One of the things I do in my research for my posts is compare translations. While I mainly use the NASB1995 translation for my writing, I enjoy studying and comparing other translations for further education and accuracy.
As I was studying Matthew 5:4 to prepare for today’s Daily Bible Reading post found HERE, I decided to see what Brian Simmons conjured up in his Passion Translation (TPT). If you are unaware, Simmons’ translation is nefarious for adding many unnecessary additions to some passages and for completely altering the meaning of other passages. His translation has become the go-to Bible translation for many charismatic churches around the globe and is leading millions astray. At the surface level, the basic issue with this translation is that it simply is not one—it is a borderline Bible paraphrase and a sketchy one at that, as it completely alters the meaning of many passages. In this post, I won’t explore further into why this translation is dangerous other than discussing the verse in question and letting the research speak for itself—I will link some educational videos providing further context about Brian and TPT below, though. Without further adieu, let’s compare some of the more popular Bible translations of Matthew 5:4 and show why TPT should not be used… American Standard Version (ASV): “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” Berean Study Bible (BSB): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Christian Standard Bible (CSB): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” English Standard Version (ESV): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” King James Version (KJV): “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.” New American Standard Bible, 1995 (NASB1995): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” New American Standard Bible, 2020 (NASB2020): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” New English Translation (NET): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” New International Version (NIV): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” New King James Version (NKJV): “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” New Living Translation (NLT): “God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Notice any differences? Not really, huh? The NLT has the most erroneous change by adding “God”, but the interpretation of the verse is still clearly understood and consistent with the other translations. Now, let’s see what Brian Simmons conjured up for this verse. The Passion Translation (TPT): What delight comes to you when you wait upon the Lord! For you will find what you long for. Confused? I certainly was. It sounds delightful but what does he mean? What does this have to do with those who mourn and their comfort in the LORD? Maybe I just wasn’t understanding, so I decided to read Brian’s footnote in 5:4a to maybe provide some missing context. Footnote 1 “5:4 As translated from the Hebrew Matthew. (See also Ps. 27:14.) The Greek is "mourn (grieve)." The Hebrew word for "wait" and for "mourn" is almost identical.” Okay, so Brian is saying that waiting and mourning are “almost identical”? Let’s discuss. The Greek ‘to mourn’ is “penthéo” which means ‘to grieve’ or ‘lament’ over oneself. It is a feeling of utmost guilt and sadness over one’s condition—a feeling of being completely undone. Those who mourn are not just sad about their circumstances or sinful state but are completely, utterly lost without the LORD and they recognize this. The Hebrew for those mourning is “avel” meaning those who mourn for loss or calamity along with being poor, afflicted, humbled, etc. (see Is. 61:3). The LORD sees their mourning and will lift them up (see Is. 66:2). The Hebrew word for ‘wait’ is “qavah” meaning ‘to await’, ‘look for’, ‘hope’, ‘expect’, or ‘to look eagerly for.’ While Brian correctly references Psalms 27:14 using qavah to wait, I do not see even a mild resemblance between the Hebrew words for qavah and avel. I also do not see how this definition accurately represents what Brian wrote in his translation. Now, I know how to research but do have a fairly average understanding of Bible translations, so maybe I am missing something and if so, please correct me in the comments below to discuss. If you stretch Brian’s translations far enough, you can potentially imply that you (mournful) will be delighted (comforted, delivered) in time (when the LORD delivers you). The mournful are waiting on the LORD to comfort them, I suppose? It just isn’t clear and his reference to qavah in Psalms 27:14 is far from the definition and use of avel in Isaiah and penthéo in Matthew. Even the widely-used Classic Amplified Bible (AMPC) states differently and references avel (Is. 61:2). Matthew 5:4 (AMPC): “Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted! [Isa. 61:2.]” This is just one of the hundreds of verses that The Passion Translation completely alters or changes. I decided to write this up because I published my Daily Bible Reading (Matt. 5:4) today and could not get over how confusing and absurdly different Brian’s translation is. I did not even get into the “secret Aramaic language” that only he knows, but that is for another discussion or found in the link below. I hope this post was beneficial to your study of the Scriptures and peeked your interest in researching Bible translations further. Please, share and comment with your questions, concerns, or corrections below. Thank you for reading! Resources: Exposing The Passion Translation by Mike Winger: dozens of videos breaking down the issues with Brian Simmons and this translation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ2HrBT3ZgA&list=PLZ3iRMLYFlHvXha4rjCj1Po0WLQc_jGGW
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I wrote about the charismatic church and its confused eschatology in January, saying it is leading to a place where they believe they can expedite the return of Jesus.
