HAVE YOU HEARD? By Juan Baixeras

HAVE YOU HEARD? 

By Juan Baixeras

Most Christians are under the impression that what they have come to believe and accept as Christianity, is the same as what Jesus and the Apostles taught. This unfortunately is not the case. Greek philosophy, disastrously crept into the early church and changed some of the most fundamental and important concepts of the faith. 

What happened in a nutshell is the following: in the time of Jesus and the Apostles, Greek thought was considered to be the most enlightening way of thinking. All the educated people in those days had been educated in Greek philosophy. Greek was considered to be the international language of the civilized world, much as English is today. This is why the New Testament was written in Greek. Platonism was very widespread and very influential in those days. 

All of a sudden, here comes this man called Paul preaching the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, and doing incredible miracles in Jesus’ name. In his visits he converts many Greeks and people who have been taught the ways of Greek philosophy their whole lives. These were people who had been pagans for their entire lives up to this point, and now suddenly, they hear Paul’s message of the kingdom and believe the truth. They truly accept the kingdom of God message and Jesus Christ as the Messiah. 

But when time passes and the Apostles are no longer around, they start reading the Hebrew Scriptures with a Greek mind, that is, a thought process that is influenced by Greek philosophy. Attempting to read Hebrew Scriptures in this way will inevitably lead to the misinterpretation of some of the writings, which is exactly what happened in some key areas. A friend of mine has a great example of what I am speaking about. He says that if an Englishman says "I am mad about my flat." He is actually saying that he is excited about his apartment, but to an American it means that

"he is angry about his flat tire." 

In this case they are both speaking English in the same century, now imagine what can happen when you try to interpret Hebrew writings using Greek philosophy a few centuries later. We must discard the Greek philosophical interpretations and return to what the words originally meant in Hebrew and Greek. Make no mistake, Greek philosophy has different definitions for words than does the Greek language.

By using Greek philosophical definitions the most important message of the Bible has been changed into something that has very few if anything in common with the original message. This is why it is so important for each of us to know God’s word, so that we can avoid being deceived.

"Many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

"False messiahs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform signs and wonders so great as to deceive, if that were possible, even the elect" (Matthew 24:24).

By answering a few of the following questions, you will be able to tell if you have been led astray by false teachings. Believe me, Satan does not want you to hear this message. If you do not find one of the verses which I quote from the Old Testament, please look one verse above or below, some Bibles have a slight difference in numeration in the Old Testament.

What does the Bible say that it takes to have eternal life? 99.999% of people I ask this question to will answer by quoting one of the Scriptures in which Jesus says that whoever believes in him has eternal life, such as John 3:16. My next question to them is, believes in him what? The reply is always, that Jesus died for your sins. This answer is only half-correct, but they are missing a very important half. Right now you are probably saying to yourself "what can the other half possibly be?" Let me answer that question with another question.

Why did Jesus come into this world? Again, the reply is; that Jesus came to die on the cross and pay for our sins. Let us take a look at the reason Jesus gives us as to why he came.

Luke 4:43

"To the other towns I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this purpose I have been sent."

Luke 8:1
"Afterward he journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God."

Mark 1: 14-15

"After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God. This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand."

The kingdom of God is also referred to as:

•  the kingdom of heaven, 
• the gospel of the kingdom, 
• the word of God, 
• the gospel, 
• word of the Lord, 
• the mystery of the gospel, 
• the gospel of Christ, 
• the truth, 
• and the word. 

These are the main titles that are used to refer to the kingdom of God, there are several more which are used less frequently, But these will suffice for this paper.

The reason Jesus came was to proclaim the kingdom of God message. The reason that he died on the cross was so that we could enter into the kingdom of God. When Jesus says that he who believes in him has eternal life, he is not talking about believing that he died for your sins, he is still alive at this time. Even his Apostles did not understand about the resurrection until the very end.

As Jesus and the Apostles are approaching Jerusalem, Jesus for the third time tries to explain to them why he has to die, and they still do not understand.

"But they understood nothing of this; the word remained hidden from them and they failed to comprehend what he said" (Luke 18:34).

