Category Archives: Doctrinal

One Law

Posted on by
1

by Randy Maugans

0ne-lawWe need to keep being reminded of the staggering implications of the Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ, even as some come to steal it away.Those who continue to uphold two covenants…one for Jews and another for the “gentiles” fail to grasp the immense richness of the covenant which was divinely sealed by Christ Yeshua, as presented in the third chapter of Galatians:

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.“ -Galatians 3;16-18

This is not a new doctrine, but the fulfillment of one long ago prophesied by Daniel:

“ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…” -Daniel 9:27

The progression  from the “old” covenenant—a covenant of laws; to the new covenant of ONE LAW was rapidly made apparent to the early believers, though not without difficulty. The apostles of record in the scriptures all came to understand that something profound and unprecedented occurred at the Cross…a unified code defined by the very act of infinite love demonstrated by the Messiah. Even as he breathed his last breath as man, Yeshua proclaimed the END of dogma; of arcane laws which were perverted by men; and the closing of a breach which existed for millenia between the Father-God and his “other” children.

“ And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.  And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.” -Mark 15:37-39

Symbolically, this account of the last moment of Messiah’s earthly life gives us an open view into the  spiritual dynamics of the crucifixion: the “middle wall of partition” (Ephesians 2:14) between the priests and the people was torn; but more importantly, the partition between the Jews and the gentiles was likewise dissolved. Consider the testimony of the attending centurion (a pagan officer of Caesar) who grasped this concept, and so testified of its truth.

This event marked the opening of a new outreach directly by the Creator to  begin sanctifying those outside the limitations of the covenant made with Abraham. A covenant which was not invalidated, but extended. A covenant of laws which were boiled down to the simplest terms and made plain to ALL men of good conscience—to the Jew first, then the heathen (Romans 1:16).
The understanding of Daniel’s veiled prophecy about a “covenant with many” was then fully realized, even as alluded to by Yeshua:
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” -John 10:16
Both spiritually and literally an unexpected aspect of the mission of the Messiah became more apparent: that the Father intended to open up the covenant and bring into His presence the ” many” who had previously been excluded. This move in no manner violated the tenets of the old covenant but rather, in a dramatic shift, began the final phase of the long held promise made by YAWEH to Abraham:
“That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies ;And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” -Genesis 22:17-8
Why is it that all who proclaim, even to this day, unfulfilled promises to Israel fail to see that the totality of this great blessing toward Israel, through Abraham, was to include “all the nations of the earth”? The insistence by those who still adhere to the myopic view that God still “owes” a great blessing to Israel completely miss both the direct connection of an outworking to the nations, and the immediacy by which this occurred through this selfsame “Seed”?

“And to thy seed, which is Christ…” -Galatians 3:16

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? {hinder you: or, drive you back}
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.
9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
13 ¶ For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Indeed, the miracle of this ancient promise is that, as was then, even now there continues a “blindness” upon professed believers toward the totality of the Cross. That, in fact, the enlargement of the covenant was THE main point of both the ancient promise to Abraham, and the unifying work of the Savior toward all men. The “blindness” of Israel (Romans 11:15) is reflected in professing believers who decry that the gentiles have “stolen” the birthright of Israel.

“…blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” -Romans 11:25

In a tremendous role reversal the blind Jews now are the very Christians who claim that God is not finished with (physical/racial) Israel—when they, themselves, ARE spiritually part of the New Covenant Israel! Thus, the very hinge upon which they pin this so-called “unfulfilled work” lies in the terminus of the “fulness of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:25).

The order of progression was to the “Jew first, then the gentile”…and an act of spiritual conversion which will proceed until the tents of Israel are completely full. The “fulness of the Gentiles” completes the promise to Abraham—it does not recursively move back to any physical race, nor does it invoke some long delayed process; the process BEGAN at the Cross and has progressed toward the time when God completes His work in the Earth:

“A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.  And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased. I would they were even cut off which trouble you.” -Galatians 5:3-12

This “offense of the cross”,  which is so referenced in Galatians 5, lies in the identifying aspect of the Jewish culture: circumcision, which was a unique sign given to the Hebrews by YAWEH through Moses (Exodus 4:26). This very hallmark of the Hebrew culture is now denigrated in favor of the ONE LAW given as a sign unto believers, both the Jew and the Gentile:

“For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” -Galatians 5:3-14

This is not a “Pauline doctrine”, or an over-simplification of the new covenant; it was the exact same sign given by God, himself in the divine personage of his son, Jesus the Christ:

“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” -words of Messiah in  John 13:35

Those who expect a revival of Jewish people at some future date after the Gospel has been fully sent to the nations (Gentiles) are, themselves the very same blind (spiritual) Jews to which the apostle Paul refers in Romans 11. An odd role reversal and a complete repudiation of the lop-sided doctrines of dispensational/dual covenant theology that is now held by these “blind” Christians who have not read scripture with eyes open.

The Great Tribulation is Against Believers

Posted on by
Reply

by Randy Maugans

Even those who subscribe to unsound doctrine do occasionally get a point right. The article below is important only because it presents a valid argument to a tenet—which we have presented on the Threshing Floor and Third Day shows for four years—that the tribulation is upon the “church” , i.e.-the believers in Messiah Yeshua.

The article below is presented on behalf of the “pre-wrath tribulation” adherents, which are a subset of the rapture deception. It is still based upon the same faulty foundations of the pre-tribulation rapture, but inserts an “accordian effect”—that the (unsupported) seven year tribulation is truncated for these believers, who are “raptured” before the “Antichrist” begins the slaughter of Christians.

Prewrath rapture is an attempt to rescue the rapture doctrine from its most glaring flaws and contradictions; and was proposed, most famously, by Marvin Rosenthal, H.L. Nigro and Robert VanKampen. It is a late theory (1990) that sought to harmonize the Olivet Sermon of Christ with the Thessalonian and other letters of Paul. Examined dispassionately, it is an obvious contrivance and more of the wholesale distortions of Bible prophecy proffered by deceived theologians who fail to move entirely into the truth.

Nevertheless, we do commend the honesty of this article in perceiving something we see prophetically clear:

“Pretribs are hard-pressed to find any passage in the Bible that teaches that the Great Tribulation will be against unbelievers.”-Alan Kurschner,  prewrathrapture.com

This is a big step toward truth—IF they can only now advance to the next level of understanding about the end times!

-Randy Maugans – The Threshing Floor

The Great Tribulation is Against Believers, Not Unbelievers

A definitional tenet of the prewrath position is seeing a proper distinction between the Antichrist Great Tribulation against God’s people, and the Day of the Lord’s wrath against the ungodly. Pretribulationists conflate (or confuse) the two making God’s wrath mediated through the Antichrist against unbelievers and believers! All one needs to do is read Revelation 13 and learn that the Antichrist will be persecuting God’s people, not unbelievers.

One attempt to make the Great Tribulation a time for persecution for unbelievers is by Dr. Mike Stallard in his article, “An Analysis of the Use of Cosmic-Sign Passages by Proponents of the Pre-Wrath Rapture Theory.” He writes:

[T]he passage [Matthew 24:22] in question says that “no life” would be saved unless God shortened this time. Yet, it is clear that life continues on after the rapture in a pre-wrath scheme until the Second Coming itself. The verse does not limit itself to “Christian life” in the first part of that verse. Such an assumption is arbitrary. It is much more natural to interpret the statement of Jesus to mean that, if the tribulation lasts longer than seven years, everyone on earth would die.”

The life that Jesus is speaking of is clearly of Christian life, not “everyone on earth.”

Stallard arbitrary disconnects “life” from the qualification of what kind of life found in the second half of this verse: “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” (Matt 24:22 NASB).

Stallard believes that the wrath of God is both against the ungodly and godly in this passage. This is untenable. The context of the Great Tribulation in that passage is the Antichrist’s (not God’s) wrath in the suffering of believer’s lives because they are perishing. Unbelievers arenowhere in view in that passage; hence the reason Stallard failed to provide any examples.

Pretribs are hard-pressed to find any passage in the Bible that teaches that the Great Tribulation will be against unbelievers.

The Esau Effect

Posted on by
1

Modern Day Rejection of Heritage

by Randy Maugans

This article is excerpted from the Threshing Floor document, “The Church and Israel In Prophecy”, a 15 page doctrinal position paper I wrote in 2008. It is available as a free PDF document here.

The Esau Effect

The Third Day Radio Show for 03-18-2010-Synopsis #7: “The Esau Effect” with Sue Patterson and Randy Maugans

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9:13
“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat
sold his birthright.”- Hebrews 12:16
The modern Evangelical Christian church embraces, consciously or subconsciously, the
heretical notion of “dispensationalism”—the doctrine which states God is not finished
with physical Israel, by the misreading of certain texts which seem to imply a separate
work at the end of the age.
“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…” -Romans 11:26
This text, used continuously by many Evangelical teachers, would appear to infer some
future work of deliverance by God toward physical Israel (a dispensation), especially
when grafted to other verses in both testaments that foretell the redemption of Israel.
Many prophetic expectations of the end of the age tribulation describe a work God will
do through a final testing, holocaust, persecution…etc. that will lead to a receiving of the
Gospel by the Jewish people.
This inference is based upon numerous doctrines superimposed on the scriptures by
the work of Cyrus.I.Scofield in the Oxford University-funded Scofield Reference Bible.
That text, funneled through seminaries and Bible schools in the early 20th
century,
created the means by which scripture could be interpreted in a manner as to present
this expectation of salvation to physical Israel and the Jewish people.
Even Christians who seem to understand their heritage in Christ unwittingly buy into the
mechanics of dispensational thought by using the terms implied by the doctrine. When
one returns back to the core teachings of Christ and Paul it will become apparent that
what Paul articulates throughout Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews is NOT part of some
“invisible dispensation”, but fulfilled prophecy that was to be received under the banner
of the finished work of Christ on the Cross:

“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” Romans 9:13

esauandjacob“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”- Hebrews 12:16

The modern Evangelical Christian church embraces, consciously or subconsciously, the heretical notion of “dispensationalism”—the doctrine which states God is not finished with physical Israel, by the misreading of certain texts which seem to imply a separate work at the end of the age.

“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob…” -Romans 11:26

This text, used continuously by many Evangelical teachers, would appear to infer some future work of deliverance by God toward physical Israel (a dispensation), especially when grafted to other verses in both testaments that foretell the redemption of Israel. Many prophetic expectations of the end of the age tribulation describe a work God will do through a final testing, holocaust, persecution…etc. that will lead to a receiving of the Gospel by the Jewish people.

This inference is based upon numerous doctrines superimposed on the scriptures by the work of Cyrus.I.Scofield in the Oxford University-funded Scofield Reference Bible. That text, funneled through seminaries and Bible schools in the early 20th century, created the means by which scripture could be interpreted in a manner as to present this expectation of salvation to physical Israel and the Jewish people.

Even Christians who seem to understand their heritage in Christ unwittingly buy into the mechanics of dispensational thought by using the terms implied by the doctrine. When one returns back to the core teachings of Christ and Paul it will become apparent that what Paul articulates throughout Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews is NOT part of some “invisible dispensation”, but fulfilled prophecy that was to be received under the banner of the finished work of Christ on the Cross:

“I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”- John 17:4

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”- Romans 1:16

We cannot ignore the principle of precedence inherent in Paul’s text here. To understand this conclusion of this thought we move down in the text to the next verses:

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written,  The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. {in them: or, to them}

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that  they are without excuse:  21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

While Paul would labor endlessly to preach the Gospel to the Jews, he was convicted that they were “without excuse”. Why? The precedence of order by which God revealed Himself through His Son is clearly articulated by Christ:

“But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of  Israel.”- Matthew 15:24

As a race and as the, until then chosen of God, Israel had now seen their God in the flesh as the Lord Jesus Christ—the Messiah. Jerusalem and her priests rejected Christ and uttered the very curse which removed their racial claim forever:

“Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”- Matthew 27:25

They traded Messiah for Barabbas—their birthright for a bowl of cold soup. This is the “Esau Effect” which moved the ministry of the Gospel from a racial/religious construct called Israel into a broader movement that would include all “peoples, nations, tongues, and tribes”. This was prophesied by the ancient writers:

“But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for  all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.”-Ezekiel 3:7

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”- Isaiah 11:10

The rejection of Christ before Pilate completed the course which physical Israel had taken. The blood curse would break the physical covenant and release the Gospel to the Gentiles. Salvation, which was of the Jews (John 4:22) would now pass to a broader spiritual covenant which did NOT “replace” Israel, but transferred the birthright to all who accepted the “terms and conditions” of the new covenant.

The Mystery of The Sons of God

Posted on by
4
” He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”-1John 5:12

by Randy Maugans

Download article as PDF-The Mystery of The Sons of God


A listener wrote, asking  about the terms “sons of God” (ben Elohim) in Genesis 6:2 and Romans 8:14 (the email is copied below). As the email indicates, there is no small amount of confusion regarding the nature and identities of these “sons (daughters)”, especially when the term “nephilim” is brought into view. I was led to put down my present understanding on the matters of this mystical subject, and to blunt some of the “junk” history and theology being promoted by ambitious book authors such as Steve Quayle, Tom Horn, and a slew of others who draw theology from the pseudipigraphical “Book of Enoch” rather than the plain words of scripture.

This is not, by any means, exhaustive; but is based on the ongoing independent research The Threshing Floor has conducted over the last several years. It is timely, as we move deeper into the period chronicled in the Book of Revelation, where isons-oft is clear that the great wars between two kingdoms moves into the Earth realm to play out the final scenes.

Terms:
A little background into the words referred to as “sons” in scripture:

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.”-Genesis 6:1-2

sons- ben- a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc; child, colt, daughter, of first, + firstborn, foal, + very fruitful, (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Hebrew Lexicon)

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”-1John 3:2

sons-teknon-from the base of timoria; a child (as produced):–child, daughter, son.
root word: timoria-vindication, i.e. (by implication) a penalty:–punishment.
timoreo-to protect one’s honor, i.e. to avenge (inflict a penalty):–punish.
time-a value, i.e. money paid, or (concretely and collectively) valuables; by analogy, esteem (especially of the highest degree), or the dignity itself:–honour, precious, price, some.

In the Greek of the KJV, son is also rendered from:

huios-apparently a primary word; a “son” (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship:–child, foal, son. (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Greek Lexicon)

A related term worth bearing in mind for this study is huiothesia- the placing as a son, i.e. adoption (figuratively, Christian sonship in respect to God):–adoption (of children, of sons)(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance-Greek Lexicon) ,this word translated as “adoption” in the King James Bible, and used only by Paul in Romans,Galatians , and Ephesians.

The terms “sons of God” in both Hebrew and Greek can be viewed as roughly equivalent in definition for our purposes. But, it is noted that the more prevalent Greek word is huios, and upon more careful scrutiny of the usage of these two Greek words, both rendered as son/sons in English, there seems to be a distinction that is best termed “spiritual”  or redeemed sonship—and it is one that clearly divides the sons of God between old and new testaments. A study of usage of these three words in the New Testament reveals a distinction in the condition of these beings. The distinction is profound, it is spiritual, and it has to do with the New Birth. This distinction is found in:

Revelation 12:4- And his (the dragon’s) tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (teknon) And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child (teknon) as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child (huios), who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child (teknos) was caught up unto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

Language usage in scripture is never accidental, and many times we glean new understandings from digging into etymology. Revelation 12 clearly renders a distinction between the (man)child being stalked by Satan and the actual child who is delivered–the teknon vs. the huios. Where Satan expects a human child under the bonds (condition) of sin and wrath, instead this child is a huios, or child of YAHWEH.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary better elaborates this:

teknon “a child” (akin to tikto, “to beget, bear”), is used in both the natural and the figurative senses. In contrast to huios, “son” ), it gives prominence to the fact of birth, whereas huios stresses the dignity and character of the relationship.

This understanding should inform the study that follows, and open up additional inquiries into these two, distinctive, renderings of “sons”. It also demonstrates the concept of a spiritual (new) birth versus the state of  human (carnal) child birth.

YAHWEH’s “Replacement Program”

God is into “replacement theology”, spiritually. The “sons of God” in Genesis and Job were clearly another creation separate from man—were they angelic creations? Scripture does not really tell us…but I tend to think they were not for reasons I will briefly note in this article. That aside, I think it is clear these creatures were at some point separated from YAHWEH’s purposes.

It is clear that the Father intended for the “other” creature—humans—which descended from Adam to become something more than this present estate…he was a creation with a unique destiny, which was prophesied in Genesis 3:15- And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Notice how this “seed” concept comes up early in Genesis? It is the same thread which I explored in the second part of the “Spirit of Adoption” study.The bottom line is: there are TWO seeds, two creatures competing for dominance in the creation. Only one wins—the other becomes extinct. Likewise in the angelic realm there is a warfare that comes into play in the physical realm (the creatures made “a litle lower than angels”) —it is a spiritual  overlay: the angelic wars in the heavenlies (see Revelation 12) and the wars between the beings created by one of the two seeds: Christ’s or Satan’s. Only ONE is to BECOME the “sons of God”.

One can be born again, of either Jesus or Satan. Jesus chooses his own…Satan isn’t fussy, he wants ALL humanity! I have  talked about this in shows I did the last six months or so, in the context of  the “generations” which all flow into ONE generation/bloodline: that of Christ’s. All other “bloodlines” are scheduled for extinction when we move out into the universe/heaven.

Orders  of Beings

There are also distinctions between the orders of created beings that need to be observed in understanding this subject. The angelic realm of archangels/angels; powers/princes/rulers (both fallen, and the angels who are servants of God), the demonic realm (disembodied spirits—likely the vanquished Old Testament sons, now under the control of Lucifer), and the human realm which is comprised of the two bloodlines, or generations—spiritually. It is a state of transition in this life, spiritually, as humans choose life in Christ, or become hybrid demonic beings—the second death:

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.“-Revelation 2:11

” Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.“-Revelation 20:6

I think as we learn more about the “pre-creation”, through research of people like Paul Sandhu and John Ackerman (and some other scripturally-based researchers), we see a picture of the created beings that is richer, more complex, and incisive than the straight line views offered by X-tianity (the mainstream “organized”, churches). Humans are a separate creation from the angelic—but there is warfare in both realms and it appears to converge upon the Earth in the Book of Revelation.

While many popular writers equate the Genesis 6 sons of God to fallen angels, scripture (and increasingly, historical and mythological research) do not seem to make the case. If we equate the nephilim with the fallen sons of God, then I do not believe the nephilim were angels—nor do I think they were “human”, but a separate, earlier creation. Men and angels are very distinct creations which Paul tells us in:

Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Paul, here, breaks down the order of angels and men—-and the Godhead—as very distinct. Peter, as well, points out the distinctions between humans and angels:

“Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.” -2Peter 2:11

I think it is expressly the will of the Father for us to understand all this as it appears we, the remnant, will even war with these fallen angels, the demonic spirit realm, AND the hybrid humans who are entering into the “second death”, and have authority and power to deal with them!

As the listener points out: it is very much an issue of the “Condition or Quality”  of the being. Specifically, it is the spiritual state which divides the vanquished ben Elohim of Genesis from the humans who are the elect, or adopted huios. Satan and his demonic hordes have no authority over huios, or the redeemed sons/daughters of the Most High—those born and bought by the sacrifice of the Lord, Jesus Christ:


“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth.   For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”-1John 5:1-7


The listener email question:

Tue, Dec 29, 2009 :

I was listening to part one of the “Adoption” broadcast this morning and noticed something apparently unrelated to the theme of the show but in another sense fits the overall meme of adoption, and that was this verse.

Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Sons: Greek 5207: Kinship-child, foal, son)

I’m sure it’s been debated ad-nauseum, but the term “Sons of God” is often bandied about with regards to Genesis 6:2 and is often used in reference to “fallen angels” and by extension, the “Nephilim” (Sons: Hebrew 1121: Son, Grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition.)

I’m not sure if this phrase can be interpreted the same from the New Testament Greek and the Old Testament Hebrew, but I found it interesting that in the context of adoption we are considered in “Kinship” or as a “Child” of God but that in the Hebrew, that there is also reference to a “Condition or Quality” It makes me wonder how this gets woven into a fallen angel, for if the Angel was indeed fallen then that “Condition” would no longer exist in terms of God’s Kinship.

The Restrainer

Posted on by
1

A Refutation of The Rapture Doctrine Teaching On 2Thessalonians 2:7

The original study is provided in a PDF document for study and distribution.

The Restrainer


” For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out of the way.”-2Thessalonians 2:7

Also listen to:

The Rapture RuptureThe Rapture Rupture from the Threshing Floor Radio Show

Threshing Floor
by Randy Maugans

In a series of exchanges with a teacher of the pre-trib rapture doctrine, Alan Horvath, I presented the following survey of scriptures which clearly identify the identity of the “restrainer”, or the one who “letteth” . This identification is crucial, as rapture doctrine holds that this person is the Holy Spirit, who will be removed from the Earth at the rapture of the church.

michael

Michael, The Archangel

Because we believe and teach that the rapture is a false doctrine with many stumbling points for sincere students of prophecy, and that it is a corrupted interpretation of prophetic scripture; it is important to make such corrections to the end of disarming the rapture by pointing out the fallacies of the teaching. The restrainer is NOT the Holy Spirit, nor is the Holy Spirit removed from the Earth during the time of tribulation!

The evidence presented in this study provides sufficient scriptural references to lay the axe to the root of this aberrant teaching, and demonstrate WHO this restrainer is, as well as lay out the mission of the Holy Spirit to the believer.

as Michael the Archangel—NOT the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Godhead.

Spirit First

Posted on by
Reply

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

lion-lamb

Jason Massey wrote on Threshers:

I was moved to write this apart from any outside motivation, it’s not for anybody in particular just a declaration for the body…

Luke 3:14
14 And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.

The beast cannot sit quietly without people to do the dirty work. We must shield our soul from the lusts of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life….

The Spirit must come first. Revelation is in the Spirit;;;

NOT THE MIND

We are at the threshold. And at the center of the threshold stands the altar…stands the cross. It is the place where man and God meet. A rich man cannot fit through it….

Book Review: “Temple At The Center Of Time”

Posted on by
2

by Randy Maugans

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”-1Corinthians 3:16

Temple At The Center Of Time: Newton’s Bible Codex Finally Deciphered and the Year 2012 (Paperback) by David Flynn (Author)-Published by Official Disclosure/Anomalos-2008 Amazon.com

flynn-temple-cover

Reason to read it: For purposes of debunking what is, at best, a confusing brew of pseudo-science and bad doctrine—which unfortunately has many people—including believers—in its thrall.

Reason to not read it: Devoid of solid doctrinal underpinnings, formed from unvetted “scientific” data, and lacking a coherency of narrative the book is a waste of time better spent in scripture studying doctrine valid prophetic structure.

David Flynn has been a fixture on the stage of crypto-Christian research for over fifteen years, cutting a wide path in exploring mystical and occult themes from the perspective of the Bible, appearing in numerous videos on YouTube and popping up at UFO conventions in support of his 2002  book, “Cydonia: The Secret Chronicles of Mars”.

“Temple At The Center Of Time” is slightly more Earth-bound—but not much, and far more grandiose in its reach toward tying together the disparate parts of his reaching studies into the mystic. None of that would be bad IF Flynn were better grounded in doctrine—He is not—and more consistent in both his scientific facts and the prophetic “projections” he attempts to hammer out of a cornucopia of of quasi-scientific data. The book is hopelessly confusing.

On the first point of doctrine (admittedly controversial now, as most Christians have NO idea what they believe or why), Flynn is an Israel-centric dispensationalist and believer in the pretribulational rapture (alright, MID-trib, according to his most recent appearence on Steve Quayle’s “Q Files” show). Both viewpoints completely color his presentation, and worse, they compel him to cobble together unrelated data points into complex theories which confound explanation by the author even in two hour stretches.

Having latched on to the prophecy writings of  Sir Isaac Newton—a noted Illuminist and member of the Royal Society—Flynn finds an ancestoral soulmate who provides a fertile bed 0f  crypto-Christian arcana through which to channel the contrivances of odd location distances (using Google Earth and two completely different measurement systems!), time-to-distance equations, use of an unexplained “Golden Cubit” (an Illuminist antecedent to the “Golden Ratio”), and numerous speculation on historical events.

Undoubtedly, Flynn counts on the inability of his clamoring fans to process complex data, which he uses to spin seemingly credible facts into wild flights of prophetic fantasy—or worse, the cartoonish prophecy that is the hallmark of Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. Really, the elaborate pseudo-scientism aside, the book continues the vein of dispensational writings which still install “The Antichrist” in a restored temple in Jerusalem for a seven year tribulation to bring the Jews to a faith in Christ.

Examined at its core, “Temple At The Center Of Time” is the most recent of the many so-called “Bible Codes”: an external, Gnostic-based system of attempting to navigate the prophetic writ of end times events. Like all such systems, it suffers from circuitous logic and internalized reasoning (…if this, then that…) rather than using the PLAIN writ of the texts of the Bible to discern prophecy.

Worse: rather than go to scripture for his core validations, Flynn pulls into his sphere of influence the dubious “Book of Enoch”,  the  Babylonian Talmudic texts, and the Apocryphal Book of Second Maccabees along with assorted pseudipigraphal writings—and, for good measure, a citation from the equidistant letter spacing “Bible Code” software!

Flynn, and Newton’s assumptions—as well as those of most Israel-centric diviners of prophecy, rests on the assumption that the present site of the temple, with its extant “wailing wall” is the THE  Temple site. This is also the locus afixed by the reconstituted Sanhedrin and Temple Mount Faithful whose goal is to to remove the Al-Aqsa and Dome of the Rock mosques.

Yet, solid historical research by Dr. Ernest Martin indicates that this present temple is not only NOT the original location, but that it is, in fact, the site of a Roman armory called “Fort Antonia“. Dr. Martin’s research, based on extensive studies of archeological digs, manuscript research, and Biblical exegesis—and affirmed by numerous academic colleagues, represents best practices of research and demands to be heard and read by anyone serious about the truth of the fate of the original temple location.

Moreover, the present Temple site—esteemed, even worshipped, by both the Talmudic Jews in the land of Israel and the dispensational Zionist Christians of the post-Scofield era—not only represents bad history and terrible science, but is, in fact, BLASPHEMOUS! as it MAKES JESUS a liar:

“…verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”-Matthew 24:2

If Jesus truly is the Messiah, prophesied in the Old Testament as “That Prophet”, how is it that the western , or “wailing wall”, still stands? Aren’t the implications, both historical and theologically, worth examining with more rigor than the flights of fancy pondered by David Flynn in the mode of “science lite”? What IF the present Temple site, now held by Islam, is nothing more than a monument to the Roman God of War?

These are questions which any believer endeavoring in end times prophecy need to examine from a solid base of empirical, and scriptural understanding. Modern prophecy, as expounded by most of Evangelical Christianity, is predicated upon assumptions and biases of recent mint.

Not only is the question of the temple one of great academic interest, but your position on the question of what temple is truly the temple of God is a bellwether of your position in Christ—or in antichrist. Pop science and theological inversions are not the basis for an eternal decision.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”-Romans 6:16

Updates on the “Cult of the Sacred Name”

Posted on by
Reply

P.J. Miller, over at the  Sola Dei Gloria blog, picked up on our meme of the Sacred Name Cult and linked to the June 19, 2009 Threshing Floor show on the subject. P. J. and the readers of his blog add some additional background to the SN heresies worth exploring including some ties between SN’ers and the Millerites/Seventh Day Adventists and explore the hyper-legalism and elitist mindset of the adherants.

P.J.’s most notable take, of which I whole-heartedly agree, is:

“These groups are founded on a private interpretation of the scriptures which does not bear up to close scrutiny by the Word of God. Though claiming to be Torah Observant Messianics they, like the Pharisees, use their personal interpretation of scripture as a weapon to condemn…

The Sacred Name Movement (SNM) is a movement in Christianity that seeks to conform Christianity to its roots in Judaism in practice, belief and worship; This movement seeks to destroy and blot out the name of Jesus…

The Sacred Name dogma has enormous Antichrist elements inherent within its beliefs and practices.”

Doctrine Matters: Follow up to “The Rapture Cult and Sun Worship “

Posted on by
4

Follow up to “The Rapture Cult and Sun Worship “

by Randy Maugans

“For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?”

The weekend firestorm over my article, The Rapture Cult and Sun Worship in the “Holy Land”, brought a wide array of responses including many supportive of the article. It also landed at the P.I.D. websites with a measured response of both embarrassment and some back-stepping.

I want to be clear that my critical remarks are not a personal attack on the Gilberts per se, but another volley of the grievances I have aired many years at those who promote the pre-tribulation rapture and dispensationalist doctrine—and the flakiness that attends same.

Understand, this is a public war for hearts and minds! As events heat up and every day brings us all closer to what most Bible based Christians see as the tribulation, these things take on a greater importance. Perhaps (just perhaps) believing in rapture did not matter 50 years ago. Perhaps “God winked”. Perhaps believers who were trapped in the church system and spoon-fed the doctrines brought into their churches by unscrupulous (and dishonst) Bible teachers were given the benefit of the doubt by a merciful God. After all Israel labored in bondage for 430 years after the writings of Malachi made it very clear that the preisthood was corrutpt. Jesus loved them and presented Himself for their redemption at the appointed time.

Like Israel of old, the spiritual Israel of the New Covenant—what is erroneously called “The Church”—has back-slidden and now cannot hear, or read the plain writ of scripture. The abundance of refutations on rapture doctrine (pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath—pick one) and the enormous evidence compiled about the dishonesty of  Cyrus Scofield and his followers bears a witness not unlike that borne by Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Lord, Himself to a people whose “heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed…”

It is never comfortable for me to go after another ministry—it is not sport or done lightly. But indignation rises up, and those who have placed themselves into the public ministry of the scriptures play by different standards than those outlined in Matthew 18. I understand this…I have been on the receiving end of it many times.

Just once, I wish someone would take full responsibility for the doctrines they promote. There seems to be this attitude that prophecy is devoid of doctrinal implications. That prophetic understanding is somehow a parlor game in which anything can be thrown out into the “mix” without doctrinal underpinnings.

The response from P.I.D. Radio is an example of a half-hearted attempt at face-saving in the face of withering criticism. I would apologize if I thought I erred, but so far my comments still are valid. I will note that Sharon Gilbert posted to her blog a “disclaimer”—and has now deleted the article completely (the full text is in the article) . So much for journalistic integrity!

Derek Gilbert has now weighed in with his piece, Clarification on the Blessing of the Sun” (partial quote):

“But when believers who devote themselves to the study of prophecy misunderstand us, we obviously didn’t make our point clear.

We did not and would never attribute prophetic authority to anything but scripture. We simply mentioned this historic event as another data point to consider while analyzing the big picture.

Now, there is a spirit at work in assigning importance to any specific sign or date. It’s entirely possible that the enemy, which knows scripture better than any of us, has attached significance to this year’s Blessing of the Sun (just as it has with the year 2012) to distract us from the core issue of sin and salvation.

That doesn’t mean we should ignore the event. At the very least, we should be aware that the enemy may use it to deceive others who are looking for a false Messiah. That point wasn’t made clear during the show, and for that I apologize.

But please don’t interpret that error as somehow endorsing the event or basing our doctrine on it. From the whole of the work we’ve produced at P.I.D. Radio and our websites, our position should be clear. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.”

My thoughts are that they still don’t get it. First, what was meant by the term: “Jewish believers” in the opening line of the article? Believers in what? The congenial tone and wholesale embrace of this mass of sun-worshippers as “believers” communicates a relationship which the undiscerning reader would impute as fellowship. But my Bible tells me (Ephesians 5:11) to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (or sun worship).  What part of this is not doctrine?

Derek Gilbert’s clever inversion of the prophetic aspects of this article is to be envied. Now it is, perhaps, the work of the enemy to divert attention to a particular sign or date—yeah, that’s it. Flip Wilson call home.

The real problem in all this is that, Derek and Sharon’s assertion aside, this WAS and is a doctrinal issue. For all the reasons I outlined in the original post regarding rapture and dispensational doctrine there were inherent doctrinal positions taken in both articles which go beyond the simple issue of salvation.

Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is level one for a believer. It is by far the most important—and fragile—but it does not end there. In fact, scripture is very clear that doctrine is what sustains the believer, nourishes faith, and matures the walk. It is pure sophistry to think that such an article (and a podcast, although I did not hear the show), couched as it was in prophetic tones did not represent doctrine.

The doctrine represented was an expressed belief in a pre-trib rapture of the church, the “doctrine of immanance” (the belief that the aforementioned “rapture” can occur at any time—no prior signs required…), and a heavy emphasis on something termed “the third redemption of Israel”, along with a seven year tribulation cycle.

The war for hearts and minds of believers holds high stakes in the last days. The rapture doctrine is riddled with problems, including its theoretical placement in the time line of Revelation and Daniel. The fact is, that the “rapture doctrine” is not a coherent Biblical doctrine, it is part of the state of Babel which now grips both the established church system and the “alternative” para-church movement on the internet.

The Threshing Floor is often contacted by confused believers—many new converts, who are helplessly searching for the “certain sound” of coherent doctrine. Others have left the church system they know is corrupt, and seek clear, strongly reasoned exegesis of scripture. Each time we have to address the contradictions presented by erroneous,  careless or casual doctrinal presentations, my heart cries out for a God to cleanse His house.

We need to get away from the glib presentations, the careless commentaries, and the hodge-podge of current events. We need to get a clear view of scripture and an ever-present awe of the author of the Word, and the presence of  His Holy Spirit who teaches all things and brings all things into remembrance…(John 14:26). With those thoughts I close this matter, except to pray for the body of believers to become “fellowhelpers to the truth”(3John 1:8)—to that end I offer always to give an answer, to every man that asketh, of what I believe.

The Rapture Cult and Sun Worship in the “Holy Land”

Posted on by
9


by Randy Maugans

“And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD’Shouse, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.”-Ezekiel 8:16

Honestly, I think my head is going to explode! More junk food for the doctrinally impaired and discernment disabled from those lovable fiction writers over at P.I.D. Radio (via Revelations Radio Network), the Gilberts—Sharon and Derek:

From:  P.I.D. Radio 5/29/09: Pentecost Rapture?:

IS THIS the weekend of Christ’s triumphant return? Maybe, maybe not. There are signs that indicate it may be so, but the signs were never meant to be easy to read. Read The Final Fulfillment of Pentecost and Sharon’s piece on the Blessing of the Sun.

OK, I bite: rapture and something called the “Blessing of the Sun”?

from Sharon Gilbert’s article: “Birchat Hachama — the Blessing of the Sun” we read this:

May 28, 2009 — This is stunning video of 50,000 Jewish believers as they participate in the Birchat Hachama, the Blessing of the Sun, on April 8, 2009 (14 Nissan — Passover).

This rare event occurs only once every 28 years and marks the return of the sun to its original position during Creation.

Only two other times has this event fallen on Nissan 14 (Passover): 1) One year before the Exodus of Israel from Egypt and 2) on the first day of Esther’s fast prior to the miracle of Purim (the decree to kill all Jews was annulled within the year in the month of Adar).

This year marks the third time. Is there a third and final redemption of Israel coming within 2009? I believe so. 2009 could well be the year when the Lord once again sets His face toward Israel, and the final seven year countdown begins. Are you ready?

What?

You can go read the Wikipedia article on the Birchat Hachama for yourself, but, essentially this is the Babylonian Talmudic version of the Christian Easter (Ishtar) “Sunrise Services” practiced by the apostate daughters of Rome. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: like mother like daughter…but what does it have to do with the rapture?

For that you will have to grope your way through the rapturist rantings of cultist, Steve Coerper‘s article:  “The Final Fulfillment of Pentecost”—or not. Trust me, if you are not a fully sold out believer in Jewish dispensationalism and pre-trib rapture doctrine this will probably make your eyes cross.

Back to Sharon Gilbert’s gushing over the “stunning” video of this event:

So perplexed am I that people professing to be “Biblical Christians” could be sucked into thinking such an abominable event as these Christ-rejecting Talmudic Jews, essentially performing a sun worship ceremony, could inspire not just awe, but seemingly PROPHETIC import! Judgment, perhaps, but I see no parallels with the Exodus or the deliverance of the Hebrews from Haman in the Book of Esther. (By the way: Purim, like its post-exillic cousin feast, Hannukah, are NOT ordained by God–they appear at best, to have been tolerated by YHWH—at best.)

Words of Jesus:

“For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.”- Luke 6:44

What part of “abomination” do we not understand? Read the rest of Ezekiel 8 wherein the Lord declares his judgment for such practices:

” Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.-Ezekiel 8:18

The Christians out there who continue to enable the pagan practices of Jews, thus sparing them the process of a true repentance and coming to faith in the Risen Son, Christ, are complicit in the loss of souls in Israel—and around the world.  To read the words of someone like Sharon Gilbert, extolling the hideous pagan, non-Biblical “Blessing of the Sun” is a grievance to a Holy God, and a stumbling block to both the Jews, who without Christ perish in unbelief—and their gullible readers who think these people are actually born again.

The bad fruits of the rapture doctrine and Scofield’s hideous doctrine of dispensationalism area bout to roost upon these false teachers. While pagans dance and sing in the streets of false Jerusalem, the once true Spiritual Jerusalem—the body of Christian believers—now have become a snare and gin for all who follow them.