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12 steps to not thinking

I was a lot like you: carefree, happy and blissful. This was before my life took a tragic turn, a turn which I sense you are on the verge of taking. There is no help for me, unfortunately, but perhaps my story will prevent you from falling into the abyss into which I have been thrown.

It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties, now and then, just to loosen up. Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker. I began to think alone. To relax, I told myself, even though I knew it wasn’t true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally, I was thinking all the time.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don’t mix, but I couldn’t stop myself. I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Kafka and Thoreau. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, “What IS it exactly we are doing here?”.

Things weren’t going so great at home, either. One evening I had turned off the TV, and asked my wife “What is the meaning of life?”. She spent the night at her mother’s.

I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day, the boss called me in and said “Greg, I like you and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don’t stop thinking on the job, you’ll have to find another job”. This gave me a lot to think about!

I came home early after my conversation with the boss.

“Honey,” I confessed, “I’ve been thinking”.

“I know you’ve been thinking,” she said, “and I want a divorce.”

“But honey, surely it’s not that serious!”

“It is serious”, she said, her lower lip quivering. “You think as much as college professors, and college professors don’t make any money. So if you keep thinking, we won’t have any money!”

“That’s a faulty syllogism!” I said impatiently, and she began to cry.

I’d had enough. “I’m going to the library”, I snarled, and stomped out the door. I headed out to the library in the mood for some Nitzche and NPR on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors.

They didn’t open. The library was closed! To this day, I believe a higher power was looking out for me that night. As I sank to the ground, clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathrustra, a poster caught my eye.

“Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?” it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.

I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational video; last week it was “Porky’s”. Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting. I still have my job and things are a lot better at home. Life just seems…easier, somehow, as soon as I stop thinking.

Do not try this at home

Last weekend I saw something at PC Pistol & Pawnshop that sparked my interest. The occasion was a thank you and I was looking for a little something extra for my friend SB for helping me with typing etc. We have apartments at opposite ends of a condo block here in Florida and she goes speed walking early mornings..

What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse-sized stun gun. The effects of the stun gun were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety…. WAY TOO COOL!

Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I went over to her apartment while she was at work to wrap it. I loaded two triple-a batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button. Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button AND pressed it against a metal surface at the same time; I’d get the blue arch of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs. Awesome!!! Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to SB what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave..

Okay, so I was alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn’t be all that bad with only two triple-A batteries, right?!!! There I sat in the recliner, her cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second….er ok, for a whole minute) and thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my friend to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, stun gun in another. The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting the batteries. All the while I’m looking at this little device measuring about 5″ long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference; pretty cute really and loaded with two itsy, bitsy triple-A batteries) thinking to myself, “no possible way!”

What happened next is almost beyond description, but I’ll do my best… I’m sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side as to say, “don’t do it friend,” reasoning that a one-second burst from such a tiny little ole thing couldn’t hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one-second burst just for the heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and

HOLY @!!$$%^@@!! , WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!@$$!%!@*!!! (ok ok..unchristian thoughts and words under moments of extreme pain.. forgive me)

I’m pretty sure The Rock ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again.

I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, family jewels nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked under my body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs. The cat was standing over me making meowing sounds I had never heard before, licking my face, undoubtedly thinking to herself, “do it again, do it again!”

Note: If you ever feel compelled to “mug” yourself with a stun gun, a note of caution:

there is no such thing as a one-second burst when you zap yourself.

You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor. A three-second burst would be considered conservative.

SON-OF-A-GUN.. That hurt like heck!!! A minute or so later (I can’t be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. How did they up get there??? My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I’m still looking for my family jewels. I’m offering a significant reward for their safe return. Still in shock.

More “Twit” Awards

   The Technologically Challenged

Just in case you think YOU are TC (technologically challenged), there's

still hope:

1. Compaq/HP is considering changing the command "Press Any Key" to "Press

   Return Key" because of the flood of calls asking where the "Any" key

   is.

2. AST technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse

   was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover turned out to

   be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in.

3. Another Compaq/HP technician received a call from a man complaining

   that the system wouldn't read word processing files from his old

   (5-1/4") diskettes.  After troubleshooting for magnets and heat

   failed to diagnose the problem, it was found that the customer

   had labeled the diskettes, then rolled them into the typewriter

   to type the labels.

4. Another AST customer was asked to send a copy of her defective

   diskettes. A few days later a letter arrived from the customer along

   with photocopies of the floppies.

5. A Dell technician advised his customer to put his troubled floppy

   back in the drive and close the door. The customer asked the tech to

   hold on, and was heard putting the phone down, getting up and going

   across the room to close the door.

6. Another Dell customer called to say he couldn't get his computer

   to fax anything. After 40 minutes of troubleshooting, the technician

   discovered the man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it

   in front of the monitor screen and hitting the "send" key.

7. Yet another Dell customer called to complain that his keyboard no

   longer worked. He had cleaned it by filling up his tub with soap and

   water and soaking the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys

   and washing them individually.

