February 2, 2026

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. He came to fulfill them. In the following verse He contrasts abolishing with fulfilling. Abolishing the Law is not the same as fulfilling and accomplishing the Law. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [18] For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18 ESV). Circumcision is not abolished, but is fulfilled by baptism. Circumcision of the heart is the same as the new birth. Believing parents requires both baptism in water and circumcision for infants in order to put the sign of the covenant on them. Adults must believe before they can be baptized.  “This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. [11] You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. [12] He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, [13] both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. [14] Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” (Genesis 17:10-14 ESV)  Since Christ was circumcised, then all who are baptized into His body are too. “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands… in baptism…” (Colossians 2:11-12 ESV). Types And Shadows “Now all these things happened to them as examples [tupikwv tupikos, types], and they were written for our admonition…” (1 Cor 10:11).          The Old Testament was written in hidden types and shadows, but the hidden meaning is revealed in Christ by the Apostles, “according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began…(Rom 16:25). “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints” (Col 1:26). How is each of these Old Testament Types not abolished but fulfilled? Circumcision – (See Col 2:11-12 above.) New Moon Sabbaths So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col 2:16-17). Passover –  “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7). It is fulfilled in Communion. Pentecost –  The Jews celebrated Pentecost for the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. It was/is fulfilled by the giving of the Law in our hearts in Acts 2 (the Holy Spirit fulfills the promise of Ezek 36:27). Tabernacles- This feast included “The Feast of Trumpets” which signifies the Great Commission, “The Day Of Atonement,” fulfilled by Christ and the suffering of the Church, and “The Feast of Booths” that signify our pilgrimage until Christ comes. Unclean foods– Were a shadow of Gentiles. When God sent Peter to include the Gentiles He said, “Don’t call unclean what I have made clean.” (Acts 10 “God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”) The Promised Land– was a type and shadow of the whole world. “For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13 ESV).              “…the world or life or death, or things present or things to come–all are yours” (1 Cor 3:22). Jerusalem– was a type of the church.  “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem…”(Hebrews 12:22 ESV)  Israel is God’s people, the Church.  “And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God” Gal 6:16. How Was Israel Baptized? “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, [2] and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, [3] and all ate the same spiritual food [Communion], [4] and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Corinthians 10:1-5 ESV).

The Puritans, the Scottish Covenanters taught that there are 5 types of sinners. 1. The Careless Sinner. 2. The Awakened Sinner. 3. The Anxious Sinner. 4. The Convicted Sinner. 5. The Converted Sinner.  Modern Christians usually mistake the Awakened Sinner for the Converted Sinner. The Awakened, the Anxious, and the Convicted sinners are only under the Preparatory work of the Spirit. (It is also called the “Work Of Humiliation” and “The Law Work.” During this work the Holy Spirit uses the Law to convince the world (the unconverted) of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come (John 16:8). “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8 ESV). No one can possibly see his need for Christ until he first sees that he cannot be good enough to save himself. Once convinced, an infusion of light enters his heart by the Holy Spirit. He is born again in that instant. It comes in the twinkling of an eye and is instantaneous.  William Perkins (1558-1602) The first Puritan “William Perkins taught that the Holy Spirit by the ministry of the gospel (and especially the law) prepares a sinner for regeneration. Perkins’ massive work, The Cases of Conscience was published posthumously in 1606. In a chapter entitled, “What Must a Man Do That He May Come Into God’s Favour And Be Saved?” Perkins writes that God usually guides the sinner through several stages before regeneration takes place: God gives man the outward means of salvation, especially the ministry of the word, and with it he sends some outward or inward cross to break and subdue the stubbornness of our nature that it may be made pliable to the will of God … this done, God brings a man to a consideration of the Law … he makes a man particularly to see and know his own peculiar and proper sins whereby he offends God … he smites the heart with a legal fear … he makes him to fear punishment and hell and to despair of salvation in regard of anything in himself.[1] Perkins therefore taught that before regeneration the stubbornness of the sinner’s nature is subdued, his will is made pliable to God’s will, and the dead sinner is made to see and experience the extent of his depravity. He then comes under a legal fear so that he despairs of salvation. However, insisted Perkins, these actions upon the sinner’s nature, emotions and will are not necessarily fruits of regeneration, for, he adds “these four actions are indeed no fruits of grace, for a reprobate may go thus far.” They are only “works of preparations going before grace.”[2] John Owen – “Ordinarily there are certain previous and preparatory works, or workings in and upon the souls of men, that are antecedent and dispositive unto it [i.e. regeneration]. But yet regeneration doth not consist in them, nor can it be educed out of them.”