While attending a funeral service for a relative I had the opportunity to listen to a different pastor. Mind you this was in another state and he was from a church that I am not too familiar with. But here you go...
the funeral was for a man who, as far as we know, only God knows for sure, was not saved. He did not attend church and the fruit of salvation was not clearly seen. I did not personally know the man. The problem comes from the pastor doing the service.
He did not know the man either. He even admitted that he did not know him well. He said that over the past 20 years or so, he had seen him maybe about 15 times in the local stores and gas stations and such. The pastor in question is a man in his mid to late 60's and been in the ministry for probably about 30 years.
Tell me what you think of this pastor.
He mentioned the name of Jesus only ONE TIME during the whole service and that was at the very end when he said a prayer "in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
He read two scriptures but spent the majority of his time talking about this man's fishing exploits.
He told the people in attendance, that no matter who they pray to, to their own gods, that he promised them that this man was in a better place.
No gospel presentation was made. He did not want to offend anyone. The gospel can be presented in a loving way but he chose not to do that. He told them that they could pray to their gods, plural, gods and then to top it off he PROMISED them that he was in a better place. The man was not saved, not a church attending man, no fruit present in him and yet the pastor PROMISED them that he was in a better place.
This might sound blunt, but HELL is NOT A BETTER PLACE!
And even stranger than all of this is to hear "christians" listening to the pastor and leaning over to tell others that the pastor did a wonderful job on the service.
WHERE IS THE DISCERNMENT PEOPLE? DOESN'T ANYONE CARE WHAT PASTORS ARE SAYING ANYMORE? DOESN'T ANYONE WANT TO STAND UP FOR JESUS ANYMORE OR ARE WE JUST TOO SIMPLE MINDED THAT WE DON'T CARE WHAT THEY SAY?
BY ALL ACCOUNTS, THIS PASTOR HAS TO QUALIFY AS ONE OF THE WORST PASTOR'S I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF LISTENING TO. HE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY GOD FOR HIS LACK OF TEACHING.
IF GODLY MEN DO NOTHING THEN SATAN WILL HAVE FULL REIGN, EVEN IN THE CHURCHES!
COME LORD JESUS, COME!
The title of my blog is Time 2 Change Churches. It is about bringing our churches "back" to biblical preaching and teaching. It is about seeing our church from a biblical perspective. Is your church teaching obedience to God's Word? Holiness? Reverence? Righteousness? Are you taught that it is necessary to be born-again? Where does repentance fit in with your walk with Christ? Do you evangelize? Or is your church just teaching you a new joke or two each week? PLEASE PASS THIS BLOG ON!
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
When is it time to change churches? The Teachings of Alexandria or Antioch, What's the difference?
THE TEACHINGS…
OF ALEXANDRIA OR ANTIOCH
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Or, another way of classifying this
chapter would be to call it “The Teachings of the NIV (and other perverted
versions) vs. KJV. What’s the
Difference?”
Take a look at Scripture for your answer.
And the word of the Lord was
published throughout all the region.
Acts 13:49
Shortly after Jesus ascended up to heaven,
while the apostles were out spreading the gospel message we come to this
verse.
“…the word of the Lord was
published throughout all the region.”
What
region is being spoken of here? This is
very important so please do not miss this point. Let nothing distract you from reading God’s
Word in context. This will help to open
your eyes, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to see the errors of following after
Balaam, so to speak.
Now there were in the church that was
at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was
called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered
to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for
the work whereunto I have called them.
And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid [their] hands on them,
they sent [them] away. So they, being
sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they
sailed to Cyprus. Acts 13:1-4
Start with Acts 13:1. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch…
Take hold of this city. Understand the city, the region and the home
base attitude of the Apostles. Antioch
was located about 300 miles north of Jerusalem not too far from the Great Sea
(The Mediterranean Sea).
And when they had fasted and prayed,
and laid [their] hands on them, they sent [them] away.
As a home base for Christians, it was here
that Barnabas and Saul (Paul) were sent out.
Now, look at where they went out to.
So they, being sent forth by the Holy
Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.
The first place, Seleucia, was only a handful
of miles southwest of Antioch, right on the edge of the Great Sea. From there, they sailed to the Isle of Cyprus
immediately west and a little south of Seleucia. As they landed at Cyprus, they came upon
Salamis and then Paphos.