8. A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was enraged

   because his computer had told him he was "bad and an invalid".  The

   tech explained that the computer's "bad command" and "invalid"

   responses shouldn't be taken personally.

9. A confused caller to IBM was having troubles printing documents.

   He told the technician that the computer had said it "couldn't find

   printer."  The user had even tried turning the computer screen to

   face the printer - but his computer still couldn't "see" the printer.

10.An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn't get

   her new Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was

   plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she pushed

   the power button.  Her response, "I pushed and pushed on this foot

   pedal and nothing happened." The "foot pedal" turned out to be the

   mouse!

11.Another customer called Compaq/HP tech support to say her

   brand-new computer wouldn't work. She said she unpacked the unit,

   plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for something to

   happen. When asked what happened when she pressed the power switch,

   she asked "What power switch?"

12.True story from a Novell NetWire  SysOp:

   Caller: "Hello, is this  Tech Support?"

   Tech:   "Yes, it is. How may I help you?"

   Caller: "The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my

            warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"

   Tech:   "I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?"

   Caller: "Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer."

   Tech:   "Please excuse me if I seem a bit stumped, it's because I am.

            Did you receive this as part of a promotion, at a trade show?

            How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark

            on it?"

   Caller: "It came with my computer, I don't know anything about a

            promotion.  It just has '4X' on it."

   At this point the Tech Rep had to mute the caller, because he

   couldn't stand it. He was laughing too hard. The caller had been

   using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder, and

   snapped it off the drive.

13.Another IBM customer had troubles installing software and rang

   for support. "I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said to

   put in the second disk, and I had some problems with the disk, but I

   squeezed it in.  When it said to put in the third disk - I couldn't

   even fit it in..." The user hadn't realized that "Insert Disk 2"

   meant to remove Disk 1 first.

Bible Students

The Bible Students Congregation of New Brunswick
What Is Its Doctrinal Lineage?

We occasionally receive inquiries concerning our doctrinal lineage. Therefore, this article will broad stroke the doctrinal lineage of the church from the Apostles’ day until now. First note this startling fact: Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) warned that down through church history, the majority of professed Christians would be just that, not real Christians. The Apostle Paul warned that shortly after his death (Acts 20:28-30; 1 Tim. 4:1-3) false teachers would assault the true church. Jude and 2 Peter 2 predicted this prevalence of false doctrine down through the Christian Age.

What Actually Happened?

During the first three centuries, Greek intellectuals brought Hellenist concepts into the church. The phrases “immortal soul” and “immortality of the soul” do not appear in scripture. Nevertheless, Plato’s “immortality of the soul” was successfully planted in the Christian church by these Grecians. Noted 2^nd century pastors like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tatian and Theophilus fought this error but lost. Eternal torment was born. If souls were only mortal they would die at the death of the person. All would wait in death for the resurrection and their trial and final rewarding. But if souls cannot die, evil souls must be punished and good souls rewarded.

Triune and triad gods permeated worship in the pagan world. The great influx of pagans into the church soon resulted in a large “Trinity” caucus. The battle over the Trinity was long and bitter with little brotherly love in the worldly church. Doctrinal battles were often fought on the streets. Finally, in AD 381 at Constantinople, a rigged council of bishops declared the doctrine of the Trinity a dogma of the church. Evangelical scholars agree that Trinitarian copyists corrupted 1John 5:7 in the 5^th century by adding the words in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one.

Reality check. If the Trinity was taught by the Apostles, why did it take nearly 300 years before even a purported majority of the church believed in the Trinity?

The Biblical teachings on the “Ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:5), the “Restitution of all things” (Acts 3:21) in the thousand year Kingdom of Christ (Rev. 20:6), and other doctrines experienced the same gradual corrupting.

The Reformation

Once Augustine (AD 410) declared the Roman Empire ruled by Papacy to be the Kingdom of God, the Bible was banned from the people. Doctrine was dictated by a pope. Things did not begin to significantly change until the 16^th century Reformation. In 1517 Martin Luther declared that Justification was solely “by faith” (Rom. 5:1)—not by the mass, indulgences, or works of penance. In 1520 Luther blasted the false doctrine of the immortality of the soul as one of the “monstrous fictions” of the pope (The Works of Martin Luther, Vol. 7, pages 131, 132). Luther taught that when a man died his soul neither went to heaven or hell fire. Rather, he slept until the resurrection. No wonder Luther whimsically said, “It would take a foolish soul to desire a body when it was already in heaven.” (Paul Althaus, The Theology of Martin Luther).

But the Reformation was hampered by Calvin’s revival of Augustine’s gross error of individual immortality. What an abomination! The vast majority of humankind was supposedly damned to eternal torment before they were born, including some who even professed to accept Christ. But a few were lucky, and Calvin believed it was just plain luck. Before they were born they were predestinated to enjoy eternal bliss.