[3] William Guthrie (1620-1665), whose The Christian’s Great Interest was highly esteemed by John Owen, is less insistent on preparationism, although he also makes room for it in his theological system. He concedes that “we are not to speak of it … as if none might lay claim to God’s favour who have not had this preparatory work.”[4] It will be hard to give sure essential differences between the preparatory work on those in whom afterwards Christ is formed, and those legal stirrings that are sometimes in reprobates.[5] I shall offer some things which rarely shall be found in the stirrings of reprobates, and which are ordinarily found in that law-work which hath a gracious issue.[6] That one qualifying word “rarely” speaks volumes. Guthrie cannot offer the anxious soul any infallible mark of regeneration because those marks can also be found (albeit rarely) in reprobates. What advice does Guthrie offer to the unconverted? In words very similar to Alleine, he writes, “work up your heart to be pleased with and close with that offer [of the gospel], and say to God expressly that you do accept of that offer.”[7] Guthrie expostulates with objectors thus: “Or will any say, you cannot close with Christ? what is this you cannot do? Can you not hunger for Him, nor look to Him, nor be pleased with that salvation, nor open your mouth that He may fill it? Do not difficult the way to heaven, for it derogates much from all He hath done.”[8] So, we see, that Guthrie believed that the unregenerate sinner could make himself be pleased with the gospel “offer,” could hunger after Christ and could therefore “close with” the Saviour. However, such a sinner, pleased with Christ, and hungering after Him, may nevertheless perish.  [Ron Smith says, “This guy does not understand neither Guthrie nor the nature of saving conversion. He seems to think we can ‘name and claim salvation’ somewhat like claiming a Cadilac. When one is truly converted his focus is no longer on self. He now does not worry about going to heaven. He now focuses on glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.”] Dutch Reformed divine, Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711) reveals a belief in preparationism. He speaks of “preparatory convictions”56 and urges the unconverted to entertain hope because God “grants [them] conviction and a desire for repentance and salvation.”57 His advice is to attend diligently on the means. “You have reason to hope … Wait, therefore, for the least movement of the Spirit, respond to it, and be careful you do not resist it.” However, such a desire, granted to some of the unconverted who use the means of grace, does not guarantee salvation. It is not a sign of regeneration, but may lead to it.[9] Spurgeon called it, “The Withering Work Of The Spirit.” http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0999.htm Whitefield “Before you can speak peace to your hearts, 1. You must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your actual transgressions against the law of God…Before you can ever speak peace to your hearts, you must be brought to see, brought to believe, what a dreadful thing it is to depart from the living God… Allow me to ask you,

Those who say sprinkling and infant baptism are not legitimate are saying the following: “The ancient fathers, the noble martyrs, the great reformers – devoted and Christ-like men such as Knox, Wesley, McCheyne, Edwards, Whitefield –were, according to the immersion theory, never baptized, never a part of the Church of Christ on earth, and they never partook of the Lord’s Supper without profaning it.” – By Rev. W.A. McKay 1881 Pastor of Chalmers’ Church, Woodstock, Ontario  The logic of this theory (immersion) as declared by its friends is this: Outside of this theory there is no baptism, no Lord’s Supper, no Christian ministry, no Christian church – and, by the same inexorable logic, no Christian man. – James W. Dale, DD in “Christic Baptism.” P. 21 Irenaeus (130-202 A.D.) Irenaeus was born in Smyrna where Polycarp was bishop until burned alive at age 87 in 167 A.D. Irenaeus was 37 at the time of the burning. Polycarp was in his teens when the Apostle John was still the overseer of the seven churches of Asia, which included Smyrna. Irenaeus believed infants were sanctified in baptism. This is evidence that infant baptism was practiced from the days of the apostles.              “He [Jesus] came to save all through himself; all, I say, who through him are reborn in God: infants, and children, and youths, and old men. Therefore he passed through every age, becoming an infant for infants, sanctifying infants; a child for children, sanctifying those who are of that age . . . [so that] he might be the perfect teacher in all things, perfect not only in respect to the setting forth of truth, perfect also in respect to relative age” (Against Heresies 2:22:4 [A.D. 189]).  Hippolytus (215 A.D.) And they shall baptize the little children first. And if they can answer for themselves, let them answer. But if they cannot, let their parents answer or someone from their family. And next they shall baptism the grown men; and last the women. (Apostolic Tradition 21.3-5) Origen (248 A.D.) “Every soul that is born into flesh is soiled by the filth of wickedness and sin. . . . In the Church, baptism is given for the remission of sins, and, according to the usage of the Church, baptism is given even to infants. If there were nothing in infants which required the remission of sins and nothing in them pertinent to forgiveness, the grace of baptism would seem superfluous” (Homilies on Leviticus 8:3 [A.D. 248]).  Cyprian of Carthage (253A.D.) “As to what pertains to the case of infants: You [Fidus] said that they ought not to be baptized within the second or third day after their birth, that the old law of circumcision must be taken into consideration, and that you did not think that one should be baptized and sanctified within the eighth day after his birth. In our council it seemed to us far otherwise. No one agreed to the course which you thought should be taken. Rather, we all judge that the mercy and grace of God ought to be denied to no man born” (Letters 64:2 [A.D. 253]). 

