Suppressing The Name and Teachings Of Christ

Posted by Brother John Jones on March 12, 2019
Posted in: Religion. Leave a comment

Have you noticed that many who have claimed that they are disciples of Christ and Christian messengers never even mention Jesus Christ let alone bear witness concerning him? Such absence is telltale and indicative that something is wrong.

Jesus himself counseled:

“You will tell a tree by the fruit it bears.”

If the “tree” is devoid of fruit should tell you something as well.

Some of these even claim to be part of the bride class and yet never mention the bridegroom.

They teach only about the older prophets prior to Christ and skip the Christ himself and what he said ; the one whom they claim they serve and belong to eternally.

Why?

Jesus gave this command before departing the Earth:

“Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit teaching them ALL OF THE THINGS I HAVE COMMANDED YOU…” Matthew 28.

How can one meet this basic command without mentioning Jesus or mentioning what he himself said?

Did he command, “Go therefore and make disciples of Elijah or Isaiah or Daniel teaching them what these prior prophets said”? No. And while teaching what these prior prophets of God said is a very good thing, it cannot substitute for bearing witness to Jesus Christ.

These are aiding in suppressing and hiding the name and the teachings of Jesus Christ, which pleases his enemies and not him.

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The Only Choice-Why Could Only Jesus Serve As The Ransom Sacrifice?

Posted by Brother John Jones on March 8, 2019
Posted in: Bible Standards, faith, God and Christ, Heaven, Jehovah, Jesus, Religion. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Students of the Bible understand that Jesus provided a ransom sacrifice spotless and unblemished as required by God to redeem mankind from the slavery to sin and death that Adam and Eve cursed all their descendants to.

1 John 2:1,2

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

It should not be overlooked that the chosen one to be offered, had to be a ‘firstborn’ of at least equal value as Adam the firstborn of humankind.

Adam’s sin caused mankind to fall out of grace with God. It became necessary for there to be a means of reconciliation.

God found it acceptable to devise an act of propitiation that would be sufficient that he would open a means to be put right with him.

Propitiation is an action meant to regain someone’s favor or make up for something you did wrong.

He provided His only begotten son to serve as a sacrifice for atonement.

The meaning of the word atonement is simply at-one-ment, He was sacrificed to make all things in Creation at one with God again.

No firstborn animal of a lesser life form would meet the requirements satisfactory to God to serve as the ransomed one.

There is only one other firstborn mentioned in the Scriptures that would possibly qualify. That was the firstborn of creation, the only begotten son of God.

Although he was of much higher stature and value than Adam, he was the only possibility. There were actually no other option; no one else to be considered.

God in his wisdom and foresight withheld immortality from his only begotten son until after his resurrection for this purpose.

Romans 6:9

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Had God not withheld immortality from His son, this ONLY choice would not have been able to serve as the sacrifice that offset (atoned) for Adam’s transgression. He would not have been able to give up his life because he would not have been able to die. There would have been no one else worthy.

This demonstrates that Almighty God, the Father, knows all thing and he knows the finale from the very beginning.

God’s superlative sacrifice is of sufficient value to cover all things in both Heaven and on Earth. More was being brought back to oneness with God than fallen man. His sacrifice covers things that occurred in the Heavens as well.

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

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‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance!’

Posted by Brother John Jones on February 26, 2019
Posted in: Bible Standards, Celebrating the Lord's Evening Meal, Christian-Zionism, faith, Heaven, Jesus, Matthew 11:17. Leave a comment

What did Jesus mean?

Matthew 11:16,17

16 “Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, 17 ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn’t dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn’t cry!’

That the people of his day, like the people of this day, often stage situations expecting others to automatically play a role they have been presented with. They behave like children who have put on a choreographed skit and then get frustrated that you will not play the part they have created for you.

Instead of excepting and conforming to what God was leading, they desired to bend things to their desire and will.

In the preceding verses, Jesus draws his listener’s attention first to John the baptizer and then to himself.