Do you feel a little smug that you are one of Calvin’s few predestinated to eternal bliss? Think again! If you do not believe in infant baptism, you are in trouble. Calvin taught that infant baptism leads to salvation. Therefore, those that do not believe in infant baptism are damned to eternal torment.

Remember, Calvin ordered Servitus to be burned at the stake for two reasons—he didn’t believe in either the trinity or infant baptism. By the way, Calvin ordered that the firewood be green oak. Why? The slow burn of green wood allowed Servitus to scream in excruciating pain for thirty minutes before he lost consciousness. Yet Servitus mustered enough physical strength and spiritual fortitude to pray for Calvin’s forgiveness.

Unfortunately, Luther’s teachings on predestination and infant baptism were little better than Calvin’s. That is why Luther so bitterly persecuted the Anabaptists—those who believe baptism was meaningless unless a person was mature enough to understand it.

Daniel 11:34 (NIV) predicted correctly, the Reformation would be but a “little help” because many “insincere Christians” (“tares”) would join it.

Calvinism Spreads

Notwithstanding the later opposition of Jacobus Arminius and John Wesley, Calvinism spread like wildfire in Western Europe. By 1750 it was a majority concept in the American colonies. Although our fledgling nation threw off the tyranny of the British, the people were being terrorized by another tyranny—the tyranny of fear—fear of Calvin’s predestination.

In 1741 Jonathan Edwards, in Enfield, Connecticut, set the tone for this conquest of fear. His sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sought to convey the justice of eternal torment of the wicked, whom Calvin claimed God made wicked and doomed to unrelenting torture. In reality, Edwards was portraying his own sadistic concept of a vicious vindictive God who relished in every possible fiendish torture. Thank God such a god does not exist!

Preachers of Edwards’ caliber were terrorizing the majority who, according to Calvinism, were doomed to the agony of flames searing their wicked souls eternally. A reaction set in. By 1750 Universal Salvation (God will eventually save all mankind) was spreading across the country. Scriptures certainly teach a universal opportunity for salvation, but do not guarantee salvation for all. Universalists are wrong.

Christian Connexion

Around 1800 a remarkable group, the Christians and/or Christian Connexion “sprung up almost simultaneously in different and remote parts of the country.” It anticipated the Bible Student movement by about 75 years. No creed was permitted and individual Bible study was encouraged.

When it began, everyone brought their own creedal beliefs, but within a short time almost all agreed that there was no Trinity. The Heavenly Father was God, Jesus our Savior was the Son of God but not a part of God in any way, and the holy Spirit was the invisible power and influence of God. Also, they believed there was no inherent immortal soul or eternal torment. All believers and unbelievers “soul sleep” at death until the resurrection. Such consoling doctrines proved a magnet to Calvinists.

About 1820 Evangelicals were revaluating the near destruction of Papacy by Napoleon in 1799. At that time all Evangelicals believed Papacy was Antichrist and the destruction of Antichrist meant the imminent return of the Lord. The great Second Advent awakening began. It crossed denominational lines including Baptists, Lutherans, Christian Connexion, Disciples of Christ, etc. Some set dates; many did not.

Inevitably the Second Advent awakening inspired an in-depth scriptural study of the purpose of Christ’s return in the Millennial Kingdom that would follow. As they pondered these prophecies, the same Millennial expectations of the early church impressed their minds.

The faithful church would reign over the earth with Christ a “thousand years,” Rev. 20:6. There would be a “restitution of all things,” Acts 3:19-22. Israel would be restored to their promised land, Amos 9:14,15. The earth would return to its Edenic paradise, Isaiah 35:1,2. The earth would be “full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea,” Isaiah 11:9. The unbelieving Gentiles would receive a knowledge of the Lord, Psalm 46:10.

Beginning in the 1850s, prophetic students like Henry Grew, Isaac Hinton, L. C. Gunn, Charles Fitch, Owen Crozier, Frank Marsh, H. F. Hill, Joseph Seiss, H. F. Carpenter, George Stetson, Daniel Taylor, Henry Dunn and George Storrs became feeders of the doctrines of no eternal torment and the “restitution of all things” within and outside their respective churches. All believed in a future probation beginning with the Millennial Kingdom, but varied as to how many of the non-elect would benefit.

How effective was their proclamation? Who knows? David Millard’s History of The Christian Connextion observed that in 1848, 500,000 believed in the doctrines of the Christian Connexion, one of which he lists was the “restitution of all things.”

Ultra Fundamentalists reacted. Their cherished traditional errors were being challenged. The Evangelical Alliance was formed in 1846 to define orthodoxy and isolate those who did not conform. It uncompromisingly affirmed eternal torment, the immortality of the soul and no future probation. Small Advent Churches conformed or crumbled. Over a period of time the Christian Connexion retreated back into the old errors of tradition and finally merged with the Congregational Church. However, the staunch Christian Biblical scholars listed above dared to continue holding forth the torch of newly rediscovered Scriptural truth.

