Bible Believers' Newsletter 979
"We focus on the present Truth – what Jesus is doing now. . ."
ISSN 1442-8660Christian greetings in the precious Name of our Lord Jesus Christ; we are pleased you could join us again in fellowship around God's unchanging Word.
Today we will devote ourselves to remembering the faith, love and holiness whence we have lapsed, and in true humility and sorrow with lively conviction before God, earnestly desiring pardon and renewal, do again "the first works" love made us do in order to regain our first love (Revelation 2:4-5; 3:15). Our study centers upon Christ's proposal to His invisible marriage union announced by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, and Jesus Christ, the mystery of God revealed. Our English is confirmed in Greek and Hebrew so please dedicate time and prove all things in your own Bible, for "the just shall live by faith".
The 'squeeze' is becoming more pronounced as the Judaeo-Roman Universal church, the Black Nobility, City of London and Judaeo-Capitalism (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 13:1-10; 17:1 – 18:20) tighten their grip on the nations until they "fall like over-ripe fruit" into Judaeo-Communist hands (Revelation 16:13-16; 17:16-20; 19:11-19) for Armageddon. The most obvious symptoms are the overt apostasy of (once) Christian churches, the dishonesty of the best politicians money can buy to privatise national wealth and subdue nations by an economical conquest, the rape and rapine of defenceless states reminiscent of the Bolshevik blood bath of Russia by the (once) Protestant US "image unto the beast" (Revelation 13:11-18), false flag black ops and thought control by "fake news," death of print media, thought control by suppression of free speech, censorship and universal spying on telecommunications.
Big Brother is watching you in public places and recording your movements, purchases, email and 'phone communications in private places. So many laws have been enacted, wherever you are and whatever you do you are in breach of pending police state law.
Other news items reveal how the US image unto the beast and neo-Roman Empire regular forces and their terrorist proxy armies, having invaded Syria, are indiscriminately killing innocent civilians in order to divide and conquer the nation into the Balkanised 'Greater Israel' envisaged by the Oded Yinon-Bernard Lewis plan en-route to invading Iran, and a pre-emptive nuclear attack upon Russia and China. God's Word prophesied the utter defeat and abandonment of the modern Israel state of the self-styled, and the invasion of mainland USA. When men reject the revealed Word of God, their names are removed from the Book of Life and they become lower than brute beasts that have no soul.
This Newsletter serves those of like precious faith. Whoever will receive the truth is welcome to feed their soul from the waters of the River of Life. Everything here presented should be confirmed personally in your own Bible.
Your brother-in-Christ
Anthony Grigor-Scott
Who is Interfering in US Politics? Russia or Israel?
June 20, 2017 — Part of the ineffable reality of American democracy as Helen Thomas—American reporter, author, and longtime front row member of the White House press corps—once observed, is that "you cannot criticise Israel in this country and survive." Thomas was subsequently obliged to step down from her job as a columnist for Hearst News after a rabbi and independent filmmaker videotaped her outside the White House calling on Israelis to get "out of Palestine." It is equally true that while the imposing United States Capitol Complex on the left is theoretically the seat of the US government, it is in fact in the building at 251 H St. North Washington—the soon to be dramatically expanded American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) headquarters—where much of America's domestic and foreign policy is determined (The US Congress: a Metonym for AIPAC).
This unmentionable reality was highlighted by a recently published article in The Duran, which reported that during an interview on The Late Show by host Stephen Colbert, Oliver Stone remarked that Israel had far more influence over U.S. elections than any of the surmised influence Russia may have had. When Stone referred to the alleged and yet to be substantiated Russian interference: "Israel had far more involvement in the US election than Russia, why don't you ask me about that?" . . . Full story: globalresearch.ca
US Backed YPG Kurds are ethnically cleansing Arabs from Raqqa, & World is Silent
June 15, 2017 — The Race for Raqqa is over, and the US-backed "Syrian Democratic Forces," the majority of which are comprised of the Kurdish YPG militia, are on the verge of capturing Daesh's self-declared "capital." The operation is proceeding at a lightning pace after the Pentagon and its proxies carefully squeezed the terrorists for months, but it must also be said that the rapid battlefield "successes" are also due in part to the Kurds cutting a deal with Daesh . . . a documented fact reported by Sergey Surovikin, the commander of Russia's forces in Syria, who told the media just last week that:
"According to available reliable information, in early June ISIL terrorists entered into collusion with the command of the Kurdish armed units, which are part of the Democratic Forces Union, left the populated localities of Tadia and al-Hamam located 19 kilometers southwest of Raqqa offering no resistance and headed toward Palmyra" . . .
