The Frequently Asked Questions on New Testament texts are listed herein.

E-mail: secretary@ccg.org

This paper is available from the World Wide Web page:
http://www.logon.org and http://www.ccg.org

The Messiah…Son of man-Only son- Begotten son-Jesus God-Prophet-Sin offering-Faith in Christ-Christ’s baptism-Only way to Father-Priest-Joshua-Others named Jesus-Pilate’s letter-Crucifixion year-Strauros-Cross-Resurrection-Physical or Spiritual-Jesus’body-Israel married to Christ-Sacrifice-Subgroup disciples-Jesus Saviour-Teaching-Vegetarian-Jesus Word/God-Arche-Angel of Revelation-Jesus/Bible

Holy Spirit…Holy Spirit person-God gives Holy Spirit-Soul/Spirit-Kingdom of God-Water/rocks

Matthew…Mat 2:2;-2:13;-2:17-18;-6:5-15;-12:50;-17:21;-20:13;-28:19

Mark…Mark 5:21-43;-7:15;-10:18

Luke…Luke 12:36;-17:11;-19:12;-23:43

John…John/Genesis-Jn 5:1-24;-5:18;-7:52;-Chapter 10;-12:12-13;-19:31

Acts…No amen-Acts 1:15;-15:24-29;-15:28:29

Romans…Rom ch.1-Rom3:20;-10:4;-Chapter 14;-16:16

1Corinthians…1Cor 5:5-6;-11:10-15

Galatians…Gal 4:9-11;-4:10

Ephesians…Eph 3:15

Philippians…Phil 2:10

Colossians…2:14;-2:16;-2:18;-4:3

2Thessalonians…2Thes 2:3-4,6

1Timothy…1Tim 4:1-3

Hebrews…Heb 7:3

James…Origin of James-James 1:17

1John…1Jn 5:7

Revelation…St John-Apocalypse-Rev 1:4;-5:6;-2:17;-2:20;-2:28;-3:7;-3:12;-4:2-6;-5:12-17;-6:2;-6:4;-6:5;-6:8;-7:14;-8:10;-chapter 9;-chappter 10;-13:18;-chapter 14;-17:5;-20:10;-20:15;-21:18;-21:1;-Jacob’s Trouble-State of earth-What happens at resurrection-first-Children know parents-Under rule of Jesus-Marriage supper-Who will attend-City of God-

Calendar…When is 3^rd hour-Equinox-New Moon-Conjunction-Crescent-False calendars-Tithe year-Evidence for conjunction-New Moon at time of Christ-Karaite calendar-Dateline-Passover: Night of watching-Omer count-Bread & Wine-Footwashing-Lord’s Supper

The Church…Christian holy days-Kingdom of God-Authority to change doctrine-Phases to becoming a Christian-Second chance-Elect-Where is God-Sabbath or Sunday: Any evidence for Sunday worship-Any support for negative case for Sabbath-Most worship on Sunday-Sunday worship/heaven-Every day Sabbath-Why Sunday now-What did original church do-Four Councils-Church Fathers God’s plan for us-

Pagan Worship: Easter-Trinity

Antichrist…Antichrist & Moses’ Law-Doctrine-Jesus accused of being antichrist.

A: There were multiple sons of God of whom Christ was one (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:4-7). Only one of those was to be born a man. That was the monogenes theos or only born god of John 1:18 and Proverbs 30:4-5.

This is the concept behind the text in Hebrews 1:8-9 taken from Psalm 45:6-7. In Hebrews it then goes on to identify that this elohim was no longer simply only one of the angelic host called sons of God. He was a new high priest as the son of man.

Look at the papers Psalm 8 (No. 14); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); How God Became a Family (No. 187); and The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160).

A: There are many sons of God as Scripture allows. However, he was the only one to be born. The others were all generated as sons in the Host. He was the Prototokos of the Creation of God and he is Arche of the Creation of God. He is also Prototokos from the dead. However he is the only born God; the monogenes theos of John 1:18.

These aspects are covered in the paper Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229); and The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243).

A: It is deliberately obscured by Trinitarians. There are two terms, one of "Prototokos" meaning "first begotten" and the other is "monogenes" meaning "only born." The term that relates to Christ as firstbegotten and firstbegotten from the dead is "Prototokos."

He is referred to as the "only born God" in John 1:18 from "Monogenes Theos." This text was changed in the Receptus to read "only born son" or "monogenes uion" and then translated as "only begotten son." This was done to disguise the distinction between the fact that there were many sons of God in the host, of which Christ was the "prototokos", but only one of those sons had been born and hence, he was the only born "god" or "theos."

These terms have been examined in detail in the papers The Elect as Elohim (No. 1) and The Angel of YHVH (No. 24); Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229) and The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243)

A: He is called God in a number of Bible texts. He does not refer to himself as God, but the texts do that and refer to him as a subordinate god. For example the text in Psalm 45:6-7 is clearly identified as Christ being anointed as God by his God with the oil of gladness above his partners from Hebrews 1:8-9. The relationship of the Great Angel of the Old Testament as an elohim is an important part of the Bible Theology.

The structure of this relationship is covered in the papers The Elect as Elohim (No. 1); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24); and The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243). The creed of Ulfilas, bishop of the Goths, discussed in this paper also explains that relationship. The paper Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127) will show you what the early Church taught and understood by this aspect.

A: Moses said that he was. He said that God would raise up a prophet like him and he was to be obeyed. He was Priest, Prince and Prophet. Look at Jesus The Christ, King, Priest and Prophet (No. 280). His words, as recorded, show prophecy, and they came true as he said. He spoke according to the Law and the Testimony (Isa. 8:20). That is the test of a prophet.

A: Yes, this is an important text. The Hebrew puts emphasis on the first "well" and the second "if". Bullinger states in the Companion Bible notes to the text that it marks a solemn and important alternative. The Hebrew is "chat'a" and means a sin offering as it is added in Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 4:3; 6:25; 8:2; Psalm 40:6 (cp. 2Cor. 5:21; Eph. 5:2).

The word "lieth" is masculine and the sin offering is feminine. The Hebrew reads: "at the entrance [a male] is lying, a sin offering." Look also at Genesis 3:16 for "rule over." Messiah, as we know, is the sin offering. Look at the papers: The Doctrine of Original Sin Part I The Garden of Eden (No. 246); and Doctrine of Original Sin Part 2 The Generations of Adam (No. 248).

A: Faith is a confident belief that God will bring about the salvation of the individual, within a plan He has determined, which will work to the betterment of all mankind. God will work to the salvation of all His creation such that no flesh should perish.

This faith was expressed in the actions of the Church through history from Adam to the present. Hebrews chapter 11 gives you a list of the key people of faith, and of their constant expectations and actions. Salvation is not through an expressed faith in Christ. Salvation, as a saint of the Church, is by keeping the Commandments of God and the Testimony or Faith of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17; 14:12). Christ himself had faith in God who could save him.

It is faith in God that saves through the activities of Jesus Christ whom He sent (John 17:3). Many have called him "Lord, Lord" and he will say, "Depart from me, I never knew you." If you love Christ, keep the commandments.

A: John’s Baptism was for the repentance of sins and for an instruction to prepare the way of Yahovah and to make his paths straight, from Isaiah 40:3 and quoted in Matthew 3:3. His baptism was not to salvation. Christ was baptised for receipt of the Holy Spirit, which he received, as had the prophets of old. His words seem to have been: "I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance but He that cometh after me is mightier than I whose shoes I am not worthy to bear."

His comments to Christ were: "Behold the Lamb of God; (which taketh away the sins of the world" (Jn. 1:29)) and he said I have need to be baptised of thee and thou comest unto me.

The words of the first section are the ones most likely to have been uttered by him. That is: "I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance." Luke records that Christ was also praying there (Luke 3:21). The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him as a dove, and God said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." Mark has more or less the same account as Matthew. We are not given the exact words.

A: In John 14:1-6 Christ said that he was the only way to the Father. There are a number of objections to this statement, but they are all based on false theology and a misunderstanding of the Bible text.

First objection: God spoke to Moses and the Patriarchs and prophets and thus, they did not need Christ. The answer is that no man has ever seen God. The only born God, being in the bosom of the Father, spoke (Jn 1:18). The early Church taught that Christ was the Angel of the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses and who spoke to the prophets. Justin Martyr is quite clear on that point in his "First Apology." Look also at the paper Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127).

The structure of the resurrection of the dead ensures that no one can attain immortal life except by standing before Christ in judgment as a resurrected being. Look at the paper The Soul (No. 92); and The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143). That is why the doctrine of the Immortal Soul and Heaven and Hell is such a godless and blasphemous doctrine.

It was the true test of a Christian in the first and second centuries. Anyone who said they were Christian and that when they died they went to heaven, were not to be believed. They were not Christians. Through the physical resurrection of the dead, every knee will bow to Christ and no man can come to the Father except through him.

