Home
Quiz
2
Quiz 3 |
|
Bible Quiz 1
Here's some very important Bible topics that every Christian should know. I'm not really
going to give a quiz, but if I were, how many of these questions would you be able to
answer? Hopefully, I will be able to help you find these answers in God's Word.
1. Why was it necessary for Jesus to die on the cross for our salvation? (Ans1)
2. What does the word 'Joshua' mean? (Ans2)
3. What is meant by the term 'elect' in The Word? (Ans3)
4. Out of the seven Churches in Asia, Jesus was totally pleased with two, as written
in Revelation 2 and 3. Which two were these Churches, and what specific knowledge
did they both have in common that the other five Churches did not? (Ans4)
5. If Adam was Cain's father, then why is Cain not listed in the genealogy of Adam
in Genesis 5? (Ans5)
6. Though the name Jesus is not mentioned in The Old Testament, is
He mentioned there by other names? (Ans6)
7. How many of the Ten Commandments given in Exodus 20 were taught by Jesus Christ
in The Gospel? (Ans7)
8. What exactly is the Tree of Life, and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil?
(Ans8)
9. Isaiah 14:12 talks about 'Lucifer', which means the 'morning-star' in
Hebrew. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus says that He Himself is the 'morning Star'.
Explain this seeming contradiction. (Ans9)
10. What significance does the Feast of Passover have for today's Christians? (Ans10)
11. How many earth ages are there, and describe each one? (Ans11)
12. What relation does
the seven signs taught by Jesus in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, have to the Book of
Revelation? (Ans12)
13. When
are 'all' changed into spiritual bodies, casting off the flesh of this age when Christ
returns at the second Advent, and will we know our loved ones in that spiritual state? (Ans13)
14.
Explain the symbology behind the parable of the 'ten virgins' which Jesus told us about in
Matthew 25. (Ans14)
Answers
(1.) Christians know that Jesus died on
the cross for our salvation, for the remission of the sins of the world, since Jesus was
the only One born in the flesh Who was totally without sin. Without His physical
death on the cross, this salvation would not be possible. Since He came as the only
Begotten Son of God in the flesh, we all must make a choice to believe that He was The
Christ, or not.
Many would delegate Christ as a prophet only, such as
Moses or John The Baptist, but this is to their error, as they deny the mercy from the
only One Who can give it, God. This means that Jesus is God, incarnate in the flesh,
as the translation of one of the Names of Jesus, being Immanuel, means "God with
us" (see Isaiah 7:14 and translate Immanuel using your Strong's).
Yet on a deeper note, Christ died on the cross so
that there would be no false accusations from Satan when he and his followers are 'blotted
out' in the eternity. Your documentation for this idea, straight out of the mouth of Jesus
is in Matthew 23, and by Paul in Hebrews 2:14. Jesus warned that the "scribes and
Pharisees sit in Moses' seat"(Matt.23:2). Moses was the Law
giver. Jesus meant by this that the 'evil seed' had crept into the 'seat of Moses',
controlling The Law, which includes Temple doctrine. In that same Chapter of Matthew
23, Jesus also explained that these false ones even killed some of God's prophets that He
sent to warn the people. Christ then laid the 'hammer' down on them, so to speak, putting
"...all the righteous blood shed upon the earth..." in the hands of
that evil generation, which includes that evil seed and Satan's followers, in all
generations, even that exist today (see Rev.18 and Matthew 13 if you doubt this).
If you understand that Satan has a physical offspring
in the flesh through Cain, then you should understand this teaching. Christ taught
this idea in John 8 and Matthew 13, and He was not condemning the Jewish people in this
teaching. He condemned the seed of Cain that had crept into the tribe of
Judah. Any of those who follow this 'evil seed' (i.e., generation), knowingly
committing evil, regardless of nationality, are included. This applies to all the
twelve tribes, not only those mixed with our brother Judah that are misleading
them. Take a look around friend. Has anything changed today?
