MORE SOLID EVIDENCE OF MAINSTREAMERS’ DELIBERATELY BIASED INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE

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Besides the steadfast, not to be questioned, but quite incorrect doctrine that the dietary and festival laws have been abolished, taught by mainstream churches, another obviously incorrect doctrine of theirs is that saved Christians ascend immediately to heaven after death, remaining fully conscious during and after this transition. Mainstream Christian scholars have had hundreds of years to closely analyze what the Bible says about this, but they still will not budge “an inch” from their current position. They know very well what 1 Corinthians 15:6 and 1 Corinthians 15:20 and other similar verses very plainly say, repeatedly describing dead Christians as temporarily unconscious (sleeping), but they simply refuse to believe what those verses obviously say, choosing instead to believe what they imagine some related verses say. This shows that they really do “pick and choose,” or “cherry pick” verses and even parts of verses in the Bible that seem to support a doctrine and deliberately ignore other verses that are contradictory. So they sometimes teach, quite deliberately, what they want to teach no matter what the Bible really says, which should be scary to those seeking the truth. The Catholics openly acknowledge that they have the right, even the divine right, to create a totally new doctrine or change what the Bible says about something. Mainstream Christianity, which broke away from Catholicism centuries ago, still does a little of that, too, though in a more subtle way, seemingly thinking nothing of it. The following is the first example of 6 commonly misunderstood, misinterpreted verses they use, displaying a callous disregard for the true meaning of the original Greek words in the verses and/or for what other relevant verses say:

1) Luke 23:43: “Assuredly, I say to you, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.” (NKJV)

This is a favorite verse of mainstream preachers who, incorrectly, try to make Christians think they will go straight to heaven immediately after death. With my own ears I have personally heard a well known, elderly TV personality of the 700 Club, using the above verse, repeatedly telling the public that Christians go immediately up to heaven after their death, never losing consciousness (after they emailed him questions about verses describing the resurrection of the dead). In the FIRST place, the New Testament was originally recorded in day-to-day, non-literary Koine Greek in which words were usually written with no punctuation. Commas were not used. The words simply ran together completely. Translators therefore have always had to guess where commas should go or deliberately place them where they wanted them to appear, which was a huge mistake in this verse as you will see. SECONDLY, John 20:17 reveals that Jesus, three (3) days after He was crucified, told Mary Magdalene “I have not yet ascended to My Father,” which means that Jesus had not returned to heaven on the day that He was killed.

JOHN 3:13: “AND NO MAN HATH ASCENDED UP TO HEAVEN, BUT HE THAT CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, EVEN THE SON OF MAN WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.” (KJV)

THIRDLY, John 3:13 above “spells out” in usually dark print on lightly colored paper that NO HUMAN BEING HAS EVER ASCENDED TO HEAVEN (which obviously would include the thief), except Jesus Christ, who was once human. ONE MORE TIME, CONCERNING EARTHLY HUMAN BEINGS, NOBODY BUT NOBODY HAS EVER GONE TO HEAVEN, YET. A FOURTH reason that the thief never went to heaven is the revelation by Paul that Christians enter a sleep when they die according to 1 Corinthians 15:6,20: “After that He was seen by over 500 brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but SOME HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP …… 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP.” “Asleep” here and elsewhere in the Bible is “Bible speak” for death, a temporary unconsciousness. A FIFTH verse showing that Jesus did not ascend to heaven on the day He was crucified is Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “…… Christ …… was buried, …… and rose again the third day ……” Jesus was sealed in the tomb for 3 full days and 3 full nights. The Psalms 146:3,4 revelation that no one has gone to heaven yet, except Jesus, is the SIXTH verse that indicates the thief did not go heaven on the day that Jesus was killed: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. 4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day HIS THOUGHTS PERISH.” (English Revised Version) Also, Ecclesiastes 9:5 reveals: “…… the DEAD KNOW NOTHING ……” So to conform to what other relevant verses reveal, and to make better use of commas if they must be used, a more correct translation of Luke 23:43 would be as follows: “Assuredly, I SAY TO YOU TODAY, you will be with Me in Paradise.” In other words, on that particular day, Jesus told the thief that he would EVENTUALLY be in Paradise with Him. To read more about this go to http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today-daily/doctrinal-beliefs/thief-cross.

