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“THE BODY” AND “THE BRIDE.” #4

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IS THE CHURCH THE BRIDE OF CHRIST?

brideBy E. A. Rawlence.   (Note: The original article has been edited because of its length. However, the argument and purpose of the author is clear. We do not necessarily condone all the writer says, but it seems to be the best answer to age old question. The publishing of this article does not imply that we agree with any departure from the KJV, should the author do so.)

Now, the “former rain” caused the grain to start its growth, corresponding with the outpouring of the Spirit on the nation at Pentecost, as we have seen, and as Peter was quick to note. The “latter rain” caused the ears to fill and mature for the harvest. So will Israel’s final testimony, when Joel’s prophecy will be fulfilled, cause “the harvest of earth” to ripen (Rev. 14.  15).

Out of this godly remnant we have to seek a company that will answer to the Bride, whilst the residue will answer to the bond-servants who went forth with the message, and the guests will be their Gentile converts. Such a company we find in Revelation 14:4, in the 144,000 which were redeemed from the earth. “These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb.”   The term, “they are virgins,” is no doubt not literal, but spiritual, indicating that they have not been guilty of spiritual whoredom, and have never given allegiance to the Antichrist. This seems clearly indicated verse 5. Whereas we are expressly told that on mankind “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thess. 2. 11). The whole relations, as described between these sealed ones and the Lamb are such as would alone answer to the position of husband and wife.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The term, “they are virgins,” is no doubt not literal, but spiritual, indicating that they have not been guilty of spiritual whoredom, and have never given allegiance to the Antichrist.[/perfectpullquote]

I believe those 144,000 are to be identified with the man-child in Rev. 12, as the travailing woman is obviously Israel under her final great trouble, corresponding to the prophecy in Isa. 66:7, 8, “Before she travailed, she brought forth ; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man-child.”  “Who hath heard such a thing ? Who hath seen such things ? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day ? or shall a nation be born at once ? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.”   And it is whilst the nation is in this wilderness condition that the re-marriage is to take  place. “Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. “And I will give her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope : and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.  “And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt call me ISHI, i.e., my Husband; and shalt call me no more Baali (i.e., My Lord). “For I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name.” Hos. 2:14-17.  

We have yet to ascertain the time of the marriage. This is placed almost beyond dispute from Rev. 19, which clearly shows that it is practically the last event that takes place before the apocalypse of Jesus Christ as “the King of Kings and Lord of lords,” to usher in the Millennium. From this it is clear that if the Bride be the Church, the Church must then go through the whole of tribulation except the final act.  

In conclusion I trust I have shown that there are many difficulties in the way of the Church being the Bride, although on the other hand there are no doubt passages which may seem to indicate that they are the same Bodies, but these are not absolute statements of identity, as in Rev.21. 9. They are only illustrations or comparisons, and are, I believe, open to a reasonable interpretation of the lines which I have indicated, whilst, if I have rightly divided the Word, I venture to think that such an interpretation clears many doubtful points, and opens the way to better understanding of God’s dispensational dealings.

THE BODY AND THE BRIDE. #1

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Understanding the Body and Bride of Christ

new jerusalem

By E. A. Rawlence.

(Note: The original article has been edited because of its length. However, the argument and purpose of the author is clear. We do not necessarily condone all  the writer says, but it seems to be the best answer to an age old question. The publishing of this article does not imply that we agree with any departure from the KJV, should the author do so.)

The words “body” and “bride” are figurative of one and the same, or two different spiritual groups. I believe practicing right divisions will solve the problem. An understanding between Israel, the gentiles, and the church of God will, hopefully, clear up the matter.

God created the nation of Israel to be the custodians of the Truth, and the means through which He would establish His kingdom from heaven upon the earth. He would do this through Jesus Christ. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6-7. Daniel explains it like this…  “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.” Daniel 2:44-45. This kingdom of heaven will be set up on earth, and will never be destroyed.  John the Baptist and Jesus preached that that kingdom was at hand.”

The Pharisees saw this as a threat to their control and position, and they sought to kill Him.

After Matthew 13, most of our Lord’s public preaching was in parables. His stated purpose for this was to hide from the religious leaders the mysteries of the kingdom. However, He would explain their meaning to His disciples. It is abundantly clear from Matt. 12 that the kingdom He spoke of was an earthly kingdom. Satan destroyed the original kingdom of heaven on earth, and he would do all within his power to defile the efforts to reestablish it on earth. This is illustrated repeatedly in the eight parables in Matthew 13.  The kingdom in heaven is perfect, and God is in complete control. That is one reason Israel was instructed to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

Although the King and the kingdom were rejected, and He was crucified, the offer was re-offered to the children of Israel after His resurrection. It is noteworthy that the first recorded question in Acts 1:6 is, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” Acts 1:6. Peter preached to Jews only and said, “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities” Three thousand  Jews, out of every nation were converted. God had His band of missionaries, out of every language, prepared to take the gospel of the kingdom to every nation. However, it was not to be so. Wherever they went with the kingdom message, the Jews in leadership opposed it, and murdered the messengers.

Israel was guilty of three great offences: 1. Spiritual whoredom, which led to their divorce as the wife of Jehovah: “And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce ; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also” (Jer. 3:8). “Plead with your mother, plead : for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband : let her, therefore, put away her whoredoms out of her sight, and her adulteries from between her breasts” (Hos. 2:2).