Reports have come out that the US is supporting the SDF-YPG through the illegal use of white phosphorus, which is a banned chemical weapon. Combined with the heavy and indiscriminate airstrikes being carried out against the city, 160,000 civilians have been forced to become refugees and flee their homes as internally displaced people. This works out to more than half of the city's pre-war population of 220,000, and it confirms what independent journalist and associate editor at 21stcenturywire.com Vanessa Beeley told RT just recently about how the US is making no attempt whatsoever to protect civilians. In fact, it can be cynically suggested, the large-scale population exodus taking place in Raqqa is actually a deliberate ethnic cleansing of the majority-Arab population of the city on a much larger scale than any of the similar crimes that the Kurds have been accused of before . . . what's happening in Raqqa right now is the large-scale ethnic cleansing of the city's majority-Arab population through chemical weapons and indiscriminate bombing in order to create the on-the-ground conditions for "legitimizing" the expansion of the Kurds' "federalized" statelet (the "second geopolitical 'Israel'"). The Mainstream Media is holding back from openly announcing the obvious in a frail attempt to obscure its grand strategic plans until the day arrives when they're undeniable, but also of course out of the self-interested pursuit to avoid being implicated in worsening the Immigrant Crisis . . .
Full story: globalvillagespace.com intpressnews.com
Comment: It's been 30 years since Iran has fired missiles at targets outside of its own borders. Iranian missile launch into Syria against ISIS puts US in precarious position . . . based on successive US aggressions inside Syria, the Pentagon is probing both Syrian and Russian defences, testing their level of patience, perhaps in the hope that either Syria or Russia might retaliate . . . Washington . . . simply not able to dictate facts on the ground in Syria.
In 2012, the Defense Intelligence Agency, then under the direction of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, warned that the US strategy would give rise to "a declared or undeclared Salafist principality in eastern Syria."
Flynn went further in a 2015 interview when he said the intelligence was "very clear" that the Obama administration made a "wilful decision" to back these jihadists in league with Middle East allies . . . the neocons want the Trump administration to continue violating international law, which forbids military invasions of sovereign countries, and keep the bloodshed flowing (consortiumnews.com).
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter become the Gatekeepers
December 8, 2016 — News that Google, Microsoft, and Facebook will collaborate to censor their definition of terrorism on their collective networks signals Orwellian times to come. New EU legislation, hints at McCarthyism in America and Europe, and the proven collusion in between Silicon Valley and governments should signal a counter-revolution. Here's a look at why.
A couple of years ago my colleagues and I helped uncovered a Ukraine "kill list" supported by NATO, the British Embassy in Ukraine, and by neo-Nazis bent on condemning pro-Russians in the Ukraine civil war. The so-called "Peacekeeper" movement was traced to NATO servers in 2015. Since that time we have all witnessed a dizzying barrage of lies, propaganda, and a controlled message of unprecedented scale. WikiLeaks revelations from the Clinton and Podesta files showed the world the depth of collusion, graft, and draconian measures on behalf of the elites in control of western society. Google and the others as tools of the security machine cannot be controverted. And now the same people who tried to buy the presidency of the United States, who fuelled the Arab Spring, ISIL, the refugee crisis, the economic crisis, and endless war, they're out to close the gates on a billion free people. Twitter's blog post from yesterday gives us the underpublicized announcement ...
For those users of these networks who are not so aware, this disguised censoring apparatus probably seems as harmless and positively idealistic as Google's "Do no evil" dogma from bygone years. Disguised as an anti-terror collaboration, this latest Orwellian move by the establishment is nothing of the kind. WikiLeaks' Julian Assange explains the extraordinary role of Google, Google Ideas, and other contravening evidence here, on the WikiLeaks site. For those who may remain unconvinced, Assange laid out how Google's Eric Schmidt and Google Ideas Director Jared Cohen, helped plan for just such collaborations as we see today . . .
Full story: journal-neo.org
Comment: Read the full article, especially the link to Julian Assange's excellent and informative interview, and click on CIA/NSA's Facebook logo.
The 'Squeeze'
June 13, 2017 — It almost certainly entails the use of algorithms and machine learning to censor content. With this sort of automated takedown process, the companies instruct the algorithms to behave in certain ways. Given the economic and reputational incentives on the companies to avoid fines, it seems highly likely the companies will go down the route of using hair-trigger, error-prone algorithms that will end up removing unobjectionable content . . . Full story: UK and France propose automated censorship of online content
June 5, 2017 — The last vital truth-telling space, threatened if content is censored or controlled . . . wants a free and open Internet eliminated by getting rid of FCC legal authority to enforce Net Neutrality rules—adopted in 2015 . . . If current rules are abandoned, ISPs no longer will have to treat all web content equally . . . Full story: Net neutrality's days are numbered: Trump and Theresa May want Internet freedom curbed
May 4, 2017 — The UK government has secretly drawn up more details of its new bulk surveillance powers—awarding itself the ability to monitor Brits' live communications, and insert encryption backdoors by the backdoor.
