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Sunday, October 31, 2010

Trinity so loved the world

God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son.

Still Trinitarians claim that they believe this... but in actuality they have to read it like this... For the Trinity so loved the world that it gave us a third of themselves.

Or "God the trinity loved the world so much that two of the members pretended to be a father and son, and this pretender father pretended that he gave this pretender son to the world, that if we believe these pretenders we would have eternal life". Imagine we are being told to believe pretenders. My bible calls this a "cunningly devised fable"

That's the Trinitarian gospel. And these trinitarians want us to believe in this God which is in actuality 3 Gods but yet 1 God 3 pretenders, manifestations, liars or whatever other versions of this office of persons is.

I personally like John 3:16 just the way it is. And praise God that we have a true "unity of the faith and knowledge of the son of God"[Eph 4:13]

Ellen White and Godhead.

 Who was the first, second, and third highest being in heaven before the fall?


“The Son of God was next in authority to the great Lawgiver. He knew that His life alone could be sufficient to ransom fallen man.” (Ellen White, Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, page 9, also in Lift Him Up, page 24) 


“Satan’s position in heaven had been next to the Son of God. He was first among the angels.” (Ellen White, Selected Messages, book 1, page 341)


Please note that Christ was next in authority behind his father.  The third highest being was none other than Satan himself. 


“Lucifer in heaven, before his rebellion, was a high and exalted angel, next in honor to God’s dear Son.” {The Story of Redemption, p.15}


“Satan, the chief of the fallen angels, once had an exalted position in Heaven. He was next in honor to Christ.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, February 24, 1874) 


“Speaking of Satan, our Lord says that “he abode not in the truth.” He was once the covering cherub, glorious in beauty and holiness. He was next to Christ in exaltation and character. It was with Satan that self-exaltation had its origin. He became jealous of Christ, and falsely accused him, and then laid blame upon the Father. He was envious of the position that was held by Christ and the Father, and he turned from his allegiance to the Commander of heaven and lost his high and holy estate.” (Ellen White, Review & Herald, October 22, 1895) 


Note:  Christ and the father are the highest beings in heaven.  Satan wanted to be like God.  He wasn’t envious of a Holy Spirit being.  He wanted to be part of a trinity of beings.  He became jealous of the son of God.  Now on this planet he has declared there is a trinity of beings to be worshipped.  When the father and son alone are to be exalted.  He has created a false God.

If the trinity is true

If the trinity is true, Then Christ was a co-eternal being who took the role of the son. While another being pretended to be the son.

"In order to eradicate sin and rebellion from the universe and to restore harmony and peace, one of the divine Beings accepted, and entered into, the role of the Father, another the role of the Son. The remaining divine Being, the Holy Spirit,... By accepting the roles that the plan entailed, the divine Beings lost none of the powers of Deity.... The divine Beings entered into the roles they had agreed upon before the foundations of the world were laid." (The Week of Prayer issue of the Adventist Review, October 31, 1996)

Who gave his son?

If Jesus was not actually God's Son, then what sacrifice did the Father make? Whom did He give? Another God? A friend? A colleague? This does not demonstrate love on the Father's part, but rather selfishness, in sending another, rather than coming Himself! Yet the whole point of John 3:16 is the love of God (the Father)."God so loved the world ..." If we embrace the idea of three Gods in one, or one God in three (the trinity), then which one are we talking about here? All three? Or only the Father? "God so loved ... that He gave His ... Son..." Did the Father give His Son? Did the Holy Spirit give His Son? Did the Son give His Son? These questions are ridiculous, and yet, they need to be asked in order that we may clearly see what the text is saying. God is the Father. It is He who gave His Son. It is He who had a Son to give. The Son is not the God who gave His Son, neither is the Holy Spirit that God. The focus of this text is the love of God; but we must understand that this refers specifically to the Father. It is His love which is being emphasized here. It is He who is God. (1 Cor. 8:6)

Spirit is Presence

"For it is the presence, power, life and character of God and His Son"

Explanation:

HOLY SPIRIT IS PRESENCE OF GOD AND SON

 Psalms 51:11 "Cast me not away from thy PRESENCE; and take not thy holy spirit from me."

Psalms 139:7  "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy PRESENCE?"

