"Church Scholarship"

"..knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep;
for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Let us
walk decently, as in the day...putting on the Lord Jesus Christ..
...redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
Romans 13:11-14~ Ephesians 5:16

____________________
Free Email Subscription
From A Voice In The Wilderness

A Voice in the Wilderness
Issue 189
March, 2010

"Church Scholarship"

"My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. All who have found them have devoured them. And their enemies said, We have done no wrong, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers." (Jer50:6-7)

Ever since Cain and Abel, a war has been raging in the affairs of mankind. Certainly, it is an extension of the war that has raged in the Heavenlies. (Is14:9-20, Eph6:12) More specifically, the war has been more defined since the Flood, and the days of Nimrod; the establishment of Babylon, and God's choosing of the nation Israel.

What is the most effective way to move a group of people in any given direction? Strong leadership. Let's face it... if you get the right leader in position, it doesn't matter 'what' direction you want people to go, the right leader will move the people in that direction. As a famous leader once said: Tell a lie with conviction, and often enough; in people's minds it will -become- 'truth'. And people will follow.

The opening words from Jeremiah (above) were written about Israel. But it is also true of that today which is called "church". The "church" is like a bunch of lost sheep. Today the term used is "sheeple". People who have abandoned personal individuality and self-responsibility, are easily swayed, accepting the authority of someone with presumed knowledge, easily led around by whoever impresses their senses and emotions, without properly investigating whether what is being fed to them is truth or falsehood.

In politics, if the person is good looking and is comfortable in front of the TV camera and knows how to give rousing speeches, the people follow. If somebody with the expertise claims to have a "poll" of what other people think, people are swayed by the polls, and they like to go "with the flow". What do -they- think? Ok...well then... I agree with -them-. Even better if a person can claim to be quoting 'experts' such as scientists, NASA, college professor, talk show host, etc.

In religion, if the person has been to Bible college and seminary and can produce certain 'letters' after their name, it means they are an 'expert'. They know -because- they went to an institution and learned from other -people- who, themselves, have those 'letters' behind their names, because they, in turn, went to some prestigious institution where others with 'letters' behind their names taught them. You know: SCHOLARS For the "church", then, this lineage goes back through the centuries to the "great men" and "church fathers". For Israel it goes back to this Rabbi and that Great Rabbi. It all has to do with -books-. The book this rabbi wrote, the book that seminary professor wrote, the writings and thoughts of so-n-so from the Vatican in the days of pappa so-n-so; or the "bishop of such-n-such" city.

What about the -BIBLE-??

One day several years ago, while in conversation with a 'minister' of a local church, when I wasn't as excited about all the -books- he was interested in and reading, but expressed that I focus my attention on God's Word, the Scriptures, not all the writings of the famous men handed down through history and tradition, his response was something on the order of: "That's how error creeps in!"

Error creeps in by reading the Bible, and NOT all the famous books??

"I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your Testimonies are my meditation." (Ps119:99)

"But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will remain in Him." (1Jn2:27)

But you see... these are the kinds of people who are in leadership of the sheeple. These that are shepherds are "causing" the sheeple to go astray. And Jeremiah had other words for them...

"Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! says Jehovah. Therefore thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed My people, You have scattered My flock, and have driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings, says Jehovah. And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and will bring them back to their folds. And they shall be fruitful and multiply. And I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. And they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; nor shall they be lacking, says Jehovah." (Jer23:1-4)

And how are these shepherds leading astray? To -where- are they leading the sheeple? They have sent them to the "mountains", to flit from "mountain to hill" The mountains and hills were where the pagans setup their worship to the idols. It is where they would go to worship Tammuz, Ashtoreth, Baal, etc., which as Babylon mutated to Rome, became the 'easter' sunrise service. That service is not about Jesus' resurrection, at all, but of sun worship. In Babel they were seeking to build a tower that would reach to the heavens. When God split the world up with the languages, they continued on by building pyramids, obelisks, and temples on mountain tops... their continuing attempts to reach to the heavens... -apart- from God Most High. But apart from God there is no "resting place".

"Thus says Jehovah, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the OLD PATHS WHERE THE GOOD WAY IS, and walk in it, and you shall find REST for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it." (Jer6:16)

When Jesus came, He invited...

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you -REST-. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find -REST- unto your souls." (Mt11:28-29)

And for those who are in Christ...

"Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may -REST- from their labors, and their works follow with them." (Re14:13)

What -are- all the "mountains and hills" that people trek to? The myriads of religions which today are coming together and returning to Babylon, at Rome: Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, Shinto, voodoo, great spirit, transcendental meditation, hare krishna, judaism. All the things called "christian"? Catholic, baptist, presbyterian, methodist, lutheran, AoG, charismatic, calvary chapel, mormon, church growth, jehovah's witness, mennonite. ANYBODY... please find me -ANY- of these in the Bible!

What about the -BIBLE-??

Oh, but we understand the Bible through the -lens- of our Presbyterian scholars. What did Luther or Calvin say -about- the Bible? St.Jerome or St.Augustine? These "great men" had such wisdom... -they- keep us from the error that we might otherwise get into if we read -only- the Bible.

____________________
Free Email Subscription
From A Voice In The Wilderness

A Voice in the Wilderness
Issue 189
March, 2010

"Church Scholarship"

But what is the purpose of a lens? It 'bends' light. Whatever light waves are coming along straight? The lens -diverts- the straight path into whatever the lens was designed to do. When a person has bad vision in their own eyes, the lens can -correct- how the eyeball has distorted, such that the person can see -straight- again. But the fact is that, whatever enters the lens does not leave the lens the same. It is -changed-. And so God's Word comes straight, and the man "of the cloth" -diverts-, through his favorite lens, the sheeple's attention to this mountain, that hill, that other knoll over there, this pyramid, that obelisk.

And as a result, the sheeple are lost. And it is the fault of the pastors, priests, shamen, and whoever else the sheeple look to. And they are sheepling in -droves- down the "broad way" leading to "destruction" (Mt7:13)

Are the sheep without any recourse? Of course not!

The people of Berea...

"were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness, and SEARCHED THE SCRIPTURES daily, TO SEE WHETHER THESE THINGS ARE SO." (Ac17:11)

The -scholars- (apostles) came proclaiming things about Jesus Christ; but the people did THEIR OWN RESEARCH to see if they were being told the truth. And where did they research? The -BIBLE-

When some people produce 'translations' of the Bible (e.g. Defined KJV), they publish as one of their goals that they make sure the translation agrees with the "traditional" doctrines of the church. But from where do doctrines come? If they are -CHRISTIAN- doctrines, do they not come from God's Word, the Scriptures? But if there are doctrines that are not based on the Scriptures, by definition, they are not "Christian" doctrines. And so, should not a 'translation' of the Bible come from the -text- of the Scriptures, not the traditional doctrine?

But where do differing doctrines come from. If they are not from the Bible, they are the imaginings of man, in his own vaunted presumptions. And where are the cesspools of human thought as devised by the scholars? Those universities and seminaries where the scholars also get those 'letters' to place behind their names.

But Paul exhorted...

"Now I exhort you, brethren, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be completely fitted together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1Co1:10)

In other words, -one- doctrine (teaching). And furthermore...

"Now I exhort you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and snares, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and turn away from them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." (Rom16:17-18 )

Paul says to have -one- doctrine, and if people are branching out with things contrary to the doctrine to "turn away from them".

But what is happening today? They have -many- doctrines, but are trying to come together in 'unity'. But since they all believe different things, they are 'abandoning' doctrine, IN ORDER TO come together. Instead of all repenting of their false doctrines and embracing the Bible, they are ripping the Bible to shreds with mutated translations, ignoring God's Word, and reverting to their Tower of Babel; Babylon at Rome. Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical "Ut Unun Sint" (that they may be one) in 1995 concluded that "oneness" of the church would be achieved when all the denominations and religions had come together under the umbrella of Rome. The current Pope Benedict recently reaffirmed that when he stated that the whole purpose of the "one world religion" push is to bring everybody back to Rome. And when we understand what that means, and the history of Rome, we understand that the "one world religion" is actually Babylon, of old... originally started by Nimrod. Their goal is "unity in diversity".

But Godliness is Unity in God's Word. Jesus prayed...

"Sanctify them in Your Truth. Your Word is Truth... that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me." (Jn17:17,21)

You see, the context and foundation for 'unity' is God's Word; God's Truth. Doctrine.

Now, when Israel departed from God's Word, He dispersed them, nationally, throughout the world, and punished them at the hand of pagans. Babylon pursued them through the Crusades and various pograms and persecutions. That which calls itself "church" refuses to acknowledge Israel because "they sinned against Jehovah", therefore they are DONE FOR. The church has "replaced" Israel in God's plans. And in many ways, they think that persecution (and Holocaust) of Israel was "deserved" because God has now (permanently) rejected Israel.

But what does God say?

"Therefore thus says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel back to his home, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied on Mount Ephraim and Gilead.

"In those days, and at that time, says Jehovah, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and it shall not be found; and the sins of Judah, but they shall not be found; for I will pardon those whom I spare." (Jer50:18-19,20)

The expression, "in those days, and at that time" is characteristic of the 'end' days. And who is God "sparing"?

"And it shall come to pass in all the land, says Jehovah, that two parts in it shall be cut off and perish, but the third shall be left in it." (Zec13:8 )

The "third" who escape are those whom God will pardon, with whom He also forges the new covenant.

"Behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Jehovah. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says Jehovah, I will put My Law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says Jehovah. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer31:31-34)

And what of Babylon? Should we who righteously name the name of Jesus Christ be participating in the "unity in diversity" of this push for the "one-world religion"?

"Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands firm, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His, and, Let everyone who names the name of Christ DEPART FROM INIQUITY." (2Ti2:19)

"And I heard another voice from Heaven saying, COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, so that you not share in her sins, and so that you not receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to Heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Render to her just as she rendered to you, and repay her double according to her works; in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her." (Re18:4-6)

Amen!