In its draft technical capability notices paper [PDF], all communications companies—including phone networks and ISPs—will be obliged to provide real-time access to the full content of any named individual within one working day, as well as any "secondary data" relating to that person . . . The Home Office ran a short public consultation earlier this year on a code of conduct for government snoops. Full story: UK's secret blueprint with telcos for mass spying on Internet, phones & backdoors
Let's talk about Jesus
Exodus 20:1-3, "Then God [(Heb.) Elohim] spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD [(Heb.) YHWH "the self-existent One"] your God" [(Heb.) Elohim]. This applies to all mankind, showing that the reasonableness of the Law is founded in our eternal relation as creatures to our Creator, and our mutual relations to one another.
This applies specifically to the Israelites: "who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
This applies to all mankind and is the First Commandment: "you shall have absolutely no other gods [(Heb.) Elohim] besides Me."
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 is an exposition of the First Commandment and Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear, O Israel! The LORD [(Heb.) YHWH "the self-existent One"] our God [(Heb.) Elohim] is one LORD [(Heb.) YHWH "the self-existent One"]. This to the Israelite (and every true Christian) is the quintessence of his faith. Verse 5, "And you shall love the LORD [(Heb.) YHWH "the self-existent One"] your God [(Heb.) Elohim] with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might."
Jesus declared, "This is the first and great commandment" (Matthew 22:36-38; Mark 12:28-30; Luke 12:27; Ephesians 4:5).
Our Lord Jesus Christ was an Old Testament Prophet, and the four Gospels are primarily Old Testament history recording what He said and did under the Old Covenant. The New Covenant could not come into force until after the death of the Testator (Hebrews 9:16-17), and the New Testament Church was not inaugurated until the Day of Pentecost—fifty days after Calvary (Acts 2:2).
Each of the Old Testament prophets was filled with the Holy Spirit. I Peter 1:9-11, "The prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you enquired and searched diligently as to this salvation, inquiring what Person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when It prophesied the sufferings of Christ, and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in these things which now have been declared to you by those who have preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven—things into which the angels desire to look".
A Word is a thought when it is expressed in speech, and God's Word is Absolute (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8; Matthew 24:35); God's thoughts are eternal for He is unchangeable in both essence and behaviour. God is infinite in His abilities so He as God must be omniscient. If He is omniscient He is not now learning, nor is He taking counsel even with Himself, nor is He at any time adding to His knowledge. If He can add to His knowledge, then He is not omniscient. He IS omniscient. He is not now thinking and He has never had a new thought about anything because all His thoughts He has always had and always will have, and He knows the end from the beginning because He is God. THUS THE THOUGHTS OF GOD ARE ETERNAL. THEY ARE REAL, and will come to pass in their designated, decreed season and time.
God means "object of worship" thus before creation the Eternal Spirit was alone with His eternal thoughts and as there was nothing to worship Him He was only potentially God. Time and creation began when He expressed the fullness of His eternal thoughts as the (Gk.) Logos which means "thought in speech" or concept, translated 'word' in our English Bibles. Were we watching over the banisters of heaven we would have seen the Logos as the Shekinah, an amber Pillar of Fire Ezekiel 1:28 calls "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord".
In John 17:5-6 Jesus said, "Now, O Father, glorify Me in Your own Presence with the glory which I had with you before the world was. [As Emmanuel begotten in flesh] I have manifested [(Gk.) phaneroo—made what was previously hidden and unseen actual and visible], Your Name [YHWH "the self-existent One" as Jehovah-Saviour, (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39; Isaiah 44:24; 45:21-22)] to the men which You gave Me out of the world: Yours they were, and You gave them Me; and they have kept Your Word".
Jesus Messiah is the Word or Logos manifest in virgin-born flesh as the last Adam to fulfil the part of KINSMAN Redeemer for the first Adam and his seed on Calvary. The Logos is the glory Jesus had with the Father before the world was; it is the One Person of God beginning the process of condescending to flesh as the last Adam—Jesus Messiah the Author and Beginner of the NEW CREATION of God-men—to redeem an election from the first creation (II Corinthians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:15; Colossians 1:12-23; Revelation 3:14).