Romans 8:9-11  "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the SPIRIT OF GOD DWELL IN YOU. Now if any man have not the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, he is none of his. And if CHRIST BE IN YOU, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the SPIRIT IS LIFE because of righteousness. But if the SPIRIT OF HIM (GOD) that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by HIS SPIRIT that dwelleth in you."

By the Spirit (their presence) is Jesus and God the Father abiding in us. But there is no mention of a third being abiding in us! The Spirit (power, mind, presence) of God is not limited to being stuck with Him. Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:11 "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the SPIRIT OF MAN WHICH IS IN HIM? EVEN SO the things of God knoweth no man, but the SPIRIT OF GOD."<- (no mention of it being limited to being only in GOD) But Paul makes a parallel comparison of both by saying "EVEN SO" or "just like". Paul can make this comparison because he knows that we are made in the image of God.

HOLY SPIRIT IS POWER OF GOD AND SON

Luke 4:14 "And Jesus returned in the POWER OF THE SPIRIT into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about."

Romans 15:19 "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the POWER OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ."

The Roman Catholic Inquisition

E. B. said:
In my bible it says that we are to preach the gospel. It doesn't say that we are to preach our opinions about different churches and the people that go to those churches.

G. C. said:
The Word Cult is'nt in the Bible because Christians back then were in Unity (catholic) Then we ended up with a bunch of Crack pots and all founded in America !

God the Holy Spirit!

It is ultimately our own decision if we want to focus and promote what is not in scripture. I have never read of any disciples or apostles doing the things that we do in churches today regarding the Holy Spirit! They never prayed to IT, they never worshipped IT, they never honoured IT, and they never say that IT shares or is part of the Throne of Father and the Lamb.

If the bible is silent regarding performing these things that are sooooo common in a Christians life today... then these actions must be the traditions and doctrines of men!

Do I believe in God the Holy Spirit... no I do not!

Do I believe in God's Holy Spirit... yes I do! For it is the presence, power, life and character of God and His Son!

"That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship [is] with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 1 John 1:3

What I think of Jesus Christ

"But if I am asked what I think of Jesus Christ, my reply is, I believe all that the Scriptures say of him. If the testimony represents him as being in glory with the Father before the world was, I believe it. If it is said that he was in the beginning with God, that he was God, that all things were made by him and for him, and that without him was not anything made that was made, I believe it. If the Scriptures say he is the Son of God, I believe it. If it is declared that the Father sent his Son into the world, I believe he had a Son to send. … Children inherit the name of their father. The Son of God “hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than” the angels” (R. F. Cottrell, The Review & Herald, June 1 1869, emphasis in the original).

Did the Jews kill Jesus?



The general assumption accepted through the centuries by Muslims is that God loved His prophet so much that just before the crucifixion, He lifted up Jesus into heaven and allowed someone else made to resemble Him to be crucified in His place.

The key passage from the Qur'an upon which this assumption is based states: "And because of [the Jews'] disbelief and because of their saying: We slew the Messiah Jesus, son of Mary, Allah's messenger--They slew him not nor crucified, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise" (Surah 4, Al-Nisa, 156-158).

The Comforter

John 15:26

Some quote John 15:26 and claim that the ‘comforter’ is Muhammad. Let’s read few parallel verse and we can see who this ‘comforter’ is.

Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

You see, the comforter is Spirit, which proceedeth from the Father (Allah). Muhammad not a ‘Spirit’ proceedeth from Allah.

Joh 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Muhammad not ‘abide’ in us

Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

We know and saw Muhammad and he did not ‘dwelleth’ in us neither he is in us.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Again, Muhammad is not a Holy Ghost but human beings.

Act 2:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Not Muhammad neither Gabriel who deliver the Quran to Muhammad ‘appeared unto us cloven tongues like as of fire’. And I never read or heard a Muslim filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

So, obviously the ‘Comforter’ which is the Bible talking about is not Muhammad.

Messiah


Messiah, Masih, Mashiach, Christos



Messiah is the transliteration of a Hebrew term, Mashiach. The New Testament (Greek) equivalent is Christos. Both terms mean "the anointed one." The verb mashach, found about 140 times in the Old Testament, means "to smear, anoint, or spread."

The verb was frequently used for the ceremonial induction into leadership.

The anointing meant that someone was authorized to serve God in a position of honor and responsibility. Divine enablement often accompanied the anointing. While many were anointed, only One was given the title of "the Anointed One."