This is obviously nonsensical, but fast forward four months later, and here we are. Mike Bickle, Sean Feucht, and many other leaders in are holding a 21-day prayer fast to expedite the return of Jesus. It is wonderful to pray for and seek the salvation of Israel, but obliterating the context of Old Testament passages to support unbiblical ideas is becoming too commonplace. Bickle said in a YouTube segment with evangelical singer and activist Sean Feucht, “When Israel wakes up spiritually, Jesus says, I will come down from heaven.” What? We cannot expedite the return of Jesus. He will come at His appointed time, after the tribulation. I was not surprised to see Feucht involved as Bethel and its seven mountain mandate theology is contagiously spreading across the American evangelical church—it is also antithetical to Scripture and holds a theocratic view of the Church. A proper understanding that the rapture and second coming are one event provides clarity on the salvation of the Jews, as many Jews will come to Christ during the tribulation—not before. You cannot hold a dispensational eschatology and believe what they are saying. They contradict their own pre-trib beliefs. It is illogical for them to say Israel will be saved before the rapture while holding to this perspective. Dispensational eschatology holds that Israel and the Church are separate, which means that Israel is not part of the Bride of Christ. Sounds unbiblical? That is because it is. While Israel will be saved, this happens during the tribulation. This idea that Jesus will return after Israel is saved makes sense if you understand that there is no pre-trib rapture. Think about it. They are saying we can pray, expediting the return of Jesus. This means Israel is saved *before* Jesus returns. But the pre-trib view holds that the Jews must go through the tribulation—only the Bride/Church is raptured, so this is illogical. If they understood that there is no pre-trib rapture, then this makes sense. They are right that Israel will be saved before Jesus returns—but this is after the tribulation, not before. It is so important to have a proper understanding of the timing of the rapture—or else it will either leave you unprepared to face tribulation or lead you into unbiblical ideologies. We must all endure to the end and we cannot alter God's end of days timeline. By Isaac Goodwin
Blind faith is a popular and confusing phrase that many Christians use often. We use it to justify our trust in God about something that has not happened yet or for something we are hoping for. Sometimes, our understanding of ‘blind faith’ appropriately fits a circumstance, but is it biblical? Does Scripture teach us to have ‘blind faith’? Is this concept found in Scripture at all? Before we dive into Scripture, let’s look at a few dictionary definitions of blind faith and compare them to your presupposed understanding. Definitions
Do any of those definitions fit your understanding of blind faith? Probably not, right? I also do not believe this is the kind of faith that God means for us to have. Why would He want us to not understand our faith? To have no support or logic to our faith? To have no evidential truth to our faith? Are we really supposed to have a faith that is blinded to understanding, logic, and evidence? Absolutely not. Faith is foundationally evidential. Think about it this way. Think about your testimony. Can you really tell people about Jesus and how you came to faith in Christ without an evidential testimony? If somebody questions your faith about how you came to Christ, how do you answer? Do you say you don’t know? Do you say you believe just because and that there is no reason or evidence about why? Or do you tell them about how you are a new creation in Christ because Jesus gave you a new, purposeful life? A life free from sin? A life you now live to please God because He saved and delivered you from eternal damnation, sexual bondage, addiction, depression, family wounds, rejection, etc.? That seems like an evidential faith to me. A new, changed life in Christ is evidence of a faith that is not blind but empowered by the Holy Spirit. Blind faith is foundationally nonbiblical and illogical, and Scripture clearly reveals the truth about faith, which authoritatively rebukes all of those definitions. So what does Scripture say? The go-to Scripture used for the idea of blind faith is Hebrews 11:1, which says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This seems like obvious support for blind faith if we take it at face value, especially because we usually focus on “things not seen.” I have seen this verse taught to support blind faith countless times, and have even done so myself. But what are we hoping for? What unseen things is the author talking about? Let’s look at the biblical evidence that faith requires… evidence. Biblical Example No. 1 — Abraham’s Reasoning, God’s promise We find one of the greatest biblical examples of faith through Abraham. God promised Abraham that he would be the father to countless nations (Gen. 17:1-8) and would father a son (17:16), even though he and his wife Sarah were very old. But something happens… God tells Abraham that his son needs to be sacrificed (22:2). How did Abraham respond to this command from God? He obeys God without questions—with seemingly blind faith. Abraham takes Isaac, his one and only son, and binds him on an altar as an offering (22:9-10). Just before he deals the killing blow, the angel of the Lord appears and tells Abraham, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (22:12). Was Abraham’s faith blind? Or did he understand and faithfully trust God’s promise that he would have countless descendants through Isaac? Let’s go back to Hebrews 11. The New Testament mentions Abraham multiple times, including in Hebrews. Hebrews 11:17-19 states, “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.” Abraham did not blindly obey God, but ‘considered’ or ‘reasoned’ that God could raise people from the dead. Abraham had evidential faith, knowing God would not take back His promise of descendants. He did not act blindly but acted according to God’s promise, knowing God’s nature was trustworthy and faithful—regardless of the impossibility of his circumstances. Throughout Scripture, we see a faith that is understood, logical, reasoned, perceived, and evidential—not blind to understanding, logic, reason, perception, and evidence. Abraham had evidential faith. Biblical Example No. 2 — Berean Examination, Paul’s Custom Another biblical example is in Acts 17:11-12, where Paul is applauding the church in Berea. Paul is not commending the Berean Church’s blind faith but their eagerness to receive the gospel and examine its truthfulness with the Scriptures. It states, “Now these [the Bereans] were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.” Did the Bereans receive the gospel blindly? That is not what Scripture says. Paul's presentation of the gospel backed by Scripture