Fair Biblical Fora

9/29/2018 22 Comments


This is a comment posted by a reader:

Yeah dude that’s cool keep it up. You’re the most sensible I have read so far — Quite interesting blogs — Very knowledgeable and prudent. Other Christian (?) blogs offer their own way of biblical understandings and explanations but your blog contains the most explained about religious issues and controversies after all, you’ve based all your explanations on the bible — Quite good huh. May I suggest that you create a biblical forum consist of leaders of other religious denominations like your old program in the Philippine radio (This is Manolo and his Genius Family Special ) may I suggest a name FORA BIBLICA. (I just construct it from a health program I used to watch FORA MEDICA) hope to read your future blogs and I would like to commend you for doing a job very well done.

P.S.

Praise your God!!!

From: LetUsReason

Dear LetUsReason,

Your reply to my blog entitled “The Power that Drives Me” caught my attention while I was very busy preparing for a “Bible Exposition” in Northern Luzon, Philippines. I am a very busy person; Sometimes, not physically, but mentally.

ROMANS 7:25 
I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

If I am not the first person whose mind is very busy, I can certainly feel I am not the last. The Apostle Paul experienced the same thing.

PHILIPPIANS 2:20 
For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.

Thinking of what to teach to our congregation and to those outside (the congregation) definitely does not tire me. I believe in the promise of the Lord that He will give the teachings at the perfect time they are needed by His people.

LUKE 21:13-15
13 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
15 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.

Irrefutable teachings from the Bible come to my mind very easily. I believe it is God’s working that His truth is revealed to me even if I am not thinking of it. These are revelations meant by God for His people.

1 PETER 1:12 (ASV) 
To whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto you, did they minister these things, which now have been announced unto you through them that preached the gospel unto you by the Holy Spirit sent forth from heaven; which things angel desire to look into.

I do not just say this, but this has been experienced by thousands upon thousands of people who come to our “Bible Expositions” asking all kinds of questions, being answered directly from the verses of the Bible.


Brother Eli Soriano in one of his ‘Bible Expositions’ where he answers people’s questions 
regarding salvation taking it directly from the Bible.

Although I am presently very busy, I welcome your suggestion with an open mind and heart; if there will be a forum of religious preachers and leaders, who will come together in order to discuss issues regarding faith and religion. Please register my name in that forum at once. If you want to spearhead such a forum, you have all my backing up (of course, mine is very little; but the backing up of the Bible means everything).

ISAIAH 43:9 
Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and show us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

The gathering of people of all nations may not be physically possible now; but I believe it is very much possible through the internet. We can, by this technology, organize Bible-centered forums where people could witness who among the representatives of different faiths and religions declare God’s former things and the TRUTH.

I believe the internet is now the most civilized avenue for people to argue because, through this technology, there is no chance that anybody would be harmed by the ill-tempered and the hypocrites who claim that they are of God.

TITUS 1:16 
They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.

Just very recently, a discussion between two groups who both claim that they are the only people of God (but I believe they are both of satan) clashed violently against each other (see reference below). In the internet, this will not happen.


One of our ministers experienced the same thing with these people; but our group did not go down to their level (see video below).


God wants us to reason out together to see the real and the whole picture of the truth, but without violence.

ISAIAH 1:18 
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

To reason out together with the intent of knowing the truth and finding atonement for sins is something Godly. Discussions that end up violently harming people, especially the innocent, is satanic.

JOHN 8:40, 44
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham…
44 …Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Christ said this when the Jews tried to kill Him during one of His argumentations against them. To argue and to reason out with people in search for the ‘Divine Truth’ regarding salvation is a Godly intent in the heart of a true preacher of God.

ACTS 9:22, 29
22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ…
29 …And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.

Even the Supreme Court of the Philippines has upheld in its doctrines and jurisprudence the constitutional right of the people to discuss and argue about pertinent issues of faith (see reference below).

