Divine Viewpoint

An apostle of Jesus Christ must be a Jew. He had to be from Messiah’s nation. An apostle must have received a specific call and commission to his office directly from Christ. The nature of his office: he had full plenary powers, full authority. This was the highest rank in the church age. The precedent was set by the Lord Himself in Luke 6:13  “And when day came, He called His disciples to Him and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as apostles.” Paul elaborates on this in 2 Corinthians, and especially here in Galatians 1:1. They must have been an eyewitness of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and have heard His teaching. If they were to be foundational witnesses to Jesus Christ and what He taught then it was necessary for them to know a) what He taught, and b) to have seen His public ministry while He was alive on the earth. (Paul was probably among the Pharisees and scribes who were arguing with Jesus during Jesus’ time on the earth) Paul made is specifically clear that h

  The beast power was mentioned under various synonyms in Scripture. It was the little horn of Daniel 7, the man of sin, the son of perdition who introduces the mystery of iniquity in 2 Thessalonians 2, the Antichrist of 1 John 2 and 4 and 2 John, Babylon of Revelation 14, 16, 17, 18, and the whore and scarlet beast of Revelation 17. The Antichrist existed long ago even before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Antichrist of the Tribulation period is yet to come. There are too many Antichrists but only one Antichrist of the tribulation. The Scripture provides us with so many identifying features of the beast power that there is left to us no possible doubt whatsoever. Remembering the synonymous terms used for the beast as listed above, we find the following identifying factors of the beast. 1)        Arose from the fourth beast (the Roman Empire) of Daniel 7:7,8 2)        Displaced 3 of the 10 kingdoms into which the Roman Empire disintegrated — Daniel 7:8, 24 3)        Possessed human

ISRAEL DID NOT KNOW GOD:  Isaiah 1:3 "An ox knows its owner, and a donkey its master's manger, But Israel does not know Me, My people do not understand."   Micah 4:12 " But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, and they do not understand His purpose; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.   Judges 2:10 “ All that generation also were gathered to their fathers; and there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel. Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you…” CHURCH AGE BELIEVERS ARE IGNORANT OF GOD AND HIS WAYS: ·          Ephesians 4:18-19 “Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind o

DECEPTION      What we believe matters, and the accuracy of the information that we receive depends on the source of that information.   Most people formulate their beliefs on popular notions that seem plausible on the surface but are often flawed underneath. There was a time when the majority of people believed the popular notion that the world was flat and that “bleeding” a person would cure his illness. Most of the information people receive today is from media sources and has been run through the filter of liberal spin artists.   The words used are carefully chosen in order to influence listeners and readers to adopt their liberal agenda.        The only source of information that is always completely accurate and that never changes, of course, is God Himself.   Not only is His Word accurate and immutable, it is also alive, powerful, and is superior to all other information.   God’s Word changes us, we don’t change it! Most people have flawed thinking because they depend on so