THE OTHER SIDE OF FUNDAMENTALISM

HYPER-FUNDAMENTALISM

Books by Perry Demopoulos

Missionary MaterialEternal Security

All Scripture quotations are from the text of the Authorized King James Version of the Bible.

By Perry DemopoulosTh.M.

NOTE: The author of this book believes that the Authorized Version of the King James Bible (1611) is perfect without any proven error. As the days go by, (and if the Lord does not come back soon) the AV (Authorized Version) will play an increasingly, extremely important role. It is rather obvious to the average person the increase of interest in the English language world-wide. The fact is, the God of absolute truth is the God of history. The historical facts concerning the means in which God’s word prepared and preserved for man are as follows: Twice before God used one language by which to have his word available from which to translate into other languages. First, He used the originals and the true copies of the Hebrew manuscripts by which to judge all translation work (using a world power-Israel to spread his word). The surrounding nations would have had to come to that nation to know what God said. Secondly, approximately four hundred years before and during the time of our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostles, the international language was Greek. God used a world power-Greece and a world leader, Alexander (Dan.8:2; 10:20; 11:2) to spread that language. The originals were written in common "koine" Greek, and by them and the true copies of the originals (which by the way nobody has today) were all other manuscripts and translations judged. Thirdly, with the foreknowledge of repeating history (Ecc. 1:9), approximately four hundred years before the Lord’s Second Coming, (1611 A.D.), God had foreseen and planned that the international language was going to be English. Therefore he would preserve and prepare His absolute and final authority in the text of the Authorized Version of the King James Bible.

SOME FACTS

Now before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ the international language is English, (God, having used a world power-England “The Queen of the Seas”). You cannot deny that historical fact. You cannot also deny the fact that God already foresaw this. Therefore to settle all matters of absolute truth God would have had to preserve His word, word perfect. The English language is the seventh major language in the history of man, (No.7 is the number of perfection in the Bible) which was also foreseen by God according to Psalm 12:6, 7. The languages are: 1. Hebrew - Spread by the world power - Israel. 2. Syrian - Spread by the Syrians. 3. Aramaic

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4. Greek – Greece was a world power under Alexander. 5. Latin – The dominance of the Roman Catholic Church in the Dark Ages. 6. German – Luther’s Bible was the basis of the Reformation. 7. English - England was named “Queen of the Seas.” The Authorized Version is the crowning work of translations, which God has used by which to judge all other translating work before the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. God, having already foreseen this, would have had to have a version in that language that would be the international standard. It is called the AUTHORIZED VERSION, because;

1. It has AUTHORITY. A king also has authority. Jesus Christ is the “King” (Matt. 27:37; Rev. 19:16).

2. It has power. King James had power during his reign. Jesus Christ has power.

3. The Bible speaks of a king that has authority and power and his words cannot be questioned (Ecc.8:4).

4. The king’s reign is a monarchy. That is the same kind of reign that was during Solomon’s time; as also King James and also will be the kind of government in the Millennium under the reign of Jesus Christ.

God is the Author of Numerology

5. In the Authorized Version the ninth book of the New Testament is Galatians. The number nine is the number for fruit bearing in the Bible. In the ninth book of the New Testament is listed the “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal.5:22, 23).

6. Abraham was 99 when he had Isaac. 7. Isaiah 27:9, notice verse NINE, is dealing with the FRUIT of

Israel. 8. In the English language King James has nine letters to it.

K I N G J A M E S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

9. The Hebrew name for James is Jacob, a Biblical name. God chose a man with a Hebrew name to give the authority for the translators to do their work.10. In the English language the book of Galatians has nine letters to

it.11. 1+6+1+1=9

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12. Just as there was approximately 400 silent years after Malachi until the First Coming of Christ to prepare the world with the international language of Greek so there is approximately 400 years after the King James Bible was translated, to prepare the world in the international language of English.

13. Revelation 3:7-13 speaks of the Philadelphian Church which historically is the time of the Reformation from about 1500 – 1900 A.D. It was the greatest period in the history of the Church of worldwide missions. Some of the greatest missionaries came from England after translation of the King James Bible.

These are internal proofs, external proofs, numerical proofs, historical and prophetical proofs and especially Biblical proofs of God’s work (Job 36:24). The Devil on the other hand, knowing the importance of final authority would do much harm by causing confusion as to what God really said, where He said it, and in the context in which He said it. There is an international conspiracy against absolute truth for the reason that Satan may have his perverted "bible(s)" on the market for the entire world to agree upon. That is where many bibles have their problems in one place or another where they line up with the Alexandrian manuscripts. On the other hand, God's perfect sword (Heb.4:12; Eph. 6:17) that is being used around the world as an absolute standard for other bible interpreting among Bible-believers these last days, is the Authorized Version of King James 1611. This is a matter of FACT to any one of our students that have studied manuscript evidence in our Institute concerning this matter of absolute truth and Bible translations. Secondly we will not have to go to ANY Greek manuscripts to prove our point on these matters of Eternal Security. One of the “escapes” of the modern apostate Christians is to go to the “originals” (which nobody has, for the originals do not exist) when confronted with a text that crosses his predetermined beliefs about the subject at hand. The unfortunate practice today is that students are being produced in almost all of the Christian Universities, Colleges, Seminaries and Institutes that use the Greek language (and more so corrupt Greek manuscripts; such as the “Septuagint” which was produced AFTER the New Testament canon was ALREADY complete and not before) to try to justify their particular heresies. This is common practice today. It is a blasphemous, but successful work of Satan in the Conservative circles of Christianity (including many Baptists here in the United States and abroad along with

