Salvation

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts 2:38

After the apostle Peter’s cutting sermon on the day of Pentecost this is what happened;

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 2:37

They were convicted in their hearts and desired to respond to the preaching of Peter. Peter’s response is so stunning. He did not ask them to pray the sinners prayer with him and “ask Jesus into their heart.” He did not put them through new believers classes. These are post-biblical construction. Peter told them if you desire to be saved then first, repent. Turn away from your wicked ways, leave them behind, change your mind from wickedness to the truth of the Lord Jesus. Next, he said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. This seems very strange to us. Clearly we understand that remission of sins comes through the blood of Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:14 says, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Here we see that through baptism “in the name of Jesus Christ” we receive the remission of sins. True baptism acted upon by genuine repentance in the heart and then done in faith (“by grace are ye saved through faith” Ephesians 2:8) applies the blood to your heart. And the promise if you walk in this faith is to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Three steps to be saved according to Peter on the day of Pentecost;

1. Repentance
2. Water baptism by immersion in the name of Jesus Christ
3. Receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost

This corresponds perfectly to what Jesus told Nicodemus. “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 We must be “born of water” and then “born of the Spirit.” “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” Titus 3:5 This is a verse that corresponds to what Jesus said “the washing of regeneration” is water baptism and the “renewing of the Holy Ghost” is Spirit baptism.

In the English Standard Version notice what Peter writes, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 3:21 Peter says that baptism corresponds to the salvation of the family of Noah through water. He says, “baptism now saves you.” This does not throw away the scripture that shows us we are saved by grace through faith. It’s nothing we can do that saves us. It is a gift from God period. As part of the process God commands us to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. If we disobey this command we do not have faith and thus Peter writes, “baptism now saves you.”

He writes that it is not as a removal of dirt from the body. Its not a physical bath you are taking but an appeal to God for a good conscience. As you have repented and you are responding in faith to the word of God to enter the waters of baptism you are asking God to give you a good conscience. Keep in mind it is not baptism that gives you a good conscience. Baptism is an act of faith that appeals to God for a good conscience. Only the blood of Christ gives you a good conscience. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14 The blood of Christ purges your conscience from dead works not baptism.

This is the simple formula for salvation. Most evangelicals simply state that salvation is to come by grace through faith as a gift from God. This is true, but you are missing the steps that the apostles taught the others to take. Paul’s first response to those who had not received the Holy Spirit (the new birth) yet was to baptize them in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Acts 19:2-6) It’s important for our actions to correspond to the actions of the apostles. What they were doing was not simply for another age, but it was the gold standard for all of us to walk in.

William Branham – Visions and Discernment

Watch as the Holy Spirit works through brother Branham to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart. You are witnessing Jesus Christ on display to the world. This is a manifestation of the Spirit of God in a way that has not been done since the times of the apostles.

A Word to Muslims

A Word To Muslims
I dedicate this writing to followers of Muhammed. I admire the strength of your conviction and the fervor with which you follow Allah. My hope is that this writing brings freedom and life to all who desperately need peace in their souls. I am an American and I love the Muslim people. I hate the atrocities that have been committed over the centuries in the name of “true religion”. God is love. Any true believer will express love to ALL people around him and will return good for evil.

Please understand that Jesus loves you and cares for you. There are many people who call themselves Christians are not really. A Christian by definition is one who loves his God first, loves his neighbor and loves his enemy. Jesus said, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44 I love you and want you to know the truth and truly have peace and eternal life in God. My only desire is to help you.
Muslims rightly call Jesus a prophet. For truly he was the prophet that Moses said would come.

No true Christian would ever want to see any hurt to come to any Muslim or any other man for that matter. If one truly believes in Jesus he will give of himself and love his neighbor as himself and love his enemy and pray for those who persecute and despitefully use them.

The Trinity Is a False Concept

From the time of the inception of Islam’s prophet Muhammed “orthodox” Christians falsely believed in a God that exists as three persons. This is different from the God that revealed himself through Jesus. Jesus said the greatest commandment was, “hear o Israel the LORD our God, the LORD is one.” God’s unity is the most sacred commandment. Truly the New Testament of the Christians teaches men that God is one not three. Jesus or his apostles never taught that there is a three person God. Three does not equal one in any way. There is one God and only one. Jesus was a prophet that was full of the Holy Spirit.