Verse 7b

“When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? 8 What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that live in palaces! 9 Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. 10 For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’

But John did not fit their expectation and was rejected by the great many of his fellow Israelites. They saw him as some weird guy who didn’t fit in.

John preached about the “Kingdom of heaven” and not about the establishment of an earthly kingdom in the hands of men. This is the same ‘Kingdom’ all the preceding prophets before John had pointed to.

Verses 12-14

12 From the time John preached his message until this very day the Kingdom of heaven has suffered violent attacks, and violent men try to seize it. 13 Until the time of John all the prophets and the Law of Moses spoke about the Kingdom; 14 and if you are willing to believe their message, John is Elijah, whose coming was predicted.

It was so as well with the Lord Jesus himself.

Verses 18 and 19

18 When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ 19 When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ God’s wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.”

Jesus did not fulfill their expectations either. The Pharisees and others looked down on him because of his personal habits and the company he chose to keep. The Pharisees you may recall, were very elitist and would never be seen associating with the majority of the kinds of people the Lord was willing to expose himself to.

They had their own ideas of godliness and righteousness that Jesus would not become part of. And many Jews at that time had a Zionist vision that Jesus would have nothing to do with. They were NOT seeking the Kingdom of heaven. Some even wanted to make him their king, but he rejected the notion. And this frustrated them and made them question why.

So Jesus compared them to little children who had prepared a scene of their choosing but wasn’t what God had prepared. Think: If you heard wedding music but there was no actual wedding going on, would you start dancing as if there were? If you heard a funeral dirge yet no one had died, would you weep and mourn anyway?

Because Jesus did not fit their ideas and did not play to their tune so to speak, he was rejected. In rejecting Jesus, they were rejecting God and His divine plan.

Today we see the very same attitudes and behaviors in his fellow Jews and by so-called Christian-Zionist who seek not the Kingdom of heaven, but the establishment of and earthly world ruling government.

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The Watchtower Society-The Two Extremes And The Schism That Followed

Posted by Brother John Jones on December 30, 2018
Posted in: Religion. Tagged: , , , , , . 3 Comments

A schism offering a false dichotomy

From Zionist To Anti Semitism

One of the groups that Hitler sent to concentration camps were Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were forced to endure unspeakable atrocities and many lost their lives. The individual actions of many Witnesses are commendable and the Watchtower holds up this part of their history in great esteem.

What is not discussed is the hypocritical actions of Rutherford in the lead up to these events. Early in 1933, the Watchtower office in Berlin was closed and Jehovah’s Witnesses were banned in many German states.

In an attempt to appease Hitler, Rutherford instigated a Declaration of Facts and sent a letter to Hitler discussing the Watchtower’s support of the Nazi regime.

Current Watchtower references provide a deceptive portrayal of these documents, through selective quoting. The Proclaimer’s book mentions that Rutherford wrote a letter to Hitler under the context of “facing Nazi oppression”, in which the Watchtower Society is made to sound as if they were firmly against the Nazi regime.

“Therefore, on June 25, 1933, a declaration regarding their ministry and its objectives was adopted by Jehovah’s Witnesses at an assembly in Berlin. Copies were sent to all the high government officials, and millions more were distributed to the public. Nevertheless, in July 1933 the courts refused to grant a hearing for relief. Early the following year, a personal letter regarding the situation was written by J. F. Rutherford to Adolf Hitler and delivered to him
by special messenger. Then the entire worldwide brotherhood went into action.

On Sunday morning, October 7,1934, at nine o’clock, every group of Witnesses in Germany assembled. They prayed for Jehovah’s guidance and blessing.

Then each group sent a letter to German government officials declaring their firm determination to keep on serving Jehovah.” – Jehovah’s Witnesses – Proclaimer’s Of God’s Kingdom p.693

It is quite surprising to find the opposite is true, which can be identified when reading the content of Rutherford’s
1933 letter to Hitler and the Declaration of Facts.