I John 1:1-2, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word [(Gk.) Logos] of [eternal] Life [(Gk.) zoe]; (For the Life [(Gk.) zoe] was manifested [(Gk.) phaneroo], and we have seen It, and bear witness, and show you that eternal Life [(Gk.) zoe], which was with the Father [as a thought], and was manifested [(Gk.) phaneroo] to us)".
John 1:1-3, 10-14, "In the beginning was the Word [(Gk.) Logos], and the Word [(Gk.) Logos] was with God [Gk.) theos Supreme Deity—as the sum of His eternal thoughts], and the Word was God [Gk.) theos Supreme Deity]. The same was in the beginning with God [Gk.) theos Supreme Deity—as the sum of His eternal thoughts]. All things were made by Him; and without Him nothing was made that was made . . . He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But to as many as received Him, He gave power [Gk.) exousia, authority] to become the Sons of God [Gk.) theos Supreme Deity, re-born by faith in "the present Truth" for their day into the NEW CREATION of God-men], even to them that believe on His Name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh [sexual desire], nor of the will of man, but of God [who's will is His revealed Word]. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth".
I Timothy 3:16, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God [Gk.) theos Supreme Deity] was manifest [(Gk.) phaneroo] in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." The Son, the Man, was not eternal but begotten. John 3:16 says, "He is the only begotten Son".
The greatest revelation is the Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the ONE Person of God manifest in flesh. The Bible is the story of God unfolding Himself or changing His form from the Holy Spirit ALONE with His eternal thoughts to their manifestation of in the flesh of His glorified Family as we have quoted from the Hebrew, Greek and English. John 1:18, "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" [(Heb.) exegeomai—unfolding His character and nature in virgin-born flesh]. Please review The Creation of God and His One Eternal Purpose.
Now there cannot be an eternal Father because father is the title or office of one who has begotten, and until His first Son Adam was formed and "became a living soul" on the seventh day God was only potentially a father (Genesis 2:7; Luke 3:38). Likewise there cannot be as eternal sonship, the Logos was God's Son. There is eternal godhood or godhead, but not an eternal sonship because a son is begotten, therefore he has a beginning. When God appeared to Abraham in Genesis 14 "He was without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days nor end of life" (Hebrews 7:3). As the Man Jesus He had "as was supposed" both father and mother being born of the virgin Mary in about 4BC; so He had a time He began, and a time that died, and now He is alive evermore.
So who was Jesus' Father? Matthew 1:18, 20, "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Ghost . . . the Angel of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream, saying, fear not to take Mary as your wife: for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Ghost".
The Judaeo-Roman church and her (once) Protestant harlot daughters teach that 'God the Father' was His Father! Well, if 'God the Holy Spirit' and 'God the Father' are two persons, Jesus has two fathers and He is illegitimate and disqualified from being the Saviour. The fact is, as Jesus explained to the elect Samaritan prostitute at the well, "God is one Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth" (John 4:24).
God is one Spirit; He is not two spirits and one Man. The Devil is one spirit, I, my soul, is one spirit, as is each and every human being; God is the "Holy Spirit." Holy Spirit is WHAT God is and forever will be. "Father" is a Title or office He received when His first son, Adam was formed (Luke 3:38). "Son" is a Title or office He received when Mary gave birth to the Word delivered by the Angel Gabriel. Baby Jesus was "the beginning or the creation of God [Himself]" as part of creation, the first God-man in the new creation of God-men (Revelation 3:14). Jesus was not the beginning of God's creation, which was the universe, mountains, rivers and trees.
Matthew 28:18-20, "Jesus spoke to His disciples on the Mount of Olives just before His assumption, saying, ALL power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth." Then where is this big Fellow God? There cannot be two ALL-Mighties. "Because ALL power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you all the days, even to the end of the age." Jesus Messiah, the ALL-Mighty, was and is the Holy Ghost manifest in flesh who will be with and in His saints to the consummation.
Ephesians 2:20, "The Body of Christ is built upon the foundation of the [unchanging faith] of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." And every revelation must be established by two or three witnesses of the Scripture, but as you search the Scriptures and you will not a single instance where even one person was baptized in the Titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Now Luke accompanied Jesus on the Mount of Olives along with the other disciples (Luke 24:47-53; Acts 1:1-13). In his record of the Great Commission Jesus said, "That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you: but you are to remain in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high." Now Jesus' Name is not "Father, Son," and/or "Holy Ghost".
Before Jesus led Peter, James and John up upon Mount Transfiguration He told Peter His Church would NOT be built on the scholarship of "flesh and blood" but on the Rock of Spiritual revelation from Above, and promised Peter that he would give him the keys of revelation from Above to unlock His Kingdom. The apostle Peter was also on the Mount of Olives when Jesus "was taken up into heaven" (Acts 1:1-13), and after the inauguration of the Church it was Peter who led the saints from the upper room and declared "let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ".