Is Jesus a prophet?

Jesus said, “I am the Son of God.” To the Muslim the Quran teaches that no one should say that God has a Son. From the perspective of the Muslim you are stating that there are not multiple two or three gods. Only God is God, there is none else. But the Quran also teaches that Jesus was a prophet and that prophet’s don’t make mistakes. But you are confronted with the fact that Jesus said he was the Son of God. The question is then, “was Jesus, the prophet of God, a liar or was he really who he said he was?” Do you even have the option to say he was a liar?

What Does It Mean To Be The Son of God?

Frankly what the Catholics have taught for centuries that the Son of God is a second person who is God is a false concept. According to the angel Gabriel Jesus was the Son of God because the God created a little cell inside of Mary. GOD DID NOT HAVE SEX WITH MARY. GOD CREATED WITHIN MARY A LITTLE EMBRYO. This is precisely what you believe as a Muslim.

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:35

Jesus is the Son of God based upon the fact that God created within Mary a little baby, just as every Muslim believes. That is why Jesus was the Son of God. Just as Adam was created by God directly and therefore the son of God.

What will you do with this Jesus called the Christ?

Will you reject the prophet of God’s words? Will you tell him that he was in error when he said he was the Son of God? What decision will you make? Will you believe Jesus’ words or will you reject him as a liar? Everyone must make a choice.

What does the prophet Jesus offer?

Here is something to think about. Jesus was a prophet and as such he foretold his death, burial and resurrection. His apostles bore record of this and they died because of what they said about Jesus. Would they die for a lie? Would they allow themselves to be tortured and killed so that they could tell a lie. Truly, they witnessed Jesus die and rise again from the dead. They knew him personally for over three years and were with him each and every day. Could they possibly be tricked into believing a lie? They witnessed Jesus ascend into heaven. Would they die for a lie?

Jesus, God’s prophet and Son, offers you peace. But he not only offers you peace, he offers to take your burden from you. He will not put a heavy burden upon you. He will give you the peace with God that you have always longed for.

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:27-30

Jesus offers you rest from your works. You believe that at the end of days Allah will judge all men based upon their works and if their good works outweigh their evil works you will enter into heaven. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous. There is no one worthy of heaven. That is why this offer of Jesus is so stunning. He offers you and me rest for our souls. We don’t have to work our way into heaven. If we have to work our way into heaven we will all be lost for our evil deeds always outweigh our good deeds. No one could ever be saved by their good deeds. We would all be condemned.

But the one true God put the sins of the entire world upon Jesus and Jesus who foretold the fact that he would die on the cross for our sins did in fact die in our places. The just for the unjust. The sinless for the sinners. Through faith in his Name and the love of God we are able to truly KNOW that we are forgiven. God accepted the blood of Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins. Because of that we have rest and we can know of a surety that we are going to be in paradise with God when we die. God raised Jesus from the dead and he is alive today in heaven praying for you and for me so that we can have rest for our souls.

If you know Jesus in truth you will have the freedom and rest for your souls that he offers. Will you accept his offer to take your heavy load and to give you his light load so that you can have rest for your souls?
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1.

If you confess with your lips the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead you shall be saved. It is not based upon any work you do. It is based upon the promise of God. Through faith, just like Abraham, you are made righteous in the sight of God. You stand perfect before God through faith in Jesus Christ. You do not have to live day by day with the burden of wondering whether you will go to paradise or hell when you die.

Jesus Is Alive, Sitting at the Right Hand of the Almighty

Jesus is alive today, seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, through the blood of the covenant, he is praying for us before God for our forgiveness. He is also continuing his work through his followers and they are doing the same works that he did when he was on earth. The dead are raised, the sick are healed and people are delivered from all manner of disease. If you are sick and in need of healing and want to see God heal and deliver please let me know. I would love to pray for you so that the one God of Jesus Christ could show you that he is still alive.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus promises to us that we also will be raised from the dead and have eternal life. If you accept Him for all that He is He will give to you what you so desperately need, peace, joy and eternal life.

What is the Message of the Hour?

