Tuesday, January 31, 2012

What is the Little Scroll in Revelation

In the course of writing about Revelation on my blog endtimesstudies.blogspot.com, I spoke of how the scroll, that has the seven seals that Christ breaks, represents the mortgage on planet earth. To be redeemed, it required that there be a kinsman redeemer who could claim the right to break the seals, and that the price needed to pay it off be met, before the seals could be broken. These seals would outline the conditions that had to be carried out for the mortgage to revert to its original owner. That is what these seven seals represent, the conditions that God agreed to give Satan in order to get the planet back. God could just take it back, but He does all things in a fair, just, and legal way. The price due for having lost the planet (Adam forfeited the planet by sin, and sin was paid for by death) was paid when a kinsman (Jesus became a man and thereby our kinsman) redeemed it through paying the price (his death on the cross, the death of a perfect, sinless man whose life was not owed to Satan, but given anyhow). Thus it allowed Him the right to break the seals, as according to the Torah or Law, only a kinsman who can pay the price has the right to fulfill the conditions of a mortgage agreement . These seals (in Bible times on each seal of a mortgage scroll a condition of redemption was written) then must be carried out in completion before the property (in this case earth) actually reverts back to total control of the original owner by completing the transaction. This is why antichrist gets to reign until the entire forty-two months are up, and it is not declared that the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord until that point.(Rev. 12:15). As there are seven seals, and the seventh seal contains the six trumpet judgments, these are the conditions that must be met for Christ to again reign as King of Kings and ruler of planet earth. After they are finished, the planet officially becomes Christ's and He is the ruler and can do what He wants with it, which is why God's wrath (7th trumpet) is held off until then, even though He could technically do it anytime He wants.

What has always puzzled people is the second smaller scroll that we find in Chapter 10. It seems obvious that part of what is contained in it are the vial/bowl judgments of God's wrath, but why John was supposed to seal up what he hears and not write it down was a mystery. It comes 1)after the sixth trumpet is over, 2)as the last or seventh trumpet is about to be sounded, and 3)after the two witnesses have finished their witnessing and are resurrected. From my study I have shown that the rapture (Revelation 14) occurs at the last trumpet just before God's wrath (vial/bowl judgments) is poured out. It is at this time that the marriage of the Lamb will be occurring.(Revelation 19). It suddenly dawned on me that this must be the ketubah that Christ reads at the time of the marriage ceremony between Him and the Church as the timing is exactly the same. Naturally the bride should not hear the ketubah read before the wedding, so that is why it is necessary to seal it up. We are not to know the entire contents, although the wrath of God must be part of it, and we are told about that.

A ketubah is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement that goes back to ancient times. It is considered an integral part of traditional Jewish marriages and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom toward the bride. It is usually read at the marriage ceremony under a chuppah (the canopy under which the bride and groom stand). It requires that two witnesses who are qualified to be witnesses by Jewish law and are not relatives of the bride, sign it.

As the rapture, the resurrection of the two witnesses, and the marriage ceremony will occur at the time of the beginning of the 7th trumpet, it would appear that this scroll from Chapter 10 is the ketubah.

The ketubah is supposed to be the groom's responsibilities toward the bride. Were we not promised that God will avenge us? Romans 12:19 "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." Notice that he says we should give way for His wrath. His wrath, the Day of the Lord wrath, will be our vengeance. We have been promised that all that we have suffered at the hands of the wicked will be repaid back upon their heads. This document which must partially outline God's wrath is exactly what we have been promised as part of our marriage contract - vengeance, just as the martyrs of the 5th seal had been asking for vengeance. The two witnesses are resurrected after spending three and a half years proving their worthiness to be proper witnesses according to the Law, and they are not related to the Bride of Christ, as we are told that at least one of them is Elijah or comes in the spirit of Elijah. These two witnesses are special people (either people who have existed before i.e. Enoch, Elijah, or Moses, or someone new) chosen for this mission. They are not a part of the Church. Christ reads this scroll under the canopy or chuppah of the sky – clouds and rainbow, which is God's canopy, while He plants His feet on both land and sea, claiming what is now rightfully His as King of Kings by having all of the conditions of the mortgage met. This land is now most likely part of our wedding gift, or the bride price part of the ketubah, as it is given back to mankind again.

This being a ketubah makes perfect sense, as the timing of the two witnesses, the rapture, the marriage ceremony, and God's wrath commencing, all occur at the time (after the sixth trumpet) when Christ plants his feet and claims the earth again. Jewish customs and traditions seem to be a pattern which we need to reference to understand these end times events. The Second Coming will occur at the time of the fall feasts and the Feast of Tabernacles has a tradition about a marriage. The seven days of marriage feasting will be fulfilled during the seven days of this Feast of Tabernacles. Then at the end of God's wrath we will accompany our Groom down to Armageddon.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Are the Jehovah's Witnesses a Cult or a Christian Denomination?

Are Jehovah's Witnesses truly a Christian denomination or are they a Cult?

Before discussing whether or not Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult, we should see if their teachings are truly Scriptural or not. The following are just some of their beliefs along with the source where they can be found and the Scriptures refuting it.

    1. There is one God in one person, Make Sure of All Things, p 188. 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.” Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” God is not a single entity. He lets that be known right at the beginning in Genesis.

    2. There is no Trinity, Let God be True, 2nd Ed., pp. 100-101; 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.”Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” Again, God is not a single entity. These verses tell us how many there are in the Godhead, three.

    3. The Holy Spirit is God's impersonal force, not alive, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985, pp. 406-407. The Watchtower, June 1, 1952, p. 24. A force is not able to act as a person, but the Holy Spirit does many things that only a person can do. He bears witness. Romans 8:16 “The spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” He teaches. John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” 1 Corinthians 2:13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” He can be lied to. Acts 5:3 “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost.” He can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the Holy spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” He can be blasphemed. Mark 3:29 “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.” He guides. John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He speaks. Acts 10:19 “While Peter thought on the vision , the spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.” Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work thereunto I have called them.” He makes decisions for us. Acts 16:6 “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia.” He comforts. John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:” These things cannot be done by a force, they can only be done by a person. Jesus referred to the Spirit as a person, and He should know.

    4. Jehovah's first creation was his “only begotten Son”. Aid to Bible Understanding, p. 390-391. 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.” Christ is from everlasting, in other words, from eternity, not created. As already shown, the Trinity exists as one, so Christ would exist as long as God has, which is from eternity.