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do [to be saved, we've murdered our Messiah]?"
"Then Peter said to them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you [Israelites], and to your children [Israelites], and to all that are afar off [Gentiles], even as many as the Lord our God shall call [both Israelites and Gentiles]. And with many other words he solemnly testified and exhorted them, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized: and that day there were added about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:1-41).
It was Peter whose ministry unlocked the Kingdom to the Samaritans, "they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 8:14-17), and it was Peter who turned the Keys of faith to unlock the Kingdom to Gentiles in the house of Cornelius "and commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord" (Acts 10:34-48).
The sole prescription for the remission of past sins—that is unbelief in the revealed Word of God—is obedience to Peter's revelation, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost".
If you are not baptized in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ you are not "baptized in the NAME (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" as Jesus commanded.
Scriptural Water Baptism according to recorded History:
If you have any false ideas that history can prove water baptism otherwise than in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I advise you to read the histories and find out for yourself. The following is a true record of a baptism which took place in Rome AD100 and was reproduced in TIME Magazine, December 5, 1955. "The deacon raised his hand, and Publius Decius stepped through the baptistery door. Standing waist-deep in the pool was Marcus Vasca the woodseller. He was smiling as Publius waded into the pool beside him. 'Credis?' he asked. 'Credo,' responded Publius. 'I believe that my salvation comes from Jesus the Christ, Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate. With Him I died that with Him I may have Eternal Life.' Then he felt strong arms supporting him as he let himself fall backward into the pool, and heard Marcus' voice in his ear—'I baptize you in the Name of the Lord Jesus'—as the cold water closed over him".
Right up until the truth was lost (and did not return until this last age—that is from the First Nicaea Council in AD325 where the Judaeo-Roman Universal church organized under pagan Emperor Constantine and "Them which say they are Judeans, and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan" (Revelation 2:9) till the turn of the 20th Century) they baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. But it has come back. Satan can't keep the revelation down when the Spirit wants to give it.
Yes, if there were three Gods, you might very well baptize for a Father, and a Son, and a Holy Ghost. But the revelation given to Peter was that there is one God and His Name is Lord Jesus Christ, and you baptize for one God and only one. That is why Peter baptized the way he did at Pentecost. He had to be true to the revelation which was, "Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God has made that same Jesus, Whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ." There He is, "The Lord Jesus Christ".
If Jesus is both Lord and Christ, then He (Jesus) is, and cannot be else but "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" in one Person manifested in the flesh. It is not "God in three persons, blessed trinity," but One God, one Person with three major Titles, with three offices manifesting those Titles. Hear it once more. This same Jesus is "both Lord and Christ." Lord (Father) and Christ (Holy Spirit) are Jesus, for He (Jesus) is both of them (Lord and Christ).
"The triune and trinity formula was not uniformly used from the beginning, and up until the third Century, baptism in the Name of Christ only was so widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to St. Cyprian, said that baptism in the Name of Christ was valid. But Catholic missionaries, by omitting one or more persons of the Trinity when they were baptized, were anathematized by the Roman Church. Now the formula of Rome is "I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition., Vol. 3, p. 365-366).
"Everywhere in the oldest sources, it states that Baptism took place in the Name of Jesus Christ" (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Vol. 3. p. 82).
"Whoever has received this sacrament bares indelible to all eternity the mark of Christ" (Ibid, Vol. 3, p. 84).
"The early church always baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus until the development of the Trinity doctrine in the 3rd Century; afterward they were baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" (Canney Encyclopedia of Religion, p. 53).
"Persons were baptized at first in the Name of Jesus Christ, or 'in the Name of the Lord Jesus.' Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, they were baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
"It must be acknowledged that the formula of the threefold name does not appear to have been employed by the primitive Church, which, so far as our information goes, baptized 'in' or 'into' the name of Jesus, or Jesus Christ (or the Lord Jesus), without reference to the Father or the Spirit" (Canney Encyclopedia of Religions, p. 53).
"The true doctrine of the sacrament of baptism is not taught by the Roman Church. Baptism given by heretics in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost with the intention of performing what the Church performs, is not true baptism" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 259).
"Catholics acknowledged that Baptism was changed by the Catholic Church" (Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 263).
The New Catholic Encyclopaedia on page 59 states that until the 11th Century, baptism throughout Christendom was by immersion according to Acts 2:38 and elsewhere in the Bible, and that it was not until after AD325 that sprinkling in three Titles was practiced.
"The original form of words were into the Name of Jesus Christ, or Lord Jesus. Baptism into the Trinity was a later development" (Dictionary of the Bible by Scripture, Vol, 1, p. 241).
