THE PROSPERITY MESSAGE ( GOSPEL OF GREED )

Dan Corner

[Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety,
but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind,
including the author, ministry name and address at the end.
Nothing may be removed from this page including links to other pages.]

 

Many of the same kinds of doctrinal problems that existed in first-century Christianity exist in our present day! A very serious one centers around the relationship of godliness to material prosperity for the Christian and his faith. 

Popular teachers are saying that since we are Christians we should not be denied material prosperity, since it is part of our redemptive rights. Such teachers advocate the pursuit of the material and even gauge our faith level by our material possessions. (The world gauges success by our material possessions as well!) In other words, these “word” teachers say that one’s “Volkswagen faith” is not as developed or pleasing to God as another’s “Cadillac faith.” (I personally heard this taught over the radio!)

 

Nearly 1930 years ago, Paul wrote pastor-teacher Timothy with regard to this very subject — the Christian and material possessions:

…men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (1 Tim 6:5-11)

This is a clear refutation to the popular, ear-tickling “Prosperity Message,” and therefore, a very important passage for our day, as it was in Timothy’s. Please note the following three observations from that passage:

 

 We [Christians] are to be “content” with our material possessions. This is the opposite of being “eager” for money, which is equated with “the love of money.” The word “eager” (verse 10) means: “reach out after, covet after, desire.” This speaks of greed, another name for idolatry (Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:5). Remember, ALL idolaters will end up in the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev. 21:8)! Therefore, a very real DANGER — namely the fiery lake of burning sulfur — exists through any message, including this one, that would generate the love of money! Furthermore, some [Christians] do wander from the Christian faith because of such a teaching and have been plunged into ruin and destruction, verses 9 and 10! The same Greek word as found here in verse 9 is also used in Matt. 7:13 and rendered “destruction” which clearly refers to Hell: “… For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.”

 

 As a safeguard against this, Paul advises the people of God to flee the desire to get rich and instead pursue much more important things like righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Consequently, the real issue here revolves around Christian goals, ambitions and priorities. They are to be spiritual and eternal, not material and temporal; yet we are to provide for our relatives and family (1 Tim. 5:8)!

 

 Paul identifies those who teach a message that generates a love for money as people who “have been robbed of the truth,” verse 5. This is a blanket statement regardless of any signs and wonders such may be able to perform or alleged visits from Jesus Christ Himself that they claim!

 

Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures is the temporal and material elevated in importance! Instead, souls are to be our goal! Hence, evangelism is examplified in especially Acts. As “soldiers” in God’s army, we should be willing to suffer lack, be persecuted and even die for this cause, as Stephen did (Acts 7:59, 60). Paul said, “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory,” 2 Tim. 2:10. “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22b). “For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Cor. 10:33b). This was the goal and purpose of the man God used to write half of the New Testament books. Shouldn’t this also be our goal and purpose in this life? Certainly, there is a major difference between the Prosperity teachers of our day and Paul who taught, “If we have food and clothing we [Christians] will be content with that.” I’ve never heard the Prosperity Gospel teachers preach a sermon from that verse! The gospel of greed breeds sin and a terrible distortion from the holy image of a Christian.

 

Remember, real heroes of the faith are described here:

“were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute [extremely poor], persecuted andmistreated — the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith …” (Heb. 11:37-39).

Please note: The Greek meaning of this word translated “destitute” is “lack, suffer need, (be in) want” [Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance — Greek Dictionary, p.75, no. 5302]. (See also Heb. 13:5; Col. 3:1,2 and Prov. 30:7-9). NOTE: Job was the godliest man on the planet in his day! He was not a faith failure, as he has been presented. 

Certainly, the “Prosperity Gospel” or gospel of greed has distorted who the real heroes of the Christian faith are, not to mention, even more seriously, promoting the spiritually deadly sin of GREED. Reader, please know: If you are greedy, you need to repent and get saved (1 Cor. 6:9,10; Eph. 5:5,6; Col. 3:5 cf. Rev. 21:8). Flee from this form ofidolatry! And beware of false teachers.

 

ETERNAL SECURITY IS LICENSE TO IMMORALITY !

Dan Corner

[Permission is granted to duplicate this article in its entirety,
but only without additions, alterations or omissions of any kind,
including the author, ministry name and address at the end.
Nothing may be removed from this page including links to other pages.]

Be assured that the eternal security teachers will deny that their doctrine is a license for immorality, but that doesn’t change reality. There are various ways we can know the truth about this doctrine which is so dearly embraced by the deceived multitudes. Here are a few concepts that should drive home this point about eternal security being a license for immorality:

The Prodigal

In the teaching of the Prodigal Son, the Lord Jesus taught the youngest son departed from the presence of the Father to go into wild living, which included being withprostitutes. He spent all his wealth, then came to his senses. At that point he humbly returned to the Father (and turned away from his wickedness) to serve God. The Father ran to welcome him back and shared the most important truths about this topic in verses 24 and 32:

For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:24)

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. (Luke 15:32)

It should be clear from these verses that the Prodigal’s spiritual condition went from saved to lost when sexually immoral to saved again when he repented to serve God. The Father clearly stated the Prodigal was spiritually dead and lost when in wild living. This is both clear and destructive to the doctrine of eternal security because the prodigaldied spiritually through sin. Hence, he was back on the road to hell again.

Obviously, the eternal security proponents deny that the prodigal lost his salvation. To do otherwise would be to reject their own doctrine. (Their sole feeble argument is that he always remained the Father’s son even when in wicked living. It seems that they intentionally miss the truths that he was both spiritually dead and lost when in his sins.)