While it is true that God is no longer adding to the canon of Scripture and all truth that God desires us to know as Christians is in the Bible, it is also true that the Church fell away from the original doctrine of the apostles and God since the Reformation has been continuously restoring the Church back to the pure Gospel. To put it in another way God is continually unfolding what is already contained within Scripture. Prophecy is not always immediately understood when written or spoken by a prophet or apostle, but as time goes on God reveals it.

 

It started with John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and on down the line. While each of these leaders sent from God had a glorious truth to proclaim it was not all that Christ was seeking to accomplish. He continued to work as the years went by, each leader was anointed by the Spirit and sent for a specific purpose. So in our generation has there been a leader sent from the Lord to gather together all these truths taught by the various reformers.

 

In each generation he sends men to stand as a beacon to reveal what God had in mind for that period out of the scriptures. He requires that truth from our mouths. If someone were to hear the message of Martin Luther in his days, “the just shall live by faith” and reject it they would be rejecting the gospel. Even if they continued in the current religion of the day, which was Roman Catholicism. They were rejecting the word. So is it today when God restores more of His truth to his church. If you reject the word of God in this day you are rejecting the Gospel of Christ. Just because something is not mainstream does not make it wrong. John Hus, John Wycliffe, Martin Luther and John Calvin were by no means mainstream Christianity. They were viewed by mainstream Christianity as heretical.

 

So then what is the message?

 

William Branham lived from 1909 to 1965. He had many supernatural experiences throughout his lifetime leading to his calling and ministry. Click on the name above to learn more specifics about the mighty signs and miracles God did through him. William Branham went forth with mighty signs and wonders showing that he was a teacher sent from God. This is not about that specifically, it’s about the restoration of the Church to the doctrine of the apostles.

 

Malachi 4:5-6 says this, “Behold, I will send unto you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord and he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers’ lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

 

Now, first of all, understand that this is a two fold prophecy with a fulfillment in two specific prophets. First, John the Baptist and second William Branham.

To prove this lets read Luke 1:17, “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

 

Here we see John is to “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” The Scripture does not say that John turns “the hearts of the children to their fathers.” He turns the hearts of the fathers to the children. John the Baptist does not complete the prophecy of Malachi. So another prophet is going to fulfill the last part of the prophecy.

 

How did John the Baptist Fulfill Malachi’s Prophecy?

 

John was the link to the changing dispensations. He preached the baptism of repentance and called the religious leaders vipers. He was called to turn peoples hearts from the doctrine of the Jewish “fathers” to the apostolic “children”. He went before Jesus the Christ as a forerunner to his coming and turned their faith off of the traditional doctrines on to the true faith of Israel and in the coming Messiah.

 

Then the next part of Malachi’s prophecy does the reverse. It turns the heart of the children to their fathers. Here we see the children whose hearts were turned away from the doctrine of their fathers. There was a restoration needed just as in the days of John the Baptist.

 

Starting after the death of the first apostles of Christ there was a gradual shift away from the original apostolic doctrines. There are many specific examples and there are other articles written on these specific topics, but two specifics are the doctrine of the oneness of God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. The Gentile believers began to unwittingly apply Greek philosophical thought to scriptural teaching. Thus began the shift from believing in the one God of Israel and his Son, Jesus the Christ to a belief in three co-equal, co-eternal Gods. This is not a Jewish biblical teaching. It is the result of combining Greek philosophy, Gentile religion and Christian teaching. The second, water baptism is a result of this shift from the one holy Name, the Lord Jesus Christ to the titles, Father, Son and Spirit.

 

The church also shifted from the teaching of justification by faith alone through the sovereign grace of God. They taught that certain works needed to be done in order to complete salvation.

 

These shifts away from the bible caused the necessity of God bringing forth the Reformation and all the resulting denominations from them. Most denominations have some form of truth that they focus on and is a teaching that God desired to restore to His elect. However, it was not God’s purpose that each of these truths be divided and separate into various factions. He wanted this truth to all be there and available for his elect to embrace and proclaim.

 

This was the purpose of God in William Branham.

 

He came and turned “the hearts of the children (of God) to their (apostolic) fathers.” His ministry has turned the Church back to the original faith and doctrine of the apostolic fathers. He told us to get back to the Bible over and over again.