convinced many of them to believe. That is not a blind faith. A few verses earlier, we see Paul speaking to Jews in Thessalonica. Acts 17:2-4 says, “And according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.” The Thessalonians did not receive the gospel blindly either, as Paul ‘reasoned’ and ‘gave evidence’ of Christ to them. Paul persuaded some through reason, logic, and evidence, not blind faith. What is even more revealing is Paul’s customary routine was reasoning and giving evidence to the unbelieving Jews, not asking them to blindly accept what he was saying. Paul uses evidence, reason, and logic almost every time he presents the gospel to the lost as well. Did the lost blindly come to Christ? Or did they need to hear the gospel from a preacher to believe (Rom. 10:13-15)? “For “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Biblical Example No. 3 — Disciples’ Doubt, Jesus’ Proof Even the disciples needed evidence, as all of them doubted Jesus’ resurrection, which Jesus had to prove to His disciples. Acts 1:3 says, “To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God.” Another example of the disciples' doubt is in Mark 16:11-13 after Jesus appeared to Mary. She told them Jesus was risen, but “when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they refused to believe it. 12 After that, He appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. 13 They went away and reported it to the others, but they did not believe them either.” The disciples’ doubt is stated again in Luke 24:11: “But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe them.” Peter then, needing proof, ran to the tomb to see the evidence (24:12). The rest of Luke 24 details the many appearances of Jesus after His resurrection and the doubt most had before believing it was truly Him. Why is Blind Faith Dangerous? There are many reasons having blind faith is dangerous. Here are a few. I am sure we have all supported ‘blind faith’ by saying things like this:
Conclusion Is faith blind? Does Scripture support Christians having a blind faith? I do not believe so as the evidence throughout Scripture and in my own life is irrefutable. Is it really blind faith to believe in healing? Or do we faithfully believe because we know and have evidential proof that He heals? Do we really have blind faith in the salvation of our lost family and friends? Or do we have faith because of the evidence that we were once lost as well? Is it blind faith to believe in the return of Jesus? Or do we believe He will return because He says so? All faith is evidential and alive, as we see throughout Scripture and in our lives. We faithfully believe in healing because Jesus still heals. We believe in salvation because Jesus saved us. We believe in the Second Coming because Jesus promised He will return. Throughout Scripture, we find that reason, wisdom, and logic are honorable traits. We are even told to seek knowledge and understanding (Prv. 4:23) and that God rewards those who do (3:13). In Hebrews 5:12-14, the author rebukes believers for their lack of maturity and understanding, stating that they need to be retaught the milk—or basics—of the faith once again instead of becoming teachers themselves. Blind faith is like passive living, which is antithetical to the born-again life in Christ. How are we to do good works without evidential faith? James 2:17, 26 tells us faith without works is dead. How can faith be blind knowing we cannot live a passive lifestyle? I encourage you to pray and humbly study the Scriptures about this topic if this is a new idea for you. I believe the Lord wants to empower and encourage all followers of Christ to live with an active, evidential faith—not a passive, blind faith. There will be moments in our walk with Christ that will challenge our faith because we do not have the complete picture. However, our faith is not blind. We base our faith on our knowledge of God's character, His promises, and our personal experience walking with Him daily. I hope this topical teaching on faith was helpful and informative and helps you in your walk with Christ. Please, comment with your thoughts, concerns, question, or corrections. Thank you for reading! Please, share as that is the best way to support my writing. I love you all! Romans 1:19-20 (NASB1995) “Because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Last night I was meditating on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 again and had another revelation.
Bear with me here and think. The Thessalonian church was distraught because they thought they had missed the second coming. Their families were dying, they were being mass persecuted, and they were being misled by false teachings and prophecies about Christ—that sounds like tribulation to me. The Holy Spirit leads Paul to write to them to comfort them with the truth that Christ had not come yet and they can have peace knowing His coming will happen after two signs… This thought parallels today since this passage, while written to Thessalonica, is futurist regarding events still to come. Today, most Christians hold to a pre-tribulation perspective of the rapture/second coming. Why? Because it is what we have been taught for decades—the Left Behind films, books, etc. Believers in the modern church who hold this view might be in the same boat as the Thessalonians when the tribulation begins. Many will be troubled and confused, wondering why they are not raptured. Wondering why Jesus had not come yet or if they missed Him since many believe being "left behind" is biblical.... it is not. But we can have peace knowing that events still precede Christ’s second coming—the two signs are the great falling away and the revealing of the antichrist as clearly stated in this passage and as is consistent with the rest of Scripture. As I stated in my post exegeting this passage here, Paul explains three ways false teaching and false prophecy are deceiving the church in Thessalonica, and these deceptions portray exactly what we see today. Please, go check out that post for further context on this passage in 2 Thessalonians. I see so many people use this passage out of context to fit whatever idea they have, but when you simply read the text, you can see why the Holy Spirit led Paul to write this to Thessalonica—to give them peace and hope and to warn them of what to look for before the second coming. Why is this so important? Because many may fall away from their faith and question God, wondering why He hasn’t returned yet when tribulation comes. The church in Thessalonica and the church today have been widely taught a false doctrine regarding the second coming of Jesus and Scripture warns us that many—even the elect—will be deceived. I hope this was helpful to you. Have a great day! I cannot even begin to explain how unbiblical the seven mountain mandate (7MM) is. A video posted on Lance Wallnau's Facebook page was very informative into the mind of the creator of the seven mountain mandate.
