Jeff Snyder -> All wrote:
 JS> As I have pointed out in a number of my Endtime and New Age
 JS> articles, that time has already begun! We have already seen
 JS> this prophecy fulfilled a number of times in our current day
 JS> by evil men who have made the proud boast of being a new
 JS> "Son of God" in the flesh. These workers of darkness have
 JS> the audacity to not just claim to be a prophet of God, but
 JS> rather to say that they are the latest manifestation of
 JS> Jesus Christ Himself! They include such evildoers as Sun
 JS> Myung Moon of the so-called Unification Church, or Moonies,
 JS> Marshall Applewhite, the deceased leader of the Heaven's
 JS> Gate UFO cult, Lord Maitreya Buddha, and a number of other
 JS> oriental mystics, teachers and so-called "holy" men.
 JS> However, I believe that we are currently only experiencing
 JS> the very edge of a dark cloud of deceit which will soon
 JS> cover the face of the Earth. Jesus said that these false
 JS> christs would show 'great signs and wonders; insomuch that,
 JS> if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect'.
 JS> Personally, I am not aware of any great verifiable feats
 JS> being done by any of the aforementioned men; however that
 JS> could change in the future.

 JS> Of course, in God's pre-ordained time, the Ultimate Evil
 JS> will be revealed in the form of the Jewish Antichrist; for
 JS> it is with this people that the rebellion began, and it is
 JS> also with them that it will end. Because they refused,
 JS> rejected and killed the true "only begotten Son of God",
 JS> they have set themselves up for the greatest delusion of all
 JS> time. As I explain in such articles as 'Who Is Hindering The
 JS> Antichrist?, this false christ will possess such satanic
 JS> power, that he will convince many, particularly the
 JS> unbelieving Jews, that he is in fact God Almighty! Because
 JS> of the lying wonders he will perform, the Jews will claim
 JS> him as their "messiah", or as the Orthodox Jews refer to
 JS> him, "Moshiach ben David", Messiah, the son of David:

 JS> "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
 JS> come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
 JS> of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and
 JS> exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
 JS> worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,
 JS> shewing himself that he is God."
 JS> (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, KJV)

 JS> Why is this going to occur? Because they have rejected the
 JS> one and only true Son of God who has ever come in the flesh;
 JS> Jesus Christ Himself. It is for this very reason that, as
 JS> John wrote, they are antichrist. Here are a few more verses
 JS> which also confirm that Jesus Christ is God's true Son who
 JS> was born, or begotten, in the flesh:

 JS> "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
 JS> the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
 JS> flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:"
 JS> (Romans 8:3, KJV)

 JS> "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
 JS> God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen
 JS> of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
 JS> world, received up into glory."
 JS> (1 Timothy 3:16, KJV)

 JS> As we have now seen, in some cases, the word "begotten" is
 JS> used to refer to the process of human childbirth. This is
 JS> the case when Paul speaks of Isaac being the only begotten
 JS> son of Abraham by his wife Sarah. This is also the case with
 JS> Jesus being "the only begotten Son of God". The primary
 JS> difference is that Isaac was conceived by human means
 JS> involving two Earthly parents. In other words, he was the
 JS> fruit of two people who consciously engaged in the act of
 JS> sex. He was also the result of God's blessing upon their
 JS> lives, and their own free human will and desire to obtain an
 JS> heir. In discussing the difference between physical and
 JS> spiritual birth, John mentions this act of human will in the
 JS> very same verses I spoke about earlier from the first
 JS> chapter of his Gospel:

 JS> "Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
 JS> flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
 JS> (John 1:13, KJV)

 JS> On the other hand, Jesus Christ was the result of the Spirit
 JS> of God intervening in Mary's womb, in order to bring forth,
 JS> or beget through natural childbirth, the Son of God in the
 JS> flesh. Thus, Isaac and Jesus were both unique, and one of a
 JS> kind as defined by the word 'monogenes'. Isaac was the only
 JS> son of Abraham and Sarah; and Jesus was the only Son of God
 JS> born in human flesh by a work of the Spirit. It is for this
 JS> very same reason that in the Biblical genealogies, we see
 JS> the word 'begat' being used over and over again. Thus, while
 JS> some religionists argue that "the only begotten Son of God"
 JS> means that Jesus is the only Son that God has, it is evident
 JS> that they do not fully understand the meaning of this term.