    5. Jesus was Michael the archangel who became a man, The Watchtower, May 15, 1963, p. 307. Jesus was not created; Michael was. Michael is still Michael. Revelation 12:7 “ And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.” This passage in Revelation is speaking of the time of the end, when Satan will be thrown out of heaven down to earth to wreak havoc through the antichrist. There is a passage in the Old Testament that refers to the same event. It is well known to be the time of Jacob's trouble, the 70th week of Daniel yet to come. Jesus can't be both Jesus the Lamb in Revelation as well as Michael. Daniel 12:1-2 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

    6. Jesus was only a perfect man, not God in flesh, Reasoning from the Scriptures, 1985. p. 306. 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.” Acts 20:28 “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Psalms 110:1 “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” The Lord Jehovah calls Yeshua “my Lord”. Hebrews 1:6,8 “And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him....But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” 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.” All of these verses indicate that Yeshua is indeed God. In fact Jehovah, the Father, tells the angels to worship Him, yet what has God commanded about having any other God but Him? Exodus 20:3,5 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” Why would God tell the angels to worship Yeshua when He has commanded that nobody but Himself be worshiped? It is because the Son and the Father are one entity, while being two different manifestations of that entity, the third manifestation being the Holy Spirit.

    7. Jesus did not rise from the dead in his physical body and not as a human but as a spirit. Awake! July 22, 19973, p.4. Let God Be True p. 276. 1 Corinthians 15:13-17, 35-44 “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins..... But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” These verses tell us that without a resurrection, then all our faith is in vain. Yeshua was resurrected, there were many witnesses to that fact. But as can be seen, the body with which we are resurrected is not the same exact type of body which we now have. That does not mean that it is not a physical body. Clearly it is a physical body as Thomas had to be convinced of that fact. He had the evidence of his own eyes and the actual touching of that body, while we have to take it on faith, but Yeshua said that we would be blessed for doing so. John 20:25-29 “The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” So the resurrected body is physical but has different properties and abilities. Yeshua Himself affirms that it is a flesh and blood body. Luke 21:39 “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet.” Yeshua could still eat. Matthew 26:29 “But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Luke 21:41-43 “And while they yet believed not for you, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them.” The new body will have unusual abilities. Luke 21:34,36-37 “And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.... And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.” The new body can appear and disappear from places at will. It is not restricted by the same laws of physics that we are, but it is still flesh and blood.

    8. Jesus began his invisible rule over the earth in 1914, The Truth Shall Make You Free, p. 300. There is nothing in Scripture to defend this position. This was a theory dreamed up by their founder when Yeshua did not return as prophesied by that leader. Yeshua's return will be visible and His reign will be very visible, after God's wrath is poured out on this world. Revelation 1:7 “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” So Yeshua's return is not invisible, regardless of who teaches this doctrine, and when they say it will occur. His reign will be from Jerusalem. Ezekiel 43:7-11 “And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them for ever. Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern. And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.” The last quarter of the book of Ezkiel is all about the millennial temple from where Yeshua will reign. His reign does not begin until that time. He must be crowned King of Kings first. Right now He is the priest interceding on our behalf. Zechariah 14:9 “And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.” There is absolutely no Scriptural justification for this belief that there is an invisible reign starting in of all years, 1914.

    9. The Jehovah's Witnesses are the self-proclaimed prophet of God. The Watchtowner, April 1, 1972, p. 197. The operative word here is self-proclaimed. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that God will choose a particular group of people that will be His prophets. And yet they do not really believe they are all prophets, as they only look to the “prophecies” of their leaders. The rest only follow the instructions of these “prophets”. The gift of prophecy is given to individuals for the edification of the church they are in. 1 Corinthians 12:13-14,28 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.....And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.” No organization is to act as a “prophet” of God. Prophecy is an individual gift to be used by an individual for the edification of the church, and then it must be held up to scrutiny to see if it is in line with Scripture and comes true. The problem with the JW's prophecies and prophets are that the prophecies have all proven to be false. Therefore their prophet is false. If one wants to see all their false prophecies, one only need google, “False prophecies of the Jehovah's Witnesses.” One is that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would return in 1925 and live in California. Obviously that has not happened. There are a multitude of such bizarre and erroneous prophecies. One has to wonder why anyone would think these three patriarchs would rather live in CA than in Jerusalem near the temple. Really? JW's have no claim at all to being God's prophets, and the fact that their theology is so erroneous would prevent them from being chosen, should God want to choose a people to do this.

    10. They claim to be the only conduit of God's truth. The Watchtower, April 1, 1981, p. 19. Considering that almost every belief they teach is easily refuted by the Scriptures, it is easy to see they are not a channel of God's truth at all. In fact they are the exact opposite. They lead people away from the truth of God.

    11. Only their church members will be saved, The Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1979, p. 30. 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,” teaches us that anyone who wants to can come to God. When they do they become the body of Christ. This is not restricted to a church or denomination. All who will may come. Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This claim is made by Catholics, and some Baptists churches too. God does not seem to agree if His Word is to be believed. Also there is nothing in Scripture that teaches membership is a prerequisite to being saved. All three of these churches teach this with absolutely no Scriptural foundation at all. Romans 10:9-13 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Clearly it is not taught that you should confess, believe, and join a particular church.

    12. The soul ceases to exist after death. “Let God be True. p.59-60,67. 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Being absent from the body means to be present with the Lord for a believer. We find that verified in Revelation 6:9-11 “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” This is before the resurrection, and these souls, are seen under the altar being very much aware of their surroundings and circumstances. They have not ceased to exist. In Hebrews 12:1 we are told, “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.” In Chapter 11 we have just been told all about the faith of the great people of the Bible. Then we are told that these people are witnesses who watch us. How can a person who has ceased to exist watch us? They can't. Therefore they are very much alive. What about the evil dead? Are they aware too? We have Yeshua's testimony to that when He tells us the parable of Lazarus. Yeshua would not have indicated something was a true possibility even in a parable if it were not so. That would have made Him a liar. Therefore we know from His own mouth that there is life after death in hell. We also have other passages that tell us this. Isaiah 14:9-11 “Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations. All they shall speak and say unto thee, Art thou also become weak as we? art thou become like unto us? Thy pomp is brought down to the grave, and the noise of thy viols: the worm is spread under thee, and the worms cover thee.” Non-existent people do not speak to mock someone as they arrive in hell. Hell is a real place with real people in it who are very aware of their predicament.