Which method did many disciples use when Jesus said, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you,” “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.” “When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, ‘Does this offend you?… [Do you stumble at this?] It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you [My method] are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you [because of the carnal method] who do not believe’” (John 6:60-63).          The spiritual method gives life and the carnal method profits nothing. They interpreted Jesus literally and Jesus implies that their method was the carnal method.  Which Method Did The Judaizers Use?          By insisting on circumcision they would argue that the sign of God’s covenant is eternal and therefore still required. God said, “I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him” (Gen 17:19). They were correct in saying that circumcision is still required, but could not understand that it is fulfilled in baptism. “In him also you were circumcised… in baptism… (Colossians 2:11-12 ESV). Paul used the spiritual method by insisting that the weak and beggarly elements of the ceremonial laws were only shadows of the substance fulfilled in Christ. The Spiritual Method          Allegories, types, copies, shadows, symbols, analogies, figurative speech, riddles, and parables fall into the category of the spiritual method.           Paul used allegories and types to interpret the Scriptures. He said the literal history of Hagar and Sarah “may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants” (Gal 4:24 – Greek allegoreo). Hagar represented Old Jerusalem and Sarah represented New Jerusalem.  The Corinthians Used The Carnal Method          Paul said he could not address the Corinthians as spiritual people, but “as people of the flesh, as infants” (1 Corinthians 3:1 ESV). He was referring to the two methods of interpretation: the spiritual and the carnal. He calls the carnal method infantile. Children can’t make analogies. When you tell a child that it is raining cats and dogs, he looks out the window for literal cats and dogs. What Is Jerusalem Called Spiritually?          The Holy Spirit calls it the great city that “spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified” (Revelation 11:8). The Greek word translated “spiritually” is pneumatikos. If old Jerusalem is called Sodom and Egypt by the spiritual method, what would it be called by the carnal method? Would it not be the opposite of Sodom and Egypt? Would not the carnal method call it the Holy City? If God calls the church the New Jerusalem and the Israel of God (Gal 6:16), what would the carnal method call unbelieving Jews? Would they not call them the opposite of what the spiritual method calls them? Which method did Jesus use when He said, “I knowthe blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” (Rev 2:9)? What Does Jesus Call Unbelieving Jews?          He called them “children of the devil” (John 8:44). Was He using the carnal method or the spiritual? To Jews, Gentiles were children of the devil, so to them, Jesus was actually implying that they were really Gentiles. The spiritual view is the view of reality and not the literal view. In spite of what Jesus called them, the carnal method insists they are still God’s people even though they deny Christ. However, there is one advantage of being carnal Jews: that “to them were committed the oracles of God” (Rom 3:1-2).  Hebrews 5 Calls The Carnal Method Childish          “You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child” (Hebrews 5:12-14). Since he is a child (spiritually), he tends toward the literal “cats and dogs” interpretation and cannot make the analogy. He sees literal circumcision and literal Jews instead of what those shadows represented. But we do not look at the things that are seen. We look at the things that are not seen (2 Cor 4:18).          Dwight Pentecost, in his book, “Things To Come,” boasted that dispensationalists use the literal method of interpretation. The spiritual method mixes both the literal and the figurative. The carnal method uses one or the other, not both. The “one and the many” demands both. It Depends On The Context          Sometimes in visions, an angel interprets the symbol in literal terms. For example, the angel says, “the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven churches” (Rev 1:20). Note that he did not say the stars “represent” the seven churches, but “are” the seven churches. He did mean they represented the churches, but this method of the apostles and the Holy Spirit was understood.   Peter Enns Versus The Apostles          Peter Enns says in his book, Inspiration And Incarnation[1] that the method of the apostles in interpreting the Old Testament seems odd.  He says, “The New Testament writers do some odd things by our standards.”  By “our standards” I assume he means the standards that emerged after the Humanist Enlightenment of the 18th Century.  He cites several examples of how the New Testament writers seemed to quote Scripture out of context.  He implies they did not seem to use our so-called “more enlightened” method.            Mr. Enns even thinks Jesus used an odd method of proving the resurrection of the body by quoting, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Mat. 22:32). His answer certainly stopped the mouths of the Sadducees.  No one dared to ask more. Why would that seem odd to Mr. Enns?  Could it be that he is not even able to make the analogy that the Sadducees made?           Mr. Enns mocks Paul for saying that the Rock followed Israel in the wilderness. Enns’ inability to make analogies pictured a rock rolling around in the desert. Paul evidently violated post-enlightenment rules and mixed the metaphors by extending the cloud analogy to a rock analogy. He