I will start by saying it cannot be from God because it is completely antithetical to Scripture. Yes, Christians should influence culture and society but we are not promised or commanded to take over all of society and culture. It is not our destiny to rule earth as Christian nations before the second coming of Christ. Scripture actually teaches the complete opposite before His second coming. As much as people like to say eschatology is not that important and a “secondary” issue, the entire foundation of the seven mountain mandate is rooted in its eschatology. Lance and the seven mountain mandate is rooted in theocracy and changing global systems in Christ’s name before His coming. Sure, there is nothing wrong with that in theory, but you cannot find anywhere in Scripture where Christian’s are told to take over culture and society across the nations. Only Jesus at His second coming will do this as He begins His millennial reign. You might say, “oh, that’s not what the seven mountain mandate is or what it believes. It just means we need to influence secular culture.” Okay. Let’s see what Lance, the self-proclaimed creator and prophet of the seven mountain mandate, has to say. He states, “It is going to come down to an antichrist versus Jesus Christ global system versus nations state. You’re going to have to learn how to protect your nation so it doesn’t collapse into the beast system. I believe we can win it.” Yeah…. That has nothing to do with anything revealed in the Bible about the end of days. The seven mountain mandate is completely made up. A couple decades ago, somebody had a vision where God said we needed to take over the seven sectors of society and this is where we are now with this. I can assure you that God did not say this as it is antithetical to Scripture. With the countless majority of professing Christian’s following people like this and grasping onto every word like truth, I do not know what to think. The Lord has clearly revealed that the rapture comes after the great tribulation but so many Christian’s are apathetic about the topic “since we won’t be here.” Made up doctrines like the seven mountain mandate do far more harm to the body of Christ as it leads it into a worldly fantasy that all will be well before Christ returns when in truth…. Scripture teaches the opposite. We must prepare our hearts to endure tribulation, not escape it. By Isaac Goodwin
As visually terrible, evil, and satanic as the Grammy’s were last night, I think many have forgot what Scripture says about Satan. Scripture tells us Satan is the tempter (Matt. 4:3), ruler of demons (Matt. 12:24), god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4), the evil one (1 Jn. 5:18), etc. He is a murder and the father of lies—he is deceiving and destructive. He also does not reveal himself as visually explicit in nature, but as light. He is a false light. Deception is his game. The world has marketed Satan as this big, red evil monster-like creature but Scripture tells us that he is an angel of light—a master of deception who twists Scriptures and confuses doctrine in order to deceive even Christians. Why would he masquerade as evil in the open? That evades his deceptive tactics that started in the garden. I am sure he enjoys folks openly worshipping him and deceiving the world into thinking he blatantly wants to be seen—but scripturally, we are told he is an angel of light, masquerading as good as he deceives the world by keeping it in darkness. Thankfully, he has no power over born again followers of Christ… but we must continue seeking the truth so not to be deceived ourselves. Scripture warns believers to “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). Believers must resist him soberly, vigilantly, and steadfastly, aware of the reality of his plans to tempt us to make us unfruitful for the Lord (2 Cor. 2:11). When tempted, the believer should submit himself to the Lord and resist the devil, and Satan will flee (Jam. 4:7) as he has no power or authority over against our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Obviously, stay away from the blatant evil portrayed in media—but also pray for discernment to not be deceived by Satan and his hidden, deceptive schemes. In the end, Satan will be thrown into the eternal Lake of Fire as we reign with Jesus for eternity. Praise God! Last night somebody on Twitter asked for the biblical evidence that led me to the post-tribulation perspective.
I was always taught pre-trib and just believed it because I never knew there were any other rapture doctrines. In 2020, I saw a post that read “Satan’s pre-trib lie.” I remember getting so furious at that statement for some reason. Since it bothered me so much I decided to study Scripture and see what God has revealed about the topic. What I found was so much clarity. Below is my reply to the Twitter question, which includes the first few passages that the Lord revealed about the topic two years ago. Some passages the Holy Spirit first opened my eyes to were Matt. 24:29-31, which clearly states that Christ returns “AFTER the tribulation of those days.” I could not wrap my head around this. Also, His coming will be SEEN BY ALL—not a secret. Another is 1 Thess. 4:16-17. How can pre-trib make sense if the dead rise first.. since they don’t rise until “the last day” (Jn. 6:39, 40, 44, 54)? This means the living get raptured and then the dead rise at the second coming? But Scripture says the dead rise first so..? Another is Lk. 17:34-37. Seems pre-trib, but v. 37 tells us the ‘taken’ are taken “where the vultures are.” This is symbolic of judgement as vultures indicate death, not resurrection into eternal life as Jesus parallels Noah and those taken by the flood (v. 26-27; Matt. 24:36-41). Another is 2 Thess. 2-3, which clearly states that Jesus cannot return until the great apostasy AND the antichrist is revealed. This passage not only supports post-trib but also refutes imminence—the foundation of pre-trib. Finally, there is only one second coming. It just didn’t make sense that Jesus would come to secretly rapture some and then come again—a third time years later. Also, Scripture teaches endurance. Never has the church escaped tribulations—it is a cost of following Christ. What will refine the church for Jesus’ return more than the tribulation? There are many other topics that Scripture does not back up including imminence and that the tribulation is God’s wrath—both are untrue. I have dozens of posts I’m working on and hopefully will publish them all one day soon. A huge concern I have battled with recently is how to deal with people proclaiming that everything we teach and say must be proved in Scripture… but then the majority of those folks twist and butcher the Scriptures every week or prophecy things that have nothing to do with Scripture.
