Post by iris89 on Feb 9, 2008 20:41:40 GMT -5
The Two Separate Gatherings - Those by Jesus (Yeshua) and those by Satan the Devil:
INTRODUCTION:
The Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, speaks of many gatherings. One of the first major gatherings was Moses' gathering of all the elders of the children of Israel recorded at Exodus 4:27-31, "And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." (American Standard Version; ASV).
So Almighty God (YHWH) had Moses gather the people together unto Almighty God (YHWH), but also the arch enemy of Almighty God (YHWH), Satan the Devil is gathering people to his unjust cause also. Satan is gathering them together to fight against Almighty God (YHWH), but of course he and all those who side with him will be losers. We will shortly learn more on this.
WHAT SATAN IS GATHERING THE PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR:
Whereas Jesus (Yeshua) Christ is gathering his genuine (true) followers to be the subjects of the coming righteous Kingdom of God that he prayed for in his 'Lord's Prayer' at Matthew 6:9-10, "After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." (ASV). He, Jesus (Yeshua), is to rule over this kingdom until all is brought into subjection and the last enemy of mankind, death, is done away with as revealed and testified to at 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all." (ASV). Notice, his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), has put everything but himself under the authority of his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), except himself until this purpose is realized. This is also shown by the fact that his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), has assigned to him the job of judging all as shown by John 5:22-23, "For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son; 23 that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him." (ASV).
However, Almighty God's (YHWH's) arch-enemy Satan the Devil is also gathering all those he has successfully mislead together, but for an evil undertaking. Revelation 16:12-16, clearly shows they, the ones he, Satan the Devil has mislead, are being gathered by him to actually fight against Almighty God's (YHWH'ss) Son, Jesus (Yeshua), "And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might by made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: 14 for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) 16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.[[Armageddon]]" (ASV).
Armageddon is defined in the dictionary as a prophesized as the scene o***reat battle between the forces of good and evil, to occur at the end of the world (Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary). However, there is no place actually named Armageddon as testified to in William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, which states, "The scene of the struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories, of Barak over the Canaaanites and of Gideon over the Midianites; and for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah. Hence it signifies in Revelation a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. The Revised Version gives the name as Har-Magedon, i.e., the hill of Megiddo. (Teacher's Edition of the Bible Dictionary by William Smith, LLD., revised & edited by F.N. & M.A. Peloubet, page 54).
Revelations 16:14-16 brings out how the rulers of the world will be gathered together for this great war against God (YHWH) and his forces, previously quoted. And at Revelation 19:19, " And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse and with his army."(Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB). However, true Christians on earth shall have no part in this warfare as shown by 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, " For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to God, unto the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels." (DRCB); And affirmed at Romans 12:19, " Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." (DRCB). The fight of true Christians will be with respect resisting the Devil and his deamons wicked influence at shown at Ephesians 6:12, " For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." (DRCB).
So the Devil is now desperate as he has been thrown out of heaven to the vicinity of the earth, Revelation 12:7-12 reveal the details, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. 10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death." (ASV).
So now the Devil realizes he can NOT win, he is engaging in a tactic described at Matthew 12:30, "Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (ASV) is closely related to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ when he was on earth clearly showing his genuine (true) followers would be few in number clearly indicating that he would have many who claimed to be his followers but they would be counterfeits. First let's consider both Luke 13:24 and Matthew 7:13-14, it is in both of these that the road followed by true believers would be narrow and cramped, Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (Authorized King James Bible: AV); And Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, abroad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (AV); thereby, clearly showing few would be entering the narrow gate "which leadeth unto life." In reality, it will be difficult for even true Christians to enter as testified to at 1 Peter 4:18, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear." (AV). In order to enter, we must have the right sort of guide, Luke 1:79, "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (AV). Now, if one picks the wrong group, just because it is popular or the so called 'one to belong to in a community' and not because of Bible Truths, there is an important warning given at Matthew 15:14, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (AV). In fact, being with the wrong group can mean you are NOT having fellowship with the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as testified to at 1 John 1:6, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not [have] the truth." (AV). This danger is made abundantly clear at Luke 12:32 when Jesus (Yeshua) spoke of his true followers as a little flock and not a large one, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (AV). Simply stated, his true followers will be relatively few in number which should cause all sincere individuals to question whether mainstream religion with its vast membership is heading for the narrow gate!