 JS> However, as I have already stated, this subject isn't quite
 JS> that simple; for you see, based upon my studies, it has
 JS> become evident to me that this is not the full meaning of
 JS> the term "only begotten". Furthermore, the word
"begotten"
 JS> isn't always referring to natural childbirth. Allow me to
 JS> explain. Just as we were begotten, or born in the flesh, we
 JS> have also been begotten, or born, a second time of the
 JS> Spirit, because of our acceptance of Jesus Christ. It is
 JS> because of this that, possibly in the near future, many will
 JS> experience a Resurrection from the dead, just like Jesus
 JS> Christ. This is the entire hope of our current faith. It is
 JS> something that we cling to in earnest expectation, awaiting
 JS> the gift of adoption to come:

 JS> "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are
 JS> not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
 JS> revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature
 JS> waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the
 JS> creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by
 JS> reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because
 JS> the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
 JS> of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of
 JS> God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
 JS> travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they,
 JS> but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the
 JS> Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
 JS> for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we
 JS> are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for
 JS> what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope
 JS> for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
 JS> (Romans 8:18-25, KJV)

 JS> The "earnest expectation" and the "manifestation of the sons
 JS> of God" that Paul is referring to is our very own glorious
 JS> transformation which will occur at the time of the Lord's
 JS> Second Coming and the Resurrection of the Dead; when we all
 JS> will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at
 JS> the sound of the Last Trump. Some have the erroneous
 JS> impression that we already are the Sons and Daughters of
 JS> God, but technically speaking, this is not the case; for as
 JS> Paul says above, we are 'waiting for the adoption'. Right
 JS> now it is still a matter of faith as we have not yet
 JS> acquired the purchased gift which has been bought for us by
 JS> the precious Blood of Jesus Christ:

 JS> "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of
 JS> truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that
 JS> ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of
 JS> promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the
 JS> redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of
 JS> his glory."
 JS> (Ephesians 1:13-14, KJV)

 JS> A perfect example of what Paul is talking about can be found
 JS> in the redeemable coupons that one often finds in cereal
 JS> boxes, or in catalogs, or in or on the containers of other
 JS> food products. Each coupon is worth a certain value, and it
 JS> entitles you to a discount on the product stated when you
 JS> take that coupon to the grocery store. In other words,
 JS> because of the arrangement made between the issuer of the
 JS> coupon, and certain businesses, that coupon acts as a type
 JS> of promissory note. You are being promised by the issuer
 JS> that if you take the coupon to the right place, you will get
 JS> a discount on their product. So, as Paul states, you have
 JS> the "earnest expectation" that the next time that you go to
 JS> your local grocery store, you will be able to obtain the
 JS> "purchased possession"; that is, the special discount.

 JS> In like manner, as was evidenced by our study of the Book of
 JS> Hebrews in part two of this series, a very Special
 JS> Arrangement has already been made between God the Father and
 JS> His Son Jesus Christ. As the Apostle Paul tells us in
 JS> several of his Epistles, Jesus performed His part of the
 JS> Divine Agreement when He made the Ultimate Sacrifice and
 JS> became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. It
 JS> is for this very reason, that He can now offer us the free
 JS> gift of Eternal Life:

 JS> "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
 JS> and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
 JS> cross."
 JS> (Philippians 2:8, KJV)

 JS> ". . . the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
 JS> our Lord."
 JS> (Romans 6:23b, KJV)

 JS> "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
 JS> yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any
 JS> man should boast."
 JS> (Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV)


I sure got a rise out of you. Is that all you got?

 JS> Despite this wonderful Arrangement and Opportunity, there is
 JS> a problem. While many people in the world already possess
 JS> their Redeemable Coupon, they don't believe that it is
 JS> really worth anything. In fact, they have accused the Issuer
 JS> of the Coupon of being a liar. They don't have the faith, or
 JS> the confidence, from the Greek word "hupostasis", to believe
 JS> that if they unconditionally accept what is written on the
 JS> Coupon, and present it when they make their next purchase,
 JS> that they will receive what has been freely offered to them.
 JS> It is for this very reason that the Issuer of this
 JS> particular Redeemable Coupon is very displeased with them.
 JS> Let me again remind you of a verse I shared in part one of
 JS> this series:

 JS> Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org
 JS> port 23
 JS> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

 JS> Your Download Center 4 Mac BBS Software & Christian Files.  We Use
 JS> Hermes II


 JS> --- Hermes Web Tosser 1.1

--- Thunderbird 2.0.0.21 (Macintosh/20090302)