Is it scriptural truth that you are grounded in or your own devices? Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Luke, John, Jude, Titus, Paul, Peter, and many others warn us about those who twist Scripture using their imaginations, which results in deceiving the flock. God literally calls these people “deluded in their own minds.” Teaching the Word is such a high-calling. Scripture also warns that teachers will be judged most harshly (James 3:1)—or even condemned. We have too many pastors and others online who just say anything and twist the Bible to fit what they are saying. They are either ignorant of the weight of teaching the Word—and how we are to be proved by rightly dividing the truth (2 Tim. 2:15)—or arrogant by thinking it doesn’t matter. What happened to truly loving and learning God’s Word? Does biblical truth even matter? Or can we just twist everything and say it was a “Holy Spirit revelation”? Example: this past Sunday, I heard a pastor use Nehemiah 4:1-6 to apply that we are to “turn away from all the noise in our life.” Okay… what? This is a biblical concept we can apply, but just teach this message using the many passages in the NT about the need for discernment or Psalms and Proverbs on the same topic. Why twist and pull something from a beautiful book like Nehemiah that is teaching an entirely different lesson and showing us another character trait of God? The core passage being taught ends up getting so milked with out-of-context verses that it almost becomes unbiblical. It is just so disheartening when pastors say “Holy Spirit gave me a word for you today” and then they teach like that… using their own imaginations and devices we are warned about. This is the root issue in many American churches—the butchering and twisting of His Word. Far too many self-proclaimed prophets and teachers just say anything without regard for the severity of prophesying and teaching falsely. There are many relevant Scriptures on this matter so I will just post the book, chapter, and verses of a few. It would be too long to post the entire passages lol Passages: - Deuteronomy 18:20-22 - Jeremiah 14:14; 23:16 - Ezekiel 13:3-9 - 2 Timothy 4:3-4 - Acts 20:28-30 - 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2:1-22; 3:15-18 - 1 John 4:1-6 - Jude 1 - Titus 1:10-16 I hope this post welcomes some of you to critically think about certain topics and read/teach Scripture with pure intentions. There are just so many Christian’s being led astray and taught falsely and I feel such a heavy burden because if it. I believe the Lord wants His church to have a deep reverence for the truth of His Word, so I will speak up on these issues in the American church as we head deeper into the last days. I don’t want to prove anybody wrong but help people see the beautiful truth of God’s glory revealed in His Word. Thoughts? Thanks for reading. Love you all! ***EDIT: Ask yourself this… if we can just say whatever we want and claim it was God and use random verses to affirm it, does seeking out scriptural truth even matter? Since everything we say is truth and from God, there’s no need to search Scripture, right? We can ignore all the warnings throughout Scripture?*** Biblical illiteracy is the biggest threat to the church.
Many professing Christian’s believe everything they read and hear without having any knowledge of the truth of Scripture. The Word has been twisted leading many astray. How can Christian’s grow in the knowledge of Christ and the truth without the ability to discern between what is right and almost right? Knowledge of the Word is GOOD! It is not Pharisaical or legalistic. Praying that our focus is on Christ and the truth of Scripture instead of calling everybody who challenges all teaching “religious” or “critical.” We are commanded to test everything, including your favorite pastors sermons and fancy quotes. Understand that critical thinking and having questions is OKAY. It doesn’t make you “not spiritual enough.” I pray we are all challenged to learn and grow in the truth of Jesus and the Word moving forward. Random thought on the rapture.
In a recent video, Mike Winger—who does not hold a rapture view yet—provides a great insight I never thought about regarding the rapture that completely contradicts the pre-trib theory. One of the core pre-trib beliefs is that the church must be raptured because the Great Tribulation (GT) is God’s wrath upon the wicked and we are not destined for His wrath. While it is true that we are not destined for God’s wrath (1 Thess. 5:9), the GT is NOT God’s wrath on the wicked—that happens at the end. God’s bowl judgements on the wicked are not the GT events that happen on earth. Anyway, let’s briefly agree with the pre-trib theory… what happens with the supposed “new tribulation believers” who get “left behind”? If the GT is God’s wrath, then this means they will go through it, right? How can these believers go through God’s wrath when not destined for it? This is where post-trib, once again, makes complete scriptural and logical sense. All objectors to post-trib disagree with the post-trib belief that believers will go through the GT and that God will protect them from His wrath. They believe “keep” means to “take out” instead of “protect.” Post-trib theorists believe we will be here for the GT, but we will be divinely protected from God’s wrath in the end. Just as Noah was divinely protected from the flood—Noah was not taken out of the flood but kept from it—so will Tribulation saints who survive/endure to the end be protected from His wrath. This thought agrees with Revelation 3:10 and John 17:15 where Jesus says that believers will be “kept from” and “protected” while explicitly not being taken out of the world. I will add this thought to my paper when I get it back. I am currently debating publishing the paper. Thoughts? Questions? By Isaac Goodwin
Over the last year, I have learned some amazing things about Scripture that I never knew before and some things that have deeply troubled me regarding the state of the American church. There is a post circulating on Facebook that is an example of one of these troubles. The way most Christian’s read themselves into Scripture (eisegesis) is not how we are to interpret the Bible. Disagree. Call it legalistic. Call it Pharisaical. Call it “quenching the Spirit.” But interpreting Scripture by inserting ourselves into every story makes the Bible all about us when it’s suppose to be all about Jesus… because ALL of Scripture is COMPLETELY about Jesus. From Genesis to Revelation, we see the beauty of God’s love, compassion, mercy, justice, holiness, patience, etc., while providing a way for His people to be saved from the judgement of their sins. But when we read ourselves into Scripture like this, we miss the beauty of what the passage is teaching us about God’s character and about what the Christian life should look like. Example: We are not David. We are not Joshua. We are not Elijah. WE ARE NOT LEAH. It isn’t biblical to over-spiritualize everything and make it about yourself. It’s not about us. It’s about the revelation of Jesus as savior of the world and glorifying the Father. In this story about Jacob’s love and relationship with his wives, Rachel and Leah, we see the latter unloved and unwanted. All Leah wants is to be loved and wanted by Jacob, so she bares him children. She bares child after child but Jacob never loves her. She constantly seeks affirmation but never receives any from Jacob. This post sounds sweet and is a fun interpretation but it’s completely wrong and unbiblical in almost every way. It’s not some amazing “new revelation” because it’s not truth. It’s not about us “enduring the unattractive things in life” to receive a blessing … it’s a story about a woman who was unwanted, unloved, afflicted, and alone, but who never lost faith in God. Leah was unloved and unwanted by her husband but still found ways to faithfully praise and worship God. The Lord honored her by blessing her with fertility and the lineage to Christ. It’s a story revealing more about the lineage to Jesus while also teaching us to stay faithful to God amidst affliction and rejection. Jacob wanted to marry Rachel but was tricked by Laban into marrying Leah. Leah was fertile and gave Jacob six sons (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun), while Rachel was infertile and “reproached” by God (temporarily). Leah’s son Judah is the tribe that leads to Christ. Talk about a blessing. In conclusion, let’s stop abusing Scripture by coming up with our own interpretations and instead honor God’s Word by seeking out the truth of the passage and learn more about God’s character and how to truly apply each passage to our lives. Not every passage needs to be made about you and that’s okay. Instead, find Jesus in each passage and read the entire context surrounding it. It’s truly beautiful and life-changing to see the truth come alive. I hope this was helpful. Love you all! Christianpost dot come shared this post (link below) and it is completely unbiblical.
