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Sola Scriptura: The Scripture Alone is the Standard

Up-to-date Testimony on what is going on in the Philippines
(July 03, 2007)

It was back in 2005 that I was working on returning to the Philippines in hope of using the time I am given, by God, to use it towards sharing the good news that "yes, God has kept His word" and fulfilled His every promise in scripture as it was to be fulfilled...in Christ.

It's kind of hard at first for someone to want to even hear of the New Covenant,  on what it really stands for, although many of us will claim that we are in the New Covenant now we might claim it from a different perspective like: "yes, I know I am in the New Covenant but God will rapture His church some day and return back to the Old Covenant." And, although, these brothers/sisters of ours, in Christ, see things this way the thing they are missing is that this New Covenant is said to never end and is everlasting.

We Christians are like a person that is standing upon a gold-mine or who has land and has no idea that there is oil underground on their land. What I am meaning to say is that we are already so blessed in Christ, right now, right this moment, that we only claim it as a promise instead of a reality and I believe for those of us, who's eschatology is truly of the New Covenant position, will see the very thing I am explaining here.

The family I first was with, when I first arrived to the Philippines, was what helped me get settled while learning my way around this area. Although, yes, that I have been here before, years back, I was walking the area by myself while also observing how life is lived here.

It was when the family and I were living in the Lapu-Lapu and Cebu area that we took advantage of any opening opportunity to share the good news like at the park every Monday on the Radio every Sunday for three hours and where every an opportunity opened up...message we shared at the plaza park can be found here.

The most challenging place of all was during the time I was able to be at the radio station. At the radio station there was all kinds of people, mostly speaking visayan although there were english moments as well. The people came from all denominational and religious backgrounds such as Baptist, Reformed, Catholics, Pentecostals, Muslims, Da Vince Code followers and even skeptics who are best to be called atheist.

Although there were many beliefs there, the many of us were friends and enjoyed the time of sharing as well as debating. The religion that was speaking the loudest at the time was the Catholics, since the catholic religion is what is mostly held here and the one catholic who would always speak the loudest was this one who has a lawyer's background, and I remember that the only way to really speak to him was to learn his lawyer's language because he would not debate as an honest person desiring to share the word of God, from my perspective of him, it would of honestly seem like he was a hired on lawyer just to speak for the Catholics. For, it was this one time that I used the hermeneutic principle of audience relevance that the lawyer began shouting all the more louder as a literalist that he was unwilling to go back to the original language to see what the scripture meant to the first readers.

After the radio time was over with, most of us would speak for awhile, off the radio, and slowly as people left some of us walked together to the plaza park to walk around and enjoying the sight of things.

Communicating with a Muslim

It was at the radio program that it was my first experience to talk back and forth with a Muslim on sharing views from both sides. Although I might not be quoting this Muslim person's words correctly, i could of sworn that they see the 2 Peter 3 passage, on the passing away of Heaven and earth, just as literally as the dispensationalist do where they end up missing the covenantal blessing of it that i tried to take that opportunity to share with the Muslim as well as sharing with him that I am not like the other Christians who supports Israel but that I am against my country's support to Israel and consider it blasphemy as if we are spitting in the eye of God because how can we say a person is of the people of God when they deny Christ the second person of the trinity...please let that sink in on what i just shared.

Not only have I been given the chance to share with the Muslim from the radio program but also every Friday night at the plaza park, which was the Muslim's turn to share, I would go there and listen in and when that one day came that a Muslim group of people was said to of captured two Israelies that Israel chose, instead of working matters out, to launch two rockets over to that one country which not only killed the two Israel people captured but also killed over thousands of others who had nothing at all to do with the so called kidnapping that went on. This alone should show the stupidness of my country giving support to Israel as well as Israel being called the people of God when they are not...reading Geneses 12 correctly can shed light on this matter which will show that "The True Seed of Abraham is Christ," I took this opportunity to hear from the Muslim's side of the story as well as sharing with them that I am ashamed that my country supports Israel and wished that they would stop which after say such a thing shocked the Muslim people by hearing such words from a Christian which shows you that not everyone knows the blessing we already have in Christ in the New Covenant.

