South Africans Deceived

In accordance with the latest statistics on religious denominations in South Africa, one must go as far back as the Census 2001 to find out what you are looking for. The Census 2011 questionnaire did not even include any questions about religion due to what is perceived as low priority [a]. A 2012 poll indicated that the number of South Africans who considered themselves religious decreased from 83% of the population in 2005 to 64% of the population in 2012 [b]. It is estimated that in the world there are approximately 41 000 “Christian denominations” alone. This blog posting will show that this nation is NOT Christian as the vast majority of the South African population would like to think and believe they are. There is only a remnant of truly born-again disciples of the one and only True and Living GOD Yeshua Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, in South Africa.

Census 2001

Hereunder are the statistics of the vast denominations and religions within the South African demographics. It makes for some interesting reading of how the people groups classify themselves within the religious framework in South Africa.

Denomination	Adherents
Dutch Reformed churches	3,005,697
Zion Christian churches	4,971,931
Catholic churches	3,181,332
Methodist churches	3,035,719
Pentecostal/Charismatic churches	3,695,211
Anglican churches	1,722,076
Apostolic Faith Mission	246,193
Lutheran churches	1,130,983
Presbyterian churches	832,497
Bandla Lama Nazaretha	248,825
Baptist churches	691,235
Congregational churches	508,826
Orthodox churches	42,253
Other Apostolic churches	5,627,320
Other Zionist churches	1,887,147
Ethiopian type churches	1,150,102
Other Reformed churches	226,499
Other African independent churches	656,644
Other Christian churches	2,890,151
African Traditional Religion	125,898
Judaism	75,549
Hinduism	551,668
Islam	654,064
Other beliefs	283,815
No religion	6,767,165
Undetermined	610,974

Religion	Adherents 2001	%	Adherents 2007	%
Christianity	35,750,641	79.77	29,684,861	73.52
Non-religious	6,767,165	15.10	3,262,428	8.08
Other	283,815	0.63
Buddhism/Chinese folk			12,113	0.03
Islam	654,064	1.46	985,460	1.45
Undetermined	610,974	1.36
Hinduism	551,668	1.23	504,707	1.25
African Traditional Religion	125,898	0.28	6,056,487	15.00
Judaism	75,549	0.17	68,640	0.17

Kindly bear in mind that from the aforementioned statistics which appear at Wikipedia the grouping of all “denominations” that include the Roman Catholics, Zionist churches, Orthodox churches and other churches (that include the Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh-day Adventists, and other cultic churches) are misrepresented as being ALL Christianity! They ALL certainly are NOT Christians holding to the Judeo-Christian doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ as contained in the Holy Bible’s Old and New Testaments which also exclude the Apocryphal books of the Roman Catholic church. This shows the deception that South Africans believe when they “agree that all who name the name of Christ are Christian”. This is not so! [*]

Overall, there has been a general decline in the religiosity of South Africans and it shows that even in the latest Census 2011 no questions were asked about religion. The South African Constitution still has in its preamble “God bless South Africa”, but since the democratically elected South African government of 1994, the ANC government has NOT governed this nation in accordance with Romans 13. We are told that the ‘rulers,’ which is the government, are not there to be “policing” good works, but to those that do evil. The Scriptures read as follows:

Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same:
Romans 13:4 For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

From what will follow, we will see that the ruling government has not ministered for God and eradicated evil from our society. In fact they are not the solution to godly rule, but has become the problem in not executing proper justice and by their promulgating ungodly legislation that pampers to the depravity of evil and wicked men. The latter part of the following Proverb is a true reflection of life in South Africa:

Pro 29:2 When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.

The tyranny of the Marxist socialist government is using the term “democracy” as a front in an otherwise communist state. The laws are ungodly and corruption, fraud, and lawlessness is the order of the day, so how can the government rule with justice? South Africa has the highest rates of murder and rape in the world. According to a factsheet compiled by Africa Check for the South African Police Service (SAPS) for the period 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2013, quote: “the violent crimes that cause the most fear and trauma amongst the public has increased. For the first time in six years there is an increase in both the number and rate of murders and attempted murders. Murder is an important indicator both because it is the most accurate of all crime categories and because it is internationally seen to be an indicator of a country’s stability. There was also a small increase in the number of sexual offences recorded by the police.

“The facts about the increases in inter-personal violence are as follows:

• Incidents of murder increased from 15 609 murders in 2011/12 to 16 259 murders in 2012/13.
• This means that there was an increase of 650 murder cases or a 4,2% increase when comparing the total numbers of murders with the previous year.
• This works out to almost two additional murders per day on average during the 2012/13 financial year.
• Consequently our murder rate increased from a total average of 43 murders per day to 45 murders per day.
• Using the correct census data for 2011, the murder rate in 2011/12 was 30,3 per 100 000 population and not 30,9 as reported by SAPS in the last reporting period.
• The murder rate for 2012/13 stood at 31,3 per 100 000 population which reflects an increase of 2,8% in the rate of murders (not 0,6% as presented officially).
• South Africa’s murder rate is therefore about four and a half times higher than the global average of 6,9 murders per 100 000. [writer’s emphasis]
• Attempted murder cases increased from 14 859 to 16 363, an increase of 10,1%.
• Attempted murder rates increased by 8,7% in the past year.
• Sexual offence cases increased from 64 514 to 66 387, an increase of 2,9%.
• Sexual offence rates increased from 125,1 per 100 000 to 127,0 per 100 000 population, an increase of 1,5%.

“The crimes above are not easy to reduce through policing alone. This is because most (around 60% to 70%) of murders, attempted murders and rapes, occur between people who know each other and occur as a result of a mix of particular social and economic factors. These crimes are often referred to by the police as inter-personal violent crimes. Only between 15% and 20% of murders and attempted murders are the result of aggravated robbery while inter-group conflicts and vigilantism make up the rest. …”, unquote. The remaining crime statistical data can be read at this link: FACTSHEET South Africa: Official crime statistics for 2012/13. [c]

The South African nation shows the depravity of man in this evil and wicked society. And whilst this nation is ecumenical in faith and belief systems worshipping all manner of gods, the blood of the murdered cries out from the soaked earth for revenge, and as a Christian I am comforted knowing that Almighty God will execute perfect justice come the Day of Judgment. Whilst the majority of the population are GOD-hating atheists, agnostics, environmentalists (a.k.a. evolutionists), custom and tradition ancestral worshippers, cultists, and false “christians” – those that are secular humanists, new agers and lukewarm compromising believers involved in a false-gospel, prosperity-teaching, easy-believism religion; the real believers at times seem to be asleep in the pews while this generation spirals out of control walking on the broad way to Hell (see Matthew 7:13,14). Christian soldier, forget about all the dainties of this life and the various church programs that make you feel good – Stop it and report for duty!! If necessary, Repent and seek God’s forgiveness.

Statistical data gives a reflection of what is taking place in any society. Given that in 2007 73,52% of the population were following the “Christianity” faith, it would therefore be expected that at least two-thirds of the population would vote for a Christian party in the 2014 General Elections that took place in South Africa on May 7, 2014. Well, let the truth be known – as with all denominations, there is no unity; and besides, the voters’ true hearts were revealed – they would rather vote for an ungodly communist government dictated by their Marxist ideology, a totalitarianism government that enforces their ungodly agendas that violate every command of YHVH (Yehovah God), as those professing christians agree in principal and by their conscience they have exercised their free speech that they accept the practices of abortions, homosexuality, same-sex marriages, co-habiting partner relationships (fornication), idolatry, alcohol and substance abuse, pornography, prostitution, human-trafficking, the destroying of Biblical family-life, the decline in education and moral values, as well as witchcraft! [d]. In fact as a Christian we are commanded by our Master and King Jesus Christ from His Word,

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1 Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil.

In fact, the government and majority of the population hold to the other extreme and call evil good and good evil, but hear the rebuke to such wickedness through the prophet Isaiah:

Isa 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Isa 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Isa 5:22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
Isa 5:23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Isa 5:24 Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust: because they have cast away the law of the LORD of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

From a Christian worldview perspective, the political results below show a sinful outcome that is certainly not God honouring. As a follower of The Way – a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, my conscience would not allow me to vote for any political party due to their many corruptions that are the work of darkness and the Devil! Even the two “Christian” parties have difficulty in finding unity! They might be Christian-based and Bible-believing, but I would truly love to see them preach the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ from the political platform from which they have an opportunity to do so. Sadly, most of the opportunities are lost. As Christians we are called to “earnestly contend for the faith” as we read:

Jude 1:3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Results of the 2014 General Elections

Party	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−
African National Congress	11,436,921	62.15	-3.75	249	-15
Democratic Alliance	4,091,584	22.23	+4.65	89	+18
Economic Freedom Fighters	1,169,259	6.35	New	25	New
Inkatha Freedom Party	441,854	2.40	-2.15	10	-8
National Freedom Party	288,742	1.57	New	6	New
United Democratic Movement	184,636	1.00	+0.16	4	0
Freedom Front Plus	165,715	0.90	+0.07	4	0
Congress of the People	123,235	0.67	-6.75	3	-27
African Christian Democratic Party	104,039	0.57	-0.24	3	0
African Independent Congress	97,642	0.53	New	3	New
Agang SA	52,350	0.28	New	2	New
Pan Africanist Congress	37,784	0.21	-0.07	1	0
African People’s Convention	30,676	0.17	-0.04	1	0
Al Jama-ah	25,976	0.14	-0.01	0	0
Minority Front	22,589	0.12	-0.12	0	-1
United Christian Democratic Party	21,744	0.12	-0.26	0	-2
Azanian People’s Organisation	20,421	0.11	-0.11	0	-1
Bushbuckridge Residents Association	15,271	0.08	New	0	New
Independent Civic Organisation	14,472	0.08	New	0	New
Patriotic Alliance	13,263	0.07	New	0	New
Workers and Socialist Party	8,331	0.05	New	0	New
Ubuntu Party	8,234	0.04	New	0	New
Kingdom Governance Movement	6,408	0.03	New	0	New
Front National	5,138	0.03	New	0	New
Keep It Straight and Simple	4,294	0.02	-0.01	0	0
Pan Africanist Movement	3,815	0.02	-0.01	0	0
First Nation Liberation Alliance	3,297	0.02	New	0	New
United Congress	3,136	0.02	New	0	New
Peoples Alliance	1,671	0.01	New	0	New
Total	18,402,497	100.00		400
Valid votes	18,402,497	98.65
Spoilt votes	251,960	1.35
Total votes cast	18,654,457	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	25,381,293	73.50
Source: IEC

Combined, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) (0.57%) and the United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) (0.12%) achieved less than 1% (0.69%) of the General Election population’s vote. So in reality, the census figures are skewed, for there is only a remnant of believers. Kindly also bear in mind that from these statistics we are not guaranteed that all who voted for the ACDP and the UCDP are truly born-again believers who hold to the Judeo-Christian doctrine of the Holy Bible. [**] We are reminded in Scripture how we are to conduct our lives for the sole glory of God alone as we read in Second Corinthians:

2 Cor 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 Cor 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
2 Cor 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
2 Cor 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
2 Cor 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2 Cor 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

As we read from Matthew Henry’s commentary on the preceding verses, quote:

“The best of men would faint, if they did not receive mercy from God. And that mercy which has helped us out, and helped us on, hitherto, we may rely upon to help us even to the end. The apostles had no base and wicked designs, covered with fair and specious pretences. They did not try to make their ministry serve a turn. Sincerity or uprightness will keep the favourable opinion of wise and good men. Christ by his gospel makes a glorious discovery to the minds of men. But the design of the devil is, to keep men in ignorance; and when he cannot keep the light of the gospel of Christ out of the world, he spares no pains to keep men from the gospel, or to set them against it. The rejection of the gospel is here traced to the wilful blindness and wickedness of the human heart. Self was not the matter or the end of the apostles’ preaching; they preached Christ as Jesus, the Saviour and Deliverer, who saves to the uttermost all that come to God through him. Ministers are servants to the souls of men; they must avoid becoming servants to the humours or the lusts of men. It is pleasant to behold the sun in the firmament; but it is more pleasant and profitable for the gospel to shine in the heart. As light was the beginning of the first creation; so, in the new creation, the light of the Spirit is his first work upon the soul. The treasure of gospel light and grace is put into earthen vessels. The ministers of the gospel are subject to the same passions and weaknesses as other men. God could have sent angels to make known the glorious doctrine of the gospel, or could have sent the most admired sons of men to teach the nations, but he chose humbler, weaker vessels, that his power might be more glorified in upholding them, and in the blessed change wrought by their ministry.” [e]

To GOD be the glory alone!