    13. This leads to the next belief, that there is no hell. Let God Be True, p.79-80. As already seen, both Yeshua and the Old Testament tell us differently. But so does the New Testament. Mark 9:43-48 “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Clearly there is a hell where people are punished.

    14. The 144,000 are the only ones who are born again and the only Jehovah's Witnesses who go to heaven. Reasoning from the Scriptures,1985, pp. 86, 166-167, 361; Let God be True, p. 121. The listing of the 144,000 in Revelation 7 list 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. My question is for them, how many of them are Israelites, for this list clearly says that these people are from Israel. Now, while it is true that from the ten tribes of the north, these people would not necessarily be identified by what we know as a Jew today, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin are definitely Jews, so how many JW's are Jews? There would have to be at least 24,000 Jews amongst the JW's alone for this to work. Then the rest would have to be able to trace their ancestry back to Israel. If you were to ask, I think it is safe to say that there are no Jews among the JW's. Then there is the whole idea the only the 144,000 go to heaven. As seen above, everyone who dies in belief is absent from the body and present with the Lord. Therefore they are now in heaven as part of that great cloud of witnesses that watch us. As to being the only ones who are born again, or saved, 1 Peter 1:18-23 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord and confesses, repents, and believes is born again. People were being born again a couple millennia before JW's came on the scene. To say it is restricted to 144,000 people, who are Israelites not JW's, and who have not yet been sealed is simply ridiculous.

    15. The universe is billions of years old, Your will Be Done on Earth p. 43. Many Christians falsely and unnecessarily believe evolution as they think they have to believe secular science. Secular science has rejected God's truth and the real evidence as they philosophically cannot accept the truth. Creation science explains all of the evidence far more rationally (check out Answersingenesis.org). The problem becomes, if we accept evolution, then we must disregard and discard the first few chapters of Genesis where Adam and Eve fall from perfection and bring sin upon the world. If we do not accept that as truth, then there is no point to the rest of the Bible, as Yeshua came to earth for the express purpose of undoing that sin. He testified to the reality of these people by speaking of their son Abel as the first prophet and His lineage was traced back to Adam. We are also told by Paul that Adam was a real man and that as a result of his transgressions sin reigns in all of us to death, and that through Christ we can be made alive again. Romans 5:14 “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45 “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive....And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 1 Timothy 2:13-14 “For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” Jude, the Lord's brother also tells us that Adam was a real person. Jude 1:14 “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.” Adam was a real person created on the sixth twenty-four hour day of creation. The Flood of Noah accounts for all of the fossil records that exist. We are told by Peter that in the last days, people would choose to believe evolution over the truth of a seven day creation and the Flood. 2 Peter 3:3-6 “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.(uniformitarianism – an evolutionary teaching) For this they willingly are ignorant (choose to believe) of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: (Genesis 1:6, not the Big Bang) Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: (Noah's Flood)

    16. This last one I will mention is simply blasphemy. Satan was entrusted with the obligation and charged with the duty of overseeing the creation of the earth. Children,p. 55. John 1:1-3 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Ephesians 3:9 “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ.” Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”

It is clear from all these beliefs and the Scriptures refuting these beliefs that the JW's are not standing upon the truth of God and they are not the prophets of God, nor the chosen church of God. They are in fact an organization that leads people away from God through false teachings.

Now the question becomes are they a cult? To determine whether or not the Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult, first we need to see what the characteristics of a cult are. According to the International Cultic Studies Association the following are a list of characteristics. (taken directly from their website http://www.icsahome.com. ) I will follow that characteristic with a comment as to whether or not they fit the criteria.

  1. The group displays excessively zealous and unquestioning commitment to its leader and (whether he is alive or dead) regards his belief system, ideology, and practices as the Truth, as law. JW's have unquestioning commitment to their original and present leaders believing that they are the only people on earth with the Truth. This “truth” even though having been proven wrong according to Scripture and having been altered over the years to accommodate the fact that it did not come true (all the prophecies), is still considered the law by its followers. Even questioning the validity of the teachings is considered a heinous sin and brings a person under serious consequences by their leaders (who are a sort of board of directors following the now deceased leader's theology and changing it as necessary to keep the group from falling apart.) So on this first count, they qualify as a cult.

  1. Questioning, doubt, and dissent are discouraged or even punished. This is very true. They are not even to voice any questions, doubts, or dissenting. It is punished to keep others in line. So again, they qualify.

  1. Mind-altering practices (such as meditation, chanting, speaking in tongues, denunciation sessions, and debilitating work routines) are used in excess and serve to suppress doubts about the group and its leader(s).I do not know that any of these techniques are used. However, the peer pressure as well as the authorities pressure to not express any doubts, questions, or dissensions proves a strong motivation to go along with the dictates of the group's rules.

  2. The leadership dictates, sometimes in great detail, how members should think, act, and feel (for example, members must get permission to date, change jobs, marry—or leaders prescribe what types of clothes to wear, where to live, whether or not to have children, how to discipline children, and so forth). ‪ There are many rules that JW's must follow as to how they live, how they spend their time for the group, requirements they must meet, etc. that is dictated by their leaders. In this they qualify as a cult.

  3. The group is elitist, claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s) and members (for example, the leader is considered the Messiah, a special being, an avatar—or the group and/or the leader is on a special mission to save humanity). JW's claim to be the only group on earth that has a pipeline to God and that nobody can come to God except through them. They are the chosen ones to bring the message of a paradise on earth and the only ones who have a smaller group within the group that merit salvation in heaven. On this they qualify as a cult.

  4. The group has a polarized us-versus-them mentality, which may cause conflict with the wider society. JW's must work in the world in order to live, but they do not socialize with any but themselves. They keep separate from the world, except to witness to them. While they see themselves as the saviors of the world in bring the “truth”, it is them against the world. So again, they qualify as a cult.

  5. The leader is not accountable to any authorities (unlike, for example, teachers, military commanders or ministers, priests, monks, and rabbis of mainstream religious denominations). Their leaders reject the government's authority when it comes to military service, as they refuse to serve in the military. Their leaders have no accountability to the group itself when it comes to decisions or the punishments they impose on people, sometimes destroying families in the process. In this they fit this criteria also.

  6. The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary. This may result in members' participating in behaviors or activities they would have considered reprehensible or unethical before joining the group (for example, lying to family or friends, or collecting money for bogus charities). I do not know that they teach any ends justifies the means for their followers, but their original leaders certainly were doing things that were highly questionable.