"Christian Baptism was administered using the words "in the Name of Jesus." The use of a Trinity formula of any sort was not suggested in the early Church history. Baptism was always in the Name of the Lord Jesus until the time of Justin Martyr when Triune Formula was used" (Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion, Vol. 2, p. 377-378, 389).
"Name was an ancient synonym for "Person" (Numbers 1:18; Acts 1:15). Payment was always made in the name of some person referring to ownership. Therefore one being baptized in Jesus' Name became His personal property. "You are Christ's" (ibid, Vol. 2, p. 377 on Acts 2:38).
"The early Church always baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus until the development of the Trinity. Afterward they were baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, p. 83).
It has been customary to trace the institution of the practice to the words of Christ in Matthew 28:19, but the authenticity of this passage has been challenged on historical as well as textural grounds. It must be acknowledged that the formula of the threefold name, which is here enjoined, does not appear to have been used by the primitive church, which so far as our information goes, baptized "in" or "into" the Name of Jesus, or Jesus Christ, or the Lord Jesus, without any reference to the Father or the Spirit" (Ibid, p. 88).
"The original form of words were into the Name of Jesus Christ or Lord Jesus. Baptism into the trinity was a later development" (Scribners Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 241).
"The term "Trinity" was originated by Tertullian [c—AD160-220], a Roman Catholic Church Father" (New International Encyclopedia. Vol. 22, p. 477).
"The term Trinity was used by Theophilus of Antioch in AD180" (Encyclopedia America, International Edit. Vol. 27, p. 116).
The Trinity doctrine of the Catholic church is this:
"We worship one in trinity, but there is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. The glory equal—the majesty co-eternal." The doctrine is not found in its fully developed form in the Scriptures. Modern theology does not seek to find it in the Old Testament. At the time of the Reformation, the Protestant Church took over the doctrine of the Trinity without serious examination" (New International Encyclopedia, Vol. 22, p. 476).
"The doctrine of the Trinity did not form part of the Apostles' preachings, as this is reported in the New Testament" (International Encyclopedia, 1st Edit. Vol. 18, p. 226).
"No record of the Trinitarian formula can be discovered in the Acts of the Apostles" (New International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 396).
"The Catholics made this statement concerning their doctrine of the Trinity to defend the dogma of the assumption of Mary in an article by Graham Green: 'Our opponents sometimes claim that no belief should be held dogmatically which is not explicitly stated in the Scripture but the Protestant churches have themselves accepted such dogma as the Trinity for which there is no conformity in the Gospels'" (Life Magazine, October 30, 1950, Vol. 29, No. 18, p. 51).
Scriptural Water Baptism according to Church Leaders:
Martin Luther, "Baptism is a Greek word and may be translated 'Immerse.' I would have those who are to be baptized, to be altogether dipped".
John Calvin, "The word 'baptize' signifies to immerse. It is certain that immersion . . . was the practice of the Primitive Church".
John Wesley, "The Bible term, 'Buried with Him by baptism' alludes to the ancient manner of baptizing by immersion".
Wall, "Immersion was in all probability the way in which our blessed Saviour, and for certain, the way in which all early Christians were baptized".
Brenner, "For the first thirteen hundred years, baptism was an immersion of the person under water".
Stoudza, "The verb 'baptize' has only one meaning. It signifies to plunge. Baptism and immersion are identical. To say baptism by sprinkling would be to say immersion by sprinkling".
Jeremiah, "The ancients did not sprinkle the candidate, but immersed him".
Whitfield, "It is certain that the word 'buried' in the text, Romans 6:4, alludes to the matter of baptizing by immersion".
The True Oneness of the Godhead:
God revealed His Attributes in the Old Testament which would later identify Him in Messiah:
Jehovah-Jireh - the Lord our Provider (Genesis 22:14; Matthew 14:15-21).
Jehovah-Rapha - the Lord our Healer (Exodus 15:26; Matthew 4:23).
Jehovah-Nissi - the Lord our Banner (Exodus 17:8-15; Revelation 19:11-16).
Jehovah-Shalom - the Lord our Peace (Judges 6:22-24; Luke 19:38).
Jehovah-Raah - the Lord my Shepherd (Numbers 27:17; Matthew 26:31).
Jehovah-Tsidkenu - the Lord our Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; Romans 10:4).
Jehovah-Shammah - the Lord is Present (Ezekiel 48:35; Revelation 21:3).
Jehovah-Saviour - the Lord Jesus Christ, Kinsman Redeemer for Adam and his race (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7; Matthew 1:21-23).Jehovah of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New. None of the Old Testament saints at any time implied a trinity from these Titles.