To wit, the Devil's tactic, now, is to scatter all into believing dogma NOT backed by the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, such as Purgatory, the Trinity, Apostolic Succession, submission to Islam, etc. It is a scattering work quite unlike the work of Jesus (Yeshua) in gathering his followers together.
THOSE FOLLOWING AND/OR BEING MISLEAD BY SATAN THE DEVIL:
At 1 John 2:18, the Apostle John wrote, "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour." (ASV). By the last hour, John evidently meant that of the Apostolic age as he was very old and all the other apostles had died, and that there would be a falling away or scattering. John's statement shows that there are many individual antichrists, though all together they may form a composite person designated "the antichrist." Per 2 John 7, " For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." (Authorized King James Bible; AV). However the expression 'hour' refers to a period of time of undetermined length. Thus, He thus did not restrict the appearance, existence, and activity of such antichrist to some future time only but showed that the antichrist was then present and would continue on per 1 John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).
'Antichrist' has the meaning of being against or instead of Christ; therefore, in its all incomposing sense refers to all who oppose and/or falsely claim to be the Christ or his representatives. Jesus (Yeshua) said at Luke 11:23, "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (AV). Clearly showing all not with him were against him.
Since at the time the Apostle John wrote, Jesus (Yeshua) had been dead and resurrected to heaven for over 60 years; therefore, the activities of the Antichrist must be understood per Matthew 25:40-45, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." (AV), to apply to his faithful footstep followers, the genuine (true) Christians. Therefore, today, the Antichrist goes after the footstep followers of Jesus (Yeshua).
Let's look at some who have been called Antichrist in the past and by whom:
One of the first accusations o***roup being the Antichrist was made by Pope Gregory I (590-604 AD.), according to epistles #1 and #B 13:1, called all those within the Catholic church who forbid working on the Saturday Sabbath, 'Antichrists.'[reference - Sabbath Diagnosis: A Diagnostic History and Physical Examination of the Biblical Day of Rest By Gary Hullquist, Page 371]. Interestingly this was answered recently as follows, <<<""No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed!! It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio-I think his name is DOCTOR ANTICHRIST."[source - Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist , Feb. 2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7.].>>>.
Another early example was, In the year 1524, at a town in France, called Melden, one John Clark set up a bill on the church door, wherein he called the pope Antichrist. For this offence he was repeatedly whipped, and then branded on the forehead. Going afterward to Mentz, in Lorraine, he demolished some images, for which he had his right hand and nose cut off, and his arms and breast torn with pincers.[reference - The Testimony of the Spirit Concerning Antichrist by Michael Bunker (http://www.historicist.com/articles2/spiritantichrist.htm)].
And the list of those accused of being the Antichrist is a very long one. In addition, to the examples given above, those labeled Antichrist have included Jews, the Roman emperors, the Catholic popes, etc. For example, when Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) decided not to join a Crusade on behalf of Pope Gregory IX who called him the antichrist and excommunicated him, and his successor, Pope Innocent IV excommunicated him again. In response Emperor Fredrick declared Innocent IV to be the Antichrist. [reference - The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades, By Paul L. Williams].
Now, the Antichrist is a deceiver and a liar who, in the composite sense, is bent on destroying a person's relationship with Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is. Therefore, the Apostle John warned at 1 John 4:1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).
Likewise, Jesus (Yeshua) warned against false prophets and deceivers at Matthew 7:15-16, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (AV). Now let's see how we can identify this vicious deceiver.
THE SPREADING OF RELIGIOUS LIES:
At 2 Timothy 2:16-18, the Apostle Paul warns against the teachings of apostates, such as Hymenaeus and Philetus as follows, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." (AV). What were the lies that these two were spreading? They were teaching the false doctrine that the resurrection was only a symbolic one and that Christians had already been resurrected in a spiritual sense. This was a clear rejection of Jesus' (Yeshua's) promise of a literal resurrection of the dead under the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom rule per John 5:28-29, "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. 29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (AV).
This was not the only example of false prophets pushing the false doctrine of a purely symbolic resurrection. The Gnostics combined apostate (counterfeit) Christianity and merged it with Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism. They held to a false doctrine known as Docetism under which all physical matter is evil, and that Jesus (Yeshua) did not actually come in the flesh, but only seemed to have a human body. As the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia put it, <<"In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek d???? [dokeo], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians.