A: Yes, he is all these things. He is priest and high priest after the order of Melchisedek. He is a prophet, as Moses said. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords by delegation from the Father.

The One True God also appointed him as god with the oil of gladness above his comrades (Ps. 45:6-7 and Hebrews 1:8-9). This was shown also in Zechariah 12:8 when the Angel of YHVH at our head was elohim as we ourselves will be elohim and Scripture cannot be broken (Jn 10:34-35). Look at: The Elect as Elohim (No. 1); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24).

A: Yes, it should be translated uniformly. The distinction was induced by the Greco-Romans who wished to separate the Old Testament from the New Testament so they could do away with the Law of God. The matter has been examined at length in the paper Joshua, the Messiah, the Son of God (No. 134) (see the 2nd ed.). Changes were also made to the names of Christ’s entire family in the Bible as well. Look at the paper The Virgin Mariam and the Family of Jesus Christ (No. 232).

A: Yes, there were indeed. The name Iesous is, in fact, the Greek form of Joshua or Yahoshua. There are various forms of this name. It was a major name in Israel and thus, Joshua was common in Judah also.

Thus, Jesus was not the name of Christ. That is an English form of a Greek transliteration. Josephus, and now Schurer, records others. E.g. Jesus, son of Damnai; Jesus, son of Gamaliel; Jesus, son of Phiabi the High Priest anointed by Herod; Jesus, son of Sapphias, archon of Tiberias in the first revolt; Jesus, son of See, High Priest appointed by Archelaus; and Jesus, rival of Josephus (cf. The History of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ (Vols. 1. 419, 431, 469, 489, 497; II, 180-181, 229, 232, 234).

The names in the English Bibles are translations of the Greek, and often they bear no resemblance even to the Greek, let alone the Hebrew. E.g. James was Yakob, Jude is Yudah or Judah, Joses is Yosef or Josef. Look at the paper The Virgin Mariam and the Family of Jesus Christ (No. 232) and Joshua, the Messiah, the Son of God (No. 134).

It is said that there is a letter from Pilate to Emperor Claudius making some kind of reference to Jesus. Does such a letter exist? If so, what does it say about Jesus?

A: The letter of Pilate to Claudius is contained in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus at the end of the first version. A Greek version of the letter is contained in the apocryphal gospels of Peter and Paul. You will see versions of the letters to the emperor Augustus, Claudius and the letter to Tiberius in the ANF vol viii, pp, 353, 454, 459 et seq.

A: No, he was not crucified on a postponement year and it is easy to prove. Firstly, in 30 CE the 14th was on a Wednesday and it would have been that way no matter what system was in use. However, the main reason is that the postponement system was not in use at that time. The Postponements were initially "ad hoc" coming well after the Temple was destroyed from 70 CE. The Mishnah compiled at the beginning of the third century ca 200 plus CE shows that the postponements were not in place even then.

The system of calculation allowing for the postponements was not introduced until it was brought in by two Babylonian Rabbis in 344 and then codified and introduced under Rabbi Hillel II in 358. It was not perfected until the eleventh century. Thus, Christ was crucified over three hundred years before the postponements were invented.

The modern Jewish calendar was never used in the Temple system. You will gain insight from the paper God’s Calendar (No. 156) and the paper The Moon and the New Year (No. 213) and also The Calendar and the Moon: Postponements or Festivals? (No. 195).

A: The cross was never used in early Christianity. The closest was the symbol "chi rho." It was understood that the "stauros" was a stake. The embellishment of the cross came later, and the crucifix after that. None of these things were placed on any Western Christian altar until this millennium. The development of the cross embellishment is covered in the paper The Cross: Its Origin and Significance (No. 39). Many Churches of God, to this day, still refuse to accept any symbol of the cross in their worship and belief.

A: The word used is "stauros" which is a Greek word meaning "staff" and primarily an "upright stake" (cf. Thayers New Greek English Lexicon p. 586) and originally it was a simple upright post or stake, especially a pointed one. This is its use in the Greek literature.

The Greeks and Romans borrowed death by crucifixion on a stake from the Phoenicians (ibid). The word "cross" is derived from the Latin "crux." The development of the cross symbolism is explained in the paper The Cross: Its Origin and Significance (No. 39).

Christ was nailed to this "stauros" through his hands and feet. The object was to have the body collapse down by its own weight, unable to sustain itself. The cross bar was a later addition that prolonged the death. The speed of Christ’s death and the dating indicates the "stauros" was the traditional Phoenician and Greek stake, rather than the later cross development. The history, pre-Christian usage, and the myths are examined in the paper No. 39.

A: He was three days and three nights in the grave. He went in on what we would call Wednesday evening at sundown and was resurrected on Saturday evening at sundown.

He had to fulfil three events on this Passover. He had to be killed as the Lamb at exactly the right time for the lamb to be killed. Otherwise he was not the Passover lamb, he was just another dead man. He had to fulfil the Sign of Jonah, as that was the only sign given to his ministry. That was necessary for the judgment of Judah forty years later at 70 CE.

The next thing He had to do was fulfil the Wave Sheaf Offering. He was the firstborn of the dead and He was the firstfruits and so He had to be accepted by God as performing his functions in this regard. Thus He had to ascend to God on Sunday Morning at 9 a.m. to begin the Omer Count to Pentecost so our harvest could begin. He was the Barley Harvest and the Wave Sheaf and He had to be accepted to enable the Holy Spirit to be given on his return.

The Easter doctrine of the false gods was established for the sole purpose of obscuring this miracle and the power of God. The Triune god was also invented for the same purpose. That is why the Trinitarian structure does not keep the Wave Sheaf and denies the Sunday ascension, placing it forty days later in a misconstruction of the final ascension. That is why Satan also established so many counterfeit Christs -- to discredit the fulfilment of the Law of God in the true feast systems.

That is also why the Baal-Easter system fights so hard to stamp out the true faith and the calendar of God according to the Commandments of God. That is also why it is so important.

A: The New Testament accounts (cf. especially John 20) show Christ was resurrected physically on the previous evening and ascended to the Father on the Wave Sheaf, which was the Sunday morning. He returned the same day and allowed Thomas to touch him. He appears to have been able to translate from the physical to the spiritual. Look at the papers The Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106b) and Timing of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection (No. 159). His position in the Koran is also explained in the paper Christ and the Koran (No. 163) at www.ccg.org and www.logon.org where it is also available in Arabic, Russian and other languages.

A: Jesus was risen from the dead and his physical body was risen and translated as the Wave Sheaf offering on the morning of the First Day of the week at the third hour, which was 9 a.m., and which was the time it was always made.

The translation of the body is held to follow the resurrection of the dead. Ezekiel shows it is physical. The soul doctrine is a non-biblical doctrine. The test for a false Christian in the 2^nd century was that, if they said that when they died they went to heaven, they were not Christians. The Gnostics intruded the doctrine of heaven and hell into Christianity from that time.

The matter is covered in the papers The Soul (No. 92) and The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143). Most people today who claim to be Christians and espouse heaven and hell do not know what they are talking about. Most of it is charismatic hysteria, pagan customs, and traditions.

A: The Most High allotted Israel to Yahovah as his inheritance (Deut. 32:8) when he allotted the nations according to the sons of God. This aspect of the Old Testament text was altered, after the fall of the Temple by the Sopherim, to read "according to the number of the sons of Israel." So Yahovah of Hosts The Most High gave Israel to Yahovah as his inheritance. We can identify the Yahovah involved, as he is the subordinate Yahovah who was made elohim of Israel.

Psalm 45:6-7 says: "Therefore God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above the partners." So the Yahovah or elohim of Israel has a God. We know that this elohim of Israel is Christ from Hebrews 1:8-9. We also know, from the text in Hebrews, that the other angels are the partners of Christ. They are also elohim from the rendering of Psalm 8, which, in the English, is also rendered as "Angels" following the Septuagint. In Hebrews, it is also "aggelos" in the Greek and followed in the English as "angels" rather than "gods." (cf the paper Psalm 8 (No. 14)).

The being in the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses, and appeared in the bush, and who wrestled with the patriarch, was Christ as elohim of Israel. The One True God, Eloah gave Israel to him as his betrothed and the entire nation was destined to become kings and priests of God through the Church. All throughout the Old Testament the relationship with Yahovah was one of husband and wife. Idolatry was as adultery. That is why Israel was sent into captivity as a divorce, and when she came back from idolatry she was restored. The nation of Israel continued and went into captivity. Judah was kept separate and also committed adultery with false gods (Jer. 3:8-18).

In this text in Jeremiah God says He is married to Israel and He says that He will take us, one of a city and two of a family, and bring us to Zion. He will rule from Jerusalem and the Ark of the Covenant shall be brought to mind no more. In those days, the house of Judah will walk hand in hand with the House of Israel out of the North to the land given to our fathers for an inheritance. In Jeremiah 3:14 the Lord says he does this for he has become our husband.

