The Pagan Roots of Easter

Most of orthodox Christendom will celebrate Easter. When they do, they will have no clue that their “Christian” holiday has pure pagan roots. Most will celebrate with colored eggs, Easter baskets, bunny rabbits and some will even participate in a sunrise service. As Christians, they will be proudly participating in what they think is the holiest of all Christian holidays.

The word Easter is very simply Ishtar, a pagan ritualistic celebration named after the goddess and queen of heaven, Semiramis. The celebration goes back to the days of Noah’s grandson Nimrod. Ishtar (Semiramis) established the mystery religion of Babylon.

Raising Hell, The new book by Julie Ferwerda

Have you ever been lied to?  Sure you have…

I am not talking about a little white lie where no one gets hurt.

The lie that I am referring to has been so persistent and so widespread that it somehow became the truth to most Christians. In Christianity, the orthodox position is what the majority believes. The orthodox Christian views of today are radically different from the views of the Christians in the first two hundred years after Christ. Let us look at a few facts:

1. The early Greek speaking church fathers all believed that all of God’s creation would be eventually restored. This belief is now known as Universal Restoration and it was orthodox at that time.

2. The early church fathers spoke Greek and knew that aion (noun) and aionios (adjective) did not and could not mean forever, forever and ever or eternal. Those words referred to an age or a period of time that had a beginning and an end.

What is Sin?

  Orthodox Christianity teaches that man has fallen, that we are totally depraved. They say that we sin because Adam sinned and his nature is passed onto his descendants. While it is true that Adam sinned and the human race is fallen, it is not for the reason that orthodoxy teaches. It was not Adam's sin that was passed on to us; it was his death sentence that was imputed to us. Let's pluck another petal off of the Calvin TULIP doctrine, we are not totally depraved, we are totally mortal; born into the dying process. We fail to hit the mark because we are weak and dying!

  We will look at Adam's disobedience and it's affect on the human race and we will look at several biblical definitions of sin. As always, let us not guess or stumble on religious tradition, let's jump right into the scriptures!

Limited Atonement - Pruning the TULIP

  Orthodoxy teaches that Christ provided "Limited Atonement". They say that it was limited to the "elect". That only the elect are the beneficiaries of His atonement. Those who teach and believe this are the ones who follow the teaching and doctrines of Calvin. As such, it is a Doctrine of man. Orthodoxy will say the doctrine is in the bible, the bible teaches it. I contend that much of what is taught is man-made and has no business being foisted upon believers who seek the truth.

  This limited atonement is the "L" in Calvin's TULIP doctrine. I want to take a closer look at this doctrine of "Limited Atonement". We will answer the following questions: 1. What does the word atonement mean and should it be in our English translation of the Greek Scriptures (New Testament)? 2. Did Christ Atone for our sins?  3. Was the action limited? As always let us turn to the scriptures for the answers!

The Sin Debt

  Orthodox Christianity teaches that Christ died for our sins. That He paid the penalty on the cross. They teach that God the Father forsook His son and sacrificed Him for us that terrible day. And this is true. The scriptures say that for our sakes, He was scourged, beaten and mocked. At the place of the skull, He was humiliated; had nails driven through Him and He hung on the cross until death. He gave up His spirit to the Father and a soldier thrust a spear into His side to make sure He was dead. He suffered unimaginable physical pain and mental anguish. God, in the form of a man; was made to be sin on our behalf.

  Does Orthodox Christianity really believe that Christ paid the price? No, they do not. Orthodoxy believes that someone who does not accept Christ as their personal savior will suffer everlasting torment in the lake of fire; burning forever and forever. With that logic, Christ did not pay the price. He has not suffered eternal damnation in the lake of fire burning forever and forever.

Discourse with an Elder

  I have made my views known. Having heeded the call of my Savior (Revelation 18:4), I have come out of Mystery Babylon. As I expected, orthodox Christendom has a problem with my belief in a God Who will accomplish His goal. They insist that I should believe the myths and man-made doctrines that are preached every Sunday.

  I expressed my views to a dear friend and brother in Christ who is an Elder in the Primitive Baptist Church. He responded: "I want you to know that what you have come to believe grieves me greatly, especially the idea that God is going to save all men, a thing which is totally foreign to the entire tenor of the word of God".

  I wonder if my friend has ever read these two verses: Acts 3:20, 21 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. God's prophets have been speaking about the "good news" since the beginning of the world; but, that Christ will save all is foreign to the entire tenor of God's word? Something is not right. Take this journey with me. Let us look at what God's word says!

Sons of Thunder

Who were the brothers that were known as the Son's of Thunder and how are their actions towards the Samaritans typical of how Christians act today? I mentioned in my post Hell Fire that every time I hear someone speaking about hell fire and burning sinners I think of Jonah. You know the story of the prophet Jonah right? Jonah was essentially guilty of the same callousness that the Son's of Thunder were guilty of. As always, let us look into the Word of God for the truth.

Happy Holidays

Tired of Happy Holidays? Did someone take the Christ out of your Christmas? I just saw this headline. "School district bans Christmas cookies..."

No worries. There are several ways to look at the situation. Let's look at a few facts.

Our Savior Jesus was not born on December 25th. We Americans love our holidays and our traditions but did you know that our Savior Jesus was not born on December 25th? It is true. He was not even born in the winter. He was probably born in the early fall.

Salvation of Non-believers

How will non-believers be saved? We should know because the scriptures teach the eventual salvation of all.

1st Timothy 4:9-11 Faithful is the saying and worthy of all welcome (for this we are toiling and being reproached) that we rely on the living God, Who is the Savior of all mankind, especially of believers. These things be charging and teaching. (Concordant Literal)

And for all of you KJV only folks: Timothy 4:9-11 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation. For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, specially of those that believe. These things command and teach. (KJV)

Hell Fire

There is no such thing as the Christian hell that will burn flesh for ever and for ever. It is a man-made hoax! It is a pagan concept, it is false and the thought that God our Father would burn any of His creation in a hell of eternity for vengeance or for any other reason is repulsive. I am convinced that no one who believes that God is capable of such a thing can truly know Him. They cannot know Him and believe that he would do that!

Christ Saving India Ministries

I was recently contacted by a minister of the gospel who lives in India. His request was simple, "Please join your hands in ours to save India for Christ Jesus.  If it is God's will and if it is your will, please pray for our ministries." His name is Pastor Revu Williams Ray. I invite you to his ministries website. www.csimin.com

I don't think someone who lives in America can understand what preaching the gospel of Christ in India is like. According to the CIA Fact book over 80% of the 1.1 billion people in India are Hindu. A little over 14% are Muslim and less than 3% of the Indian population is Christian. 

Is Satan a Fallen Angel?

All of my life I have heard sermons about Satan. How, in the beginning he was a beautiful and perfect angel. Then one day he decided that he wanted God's throne. He sinned against God and now he goes about doing all sorts of evil against God's will. The worst part about it, the Church teaches that because of Satan, most of God's creation will burn in hell! What do you believe? The answer is always in God's word. Let's read from the scriptures.

Paul's Evangel

Paul's evangel or the false doctrine of orthodoxy? Paul teaches in God's Holy Word the justification, vivification, salvation and the reconciliation of the universe. The false teachers of orthodoxy teach that God will burn most of his creatures for ever and ever. Let us take a closer look at what Paul has to say.

J. Preston Eby

If you have read my blog titled My Story you may have noticed that I mentioned J. Preston Eby. I have recently discovered his ministry Kingdom Bible Studies. I found a you tube video of his testimony while surfing around the net reading posts and websites related to Universal Salvation. I watched the video before I read anything that he had written. The powerful video of his testimony made me want to hear more!