 ————

IGLESIA NI CRISTO (INC.), petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, BOARD OF REVIEW FOR MOTION PICTURES AND TELEVISION and HONORABLE HENRIETTA S. MENDEZ, respondents.

The respondent Board may disagree with the criticisms of other religions by petitioner but that gives it no excuse to interdict such criticisms, however, unclean they may be. Under our constitutional scheme, it is not the task of the State to favor any religion by protecting it against an attack by another religion. Religious dogmas and beliefs are often at war and to preserve peace among their followers, especially the fanatics, the establishment clause of freedom of religion prohibits the State from leaning towards any religion. Vis-a-vis religious differences, the State enjoys no banquet of options. Neutrality alone is its fixed and immovable stance. In fine, respondent board cannot squelch the speech of petitioner Iglesia ni Cristo simply because it attacks other religions, even if said religion happens to be the most numerous church in our country. In a State where there ought to be no difference between the appearance and the reality of freedom of religion, the remedy against bad theology is better theology. The bedrock of freedom of religion is freedom of thought and it is best served by encouraging the marketplace of dueling ideas. When the luxury of time permits, the marketplace of ideas demands that speech should be met by more speech for it is the spark of opposite speech, the heat of colliding ideas that can fan the embers of truth.

————


Sad to say, we do not anymore enjoy this right as a group. The Chairman (La Guardia) of the Movie and Television Review and Classifications Board (MTRCB), under the office of the President of the Philippines and the Kapisan ng mga Broadkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) had prohibited us mentioning or criticizing the wrong teachings and abuses of other religious groups while we are being freely maligned by them in almost every medium of communication.

It will be a very fair forum if we can use the internet to discuss matters of faith in biblical fora. To your suggestion, I say Amen! God bless you.

Sincerely in Christ,

Bro. Eli Soriano

22 Comments:

A question from an atheist: Why would Jesus want you to eat His body and drink His blood?

9/22/2018 , 19 Comments

The spiritual meaning of eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ


Now we know by this question, that these imaginary people are living in their idiotic world understanding only their language of ignorance and impertinence. They speak of hypocrisy and lies like their adopted father.

JOHN 8:44
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

The Lord Jesus said to His disciples:

JOHN 6:51-54
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

The commandment says: “Eat the bread which came down from heaven”, that is His body. Does it sound cannibalistic?

He further emphasized that that bread is His flesh. When the disciples did not understand what He meant, He explained that He is speaking of spiritual things.

JOHN 6:60-63
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, this is a hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The flesh of Jesus or His body is the manifestation of all perfection and holiness attainable by any human being that believes. Eating it spiritually means receiving the glory in it so that it can also be present in your person.

JOHN 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The grace and the truth that is in the ‘corporeal’ body of Christ, if eaten or received, can be transferred or reflected in the person of a believer.

ROMANS 8:29
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Jesus is an example to follow. He is the role model to every Christian.

1 PETER 2:21
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps…

These imaginary people live in a world of seclusion: having a kind of language deprived of figures of speech, idiomatic expressions, and above all, spirituality. If they hear you say, “Eat crow”, then they will say, “I am not eating crow”. If you say, “I’ll eat my hat”, then they will laugh at you, and presume that you are extremely hungry, because you will “eat your hat”.

It sounds stupid, isn’t it?

But an intelligent and educated Christian knows the language of the Bible and the spiritual things that it teaches.

PROVERBS 8:8-9
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge.

In the Book of Revelation, John, the disciple, was commanded to eat a scroll or a book.

REVELATION 10:9-10
9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

It was an angel who told John to “eat the book”, and John was in the spirit that day.

REVELATION 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet…

These verses speak of spiritual things that sound foolish to the ungodly.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:14 (RSV)
The unspiritual man does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Linguists use the phrase “digest the book”.

