What about God's statement, "Let US make man in OUR image..."
Who was God speaking about - "US" and "OUR"?
"And God said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness..." Genesis 1:26.
"Majestic plural" is the grammatical term that applies to the statement "Let US make man." A Monarch uses a plural pronoun to speak not only for himself, but his entire kingdom. It is also called the royal "we". Queen Victoria spoke to the ladies of her court saying "We are not amused." Czar Nicholas of Russia abdicated his throne saying, "We have thought it well to renounce the Throne of the Russian Empire." ONE person speaks for an empire.
My Apostolic friend from India (now living in Texas), Priti Kujar, informed me, "Being a speaker of Hindi language, I can relate to the fact that monarchs in India mostly used to use the plural 'we' rather than 'I' when referring to themselves. It reflected their stature and authority. There are still some community which uses 'we' instead of 'I' for referring to oneself."
The use of the majestic plural - or "royal 'we'"in no wise proves that God is a trinity.
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD," Deuteronomy 6:4.
See also: "The Early Church Was Absolutely Unequivocally NOT Trinitarian"
See this YouTube VIDEO: The Early Church Was Absolutely Unequivocally NOT Trinitarian
See also this VIDEO: The ONENESS of God
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Please subscribe to this blog so you will be aware of future articles.
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For thousands of pages of free Bible studies on every subject, please visit http://kenraggio.com
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FOR MORE, get and read THE DANIEL PROPHECIES - GOD'S PLAN FOR THE LAST DAYS - http://kenraggio.com/The-Daniel-Prophecies.html
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Ken Raggio's BLOG.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
The White Throne Judgment
 |
| Artists Conception of The White Throne |
by Ken Raggio
"...we shall ALL stand before the JUDGMENT SEAT of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, EVERY KNEE shall bow to me, and EVERY TONGUE shall confess to God. So then EVERY ONE OF US shall give account of himself to God," Romans 14:10-12.
"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For WE MUST ALL APPEAR before the JUDGMENT SEAT of CHRIST; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men," 2 Corinthians 5:9-11.
There are NOT TWO thrones in Heaven. There is no difference in Judgment seats. There is not one Judgment seat for the wicked and a DIFFERENT Judgment seat for the righteous. We must ALL appear before the Throne.
"And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne," Revelation 4:2.
John called it "the throne of God and of the Lamb," Revelation 22:3. God is the eternal Spirit. Christ is the only Body God ever had. Jesus is the incarnation of God. When we finally look upon the Throne, we will see the invisible God the Father incarnate in the body of Jesus Christ. We will all be judged at that time and place. Saints and sinners, Jews and Gentiles will all be judged before the great White Throne of Jesus Christ AFTER the Millennial Kingdom of Christ has passed.
Dead Men Shall Live, Dead Bodies Shall Arise
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Christ will raise the righteous dead and the living saints when He returns to earth. But Isaiah and other prophets condemned the wicked. “They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them,” 26:14. After Christ rules for 1000 years on earth, all men will be summoned to the White Throne Judgment where the wicked will be sentenced to Hell (Revelation 20). “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: ...the earth shall cast out the dead," Isaiah 26:19.
"The LORD is known by the JUGMENT which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. ...The WICKED SHALL BE TURNED INTO HELL [sheol], and all the nations that forget God," Psalms 9:16-17.
For Evermore
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Revelation 20 reveals that Messiah will rule the world from Jerusalem for 1000 years. Afterward, the old heavens and earth will be dissolved (2 Peter 3:10-12; Matthew 24:35; Daniel 7:14). The wicked will be judged at the White Throne and sent to Hell. The righteous will then receive their eternal rewards and be given entrance into Heaven for eternity. “The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it,” Revelation 21:22. Ezekiel's “Millennium” prophecies extended to “for evermore.”
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Ezekiel 37:25-28 - “David shall be their prince for ever, ..they shall dwell therein, ...forever; ......my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
Saints Will Resurrect First, Sinners 1000 Years Later
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The FIRST resurrection will occur when Jesus returns to earth. The DEAD IN CHRIST will rise, and LIVING SAINTS will be caught up to meet them in the air (I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
“The rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were finished,” Revelation 20:4-5. Daniel foresaw both resurrections. Sinners will be resurrected and judged at the White Throne (Revelation 20:11) AFTER the Millennium.
The children of Israel (Jews) will also be raised from the dead when Jesus comes.
"Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And YE SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall PUT MY SPIRIT IN YOU, and ye shall live, and I SHALL PLACE YOU IN YOUR OWN LAND: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD," Ezekiel 37:12-14.
At the coming of the Lord to the battle of Armageddon, the children of Israel (Jews) will rise from their graves and behold Jesus Christ face to face. They will then realize that Jesus is their true Messiah, and they will mourn and repent for having killed Him.
"And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, THE SPIRIT OF GRACE and of supplications: and THEY SHALL LOOK UPON ME WHOM THEY HAVE PIERCED, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn," Zechariah 12:9-10.
"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, SHALL BE GRAFFED IN: for GOD IS ABLE TO GRAFF THEM IN AGAIN. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: HOW MUCH MORE SHALL THESE, which be the natural branches, BE GRAFFED INTO THEIR OWN OLIVE TREE? For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. AND SO ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: AS IT IS WRITTEN, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I SHALL TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS," Romans 11:22-27.
The Jews will live and reign with Christ IN THE HOLY LAND during the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. The twelve Apostles of the Lamb will rule over them during that time. I cannot detail all of that here. It is carefully explained in Ezekiel 40-47. Read the related lessons found in those chapters (40-47) in these teachings from the Book of Ezekiel'.
Two Resurrections - 1000 Years Apart
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Jesus taught that there will be two resurrections - one of the righteous dead, and one of the wicked - at different times (Revelation 20:4-5). The righteous dead will be resurrected before Jesus rules on earth for 1000 years, and will rule with Him during that time. The children of Israel (Jews) will be resurrected to face Jesus Christ and repent of their sins (Ezekiel 37:12-14 and Zechariah 12:9-10).
The rest of the wicked Gentiles who remain in their graves will not be resurrected until after that Millennium and must then face Jesus at the White Throne Judgment to be sentenced to Hell for eternity.
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John 5:29: The dead "...shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
Daniel 12:2 - “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”
We Must All Appear Before The Judgment Seat Of Christ
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Every human being on earth desperately needs to hear this announcement: “You have an appointment with Jesus Christ.” People from every nation, tribe and tongue - Jews and Gentiles - will one day stand face-to-face with Jesus Christ on His White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15). Everyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the lake of fire.
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2 Corinthians 5:10 - “For we must ALL appear before the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST; that every one may receive the things done in his body, ACCORDING TO THAT HE HATH DONE, WHETHER IT BE GOOD OR BAD."
Jesus Will Judge The Living And Dead At His Appearing
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The wicked dead will not be raised until the Second Resurrection, AFTER the 1000-year kingdom of Christ. Sinners will be judged at the White Throne and sent to Hell.
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire," Revelation 20:11-15.
However, all the Saints of God, dead and living, will be INSTANTLY judged when Jesus returns to earth. The righteous dead will be raised immortal, and living saints will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52).
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2 Timothy 4:1 - “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick [living] and the dead at his appearing...”
Tormented In The Presence Of Angels And The Lamb
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Revelation 20:11-15 reveals that all the wicked will be resurrected AFTER the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, to stand before God AT HIS WHITE THRONE. They will be judged and cast into Hell. But 1000 years earlier, at Armageddon, Jesus will personally judge His LIVING enemies. He will cast the Beast, False Prophet and those who worship them into a lake of fire in Jerusalem to be observed by men and angels . (See Isaiah 66:16,24). He will also destroy the Assyrian Man of Sin (who will commit the Abomination of Desolation in the Third Temple) ON HIS HOLY MOUNTAIN in Jerusalem. "The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: That I WILL BREAK THE ASSYRIAN IN MY LAND, and UPON MY MOUNTAINS TREAD HIM UNDER FOOT: THEN SHALL HIS YOKE DEPART FROM OFF THEM, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations [at Armageddon]," Isaiah 14:24-26.