But way before this episode, Luke talks about Jesus sending the 12 Apostles out to preach the kingdom of God:

"And he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick"

(Luke 9:2).

Then he sent out the seventy-two to proclaim the kingdom of God:

"cure the sick in it and say to them, "The kingdom of God is at hand for you"

(Luke 10:9).

Obviously the resurrection of Jesus is not a part of the kingdom of God message which Jesus and the Apostles are proclaiming at that time.

The kingdom of God message is the central theme of the Old and New Testament. When Jesus, after the resurrection appears to them for forty days, his main instruction is still on the kingdom of God.

"He presented himself alive to them by many proofs after he had suffered, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).

This was the main mission of Jesus and the Apostles, to proclaim the kingdom of God. 

Here are some more examples:

• Matthew 24:14 (Jesus speaking)
  "And the gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."
• Acts 8:12
  "But once they began to believe Philip as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ."
• Acts 19:8 (Paul)
  "He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God."
• Acts 20:25 ( Paul )
  "But now I know that none of you to whom I preached the kingdom during my travels will ever see my face again."
• Acts 28:23 ( Paul )
  "Bearing witness to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus from the law of Moses and the prophets."
• Acts 28:31 ( Paul )
  "And without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ."

Your next question should be; what is the kingdom of God message, and why have I not heard almost anything on it before? The reason you have not heard much about the kingdom of God message is because this is the message that Satan hates the most, because this is the message that saves you. The kingdom of God message that is prophesied by the Hebrew prophets is summarized as:

"The kingdom of God will be established throughout the world with a rehabilitated Jerusalem as its capital and the Messiah (Jesus, whom God resurrected) as God’s ideal king of Israel (Israel of God (Galatians 6:16)=Christians) administering an ideal government. It will be a government of peace and justice, and we, the resurrected saints, will help Jesus in its administration."

This is the message that we must believe in. This is the theme of the entire Bible. The reason of the resurrection was not only to atone for our sins, but it was also the proof that Jesus was who he said he was, the Messiah. When Jesus said that whoever believes in him will have eternal life, he was saying that whoever believes that he is the Messiah will have eternal life, not that whoever believes that he died for your sins will have eternal life. The Messiah is suppose to die for our sins, but that is only a part of the kingdom of God message, it is not the whole message. This is how Satan has tried to distort matters, and by looking at the current situation, he has done a pretty good job of it.

If you would like to see the seriousness of the message and how Satan tries to keep you from it, just read the Parable of the Sower :

Luke 8:11-12

"The seed is the word of God (means"word of the kingdom," compare it to Matthew 13:19). Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved."

Satan will do whatever he can to keep you from this message, this is why most of us are so unfamiliar with it. Don’t you think that since this was the central theme of Jesus and the Apostle’s teachings, that we should be a little more familiar with it. But most of us are not. When you do hear something on it, it is usually distorted and a completely different message from what the prophets talked about. People will say that the kingdom of God is really in your heart, or that it is the church. In order to clear up any misunderstandings, let us take a look at all the prophesies of the Messiah and the kingdom of God from Abraham all the way through the New Testament and let you judge for yourself.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

In these verses you will see what God has promised Abraham and his descendants, the land, the earth, the nations as our inheritance, not heaven. It started with the promises that God made to Abraham that he and his descendants would inherit the Promised Land forever. This of course has not happened. Abraham never inherited the land, and his descendants who reached Israel did not keep it forever. They lost their land and recovered it again in 1948. Obviously God’s promises to Abraham have not been fulfilled yet, and since God does not lie, it will happen.

• Psalms 115:16
  "The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to man."
• Genesis 13:15
  "All the land that you see I will give to you (Abraham) and your seed forever."
• Psalm 37:9,11,22,29,34
• "But those who wait for the LORD shall posses the land."
• "But the meek shall posses the land."
• "But those whom He blesses shall posses the land."
• "The just shall posses the land and dwell in it forever."
• "He will promote you to ownership of the land."
• Psalm 2:7-9
  "The LORD said to me, "You are my son; this day I have begotten you. Ask of me and I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall rule them with an iron rod."
• Zechariah 9:10
  "The warriors bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth."
• Isaiah 65:9,17
• "My chosen ones shall inherit the land.
• Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind."