Bible Students

In the 1870s, a small remnant of the Second Advent awakening who would not buckle under the Evangelical Alliance received this Torch of truth with joy from the few torchbearers that still remained—Stetson, Storrs, Dunn and Seiss. The Bible Student movement was born. Like its forerunner, the Christian Connexion, there is no central head. Each congregation is completely autonomous, they do not believe in the Trinity, eternal torment, or the inherent immortality of the soul.

Soon Bible Students were pondering Rev. 20:5, which seemed to counter many scriptures that clearly taught that the “ransom for all” guarantees future probation for the non-elect. John 5:28,29 and Acts 24:15 speak of two resurrections of both the “good” and “evil” and the “just” and “unjust”—note the apparent close sequence. Yet Rev. 20:5 speaks of the “rest of the dead” (the “evil” and “unjust”) not coming to life until the 1,000 years are finished. Then Vs. 5 says, “this is the first resurrection.” Something is wrong here. The raising of the “rest of the dead” is not the “first resurrection.” The “first resurrection” is the raising of the church at the beginning of the Millennial Age.

The solution is the same as the Trinity problem in 1 John 5:7,8. (Compare the NIV with the KJV.) Trinitarian scholars finally conceded that most of verses 7 and 8 do not appear in the earliest manuscripts and, therefore, 1 John 5:7,8 does not prove the Trinity. In Rev. 20:5 the words “but the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years are finished” do not appear in the Sinaitic Codex—the earliest manuscript of the New Testament. Just as Evangelical scholars conceded that 1 John 5:7,8 is spurious, so the same objectivity requires them to admit that most of Rev. 20:5 is spurious. Therefore, future probation starts at the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom with the resurrection of the “evil.”

For over 125 years Bible Students have been proclaiming these Biblical teachings worldwide. Now some prominent Evangelicals no longer believe in eternal torment. Some allow for future probation. The Evangelical Alliance was forced to rule that this is acceptable. (Christianity Today, 10/23/00) The main objection to our teachings comes from Calvinists and Jehovah’s Witnesses. (We respect their sincerity and rejoice that the love of God will embrace them also.)

Logic and the Trinity

Father and Son

Mt.20:23 – Father And Son – two persons.

Jn.3:16 – For Yahweh so loved the world that He gave, not Himself, but His Son.

Jn.3:17 – Yahweh sent His Son into the world. Did Yahweh send Himself?

Jn.5:37 – You have not heard or seen the Father (but they had seen and heard the Son) two different persons.

Jn.5:37 – There are TWO witnesses – (1) the Father and (2) the Son (two persons).

Jn.5:43 – Yahshua came in the Father’s name, but they did not receive him.

Jn.8:18 – There are TWO witnesses; the Father and the Son (two persons).

Jn.8:19 – You know neither me nor my Father (two persons).

Jn.10:29 – The Father is greater than all (others).

Jn.12:28 – Yahshua said, “Father, glorify thy Name.” A voice answered. Was it Yahshua answering himself? Are they One and the Same Person? Jn.14:1 – You believe in Yahweh, believe ALSO in me (two persons).

Jn.14:25 – My words are not mine, but His who sent me (two persons: sender/sent).

Jn.14:28 – My FATHER is greater than I – truly (two persons; Father & Son).

Jn.15:1 – I am the vine. My FATHER is the vine dresser; two different parties.

Jn.15:9 – The Father loved me, so I haved loved you (three parties; Father, Son & disciples).

Jn.15:10 – If you love me you will keep my commandments just as I have kept my Father’s commandments.

Jn.15:24 – They hated BOTH me AND my Father (two persons).

Jn.16:3 – You have not known the Father nor me (two parties; Father & Son).

Jn.16:28 – I came down from the Father and go to the Father. Did Yahshua go to himself?

Jn.16:32 – I am not alone, for the Father is with me (two persons).

Jn.17:1 – Yahshua prayed to the Father. Did he pray to himself?

Jn.17:3 – ETERNAL LIFE is knowing you, the ONLY TRUE EL, AND Yahshua Messiah whom you sent. Do we want eternal life? If so, believe in the Father and the Son (two persons).

Jn.17:4 – I glorified you on earth, and finished the work you gave me to do (the Boss & the workman). Jn.17:5 – Now Father, glorify me. Two parties; one is superior, one inferior).

Jn.17:11 – Father, keep my disciples, that they may be ONE AS WE ARE ONE. Comment: Yahshua and his Father were “one” just as the 12 Apostles should be “one;” that is, “one in purpose and doctrine.

Jn.17:18 – As YOU sent ME, so I send them into the world. Three parties: You, me, and them.

Jn.17:21 – That they may all be one in US; you and I. Us equals two or more persons.

Jn.17:22 – That the Apostles may be one as WE are ONE. Were the Apostles only one person, rather than 12 persons? Just as the Apostles were 12 individual persons, but with one goal, so the Heavenly Father and His Son were two individual persons with one goal.

