After seventeen centuries of deception, how do we find the Truth? Or, what is the Truth?
It is not without cause that God, in His Wisdom, caused to be written in His Word - Proverbs 25:2 "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Also, Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." and, Matthew 7:14 "Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it."
We owe our salvation to our own research and the only source of our research is God's Word.
With the above in mind, do we trust our local pastor or priest to do our research? Or are we exhorted to do our own research? From the foregoing scriptures there is only one answer! We owe our salvation to our own research and the only source of our research is God's Word. Hear what Paul says to Timothy,2 Timothy 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
Well first of all the scriptures give us a clue, and what is this clue? Matthew 7:20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." What are the 'fruits' of the 'Christian church'? History tells us that the 'Christian church' is guilty of millions of murders, killings, all manner of death and destruction, political intrigue and power, child abuse, division, doctrinal disputes, wars between Catholics and Protestants and the worshipping and praying to statues, crosses, crucifixes and 'saints' in fact everything that would be abhorrent to the Father and His Son, Jesus. Revelation 19: 9 Then he said to me, "Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" And he said to me, "These are the true sayings of God." 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Worshipping of anyone other than God and/or His Son Jesus is wrong.
Matthew 7:20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them."
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. Can anyone honestly say that the 'Christian Churches' record over the last 17 centuries complies with this scripture?
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." John 18:38 Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, "I find no fault in Him at all."
1 Corinthians 15:23 "But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming."
Pilate said to Jesus "What is Truth?". Virtually all the religions in the World have one thing in common and that is that they believe that they have an immortal soul. When you 'think' that you have an immortal soul then it doesn't make any difference what you believe. Excepting that 'good souls' go to Heaven (or some happy hunting ground) and 'bad souls' go to hell. This deception is the difference between 'Truth and Error'. The Truth is that we do not have an immortal soul, when you die that is the end, your thoughts cease and you are no more. Psalm 49:20 "A man who is in honour, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish. If it weren't for Jesus' sacrifice we would have no hope. Our only hope is to believe in God and the things concerning Jesus and the Kingdom of God and to be Baptised into His (Jesus') name. Then we have the 'Hope' of internal life in God's Kingdom when Jesus returns. 1 Corinthians 15:23 "But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming." Eve was deceived in the Garden of Eden by this very fact. Genesis3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.
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.
This is the source of the original 'sin', "You will not surely die" the belief that one has an immortal soul.
John 6: 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
From the beginning of time there have been those that pleased God (the Sons of God) and those that didn't please God (the daughters of Men). The former are those knowing the Truth and the latter being those that know not the Truth. Genesis 6:2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. Exodus 34:16 "and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods." When the scriptures refer to a woman, in this case 'daughters', the inference is to a religion and the addition of the daughters of men means false religion (man made religion - Nicene Creed). The time when you leave the security of the Truth (i.e. knowing you are mortal) and eyeing or believing that you have an immortal soul (being deceived like Eve) you're entering into the realm of falsehood and thereby alienating yourself from God. Our only real hope is in the resurrection when Jesus returns John 6: 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