In these verses you will see that the Messiah is supposed to be a king whose domain is the entire earth and all the nations and its peoples. His kingdom is forever and all shall serve him.

• Daniel 7:13-14
  "One like a son of man coming, on the clouds of heaven; When he reached the Ancient One and was presented before Him, he received dominion, glory, and kingship; nations and peoples of every language serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed."
• 2 Samuel 7:12-14,16
  "And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."
• Jeremiah 23:5
  "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot of David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land."
• Daniel 7:27"Then the kingship and dominion and majesty of all the kingdoms under the heavens shall be given to the holy people of the Most High. Whose kingdom shall be everlasting: all dominions shall serve and obey him."
• Isaiah 49:6-7
  "I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. When kings see you, they shall stand up, and princes shall prostrate themselves."
• Psalm 72:11,17
• "All kings shall pay him homage, all nations shall serve him.
• May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain. In him all the tribes of the earth be blessed."
• Psalm 111:6
  "He has made known to His people the power of His works, giving them the lands of the nations."

In the Messianic kingdom there will have to be a centralized seat of power from where the Messiah (king) will reign. These verses will show you that the capital of the Messianic kingdom will be a rehabilitated Jerusalem. Israel = Zion.

• Isaiah 24:23: "For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem."
• Psalm 135:21: "Blessed from Zion be the LORD, who dwells in Jerusalem."
• Micah 5:2,3-4
• "From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.
• He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; And they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace."
• Psalm 89:4,27-30,37
• "Forever will I confirm your posterity and establish your throne for all generations.
• He shall say of me "You are my father, my God, the rock, my savior." And I will make him the first-born, highest of the kings of the earth. Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm. I will make his posterity endure forever."
• Psalm 110:1-2
• "The LORD said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool." The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion."
• Psalm 132:11,14,17-18
• "Your own offspring I will set upon your throne.
• Zion is my resting place forever; in her I will dwell, for I prefer her.
• In her I will make a horn sprout forth for David; I will place a lamp for my anointed. His enemies I will clothe with shame, But upon him my crown shall shine."
• Isaiah 2:3-4
• "For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples.
• One nation shall not raise the sword against another."

These verses show that the Messiah will suffer and pay for the world’s sins.

• Genesis 12:3
  "All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you."
• Isaiah 53:5-6,11-12
  "But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins.
• But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.
• Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great.
• And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses."

NEW TESTAMENT

Now we will compare to see if the New Testament is in agreement with the Old Testament. These verses will show you that the promises made to Abraham in the Old Testament are still the central focus of Christianity. Jesus Christ came to proclaim and confirm the promises made to Abraham.

• Galatians 3:29
  "If you belong to Christ, then you are reckoned as Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to the promise."
• Romans 4:13
  "The promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world."
• Romans 15:8
  "Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs" (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob)
• Ephesians 3:6
  "The Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."
• Acts 26:6-7
  "I am standing trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors. Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews."

These first verses will show that the kingdom of God is still as the Old Testament states, on the earth.

• Revelation 5:10
  "You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth."
• Matthew 5:5
  "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land."
• Matthew 25:31-32
  "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."
• Revelation 2:26
  "To the victor, who keeps to my ways until the end, I will give authority over the nations."

These verses will show us that it is an actual kingdom. We are even instructed by Jesus to pray for the coming of this kingdom.

• Luke 1:32-33
  "He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
• Revelation 3:21
  "I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory to sit with my Father on his throne."
• 1 Corinthians 6:2
  "Do you not know that the holy one will judge the world."
• Luke 12:32
  "For your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom."
• Matthew 6:10
  "Your kingdom come."

These verses show that we the saints (Christians) will reign with Christ in his kingdom. The word that is used for reign in these verses is better understood as administer. So we will help Jesus the Messiah administer the kingdom of God.