  7. The leadership induces feelings of shame and/or guilt in order to influence and/or control members. Often, this is done through peer pressure and subtle forms of persuasion. Peer pressure and controlling members is the modus operandi for the group. This criteria is most certainly one of their characteristics.

  8. Subservience to the leader or group requires members to cut ties with family and friends, and radically alter the personal goals and activities they had before joining the group. The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members. JW's are totally preoccupied with bringing in new members. They must be out witnessing all the time door-to-door. When a person joins the group, they are basically cutting ties with their family, as JW's do not socialize outside their own. Likewise if they leave the group, they are then ostracized and not allowed contact with their family. As to whether they can still pursue goals of occupations I am not sure of this, but as they are required to attend a certain number of meetings a week, and must witness a certain amount of time, they are unable to pursue anything that would take them from this. In this respect they fit the definition of cult.

  9. The group is preoccupied with making money. In spite of the fact that their goal is to evangelize the world, they make you pay for their literature. Their salvation is anything but a free gift.

  10. Members are expected to devote inordinate amounts of time to the group and group-related activities. This is absolutely true about JW's. They must attend a certain number of meetings a week and put in a certain number of hours witnessing. Even those disabled must witness via phone. This certainly describes JW's as anybody knows.

  11. Members are encouraged or required to live and/or socialize only with other group members. Again, this is true of JW's. They do not encourage socialization outside of the group, and in fact too much interaction outside the group brings chastisement.

  12. The most loyal members (the “true believers”) feel there can be no life outside the context of the group. They believe there is no other way to be, and often fear reprisals to themselves or others if they leave (or even consider leaving) the group. This is not only true for “true believers” in the group, but those who doubt the group. You dare not question or especially leave, as there are serious reprisals for doing so. Losing one's family is a certainty if one does these things. And the group will no longer even talk to a person who leaves.

According to all of these characteristics, the JW's most certainly fit the criteria to be called a cult. I know from experience in dealing with them, that they are not even allowed to look at literature that does not come from within their own ranks, so they cannot even pursue research on their own to see if there is anything about their beliefs that may be wrong. They are not allowed to study the Bible without the required teaching manuals, as it is feared that they may find that their beliefs do not line up with the Bible. They are taught to memorize the answers to all sorts of questions or responses that they get when witnessing to make sure that they only parrot and do not think. I have seen and read this “little black book” that was accidentally let out of a JW's possession, so I know that what I just wrote is the absolute truth. I also know that a JW with whom I was having some regular contact was forbidden any further contact with me, because I was asking him some very hard questions and making him question his faith. This not the hallmark of a free person whose faith is between him and God. This is the behavior of someone who belongs to a cult. They are very hard to witness to, as the consequences of even questioning can be extreme and land them out in the world without a friend or family. It is a scarey thing to stand against these consequences and pursue the truth, so JW's should be pitied as many of them are not in the group because of choice, but because they were born into it. Those who leave have a rough time of it and need our help. So if you know a JW who is questioning and considering that there might be truth beyond what they have been taught, it is really important that we as Christians let them know that we will be there for them to turn to when they find themselves all alone in the world, separated from friends and family. Let a JW know this if they come to your house and end up questioning their faith. They need to know there will be a place to turn should they decide to pursue the truth.

What Does the Bible Say About Controversy

I have noticed that when checking to see what it is that people google that leads them to my blog, that there are many entries for “What does the Bible say about controversy?” Oddly enough I did not have an article on that, (until now) even though the word controversy is in my blog title. Because of the number of times that question has been used, I thought maybe I should actually write an article on it.
The definition of “controversy” is essentially, a dispute, argument or debate, especially concerning matters about which there are opposing views and strong disagreement, carried on in public or the press. This latter is what differentiates a controversy from a simple argument or dispute. It is carried on in public, in a way that brings other people in on the argument. That is why the title of my blog includes the word “controversy” as many of the articles I tackle are matters of theological debate between different denominations in Christendom, which makes them very public.

So what does the Bible have to say about controversy? Are we to stay out of controversies, or engage in them? Before even addressing that problem I think the topic of how we address a debate is something that needs to be discussed. I myself have gone, as many people have, to Youtube to find videos on which to have a dialogue with people of opposing views. I have had conversations with atheists about the existence of God, and Christians about differing theological views. The one thing that has struck me is that many Christians use vulgar language and are as nasty as non-Christians, while I have (on rare occasions) run across some very nice, polite atheists. Christians speaking to other Christians can get really nasty, if I am to believe people when they call themselves a Christian. People do not know how to stick to the subject, and when frustrated by their inability to give an answer to the challenge, they instead attack people's intelligence, characters, integrity, even accusing other Christians of not really being saved, because they disagree on some issue such as the timing of the rapture, eternal security or the like. This is truly wrong, as salvation is not dependent upon these things. Debates are supposed to be about subject matter, not a personal assault on another person. When a person must resort to ad hominem arguments (An argument arising from or appealing to the emotions and not reason or logic, and attacking an opponent's motives or character rather than the position they are maintaining.), it simply means that they have no argument or defense to present against the statements being made by their opponent. I see this all the time with evolution/creation debates. Because the creation evidence offered is so logical and reasonable, and evolution can't dispute it, they resort to trashing the debater's character and intelligence instead. This is also seen between atheist/Christian and Christian/Christian debates. When you have someone resort to these arguments, you know that the debate is over, as they have nothing with which to logically dispute you, and they realize that, yet they will not concede your point. At that point, further debate just becomes wrangling, arguing just for arguing's sake, and Christians should not wrangle or "jangle". It is merely throwing pearls before swine, as Scripture says not to do.

1 Timothy 1:4-7 “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” People should especially not take up a debate when they are merely parroting their party's line and do not have a real knowledgeable grasp of what the Bible says, as the verse above warns us. They don't understand what they are saying nor affirming to be true, and therefore cannot really defend themselves against the opponent's challenge. Yet they try to be teachers and end up using ad hominem arguments as their defense. I have seen people contradict themselves immediately after making a statement, as they really do not understand what they are saying. They are just repeating what they have heard said. They do not even realize that they are making no sense whatsoever, and think they are defending themselves. It makes them look ridiculous, although they are not aware of that.

Matthew 7:6 "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." When the truth of God's Word is being rejected, we should not continue to debate as it becomes a matter of allowing them to trample God's Word underfoot.