(e.i) “Reading is important for personal and professional development. If you want to grow your knowledge, you have to read. Reading is a tip of the iceberg though, digesting the information is the bigger piece on the block of ice. Here is something that is useful – George Ambler introduces a process to read and digest a book…”

Source (2007): http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifehack/how-to-read-and-digest-a-book.html

To digest a book means to absorb mentally the information in it. When the angel said to John, “eat the book”, it biblically and spiritually means that John must absorb the knowledge written in it. These wise words of the angel to John will surely be misinterpreted by these imaginary people! DO NOT TELL THEM TO EAT THEIR HEART OUT. They will surely be cannibals.

I do not want to claim to have read and digested the entire Bible, but the things I had, so far, read and digested had brought me to the conclusion that the Bible is a wonderful book; unparalleled in wisdom, understanding, and precise informations in science, history and morals, that can not rationally be refuted by the wisest man on earth.

I dedicate the following poem with an unknown author to my dear readers.

Yes I thought I knew my Bible

Reading piecemeal, hit or miss

Now a part of John or Matthew

Then a bit of Genesis

Certain chapters of Isaiah

Certain psalms, the twenty-third

First of Proverbs, twelfth of Romans

Yes, I thought I knew the Word.

But I found that thorough reading

Was a different thing to do

And the way was unfamiliar

When I read my Bible through

You who like to play at Bible

Dip and dabble here there

Just before you kneel all weary

Yawning through a hurried prayer.

You who treat this crown of writings

As you treat no other book

Just a paragraph disjointed

Just a crude impatient look.

Try a worthier procedure

Try a broad and steady view;

You will kneel in awesome wonder

When you read the Bible through.

God bless.

19 Comments:

The Covenant on the Fleshy Tables of the Heart

9/15/2018 17 Comments

Covenant written in the heart

I would like to give way to an email addressed to me by a Seventh Day Adventist pastor who commented on my articles regarding the SDAC’s teachings, particularly the article entitled “The Faulty Covenant of the Seventh Day Adventist Church”. The email states:

Dear Eli: 

First, my deepest apologies for Seventh Day Adventist’s that come across very rude. The Internet is a medium that can be taken the wrong way very easily and some are not as adept as they ought to be, perhaps, in expressing themselves in a way that one can discern the tenor and tone of the writer. I was interested in your post and am not sure how you got this email, but I thought I would take a few moments to respond. 

Yes, the first covenant was faulty and was discontinued at the cross of Christ. But the question is “what is the first covenant?” If it was the Ten Commandments then those are done away with at the cross, but if it wasn’t then they are still enforce. A covenant, as I am sure you are well aware of, is an agreement between two or more parties. The agreement called the Old Covenant was God stating that the children of Israel would obey His voice (Read Exodus 19-24) and the people said (three times) “all the Lord said we will do” and the final declaration they added “and be obedient.” Moses took the blood of sacrifice and ratified (put into effect) that agreement. The Ten Commandments were the basis, the parameters, of the agreement, not the agreement itself. Thus, the Ten Commandments were not done away with when the old covenant was nullified. 

Note what you highlighted so well in your quote of Hebrews, which comes from Jeremiah 31:31-34. God said that He would do something in this new covenant that does away with the idea that the Ten Commandments were done away with at the cross. God Himself states that He would “put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” Far from the law being done away with. It is rather inscribed upon His peoples hearts. Thus, the ten commandments are not done away with. We know this, too, by the very fact that in the book of Revelation we are given two glimpses of the law in chapters 11 and 15 and that it is in heaven right now. 

So, when you say that no one is sanctified by the old covenant you are correct. But Seventh-day Adventists are not under the old covenant. They are under the new like all true converted/transformed believers in Jesus Christ. They are not saved by their works. They are not saved by their obedience to the law of God, but they are empowered by God through His Spirit with His law written on their hearts to live for Him. Thus, a converted believer is following God out of a heart of love, trusting in the merits and mercies of Jesus Christ for the basis and sum of their salvation. 

Since Adventists love God they seek to follow Him in all that He has spoken and one of those commandments that they joyfully obey is the fourth about keeping the seventh day holy. But obeying that commandment is no more a works trip than say, refraining from committing adultery either physically or in their heart, or by their refraining from stealing, etc and so forth. Their obedience is prompted by love for God and is simply the fruit evidence of their converted state. 

True, some SDA’s are relying on their works for acceptance to God, but they are mistaken. But Adventism does not espouse or teach that one is saved by their obedience, but solely through the merits of Jesus Christ and they also teach that there is no such thing as cheap grace. God does not forgive only to allow us to go on sinning, breaking His commandments because they are “no longer under the old covenant.” 

The new covenant involves the new heart. Ezekiel 36:25-27 says that God promises a new heart and His Spirit to enable us to keep His will, or His law. Adventists believe this and seek to do so by God’s grace. 

I hope that this aids this very important and needed dialogue and the Lord bless you. In His Service and at yours,

Pastor Kevin James 


Dear Pastor Kevin James,

While you admit that the first covenant was faulty, and had discontinued at the cross of Christ, you claim that it was not the Ten Commandments. But a closer look at the following verses of Colossians 2:14, we will find out the inevitable conclusion that what was done away was the Ten Commandments with its statutes and judgment.

COLOSSIANS 2:14-17
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

Note that Christians can not be judged after the blotting out of the ordinances regarding meats, drinks, holy days, and Sabbaths: which are a shadow of the real thing —which is Christ. Christ is the Sabbath for Christians!

There is no doubt that the first covenant is the covenant written on two tables of stones.

DEUTERONOMY 4:13 
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

It is also called as the “Law of Moses”, which contained statutes and judgments.

MALACHI 4:4 
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Which is this Law of Moses that contains statutes and judgment? Those that were commanded by God unto Moses in Horeb for all Israel. Which are these?

DEUTERONOMY 5:1-22 
1 And Moses called all Israel, and said unto them, Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep, and do them.
2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
3 The LORD made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day.
4 The LORD talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire,
5 (I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to show you the word of the LORD: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,
6 I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
7 (1) Thou shalt have none other gods before me.
8 (2) Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
9 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
10 And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
11 (3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
12 (4) Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee.
13 Six days thou shalt labor, and do all thy work:
14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.
15 And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.
16 (5) Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
17 (6) Thou shalt not kill.
18 (7) Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
19 (8) Neither shalt thou steal.
20 (9) Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor.
21 (10) Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbor’s.
22 These words the LORD spoke unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered them unto me.

I intentionally highlighted in red, and numbered the commandments for your convenience and understanding, that the covenant made in Horeb between God and His people Israel, is the Ten Commandments, which He wrote on two tables of stone, which is also called the Law of Moses.

MALACHI 4:4 
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

This first covenant was intended for a nation — for Israel. The next covenant He promised He is going to make for the people of Israel will not only be for Israel, but also for the Gentiles, and He will write it not on tables of stones, but on ‘fleshy tables of the heart’.

HEBREWS 8:10 
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…

This is called the New Covenant.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:6, 3 
6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life…
3 …Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

The letters that killeth being mentioned by Paul are the letters of the first covenant or testament, which are the Laws of Moses or the Ten Commandments!

HEBREWS 10:28
He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses…

The New Covenant, as promised, will be written on hearts, thus, giving a chance of justification, even to those who have not heard the law — the Gentiles.

ROMANS 2:11-15
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
15 Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another)

By the doing away of the first covenant, and enforcing the New Covenant, Christ made the reconciliation between Jews and non-Jews: making in Himself of twain a new man, one body or the Church.

EPHESIANS 2:14-16
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby…

Jews and Gentiles were reconciled to God by what Christ had done on the cross.

COLOSSIANS 2:14-16
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days…

What is the New Covenant? It was not the one given on the mount, but which came from Jerusalem above.