Russell, founder of the Watchtower, was a Zionist and sympathetic to Jews as part of modern-day fulfilment of Bible prophecy. Rutherford initially continued such support, but changed by the 1930’s to an anti-Semitic stance.

“Be it known once and for all that those profiteering, conscienceless, selfish men who call themselves Jews, and who
control the greater portion of the finances of the world and the business of the world, will never be the rulers in this new earth.
God would not risk such selfish men with such an important position” The Golden Age 1927 Feb 23 p.343

“The Jews were evicted from Palestine and ‘their house left unto them desolate’ because they rejected Christ Jesus, the beloved and anointed King of Jehovah. To this day the Jews have not repented of this wrongful act committed by their forefathers. … In 1917 the Balfour Declaration, sponsored by the heathen governments of Satan’s organization, came forth, recognized the Jews, and bestowed upon them great favors. … The Jews have received more attention at their hands than they really deserved.” Vindication – Book II (1932) pp.257-258

During the time of Rutherford, Witnesses became known as a religion of hate, due to the Watchtower’s tirade of insults against other Churches and governments. The Catholic Church come under the greatest condemnation and bought this to the attention of the Nazi government, petitioning against the Watchtower Society. In 1933, the Nazi government banned the Watchtower’s German operations.

“In June of the so-called “Holy Year” of 1933 Adolf Hitler’s regime seized the Watch Tower Society’s property in Magdeburg and banned the activities of Jehovah’s people in Germany as regards meetings and literature distribution, though the property was returned that October.” Yearbook 1975 p.174

In an effort to overturn the ban, Rutherford sent a Letter and a Declaration to Hitler, in which he could rightfully praise Hitler for his anti-Anglo/American campaign and his stance against the Jews.

“Following is part of an English translation of the Letter to Hitler. (known as the Declaration of Facts)

“Dear Reichskanzler,
…
The Brooklyn headquarter of the Watchtower Society is pro-German in an exemplary way and has been so for many years. For that reason, in 1918, the president of the Society and seven members of the board of directors were sentenced to 80 years in prison, because the president refused to use two of the magazines published in America under his direction for war propaganda against Germany. These two magazines, “The Watchtower” and “Bible Student” were the only magazines in America which refused to engage in anti-German propaganda and for that reason were prohibited and suppressed in America during the war.

In the very same manner, in course of the recent months the board of directors of our Society not only refused to engage in propaganda against Germany, but has even taken a position against it. The enclosed declaration underlines this fact and emphasizes that the people leading in such propaganda (Jewish businessmen and Catholics) also are the most rigorous persecutors of the work of our Society and its board of directors. This and other statements of the declaration are meant to repudiate the slanderous accusation, that Bible Researchers are supported by the Jews.

The conference of five thousand delegates also noted – as is expressed in the declaration that the Bible Researchers of Germany are fighting for the very same high ethical goals and ideals which also the national government of the German Reich proclaimed respecting the relationship of humans to God, namely: honesty of the created being towards its creator. The conference came to the conclusion that there are no contradictions when it comes to the relationship between the Bible Researchers of Germany to the national government of the German Reich. To the contrary, referring to the purely religious and unpolitical goals and efforts of the Bible Researchers, it can be said that these are in full agreement with the identical goals of the national government of the German Reich.

We are looking forward to your kind approval, which we hope to receive soon, and want to assure our highest respect to you, honorable Mr. Reichskanzler.

Yours faithfully,
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society Magdeburg”

Excerpt from: nairaland.com/…/watchtower-scandal-rutherfords-letter-hitler

Since that time two groups have formed. One supporters of C. T. Russell (at some times called ‘Russellites’), and another group who support the views and teachings of J. F. Rutherford (Rutherfordites). This schism continues to exist until today. Each group claiming the other is wrong. The reality is that they are both out of harmony with the teachings of the Bible and both fall short of true obedience as disciples of Christ.

They each cling to an earthling man as their spiritual leader. They prove themselves to be disciples of men and not of Christ Jesus.

Paul spoke of this very phenomenon occurring in the first century.