Masih ad-Dajjal (Arabic:
المسيح الدجّال al-Masīḥ ad-Daǧǧāl, Arabic for "the false messiah") is an evil figure in Islamic eschatology. He is to appear pretending to be Masih (i.e. the Messiah) at a time in the future, before Yawm al-Qiyamah (Judgment Day), directly comparable to the figures of the Antichrist.

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Truth of the Bible

What does the Qur'an say about it?

Muslims and Christians believe in the infallibility of the original biblical manuscripts. But many adherents of Islam think that today's Bible has undergone substantial changes with regard to its early manuscripts and their translated versions. However, the Qur'an does not support this claim unanimously! In fact, it makes it clear that the Bible, known as the Torah and the Injil, was found reliable in Muhammad's time, the sixth century. To prove that the twentieth century Bible is still authentic it only has to be compared with a copy from the sixth century.

Friday, October 22, 2010

Islam in the Bible

The concept of ‘Islam’ in the Bible

Do we find the word of “Islam” in the Bible?
We do not find it as a term, for which there are three reasons:
  • It is an Arabic word, and the Bible in our hand is an English translation of Ancient Greek and Hebrew.
  • Islam” is a translatable word. Since it bears some meaning, it lends itself to translation.
  • Many religions of today, being identified by means of names ending with “ism” and “ity”, did not exist during Biblical times. There was either the religion of obeying the One and Only God, or there was idolatry. People were either believers in the One God, or they were pagans or heathens.
Obviously, when we want to look for the word “Islam” in the Bible, we have to look for its meaning only.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Two gods or one?

Two gods or one?

Question:
Does not your belief in two divine beings equate to a belief in two gods? For if God the Father is God and Jesus is God, then you have 2 gods and not one.

Answer:
Were it not for the fact that Christ is the divine Son of God then we would indeed have two gods.

The Bible makes it clear that there is one God only and none other but He. This one God is the Father:

Deuteronomy 4:35
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.

Ephesians 4:6 
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

1 Corinthians 8:6 
But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

Friday, October 15, 2010

Who is Jesus, son of Mary?

One questions so many answers. The problem starts when the people who claim to believe in Jesus and yet has different understanding about his personality. For this reason I have no room for mans tradition. All my quotation will be from God books. (Old Testament, New Testament and Quran)

As I quote the Quran we will read the word Allah which is the Arabic word for God, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, used by Arabic speakers everywhere whether Arabic speaking Christians, Arabic speaking Muslims, or Arabic speaking atheists. Allah is the ONLY word used by Arabic speakers to refer to this Creator God who is also Master of the Judgment Day.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Antichrist

Antichrist

The word "antichrist," according to Strong's concordance, means "an opponent of Christ's." John then goes on to make a very interesting observation about the antichrist that is to come. He gives us one of the identifying marks of this opponent of Christ. (The second identifying mark can be found in 1 John 4:3.)

1 John 2:22 "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son."

Understand The Gospel

Child Can Understand The Gospel

Over and over again I have heard it said that the gospel is so simple a child can understand it. I believe that, don't you? Well, if it is so simple a child can understand, then doesn't that throw some question upon the teaching of the Trinity? Not only do children not understand it; our best theologians can't even explain it. However, the thought that God sent His Son to this earth to die for you and me is easy to comprehend when we believe the simple Bible statement that Jesus is truly the Son of God; not one of three mysterious beings making up "one God." One of the biggest problems that our missionaries have faced in the past, is trying to share the gospel in the Muslim countries around the globe. One leader of a division of workers was perplexed by the slow progress Christianity seemed to be making among these people. As he analyzed the problem, he realized that it was very difficult for the Muslim mind to accept the teaching that God is a "Trinity," because to them, as to the Jews, there is one God. The Trinity teaching was confusing. This started a search through the Scriptures for this missionary, which led him to realize that there is indeed, one God and His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus declares Himself

Jesus called God His Father and His God!! The Father called Christ His Son but never called Him His God! We will see why as we go on.

Jesus declares Himself to be the Son of God.

John 10:36 "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?"

Jesus was declaring Himself to be the Son of God and the Jews considered that blasphemy! You see, Jesus could never deny who He really was. It would be just like you or me declaring who we are. He did not say that He was one of the three members of a Trinity who took on the role of the Son of God. He said He was the Son of God!