Acts 2:24* – Here we have TWO persons: One ALIVE, one DEAD. Yahshua, being dead, could not raise himself. Who did? Yahweh raised him from the grave – from death (Acts 3:14,15).

Acts 2:27 – Yahshua’s soul was not left in hell; it too was raised from hell, from the grave, from the dead (vs.32). By whom? By the power of Yahweh (two persons are referred to here).

Rom.1:3 – Declared to be the Son of Yahweh, … by his resurrection from the dead (two persons).

Gal.1:1 – Yahweh (the Father) raised Yahshua (the Son) from the dead. Yahshua was subject to death, but his Father was not subject to death.

Eph.6:23 – Peace to all from Yahweh the Father AND from Yahshua. Two separate and distinct persons.

Ph.1:2 – Grace from Yahweh our Father AND from Yahshua Messiah. Two persons.

Col.1:1 – Paul an Apostle of Yahshua Messiah by the will of Yahweh (three persons: Paul, Yahweh, & Yahshua).

1 Th.1:1 – Peace from Yahweh the Father AND the Savior Yahshua (two persons; Father and Son).

2 Th.1:2 – Grace and peace from Yahweh the Father AND from Yahshua the Messiah (two persons).

1 Tim.1:1 – Paul, an Apostle of Yahshua by command of Yahweh AND Yahshua Messiah (Two persons).

1 Tim.1:2 – Grace, mercy and peace from Yahweh the Father, AND from Yahshua the Messiah.

2 Tim.1:2 – Grace and peace from Yahweh the Father AND from Yahshua our Savior.

Titus 1:1 – Paul, a servant of Yahweh, AND an Apostle of Yahshua.

Phil.3 – Grace to you, and peace (1) from Yahweh our Father AND (2) from Yahshua Messiah.

Heb.1:1 – Yahweh in times past spoke through the prophets, but in these last days spoke to us by His Son.

Ja.1:1 – James, a servant of (1) Yahweh, and (2) Yahshua.

1 Pe.1:3 – Blessed be the El and Father of our Savior, Yahshua.

2 Pe.1:2 – Grace to you through the knowledge of Yahweh, AND of Yahshua Messiah (two parties).

1 Jn.1:3 – Our fellowship is with the Father, AND with His Son Yahshua the Messiah.

1 Jn.2:1 – If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Yahshua the Messiah (Father Yahweh & advocate Yahshua (two persons). 2 Jn.9 – Whoever abides in the doctrine of Messiah has BOTH the Father AND the Son.

Jude 1 – Yahweh the Father, AND Yahshua Messiah (two persons).

Jude 4 – Some deny the only Yahweh, AND our Savior Yahshua the Messiah (two persons).

Rev.1:1* – The revelation which Yahweh gave to Himself. No. No. Yahweh did not give the revelation to himself, but to His Son Yahshua the Messiah.

Rev.1:4* – A salutation from two persons: (1) Him who is, who was, and is to come (the eternal Yahweh);

And from Yahshua Messiah the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, etc.(vs.5).

Rev.1:9* – The word of Yahweh and the testimony of Yahshua: Two persons.

Rev.2:8* – The words of him who died (Yahshua). It is impossible for the Father to die, therefore Yahshua is not one and the same person as the Father.

Rev.2:26 – He who overcomes, I (Yahshua) will give power over the nations, even as I myself received power from my Father (vs.27). Two persons: The lesser receives power from the other.

Rev.3:5 – Two persons: one of which will confess our names before the other. Who are these two? Father Yahweh and Son Yahshua.

Rev.3:12* – He who overcomes, I (Yahshua,Vs.11) will make him a pillar in the temple of MY ELOAH; and write on him the name of MY ELOAH; etc. Yahshua’s El was someone other than himself.

Rev.3:14 – The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of El’s creation. Two persons spoken of: (1) El the Creator, and (2) the one who was created – the True Witness (Yahshua).

Rev.3:21 – Overcomers will sit with me (Yahshua) in my throne, as I overcame and sit with my Father in His throne. Two thrones and two persons are spoken of: (1) the Father and His throne, and (2) the Son and his throne.

Rev.4:2-11 – He who sat upon the throne (Rev.4:2,3,9,10; 5:1,7; 19:4; 20:11; 21:5), was Yahweh, the Almighty El. Yahshua, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb who was slain, and who opened the seven seals (Rev.5:2-10); was not Yahweh. He stood before the throne on which the Father (Yahweh) sat: two persons.

Rev.5:11-13 – Praises were given to (1) Him who sits on the throne, and (2) the Lamb who was slain.

Rev.6:16 – Hide us from (1) Him who sits on the throne, and (2) the wrath of the Lamb: Two persons.

Rev.7:9,10 – Salvation belongs to our El, and to the Lamb: Two persons.