Here’s the point: When the eternal security proponents argue that the prodigal didn’t lose his salvation, they are at the same time arguing that one can be a Christian and be inwild living as the prodigal was. To be more exact, they are indirectly saying Christians can be visiting the prostitutes and do other wild things as the Prodigal did and still remain on the road to heaven as a Christian! This is clearly a license for immorality and not grace, God’s keeping power, etc.

Again, to deny that the Prodigal lost his salvation when in sexual sin is to affirm that one can be as sexually immoral and wild as he was and have spiritual life at the same time—clearly a license for immorality (and doctrine of demons).

Romans 7:14-25

If you have ever had much of a conversation with closed eternal security advocates, it is highly likely that they brought up Romans 7:14-25 and tried to apply that to the Apostle Paul when a Christian. To do this is to ignore at least a dozen Scriptures which are as crystal clear as they come in showing Paul lived a consistently holy and exemplary, self-denying Christian life. Such relevant Scriptures are ignored and avoided when Romans 7:14-25 is cited as backing for their security in sin teaching of eternal security. (This automatically shows there is something very wrong in the heart of these teachers.)

It also reveals how ignorant of the Bible these teachers are and their audience who accepts their sinister interpretation of Romans 7:14-25. The truth is, Paul was the championapostle of all times and the ultimate example of a Christian, but these people describe him as basically the lowest of the low—the chief of sinners after getting saved!

Please notice the following verse from that Romans 7 passage:

For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Verse 19)

What is so revealing in verse 19 is: if that is supposed to be Paul as a Christian, as the eternal security teachers want us to believe, then:

a) Paul, the Christian, continually did not do the good he wanted to do (which conflicts with Titus 2:14; etc.) and

b) Paul, the Christian, continually did evil.

Ponder those truths. This is another way of saying Paul as a Christian, habitually and continually practiced sin as an unbroken lifestyle, the very thing the Calvinist eternal security proponents deny a true Christian can do at other times! (The eternal security teachers declare opposite messages at different times depending on what is most convenient at the moment. Their listeners either don’t care about these contradictions or aren’t able to recognize them.)

Furthermore, Jesus spoke of religious people in Matthew 7:21-23 that were continuous tense evil doers (just like Rom. 7:19 describes). Jesus said of the ones in Mt. 7:21-23 that he never knew them—meaning they had never come to salvation. But here in Rom. 7:14-25, the eternal security teachers are going contrary to their own teachings and Mt. 7:21-23 to allow for continuous tense wicked lifestyle living for Paul as a Christian, who wrote half of the New Testament! Clearly, for them to misuse Romans 7:14-25 the way they do is to teach a license for immorality (besides smearing Paul’s Godly image and distorting the holy image of a true Christian as a whole).

1 Cor. 5:1-5

In 1 Cor. 5:1-5 there was an unnamed sexually immoral man in the Corinthian congregation who was guilty of sin not even named among the pagans of Paul’s day—incest.

The eternal security teachers argue from verse 5 that he had spiritual life while in unrepentant continuous sexual immorality. By doing that, they are indirectly saying that a Christian can be living more sinfully wicked than pagans! Ponder that.

At other times the eternal security teachers will say that not everyone in a particular church group is a Christian, but here they declare this incestuous wicked man was a Christian. Imagine that!

In conclusion, just from the aforementioned three passages, the eternal security teachers believe a Christian can be one who is living wildly and visiting prostitutes (like the Prodigal), continuously doing evil as an unbroken lifestyle (as they interpret Rom. 7:14-25) and incestuously worse than pagans (as the man in 1 Cor. 5;1-5).

Hence, eternal security teachers are guilty of teaching and defending a license for immorality (and often do this under their false understanding of grace). This shows also they are indicted in and described by the book of Jude, especially verses 3 and 4. (How they view David, when in adultery and murder, and their erroneous understanding of thesin unto death also confirms their license for immorality. You can also add to that, that they think backsliden King Saul died with salvation, both Lot and Noah had salvation when in drunkenness and Peter remained saved even after he disowned Jesus and before he repented!)

Eternal security teachers are dangerous people declaring demonic teachings under the guise of grace, God’s keeping power, God’s love, God’s faithfulness, etc.

Dear reader, if you are a real Christian do not support their ministry and/or churches. If you do, you are part of the problem and partly responsible for all the harm they are doing with their teachings.

GOD BLESS YOU.

 

SAVED OUT OF A LIBERAL ” CHRISTIAN ” CHURCH

My mother raised her four daughters in a liberal ‘Christian’ Church, which is similar to the Disciples of Christ. Dad never attended because church folks had made fun of him as poorly dressed when he was young. We got rewards for good attendance such as lapel pins and were taught to memorize the names of the books of the Bible. We attended Christian church camp for a week every Summer where we had the opportunity to be baptized in the swimming pool. Eventually around the age of 10-12 we were baptized, as it was a commonly expected practice. I remember being solemn afterwards, thinking I should feel different, and somehow closer to God. But I only felt wet and the religious feelings soon dissipated.

After baptism we were called to the front of the church to now be recognized as members and to receive our own King James Bible, which was very hard to read and understand and so it was basically ignored. Sometimes the pastor would baptize a person in the front of the Christian church in the baptistry. After baptism we were allowed to partake in communion every Sunday, which was an important ritual in this church.

Baptism Saves?

We believed that once you were baptized you were forgiven and good to go. We thought since salvation was a free gift that everyone automatically received it, just as if your parents would give you a gift at Christmas. It was then yours forever. This is a form of the heresy of eternal security though we didn’t hear it in those words. Repentance, holy living and serving God were never emphasized in this liberal ‘Christian’ church. The big thing was being baptized and having something nice to wear for Easter.