ONE GOD

ONE GOD

"...Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.... And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:" (Mark 12:28-32)

Jesus, Himself, tells us that there is only one God! The great Apostle Paul tells us this same truth:
"But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." (1 Corinthians 8:6)

THE HOLY SPIRIT

THE HOLY SPIRIT

Questions:

  1. Why do we see only two thrones in Heaven?
  1. Why are only the Father and Son mentioned as living among us in Heaven after Christ comes to take us home?
  1. Why does the Bible never call God a "Trinity"?
  1. Why are the pronouns "He" and "It" both used in Scripture when referring to the Holy Spirit?
  1. Why are only the Father and the Son to be worshiped?

These are some very important questions that we must answer in order to begin to understand the Holy Spirit. The Trinitarian view makes it difficult to answer these questions from the Scriptures. Remember, our own thinking is not what is important. We must see what the Scriptures actually say, and not try to philosophize away the meaning. Let's take a deeper look now.

THE SON OF GOD

THE SON OF GOD

If there is one God, the Father, "of whom are all things," as the Scriptures teach, then who is Jesus? What is His relationship to the Father? Is He Deity, or is He some lesser being as some teach? Is He simply a great teacher?

These must have been some of the questions that plagued the mind of a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee. In John 3, we have the story related to us. It was in the dead of night that this leader of the church stole silently to the garden where he knew he would find Jesus. Nicodemus feared to be seen with this popular teacher, yet something in this man Jesus was different. He longed to know who He really was. Thus Nicodemus opens the conversation:

THE TRINITY

THE TRINITY

The teaching of the Trinity is the foundational teaching upon which almost all of professed Christianity rests. To be a member of the World Council of Churches an organization must profess belief in this doctrine. Let's take a look at what the Trinity actually teaches and where this doctrine came from. As I have discussed this teaching with Christians of many faiths it has become increasingly clear to me that very few people actually realize what it says.

If we were to refer to any one of the summaries of beliefs of the various major denominations existing today, we would find that they espouse the idea that there is one God consisting of three distinct persons. As we look at the various descriptions we find that this doctrine of a "Trinity" teaches:

EGW Never Changed Her View

Ellen White never changed her view on God in her lifetime and she was in unity with all the non-trinitarian so-called [arian] believers. Michael is the prince of life, and he will descend with a shout, with his voice and the trump of God, and all that are in their graves shall hear his voice.

“The evidence given in our early experience has the same force that it had then. […] That which was sought for out of the Word in 1844, 1845, and 1846 remains the truth in every particular.” {E. G. White, Manuscript Releases Volume 1, p.52} 1906

In 1906 she wrote that she still followed the same God.

“I understood that some were anxious to know if Mrs. White still held the same views that she did years ago when they had heard her speak in the sanitarium grove, in the Tabernacle, and at the camp-meetings held in the suburbs of Battle Creek. I assured them that the message she bears today is the same that she has borne during the sixty years of her public ministry. She has the same service to do for the Master that was laid upon her in her girlhood.

She receives lessons from the same Instructor. The directions given her are, "Make known to others what I have revealed to you. Write out the messages that I give you, that the people may have them." This is what she has endeavored to do.” {E. G. White, Review and Herald, July 26, 1906 par. 20}

Same God as she had when she was a little girl. No she didn't change her view on who God is as falsely claimed. That would mean she got her messages from a different master.

She understood who God was because she saw it in vision. And anyone who says this view changed is saying her visions were from another God.

The God of heaven saw it fit to establish the Advent movement on a solid foundation of truth. This foundation included a correct understanding of who He is. The Advent band was not left to wander through the multiplied delusions of the spiritualizers. From the earliest visions God assured His children of the reality of His being. “I have often seen the lovely Jesus, that He is a person. I asked Him if His Father was a person and had a form like Himself. Said Jesus, "I am in the express image of My Father's person." I have often seen that the spiritual view took away all the glory of heaven […]” {E.G. White, Early Writings, p.77}

Trinity and Godhead

Unfortunately, there are those who attempt to make it appear that the word ‘trinity’ is synonymous with the word ‘Godhead’ - which it is not. The truth of the matter is that these two words bear no resemblance to each other. This is because the word ‘trinity’ automatically conveys to the human mind the idea of ‘three-in-one’ (tri-unity) whereas the word ‘Godhead’ contains no such meaning. This is why it is so misleading to use the phrase ‘’Godhead or trinity’. It makes it look as though the two words are synonymous when they are not.

Call it Trinity or Godhead we still have big problem with it.



". . . a plan of salvation was encompassed in the covenant made by the Three Persons of the Godhead, who possessed the attributes of Deity equally. In order to eradicate sin and rebellion from the universe and to restore harmony and peace, one of the divine Beings accepted, and entered into, the role of the Father, another the role of the Son. The remaining divine Being, the Holy Spirit, was also to participate in effecting the plan of salvation. All of this took place before sin and rebellion transpired in heaven. By accepting the roles that the plan entailed, the divine Beings lost none of the powers of Deity. With regard to their eternal existence and other attributes, they were one and equal. But with regard to the plan of salvation, there was, in a sense, a submission on the part of the Son to the Father . . ." - Adventist Review -Oct. 31, 1996 - p.12

Here we are left in no doubt as to what the teaching of the present SDA church is, concerning God. According to this teaching, God consists of three persons who are all exactly alike in every respect. None of these persons has a son. None of these persons has a father. However, as a matter of convenience or necessity, each of these persons has decided to ACT a role. One of them is pretending that he is the father of one of the others. That one is pretending that he is the son of the one acting as Father, while the third person is acting as though he is an intangible, unknowable being, subject to the other two, without a will of his own. What a mockery this makes of the plan of salvation and the precious sacrifice which God made in sending His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON!

The trinity teaching had very serious implications for the Christian. It denies that the divine Son of God literally vacated Heaven. It also denies that He actually suffered whilst even more deceitfully it denies that He actually died at Calvary. It is for this reason that this teaching seriously affects the atonement. Some may not believe this to be taught by the trinity doctrine but when investigated this will be found to be true.

If you believe in trinity you believe that:

1. God gave His Son to the world to show His love for men, but the one whom He gave was not His Son.

2. Jesus Christ is God and God cannot die, yet Jesus Christ died on Calvary.

3. A human sacrifice could not atone for the sins of the world, yet only the human part of Christ died. His divine nature did not - could not - die.

4. Death is an unconscious sleep, yet Jesus raised Himself from the dead, therefore must have been conscious in death.

When a reasonable person, seeking for understanding points out these impossible contradictions and seeks for an explanation, there is none forthcoming. He is told that these things are an “impenetrable mystery,” and that it is harbouring on blasphemy to even question whether these things are true. By such methods the father of lies has kept men in darkness ever since the mystery of iniquity first reared its venomous head in the Christian Church.

Jesus death from Quran



Jesus death from Quran:

Jesus speaking in the cradle:

Quran 19:33
وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيَّ يَوْمَ وُلِدتُّ وَيَوْمَ أَمُوتُ وَيَوْمَ أُبْعَثُ حَيًّا
Transliteration
: Wassalamu AAalayya yawmawulidtu wayawma amootu wayawma obAAathu hayya

Translation
: "So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)"!

This is the first reference from Jesus that he will die.

Quran 3:55
إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَىٰ إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ۖ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ
Transliteration
: Ith qala Allahu yaAAeesa innee mutawaffeeka warafiAAuka ilayya wamutahhirukamina allatheena kafaroo wajaAAilu allatheenaittabaAAooka fawqa allatheena kafaroo ila yawmialqiyamati thumma ilayya marjiAAukum faahkumubaynakum feema kuntum feehi takhtalifoon

There is mistranslation in the words mutawaffeeka and tawaffaitanee in verses 3:55 and 5:117 as: I will take thee and Thou didst take me up instead of I shall cause thee to die and Thou has caused me to die. Also we need to be clear about the word rafiu-ka meaning ‘shall exalt thee’ following the word mutawaffai in verse 3:55. This is because whenever the act of raf (elevating) of a human being is attributed to God, the meaning implied is ‘honouring’ or ‘exalting’. As an example the verb rafanahu (We exalted him) is also used with regard to Prophet Idris in verses (19:56, 57) . Hence the correct translation of the verses  3:55 and 5:117 are as follows:

Translation
(3:55) Lo! God said: O Jesus! Verily, I shall cause thee to die (mutawaffeeka), and shall exalt thee (rafiu-ka) unto Me and cleanse thee of (the presence of) those who are bent on denying the truth; [....]. (Muhammad Asad)