Read for the full context: www.christianpost.com/news/third-of-evangelical-pastors-say-people-can-get-heaven-just-by-being-good.html?fbclid=IwAR2tPr9oY5fn0Ayp0zQfQp7e4UOxYANQR0ejaEYVUFBd06ZTEW-KzoLYUDE Folks, this is a lie from Satan. These pastors are leading many to hell and don’t know the gospel or the Bible. Here is another excerpt: “Researchers found that in addition to believing that people can merit salvation based solely on their good works, one-third or more of senior pastors surveyed also believe the Holy Spirit is not a person but rather “a symbol of God’s power." Others said that moral truth is subjective; sexual relations between two unmarried people who love each other is “morally acceptable" and biblical teaching on abortion is “ambiguous.” Friends, here is the biblical truth. • You must be born again to be saved (Jn. 3:3). • You must repent, turn from all sin and turn to God (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30; Matt. 4:17; Mk. 1:15; Lk. 5:32; 13:3; Rev. 3:19). • NOBODY is good (Ps. 14:3; Lk. 18:19; Rom. 3:12). • Jesus makes us righteous (Rom. 3:22; Rom 5:1). • Our “good works” are filthy rags to Him (Is. 64:6). • The Holy Spirit is a person and is God (Jn. 14:25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 5:3-4; and more). • ALL sexual relations outside of a marriage between a man and woman is sin (Ex. 10:14; Lev. 18:22; Matt. 5:28; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 6:18; 7:1; 10:8; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:3; Col. 3:5; Heb. 3:14; and so many more). • Abortion is murder and sin (Ps. 139:13-16; Prov. 6:17; Job 31:14; Jer. 1:5). There is widespread deception and biblical illiteracy in our churches today. I say this so often, but we must know the truth for ourselves and not rely solely on our pastors—so many pastors eisegete scripture and make it say what they want instead of teaching the truth. We must teach the truth. People must be born again. We must turn from sin. We must turn from the world and be set apart. We must live holy lives. Scripture tells us of a great falling away and Christian’s need to be ready, not trying to stay culturally relevant in a world full of sin and ungodliness. We do this by being born again and teaching the truth—the hard, unadulterated truths of scripture. For some reason, Kathryn Krick deleted both of my comments on her Instagram post. I shared how her teaching on sowing/reaping is new age (e.g. karma, energies, etc.) instead of biblical—even though she’s quoting the Bible she isn’t teaching biblical truth.
I’m disappointed she deleted my comments tbh. I was answering people’s questions about the correct context. It’s been super disheartening lately to see all the deceptive teaching going on from people with huge influence… I just don’t get it. Do folks even care about Biblical truth anymore? How is teaching like this being accepted without question? Nothing against Kathryn. Her ministry is amazing! But why delete helpful answers to questions people are asking her to answer? If you do humbly question it—to help explain the truth—you get deleted and called divisive? Like what? Hundreds of thousands of people will see her post and accept what she’s saying without question. This is why it’s important to test every spirit and hopefully help people hear the truth. This passage in Galatians 6:7-8 has nothing to do with receiving back what we give out in this world/life. That’s literally the definition of karma and what most new age witchcraft practices teach. In this passage, Paul is speaking about sowing now to reap eternally—not earthly. Our rewards/judgement for what we sow now in the flesh/spirit will be distributed to us on judgement day. Just because you have bad things happen to you doesn’t mean you did something to deserve it… we live by the spirit not the flesh. We also aren’t going to have our finances fail because we don’t give enough… Please, understand the truth of this passage. Sowing in the flesh means sowing into our selfish desires and sin—we will reap judgement upon ourselves for our sin. “For the wages of sin is death,” (Rom. 6:23). Sowing in the spirit means denying ourself in this life for Christ’s sake as we store up eternal treasures in heaven. This passage has nothing to do with here and now—but all to do with eternity. Thanks for reading. Love y’all! Galatians 6:7-8 NASB1995 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” Here are two scholarly commentary quotes about this passage. (New International Greek Testament Commentary Series (NIGTC) “To sow εἰς τὸ πνεῦμα, is to cultivate the fruit of the Spirit and reap eternal life. Cf. Rom. 6:20–23 (‘the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord’); 8:13 (‘if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live’) for the same idea expressed without the metaphor of sowing and reaping. The eternal life is the resurrection life of Christ, mediated to believers by ‘the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead’ (Rom. 8:11); cf. G. Vos, The Pauline Eschatology (Grand Rapids, 1952), 163f. But its future aspect, with their appearance before the tribunal of Christ, to ‘receive good or evil, according to the deeds done in the body’ (2 Cor. 5:10), is specially implied here. Any one who did not seriously believe in such a coming assessment, or thought that the law of sowing and reaping could safely be ignored, would indeed be treating God with contempt.” (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary) “The use of the term "corruption" implies that destruction is not an arbitrary punishment of fleshly-mindedness, but is its natural fruit; the corrupt flesh producing corruption, which is another word for destruction: corruption is the fault, and corruption the punishment (see 1Co 3:17; 2Pe 2:12). Future life only expands the seed sown here. Men cannot mock God because they can deceive themselves. They who sow tares cannot reap wheat. They alone reap life eternal who sow to the Spirit (Ps 126:6; Pr 11:18; 22:8; Ho 8:7; 10:12; Lu 16:25; Ro 8:11; Jas 5:7).” By Isaac Goodwin