My older sister had a boyfriend in this church, but when they had a fight and he came barging into our house causing a ruckus, my sister broke up with him. My mother never took us back to church.

One of my sisters got pregnant out of wedlock and married at the age of 14. Later she turned to chronic adultery and became a persistent liar but still felt she was okay with God, since she was baptized as a young girl.

We were all basically taught a social gospel — mental assent to the historical facts about the person of Jesus. We never prayed alone or as a family. When the minister came to the door, no one answered.

I fell into a life of gross sin and rebellion. Though I got sick with great pain in my abdomen, I kept drinking alcohol because it numbed the pain for awhile. I blamed everyone, even God, for my problems. I hated life and thought there was no truth, no love and no hope. At a desperately low point, I began to clutch my old KJ Bible to my chest, not even knowing how to pray. (It’s a miracle that neglected Bible was not lost in my move across the country and back.) Finally I fell on my face before God and cried profusely, telling him what a sinner I was and that it was my fault. I came up off that floor a different person, and the heavy load was lifted. Things were drastically changed! I prayed, “Lord, I don’t even know the 10 commandments!” When I unzipped my Bible, amazingly it fell open to the 10 commandments! It seemed like Jesus was right there in the dank dark basement with me and I had to keep opening my eyes while praying to see if it was him. Something would startle me during the night and I’d wake up saying, “Lord is that you?” When I walked outside during the night looking up at the vast expanse of stars, it was as if I had a direct lifeline to God — this holy God who had seemed far away when I was young. I had thought he was too busy to be concerned about my small problems.

The gracious Lord Jesus set me free from all my sin addictions, including cigarettes, and even healed my physical body! He gave me the truth, love, joy, peace and hope that I had always longed for. He gave me a reason to live, though I prayed, “Lord why do I have to stay here? Why can’t I come to be with you?” But God knew better and had other things in mind.

I was amazed to learn of a whole other world of religious people that existed without my knowledge. During those dark years, no one had ever witnessed to me or given me a gospel tract. I did not know one Christian on the planet and went back to the dead, dry ‘Christian’ church where I was raised. It hadn’t changed a bit. When I asked about joining, the prominent elder said, “You were baptized. You’re already a member.”

Pressure from my boozing co-workers and no Christian fellowship or teaching helped me, unfortunately, to soon fall away, though I didn’t completely stop seeking truth. Not knowing where to get help, I began to ask for pamphlets from Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God since I had many questions and it seemed they had a booklet for every subject. Their appealing message of a second chance after death took me further off guard and helped me relax back into sin even more. Later I learned that this group is a cult so I wrote them a letter telling them the truth, but never heard back.

I had written my family members several letters about the Lord Jesus, and went to talk to my mother about the wonderful things that had happened to me, thinking they would be happy. But her comment was, “If it’s about religion, I don’t want to hear it!” My older sister’s third ‘husband’ told me I was self-righteous and also told her, “You believe in Jesus. You’re all right.” The Bible says, if you claim to know Jesus but don’t obey him you’re a liar and the truth is not in you (1 Jn 2:4). I wrote her a greeting for one of her birthdays and included Luke 18:13 and 14 which state, “The one who prayed, ‘God have mercy on me a sinner’ went home justified.” She wrote back never to contact her again with my religious gibberish. The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. This was not good fruit from one who was supposed to believe in Jesus. Several decades later when I almost died, she was the only sister who didn’t even contact me.

Another sister told me it’s okay to believe in God, but don’t go overboard. She wanted the old me back, when I was a sinner. When she got married the first time, she didn’t want God mentioned in the ceremony. Her marriage lasted six months. She later became very antagonistic towards me and tried to keep me from sharing the gospel anymore with my ailing parents. By doing that, she heaps up her sins to the limit according to 1 Thess 2:16.

When the company I worked for went out of business, I lost my job and therefore my nice apartment. No one in my family offered to let me stay with them except one sister who let me stay for one month. (May it not be held against them.) They did nothing, not even give a dollar, for the least of Jesus’ family (Mt 25:41-46). Thankfully a widow woman let me stay at her house for several months until I got my car paid off and then could afford an apartment in a poor part of town with my unemployment checks. It was a very hard time, but I never went hungry. I finally found a job for half of what I had been making. In faith, I began tithing and somehow the bills always got paid.

After I got saved, I put Bible verses on the bottom of the score sheets that were passed out to all the women in our bowling league. One of the women there kept after me to come to a Bible study she was attending. I ran into this woman everywhere and she kept asking me to come, so finally I did. The first thing the pastor said was, “Praise the Lord!” This person was different! He had spiritually vibrant life in him and his enthusiasm was contagious. Finally, I got grounded in the truth of God’s word under his no compromise ministry. I sought God earnestly, turned from sin again and received true Christian baptism. It has been a great blessing to serve Jesus now for decades and a better life cannot be had, despite the persecutions and severe tests which have come. Eventually I sent a refutation of baptismal regeneration to the liberal ‘Christian’ church members where I was raised to prove to them that baptism saves no one. None responded.

 

My advice for all is to turn from sin, stop doing your own wicked thing and begin to serve God. Prove your repentance by your deeds. Obey the Holy Bible because your eternal destiny hinges on what you do with that message. Follow Jesus until death and heaven will be your eternal home. Know that you have a very real spiritual enemy who wants you damned to hell and will never give up trying to tempt you away from God. He has 10,000 methods to mislead you into deception or sin and they have to be resisted. We must endure to the end for salvation (Mt 10:22, Heb 3:14). God bless you.

