The statement of faith expressed here is based on an understanding that the Scriptures, both prophetically and redemptively were fulfilled in their entirety in the person and work (the death and resurrection, and His coming in judgment) of Jesus Christ. The material and studies on this site emphasize this message of fulfilled prophecy and fulfilled grace and can also be described as realized eschatology and realized redemption – the two together form the Good News this world yearns for. This Gospel has trans-formative power and benefits for today in shaping a positive future for tomorrows generations in our world.
Ephesians 3 King James Version (KJV)
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
There is One God who has revealed Himself in Three Divine Persons; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit
The Bible, originally written in the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages, is made up of sixty-six books, which make up both the Old and New Testaments, and is God’s inspired and absolute authoritative written revelation of himself and his accomplished redemption and saving power in Christ for all mankind.
The purpose of the Bible is to show the complete inability of humanity and the individual to secure their eternity and position with God, and reveal God’s complete forgiveness and redemption for each person through the faith, death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach) was born of the Virgin Mary, died for the sin of the world, and was raised from the dead as the first fruit of all the other dead, all of whom rose from the realm of the dead (Sheol, Hades) at the time of the Parousia, the coming of Christ between 67-70 A.D.
During the time of that generation of the first century when most of His original disciples were still alive, at His Parousia, Christ came back from heaven to raise the dead, and transform those who were still alive. All those people from both groups each individually received their immortal body met the Lord in the air (the first century rapture), after which He took them back to heaven to remain in the presence of Christ forever. Though this event occurred in an instant moment it, is likely to have occurred early on at the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem between 67-70 AD.
The Old Testament is God’s inspired account of his covenants with his people. The most obvious covenants in the Old Testament are: The Adamic Covenant, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic, the Sinaitic Covenant, and the Davidic Covenant. The New Testament is God’s inspired account of how the New Covenant was founded and previous five Old Testament Covenants were fulfilled in the New Covenant. The New Covenant begins with Christ’s death on the cross and will last forever.
The Old Sinaitic Covenant had 613 commandments. The New Covenant has only the one new commandment that Jesus gave, which is to love one another, just as He loved us.
The law of Moses was the rule system of the Sinaitic covenant, which provided the means to obtain conditional benefits known as blessings and instruction for atonement sacrifices, the Levitical Priesthood and annual feasts. Although there are five Old Testament covenants, the New Testament only refers to the Sinaitic Covenant as the “Old Covenant”. Through his cross and resurrection, Christ founded the Eternal New Covenant. After His ascension, the New Covenant and the Old Covenant run side by side for only another approximate 40 years. At the coming of Christ between 67-70 AD, the judgment came to the house of God, the temple in Jerusalem, and the Old Covenant with its Law of Moses was forever abolished, which confirmed the New Covenant in Christ fully, as the only medium for the reconciliation and union of the humanity with God.
There is only one universal and eternal body of Christ of redeemed people, both visible on earth and invisible in heaven, including believers and unbelievers living on earth. Therefore, the true church is a spiritual organism and not a physical organization. Those who have become believers on earth have responded to their call and the need to organize together locally to worship God together and be mutually encouraged in their faith. Doing so can tremendously enrich the believers life and establish them for what God can do through their life of service. In this way a local church group can become a powerful life-giving influence in their region and to the people they reach with their ministry. This concept of ministry is not the reaching out to eternally lost people, because everyone was redeemed, but those who are still unaware of their redemption in Christ.
Although Christ has redeemed all and Christ lives in all, a person who has come to believe is much more of a willing candidate to receive the baptism (influence and empowerment) with the Holy Spirit, with the sign of speaking in tongues and the manifestation of spiritual gifts. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is therefore an experience that is usually followed after a person has come to believe the reality of their redemption in Christ.
All Biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit are accessible to everyone today. Some unbelievers may unwittingly express some of the gifts of the Spirit but the manifestation is likely to be tainted and misinterpreted through the individuals un-scriptural and personal assumptions. Anyone yielding to the Holy Spirit will ultimately be led to the revelation of Christ as their redeemer. A person who expresses their faith in Christ and their salvation through Him is a more likely candidate to experience the baptism with the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The manifestation of the gifts are very much determined by the person’s own faithful participation in love, wisdom and faith as well as the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately it is the goal of the Holy Spirit to help people and reveal the love God has for them through Christ.
We have the same hope and confident expectation of the faithful believers of all time that at the end of our lives on earth, when we leave our physical body here, we will immediately be clothed with our immortal body and live forever in heaven in the presence of our glorious Savior Jesus Christ.