I’m going to be really honest and in the minority here but… what are we doing, church? The western church has turned so far from biblical truth. It should not be a surprise to see so many turns from the faith, folks ashamed of Christ, afraid of men and culture, and ignorant of biblical truth because of the tickling-of-the-ear messages that are taught every week across the U.S. Biblical illiteracy and the creation of our own interpretations that we proclaim as truth is leading so many into confusion and deception. Let’s slow down and stop pursuing a catchy word and teach what scripture actually says. Our acceptance of culture and trying to “infiltrate” culture is unbiblical and not our calling—which has led to what we’re seeing with Mav City and many others with large platforms. All I hear is “revival, revival, revival” but I don’t see anywhere in scripture where we are told of an end-time revival of the lost. The harvest is ripe, yes! We should never stop proclaiming the gospel and making disciples! The harvest is ripe and millions will and are being called to Him everyday! It has been like this for 2000 years and will continue until Christ returns, but nowhere in scripture are we told of an end-time mass conversion to Christ…. What we do sadly see throughout scripture is apostasy until the coming of Christ, especially in the latter days (1 Tim. 4:1; 2 Thess. 2:3; Heb. 3:12; Matt. 24:10-12; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; John 6:66). If there is scripture regarding mass conversion to Christ, it is about the Jews finally accepting Jesus as Savior (Rom. 11:26). This isn’t to be a Debbie Downer. This is just what I’ve found revealed in scripture. So many ministries are so focused on here and now and not eternity. Everything we possess in this life is worthless compared to the glory of Christ in eternity. This world is going to pass away! Almost every mention of possessions speaks about them negatively unless we are giving them away for eternal possessions (Lk. 12:15, 33-34; Matt. 6:19-21; 1 Tim. 6:9-10; 1 Jn. 2:16; and many more). So why are we ignoring biblical truths? Why are we seeking feelings over faithfulness? Blessings instead of meekness? Material possessions and wealth instead of sharing with the needy and body of Christ? I hear constantly, “Let’s be like the Acts church!” We’re obsessed with Pentecost and the beginning of Acts 2 but ignore the rest of the chapter and the context of the book of Acts—it’s a historical account and should be approached like most of the Old Testament. Okay, yeah, let’s be baptized in the Spirit. That’s amazing! We need Him! But let’s not cherry-pick and only pursue signs and wonders and blessings and teach an unbiblical message by ignoring hard truths we don’t like. Regarding tongues, did you know tongues were first given as an “other language” (Acts 2:4) to expand the gospel message to the surrounding regions? Every believer was baptized and given the gift of “other” tongues, not “unknown” tongues. This was a gift so they could fulfill their mission to preach the gospel throughout all of Judea and Samaria. Why do we only focus on “unknown tongues” and completely ignore the reason this gift was first given? Acts 2:4-12 (NKJV) 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews, and proselytes, 11 Cretans, and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” If you don’t know the difference, other tongues are the ability to speak another language fluently instantly, while unknown tongues are our personal prayer language in the Spirit. How awesome would it be to have that gift! I’ve only known one person to have the gift of other tongues given to them. Regarding finances, did you know when Acts and other New Testament passages talk about finances it’s never about building or saving wealth, but 100% of the time about selling all possessions and distributing to the poor and the church? If we want to be like the Acts church, why are we so focused on unbiblical pursuits of wealth? The only mention of saving wealth was done by Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5—God struck them dead for keeping some of the sales of their possessions and they were said to have lied to the Holy Spirit. I don’t understand this obsession with building material wealth and “repenting of poverty” as Bethel proclaims. Yes, they proclaim this. You can read them all here: https://www.bethel.com/offering-readings I want to talk about Bethel and the “infiltrating mountains of society” too which is soooo unbiblical but that’s for another time. Anyway, these are topics that have been on my heart for a while. I honestly was afraid of what others thought and was discouraged about backlash from other Christians for a while; but with the disregard for truth regarding abortion and disregard for biblical teaching in the church, I really needed to share this. There are so many things we pursue and teach that just aren’t in the bible. Finances, abuse of tongues and other gifts, and culture are just three of many topics we need to check our hearts on. I don’t know it all—not even close. But I will never ignore what the bible says regarding what is true and what is almost true, and I will never be afraid to graciously call out discerned error. Please comment, as I’m always open to conversation and correction. Love you all! I gotta be honest here, all of this 222 stuff is very new age and Sean Feucht trying to make it biblical is pretty wack.