Christians may read their Bible, (although I think most do not) but they most definitely do not study it. They know the verses they are supposed to use for their party line, but then so do Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons and everyone else. What is necessary, is to be a Berean and know whether your theology does indeed line up with all of Scripture and is not just a theology which has been created by taking verses out of context. Most Christians could not say whether that last statement is true or false about their own beliefs, as they have never really scrutinized them against all of Scripture. We are to study to know whether or not what we are being taught is true according to the Bible, not just because “my pastor told me so,” which is a defense I have had used against my arguments. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Acts 17:10-11 “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

We are not to simply accept what we are told in our churches, as men are fallible, and a wrong belief once accepted and expounded upon can lead to more erroneous beliefs. This is why we find so many different interpretations of the Scriptures by differing denominations. Nobody ever checks their Bibles to see if it really teaches what they are being taught, or if they do they bring their preconceived teachings to it, which then biases them against anything they might read to the contrary. When you know what the Scriptures teach, because you have spent years in studying it, you are not swayed by erroneous arguments, and you can present an intelligent defense for what you believe, which is a command God has given us. We are not supposed to say that we have a blind faith nor be unable to defend ourselves. 1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” Notice that not only are we to be able to give a reason for our belief, we are to answer people meekly. Not with anger or frustration. I know from personal experience that it is very difficult to keep a cool temper when people start throwing ad hominem arguments at you, for these are personal attacks, not debates against the proposition you are presenting, and that makes us get defensive. If you cannot keep your temper in check, then you need to leave the argument, as we do not do the cause of Christ any good by being a bad witness. We must also realize that there is a difference in the level of spiritual maturity, and while some have a greater understanding of God's ways, that is not to be used as a reason to offend others by getting into arguments. 

We do need to instruct immature Christians, but with a meek attitude, not a debating one. 2 Timothy 2:24-25 “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.” We are to not offend the weaker brother. Romans 14:1,13,19;15:1 “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations......Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way......Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.... We then that are strong and know our Scriptures thoroughly ought to bear the lack of understanding of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” We are not to dispute things with new or immature Christians. It does not help them to grow when they are taught that way. It only offends them. That is why it is so important to move on from the New Testament basic teachings of salvation to the Old Testament teachings of prophecy and the like. Hebrews 5:12-14; 6:1-2, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. ” We should encourage others to get into the Word trusting that God will lead them into the truth, rather than trying to argue them into it.

So we can see that when we do debate, we need to 1) know what we are talking about by having studied beforehand so that we can intelligently defend ourselves, 2) we need to be a good witness and answer meekly, and 3) we are not to pursue empty wrangling about irrelevant and unimportant topics. Now, does that mean that we are not to ever enter into debates? That would depend upon the situation and how we behave. We already know that we must debate in a meek and Christlike way, not in an offensive way. That does become hard when debating with someone such as an atheist, whom you know is wrong and their error has eternal consequences. We tend to get very dogmatic, not so much from anger as from frustration, as we know if they do not repent what the consequences are. So we try to force them to believe, but that will never work. We have to learn to graciously accept that there are those who will never accept God or the truth. In fact the majority of people won't. Matthew 7:13-14 “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: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” It is not our job to make them believe. It is our job to merely present the truth then let the Holy Spirit do the convicting.

We know we are not to wrangle and dispute irrelevant things. For instance in Mark 9:33-34, the disciples were disputing among themselves who among them would be the greatest. This was merely an argument to vanity, not to any theological truths about God. Therefore it was unimportant and should not have been a source of argument. But what about important things such as theological truths. If we keep things nice, can we debate controversial subjects? Let's see what Scripture teaches.
In Acts 9:29 Paul had just been saved, and was going about proclaiming the truth in a very bold manner. “ And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.” He was making the Grecians so upset, they wanted to kill him. This is how I think some people feel about me when I debate them on Youtube, based on what they say to me. Paul was not chastised for this. We are to stand up boldly for the Lord, but we had better be sure we actually have the truth. A week before the May 21,2011 date set by Harold Camping for the rapture, I met with two of my closest friends to try to make them realize this man was a false teacher and a false prophet who was conning people out of their money. I sat there in a public restaurant (we lived 4 hours apart so met in the middle) showing them Scripture after Scripture boldly telling them that if they did not turn from this, they would suffer the consequences. They had nothing with which to defend themselves, for as they readily admitted to me, they did not know the Scriptures the way I did, yet they told me that God Himself had verified to them that this was going to be the date of the rapture. I again boldly told them that they then no longer worshiped the same God I did, the God of the Bible, as that is not what Scripture teaches and my God would not verify a lie. They did not get mad at me, but they did sit there with self-satisfied smiles and sympathetic looks at each other for me and my perceived ignorance. They were wrong, and they now know that the God of the Bible was not talking to them. They are also no longer talking to me, but if that is the cost of boldly standing for God's truth and trying to save someone from their error, then that is the price we must pay. We do need to take a strong stand on the truth when we see other Christians being led down the garden path by a charlatan and wolf. 
 
Acts 17 tells us more about Paul. Verses 10- 23 “And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.” Paul did not restrict himself to disputing within the synogogue or with religious persons, he would dispute anyone in the market that wanted to debate and even went to the Areopagus and took on the Epicureans and Stoics. Paul was taking a stand on the truth, and trying to lead others to Christ and the truth. He was a Tanakh (Old Testament) scholar and was able to defend what He was telling them about Christ by knowing the Old Testament prophecies and their fulfillment. Debates of this nature are always acceptable. Debating people to lead them to Christ is almost a mandate, in that it is the great commission to take this truth to everyone.

Is debating always acceptable then? No. Debating for the purposes of strife or for vanity sake (trying to prove you are right, whether you are or not) is not acceptable. It is in fact a sin. Romans 1:29 “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,.” 2 Corinthians 12:20 “For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults.” 2 Peter 3:16 “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.” 1 Timothy 1:6-7 “From which (the true gospel) some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling; Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” So we are told that debating can be sinful under some circumstances.

So what can we debate? We are told in 2 Timothy 2:23-26 “But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

It is up to the individual to decide what is foolish and unlearned topics of debate. We have no clear guideline to what that is, but common sense should tell us that anything that leads someone to being edified, anything that leads to salvation, anything that leads to spiritual growth, anything that leads to a deeper understanding of God's Word, anything that prevents something bad from happening to people (such as my Campingite friends), we should boldly take up and debate, always making sure that we can defend ourselves not from what others have taught us, but from our own studies of the Scriptures. We should not use others' defenses to defend the beliefs they have taught us by parroting them. That is not studying to show ourselves approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. That is how people get led into error. We should only debate when we have studied the subject to such a point that we know exactly what we believe and why, without referring to others' arguments. One of my pet grievances is that every pastor that I have debated has never taken up the Scriptures to show me where I supposedly err. They have always, to a man, reached into their library and grabbed a commentary written by some fallible man. I on the other hand use my Bible when I debate. I do not accept the word of man over the Word of God. We should never expect anybody to accept the word of man over the Word of God. We must also debate with meekness and humility.