(5:117) Nothing did I tell them beyond what Thou didst bid me (to say): ‘Worship God, (who is) my Sustainer as well as your sustainer.’ And I bore witness to what they did as long as I dwelt in their midst; but since Thou has caused me to die (tawaffaita-ni) , Thou alone hast been their keeper: (Muhammad Asad)

 Interpretation of the word wafat':


The key word here is "wafat" . The most correct meaning of "wafat" is death, or take away soul.  If soul is taken away from a person, it is nothing but death.  The problem arises with regards to this verse, when Muslims refuse to interpret the meaning of "wafat" as death.  Irony is that all scholars who translated the Holy Quran do agree "wafat" means death.   Each and every scholar translated the word "wafat" as death in at least 20 different instances in their translations.  However, in this particular verse, they interpreted the meaning as ‘take away' and insinuate physical ascension. 


Here are some of the verses in the Holy Quran where Allah used the word "wafat".  The verses are 2:234, 2:240, 3:193, 4:15, 4:97, 6:61, 7:37, 7:126, 8:50, 10:46, 10:104, 12:101, 13:40, 16:28, 16:32, 16:70, 39:42, 40:67, 40:77, 47:27 etc.  In  each of the instances, all these scholars translated the word "wafat" as death, or a word very close to death but none of them used a word to mean take away in alive condition.


Let us continue:


Quran 5:117
Jesus speaking:
مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ إِلَّا مَا أَمَرْتَنِي بِهِ أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ رَبِّي وَرَبَّكُمْ ۚ وَكُنتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَّا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنتَ أَنتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ
Transliteration
: Ma qultu lahum illa maamartanee bihi ani oAAbudoo Allaha rabbee warabbakumwakuntu AAalayhim shaheedan ma dumtu feehim falammatawaffaytanee kunta anta arraqeeba AAalayhim waanta AAalakulli shay-in shaheed

Translation
: I did not say to them aught save what Thou didst enjoin me with: That serve Allah, my Lord and your Lord, and I was a witness of them so long as I was among them, but when Thou didst cause me to die, Thou wert the watcher over them, and Thou art witness of all things.

Notice the similarity between “innee mutawaffeeka (I will cause thee to die)” in the previous text we read and this text “falamma tawaffaytanee (but when Thou didst cause me to die)”. ‘Mutawaffeka’ is going to happen in future. ‘Tawaffaytanee’ is past.  So ‘falammatawaffaytanee’ means ‘when Thou didst cause me to die’.

We have Jesus speaking of his death in the cradle saying:
 “So peace is on me the day that I will die,”

And we have God telling Jesus:
“I will cause thee to die and raise thee to Myself”

And in last verse we have Jesus saying:
“when Thou didst cause me to die”

We see clearly from Quran that Jesus died and rise up to life and took up to heaven.

Monday, October 11, 2010

This is the Trinity!

This is the Trinity!

This statement from Gordon Jensen, Adventist Review, this was the Week of Prayer that went to every church in the world, so I am not quoting some off shoot independent, but this is sanctioned by the church. This is what the church believes.

'A plan of salvation was encompassed in the covenant made by the three Persons of the Godhead. (This is what the church believes the Trinity to be - three persons of the Godhead) who possess the attributes of Deity equally. In order to eradicate sin and rebellion from the universe and to restore harmony and peace, (Notice) one of the divine beings accepted and entered into the role of the Father, another the role of the Son.'... ...

So to the person who, according to our church, believes in the Trinity, God is not really a Father. Some divine being accepted and entered into the role. So I am not saying it, the church says one divine being “accepted and entered the role of a Father, and another accepted and entered into the role of the Son”.

Notice another one. This again is a book that is well endorsed and promoted by the Conference.

'The Father and Son relationship in the Godhead should be understood in a metaphorical sense, not in a literal sense.' (Understanding the Trinity by Max Hatton, page 97)

Trinity denies the Father and the Son. Trinitarian believes in gods role players.

1 John 5:9 We accept man’s testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son

1 John 5:10 Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about his Son

1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son.

In the beginning

In the beginning

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

Heb 1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:

Pro 8:22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

Pro 8:23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

The Son has been with God from the beginning.

Col 1:15 who is the image of the invisible God, the First-born of all creation.

Col 1:16 For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.

Col 1:17 And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.

Heb 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds,

Heb 1:3 who being the shining splendor of His glory, and the express image of His essence, and upholding all things by the word of His power.....