The text actually says: "Turn back O sons apostate says Yahovah for I am Lord over you...". This is the Yahovah, given Israel as his inheritance, and whom we know as the Great Angel of the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses, and was the spiritual rock in the wilderness of which Israel ate and drank the spiritual food (cf. 1Cor. 10:4). We know this being from the New Testament as Jesus Christ. This was the view of the entire Christian Church, including the church at Rome, for the first two centuries (cf. Justin Martyr First Apology LXIII). Look at the papers: Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); The Elect as Elohim (No. 1); Psalm 8 (No. 14); and Law and the Fifth Commandment (No. 258).

A: The spilling of blood is controlled. The establishment of the system of killing at the feasts in Jerusalem is beyond doubt. The reasons for this are the control of the abattoir facilities and the holiness of the process in the plan of God. Vegetarianism is a doctrine of demons and that is why the vegetarian groups seek to establish a heavenly millennium as they do with the Seventh Day Adventists under the false prophetess Ellen G White. Look at the paper The Millennium and the Rapture (No. 95). Christ was the ultimate sacrifice but the legislation for the control of the feasts and meat consumption overlaps to some extent in the physical millennial system.

Why at times does Christ "subgroup" the disciples to three men? I realize at times the disciples were sent out 2 by 2 etc. but these 3 seem to be grouped together at significant times.

A: The structure under the kingship was of the king, and the three, and the thirty. These three mighty men under David were under Abishai, the brother of Joab and the son of Zeruiah (2Sam. 23:13, 18). The structure is also seen in 2Chronicles 27:1. The host of Israel was divided into 12 divisions of 24,000 men. These were commanded by twelve of the thirty. The thirty were the inner council of the seventy.

They represented the council of the Elohim in the heavenly tabernacles. Thus, the three were the mighty of the twelve and they were commanders of the host of Israel. Peter, John, and James represent those three in the Host of Israel under Messiah. David’s 600 (1Sam 23:13) were divided into three of 200 in ten subdivisions of twenty. Each commanded by one of the thirty. The three commanded the thirty. The commander of the thirty was not one of the three. Bullinger has notes on this at n. to 27:1 and in chapter 11 and also in 2Samuel 23.

Christ had the three and the twelve but, in this case, the three were part of the twelve because the three in the millennial system represented by these apostles were of another age. Yet, their positions were understood as necessary in the activities of the ministry of Christ as king of Israel. The actual three are Abraham, Moses and Elijah. They were not all present at this time.

A: This question is a source of confusion to many people. Yes, the Bible does say Christ is our Saviour, and it does say God is our Saviour, and it also gives us a text where it mentions both beings in context. It is from the many texts in the Bible where the terms are used that we come to understand the application and use of the terms.

This question is examined in a paper entitled God our Saviour (No. 198). Like all of Christ’s titles, it is a title conferred on him as a delegated title by God. In examining the role of Messiah, if we bear that rule in mind we can see all apparent conflict in its true perspective. Papers that help in this regard are the Role of Messiah (No. 226) and Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229).

A: You can teach by example as well as by instruction. The Bible says he taught in parables, and it was prophesied that he would teach in parables. The contention that he taught by example is also correct. In a sense, he did both, but the plain and simple answer is that he was to teach in parables, and that is what he did. There is no doubt the example of his life, death and resurrection was a powerful demonstration of the Plan of God, which is what He was here to teach.

Christ spoke in parables so that they would not understand before their time and turn and be saved: Psalms 49:4; 78:2; Ezekiel 17:2; 20:49; 24:3; Matthew 13:3-35; 21:45; 22:1 et seq. That is why so few understand the Bible today -- because they are a rebellious house.

A: Jesus Christ most definitely was not a vegetarian. He and the apostles ate the Passover and kept the food laws and the feasts as required by God. The doctrine of Vegetarianism is a false doctrine, which entered Christianity from Gnosticism in the early centuries and has polluted Christianity ever since to greater or lesser degrees.

The entire history of the doctrine is contained in the paper Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183). As a heresy, it normally goes hand in hand with another ascetic doctrine regarding temperance and drinking grape juice and not wine. This has also been examined in the paper Wine in the Bible (No. 188). The doctrine of Vegetarianism is a direct imputation on the nature of God.

A: In the first two centuries of the Church, anyone who said Christ was equal to and eternal with God who was the Father, would have been branded as a heretic and thrown out of the Church. Look at the paper Early Theology of the Godhead (No. 127). The Trinity was not formulated until 381 CE at Constantinople.

The Binitarian structure was formulated at Nicaea in 325. Modalism was introduced to the Church in the third century. In the second century everyone, even the Montanists, believed that Christ was the Son of God and not the One True God, and that the Holy Spirit was the power of God. The Church in Rome wrote to the emperor in Rome around 150-154 saying that Christ was the Angel of the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses (cf. Justin Martyr: First Apology). Justin on behalf of the Church at Rome told the emperor that, if they came across people who said they were Christians and that when they died they would go to heaven, not to believe them because they were not Christians (Second Apology).

They were really Gnostic impostors who had entered the Church with their false doctrine. These days, if you talk to a Southern Baptist, he will tell you: "Sure he’s going to heaven and them other fellas is going to burn in hell." The Churches of Christ will give you detailed sermons on how you’re "gonna burn up." Then all of them, the Roman Catholic Church included, will tell you how heretical it is to not believe in the Trinity, the Soul Doctrine, and the existence of heaven and hell, and they will throw in Mary up in heaven as well. If they had said that to the bishop of Rome at the end of the first century their heads would have spun with the speed they were shown the door.

Mainstream Christianity today is a Gnostic/Pagan farce that has nothing to do with original Christianity and the Faith once delivered to the saints. That is why Christ asked the question: "When I return will I find faith on the earth?" The weeping and gnashing of teeth is from the people alive today who think they should be there with Christ, but had simply ignored his elders and prophets. They did not keep the Commandments of God themselves and killed or persecuted those who did, whenever they could. The false teachers, who are dead, will simply stay that way until the Second Resurrection. Many will not be surprised in which resurrection they find themselves. Others will be stunned. If you understand this, then it is probable that God is dealing with you. The Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. Give your ways to God and he will establish your thoughts. It is not the other way around. You have to act on what you are given to understand, and then you will be given more understanding. You have to find one of God’s elders and have him lay hands on you for receipt of the Holy Spirit, if you have been baptised as an adult and not into any sect or denomination. You then have to be obedient to the laws of God. Do not let these blind guides take away your opportunity to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Look also at the papers: Repentance and Baptism (No. 52); The Cross: Its Origin and Significance (No. 39); The Law of God (No. L1); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243).

A: "Arche" (SHD 746) means a commencement and hence, the beginning. In this sense, it can also mean "first" and is sometimes used in the sense of "chief" being first in the placement of the order. It is thus used then in the sense of "rule" as in John 20:20 where it is translated as "power." This is more rare as it is usually used as "beginning," and this is its real sense. The use as "chief" or "ruler" always means as one of the set in which it occurs. Thus, it is power or chief only in that the person is first of the set.

It is used some 43 times in the NT where it is translated as "beginning." The use of "Arche" in relation to Christ has specific theological meaning, which is resisted by Trinitarians and has resulted in the addition to the KJV in Revelation 1, re the Alpha and Omega. This aspect is covered in the paper Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No: 229).

The NIV renders "arche" in Revelation 3:14 as "ruler of the creation of God" to get around the obvious implication of the use of this word in that text. However, Thayers Greek English Lexicon also provides commentary on this aspect and it is always in this sense as the first person or thing in a series (pp. 76-77).

A: Arche of the Creation of God is Jesus Christ. The situation is explained in the papers Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229) and The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243).

A: Christ spoke to the prophets and they took down what He said. He was the one who spoke to Moses and gave him the Law. He spoke to the prophets of the Old Testament, and he spoke to the apostles of the New Testament church, and he gave them instructions and parables, which they copied down. So, we do have the Bible as an inspired work of God given to Jesus Christ who gave it to the prophets. Look at the papers The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); and The Bible (No. 164).

Is the Holy Spirit a person, or is it a power of God, or something else?

A: The Holy Spirit is the Power of God, which enables Christ and all of the Host to be sons of God. The issue of the personality of the Holy Spirit was fixed at the Council of Constantinople in 381, which made it a third person of the Godhead. The problem in English in understanding that it is not a person, is compounded by the gender sex nexus in the English language, which is not the same in Greek or many other languages. Look at the papers The Holy Spirit (No. 117); Consubstantial with the Father (No. 81); The Gender of the Holy Spirit (No. 155); and The Development of the Neo-Platonist Model (No. 17).

A: Yes, He would allot it to you to bring you to baptism. The problem is that you have to be obedient to retain it. It works with you until baptism and is then in you from baptism, but if you are not obedient then you will not retain it. Once you get to the stage of understanding you will be able to find one of the elders of the Church and be baptised into the body of Christ (not into a sect or denomination).