Those who took the Mark of the Beast will be sentenced to Hell with all the other wicked. Revelation 14:10 - “[Those who worship the beast] shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.”
The Second Death
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The FIRST DEATH is the death of the our mortal bodies. Bodies of the dead in Christ will rise immortal in the First Resurrection. Living saints will also rise at that time in the Rapture to be with Christ forever.
"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words," 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18.
SOULS of sinners go to Hell when they die. Moses taught the first doctrine of Hell in Deuteronomy 32:22. "For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell [hades]."
Jesus taught that when the rich man died, he woke up in FLAMES OF HELL. Lazarus woke up in the company of Abraham and the saints.
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And IN HELL he lift up his eyes, BEING IN TORMENTS, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and COOL MY TONGUE; FOR I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence," Luke 16:22-26.
But the physical, earthly BODIES of the dead must wait in the grave for the Second Resurrection, when they will face Christ at His White Throne Judgment. Their resurrected bodies of the wicked will then be cast into Hell. That is the second death.
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Revelation 20:6 - “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.”
Earth And Heaven Flee Away From God's Great White Throne
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What scientists call the “expanding” universe is NO PROOF that the universe began with a big-bang. The universe is expanding because everything in the material realm is fleeing the Throne of God. Only those of us who are born again will ever return to the Throne of God. The universe is not expanding because of a big-bang, but because the Throne of God is at its center.
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Revelation 20:11 - “I saw a GREAT WHITE THRONE, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.”
The Great White Throne Judgment
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At the end of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, all the dead will stand before Jesus, who will be seated on the Great White Throne. The Book of Life will contain the names of the redeemed. Books will have recorded every man's works, which will be judged. Never believe anybody who tells you that God will not judge your works. Both saints and sinners will be judged by their works. “I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be,” Revelation 22:12.
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Revelation 20:13 - “They were judged every man according to their works.”
Will Anybody Be Saved After The Rapture?
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"Will anybody be saved after the Rapture?” If you are not taken in the First Resurrection and Rapture, you will not be resurrected until 1000 years later. Then, at the White Throne, you will be cast into Hell forever. We are not told if mortals will be born again during the Millennial Kingdom of Christ. If they are, their names will be found in the Book of Life at the White Throne Judgment, and they will be saved.
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Revelation 20:13 - “Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
Death And Hell Will Be Cast Into The Lake Of Fire
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God's saints will be raised to be with Jesus in the FIRST RESURRECTION and RAPTURE. But the souls of the wicked will remain in the grave ("death and hell [grave]") until the SECOND RESURRECTION, 1000 years later. Then, they will be bodily resurrected to face Jesus at the White Throne, to be “judged every man according to their works,” 20:13. All sinners will be cast bodily into Hell at that event.
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Revelation 20:14-15 - “Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
The World Will Pass Away - Your Soul Is Eternal
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"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” One soul is worth more than the whole world and all its birds, beasts, flowers, trees, diamonds, gold, oil, mountains, rivers, cities and nations. If you are wise enough to forfeit these temporal things to do God's will, your reward will be infinite.
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Matthew 16:26-27 - “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
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Please subscribe to this blog so you will be aware of future articles.
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For thousands of pages of free Bible studies on every subject, please visit http://kenraggio.com
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Sunday, October 11, 2015
Is MUSIC Killing Off Apostolic Churches?
I travel a lot, and find myself in all kinds of Apostolic Pentecostal Churches all around the country. One thing I have noticed that deeply, deeply troubles me is the MUSIC.
I know what I see. I have eyes and I have ears. I see platforms covered with musicians and singers and instruments. But WHAT I DO NOT SEE is congregations singing.
Again and again and again, I see keyboardists and "praise" singers putting on a show. I watch in horror as entire congregations stand there in a coma while the Church musicians sing songs that nobody else sings. Nobody learns these songs, because many of them are impossible to learn. They cannot be sung as a solo. They cannot be remembered, because they are not memorable. They are PAINFULLY repetitious. At this point, I have come to HATE songs that contain the word "AWESOME." How many times in one service do we have to tell God that He is "AWESOME"? God you are awesome. God you are awesome. God you are awesome. That is not profound. That is redundant. If that is all we can say about God, we don't know God.
Go ahead. Crucify me. Hate me. But I am telling you as pointedly as I know how, MUSIC is KILLING Apostolic Pentecostal Churches. The music is NOT conducive to true spiritual growth. FAR too many of the songs being used today are empty, empty, empty, empty, empty.
I am a writer. In the last ten years, I have written almost 3 million words on Bible subjects. I know the power of words. I understand the potential of a well-constructed sentence. I also know the pointlessness of a sentence that has no meaning. And I can tell you unequivocally that a huge lot of the songs being used today have no substantive message. Many songs use vain repetitions, incomplete sentences, and meaningless phraseology. They are loaded with buzzwords, but make no meaningful statements.
When are we going to REVOLT against DUMB music in the Church? I'm calling for a revolt right now. It's time for Christians to demand better SONGS. It is time to BOYCOTT Hillsong. It is time to BOYCOTT "Christian" radio and "Christian" entertainment.
I know I'm opening a can of worms. I know that this kind of talk offends church musicians and praise singers. I don't care. I'm an elder. I've been on church platforms singing and making music since I was eight years old. I am old. Yes. At 64, I am automatically discounted and discredited by most young Christians. But I know what I see. I see the dumbing down of Christianity. The dumbing down of Christian music. The dumbing down of Christians. The dumbing down of the Church. I see whole congregations standing glassy-eyed and speechless through half-hour-long marathons of pounding bass guitars, hyperactive drumming, and bouncing singers.
And I can't accept that. I have to cry aloud. I have to lift my voice and object to what I see.
There are hundreds, even thousands, of powerful, articulate, doctrinally-rich songs that have been written over the past 100 years. People who sang those songs REMEMBERED them, and continue singing them all their lives. They had messages in them. Singing those songs was like preaching a sermon to yourself, because they were full of Gospel messages, doctrines, and even conviction and consecration. Yet most popular "Churches" today would not recognize more than a very few of them. That is not just tragic, it is evil. It is a Satanic, Hellacious ploy against the historical roots of modern Christianity. It is the severing of all ties with the past. It is the rejection of the very sanctified process that brought the modern Church into existence. It is a refuting, a rebutting, a denial, of the profound works of the Holy Ghost that built a worldwide Pentecostal Church.
The suffocating arrogance that presumes to say that the old paths were wrong and that this generation knows better than any generation before it is toxic and
heretical. This generation of Christians is NOT more biblically astute. Its preachers are NOT more spiritual, more godly, more consecrated. In large part, the modern Church is infinitely more carnal, more worldly, more sensuous, more materialistic than any of its predecessors in the last 100 years.
It is time for a REVIVAL of the WORD OF GOD, and that may never actually happen until we purposefully and intentionally demand that our churches be purged of all shallow, empty, dumbed-down "ministries." How will that ever happen as long as we continue to celebrate such shallowness?
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein," Jeremiah 6:16.
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I have been publishing online since 1996. Very few people in the world have published more gospel preaching and teaching on the Internet than I have. I have interacted personally with countless tens of thousands of people via emails and direct messages, and faced every conceivable belligerence from atheists, gays, Catholics, Trinitarians of every flag, JWs, Adventists, Branhamites, Cessationists, Calvinists, Preterists, Pre-Tribbers, Ecumenicals, Muslims, etc., etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
But I've never seen a topic create such a firestorm as the subject of music in the Church. I have made it crystal clear that I believe the bulk of modern Christian music is poison in the pot. No less than 90% of the responses I get passionately agree with me. Of course, that stat is skewed by the fact that most of my followers followed me in the first place because of my conservative views.
Nevertheless, I am absolutely positive that I am not alone in detesting the new breed of music in the Church. I will not restate all my objections here.