(back)
(2.) In the Hebrew, Joshua is 'Jehowshua', and the Greek equivalent is 'Iesous',
which is 'Jesus' in the English. This is not to say that Jesus is the prophet Joshua in
the Old Testament. However, the Book of Joshua is given to us as a parallel to many
of the events during Jesus' mission upon this earth, and would make a good study.
When you consider this point, you should come to realize that most events in The New
Testament were prophesied in The Old Testament, even to the very words that Christ would
say on the cross before He died (see Psalms 22). Much of the Book of Revelation is
covered in the Book of Isaiah, and the Old Testament Book Ezekiel covers more on the
Millennium reign of Christ on earth than does The New Testament. The message is 'what
goes around, comes around', as this is the key to understanding Biblical prophecy.
The Old Testament prophets were history, and a blueprint for what would occur in the
future (see I Cor.10). Don't let any man tell you that The Old Testament isn't important
anymore, for much of It has not come to pass yet, even at this time.
(back)
(3.) There are many places in Scripture that gives us information about God's
'elect'. In Romans 11, Paul talks about those who God foreknew, and further explains
that there is a remnant provided by God. In Ephesians 1, Paul says that the saints
(God's elect) were 'chosen' from the 'foundation of the world', and
"Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will," (Eph.1:5).
Now why would terms like 'predestinated' and
'foreknew' be used? A rarely taught Truth in God's Word is the knowledge of
our previous existence before this flesh age. There are three earth ages in God's
Word. The age that Satan rebelled was the first. We were all in spiritual
bodies at that time, as we 'all' will be again when Christ returns. This is why God
said that He knew Jeremiah before he was in the womb (see Jer.1), and also why God hated
Esau, but loved Jacob, before either of the children were yet born and hadn't a chance to
do good or evil (see Romans 9). Many just pass over this truth that God hated Esau before
he was even born. Since God is most fair, He does not hate someone before they are born in
the flesh, unless they had a previous existence doing wrong, which is where the knowledge
of a previous spiritual existence comes in to play. This is not reincarnation for it is
written that it is given for all men to die once in the flesh (Heb.9:27). The third and
last earth age is the eternity when all things on this old earth will be made new, as
taught in Isaiah 65:17, as the word for 'new' earth, is 'chadash' in the Hebrew,
meaning to 'renew, rebuild' (Strong's word no. 2318, root of 2319).
(back)
(4.) These two Churches were Smyrna and Philadelphia, the only Churches Christ had
nothing against. The one thing they both had in common was, they both understood who
the Kenites, or the 'evil seed' is. Jesus would say to these two Churches that He knew of
their affliction by those who '...say they are Jews, and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan' (see Rev.2:9 and Rev.3:9). As a further study, translate
the word 'Kenite' using a Strong's Concordance dictionary (Strong's no. 7014
'Qayin').
(back)
(5.) It may seem controversial, but Adam was not the father of Cain. God deals
with the cold hard facts in His Word, and most baby Christians would rather listen to a
bunch of 'Eve ate apples' off the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' type
stories. The word apple is not there in Genesis. That is some story that man made up
because the real truth must have been too much for most people to understand.
You will not find Cain listed in Adam's genealogy in
Genesis 5 (Abel is not there because being murdered by Cain, he hadn't a chance for
offspring). The 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' was an analogy for
Satan himself, as the 'Tree of Life' is an analogy for Christ (see Rev.2:7; 22:2,
14). The sin that Eve committed involved being 'wholly seduced' by Satan in the
Garden of God (which being in God's 'paradise' is an analogy for being in heaven, a heaven
on earth, for heaven is wherever God is. See the last verse of Ezekiel and Rev.21-22).