Act 5:20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.

____________________

Resources:

[a] “Census 2011 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)” statssa.gov.za. Retrieved 22 October 2012. ~ Wikipedia

[b] “Fewer religious people in SA – survey”. news24.com. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012. ~ Wikipedia

[c] Africa Check a non-partisan organisation which promotes accuracy in public debate and the media. www.africacheck.org

[d] It would have been prudent for Christians to have consulted “A Voter’s Guide for 2014” before going to the polls.

[e] Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, e-Sword.

[*] and [**] represent amendments included on July 25, 2014 to clarify the position surrounding true “Christianity” in accordance with the Judeo-Christian faith as contained in the doctrine of the Holy Bible.

Biblical films’ Hollywood comeback

Hollywood that has always blasphemed the Holy Name of God and His Son Jesus Christ, that has pushed Roman Catholicism in the religious parts of movies, that has advocated the homosexual agenda and promoted the evolutionist, humanist and environmentalist doctrines, is now going to make billions of dollars off the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Bible; that Hollywood, a.k.a. Sodom and Gomorrah,  which has trashed the Holiness of God with much disdain.

Gullible Christians are going to be duped into parting with their money to support and enrich people like Russell Crowe, Anthony Hopkins, Will Smith, Brad Pitt and Steven Spielberg. Most of the actors, actresses, directors and producers are the very people that blaspheme YHVH – God Almighty – and show their hatred for all things Biblical, the very people that promote fornication and adultery, murder, stealing, lying, covetousness, drunkenness, swearing and a whole host of other immoral abominations are going to greedily get rich off the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And many of the actors and actresses cannot even stay married to one partner during their careers, but have been bed-hopping as the seasons pass!

The real devilish thing is that the very True Bible doctrines are going to be compromised just to have a box-office hit. The facts will be changed for action and dramatization effects and the story line will be changed to suit those directing and producing the films. It’s already seen in the film Noah – where the hereunder article speaks of Noah’s “adopted” daughter played by Harry Potter (witchcraft movie) actress Emma Watson. Scripture says nothing about an “adopted” daughter. In fact the Bible says only eight souls were saved –

Genesis 7:7  And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

Genesis 10:1  Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 Peter 2:5  And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

Be forewarned Christian – do not be duped by the devil’s work.

However, our evangelical prayer in all of this is that the unbelieving Hollywood actors, actresses, producers, directors, and everyone associated with ‘Tinseltown’, the movie-goer and even the lukewarm and false Christian will be converted and be born-again, that God Almighty will be glorified and He will use what is intended for evil to be for His ultimate Good! With God all things are possible.

The original article appears at The Telegraph website.

Superheroes are being elbowed out by Noah and Mary as Hollywood makes 2014 year of the biblical epic.

Mary Mother of Christ, whose title character will be played by Odeya Rush Photo: REX FEATURES

By Nick Allen, Los Angeles

3:41PM GMT 25 Dec 2013

The saint-like image of a hooded woman looms out from the movie poster, her arms outstretched as a divine light bursts from the sky. A message written above is simple and unambiguous: “You Will Believe.”

So goes the promotional campaign for the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster Mary Mother of Christ. “It is a part of Mary, Joseph and Jesus’ life that has not been shown on the big screen before,” reads a synopsis. “Under the reign of terror of Herod the Great and, against all odds, they survive as young parents in one of the most treacherous times in history.” It promises “faith-based high action drama” − and there is no room in the audience for doubting Thomases.

Mary Mother of Christ, whose title character will be played by Odeya Rush, a 16-year-old Israeli-born actress, is one of a series of unashamedly Christian biblical epics due to appear next year, marking an unprecedented overture by Hollywood to America’s evangelical heartland.

Studio executives who have spent the past few years releasing superhero and zombie films have, it seems, had an epiphany. Now their new best friends are evangelical pastors whose endorsements they actively seek, even inviting them on to sets during production. Pastors in turn play clips from films of which they approve to 10,000-strong congregations on 40ft wide movie screens.

Larry Ross, who has handled publicity for Christian groups and leaders including Rick Warren and Billy Graham, said “no pastor goes to seminary in order to market movies” but if the movie “proves edifying to their congregation, if it builds their faith”, they would recommend it.

In March audiences will be treated to Noah, a $150million special effects-laden extravaganza, in which Russell Crowe will build an ark and rescue mankind from the Great Flood. Harry Potter actress Emma Watson will play his adopted daughter, and Sir Anthony Hopkins is portraying Methuselah. The ark was built on Long Island, New York.

Noah will be followed by Sir Ridley Scott’s Exodus, in which Christian Bale, as Moses, will part the Red Sea. Scenes from ancient Egypt have been reconstructed in southern Spain, with Bale wielding a bow and arrow and Sigourney Weaver playing the Pharaoh’s wife. Scott has described the film, in a less than godly phrase, as “F—— huge”.

[Video appears at the original webpage]

Another movie of Moses’ life called Gods and Kings is also planned. Steven Spielberg was due to make it but has been replaced by Ang Lee, who won the Best Director Oscar this year for Life of Pi. Meanwhile, Son of God will tell the story of Jesus’ life, with Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado in the lead role. Will Smith is said to be planning a film based on the story of Cain and Abel, and Brad Pitt is rumoured to be playing Pontius Pilate in a separate project. There will also be Resurrection, in which a Roman soldier is sent to investigate Christ’s death. It has been likened to “Gladiator, with a mystery bent”.

Phil Cooke, a film-maker and media consultant to Christian organisations, said Hollywood’s epiphany had financial, not spiritual, origins. “What’s happened is they’ve understood it’s very good business to take Christians seriously, and this is a real serious market,” he said.

“For years Hollywood bent over backwards to reach special interest groups, be it feminists or environmentalists. It has finally realised that there are 91  million evangelical Christians in America.”

For their part, studio executives have taken something of a leap of faith that films in which religious figures save the world will bring big box office receipts.

That faith is based in no small part on the success of The Bible, a television mini-series shown on the History channel earlier this year, which averaged 11.4 million viewers and became America’s most watched cable show of 2013.

“It made the Bible cool to talk about again,” said Mr Cooke. “The separation of church and state in America is so strong that people had become afraid to talk about God, at work or at school. Suddenly, these Bible stories were water cooler conversation again.”

Since the days of epics such as Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments more than half a century ago, Hollywood and America’s Christian areas have rarely seen eye to eye. A low point was Martin Scorsese’s 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ, which featured sex scenes, and flopped after Roman Catholics led a boycott.

But in 2004 Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ achieved great commercial success, thanks partly to the endorsement of prominent Christians such as Rev Billy Graham. Since then, studios including Warner Bros, Sony and Fox have nurtured faith-based audiences. They have created “faith” divisions and employed Bible scholars to check scripts. “Mega-church” pastors have been invited to preview films months before their release.

Websites have also been created for pastors to download trailers to show during sermons. The push includes promoting films with Christian groups globally, particularly in South America and Africa.

However, that audience is knowledgeable about the subject matter and Hollywood is wrestling with questions of dramatic licence. One of next year’s epics has already run into controversy. Test screenings for Noah with a Christian audience in Arizona, and a Jewish audience in New York, reportedly produced troubling results. It has been suggested that the film shows Noah as an early opponent of climate change. Its director, Darren Aronofsky, has called him the “first environmentalist”.

Brian Godawa, a screenwriter, claimed to have read an early version of the script and said it portrayed a scenario in which the Great Flood was caused by man’s “disrespect” for the environment. Paramount, the studio behind Noah, remains adamant that it will sail on to success.

Whatever happens, Noah will have the same advantage for studios as the other biblical epics. Unlike movies based on superheroes, or the latest literary sensation such as Fifty Shades of Grey, the studios will not have to pay millions of dollars in copyright and licensing fees. The stories in the Bible are free to use.

Nelson Mandela’s Wake

After all that has been said and done over the last ten days of mourning from Nelson Mandela’s death on December 5, 2013 at Houghton, Gauteng until his state funeral at Qunu in the Eastern Cape on December 15, 2013, it is sad that South African’s and the world communities from all nations have been mislead into much idolizing and placing the man Mandela on a pedestal, reverencing him as an idol, a god that is worshiped.

Many secular unbelievers and religious persons, together with professing Christians, who say they do not worship him or commit idolatry towards him, the very persons have given Mandela during his life and even now in his death cultic reverence that far exceeds the worship of the Creator of the world. At no other time in history has the majority of people in this world given such reverence to a mere man than at this time, when the same majority of people cannot even worship the One True God in the same way. Not every religion worships the same God and we can even see that Mandela sold out to the Devil’s wiles by giving all people groups in South Africa freedom of religion that blasphemously encourages even the cultural ancestral worship and Satanic worship in terms of the Bill of Rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (Act No. 108 of 1996), and at the same time the preamble of the constitution reads “… May God protect our people. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika, Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, God seën Suid Afrika, God bless South Africa, …”. Why would God bless a nation that has rebelled against Him with false, evil and wicked idolatrise worship of other gods through religious works and man-made customs, traditions, commandments and legislation? God’s Word says that if any person does not believe upon His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that person is condemned already, as we read:

John 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. John 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. John 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

We also read:

John 3:36  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The world at large as well as South Africans repeatedly said that Mandela is “resting in peace” and countless messages give the eulogy that he must “R.I.P.” If Mandela was not born-again of God (see John 3:3,5-7) then he would not see the Kingdom of God. We also heard from Mandela’s daughter Makaziwe, to quote from The Witness newspaper dated June 28, 2013, Madiba’s daughter said “her father had been unequivocal. He had repeatedly said that when he died he would look for the ANC branch in heaven and join it.” The truth be told, the Holy Word of God as contained in the Holy Bible does not say that there are man-made political parties in heaven. Any believer in the Lord Jesus Christ would realise that he would be before the throne of God worshipping the Lamb of God, His Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and not looking for any man-made communist-ideology party. We also note that there was no public profession of faith by Mandela that he was a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, he was one who pampered to the masses and gave them carte blanche to worship any god they wished, when the Creator of the heavens and earth, YHVH (Yehovah, LORD), said He will not give His glory to any other, as we read:

Isaiah 42:8  I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Isa 48:11  For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another. Isa 48:12  Hearken unto me, O Jacob and Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.

There is also an indictment against every nation that comes against God’s chosen people Israel (Jacob) and they do so at their own peril and demise. We also read about how God deals with those that worship false gods that He has not commanded nor will tolerate, as we read:

Judges 10:6  And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim, and Ashtaroth, and the gods of Syria, and the gods of Zidon, and the gods of Moab, and the gods of the children of Ammon, and the gods of the Philistines, and forsook the LORD, and served not him. Judges 10:7  And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines, and into the hands of the children of Ammon.