Genesis 45:7-8  And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. [8] So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Carnal People Cannot Explain Predestination          When carnal men try to explain what Calvinists believe about predestination, they end up describing fate instead of predestination. Fate has nothing to do with man’s free will. Fate says, “What will be will be. Que será sera.” It is not possible for the carnal mind to explain what we believe and what the Bible teaches. Even some who say they believe in predestination do not understand how it works when they say men have no free will.  Both Free Will And The Bondage Of The Will Exist          Martin Luther wrote, The Bondage Of The Will, and Jonathan Edwards wrote Freedom Of The Will. They agreed with each other. Father, help me to explain it today.           We are all slaves to our fallen nature. For that very reason we freely decide to sin. We cannot decide to obey God until God freely decides to convince us of the truth. Once convinced, we freely choose for the very same reason. We are enslaved to what we believe in the heart. Joseph Said, “God Sent, Not You”          His brothers were afraid Joseph would get even with them now that their father was dead. They had sold Joseph into slavery. He later says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20 ESV).  Did God Make Them Sell Joseph?          Or did God have no control over what they did and just turned it around for good? That is not what Joseph said. He said, “It was not you, but God.” God did not make them sell Joseph. They freely did it because of their jealousy.  Did God make them jealous of Joseph? No. Their own fallen nature, to which they were enslaved, is what made them freely do it.  Problems Are Opportunities          Whenever bad things happen, God means it for good. The disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered that the real reason was that the works of God should be revealed in him. That is why you were abused. That is the real reason for all your trials. It’s not a problem; it’s an opportunity for the work of God to be revealed in you. That’s what happened to Joseph. God Predestined The Crucifixion          The disciples prayed, “there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place” (Acts 4:27-28 ESV).           To predestine means to settle beforehand. Did God make these people crucify Jesus? It says God predestined this. God settled this beforehand. Is God then the author of evil? No. They freely did what they did. God simply used evil to bring about good. Salvation and redemption are always messy because we live in a fallen world.  Post-Destination Is Not Pre-Destination          Some say God has no control over what men and devils do. They say God foreknew Joseph’s brothers would do it and then God destined a way to turn it around for good. They say God predestined men to salvation after He saw they would make a decision for Christ. That is not “pre;” that is post-destination. The same people who cling to man’s freewill refuse to give God the freedom to choose who He will convince of the truth.  God Uses Evil For Good          When Assyria carried Israel into captivity, God said, “Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger And the staff in whose hand is My indignation. I will send him against an ungodly nation, And against the people of My wrath I will give him charge, To seize the spoil, to take the prey, And to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (Isaiah 10:5-6). God Used Wicked Pharaoh          God said, “But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go” (Exo 4:21). God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so He could multiply signs and wonders. He also hardened his heart so he would chase Israel and destroy his army. This shows what God is like and it shows why He lets the devil do the things he does.  Satan Is The Tool Of God’s Anger 1Chronicles 21:1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” Because of this, God sent a plague that killed thousands. But it ended with God choosing the place where the temple would be built. Redemption is always messy. Joseph Was Not Wounded          He was not wounded because he did not hold grudges. His brothers did him wrong, Potiphar’s wife did him wrong, and the butler forgot him.           No one was ever hurt by what happened to them. What hurt them was their not believing that God was with them. What hurt them was the way they reacted. Hurt people hurt themselves. If we react in hatred or self-pity, or unforgiveness, that is what does the damage. The blame game is what hurts. Joseph forgot the past and pressed toward the future. He was a born dreamer.           Joseph sided with authority and told on his brothers. Losers side with losers. Winners side with authority. He had tremendous self-confidence because he believed God was with him. If you don’t believe God is with you it’s an insult to God.          But if you’re living in sin, it is impossible to believe God is with you.           Were you abused? Were