Translate the word 'touch' that Eve used in Gen.3:3 back to its root word, and
then the word 'beguiled', all the while considering the relation of these words
to Adam and Eve suddenly knowing that they were naked, their 'eyes' being opened, making
'fig' leaves to hide their private parts, and the temptation of flesh that Eve expressed
with 'pleasant to the eyes,..., etc. This is why in the next verse,
Gen.3:22, God would kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden in order to prevent them from
eating of The Tree of Life which gives immortality. God then set up 'Cherubims' to
guard 'heaven', for that is where The Tree of Life is (which is a symbol for Jesus Christ;
i.e., the Bread of Life).
If you don't understand this concept then you
probably don't really believe that the fallen angels mated with the 'daughters of men', as
written in Genesis 6, to create an offspring of hybrid giants. The fallen angels were
not in flesh bodies when they committed that sin, and neither was Satan with Eve.
I've got another wake up call
coming; Jesus would teach about His return in Matthew 24:37 and Luke 17:27,
that the times on earth would be just like the days of Noe (Greek for Noah), they
would be marrying and taking in marriage, etc. Well, what is the subject of Genesis
chapter 6 and the times of Noah? Jesus was teaching that these 'fallen angels' would
be marrying and taking in marriage again, just as during the times of Noah, except it will
happen in the latter days, just before His second coming. Starting about Rev.12:7 and
in Rev.13, you'll also find that the 'dragon' (i.e., Satan) will be cast down to 'earth'
with his angels, in person, de facto.
If this is too much to believe, then you probably
don't believe that there even is a spirit in man that leaves this flesh upon death of the
body. I'm not trying to talk down to anyone; only that it's time for God's
people to wake up to The Truth of God's Word. To be wrapped up in the material world and
flesh senses, not understanding the idea of a spiritual existence, is to be
deceived. Because of this materialistic attitude, when Satan does appear upon this
earth in the near future, many won't believe that he is just an angel that looks like a
man. This is why Satan's little propaganda ministry in the world purposefully
portrays him as a little red devil with horns and a pitchfork, for Ezekiel 28 describes
Satan as a beautiful angel. He will probably look like modern artistic renderings of
Christ. God's Word tells you how to discern the difference, get into It!
(back)
(6.) If you'll remember the previous question about who 'Joshua' or 'Jehowshua'
is, i.e., the Hebrew name for Jesus, then you will find 'yeshuw' ah' in many
places in The Old Testament Hebrew translated 'salvation'.
Jesus was also emphatically mentioned in Isaiah 7:14
as 'Immanuel', which means 'God with us' in the Hebrew (see Strong's
word no. 6005). Our Lord Jesus Christ was also this same 'Melchisedec', the
High Priest that Abraham tithed to. You can document this in Hebrews 7 where it is
stated that this Melchisedec was also called the "King of Righteousness" and
"...made like unto The Son of God;..." (Heb.7:3). It is important to
understand that Jesus is The Christ and the 'only Begotten Son of God' because He is God,
was with God (Jehovah) in the beginning, and all things were made by Him in the beginning
as stated in John 1. There is only 'one' Begotten Son of God, Jesus.
You will also find in Genesis 18 that Jesus along
with two angels appeared to Abraham outside Sodom and Gomorrah. They appeared to Abraham
as 'men', meaning they had the image of earthly men. How can this be?
As we were all made in the spiritual 'image' of God, that image looks like 'man'.
Monsters are the product of an overactive imagination, as Satan himself is also a
beautiful angel (see Ezekiel 28). Also, the word 'Gabriel' means 'man of God'
in the Hebrew. When Jesus appeared to Abraham there in Gen.18, Abraham called Him
Lord, as written. You will also notice that Abraham prepared physical food for them,
meaning this 'angelic' body is able to eat earthly 'meat'. The Israelites ate
'manna', which is angel's food, while in the wilderness. So try to understand this
link between the spiritual body and the flesh body, that the spiritual body can also have
existence on this physical earth without flesh.
(back)
(7.) Jesus taught all the Ten Commandments in The Gospel. I. Matt.22:37; II.
John 4:24; III. Matt.5.34; IV. Mark 2:27; V. Matt. 15:4-6; VI. Matt. 5:21; VII. Matt.