Judges 10:10  And the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, saying, We have sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also served Baalim. Judges 10:11  And the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Did not I deliver you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines? Judges 10:12  The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites, and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered you out of their hand. Judges 10:13  Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods: wherefore I will deliver you no more. Judges 10:14  Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation. Judges 10:15  And the children of Israel said unto the LORD, We have sinned: do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee; deliver us only, we pray thee, this day.
Judges 10:16  And they put away the strange gods from among them, and served the LORD: and his soul was grieved for the misery of Israel. [writer’s emphasis]

Nothing has changed since Mandela signed into law the practice of freedom of religion as we saw at the FNB Stadium Memorial that took place on December 10, 2013 before a world audience when proceedings were opened by the atheistic ANC regime who promotes all gods which in effect promotes no “God”, when an interfaith prayer session opened proceedings. This is ecumenical which is an affront to Almighty God, an abomination. When presidents of nations followed by their people say “God bless” after practicing such heinous debauchery against a Holy Sovereign Good and Perfect God, how can they even think the One and Only True God who revealed Himself as the Lord Jesus Christ, will bless them. In fact, the God you have blasphemed with your idolatrise practices and neglect of the good for the practice of the profane evil will not bless, but curse you and your earthly nations! The writing is on the wall and Judgment is at the door! The axe has been laid at the root of the people. The Lord Jesus Christ says:

John 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

There is no resting in peace when people die in their sin outside the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Irrespective of what you believe through your religious practices  or lack thereof, God has made only ONE WAY of receiving peace between Him and you and therefore you can ONLY have a relationship with God through His only begotten Son Jesus. No other way exists! God’s Word tells us, as we read:

1 Timothy 2:5  For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

and the Lord Jesus Christ said, as we read:

John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

and we hear how we receive the righteousness of God, as we read:

2 Corinthians 5:21  For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

It is with a grieved heart that we learn that up to the death of Mandela that the traditions and customs of men were still prevalent, which goes contrary to God’s Word. We also read in an article that appears online at MailOnline, where you can read the following, quote:

“During the last hours before his death at 8.50pm Johannesburg time, elders from Mandela’s native Thembu clan joined his relatives at his side.

“The elders would have performed, either at Mandela’s home or later in the mortuary, a traditional ceremony called ‘the closing of the eyes’, to herald the transition from life to the next stage.

“The ceremony would have involved the elders talking to Mandela, and also to his ancestors, to explain what was happening to his spirit during each stage as he passed from life on earth, CNN reported.” [end quote]

This description does not appear in God’s Word, but what God tells us in His Holy Word is that no-one is to speak to the dead, which is to be a necromancer. We read in Deuteronomy 18:10,11 as it is written:

Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

From the preceding portion of Scripture we see that God orders that there should be no “consulters with familiar spirits” or a “necromancer” and it is evident that upon the “elders talking to Mandela, and also to his ancestors” it is a clear violation of God’s command. This obviously is what Mandela believed in for the Mandela family practiced their “custom, ritual and taboo” of his early childhood [Wikipedia]. From these practices it is clear that what Christian background Mandela might have engaged in in his early years, he mixed it with his traditions and customs, which the Word of God says makes God’s Word of none effect (see Matthew 15:6; Mark 7:13).

What is also sad, is that Satan wants the world to be deceived and we now see “everyone” wants to follow the legacy of Mandela, which goes against the Word of God. We also see that people are deceived by making such bold-faced statements that “God and Mandela will rule the universe” [a written note by a young mourner at a shrine outside Mandela’s Houghton home] or that “Mandela is the black man’s messiah.” The last statement was voiced quite brazenly by people waiting in lines during the empty corpse of Mandela laying in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria as brothers-in-Christ Ricky Springer (Full Proof Gospel Ministry) and Gary Crous (Repent and Believe South Africa) preached our Lord Jesus Christ to them, calling men, women and children to repentance and faith in Christ the Saviour, the Only True and living God who can justify you and forgive you of your sin. An earnest call was made to repent and turn from their idolatrise behaviours to a merciful God, and to worship Him alone. [Photos of Mandela’s Wake]

What is disturbing is that citizens of South Africa are being indoctrinated and brain-washed with a communism technique that keeps people in bondage and fearful. Following a democracy does not give people freedom, it just makes you a slave of another political system. The Lord Jesus Christ said that if you knew the truth it shall make you free, as we read:

John 8:31  Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; John 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:33  They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? John 8:34  Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
John 8:35  And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
John 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:37  I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. John 8:38  I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

And “your father” that the Lord Jesus Christ refers to is Satan, the Devil, as we read:

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

What the world needs now is not to follow the legacy of a dead man who could not resurrect himself, but to obey the commands of a living God who showed He is the Messiah by resurrecting Himself to life again, something Mandela could not do! Who you follow determines your eternal destiny. The Lord Jesus Christ said that you will know a man by his fruit – how he conducts his life. Is he living for Truth – which is a Person, not a set of rules and regulations – or is he deceived by lies? Whosoever committeth sin is a servant to sin (lawlessness – sin is the transgression of the law, see 1 John 3:4). What the world also sweeps away is the very conduct of Mandela. Sadly, after being released from prison, he did not leave his hatred behind in prison as the fable goes, as can be seen by him singing a “liberation” song from the heart, saying “we will kill the white man – amaBhulu.”

The same applies with the radical songs “Shoot the Boer” and “Take up your machine gun” that even the South African president Jacob Zuma has openly sung even after taking up power after apartheid. We read the following in God’s Holy Word:

Ephesians 5:19  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

It is clear that the vast majority of the people do not sing and make melody in their heart to the Lord as set out in the preceding Scripture as they are not believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, what prevails in and amongst the secular world is the very opposite, and sadly in and amongst professing Christians and those that masquerade as Gospel singers,  many of them do the singing for filthy lucre’s sake, for self-enrichment and out of greed and self-honour.  What is also evident is that it is not just the singing of so-called liberation songs, but there is a sinister evil practice afoot that has South Africans grossly gullible, blinded by a smokescreen masquerading as democracy as they believe the lie that South Africa is better off today than the dark days of apartheid. Sadly it starts with the indoctrination of our children through a god-hating regime who keeps brain-washing the populace with the so-called evils of apartheid without painting the full picture of the communist terrorism that prevailed through the military wing MK with the killing of both black and white civilians and the present genocide (watch the video of Genocide Watch at the link) that is taking place with atrocities against predominately white Afrikaner Boers who are the growing statistics of farm-murders. South Africa is also the murder and rape capital of the world with crime totally out of control. The sad reality that even so-called Christians cannot see is the prevalence of apartheid being practiced in reverse in the form of BBBEE right in our very midst, and this after Mandela said that never, never, and never again will one group rule over another (at his swearing-in as president of South Africa in 1994).

In closing, in the tribute given at the funeral in Qunu on December 15, 2013, by Nelson Mandela’s friend Ahmed Kathrada, he addressed Mandela as “Madala” as if he could hear him by saying: “What do we say to you in these, the last final moments together, before you exit the public stage forever?” In response Mr Kathrada, Mr Mandela departed into eternity the night he died. He could not hear you at the funeral. Kathrada then ended off the speech with the following statement: “When Walter [Sisulu] died, I lost a father and now I have lost a brother. My life is in a void and I don’t know who to turn to.” In response to your predicament, and all those who find themselves in the same predicament, the answer is simple: You need to repent and turn your sinful life over to the Lord Jesus Christ; He is your only hope.

South Africa and the world communities have been warned. This is your only hope, as we read in Philippians 2:1-15:

Php 2:1  If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Php 2:2  Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Php 2:3  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Php 2:4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Php 2:5  Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Php 2:6  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Php 2:7  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Php 2:8  And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Php 2:9  Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:
Php 2:10  That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Php 2:11  And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Php 2:12  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Php 2:14  Do all things without murmurings and disputings: Php 2:15  That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

The God of Creation is not tolerant – He is intolerant of your abominable blasphemous idolatrise sin! Repent today, before it is too late! Ukupenduka!

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

_______________

Related posts

Nelson Mandela Day 2011

The Face of Evil and Wicked South Africa

Nelson Mandela and the Iconic Man

The Mandelas, the ancestors, and a nation going to Hell

Nelson Mandela Day 2013

Eastern Cape Mission

Sabbath Day Keeping – A SDA Heresy

If a person does not keep the Sabbath day what are the consequences of breaking the Fourth Commandment? It is also said by Sabbatarians that Christians who worship on Sunday – the first day of the week known as the Lord’s Day – are the ones who will take the mark of the beast (Revelation 13). Is this true?

In order to deal with this treatise teaching we need to set the foundation of what the Seventh-day Adventists believe, and according to their 28 Fundamental Beliefs (link updated on 21/12/2023), they state, quote: “Seventh-day Adventists accept the Bible as the only source of our beliefs. We consider our movement to be the result of the Protestant conviction Sola Scriptura—the Bible as the only standard of faith and practice for Christians.”(*) Under Belief 20 dealing with the Sabbath, it reads as follows, quote:

Sabbath 20

The beneficent gracious Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God’s unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God’s kingdom. The Sabbath is God’s perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God’s creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; 31:13-17; Lev. 23:32; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Eze. 20:12, 20; Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 1:32; Luke 4:16; Heb. 4:1-11.)(*)

Now that the foundation has been set, let us use Sola Scriptura to see whether Sabbath day keeping is for this age and time, or whether it is a false heretic teaching that is being forced upon Seventh-day Adventist members. The Scriptures that appear at the SDA website above makes reference to parts of Scripture where the “Sabbath day” is mentioned, but the context is not taken into account where it makes specific reference to God’s people Israel. It is also noted that the SDA church are choosing Scripture very selectively to meet with their doctrine. To use one Scripture from the above list as an example is the citation of Ezekiel 20:12,20 where context is found in Ezekiel 20:3 where God speaks to the prophet Ezekiel and says:

Eze 20:3  Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.

God was speaking to Israel about Him bringing them out of bondage in Egypt and the Sabbaths were given to Israel as a covenant between God and Israel to know that God is the One who sanctifies Israel and how Israel rebelled against God, as we see in the verses 12 and 13:

Eze 20:12  Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

Eze 20:13  But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them; and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: then I said, I would pour out my fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them.

This is one example of how the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church misquotes Scripture out of context to fit their false dogma and deceive their followers. Let us first look at the requirements of Sabbath day keeping. There are those within the SDA church that keep breaking the very Sabbath day Commandment that they hold fast to and say one is to keep. Sabbath day keeping is not about just rest, it also has obligations to be kept. Let us look at what Scripture requires Sabbath day keepers to adhere to:

• Weekly offering – Numbers 28:9,10

Num 28:9  And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot, and two tenth deals of flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and the drink offering thereof:

Num 28:10 This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.

• No work is to be done – Exodus 20:10

Exo 20:10  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

• Death to Sabbath breakers – Exodus 31:15, 35:2

Exo 31:15  Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Exo 35:2  Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

An example of a Sabbath breaker who was put to death was a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day as we can read in Numbers 15:32-36 ~

Num 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

Num 15:33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.

Num 15:34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.

Num 15:35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.

Num 15:36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Here is also a schedule (**) that shows how God regulated the keeping of the Sabbath day from His Divine Word together with a list which we would most probably equate with as a reasonable meaning in terms of today’s western living:

Sabbath law regulations	Today’s meaning for Sabbath day keepers
Do no work: Exodus 31:15	Must quit shift work jobs or work on Saturday, driving is also work
Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations for heat: Exodus 35:3	Cannot start a barbecue or start fire while camping or at home
Gather not sticks for fuel: Numbers 15:32	Cannot refuel the car, or operate anything that takes fuel including cooking equipment
Do not buy or sell goods: Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15-22	No more eating out, shopping or conducting business
Stay in your place: Exodus 16:29	Park the car and stay either home or in the hotel if travelling, no long walks either
Carry no burdens: Jeremiah 17:21-22	No gardening or carrying heavy objects
Death to violators: Exodus 31:15; Numbers 15:32-36	Stone other Adventist members who break
Strangers within their gates forced to keep: Exodus 20:10	Guests within house forced to keep
Animal sacrifices specific only to the weekly Sabbath: Numbers 28:9-10	???

The question that should be asked is: Has God relaxed any of these regulations concerning the Sabbath day and where can they be found? Clearly from Scripture we can see that no relaxing of the regulations can be found.

Now let us see what “prophetess” Ellen G. White had to say about the Fourth Commandment that is the Sabbath, and how she taught that the Sabbath is the most important of the Ten Commandments above all others. This “teaching” would fly in the face of the First Commandment that reads – Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3). This is what she had to say, quote (emphasis added by writer):

1. “I beheld the tables of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written. I was amazed as I saw the fourth commandment in the very center of the ten precepts with a soft halo of light encircling it. Said the angel, ‘It is the only one of the ten which defines the living God who created the heavens and the earth and all things that are there­in.”” (Life Sketches of Ellen G. White, pages 95-96, Official Adventist publication)
2. “Jesus opened them, and I saw the Ten Commandments written on them with the finger of God. On one table were Four and on the other six. The four on the first table shone brighter than the other six. But the fourth, the Sabbath commandment, shone above them all; for the Sabbath was set apart to be kept in honor of God’s holy name. The holy Sabbath looked glorious­ a halo of glory was all around it. I saw that the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross.” (Early Writings of Ellen G. White, page 33, Official Adventist publication) (**)

According to the aforementioned quotes Ellen G. White says God revealed the Fourth Commandment above every other of the Ten Commandments. However, the Lord Jesus Christ said that there are two great commandments and all the law and the prophets hang on them, and these are the two commandments as we read in Matthew 22:36-40 ~

Mat 22:36  Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

Mat 22:37  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment.

Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

So who do you believe? The Lord Jesus Christ? or Ellen G. White? The Truth of Christ Sola Scriptura prevails. Besides allegations against Ellen G. White being a plagiarist that copied most of her “inspired writings”, this proves that she is a false prophet with her contradictory statements against the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, who would never contradict the Father, and you can also add to these her failed prediction of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Scripture gives us the description of a false prophet as recorded in Deuteronomy 18:20-22 ~

Deu 18:20  But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

Deu 18:21  And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?

Deu 18:22  When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

We also see in Belief 18 of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs of the SDA church that it deals with the Gift of Prophecy and reads as follows, quote: “One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy. This gift is an identifying mark of the remnant church and was manifested in the ministry of Ellen. G. White. As the Lord’s messenger, her writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction. They also make clear that the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested.”(*) If her prophecies are found to be false in contradictory manner then it is false to assert her to be the Lord’s messenger whose “writings are a continuing and authoritative source of truth which provide for the church comfort, guidance, instruction, and correction.” Ellen G. White aside, from the Holy Scriptures of God we will prove that we do not have to keep the Sabbath day in order to inherit the Kingdom of God. If the SDA church keeps the Sabbath day according to the Ten Commandments and therefore relies on the law, then they are also obligated to keep all the law, which is impossible as we read in James 2:10 ~

Jas 2:10  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

For the SDA church to keep all the law they would also have to keep the other Sabbath days that are a holy convocation unto the Lord God, that are recorded in Leviticus 23. Incidentally, under the SDA Scripture citation listing above they do not list the very command by God to keep the weekly Sabbath that reads as follows under Leviticus 23:1-3 ~

Lev 23:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Lev 23:2  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts.

Lev 23:3  Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

The reason is clear. The Passover is a holy convocation (Lev. 23:4-5), the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a holy convocation (Lev. 23:6-8), the Feast of Firstfruits is a Sabbath (verse 15) (Lev. 23:9-14), the Feast of Pentecost is a holy convocation (Lev. 23:15-22), the Feast of Trumpets is a Sabbath and a holy convocation (Lev. 23:23-25), the Day of Atonement is a holy convocation preceded by a Sabbath (verse 32) (Lev. 23:26-32) and the Feast of Tabernacles is a holy convocation (Lev. 23:33-44). As Leviticus 23 starts in verses 1 and 2 with: “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel …” the concluding verse 44 of Leviticus 23 reads: “And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of the LORD.” It was a Sabbath keeping covenant with Israel.

In Scripture we are told that the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, said in Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. And that is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did when He went to the cross and died in the place of sinners nailing the conditions of the law to His cross. Sin is the transgression of the law (see 1 John 3:4) and the sins of the world were condemned in His body upon the cross, as we read in Romans 8:3 ~

Rom 8:3  For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

The Word of God tells us that the law is a curse, as we read in Galatians 3:12-14 ~

Gal 3:12  And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.

Gal 3:13  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Gal 3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

We are also told that we are justified by God, not by keeping the law, but by faith in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in Galatians 2:16-21 the following Truth ~

Gal 2:16  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Gal 2:17  But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.

Gal 2:18  For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

Gal 2:19  For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

Gal 2:20  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Gal 2:21  I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Scripture tells us that “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). It’s not by keeping the law that saves us, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who has fulfilled the law. Therefore, we can obtain the righteousness of God through Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

In Colossians 2:14-17 we read that the law was nailed to the cross. If this was not the case then the law can save us. Right? But hear what the Word tells us ~

Col 2:14  Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

Col 2:16  Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:

Col 2:17  Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

It tells us that the law was a shadow of things to come. If it was a shadow then there has to be something better and that better covenant (see Hebrews 9) is through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not by the works (requirements) of keeping the law. In Galatians 2:21 we are told that if righteousness comes through the law, keeping the Ten Commandments and being a Sabbath day keeper, then Christ be dead in vain. His death was then a waste of time for then the law could save you from your sins, but the Word tells us that no flesh will be justified by the works (keeping) of the law (Galatians 2:16). In fact the law is not for a righteous man, but for the lawless if used lawfully as we read in 1 Timothy 1:8-11 ~

1Ti 1:8  But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

1Ti 1:11  According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

You are also reminded that if you are known by God why do you turn back to the beggarly elements like keeping the days, and months, and times, and years, as you read in Galatians 4:9,10 ~

Gal 4:9  But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?

Gal 4:10  Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.

We also read in Galatians 3:24 that the law is a schoolmaster that teaches us and brings us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith. To be justified in God’s sight is “just as if you never sinned”, but it is not by keeping the law, the Ten Commandments, no, but you are justified by faith in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Romans 3:25).

As we read the Holy Word of God we often see that the Pharisees of that day were looking to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ (see Matthew 12:14; Mark 3:6) and “filled with madness; and communed one with another what they might do to Jesus” (see Luke 6:11) for He too, did not keep the Sabbath day. In Matthew 12:1-13 and Mark 2:23-28, Mark 3:1-5, Luke 6:1-10, 13:13-17 and John 5, 7, and 9 we see the Lord Jesus Christ not keeping the Sabbath laws as required by the Pharisees. They were legalistic and didn’t allow even compassionate work to be done on the Sabbath day. Read the accusations against the Lord Jesus Christ by the Pharisees and hear the most perfect indictment by the Lord of Glory against His accusers, which is also for the SDA followers of this age, as we read in Luke 13:14-17 ~

Luk 13:14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.

Luk 13:15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?

Luk 13:16 And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?

Luk 13:17  And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

As the Lord Jesus Christ “broke” the Sabbath laws according to the legalistic Pharisees, in accordance with the conditions required to be kept, the Lord Jesus Christ should have been stoned for not keeping the Sabbath day! The Lord Jesus Christ’s disciples “plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands” “which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days” (see Luke 6:1,2) – they were working according to the Pharisees. Remember the Sabbath day law says NO WORK is to be done in it in accordance with Exodus 20:10.

We also see in the New Testament that there is no command given for a born-again believer to keep the Sabbath day as a means to inherit the Kingdom of God, or to show that “you” are a true follower of Yehovah (YHVH). In fact, what we do find is that the New Testament ekklesia (Church – Body of Christ) met on the first day of the week. In Acts 20:7 we are told that the disciples came together to break bread – to partake in the Lord’s supper – and again in 1 Corinthians 16:1,2 the Apostle Paul speaks to the church at Corinth and tells them that when they come together on the first day of the week the saints are to give their collection. The Apostle Paul even preached (taught) on the first day of the week.

In Hebrews 4 and 5 we see that in Christ Jesus we have a permanent rest. Just as God the Father rested from His creation work, not that God was tired that He needed rest; it was from the completion of His creation work that He rested, so we too are to rest from our works – the trying to keep the law – that we can obtain our rest in the Lord Jesus Christ as we read more specifically in Hebrews 4:4-9 ~

Heb 4:4  For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.

Heb 4:5  And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

Heb 4:6  Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:

Heb 4:7  Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Heb 4:8  For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

This is the spiritual rest that can only come through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a spiritual rest that is through faith in Christ Jesus and not the keeping of the law, doing deeds, that cannot save a sinner from the wrath of God. By faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, being spiritually born-again will guarantee you seeing the Kingdom of God, not by trusting in your works, but resting in Christ.

Which comes to the second allegation by the SDA church that if you worship on the Sunday you will be the one who takes the mark of the beast. Firstly the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit said that one man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike, as we read in Romans 14:5,6 ~

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Rom 14:6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

If one wants to worship God on the seventh, or first day, if the person regards it unto the Lord he regards it to the Lord. As long as it is not legalistic worship, you can worship the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father on any day. God looks at the heart, but if the worship is contrary to His Word then you have a problem – it is sin! In Revelation 13 that deals with the mark of the beast, nowhere does the Scriptures say anything about those who worship on Sunday as receiving the mark of the beast. It is clear from Scripture that those who do not worship God, who do not have their name in the Lamb’s book of life will be those who worship the beast and will be those who take the mark of the beast as we read in Revelation 13:8,11-18. The reason for the mark is not the day of worship, but those that are not born again and have not their names written in the book of life and the reason is that they would not be able to buy or sell unless you had the mark of the beast – 666 – as we read in Revelation 13:16-18 ~

Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

It is clear that the SDA church is using the day of worship – to keep the Saturday Sabbath day – as a fear tactic so that the SDA members of this cult will be fearful of worshipping God on any other day other than the Saturday Sabbath day. Cults operate like this. Islam has the same fear tactic instilled in their followers. If they convert away from their religion their family will disown them or they will be killed as an infidel. It is fear-tactics, devilish works, not God’s mercy and grace! The Devil deceives!

Repent and believe upon the True Lord Jesus Christ by faith and not by works of the law. For the just shall live by faith (see Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11).

___________________

Sources:

*          www.adventist.org

**        www.bible.ca

Strange Fire

Just recently the Grace to You ministry of Grace Community Church under the leadership of Pastor / Teacher Dr John MacArthur held a three day Strange Fire Conference in Southern California from October 16-18, 2013. While I have previously followed most of the speakers and do welcome the preaching against the false teachings of the Pentecostal / Charismatic / Word of Faith (PCWoF) movements, there still remains some teachings that I do not agree with. One teacher that teaches well is Justin Peters in his A Call For Discernment; I attended his conference that took place at KwaSizabantu Mission at Kranskop, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in 2012. As early as August 5, 2013, I also got to hear of Conrad Mbewe of Zambia and also posted his blog-posting Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa at my Luke 9:23 Evangelism blog.

Whilst I am NOT a Calvinist, and I am NOT an Arminian, I do see myself as a Biblist that believes what is written in the Holy Word of God, The Bible. In faith I take what is written therein to be the very Words of God and Truth for all teaching as it is written in 2 Timothy 3:16,17 ~

16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. ~ 2 Timothy 3:16,17

One of the most theologically sound teachings I heard from the Strange Fire Conference was the presentation by Dr Steve Lawson entitled The Puritan Commitment to Sola Scriptura. Agreeing with what was expounded, based on the five points of Calvinism, does not make me a follower of Calvin or should even term me a Calvinist – it can be seen from the Bible what is True. Instead of taking on the name of another man as a Calvinist (who incidentally had Michael Servetus murdered because of a theological disagreement), I do rather profess to being a follower, a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ and therefore need not ascribe to any man’s doctrine to confirm what I believe. The litmus test is: Are you truly a follower after God’s Word – Sola Scriptura? Or is there Strange Fire even in what you believe? We read of the account regarding strange fire from the Holy Scriptures, as it is written in Leviticus 10:1,2 ~

1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
2 And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.

Now, whilst much can be learned from the preachers / pastors / teachers from the Strange Fire conference exposing false prophets (see Jeremiah 14:14; Matthew 7:15, 24:11,24; Mark 13:22; Luke 6:26; 2 Peter 2:1; 1 John 4:1), false apostles (see 2 Corinthians 11:13), false teachers (see 2 Peter 2:1) and healers – in a description wolves in sheep’s clothing (see Matthew 7:15) – we come to Scriptures that seem to be overlooked by the same main stream teachers that do expose error. If we are to hold to Sola Scriptura, then we are to teach accordingly in all matters the Word of God; this even includes the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and His crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. It is worrisome to see that Dr John MacArthur, who is an expository preacher, has ignored the Scriptures that give the very historical date that can be calculated of the birth of our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. It is sad that many believers still brandish the name “Christmas” around when this very word does not appear in Scripture. If anyone would want to refer to the birth of Christ, a more accurate way would be to refer to His nativity and not use the pagan infested word of “Christmas” – the mass of Christ with its pagan and popish traditions. As one of the most quoted preachers Charles Spurgeon preached on December 24, 1871, said, quote [writer’s emphasis in italics and bold]:

We have no superstitious regard for times and seasons. Certainly we do not believe in the present ecclesiastical arrangement called Christmas: first, because we do not believe in the mass at all, but abhor it whether it be said or sung in Latin or English; and secondly, because we find no scriptural warrant whatever for observing any day as the birthday of the Saviour; and, consequently, its observance is a superstition, because not of divine authority. [C. H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1971, pg. 697].

John MacArthur’s ministry promotes “Christmas” and along with it the purchasing of his books (even some having “Christmas” in the titles) and other materials as “Christmas” gifts (refer to the many times Carl Miller promotes the buying of “Christmas” gifts on the Grace to You radio show). To hold to Sola Scriptura in the Holy Word of God according to the Gospel of Luke which gives pertinent historical and Hebrew information, we can see that the Scriptures tell us that the birth of the Saviour of the world was at the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths). To preach and teach anything else is heresy. When the whole world appears to worship or celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25, discernment would warrant that we should test why Roman Catholics, New Agers, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Word of Faith, unbelievers, pagans, Christians and many other religious and cult groupings “celebrate” at this festival day. One should then ask the questions:

a) What has Christ and Belial in common? and

b) How can a Christian for the love of God mix His Truth with Satan’s deception?

What I have found really disturbing is how preachers would negate certain teachings or teach falsely to fit with the preachers’ dogma. A point in question can be seen from an extract from John MacArthur’s sermon The Announcement of Jesus’ Birth, Part 1 from July 11, 1999 which says, quote [writer’s emphasis in bold]:

And so typically shepherds would stay out in the fields on the elevated plain of Jerusalem, the mountain area near Jerusalem from April to November typically. That’s one of the reasons why people doubt that Jesus was born in December because typically the shepherds wouldn’t be there in December. Well you can’t really be dogmatic about that either, we don’t know what month it was. There is really no way to know. We don’t even know what year Jesus was born, somewhere between 6 and 4 B.C. He was born as we calculated the calendar back, we can’t be specific, we don’t have enough data for that. There’s no reason to believe it was December 25, that was invented in order to try to sanctify a pagan festival. They thought if they put the birth of Christ celebration on the same day as Saturnalia, the worship of the sun god, they could sanctify that and all they did was corrupt the celebration of the birth of Christ with all the Christmas legend. It backfired on them. But there’s no way to know when He was born. It is possible they could have still been out there in December, we don’t know that.

What Dr. MacArthur says is that “There’s no reason to believe it was December 25” and that the date was a “pagan festival” and further “But there’s no way to know when He was born.” All three statements are contradictory and therefore misleading and deceptive for we certainly can calculate when our Lord Jesus Christ was born if we will just believe the Scriptural text and do the math from the very pertinent information provided to us in the Scriptures. Here is an extract from a book writer wrote titled The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ [incidentally the Christian printers I approached would not undertake the project of printing the book – I guess it goes against the fabric of man’s traditions and customs – you can email me to obtain a pdf version] that reads as follows [Quote]:

To calculate when the course of Abijah would appear in the year we need to first understand the Jewish calendar. The time when Jesus Christ was born into this world, the Jewish calendar would be using the post exilic sacred months as recorded in the above diagram on this page.

The Jewish Calendar

MONTHPRE- / POST EXILIC	OF YEAR SACRED / CIVIL	MODERNEQUIVALENTMONTHS
Abib / Nisan	1 / 7	March / April
Ziv / Iyyar	2 /8	April / May
Sivan	3 / 9	May / June
Tammaz	4 / 10	June / July
Ab	5 / 11	July / August
Elul	6 / 12	August / September
Ethanim / Tishri	7 / 1	September / October
Bul / Heshvan	8 / 2	October / November
Chislev	9 / 3	November / December
Tebeth	10 / 4	December / January
Shebat	11 / 5	January / February
Adar	12 / 6	February / March

Therefore, the year would start off in the month of Nisan and the months were based on the lunar calendar of 30 days per month. This would therefore equate, according to the Jewish calendar, to a 360-day lunar year. In accordance with the course that the priests would appear in the Temple, the calculation would be:

24 Courses multiplied by 2 Temple duties a year equals 48 weeks, plus the three pilgrimage weeks which totals 51 weeks.

The 51 weeks equate to 357 days which fits within the 360-day lunar year calendar.

As a result of these calculations we can therefore see that the course of Abijah, i.e. the eighth course (1 Chronicles 24:10), would serve the tenth week during the first half of the year, as a result of the following:

• Passover / Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrated starting on 14th / 15th Nisan:

⁵In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD’S passover. ⁶And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. ⁷In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein.⁸But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. ~ Leviticus 23:5-8

• The Feast of Weeks [Shavuot (Pentecost)]:

¹⁵And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: ¹⁶Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD. ~ Leviticus 23:15,16

Zechariah had his vision while serving in the eighth course of Abijah, which fell in the tenth week of the year, calculating from the beginning of the sacred year in the month Nisan. As with the manner of women, let us add two weeks to comply with the purity laws (Leviticus 15:19,25) which would then bring the conception of John to be in or about the 12th week of the year. If John was born about thirty-nine weeks (nine months) later (for we are not sure of the exact day of conception calculated at about 39 weeks from Elisabeth’s last menstruation cycle) during the fifty-first week (12 + 39 = 51) that would bring us to the birth of John at the Passover festival. [Our present day calendar works on a 52 week year, but according to the Jewish calendar they were working on a lunar 360-day calendar, that equates to approximately 51 weeks.] The writer believes that in God’s providence John the Baptist was born at Passover at the very time that Elijah was, according to the Jewish tradition, supposed to appear.

Now, continuing and using the calculations in operation and the Scriptures told, God’s mandate is perfect and He is very specific about times and shadows of events to come (past, present and future), that His Son Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit six months (about 26 weeks) after John the Baptist’s conception. For we know that the Scriptures say that “thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her” (Luke 1:36). This means Christ Jesus was conceived about the 38th week around the festival Hanukkah. This would also mean the Light of the world [see John 1:9] was conceived during the festival of lights! Conceived, not born in flesh entering into the world, as the Christmas holiday dictates – there is a huge difference here!

To fulfil prophecies, the prophecy would have to be fulfilled to the last detail and therefore it would be clear to understand in fulfilment of God’s prophetic Words, God would not generalize specifics as this would take away from His omniscient glory. To be precise in the prophetic Word given, God, being a God of divine order, would be exact and precise in bringing His Word to pass, just as the star (see Matthew 2:2) in the night sky appeared at the exact time He sent it to appear, and the angel Gabriel appeared at the exact time he was sent by God as His messenger, so too was the birth of His Only Begotten Son precisely when God chose for His Son to enter this world – on time to the last detail, as we read:

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, ~ Galatians 4:4

Therefore, understanding God’s precise mandate and ordination of all things, Jesus was born thirty-nine weeks later (around week 76 from the beginning of our calculations at the preceding year’s month of Nisan; that is week 25 of the following year) which brings us to the time of the autumn (fall) Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) in the month Tishri (i.e. September/October). Is God giving us a Revelation of when He revealed Himself as His Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin and entered into this world as the God-Man? – “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) – “Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us” (see Matthew 1:23). [End Quote]

___________

From research we also notice that for about the first 4 centuries no such tradition of “Christmas” was recorded by the early Church celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and we can also pick up that “Christmas” was not entertained by such men in later years as the Puritans, the Reformers, John Knox, the Scots, the English, by settlers of America and by Charles H. Spurgeon, to mention but a few.

“So why did the Scots ban Christmas? Depending on which site you visit, the blame generally seems to lie with John Knox and dates range for 1562 to 1583, even though he was dead in 1572. What is certain is that with Cromwell and the Puritans, the rest of Britain took on the Scottish policy and Christmas was banned in 1644, being changed by parliamentary decree to a fast day rather than a “popish holiday”.

Charles II restored Christmas in 1660. Unfortunately for America, the Puritans took their anti-Christmas beliefs to America with them. Christmas was banned in Massachusetts in 1659, with the law remaining on the statute books for 22 years, which is strange as the same state was the first one in the US to make Christmas a legal holiday in 1856.

Pennsylvania and New England resisted Christmas celebration too for long periods.”

___________

Spurgeon also said, quote: “When it can be proved that the observance of Christmas, Whitsuntide, and other Popish festivals was ever instituted by a divine statute, we also will attend to them, but not till then. It is as much our duty to reject the traditions of men, as to observe the ordinances of the Lord. We ask concerning every rite and rubric, “Is this a law of the God of Jacob?” and if it be not clearly so, it is of no authority with us, who walk in Christian liberty.” (from Charles Spurgeon’s Treasury of David on Psalm 81:4.)

“Knox believed in the Regulative Principle of Worship, that anything offered to God in Worship should be fully and unequivocally sanctioned in Scripture. Needless to say, because there is no ‘Christmas’ in the Bible, and because we are to do nothing to diminish God’s commands in worship, Knox had no time whatsoever for a Christmas festival, or any other religious festival. He wrote . . .

