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OH YEAH? WHAT PROMISE?

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PROMISES POSTPONED

promiseBy Ken Blue

“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” John 14:14

Many, in this present dispensation, are confused and puzzled when reading these prayer promises and discovering that they don’t work for them. They are left with a few options. One, they doubt their own faith. Did not the Lord say, “All things are possible to him that believeth.”? Failure to see God answer prayer has led some to doubt the truthfulness of the Scriptures.  Some assume their answer will come, sometime in the distant future.  None of these approaches to the promise are correct.

The problem lies with the readers’ failure to understand the purpose of the Lord’s ministry while He was on earth. There is no thought here of a promise to a body of Jews and Gentiles, comprising the church. The first thing we must realize is that the Lord’s ministry was not about the church of this dispensation of grace. His ministry was to Israel, and it was under the dispensation of the Law.

Another truth one must recognize is that Jesus was speaking to and about His disciples. They were assured assigned places of leadership as judges under the new covenant in the kingdom. “That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Luke 22:30.

Since the kingdom was rejected by the nation along with its miracles, wonders and prayer promises have been postponed until God jump starts His program again with Israel. The twelve disciples will be resurrected and given special places of governorship over the nation. Working together as a body, they are assured of His presence, power, and provision. At that time, they will confer with each other in decision making. Like the choosing of Matthias to replace Judas, they will pray and ask for God’s will to be done, and it will be granted to them. They will ask and they will receive. This is not a prayer promise to the church of this dispensation of Grace.

WHY CHRISTIANS DO NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO HEAL

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To  Heal or not to heal

By Ken Blue

Perhaps nothing has discredited Christianity or deceived more Christians than the “gifts and healing ministry.” These naive and misguided souls believe that the Kingdom ministry, offered to Israel during the transition period, is intended for the church, the body of Christ today.

We live in the dispensation of free grace. The sign ministry was designed to convince unbelieving Israel that Jesus was their Old Testament Messiah. With Israel’s rejection, the signs have been temporally set aside. This is easy to prove from Scripture and experience. When the Lord came to earth, He came to establish His earthly kingdom with the nation of Israel. Signs and wonders were a part of that ministry. However, when it became evident in the Acts period that Israel would not repent, the healing ministry disappeared with them.

Those who believe the miracle sign ministry is still here must be willing to admit that things are as they were in the Gospels and the Acts period. To believe otherwise, would be dishonest and deceitful. We say with assurance and confidence, that no believer has the gifts of healing or any of the miraculous gifts today. If we really believe those gifts are for the church and continue today, it should be easy to prove. Remember, the purpose of signs was to convince the unbelieving Jews that their Messiah had arrived.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]…don’t fall for the healing hoax[/perfectpullquote]

Now let me ask you a few simple questions. If the signs are present today, wouldn’t they be an extension of those in the Gospels and Acts? Let’s see. Do you know any miracle worker who can turn water into wine? Do you know any who can feed thousands of people with a little bread and a few fish? Do you know anyone who was dead three days or more and called back to life by a faith healer? Do you know of one who was retarded and made whole in their mind through one with the gift of healing? Can you give us the name and address of any of the above, to whom we may write?

We hear a lot about those who claim to cast out devils and speak in tongues; but why stop there? Don’t you believe the rest of the verses? “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Mark 16:17-18.

We don’t expect to receive any positive responses to the above. Why? Because no one possesses the miracle ministry gifts today. The above text and others like them were for a different time, people, and purpose. This is the dispensation of Grace, and God’s grace is sufficient for you in your infirmities. So don’t fall for the healing hoax. You don’t have healing authority nor does anyone else.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT/ BIBLICAL OR BIAS

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CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE BIBLE

Firing SquadBy Ken Blue
In the Old Testament the following crimes deserved the death penalty:

  1. Murder (Gen 9:6, Ex 21:12, Numb 35:16-21).
  2. Abuse of father or mother (Ex 21:15).
  3. Speaking a curse over parents (Ex 21:17).
  4. Blasphemy against God (Lev 24:14-16, 23).
  5. Breaking the Sabbath (Ex 31:14, Numb 15:32-36).
  6. Practicing magic (Ex 22:18).
  7. Fortune telling and practicing sorcery (Lev 20:27).
  8. Religious people who mislead others to fall away (Deut 13:1-5, 18:20).
  9. Adultery and fornication (Lev 20:10-12, Deut 22:22).
  10. If a woman has intercourse before marriage (Deut 22:20-21).
  11. If two people have intercourse when one of them is engaged. (Deut 22:23-24).
  12. The daughter of a priest practicing prostitution (Lev 21:9).
  13. Rape of someone who is engaged (Deut 22:25).
  14. Having intercourse with animals (Ex 22:19).
  15. Worshipping idols (Ex 22:20, Lev 20:1-5, Deut 17:2-7).
  16. Incest (Lev 20:11-12, 14, 19-21).
  17. Homosexuality (Lev 20:13).
  18. Kidnapping (Ex 21:16).
  19. To bear false testimony at a trial (Deut 19:16, 19).
  20. Contempt of court (Deut 17:8-13).

Execution could be stoning, burning, using a sword, spear or arrow (Lev 20:27, 21:9, Ex 19:13, 32:27, Num 25:7-8).

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”red” class=”” size=””]…is your opinion about the death penalty biblical or biased?[/perfectpullquote]

I, for one, believe in the death penalty for premeditated murder. It was practiced before the giving of the Law to Moses, under the Law and by the gentile nations during most of the dispensations. Its primary purpose was to show the value God places on human life. Without laws, no society can exist.

However, the question is, when you and I go through the above list, how do we justify selecting some and ignoring others? Has society set the standards for your thinking? Has your church influenced your selection or did you just pull them out of a hat? Would you approve of your son or daughter being executed for contempt of court or for cursing you? If your daughter had premarital sex, would you condemn her to death? I don’t think you would. In fact, if all the above were practiced today; you probably would not be reading this article and I would not be writing it. You know what I mean!

These were the laws for the nation of Israel. Certainly there should be and must be a penalty for all crimes, and God has left it up to other governments to establish what will be considered capital crimes. You must accept that conclusion, set your own standards, or incorporate all the Old Testament laws for capital crimes. So, is your opinion about the death penalty biblical or biased?