If you do not wish to act on it, do not ask, as it will not remain with you. Look at the papers The Holy Spirit (No. 117) and Consubstantial with the Father (No. 81).

A. The Bible speaks of the nephesh (Hebrew) and pneuma (Greek). All animals had a nephesh. The nephesh of man is stated to return to God who gave it and the structure awaits the Resurrection of the Dead. In the early centuries if any said they were Christians and said that when they died they went to heaven you knew thereby they were not Christians but Gnostic imposters.

Justin Martyr said this to the Emperor on behalf of the Church in Rome in 150-4 CE. Look at the papers The Soul (No. 92) and The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143).

A. The Kingdom of God is within us as a mustard seed. It is the Holy Spirit given to us, and which grows so that God is all in all. We are to become elohim as the Angel of Yahovah at our head.

The structure is explained in the papers such as The Vision of the Kingdom of God (No. 215); and the papers The Holy Spirit (No. 117); Consubstantial with the Father (No. 81); and The Elect as Elohim (No. 1).

A: The Rocks and water are the symbols of the Holy Spirit, which comes from the rock that is Christ, and which is the rock uncut by human hands from the mountain of Rock which is God and upon which Christ will build his church.

Christ was the rock that was with Israel in the wilderness and from which Israel drank spiritual water. The role of Christ is contained in the papers Role of the Messiah (No. 226); The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24); and The Purpose of the Creation and the Sacrifice of Christ (No. 160).

It seems many people believe there was a star shining in the east when Christ was born. Is this the case? What is the meaning of the reference to the star in Matthew 2 and other accounts of Messiah’s birth?

A: The text in Matthew 2:2 says: for we have seen his star in "anatole" and this is the "east," but it is also the name given to Anatolia or Asia Minor. It may have meant ‘we saw his star from….’, i.e. while they were in the east or Anatolia. In fact, they were probably northeast of Judea. Numbers 24:15-19 refers to the "Star" that shall come "out of Jacob," that was Messiah.

The tendency was to associate this as the morning star Venus, which was the symbol of the planetary ruler as the light bearer. Satan holds this rank and it is to transfer to Christ at His return. As Bullinger says, all questions are settled if it is regarded as miraculous.

A: The hatred goes back a long way. Herod was an Idumean. In other words, he was an Edomite. Their entire dynasty in Judah came from their forced conversion under Hyrcanus and the Maccabees. They were spread throughout Midian, but entered southern Judah on their conversion and established the area of Hebron. The southern area of Judea was thus a mixture of Edomites and Judah while the northern area of Galilee was a mixture of Judah, Levi and Samaritans.

That is why Christ was accused of being a Samaritan by the Pharisees -- not because he was, but rather they were conscious of the non-Israelite heritage under the Hasmonean dynasty since Hyrcanus. The resentment goes back to Esau and Jacob. The birthright came via Joseph but the sceptre came via Judah, and the Hasmoneans were very much aware that they were not of the royal line of Judah. The family of Christ was also of royal lineage as we see in the NT texts and they were very much alive and well as the Desposyni who ruled the church. So the Herodians, and later the Roman prelates, all tried to exterminate them for the same reasons. From 318, the bishop of Rome tried to exterminate them for over two centuries, and more or less succeeded.

A: No, the children of Rachel held the birthright promise. In this sense, it encompassed all the tribes including Judah. The killing of Herod was not the same as the Holocaust, but all were the same promise. It is written: "Manasseh shall feed of Ephraim and Ephraim shall feed of Manasseh and both shall feed of Judah." Now Judah is a son of Leah, not of Rachel.

A: God established a system of prayer in the Bible. Christ gave us the outline of the prayer sequence in Matthew 6. Do not pray in the open, but go into your room and pray in secret and your Father who hears in secret will reward you openly. Do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do for they think they will be heard by their repetition of words. Do not be like them for your Father knows what you have been doing before your ask. The Holy Spirit gives form to your utterances and groaning.

The sequence of the prayer is:

1) To God, as Our Father, who is in the heavens. Praise Him and give thanks in all things.

2) Thy kingdom come, His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of the millennial system and the kingdom of God on earth.

3) Give us this day our daily bread. Pray for your daily necessities and give thanks for them.

4) Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. This entails the structure of the law and the forgiveness of sin and debts under the Bible structure.

5) Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. You will be tempted but there will be no temptation from which you will not be given a way out. Only in the temptations of our lives can we be strengthened in character.

If you forgive men their trespasses your heavenly Father will forgive you your trespasses. Thus, the Lord’s Prayer can be seen as a structure or prompter for the prayers of the saints. It is not a vain repetition in its own right. Look at the paper Teach s to Pray (No. 111).

A: Based on this text, we take our obligations to each other as members of the body of Christ to the next highest level. For example, where we have an obligation to ensure that the poor are to be enabled to get to the feasts, it follows they must be keeping the feasts with you to help them.

We have to make these choices every day. For example, we receive requests for assistance from a number of Churches in India, Africa, and elsewhere. Some are from Pentecostals and some are from our own people. Obviously, the ones who are of our congregations get more assistance or are prioritised higher. While we would not do these people any harm, we may not be able to help them given our resources.

Common sense tells you that the ones who do the will of your Father in heaven get higher priority. This is a fairly easy test. If they do not speak according to the law and the testimony, there is no light in them (Isa 8:20). If you see an immediate case requiring assistance, then you render assistance as in the Good Samaritan. Where it is a case of assistance according to need, then it is family first. That family is the Church. Look at the paper Law and the Fifth Commandment (No. 258) and the Law series generally including The Second Great Commandment (No. 257).

A.:The text implies different kinds of demons and this kind needed the prayers and fasting of the elect. Thus, the structure of worship had to be brought into play as it was not simply the question of obedience of a simple demon.

This text comes from the Syriac and other texts omit it. Bullinger has a note to that effect and lists the texts that omit it in his note to v. 21 in the Companion Bible. Look also at the paper Atonement (No. 138).

A: The term in Matthew is "hetairos" or comrade, which is more distant that "philos." The ‘one’ was addressed out of the group, in the same way Peter was the ‘one’ in Matthew 19:27. He has no wedding garment on and is speechless because he cannot answer the omission. There are a series of groups here. The ones bidden did not come. This represents Judah. We can also deduce that it can be held to cover the host, and they are all refused entry to the millennial system.

The weeping and gnashing of teeth is not of the fallen host. They know what they have done and what is in store for them now. But they do have a chance of salvation but as physical beings, and then as translated new beings in the kingdom. They too will be given the opportunity to be born again.

Most of the gnashing of teeth will be from those who call themselves Christian but do not keep the commandments of God and the testimony or faith of Jesus Christ (Rev. 12:17; 14:12). They call him "Lord, Lord" but do nothing He did or commanded, and justify their disobedience by lies. There are many of these and, in fact, the majority will be simply stunned because their behaviour excluded them from the kingdom and they have no control over it. You are either translated and sent to Jerusalem to Christ, or you are not and there is no discussion. You have either obeyed or you have not.

The dead know nothing, but the living will gnash their teeth because they go into the great tribulation and are not kept from the hour of trial that is to come upon the whole earth. In the third example, Judas was a representation of Judah that sold its position in the kingdom. So too did Satan, and so the adversary is represented and he will have to face the second resurrection also. The papers The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143); The Judgment of the Demons (No. 80); Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son (No. 199); and Outline Timetable of the Age (No. 272) show the plan.

A: Good question. The Bible answers itself. The question is posed in Proverbs 30:4: "What is His name and what is His son’s name, answer it if you can tell". It is answered in the very next verse: "Every word of Eloah is pure". The name of the One True God is "Eloah." It is His Law. The Priests worship Him and His Temple. He caused His name to be placed at Jerusalem (cf. Ezra 4:24-7:26).

Eloah is singular and He extended Himself to become Elohim. He is the "Ha Elohim" or "The God." This was "Elahh" in the Chaldean and extended as "Elahhin" to the sons of God. Elahh became "Allah’ " in Arabic. He is the Elyon or Most High. He is Yahovah of Hosts who gave Israel to Yahovah as his special possession (Deut. 32:8 RSV). He is Yahovih (SHD 3069) who is the God of Yahovah (SHD 3068).

These aspects are explained in the papers The Names of God (No. 116); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24) and also The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243). There are very serious problems in Sacred Names theology. Look at the paper Abracadabra: The Meaning of Names (No. 240).

Can you tell me how John the Baptist could wear clothing made of camel hair if camel is unclean and we should not touch the carcasses of unclean animals? I'm assuming it was a whole hide he was wearing, not shaved hair. (Mark 1:6)

A: His garment was not of skin but of woven camel's hair. There is no injunction against that. The injunction against dead carcasses is usually attributed to things that die of themselves. There is a note in the Campanion Bible to Mark 1:6 regarding the camels hair.