5:28; VIII. Matt. 15.19; IX. Matt. 12:34-37; X. Matt. 5:28. & in Matt. 19:18, Jesus
left out Commandment X, to convict His questioner, which verse 21 convicted him of its
violation, and as shown in v. 22 by the man’s sorrow.(1)
Also, as He stated in Matthew 5:17, that He came
during His first Advent on earth, not to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to
fulfill; thus you can't get any plainer a message that The Old Testament, which is
The Law and the prophets, is not done away with, as many false ones would teach. The
blood ordinances were fulfilled by Christ. That part of the Law, Jesus
fulfilled on the cross, as stated by Paul that He became our sacrificial Lamb for one and
all time in Hebrews 10. It is also stated there that Jesus came in the 'volume of
the book', which is the Volume of The Word, all of It, not just The New Testament.
(back)
(8.) 'The Tree of Life' is Jesus Christ. This 'Tree of Life' is first mentioned
in Genesis 2:9 as being in God's Paradise, the Garden of Eden, Who is now in heaven, since
Genesis 3 states that God drove out Adam and placed flaming Cherubims, or heavenly beings
to "...keep the way of the Tree of Life" (Gen.3:24). Myths about
where this Garden of Eden was on earth are nothing more than just myths, for in that first
earth age, the time when Satan rebelled, this Eden was set up on the earth and that is
where God dwelt, on earth, where He will dwell again in the eternity. Your documentation
for this idea is in Revelation 21, and also starting at Ezekiel 39 forward.
Also, God has chosen Zion for His habitation, as
written in Psalms 132 and Ezekiel 45. Jesus stated through John in Rev.2:7 to the
Churches, that He would give those who overcome, to eat from this Tree of Life. The
explanation of the food of that Tree of Life can be found in John 6 and Revelation
22:2. The 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil' is Satan himself, who was also in
the Garden of Eden, and is also in heaven now (in a place of separation), waiting to be
cast down to earth to deceive de facto, in person, along with his host of 'fallen angels',
as written in Rev.12 and Rev.13. You will find him called the 'accuser' in
Rev.12.
In Luke 16, Jesus gave us knowledge of the
borders that exist in heaven, separating those who follow Satan from those with God on the
other side of the 'gulf', both within sight of each other. God's side is called
Paradise (remember what Jesus said to the malefactor crucified with Christ who also
believed on Him?); Satan's side is Hades or 'Hell', or the 'grave', whichever you
prefer, meaning the place of the 'spiritually dead'. This is the side where the 'rich man'
of Luke 16 was, across a 'great gulf fixed'. (By the way, this teaching by
Jesus in Luke 16 destroys the false teaching that dead flesh bodies are waiting it out in
the ground somewhere. Also see Eccl. 12:7).
(back)
(9.) The word 'Lucifer' in the Hebrew is 'heylel', meaning 'morning-star'
(see Strong's no.1966). It thus becomes evident why the King James Translators used
the words 'son of the morning' in Isaiah 14:12. It would mean a conflict
with Revelation 22:16 where Jesus is the 'morning Star'. The word 'Star'
in Rev.22:16 referring to Jesus, means literally 'a star'.
Ok, enough of this scholar stuff and down to the
'meat'. If you follow the line of thinking referring to the role that Satan always
wanted to play, as written in Ezekiel 28, Isaiah 14, and II Thess.2, you'll find that this
Satan, or 'Lucifer', wants to be God. Since Satan was a protecting Cherub,
or high angel at God's Altar originally, and was then 'perfect in his ways', in
the presence of God's Throne before he rebelled, as written in Ezekiel 28, he coveted the
very Mercy Seat of Jesus Christ which was his job to guard (again see Ezek.28). The
earthly representation of this heavenly Mercy Seat is that center Seat found on the 'Ark
of The Covenant' that the Israelites were told by God, how to build. On this 'Ark of
The Covenant' is displayed two 'winged Cherubs', with wings outstretched, covering the
Mercy Seat (see Exo.25). Satan was originally one of these Cherubs, before he
rebelled against God. Therefore, it is this Satan, who is just a little ole' angel,
wanting to play the role of Jesus Christ, (remember, Jesus is God, see John 1), that he
also takes the name of 'morning star'. The thing is that, this Satan or 'Lucifer',
is a false 'morning star'. He is coming to deceive those who have not loved
the Truth enough to seek our Lord (your documentation for this is II Thess. 2). The
Lord is in control and is going to allow this 'false Messiah' to play the role of Messiah,
i.e., Jesus Christ, becoming a test, or a 'rod of correction' to find out if we love
Jehovah or not.
You will find that the second Advent, or second
coming of Jesus is on the 'last trump', as written by Paul in I Cor.15. The
last trump means the last trumpet of Revelation, or the seventh. This means that this
false 'morning star' is coming first, before the True Morning Star, meaning Jesus
Christ. What's more, since the 'change' of casting off the flesh body doesn't happen
until the 'last trump' (seventh), there won't be any 'gathering' back to Christ until that
'seventh' or last trump sounds, so all Christians yet alive in the flesh are going to be
here for the deception of this false 'morning star', i.e., 'Lucifer', Satan. 'Fly away'
doctrine is a false doctrine, as you can document straight from God's Word in Ezekiel
13.
Are you ready? Do you understand what our
Father would have you do during this time? God's elect have been given power through
Christ over this false one, can you claim that power and know how and when to use
it? Do you know what the Gospel Armour is which Paul taught about in Ephesians 6? If
not, stick around friend, get into our Father's Word, for He has told us all
things. Stay away from false creeds and man's traditions that are designed by evil
men and taught by their deceived servants.
(back)
(10.) As written in I Cor.5:7, Christ became our Passover Lamb sacrificed for
us. The Paschal sacrifice during the Israelite's deliverance from Pharaoh in Egypt
was a feast to be kept by God's children forever. It is observed on the 14th day through
the 20th of Nisan. Since Christ died once and for all time, doing away with all
animal sacrifice ritual, He became our Passover Lamb, and Christians today should
recognize this same feast by worshipping Christ Jesus.
The unique problem with modern Christian tradition is
that Easter is observed in place of Passover. There is only one occurrence of the
word Easter in The King James Bible, in Acts 12:4, but, the original word in the Greek
there has nothing to do with the word Easter, for the Greek word is 'pascha', or Passover
(see Strong's no. 3957). The word Easter was added by man to God's Word in The King
James Version. This is a blatant error, since there is no way that one can translate 'pascha'
into Easter. Easter is man's tradition handed down from old times (aprox. 8th
Century) with the real meaning lost to those who observe it today. It is from
'Eostre', a pagan fertility ritual. 'Eostre' was a Teutonic goddess of light and spring.
The 'egg' symbolized fertility, and the 'rabbit' represented... well, I'll leave that to
your imagination. That is why you won't find Easter eggs and bunny rabbits talked about in
God's Word.
(back)
(11.) There are three earth ages in God's Word. You will find in Genesis 1
verse 2, in the Hebrew, that the words about the earth 'was without form and void',
in reality mean 'laid waste' and 'a ruin'. The word 'was'
means 'became'; the phrase 'without form' (tohuw) means 'to
lie waste, a desolation'; and 'void' (bohuw) means 'an
undistinguishable ruin'. God did not create the earth in this desolate state,
as written in Isaiah 45:18, for the same Hebrew word, tohuw is written there.
Satan's rebellion caused this 'overthrow' so God destroyed that first earth age, the time
of lost cities and ancient fossil remains. So there is a gap of time between Genesis
1:1 and 1:2 that is alluded to in God's Word, but not in so much detail. There is no
way of determining how long that first earth age was. This fact, established from
God's Word dispels the myth that the earth is only 6,000 years old. This earth is
literally millions of years old probably. Jehovah gave another warning referring to
that time when He destroyed that first earth age with a trembling in Jeremiah
4. There you will find in Hebrew the words tohuw va bohuw again. He is
warning His 'sottish' (foolish, silly) children that He's going to cause that 'trembling'
of the mountains again. This will happen along with His 'consuming fire' that will
burn up all the works of man from this earth, to 'renew' the earth for the last earth age,
God's eternity.