GALATIANS 4:22-26
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which engendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.
25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

The mother of all Christians is the covenant which came from above, from Jerusalem above, containing the Laws of Christ, and is meant for the whole world.

ACTS 1:2, 8
2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen…
8 …But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

GALATIANS 6:2
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

MATTHEW 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The New Covenant is the gospel, the Law of Christ which He commanded to be observed until the end of the world.

LUKE 16:16 (American Standard Version)
The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.

The efficacy of the Law of Moses was until John, and then follows the gospel which is the New Covenant.

MARK 1:14-15
14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

My dear brother Kevin James, may you find enlightenment within the verses that I have cited.

The first covenant was given in Horeb, and it was the Ten Commandments, with the statutes and judgment.

I pray for your enlightenment and all Seventh Day Adventists.

May God bless you.

17 Comments:

The Faulty Covenant of the Seventh Day Adventist Church

9/08/2018 21 Comments

Covenant taught by Christ

This is a reply to the comment posted by a certain Mr. Adventist777 regarding my article entitled, “The Old Covenant Can not Sanctify Anymore”. His comment states:

Mr. Soriano, You said: The Old Covenant Can Not Sanctify Anymore?

Be careful with your mouth preacher! Do not speak great words against the most high. Do not even think to change the Laws of God. (Daniel 7:25)

Mr. Adventist777

Dear Mr. Adventist777,

I am glad you read my blog. I thank you for your time. But let me tell you something frank! Your comments which I had printed above in red are disgusting. I do not blame you because it is somewhat common to Adventists in the guise of following the Ten Commandments to charge people falsely. Maybe, it is the spirit that flows in some members of your congregation like you and Mr. Scott.

When you said, “Be careful with your mouth preacher! Do not speak great words against the most high”, you are in utter defiance of the 9th of the Ten Commandments, which you are hopelessly defending. It is not my mouth which said that the Old Testament can not sanctify or justify anybody anymore. It is the mouth of God!

HEBREWS 8:13
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

It was God who said that He is making a new covenant which made the previous old and destined to vanish away.

Can you not see the verse? Or are you blinded by your fanatical adherence to your church?

To prove that it was God’s mouth who pronounced and said that the former covenant was made old by the new, let us copy another verse from your Bible.

HEBREWS 8:6-10
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts… (emphasis mine in red)

Let us decipher these verses.

(6) But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

If you will notice, the verse speaks of a better covenant. The adjective better is used, grammatically, to compare two different things. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Mediator of a better covenant, meaning, that before He became such, there was a former covenant. What kind of a covenant was the former? Let us read verse 7.

(7) For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

It was the mouth of the Apostle Paul or the writer of the book to the Hebrews who said this, not mine. The first covenant, in comparison to the second, was described by Paul as ‘faulty’.

Again, Mr. Adventist777, I want to reiterate that it is not my mouth that said this. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16). Remember, that is the ninth commandment!

Now, what happened to the ‘faulty’ first covenant?

He said in verse 8.

(8) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…

The verse said because God found fault in them, God said: “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…”

It must be understood that the first covenant, which became faulty, was also given to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. The same nation that received the first covenant will also be the recipient of the new covenant.

What was the first covenant that was given to the house of Israel and the house of Judah?

Let us read verse 9.

(9) Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.

The verse said that the second covenant will not be according to the covenant He made with the fathers of the nation of Israel, which God gave them after they were liberated from Egypt.

What was that covenant that was given by God to the Israelites immediately after they left Egypt?

DEUTERONOMY 4:13
And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

So, it is crystal clear that the covenant given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai, after they left Egypt, are the Ten Commandments written on two tables of stones.

To prove that this covenant is the Ten Commandments on two tables of stone that was given by God after they left Egypt, let us read Exodus 31:18.