A: The Pharisees were becoming concerned with handling regulations and ablutions that were above and beyond the Bible, and they were criticising the disciples. The full extent of this can be seen in the text The Works of the Law Text - or MMT (No. 104). This lost text was found among the Dead Sea Scrolls this century. Paul was also writing against this in the texts in Galatians and Colossians. Luther completely misunderstood what Paul was saying because of his vehement anti-Semitism.

Christ was saying that the Pharisees should be more concerned with what they were saying, which was destroying the law, rather than what they were worrying about might go into their mouths while they were eating. Christ and the Apostles kept the Food Laws and the Church has kept them for 2000 years. Look at the paper The Food Laws (No. 15).

A: John 17:3 answers this, as does John 1:18 in the Marshall’s Interlinear RSV and 1Timothy 6:16. John says: "And this is eternal life that they know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."

So this only True God sent Jesus Christ. To know that fact and to know them is eternal life. John, chapter 1, deals with the dispatch of Christ by the One True God and His purpose. John 1:18 says, "No man has seen God ever." The "only born God," that one being in the bosom of the Father spoke those words. The term "monogenes theos" or "only born god" was changed to read "monogenes uios" or "only born son" in the Receptus.

Paul also explains that no man has ever seen God, or ever can see God. He dwells in unapproachable light and He alone is immortal (1Tim. 6:16). Look at the papers On Immortality (No. 165) and The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243). Christ also explained that no man had seen God. That they had "neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape" (Jn. 5:37).

Who Christ is, is explained in the text at Psalm 45:6-7 and which is identified as Christ in Hebrews 1:8-9. But of the Son he says: "Thy throne (is a throne of) God; therefore God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy partners." Thus, the son is an elohim. He is identified in Zechariah 12:8 as the "Angel of the Lord" who is at the head of the household of David, who are the elect and who will likewise become elohim. It is written: "I said ye are gods," sons of the Most High, all of you and, "Scripture cannot be broken" (cf. Jn 10:34-35).

A: The question asked of Christ by the lawyer was, "But who is my neighbour" thus, "Who is my brother?" Christ gave then the parable of the Good Samaritan to show that the concept extended to all men. The Laws of God are within our hearts and thus no respect of persons is possible. Look at the paper Respect of Persons (No. 221) and Love and the Structure of the Law (No. 200). We are sent out as sheep amongst wolves. Love all men. However, sometimes it is better to love some from a distance.

A: Yes, Luke 12:36 is a very interesting text. IThessalonians 4:17 is the noted text for the rapture. That text however takes the elect to the air to meet the Lord on his way down and they congregate with him at Jerusalem as we see from the many other texts relating to this event. This is covered in the paper Trumpets (No. 136). The whole concept of the rapture is examined in the paper The Millennium and the Rapture (No. 95). The term here in the text in Luke 12:36 is "turn back."

The word used is "analuo." It occurs only here and in Philippians 1:23 in the New Testament. It is used in the Septuagint (LXX) only in the Apocryphal books, and always in the sense of "returning back." Bullinger says it is in the sense of "ana-kampti" (Heb. 11:15). References are in Tobit 2:9; Judith 13:1; 1Esdras 3:3; Wisdom 2:1; 5:12; 16:14; Ecclesiasticus 3:15; 2Maccabees 8:25; 9:1; 12:7; 15:28. The noun "analusis" as "a returning back of the body to dust", as in Genesis 3:19, occurs only once in 2Timothy 4:6.

The structure of the wedding supper seems to be predicated on the first element being that of the dead in Christ being first in the structure, and then the living are sought for the second phase to be caught up in the air to be with the Lord forever. The Bible says that those who are left alive will not precede (prevent) those who have fallen asleep. They will be resurrected to the marriage supper first. This is the sense here of Messiah turning back to those who are waiting for him. Then we get to restore the planet and run it according to God’s Laws for the thousand years of the Millenium. Look at the paper Outline Timetable of the Age (No. 272).

A: The text says that Christ was passing between Samaria and Galilee and ten lepers approached him standing afar off. This was in accordance with the law of Leviticus 13:45-46. The Talmud later prescribes the distance at 100 paces.

The Ten tribes were originally based in Samaria. The Samaritans were Cutheans and Medes who had interbred with the small remnant of the ten tribes that had remained in Israel after the deportation under Shalmaneser in 722 BCE.

The Jews hated them and they had opposed them for centuries and refused to accept their traditions. The Northern area of Galilee was effectively a separate state from Judea. It was also comprised of Jews, Samaritans, and others. The Judeans were both Judah and Levi, and also Idumeans or Edomites converted to Judah under the Maccabees and of whom King Herod was one.

One of those cleansed, a Samaritan, returned to give glory to God for his cleansing. Christ asked, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine?" This refers to the fact that the majority of the tribes did not return to him.

The parable also refers back to 2Kings 17:29-35 and the removal of the Israelites and the placement of the Cutheans and those of Ava and Hamath. How God raised up lions to slay them until they asked for a priest of Israel to be sent to them to show them how to worship God. In spite of that fact, they still made their own gods. The Babylonians made Succoth-benoth, the Cutheans made Negal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, the Avites made Nibhaz, and Tartak and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammalech and Anammelech the gods of Sepharvaim.

These were the five husbands that Samaria worshipped, and were the gods of the five nations brought into the northern kingdom on the dispersion of Israel. They thus worshipped Yahovah and their own deity. This is the reason Christ said to the woman at the well, who had five husbands and the one she lived with then was not her husband, "You worship you know not what" (Jn. 4:18, 22).

She was used as an example by God of the adultery and the marriage of the Northern lands to five husbands, and they did not know God living in sin in a defacto relationship in Samaria. The woman at the well is a powerful allegory and also a lesson on marriage.

We should compare this text also with Isaiah 54:5; 23:17; Jeremiah 22:20; Hoseah. 2:10-12. The use of ten lepers was to associate the northern tribes and the Gentiles, and bring the nations into Israel and cleanse them. The Samaritan was the only one who returned to give thanks showing the small ratio of those healed who do actually repent and give glory to God. The word used for "stranger" here is "alien."

Thus, there were also two witnesses for each of the five nations brought into the north and standing against the five Gods which had polluted their system of worship and which rendered them unclean and leprous.

A: The parables followed the Olivet prophecy. The disciples followed Christ from the Temple to the Mount of Olives and asked him privately to tell them when all these things would happen. He gave the Olivet prophecy and then proceeded to give the parables. The meaning of the text is that each is given a degree of spiritual power and understanding, some more than others. The Church is required to band together and all of those talents, no matter how much or little, are required to support the work so that it may grow.

Those who have only the basics of the Spirit are not excused from doing the work. They are required to discern the body and place their resources at the disposal of others. If they do not, Christ will reject them from the kingdom. That is why none of us can sit at home doing nothing. The ten pounds in Luke is the same concept taken according to individual effort on behalf of the work. The faithful performance of duty is rewarded according to effort.

A: When Christ was on the cross He said to the man: "I tell you this day you will be with me in paradise." It is the same expression as, "I am telling you right now, you will be with me," etc. It has been misconstrued by the Gnostics to justify their doctrines. Christ was dead three days and three nights so, if he meant that the thief would be in heaven with him that day, he was a liar and hence not the Messiah. The creation narrative concerns a large structure of the earth and its atmosphere and from a previous initiation.

A: This is an interesting topic. The Gospel of John was written after the three synoptic gospels, and rectifies the deficiency in them of the references to Christ in time sequence and the full period of his ministry. John also is concerned, as you seem to indicate, with demonstrating the position and pre-existence of Christ in relation to God. The New Testament church taught for two centuries that Christ was the Angel of the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses. This was a key matter in understanding the role of Christ and his position in relation to God, and the doctrines of the Old Testament as they were interpreted in the New Testament. These aspects are explained in the papers: The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243); The Angel of YHVH (No. 24); Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229); and Joshua, the Messiah, the Son of God (No. 134). You will find a number of papers on our web site that will explain the nature of God and the position of Christ. The relationship of the Gospel of John to the Pentateuch will be obvious from the papers.

A. No, Jesus did not break the Sabbath. The Pharisees said He did. What he broke was their forced interpretation of Jeremiah 17:21-22. The Pharisees, from this text, made the carrying of anything from a public place to a public place, and here into a private place or from the private place out, on the Sabbath unlawful (cf. Talmud Sabb. 6a).

Jeremiah is talking about the carriage of burdens into Jerusalem, or from the home, out to work on the Sabbath. Taking one’s sleeping mat home could hardly be a breach of the Sabbath, but they wanted to make it so. The Mishnah later (ca 200) went on to detail what could be placed out, in relation to sleeping materials, if for example, Atonement fell on the day after the Sabbath, which it sometimes did before the postponements were placed in effect. Christ kept the law, but he often showed the false interpretation of the law, as in this case.

A: They understood that the Elohim mentioned in the Old Testament, who gave the Law to Moses, was the Great Angel who was also one of the sons of God. They understood the text at Psalm 45:6-7: "Therefore God thy God has anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy partners" as referring to the Messiah who was to be the Son of God.