The sin of Satan caused God to begin this now present
flesh age, in order to give all a chance to come to The Father, except Satan and his
host.. II Peter 3 also gives another reference to this with "...that by the
word of God the heavens were of old,..." (II Peter 3:5). Also, this old earth's
geographical pole is about 90 miles off from its true magnetic pole. Buttercups were found
in the stomach of mammoths in Alaska, buried and frozen in ice, showing an instant and
sudden freeze, not one gradually over time.There is a parallel to this in Isaiah 11 where
it is written that in God's eternity the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the lion will
eat straw like an ox. This hasn't happened yet friend.
This earth has become a desolation again today,
similar to the earth's state at Genesis 1:2, and God is going to put the earth through a
scrubbing, again. His children that love Him and try their best to follow His Word
are not to worry, for He is not angry at them. This 'trembling', or putting back of
this earth's original created state will happen again as it did after Lucifer
rebelled. All will be in their spiritual or angelic bodies at that time, as written
in I Cor.15, Luke 21, Zechariah 3, Matthew 22:30, Rev.22:8-9, and Ezekiel 39 through the
end of that Book.
Try to understand that all souls were created by God
in the beginning. The time we have spent in this little ole' flesh body is a drop in
the bucket compared to the time in the spiritual body. Understanding these things
are part of coming back into 'remembrance' of former things, and is part of God's Truth
that will set you free. And these Truths dealing with the three earth ages and the
differences between the 'angelic' and flesh body will help alleviate worries and anxieties
concerning the future. Get into The Word for yourself. Don't rely on any man to
do it for you. They will not be there to defend you on the day of The Great White
Throne judgement. The Lord gave us His Word in order to set us free from this flesh
state of sin, but truly in 'remembrance' of former things through His Son Christ Jesus are
we in fact 'free'. This He gives for all those who love Him through Jesus Christ.
(back)
(12.) The seven signs Jesus taught in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 are the seven
seals of Revelation. One only need figure out their proper order according to
Revelation, and you'll find that they match. Note that this was a 'private' teaching
to the Apostles. Not everyone will understand, but if you are truly sincere with our
heavenly Father, you will be considered in right of possession of the knowledge of these
signs of the endtime. They are easy to understand given patience, nothing magical
about it, only that sincerity and a pure heart is necessary, and of course, a willingness
to study for yourself. Most new Christians make the mistake of jumping into the Book
of Revelation before they have a proper foundation in the Old Testament. I don't care
what any man says, if you don't properly understand much of the Old Testament, especially
the Book of Genesis, you will not truly understand Revelation.
(back)
(13.) In I Corinthians 15, Paul tells us about the difference between the 'natural
body' or flesh body, and the 'spiritual body'. He lets us know there that
the 'flesh' cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, in other words, that Kingdom is, and will
be another dimension of existence. By Paul saying in I Cor.15:44 "There is a
natural body, and there is a spiritual body," he was letting us know in the
'present' tense, that we each are made up of a 'natural body' of flesh, and a 'spiritual
body', both having existence at the same time, together in one being. He was not referring
to a new body that we would put on when Christ returns. That spiritual body is 'now',
within us. All mankind has this 'spiritual body' also, not just those who follow Christ.
If this were not true, then the story of Lazarus and the rich man as given
to us by Jesus Himself in Luke 16 would be false, because when both Lazarus and
the 'rich man' died, as written there, their spiritual bodies left the flesh and
went to the heavenly abode; Lazarus to 'God's Paradise', in Abraham's bosom, and the 'rich
man' to Hades, on the other side of 'a great gulf fixed', (where Satan dwells).