I have been mocked and ridiculed by many of my own peers for taking that position. And in that mockery and condescension, an even greater problem is exposed. Many of our ministers despise the old paths just as certainly as the non-Apostolics who write and perform those songs. There is virtually NO vetting, NO qualifying, NO screening of the doctrinal content of modern Christian music, as long as it has a good sound, a good beat, and attracts young people. They NEVER recognize hyper-grace, easy-believism, word-of-faith, success-prosperity HERETICAL LIES in those lyrics. All they notice is the entertainment value of them.
I have personally witnessed several youth events where the pounding, pulsating music was played endlessly in the background, although the lyrics were at best indiscernible, and at worst, doctrinally-sterile (or heretical) and more representative of and identifiable with NON-APOSTOLIC movements. They are PROUD to be like Hillsong or "Christian" TV stars and starlets, or to be culturally hip and cool. They are PROUD to be "relevant" to the world, although they don't realize that they have at last become irrelevant to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness.
Everything about that sounds all the alarms for me. The fact that it sounds NO ALARMS for them is the very reason why I distance myself from them, and sometimes block them from my circle of influence.
If you don't like my position on these matters, nobody is forcing you to follow me. You can say anything you want to say anywhere else, but not on my timeline. I am going to say and preach what I believe with all the force and conviction I have in my soul.
If you don't like me or what I say, goodbye, adios, adieu, arrivederci, auf weidersehen.
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How to DESTROY an Apostolic Pentecostal Church in short order:
1. Abandon KJV and use multiple versions of the Bible. Breed doubts about how things used to be said, and nullify all scripture memorization.
2. Cancel Sunday night services. Everybody needs family time. They can then go to ball games and movies. That will give them an entirely new perspective on God, life, and spiritual matters.
3. Throw away the song books. Abandon all the old songs. Never sing them again, unless you do so with an apology, or a mocking joke. There are too many doctrines and calls to holiness and godly living in them that we don't want to deal with anymore. Disband the choir and the song leader. Give all the music responsibilities to the young people. Don't let any elders have any say in the music. Welcome and encourage the use of popular music from the most rabid adversaries of Apostolic doctrines and standards.
4. Stop preaching doctrines and holiness standards. They are so old-fashioned. All they do is run people off.
5. That should do it. You can add all the new-fangled methods you want now, because it will only take a little while before nobody in the building will remember what Pentecost was ever like. If they do, they will only mock it, and caustically deride anyone who still holds it sacred.
6. In less than one year, almost nothing at all will even vaguely resemble the Apostolic Pentecostal Church that was known around the world for almost 100 years. Nobody will believe that your church was ever associated with Apostolic Pentecostals.
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Any man who has been in the ministry for a few decades has almost certainly been the subject of someone's vitriol and vicious animosities. Sometimes, an entire group of people will assault, slander, defame, and perhaps even attempt to destroy him.
In his youth, such attacks tend to knock the wind out of his sails. They can be utterly devastating. But in his old age, they tend to humor him when he remembers that he is still standing, while many of those who once tried to take him down have vanished from the scene.
Not only do great men of God have to learn this lesson, but all true saints must come to terms with the reality that when you stand for something that is unpopular, YOU ARE DESTINED to incur the wrath of the multitudes who embrace a popular, but erroneous position. Anytime you take God's side in a matter, you instantly inherit God's enemies. Those who hate Him and His Truth will hate you just as much.
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and YE SHALL BE HATED of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another," Matthew 24:9-10.
"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me," Micah 7:8.
"Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above," John 19:11.
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.
"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah," Psalms 61:2-4.
"For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall," Psalms 18:27-29.
- - -
Please subscribe to this blog so you will be aware of future articles.
- - -
For thousands of pages of free Bible studies on every subject, please visit http://kenraggio.com
- - -
FOR MORE, get and read THE DANIEL PROPHECIES - GOD'S PLAN FOR THE LAST DAYS - http://kenraggio.com/The-Daniel-Prophecies.html
- - -
Follow me on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, LINKEDIN, YOUTUBE and INSTAGRAM!
FACEBOOK - ken.raggio.9
TWITTER - kenraggiocom
LINKEDIN - kraggio
YOUTUBE - Ken Raggio
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Let's study the Bible together!!