Proverbs 30:4-5 asks a question as to what is the name of God and what is His son’s name, and then supplies the name of the One True God in the singular in verse 5, namely Eloah. In the Chaldee this was "Elahh." The plural was "Elohim" and "Elahhin" in the Chaldee. This eastern version of the language, which became Eastern Aramaic and then Arabic, is the reason why Islam says the name of God is "Allah’." The double h becoming h’ as an aspirant.

Where the Greek uses the word " ‘aggelos" translated as "angel" in the English. It is used for the "sons of God" or the "elohim" in the Hebrew. It is so used in the Greek of the Septuagint (LXX) and also in the New Testament. Psalm 8:4,5,6, which is quoted as: "What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him. For thou hast made him [for] a little [while] lower than the elohim. And hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou has put all things under his feet."

Now this word is, as we see in the Hebrew, "elohim" which means "gods." It was translated as "angels" in the Septuagint and also from that into the Greek text in Hebrews. It retained that sense in the Vulgate, the Syriac and the Arab because it suited the Trinitarians to have it as "angels" and to omit the "for a little while" sense. The reason was that none of them wanted to acknowledge that the "elohim" were an extended order of beings.

However the text is definitely "elohim" in the original Hebrew, and the priests knew that the son of man was an elohim who became son of God as the "monogenes theos" or the "only born God" of John 1:18 (cf. Marshall’s Greek English Interlinear RSV). The notes to the Companion Bible in the texts examine these aspects.

They were referring to him making himself equal to the elohim and, as this was not spoken in Greek but in Aramaic, we get the text as "elohi" then rendered as "angels." The sons of God were all elohim as the Old Testament texts show by their usage. These elohim were understood as "aggelos" {ang’-el-os} or "messengers" and translated as "angel" in the English and other texts. However, the Temple priests had not been hampered by the traditions of Roman pagans masquerading as Christians for a few centuries at this time, and so they understood the implications perfectly.

A: Yes, they were lying to serve their own nefarious ends, as ministers in the religion business today lie to serve their own ends. Mainstream Christian religion is a shambles of pagan worship, false gods, and false systems because the priests teach for hire and they have constructed a false system to fit in with the Roman Empire and pagan traditions.

Jonah and Hosea both came out of Galilee. Elijah was a Tishbite, and the Gileadites were from the east, Bullinger says he and Elisha, and perhaps even Amos, seem to have had some association with Galilee.

The real reason also is that the Galileans were all true sons of Judah, but the Judeans were of a great number of Edomites. That is probably the real basis behind the Pharisees misconstructing the Scriptures. Under the laws in practice then, Galilee was regarded as a separate country. The real nexus is that Jonah came from Galilee, and the Sign of Jonah was the only sign given to Christ’s ministry and by which Judah was to be destroyed. Look at the paper The Sign of Jonah and the History of the Reconstruction of the Temple (No. 13); and Outline Timetable of the Age (No. 272).

A: These sheep are they who follow false shepherds. He also said that many would call Him "Lord, Lord," and not do what He says. He will say, "Depart from me." These are also those who are called but not chosen within the folds of the elect. The structure of Revelation shows that there is a false religious system, which is destroyed in the last days. This is the nature of the comments He made.

The false religions were at work trying to introduce the Baal-Easter system as early as John, who wrote of the Antichrist doctrine that separated the humanity of Christ from His divinity. This was the doctrine of Attis, where the god of the Attis system was both father and son in the same god.

This view entered Christianity as Binitarianism and then became the Triune structure. The Gnostics were the most influential with the intrusion of their doctrines of heaven and hell, prohibition, celibacy, and vegetarianism. See the papers Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183); and Wine in the Bible (No. 188)

A: The salutations in this text come from Psalm 118:25,26. The entry of the Lord to the Temple and the praise of the crowd in Aramaic means: "help now" (Hoshi' an-na). The palm trees are of significance as they also relate to the fact of the Messiah. In Ezekiel’s temple you see it central to the two cherubim, the man and lion headed cherubim. The palm tree is the symbol of the Angel of the Presence and the tree that made the waters of Meribah accessible to Israel.

A: The day was the 14th of Abib or Nisan, which was the great Preparation Day for the Passover which was killed that afternoon when Christ died. It was eaten that night on the First Holy Day of Unleavened Bread. Note John 19:31 says:

"The Jews therefore, because it was the Preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the [stauros] on the Sabbath day, (for that Sabbath day was a High Day,) sought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."

In the year Christ was crucified, which was 30 CE, 14 Nisan fell on a Wednesday. Thus, the First Holy Day of Unleavened Bread on 15 Abib fell on the Thursday beginning at evening the previous day (i.e. at night fall Wednesday). He then spent Thursday, Friday and Sabbath in the tomb. He was resurrected at the end of the Sabbath having been three full days and three full nights in the grave.

The early accounts claim a Wednesday crucifixion. Easter and Friday Crucifixions are from the cult of the gods Attis and Adonis. Look at the papers The Origins of Christmas and Easter (No. 235); The Quartodeciman Disputes (No. 277). Look also at the paper Timing of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection (No. 159). It will answer your questions regarding the timings and the texts.

Why do some books like Acts not end in Amen and most other books do?

A: The term "Amen" is derived from the Hebrew SHD 543 "'amen" meaning "sure." As an adverb it is "truly" and abstractly it means "faithfulness". It hence means, "so be it" or "truth". The term "Amen" is used because it is a direct order of God under the law. The Greek term SGD 281 amen is a direct transliteration from the Hebrew with the same meaning. It was carried into English over centuries with the same meaning. Thus, our people are complying to this very day with the order given by God at Sinai. Both men and women are required to say it (cf. Num. 5:22; Deut. 27:15-26). It is a motion of concurrence or assent in prayer under authority. It was said in all the restoration (Neh. 5:13; 8:6). It occurs in the Psalms. It was said by the prophets (Jeremiah 28:6). Christ ordered it as part of the Lord’s Prayer.

It is omitted from some texts because they were simple histories. In others, it is used as an emphasis of "so let it be" because the Church is being reprimanded and it has an air of God’s Authority, whereas Acts was not an epistle requiring concurrence and action from the Church. There is a bizarre idea going around some US churches that it has something to do with the Egyptians and is derived somehow from the worship of Amun Ra. This is completely false and the fabricators of this doctrine are simply trying to undermine the Law of God which requires its utterance and which Israel and the Church have faithfully done since Sinai to the present day.

A: Yes, This is an interesting point. We lean to the view that the three periods of forty, making the 120, were the three ages and these are reflected in the life of Moses and the Rule of the Kings. A paper will be issued in the future. The view that the 120 were necessary as a reflection of the completed harvests of God is very interesting and is a probable scenario

A: On this interpretation one is not bound by anything. Yes, the New Testament plainly shows they did keep the foodlaws, and they did keep the Sacred Calendar, and they did keep the Passover. In fact, the Quartodeciman Dispute split the church in 192 and the Sabbath-keeping Churches have been apart from the Roman Church ever since that date. Look at the paper The Quartodeciman Disputes (No. 277).

Also there are other categories of exclusion elsewhere that are not covered here. Thus, this text must be dealing with a particular aspect for a particular purpose. This is examined in the paper The Food Laws (No. 15) and Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183).

The text was written for households in pagan situations, such as slavery to a pagan master. This made conditions very difficult for the convert. The texts later regarding the weak in the faith eating only vegetables is from the same problem. If we examine this text, and take it as read that these are the only requirements of the faith, then only two commandments are listed and a subsidiary piece of legislation regarding the eating of blood.

The sixth commandment does not even get a mention here, as well as the second only indirectly, and the third, fourth, fifth eighth, ninth and tenth not at all. So, on that interpretation, it is okay to murder, cheat, lie, steal, covet, and profane God. No one believes that, and no one interpreted that text that way either in any religion, except the antinomians of today who understand nothing. Look at the paper The Law of God (No. L1) and the Law series.

A: The text in Acts 15:24 is a forgery inserted into the Receptus with the express purpose of undermining the Law of God among the faithful. The Companion Bible KJV has a note to the effect that the words: "Saying you must be circumcised and keep the law" are not in the ancient texts, and are not in other Bibles that deal with or are based on the ancient texts.

The issue at stake here concerns Gentiles coming into the faith within pagan households and who were being exposed to those pagan systems. Direct sacrifice to idols was to be avoided, as was the often seen practice of strangling meat. Also to be avoided was the custom of fornication, which was common in Temple rituals where blood was also consumed. The so-called "Black pudding" is a modern day leftover from these practices. This text deals with these practices and is not exclusive. Look at the papers Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183) and The Doctrines of Demons of the Last Days (No. 48).