1 Corinthians 1:10-13

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

11 For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?”

Just substitute the names Cephas and Apollos with Russell and Rutherford. They both are doing the very thing the Apostle warned against.

Was it Russell that died for you? Was it in Rutherford’s name you were baptized?

They are divided because their discipleships are founded on men and their warring is divisive and hinders the operation of the Holy Spirit. They glorify men and man-made organization and entice others to follow their path.

It is Jesus Christ is who is to be followed. They need to stop putting faith in earthling man.

Charles Taze Russell mixed Bible belief with mysticism (example: seeking answers by studying the Giza pyramid). He was a man who held Zionist beliefs and expectations. He was a man who preached that a person could not come to an accurate understanding of the Bible without reading his books. And he shared other non biblically based thinking.

Joseph Franklin Rutherford was an anti-Semite who groveled at Adolf Hitler’s feet using anti-Semitic speech to appease him. He turned what Russell started into an organizational structure. He also initially share Russell’s Zionist vision of the restoration of physical Israel.

The followers of Russell and the followers of Rutherford offer a false dichotomy. If one chooses either, they are not true followers of Christ and they would have those who listen and believe what they teach remain connected to a house that has been condemned. They will not as Jesus admonished, “Get out of her my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues”.

These have not really heeded Christ warning as they will not make a clean break from the Watchtower Society. They continue to malinger in a house that Christ has condemned.

See also: https://brotherjohnsite.org/2018/08/25/was-ct-russell-founder-of-jehovahs-witnesses-a-zionist/

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Do You Believe The Martyr Stephen Was Cross-Eyed? What Did He See?

Posted by Brother John Jones on December 25, 2018
Posted in: God and Christ, Religion, trinity. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

What Did Stephen See?

Do You Believe The Martyr Stephen Was Cross-Eyed?

At first notion that may seem to be a silly question to ask. But there is a good reason to ask it.

What was it that Stephen saw in Heaven?

The Bible in the Book of Acts chapter six, describes the man Stephen as, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost (Holy Spirit)…”. (KJV)

Stephen had a vision by means of Holy Spirit just before his death. After eloquently defending his faith in Jesus Christ before a mob who were about to take him out and stone him, this is the account of what he saw: Acts 7:55-60

55 “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”.

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep”. (KJV)

Stephen said that he saw the resurrected Jesus standing, “on the right hand (on the right side) of God”. Stephen saw two distinct personages. He saw Jesus and he saw that he stood next to God Almighty.

This does not square with those who teach and believe that Jesus Christ was God come down to Earth in flesh.

For that belief to be true then either Stephen had a vision of God standing next to Himself which is impossible, or….Stephen had to have been cross-eyed and suffered from double-vision.

He didn’t see just one, he saw two individuals.

At the time when Jesus was baptized by John the baptizer, a voice was heard out of Heaven, “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. Matthew 3:17 (KJV)

Do you believe that Jesus in some sort of trickery, pitch his voice in order to deceive those with him? Who then was it that spoke from Heaven if he were God on Earth?

Those who believe Jesus and God Almighty are one and the same person misinterpret John’s personal expression in found at John 1:1 as he begins his gospel in which he gives an account of what Jesus himself said and did. The words at John 1:1 are not the words of Jesus, but of John.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. (KJV)

The John who wrote what is recorded as the Book of John is the same John who wrote what is recorded in the Book of Revelation. In reading the Book of Revelation it is quite obvious the John did not believe Jesus was God Almighty.

How is Jesus ‘godly‘?

Jesus is unique from all other creation. He is divine in that he is “begotten” of God. This mean God took of himself and formed His son. As your offspring are of your flesh, Jesus is of the same of what God’s body consist of and shares in this way godliness.

Jesus states himself as John records, what his relationship to God Almighty is. In John chapter 14 verse 28 we read:

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I“. (KJV)

Jesus clearly states that God the Father is greater than himself.

Also in the same Bible book of John chapter 6 verse 38, Jesus makes this statement regarding himself:

“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”. (KJV)

Who can send God Almighty anywhere? No one.

But God Almighty can send a lesser than himself to Earth and He did in sending His only begotten son.

Also note what occurred at the transfiguration scene found at Luke 9:34-35:

34 “While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud.

35 And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him”. (KJV)

If Christ were God in flesh, who was it that spoke from Heaven?

Paul said this about Almighty God,

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen”. 1 Timothy 1:17 (KJV)

God is and has alway been immortal. Therefore it is impossible for Him to die.

Yet we know the Jesus Christ did die and had to be resurrected. Ask yourself: By whom was he resurrected?

According to what is written in 1 Corithians chapter 15, it wasn’t until after Christ resurrection that he put on immortality.

While the picture illustration that accompanies this article may seem humorous, it should cause you to think quite seriously about the subject and what you have been taught.

Do you believe Stephen full of Holy Spirit and what he saw?

Do you believe Jesus and the words from his own mouth identifying himself as lesser than God the Father?

Do you believe God Almighty who twice identified Jesus as His son?

Or do you stubbornly insist on believing the misinterpretation of John 1:1 and ignore what the Bible clearly states concerning God the Father and Christ Jesus his son?

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The Temple Showbread…Twelve Priest, Twelve Loaves Daily

Posted by Brother John Jones on November 26, 2018
Posted in: Religion. Leave a comment

Twelve loaves of bread were offered daily

The ‘Showbread’

2 Peter 3:8
“But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

The root of the number 144,000 is explained in this brief but informative article.

Twelve priest served the daily offerings in the Temple.
Twelve priest serving twelve loaves equals 144.

“Twelve per day”

One of the central Temple vessels is the golden Table for the Showbread, which stands within the Sanctuary itself, on the north side. This table is constructed of wood overlain with gold, and the specific instructions for its design are described in Exodus Chapter 25.
The priests are commanded to see to it that 12 loaves of bread are constantly displayed on this table before the presence of G-d, hence the name showbread: “And you shall place showbread on the table before Me at all times” (Ex. 25:30).

These 12 loaves were baked in pans which gave them a specific form, and when done they rested on golden shelves upon this table. The loaves were replaced every Sabbath with new ones.

It is said that bread is the staff of life, and represents man’s physical sustenance. This is certainly so, and it is important that G-d’s blessing for goodness and bounty be found in the bread which we partake of… for without His munificent blessing, all of man’s efforts would neither satisfy nor satiate. Thus we endeavor to fulfill His will throughout every aspect of our endeavors, and in so doing, we earn His favor and blessing… for each area wherein man fulfills the Holy One’s will becomes a channel receiving Heavenly blessing.

This was especially so in the case of the Showbread, and one aspect of its function was indeed to elicit Divine guidance and providence. The sages teach that since these loaves were in essence the vehicle for fulfilling G-d’s commandment, and they were used to accomplish His will, special blessing could be found in it, and indeed, the Divine blessing was seen and felt particularly in the context of the Showbread. The Talmud describes that a miracle took place every week: When the priests came to replace the breads with new loaves every Sabbath, they found that those of the previous week remained fresh and hot upon the table, like the moment they were baked.

This miracle was seen as a clear confirmation that the Divine Presence indeed rested in this holy place.

In this light we find the sages’ comment that when the Holy Temple stood, every facet of human existence was similarly blessed by a corresponding aspect of the Divine service:

The produce of the fields were blessed on account of the showbread and the omer offering;

The yearly rainfall, on account of the water libations during the Holiday of Sukkot;

Clothing kept one warm in the merit of the priestly garments;
The economy prospered because of the daily sacrifices.

When the Temple was destroyed, all these benefits were discontinued, as recorded by the prophet Hagai: “You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you are not satiated; you drink; but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves; but no one is warm; and he that earns wages earns them to put them into a bag with holes” (Hagai 1:6).

http://www.templeinstitute.org/table_showbread.htm