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TWELVE GOD-GIVEN TRUTHS TO UNDERSTAND HIS WORD “None of the wicked shall understand; but the Wise shall understand” (Daniel 12:10) In this paper I’m going to briefly outline just twelve truths of Scripture from many that God has shown me over the years. I try to apply these truths to all subjects that I write about. More than just truths, I look upon them as spiritual commandments from God, absolutely necessary in rightly dividing the Word of Truth. My hope and my prayer is that God will grace you with a spirit of wisdom to comprehend these marvelous revelations of Scripture. I have received countless emails over the years in which my detractors inform me that the Scriptures are easy to understand: all one has to do is read them. That’s not true. Billions of Christians “read” the Scriptures, but have not a clue as to what they mean. And one of the biggest problems in not understanding what they have read is that they do not believe the Scriptures. And why don’t they believe? Because their shepherds have deceived them into believing that Christian doctrines take precedent over the Scriptures. I know of not one Christian doctrine that is completely Scriptural. Not one. And that includes, SDA’s, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and every other institutionalized church and denomination of manmade creeds. These truths that I am presenting here are “creed busters.” They destroy the doctrines of men. They make the wisdom of religion look incredibly stupid. God’s truths are like treasures hidden in a field. We must buy the field and then diligently search out the treasure. The following twelve truths of Scripture could make you very spiritually wealthy. TRUTH NUMBER 1
The sequence of God’s plan of salvation for mankind is most important—First is the physical and then comes the spiritual. Without the knowledge of this principle of Scripture, it is impossible to understand what man is and what is his destiny. Have you not been taught that the first Adam was indeed a “quickening, living, immortal spirit,” and that afterward, at the resurrection; his immortal soul will be given an ETERNAL PHYSICAL BODY? (Then there is also the ungodly doctrine called the “Law of Circularity” which teaches that we have always existed as spirits, and are now spirits having a physical experience—just the opposite of the truth). It was the natural body of Adam that became a living soul after God breathed into him. And that living soul was subject to death (Gen. 2:17 and Ezek. 18:4 & 20). Even this simple, straight-forward truth of Scripture is universally denied. God said that Adam would “SURELY die” (Gen. 2:17). But most have been taught that Adam was an immortal, spiritual soul that can NEVER, EVER DIE. I just received a DVD from Internationally famous, self-styled prophet, Jack Van Impe, in which it is stated: “Once we are born, WE NEVER DIE.” Jack Van Impe parrots that Old Serpent who told the world’s first recorded lie, when he said: “you shall NOT SURELY die” (Gen. 3:4) It is universally taught (and believed) that Adam and Eve were already formed and created in the very spiritual image of God way back in the garden. This is not, however, how the Hebrew manuscripts read, as a perfect creature formed in the very spiritual image of God, that not only does not sin, but cannot sin. The reason that Jesus (made unto sinful flesh) did not sin, was not that He could not sin, but rather His Father WOULD NOT LET HIM SIN. Jesus was born with a physical body, and therefore that body had to die. But I assure you that Jesus did not possess a “carnal mind” in that body of flesh. He sinned NOT. Making mankind into God’s own Image is a process that involves a lifetime of trials and tribulations that includes the crucifying and mortifying of the carnal human mind and body. I realize that from the King James and many modern translations it sounds like it was a “past tense” made in His image at creation, but actually it was not. Gen. 1:26-27 is equivalent to our English imperfect. Here is how one Version translates it:
Man is not a “spirit being” having a “physical” experience, but rather man is a “physical and mortal” being having a “spiritual” experience. We are first born mortal [physical], but in the resurrection God gives us immortality (the spiritual). Throw away this marvelous truth of Scripture, and you will be as deceived as Kenneth Copeland when he stated that when Adam was created, he was so shining, so glorious, so spiritual, so GOD-like, that one could not even see his body for the glorious radiance of his spirituality. Oh really? And is that why he was “naked,” although he “…knew not that he waswretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and NAKED” (Gen. 3: 7 versus Rev. 3:17)? Just prior to Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, we read that Eve:
It is not just the eating of the fruit that was a sin, but the “lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life” that went before the eating. And just why were they so filled with sin at their very creation? Because they were in the “perfect spiritual image of GOD?” Poppycock. They were natural, physical, carnal, and “…the carnal mind [with which Adam and Eve were created] is enmity [hatred] against God, for it is not subject to the law of God [‘But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it…’ Gen. 2:17], neither indeed can be” (Rom. 8:7). So, do the Scriptures really teach what the world has been taught—that Adam and Eve were made into the perfect spiritual “image of God?” Get real. Here is how GOD says He created Adam and Eve:
In Dante’s inferno, “all hope is gone…,” but in God’s realm He subjects the entire creation “…in HOPE,” God willfully, wantingly, knowingly, purposely, and wisely, created mankind “subject to vanity,” subject to failure, but beyond the failure, God also subjects the same in “hope.” Once again, contrary to all orthodox doctrine, there is hope for all of God’s carnal-minded, God-hating people on planet Earth. God Himself says so, in the same breath: “because the creature itself [the same creation that God subjects to vanity, futility, failure, and carnal-minded hatred against God] also shall be [ah, did you catch that? ‘shall be’], delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21). Do you believe the Scriptures? Really—what about this one? And so God, “made the creature subject to vanity”—failure, but later in mankind’s development, the creature “shall be“— [future tense]… shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption.” Ah yes, God created them in a condition of “bondage” and “corruption,” and therefore not “immortal” as is taught, but rather in “bondage of corruption.” But thanks to God, in the resurrection of the dead, ‘…this corruption must put onincorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality’ (I Cor. 15:54). Yes, of course, first comes the PHYSICAL (death), and then the SPIRITUAL (life). There it is—the hope of all humanity. Corruption and mortality (the physical first) must put on incorruption and immortality [the afterward spiritual). TRUTH NUMBER 2
Jesus taught in parables only, and no one understood His parables, hence Jesus taught in a way that He knew no one would understand His message. This truth of Scripture is so revolutionary to the minds of most Christians that many will think it blasphemy, and yet the Scriptures abound with statements that fully support it. I heard Matt Crouch (elder son of TBN President, Paul Croach) state on international television that Jesus spoke in parables to make the meaning of His teachings simple and clear and understandable to the simple farmers and uneducated people of Judea. My Wycliffe Bible Dictionary has a similar explanation: “Purpose of parables. The obvious purpose of Jesus’ use of parables was to make spiritual truth clear and compelling.” What a crock. Is anyone interested in what Jesus Himself had to say about His use of Parables? Good. Here it is:
Now then, does anyone see any similarity between “to make spiritual truth clear and compelling,” and “…but unto them it is not given?” No? Neither do I. What I see is a diametric opposite. What I see is a flat out contradiction between Christian teachers and the Word of God. “Jesus spoke in parables to make His quaint little stories clear and understandable to the uneducated farmers of Judea,” my foot: “and when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard His parables, they perceived that He spoke of them” (Matt. 21:45). The Chief Priests and Pharisees were generally highly educated people. But even they didn’t know what Jesus’ parables really meant, but they on one occasion at least, “perceived”that Jesus was speaking about them. So surely, if Jesus’ parables were “clear and compelling” to the uneducated farmers of Judea, then they would be even more so to His own disciples, not?
Even Jesus’ Own disciples had to have these parables explained to them. And just how did Jesus “declare” these parables to His Own disciples? You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. You wouldn’t believe me if I showed you. Okay, here’s how Jesus explained His parable. He explained His parable to His disciples by telling them ANOTHER PARABLE! I told you that you wouldn’t believe me. More on this later. This is another one of those marvelous spiritual truths of Scripture, which you will never hear explained in the Church. Just what do they teach all these future clergymen in seminary? The fact is, Jesus did not want the people to understand Him and Jesus did not want them to repent and Jesus did not want to spiritually heal or save them. He clearly said so. But why? Because God has a plan that involves calling MANY, but choosing out only a FEW.
Does anyone understand what Jesus just said here? Probably not too many, for this too, is a parable explaining a parable—and no one understood either. I wish they would let me teach a few classes at seminary.
Wow! Jesus didn’t want them to understand and He didn’t want to convert them and He didn’t want to save them. How could Isaiah’s prophecy be true if Jesus were to contradict it by teaching them plainly so that they could understand and repent? Now, that’s what Jesus said, and that’s what Isaiah said, but there’s a problem:
Yes, who? Have you believed this report I have just given you? It is almost frightening how few truly believe God’s Scriptural reports. Hence, precious few believe and understand the Scriptures, and fewer yet, obey them. There is good news, however, concerning the Parables, which virtually no one understands, and it is this:
I have never met a Christian in my life that believes this verse. Not one. They all have told me that Jesus spoke many times, in fact most of the time, in plain language to the multitudes and the people, and not in parables only. Hey, I’m glad that it is they who are contradicting Jesus and not I. Add to this denial the heresy that anyone can at any time, accept Jesus and believe, and then be saved. Jesus says they can’t; the Church says regardless of what Jesus says, they can. Who ya gonna believe? Continuing:
Say, did you get that? If you would know but one parable, you would know all parables! This is because all parables are speaking of the same subject, just presented from different perspectives. Wouldn’t you just love to know just one parable so that you could know all parables? What is so utterly amazing is that not only does the Church not understand all of the parables of Jesus, but, they do not even understand the parables which Jesus explained. I assure you that I am as serious as I could ever be when I say that. In a future paper I will explain what all the parables mean. But for now, just understand, that Jesus’ entire ministry was preached in such a way that no one would understand Him, except those very few to whom it was later (much later—see Truth Number 3) given to understand. Pray that God will grant you spiritual understanding of His parables, or you too, will “…understand not.”
TRUTH NUMBER 3
What was it that Christ’s disciples and apostles understood not? Surely they understood His spiritual teachings, did they not? What is it that they “…understood NOT” about Jesus’ sayings? Truth number 3 will reveal this shocking truth to us. That Jesus hid the meaning of his teachings from the masses, we have clearly been told already in Truth #2. But now I am going to show you something even more profound. Most in fact, will not believe the Scriptures before their own eyes. The King James “parables” to the masses and the “proverbs” to the Apostles is translated from the very same Greek word: Both “parable” and “proverb” are translated from the Greek— G3850 parabole par-ab-ol-ay’ From G3846; a similitude (“parable”), that is, (symbolically) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apoth gm or adage: – comparison, figure, parable, proverb. This is really childish that I should even have to explain to Christians that a “parabolay” really is a “FICTITIOUS narrative, and therefore is not a literal story at all. Oh what religion has done to otherwise perfectly sane minds. Just for the record, here are just a few of the definitions of “fictitious” from my dictionary: “fictitious, adj, artificial, feigned, fiction, imaginary, syn,false, fabrication, deception, incredible [unbelievable], impossibility, nonexistent, invented, distortion of historical facts” etc., etc., etc. From: Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, page 465. How many reading this paper will now believe and concede that parables are not literally true stories? Virtually none. As I have said for a long time now: “Christendom is a religion of contradictions and square circles.” And they love to have it so. That Jesus taught the multitudes including the Scribes and Pharisees in “parables” [parabolay] which means: “FICTITIOUS narratives,” is stated numerous times in the Scriptures. And clearly the multitudes along with the Scribes and Pharisees did not understand any of it. Actually the Bible as a whole is one giant parable. Tis true, but I don’t have time to go into that right now. And now for the shocker of shockers: Ask any Christian and he will tell you: “Jesus taught His disciples in “plain, literal, simple language.” Maybe the multitudes, the masses, the Scribes and the Pharisees, didn’t understand Christ’s teachings, but surely the Apostles understood His teachings. Oh really? And do we have chapter and verse on that? Do we have two witnesses on that? No we don’t because it isn’t true. Here’s how Jesus taught His own disciples, even in private:
By Jesus’ own admission, He didn’t teach or speak to even His Own apostles “plainly.” Now for a little humor: After Jesus spoke these words to His apostles He explains how He came out from the Father into the world and that He would again leave this world and that He would then plainly make known to them the Father. Not wanting to admit to their total ignorance of what Jesus was saying:
Jesus responded: “Oh really?” Well, those are not His exact words (that is what I would have said). Jesus responded: “DO you NOW believe?”(Verse 31). Of course they didn’t. They had not a clue as to what Jesus was spiritually saying. The word for “plainly” is taken from the Greek—G3954 a parrhe�sia par-rhay-see’-ah From G3956 and a derivative of G4483; all out spokenness, that is, frankness, bluntness, publicity; by implication assurance: – bold (X -ly, -ness, -ness of speech), confidence, X freely, X openly, X plainly (-ness). So Jesus promised that at some time in the future He would speak to them no longer in proverbs, but “plainly”—frankness, bluntness, assurance, confidently, feely, openly. Hence His “proverbs” were NOT, frank, blunt, assured, confident, free, open, and plain! No wonder the disciples and even the Apostles “understood not” the teachings of Jesus Christ. Do we have any “witnesses” or “spiritual matches” to that effect? Many:
To know “all parables,” they needed to know “this parable.” But since they clearly and admittedly did not know “this parable,” neither did they know any of the parables. The Apostles of Jesus Christ followed Jesus for three and one half years, and never understood the parables, even though they understood certain principles contained in a few parables. The multitudes did not understand Jesus’ parables; the Scribes and Pharisees did not understand Jesus’ parables; the hundreds of disciples did not understand Jesus’ parables, and as unbelievable as it may sound, not even the APOSTLES understood Jesus’ parables. Now get ready for another shock: Not only did none of the above including the Apostles themselves, understand any of Jesus’ parables, but they did not understand the parables after Jesus EXPLAINED the parables! And how is such a thing even possible? Well, get ready for an even greater shock: The reason they didn’t understand the parables even after Jesus explained them, is because Jesus explained His parables WITH ANOTHER PARABLE! That’s right, Jesus explained the parables that the Apostles themselves didn’t understand, by another parable, which they also did not understand. In Matt. 13:10, we read, “And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speak you unto them in parables?” In verse 11 Jesus said it is given to His disciples to understand (but He didn’t say WHEN it was given for them to understand), and then in verse 12 Jesus says:
In other words, another parable. Jesus explained the first parable that they didn’t understand with another parable, which they did not understand. A little later:
Etc., etc., which is nothing more than yet another parable to explain a previous parable. Jesus does not explain “the children of the kingdom,” “the children of the wicked one,” “the devil,” “the reaper angels,” “the end of the world,” “The Son of man,” “furnace of fire,” “the kingdom of their Father,” anymore than He explained what the first version of the parable was, and therefore, He had to add this to the end of His explanation: “Who has ears to hear, let him hear.” But none there had “ears to ear,” as we shall now see conclusively proven. After several more parables:
They understood nothing. In chapter 15 we read:
And He gives them another parable. Then Peter questions this parable,
Yes, the multitudes and the disciples “also” were without understanding. In the next chapter we read this:
Then in verse 11 it says they understood that Jesus meant the “doctrines” of the Pharisees, but they still didn’t know what the doctrines of the Pharisees were.
Jesus said unto His disciples:
Three and one half years Jesus taught His disciples. Three and one half years they heard Him teach in the synagogues hundreds of times. Yet, how much did they truly understand?
How many things written in the prophets concerning the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus did the disciples understand? “NONE.” At Jesus’ last meeting after His resurrection with His apostles we read:
Why did Jesus reveal His message, His gospel, His kingdom, His word to so very few people? Christ’s answer is much harder for most to believe than the parables themselves:
I doubt that many of my readers are comprehending the marvelous truths contained in the above passages. The prophets THEMSELVES (even Isaiah himself), desired to see these things, but did NOT see them. All of the Apostles and New Testament writers understood that the patriarchs of old including the prophets themselves, did not understand their own prophesies, therefore they were not converted, and they are not saved. These things are for those who come after Christ, not before:
“Unto whom it was revealed, that NOT unto themselves, but unto US they did minister [‘for OUR admonition upon whom the ends of the ages are come, I Cor. 10:11] the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto YOU at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (I Pet. 1:10-13). Therefore I repeat once more:
These and many more Scriptures prove the Church’s teaching that people who die unsaved will never be saved, is a damnable heresy. Until you concede in your heart that neither the parables nor the interpretation of the parables are literal, you will know no more of the plan of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ than the Apostles did before they were converted and had God’s Holy Spirit.
TRUTH NUMBER 4
Contained in these few Scriptures is the reason why the Church has not a clue as to what the plan and purpose of God is, or how the Scriptures are applied to the working out of that purpose. How did Jesus “fulfill” the Scriptures? By fulfilling the 44 Scriptures listed in the back of Strong’s Concordance concerning the coming Messiah? Forty-four Scriptures only? Those 44 Scriptures are truly, not even the tip of the iceberg. What Christ did could not be put into books—the whole [kosmos] could not contain it. Jesus did not fulfill the sacrificed sin offering only. Jesus was not merely one offering, but the many offerings, burnt offerings, the meat offering, the peace offerings, the trespass offering, and the sin offering. Jesus also prefigured the priest doing the offering, the meaning of each offering, the compartments and furniture of the tabernacle, the bread, the candles, the curtain, the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle itself, and the whole nation of Israel—Jesus prefigures all and FULFILLED ALL. No one could comprehend every verse in the Old Testament Scriptures that represented Jesus, but they could learn the PRINCIPLE by which Jesus fulfilled all the law and all the prophets. And that is how the apostles and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had their understanding of the Scriptures opened in just a very short time. When the Scriptures speak of Israel they speak of Jesus, and when they speak of Jesus they speak of us, for “…as Jesus is, so are we in the world” (I John 4:17). And that is the simple explanation of this marvelous truth. The Scriptures speak of far more than just the prophesies of Jesus coming as the Messiah. We are all in Adam. We do all that Adam did. We believe in the Spirit what Israel lived in the flesh. All Israel was baptized in the Red Sea. We are all baptized into Christ’s death. And now the last Adam (Christ) lives His life in us (Gal. 2:20), but not until we repent of the first Adam of the flesh living his life in us.