EXODUS 31:18
And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Moses was the recipient of the first covenant to be given to the people of Israel. Jesus Christ will be the minister of the new or the better covenant. Look closely at the following verses:

HEBREWS 8:5-6
5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount.
6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

Now, we know that the term ‘better covenant’ was used to describe the comparison between the covenant received by Moses — which are the Ten Commandments; and the covenant wherein the Lord Jesus Christ is the mediator.

These facts tell us a great truth.

1st Covenant — Moses

Better Covenant — Jesus Christ

In the book of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul speaks to the nation of Israel or the Hebrews about “a change”.

HEBREWS 7:12
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Notice two important facts in the preceding verse: There was a change of priesthood and there was a change of the law.

May I remind you, Mr. Adventist, that I am not the one making the change. This verse was written in the Bible even before my great-great grandparents were born. Do not use Daniel 7:25 against me, which your leaders are using to accuse the Catholic Church who, according to them, changed Saturday to Sunday. Catholics will not answer you, but treat me not like them; for I will answer you with the Bible wherever you may be; wherever you may go.

It was the Apostle Paul who said that there was a change of the priesthood and the law. What was that priesthood that was changed? It was the priesthood of the Levites — the tribe where Moses came.

HEBREWS 7:5
And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham…

It was this priesthood that was commanded by God to collect ten percent (10%). I know that Seventh Day Adventists now vehemently insists that their members give ten percent aside from other offerings; but mind you, these are for the Levitical priest under the priesthood that was ‘changed’.

The priesthood of Christ and the Church of God is the priesthood in the Christian dispensation. This is the replacement of the Levitical priesthood, that was changed.

1 PETER 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light…

The Church of God was made priest with Christ as the chief.

REVELATION 1:6
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

HEBREWS 3:1
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus…

Christ as the chief priest of the Church of God who replaced Moses; and his priesthood; and his laws.

HEBREWS 3:2-3
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honor than the house.

Jesus Christ is the best replacement for Moses and his priesthood. Remember, when the priesthood was changed, there was also a need for the change of the law. The laws administered by Moses are the Ten Commandments written on two tables of stones: It is the first covenant, but the new is better. In fact, the Bible called it a better covenant. It is the covenant under the administration of the best priest ever, Our Lord Jesus Christ. The first covenant, compared to the second, is declared faulty. It is not I, who said this, but the Bible.

How do we determine the difference between the two covenants? Making the latter better than the former.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:6
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The New Testament or the new covenant is of the spirit and gives life but, the old are letters and it kills. Which are these letters that kill representing the old covenant or testament?

2 CORINTHIANS 3:7-8
7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?

It is clear, therefore, that the letters that killeth are the letters written and engraven in stones, which are the Ten Commandments — also called “The Old Testament”.

HEBREWS 10:28
He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses…

Anybody who transgresses the law of Sabbath will be stoned to death.

NUMBERS 15:32-36
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

The new covenant is of the spirit and it gives life. The new covenant is the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ or his gospel.

JOHN 6:63
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

The new covenant is not written on stones but in fleshy tables of the heart.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:3
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

It is God the Father Himself that writes the New Covenant in the hearts of Christians.

HEBREWS 8:10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people…

The new covenant is ably administered by the Spirit of God and the apostles. While the former covenant or testament was administered by angels.

ACTS 7:37-38
37 This is that Moses, which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear.
38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us…

ACTS 7:53
Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

Better still; let us discover the root of these two covenants or testaments.

GALATIANS 4:22-26
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which engendereth to bondage, which is Hagar.
25 For this Hagar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

In this allegory, the two women who bore the two sons of Abraham are the two covenants. One, represented by Hagar, the bondmaid of Sarah: figurative of Mount Sinai, from where the first covenant or the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. The other covenant or mother represents Sarah, a free woman: figurative of Jerusalem above, from whence the New Testament or covenant, came — which is the mother of us all: The Christians. So, it is very clear that the mother of ‘us all’ (Christians), according to Paul is not the Ten Commandments or Hagar (whose son was born after the flesh), but, Sarah, the free woman representing Jerusalem above who is the mother of us all — born by promise.

Are there sufficient evidences to prove that the new covenant or testament is far better than the covenant which contains the law on Sabbath?

To be continued…

God Bless.

21 Comments:

Did Jesus Christ Join the Essene Sect of Judaism?

9/01/2018 15 Comments

Christ is not an Essene

Question:

Hi, I just surfed in search for interesting blogs on spirituality. You have a cool blog. Do keep up the good work. I’ll be back even though I live far from where you live. It’s nice to be able to see what people from across the world think.

Warm Regards from the Other Side of the Moon.

On a related note perhaps you might find the following link interesting. It’s proposing a theory and I’d like to hear your take on the subject via comments. See ya.

Was Jesus an Essene? 

Bibby (Kerala, India)

Answer:

Dear Bibby,

The entire life of Jesus the Christ is recorded in the Bible; although there are those that say that for eighteen years the Bible is silent about what happened to Jesus, this misconception is because of their ignorance in the understanding of the Scriptures. There was never any chance of Jesus joining the Essenic community. Let me prove this to you: historically, scientifically, and biblically.

Consideration #1: There were various religious groups or factions during the time of Jesus Christ: the Pharisees, the Scribes, and the Sadducees.

ACTS 23:6-8
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.

The Lord Jesus Christ, in the four Gospels, criticized all these groups.

MATTHEW 23:15 
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

The scribes and Pharisees hated the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was also very vocal in his criticism about the Sadducees.

MATTHEW 22:23, 29
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him…
29 …Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

These groups were never in good terms.

ACTS 23:6-8
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.


Logic and ordinary promptings of man dictate that if the Lord Jesus is a member of the Essenic community, the critical Jesus, should have ignited the ire of these groups to attack or retaliate against the group of Jesus. Never in the gospels written by four different evangelists, with the addition of a late comer, Paul, was there any mention of Essenoi, which was only mentioned outside of the Bible by the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus.

Consideration #2: The entire life of Jesus was known to the Jews. They knew Him from boyhood to adulthood until the time He started to preach the gospel. When He preached, they marveled at Him asking…

JOHN 7:15 
And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?

For the Jews to categorically assert that Jesus Christ never studied, it means that they had seen the entire life of Jesus. In fact, they even knew His family background and His lowly profession of being a carpenter.

MARK 6:2-3
2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Jesus, being the first born of Mary, helped His foster father Joseph in his carpentry work. The teenage years of Jesus up to age 30 were spent being a carpenter. There is no such thing as “eighteen lost years of Jesus”

Had Jesus been a member of the Essenic Jewish religious sect, it should have been mentioned by His detractors, and would not say, “How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?”

Consideration #3: Jesus said that His teachings came directly from the Father.

JOHN 12:49 
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

He did not learn it from any religious group or affiliation. He was sent by the Father and His authority as the original teacher of Christianity is affirmed by His predecessor John the Baptist.

MATTHEW 3:11 
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire…

His heavenly Father confirmed and affirmed His election, with three reliable living witnesses then, and two spirit beings in a vision.

MATTHEW 17:1-5 
1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart,
2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elijah talking with him.
4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Nobody, no religious faction or group, taught Jesus, but His Father in heaven.

JOHN 7:16 
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

Consideration #4: The teachings of the Essenic community such as Celibacy and purification by water rituals (among others) are contrary to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even His apostles were not forbidden to marry by Jesus.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:5 (RSV) 
Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

Purification rituals by water were criticized by the Lord Jesus in the gospel.

MARK 7:7-8 
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. 
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.

I am not against the Essenic community as portrayed by Flavius Josephus; but my point is, Jesus is not an Essene. His teachings are original, irrefutable, and absolute truth, which came directly from the Father.

God bless.

15 Comments: