What you believe is important for your Salvation
There are only two ways, the way of Truth leading to life and the way of error leading to death.
# Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
# Genesis 3:4
Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Right in the very beginning of Genesis man is given a choice, believe what God says or believe what man says (represented by the serpent). So God in His Wisdom has given all Mankind from the beginning of time the same choice we have today.
# 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
Ask yourself, how did the serpent deceive Eve? The answer is given above! "the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die."
Any religion that preaches that you have an immortal soul is suffering from the same deception.
To those that believe God and put their faith in Him. God, in his infinite wisdom, has provided a way of salvation.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.”
The serpent shall bruise his heel (Jesus on the cross). The seed of the woman shall bruise his head (the resurrection of Jesus overcoming sin in the flesh mortally wounding the serpent).
It may come as a surprise to many but Jesus was given the same choice as Adam and Eve, listen to the temptation: Matthew 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. 22 Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Peter was echoing the serpent in the garden of Eden "thou shall not surely die") 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Note carefully Jesus' response to Peter. Jesus knew that he would have to die because he inherited human nature from Mary. But he overcame sin in the flesh so death could not hold him that is why God raised Jesus from the dead.Acts 2:24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. It was not possible because Jesus never sinned therefore God Raised him from the dead. It must be remembered that Peter's assertion was against the expectation that the Christ would live forever John 12:34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” Peter had this same expectation, hence Peter's outburst and the reprimand from Jesus.
The seed of the woman are those who believe God that they have a mortal soul.
The seed of the serpent are those that put their faith in man and believe that they have an immortal soul.
# Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
So right from the very beginning mankind has been presented with the way of Truth and the way of error. Man and woman have been given a choice, it is a clear cut choice, either/or there are no in betweens.
Jesus said:
# Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.
# Matthew 7:14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
It is so easy to go with the 'crowd' and believe you have an immortal soul and you float up to heaven at death. But that is not what the scriptures say?
# Ezekiel 18:4 “ Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
#Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
Throughout all generations mankind has been presented with this choice. God made promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and Jesus. But popular Christianity pays no respect to God's promises. Instead they've invented their own religion based on an immortal soul.
Those that believe in God that they are mortal and believe in the promises he has made to resurrect them from the dead when Jesus returns to set up God's Kingdom here on earth. These are the sons of God (the seed of the woman).
# Galations 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The Hope of Israel - The Establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth
# Genesis 13:14 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
# Genesis26:3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
# Genesis 28:13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: “I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.
# Hebrews 6:13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.
Paul believed in these promises, do you?
# Acts 26:6
And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.
# Acts 26:7 To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.
# Ephesians 2:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
# Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
# Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
What are these promises that lead to eternal life?
The Kingdom of God is mentioned about 80 times in the New Testament, Jesus said; # Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
# Luke 13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out.
# Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
# Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Now the scriptures say; "When you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets in the Kingdom of God" then in another place it says "These all died in faith, not having received the promises" surely one must ask - When will the promises be fulfilled? When Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets enter into this Kingdom?
# Acts 26:23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
# 1 Corinthians 15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
# 1 Corinthians 15:23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
# Acts 10:42 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.
Jesus is going to judge the 'living and the dead' - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the Prophets. Do you want to be one of the ones who 'will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out?'
# Ezekiel 37:13 Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves.
# John 5:25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
# John 5:28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice.
A Kingdom needs a King - who will be the King?
It always amazes me to see how the scriptures unfold from Genesis to Christ then culminating in Revelations, with a warning to all false religions to return to God's ways. Apostate Christian religions who ignore the Old Testament have absolutely no way of coming to the Truth as they do not have the basics. #Hebrews 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. This scripture says it far better than I can (it is obvious that in saying "the first principles of the oracles of God," Paul means the first Revelations by God which is Genesis).
It is quite clear from the Genesis account of the fall of man that: to discern good is to acknowledge that you have a mortal soul and that you are dependent on God fulfilling His promises. And to discern evil is to believe you have an immortal soul thereby making the promises of God of no consequence.
# 2 Samuel 7:12 “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son.
# Zechariah 9:9 “ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey, A colt, the foal of a donkey.
# John 12:13 took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “ Hosanna! 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.”
# Matthew 2:2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
# Mark 15:2 Then Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”He answered and said to him, “It is as you say.”
# Luke 1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
# John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
# 2 Timothy 4:1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
