Two Dreams From Tyrone & Cynthia

Tyrone: After some days of study, prayer, and meditation on many things that are not found in scripture but man believes, teaches as doctrine, and tries to support with scripture, the Lord gave me this dream.

In this dream I was inside a classroom full of people who were studying the bible and they were listening to a teacher tell them that they were sinners and they would always be sinners, I was sitting in the back of the classroom casually listening to all of this knowing that what he was teaching was error. As the teacher came to where I was he sat right across from me, and then I lifted up and looked him straight in the eyes and asked him a series of three questions but I can only remember one of them, I asked him “why didn’t Paul say to the saints that they were sinners?” As I started to speak I felt the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the whole class got up and came very close to me to listen to what I was saying because I wasn’t speaking very loud, but the power of the Holy Spirit drew the people to me. Then I said to them all, “if it’s not found in scripture it is not true, don’t believe it”. End.

Cynthia: After much talking with my husband, prayer, and fasting, concerning death bed conversions and other things the Lord gave me a dream.

Dream: There were 2 men talking, one was like a mocker. And the mocker said to the other man: “You do whatever you like in your life and 2 years before you die you do all this Jesus stuff”. Then, the man looked at the mocker and asked himself: “But when am I going to know when I will die?” And then I woke up.

**In closing: We can understand from these dreams that we cannot make up doctrines or believe something that is not written down in scripture. We will not limit God for anything because with God ALL things are possible, but we will NOT teach or preach something that is NOT found or made clear in scripture.

For those who are not born again you have time right now to hear the gospel message of the kingdom of God, you have time right now to believe in Jesus Christ whom God sent into this world as an atoning sacrifice for your sins and the sins of the whole world so that you may be reconciled to God. Jesus offered Himself as an unspotted and unblemished sacrificial lamb to God on the cross of Calvary, He died and was resurrected from the dead by the power of God on the third day, He was lifted up to heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God. What must you do in order to be saved? Believe this message, repent, confess your sins, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

"We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

With Love In Christ,
Tyrone & Cynthia

The Trinity?

The word ‘trinity’ is not found anywhere in scripture, but there is a whole doctrine and belief system that has been built upon this word. Did Jesus and the apostles teach the doctrine of the trinity? Did man make it up? We will find out the truth as we search the scriptures and learn what the Word of God tells us about His nature.

The foundational scripture used to support this doctrine is:

Matthew 28:19

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

This scripture has nothing to do with the nature of God and has been used for centuries to support a doctrine of man. There are many scriptures that tell us exactly who God is, and what God is; but this scripture is not one of them.

In truth what this scripture tells us is that Jesus wanted His apostles to baptize all nations of disciples IN THE NAME OF, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When you read the book of Acts you will find the apostles doing exactly what Jesus commanded them to do; baptize new converts in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is JESUS!

You will not find one scripture where the apostles baptized anybody using three names, why? Because they understood that the NAME of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit IS JESUS.

Look at what Peter said in Acts 4:10-12

“let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

This scripture tells us plainly that there is NO other NAME under heaven GIVEN among men by which we MUST be saved!

Jesus Himself tells us in John before His death that He had manifested (to make evident) the name of the Father and given it to the men the Father gave Him out of the world.

John 17:6

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world.”

And what NAME did the apostles use to drive out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead, and baptize in? JESUS CHRIST! The Jewish name for God (Yahweh), was already given to them from the books of Moses and the prophets, but they received a new manifested name of God from the Father; Jesus.

John 17:11-12

“Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name.”

We can understand from these scriptures that Jesus had NOT manifested the name Father, because the Father is a manifestation of the One God, not His name! Paul said in Galatians 3:28 that we are one in who? Christ Jesus!

“For you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Jesus says in John 17:26

“And I have declared to them Your name (Jesus), and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Mark 16:15-18

“And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name (Jesus) they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

The apostles and the 1st century believer’s did all these things in the manifested name of God; Jesus

God is NOT One God in three persons. God is Spirit, God is One, and He is manifested in three ways; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

John 4:24

“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Deuteronomy 6:4

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!”

Galatians 3:20

"Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one."

1st John 5:7

“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word (JESUS), and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”

God is One, and the scriptures never use the words ‘three persons’ or ‘trinity’.

John 1:1,14

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten (Son) of the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word never stopped being God, but the Word was manifested in the flesh and became the Son of God, who was given the name Jesus.

Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (God-With-Us).

Luke 1:31,35

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS"

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God”

1st John 1:1-2

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us”

John again tells us that the Word was manifested to the world; He was an invisible Spirit that became flesh when He was born of the Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit miraculously impregnated Mary, which allowed God Himself to enter this physical realm in the flesh of man.

Philippians 2:5-8

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross”

Jesus, who is the Word (God), was manifested in the flesh and made Himself of no reputation; He had all the powers of an omnipotent God but set aside His divinity so that He could save mankind, and He only lived by what the Father gave Him from heaven.

Colossians 2:9

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;”

Jesus could have done anything He wanted to do at anytime because the fullness of God lived inside His body, and the Holy Spirit worked through Jesus miraculously. But Jesus never went outside the Father’s will and He was obedient until His death, setting an example for His followers to depend solely on the Father for everything.

Colossians 1:15-17

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”

This scripture tells us that God is invisible (Spirit) NOT a person, and that Jesus is the image of God. All things in heaven and earth were created by Him, because He is the Word of God manifested in the flesh.

1st Timothy 3:16

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Look at Genesis 1:1-3

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.”

When God spoke, it was the power of His Word that brought the creation into existence; this same Word that created all things was manifested in the flesh and came into this world through the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is NOT three persons, God IS SPIRIT! and God IS ONE!

In All Sincerity And Truth,
Tyrone

What does it mean to be born again?

The first thing we need to do to answer this question is look at the words of God in the flesh, the Word Himself, Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God.

Jesus said that heaven and earth would pass away but His words would never pass away. He said in John 12:49-50 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.”

I lay this foundation because Jesus IS the way, the truth, and the life, what He spoke IS absolute truth. What He spoke He received directly from the Father and this is what He taught His disciples and they accepted His word.

In John 3:1-7 Jesus tells the Pharisee Nicodemus a ruler of Jews what one MUST do in order to be born again. Let's take a look at what Jesus said:

"There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’"

In these scriptures Jesus tells us plainly what it means to be born again. Unless we are born again we CANNOT see the kingdom of God. And unless one is born of water AND the Spirit he CANNOT enter the kingdom of God. Then He goes on to say that we MUST be born again, not should be, or need to be, or maybe, but MUST be.

Now let's look at what born of water and the Spirit is according to the scriptures. Many have a problem with the word 'water' here and say that it's the birth water, or the water of the word, but that's error and when we look at the Greek word for water in John it's the same word that's used in Matthew 3:13-17

"Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

In these scriptures Jesus is giving us an example of what it means to be born again, He gets baptized by John and immediately He comes up from the water and John was able to see a supernatural manifestation of the Spirit of God descending from heaven LIKE a dove and landing upon Jesus. (Like the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost, Acts 2:3)

The word 'water' here is the Greek word: Hudor

5204. hudor hoo'-dore, and genitive case, hudatos hoo'-dat-os, etc. from the base of 5205; water (as if rainy) literally or figuratively:--water. (Strong's Greek Lexicon)

This is the same word used in John 3:5

The word Spirit is also the same in Matthew and John:

4151. pneuma pnyoo'-mah from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze (Strong's Greek Lexicon)

Now going back to John 3:5 we can understand clearly that what Jesus said to Nicodemus is that one must be born of water (hudor-baptism) and the Spirit (pneuma-Holy Spirit)

Without these two things as Jesus said, we cannot see or enter the kingdom of God.

This is what it means to be 'born again'. Water + Spirit = Born Again!

We can read of the culmination of this teaching of Jesus in the book of Acts when the Holy Spirit was ushered in with power on the day of Pentecost and 3000 new converts to Christ heard the gospel message preached by Peter and were born of water and the Spirit.

Acts 1:4-5

"And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Acts 2:1-4

"When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

The initial evidence of receiving or being filled with the Holy Spirit is speaking in other languages!

Mark 16:17

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;"

Acts 2:36-39

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 2:40-42

^"And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly  received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."

In The Love Of Christ,
Tyrone

Should We Pray, Ask, Or Invite Jesus Into Our Hearts?

The modern day teaching of praying, asking, accepting, or inviting Jesus into your heart is not found in the New Testament scriptures. There isn't one example in scripture where you find Jesus saying, 'you must accept me into your heart or repeat a prayer in order to enter the kingdom of God'. He didn't teach it to His apostles who He sent out to be witnesses of Him throughout the world, and they never converted any Jew or Greek to Christ in the 1st century doing it. So why is it being taught today?

