"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

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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!