详解圣经难解经文 - 9月2,9,30日

亲爱的主内弟兄姐妹，
您是否面对一些圣经经文或信仰上的疑惑？抑或正寻求解答？

详解圣经难解经文
2007 新加坡归正福音讲经大会- 9月2,9,30日

日期 ：星期日
时间 ：7.30傍晚
地点 ：纽顿生命堂 200 Keng Lee Road, Singapore 308410
讲员 ：唐崇荣博士主讲
翻译 ：杨达明长老（华译英）

Life is a Plate of Assorted Chocolate

Life is like a plate of assorted chocolate. It always come in with different degree of sweetness and bitterness. Loses its bitterness, it also loses its character as chocolate. The higher content of cocoa, the higher degree of bitterness.

Enjoy your life with its characteristic bitterness and sweetness.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.(1 Corinthians 10:13)

Facts You Should Know About Jehovah's Witnesses (JW)

Who are they?

• Known as the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society
• Emphasizes end time prophecy and has falsely predicted the end of the world many times.
• JWs and prohibits their participation in such common activities as taking blood transfusions, celebrating birthdays or holidays (including Christmas, Easter, and Mother's Day), voting, flag saluting, and military service.
• The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society boldly claims to be the only organization God is using today to teach His truth and speak for Him.
• All non-JWs will be destroyed at Armageddon, an event of divine judgment it threatens is just around the corner.

Failed Prophecies

• Warnings that Armageddon would strike in 1914.
• When 1914 came and went, he changed the date to 1915.
• Russell died in 1916, leaving his followers doubting and disillusioned by his predictive failures. Joseph Franklin Rutherford then took control of the organization.
• Rutherford (1869-1942) predicted that in 1918 God would destroy churches and millions of their members, and claimed that by 1920 every kingdom would be swallowed up in anarchy.
• When the 1918 and 1920 predictions failed, Rutherford set a new date that the millennium would start in 1925 and that Old Testament saints like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David would come back to life.
• Vice President Franz (1894- ) concluded that the autumn of 1975 would mark the beginning of the seventh period of human history. The Society was careful to avoid printing an outright prediction, but the message was clear to Jehovah's Witnesses everywhere-Armageddon was coming soon.

Tampering With The Bible

• Since many of their teachings could be refuted by key verses in the King James Bible, Knorr set out to publish a different Bible for JWs to use. Called the New World Translation (NWT), it blatantly altered many verses to support Watchtower doctrine. The single best example of this is John 1: 1, which in the King James Version clearly declares Jesus' deity-"the Word was God." JWs deny the deity of Christ, so the NWT renders this phrase "the Word was a god."

Testing the Watchtower Prophet

• The Bible warns us that many false prophets will come claiming to speak for God (Matthew 7:15; 1John 4: 1). Thankfully, it also provides a practical test for identifying false prophets. In Deuteronomy 18:20-22 we are told that anyone who claims to speak as a prophet of God and predicts something that does not come true is a false prophet. "And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken?
• Deu 18:22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
• Deu 18:20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.
• According to the Bible, one false prophecy makes the speaker a false prophet. By this test the Watchtower Society's prophecies concerning 1914, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1925 and 1975 prove beyond a doubt it is a false prophet and that we should turn away from this group's deceptive doctrines.

Non-biblical Beliefs

• The Nature of God. The Bible teaches that there is only one true God (Isa.43:10-11; 44:6,8). Father, Son and Holy Spirit are identified as distinct Persons within the one Triune Godhead (Matt.3:16-17; 2 Cor.13:14). Throughout the New Testament the Son and the Holy Spirit, as well as the Father are separately identified as God. Each has divine attributes and acts as God (Son: Mark 2:5-12; John 20:28; Heb. l :8; Holy Spirit: Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17-18).
• By contrast, the JW denies the triune nature of God and teaches that such a belief is inspired by Satan and teaches that Jehovah, the name of the one true God, corresponds only to God the Father. JWs also deny that Jesus is God (see next point). They deny the Holy Spirit is a person, and instead teach he is merely God's active force, similar to electricity.