Rev.7:17 – The Lamb, now on the throne, on his Father’s right hand (Heb.1:3), will be their shepherd; and Yahweh will wipe away all tears: Two persons.

Rev.11:15 – The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Yahweh, and of His Messiah: two persons.

Rev.12:17 – Those who keep the commandments of Yahweh (first person), and who bear testimony of Yahshua (second person).

Rev.14:1,4 – These have the Father’s Name written in their foreheads (Greek – Father and Son’s name), and are the firstfruits to Yahweh AND the Lamb.

Rev.14:12 – Those who keep the commandments of Yahweh AND the faith of Yahshua: two persons.

Rev.15:3* – Three separate persons are named here: Yahweh, the Lamb, and Moses. If Moss and Yahweh are not one and the same persons, why should we think the Lamb and Yahweh are one and the same person?

Rev.19:4-7 – Four parties are named here: Yahweh the Almighty, The Lamb (Yahshua, the bridegroom), the bride of Messiah, a great multitude.

Rev.20:6 – They will be priests (1) of Yahweh and (2) of the Messiah

Rev.21:9,10 – Three parties: Yahweh, the Lamb, and the bride.

Rev.21:22 – Two parties are named: Yahweh and the Lamb. These are the temple in the New Jerusalem.

Rev.22:1 – The river of life flows from the throne of Yahweh AND of the Lamb (two persons).

Rev.22:3 – No more curse will be there for the throne of Yahweh And of the Lamb will be in the city: two persons.

Conclusion of these thoughts

To create only ONE person from these two:

(1) Yahweh the Father (who sits on the throne), and

(2) Yahshua the Son (the Messiah, the Lamb);

Requires too much bending of terms, titles, names, logic, facts, and Scriptures. It is much better to accept the “sincere milk of the Word” (1 Pe.2:2), and “receive with meekness the engrafted Word” of Yahweh (Ja.1:21),

“…which is able to instruct you for salvation through faith in the Messiah Yahshua. For all Scripture given by inspiration of Yahweh is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of Yahweh may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim.3:16,17 KJV).

One good work which we should continually promote is FAITH; Faith in the following:

(1) Faith in the one Supreme Being who has LIVED ETERNALLY. His Name is Yahweh, the Creator of the heavens and the earh and all things in them.

(2) Faith in Yahweh’s Son; Yahshua the Messiah, who DIED to redeem sinners and arose again the third day. He was “declared to be the Son of Yahweh… by his resurrection from the dead (Rom.1:1-4).

Name of God and Jesus

Name of the Creator is יהוה , and His Son’s Name is יהושע

Most copyist (scribes) and translators/transliterators of the (”Qodesh [Hebrew meaning, 'set apart'], Holy, Sacred”) Scrolls (”Scriptures, Bible”) have SUBSTITUTED the Name of our Heavenly Father and Creator and the Name of His Son for the names/titles of idols/gods/goddesses used in pagan/devil worship.

These SUBSTITUTED names/titles for our Heavenly Father and Creator are: Jehovah (Jove, Jovis), LORD GOD (BAAL GAD), El and Elohim (PLURAL form) and Adonai (Adonis). The SUBSTITUTED names/titles for His Son are Jesus (jEZUS, ZEUS, heh-SOOS) and Christ[ian](Chrishna, KRSNA). The TRUE Name/Title of our Heavenly Father and Creator is YAHWEH Almighty and the TRUE Name/Title of His Son is YAHshua Anointed (Messiah).

The Truth regarding the falsehood of the trinity

The Arian controversy was a Christological dispute that began in Alexandria between the followers of Arius (the Arians) and the followers of St. Alexander of Alexandria (now known as homoousians). Alexander and his followers believed that the Son was of the same substance as the Father, co-eternal with him. The Arians believed that they were different and that the Son, though he may be the most perfect of creations, was only a creation. A third group (now known as homoiousians) tried to make a compromise position, saying that the Father and the Son were of similar substance.

Much of the debate hinged on the difference between being “born” or “created” and being “begotten”. Arians saw these as the same; followers of Alexander did not. Indeed, the exact meaning of many of the words used in the debates at Nicaea were still unclear to speakers of other languages. Greek words like “essence” (ousia), “substance” (hypostasis), “nature” (physis), “person” (prosopon) bore a variety of meanings drawn from pre-Christian philosophers, which could not but entail misunderstandings until they were cleared up. The word homoousia, in particular, was initially disliked by many bishops because of its associations with Gnostic heretics (who used it in their theology), and because it had been condemned at the 264-268 Synods of Antioch.

Homoousians believed that to follow the Arian view destroyed the unity of the Godhead, and made the Son unequal to the Father, in contravention of the Scriptures (”The Father and I are one”, John 10:30). Arians, on the other hand, believed that since God the Father created the Son, he must have emanated from the Father, and thus be lesser than the Father, in that the Father is eternal, but the Son was created afterward and, thus, is not eternal. The Arians likewise appealed to Scripture, quoting verses such as John 14:28: “the Father is greater than I”. Homoousians countered the Arians’ argument, saying that the Father’s fatherhood, like all of his attributes, is eternal. Thus, the Father was always a father, and that the Son, therefore, always existed with him.