Corruption in the country

One of these other things I experienced, during my stay in the Philippines, is the people's words coming out of their mouth calling their government corrupt. I began to wonder "just why is it that their own country is corrupt to them" and worst still even one of the Mayors of Cebu called his own country corrupt. But, when it came to my own observation and testimonies from others, once day God let it come to my attention that the Philippines is not corrupt. It is not the Philippines itself that is corrupt but the people who are calling it corrupt and sitting back and doing nothing to make a difference. For, did not one of our own US presidents one time say: "It is not the government that makes the people but it is the people who makes the government."

Becoming a Social Activist

It was on my visit to the Mindanao island, an island where I now live and am happily married to my wife Glecilyn (Lyn), that I got to share with a social worker, who let me live at his house for awhile while we shared on many things. But, when I finally moved to Cagayan de Oro, where I slept at the church for a month, and by God's grace I came upon a nice Christian family who had a house for rent at a nice price and best of all my landlord was once living in Pasadena California which made it easy for us to understand each other. And, when I was finally moved into my own house, which I rent since it is against the Filipino law for a foreigner to own property here, I than waited upon my computer which Al brought back from Cebu to Mindanao for me. Al not only was a friend whom I first met while on the ferry from Cebu to the Mindanao island but he was also my best man in my wedding when Lyn and I became husband and wife.

But, by the time I had most of my things back here in the house I now stay at, I began creating articles into little books so that I could start handing things out to people since the book stores here, in the Philippines, has such a small amount of Christian material and in that small amount they have a large amount from the dispensational view which I personally believe is what causes most of the corruption in our world today...since it is known in their stance that the world is to only keep getting worse and worse until the Lord some day returns which is always soon upon their calendar.

In this social activist position, i was beginning to hold to, I began making little books from the many articles or chapters I myself have read which helped me and that I know will also help the people and articles I began making were articles like:

New Covenant Booklets

1. "Why Share Preterism?" by David B. Curtis

2. "The Passing Away of heaven and Earth" by Dr. Gary DeMar of www.americanvision.org

3. "Where Elijah and Enoch Raptured" or did they die like the rest of humanity

4. "What About In Like Manner" by Don Preston at www/eschatology.org from the Fulfilled Magazine at www.fulfilledmagazine.com put together by Brain Martin

5. "Answering the 'Replacement Theology' Critics" by Dr. Gary DeMar

   • "Answering the 'Replacement Theology' Critics" - Part 1

   • "Answering the 'Replacement Theology' Critics" - Part 2

   • "Answering the 'Replacement Theology' Critics" - Part 3

   • "Answering the 'Replacement Theology' Critics" - Part 4 "All Promises Made to Israel Have Been Fulfilled"

   • "The Abrahamic Covenant; Fulfilled or Postponed?" - Part 1 & 2

   • "'All Israel will be saved': Notes on Romans 11:26"

   • "Satan and Evil" by Sam Frost at www.thereignofchrist.com

6. "70 Qs that a Dispensationalist Cannot Honestly Answer!: What Most Skeptic Ask"

   • bonus is David Green's "101 Time-Indicators"

7. "The Disciples Questions" by David B. Curtis

8. "Dear Dispensationalist Friend..." by Todd Dennis

9. "Has the Gospel Already Been Preached in the 'World?'” by David B. Curtis

"Why Share Preterism?" became the #1 article on expressing how we as Christians can make a difference in this world. David, from my reading and listening to his messages, is good on bringing attention to the small things as such as "the hermeneutical principle is audience relevance."

Many other small booklets are being made and also thanks to Brian Martin, the author of "Behind The Veil of Moses," at www.fulfilledmagazine.com has given to me his Magazines in both PDF, for printing, and also the Magazines themselves so I can hand them out to whom ever wishing to learn of the Fulfillment of Bible Prophecy. Brian Martin has not only helped on sending magazines but has also sent me books before when I was still in the USA while getting ready for the Philippines.