Numerology is not biblical—it’s witchcraft. It’s divination. We gotta be careful and make necessary boundaries so we don’t seek out and put our hope/trust in numbers. God is not a number. Angels do not talk to us through numbers. Universalism and new age theologies use numbers to seek the spiritual realm…. Angel numbers is actually a witchcraft practice that people participate in. The verses he’s throwing together to back this “222” movement don’t even relate to each other either—the Isaiah verse is actually 22:22, not three two’s, and that verse has nothing to do with what he’s publishing! He’s just completely creating a narrative and making it catchy for who knows why!? Isaiah 22:22 is prophetic about Christ closing the door to death and opening the door to eternal life—HE holds the key (singular). It has NOTHING to do with Matthew 16:19 and the “keys” (plural) of the kingdom given to the church. It has nothing to do with “doors opening for us financially, relationally, etc.” This might come across nit-picky, but this guy has millions of followers and believers who look up to him… what he teaches and publishes is vitally important, even eternally for some, and must be biblically sound—not catchy to sell more albums and merch (literally all of his posts are about wanting his songs to be #1 and buying merch). Some numbers do have biblical significance but just throwing out random numbers like 222 and then getting millions of other people to follow these made up numbers by saying it’s God speaking to them is not okay… like what? What better way for satan to deceive the church than making something that seems harmless destructive? Nothing satan does will come across evil—it will always be false light. We need discernment, church. We desperately need discernment, especially in these evil times. By Isaac Goodwin
A few months ago, the Lord revealed to me to be more graceful and forgiving. It convicted me at first because I wasn’t really sure what He meant. I wasn’t mad or annoyed at anybody, but I took it to heart and it has really changed my life. I used to hold things in and not surrender them to God, especially things about people who annoyed or angered me. I tried to just get over things on my own and hold on to them if I couldn’t—stupid, right? Lol But God said to forgive and show grace to all people REGARDLESS of what they have done or said to/about me. Why? Because God shows His grace and mercy and forgiveness to me every day. Because He gave Jesus as a substitute for the punishment I deserve. We all need to show grace to all people because of the grace we receive from the Lord. Now, back to how this segues into the title of this post: A Heart like Steven I’ve been reading through the book of Acts for the Gospel Preaching class I’m taking and just finished chapter 7, where Steven is stoned. The Holy Spirit revealed to me how we all need to have a heart like Steven. A forgiving, graceful, merciful heart. A heart that holds no grudges. No hate. No anger. Just love. Steven had just finished preaching a BOLD message that offended the listeners (mostly religious folk) and they demanded he be forced out of the city to be stoned. Steven—in his dying breath—as he was being murdered by stoning, prayed for God not to charge this sin of executing him against them. Wow. Just wow. How can we have a heart as forgiving and graceful as Steven? Although he was being executed for stepping on the toes of the listeners (church folks), He showed mercy and grace to them. How can you do this? Well, we can’t on our own, but we must. So how? Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can we forgive and love as Christ does. So quit bickering with your family and friends over meaningless and petty things. Who cares if they haven’t paid you back yet. Who cares if they said something offensive. Who cares if they won’t speak to you because of something they think you did. Who cares! Let it go! WHO CARES! Forgive them. Love them. Show them mercy and grace as Jesus shows you mercy and grace. We must have forgiving hearts—if not, we won’t see the kingdom of God. Have a great day, friends! Love you all! Acts 7:59-60 (KJV): “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT): ““If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Ephesians 4:31-32 (NLT): “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Mark 11:25 (NLT): “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”” Matthew 18:34-35 (NLT): “Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”” I see people—even proclaiming Christians—mixing Christianity with the world and that’s just not how it works friends.
Example: I have many conversations where people say they believe in karma, the universe returning good for good and bad for bad, or people believing that they’ll get what’s coming to them. These philosophies are used to compare to the biblical truth that “we reap what we sow.” It’s a very common verse that I’m sure you know. Galatians 6:7 KJV: “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Now, this scripture is taken out of context like crazy, but this post isn’t about that. I’m talking about comparing God’s Word with worldly philosophy. It’s not the “concept” or philosophy that matters—it’s the spirit in which it is coming from. Yeah, we reap what we sow. This is biblical truth, but it is not only pertaining to finances or good works. If we plow sin and sow trouble then we reap the same (Job 4:8). Anyway, many people try to mix this philosophy with the biblical truth but it’s not in the same spirit. Karma isn’t real. The universe isn’t God and doesn’t give or take from you. Only God, our creator, determines this. This is like people saying, “oh, yeah, I believe in God.” But the same people don’t believe in or just straight up deny Jesus. Same philosophy. Different spirit. Believing in God doesn’t matter if you are believing in a false god outside of Christ Jesus. The same goes for worldly philosophies. Believing in karma and all that is of a different, ungodly, carnal spirit. Not of God. This post wasn’t a reaping and sowing teaching but about the need for discernment. We must test the spirit of everything said by everyone. We must know biblical truth and make sure to emphasize what God says over worldly, carnal, fleshly man-made philosophies. Believers can be deceived just as easily as unbelievers, so we need to know and understand what God’s Word actually says and never mix it with worldly philosophies—it will cost you your pride and maybe step on some toes, but obeying God’s Word and discerning the right spirit is most important. I John 4:1 NKJV: "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” Have a good day, y’all! |
Written byISAAC GOODWIN Archives
June 2023
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