And when they were at Salamis, they
preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John
to [their] minister. And when they had
gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false
prophet, a Jew, whose name [was] Barjesus:
Acts 13:5-6
Skip ahead a few verses…
Now when Paul and his company loosed
from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them
returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch
in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. Acts
13:13-14
After leaving the Isle of Cyprus, they
headed north up to Perga of Pamphylia, from there they went even further north
and stopped at Antioch of Pisidian (this is not the same city as Antioch of
Syria).
But the Jews stirred up the devout
and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution
against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they
shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. Acts 13:50-51
From Antioch of Pisidian, they then went
into Iconium which is located a little bit south east of Antioch. It was in this area that the word of the Lord
was published throughout all the region.
The word of God was spread throughout all the region. The region being shown is the area east and
north east of Antioch of Syria.
Now, the above
map shows the Apostle Paul’s first missionary trip. Look at the following map of his second
missionary trip.
As you have
viewed his first two missionary trips, can you see how there is something in
common? Antioch is found in both
maps. Right? Now look at this next map of his third
missionary trip.
Again, you can see that Antioch is an
important part of his journeys. This is
the point of where the word of God was published throughout all the
region. This is the place where the KJV
Bible gets its manuscripts from. The
other versions, the NIV, ESV, NKJV, NASB and all of the others do not come from
this region. Guess where they come
from? Alexandria. Where is that and why is that
significant? Look at the map below.
Notice all of the areas that Paul and
Barnabas preached at. None of those
places were near Alexandria. Out of the
manuscripts that have been found, there are only two locations that we receive
the majority of our text from. The Majority text originates from Antioch,
Syria while the Minority text originates from Alexandria, Egypt. The Majority text includes roughly 99% of the
more than 5000+ manuscripts that are around today. These are the ones used by the King James
Bible and they have a high degree of agreement with each other. The Minority text includes the remaining 1%
of manuscripts that are available to us today. There is a very high level of
disagreement between each of these manuscripts and it is no surprise that these
are the manuscripts that Westcott and Hort decided to use when authoring the
NIV Bible. In fact, these manuscripts
disagree with each other at such a high degree that there are over 3000
disagreements within the four gospels alone.
The two Alexandrian manuscripts that the NIV draws from are the
Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus, which differ so much that it is hard to put the
two together. Look at how many
differences there are between the two.
Matthew 656+
Mark 567+
Luke 791+
John 1022+
Total 3036 differences between Sinaiticus and
Vaticanus.
Not very reliable is it?
Modern translators have divided the Majority
and Minority text into four groups.
Alexandrian
Western
Caesarean
Byzantine
The first three are from the Minority Text
while the last one is from the Majority Text.
Even though, they have broken it all down into four categories, it
doesn’t change the fact that there are still only two originals – the Majority
and the Minority manuscripts. The
Byzantine is also known as the Textus Receptus (the “received text”, in
Latin).
In the interpretation of scripture, there
are four rules that must be used to properly divide the word of truth.
1. Discover the author, the people addressed and the life and times of the
people involved in a given case.
2. Discover the facts and truths presented in a given passage and note the
exact wording of the text.
3. The golden rule of interpretation – when the plain sense of scripture
makes common sense, seek no other sense.
4. The law of first mention which states “The law of first mention may be said to be
the principle that requires one to go to that portion of the Scriptures
where a doctrine is mentioned for the first time and to study the first
occurrence of the same in order to get the fundamental inherent meaning of that
doctrine. When we thus see the first appearance, which is usually in the
simplest form, we can then examine the doctrine in other portions of the Word
that were given later. We shall see that the fundamental concept in the first
occurrence remains dominant as a rule, and colors all later additions to that
doctrine.”
With this being stated, take a look at
what Scripture tells us about Antioch and Alexandria. First, take a look at the land of Egypt.
Egypt
And there was a famine in the land:
and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine [was] grievous
in the land. And it came to pass, when
he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife, Behold
now, I know that thou [art] a fair woman to look upon: Therefore it shall come to pass, when the
Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say, This [is] his wife: and they
will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Genesis 12:10-12 (first mention – negative)
This is the place where they will take the
wife and then will kill the husband.
Therefore they did set over them
taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh
treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. But
the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were
grieved because of the children of Israel.
And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: And they made their lives bitter with hard
bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field:
all their service, wherein they made them serve, [was] with rigour. Exodus 1:11-14 (negative)
This is the place where they will make you
into slaves.