Hopefully this will answer the question that has been leading people to my blog, “What does the Bible teach about controversy?”

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Giants, Nephilim, Aliens? Do they exist?

One of the great “mysteries” of the Bible is to what is meant in Genesis 6:1-4 “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

There have been two different views on this subject. One is that the sons of God are the offspring of Seth and the other is that the Sons of God are angels who came down from the heavens to mate with human women, giving birth to giants or nephilim.

Let us take the first view to see if it is a logical view, given other information. This view says that the Sons of God were the righteous offspring of Seth, and the daughters of men were the offspring of Cain. The reason given for it having to be humans and not angels is that angels do not marry. It is true that Yeshua told us that angels do not marry in heaven. Matthew 22:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.” What exactly does this state? It states that in heaven, the institution of marriage is not carried out. Does it mean that people are sexless? No. We will still be men and women. We merely will not be entering into the union of marriage. Procreation will be unnecessary. Does it mean that angels are sexless? No. It means that they do not get married. That is all it means. There is no need for them to procreate. It does not mean that angels are not capable of sex. But do angels have gender? Yes.  In Jude 1:9 Michael is referred to as a "he."  Is this just not semantics, as we have no pronoun for genderless entities? No.  There are also female angels. Zechariah 5:9 " Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up the ephah between the earth and the heaven." Human women do not have wings. Angels have wings. And these angels are clearly called females. Angels do not have corporeal bodies that are the same as ours, but we are told that they can manifest bodies such as ours when we are told that we may entertain angels unaware. Hebrews 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Abraham and Lot saw angels that looked like men, and the men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them. So it would appear that angels can take human form and have sex. We should not add to the Scriptures to try to defend a position, especially because we are simply uncomfortable with the alternative. So the main defense for this position does not hold up.

Some other problems that arise with this view are as follows:

God says in Genesis 6:11-12 “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” We know that the world was so evil and violent, that God saved Noah and his family alone from His wrath. So we know that Seth's progeny were no more righteous than Cain's were. If they were so righteous, why on earth would they be marrying into Cain's line, who were given over to all sorts of evil? Obviously this is a real problem with this view. All of mankind had become corrupt, Seth's line and Cain's line alike. They were no longer the Sons of God, if that were to mean that they were righteous. But is that the way that phrase is meant? This will be dealt with shortly.
The next problem becomes, if this were merely the union of humans, why would it be producing a race of giant nephilim who were men of unnatural abilities, as they were renowned for their mighty deeds? Some argue that the Hebrew word “nephil” should not be translated as “giants” but “fallen ones.” That depends on whose lexicon or concordance you are using, so let us look at what the Scriptures indicate. They say that these nephilim were on the earth before the Flood and after. We know from Scriptures that giants, tremendous giants if we are to believe the Scriptures, lived after the Flood in the land of Canaan. Amos 2:9 “Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks.” The cedars of Lebanon, which are the cedars to which this would refer, grow to 130 feet tall. Even if the Amorites were only a quarter tall as the cedars (and that is not what the Scriptures say) they would still be over thirty feet tall. But you argue, maybe God was talking about really young cedars that were only twenty feet tall. Okay, then these people were twenty feet tall. That is still way too tall for human genes. What if the trees were only ten feet tall. Then why mention the famous cedars of Lebanon that were renowned for this height? The fir trees in my yard are taller than that. That's not impressive nor worthy of mention, even though it is still too tall for regular human genes. Obviously these giants were very, very tall. The spies Moses sent out came back with a report that the inhabitants of the land were so big that they felt like grasshoppers next to them. Numbers 13:33. Even the fruit of the land was abnormally large. Numbers 13:23 tells how the spies cut down one bunch of grapes that was so large that two people had to carry it between them. This spy report reflects tremendously tall giants. So if giants, who were obviously not normal humans, lived after the Flood, then they must have lived before the Flood, as these are the same type of people to which this Scripture in Genesis 6 refers. Humans are completely incapable of producing giants of this stature. Even Goliath at roughly nine feet tall (and he was a small giant) is taller than the very rare “giants” that live today and show up in Hollywood films. And he was only one of an entire race of giants, not some random anomaly. Obviously something else is meant other than the sons of Seth. That these giants are fallen ones is also true, as they corrupted the world before the Flood, and they were so evil God wanted them wiped out by Israel too.

Now we have to look at the other side of the equation and see if the other scenario is possibly true. Are the Sons of God angels? That is the only other option. In the Old Testament, and we must use that as our guide, not the New Testament use of the phrase, as it is the Old Testament where these nephilim or progeny of these Sons of God are found, the phrase Sons of God is used three times other than these two references in Genesis 6. In Job chapters 1, 2, and 38 we see that each of these references is clearly speaking of angels. So as these references all refer to angels, we have to be consistent and say that Genesis is speaking of angels too, as the Old Testament usage of the phrase only has one meaning. We have already shown that the fact that angels do not marry in heaven does not mean they are incapable of having sex and marrying against God's command. In fact, in Jude verse 6 we are told about some of these angels. “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” A book that is not reliable as Scripture, but God had Jude quote, is the Book of Enoch. It presents the story of how a group of angels saw the daughters of men, left their heavenly abode, and came down and mated with them. Their union produced great giants who terrorized the earth. Their evil knew no bounds, and they even were cannibals. These fallen angels did not keep their first estate in the heavens, but left it coming down to earth. While we cannot take this as gospel truth as we can the Scriptures, it certainly does help indicate that in ancient times this was how this Scripture was interpreted and that is important, as how the disciples and Yeshua interpreted it shows us how we should interpret it. It would seem that Jude (the Lord's brother) accepted this as what had happened, so that is a pretty strong statement in favor of it, and in fact God does allow him to quote one verse from the Book of Enoch, which indicates that some of it is reliable, but it is not reliable as a whole. So it would seem that Genesis 6 is telling us that these Sons of God were angels, which would then fit the rest of Scripture so much better.