Anyone familiar with Romans chapter 1 knows that Paul continues on from this and describes homosexuality. Paul chose the ‘feminine’ word to describe divine nature. Higher things in nature are in pairs, male and female; male goes with female, and female with male. When humanity forgot this, they began to couple male with male, and female with female. The phrase "The wisdom of God said" (Luke 11:49) is accurate. In Judaism, Wisdom was a feminine aspect of God. The Word was a masculine manifestation of God. Wisdom is to God what Logos is to God. Once again we are brought into contact with the feminine nature of God. What implications does this have for Christians?

A: The concept of Sophia, as wisdom, is feminine because the logos is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. This is confounded also by the arguments for the gender of the Holy Spirit (see the paper The Gender of the Holy Spirit (No. 155)).

This crude analogy might break down when we say Christ is given the spirit and ascends as a Son of God in power from His resurrection from the dead. It is no more inappropriate to allot the spirit to Christ in the feminine as it is to males in the church. The males have no difficulty understanding the concept being a bride of Christ and of being, at the same time, a son of God.

We understand the concept of the mysteries of God in the structure of the family. The structure of Romans is designed to show the progressive degeneration of the nature of the faith when idolatry is induced. When one takes a false God, one then begins a progressive degeneration in the Holy Spirit and in the nation. The truth is held in unrighteousness and then the wrath of God is revealed against them. They turn on one another in their own lusts.

One cannot think of a better description of the progressive deterioration of the Church over 2000 years. After the adoption of the Triune God, by the second century, the organised Church had become a degenerate organism based on sodomy and perversion; killing those who obeyed the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ; embracing doctrines of demons, and commanding those to abstain from marriage and from meats, which were ordained to be received in thanksgiving.

The various problems are examined in the papers Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183) and The Nicolaitans (No. 202).

A: The Works of the Law is a book. It was the Miqsat Ma'ase ha Torah. In Greek, this was rendered "ergon nomou" and in English it is "Works of the Law." It was lost for 1900 years. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained a copy. That copy was translated by professors Qimron and Strugnell. A paper has been written on its significance for NT exegesis. The paper is The Works of the Law Text - or MMT (No. 104). The original text and the translations are also available from CCG.

A: The entire law was pointed to Christ and the plan of God because the law proceeded from the Nature of God. That is why Christ was the end of the law. He did not do away with the law. What he nailed to the cross in Colossians was the bill of our indebtedness or the Chierogriphon. We are free because he paid the price for our indebtedness as individuals but as also a host.

He who sanctifies and they who are sanctified are of one origin as Hebrews says. We reconcile ourselves to God through Christ who qualified to be our leader. Look at the paper The Relationship Between Salvation by Grace and the Law (No. 82). The law series is important. Look at The Law of God (No. L1).

Could you explain the point Paul was trying to make in Romans 14.

A: In Roman Society many in the Church were slaves. In the Roman household they regulated their diet according to the days of sacrifice. Thus, the concept was that a person in a pagan household would eat food sacrificed to idols.

The fish were sacred to Atargatis, or Dercato or Cato, and fish were eaten on her day, hence Friday as fish day. This practice is still found today in Roman Catholicism. When asked they will say we made the decision to help the fishing industry but the sacred fish of Atargatis is where it came from. The Pinata came from there as well.

The mermaid contains within herself the new seeds of life and has to be broken for the seeds to be released: Hence, human blood sacrifices. Attis, and his eunuch priests, were associated with this Easter cult. The Church was dealing with the fact that the brethren did not know where some of the meat was coming from. So, they were judging each other and some were only eating vegetables to avoid the possibility of eating meat sacrificed to idols.

Paul was telling them not to be overly concerned. The idols themselves did nothing and if one did not know, then those strong in the faith ate meat with no consequence. In this case, the killing was correct and so the blood was not eaten. According to Bullinger, in the time of Daniel, they chose not to eat the meat because it was not killed properly (see fnn. to Companion Bible re Daniel 1).

The noting of days was for the purposes of determining what days the types of meat might be sacrificed. It was not a question of not keeping the Sabbath, as that is commanded. In this case, they were determining the sacrifices for the purpose of eating meat. The matter is mentioned in the paper Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183).

A: No, that is not correct. The Bible is clear in that the Church has a few names. The names are: "Church of God" (at Corinth e.g.) for individual churches, and "Churches of God" for the generic term over nations. They were also called "Christian" and the sect called "The Way." Roman 16:16 says in the ancient texts: "All the churches of Christ salute you." This in no way undermines the concept of God as the head of the Church. The head of every man is Christ and the Head of Christ is God. Christ is the body in the sense that He is the Church, and that is the way it is used in Romans. The issue has been examined in the paper The Name of the Church (No. 148).

Is Paul talking about the feast of Unleavened Bread here?

A: Yes, he was speaking of the Feast Unleavened Bread and the Passover, which is part of it, commencing on the Preparation Day of 14 Abib. He also instituted the formal Lord’s Supper on the first meal of the evening of 14 Abib at the first Chagigah meal, which commenced the day of Preparation for the Passover the following evening, which Passover Christ was.

If one does not keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, one does not understand the purpose of the removal of sin through the sacrifice of Christ. Paul and the other apostles and the early church kept all the feasts. The separation came in 192 when the Roman bishop tried to enforce the Easter heresy and forced the split of the church. Look at the paper The Quartodeciman Disputes (No. 277). There are also papers on the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Look at The Passover (No. 98); The Old and the New Leaven (No. 106a); and The Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106b).

A: A woman should only have her head covered while praying when she has short hair, as her hair is her glory. She must have her head covered as she is subject to her husband because of the Angels (1Cor. 11:10-15).

Her hair is her covering. That is why a man is shamed if he has long hair. A woman must have longer hair for her covering thus, the length of a woman’s hair must be longer than a man’s hair. Only a man must poll his hair. If a woman is polled she must wear a covering. That is why women are shamed by having their hair cropped as we saw, for example, at the end of the war in France

A: The heresy of the church at Galatia and Colossi are examined in the paper Heresy in the Apostolic Church (No. 89). It was a form of Gnostic theology dealing with the elements, and the doing of things according to times and pagan institutions. Look also at the paper Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183) for the other elements and also at The Soul (No 92) for that problem.

Satanists and Stargazers who use it as a determination of fate, and to elevate an individual above God and as a god carry on this idea. The Bible position forbids this view. Our destiny is to become sons of God, and we await the resurrection of the dead so we can become sons of God in power through the Holy Spirit, so God can become all in all (Eph. 4:6). Look at the papers The Soul (No. 92); and The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143).

A: Galatians 4:10 cannot be read out of context from Galatians 4:9 and the other verses. The weak and beggarly elements were the Gnostic systems. The Colossian Heresies were different. In Galatia they were propitiating the elements of the universe. The texts in Galatians has nothing to do with the dispute in Colossians 2:16 regarding the keeping of the feasts and the New Moons and Sabbaths.

In other words, these people were watching astrology for the days and the times of the year and were ruled by the signs. They were turning again to these signs. This was to the assembly in Galatia. The curtain of Herod’s Temple had signs embroidered on it (cf. Josephus). The influence of Gnosticism in the Church is examined in the papers Vegetarianism and the Bible (No. 183); The Nicolaitans (No. 202); and various papers dealing with the Godhead and also The Soul (No. 92).

Ephesians 3:15 says "of whom every family in Heaven and on earth is named." How many families in Heaven are there? Could you enlighten me?

A: God created a family from the beginning and they were termed the sons of God (cf. Job 1:6 and 2:1) and Satan was a son of God and the anointed covering cherub.

Families is actually "fatherhoods". This is the sense in which Christ is termed "Everlasting father" in Isaiah 9:6. Look at the paper Isaiah 9:6 (No. 224) for the explanation. The structure of the Family of God is shown in the paper How God Became a Family (No. 187). The paper Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229) will show how the titles of Christ come from his activity within the will of God.

A: Philippians 2:10 is a promise dealing with Christ’s elevation from his obedience and death on the cross. He did not seek to grasp equality with God but made himself of no account and assumed human form as He was commanded to do.

The practice of bending the knee in worship came from the system of the Baal-Easter cults, where it is still practised. For His purposes, God reserved himself a number of people who have not bent their knee to Baal. In Elijah’s day it was 7000 when Elijah thought he was alone.

This text shows that the entire system of Baal-Easter worship, which is based on this system of genuflection will be brought under Christ and made to acknowledge him as Lord. The structure of the text is based on the word "bow" as "kampto" (Rom. 11:4 cf Isa. 45:23; Rom. 14:11).

Things bow: in heaven (i.e. the angelic host see Eph. 3:10); things in earth (i.e. the terrestrial cf. 1Cor. 15:40); things under the earth (i.e. the dead at their resurrection i.e. both Resurrections (Rev. 20) cf Rev. 5:13 and the angels and demons (1Cor. 6:3 Lk. 8:31; Rev. 9:11 and also Ps. 148.)

Instead of this being an endorsement of genuflection, it is a promise that every one who does it and endorses the Satanic Baal-Easter system of the sun cults and the mother goddess system, will be made to repent of it at the resurrection.