 

DEAR KING JAMES ONLY ADVOCATE :

Greetings in Jesus’ name.

 

We’re sure you must have been wondering if we’d ever write you back! We have several reasons for the delay, but the primary one centers around the apparent futility of it. By this we mean that you seem unmovable, as we are, regarding this divisive subject, which you brought up and made an issue, that is, the KJV is the only reliable English Bible.

 

First, please note that we do not try to defend the sole use of the NIV (or any version) as the only reliable English Bible. This should be apparent by looking at our ministry catalog. It is our opinion that the best method is to study several different translations and have a Greek-English interlinear handy if possible. We have received great blessings from reading versions such as The Amplified Bible, The Wuest translation and Young’s Literal.

 

I used to read the KJV for the first five years after I was saved. (By the way, I was saved by reading a Bible that wasn’t the KJV! As a former Catholic, I would never have trusted any translation other than a Catholic Bible, so that is what I read and got saved through!) When I finally switched from the KJV to the NIV, my comprehension of the Word of God soared. What I struggled to understand from the KJV was now easily understood!

 

While reading the KJV, I had come across “unicorn(s)” (Num. 23:22; 24:8; Deut. 33:17; Job 39:9,10; Psa. 22:21; 29:6; 92:10; Isa. 34:7) and knew they were fictitious animals and it momentarily cast a shred of doubt over me about the inspiration of the Bible! Thank God this did not stop me from continuing in the Scriptures!

 

The bottom line in all of this is that one must be able to understand the Word of God. In regard to this, there are at least 827 words and phrases in the days of King James that have changed their meaning or are no longer used in our modern, everyday English language, i.e., suffer, filthy lucre, quick, lunatick, wax, charity, gay clothing, etc.! This is just a partial listing.

 

The King James Bible Word Book by Ronald Bridges and Luther A. Weigle, published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, states the following on the inside jacket:

 

 

“Did you know that in the King James Version of the Bible the word ‘advertise’ means ‘tell,’ ‘allege’ means ‘prove,’ and ‘conversation’ means ‘behavior’? That ‘communicate’ means ‘share,’ ‘take through’ means ‘be anxious,’ and ‘prevent’ means ‘precede’? That ‘meat’ is a general term for ‘food,’ and ‘anon’ and ‘by and by’ translate Greek words which mean ‘immediately’?

 

These words — and many like them — made perfect sense to readers when the KJV was published in 1611. But today, after nearly four centuries of changes in English, few readers know what such words mean. And most readers miss the riches of the all-time favorite King James Bible” [emphasis ours].

A clear example of this shines forth by comparing the KJV to the NIV and NKJV. Heb. 2:18 in each translation reads:

 

“For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (KJV).

 

“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (NIV).

 

“For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted” (NKJV).

How many people do you think in our modern day readily know what “succour” means? Though this made sense in the 1600’s, its meaning is hidden from us today.

 

Another example of KJV obscurity is found at 2 John 10 which reads:

 

 

“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed“(KJV).

 

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him” (NIV).

 

“If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him” (NKJV).

These are only two examples of many passages that could be contrasted and which would reveal the obscure way the KJV cites eternal truth! If one would add all the obscure passages up, how great of a distorted overall picture would he have in the end?

 

Another relevant fact about the Shakespearian language of the KJV is vividly expressed in the following:

 

 

“The plain truth of the matter is that the version that is so cherished among senior saints who have more or less come to terms with Elizabethan English, is obscure, confusing, and sometimes even incomprehensible to many younger or poorly educated Christians. The words of Edwin H. Palmer are not too strong: ‘Do not give them a loaf of bread, covered with an inedible, impenetrable crust, fossilized by three and a half centuries. Give them the Word of God as fresh and warm and clear as the Holy Spirit gave it to the authors of the Bible. . . . For any preacher or theologian who loves God’s Word to allow that Word to go on being misunderstood because of the veneration of an archaic, not-understood version of four centuries ago is inexcusable, and almost unconscionable’ ” (The King James Version Debate: A Plea For Realism, D. A. Carlson, Baker Book House, 1979, pp. 101,102) [emphasis ours].

The comprehension factor alone should cause one to lay down this oblique translation in favor of a reliable, understandable, modern translation of God’s Word so that the original meaning, which is crucial in our spiritual battle, won’t be greatly hindered by archaic words and obsolete phrases! This is indisputable fact.

 

Furthermore, the modern KJV edition that you read from is probably not the 1611. It’s probably the Blayney edition of 1769. The 1611 edition of the KJV underwent various changes in 1613, 1629, 1638, 1762 and 1769. With this in mind, which edition of the KJV do you like the best? Why do you favor that particular edition over the other editions?

 

Also, if one claims the original 1611 KJV is the only inspired, infallible Word of God, he is claiming that Purgatory is true, since the Apocrypha was included in the 1611 version and it teaches Purgatory (2 Maccabees 12:45). (Perhaps the KJV 1611 edition should have also included Grimm’s Fairytales with the Apocrypha.)

 

If you want to argue that the NIV left words out such as the blood of Christ, how do you know that the KJV didn’t add these words? You must at this point go to the Greek source to answer. Certainly, there is a difference here. But which source is right? (By the way, words that are omitted in the NIV are footnoted in.)

 

But did you know the KJV has important omissions also? Consider Jude 25:

 

 

“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen” (NIV).

 

“To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen” (KJV).

Comment: Please note that the KJV left out the words, “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” If I were to turn the tables on your camp, I could say from Jude 25 (and also John 14:14 which we’ll soon examine) that the KJV must be part of a New Age conspiracy or that the KJV’s Textus Receptus (TR) is corrupted and contaminated since it conceals the mediatorship (and deity) of the Lord Jesus Christ! But to argue in this fashion would be extreme and unfair, even though many who hold to your position apparently don’t think so!

 

But what about John 14:14? Jesus taught:

 

 

“You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (NIV).

 

“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (KJV).

Comment: Similar to Jude 25, this passage seems to omit a word in reference to the Lord Jesus which would bring Him glory and honor and even suggest His deity. (Please note the KJV does not footnote these omitted words, unlike the NIV!) Why is this important word omitted in the KJV? One might be wondering: “Should we pray to Jesus Christ as well as praying through Him to the Father?” Clearly, first-century Christians did both. Regarding the former, Stephen, who was filled with the Holy Spirit, prayed directly to Jesus, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).

 

This is a good point to make with the Jehovah’s Witnesses who deny the Lord’s deity. (By the way, the Hagin-Copeland crowd likewise denies praying directly to Jesus.)

 

Another similar problem for the KJV Only camp, which exalts the TR, comes from a comparison between the KJV and Young’s Literal, which were both based on the TR! Acts 16:17 reads:

 

 

“The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation” (KJV).

 

“. . . who declare to us a way of salvation” (Young’s Literal).

Comment: The KJV (and the NIV) are both wrong according to the actual Greek rendering! The Greek does not have the definite article which would yield “the way of salvation.” Young’s Literal translation is exactly as its name indicates — a literal Greek to English rendering of this verse based on the TR — “a way of salvation.” This rendering is much more consistent with the immediate context where we see a demon speaking through a girl describing Paul’s message to the people. Demons want us to believe that there are multiple ways to God, Jesus just being one of the many ways. John 14:6 shows how narrow the road is. See also Matt. 7:13,14.

 

In response to the definite article being unjustly added or omitted, Dr. Robert Young wrote in the preface to the revised edition of his translation of the Bible:

 

 

“For example, in Mat. 2. 4, Herod is represented as enquiring “where Christ” should be born. But “Christ” is the surname of the man Jesus, who was quite unknown to Herod, who could not consequently ask for a person of whose existence he was ignorant. The true explanation is, that King James’ Translators omitted the definite article which occurs in the original. The correct translation is, where “the Christ” should be born. Herod knew of “the Christ,” the Messiah, the long promised Saviour and King of the Jews, and his enquiry was, where He was to be born, whose kingdom was to be over all. The simple article clears up the whole. There are about two thousand instances in the New Testament where these translators have thus omitted all notice of the definite article, not to say anything of the great number of passages where they have inserted it, though not in the original” [bold emphasis not in original].

Also note Jn. 3:16 in Youngs, regarding the continuous tense for believe:

 

 

“For God did so love the world, that His son — the only begotten — He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during.”

This translation, with the verb tenses, opens up the clear meanings of Scripture, hidden to people who only read the KJV.

 

Again, regarding the superiority of the TR, please know there are other English translations based upon it such as the New King James and Young’s Literal translation which was just cited. But they do not have the archaic English words that the KJV does, as previously cited. Hence, these other versions greatly enhance the reader’s ability to comprehend the Word of God! How can you justly reject these English versions if you are arguing from the point of view of the superiority of the TR?

 

We have a reprint copy of the 1611 KJV translation. Notice the following verses cited exactly as seen there:

 

 

“Betooke themselues vnto praier, and besought him that the sinne committed, might wholy bee put out of remembrance. Besides, that noble Iudas exhorted the people to keep themselues from sinne. Forsomuch as they saw before their eyes the things that came to passe, for the sinne of those y were slaine. . . . And also in that he perceiued that there was great fauour layed vp for those that died godly. (It was an holy, and good thought) wherupon he made a reconciliation for the dead, that they might be deliuered from sinne” (II Maccabees 12:42,45).

(Can you justify putting the Apocrypha next to Scripture, as the 1611 KJV edition did? How many do you think were deceived into thinking Purgatory exists based on this obvious 1611 KJV error?)

 

Another verse from the 1611 edition of the KJV is Rev 21:8. Please note how hard it is to read:

 

 

“But the feareful, and vnbeleeuing, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all lyars, shall haue their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone which is the second death.”

In our personal library, we have a book written by Ralph Earle titled, Word Meanings in the New Testament, published by Baker Book House. He comments on the words “now full” as used in Mark 4:37 of the KJV:

 

 

“The Greek does not have the aorist tense, suggesting completed action (see the Blass-Debrunner Grammar), but the present infinitive of continuing action. So a better translation is ‘already filling up’ (NASB) or ‘nearly swamped’ (NIV). If the boat had been ‘now full’ (KJV), it would have been at the bottom of the lake!” (p. 37).

Earle also comments on the KJV rendering in Romans 8:16 of “itself” (on page 179):

 

 

“The KJV reads: ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.’ The RSV changes ‘itself’ to ‘himself.’

 

Orthodox Christianity has always held to the deity of Jesus Christ and the personality of the Holy Spirit. Modern liberalism has frequently denied both. The KJV rendering here would seem to deny the personality of the Holy Spirit, calling Him an ‘it.’ Even if one is reading the KJV in the pulpit he should always change ‘itself’ to ‘himself.’ By doing so we affirm our faith in the Holy Spirit, not as an impersonal influence, but as a living Person who dwells in our hearts.

 

The question may well be raised: Why does the KJV use ‘it’ in referring to the Spirit? The simple answer is that the Greek word for ‘spirit,’ pneuma, is neuter. Hence it is necessary for grammatical reasons that the pronoun referring back to a neuter noun as its antecedent should also be neuter in form. But not in meaning! This is just one of many examples of an accidental disharmony in the grammatical usages of two different languages. As every student of foreign languages knows, the precise distinction between masculine, feminine, and neuter to which we are accustomed in English is little known outside our language. We have to translate the thought, not just the mechanical form of the word. Paul believed in the personality of the Holy Spirit! This very verse is the declaration of a personal function: The Spirit witnesses” (p. 179) [emphasis ours].

I have a ministry which includes reaching out to the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They use the KJV against true Christians because it erroneously states, as already cited, in Rom. 8:16 (and 8:26) that the Holy Spirit is “itself” instead of “himself.” They claim the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force and use the KJV to support this in their argumentation against the Trinity! Hence,this mistranslation in the KJV has helped to promote this heresy. This is fact, not mere conjecture!

 

Finally, Earle comments on the words “Father, Word and Holy Ghost” in 1 John 5:7:

 

 

“Anyone who uses a recent scholarly version of the NT will see that these words on the Trinity are not in verse 7. This is because they have no basis in the Greek text. Under Roman Catholic pressure, Erasmus inserted them from the Latin Vulgate. They are not a part of the inspired Bible” (p. 452, emphasis ours).

Who was this (Desiderius) Erasmus to whom we just referred?

 

 

“Erasmus, Desiderius (c. 1466-1536), . . . Augustinian Monk from 1486 to 1491″ (Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary of the Church, Elgin Moyer, Moody Press, 1982, page 133) [emphasis ours].

Even more descriptive of Erasmus is the following:

 

 

“Why does it not point out that Erasmus, unlike Luther and Calvin, never left the Roman Catholic church?” (The King James Version Debate: A Plea For Realism, D. A. Carson, 1979, Baker Book House, p. 74) [emphasis ours].

The Mormons also use the KJV in their endeavors to exalt the Book of Mormon (BOM). In the book of Acts, there are three accounts of the Apostle Paul’s conversion experience. Seemingly, as it is worded in the KJV, there are contradictions between these accounts of his salvation experience (Acts 9:7 cf. 22:9). They use this seeming contradiction (which really is no contradiction at all) to discredit the Bible in their indirect attempt to exalt the BOM. So again, the KJV’s obscured wording has been a snare to some.

 

So, as you can see there are multiple problems which you cannot Scripturally and adequately resolve with your KJV only view. This is an incredibly divisive issue in the body of Christ today. Some of the few people we encountered who know that eternal security (or perseverance of the saints) is a “license for immorality” and are willing to stand against it, let themselves be unsettled over this issue, to the great detriment of God’s kingdom. This should not be!

 

I have also heard it stated that an advocate of the modern English translations of the Bible, during a debate format on TV, was rendered physically incapable of speaking when given the opportunity to present his case. This event has been used by some coming from your view to “prove” that the KJV is the only reliable English translation available. This, however, can certainly not be proved by such! Please ponder the following Scripture:

 

 

“I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house” (Ezekiel 3:26).

Note: Ezekiel had the truth, yet he was physically incapacitated at that moment to verbally proclaim it! His incapacity for the moment must not be construed to mean he was speaking wrongly or did not know the truth.

 

Please know we feel we were forced to defend our position about the KJV which stems primarily from a strong desire to comprehend the Word of God through the use of reliable translations of the Bible. This letter should be enough to convince you that the KJV Only position, which seems to be of ultimate importance to many people, is based on inconsistency, ignoring the facts and jumping to unprovable conclusions! Unfortunately, besides hindering many from properly comprehending the Word of God to their own spiritual harm, more divisions in the already severely fragmented Body have resulted over this issue.

 

God bless you.

 

 

Following Jesus To The End,

Dan and Cheryl Corner

[This is an actual letter which we expanded upon for the WWW.]

 

I SMILED AT A SORROWFUL STRANGER

The smile seemed to make him feel better.
He remembered past kindness of a friend
And wrote him a thank you letter.
The friend was so pleased with the thank you.
That he left a large tip after lunch.
The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip,
Bet the whole thing on a hunch.
The next day she picked up her winnings,
And gave part to a man on the street.
The man on the street was grateful;
For two days he’d had nothing to eat.
After he finished his dinner,
He left for his small dingy room.
He didn’t know at that moment
that he might be facing his doom.
On the way he picked up a shivering puppy
And took him home to get warm.
The puppy was very grateful
To be in out of the storm.
That night the house caught on fire.
The puppy barked the alarm.
He barked till he woke the whole household
And saved everybody from harm.
One of the boys that he rescued
Grew up to be President.
All this because of a simple smile
That hadn’t cost a cent.

Contributed by: Dena
Submitted by Richard

 

A SIMPLE THANK YOU PRAYER

Dear God,

I want to take a minute, not to ask you for anything, but to simply say Thank You for all I have.

Amen

A thought for you….

What if you only woke up with the things that you thanked God for Yesterday?

 

JOHNNY RODE THE COWBOY TRAIL

Johnny rode the cowboy trail his sixguns by his side
Til his mom called it’s dinner time and time to come inside
His horse named shadow disappeared as did the evening sun
But Johnny knew that he’d be there when morning had begun
Than once again they’d ride the trails
Past tumbleweeds and dunes of sand
Across the snow capped  mountains and down to the Rio Grand
Than turning wide they’s thunder home
They’d give the outlaws one more chance and shadow seemed to know.
So ride ride Johnny ride with you six guns by your side
Til mom called it’s dinner time and come in for the night.

copyright 2005  Leonard Frutiger

Used with Permission

 

PRAISE FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS

In my youth, I had faith in God, but I never truly understood what that faith meant until this last year.  To say that my faith in the Lord was tested would be an understatement.

Two years ago, I had a husband, a house in the suburbs and a beautiful daughter, Nicole. My mother lived with us, and from the outside, our lives were perfect. One year later, my mother would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my daughter with leukemia, and our house taken from us by the bank.

It’s amazing that I come to you today to tell you that I am happier now than ever before.

It seems that it happened all in one single day, but it took place over the course of several months. During the midst of my mother’s chemotherapy, we took Nicole in to the doctor for her annual checkup. Her white blood cell count was through the roof. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to us. I didn’t want to believe. After three months of medical bills, there was no way that we had enough for the mortgage. We worked a deal with the bank to take our home and relieve us of future payments.

It is at that time that I started asking for prayers. I posted prayer requests, I asked friends for their thoughts and prayers, and I asked God to forgive me for any sins that I may have committed to cause all this suffering

Last summer, God took my dear mother, but He cured Nicole. The love between my husband and I has never been stronger, and my faith in God, and in Christianity could not be more firm. We live in a small apartment now, but you would never imagine how cozy it is. I pray everyday to God for showing me that hardship can truly bring miracles if you maintain your faith. Thanks again, Pastor, for your guidance and for the prayers of the community.

——————

From a letter to the Christian Prayer Center.  Names changed for privacy.

 

PRAISE FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS

In my youth, I had faith in God, but I never truly understood what that faith meant until this last year.  To say that my faith in the Lord was tested would be an understatement.

Two years ago, I had a husband, a house in the suburbs and a beautiful daughter, Nicole. My mother lived with us, and from the outside, our lives were perfect. One year later, my mother would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my daughter with leukemia, and our house taken from us by the bank.

It’s amazing that I come to you today to tell you that I am happier now than ever before.

It seems that it happened all in one single day, but it took place over the course of several months. During the midst of my mother’s chemotherapy, we took Nicole in to the doctor for her annual checkup. Her white blood cell count was through the roof. I was speechless. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to us. I didn’t want to believe. After three months of medical bills, there was no way that we had enough for the mortgage. We worked a deal with the bank to take our home and relieve us of future payments.

It is at that time that I started asking for prayers. I posted prayer requests, I asked friends for their thoughts and prayers, and I asked God to forgive me for any sins that I may have committed to cause all this suffering

Last summer, God took my dear mother, but He cured Nicole. The love between my husband and I has never been stronger, and my faith in God, and in Christianity could not be more firm. We live in a small apartment now, but you would never imagine how cozy it is. I pray everyday to God for showing me that hardship can truly bring miracles if you maintain your faith. Thanks again, Pastor, for your guidance and for the prayers of the community.

——————

From a letter to the Christian Prayer Center.  Names changed for privacy.

 

 

THE RAPTURE IN TWO PART HARMONY

 – By Jack Kinsella –

 

www.omegaletter.com

In the days of the Apostle Paul, the city of Thessalonica
was the largest city in Macedonia, boasting a population of
nearly 200,000 people – a megapolis of the ancient world.

The majority of its inhabitants were Greek, although there
was a mixture of ethnic groups, including Jews.

Paul’s letters to the Church at Thessalonica are accepted
as authentic by virtually all New Testament scholars. The
book was quoted by name by early Church Fathers including
Iraneus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian and Polycarp.

The first epistle is divided into three parts or themes. In
the first part, Paul reiterates his relationship with the
Thessalonians, gives thanks to God for them, and outlines
the evidence that the Thessalonians were truly saved, in
contrast to what the Judaizers were saying about them.

“For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in
we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to
serve the living and true God; And to wait for His Son from
heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which
delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians
1:9-10).

In the second part, Paul defends his credentials as an
Apostle and the legitimacy of the Thessalonians’s
conversion and his urgent desire to see them again.

“For yourselves, brethren, know our entrance in unto you,
that it was not in vain: But even after that we had
suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know,
at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the
gospel of God with much contention” (1 Thessalonians
2:1-2).

“But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in
presence, not in heart, endeavoured the more abundantly to
see your face with great desire. Wherefore we would have
come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan
hindered us” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-18).

The third major theme of the epistle is the imminent return
of the Lord for His church at the Rapture. It is a source
of endless fascination to me to read the various polemics
arguing against the Rapture on the grounds that it was a
nineteenth-century invention of J.N. Darby or Margaret
MacDonald or C.I. Schofield.

Other scholars, such as my friend Grant Jeffrey, have long
since proved that the Rapture doctrine was taught by the
early Church as far back as 373 AD when he discovered an
ancient text authored by Ephraem the Syrian, a prominent
Byzantine theologian.

In On the Last Times, the Antichrist, and the End of the
World, Ephraem wrote:

“For all the saints and elect of God are gathered, prior to
the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord
lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world
because of our sins.”

The most fascinating aspect of Grant’s discovery is the
effort to discredit it by opponents of a pre-Trib Rapture
by denying Ephraem’s authenticity, called the discovery
“pseudo-Ephraem.”

This argument says that Ephraem didn’t write it, somebody
else did. Is that even a relevant argument?

I was at Grant’s house visiting shortly after he made his
discovery in 1995 and Grant showed me a book in his
collection published in the 1600’s in which Ephraem’s
teaching on the Rapture was quoted by a French theologian.

So denying Ephraem’s authorship is meaningless to the issue
at hand, (which was whether the Rapture had been taught
prior to the 1800’s.)

Personally, I’ve never understood how there could be a
controversy. Whether pseudo-Ephraem or just plain Ephraem –
or Darby, Schofield, MacDonald – they are largely
irrelevant – since the Apostle Paul taught of an imminent
Rapture in his FIRST epistle to the Thessalonians.

The controversy is about whether or not some subsequent
interpreter confirmed what God told Paul, and it extends
until what Paul actually wrote doesn’t seem to matter.

But Paul not only outlined the Rapture in detail, he fully
expected to witness it himself.

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent (or precede) them which are asleep. For the Lord
Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive
and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever
be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

But the verses about the Rapture don’t actually complete
the third theme of Paul’s first epistle to Thessolonica.

Paul addresses questions concerning his credentials as an
Apostle, confirms that the Thessalonians are truly saved,
and reveals the details of the Rapture.

The Thessalonians, like many in the Church today, missed
the point of Paul’s first Epistle. The point was that the
Lord’s return should be a source of great comfort, not a
source of contention.

“For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that,
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one
another, even as also ye do” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).

The message is as clear as it can possibly be. As clear as
this message is, some have trouble understanding it, even
today. Paul says that Lord will appear in the air, the dead
in Christ will rise, those still living will rise right
after, and we will then spend eternity with the Lord.

Paul says the purpose of this revelation was to comfort
believers facing hard times. What completes the theme is
Paul’s exhortation at the end.

“Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1
Thessalonians 4:18).

Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians had but one
primary purpose, as specifically outlined in Chapter Two.
It was to correct the doctrinal errors that an apparently
forged letter from Paul had created about the Day of the
Lord.

The Thessalonians feared that the Day of the Lord had come
and gone and they had been left behind.

“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, That
ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by
spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the
day of Christ is at hand” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

The phrase, “our gathering together” is translated from the
Greek, episunagoge, which means “a complete collection;
especially a Christian meeting: assembling, gathering
together.” It is used but one other time, in Hebrews 10:25
exhorting believers to meet for worship.

As we go on, let’s ask and answer some questions from the
text of Scripture.

First question: “What is Paul beseeching the Thessalonians
about?” Answer: “That they not be shaken by a letter that
said they had been left behind.”

The primary theme of 2nd Thessalonians is therefore, the
coming of our Lord and our gathering together, or
collecting, unto Him. Paul begins by offering two reasons
why the Thessalonians should not be afraid that they had
been left behind.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that
man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition” (2
Thessalonians 2:3).

So, what is the first reason why the Thessalonians should
know that they had not missed the event Paul had described
in his last letter? Because the day would not come until
there came “a falling away first.”

The translation “a falling away” should actually be
rendered, “THE falling away” namely, the specific falling
away of which Paul warned them of “when I was yet with you”
(2 Thessalonians 2:5).

The “falling away” is the great apostasia, meaning, “a
defection from the truth.”

The second reason why the Thessalonians should not be
afraid that they had been left behind was because the man
of sin, or the son of perdition, had not yet been revealed.
The man of sin is, of course, the antichrist.

The man of sin can’t be revealed until after the great
apostasia because it is through the apostasia that the man
of sin is revealed. Without the apostasia, the antichrist
couldn’t get a foothold because the population would not be
prepared to buy what he will be selling.

But what else does this passage teach us? The Rapture
couldn’t have happened because the antichrist had not been
revealed. What does that mean? It HAS to mean that the
Rapture comes first and then later, the antichrist is
revealed.

I have heard all kinds of clever and imaginative
explanations for why these verses don’t mean what they say
they mean, but none of them ever actually take on the
verses themselves.

They just go out and find others from elsewhere that seem
contradictory but I’ve never heard anyone adequately
dispute these two simple points – which is probably the
reason Paul raised them.

One can come up with verses that seemingly put the Church
in the Tribulation, or verses that seemingly dispute the
meaning of “the wrath of God” and verses that question who
the Restrainer is, or dispute the meaning of the Day of
Christ, and so on.

But Paul says that there are two things that must come
after “our gathering together unto Him” – the great
apostasia, and the revelation of the son of perdition. So
if the Thessalonians don’t perceive a great apostasy,
followed by the revealing of the antichrist, then it means
they didn’t miss the Rapture.

Let’s reverse this equation and take another look at what
Paul is saying from that angle.

Paul is saying that if the Thessalonians DO perceive a
great falling away and they DO recognize “the man of sin,
the son of perdition,” then YES, they missed the Rapture.

Turned back around, he’s saying that because the man of sin
hasn’t been revealed, the Rapture has not happened. Why?
Because the Rapture comes first. Not because Darby,
MacDonald, Schofield or even Ephraem the Syrian invented
the doctrine after the fact.

But because the doctrine was already well-established in
the first century by the Apostle Paul!

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall
turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

The first reference to a pre-Trib Rapture comes from the
Bible. It is not a cunningly devised fable, but is a
doctrine made known to us by eyewitnesses of His Majesty (2
Peter 1:16).

It wasn’t turned into a cunningly devised fable until after
the great apostasia first kicked off at the end of the
nineteenth century with the “Age of Enlightenment.”

The Great Apostasia is Part One and it is pretty much fully
developed. As for Part Two, the revelation of the
antichrist, well, THAT looks like it’s fulfillment is just
around the corner. And according to the Apostle Paul, we
won’t be here for Part Two.

“Wherefore, comfort one another with these words” (1
Thessalonians 4:18).