A second example of a verse most preachers misinterpret, thanks to poor translation, is John 11:26, attempting to make people believe that they will ascend to heaven right after they physically die. While many translators deserve some degree of blame, mainstream Christianity should also take the time and effort to check the original Greek in controversial verses like this one to make reasonably certain that it confirms a particular doctrine. John 11:26 says in most of the English translations

2) “and whoever lives and believes in Me SHALL NEVER DIE. Do you believe this?” (NKJV)

While most popular translations render John 11:26 as saying that Christians will never die, the literal Greek reveals that they will not die forever, a huge difference. Here is what three Greek to English interlinear translations say:

Interlinear Greek New Testament: “…… in no wise shall die forever ……”

The Interlinear Bible Hebrew Greek English: “….. in no way shall die forever ……”

A Conservative Version Interlinear: “….. will die no not into tho age ……”

The Greek word for “die” is apothnesko, Strong’s number 599, which refers primarily to a PHYSICAL death. To say that we never experience a physical death would be an obvious mistruth, so this verse cannot be translated as saying that people never die, because they do die, of course. The Greek for “forever” or “age” in the above interlinear translations is aion, Strong’s number 165, which overwhelmingly means basically “forever” according to Joseph H. Thayer, world renowned Bible word expert. Since the literal Greek says “and everyone living and believing in Me in no way shall die for ever……,” the Greek then obviously leaves as wide open as the GRAND CANYON the possibility of a prolonged state of death or unconsciousness before being granted life again and possible immortality in either the first resurrection or the implied second resurrection (Revelation 20:4-16). “In no way shall die forever” clearly explains that death, for the righteous, will not last forever.

Besides the 3 above interlinear, literal translations, the following also say literally or basically that Christians will not die forever:

The Message, John Wesley New Testament, Thomas Haweis New Testament, Douay-Rheims Bible, Lexham English Bible, exeGeses Companion Bible, Green’s Literal Translation, and the Analytical Literal Translation.

A third verse popular ministers usually misinterpret is 2 Kings 2:11:

3) “Elijah WENT UP by a whirlwind INTO HEAVEN.” (NKJV)

The Biblical “heaven” can refer to three general areas depending on the context, and the gaseous atmosphere surrounding our planet is one of them. After the whirlwind removed Elijah to another location on the earth, Elisha became the leader of Elijah’s students and followers. 2 Chronicles 21:12-15 proves that Elijah was still alive on the earth several years after the high speed circular winds carried Elijah away to another place on the earth, not to the third heaven where God resides. Verses 12-15 above record a letter written, years after the whirlwind incident, by Elijah to Jehoram, the wicked king of Judah, telling him of impending dire consequences for his sins. John 3:13 settles the matter even more firmly by saying “no one has ascended to heaven but He …….. the Son of Man.”

If mainstream churches can be so INCREDIBLY SHALLOW AND INCOMPETENT in their interpretation of the three verses above, and if mainstreamers can interpret, again, in such an INCREDIBLY SHALLOW AND INCOMPETENT way the 7 verses in the 7 VERSES MAINSTREAMERS CLAIM ABOLISH THE FOOD LAWS page to supposedly help prove the dietary laws have been done away with, how in the world can you attach any credibility to their claim that most Mosaic laws have been abolished?

Many, even dozens of verses mention “sleeping” Christians (the dead) or discuss the first resurrection in which saved Christians will come to life again, arising from their graves. If those Christians really are already in heaven talking and consciously moving around, how in the world can they be resurrected from a prolonged sleep? Duh?