A Shocking Article

One of the other reason that got me all the more excited on becoming a Social Activist was an article I read in a magazine called "EVANGELICALS today" which says:

“…the church can no longer afford to watch on the sidelines while our ship is sinking. The church can no longer afford to dichotomize the spiritual and the physical. The church can no longer afford not to be involved. Or else, it will render itself obsolete and irrelevant; it will throw itself to the dustbin of history.

“It is high time that the church puts equal emphasis on evangelism and social action and not to put one over the other. The two are not rivals, they have never been. Neither one can stand on its own…. It is only by being both an evangelist and a social activist that we truly can become followers of Jesus. He is our model.” [“EVANGELICALS today,” Volume XXXIII No. 2 on pages 9]

Hopefully the words I added emphasis to will shed light on how those words makes the dispensationalist view so much like an "oxymoron Theology" which I have explained hopefully in an article i added as the Appendix One in this story of my testimony here in the Philippines.

A Desire To Be Brought About

A desire, that I have had since my first visit to the Philippines, is to someday help those in need by sending kid, teenagers and adults to school and hopefully after that one couple being able to go to school by the help of someone, they also might have that heart's desire to help just one or even more go to school as they were also once helped.

My purpose, in this desire, is that, when it ever comes about, the people here in the Philippines might take Abraham Lincoln serious  who once has said: "It is not the government that makes the people but it is the people whom makes the government." And, by taking those words, of a United States President from years back, serious hopefully than the people here in the Philippines will stop trying to go abroad for work or to even leave their country because of the corruption they claim to see which they have not been doing nothing about to make a difference.

Corruptions can be found in many areas such as the mayor, government, president and even the immigration where most of the tax payer's money is secretly taken advantage of and never kept up to date, but if the people here will become more educated, for we all need to become more educated for we never can stop learning, than and only than will a difference be made here, but the only way this difference can really open the eyes of the people is by only sharing the Fulfillment of the Bible's prophecies that yes our God can be trusted at keeping His word.

As soon as the eyes, of the heart, in the people began to open to the Lord's word only then will this doom and gloom mindset leave the people which will lead, not only them but, the people in the years to come towards bringing glory to our Lord's name instead of sitting back and doing nothing with a dispensationalist mindset that the world is only going to get worse. Well, let me tell you, the world will get worse if we as Christians sit back and do nothing so lets get up and use the gifts that God has given us and make a difference in this world by become a light to the lost in this world so that they can hear the call of the Holy Spirit saying:

"...'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." (Revelation 22:17 NASB)

 

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Appendix One

Oxymoron Theology

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"I believe the Scriptures teaches that Israel could have obtained her much-sought-after messianic kingdom by recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. We all know the sad reality---the Jews rejected Jesus. As a result, the kingdom is no longer near but postponed". Tommy Ice in "The Great Tribulation" page 115

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As we have grown up and attended church, each week, we have been letting the things we have been taught determine how our outcome on life, in this world, should be viewed. The basics which we all have been taught is that we need to come to Christ for salvation so that we will not be one of the people who gets left behind when God some days decides to pull the plug on planet earth with a consuming fire as we have mostly been taught from a wrongful interpretation of, Luke 17:34-36, Matthew 24 and 2^nd Peter 3.

If we were to read the verses that have been presented, will we get the same message that the churches has been teaching us or will we get a whole different message?

Let us see what Luke 17:34-36 shares:

Luke 17:34 “I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35“Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36“Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”

Luke 17:34-36 sounds like a nice rapture passage that we have been taught to believe because it says that “one will be taken and the other left,” but if we were to read the verse, fallowing the others, we will than know what happen to those who have been taken:

Luke 17:37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

“Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together,” sounds to me more like a doom and gloom hope than this so-called rapture of the saints that we have been convinced to believe.

Adam Clarke, a British Methodist from 1715 – 1832 who held a three term President of Wesleyan Conference, has this to say about “the eagles” in Luke 17 when he asks of his reader to turn to Matthew 24:

There will the eagles - The Roman armies, called so partly from their strength and fierceness, and partly from the figure of these animals which was always wrought on their ensigns, or even in brass, placed on the tops of their ensign-staves. It is remarkable that the Roman fury pursued these wretched men wheresoever they were found. They were a dead carcass doomed to be devoured; and the Roman eagles were the commissioned devourers. See the pitiful account in Josephus, War, b. vii. c. 2, 3, 6, 9, 10, and 11.