Let’s take a look at the few scriptures that are used as the foundation for this doctrine.

Romans 10:8-12

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

These scriptures definitely sound like the roadmap to salvation don’t they? And in truth these words are a part of the good message that the apostles preached about the kingdom of God. But who was Paul talking to here? Was he talking to us today giving his apostolic revelation of the gospel? Or was he talking to unconverted Jews and gentiles who needed salvation? Let’s answer these questions.

Take a look at Romans 1:7 and 10:1

“To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.”

We can read clearly in these scriptures that Paul wrote this letter to the Roman saints, who were already converted to Christ during the two years that he spent in Rome after arriving there as a prisoner from Jerusalem. (Read Acts 28)

Paul is talking to the brethren in Rome telling them his heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that THEY may be saved. Why? Because they were rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ! These scriptures were not written for us to quote and repeat for the salvation of our soul. If that were true then everything else Paul said regarding the gospel message he preached would be in question. For example:

Acts 16:29-33 (The Philippian Jailer)

“Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.”

This is an example of an unconverted person in need of salvation. If all you had to do was confess Jesus with your mouth and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead then Paul would have said that to the Philippian jailer in Acts, but Paul told him to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and THEN he spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house, and immediately after that the jailer and his whole family were baptized!

Paul also told the disciples he found in Ephesus what they had to do in order to be saved.

Acts 19:1-6

“And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

In the above scriptures Paul finds some disciples in Ephesus who had believed John's message and received his baptism of repentance, but after Paul asked them some questions he understood that they were NOT born again and they needed to believe on Jesus Christ and be baptized in His name, then they would receive the Holy Spirit. The same message Peter preached on Pentecost. Most are taught today that all you have to do is believe, or repeat a prayer and that's it, but here we can clearly see that the salvation process is more than just believing.

How would you respond if you were those disciples Paul met in Ephesus? What about if a minister today were to question you about your salvation experience? What would you do if your experience didn't line up with the conversion process outlined in scripture?

The truth is that ALL the apostles preached the same message, they didn’t change the gospel to suit the people; they were obedient to what they were taught by Jesus Christ. Here is part of the gospel message the unconverted Jews heard preached by Peter on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:36-39

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

Again we read the conversion process for unconverted people. Hear the gospel message preached, believe the message, repent (change your mind or think differently), be baptized in water, and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Now back to Romans 10, when you read further down and put the preceding verses of scripture in context, you can understand that Paul was not telling the Roman saints then or us today what we must do to be saved.

Romans 10:14-16

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things! ”But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?”

Clearly what Paul wrote to the Roman brethren was not a roadmap to salvation, but a word for the already converted saints to know how much Paul wanted to see his own countrymen saved!

If you believe that you are saved just by quoting the scriptures, repeating a prayer after someone, asking, or inviting Jesus into your heart, then you must understand that you are disregarding the very words of Jesus Christ Himself whom you profess to believe when he said in John 3:5 “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” You would also be dismissing the inspired words of Peter, the rest of the apostles, Phillip the evangelist, and Paul who received the gospel by revelation from Jesus. And all scripture is inspired by God! (2nd Timothy 3:16)

In The Love Of Christ,
Tyrone

Was Jesus Our Substitute?

The doctrine of substitutionism says that Jesus was our substitute and that He took our place on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. But the word ‘substitute’ is not found anywhere in the scriptures. Let’s take a closer look at the word of God to see what Jesus really was for God and for us.

The scripture used to support this doctrine is 2nd Corinthians 5:21

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (NKJV)

Where is; for He made Him who knew no sin to be a substitute for us? It’s not written in the scriptures because it’s not true! Jesus is the propitiation for our sins, He made an atonement for our sins by willingly coming to earth and sacrificing Himself to God to pay the penalty of sin that was due God.

Look at Young’s Literal Translation:

“For him who did not know sin, in our behalf He did make sin, that we may become the righteousness of God in him.”

"The Literal Translation is unusual in that, as the name implies, it is a strictly literal translation of the original Hebrew and Greek texts." (Wikipedia)

We don’t see the word ‘substitute’ used in either translation, and Young’s Literal Translation renders the text in a much different way than the KJV or NKJV. And I don’t know about you, but I would like to get as close to the original Word’s of God as I can!

Here is the translation of 2nd Cor. 5:21 from the bible I use: The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, With Strong’s Concordance Numbers Above Each Word. By: Jay P Green, Sr. (Volume IV)

“The (One) for not knowing sin on behalf of us sin He made so that we might become (the) righteousness of God in Him.”

These two literal translations from the Greek Received Text gives us a much better understanding of 2nd Corinthians 5:21, and should remove any idea from our minds that Jesus was a substitute for us.

Look at what substitute means:

Main Entry: sub·sti·tute  “A person or thing that takes the place or function of another.” (Merriam-Webster)

How could Jesus ever be a substitute for us? This would mean that we could have gone to the cross for our own sins, but Jesus came and took our place instead. Were we ever sinless? Were we ever perfect? No. God manifested Himself in the flesh taking on a physical body and doing what no one else could have ever done. Paul said while we were still SINNERS Christ died for the ungodly!

Here is what John said Jesus was for our sins:

1st John 2:1-2

"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

Propitiation means: 2 : something that propitiates; specifically : an atoning sacrifice (Merriam-Webster)

Romans 5:10-11

“For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”

Atonement means: 2 : the reconciliation of God and humankind through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. (Merriam-Webster)

The word of God tells us that Jesus Christ was an atoning sacrifice for our sins that reconciled us to God, not a substitute.

Jesus was a perfect, sinless, and unblemished sacrificial lamb that was sacrificed on the cross to God, paying the penalty of sin that we could never pay. God laid our sins upon the body of Christ who became a sin bearer, and He willingly and knowingly sacrificed Himself so that we could once again have a covenant relationship with God.

Isaiah 53:6,10-12

“All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin,”

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.

1st Peter 2:24

“who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”

During the priestly ministry of the Old Covenant, once every year the Levitical high priest had to offer unblemished goats and calves for the sins of Israel, and by placing his hands upon the animal, the high priest symbolically transferred the sins of Israel onto it, causing the animal to become a sin bearer, and it was then sacrificed to God. The Levitical priesthood sacrifices were a shadow of Christ and pointed towards the one bodily sacrifice of Jesus. God prepared a body for His Christ to reconcile the world back to Himself, and He laid the sins of the whole world upon Jesus who bore our sins in His body becoming a sin bearer and an unspotted lamb who sacrificed Himself to God.

Hebrews 9:6-7

“Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance.”

Hebrews 9:12-14

“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Jesus offered Himself without spot to God on our behalf because we could never do anything to take away our own sins. Jesus was not a substitute.

Hebrews 9:26-28

“but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.

Jesus Christ was a sin offering to God, a sin bearer, an unblemished and unspotted sacrificial lamb who bore the sins of the whole world in His body. He was NOT a substitute.

Hebrews 10:5-7

“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—In the volume of the book it is written of Me—To do Your will, O God.’”

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross had everything to do with a loving and righteous God who wanted to re-establish the covenant relationship He had with man before he fell in the Garden of Eden; God prepared a body for the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. God sent His only Begotten Son to do what only God Himself could do, live a perfect, sinless life, and offer Himself as a sacrifice and shed His blood to save all man-kind. Jesus was not, and never will be, a substitute.

With Love And Sincerity,
Tyrone

The Pre-Trib Rapture (Don't Believe It!)

The word ‘Rapture’ is not found anywhere in scripture, but the Coming of Christ is. This doctrine has led many professing Christians to believe that they will be taken off the earth before the great tribulation and unveiling of the anti-christ man (beast). But what does the word of God have to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ? Let’s take a look at the scriptures this doctrine is based on.

1st Thessalonians 4:13-18

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.”

Paul is talking to the Thessalonian saints about the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth for the second time to receive His people to Himself. Nowhere in these scriptures do we read about a pre-trib rapture of the dead in Christ or of the saints who are alive when He comes. In truth what we read is Jesus descending from heaven to earth with a SHOUT, with the voice of an archangel and the trumpet of God. Nothing about the Lord and the saints ascending back up into heaven to await the end of the great tribulation. If that was the truth wouldn't the Holy Spirit have led Paul to write that?

Paul also tells the Corinthians the same thing.

1st Corinthians 15:20-23, 51-53

“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.

Again we don’t read anything about a pre-trib rapture, but of those who have fallen asleep (dead in Christ), and those who are Christ’s at His coming.