As already shown, these nephilim of Genesis 6 were giants as indicated by Scripture verifying itself, so we know they were not of normal human parentage. The Sons of God were indeed angels and the parents of these hybrids. Further, these nephilim were mighty men of renown. Men whose deeds were so beyond the normal deeds of men that legends would have arisen about them. Legends such as the 12 Labors of Hercules, or Thor's Hammer, or Gilgamesh. These legends did not necessarily spring from the imaginations of men. People write and tell what they know. These legends may be corrupted stories of these nephilim from either before or after the Flood. Certainly Noah and his sons would have passed on the stories of what happened before the Flood, and we know that these nephilim lived after the Flood as well. We have no idea of what a being that is half angelic and half human may have been (or still may be) capable. They may have had what appeared to be supernatural powers. They may have had knowledge, science, and technology that far exceeded man's (look at the pyramids, and the ruins and artifacts that have been found that we cannot duplicate today with all our technology). The myth of Atlantis was of a highly technological world which was buried under the sea. Is this possible a corruption of the antediluvian world which God overthrew with the Flood? We know that Israel did not kill off all the giants. Some of them took refuge in other cities, and no doubt migrated. In fact there seems to be records that show that they moved north and also into the Americas. These Mayan and other ruins can be easily explained if you think of tremendous giants with incredible strength and advanced technology as having built them. All of these things which we cannot explain, but the evidences are there, can be explained by simply taking these verses in Genesis at face value and realizing that the angelic realm (the fallen ones) have been and still are interacting with mankind at the most intimate level. So much is explained by believing this - all the gigantic ruins, all the legends and myths of the “gods,” the hieroglyphics in Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mayan relics. When the myths are looked at, it appears that many of them tell the same stories, but the names are changed and the circumstances are slightly altered. This is easily explained, as without God to make sure something is kept accurate, man keeps making his little adjustments to stories and they wander further and further from the actual truth, thereby becoming much larger in the telling. (The fish that got away gets bigger every time the fisherman tells the tale.)

When one reads the books of the Old Testament from the Exodus through the historical books (and some of the prophets) one sees that the inhabitants of the land God was claiming for Israel was infested with these tribes of giants. As we now know that they were indeed hybrids or nephilim, it becomes clear why God mandated that they must all be killed. He could not allow this contaminated bloodline to enter into Israel's bloodline, as the Messiah needed to come from pure human blood. They were an evil people and their genetics were corrupting mankind again. Not only that, but they needed to vacate the land so Israel could have it. By killing off these terrifying giants, all the surrounding tribes (non-giants) would fear the God of Israel and what He could do. God not only made them kill these inhabitants, but He also had them slaughter the animals as well. We know that they must have tampered with the genetics of the food, as the grapes were probably about the size of basketballs from the Biblical report. They would have to be, to feed people that big. They probably did the same thing to the animals, to enlarge them to feed their people.

What follows cannot be found in Scripture per se in every instance (we do know from the Bible that they must have manipulated the DNA of food as the grapes were so big), but there are historical records, oral traditions, written legends, archaeological finds, etc. from which we can may some educational guesses as to what has happened to these creatures. There is evidence in ancient records that indicates these highly intelligent nephilim, and possibly their angelic parents, were very probably playing with the DNA of the animal world, as well as infesting the human bloodline, and not just for food purposes. In the myths of the various cultures we see monsters that were hybrid human/animal, and hybrid animal/animal, as well as the human/angelic hybrids. This is also found pictured in Egyptian heiroglyphics.  This may have been possibly been going on before the Flood, and the indications are from these findings that it was going on after the Flood. Considering that we are supposed to be living in times like that of Noah, do we see anything like that going on today? Yes. The Bible tells us there is nothing new under the sun.  We do not even have to resort to looking at “alien” experimentation to find it. We can see that our own scientists are tinkering with DNA in plants, animals, and humans. What does God say about that? In Leviticus 19:19 we find that God commands that they not mingle different types of seeds together, or different types of animals. They are to reproduce after their own kind, just as God originally created them. He does not want DNA mixed. One has to wonder why Satan is so keen on messing with our DNA now that Christ has been brought into the world. Are there more angelic beings, or the nephilim offspring from those who are chained in darkness, trying to create some sort of new nephilim army for Satan in the last days? In Daniel 2:43, when speaking of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream that represented the kingdoms that would exist at the end of time, the last kingdom before the Messiah's return would be one where “they” mingle themselves with the "seed of man". Who are “they”? No matter what nations were to mingle themselves, it would still be man mingling with man. This is something other than man mingling itself with the seed of man, not just mingling politically with man. Man's seed is his DNA. This is something that is genetically intermingling with mankind that is not of mankind. In other words, just as the angels procreated with man before, something is procreating with man again. One assumes it must be either more fallen angels, or their progeny the nephilim that are creating more hybrid children, while posing as “aliens” since we no longer believe in the “gods.”  This is what Scripture tells us, not just a hypothesis.

So, given that the evidence supports the angels being the Sons of God, why would people insist that they must be the sons of Seth? It would seem that the only reason for going with this theory (Seth) as to whom the Sons of God were is simply because the alternative creates a scenario with which people are very uncomfortable. Why is that? It is because people would like to think that the spirit world does not interact with us on a level that is so intimate. It creates a reality that is far more frightening than thinking that we are all there is in this world. It opens the door to all kinds of possibilities. First you have to deal with the idea of monstrous giants, giants who may still exist today hidden somewhere, because Israel did not kill all of them off as ordered, and giants were reported by the explorers of the Americas, as well as the Native Americans.  These are historical records, not fictional books.  It opens the door to the idea that there are angelic hybrids that may not be so human still around. We know that these offspring mentioned in the Bible at least looked human because all the angels were tall, blonde and blue-eyed Nordic types, right? Wait, is that entirely true; do we know that? We know Goliath seemed to be human looking, albeit much larger, but what about the other inhabitants? What does Scripture say? 1 Chronicles 11:22 (and 2 Samuel 23:20) “Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lionlike men of Moab.” When this says these men are lion-like, does that mean they are ferocious and fierce warriors, or does it literally mean that they resemble lions? The root word seems to indicate the animal, not just the fierce character.