"Jehovah," means "the Self-existent One," not two or three. This one Lord of the Old Testament Who was many things to His people finally became our Saviour, manifesting all of these Attributes in "Jesus," Whose Name means "The Self-existent Saviour." "You shall call His Name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21 and Isaiah 45:15, 21). The great Jehovah became our Saviour, and all God's fullness dwelleth in Him.
In the Old Testament, a new revelation on the Name of God or a different appearance (as in the burning bush) did not mean another God, but merely the One God revealing Himself to man. What better way could there have been for God to reveal His true nature and love for man than to prepare Himself a "body of flesh" to dwell among men (Hebrews 1:1-3).
Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King, Son of man, Son of God, Son of David, and Son of Abraham, not three persons or gods, but three distinct Offices reflecting dispensation claims at different times from His birth to the Millennium. We believe in three—Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—manifestations or dispensation claims of One God (Isaiah 41:4; Revelation 1:8, 17-18).
Trinitarianism is Unscriptural Babylonian Paganism; the Mark of the Beast that will be forced in the Tribulation (as in the Dark Ages):
Small wonder Trinitarianism leads to Confusion. "The chief and fundamental difference between Judaism and Christianity is that the former is committed to pure and uncompromising monotheism and the latter subscribes to the belief in the trinitarian nature of the divine Being—to the unconditional monotheism of Judaism the doctrine of the Trinity is profoundly objectionable, because it is a concession to polytheism or, at any rate, an adulteration of the idea of the one, unique, indefinable, and indivisible God."
"The revolutionary feat of early mosaicism was the complete break with the cults of the many deities and the unconditional and unreserved espousal of the only God. God is one as a unity of oneness that cannot be divided" (Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, Judaism and Christianity: the Differences; Jonathon David Publishers, 1943, p. 15).
(That author is mistaken, Christianity does not believe in the "trinitarian nature of the divine Being," and Judaism is Pharisaic so it does not follow Moses and the prophets but the Talmud and the Kabbala. As such it is pantheistic rather than "uncompromisingly monotheistic." Jesus Messiah was "Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" Matthew 1:23).
"The word Elohim is one of the more general words for God and is plural in form. This is what is usually known as the plural of 'majesty or eminence', or the plural of 'fullness or greatness'." It is not uncommon in the East to use the plural to express the idea of the singular in an intensified form. The singular of Elohim means strength, power, or might, and the plural is simply an intensifying of the singular meaning. There is no idea of making God more than one by the use of the plural form Elohim" (Ralph E. Knudsen, Christian Beliefs, 1947, p. 26).
"By far the most frequent form used by Old Testament writers is the plural Elohim, but they use it regularly with singular verbs and adjectives to denote a singular idea" (The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, p. 1254).
"The plural form of Elohim has given rise to much discussion. The fanciful idea that it referred to the Trinity of persons in the Godhead hardly finds now a supporter among scholars. It is either what grammarians call the plural of majesty, or it denotes the 'fullness of divine strength, the sum of the powers displayed by God'." Colossians 2:9-10 states, "For in Him (Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power" (Dr. William Smith, Dictionary of the Bible, p. 216).
"In this very ancient (Syriac Peschito) Version which is believed by good authorities (Gwilliam, Boners, and others) to represent a text much older than that of the Greek manuscript from which our English New Testament was largely derived, 'the Name of the Lord Jesus Messiah or Christ' appears in all four readings given." Acts 2:38; 8:16, 10:48, 19:5. This would indicate that there was a uniform mode of baptism in the early church, namely the Lord Jesus Christ (William Phillips Hall, A Remarkable Discovery, p. 70).
The Uniqueness of the Son of God:
Comprehension of the godhead can only be attained when one realizes the uniqueness of the marvellous Personage depicted in the Gospels as the Son of God. The Trinitarians have succeeded in convincing much of the world that the Son of God is an eternal second person of the Godhead. This Sonship, however, was neither eternal nor does it refer to a second Person. In simple terms, the Son of God is the expression used to describe the vessel that God ordained to manifest Himself in. To repeat: The term used to describe this Man, or shall it be said this flesh that God dwelt in, is the Son of God. Whenever and wherever you find the expression, "Son of God," it is speaking of the Man, Jesus Christ.
This marvellous creation was as much man as He was God. He was a Divine fusion of Deity and humanity. Through Him, God was made flesh and became a Kinsmen Redeemer. No revelation is more fundamental to the understanding of the Godhead, the Mediatorship of Jesus Christ and even our position as redeemed sons and daughters of God.
Where and when did this Son of God come into existence? Notice the Words of Paul to the Galatians as he describes this Son of sons: "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman" (Galatians 4:4). Thus the Son of God was made of a woman just 2,021 years ago. Don't fail to see His humanity.