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep (dead in Christ), but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we (those alive when He comes) shall be changed.”

Once again no pre-trib rapture of the dead in Christ or of the living saints. What we read is the last trumpet sounding during the Second Coming of Christ and the dead being raised with the living saints being changed.

Some believe that only those in Christ will hear the trumpet and see Jesus, but that belief is unfounded by the scriptures. In truth here is what Jesus Himself said about His coming.

Matthew 24:29-31

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

The words of Christ in Matthew make it clear to us that those in Christ WILL be on this earth during the great tribulation. In truth Jesus said in Matthew 24:9  “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.” Jesus is coming AFTER the tribulation and when He comes every person will SEE Him coming on the clouds of heaven and then He will send His angels to gather the elect with the same sound of a trumpet that Paul told the saints would herald the Second Coming of Jesus.

Look at Luke 21:25-28

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Jesus Himself is saying again in Luke that He will not be coming back before the great tribulation to redeem His saints, and He tells them when you see these things begin to happen, look up because your redemption is near. If the saints were taken off the earth before the distress of nations why would Jesus tell His own disciples this? Wouldnt God in the flesh tell His disciples the truth! Of course He would! And He did! The whole world will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory!

Mark 13:24-27

“But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven."

Jesus says once again in Mark, AFTER that tribulation the signs of His Second Coming will be seen by the whole world, and He will send His angels to gather His elect from all over the earth. We have a choice to believe the very words of Jesus and prepare ourselves for the coming tribulation, or believe the false teaching of a pre-tribulation rapture.

Revelation 1:7

“Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Acts 1:9-11

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Even the angels of heaven told the apostles that Jesus would come back the same way they saw Him go up into heaven. There is nothing about a pre-trib rapture found anywhere in the scriptures.

Mark 14:62

Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”

2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

These scriptures directly refute the false teaching of a pre-trib rapture. Paul clearly tells the saints LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU! The day WILL NOT COME until the falling away COMES FIRST! AND the man of sin IS REVEALED, the Antichrist, the beast, the son of perdition, who will stand in the soon to be built third temple in Jerusalem and claim to be God.

We must prepare ourselves for the coming spiritual and physical battle that will face those who confess the name of Jesus Christ. If Christians don’t wake up now to this truth they will be unprepared for the evil that every person on this earth will face. Jesus said the distress and tribulation will be so great that men’s heart’s will fail them for fear and expectation of what is coming upon this earth. I urge every professing Christian to seek the face of the Lord today with all your heart, soul, mind and strength so that you may be ready for the day of evil.

There will be many Christians martyred during the reign of the beast (anti-christ, or son of perdition).

Revelation 6:9-11

“When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

Revelation 20:4

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.”

These scriptures prove that Christians will be on this earth during the tribulation period and they will be martyred for bearing witness to Jesus Christ and the word of God. These Christians will NOT worship the beast, his image, or take his mark on their foreheads or hands and they will be killed for their uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ. But they will have their reward in heaven and reign with Christ for a thousand years.

With Love In Christ,
Tyrone

A Work Of Satan

I woke up from my sleep a few days ago and heard the Holy Spirit say: "Satan is removing Christ from the gospel"

I meditated on this Word and I can clearly see how this has been happening for a long time. There are so many false gospels and traditions of man, that one doesn't know what the true gospel (good news) of Christ is any longer. Even though we have a myriad of bibles with multiple translations and study helps, the true gospel of Jesus Christ and His teachings are not being taught.

Instead of denying yourself, taking up your cross, losing your life for the gospel and Christ, sacrifice, suffering, persecutions, affliction, and loving your neighbor as yourself. We see the true and biblical teachings of Jesus being replaced with: Do whatever you like, fulfill your dreams and your hearts desire's, it's ok to sin, you're always gonna struggle with it anyway, just come to church on Sunday, pay your tithe, and you'll be saved, God wants the best for you, so go out and get that car, buy that house, buy those clothes, and the latest electronics, you gotta stay in tune with the times.

This is just a small sample of the many soul stealing and heart defiling words we hear from those who claim to be ministers of God. But the word is clear in 2nd Corinthians 11:13-15

"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works."

The hour is short and Jesus is standing at the door, we must hold to HIS teachings, abide in HIS word, walk in HIS steps, follow where HE leads, seek HIS face, and believe HIS gospel.

With Love And Sincerity,
Tyrone