Leviticus 4:13 If the whole congregation of Israel sins unintentionally… and they realize their guilt … the assembly shall offer a bull (v. 14)… and they shall be forgiven (v. 20). 4:22 When a leader sins unintentionally… and realizes his guilt…he shall bring as his offering a goat (v. 23)… and he shall be forgiven (v. 26). Did this forgiveness mean they were saved eternally?          Hebrews 10:4  says, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” permanently. These animal sacrifices symbolized the payment for sin, but they did not accomplish it permanently. Last year’s sacrifice did not cover the next year’s sins. A permanent sacrifice was needed to deal permanently with sin. People Not Under Grace Are Still Under Law …just like Israel was. Therefore, there are two kinds of forgiveness: temporary and permanent, earthly and heavenly. Temporal Atonement Deuteronomy 21:1 gives an example of finding a murdered man  “lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, [6] And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, [7] and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed. [8] Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for’” (Deuteronomy 21:6-8 ESV). This atonement meant that their town would be spared of the Four Horsemen of God’s wrath: war, famine, conquest, and plague.  How about when Nineveh repented? “And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them… [10] When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it” (Jonah 3:5-10). Did this forgiveness mean Nineveh was saved permanently? The Medes did destroy Nineveh 100 years later. When they repented, did they establish God’s law as the law of the land? Did they establish the death penalty for idolatry and sorcery? Did they do away with statism? Evidently their forgiveness was based on an earthly level. “… a broken and a contrite heart, O God You will not despise” (Psalm 51:17). “Go and learn what this means, I prefer mercy and not sacrifice.” Ahab’s Limited Forgiveness 1 Kings 21:24-29 There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the LORD like Ahab, whom Jezebel his wife incited… Elijah predicted God’s curse on him. He said, “Anyone belonging to Ahab who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his [family] who dies in the open country the birds of the heavens shall eat” (1 Kings 21:24). …[27] And when Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his flesh and fasted and lay in sackcloth and went about dejectedly. [28] And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, [29] “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; but in his son’s days I will bring the disaster upon his house.”          This same type of conversion happens today. The awakened sinner feels it and thinks he’s saved. But it’s only temporary. God’s mercy can send a strong delusion. How about Jehu?          God’s prophet anointed him to wipe out the family of Ahab and all the Baal worshippers. Jehu did it but failed to wipe out golden calf worship. God rewarded him anyway with the promise that his dynasty would endure to the 4th generation. His dynasty lasted longer than all the other dynasties of Israel. In this case we see God rewarding an idol worshipper on one level and yet cursing him on another level. This proves that not only are their two levels of forgiveness, but also two levels of rewards. One level of blessing can deceive men into thinking God approves of them on all levels. Two Levels Of Atonement 1 John 2:2 Propitiation means atonement. It means “a sacrifice that bears God’s wrath and turns it to favor.”  Christ “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” The unbelieving world gets temporary atonement only. There are two levels of grace. Common Grace And Special Grace The whole world receives common grace. One level of forgiveness is by common grace and the other is by special grace. Common grace is what God grants to mankind in common. He rains on the just and the unjust. That’s common grace. Jesus said God is “kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35). But even among unbelievers there are various levels of common grace. Outward Christians who are unsaved have more common grace than pagans. “Then what advantage has the unsaved Christian? Or what is the value of baptism? Much in every way. To begin with, unsaved Christians were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar…” (Romans 3:1-4 ESV). The Two Israels          When Moses led Israel out of Egypt God said, “Israel is My son, My firstborn.” He was talking about the nation as a whole. All of them were baptized in the sea and the cloud. All ate of the same spiritual bread as a type of Communion. Yet God was not pleased with most of them. Most of them were not true converts. On one level they were all Israel as a whole, but on another “they are not all Israel that are of Israel” (Rom 9:6). There are two Israels and by that I mean two kinds of Christians; the outward and the inward; the visible and the invisible. Therefore, there are two levels of forgiveness and two levels of grace.

