A Documented Case of Persecution

This is actually a continuation of yesterday’s post Therefore Do Not Be Afraid. As I was about to set up a linking post to it over at Christian Research Network I found that the site was down as was Apprising.Org. I contacted Ken Silva. He emailed me back saying he had contacted his ISP. This morning he let me know that whoever had attacked his sites used a Denial of Service Attack so large that it took down the entire server that not only his two sites were on, but many unrelated sites. Such are the self-righteous actions of evil men. If all you can do in the face of documented truth is resort to underhanded violence of some kind then you are indeed pitiful. Praise the Lord that both sites are back online now.

On the other hand, the content of this post will be the actual word for word account by our brother John Bunyan of his arrest and trial and appeal process and how he and his family were treated by those in authority. I pray you take the time to read the entire article for it is heart rending as Bunyan left a wife at home with several children, one of them blind and no one in authority would offer any mercy even though there was no evidence whatsoever that his sentence was just. He remained in prison for 12 years. – Mike Ratliff

What About John 1:1?

by Mike Ratliff

εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος (John 1:1 Textus Receptus)

εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος (John 1:1 Tischendorf New Testament)

εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος  (John 1:1 Wescott and Hort New Testament)

Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος (John 1:1 Nestle-Aland 27 Edition)

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God , and God was the Word. (a personal, word for word translation of John 1:1 from the NA27 Greek text)

In yesterday’s post, Why It is Vital that We Become Mature in Christ, I used the example of the hypocrisy and dishonesty of those responsible for The New World Translation Bible, which is the Jehovah Witness “bible”  in their deliberate mistranslation of John 1:1 saying, “In [the] beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God and the Word was a god.” When confronted with the overwhelming textual evidence that there is no “article a” in v1 in any of the valid texts, their response was that the translation was from the “oldest manuscripts,” which cannot be proven. The facts are that this translation came from the German by Johannes Greber in 1937. He was a former Catholic priest turned spiritist who claimed the translation came from God’s spirits. These are objective, provable facts whereas their claims are easily proven false. However, I did receive a comment today from a Jehovah Witness apologist about this example. 

Hold Fast

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

Hold fast that which is good. (1 Thessalonians 5:21)

There are few things in religion which men are so ready to forget as the duty of “contending earnestly for the faith,” and holding fast the truth.

Controversy is seldom popular. Most men like a quiet life in religion. They dislike anything like strife, trouble, contest, and exertion. They will give up much for the specious pretext of securing peace. They are apt to forget that peace procured at the expense of truth is not worth having. In short, they need reminding of St. Paul’s golden words: “Hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 1:21).

The Doctrines of Demons

by Mike Ratliff

Τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ῥητῶς λέγει ὅτι ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς ἀποστήσονταί τινες τῆς πίστεως προσέχοντες πνεύμασιν πλάνοις καὶ διδασκαλίαις δαιμονίων (1 Timothy 4:1 NA27)

Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith giving heed to the deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons; (a personal translation of 1 Timothy 4:1 from the NA27 Greek text)

The growing apostasy of the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention) is being made tragically more obvious to those with discernment as many in its leadership are now openly endorsing the teachings of Roman Catholic mystics as part of a package of “drawing closer to God” or “responding to a hunger or thirst for God.” These are not baseless charges my brethren nor are we throwing stones simply to draw people to read posts and boost our ratings. Forget that…

Unity At All Costs?

by Mike Ratliff

Οὐ περὶ τούτων δὲ ἐρωτῶ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν πιστευόντων διὰ τοῦ λόγου αὐτῶν εἰς ἐμέ, ἵνα πάντες ἓν ὦσιν, καθὼς σύ, πάτερ, ἐν ἐμοὶ κἀγὼ ἐν σοί, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐν ἡμῖν ὦσιν, ἵνα ὁ κόσμος πιστεύῃ ὅτι σύ με ἀπέστειλας. (John 17:20-21 NA27)

“I do not pray concerning these only, but also concerning those who will believe in Me through their word, that all may be one as You, Father, are in Me, and I in you, that they also may be in us that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (a personal translation of John 17:20-21 from the NA27 Greek text)

In yesterday’s post, Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, we looked at John 17 and our Lord’s prayer that transitioned Him from His earthly ministry to the beginning of His intercessory ministry for all believers. In the third section of the prayer, which is for the entire Church, I excerpted the section I placed at the top of this post. From that I exposited the following paragraph:

How often do we hear of the lack of unity in the visible church in our time? It is lamented as if we should compromise and come together at all costs. However, that is unbiblical. The basis of true Christian unity centers in adherence to the revelation the Father mediated to our Lord’s first disciples through Him. Believers are also to be united in the common belief of the truth that was received in the Word of God (Philippians 2:2). This became a reality when the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). True Christian unity is not based on fleshly, temporal, or experiential things. No! It is based upon the common eternal life shared by all who believe the truth. These come together in the Body of Christ all sharing His life.

Last weekend my wife and I were involved in some discussions with other believers about these very things. I did not say much about the rank apostasy we discuss here from time to time, but I was absolutely taken aback by the ignorance expressed by some in that room of the darkness that is rampant in the visible church in our time. Again, there were only a few there who knew who I was and knew about this ministry and I was not there to take over the conversation. However, the few who were there who did know about me and what I do were watching carefully when these topics came up. I held my peace. On the other hand, no outright support any apostate teacher was expressed by anyone either or I might have reneged on my promise to be quiet.