On October 18, 2020, I finished editing The Kingdom of Our God with updates that include better understanding of Gates of Hades and Ekklesia, and additional Appendices. It is now published on the Read or Download Documents page of my website, and the link above opens it from this email. Because it references so many Scriptures, it might make a […]
Some days, whatever I post will have value to some people and not for others, based on what each person’s circumstance or attitude or energy level is that day. On those days when what I say doesn’t seem to hit either a target or a nerve, I give you access to much more anyway: at the bottom of each email […]
Origen was a leader among believers a couple of centuries after the birth of Jesus. As a portion of a treatise he titled, “Against Celsus,” (Origen Book III, 29-30) he wrote what I have quoted below. It is a contrast between the ekklesias that were local representations of the governments of men and the local ekklesias that represented the Kingdom […]
I heard a believer recently complaining about a denomination that allowed women in the pulpit. Several faulty practices came to my mind that seemed more important, that both his denomination and the one he was challenging consider to be good. Practices like: having a pulpit, in a temple, where one person, who may or may not have the spiritual gift […]
People whose religion demands procedures and ceremonies as the defining mark of having been “saved” will always ask questions of people they meet to determine if the people are “qualified.” “Have you been baptized?” “Have you been baptized in the name of Jesus?” Have you been immersed in baptism?” “Have you spoken in tongues?” “Have you been through the new […]
What does this part of a letter from Paul to the believers in Ephesus mean if it is read with the Kingdom in mind rather than the church? There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope at your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is […]
Some people have called Sunday mornings in America its most segregated hour, upset at the familial and cultural separation of the body of Christ. Each congregation has a limited manifestation of the body – black congregations, Hispanic congregations, poor, rich, European, Asian, et cetera… Further separation is based on favorite teachings, heresies and arguments. Armenians, Calvinists, Lutherans, Romans, Greeks, Anglicans, […]
Does any of you who has a complaint against someone dare go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels—not to […]
Daniel was a prophet. In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Daniel’s coworkers, the Chaldeans (implying Magi or powerful wise men), magicians, astrologers and mediums (who consulted the dead and exorcised demons), were all called together by Nebuchadnezzar. The king had an assignment for them. After they told him what he had dreamed during some troubling dreams he had recently […]
The Holy Spirit was not poured out on the people of Jesus at the temple, nor in a synagogue. He met them in a home (Acts 2:1-4). When He was poured out again on a gathering of the people of Jesus, including a refreshing for some of the 120 just mentioned, He met them in a home (Acts 4:18-31). When […]