Books, DVDs, and CDs from Ken Raggio
- - -
I know what I see. I have eyes and I have ears. I see platforms covered with musicians and singers and instruments. But WHAT I DO NOT SEE is congregations singing.
Again and again and again, I see keyboardists and "praise" singers putting on a show. I watch in horror as entire congregations stand there in a coma while the Church musicians sing songs that nobody else sings. Nobody learns these songs, because many of them are impossible to learn. They cannot be sung as a solo. They cannot be remembered, because they are not memorable. They are PAINFULLY repetitious. At this point, I have come to HATE songs that contain the word "AWESOME." How many times in one service do we have to tell God that He is "AWESOME"? God you are awesome. God you are awesome. God you are awesome. That is not profound. That is redundant. If that is all we can say about God, we don't know God.
Go ahead. Crucify me. Hate me. But I am telling you as pointedly as I know how, MUSIC is KILLING Apostolic Pentecostal Churches. The music is NOT conducive to true spiritual growth. FAR too many of the songs being used today are empty, empty, empty, empty, empty.
I am a writer. In the last ten years, I have written almost 3 million words on Bible subjects. I know the power of words. I understand the potential of a well-constructed sentence. I also know the pointlessness of a sentence that has no meaning. And I can tell you unequivocally that a huge lot of the songs being used today have no substantive message. Many songs use vain repetitions, incomplete sentences, and meaningless phraseology. They are loaded with buzzwords, but make no meaningful statements.
When are we going to REVOLT against DUMB music in the Church? I'm calling for a revolt right now. It's time for Christians to demand better SONGS. It is time to BOYCOTT Hillsong. It is time to BOYCOTT "Christian" radio and "Christian" entertainment.
I know I'm opening a can of worms. I know that this kind of talk offends church musicians and praise singers. I don't care. I'm an elder. I've been on church platforms singing and making music since I was eight years old. I am old. Yes. At 64, I am automatically discounted and discredited by most young Christians. But I know what I see. I see the dumbing down of Christianity. The dumbing down of Christian music. The dumbing down of Christians. The dumbing down of the Church. I see whole congregations standing glassy-eyed and speechless through half-hour-long marathons of pounding bass guitars, hyperactive drumming, and bouncing singers.
And I can't accept that. I have to cry aloud. I have to lift my voice and object to what I see.
There are hundreds, even thousands, of powerful, articulate, doctrinally-rich songs that have been written over the past 100 years. People who sang those songs REMEMBERED them, and continue singing them all their lives. They had messages in them. Singing those songs was like preaching a sermon to yourself, because they were full of Gospel messages, doctrines, and even conviction and consecration. Yet most popular "Churches" today would not recognize more than a very few of them. That is not just tragic, it is evil. It is a Satanic, Hellacious ploy against the historical roots of modern Christianity. It is the severing of all ties with the past. It is the rejection of the very sanctified process that brought the modern Church into existence. It is a refuting, a rebutting, a denial, of the profound works of the Holy Ghost that built a worldwide Pentecostal Church.
The suffocating arrogance that presumes to say that the old paths were wrong and that this generation knows better than any generation before it is toxic and
heretical. This generation of Christians is NOT more biblically astute. Its preachers are NOT more spiritual, more godly, more consecrated. In large part, the modern Church is infinitely more carnal, more worldly, more sensuous, more materialistic than any of its predecessors in the last 100 years.
It is time for a REVIVAL of the WORD OF GOD, and that may never actually happen until we purposefully and intentionally demand that our churches be purged of all shallow, empty, dumbed-down "ministries." How will that ever happen as long as we continue to celebrate such shallowness?
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein," Jeremiah 6:16.
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I have been publishing online since 1996. Very few people in the world have published more gospel preaching and teaching on the Internet than I have. I have interacted personally with countless tens of thousands of people via emails and direct messages, and faced every conceivable belligerence from atheists, gays, Catholics, Trinitarians of every flag, JWs, Adventists, Branhamites, Cessationists, Calvinists, Preterists, Pre-Tribbers, Ecumenicals, Muslims, etc., etc. ad infinitum, ad nauseum.