John 1:1

John 1:1

This text is so misunderstood and has been misused to support a teaching that totally opposes what the text actually says. Let us examine the text briefly in the original Greek:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (yeon 2316), and the Word was God (yeov 2316).

A very casual look at the original text tells us that the two words translated as “God” in that text are not identical. The first one is a noun (Yeon) referring to the Father, and the other is an adjective (Yeov) which refers to Jesus. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at the last letter of the two words. It is for this reason that many translations render the verse in a way that recognizes this fact. For example, translations by James Moffatt, Hugh J. Schonfield and Edgar Goodspeed render it: "...and the Word was divine."
Other variations also exist. Today's English Version reads: "...and he was the same as God." The Revised English Bible reads: "...and what God was, the Word was.“

As you can see, different translations give it a meaning in harmony with the original. Thus this text is telling us is that the Word, Christ, is divine just like the Father (possessing the „God-nature‟). It does not tell us that Christ is God the Father, one and the same person.

that He gave His ... Son...

If Jesus was not actually God's Son, then what sacrifice did the Father make? Whom did He give? Another God? A friend? A colleague? This does not demonstrate love on the Father's part, but rather selfishness, in sending another, rather than coming Himself! Yet the whole point of John 3:16 is the love of God (the Father)."God so loved the world ..." If we embrace the idea of three Gods in one, or one God in three (the trinity), then which one are we talking about here? All three? Or only the Father?” God so loved ... that He gave His ... Son..." Did the Father give His Son? Did the Holy Spirit give His Son? Did the Son give His Son? These questions are ridiculous, and yet, they need to be asked in order that we may clearly see what the text is saying. God is the Father. It is He who gave His Son. It is He who had a Son to give. The Son is not the God who gave His Son, neither is the Holy Spirit that God. The focus of this text is the love of God; but we must understand that this refers specifically to the Father. It is His love which is being emphasized here. It is He who is God. (1 Cor. 8:6) 

CAN GOD DIE?

CAN GOD DIE?

The doctrine of the Trinity presents another dilemma if we believe that God is a person of honesty and truth. The Scriptures teach that God is immortal. (1Tim.6:16) This means that He cannot die. This immortality of God, is not a quality which He can put on and take off. It is an essential aspect of His being. His immortality is not like that of unfallen angels, a conditional thing. In referring to the immortality of God we are speaking of an absolute thing. He absolutely cannot, under any circumstances, die."Who ONLY hath immortality ..." (1 Tim.6:16) Other beings are immortal, but He alone has immortality in the absolute sense. He can never ever be mortal, or be made to die.Yet the Scriptures teach that Jesus died for us! (Romans 5:6-8). Here is a dilemma indeed. God cannot die, yet Jesus did die. The Scriptures clearly teach both things. Let us look at the alternatives open to us in viewing this seeming contradiction. Either:

1. Jesus did not really die.Or:

2. Jesus is not God (the one who only hath immortality).

Those who say that Jesus is God (the God), have no alternative but to say that Jesus did not really die. In other words, what happened at Calvary was only a play; just an acted drama (what blasphemy!). Others seek to find some compromise in saying that the "divine part" of Christ did not die, but only the human part. However, this presents us with an even greater abomination, because what we are left with is nothing but a human sacrifice! Something which could never atone for the sins of the world.

Jesus was not a human being before He came to this earth. But when He came here, He became fully a human being in every sense. All that He retained of His God-nature, was His character of infinite love and compassion. His power, His knowledge, He laid aside completely and lived in total dependence on His Father. However, the trinitarians say that He only took a HUMAN SIDE when He came to earth. In other words, He had two personalities. One, His personality as God and the other, His personality as a human being. Many claim that when Jesus died, His human side died, but that He still continued to live as God even though He was supposed to be dead. This of course would have to be true if Jesus is truly the supreme God, for the supreme God is immortal, and cannot die.

Yet, if this is true; if all that died on Calvary was the "human side" of Jesus, then we must ask the question, what did God really sacrifice at Calvary? According to this doctrine, the "human side" of Jesus was really something created when He was conceived in Mary's womb. Something which came into being two thousand years ago. The divine side of Jesus, the immortal God-part did not really die. What we have then, is a situation in which God did not really make a sacrifice at Calvary, but rather created a being who paid the price on His behalf. A most abominable and glaringly false idea.