Each denomination has their own take on what the bible teaches. So how do we know the difference? God proved the difference by manifesting himself and showing that William Branham was a teacher sent from God. He was a man approved of God among us by signs and wonders which God did through him.

 

Of course the objection tends to come up, “why have I not heard of this?” There’s a very good reason for that, but first let’s explore the times when Jesus Christ was here ministering on earth. First of all, was he rejected? Yes, he most certainly was, only the minority of simple people who were not religious authorities accepted him. Second, who were the people that hated him so much that they sought to kill him? Again, it was the religious authorities who were in power and were afraid of losing their power and control over the people.

 

Search through the Scriptures and find out if any prophets who were totally accepted and applauded by the “orthodox” church, synagogue or temple leaders. Of course they were not accepted by the majority because their ministry came as a rebuke to that majority.

 

Is different in this day? Unfortunately it is not. William Branham came with a strange ministry to most people. He did not join with any organization or group. He heavily criticized them and was in turn rejected by them, but that did not stop God from accomplishing his purpose through that ministry.

 

Now, William Branham has been dead for 40 years and MOST people refuse to accept his ministry. Things have not changed, but there are a few who receive the benefits of what God has revealed to us.

 

Remember, the man is just a means for God to accomplish his purpose. He is simply a chosen vessel God uses for his eternal glory.

 

What specifically is the message?

 

The message is what the end-time Elijah is sent for…to bring the Church back to the original faith as taught by the apostles. John 1:5 tells us, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” There is no traditional darkness in God. He is Light! “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.” If God is light and the light is what is made manifest then the message itself is a manifestation of God himself.

 

The message makes manifest God himself as He brings the Church back to the original Bible faith and life of the Gospel.

 

 

 

 

 

The Oneness of God

I humbly request that each of you read through this entire writing to get the full picture of what I am trying to present. If you simply read a part here or a part there you will miss the whole picture that I am hoping to present to you. In no way do I intend to present the entire subject, but rather an overview of what we stand for. I don’t pretend to understand every aspect about God, to do so to me would be the height of arrogance. While knowing God is not subjective to each of us personally (he is the true reality and there is only one proper way to comprehend his reality) he does reveal himself to us in a process throughout our life. We all must be open to correction from the Scripture and the unction of the Holy Spirit. My hope for all who read this and myself as well is that each of us would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit working on our conscience.

As bible believers we hold to scripture as the final authority not the creeds nor confessions of Christendom.

While the majority of Christian theologians focus on and seek to maintain the threeness of God as most important we want to focus on what God declares to be the greatest commandment, his oneness or unity. These are the words of Jesus and if there is any proper confession about who God is this is it, “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord.” This is the first and greatest command of the law and the greatest and first command that Jesus gives to us. God is one. He does not say God is three persons in one essence. Secondly, those who hold to the trinity should know that there is no where in Scripture that God is spoken of as a trinity of three persons. This is an ancient word that was used to describe the various triumvurate gods and godesses within various pagan systems of worship.

We want to define God as Scripture defines him and not through philosophy. Unfortunately, after the death of the apostles the church began to gradually drift away from the proper understanding of the oneness of God towards a Greek philosophical one.

The confession that God is three distinct persons is none other than tri-theism, the belief in three gods. The trinity seeks to maintain the oneness of God by stating that he is one essence or ousia. However, myself, my wife and my daughter each are made up of the same essence or ousia, flesh, bones and blood. We are still three persons and to confess that this is what God is is a belief in three gods.

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are never spoken of as three persons. We will bear this out scripturally to properly understand the relationship between Father and Son, but the threeness of God is in his manifestations of himself. During the first 300 years of the church there was a gradual departure from Hebrew thought to Greek philosophical thought. The Greeks always sought to understand God inside of himself, but the Hebrews always sought to understand God in his manifestation to mankind. The Greeks separate knowledge from relationship, the Hebrews viewed knowledge as intimacy with the object of knowledge. Hence, sexual intercourse with ones wife was to “know” her. God is not known to us inside of himself, he is known as he is revealed to us in time/space. Thus, we conclude that Father, Son and Spirit are three various ways God manifested himself to mankind.