But I've never seen a topic create such a firestorm as the subject of music in the Church. I have made it crystal clear that I believe the bulk of modern Christian music is poison in the pot. No less than 90% of the responses I get passionately agree with me. Of course, that stat is skewed by the fact that most of my followers followed me in the first place because of my conservative views.
Nevertheless, I am absolutely positive that I am not alone in detesting the new breed of music in the Church. I will not restate all my objections here.
I have been mocked and ridiculed by many of my own peers for taking that position. And in that mockery and condescension, an even greater problem is exposed. Many of our ministers despise the old paths just as certainly as the non-Apostolics who write and perform those songs. There is virtually NO vetting, NO qualifying, NO screening of the doctrinal content of modern Christian music, as long as it has a good sound, a good beat, and attracts young people. They NEVER recognize hyper-grace, easy-believism, word-of-faith, success-prosperity HERETICAL LIES in those lyrics. All they notice is the entertainment value of them.
I have personally witnessed several youth events where the pounding, pulsating music was played endlessly in the background, although the lyrics were at best indiscernible, and at worst, doctrinally-sterile (or heretical) and more representative of and identifiable with NON-APOSTOLIC movements. They are PROUD to be like Hillsong or "Christian" TV stars and starlets, or to be culturally hip and cool. They are PROUD to be "relevant" to the world, although they don't realize that they have at last become irrelevant to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness.
Everything about that sounds all the alarms for me. The fact that it sounds NO ALARMS for them is the very reason why I distance myself from them, and sometimes block them from my circle of influence.
If you don't like my position on these matters, nobody is forcing you to follow me. You can say anything you want to say anywhere else, but not on my timeline. I am going to say and preach what I believe with all the force and conviction I have in my soul.
If you don't like me or what I say, goodbye, adios, adieu, arrivederci, auf weidersehen.
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How to DESTROY an Apostolic Pentecostal Church in short order:
1. Abandon KJV and use multiple versions of the Bible. Breed doubts about how things used to be said, and nullify all scripture memorization.
2. Cancel Sunday night services. Everybody needs family time. They can then go to ball games and movies. That will give them an entirely new perspective on God, life, and spiritual matters.
3. Throw away the song books. Abandon all the old songs. Never sing them again, unless you do so with an apology, or a mocking joke. There are too many doctrines and calls to holiness and godly living in them that we don't want to deal with anymore. Disband the choir and the song leader. Give all the music responsibilities to the young people. Don't let any elders have any say in the music. Welcome and encourage the use of popular music from the most rabid adversaries of Apostolic doctrines and standards.
4. Stop preaching doctrines and holiness standards. They are so old-fashioned. All they do is run people off.
5. That should do it. You can add all the new-fangled methods you want now, because it will only take a little while before nobody in the building will remember what Pentecost was ever like. If they do, they will only mock it, and caustically deride anyone who still holds it sacred.
6. In less than one year, almost nothing at all will even vaguely resemble the Apostolic Pentecostal Church that was known around the world for almost 100 years. Nobody will believe that your church was ever associated with Apostolic Pentecostals.
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Any man who has been in the ministry for a few decades has almost certainly been the subject of someone's vitriol and vicious animosities. Sometimes, an entire group of people will assault, slander, defame, and perhaps even attempt to destroy him.
In his youth, such attacks tend to knock the wind out of his sails. They can be utterly devastating. But in his old age, they tend to humor him when he remembers that he is still standing, while many of those who once tried to take him down have vanished from the scene.
Not only do great men of God have to learn this lesson, but all true saints must come to terms with the reality that when you stand for something that is unpopular, YOU ARE DESTINED to incur the wrath of the multitudes who embrace a popular, but erroneous position. Anytime you take God's side in a matter, you instantly inherit God's enemies. Those who hate Him and His Truth will hate you just as much.
"Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and YE SHALL BE HATED of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another," Matthew 24:9-10.
"Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me," Micah 7:8.
"Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above," John 19:11.
"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.
"When my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah," Psalms 61:2-4.
"For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks. For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall," Psalms 18:27-29.
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