4) 2 Corinthians 5:6-9: “Therefore, being confident at all times and knowing that being at home in the body we are away from the Lord— 7 for by faith we walk about [fig., conduct ourselves], not by sight— 8 but we are confident and PREFER RATHER TO BE away from the body and to be at home with the Lord! 9 And so we ambitiously strive, whether being at home or being away from home, to be acceptable [or, pleasing] to Him.” (Analytical Literal Translation)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “we are of good courage, I say, and are WILLING RATHER TO BE absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.” (English Revised Version)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “yet I am confident, and I PREFER to leave my home in the body and make my home with the Lord.” (Goodspeed New Testament)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We should be cheerful, because we would RATHER leave these bodies and be at home with the Lord.” (Contemporary English Version)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “So I say that we ·have courage [or are confident]. We really WANT [would PREFER] to be ·away [absent; or exiled] from this body and be at home with the Lord.” (Expanded Bible)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “but we are confident and PREFER RATHER to be away from home from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.” (Complete Apostle’s Bible)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “So I say that we have confidence. And we really WANT to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord.” (Easy-To-Read Version)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are full of courage and would MUCH PREFER to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord.” (Good News Translation)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, and we would MUCH PREFER to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (New Testament for Everyone)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “In fact, we are confident, and we WOULD PREFER to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (Christians Standard Bible)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, then, and WOULD PREFER to be away from this body and to live with the Lord.” (International Standard Version)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and PREFER RATHER to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (Amplified Bible)

2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, and we WOULD PREFER to leave the body and to be at home with the Lord.” (Common English Bible)

Many to most mainstreamers try to compress 2 Corinthians 5:8 into the statement “to be absent from the body IS TO BE present with the Lord” as support for the idea that Christians consciously ascend to heaven right after they die. The words “…… we are confident and PREFER RATHER to be away from the body and to be at home with the Lord” in the above reputable translations show that “wide awake immortality with the Lord immediately after death” is a PREFERENCE, and is something that we ARE WILLING TO DO and WANT, not necessarily the next immediate event after physical death. Verse 8 in the original Greek does contain the word meaning literally “prefer or willing.” Likewise, to be WILLING RATHER TO BE rich or to PREFER RATHER TO BE rich does not necessarily mean that you will become rich soon or even ever. The words “to be” in “to be at home with the Lord” also can very well be interpreted as referring to a hoped for event in THE DISTANT FUTURE. Remember, 1) John 3:13 CONFIRMS that “no man” has ascended to heaven, 2) 1 Corinthians 15:6 CONFIRMS that dead Christians are not conscious anymore because they are “sleeping,” waiting for the return of Jesus to be resurrected, and 3) Ecclesiastes 9:5 CONFIRMS that the “dead know nothing.” The dead do not know anything because they need to be connected to a healthy, live physical or spiritual brain to be conscious. That is why people who have been comatose for months remember absolutely nothing during those months, and why people who have had part of their brains destroyed by disease or accident often display radical, devastating changes in their personality or memory. Surely many Christians had already died when John made his verse 3:13 statement, and we should be able to confidently assume that he was not deliberately lying to us about no human having gone to heaven yet. Therefore far, far too much reasonable doubt prevents 2 Corinthians 5:8 from proving that Christians go to heaven, fully conscious, immediately after their physical death. To better understand 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 please visit http://rcg.org/books/dtsgth.html and read the upper one third and lower one third of that page.

5) Hebrews 9:26-28: “otherwise, it would had been necessary [for] Him to suffer often from [the] laying of the foundation of [the] world, but now once for all [time], at [the] completion of the ages, He has been revealed to put away sin through His sacrifice. 27 And just as it is laid up [fig., destined] FOR PEOPLE TO DIE ONCE, AND AFTER THIS [COMES] JUDGMENT, 28 so also Christ, having been offered once to bear [or, take away] the sins of many, will appear a second time without [reference to] sin to [bring] salvation to the ones eagerly waiting for Him!” (Analytical Literal Translation)