This belief is most commonly attributed to the Gnostics, who believed that matter was evil, and hence that God would not take on a material body. This statement is rooted in the idea that a divine spark is imprisoned within the material body, and that the material body is in itself an obstacle, deliberately created by an evil lesser god (the demiurge) to prevent man from seeing his divine origin. Humanity is, in essence, asleep."[source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]>>.
The Trinity is another false doctrine which is still being spread. This false doctrine, lie, is no where mentioned in the Bible. To try and 'prove' this none Biblical god, Trinitarians use questionable translations of John 1:1, but conveniently miss the point that this is "a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb," that is, not just that the noun theos lacks the Greek definite article. Similar Greek construction such Mark 6:49,
Mark 11:32, John 4:19, John 6:70, John 8:44a, John 8:44b, John 9:17, John 10:1,
John 10:13, John 10:33, John 12:6 as usually have an inserted either an "a" or "an" there in most translations.
But we need not get so technical as a quick application of logic to the usual questionable translational construct for John 1:1 quickly shows that it can in no way support a trinity god. Let's look at why. John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) (AV) - now to have a trinity of anything, one must have THREE like items and only two spirit creatures are mentioned, not three, hence no trinity. In addition, someone can NOT be with someone and be that person also..
This false doctrine obscures the relationship of the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, with his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), and was a masterstroke of the Antichrist. It makes it difficult to "draw close to God" as encouraged by James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (AV). [sources & references - Laing, Gordon Jennings. "Survivals of Roman Religion.". New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1963, The Encyclopedia of Religions, Carter, Jesse Benedict. "The Religious Life of Ancient Rome: A Study in the Development of Religious Consciousness, from the Foundation of the City Until the Death of Gregory the Great." New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1972. (page 16-19), Pelikan, Jaroslav. "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" (100-600). Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1971. Vol. 1 of "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." 5 vols., heraldmag.org., Morodenibig, Naba Lamoussa. "Light From the Trinities.", Edersheim Bible History (page 59-62), New Catholic Encyclopedia, (Vol. XIV, 306), International Encyclopedia of the Bible," Vol. 5, (page 3012), McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6, Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595), ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366), Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957), BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933, ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D., by Francis David and others, Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02), The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976), Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960, Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75, and Durant, Will, "Age of Faith,"].
Also, the ancient Jewish practice of substituting titles for the divine name such as Lord and God is a false practice and flies in the face of what all pray for when they say Jesus (Yeshua) prayer found at Matthew 6:9-10, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (AV) when they do NOT know his name and/or use it, even though in the original scriptures it occurs over 7,000 times.[references - Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1; Greek Septuagint (Fouad Inv. 266)]. Clearly any attempt to turn the the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, into a nameless mystery is a mystery is an act of gross disrespect for our Creator, and a direct violation of what the Apostle John wrote at Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (AV).
See Part Two:
INTRODUCTION:
The Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, speaks of many gatherings. One of the first major gatherings was Moses' gathering of all the elders of the children of Israel recorded at Exodus 4:27-31, "And Jehovah said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 And Moses told Aaron all the words of Jehovah wherewith he had sent him, and all the signs wherewith he had charged him. 29 And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel: 30 and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people. 31 And the people believed: and when they heard that Jehovah had visited the children of Israel, and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped." (American Standard Version; ASV).
So Almighty God (YHWH) had Moses gather the people together unto Almighty God (YHWH), but also the arch enemy of Almighty God (YHWH), Satan the Devil is gathering people to his unjust cause also. Satan is gathering them together to fight against Almighty God (YHWH), but of course he and all those who side with him will be losers. We will shortly learn more on this.
WHAT SATAN IS GATHERING THE PEOPLE TOGETHER FOR:
Whereas Jesus (Yeshua) Christ is gathering his genuine (true) followers to be the subjects of the coming righteous Kingdom of God that he prayed for in his 'Lord's Prayer' at Matthew 6:9-10, "After this manner therefore pray ye. Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." (ASV). He, Jesus (Yeshua), is to rule over this kingdom until all is brought into subjection and the last enemy of mankind, death, is done away with as revealed and testified to at 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ's, at his coming. 24 Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy that shall be abolished is death. 27 For, He put all things in subjection under his feet. But when he saith, All things are put in subjection, it is evident that he is excepted who did subject all things unto him. 28 And when all things have been subjected unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to him that did subject all things unto him, that God may be all in all." (ASV). Notice, his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), has put everything but himself under the authority of his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), except himself until this purpose is realized. This is also shown by the fact that his Father, Almighty God (YHWH), has assigned to him the job of judging all as shown by John 5:22-23, "For neither doth the Father judge any man, but he hath given all judgment unto the Son; 23 that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father that sent him." (ASV).
However, Almighty God's (YHWH's) arch-enemy Satan the Devil is also gathering all those he has successfully mislead together, but for an evil undertaking. Revelation 16:12-16, clearly shows they, the ones he, Satan the Devil has mislead, are being gathered by him to actually fight against Almighty God's (YHWH'ss) Son, Jesus (Yeshua), "And the sixth poured out his bowl upon the great river, the river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might by made ready for the kings that come from the sunrising. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs: 14 for they are spirits of demons, working signs; which go forth unto the kings of the whole world, to gather them together unto the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 (Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.) 16 And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.[[Armageddon]]" (ASV).
Armageddon is defined in the dictionary as a prophesized as the scene o***reat battle between the forces of good and evil, to occur at the end of the world (Funk & Wagnalls Standard College Dictionary). However, there is no place actually named Armageddon as testified to in William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, which states, "The scene of the struggle of good and evil is suggested by that battle-field, the plain of Esdraelon, which was famous for two great victories, of Barak over the Canaaanites and of Gideon over the Midianites; and for two great disasters, the deaths of Saul and Josiah. Hence it signifies in Revelation a place of great slaughter, the scene of a terrible retribution upon the wicked. The Revised Version gives the name as Har-Magedon, i.e., the hill of Megiddo. (Teacher's Edition of the Bible Dictionary by William Smith, LLD., revised & edited by F.N. & M.A. Peloubet, page 54).
Revelations 16:14-16 brings out how the rulers of the world will be gathered together for this great war against God (YHWH) and his forces, previously quoted. And at Revelation 19:19, " And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat upon the horse and with his army."(Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible; DRCB). However, true Christians on earth shall have no part in this warfare as shown by 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, " For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to God, unto the pulling down of fortifications, destroying counsels." (DRCB); And affirmed at Romans 12:19, " Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." (DRCB). The fight of true Christians will be with respect resisting the Devil and his deamons wicked influence at shown at Ephesians 6:12, " For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places." (DRCB).
So the Devil is now desperate as he has been thrown out of heaven to the vicinity of the earth, Revelation 12:7-12 reveal the details, "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; 8 And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him. 10 And I heard a great voice in heaven, saying, Now is come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death." (ASV).
So now the Devil realizes he can NOT win, he is engaging in a tactic described at Matthew 12:30, "Matthew 12:30, "He that is not with me is against me, and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (ASV) is closely related to Jesus (Yeshua) Christ when he was on earth clearly showing his genuine (true) followers would be few in number clearly indicating that he would have many who claimed to be his followers but they would be counterfeits. First let's consider both Luke 13:24 and Matthew 7:13-14, it is in both of these that the road followed by true believers would be narrow and cramped, Luke 13:24, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (Authorized King James Bible: AV); And Matthew 7:13-14, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, abroad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (AV); thereby, clearly showing few would be entering the narrow gate "which leadeth unto life." In reality, it will be difficult for even true Christians to enter as testified to at 1 Peter 4:18, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear." (AV). In order to enter, we must have the right sort of guide, Luke 1:79, "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (AV). Now, if one picks the wrong group, just because it is popular or the so called 'one to belong to in a community' and not because of Bible Truths, there is an important warning given at Matthew 15:14, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." (AV). In fact, being with the wrong group can mean you are NOT having fellowship with the Son of God, Jesus (Yeshua) as testified to at 1 John 1:6, "If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not [have] the truth." (AV). This danger is made abundantly clear at Luke 12:32 when Jesus (Yeshua) spoke of his true followers as a little flock and not a large one, "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (AV). Simply stated, his true followers will be relatively few in number which should cause all sincere individuals to question whether mainstream religion with its vast membership is heading for the narrow gate!
To wit, the Devil's tactic, now, is to scatter all into believing dogma NOT backed by the Inspired Word of Almighty God (YHWH), the Bible, such as Purgatory, the Trinity, Apostolic Succession, submission to Islam, etc. It is a scattering work quite unlike the work of Jesus (Yeshua) in gathering his followers together.
THOSE FOLLOWING AND/OR BEING MISLEAD BY SATAN THE DEVIL:
At 1 John 2:18, the Apostle John wrote, "Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour." (ASV). By the last hour, John evidently meant that of the Apostolic age as he was very old and all the other apostles had died, and that there would be a falling away or scattering. John's statement shows that there are many individual antichrists, though all together they may form a composite person designated "the antichrist." Per 2 John 7, " For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." (Authorized King James Bible; AV). However the expression 'hour' refers to a period of time of undetermined length. Thus, He thus did not restrict the appearance, existence, and activity of such antichrist to some future time only but showed that the antichrist was then present and would continue on per 1 John 4:3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).
'Antichrist' has the meaning of being against or instead of Christ; therefore, in its all incomposing sense refers to all who oppose and/or falsely claim to be the Christ or his representatives. Jesus (Yeshua) said at Luke 11:23, "He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth." (AV). Clearly showing all not with him were against him.
Since at the time the Apostle John wrote, Jesus (Yeshua) had been dead and resurrected to heaven for over 60 years; therefore, the activities of the Antichrist must be understood per Matthew 25:40-45, "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." (AV), to apply to his faithful footstep followers, the genuine (true) Christians. Therefore, today, the Antichrist goes after the footstep followers of Jesus (Yeshua).
Let's look at some who have been called Antichrist in the past and by whom:
One of the first accusations o***roup being the Antichrist was made by Pope Gregory I (590-604 AD.), according to epistles #1 and #B 13:1, called all those within the Catholic church who forbid working on the Saturday Sabbath, 'Antichrists.'[reference - Sabbath Diagnosis: A Diagnostic History and Physical Examination of the Biblical Day of Rest By Gary Hullquist, Page 371]. Interestingly this was answered recently as follows, <<<""No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed!! It is all old wives' fables to talk of the change of the sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio-I think his name is DOCTOR ANTICHRIST."[source - Alexander Campbell, The Christian Baptist , Feb. 2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7.].>>>.
Another early example was, In the year 1524, at a town in France, called Melden, one John Clark set up a bill on the church door, wherein he called the pope Antichrist. For this offence he was repeatedly whipped, and then branded on the forehead. Going afterward to Mentz, in Lorraine, he demolished some images, for which he had his right hand and nose cut off, and his arms and breast torn with pincers.[reference - The Testimony of the Spirit Concerning Antichrist by Michael Bunker (http://www.historicist.com/articles2/spiritantichrist.htm)].
And the list of those accused of being the Antichrist is a very long one. In addition, to the examples given above, those labeled Antichrist have included Jews, the Roman emperors, the Catholic popes, etc. For example, when Emperor Frederick II (1194-1250) decided not to join a Crusade on behalf of Pope Gregory IX who called him the antichrist and excommunicated him, and his successor, Pope Innocent IV excommunicated him again. In response Emperor Fredrick declared Innocent IV to be the Antichrist. [reference - The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Crusades, By Paul L. Williams].
Now, the Antichrist is a deceiver and a liar who, in the composite sense, is bent on destroying a person's relationship with Jesus (Yeshua) and his Father, the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is. Therefore, the Apostle John warned at 1 John 4:1-3, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." (AV).
Likewise, Jesus (Yeshua) warned against false prophets and deceivers at Matthew 7:15-16, "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?" (AV). Now let's see how we can identify this vicious deceiver.
THE SPREADING OF RELIGIOUS LIES:
At 2 Timothy 2:16-18, the Apostle Paul warns against the teachings of apostates, such as Hymenaeus and Philetus as follows, "But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some." (AV). What were the lies that these two were spreading? They were teaching the false doctrine that the resurrection was only a symbolic one and that Christians had already been resurrected in a spiritual sense. This was a clear rejection of Jesus' (Yeshua's) promise of a literal resurrection of the dead under the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, Kingdom rule per John 5:28-29, "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. 29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (AV).
This was not the only example of false prophets pushing the false doctrine of a purely symbolic resurrection. The Gnostics combined apostate (counterfeit) Christianity and merged it with Greek philosophy and Oriental mysticism. They held to a false doctrine known as Docetism under which all physical matter is evil, and that Jesus (Yeshua) did not actually come in the flesh, but only seemed to have a human body. As the Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia put it, <<"In Christianity, Docetism (from the Greek d???? [dokeo], "to seem") is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die. This belief has historically been regarded as heretical by most Christian theologians.
This belief is most commonly attributed to the Gnostics, who believed that matter was evil, and hence that God would not take on a material body. This statement is rooted in the idea that a divine spark is imprisoned within the material body, and that the material body is in itself an obstacle, deliberately created by an evil lesser god (the demiurge) to prevent man from seeing his divine origin. Humanity is, in essence, asleep."[source - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]>>.
The Trinity is another false doctrine which is still being spread. This false doctrine, lie, is no where mentioned in the Bible. To try and 'prove' this none Biblical god, Trinitarians use questionable translations of John 1:1, but conveniently miss the point that this is "a singular anarthrous predicate noun preceding the verb," that is, not just that the noun theos lacks the Greek definite article. Similar Greek construction such Mark 6:49,
Mark 11:32, John 4:19, John 6:70, John 8:44a, John 8:44b, John 9:17, John 10:1,
John 10:13, John 10:33, John 12:6 as usually have an inserted either an "a" or "an" there in most translations.
But we need not get so technical as a quick application of logic to the usual questionable translational construct for John 1:1 quickly shows that it can in no way support a trinity god. Let's look at why. John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.) (AV) - now to have a trinity of anything, one must have THREE like items and only two spirit creatures are mentioned, not three, hence no trinity. In addition, someone can NOT be with someone and be that person also..
This false doctrine obscures the relationship of the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, with his Son, Jesus (Yeshua), and was a masterstroke of the Antichrist. It makes it difficult to "draw close to God" as encouraged by James 4:8, "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (AV). [sources & references - Laing, Gordon Jennings. "Survivals of Roman Religion.". New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1963, The Encyclopedia of Religions, Carter, Jesse Benedict. "The Religious Life of Ancient Rome: A Study in the Development of Religious Consciousness, from the Foundation of the City Until the Death of Gregory the Great." New York: Cooper Square Publishers. 1972. (page 16-19), Pelikan, Jaroslav. "The Emergence of the Catholic Tradition" (100-600). Chicago: U of Chicago P. 1971. Vol. 1 of "The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine." 5 vols., heraldmag.org., Morodenibig, Naba Lamoussa. "Light From the Trinities.", Edersheim Bible History (page 59-62), New Catholic Encyclopedia, (Vol. XIV, 306), International Encyclopedia of the Bible," Vol. 5, (page 3012), McClintock & Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Vol. 6, Lamson, Newton & Durant, Will, "Caesar and Christ," cited from Charles Redeker Caesar and Christ, W. Duran (page 595), ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366), Payne, Robert, "The Holy Fire: The Story of the Early Centuries of the Christian Churches in the Near East" (1957), BETHUNE-BAKER, J,F. "An Introduction to the Early History of Christian Doctrine". Methuen; 5th Ed., 1933, ENCYLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11th Edition, Vol. 3, (page 366); David, Francis and Blandrata, Georgio, "De falsa et vera unius Dei Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti cognitone" [Latin](The False and True Knowledge of the Unity of God the Father, Son, and Holy spirit), 1566 A.D., by Francis David and others, Eklof, Todd F., "David's Francis Tower, Strength through Peace," (06-16-02), The New Encyclopedia Britannica: " Micropædia, Vol. X, p. 126. (1976), Parkes, James, "The Foundation of Judaism and Christianity," 1960, Durant, Will. "Caesar and Christ." New York: Simon. 1944. Vol. 3 of The Story of Civilization. 11 vols. 1935-75, and Durant, Will, "Age of Faith,"].
Also, the ancient Jewish practice of substituting titles for the divine name such as Lord and God is a false practice and flies in the face of what all pray for when they say Jesus (Yeshua) prayer found at Matthew 6:9-10, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." (AV) when they do NOT know his name and/or use it, even though in the original scriptures it occurs over 7,000 times.[references - Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 1; Greek Septuagint (Fouad Inv. 266)]. Clearly any attempt to turn the the true God (YHWH) of Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael, creator of all there is, into a nameless mystery is a mystery is an act of gross disrespect for our Creator, and a direct violation of what the Apostle John wrote at Revelation 22:18-19, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." (AV).
See Part Two: