The main point of the Bible is that God came down to earth as Jesus – to be our God and Savior
Introduction
It takes diligent, honest study to determine what God is saying to us in the Bible. One cannot interpret willi-nilly and expect accurate understanding.
A classic humorous example is to “point and go”. The reader points to “Judas went out and hung himself”. And then opens randomly to another section and reads, “Go and do thou likewise.”
False interpretations produce cults, false teachings, and lots of heartache. This is what has spawned the erroneous theologies within NAR churches like Bethel. Beware.
The classic mistake cults make is to believe that Jesus was merely a human, like you or I. But the Bible is very clear on this matter.
Jesus, while on earth, was absolutely God-man
In 1 Corinthians 15:47 the Apostle Paul explained that Jesus, while on earth, was absolutely God-man. He was not a mere man, ever.
“47 The first man is of the earth, earthy;
the second man
is the Lord
from heaven.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:47
It is the main point of the Bible
Even though Scripture clearly teaches to the contrary – NAR leaders teach that Jesus was not God during His time on earth. They base their belief on the one Philippians passage, Philippians 2:5-11 NASB, just 3 verses (v6-8). They teach this even though Jesus Himself said He was God, and it is the main point of the Bible…? That is amazingly ridiculous.
To teach that – is to make yourself into a cult.
To interpret like that? How overreaching is that!? What a horribly deceived, willful heart – to twist God’s Word to say what they want. Unbelievable. We all need “the full counsel of God’s Word (Acts 17:11),” not cherry-picked verses and wishful thinking.
This is a willful misinterpretation to support their power play as Apostles and Prophets (another misinterpretation). This puts them where they want to be: on the same level with Jesus. Since he is no longer God, they reasoned, we can do everything Jesus did. That is simply: not true.
Read: Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible, by: James W. Sire; InterVarsity Press / 1980 / Paperback 1
You must interpret Scripture with Scripture
– not with your own imaginations.
Read: Following the Jesus who was not God
Jesus was, and is — God in the flesh of a man, from birth to crucifixion and on throughout eternity. Jesus is “the Messiah” (“the Christ”). God came “down” from above into history as predicted in the Old Testament. Look at this again:
“47 The first man is of the earth, earthy;
the second man
is the Lord
from heaven.”
– 1 Corinthians 15:47
Paul states it very clearly: Adam was the first man, earthy. Jesus was “the second man” – but He was not just “man”, He also was “the Lord [GOD] from Heaven” – one of a kind. He was two types in one: Human, and God, at the same time, in one body. How much clearer can you get than this?
It is the main point of the Bible
Jesus, the second man, is a man like Adam, BUT additionally He was God from heaven – all in one person.
Not only did the Apostle Paul point to the divinity of Jesus — there are many other biblical expressions of the fact that Jesus was God while in the flesh on earth.
It is clear in Scripture that Jesus was God – all the time on earth:
* The Voice from Heaven.
At the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor: the voice from Heaven is a witness of Jesus’ divinity at that moment:
5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and [a]a voice from the cloud said, “[b]This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!” – Matthew 17:1-13 also Mark 9:1-13 and Luke 9:28-36.
* The Transfiguration of Christ.
The changing of Jesus’ face is clear evidence of His divinity while on earth:
29 As He was praying, the appearance of His face became different [actually transformed], and His clothing became white and flashing with the brilliance of lightning. 30 And behold, two men were talking with Him; and they were Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in glory, and were speaking of His departure [from earthly life], which He was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Now Peter and those who were with him had been overcome with sleep; but when they were fully awake, they saw His glory and splendor and majesty, and the two men who were standing with Him. – Verses 29-32 of Luke 9:28-36. Also Matthew 17:1-13 and Mark 9:1-13.
* The three witnesses of 1 John 5
John points out three witnesses of the divinity of Jesus: (1) the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, (2) the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and (3) the voice before he died.
1 John 5: verses 1-10 –Living Bible (TLB)
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ—that he is God’s Son and your Savior—then you are a child of God. And all who love the Father love his children too. 2 So you can find out how much you love God’s children—your brothers and sisters in the Lord—by how much you love and obey God.
3 Loving God means doing what he tells us to do, and really, that isn’t hard at all; 4 for every child of God can obey him, defeating sin and evil pleasure by trusting Christ to help him.
5 But who could possibly fight and win this battle except by believing that Jesus is truly the Son of God?
6-8 And we know he is, because God said so with a voice from heaven when Jesus was baptized,
and again as he was facing death[a]—yes, not only at his baptism but also as he faced death.*
And the Holy Spirit, forever truthful, says it too.