“That God’s word damns your ceremonies (referring to Christmas and the other Roman Catholic inventions), it is evident; for the plain and straight commandment of God is, ‘Not that thing which appears good in thy eyes, shalt thou do to the Lord thy God, but what the Lord thy God has commanded thee, that do thou: add nothing to it; diminish nothing from it.’ Now unless that ye are able to prove that God has commanded your ceremonies, this his former commandment will damn both you and them.”

See Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32 ~

Deut 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Deut 12:32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

(Quote from John Knox’s History of the Reformation in Scotland (Ed. by William Croft Dickinson; New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), Vol. 1, p. 91.)

So is there Strange Fire being offered to God contrary to what He has commanded? I do think so – it is worship of God not as God has commanded! What Scripture does tell us, and Sola Scriptura for that matter, is that we are to remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ until He returns at His second coming, as it is written:

19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you. ~ Luke 22:19,20

and

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come. ~ 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

And then, to cap it all off, here is a disturbing teaching that John MacArthur teaches regarding the taking of the mark of the beast. MacArthur says that a person could take the mark of the beast and still be saved. If he holds to this teaching, he is misleading people due to the fact that the Scriptures teach that those that take the mark of the beast are damned to the lake of fire for they worship the beast. This is what the Holy Scriptures – Sola Scriptura – reads in Revelation 14:9-11 ~

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Since the same sermon [Q&A session] remains up on the Grace to You website and has not been removed; and it appears that MacArthur has not recanted his early teaching on this issue nor publically repented for this false teaching, there is Strange Fire in John MacArthur’s ministry that is heresy and goes against the Word of God! Here is a video that deals specifically with this issue:

In closing, another thing that is disturbing is that the Grace to You ministry is not satisfied with tithes and offerings, the selling of books, CDs, DVDs and other merchandise, but they also request people to partner with them and to donate to their ministry. It’s a very prosperous ministry, akin to the prosperity preachers’ ministries of TBN, and yet they could not answer a call for some financial help on June 6, 2011, nor even having the courtesy of answering the email. I am reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus Christ ~

35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. ~ Act 20:35

SOLI DEO GLORIA

A Letter from Kabwata: Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Why is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?

Many explanations have been given for the explosion of the Charismatic movement in Africa. Many have seen this as a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Whereas there is probably more than one reason, I want to add my own observation to this for what it is worth. In this blog post, I do not refer to the old conservative form of Pentecostalism once represented by the Assemblies of God churches. I have in mind the current extreme form that is mushrooming literally under every shrub and tree in Africa. How can one explain this phenomenon?

I think that one reason why the Charismatic movement in Africa has been like a wild bushfire is because it has not challenged the African religious worldview but has instead adopted it. It has simply baptised it with Bible verses and Christian words that previously meant something totally different.

The African Spiritual Worldview

Let me explain what I mean. The African spiritual worldview consists of four tiers.

1. God

_________________________

2. Angels and demons

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3. Ancestral spirits

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4. Human beings

It is because of this reality that Africans do not question the existence of God, as is the case with many people in the Western world. To an African, God is there. He is the Creator and ultimate Governor and Benefactor of the whole universe.

Rather, in our spiritual worldview, although God is there he is very far away. Between him and us as human beings lie two layers in the spirit world. One is that of angels and demons (i.e. bad angels) and the other—which is even closer to us—is that of the spirits of the departed.

So, although God is a benevolent, loving, and caring Being, unless the beings that dwell in these two layers that lie between him and us are appeased, his blessings cannot reach us. It is, therefore, important to appease the ancestral spirits and defeat the demons. Only after that will God’s blessings come upon us.

This is where in African traditional religions witchdoctors come in. They are the people with the mysterious power to break through these two layers. They tell us what we must do in order to appease the spirits of our forefathers. They also engage the demons for us through their midnight trances, dances, and incense.

So, a person who is beset with perennial illnesses, failing to get a job, failing to find a spouse or to have children, whose business is failing to thrive, etc., simply goes to the witchdoctor who alone has the key to look into the spirit world. He is told that it is either a deceased person or an evil spirit who is frustrating him.

Sometimes the enemy is a person who is alive. However, the reason why this living individual seems to have a mysterious hold over your life is because he has plugged into those two layers (of either dead ancestors or evil spirits) and you have not. With the help of a powerful witchdoctor you can outsmart him in those two layers, and the blessings of God can once again begin to flow into your life.

Whichever way, the power of the witchdoctor is not in explaining truth but in mindless frenzy. His grip upon the popular mind is his eerie mysteriousness and his capacity to knock you out of your senses and then pronounce you delivered. Of course, this is never done by benevolence. You pay for his services.

The Charismatic Movement’s Rendition

I do not mean to be unkind, but what the modern Charismatic movement in Africa has done is to simply take this entire erroneous superstructure of African religious worldview and baptise it with wrongly applied Bible verses and Christian language. The only difference is that the layer of dead ancestors and evil spirits is now one hotchpotch of confusion. This is why the nonsense of demons becoming spirit husbands and wives, and wrecking havoc in marriages, is taken for granted! This is also why the heresy of generation curses has become so popular. In our minds, bad luck can be passed on from that layer of dead ancestors.

In the African Charismatic circles, the “man of God” has replaced the witchdoctor. He is the one who oozes with mysterious power that enables him to break through those two impregnable layers, which us lesser mortals cannot penetrate. So, when blessings are not flowing our way despite our prayers, we make a beeline to his quarters or his church for help. This explains the throngs in these circles. The crowds are not looking for someone to explain to them the way to find pardon with God. No! They want the“man of God” to pray for them.

This also explains the stranglehold that “men of God” have on the minds of their devotees in these circles. In the Evangelicalism of a former generation “men of God” were primarily preachers of the word of God, but in the new setup they are primarily priests who enter the inner sanctuaries to bring down blessings to us.

This also explains why the answer to almost any problem that you take to these “men of God” is “deliverance” and“breakthrough”. God wants to bless you, but you need to break through these impregnable layers before those blessings can reach you. The prayers of the “man of God” will bring deliverance because at the overnight prayer meeting or on the hill he will bring about a breakthrough. Who can doubt that these two phrases have become the key words of this movement?

This also explains why prayer in the modern Charismatic movement in Africa is literally a fight. In fact, the people praying are called “prayer warriors”. Although they begin by addressing God, within the first few seconds they divert from God and begin to fight the spirits in these impregnable layers with their bare knuckles. The language is almost always, “We bind every unclean spirit in Jesus’ name! We loose the Spirit that breaks the yoke in Jesus’ name!”

The “prayer warriors” scream at the top of their voices and chant the name of Jesus. They sweat as they put up a gallant fight with these spirits, straining every muscle of their beings until they prevail (so they think). That is when they reach through to God and his blessings begin to flow. This is nothing more than the African traditional religious worldview sprinkled with a thin layer of Christianity.

Notice also how teaching is not the strength of the modern Charismatic movement in Africa. Its chief proponents survive on a few, well-worn, tortured verses: “By his stripes we are healed,” “We are not the tail but the head,” etc. There is absolutely no effort to properly exegete Scripture. Rather, by chanting phrases and making people drop under some trance, in witchdoctor fashion, they are holding sway over the popular mind. The people love it and are paying for it! The “men of God” are becoming stinking rich as the crowds just keep on coming.

This is not Christianity

What worries me is that this is so obvious that I am wondering why we are not seeing this. Or if we are, why we are not warning Christians against this. For the love of crowds, we have allowed African traditional religion to enter the church through the back door. Like the Arabian camel, it has since kicked out the truth. This is why I am not excited by the multiplication of churches—or ministries—under this banner.

We need to sound the warning that this is not Christianity. I know that this approach is filling our church buildings and classrooms to overflowing, until we have to multiply church services in order to accommodate the crowds. But this is not Christianity. It does not lead to heaven. It is a thin coating over the religion that has been on African soil for time immemorial, which Christianity was meant to replace. We have lost the Christian faith while we are holding the Bible in our hands and using some of its words. This is really sad.

The religion of the Bible does not teach a God who is so far away from us that unless some powerful humans come in and give us a breakthrough he cannot bless us. No! The Bible teaches a God who is near us. The only barrier between God and us is our sin, and Jesus has dealt with that by his death on the cross.

When we pray, we are in the throne room of divine grace talking directly to God. We do not need to address demons and ancestral spirits before we break through to him. We do not need to chant and jump around like witchdoctors around their fire under the midnight moonlight. God is our heavenly Father. Only our sin can hinder our prayers.

Listen! Angels and demons exist, but they are not an impregnable spiritual strata that needs someone reeking with anointing to breakthrough their layer before we can access God’s blessing. They are simply beings that either carry out God’s commands or the devil’s commands. They are not between God and us!

Finally, we do not need “men of God” to lay hands on us every Sunday (or at Friday overnight prayer meetings, or on hills in the outskirts of our cities) in order for us to know God’s blessings. There is only one Mediator between God and us—it is the man, Christ Jesus. All others are imposters and must be rejected with the contempt they deserve.

[Included afterwards: Many individuals and organisations that run websites and blogs have asked me for permission to repost this article. Permission is granted, as long as due acknowledgement is made of the author and original blog post. Thank you for your interest in getting the word out!]

Posted by Conrad Mbewe at 6:11 PM

Original Link – http://www.conradmbewe.com/2013/07/why-is-charismatic-movement-thriving-in.html

The Mandelas, the ancestors and a nation going to Hell

Today is twenty-seven days since the ex-president Mr Nelson Mandela was admitted to the Medi-Clinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria on June 8, 2013. Over this period of time many news reports have been published in the local and international news-media, dealing with a wide range of issues, as the elder statesman lies in a critical condition. Sadly, whilst Nelson Mandela lies incapacitated there has been much contradictory reporting dealing with the absurd and heinous situations surrounding the exhuming and reburial of three predeceased children of Mandela, where their remains were previously removed without family consultation by Madiba’s grandson Mandla Mandela from the family gravesite at Qunu to the birthplace of his grandfather in Mvezo. The whole charade that is unfolding at this time, has become a family  feud that played out in a court in Mthatha, Eastern Cape and came to a conclusion where the remains were exhumed yesterday and will be reburied today.

Here are some of the press reports that make some wicked reading when one aligns them against the Holy Word of God.

The folly of all this is what has taken place over this period of time that goes against the commandments of God Almighty, when men have rather preceded with their traditions, customs and man made commandments that make the Word of God of none effect (see Mark 7:13), which includes the following, inter alia:

Consultations and pleadings by Mandela-clan elders with their ancestors. The One True God of Creation commands that no one is to be a necromancer, i.e. one who is a person that consults with and speaks to the dead (see Deuteronomy 18:11). We hear from God’s Word that,

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

God and ancestral worship, the Holy and the profane, respectively, do not mix – God has not given man a command to speak to ancestors. In fact he forbids speaking to the dead.

There have been inter-faith gatherings praying to millions of different gods in and through their religious beliefs and faiths, when God says you shall have no other gods before Me (see Exodus 20:3), you shall only worship Him in spirit and truth (see John 4:24) and in His way as he gives commandment throughout the Holy Scriptures. We have heard and seen on the news broadcasts and we have read in the newspapers that all these inter-faith religions – which incidentally is the ecumenical system of the Devil that is progressively ushering in the “One World Order” – are to come together and pray for Madiba’s health and recovery. From politicians to the men, women and children on the street, all have been praying and calling upon God, but sadly if you do not call upon Him in the name of His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (The Word), God manifest in flesh (John 1:1,2,14; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 John 5:7),

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

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

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

then you are calling upon a false god. God turns away from listening to the prayers of the heathen unbelieving sinner.