I [am] the LORD thy God, which have
brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Exodus 20:2
(negative)
God Himself calls Egypt the “house of
bondage.”
But the LORD hath taken you, and
brought you forth out of the iron furnace, [even] out of Egypt, to be unto him
a people of inheritance, as [ye are] this day.
Deuteronomy 4:20 (negative)
This is the place that Moses called “the
iron furnace.”
But he shall not multiply horses to
himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should
multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth
return no more that way. Deuteronomy
17:16 (negative)
God commands his people, that their king
shall not buy horses from Egypt, in fact, they are not to return no more that
way.
And their dead bodies [shall lie] in
the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:8 (negative)
It is a place that God uses to denounce
the city in which the two witnesses are murdered.
And was there until the death of
Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
Matt 2:15 (negative)
God called his Son out of Egypt!
Not looking good for Egypt is it? People will defend their rights to stay with
the NIV Bible and the other perverse translations just because they feel it is
easier to understand. No discernment
whatsoever. Now, this is showing God’s
view of Egypt. Take a look at what God
says about Alexandria.
Alexandria
Then there arose certain of the
synagogue, which is called [the synagogue] of the Libertines, and Cyrenians,
and Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with
Stephen. Acts 6:9 (first mention – negative)
This is a place
where they disputed with and killed the first Christian martyr, Stephen.
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born
at Alexandria, an eloquent man, [and] mighty in the scriptures, came to
Ephesus. Acts 18:24 (negative)
At first sight, this might look like a
positive. It is important to remember
the “first mention” rule. Upon deeper
study, it is seen that even though Apollos was an eloquent man and mighty in
scriptures, it wasn’t until he met up with Aquila and Priscilla, that he was
taught properly in the Lord. This man
was instructed in the way of the Lord but only knew the baptism of John. Aquila and Priscilla expounded unto him the
way of God more perfectly. This is a
place of bad bible instruction.
And there the centurion found a ship
of Alexandria sailing into Italy; and he put us therein. Acts 27:6 (negative)
It was a ship from Alexandria that took
the Apostle Paul to Rome to be executed.
And after three months we departed in
a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and
Pollux. Acts 28:11 (negative)
Again, it was a ship from Alexandria that
took Paul. He had survived a shipwreck
and a snake bite only to be taken again by a ship from Alexandria.
God emphasizes that Alexandria is of death
and bondage.
Alexandria was the second largest city of
the Roman Empire, with Rome being first.
It was founded by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. which is a type of
Antichrist found in Daniel 8.
Both Egypt and Alexandria are shown in a
negative light in Scripture. This is the
area where the 1% of manuscripts had been found, the Minority Text, the
manuscript that the NIV comes from.
Now, examine how God views Antioch.
Antioch
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out
among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom
we may appoint over this business. But
we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude:
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip,
and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of
Antioch: Acts 6:3-5 (first mention – positive)
Notice how only one hometown is mentioned
in this verse.
This is a place where a
man of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, was chosen.
Is it any coincidence that Acts 6 shows both
Antioch (verse 5) and Alexandria (verse 9) as a contrast? Not surprising in the least.
Then tidings of these things came
unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth
Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted
them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. Acts 11:22-24 (positive)
The grace of God was seen here, as was gladness
of heart to Barnabas, plus, he taught that the people would cleave unto the
Lord. And what happened?
Much people was added unto the Lord!
Notice what happens next in Acts 11.
Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for
to seek Saul: And when he had found him,
he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they
assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples
were called Christians first in Antioch.
Acts 11:25-26 (positive)
Barnabas sought out Saul and when he found
him, where did he take him? Did he take
him to Jerusalem? No. Did he take him to Alexandria? No. There was absolutely no consideration
whatsoever to taking him to Alexandria.
No. Look at what he did. He took him
to Antioch. They assembled themselves
with the church, and taught much people.
It was in Antioch that the name Christians was first used of followers
of Christ.
Now there were in the church that was
at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was
called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with
Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they
ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas
and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid
[their] hands on them, they sent [them] away.
Acts 13:1-3 (positive)
Antioch is a place where God sends out
missionaries.
If this is where God sent out His missionaries, wouldn't it make sense that the manuscripts used would have been of God as well? The place that God condemns has only 1% of the manuscripts and they do not even agree with each other and yet those are used by the NIV authors. Have you begun to see the
differences between the two cities yet?
Do you see how each city was used differently in the bible? What will you do with this information?