• Luke 22:29-30
  "And I confer a kingdom on you, just as my Father has conferred one on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."
• Revelation 20:4-5
  "They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over."
• Revelation 20:6"They will be priests of God and reign with him for the thousand years."
• 2 Timothy 2:12
  "If we persevere we shall also reign with him."

The New Testament agrees completely with what the prophets told us in the Old Testament. The angel Gabriel tells Mary exactly why Jesus has come in Luke 1:32. The kingdom is here on earth, with Jesus the Messiah as our king.

The last piece of this puzzle is; if the kingdom of God is here on earth, how does going to heaven fit in? The answer is, it doesn’t! We are not suppose to go to heaven. Heaven is where God, Jesus, (until his Second Coming) and the angels dwell. God made the earth for us. The paradise where Adam and Eve lived was here on earth, it was not in heaven.

The concept of going to heaven is another one of those Greek concepts that filtered into early Christianity. The Greek philosophers (Pythagoreans) are the ones who believe that the soul separates from the body after death. This is not what the Bible teaches. We are supposed to resurrect like Jesus. 

Webster’s Dictionary states: Resurrect - rising from the dead.

If your soul is alive in heaven, then you are by no means dead. Another problem with the concept of your soul going to heaven or hell when you die is, that judgment happens only after Jesus returns. How then, can a soul go to heaven or hell if it hasn’t been judged yet?

Justin Martyr, one of the early Christian theologians wrote in 150 AD:"If you meet some who say that their souls go to heaven when they die, do not believe that they are Christians!"

He wrote this in order to warn his fellow Christians about a strange new idea that was beginning to creep into Christianity. Well, it is time for you to be the judge again.
Here are some examples:

• When the Bible talks about being asleep, it means being dead. 
• Read John 11:11-14 if you have any doubts. You will notice that Jesus says that no one has been to heaven. 
• King David who was one of God’s favorites is not in heaven. 
• You will see that there is no knowledge of God when you are dead. If we were to go to heaven I would suppose that you would be well aware of God. The Bible says that man and animals go to the same place when we die, that there is no difference, except that man will one day resurrect. 
• You will notice that all will come to life only at Jesus’ return, and not before. Remember we do not have immortal souls, that is a Greek philosophical idea. 
• Only God is immortal. The Jewish and Christian concept of death is that the whole person dies.
• Who is in heaven besides God, Jesus, and the angels? No one.
• John 3:13
  "No one has gone up to heaven."
• Acts 2:29
  "My brothers, one can confidently say about the patriarch David that he died and was buried, and his tomb is in our midst to this day."
• Acts 2:34
  "For David did not go up into heaven."
• Hebrews 11:13
  "All these died in faith" (Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah).

Where are the dead? In their tombs in the earth. When you are dead there is no knowledge of anything, not even of God.

• 2 Peter 3:4
  "From the time when our ancestors fell asleep, everything has remained as it was from the beginning of creation."
• John 5:28-29
  "Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation."
• Daniel 12:2
  "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace."
• Genesis 3:19
  "Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; for you are dirt, and to dirt you shall return."
• Psalms 6:5-6
  "Return, O LORD, save my life; rescue me because of your kindness, for among the dead no one remembers you;"
• Ezekiel 18:4
  "The soul that sins, it shall die."
• Ecclesiastes 9:10
  "For there will be no work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the nether world where you are going."
• Psalm 115:17
  "It is not the dead who praise the LORD."
• Ecclesiastes 3:19-20
  "For the lot of man and of beast is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life-breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; but all is vanity. Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return."
• Psalms 146:4
  "When his spirit departs he returns to his earth; on that day his plans perish."

When will the dead rise? At Jesus’ Second Coming, on the last day.

• 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17
  "For the Lord himself , with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air."
• Revelation 20:4-5
  "They came to life and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over."
  1 Corinthians 15:22-23
  "For just as in Adam all die, so to in Christ shall all be brought to life, but each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits; then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ."
• John 11:24
  "Martha said to him, " I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."
• Job 14:12
  "So men lie down and rise not again. Till the heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of their sleep."
• Mark 12:23
  "At the resurrection when they arise, whose wife will she be."

(Continues in Part 2)