Politicians and faith leaders have been encouraging the inter-faith prayer sessions contrary to what God’s Word says. The Lord Jesus Christ says, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6). And in John 8:24 the Lord Jesus Christ says, I said therefore unto you that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins. Prayers are being made to false gods and people do not even realise that they are condemned already because they have not believed on the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18), hence prayer is not made to the One and Only True God – Adonai! – but to evil spirits and wicked devils! The Lord Jesus Christ said, Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch. (Matthew 15:14). That means the blind leaders are leading the blind “believers” straight to Hell. The Lord Jesus Christ also warns about many that are going straight to Hell (and ultimately will end up in the lake of fire – see Revelation 20:14,15) , as we read in Matthew 7:13-29 ~

Mat 7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Mat 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

Mat 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

All we seem to hear at this time is how the comrade, the world icon has been a ‘blessing and inspiration’ to this nation and the international community at large. People have idolised Nelson Mandela and even at this critical time as eternity draws ever nearer the people groups continue to idolise him and worship the man, placing him on a pedestal, telling the youngsters of today to learn from him and be like him. Please do not aspire to be like Nelson Mandela or any man or woman for that matter. Satan the Devil is deceiving all those that will believe his lies. The following is what has been advocated by Nelson Mandela during his lifetime as historical evidence declares these things to be true. The proof is here for all to see:

• Abortions. Choice of Termination of Pregnancy Act, No. 92 of 1996 violates the unborn child’s right to life as contained in the the Bill of Rights in Chapter 2, section 11 of the constitution. God says in Psalm 127:3  Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
• The rights of Cultural, Religious [and linguistic] communities in terms of section 31 of the Bill of Rights which is enshrined in Chapter 2 of The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, No. 108 of 1996 – signed into law by the President Mr Nelson Mandela (Pres. of R.S.A. 1994-1999), the date of promulgation being 18th December 1996 – gives citizens cultural and religious rights whereby you can pray and speak to ancestors (a cultural right) and worship Satan (a religious right) which are BOTH forbidden by GOD ALMIGHTY! You can see the ungodly practices that are given to the citizens of South Africa and then you can understand that the end-part to the Preamble of the aforementioned constitution is blasphemy against a Holy God, which reads, quote:

  “May God protect our people. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso. God seën Suid-Afrika. God bless South Africa. Mudzimu fhatutshedza Afurika. Hosi katekisa Afrika.”

• Nelson Mandela was also the co-founder of the militant unit Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961 (source: Wikipedia) and was listed as a Terrorist by the CIA as recently as 2008. U.S. has Mandela on terrorist list. (USA Today quoted: “Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, is pushing a bill that would remove current and former ANC leaders from the watch lists. Supporters hope to get it passed before Mandela’s 90th birthday July 18.”) This is what The New York Times had to say about this.

This is the reason why I would not want my children or grandchildren, and for that matter no-one elses, to aspire after Mr Nelson Mandela. It is an abomination in the sight of a Holy God to be an abortionist, and an idolatrise terrorist. Add to the above list homosexuality which is now also safeguarded by the Civil Union Act, No. 17 of 2006 (SA legalises gay marriage).

When the time comes for God Almighty to take Nelson Mandela into eternity he will not be in “heaven looking for the ANC party.” To quote Makaziwe from The Witness newspaper dated June 28, 2013, Madiba’s daughter said “her father had been unequivocal. He had repeatedly said that when he died he would look for the ANC branch in heaven and join it.” That is tantamount to blasphemy for true-believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will be worshipping before the Lamb, before the Throne of God Almighty. No man-made system, political party or ideology is found in Heaven. They are all found in Hell and will be cast into the lake of fire at Judgment Day, which is the second death (see Revelation 20:14).

O, I fear for the soul of South Africa’s ex-president Mr Nelson Mandela. I fear for the souls of his family and their ancestral worshipping clan. I fear for the souls of the idol worshipping nation that in idolatry worship at the altars of customs and traditions, religions and false gods, sports and recreation, politics and ideologies, education and careers, material wealth and possessions, and also the millions of “selfies” – those who love themselves in self-righteousness and their very lives revolve around, “Me, Myself, and I!” To put it in the eloquent words of Leonard Ravenhill: “Entertainment is the Devil’s substitute for joy.” Joy can only come through knowing the One True God, being redeemed of His Son Jesus Christ and being born-again of the Holy Spirit of God.

The indictment is clear from the Holy Scriptures in Romans 1:16-32 ~

Rom 1:16 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.

Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Rom 1:20 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:

Rom 1:21 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.

Rom 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Rom 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Rom 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

Rom 1:30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Rom 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

If this government and nation were truly God-fearing they would live lives holy and pleasing before their Creator God. But this is contrary to what we see and experience in this land. This nation only calls upon “GOD” when they are experiencing great difficulties, or when a loved one is near death, or themselves, but why do you not live in the fear of a Holy God and keep His commandments during your every day lives? For you fear not the One and Only True and Great I AM THAT I AM GOD. The name “God” is used so flippantly and with such blasphemous contempt in the workplace, in schools, at pleasure and in the entertainment industry, and most definitely in false religious worship.

Today, is the day that you should repent towards the One True God, and have your faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. This is surely your only hope to escape the second death of eternity in the lake of fire. Do not let God’s patience with wicked and evil people run out, when HE decides enough is enough! You will be in anguish being in torment in the flames. God Almighty is a consuming fire. Almighty God speaketh from Heaven this day through His Word:

Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Heb 12:3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Heb 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Heb 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Heb 12:12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;

Heb 12:13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

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

Heb 12:17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,

Heb 12:19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:

Heb 12:20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:

Heb 12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)

Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,

Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Heb 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:

Heb 12:26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.

Heb 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

Heb 12:28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.

The Lord Jesus Christ awaits you to call on Him in faith. God is merciful. This is your only hope to escape eternal damnation. If God is speaing to you today, it is a good time to examine yourself by visiting www.NeedGod.com. But most of all pick up the King James Bible and read the True Word of God!

UKUPENDUKA iSouth Afrika!

SOLI DEO GLORIA – I believe this is all in the Divine and Sovereign will of Almighty God – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, I AM THAT I AM (see Exodus 3:14).

Nelson Mandela and the Iconic man

It is with a grieved heart that we pen this article. It is day seventeen (17) since June 8, 2013, when ex-president of the Republic of South Africa Mr. Nelson Mandela was admitted to Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria for a recurring lung infection. The medical prognosis does not look good at all, in fact it looks very bleak even with all the professional medical practitioners at hand, whilst the presidential administration has also given us news that ‘Madiba’ now finds himself in a critical condition. An article that appeared in The Witness newspaper today reads: “Zuma: Madiba’s condition is critical”. Other press reports: “Zuma: Mandela remains in a critical condition” and “Presidency: Mandela in critical condition“.

Whilst the South African President Mr Jacob Zuma has called on the local and international communities to pray for Mandela, which we would understand that in this request it is for a “healthy recovery,” the question arises: How is that going to help? We need to see what God says about this!

Firstly, the tens of thousands upon thousands of religious groups, sects, cults, organisations, et al, do not all pray to the same God – NO! Not at all! This is confirmed and reflected in each of their religious practices, belief systems, ideologies and faiths that the gods of religion, to which the world over are requested to pray to, are not the One True God of Creation. ALMIGHTY GOD, YHVH, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Israel) is not the One True God that all will be praying to!

We also read of the One True God in Exodus 3:6; 6:2,3; as follows:

Exodus 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

Exodus 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:

Exodus 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.

This is where the problem lies. God gave commandment that His creation should have no other gods before Him and that they are not to make any graven image in the likeness of things in the heaven, of things on the earth and of things under the earth, and they are not to worship and bow down to them – that would be gods in deity and idol form and image. This is the case throughout the world today with all these religious practices – idolatry prevails. It is also an abomination that not only will wicked and evil mankind adopt praying to these false gods thinking they are praying to the ecumenical ‘God’ – the TRUE God of Creation will not hear these blasphemous prayers, and in fact He will turn His ear from the babbling of the masses. Here is a clear indictment that God brings against His people when Israel did not want Him to rule them, but they wanted a king to rule them. In 1 Samuel 8:18 we read, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures which is God’s Word:

1 Samuel 8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.

This is sadly the case what we have today where governments rule through presidents, prime ministers, monarchs, emissaries and the like, governed by man made customs, traditions, commandments, laws, statutes, edicts, acts and decrees, instead of living and abiding in the Commandments and the Way of GOD ALMIGHTY! You see, be it an individual or a people group, hear the Word of God you stiff-necked generation:

Jeremiah 7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.

Jeremiah 11:14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

Do not be blaspheming GOD ALMIGHTY with your ecumenical debauchery, for HE will not hear your pleas in prayer. You have been warned! You have done ill in your doings in the sight of God. You think by your much speaking you will be heard. Oh foolish generation of vipers. Let HIM speak:

Micah 3:4 Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings.

Secondly, you the worldly enemies of God have made Nelson Mandela an idol, an icon that has been worshipped and raised upon a pedestal, you have bowed to him and worshipped and revered him as a god. GOD ALMIGHTY has this to say to your idolatrise behaviour that not only includes the person of Nelson Mandela, but the graven images made by men’s hands fashioned out of gold, silver, stone, wood, plastic and many other materials:

2 Kings 17:8 And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

2 Kings 17:9 And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city.

2 Kings 17:10 And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:

2 Kings 17:11 And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger:

2 Kings 17:12 For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.

2 Kings 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

2 Kings 17:14 Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God.

Thirdly, whilst prayer can be made to the One True God in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for physical healing, this can only be done through the One mediator who makes intercession between God and men by the man Christ Jesus, as we read:

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

If one does not believe in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God and God in human form, then you are condemned already as we read, as it is written in the Holy Scriptures:

John 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

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

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Our prayers are to be first and foremost for the saving of the soul of a person. If God so wishes to heal a person physically according to HIS will and purpose, so be it! All Glory belongs to GOD ALMIGHTY and physical healings is not something mere mortals can demand of God. Whilst God can heal as HE pleases, we should be praying for God to grant HIS grace and save a soul. That is the greatest miracle any person can receive is receiving eternal life. As the Apostle Paul was speaking about true believers in God, we read in Romans 14:7-9 the following:

Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Romans 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

Fourthly, if all religions, differ in their theology, customs, traditions and commandments, and have rejected GOD ALMIGHTY’s way which is bringing glory to and through HIS Son Jesus the Christ, be assured GOD ALMIGHTY does not hear your feeble attempts of trying to be heard with your much speech. In the end times, which we are clearly in, the ecumenism that prevails where all the man-made religious systems of the world that are controlled by the

MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. (Revelation 17:5)

the whore of Babylon the Roman Catholic ‘mother church’ can not reach God as it is idolatrise before GOD ALMIGHTY and HE will not hear you. This is what we see continually on the SABC news that the popish men of the cloth are pushing their agenda to no avail on their part. God will be glorified even in the destruction of wicked men, women and children for every knee should bow and every tongue should confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father:

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We, my brother Lungisa Zondi and myself (Eastern Cape Mission and South Africa: Hilary Clinton pops in for lunch), have on a few occasions tried to have an audience with Nelson Mandela to make sure he understands the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and to call him to repentance towards God and his faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, as we are still aware that he needs to repent for the ungodly laws that he promulgated as the then President of South Africa, which includes acts that allow abortion, homosexuality (same-sex marriages – The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa guarantees equal protection before the law to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation) and idolatry (religious freedom). Mr Mandela, true repentance will show a brokenness over one’s sins and a recanting of past abominations. These are three abominations that are leading citizens of South Africa straight to hell should they die before Judgment Day and ultimately into the lake of fire. You have been forewarned. Here is a further indictment against South Africa and the world community at large:

Isaiah 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

South Africa, Repent and Believe upon our Lord Jesus Christ – it is your only hope! Penduka!!