God is One Person According to Scripture

Notice as you read scripture that God is spoken of as a singular pronoun thousands upon thousands of times. If when the writers of scripture were referring to God and they truly believed he was three persons would they not refer to God as they, them, their, we, us, our rather than I, me, mine, my, etc. Certainly, there are several times that God speaks as us, however, when you as one person speak and you say “us” clearly you are speaking of yourself and someone who is not yourself. When God says us he is speaking to someone who is NOT God.

Here is Galatians 3:20 from the Amplified Bible, “Now a go-between (intermediary) has to do with and implies more than one party [there can be no mediator with just one person]. Yet God is [only] one Person [and He was the sole party in giving that promise to Abraham. But the Law was a contract between two, God and Israel; its validity was dependent on both.” God is only one person not three. The entire scripture bears this out.

The truth about baptism bears this truth out. Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” God is spoken of as one singular name. There are not three names here, there is one. There are three titles, Father, Son and Spirit, but one name. What is that one name that the Lord Jesus tells us about? Jesus told them to baptize in the singular name of the Father, Son and Spirit. What is that name? Notice, the obedience of Peter in Acts 2:38, “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” The NAME of the Father, Son and Spirit is Jesus Christ. There are three manifestations of God in that one person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one person of God manifest in human flesh. (1 Timothy 3:16)

John 14:9, “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” Here we find out that the Son is the visible manifestation of the Father. When you see the Son you are seeing the Father manifested visibly. He is “the image of the invisible God” and “the express image of his substance.” (Col. 1:15, Heb. 1:3) “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 1:18. “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17. No man has seen God in himself at any time for he is invisible. God in himself is Spirit for John 4:24 declares that God is a Spirit. That is God’s substance or essence. Ephesians 4:4 tells us there is one Spirit. There is one invisible God, whom no man has seen at any time, he is one substance and that substance is one Spirit. God within himself cannot be seen nor comprehended by mankind for “in him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28) However, this invisible God chose to create this world and mankind as well as relate to mankind in a way that we can understand. What love and grace to condescend to us so that we could know him even though we are sinners.

So this God who is one Spirit, covers all space and is invisible, no man has seen him at any time nor can you see him chose to condescend to reveal himself. This is where the unfolding and condescending of God comes in. God chose to limit himself in such a way that he could be seen.

Logos

Proverbs 8:22-24, “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.”

Before there was time or even an atom, there was nothing but God. How he existed and what was there we do not know. He created everything out of nothing. Prior to anything being created God sent forth his thought or logos from himself. When this thought was expressed it became logos. Prior to creation God’s wisdom was IN himself. Just before creation he brought forth his logos, which was the Son of God prefigured in order to limit himself and manifest himself inside of and to his creation. The word prefigured means to picture beforehand or to announce by type. In other words, the item you are speaking of does not yet exist, but you are announcing it prior to its arrival.

God’s wisdom or word are not a separate being from himself, but the logos is the limitation of the Father to a form by which he can be seen and understood. No man knows the Father save the Son and to whomsoever the Son reveals him. (Matthew 11:27) The Logos that went out of God was the Son prefigured. That is, the Logos showed forth what Jesus was after his birth, he is the revelation of the Father, the visible expression of God. As I said previously, you cannot say that God’s reason or wisdom is a separate person from him, it is simply his body, his means of limiting himself to a form that can be understood. The Son is the delimitation of the Father. The Father is the eternal, invisible God and the Son is the self-limitation of the Father to a body that could be seen and understood.

If the Logos is the prefiguration of the Son does this mean that there are two persons of God. As I stated previously, the wisdom of God is not a separate person from the Father. It is the self-limitation of the Father into a body or a form by which he can be seen. Your body is not a separate person from you any more than your thought is. As your body and soul are two so is the Father and his logos. The Father is like unto the soul and the logos is like unto the body whereby the soul is seen.

As stated previously, the Spirit of God cannot be separated from God because there is one Spirit not two or three. Jesus said, “God is a Spirit.” The Spirit of God is also referred to as the “power of the Highest” in Luke 1:35. God’s power is not a distinct person from him.

There are several events in the life of Jesus that speak volumes to us about the proper understanding of who the Son is.

To be continued…

Birth of Jesus

Baptism of Jesus

Father and Son