Adam Clarke gives the account that “the eagles” signified the Roman army, that was under Titus, that came and devoured the Jews who never gave close attention to the sign that Christ as forewarning them about, through the disciples, to look out for because the Old Covenant age was coming to a close.

Since Adam Clarke jumped from Luke 17 to Matthew 24, let us now go to the famous chapter that most of the strong futuristic evangelists use towards convincing their listeners that we are living in the last days; their, the futuristic evangelists, greatest frailty is “audience relevance.” “Audience relevance” is that which seeks to discover what the passage of scripture meant to the first audience who were able to hear it be spoken for the first time. One of the few passages, in Matthew 24, that we can use to know who the original audience was can be founded in verse three, where they, the audience, were up on the mount of olives, who were the disciples, asking the very author of the Scriptures, who is none other than Christ, God incarnate.

What it was the disciples has asked of Jesus, in verse three, was:

·         Tell²⁰³⁶ us,²²⁵⁴ when⁴²¹⁹ shall these things⁵⁰²³ be?²⁰⁷¹ and²⁵³² what⁵¹⁰¹ shall be the³⁵⁸⁸ sign⁴⁵⁹² of thy⁴⁶⁷⁴ coming,³⁹⁵² and²⁵³² of the³⁵⁸⁸ end⁴⁹³⁰ of the³⁵⁸⁸ world?¹⁶⁵

What really did it mean when the disciple asked of Jesus on what the sign will be, of His coming, and when the world will end?

Pull out your strong concordance and look up the two words that I highlighted above. The two words above, that I highlighted, are both “sign” (4592) and “world” (165). When we grasp the real meaning, behind the context, we will than fully understand what it meant to the original audience which is what scholars entitles exegesis – letting the Bible be it’s own interpreter.

As one pastor shares towards the meaning of exegesis:

We, as believers, need to hold a theological position, we need a framework or grid to filter things through. And this grid or framework must be formed from a diligent study of the Bible. All theology must come from exegesis ­ out of the text of the Bible. When we take our theology and force it on a text, that is called eisegesis. We must allow the Bible to speak and then shape our theology from the Scripture. If you find that the Scriptures go against your theology, change your theology.

So, by using the Strong’s concordance, for the word “sign” and “world,” we can grasp the true meaning behind what that word meant to the original audience, so lets look in our Strong’s concordance starting with the word “sign” and than “age:”

Greek – 4592

σημεῖον - sēmeion - say-mi'-on (english – “sign” from the KJV)

Defined – Neuter of a presumed derivative of the base of G4591; an indication, especially ceremonially or supernaturally: - miracle, sign, token, wonder.

Greek – 4591

σημαίνω - sēmainō - say-mah'ee-no

Defined – From σῆμα sēma (a mark; of uncertain derivation); to indicate: - signify.

Greek – 165

αἰών - aiōn - ahee-ohn' (english – “world” from the KJV)

Defined – From the same as G104; properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; specifically (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future): - age, course, eternal, (for) ever (-more), [n-]ever, (beginning of the, while the) world (began, without end). Compare G5550.

Greek – 5550

χρόνος - chronos - khron'-os

Defined – Of uncertain derivation; a space of time (in genitive case, and thus properly distinguished from G2540, which designates a fixed or special occasion; and from G165, which denotes a particular period) or interval; by extension an individual opportunity; by implication delay: - + years old, season, space, (X often-) time (-s), (a) while.

What we can say we learned from the meaning behind the Greek word “sign” is that it indicates or signifies something, and when we look at the Greek word for “world,” which is used in the KJV, we than can see that it means an “age” that would soon be coming to an end which meant the Old Covenant age to the disciples. All this on Matthew 24:3 can more easily be seen when reading not from the KJV but from the NKJV:

·         “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

When we read from the NKJV, we can see why there is always this wrong interpretation on the word “aion” which means an age.