In Luke 1:35 when the angel came to Mary with the announcement of the miraculous birth she was soon to have, He described the Son in a most revealing way: ". . . therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God."
Who then was this Son of God? The angel said that He was that holy thing which was soon to be born to a virgin named Mary. That baby, that flesh, that man-child, was called the Son of God.
The Son of God is never mentioned in the Old Testament except in a prophetic sense. He is never mentioned because He did not exist except in the mind of God as One who was to come. No Scripture speaks of an eternal son; the begotten son is familiar to all. In John 14:10, Jesus clearly explains who He is, "Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The Words that I speak to you I speak not of Myself: but the Father who dwells in Me, He does the works." What could be clearer or more directly stated. Our Father, condescended and revealed Himself in His Son, a man born of a virgin. A God and a man. A God-man. Jesus said, "He that has seen Me has seen the Father." To see the Son is to see the Father. To know the Father is to know the Son.
The Bible is the story of the eternal Spirit unfolding Himself (His thoughts) through the Word to the Flesh of His Family. So when God says "us" He is speaking of Himself and the Logos or Word, which is the expression of His eternal thoughts. Understand this marvellous concept and the mystery of the Godhead becomes wonderfully clear (Genesis 1:26-28; John 1:1-3,14).
Jesus said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last" (Revelation 22:13). He is "the Beginning of the creation of God," the Word made flesh, the first God-man just 2,000 years ago (Colossians 1:18; Revelation 3:14), and the end or last of the creation of God is the fullness of Christ reproduced in the New Testament saints who will be vindicated in the manifestation of the Sons of God and the translation during the first resurrection.
"No man can say that Jesus is the Christ but by the revelation of the Holy Ghost" (I Corinthians 12:3).
The warnings and promises of Leviticus 26 like the blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience in Deuteronomy 27-30 show "the goodness and severity of God: on Israel which fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness: otherwise you also shall be cut off" (Romans 11:22). Only the other day a Brother said to me, I believe Israel's "eye for an eye, and a life for a life" is barbaric, but this remains God's unchanging Law. Where there is sin there must be restitution. If a chicken is killed or one hundred dollars is stolen, that fowl or money must be replaced with an identical substitute chicken or hundred dollars. This is justice and plain common sense, or would be if the missing chicken or money was your own.
So when Eve brought death into the world as the consequence of her sin, and sin is unbelief in the revealed Word of God which was instructing the pair to partake of faith in God's Word manifest as the Tree of Life, not intellectual wisdom from Lucifer manifest as the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil; that life could only be restored if an identical innocent and acceptable life was substituted as restitution in its stead. Thus we have the Law of the Kinsman Redeemer. The only acceptable life that could substitute for the stolen chicken was another identical bird. A canary or an eagle would be unacceptable. And the only acceptable substitute life for Adam's race was the Life of another sinless son of God. God never changes His mind, and His Word is His mind expressed. Today He requires "an eye for an eye and a life for a life." Either we die to our own life and its worldly desires to receive Christ's Life in us by faith, or surrender our soul to Satan and lose our life.
"Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My Words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also will the Son of man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels".
In the Spirit John was translated into Lord's day and he heard the Voice of the Lord Jesus as a trumpet announcing His second or (Gk.) 'parousia' Coming saying, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last [not a second or third person, but the only Person]. I am both Alpha and Omega, [before I reveal myself as the mystery of God, I want to let you know who I am]!" (Revelation 1:10-20).
The greatest of all revelations is the Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. You can't get to first base until you believe that. That's what Peter said, "Repent of your previous ignorance and unbelief, then see the Deity and be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, and then you're ready to enter into the Spirit." The first thing you have to know is the Deity of Christ. "I am Alpha and Omega! I am from A to Z, there's no more but Me. I was at the beginning, I'll be at the end. I'm He that was, which is, and shall come, the Almighty." Think of it! That's what the trumpet said.
The first of all revelations is the Supreme Deity of Jesus Christ. You must know who He is when you hear the Voice. The same Voice that sounded on Mount Sinai, the same Voice that sounded on Mount Transfiguration, the same, "One like the Son of man" Daniel 7:13; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62; I Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 4:1; 10:3-6, 8-11; 18:4. nl979.htm
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Brother Grigor-Scott is a non-denominational minister who has ministered full-time since 1981, primarily to other ministers and their congregations overseas. He pastors Bible Believers' tiny congregation, and is available to teach in your church.
Bible Believers' Church
Gunnedah NSW
Australia 2380e-mail e-mail Bible Believers
URL Bible Believers' Website
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