For three and one-half years Jesus promised that some day His apostles would know the truth. But clear to the end of three and one-half years of learning at the feet of Jesus, the Apostles did not yet understand His teaching, purpose or plan. One day they were blind to these truths, and the next they understood. How is that possible? We have clearly seen that Jesus kept the real meaning and truths of His teaching from the masses, the church leaders, His disciples and even His apostles. Late in Christ’s ministry, we are told that:
But after His resurrection, Luke tells us that:
Maybe, TODAY, will be the day that God begins to “open your understanding of the Scriptures.” Jesus said to His disciples:
In the first section, the Law of Moses, Strong’s Concordance gives four entries of things Jesus fulfilled from these five books:
Why they don’t even mention the fact that there was to come a Prophet like unto Moses:
If they missed that one, just imagine how many of hundreds of smaller prophecies regarding Christ they missed. Understand that what is recorded for us in the gospels is but a very tiny portion of what actually was taught and happened in Christ’s life and ministry:
It wasn’t that Jesus was “holding back” on His disciples, so that they didn’t quite “get it,” but rather they just didn’t have the spiritual mind to “get it,” until Jesus gave them His very Own mind in the form of His Holy Spirit. Notice Jesus’ words:
Yes, Jesus told them “ALL things,” but, “they understood NONE OF THESE THINGS” (Luke 18:34)! Surely the question will arise: If at the end of Christ’s ministry, “they understood none of these things…,” of what value were those three and one half years that Jesus taught them? Tis true that they did not understand Christ’s gospel and message during His ministry, and during this mentoring, but it was not for naught. Three things were to happen:
This is how the gospel accounts could be written 30-40 years later, because God caused them to “remember” all these things. Remember how I taught in my “Lake of Fire” series, that in Revelation 1:10 & 12 John, “…heard behind” him, a trumpet, and he “turned to see…” And that is how we come to understand many things in the spirit. It is only when we turn and look behind us that we see what we didn’t see while it was actually taking place.
And so the disciples understood many things [1] after they came to pass, [2] again when Jesus opened their understanding, and [3] many more things as they progressed and grew in their faith and ministry. Peter learned to not call the Gentiles common or unclean. He preached to them the gospel, and they received God’s Holy Spirit. Paul learned the truth about being baptized by God’s Spirit rather than by water. The whole Church learned that Circumcision and the Law of Moses was not required for salvation at the Acts 15 Jerusalem Conference. And many more such things. But primarily in this Truth, we are dealing with Christ’s opening of their understanding of the Scriptures after His resurrection. Before Jesus opened their understanding of the Scriptures on the evening of His resurrection, no New Testament writer could have quoted Scriptures from the Old Testament and applied them to Christ as we find in our Bibles today. And why is that? Because many times the Scriptures that they quote in reference to Jesus Christ are taken completely out of their context, where they did not have reference to Jesus at all. Notice Matt. 1:23,
Now go back to Isa. 7:14 and you will see that this verse has nothing to do with Jesus Christ, if we insist that it be IN CONTEXT. In Acts 1:20 we see Peter putting into practice the “Scriptural understanding” that Jesus gave him the evening of His resurrection. Let’s notice what Peter says:
Peter took half his statement from Psalm 69:25, but changed the word “their” to “his,” and the other half of his statement is from Psalm 109:8, and neither Psalm appears to have anything to do with selecting a new Apostle to replace Judas. What is going on?
But what was it about the Scriptures that caused them to understand the Scriptures? Just what did Jesus teach them that they didn’t already know? Back up a few verses for the answer. Earlier that same day Jesus met with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. For the next seven miles Jesus explained to them the Scriptures. What did He teach them that in a few hours they were able to understand the Scriptures?
Are we to believe that in a few hours Jesus read to them the entire 39 books, 929 chapters, 23,145 verses of the Old Testament, with commentary and explanations? No, of course not. He taught them a principle, a spiritual truth, whereby they could understand all the Scriptures that pertained to Him. The spiritual resurrected Jesus Christ does not represent the physical house of David, or the physical Tribe of Judah, or the physical nation of Israel. Jesus Christ is Spirit and His words are spirit. “As Jesus is, so are we” means that those who are spiritual (composed of almost exclusively Gentiles in this Church era) are the true Jews—not national Israel and Judah. National Israel and Judah are going into the Great White Throne of Judgment in the second resurrection during the period of the Lake of Fire. They will NOT be grafted into Jesus, the Tree of Life, before then. Jesus fulfilled all that is written in the Law of Moses and all the prophets—it ALL pertains to Jesus, and thus it all pertains to us (‘upon whom the ends of the ages are come,’ I Cor. 10:11). TRUTH NUMBER 5
Everything from Genesis to Revelation pertains to a higher SPIRITUAL meaning than the physical examples, parables, metaphors, allegories, stories and symbols in which they are written. “Let us make man in Our Image” (Gen. 1:26) are words of SPIRIT: “…Surely I come quickly…” (Rev. 22:20) are words of SPIRIT. God does not look like a six-foot man or a five-foot woman. Jesus comes quickly to us, not to the world. John tells us that:
God is not “flesh.” Jesus had to be “made flesh.” And then AS flesh, Jesus had to “grow and wax strong” (Luke 2:40). God does not “grow or wax strong,” but Jesus “made flesh” had to grow and wax strong. Jesus also had to “overcome” (John 16:33). God does not need to overcome anything. Jesus had to “suffer” and “learn obedience” (Heb. 5:8). God does not suffer: God does not learn anything, seeing that God is all knowing (Isa. 46:10). Jesus was “troubled in His soul” (John 12:27). God is never troubled in HIS soul. Jesus got “weary” (John 4 6). God never gets weary (Isa. 40:28). Jesus became “exceeding sorrowful” (Matt. 26:38). God never sorrows. Jesus was famished after fasting for 40 days and nights. He was so“hungry” that he was ready to die (Matt. 4:2). God never gets hungry. God can never die of hunger. Jesus got very “thirsty” (John 19:28). God never gets thirsty. Jesus “wept” (John 11:35). God never weeps. Jesus was acquainted with “sickness” (Isa. 53:3). God never gets sick. How sad that many Christians believe that nothing bad ever happened to Jesus before His crucifixion. If it were not for God IN Jesus, Jesus would have been as helpless as a newborn baby. In fact, Jesus said with all humility and truth: “I can of Mine Own Self do nothing…” (John 5:30). Jesus Christ is our Example of just how man (mankind) is to “be made into the Image of God.” Jesus is our example, our way, and our destiny:
Jesus was made a physical man so that He could show us the way to the spirit God. And so it was that this Jesus, in the flesh, who became human, became a man of flesh, was conformed into the spiritual “Image of God,” and spoke to us through His “words of spirit.” It is Jesus Who “was the word of God” back in Genesis, Who did the speaking when “…God [the Word] said, Let there be light” (Gen. 1:3). It was “the word” in Genesis 1:26 Who said: “Make will We humanity in Our Image…” (Concordant Version). What kind of words were those words, which The Word spoke back there in the garden? Why they were the words of Jesus, and Jesus plainly tells us that His words “ARE SPIRIT” (John 6:63).
Why of course, that is why Paul teaches us that we are, “…to be conformed to the Image of His Son.” Jesus now is in the very spiritual image of God, just as He was prior to being emptied into human flesh, in the form of a servant:
If mankind is not in the literal, physical image of God, then what, pray tell, does God look like?
“God is not a MAN…” (Num. 23:19), regardless of how many millions of theologians want to make God into the image of sinful man. God is not in our image: neither are we yet in His Image. Obviously the words that Jesus spoke were “spirit,” seeing that His very words came from GOD, Who IS SPIRIT:
Did Jesus give His Apostles the power to speak words of SPIRIT? Yes, He did:
And we too are to speak with these same “words of SPIRIT”
And of course the same thing was true for Christ:
Now then, how did Jesus teach the multitudes, ALWAYS? In parables:
Parables are “words of spirit.” The day that we fail to believe Jesus when He tells us that His words “are SPIRIT,” is the day that we will fail to understand anything spiritual. The words of Jesus are not to be taken literally, physically, materially, carnally. All of Jesus’ teachings are SPIRITUAL. I will keep this section short, as this principle overlaps with all of the rest of the principles.
TRUTH NUMBER 6
This particular law of Scripture is constantly violated. We are to have at least a second witness to establish a Scriptural truth or doctrine. Unfortunately, the Church does not follow this truth of God in establishing doctrine. Truth be known, orthodoxy has not even one witness to support any of their doctrines! Example: The Scriptures tell us that man is “mortal,” not “immortal.” They teach that man’s soul is immortal. Where do they have a Scripture to support this claim? No Scripture—no witness. Where is their second witness to this claim? No second witness. They will not be encumbered with Scriptures to support their damnable heresies and lies. God told Adam if he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die: “And the Lord God commanded…you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:17). Theologians teach that, “once we are born, we shall NEVER surely die.” Say, doesn’t that sound like the very same thing the lying serpent told Eve? Check it out:
Can we all agree that the phrase: “shall NOT SURELY die” is a contradiction of the phrase “SHALL SURELY die”? Does the Church teach what God said or what the serpent said? Why would you prefer to believe what the serpent said rather than what God said? Am I going to fast for anyone? So do souls actually die, or are they immortal? A “soul” in Hebrew is a “nephesh.” Does the Church have “two witnesses” that souls do not die? They don’t have even one. Well then, do we have two witnesses that tell us plainly souls do die? Yes we do:
Jesus tells us in parable of two great witnesses:
What “new and old” treasures do “scribes” preserve for us regarding the “kingdom of heaven?” Why the NEW Covenant Scriptures and the OLD Covenant Scriptures, of course. And both the Old (Deut. 17:6 & 19:15), and the New (II Cor. 13:1 & Matt. 18:16) command that we must have two witnesses to establish every Word of God. I will keep this truth short, as it overlaps with the next spiritual truth # 7 which requires that we compare and match spiritual with spiritual. The next time your pastor mentions “immortal souls,” “Christians going to heaven,” “Jesus being in hell for three days,” “not all men will be saved,” “Christian tithing,” “consciousness in death,” “resurrection of the body,” “parables make the teaching clear,” “man’s will being free and independent of God,” and dozens of other such nonsense, ask him to give you two Scriptures to support each of his unscriptural heresies.
TRUTH NUMBER 7
The purpose for comparing spiritual with spiritual is to find a spiritual match. There is a spiritual match for every symbol in the book of Revelation. This is a powerful truth that will open the whole Bible to us. In the previous truth we learned the need for two witnesses. In this truth we will learn the need for those two witnesses to be a “spiritual match.” Let’s now “spiritually match” two witnesses and see the marvelous eye-opening result. After being introduced to the Great White Throne in Rev. 20:11, we read of the judgment of every man’s work in fire:
Notice the specifics of these verses:
But we learned that no witness can stand alone. We must have at least TWO WITNESSES to establish the truth of any doctrine. For the simple fact that orthodoxy absolutely refuses to give you a “spiritual match” to these Scriptures, it has enabled them to attach all kinds of unscriptural, extra-scriptural, anti-scriptural heresies to the above Scripture. Why won’t they give you a “second witness,” and a “spiritual match” to the above Scripture? Because the only second witness which is a spiritual match to the above Scripture, destroys their whole pagan teaching regarding it, that’s why. Now then, is there a second witness to: Every man’s work is to be judged by fire? Yes, there is a SECOND witness to this Scripture. But we are looking for more than just a second witness. We have just learned that we are also to “compare [or match] spiritual with spiritual.” We are looking for a second witness which is a SPIRITUAL MATCH to these statements that Every man’s work is to be judged in fire.” Would you believe that there is ONE and ONLY ONE such spiritual match to this Scripture in the entirety of the Bible? After I give it to you, you will clearly see why orthodoxy will not even concede that this Scripture IS a second witness and a spiritual match. Here it is:
There it is: a perfect spiritual match and a second witness to Rev. 20:13-15):
Why do Christians and theologians hate what I have just shown you? Because when we put these two spiritually matched Scriptures together, we also are given the added knowledge that there is SALVATION in and through this fire which judges us, and the Church doesn’t want all mankind to be saved. Yes, the most evil people who have ever lived, will also be saved one day, but contrary to what all of my detractors constantly lie about my writings, is that they will not be saved before they are purged in “God’s CONSUMING FIRE” of every last vestige of evil and carnality. But many Christians have written me insisting that these two Scriptures are not spiritual matches, and in fact insist that they are never even a second witness to one another. Be it known to all, that God’s CONSUMING SPIRITUAL FIRE will purge every vestige of these carnal and evil deceptions of THE GREAT WHORE CHURCH OF BABYLON. They (like we) will first be “ground to POWDER” (Luke 20:18), and then (like we) subjected to “refiners FIRE and fuller’s SOAP” (Malachi 3:2) of Almighty God. The process for them will be the same process as with us, albeit at a later date, and in many cases with greater intensity, and remember that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the LIVING GOD” (Heb. 10:31). But it is not a never-ending fear in eternal torture. Question: As the world of Christendom predominantly believes that the Bible is to be taken literally, how pray tell is it even within the realm of possibility for them to compare ANYTHING “spiritual with spiritual” from the Scriptures?
TRUTH NUMBER 8
It is essential that we study the Old Testament Scriptures, for they are often the only key to the New Testament Scriptures. Paul used the Hebrew Scriptures to teach the foolish Galatians the New Covenant promises. Here’s but one great example:
This is not only an allegory, but it is an allegory containing many metaphors as well. An allegory is when characters or events (such as Sarah and Agar and their children) represent abstract or spiritual ideas or principles. A metaphor is when one thing is said to be something else. (such as Agar actually being mount Sinai, which then represents or corresponds to Jerusalem in bondage). It may seem a little complicated at first, but once one sees all of the aspects of the allegory explained, this principle is quite easy to understand. Nevertheless, it does require the Spirit of God to believe it. It is this very fact (that the Church does not understand or believe this allegory) that the Church continues to believe that God’s true chosen people are STILL, “the children of the bondwoman”—”Jerusalem which NOW IS” over there in the State of Israel. Unbelievable. This dear reader, is how the Old Covenant was written for “OUR admonition…” Does anyone believe that this is the ONLY “allegory” in the Old Testament which is written for OUR admonition. Hardly—the Old Testament is FILLED with such allegories, but who has “ears to hear and eyes to see?” And “who will believe our report?” The whole book of Revelation is explained in the Old Testament Scriptures, but the theologians of this world do not and cannot discern it. They all teach that Revelation is a book of end-time, end-of-the-world eschatology. They have not a clue. Paul constantly referred to the Old Testament Scriptures in his epistles, and he taught the whole plan of salvation from the Old Testament Scriptures, as they were the only Scriptures available during his ministry.
These same Scriptures were now able to make Timothy wise unto salvation, but not until he first learned about Jesus Christ in the Old Testament Scriptures. These were the Scriptures that Jesus caused His apostles to understand after His resurrection: What Jesus taught from the Old Testament Scriptures during His ministry was not even the tip of the iceberg. The Truth of God, “thou shall surely die,” and the lie of the Devil, “you shall NOT surely die,” is for “our admonition.” The story of Cain and Able is for “our admonition.” The story of the flood is for “our admonition.” The story of Babel is for “our admonition.” The promises to Abraham and the meaning of faith are for “our admonition.” The entire story in every single detail of Joseph and his brothers is for “our admonition.” Do you wear your “coat of many colors,” or do you hide it in the closet? You say: “What coat of many colors?” Forget it—ask you pastor why he has never taught you how to wear your coat of many colors? If you cannot identify yourself, personally, with all the stories and accounts in the Old Testament, then you have not even begun to overcome all the carnality that you are.
TRUTH NUMBER 9
“Own” is a little closer to the Greek in this verse than is the word “private.” A few examples of how the Greek word, idios, is used in other Scriptures will show this more clearly. In a few cases it should be translated “private,” as in, “…the disciples came unto Him privately” (Matt. 24:3). But more than 70 times it is translated “own” as in:
Why is no Scripture its OWN interpretation, we might ask? To protect the integrity of the Scriptures, for one thing. ALL twelve of these spiritual principles are to be used together in explaining the Scriptures. If every Scripture or even any Scripture can be its “own interpretation,” then we wouldn’t need the other eleven principles. How can a Scripture be its own interpretation when we are told to “compare or MATCH spiritual with spiritual?” One standing alone cannot at the same time be a match to something else. Why then the need for “TWO witnesses” if each Scripture fully interprets itself? No, every one of the principles that I am presenting is of paramount importance. In our last example on the judgments by fire (I Cor. 3 and Rev. 20), it was absolutely necessary to have not only two witnesses, but to match one spiritual teaching with another spiritual teaching in order to arrive at the truth. You see, neither Scripture by itself, fully explains God’s “judgments by fire.” From I Cor. 3 orthodoxy will concede that the fire is figurative, spiritual, symbolic, and that the believers that go through this fire WILL BE SAVED BY IT. But this same orthodoxy (because they refuse to obey this commandment of God’s Scripture) conclude that the lake of fire of Rev. 20, is not symbolic, even though the whole book is “signified” (Rev. 1:1), which is “symbolized.” They say that this fire is literal, and that those that go through it will never be saved. Now then, does it say that those thrown into the lake of fire are NEVER SAVED? NO. Does it say that this is LITERAL fire? NO. Does it say that it will last for all ETERNITY? NO (See my paper: “Is EVERLASTING Scriptural” for proof of this. “For ever and ever” is not a translation of Rev. 20:10.“aions of the aions” does not translate into “ever and ever.” King James turns the NOUN “aions” into an ADJECTIVE “ever.” King James changes a PLURAL “aionS” into a SINGULAR “ever.” King James drops the GENITIVE “of.” (Taking FROM the word of God). King James inserts the CONJUNCTIVE “and.” (Adding TO the word of God). They again change the PLURAL NOUN “aions” into a SINGULAR ADJECTIVE “ever” They break FIVE LAWS OF GRAMMAR IN JUST THREE WORDS! And Christendom then calls this verse “INERRANT.” Unbelievable. UNBELIEVABLE! Theologians and preachers despise this simple and unassailable Scriptural logic and truth. Here is a simple example as to why no Scripture is its OWN interpretation. I am asked about once a week the following question: If dead people are really dead as you say (actually, I quote SCRIPTURE when I say that, so it is really GOD saying it, not I), then how was it that Moses and Elijah appeared alive with Christ on the mount? Let’s read it:
Now then, since most theologians refuse to follow the commandments of God, they do conclude that this verse is its OWN interpretation, and therefore what you see is what you get—Elijah and Moses are still alive in heaven, or some place. To them this Scripture is its OWN interpretation; they don’t need a SECOND witness; they don’t need to compare SPIRITUAL WITH SPIRITUAL; they don’t need to be sure this Scripture MATCHES other Scriptures. Hence, break the commandments of God and they teach heresy. The preachers and theologians of Christendom ARE the Scribes and Pharisees, Elders, the Chief priests of today’s Church. And what was their attitude back then with regards to following the commandments of God with regard to having more than one witness, etc.?
Yes, indeed, “What NEED have we of any further witness?” Here’s why we need to follow the commandments of God. Just one additional Scripture witness will solve this Christian heresy that dead people are still alive. Here it is:
It was all a VISION! It never “literally” happened anymore than your dreams are literal. The Scripture says “two or THREE witnesses,” so lets throw in a third just to put this whole issue out of the reach of the heretics. Are Elijah and Moses still alive? Did they receive their promises and go to heaven. Are they now in heaven? Turn to Hebrews 11. Although Elijah is not mentioned by name in this chapter, he is, nonetheless, included, as he certainly was “…OF the PROPHETS” (Verse 32). What do the Scriptures say regarding the present condition of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham & Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and the prophets, of whom Elijah was one? Are they alive today? Did they receive the promises. Are they in heaven? Hold on, cause I’m about to knock your socks off:
WOW! I would venture to say that not a thousand people alive on earth today have ever seen or had the above Scripture explained to them. Yet this Scripture is in perfect harmony with ALL other Scripture, but TOTALLY CONTRADICTS ALL CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. ALL of the men and women of faith, the fathers, the patriarchs, and prophets are DEAD. ALL of them died “looking for a country & home afar off,” which they never received. ALL these received a “good report,” but they received NO PROMISES. ALL these “desired a heavenly” home, but they NEVER RECEIVED IT. ALL these will remain dead until WE are given OUR promises. OUR promise is better: “God having provided some BETTER THING FOR US.” WE are to become “perfect” Col. 4:12; Eph. 4:13; Gal. 3:3; Phil. 3:15; Col. 1:28; etc, WE are to become “perfect” BEFORE the saints of old; BEFORE Moses & Elijah. THEY are not only made perfect AFTER us, but are made perfect THROUGH US! Not even John the Baptist is as great as the very least in the Kingdom of God (Matt. 11:11). Grace was not given to save the saints of old. Grace came by JESUS CHRIST, not by Moses, neither to nor for Moses (John 1:17). Hebrews 11, speaking of ALL the saints that were before us clearly declares that, ” for they without [Gk: ‘apart from’] US should NOT be made perfect [or ‘complete’]. Hebrews was written at least a whole generation after the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord, and at that time the saints of old had not yet received their promises, so guess what? They are all still dead in their graves awaiting the Second Resurrection, as they cannot be made perfect or complete except through those who come up in the First resurrection. And no one is ever made “complete” except through Jesus Christ (Col. 2:10). Have you not read:
Jesus Christ is the “wave sheaf” and the “firstfruit,” but the saints and patriarchs of old were not “firstfruits” at all. Jesus, not they, was the FIRST of the firstfruits” (I Cor. 15:20& 23), and WE, not they, are also “firstfruits” (James 1:18 & Rev. 14:4). When will we believe the Scriptures? The FIRST to be called will be the LAST TO BE SAVED, and the LAST to be called will be the FIRST TO BE SAVED (Matt. 19:30 and 20:16). My, what we can learn when we begin to obey the commandments of GOD. All Scripture is inspired, and all Scripture is true, but no one Scripture fully explains and interprets itself. Remember that should someone want to show you from “a” single Scripture that there is no end to the lake of fire, for example.
TRUTH NUMBER 10
Few Christians indeed believe this Truth. First they will insist that I took that phrase out of context. Let us see if that is true:
Is it only in reference to the “new creatures” in Christ, that “All things are of God?” No, let’s read the next verse:
Now we can clearly see that the “ALL things are of God” includes not only those now being made into new creatures, but also “the WORLD.”Where does God ever limit Himself when it comes to saving His people:
What is true is that God is not trying to save everyone now in this church age. But all of mankind are the offspring of God:
The most evil of people who have ever lived, did not live unto themselves, by themselves, independent of God, but rather, “in HIM they live, and move, and have their being.” For even the life of the criminal is sustained by God: or they would just fall apart and cease to exist:
Why is it that God tells us that “all is of God,” but as many read their Bibles, they do not believe that all they are reading is “ALL of God?” God gave Joseph a dream that he would be in a position of great power and that even his brothers and his father and mother would be bowing down to him. His brothers especially hated him for what they considered a haughty attitude toward them. They hated him so, that they were going to kill him, but Reuben saved him and they rather sold him into slavery down to Egypt. In Egypt Joseph went through his 13 years of trial and testing. Later his brothers were forced to seek food from Joseph, and they feared for their lives. They thought that Joseph was as evil as they. Joseph, however, had compassion on them and made the following marvelous statement of revelation concerning the workings of God:
Notice that God did not “change” what they planned, or “turn” the evil that they planned into something good. No, God “meant IT,” it being the whole scenario from start to finish, for good. God didn’t change anything or turn anything, rather God planned it to happen just as it happened FROM THE BEGINNING. God has never ever made a mid-stream correction in His original plan. God always knows the end of everything in the beginning:“Declaring the END from the BEGINNING…” (Isa. 46:10). But “Who will believe our report?” A few months ago while visiting in someone’s home, I was introduced to a Jehovah’s Witness minister. During a discussion around the kitchen table, something was said that prompted me to state that God knows all things, and He knows all things before they ever happen. To which the JW minister took great exception and gave an example of something that God did not know, and that this was clearly stated so in the Scriptures. When He quoted the Scripture I nearly fell out of my chair. Here is the Scripture he quoted to prove that God does not always know everything:
He insisted for the rest of the evening that there are things that God doesn’t know, and if God were to ask a question to something He already knew, then the Scripture would be showing God to be a liar by asking. I asked him if the fact of God asking a question is proof that God does not know the answer to the question, and he said, “YES.” I later asked him if Jesus was the only stupid person present when He asked whose image was on the coin? I asked him if every uneducated person present knew that it was Caesar’s image with the exception of Jesus? He replied: “That was different.” Oh really? How the name of God is blasphemed by such demeaning foolishness. Yet most professing Christians refuse to understand these simple truths of Scripture. They refuse to believe that all is of God. They rather think that all evil is of Satan. They refuse to believe that even Satan “is of GOD.” God created Satan, God controls Satan, and God calls all the shots with Satan. Satan cannot move without God’s permission:
If even Jesus Christ, the SON OF GOD, could not do ANYTHING of Himself without the Father, then why oh why do Christians believe that everyone else in the universe can do whatever they want independent of God? Jesus said:
Jesus also said:
So Jesus can do nothing of and by Himself; the Apostles could do nothing of and by themselves; we can of ourselves do nothing, but Satan and sinners can do whatever their fabled free wills want to do, is that correct? That is foolish and unscriptural blasphemy. Truly “ALL is of God.” What then of all the supposed contradictions in Scripture? Below are a few examples of what many would call contradictions in the Scriptures:
To the carnal mind, the above Scriptures are contradictions, and therefore proof that the Word of God is not consistently true. Even the greatest theologians in the world deny this truth that “All is of God,” because they cannot distinguish the relative from man’s doings from the absolute which is God’s doing. In the first example man is told to seek but is also told that no man seeks. Which is it? They are both true. No man does seek God except and until God brings about circumstances wherein he does seek God. But He only does seek God because “All is of God” who brings about the circumstances whereby someone who would not seek God, now does seek God. In the second example we are told that God changes His mind [repents], but are also told that God is not a man who repents or changes His mind. The answers are all the same. Where it appears to many that God felt sorry for ever having created mankind, He is in reality doing only that which He had determined to do from the beginning. It is only from man’s perspective that God repented or changed His mind. God always knows the “end from the beginning,” and therefore is never surprised or never thwarted or frustrated requiring a change in course or a change of plans. A few years ago someone tried to trip me up with this verse:
Here, I was told, is absolute proof that God learns new things that He didn’t know before. Nonsense. This is a simple problem of translating. The word translated “mind” in this verse is the Hebrew word leb, and it means the “heart with its feelings,” not the mind. The King James very often confuses heart with mind and mind with soul, as if they were one and the same thing even though there are different words for each. God’s plan and purpose for humanity consists of many, many things which are not after God’s own heart, but that are, nonetheless, absolutely essential for the completion of His plan:
This is God’s HEART speaking in this verse. But in the MIND of God, the death of the wicked was absolutely necessary, and a prophesied fact that could not be avoided:
This is but another of countless examples in Scripture that show God’s mind and His heart. God takes no pleasure or delight in His heart over the horrible things that continually happen to humanity, but nonetheless, these things are absolutely essential to the fulfillment of the plan that God has devised in His mind. It is absolute blasphemy to think or teach that God is the Creator of all that is, but then takes zero responsibility for all the evils of that creation—ALL is of God. TRUTH NUMBER 11
When God wants to emphasis something, He repeats it. When He really wants to emphasize something, He repeats it again. When He really, really, really wants to emphasize something, He repeats it multiple times. Let’s count the times God uses this phrase:
Let’s try reading a few verses together with this spiritual understanding of what is “spiritual,” and what still, “is, was, and will be.” A couple of years ago I presented the following in one of my Lake of Fire Installments:
If anyone thinks this is funny, he is laughing at God, not at me. Once one thoroughly understands this spiritual truth of what is, was, and will be, it is not necessary to read the entire Book in the way I have stated it above. Neither is it necessary to repeat the words of James when he instructs us to always be aware of the fact that “If the Lord will, we shall do this, or that” (James 4:15). The testimony of Jesus Christ does not change, and Christ Himself does not change, and therefore His dealings with humanity do not change, other than that there is coming a consummation of sin and death. Christ is not changed, but WE WILL BE CHANGED to conform to the Image of Jesus Christ. TRUTH NUMBER 12
I have thus far presented you with hundreds of Scriptures. Do you agree with them? Do you believe them? Are you willing to DO THEM? Whenever God and our Saviour speak to us, we are to BELIEVE AND OBEY. All who have ever attempted to circumvent these spiritual truths learned were not taught of God,
Every single person I know that has stopped growing, spiritually, begins to go backwards, loosing what light they may have possessed because they are no longer faithful to the Word and commandments of Almighty God. They all possess one or more “idols of the heart,” that they will not give up or repent of. Sadly, in most cases, (even when backed into an indefensible corner with the Scriptures), it is extremely rare that such ones will acknowledge their sin and repent of their error. Over time such individuals usually become bitter, after which it is only a matter of time before Satan has them for lunch! These twelve spiritual truths are not just helpful in understanding God’s word; they are essential. Without them, you cannot understand anything spiritual in the Scriptures. To the degree that you deny or leave off one or more of them is the degree that your spiritual understanding diminishes. Apply them all, always, and you will see spiritual revelation like you never even thought possible.
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L. Ray Smith