So we have these three witnesses:
the voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism, and the voice before he died.*
And they all say the same thing: that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.*
9 We believe men who witness in our courts, and so surely we can believe whatever God declares. And God declares that Jesus is his Son. 10 All who believe this know in their hearts that it is true. If anyone doesn’t believe this, he is actually calling God a liar because he doesn’t believe what God has said about his Son.
* Jesus claimed to be God
It is also plain to see that Jesus Himself also claimed to be God (while on earth) – not just in one verse, but all along His way in ministry on earth. Read:
John 13:19
“From now on I am telling you [what will happen] before it occurs, so that when it does take place you may believe that I am He [who I say I am—the Christ, the Anointed, the Messiah].” – John 13:19
John 1:1,14 The Apostle John also said Jesus is God
Exodus 3:14 “[a]I Am Who I Am”
Matthew 3:17
Matthew 17:5
Mark 8:29 ; Luke 9:20
Mark 16:6
John 7:25-31
John 8:12-30
John 10:22-42
John 11:25
John 18:37
Acts 9:1-22
Acts 17:3
- John 8: Jesus Himself Declared He Is God… verses 12-59 – from biblegateway.com
* As a child Jesus knew He was God
Jesus knew He was God – even “when He was twelve years old”. Verses 49-50:
“49 And He answered, “Why did you have to look for Me? Did you not know that I had to be [c]in My Father’s house?” 50 But they did not understand what He had said to them.“ – Luke 2:41-52.
* Even demons knew Jesus was God:
“For He was [a]foreordained (foreknown) before the foundation of the world, but has appeared [publicly] in these last times for your sake”
-
- 1 Peter 1:20 The Son of God always existed and it was always known that He would be the Redeemer of mankind.
* Claims by the Apostle Paul in Acts 2. Read this article on Acts 2: The Importance of Evidence
* Other Passages and Articles…showing Jesus was God:
The Apologetics of Peter – A Logical Argument for the Deity of Christ (From: Probe for Answers)
* Historical Evidences… see the many additional resources at the end of this article
Evidence and Answers (CAARM: The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry)
* Jesus – More Than A Mere Man …commentary on John 8 and Jesus’ claims to be God* Proof for the Resurrection
* Jesus: God or Just a Good Man? …Analyzing our 3 options to explain His identity: a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? -by Josh McDowell
How can NAR leaders like Apostle/Pastor/Teacher Bill Johnson at Bethel – teach that the one passage of Philippians 2:5-11 is teaching Jesus was not God, while it is clear that Jesus Himself claimed that He was God all throughout His years on earth, Jesus declares He is God in 7 “I am” Statements, the voices from heaven, and so many more?
It is clear that the NAR doctrine about Jesus calls Jesus a liar!
1 John 5: verse 10 –Living Bible (TLB)
10 All who believe this know in their hearts that it is true. If anyone doesn’t believe this, he is actually calling God a liar because he doesn’t believe what God has said about his Son.
The claim of Jesus
The claim of Jesus to actually BE God is indisputable.
See: Proof Christ was God and Furnished Proof
2Here (1 Corinthians 15:47) Paul is saying that the man Jesus on earth, was not “earthy” as Adam was, but rather, this man was “heavenly” — the Lord God Himself come down from Heaven.
Thinking the NAR way
The NAR way of thinking, which is how Bethel and all their prophets and messengers think, is full of “vain imaginations”.
1 Timothy 4:1
“But the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times
some will [a apostacize]
fall away from the faith,
paying attention to
deceitful spirits
and doctrines of demons”
Paul, on the other hand, said:
“…we have believed in Jesus Christ,
that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ.”
– Galatians 2:16
True believers follow the Gospel of the Gospel writers, Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These apostles were moved by the Holy Spirit to write what they recorded (2 Timothy 3:16). These new NAR “prophets” and “apostles” are certainly not “moved by God”, as proved by the many errors they have made while “prophecying” and by their misinterpretations of Scripture.
Early church apostles taught that man is justified, ultimately, in His heavenly Court System — “by the faith of Jesus Christ.”
Now brothers and sisters, let me remind you [once again] of the good news [of salvation] which I preached to you, which you welcomed and accepted and on which you stand [by faith].
2 By this faith you are saved [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain [just superficially and without complete commitment]. – 1 Corinthians 15: verses 1-2
NAR faith is in a Jesus who was not God
On That Day, no other “gospel” can save you. Not a chance in hell. If you put your faith in the “not-so-good-news” of the Bethel’s NAR doctrine of salvation: all you will hear is a God Damn. There is no salvation if your faith is in a Jesus who was not God when he died for your sins.
We long to hear Jesus say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful and trustworthy…. – Matthew 25:21 3
“we were eyewitnesses of His majesty” – 2 Peter 1: verse 16
16 For we did not follow
cleverly devised stories or myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were [h]eyewitnesses
of His majesty
[His grandeur, His authority, His sovereignty].
– 2 Peter 1: verse 16
The God of the Gospel is “Not a fabricated, conjured-up imaginary figure we might want to relate to on our own terms” (Source: A God Damn). Christians must stick exclusively to what the Bible says, because those words were most definitely inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16).
True believers follow
the Gospel of the Gospel writers,
Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
If we listen to false prophets, then we give their words more weight than Scripture; and we then believe the word of a present day apostle or prophet over that of truly God-inspired words. Why do that? There is no precedent in Scripture for all the changes being made by the wolves of NAR.
The Apostle Matthew warned in Matthew 7:15-21
15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will [k]know them by their fruits. – Verses 15-16 of Matthew 7:15-21
These wolves in sheepskins, pretenders, “turn things upside down!” (Isaiah 29:13-16 WEB version). They preach “cleverly devised stories or myths” (2 Peter 1:16). They constantly claim to receive “a word of the Lord”, a new “revelation from God Himself”. They claim for themselves an authoritative gift of “prophet” or “apostle”. They claim that, as so gifted, they receive words “directly from God” – and they want you to believe them. They want you to obey them, subject your life to them as your obedience to God.
Their “prophecy”, they claim, is a new revelation not given to the original early church apostles. Whole bodies of knowledge were hidden and missed – until now, they say. Now God is finally revealing “new revelations” through… who? You guessed it: specially gifted Bethel prophets and apostles. Wow. How convenient for them! (The problem is: they have been wrong on their profecies!)
Don’t believe them. It’s a crock. 4 For further reading: About False Teachings of Today
16 For we did not follow
cleverly devised stories or myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but we were [h]eyewitnesses
of His majesty
[His grandeur, His authority, His sovereignty].
– 2 Peter 1: verse 16
This verse is a reason we do not believe in present day prophetic apostles giving us new revelations directly from God: the early church was established by apostles who could say “we were eyewitnesses of His majesty”. Can’t happen today, and we do not need further revelations.
All of a sudden a huge “exception”
Alarming Dismissal of Old Testament Parameters
The interesting thing about these new, so-called prophets and apostles (they started appearing recently – around the 70′, 80’s and 90’s), is that they immediately changed the parameters of the state of their art:
All of a sudden a huge “exception” to the Old Testament (OT) instructions was made, I suppose by one of their own. The OT message from God was thrown-out. The new prophet and apostle can now make errors! And so can every believer in the pew. No problem. No censure. They say.
They no longer fear being stoned (as in the OT). Any error of a prophet, or others, is okay – today, somehow. “Because I say so.” They are not to be censured whatsoever (and definitely not stoned to death). They say.
Don’t worry about making a mistake in your “word from the Lord”.
Just speak out from what comes to mind. This is what NAR teaches.
What what WHAT? Really?
There is no Scripture anywhere for this sudden change from what God previously communicated. It is awfully convenient for apostates to bring-in new doctrines. How suspicious! “I smell a rat.”
The Bethel school of miracles, and NAR-type pastors around the world — are training the church: “just say what comes to your mind”, “don’t worry about being wrong”?
And we are to believe them… again and again?
There is absolutely no Scriptural basis for a prophet of God, nor for an apostle of God, nor any of any “gift” to be believed ever again – if they prophecy wrongly or give a word supposedly from God… wrongly. Show me the verse that says they can be in error! None.
As evidenced by all their errors in “speaking forth”: it is very apparent that God has no new revelations being given to us through today’s self-professed NAR prophets and apostles and NAR church members.
Study these passages on the gifts:
I Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4.
NAR associated leaders and their church members make so many errors with their self-professed “revelations from God”.
- All the NAR church leadership (made-up by their top dogs, the prophets and apostles, who purportedly prophecy “words directly from God”) would all be stoned to death by now (if we were back in the OT days and ways). [But understand – I am not advocating “stoning”.]
- And NARly doctrines would cease to be promulgated. Of course.
But, no. They can “get it wrong” once in awhile, they say. “It was just a mistake.” Think about it: Is God ever wrong? So, who is wrong here? How can God have told THAT to you yesterday… and now we find out THAT was an error… from God? Watch out for the dogs!
let us reason together”
– Isaiah 1:18
“…make damn sure 5
[extremely sure, very sure, highly sure]
you are
truly saved.
FOR MORE:
They in fact have seen nothing
About False Teachings of Today
Show me actual false teachings
The Bethel Johnson’s Unbiblical Teachings
Following the Jesus who was not God …falsely interpreting Philippians 2:5-11 NASB
Legally Damned – Legally Forgiven
Jesus declares He is God in 7 “I am” Statements
Jesus is all man and all God for all time
Jesus: God or Just a Good Man? …Analyzing our 3 options to explain His identity: a liar, a lunatic, or Lord? -by Josh McDowell
About Evidences for faith in Jesus
Following the Jesus who was not God
Footnotes
- Author James W. Sire, editor and Ph.D. in English, brings his linguistic skills to bear on the problem of how cults twist the meaning of the Bible to fit their own worldview. From subtle interpretation differences to blatant misrepresentation and misquotation of Bible passages, Sire brings to our attention the dangers cults can pose, especially to those who don’t know Scripture.
Sire focuses on twenty types of misreadings commonly practiced by cults. The types are:
inaccurate quotation, twisted translation, the biblical hook, ignoring the immediate context, collapsing contexts, overspecification, word play, the figurative fallacy, speculative readings of predictive prophecy, saying but not citing, selective citing, inadequate evidence, confused definition, ignoring alternative translations, the obvious fallacy, virtue by association, esoteric interpretation, supplementing biblical authority, rejecting biblical authority, and world-view confusion.
Understanding the above misreadings can help Christians fight the spread of cults. And it can also help us to grow closer to God, through a better understanding of His word. Sire wrote the book for those dealing with cults, and for Christians in general, with the hope that we might all learn to read the Bible correctly. So join with him as he takes you on an enjoyable and stimulating lesson in reading.
- Refer to this study guide: About False Teachings of today
Imaginations…”Heresies”
1 Timothy 4:1
“But the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times
some will [a apostacize]
fall away from the faith,
paying attention to
deceitful spirits
and doctrines of demons”1 Timothy 6:3-5
… If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ…2 Timothy 4:3 Amplified Bible (AMP)
3 For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]1 John 2:18-19
They went out from us [seeming at first to be Christians], but they were not really of us [because they were not truly born again and spiritually transformed1 John 4:5
They [who teach twisted doctrine]Luke 11:52
your flawed interpretation of God’s word and your man-made traditionIsaiah 29:13-16 World English Bible (WEB)
16 You turn things upside down!
Also read: 1 John 4:1, 2 John 1:7-11, 1 Peter 4:17, James 3:1, James 5:19-20, Acts 20:28-31, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Galatians 1:6-10, Galatians 2:4-5, Romans 16:17-19, 2 Corinthians 2:17, Ephesians 5:6-13, 1 Corinthians 5:11-13, Titus 1:10-11, Colossians 2:18, 2 Peter 2:1-3, 2 Peter 3:15-16, 2 Timothy 2:16-18, 2 Timothy 2:19-26. Also: 1 John 4:5; 1 John 4:6.
Needing something more than Jesus
They in fact have seen nothing
Reporting on the Rise of ‘Reckless Christianity’… Responding biblically to the worldwide prophets and apostles movement taking over churches. Jan 10, 2021; Written By Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett
NAR leader Brian Simmons reveals a new chapter of the Bible, by Holly Pivec, the co-author of A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement and God’s Super-Apostles: Encountering the Worldwide Prophets and Apostles Movement. She has a master’s degree in Christian apologetics from Biola University.
A New Apostolic Reformation?: A Biblical Response to a Worldwide Movement, By Holly Pivec and Doug Geivett. Authors introduction: “This critique provides a framework for understanding and interpreting the widespread but little-known New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement.
For more, refer to the actual study guide: About False Teachings of today.
- Excerpt from A God Damn:
The Bible teaches about a holy God, not a Santa Claus god. Not a fabricated, conjured-up imaginary figure we might want to relate to on our own terms – but the real, actual Holy God of the Heavens, the One and Only Creator God who made all that exists anywhere — He who still is in control.
In terms we can somewhat grasp, God shares with us in the Bible what He is truly like. And our modern day culture just really hates that. Do you see that?
So, what about a real God damn? In contrast with a damning by a person: What’s a God damn like? What will it be like to stand before Creator God on Judgement Day, and receive His wrath? That’s something to really think about. Can you feel the finality of it all in that moment?
A person can damn you, but, what’s that going to do? Not much. However, on That Day of Judgement, a God damn is:
forever bad, forever unforgiving, never changeable – permanent in the universe. A God damn declared by God Himself will make the human heart quiver like a gazelle caught in the lion’s jaws.
You can argue all you want now. But, standing before Creator God – there will be no wiggle room to escape. For the “Claus God” followers on that day, as with all who reject Christ, there will be no escaping the wrath of The Holy God of Judgement. – Excerpt from: A God Damn.
- Meaning of “crock”: foolish, wrong, or untrue. From https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/crock.
- “damn”. an advert meaning: extremely, very, highly (Babylon.com)
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