Have you ever wondered why the modern world has electricity? It is not because of evolution. The real cause is the… The Eternal Court Session          Jesus died, he descended, He arose, He ascended, and He sat down in the court session at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. It’s called, “The Session.” He is still seated there judging and making war. That is the gospel of the kingdom. 2 548 years before Jesus came, Daniel predicted The Situation Leading Up To It Daniel 7:7-27           After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast… and it had ten horns. [8] I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots…          Daniel saw this during the Babylonian Captivity. Because of the broken covenant, God sent four beasts to enslave His people: Babylon, Then Persia, conquered Babylon. The third beast, Greece, conquered Persia. Then the fourth beast ruled God’s people, Rome.           Because of sin, God cast David’s throne to the ground. Psalm 89 says, “You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust… [46] How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?” (Psalm 89:44-46 ESV) 3 How Long? … would it be before David’s throne would be restored? God gave the answer to Daniel. In chapter 9 of Daniel God revealed it would be 490 years from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And in this chapter God revealed Rome would be in charge when the judgment would be made: the 4th beast. [9] “As I looked,  4 Thrones Were Placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat… [10], and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. Verse 22 repeats this. It says,  “the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints.” Verse 26 repeats it again: 26 “But the court shall sit in judgment.” This is the session. 5 John Also Saw This Same Scene He said, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed” (Rev 20:4). A day or two before He was crucified,  6 Jesus Told Exactly When This Judgment Would Be Made …in John 12:31: ‘“Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die” (John 12:31-33). The world puts Jesus on trial when they say, “We have no king but Caesar. Crucify Him and give us a revolutionary!” But their judgment on Jesus brings God’s judgment on them. Verse 22 says, “the Ancient of Days came to the court, and… 7 The Judgment Was Given For The Saints          While the Ancient of Days was seated on His throne, Daniel says in verse 13, “behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. [14] And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”          When Jesus was born there was great expectation for this event. When the baby Jesus was presented in the Temple Simeon was looking for the consolation of Israel and Anna spoke of the child to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Joseph of Arimathea was also waiting for the kingdom of God. They were looking for a human, one like a son of man, to ascend with the clouds and come to the Ancient of Days to make a judgment in favor of God’s people. That would be The Coming of the Coming One to take dominion over heaven and earth.  8 Daniel Saw Him Coming Up, Not Down …coming to the Ancient of Days, God the Father Almighty. The disciples saw Him ascend into the clouds and the angels in heaven saw Him coming through the clouds to the Father. Daniel 7:10 says, “a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.” “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints” (Jude 14).  “…the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Matthew 25:31 ESV). 9 The Coming One          This is what John meant when he asked, “Are you the Coming One or do we look for another?” This is what the disciples meant when they asked, “What will be the sign of Your coming and the end of the age?” They knew the coming of Daniel 7:13 had not yet taken place. His birth was not that coming. His signs and wonders were not that coming. His sermons were not that coming. His coming was what Daniel saw. They were not asking about His second coming. His second coming was not revealed until after He ascended with the clouds in Acts chapter one.  10 The Destruction Of Jerusalem Was Not His Coming It was the sign of His coming and the end of the age… the Old Testament age. Daniel 9:26 foretold that Messiah would be cut off and would also destroy the Temple. Stephen was stoned for saying Jesus would destroy that place and change the customs. That destruction was the sign of His coming, the sign that He had come to the Ancient of Days. That is the gospel of the kingdom. Through that sign, the destruction of Jerusalem, every eye saw him coming. Every eye shall also see Him at death coming on Judgment Day. Every eye shall also see Him coming the second time to destroy death. There will be no secret rapture.      Every eye will see Him. 11 There Is Only One Rapture It won’t be a secret and it won’t

Comparing Scripture with Scripture and using no commentary, one can see the identity of the white horse in Revelation 6 not as Christ, but as conquest or captivity (predatory beasts). Scripture explains itself in the chart below. This same symbol is used of Christ in Revelation 19 as the conquering king. In a sense, God rides all four horsemen: “O LORD,… Was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation?” (Hab 3:8)          Scholars I highly respect have identified the white horse of Revelation 6 as Christ.  But “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame. The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Proverbs 18:13&17 ESV).           The Catholic Encyclopedia says, “They signify conquest, slaughter, dearth and death” If that is true, the white horse is conquest, the red is war, the black is dearth, and the pale is death.           Revelation 6:8 summarizes them as beasts (white horse), sword (red horse), famine (black horse), and pestilence (pale horse). The white horse goes forth conquering and to conquer just as the predatory beasts of Daniel 7 conquered the world.           In Jeremiah 15:3, God calls them “Four forms of destruction.”  