Answer to Blaque

Another comment that needs to be corrected appeared at “The Twelve Apostles’ Church in Christ HERESIES” (please read first) posted on August 15, 2012. The following comment from Blaque was received on June 16, 2013, quote:

“People like this Gary guy annoy me. I’m sure they are the ones that hate the idea that Jesus was a Black man and a human being. Born again con artists! U clearly have a problem and u hate Nongqunga. If its not zcc or Shembe nw its Tacc. Please leave people alone. There are many other religions why not address them. U have issues with anythng that has to with black people especialy if respects and acknowledges ancestors. Hayi Gary leave us alone with your “interpretation”.”

Repent and Believe South Africa ministries respond as follows:

Dear Blaque

Thank you for this comment. It is a shame that you are annoyed by the Truth that is being proclaimed! It is also clear that you do not believe the Truth and it would appear that you have never read the Bible for yourself. This is the problem that arises when you trust in a false apostle to interpret the Scriptures on your behalf. Have you never read John 4:22 ~

John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

The Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer is a Jew of the nation of Israel (Jacob). He is not a “Black man” as you allude. Many people have even foolishly referred to Him as being “African,” for that is where generally “Black men” come from, right? But they have failed to believe what God speaks of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth (in Galilee). Let us see the prophetic Word of God and their fulfilments. Jesus the Christ (Messiah) would be of the seed of Abraham, through Isaac and then Jacob (Israel) as we read in Genesis 12:3; 28:13,14

Genesis 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Genesis 28:13 And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

Genesis 28:14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

We also read that the Lord Jesus Christ is from the tribe of Judah as it is written in Genesis 49:10 ~

Genesis 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

The Lord Jesus Christ would also be Heir to the throne of David as prophesied in Isaiah 9:6,7 ~

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

And He would be born in Bethlehem as it is written in Micah 5:2 and Matthew 2:1,6 ~

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

All of the preceding references are encapsulated in the Scriptures John 7:41-43, as it is written ~

John 7:41 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?

John 7:42 Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

John 7:43 So there was a division among the people because of him.

So the facts are – the Lord Jesus Christ is a Jew of Israel, a middle eastern people of origin.

Further, please understand that we do not hate Nongqunga! We do not hate our fellow man! We do however hate the evil false heretical teachings that he is involved in where millions of people are being deceived. The initial blog post that you have commented at would not have been necessary if the heresies were not publicly declared by the TACC and therefore we had to bring a public correction. This also goes for any other religious system, sect, or church that declares false teachings, of which we have previously addressed here on this blog under numerous postings and we will continue to declare the Truth without fear, favour or prejudice.

It would also be appreciated if you would refrain from your playing the racism-card. This has absolutely nothing to do with whether the man is black, green or white. Please also note that we do remember our ancestors, but God forbids speaking to, praying to and worshipping our ancestors. There is where the issue lies! An example is: My mother passed away on 29th February 2012. I do fondly remember her, and even think about the things she did for me and how we related to one another during her life-time, BUT I WILL NEVER now attempt to talk to her in her death, pray to her in her death or worship her in her death! Nor would I try to use her as a mediator between God Almighty and me! For here is what God’s Word says ~

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Deuteronomy 18:9 When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

Deuteronomy 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,

Deuteronomy 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

A necromancer (see definition below at the foot hereof) is a consulter with the dead.

To end off with your last statement – “Hayi Gary leave us alone with your “interpretation”.” It is so difficult to just let falsehood go unchallenged. Reading your statement made me immediately think of a secular song by Pink Floyd titled “Another brick in the wall,” which lyrics go like this:

We don’t need no education;

We don’t need no thought control.

The dark sarcasm in the classroom;

HEY! Teacher! Leave us kids alone.

All-in-all it’s just a ‘nother brick in the wall.

All-in-all it’s just a ‘nother brick in the wall.

That is exactly it – mind control! People don’t want the TRUTH, so they would rather believe lies! Yeah, that is the work of the Devil!

Please repent, sir. Ukupenduka!

___________________________

nec·ro·man·cy (nkr-mns)

n.

1. The practice of supposedly communicating with the spirits of the dead in order to predict the future.

2. Black magic; sorcery.

3. Magic qualities.

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[Alteration of Middle English nigromancie, from Old French nigremancie, from Medieval Latin nigromantia, alteration (influenced by Latin niger, black) of Late Latin necromantia, from Greek nekromanteia : nekros, corpse; see nek-¹ in Indo-European roots + manteia, divination; see -mancy.]

---

necro·mancer n.

necro·mantic (-mntk) adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Answer to Relebohile

Here is yet another comment received on June 1, 2013 that needs to be addressed by the Repent and Believe South Africa ministries. This comment is in response to a blog posting titled “The Twelve Apostles’ Church in Christ HERESIES”  (please read first) that appeared on August 15, 2012.

Relebohile commented, quote:

“I wonder Gary if u think u wil c de kingdom of God while u r still in hatred with the Apostles, bcos wat u wrote here can jst tell d hatred dat u hv against the church or the leader of the church, read Jhn 3: 13-16. my qn is: do u really think dat u were gonna accept Christ if he was to cum 2u now, b careful dat u were jst gonna do de same things dat believers of his times did (read dis nd see if u r not thinking in d same way as dem, Jhn 7:27). Jst to let u knw dat de Apostles r going no where anytime sooner, read Jhn 17 de whole of it but plz read Jhn 17:20 twice, den Mthw 10:40; Acts 8:17-19; Mthw 28:18; Mthw 10:18-22 nd read wth understanding my dear brada or sista. And Jst 2help u out, Jesus Christ said the WILL of God is to believe the ONE He have sent (Jhn 6:29) not evn doz who knw the scriptures like u do my dear (Jhn 5:39). u can build ur church else where but if it is not on the rock foundation u will be jst lyk a some1 who didn’t build at all wen de rain cums (Mthw 7:24). TACC daz not preach hatred nd violence as u do, mayb if u can calm down nd giv dem a chance dey can teach u 1thing or 2, dey wil not judge u 4dey are givn d authority 2 4giv ur sins, instead dey wil giv u d love of God 4God nd Christ is only known by doz whom de son has chozn & revealed to dem, his disciples (Mthw 11:27)”

Repent and Believe South Africa responds as follows:

Dear Relebohile

Firstly, please note – It would be appreciated if you would write in eloquent English instead of the “electronic-media abbreviated speak” that can be misleading if someone doesn’t understand it. It would also help when someone wants to do a translation in “bing” or some other system, so it could help them to be a part of the conversation and understand what is being said. Otherwise, it looks just like gibberish!

I do not hate the true Apostles of the Holy Bible, nor do I hate the “false apostles” of the TACC. I however do wish that they will recant their false teachings and repent! Please understand, if any person says something that is contrary to what God’s Holy Word teaches, it needs to be examined in context. Pray to God and allow the Person of the Holy Spirit to teach you the Truth. Listen to how God brings an indictment against those that believe in “false apostles” even speaking through the true Apostle Paul who spoke to the ekklesia at Corinth as we read 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 ~

2 Corinthians 11:13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

From what you have said from your opening statement which reads “while u r still in hatred with the Apostles, bcos wat u wrote here can jst tell d hatred dat u hv against the church or the leader of the church, read Jhn 3: 13-16” it can be seen that you have misquoted Scripture just as the TACC members have wont to do to fit with their dogma. In your context you are making it known that “the Apostles” are in question here and you equate what has been written by me to be against “the church or the leader of the church.” The word “bcos” (because) links your accusation against the apostles with them being “the church  or the leader of the church.” When you go and read John 3:13-16 you will find that it does not speak of the apostles, as it is written:

John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

John 3:15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

You see the portion of Scripture that you refer to is actually the Lord Jesus Christ speaking about Himself, being the Son of man. How can you misuse a portion of Scripture so elementary as reading it in context and not realise that it does not speak of the apostles’ church or leadership?

Sir, you go on and quote Scriptures making reference to the whole of John 17, then John 17:20 (I am not sure of the spiritual aspect of reading it twice as you requested?), Matthew 10:40, Acts 8:17-19, Matthew 28:18 and Matthew 10:18-22. These particular Scriptures do not limit the text just to “apostles” as you want them to read and understand them to be. Let us look at some of the Scripture portions you refer to with  a proper explanation ~

• John 17 ~ This chapter can be divided into three sections: 1. Christ prays for Himself (verses 1-5); 2. Christ prays for His disciples (verses 6-19); and 3. Christ prays for all believers (verses 20-26). There is no limitation. You read from the Holy Scriptures who the Lord Jesus Christ is praying for in context.
• John 17:20 ~ In context you can read and understand who the Lord Jesus Christ was addressing here. They are would be believers who would come to believe through the preaching of the disciples. Go to John 17: 18,19 which reads ~ “18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” In verse 20 the portion of text that says “Neither pray I for them alone,” makes reference to the commissioned disciples in the preceding verses to which the Lord Jesus Christ prayed for as He confirms that they “shall believe on me [Jesus] through their word [disciples];” [my emphasis and hereafter]. Cross reference the preceding sentence with the Holy Writ found in Acts 8:1 and 4 which read as follows ~ 1 And Saul [Paul] was consenting unto his death [Stephen]. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. 4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” You see disciples were commissioned and it is not only given to “apostles” as you allude to. That is the whole dogma of the TACC that only “living apostles” can lay hands and impart the Holy Spirit, and read and interpret the Scriptures.
• Matthew 10:40 ~ This text does not speak about “apostles.” It is referring to all disciples, believers upon the Lord Jesus Christ. To get context go back to Matthew 10:37 ~ “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” And cross reference in context with Luke 14:26 ~ “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Context is so important. Do not use verses in isolation.
• Acts 8:17-19 ~ You have not considered this portion of Scripture carefully. I agree that the first Apostles of the first century did lay their hands on people who received the Holy Spirit. This was attesting signs by the Apostles to confirm the Gospel. This is not the only way that the Holy Spirit was given. At Pentecost we read where no hands were laid on the disciples by “apostles” as we read in Acts 2:1-4 ~ 1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” Then we also read in Act 2:38 ~ “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”  In Act 4:31 ~ “And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” In Act 10:44 ~ “While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.” In Act 11:15 ~ “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” In Act 19:6 ~ “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” But here is how you get the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ tells us in Luke 11:13 ~ “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” You do not need a “living apostle” to lay hands on a person to receive the Holy Spirit as the TACC teaches in its dogma. That is why this is a TACC HERESIE!

There is sufficient evidence already presented from the Holy Word of God for us to discontinue with the exegesis of the other remaining Scriptures you mention. It only takes 0.01% untruth to corrupt the remaining 99.99%. TRUTH is 100% in the One True God Jesus Christ!

And to correct you sir, I certainly do not want to build a church in my name or any other name. The Lord Jesus Christ is Head and Builder of His Church. Man has made a churchianity system and put it in place calling it god (idolatry). How can you go to something which you are? Go figure!

If you have taken my love for hatred then you are deceived. Please read Isaiah 5:20,21 very carefully ~

Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

Isaiah 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

Please Repent sir, Ukupenduka!