The truth is that Jesus, the Son of God, did truly die. Did pass into the unconscious, senseless, unknowing sleep of death. He did feel the darkness of death, black and unfathomable stealing upon His soul when He prayed that the cup might pass from Him. He did experience, truly, the agony and uncertainty of genuine separation from God. He died, because He could die. He was mortal. He could die, because He is not the one and only God who "hath immortality". This immortal one, "no man hath seen, not can see," He dwelleth "in the light which no man can approach unto." (1 Tim.6:16).Jesus is a divine Being. There is no question of that. It is obvious that every Son takes the nature of His Father, so if the nature of the father is divine (having the qualities of God) then it is evident that the Son also is divine. This is why John 1:1 says:"In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God (the God. gr.) and the word was God (divine)."

Yet, the word "God" also carries with it the idea of the one absolute, supreme Being in the universe. In this sense, there is only One who is God. Not three. This one God is the Father; The One who gave His Son to die. This is the testimony of the Scriptures over and over again (1 Cor. 8:6; 1 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 15:24-28).

All the authority and power which belong to God have been given to His Son (Col.2:9; Matt. 28:18). Yet, these do not belong to Jesus inherently. They have been given to Him by God, (1 John 5:26; Col.1:19) and the day will come when the controversy is finally over and then the Son will be subject to the Father, that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).

In closing, I would like to ask the question again: "Did God's Son really die for me?" How do you answer this question? This is the central point of the whole gospel. Undoubtedly, this point, above all others, is the focus of Satan's attack. When we see how these truths have been subtly, but effectively nullified over the ages, it becomes clear that Satan's efforts have been highly successful.

Statements From the Pioneers


THERE ARE ONLY TWO DIVINE BEINGS
Ellen White
“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate – a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father – one in nature, in character, in purpose – the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6. His “goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: “The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting.... When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” Proverbs 8:22-30. (EGW. PP-34)

James White:
‘‘The way spiritualizers this way have disposed of or denied the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ is first using the old unscriptural trinitarian creed, viz., that Jesus Christ is the eternal God, though they have not one passage to support it, while we have plain scripture testimony in abundance that He is the Son of the eternal God.’’ ‘‘Letter from Bro. White,,’’ The Day-Star, IX (January 24, 1846), 25

‘‘To assert that the sayings of the Son and His apostles are the commandments of the Father, is as wide from the truth as the old trinitarian absurdity that Jesus Christ is the very and eternal God.’’ ‘‘The Faith of Jesus,’’ Review & Herald, III (August 5, 1852), 52

E.J. Waggoner
“The Scriptures declare that Christ is “the only-begotten Son of God.” He is begotten, not created. As to when He was begotten, it is not for us to inquire, nor could our minds grasp it if we were told .... There was a time when Christ proceeded and came forth from God, from the bosom of the Father (John 8:42; 1:18), but that time was so far back in the days of eternity that to finite comprehension it is practically without beginning.” “Christ and His Righteousness” - (From the section entitled, “Is Christ a Created Being?”)

J.N. Loughborough
“Question 1. What serious objections is there to the doctrine of the Trinity?
Answer. There are many objections which we might urge, but on account of our limited space we shall reduce them to the three following:
1. It is contrary to common sense.
2. It is contrary to Scripture.
3. Its origin is pagan and fabulous.”
R.H. - Nov.5,1861

Saturday, October 9, 2010

The Great Original Life Source

1.        I believe that God the Father is the great original life source or fountain from whom all things flow.

1Co 8:6  But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him..

Psa 36:9  For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

2.      I believe that Christ came forth from the Father in eternity beyond the realms of human comprehension and has existed from eternity in fellowship with the Father.

Mic 5:2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

        Joh 1:18 No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him." Proverbs 8:22-30.” {PP 34.1}

3.      I believe that as the Father has life in Himself, that He has given to the Son to have life in Himself and that the Son inherited all the fullness of the Godhead in the express image of His Father, including His name - God.

Joh 5:26  For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;

Heb 1:2  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

Heb 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

        Heb 1:4  Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.


4.       I believe that the Holy Spirit is the personal and omnipresent Spirit of the Father and the Son and flows forth from the Father and Son as their representative. It is through this mighty agency that Christ personally comforts us and strengthens us.

Psa 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

Rev 22:1  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.