Again, back to speculating, if one looks at all the ancient writings and takes them at face value,(the ability to do that is in question) there is evidence that there have existed all kinds of people, or creatures, if you prefer, that are not entirely human. People dismiss these as legends, superstition, and the like, as they do not want to believe it is possible for these things to exist. That is a very scarey proposition for people to accept. It turns all of our fantasies, or worse, our nightmares, into reality. Do these things still exist somewhere out of the mainstream of population centers? Are the bigfoots, and other type of creatures actually some sort of hybrid left-overs? What about all these eye-witness accounts of extra-terrestrials? The Bible indicates that we are the only creation in the universe outside of the spiritual realm that God created. This can be shown through the literal reading of Genesis.  Any “alien” from other planets or stars would seem to be the angels assigned to oversee those planets or stars, who have fallen from that estate, or these “aliens” may be their offspring from mating with humans. If one believes these eye-witness reports, one of E.T's big things seems to be to take sperm and eggs and impregnate women then steal the fetuses, (if reports are to be believed). In the gospels we are told that before the return of Yeshua, the world will be like it was before the Flood. This is a biblical fact. Well, before the Flood, not only was the entire world wicked, but the angelic realm was procreating with humans and living among them. They probably presented themselves as “gods” (think Egyptian, Norse, Babylonian, Sumerian, Greek, and Roman mythology for example) who came down and mated with mortals. There are all kinds of horrors that await us when we open that door of possibility that angels could mate with humans. After all, have you read what some of them look like? Read Ezekiel and Revelation. They are not all human looking.

That brings us down to the subject of “aliens.” Now, this is a controversial subject, as there is not bona fide evidence of such (at least none that is available to the public). The only "evidence" is the eye-witness accounts of people who claim to have had some sort of contact on some level.  What is interesting is what these accounts say.  One of these groups are described as about ten feet tall, blonde, blue-eyed, some with six fingers. Wait, six fingers? Let us go to Scripture. 2 Samuel 21:20 “And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.” So these “alien” giants have a similar genetic flaw to the giants of old? How peculiar. Aliens also supposedly take the look of “grays,” or “reptilians.” Considering that Satan is reptilian, (he is described as the serpent, dragon, leviathan - all reptilian creatures.) and that there are two groups of people – Orientals, and Native Americans (South as well as North) who say they are descended from the snake or serpent gods who came down from the sky, we can guess that some of the nephilim might have had reptilian appearances, as some angels obviously have that look. We know that the cherubim have the look of an ox, eagle, and lion, as well as a man. Satan was once a cherubim too. In fact he was the covering cherub. He is a serpent. It would seem that the cherubim represent much of the type of creatures God put on this world – man, the domesticated animals (ox), the wild animals (lion), the birds (eagle) and the reptile/fish (serpent). We have no idea what the different ranks of angels look like. Those who are star overseers, or stars as the Bible refers to them in multiple verses, may be the blonde, blue-eyed type that are radiant in appearance. All of nature, as well as the nations, have angels overseeing them (again many scripture verses for this). Possibly their appearances reflect their jobs. We have no idea what the angels who mated with humans looked like. According to people of the Orient and Americas, they are descended from a serpent god. The Scandinavian countries historically had gods that looked like the blonde, blue-eyed types. The “aliens” seem to be 1) very interested in procreation by using man and 2) like to talk about Jesus or “the Christ” a lot. Why would aliens from a far off galaxy even know about Jesus who lived 2000 years ago, and why would they be interested in Him? They shouldn't be if evolution were true and they are from a distant galaxy. Even if they were interested in our culture, why focus on Yeshua? Why not Allah, or Zeus, or Thor, or Horus? But no, it is Yeshua that they harp on. It's very telling that they are spiritual beings.

So we can see that the Bible clearly teaches that the spirit world has been interacting with humanity on the most intimate level before and after the Flood. The Flood was necessary to cleanse the earth as all mankind's bloodline was corrupted at that time. Noah's family was the only one still clean. Notice that it says that "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God," in Genesis 6:9. It is not speaking of his righteousness when it says he was perfect, for it said he was just and walked with God. What was perfect in his generations or lineage was the bloodline. Not only did these angels interact with man before the Flood, but immediately after, and still today. It has been an ongoing thing for millennia. And if they possessed technology before the Flood and after the Flood back when the pyramids and such were built, (there is no other explanation for this ancient technology) is their technology not that much greater today, just as ours has also progressed? Would they not have been able to create flying ships centuries ago? The evidence is certainly there that they did. One only needs to look at ancient hieroglyphics, and even the paintings of people from the Renaissance era to see that flying saucers are showing up in their artwork. In fact, some ancient artifacts from some pyramids are shaped like planes. When larger models were made of these things, they were found to be aerodynamic. Coincidence? I don't think so.  The Bhagavad gita from the Hindu religion is an ancient (B.C.) manuscript that tells all about flying ships and their occupants. Just imagination?  UFOs are not new by any means, even Columbus and America's founding fathers reported them in their writings, but they are not people from other planets. They are the fallen angels and their progeny, the nephilim. They are posers. They posed as “gods” back when gods were the “in” thing. Today we are into the belief in “aliens” from other planets, so they pose as that. Whatever fits the bill at the time. As these “aliens” today specifically point to certain constellations or planets, etc. to say that is their place of origin, I would not dispute that, but I dispute that they are inhabitants as we are inhabitants. The Scriptures tell us that the stars are angels, (Daniel 8:10, Rev. 1:20, 12:4) and I think we should again take Scripture at face value. We know that God has made angels overseers of nations (Daniel 10:20) and the weather (Revelation 7:1), so why not the stars? One of these groups of “aliens” say that they came from the Orion constellation. I believe they did. I believe they are the offspring of the angels assigned to oversee the running of those stars -the angels who left their first estate. I believe the nephilim remnant that escaped Israel has continued to live up to this day, hidden somewhere from our view. While the historical reports of explorers who ran into them show that many of them were not technologically savvy, as they lived as primitively in some cases as natives, there are also stories that indicate that some were very technologically savvy, so we should not be surprised that they should be able to find places and ways to hide from our view. They fear God, as they know He exists. The fact that Israel was able to kill off so many of them made them afraid. They understood God intended to wipe them out, so they fled. Why do you think these "aliens" are reported to spend so much time talking about the “Christ” spirit? They want to change the gospel so that people do not follow God, because they know what is coming. It's not just Armageddon, it is Ragnarok, the twilight or end of their “gods.”

Just for clarification's sake, some of the information above is Scriptural and therefore bona fide truth, such as angels being overseers of stars, and the angels having mated with man before and after the Flood creating giant offspring, but other information such as where and what they are doing now, that is speculation based upon physical evidence, legends and stories, and eye witness accounts of people who say they have had interactions with these creatures. One must keep the actual truth of Scripture separate from speculation based upon hearsay or even physical evidence. We can form hypotheses that appear to be true from evidence, but without verification in some way it cannot be claimed to be actual truth, but merely theory.