In Ezekiel 14:21, God calls them “My four severe judgments.”  What are these four forms of judgment?   My Four Severe Judgments “For thus says the Lord God: ‘How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts [captivity] and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it?’” – (Ezekiel 14:21)          God calls them, “four forms of destruction” in Jeremiah. Four Forms Of Destruction ‘“And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction,’ says the LORD: ‘the sword to slay, the dogsto drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy’”  (Jeremiah 15:3).          The chart below proves that the white horse, as conqueror, is called beasts. These verses describe beasts as the hand of Nebuchadnezzar in some places, or into all kingdoms, under the yoke, or carried captive, etc.          Christ is depicted as the Coming Conqueror on a white horse (Rev 19:11). The prophet Habakkuk reveals that God rides all four. “O LORD… Was Your wrath against the sea, That You rode on Your horses, Your chariots of salvation?” (Hab 3:8). God says these four severe judgments are His. “I send My four severe judgments” (Ezek 14:21). They cannot ride unless God sends them. The devil can do nothing without God’s permission. For example, did God send the “9/11” destruction on the twin towers? The Bible gives the answer: “If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?” (Amos 3:6) Why does He do it? He does it as His judgment for sin. God Is The Absolute Sovereign          Whenever there is conquest, war, famine, and pestilence, they are sent as God’s four forms of destruction as His judgments for sin. The word accident cannot be found in the Bible. There is no such thing. Therefore, nothing can happen unless God does it. The buck stops with God.           The world is in a mess not because God is not in control. It is in a mess precisely becauseHe is in control. God sends death, destruction, crime, slavery, and war because of sin. The devil and evil men are simply God’s tools of wrath. But nothing can happen to those chosen by God unless He permits it. And if He does, it is for their good (Romans 8:28).           This is exactly how the Bible portrays God. Men resent this. Man wants to be the god to judge God. Rebellious man feels betrayed. He imagines that his rebellion can somehow save him. “The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile” (Psalm 94:11). “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,  and I will give you rest”  (Mat 11:28).

The Judgment Of The Great Prostitute Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute… (Revelation 17:1) What Is Her Identifying Mark? And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:6 ESV) And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.” (Revelation 18:24 ESV) Jerusalem, in New Testament times, was the only city in the world that had killed God’s prophets. Babylon, Nineveh, and Egypt never had done that. … it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets … (Luke 13:33-34 ESV) Her Destiny For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” (Revelation 18:8) And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not onestone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2) This took place in that generation just like Jesus foretold in Mat. 24:34. The Roman army (the abomination of desolation) surrounded Jerusalem  and made it so desolate that Josephus said you could not even tell a city had been there if the Romans had not left a tower still standing. What did the multitude in heaven think about this? They Rejoiced After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, [2] for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” Will the Temple Ever Be Rebuilt?  Once more they cried out, “Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” (Revelation 19:1-3 ESV) And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. (Matthew 21:19 ESV) And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13:6-9 ESV) Jesus’ ministry was three years. The tree was not immediately cut down after His three-year ministry. It was cut down after He dug around it for forty years, and finally cut down in AD 70. The Beast In Revelation 17 the Great Prostitute is depicted as mounted on the Beast. The Beast is identified as the city of seven hills. We all know the city of seven hills is Rome. The Beast is described as also having seven heads and ten horns. The ten horns were the ten kings over the ten provinces of Rome. The seven heads represent seven kings. Five had fallen and the angel says, “One is.” The five that had fallen were Julius Caesar, Agustus Caesar, Tiberius Caesar, Caligula Caesar, and Claudius Caesar. The one still living was Nero. Galba came after that, but lasted less than six months. Nero was the Beast incarnate. The Beast was Rome. The Great Prostitute riding on the Beast signifies that Rome was the support and vehicle of Jerusalem. The chief priests of Jerusalem, who looked like lambs spoke like a dragon when they cried, “We have no king but Caesar.” Because each Hebrew letter is also a numeral, the letters that spell “Neron Caesar” total 666. The Great Prostitute is also called the beast that looks like a lamb and speaks like a dragon. She is also called the False Prophet. The Modern Application This fulfilled pattern repeats itself in history time and again because the nature of man and the nature of the beast never change. Statism is a beast. The function of the False Prophet was to get the whole world to worship its image. Obama also has “priests” (men of the cloth) like Jeremiah Wright and several others who support his statism.  Statism is the enemy of the City of God throughout Scripture. We see it with the Tower of Babel, we see it in Abraham’s home town, Ur of the Chaldees. We see it with Egypt enslaving Israel. We see it with the King of Babylon forcing everyone to bow to his image of the state. And we see it with Rome.  It can be called the divine right of kings and it can be called Marxism. A rose by any other name is still a rose.