Many ministers use Hebrews 9:27 as “proof” that judgment comes immediately after death, and that the verse therefore also proves Christians travel consciously to heaven right after they die on the earth or remain conscious somewhere after their physical death. Yes, the verse definitely is evidence that judgment follows or eventually follows death. However, notice that the concise discussion of the death of Jesus and His return in these verses actually involves a substantial amount of time, thousands of years, between the two events. Similarly, the expanse of time between the death of a Christian and final judgment could, quite reasonably, also be expected to be possibly great in the context of this particular discussion. This abbreviated, highly condensed, concise verse 27 is not really good proof, beyond reasonable doubt, that there is no gap of time between death and final judgment, especially when taking into consideration DOZENS of related verses concerning “sleeping” (dead) Christians and the first and implied second resurrection. Again remember what John 3:13 and Ecclesiastes 9:5 say, which very strongly contradict any idea that Christians somehow travel right away to heaven upon their death or remain fully conscious in some place after death. For further study of Hebrews 9:27 please visit http://rcg.org/questions/p076.a.html.

6) Luke 16:22-26: “…… the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 ……”

Again, these verses do do not prove conclusively, beyond reasonable doubt, that Christians go to heaven immediately after death, wide awake. This is merely a PARABLE created to emphasize a certain moral point, that you cannot serve both Mammon (the idolatrous pursuit of money) and Jesus Christ. A parable is a short, simple, imagined story that usually teaches a moral lesson. NOT EVERY DETAIL in a parable is necessarily factual. Note that Lazarus was not transported to heaven by the angels, but rather to Abraham’s “bosom,” implying a close relationship between the two. These verses also do not say that Abraham was in heaven. Remember that John 3:13 tells us that no human has gone to heaven, and many verses reveal that dead and buried Christians are still “sleeping.” Translation: They’re still quite dead. The togetherness of Abraham and the beggar has to occur after Jesus has returned and when the angels gather the dead in Christ during a distant resurrection (Matthew 24:30-31). Since Abraham was righteous, he will be in the resurrection of the just, the first resurrection. Hebrews 11:13 reveals that Abraham and other people of faith ALL DIED “not having received the promises.” They are still “asleep” (unconscious) in their graves WAITING to be resurrected. John 11:24: “Martha said to Him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’ ” Martha was the brother of Lazarus. She knew that Lazarus would remain unconscious in the grave until the first resurrection occurred, a very long time from now. Since this parable shows Abraham and Lazarus alive and together, this must be after the resurrection of the just. The Bible mentions two general types of resurrections. The first type involves a resurrection to life, involving the first and second resurrections. (Revelation 20:==) The second type involves a resurrection to “judgment,” which ultimately leads to a fiery, eternal death. This parable states that the rich man initially died and was buried, showing that he was dead for a period of time. The fact that he later spoke to Abraham shows that he had temporarily come back to life, apparently by the resurrection reserved for the condemned since flames of fire were near. (Matthew ====, Revelation ====) Remember, though, that this parable is just a tale designed to illustrate a point. Most to all mean, selfish, rich men in real life who had never even heard of Jesus Christ and his message of salvation actually will probably be in the general second resurrection that provides an opportunity to become righteous and saved. (still editing, will be completed soon)

Why do mainstreamers misinterpret the Bible so badly? The likely short answer: The New Testament appears to have been originally, deliberately written in a way so as to occasionally in a very subtle way, leave open the possibility for confusion (ESPECIALLY for those determined to evade Mosaic law keeping) in certain often “controversial” verses if each word in those verses is not closely analyzed, and if the context is also not very closely analyzed. Thus the number of people saved will be temporarily minimized until the return of Jesus. According to some NT verses, God is now “calling,” or drawing to Him only a relatively small number of special people to be in the highly coveted first resurrection to be “kings and priests,” but these saints in training can understand or can learn to understand the Bible correctly now even as it was originally written. Hopefully mainstreamers will be in the much larger, second resurrection occurring a little over a thousand years after the first resurrection.

MORE MISUNDERSTOOD LAW VERSES

1) Yes, some verses put law keeping in its proper perspective, explaining that it is really grace or faith that saves us, not law keeping. Those verses, however, are merely RELATIVE COMPARISONS emphasizing the importance of faith and grace. They do not specifically, clearly state that law keeping really can be abandoned. To illustrate, it is really a bullet that kills a deer, not the gun or hunter pulling the trigger. But the killing bullet REQUIRES a gun and the hunter to aim and pull the trigger. Likewise grace REQUIRES law keeping for grace to exist. For example, law keeping is definitely required just to receive the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:38.

2) Yes, some verses are broad generalizations saying essentially say that love FULFILLS the law. Again, such verses do not clearly, specifically state that law keeping can be abandoned. More importantly, though, the first, primary definition of the Greek word for “fulfills” (pleroo) in those verses merely means to complete, to add to, to fill more fully, or to make more perfect. In other words, love MAKES THE LAW PERFECT. The main definition of pleroo does NOT mean to replace, substitute, or abolish.

3) Yes, Christians claiming that they have been “BORN AGAIN” believe that they can no longer lose their salvation through sin. No human, except Jesus Who was once human, has ever been “born again,” though, because this involves being born into a literally immortal, NON-PHYSICAL, NON-FLESH, spirit body that could not possibly consist of flesh and blood according to John 3:3-8,13. When was the last time you saw a “born again” Christian BECOME INVISIBLE AT WILL, LIKE THE WIND, as Jesus clearly described such Christians? “Born again” Christians also ignore 1 Corinthians 9:27 which reveals that Paul himself admits that he could lose his salvation if he does not continue to reasonably discipline himself to avoid sin. Dead (unconscious) but saved Christians will suddenly, very literally, be miraculously born again into a non-flesh spirit body during the first resurrection.

4) And yes, some verses do criticize OT law keeping (when ONLY law keeping is used to acquire salvation) by some people, including especially “hard core,” stubborn Jews, who INSIST on using ONLY law keeping to save them from their sins. These people REFUSE to accept grace and the atoning, sacrificial death of Jesus to cover their sins. Galatians 3:10,11,13, 4:21, 5:1-4, and Romans 3:28 are some examples of those kinds of verses.

Since mainstream Christianity can so arrogantly, so stupidly, and so misleadingly interpret the above verses the way they interpret them, I ask you, how in the world, how in this solar system, how in this galaxy, how in this universe can you trust ANYTHING mainstream preachers say about anything, especially, ESPECIALLY about the critical issue of law keeping? Answer: You can’t even begin to trust them. Therefore you need to do a little reasonable, at least brief research yourself to Biblically corroborate a doctrine. Even the Bible warns us to prove all things. A good place to start would be to read this site’s page LIST OF MAJOR VERSES THAT MAINSTREAMERS USE TO TRY TO MAKE YOU THINK THAT THE FOOD, FESTIVAL, AND SOME OTHER OT LAWS HAVE BEEN DONE AWAY WITH.

Since the Bible actually COMMANDS Christians to do at least a little evangelizing (Jude 1,22,23), why don’t you put the following address for this page on other websites to let others finally have, for a change, an accurate understanding of the verses quoted here? www.GracePlusLawKeepingSave.Us/71-2/ You can also encourage others to just Google MORE SOLID EVIDENCE OF MAINSTREAMERS’ BIASED INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE. Start storing up some spiritual wealth that you can take with you after your death. Daniel 12:3: “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” (NKJV)

It was one or more of the following safe haven, law keeping churches that explained to me the correct interpretation of most of the above verses: The Church of God, a Worldwide Association, the United Church of God, an International Association, or the Living Church of God. Why don’t you let them explain to you the correct interpretation of other controversial verses, especially the law keeping verses? These churches and other like minded remnant churches of the former Worldwide Church of God are the ONLY churches in the entire world, to my knowledge, that ALWAYS incorporate BOTH obvious context and the literal definitions of critically important Greek words when interpreting Biblical verses. Do not hesitate to email questions to their letter answering departments.