That story given by our Savior Jesus Christ was for our learning so that we would know
what happens at the death of this 'natural body' of flesh.
Another parallel to the 'spirit' of man leaving the
flesh body at death can be found in Eccl.12:7. God 'breathed' into Adam's flesh the
'breath of life' which is the 'spiritual body', from God, within each one of us, and that
is how we are known as 'living souls'. Upon death, that spirit goes back to God who gave
it, as written in Eccl.12:7. This is the mystery that we observe when we are present at
the death of a loved one.
Paul also gave us a teaching about what happens
to those still in the flesh at Christ's second Advent, or return. In I Cor.15:51 Paul
states that '...We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." The
word 'sleep' is 'koimao' in the Greek, and it means "to put to
sleep, to slumber, figuratively, to decease" (Strong's 2837). In this verse, as
in I Thess.4:14 - 15, 'sleep' means the deceased, so the subject is about those
who are still in the flesh when Christ returns. Then in I Cor.15:52, Paul's tells us when
that change into the spirit body takes place, 'at the last trump'. Well, when is
this last 'trump' or trumpet? It is the last 'trumpet', the 'seventh',
as written in Revelation. Naturally then, even Satan's tribulation events must happen
before the 'last trump' sounds, and these events were given to us by Jesus in
Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and in the Book of Revelation. Those teaching about a
'pre-tribulation'
"secret
rapture"
are going against what Paul taught in I Cor.15 and the 'last
trump', and what Jesus taught in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and Revelation. So who
are you going to listen to? Man, or our Father's Word? That means to check me out in The
Word also.
In Matthew 13, Jesus tells us that the wicked will
not be severed from the righteous until the casting into the lake of fire. When does this
'blotting out' in the 'lake of fire' take place? At the end of this 'world', i.e. world
earth age, at the establishing of God's eternity upon earth. This is where many err in The
Word, for they leave out the Millennium reign of Christ on earth with the elect for a
thousand years (see Rev.20). That period must take place before the setting up of God's
eternity, which is the final and third earth age. God is not going to allow any 'chaff' to
exist along with the good 'wheat' in His eternity! (see Matthew 13; Matthew 25) At the end
of God's Millennium is when this casting into the 'lake of fire' happens, also written in
Rev.20. Christ and Paul made this teaching very simple, yet many just pass over it because
they would rather listen to man's doctrines, read many books by different religious
leaders with a list of worthless world system credentials a mile long, allowing themselves
to be 'conditioned' by doctrines outside of God's Word.
In Matthew 22:30 Jesus taught that those who
pass through death of the flesh 'neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the
angels of God in heaven'. This is because that 'spiritual body' Paul was talking about
that we all have, is angelic. Well, does this mean that even evil people become good
angels without accepting Christ? No: Satan is also an angel. The angels that rebelled
appeared with Satan in God's presence as written in the Book of Job, and these same fallen
angels were called 'sons of God' in Gen.6. So try to understand that since we are all
God's creation, all His children, as Satan and the fallen angels were also, thus, we all
were 'sons of God' at one time (first earth age before Satan's rebellion). Those who come
to Christ now are called 'sons of God' (1 John 3). What did the angel say to John in
Rev.19:10 when John fell down to worship him? You'll find in Ezekiel 44 that those of the
'Zadok', meaning 'the Just' will be allowed to go across the place of separation, the
place of the spiritually dead (remember Luke 16?), during God's Millennium to teach a
loved one of the family they knew while in the flesh. It is also required there that a
purification period must elapse before returning to God's Holy Presence. Common sense then
tells us that in order to go to a deceived loved one that we knew while in the flesh body,
we must be able to recognize each other in the angelic body.
(back)
(14.) These lamps which the 'virgins' carry represent God's
people, believers in Christ. As Christ would say in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is
in heaven," so also are God's people the 'lamps' of His Glory. In order
for these lamps to shine, they must have 'oil'. This 'oil' represents
The Word of God's Truth. All 'ten virgins' were preparing for the 'wedding' waiting for
the 'Bridegroom' (Jesus at His second coming). They all had 'oil' in their lamps,
but only half of them carried spare 'oil' with them, so the lamps of all ten virgins were
burning, or 'shining' to give light of God's Truth ('oil'). This 'oil' is also the
'anointing oil' of God's people, olive oil, thus, all ten had come to Christ (the part
about going to meet the Bridegroom), in that they believed on Him, and had prepared with
'oil' in their 'lamps' showing good works.
Do you remember the parable Jesus gave about the
'sower' and the seed falling among 'stony ground'? When the cares and pressures of this
flesh world became too much, that 'seed' (i.e. God's Truth), started to fade and couldn't
bear fruit. Likewise here, with the five foolish virgins who when waiting on the
Bridegroom (Jesus) to come, the Bridegroom tarries and they fall asleep; then their lamps
burn out of 'oil'. They didn't take the proper understanding of God's Word with them to
meet Christ. When these foolish virgins are told by the five wise virgins to go to the
seller and buy 'oil', they come back to the wedding feast too late, and the door is shut.
Then when they asked Jesus to let them in, what did He say to them? He said, "I
know you not" (Matt.25:12). This is how we know that the five foolish virgins
were believers somewhat, but their 'wick' just didn't measure up.
Where else does Jesus say these words 'I know you not', and
to whom? In Matthew 7, Jesus is talking about 'false prophets'. Our Lord gives the account
there that when He returns, these false ones will be saying to Him, "Lord, Lord,
have we not prophesied (taught The Word) in thy name? and in thy name cast out
devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?" (Matt.7:22). And Christ
answers with, "And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from
me, ye that work iniquity." (Matt.7:23).
These 'false teachers of God's Word' who are just play acting
with their flocks (congregations), never getting around to teaching God's Word to the
people so that It flows in their minds and hearts, not preparing God's people for the
coming of 'a spurious Messiah', the Antichrist who is Satan, quoting one verse from
The Word and going on a one hour rampage of doctrines of men and the world, teaching the
'precepts' of men instead of our Loving Father's Message, ...are these 'five foolish
virgins'. This is what the 'great apostasy' is all about, and we are now in it at this day
and time, for many are teaching their own personal philosophies and doctrines contrary to
The Word of God, setting themselves up as quasi-saviors, loving to be noticed and
practically worshipped by man's standards. The reason why Jesus would teach that these are
'ravening wolves' also there in Matt.7, is because they don't prepare the
Christian for battle in order to stand against the 'fiery darts of Satan' (see Ezekiel 13
if you doubt this is going on). Therefore, they are doing Satan's work of iniquity (I
didn't say it, Christ did in Matt.7). These are Satan's 'locust army' as written
in Rev.9, with 'breastplates of iron' (breastplates are garments of the Hebrew
priest), the 'hair of women' (symbolizing their smooth words presented to the
people with lying 'sweetness', etc.), and 'teeth of lions', which is the same
meaning as Christ's words 'ravening wolves', which tear at the 'soul' of God's
people like a lion eating its prey.
Many of these false teachers of The Word don't
realize they're being manipulated by Satan's children which control the upper hierarchies
of many religious systems. Getting people to believe on a false
"secret
rapture"
doctrine that
came into existence with some hallucinogenic women in Scotland around 1830, not preparing
God's people to recognize this 'false Jesus' who is coming before the True Messiah Jesus
Christ, is just that, like ripping good people's souls apart! This is why it is extremely
important for each to read and understand God's Word for themselves, checking their
teachers out in The Word. Don't rely on this man writing this either. We used to have a
saying during Vietnam for those you would try to help, but who just didn't want to pay
attention, you know, the individualist types: We'd say, "Do your own lessons
learned!" It might sound a little harsh, but it really fits today.
(back)
Footnotes:
All references to "Strong's nos." are from Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance, PC Study Bible, Biblesoft, 1993-1996.
(top)
|
|