are sanctified so that u can obey and get the Holy Ghost? So he’s just telling the difference between the old covenant and the new?

    Abby
    ===================

    Well, of course, the sprinkling of the blood of Christ is the difference between to Old and New testaments, but that is not what Peter is emphasizing here. Instead, he is celebrating with the saints the fact of their being called by God to obey the gospel and be washed by the blood. So, instead of “saying that u are sanctified so that u can obey and get the Holy Ghost”, Peter is saying that you have received the holy Ghost so that you can obey God and live in sanctification.
    Thanks for the questions. You and Aaron are doing well by reading the Bible together.
    Uncle John

  • Isaiah 11

    Hi John,

    Still basking in the feelings of the meeting today. I was reading a little in Isaiah tonight, and I found this verse:

    Isa 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”

    In consideration of the “rest” we felt today, and even tonight listening to Donna’s song around the fire, because of JESUS, our rest truly is glorious.

    We don’t even have to think. It’s who He is.

    Gary

  • Conversation at work

    Pastor John,

    It is interesting that people who go to church think that sinning is a part of every day life.  I can’t think of anywhere in the Bible where it says, “Go and sin no more … until tomorrow.”  Do the ministers in churches really teach that people have to sin every day?  If they do, then to what purpose was Jesus sacrifice?

    Steve W.

    ===========
     
    Hi Steven.
     
    Yes, strangely, many Christian ministers actually teach that believers as well as unbelievers must sin every day.  According to those ministers, the blood of Christ has no power to change our nature and liberate us from the power of sin.  Instead, the blood of God’s Son was applied to God as a sort of blindfold, making it impossible for Him to see us as sinners, even though we still sin.  As I heard one minister say, “God can’t see through the blood.”  Or as another said, “When God looks at us, all he sees is His perfect Son.  He does not see us us sinning.”
     
    For those people who are looking for an excuse not to repent and to keep sinning, those ministers offer their false doctrine.  But Paul warned the saints not to use the grace of God as an excuse to sin.
     
    Pastor John

  • Experience

    Good morning, Pastor John:

    I had a very short dream just before Vince and Amy came to stay with us. In the dream, I was outside doing my daily routines when I felt the presence of the Lord, and I stopped and said with all of being,”Lord, I love you with my whole heart.” At that moment, I heard a very pretty voice singing, “Come to Jesus, Come to Jesus, Come to Je ee sus, right now”. My eyes popped opened wide on the word, now.

    It was a little after 5:00 am, and I started to walk through the garage to my music room. With each step I felt the Spirit. I sat in my chair in my music room and said, “Here I am, Jesus.” I didn’t know what to do, but just sat there and started talking to Jesus in a normal voice. I started telling Jesus how I felt; my frustrations, my fears, my loves, my desires, etc. As I was talking softly with the Lord, the power of God filled the music room, and I started speaking with tongues. It was so strong that I fell on my hands and knees on the floor, praising God. I was crying very hard and praising God when I heard three words, ” I took it”, then as soon as the Spirit fell, it was gone. The tongues stopped, the crying stopped, the praising God stopped.

    I rose up, still kneeling with my hands on my lap. It was so quiet and peaceful that you could hear the silence. I pondered, “What just happened?” My mind went back to your testimony of how you killed that gnat on the wall with your finger, and God telling you, “That’s about the size of the spirit that you’ve been wrestling with for three days.” I told myself, “It’s gone.” Whatever “it” was that I have been struggling with was now gone; Jesus took the “it”. I don’t know what the “it” was, but God knows. There was nothing left for me to do but clean myself up. As I was wiping my tears and stood up, I said, “Well, let’s go to work.” I took a shower, got dressed, and signed in to start taking phone calls for my work.

    The contentment and peace I feel now just goes without saying. This has been the best most peaceful Christmas that I have ever had. I love peace. The best Christmas present that I ever had was having Vince and Amy stay with us. We felt so honored to hear their testimony in full of how God put them together. It was no small thing, watching tears flow from Rebekah E. and seeing the happy expressions on the C… girl’s faces. We all were wiping tears at one time or another. God knows all of our, “its”.

    God is so kind and good,

    Billy

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