Look at the papers The Resurrection of the Dead (No. 143); The Soul (No. 92); The Judgment of the Demons (No. 80); and Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son (No. 199). The question of the place of Christ is covered in the papers Law and the First Commandment (No. 253); Law and the Second Commandment (No. 254); Law and the Third Commandment (No. 255); and The First Great Commandment (No. 252). Look also at The Pre-Existence of Jesus Christ (No. 243) and Arche of the Creation of God as Alpha and Omega (No. 229).

I think Colossians 2.14. sets the stage for the subject in the following verses… ‘Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross’. In Colossians 2.13 Paul talks about baptism instead of circumcision. Then 1Corinthians 5:7… ‘Purge out there the old leaven that yea might be a new lump’. Colossians 2.16 ‘Let no man judge you….’ Men are not to judge neither does Christ. So nobody can judge me as to what I eat or drink, or what Holy Days I choose to take part in. I mean really, what qualifies one as a Christian anyway?

A: What was nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:14 was the "cheirographon" or the handwriting that you get when you go to a restaurant and are given a bill for the meal. He nailed the bill of our debts under the law to the stauros, paying in full for our sins once and for all.

The Holy Days were not eliminated as we see from the conduct of the Disciples in Acts. Acts 20:6 shows that they kept Unleavened Bread. After Unleavened Bread they sailed from Philippi. So we have established that Paul and the

Philippian Church were keeping the feasts. Colossians 2:16 shows the Colossians were keeping them. Acts 20:7 says on the "mia ton Sabbaton" which is literally the "First of the Sabbaths" and Bullinger holds this to be the first perfect Sabbath of the Omer count, and not Sunday. Thus, they also kept the Wave Sheaf and the lead up to Pentecost, which we know they kept from Acts 2:1. The phrase "Day of Pentecost was fully come," meaning that they also kept the Sabbath the day before as part of this two day festival. We know they kept the Day of Atonement and the Feasts of the Seventh Month from the text in Acts 27:9, which refers to the fast of Atonement.

So, you say in spite of the Calendar being given to us by Jesus Christ, as intermediary for God; and despite Him and the New Testament Church keeping it themselves; and despite the Church being persecuted throughout history for keeping it; you will decide you do not have to keep the Laws of God and to teach men so. Well, Christ was pretty clear in what happens to people who do that. They are counted least in the kingdom of God.

A. That's the myth the antinomians would like you to believe. That is the big myth that the law was nailed to the cross in Colossians 2:14. What was nailed to the cross was the Chierographon, which was the bill of indebtedness under the law that Christ paid for us and through grace we are able to live to God in the Holy Spirit.

Not one jot or tittle passed from the law till heaven and earth pass away. It is still there and it will be for another eleven hundred and twenty-seven years at least, as we understand the word of God.

The elect are "those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony (or faith) of Jesus Christ" and that is why the dragon is wrath with us and wants to destroy us (Rev. 12:17; 14:12). The Law series will give you an insight into this aspect. Look at the The Law of God (No. L1) and all the subsidiary papers to that work.

A: Colossians 2:16 shows the Church was keeping all of the Sabbaths and New Moons and Holydays. It says let no man judge you as to how you keep them, not ignore them. Acts shows clearly the entire Church was keeping the feasts and the Sabbaths and here, the New Moons. We have kept them for over 1,971 years. They kept Pentecost or they would not have received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1). The Gospels are littered with references to the keeping of all the feasts by Christ and the apostles. Not one reference exists that says they were not to be kept --not one. Paul kept them and that can be interpreted from his writings (Acts 12:3; 20:6). 1Corinthians 5:7-8 explains how we are to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

The church kept the Day of Atonement (Acts 27:9). You cannot understand the plan of salvation without the Holydays of God. Christ was the Passover and the Wave sheaf. He commanded us to keep the Lord’s Supper on the night he was betrayed, which is on the evening of 14 Abib.

There is not one reference transferring the Sabbath, or telling the Church not to keep the Sabbaths, New Moons, and Feasts, and that includes Colossians 2:16. Paul set up an alms collection on the First Day of the week because it could not be done on the Sabbath. That is the only reference to meeting on Sunday. Even the days rendered as "First day of the week" is actually "first of the Sabbaths" in the Greek.

A: The word "worshipping" is "religion" in Acts 26:5 and only occurs in these two places. To understand the heresies at Galatia and Colossi, one needs to understand the religious concepts of the day. These concepts have been examined in the paper Heresy in the Apostolic Church (No. 89). The propitiation of the aeonian system and the elements seemed to be part of this. The words and their meaning are in the text at reference. The messenger is not to be worshipped. This form of praying to angels has entered Christianity via other means and people think nothing of praying to angels and saints.

A: The mystery of Christ here is the redemption of the Gentiles to become sons of God. Those that are without are literally bought out by the activities of the church acting in the mystery of Christ. The texts are found in Galatians. Galatians 3 shows that in Abraham all nations are blessed and the heathen are justified through faith and the Scripture says that they of faith are the children of Abraham (Gal. 3:6-7).

The Spirit preached the gospel to Abraham saying in him all nations shall be blessed (Gal. 3:8-9). Paul is countering the "ergon nomou" or the Miqsat Ma'ase ha Torah (MMT) (see the paper The Works of the Law Text - or MMT (No. 104)). He is applying that text in Galatians to the question of the curses of the law. No man is justified by the law as the just shall live by faith (Gal. 3: 11-12; Hab. 2:4; cf. Rom. 1:17; Heb. 10:38).

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law for it is written "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Gal. 3:13; cf Deut 21:23). This was done so that the blessings of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ and that we might receive the Spirit through faith (Gal. 3:14).

Paul develops this argument to combat the heresy at Galatia, and also at Colossi. Look at the paper Heresy in the Apostolic Church (No. 89). In Galatians 4:3 he speaks of our bondage to the elements of the world. He is dealing with this heresy in Galatia. He says that in the fullness of time "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under the law that we might receive the sonship. And because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying ‘Abba, Father’" (Gal. 4:4-6).

Thus we are no longer servants but sons, and if sons then heirs of God through Christ (Gal. 4:7). In Ephesians 5:14 Paul paraphrases Isaiah 60:1-2 and speaks of the light that is given by Christ in awakening those of the dead. He uses the same phrase in Ephesians 5:16 regarding the redeeming of the time, or literally the buying out of the time as we see in Galatians 3:13 and Colossians 4:5. Urging us to walk in wisdom to them that are without, redeeming the time for the times are evil.

He speaks of giving thanks in all things and submitting ourselves one to another in the fear of God. Thus, the mystery of Christ is the redemption of the Gentiles as sons of Abraham through faith to the Church, and the sonship of God through Christ being broken from the curse of the law but able to accomplish all things by faith.

We are to walk in wisdom through faith giving thanks in all things and submitting ourselves to one another by faith in the fear of God. In that way, through the mystery of Christ, we become sons of the living God. It is written: "I said ye are Gods, all of you children of the Most High..." and Scripture cannot be broken (Ps. 82:6; Jn. 10:34-35).

A: The Great Apostasy has been occurring over many centuries. It commenced in Rome and spread from the 4^th century to the entire Christian Church. This falling away from the truth has been constant. The effect has been the total persecution of God’s people trying to obey the Laws of God for centuries.

In the last days, it is given to the false system to wear out the Saints of the Most High. In a sense, this was already effected last century when the papacy declared the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and God on earth. As head of a system that follows the man of sin and son of perdition, we expect that the apostasy will continue and take over the very last of the Sabbath-keeping people, wearing them out and reducing their power.

This has happened in the last three decades with virtually the entire Church of God ministry in all branches becoming advocates of the Binitarian/Trinitarian system of the Triune God. Only a very few are left who adhere to the original doctrine of the Church established by the Apostles. Very few adhere to the Laws of God and follow Christ as the Great Angel of the Old Testament who gave the Law to Moses, as was taught by the first and second century Churches.

Paul says in verse 7: "For the mystery of iniquity does already work:". God lets it happen "until he be taken out of the way." Who was there and was let go until the last and "be taken out of the way"? The answer can only be one being and that is the adversary, Satan. The mystery of iniquity is the basis of this system and so, through the Mystery Cults, Satan works the apostasy that deceives, if it were possible, even the very elect.

Thus, Satan is he who sits in the Temple of God calling himself "God," and every minister who follows him and teaches the false doctrines of the Easter system is "the man of sin" in that he is Satan’s representative on earth as part of the Sun system. Only a few people will survive in the Church in the last days to do the job and bring about the publication of affliction and the gospel of the Kingdom of God.

In that process, the restoration will occur and the conversion of Judah and the call of the people to Jerusalem will be commenced. Until that time, we have to be refined in fire. Look at the papers Calling the Peoples to Jerusalem (No. 238); The Messages of Revelation 14 (No. 270). There are two factors which also affect this process and these are covered in the papers: The Warning of the Last Days (No. 44) and Gideon’s Force and the Last Days (No. 22).