The Council declared that the Father and the Son are of the same substance and are co-eternal, basing the declaration in the claim that this was a formulation of traditional Christian belief handed down from the Apostles. This belief was expressed in the Nicene Creed.

Salvation why and how?

Before reading this article we would like to strongly suggest that you to have a Bible in front of you, either in print or on a website.  There are numerous Scriptures that are cited throughout this article, while only a few are quoted.  These Scriptures are all essential and have been selected to highlight the points being made.  After you’ve read a paragraph with referenced Scriptures, we encourage you to stop and look up the cited verses before continuing through the article.  This will allow you to full appreciate the essential truths being presented. Have you ever done something that you knew was wrong?  Perhaps as a child you stole a piece of candy or maybe you have told a lie.  Maybe you have done something even more severe.  Whatever it might be, you be confident that you are not alone, for many people have assuredly done the same.    In doing something such as stealing or lying, you have sinned.  The Illustrated Bible Dictionary explains that sin is done “either by omitting to do what God’s law requires or by doing what it forbids.”[1]  Unfortunately sin is something that we have all inherited from our father Adam. (Rom. 5:12)  It was not until after he sinned that he bore children.  Having become imperfect (sinful) by disobeying God, he was not able to produce children without sin.  Sin was passed on to all of Adam’s children, including each of us, and so we are deserving of death.  The apostle Paul, in writing to an early church in Rome, explained that “the wages of sin is death.”  (Rom. 6:23)  The source of this sin proves to be in our father Adam; for God explained to him that if he disobeyed he would die. Adam had the choice, he chose to disobey God, and so he brought death upon us all. (Gen. 3:11-19) When the apostle told those in Rome that “the wages of sin is death,” he did not stop there, leaving them without hope.  He reassured them, explaining that “the gift of God is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.”  God has promised to give his servants life that will not end.  But if we have all sinned and are deserving of death, how can this be? The words of Jesus Christ have been recorded within the Bible, where he explains that God took action to bring life to those deserving of death.  He said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone believing into Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world that He might judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”  (Joh. 3:16-17)   When Adam fell into sin, God did not intend to eternally condemn mankind to death.  He had a plan to restore mankind so that we would no longer die.  This plan would be accomplished through sending his son into the world.  When God sent his son into the world, he sent him as a human being. (Heb. 2:14) The difference between him and us though is that he was perfect, without sin.  (Heb. 4:15)   By him willfully offering his sinless life up as a ransom, he provided what was necessary to bring about the redemption of mankind. (Mat. 20:28)  He initiated the New Covenant by pour out his blood in death, through which God has forgiven our sins.  (Jer. 31:34; Mat. 26:28) How though can you benefit from this sacrifice?  Recall again John 3:16 where we read that it was by “believing into him” that people would receive life.  If we believe in him, we will also then believe in the one that sent him. (1Jo. 2:23) This belief is not simply a passive thought, where you merely acknowledge his existence.  We know from Scripture that even the demons, who are opposed to God and Jesus, do this. (Jam. 2:19)  The belief that is necessary and is truly considered faith is an active belief, where we have a true love for God and Jesus, where we practice our faith. (Jam. 2:14-25; 1Jo. 5:3) With a true, active faith, we have the promise of eternal life.  We are instructed to know the Father and the Son, and by doing so, in getting to know them through true faith, we will receive everlasting life. (Joh. 17:3)  But how can you do this?  You can come to truly understand the personalities of both God and Jesus by reading about them in the Bible.  You can come to see how they have dealt with others in the past and what they will do in the future to both those that serve them and those that choose to disobey.  You can develop a close, personal relationship through prayer.  In prayer you can express your personal thoughts and feelings; you can express your desire to repent of your former sinful course and to follow them.  (Mat. 6:9-13; Act. 26:20)  If you have not yet come to follow God and Christ, we invite you to do so.  God desires none to be destroyed, but he wishes for all to repent, including you.  (2Pet. 3:9)  By doing this, not only will you find a true peace today (Isa. 48:18), but you will have a confident outlook in this troubled world.  You will have an assurance, that if you endure to the end, not turning away from God, you will have everlasting life.  (Mat. 10:22; 24:13) [1] Illustrated Dictionary of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, Sri., Editor, with F.F. Bruce and R.K. Harrison. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), 994.

The Sign of the Cross

The cross was used by Pagans long before the Messiah was put to death on Calvary.
The cross is a symbol of the Babylonian Sun god and was also seen on the coins of Julius Caesar 100-40 BC. The cross was the emblem of Tammuz known as the mistletoe or Branch.
It is doubtful if Christ even died on the kind of cross commonly known. It is more likely that he was crucified on a stake – an upright pole or tree with its branches lopped off. But we will not argue about the type of cross on which the Messiah died; the point is, we Christians should not venerate the cross – any cross. Nor should we have crosses in our church buildings, or wear crosses around our necks or make signs of the cross on people’s foreheads. The following stunning comments are taken from pages 197-199 of Alexander Hyslop’s book
THE TWO BABYLONS     ISBN 0-7136 047 0     Published by S.W.Partridge & Co, 4,5,6 Soho Square, London, England.

“There is yet one more symbol of the Romish worship to be noticed, and that is the sign of the cross. In the Papal system, as is well known, the sign of the cross and the image of the cross are all in all. No prayer can be said, no worship engaged in, without the frequent use of the sign of the cross. The cross is looked upon as the grand charm, as the great refuge in every season of danger, in every hour of temptation as the infallible preservative from all the powers of darkness. The cross is adored with all the homage due only to the Most High; and for anyone to call it, in the hearing of a genuine Romanist, by the Scriptural term, ‘the accursed tree,’  is a mortal offence. To say that such superstitious feelings for the sign of the cross, such worship as Rome pays to a wooden or metal cross, ever grew out of the saying of Paul,
‘God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’(that is, in the doctrine of Christ crucified)   is a mere absurdity, a shallow subterfuge and pretence. The magic virtues attributed to the so-called sign of the cross, the worship bestowed on it, never came from such a source. The same sign of the cross that Rome now worships was used in the Babylonian Mysteries, was applied by Paganism to the same magic purposes, was honoured with the same honours. That which is now called the Christian cross was originally no Christian emblem at all, but was the mystic Tau of the Chaldeans and Egyptians – the true original form of the letter T – the initial of the name Tammuz … That mystic Tau was marked in baptism on the foreheads of those initiated in the Mysteries, and was used in every variety of way as a most sacred symbol … The mystic Tau, as a symbol of the great divinity, was called ‘the sign of life;’ it was used as an amulet over the heart; it was marked on the official garments of the priests, as on the official garments of the priests of Rome; it was born by kings in their hand, as a token of their dignity or divinely-conferred authority. The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome wore it suspended from their necklaces, as the nuns do now. The Egyptians did the same, and many of the barbarous nations with whom they had intercourse, as the Egyptian monuments bear witness.

In reference to the adorning of some of these tribes, Wilkinson thus writes: ‘The girdle was sometimes highly ornamented; men as well as women wore earings; and they frequently had a small cross suspended to a necklace, or to the collar of their dress… “
There is hardly a Pagan tribe where the cross has not been found.
The cross was worshipped by the Pagan Celts
long before the incarnation and death of Christ. “It is a fact” says Maurice, “no less remarkable than well attested, that the Druids in their groves were accustomed to select the most stately and beautiful tree as an emblem of the Deity they adored, and having cut the side branches, they affixed two of the largest of them to the highest part of the trunk, in such a manner that those branches extended on each side like the arms of a man, and, together with the body presented the appearance of a HUGE CROSS, and on the bark in several places, was inscribed the letter Thau.”     It was worshipped in Mexico for ages before the Roman Catholic missionaries set foot there, large stone crosses being erected, probably to the “god of rain.”
The cross thus widely worshipped, or regarded as a sacred emblem, was the unequivocal symbol of Bacchus, the Babylonian Messiah, for he was represented with a head-band covered with crosses.” (end of quote – emphasis mine throughout)

In view of all these amazing facts, Stewarton Bible School advises all Christians to stop wearing or venerating the cross on which our Saviour was crucified. Who in their right mind would venerate a murder weapon used to kill a loved one? It is the same with the cross. We greatly rejoice that our Saviour died to bring about our salvation; but that ‘instrument of torture,’ which is what the cross was, is not something Christians should venerate.

Images / Pictures / Statues

The second commandment explicitly forbids the use of idols, images, pictures & statues in the worship of Yahweh. Pictures of the virgin Mary and Joseph or even pictures of Jesus Christ and the 12 Apostles etc. are also included in this ban. These pictures and images are certainly not of Jesus Christ nor of his earthly followers. Sacred images, statues and pictures of the Saviour etc. should have no place in the homes or churches of believers who profess to keep the commandments of the Most High. Instead, churches could have texts of Scripture on their walls. Scripture texts are of course not compulsory, but they are infinitely better than images and statues of Mary or Jesus Christ and his apostles.

Asherah / Groves / Angel Gardens

The Bible condemns the pagan practice of worshipping in groves of dedicated trees or in front of religious shrines. The word Ashereh refers to a wooden pole or mast which stood at Canaanite places of worship (Exo 34:13).

“Originally is was, perhaps, the trunk of a tree with the branches chopped off, and was regarded as the wooden symbol of the goddess Asherah, who like Ashtoreth, was the type of fertility (Exo 34:13) It was erected beside the altar of Baal (Judges 6:25, 28)” (Westminster Dictionary of the Bible)