Revelation 1 depicts the seven churches of Asia as golden candlesticks and calls them the churches of Christ. Candlesticks are used to give light to the world. Jesus said to His church, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden” (Mt 5:14). The seven churches of Asia were visible to the world. They were shining lights that could not be hidden. But even though they were depicted as pure as gold, Jesus pointed out their faults. So it is with the visible church. The church in Corinth is called the church of God (1 Cor 1:1) even though it had many faults and sins. God called the church in the wilderness His son, His firstborn (Exodus 4:22), but with most of them God was not well pleased (1 Cor 10:5).  This seems like a contradiction, but it is a paradox that some cannot discern. Their logic says, “If a church tolerates false doctrine, it is not God’s church. It is a false church.” But is that the logic of Scripture? Can God’s church have false doctrines and moral corruption and still be God’s church? Can a dead church be the true church? Was the church in Sardis God’s church? Jesus said to it, “you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev 3:1). The church in Ephesus lost its first love. Was it still God’s church? Is a church that allows the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitans still God’s church? That’s what the church of Pergamum allowed (Rev 2:14-15). How about a church like the one in Thyatira that tolerated that woman Jezebel, who called herself a prophetess and was teaching and seducing God’s servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols (Revelation 2:20-21)? How about a lukewarm church on the verge of being vomited out? Are they still golden candlesticks? Was it still God’s Church? And who knows if it is vomited out already or its candlestick removed? Can a church still have a name that it lives and be dead? Who decides that? God alone can make that judgment. Evidently they were still God’s churches because in each church there were still a few names who had not soiled their garments (Rev 3:4). So we learn from the Scriptural examples that God names His church after the remnant within the church that are conquerors and not after those within it that tolerate false doctrine and corruption. We have those who say, “The true church is our church.” Or, “The Catholic Church is the false church.” But are there no conquerors in the Catholic Church? What defines a true church? Jesus told us in Mathew 18:18. He said to the church, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you [plural] bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” When Arius challenged the true faith of the church, the entire church got together in Nicaea in 325 AD and bound on earth and in heaven the essential definition of what the true church. It is called the Nicene Creed. In essentials there must be unity; in non-essentials there must be liberty; liberty to disagree without excommunication. Who gets to decide what the essentials are? Jesus told us in Mat. 18:18.  Therefore, anyone who says he is a Christian, but denies that Jesus is God, cannot say he is a Christian. Who says so? Jesus said the church says so. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). The Bible is the word of the church. The Nicene Creed is pure Bible doctrine. The agreement of the one and only church made it binding on earth and in heaven. Jesus said so. So the question is this: Is the Catholic Church God’s church? Well, according to the logic of Scripture on the visible church, I am forced to admit it is God’s church in spite of false doctrines and corruption because it confesses the essentials of the faith and has true conquerors as a remnant within just as the churches in Asia did.  Is there such a thing as a Christian that has not one ounce of wrong doctrine or corruption? “Reformed and always reforming.” The same is true of the Baptist churches, the Coptic Church, the Reformed churches, etc. “Reformed and always reforming.” The Nicene Creed We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.  We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, 
the only Son of God, 
eternally begotten of the Father, 
God from God, light from light, 
true God from true God, 
begotten, not made, 
of one Being with the Father; 
through him all things were made. 
For us and for our salvation 
he came down from heaven, 
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary 
and became truly human. 
 For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; 
he suffered death and was buried. 
 On the third day he rose again 
in accordance with the Scriptures; 
he ascended into heaven 
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 
 He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, 
and his kingdom will have no end.  We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, 
who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], 
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, 
who has spoken through the prophets. 
 We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. 
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. 
 We look for the resurrection of the dead, 
and the life of the world to come. Amen.