Jesus Christ

• The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, and is the Creator of all things (John 1: 1 -3,14; Col.1: 16). While never less than God, at the appointed time He laid aside the glory He shared with the Father and took on a human nature ( John 17:35; Phil. 2:6-11; Col. 2:9). Following his death, Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave, appeared to and was recognized in his body by over 500 people. This fact was crucial to both the preaching and faith of the early church (Luke 24:39; John 2:19-21; I Cor. 15:6, 14).
• By contrast, the JW denies the deity of Jesus Christ and teaches that Jesus is a created being who existed as Michael the archangel before being born as a perfect man. JWs believe that after Jesus was buried, God disposed of his physical body. He was raised a spiritual creature and "materialized" to make himself visible. Now in heaven he is once again known as Michael the archangel.

Salvation

• The Bible teaches that the atoning work of Christ alone provides the solution for man's sin problem. Jesus Christ took the personal sins of all men-past, present and future-in his own body on the tree (I Pet. 2:24), and as perfect God and perfect man he fully met the demands of Divine justice for us (Rom. 3:22-26). Therefore, any and all who receive him by simple faith (John 1:12; Acts 16:31), can be forgiven, declared righteous and restored to fellowship with God (Cor. 5:21; Heb. 7:24-26).
• By contrast, the JW teaches that only an elite group of Witnesses, known as "the 144,000," or the "anointed ones" are presently credited with Christ's righteousness. Only the 144,000 are born again and expect to reign with Christ in heaven. For the vast majority of remaining JWs, known as the "other sheep" or the "great crowd," the atoning sacrifice of Christ only provides a chance at eternal life on earth.
• The Bible also teaches that we are saved by grace alone apart from any self-righteous works (Eph.2:8-9). There is nothing we can do to contribute to our salvation because apart from Jesus Christ we are "dead in our sins" (Eph. 2:1,5).
• By contrast, the JW teaches that salvation "will depend on one's works." A person must first "come to Jehovah ' s organization for salvation and then comply with everything they teach. In this way, a relationship with the Jehovah's Witnesses organization, rather than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, is presented as the basis of salvation.

The Soul & Eternal Punishment

• The Bible teaches that the human soul continues to exist consciously after death (Is.14:9-11; Luke 16:19-31;Rev 6:9-11). Those who have rejected God's gift of eternal life will suffer conscious eternal punishment (Matt. 25:41,46; Rev. 14:10,11; 20:10,15).
• By contrast, the JW denies eternal punishment and teaches that the soul cannot exist apart from the body. JWs believe that death ends all conscious existence. Hell refers to the grave and those who are ultimately judged by God will be annihilated and simply cease to exist.

The Bible

• The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit's anointing enables individual Christians to understand God's Word and properly apply it to their lives ( I John 2:27).
• By contrast, the JW teaches that the Bible can only be interpreted by the Watchtower Society and no individual can learn the truth apart from them.

Contradictions & Flip-Flops

• The JW claims to be Jehovah's organization and God's only channel of spiritual instruction for today. It stresses that the Bible is an "organizational book" and cannot be understood by individuals no matter how sincere they are. But how can we trust our eternal destiny to an organization that during its brief time in existence has accumulated such a woeful history of doctrinal contradictions and flip-flops? Consider the following examples of ever-changing Watchtower theology.
• In 1975 the JWs taught that the man who sows the seed in the parable of the mustard seed (Matthew 13) is Satan. Later that same year the WT Society taught that this sower was Jesus.
• A similar incident occurred in 1978, when the JW identified the "Alpha and Omega" of Revelation 22:12-13 as Jehovah (that is, God the Father), and then five weeks later taught these verses referred to Jesus.
• The Watchtower Society's failure to correctly interpret the Bible is most clearly seen in their doctrinal flip-flops. First they teach position A, then they change to position B, claiming God has given them "new light." Later on, however, they revert back to their old teaching (position A) and in some cases change once again to position B.

Examples of Contradictions & Flip-Flops

• Resurrection of the Men of Sodom
• 1879 - They will be resurrected.
• 1952 - They will not be resurrected.
• 1965 - They will be resurrected.
• 1988 - They will not be resurrected.24
• The 'Lord' in Romans 10:12-16
• 1903 - 'Lord' refers to Jesus.
• 1940 - 'Lord' refers to Jehovah.
• 1978 - 'Lord' refers to Jesus.
• 1980 - 'Lord' refers to Jehovah.25
• 'Higher Powers' of Romans 13:1
• 1916 - 'Higher powers' refers to governments.
• 1943 - 'Higher powers' refers to Jehovah God & Jesus Christ.
• 1964 - 'Higher powers' refers to governments.26

Cults – False Christianity Teaching

Some Cults:

• Mormons
• Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Christian Science
• Seventh-Day Adventis
• New Age Movements
• Unification Church
• Roman Catholics
• … etc

Mormons—What They Teach

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church teaches that God was once a man. But the Bible says "God is a Spirit..." (John 4:24)
• The Mormon church doesn't teach polygamy anymore, but believes that God the Father has many wives as revealed to them by their "Latter-day Apostles".
  
• They believe that God the Father is now on a planet near the star Kolob with his wives having spiritual children. ("Pearl of Great Price", Abraham 3:9,16) The Bible says: "Our Father which art in heaven..." (Matt 6:9)
  
• The Mormon Prophet, President Kimball, taught that Satan and Jesus are spirit brothers. ("Ensign magazine", December, 1980, p.5) The Bible says that Jesus is God, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth (including Lucifer). (Col 1:16-18)
  
• The Mormon church tells about the war in heaven as when Jesus and Lucifer approached God with their plans of salvation. They believe there were many gods present, as Joseph Smith called it a "Council of Gods". Lucifer's plan was to "make" people worship God... , but Jesus' plan was to "show" the people how to worship God. Lucifer's plan was rejected, and Jesus' plan was accepted. ("Pearl of Great Price", Book of Moses 4:1-3) They believe Jesus was the Savior only because His plan was accepted. The Bible say. "He, (Jesus) was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not". (John 1:10)
• Mormons believe that Lucifer became Satan when he rebelled and was thrown out of heaven with a third of the spirits. As for the other two thirds, one third was faithful and stayed with Jesus in the battle. The other and last third didn't fight as valiantly, but all the remaining two thirds were the spirit children of God the Father and His wives. The ones who were faithful to Jesus are born as babies with white skin. ("Doctrines of Salvation", Vol. 1, J.F. Smith, p. 61) And the children who didn't fight as valiantly during the battle in heaven are the babies born with dark skin. ("Mormon Doctrine", by Bruce R. McConkie, pp. 526-527, 1966 edition)
  
• The Mormon church teaches that a Mormon can become a god with a planet of their own if they are obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. They believe that "As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become". ("Articles of Faith", by James Talmage pg. 430)
  
• The Journal of Discourses, shows that the Mormons once taught that Jesus had many wives... the two sisters of Lazarus and Mary Magdalene, because Jesus couldn't become a god unless he was married. ("Mormon Doctrine", by Bruce R. McConkie, pp. 117-118) The Bible says, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever". Heb. 13:8) Jesus has always been God (John 1:1-3 and Rev. 1:8)
  
• A study of the history and doctrine of Mormonism will reveal that it is nothing but a modern day form of Baal worship. It's a mixture of the Babylonian and Jewish religions, Masonry and Catholic traditions. They claim Apostolic Authority just like the Vatican. They even have 12 apostles in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  
• The Christian message that you read on a Mormon web site is a message you may hear from them on television or at a Promise Keepers meeting. Mormons convey a somewhat different message when dealing with the public, as when witnessing for converts or when the message will be made public, than they do when dealing with members.
• Mormons like Roman Catholics believe in the Atonement of Christ "when accompanied by good works". Mormons have added many of their own doctrines to what is taught in the Bible.

Being Disciplined by God

Have you been punished by God because of your sin?

I have.

I have sinned and have borne the punishment from God. It is not easy during those times. However, it is a great encouragement to know that God punished me because he loves me as a father loves their children.

I have been a father for 3 children. As you might have already known, my elder son is the most challenging among the 3 children. Guess what, he got the most punishment from me. Not because I hated him, instead, he is the one I love most because he is my first child.

If you are being disciplined today, I would like you to be encouraged by the following scriptures (NIV) from Hebrew 12:5 - 13:

HEB 12:5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

HEB 12:6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

HEB 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

HEB 12:12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.