2, They “killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets” (1 Thess. 2:15).

3. “ they persecuted us ; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men : forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sin alway : for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:15, 16).

(Lord willing, we will post part 2 in a few days)

DOES YOUR CHURCH TEACH COMMANDMENTS OF MEN?

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SOME COMMANDMENTS OF MEN REVEALED

commandBy Ken Blue

“6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. 9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” Mark 7:6-9.

A little leaven does leaven the whole. Nowhere is this more evident than in the preaching and teaching of many who assume they are teaching God’s will. Your church may be guilty. If so, you should get back to the Word of God, rightly divided, and get the leaven out.

One of these is the teaching that men who have long sideburns or hair over the collar is against God’s Word. It is not! This is a teaching and commandment of men. Many Christians are judged on these matters and treated as if they are going against God’s commandments. The length of a man’s hair is not a measurement of his love for God.

Another teaching of man is that women must never wear anything but a dress. This is another false doctrine. There is not one thing in the church epistles on how women must dress. These are commandments of men who lay burdens on the backs of believers.

A third doctrine taught by men, is that the only church in the Bride is certain Baptist Churches. This teaching cannot be supported or proven from the Bible. Right division would put the Baptist bride doctrine to bed forever. In fact there is no proof that any church is the bride.

Another false doctrine taught by man is that certain musical instruments are unscriptural, anti-scriptural or that musical instruments are amoral. The issue is how they are used. Most of the brethren are under bondage of this false commandment of men about instruments.

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]We need to do intense self searching to get the leaven out…[/pullquote]

Another false teaching of men is that God never intended for the unsaved to come to church. The teaching is that the only acceptable evangelism is for the church to “go out” and win people to Christ before they are invited to church. This doctrine is false, unscriptural and anti-scriptural. You should get as many lost people to your church as you can, and then preach the gospel to get them saved.

Another false doctrine taught by some is that it is un-scriptural or anti-scriptural to have Powerpoint and prerecorded music in the services. It is not wrong to use any technology that will help your church.

These are just a few of the many “doctrines of men” found in many Baptist churches. We need to do intense self searching to get the leaven out, and to make sure what we are teaching people is in harmony with the right division of God’s Word, and not the commandments and doctrines of men.

HAROLD CAMPING PLAYS THE ACES UP HIS SLEEVE

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Harold Camping Changes Course

In my blog of May 16th titled SNEAKY SNAKE, I told a follower of Camping to keep those aces up his sleeve because he would need to play them after May 21. Well, well, well, can you believe that Mr. Camping just went public and play his. I knew he would.

He said his mistake was that he failed to understand that the date was speaking of a “spiritual” judgment that begin May 21st and that the physical destruction of the earth would take place October 21, 2011. I think I’m going to be sick! This man is shameless. No doubt there are a few more suckers out there he can glean a few $ from before October 21.

Mr. Camping sounds like a comedian I heard some years ago. A man was standing under a light pole on a dark night snapping his fingers. Another man walked up and asks, “What are you doing?” He responded, “I’m keeping the elephants away.” The other man said, “You fool, there isn’t an elephant with a hundred miles of here,” to which the other responded; “I’m doing a pretty go job aren’t I?”

[pullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Ignorance of how to rightly divide the Scriptures leaves you vulnerable to every false teaching.[/pullquote]

You see, Mr. Camping has changed horses on you and “spiritualized” the event to where no one can prove him wrong. That’s how you do it, children. Now you should be able to understand how easy it will be for the Antichrist to deceive the whole world. Ignorance of how to rightly divide the Scriptures leaves you vulnerable to every false teaching. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.” 2 Timothy 2:16-18 .

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GO EASY ON HAROLD CAMPING; YOU MUST BE JOKING!

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IS MR. CAMPING A BROTHER IN CHRIST?

CAMPINGBy   Ken Blue

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” 2 Cor. 11:13-15.

“Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. 25 Behold, I have told you before. 26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not” Matt. 24:23-26.

Some who have written to me have suggested that Mr. Camping is a brother in Christ and that we should overlook his teachings and false prophecies. But I cannot and will not. The damage he has done to the cause of Christ is irreparable.

There are thousands around the world who believed him because he claimed what he believed is taught in the Bible. He has made a laughing stock of Christianity. Those who may have had some interest in Spiritual matters will conclude the Bible is not true.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The damage he has done to the cause of Christ is irreparable.[/perfectpullquote]

Mr. Camping should shut up, close his Bible up, fold his ministry up, and give up all the money he has extorted from others. I expect Mr. Camping to adjust his teaching again to continue his ministry of deception. Some of us know a wolf when we see one, and we know demonic teaching when we hear it. In my opinion, Mr. Camping is both.

My advice is to stop interpreting the Bible from world events, or people who profess to have special insight into the Bible. We need to interpret world events from a correct division and understanding of the Scriptures. You must study it for yourself and learn how to rightly divide it. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. You are commanded to do this… “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” Ephesians 4:14.

No, we will not cut Mr. Camping any slack. He has brought reproach on my Bible, my Savior, my church, and my brothers in Christ. Also, many souls will be lost because of his twisted false teachings.

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