Welcome — have we got shocking, but exciting news for you! Major, essential doctrines of the Bible have been falsified and distorted with man-made traditions that do not add up are now being brought to light.
The even better news is, if you are familiar with the books “Shocked by the Bible” or “Surprised by Scripture” you are in for the surprise of a lifetime, because the finds in those books are repetitious child’s-play compared to the light God’s Word is revealing through this new book series! The replacements (of the myths) are the discovery aspect of this book series and trust us — when we say major and essential doctrines, because these are no small discoveries! God has really blessed us, but judge for yourself.
There are about 9 major church doctrines (about 3 per book) in this series that the church calls essentials that we have exposed to be myth! It is quite disturbing, but we need to know the truth as Jesus commanded let no one deceive you. (Mat 24:4) It is also exciting because God is now illuminating His Word.
The principal point of conflict in all four gospel accounts between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day was wether we should be obeying the Word of God or the traditions of men that the religious leaders said was scriptural, but Jesus said was not.
The introduction of this series is always devoted to this profoundly important point and then expounded upon with the essential topics of each book.
If you doubt me, I challenge you to re-read any one or all four gospel accounts for yourself with this question in mind. I predict you will be startled by your finding if you haven’t noticed this point of contention before.
I believe it’s like an encoded message to followers of Jesus – a kind of warning to us not to make the same mistake as the Pharisees: Don’t follow the traditions of men; instead follow God’s Word.
As human beings with limited discernment bombarded with daily information , we unconsciously develop shortcuts that help us discard the clutter to decide what is worth paying attention to. Our tendency is to go with a crowd or the scholars we think of as our Bible authorities, because it seems safer than going with what’s less popular. However, in light of what scripture teaches, that can be the opposite method of arriving at truth. In the 1st century it was the few that were “in the know” and they were commended for thinking for themselves (Acts 17:11).
Of course, there are a lot of deceptive philosophies that seeped in when wrong ideas were accepted, and in those cases the established “old guard” was right to stand against them. But, that can create a fear that the Bible actually condemns (Rev 21:8; Mar 5:36; Luk 12:32)! So how can you tell whether a “new” idea (a Bible teaching that is unfamiliar to you, and might be opposed by many in the established church status quo) is of God or not? The way to tell is to test yourself to make sure you are a Berean, using a Better Bible Study Method.
Are you ready for that test? Are you ready to cast off and destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and make sure you are not among those who 2Ti 4:4 “turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables”?
Ladies and gentlemen, you may have heard the expression “the truth is often stranger than fiction.” It turns out it is true in the case of “Last Days Prophecy” concerning our new book (Vol. 1, the red book,) because it does NOT fall into any category of eschatology men have labeled! Yes, this is an insinuation that all the churches are wrong, and yes we can back it up! Could God really be illuminating in our day for those who have eyes to see, and ears to hear? Will you scoff or believe and free yourself from all the cleverly devised far-fetched, science-fiction fables being taught as Bible prophecy, enslaving the many?
The great discoveries had humble beginnings, and it was always the few who “got it” first. All the way from huge multi-wealthy corporations, to the way the Christian church started. The very learned and respected first century Jewish leaders didn’t understand Christ and thought His teachings were too radical – not in harmony with the Torah (OT). Christ and the apostles talked and acted in a way they had never encountered before.
Even His disciples abandoned Him because of His strange doctrine (John 6:60ff …Upon this many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.), and even after His resurrection there were only a few in the upper room who believed. Yet today literally billions of people have been positively affected by a Man the Israelites at first considered to have brought a strange and controversial religion that denied the teachings of Moses.
Throughout church history we see key moments when a new truth (or restoration of truth that seemed new) brought a test to the church. At these moments, God was asking: Who is going to pass the “popularity test”? Who is going to lazily, foolishly, and pridefully rely on the not-always-trustworthy “popular is right” shortcut? (Proverbs 18:13 says that it is foolish and shameful to answer a matter before hearing it out.) Who is going to do the essential work of “studying to show themselves approved” (2 Tim. 2:15) before passing judgment?
Right now Christianity, the world’s only hope, is under assault and critically divided; when Paul said “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine which you learned: and turn away from them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Christ, but their own belly; and by their smooth and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent” (Rom 16:17-18).
We think this beguiling (deception) is largely due to a “blind-leading-the-blind method of study” that comes from a type of feel-good generation that deceived them into trusting the traditions of men, even when they make void the word of God.
Many have forgotten the importance of God’s truth or do not care because of their misunderstanding of grace. The ones who do care do not comprehend that changing an effect is not the same as changing the cause that produced that effect (i.e. how they became deceived). This common type of drive-thru Bible study always violates Psa 118:8 “It is better to trust in the LORD (or His Word) than to put confidence in man (or the teachings of men).” It parrots what the others of their particular paradigm teach. As they sow, so will they continue to reap.
Many are saying they love the truth and even quote scripture, but when you try and tell them what they believe is unbiblical–they’re not interested! How can they love and value the truth? These are often those that decide what is and what is not important in God’s Word. When the Bereans were told they were wrong, they were called “more noble” for being interested and thinking the truth was valuable enough to check scripture to see if what they were being told was so. Quite a different reaction than those that do not care if they are deceived just because they think they’re saved.
Some misconstrue it’s some type of humility thing, God keeping us in the dark keeps us humble, but this does not stack up to the admonishment He gives us “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2Ti 2:15).”
Jesus said in Matt 22:29 they did err not knowing the Scriptures. Why didn’t He just say it was a mystery but I’m revealing it to you now, if they weren’t supposed to know? We are to know and be humble at the same time. Knowing teaches you the nature of God and can make you humble.
The point is, it does not have to be that difficult, God is not the author of confusion, man is, and mankind has complicated God’s word to no end. So what we have to begin to do is uncomplicate what man has complicated while realizing we don’t have to get overwhelmed. And get into some deeper study, no longer just trusting the man in the suit with the letters behind his name, because Holy Inspiration in the 1st century had different results because it was for a special purpose. The Bible is Holy inspired and should be the only anchor we have today – we simply cannot trust the many people telling us they are Holy-inspired.