Now, I am not saying that the KJV is filled with error, for I strongly believe the Bible is without error, but there can easily be given a wrong interpretation if the audience of today does not know what was meant behind the word “world” that has been used in the KJV because for the people back than it was as if there world was coming to an end but for the planet earth it has stayed intact.

Some of you might be asking at this moment on the 2^nd Peter 3 passage that says:

    2^nd Peter 3:10 But¹¹⁶¹ the³⁵⁸⁸ day²²⁵⁰ of the Lord²⁹⁶² will come²²⁴⁰ as⁵⁶¹³ a thief²⁸¹² in¹⁷²² the night;³⁵⁷¹ in¹⁷²² the which³⁷³⁹ the³⁵⁸⁸ heavens³⁷⁷² shall pass away³⁹²⁸ with a great noise,⁴⁵⁰⁰ and¹¹⁶¹ the elements⁴⁷⁴⁷ shall melt³⁰⁸⁹ with fervent heat,²⁷⁴¹ the earth¹⁰⁹³ also²⁵³² and²⁵³² the³⁵⁸⁸ works²⁰⁴¹ that are therein^{1722, 846} shall be burned up.²⁶¹⁸

The heaven and the earth that has passed away…Luke 21:33…was the old covenantal system of things which had to do with the elements which was a mandate towards the feast days…Galatians 4:10…which was all observed through the obedience towards the Mosaic Law that was only a shadow…Colossians 2:17, Hebrews 8:5, 10:1…which is best visualized in Matthew 17:1-8 which shows Moses(the law) and Elijah(the prophet) passing away and only Jesus was who has remained.

For a more in-depth understanding of 2^nd Peter 3, I advise of the readers to purchase for themselves Don K. Preston’s book entitled “The Elements Shall Melt With Fervent Heat” at www.eschatology.org

Why did you want us to read this?

Now that I have explained what the meaning behind the famous passages that the doom and gloom evangelists share, I hope that this prepares you for the shock on why I have entitled this article the “Oxymoron Theology.”

As for me personally, I came to the Philippines to hopefully help open some of the eyes of the people as well as some pastors, on realizing that God is someone we can highly trust on keeping His word. But, what it is that I would like to share that I have found, here in this die hard dispensational country, is an article in a magazine. The magazine is called “EVANGELICALS today,” and when we pick up Volume XXXIII No. 2 on pages 8, 9 and 13, we can read an article entitled “Antidote to Dirty Politics.” In this article on an “Antidote to Dirty Politics,” we are being told:

“…the church can no longer afford to watch on the sidelines while our ship is sinking. The church can no longer afford to dichotomize the spiritual and the physical. The church can no longer afford not to be involved. Or else, it will render itself obsolete and irrelevant; it will throw itself to the dustbin of history.

“It is high time that the church puts equal emphasis on evangelism and social action and not to put one over the other. The two are not rivals, they have never been. Neither one can stand on its own…. It is only by being both an evangelist and a social activist that we truly can become followers of Jesus. He is our model.” [“EVANGELICALS today,” Volume XXXIII No. 2 on pages 9]

Does that not sound like an oxymoron towards the theology that most of these futurists hold on to today?

Now, I know I might be twisting his words on this one statement but let us pull it out of his first paragraph where he says, “…the church can no longer afford to watch on the sidelines while our ship is sinking.” The author has claimed the ship is sinking but yet he is calling the church to help a sinking ship when some other evangelist might say “why polish brass on a sinking ship” which is a far better interpretation of the dispensational doctrine. Even other clauses are found in the dispensational doctrine like their support of Israel, but when we look at the whole outline on what their support of Israel will accomplish, we can see that it really boils down to a premeditated murder because we find within their doctrine that two-thirds of the Jews must die.

"I believe the Scriptures teaches that Israel could have obtained her much-sought-after messianic kingdom by recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. We all know the sad reality---the Jews rejected Jesus. As a result, the kingdom is no longer near but postponed". Tommy Ice in "The Great Tribulation" page 115

 

 

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