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Interdenominational, Charismatic, and other churches. They spend a lot of money for so-called “new” (Acts 17:21) and “better” translations, based on Nestle-Aland’s Greek, perverted text. It is a worldwide conspiracy to lead the body of Christ under the umbrella of the WHORE of the Roman Catholic Church (Rev.17), in matters of Bible translations and manuscript evidence among other things. Here is a short list of some of the organizations that are helping the devil concerning propagating versions that are from corrupt manuscripts:

1.) Home World Bible League South Holland, IL. / Kiev (Ukraine)

2.) Ukrainian Bible Society Ukraine, 252190, Kiev-190

3.) The British and Foreign Bible Society SWINDON, SN5 7DG 4.) World Bible Translation Centre Fort Worth, TX. 76182

U.S.A.5.) Slavic Gospel Press (SPG) Wheaten, IL. 60189

U.S.A

There are many other Christian apostate organizations that are printing texts that are directly from the perverted Nestle’s Greek text whose roots are from Alexandria, Africa. That text is sold in almost all of the modern Christian bookstores and is the same text that students in Seminary use to overthrow “the faith,” Biblical truth.

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CONTENTS

Preface ……………………………………………………………….p. 8

Chapter OneA “FUNDAMENTAL” PROBLEM………………………………….p. 9The “Fundamentals” “Standards” and “Separation” …………………p. 10The Faith………………………………………………………………p.11

Chapter TwoTHE DOCTRINES OF THE MODERN CHURCH MOVEMENT……………………….p.15

Chapter ThreeBIBLICAL INTERPRETATION……………………………………..p.17What is a Dispensation………………………………………………..p.18

Chapter Four“RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH” (2 Tim. 2:15)…. p.22

Chapter FiveAPOSTASY OF LAODICEA…………………………………………p.25

Chapter Six“APPROVED OF GOD”………………………………………………p.30

Chapter SevenSAUL AND HIS “PHILOSOPHY OF THE “MINISTRY”…………..p.31

Chapter EightTHE IMPORTANCE OF GOD’S HOLY WORD…………………….p.35

CONCLUSION………………………………………………………...p.37

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Preface

Today there are a number of Fundamentalists that have ranted and raved about defending the fundamentals standing for militant fundamentalism against the Neo-Evangelicals and other modern movements (Charismatics, Pentecostals, etc.), but at the same time have denied the Biblical interpretation of the scriptures from a dispensational standpoint. For the sake of church growth there are a great many well known preachers, pastors and teachers among Fundamentalists that have adopted a pragmatic approach and “philosophy” (Col. 2:8) to the Holy Bible. “The end” for the most part is church growth, using “standards” as one of many bones of contention while at the same time the “standard” and “fundamentals” (if you will) concerning the approach to a Biblical interpretation of the Scriptures from a dispensational standpoint is subordinate,

“ignored when perceived as a deterrent or secondary to such growth.”

(“OUTCOME-BASED RELIGION: Purpose, Apostasy, and the New Paradigm church” Mac Dominick)

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely THAT LITTLE POINT which the WORLD and the DEVIL are at THAT MOMENT ATTACKING, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.” Martin Luther

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Chapter One

A “FUNDAMENTAL” PROBLEM

In the Book of Colossians Paul gives the warning “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8). Don’t you find it rather interesting that this warning is written in the very same Book that mentions LAODICEA five times? (2:1; 4:13; 4:15; and 4:16 (twice). And since we are in the late stages of the Laodicean period of the Church Age don’t you think that we should take heed to such a warning? Usually when you hear about the Laodicean church people go to the Book of Revelation (3:14-22). There you’ll find the condition of the Laodicean church, “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot” (Rev. 3:15). But we need to get to the root of the problem which explains the fruit of such condition. The root of the matter lies in the Book of Colossians-JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT HAVE THE PRE-EMINENCE! Rather “philosophy” has found its way into the King James “camp,” the philosophy of pragmatism concerning the matters of church growth. Pragmatism basically means, do whatever it takes if it works to get the “end” results that you want; the end justifies the means; if it “works,” then do it at any cost. There is one fundamental problem with this kind of approach which can be illustrated by a Charlie Brown comic strip- Charlie Brown is shown shooting arrows. When an arrow that he shot hit the wall he would then walk up to the wall where the arrow hit and draw a circle around the arrow and would say, “Bullseye!” Lucy, standing by says, “Charlie Brown, that’s not the way you’re supposed to do it. You’re supposed to draw a circle on the wall first, and then stand back and try to shoot the arrow in the circle.” Charlie Brown’s illustration of the philosophy of “the end justifies the means” explains perfectly the approach to the church growth movement of today with a great many ministers. For the sake of big churches and church growth, i.e., numbers, they will cut corners by not preaching all the counsel

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of God. They emphasize soul-winning, “standards, coming to church and tithing, at the expense of “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). There are ministers that have denied the COMMAND to teach what the apostle Paul had spoken of concerning dispensations. Others have even preached against dispensations. This same line of thought has been written by Mac Dominick in his book OUTCOME-BASED RELIGION, which states-

“Dogmatic teaching of doctrine and theology could also be perceived as a hindrance to church growth simply because “doctrine divides.”

As a matter of fact the doctrine of dispensations has very much to do with divisions in the Bible concerning certain revelation given to saints throughout the history of man. If a Fundamentalist does not properly handle the scriptures as prescribed in 2 Timothy 2:15 he will not be able to properly exegete a great many passages that are quite difficult to interpret without making certain divisions, which we will discuss later. For fear of becoming a “deeper lifer” and other reasons, a number of Fundamentalists have turned from teaching what the Bible says concerning dispensations and have swung way to the opposite side from the Hyper-Dispensationalist who also takes an extreme position but way opposite from the Fundamentalist who denies dispensations. You’re not to throw out dispensations for the sake of a trying to build a big church, church growth and soul-winning. That would be a wrong reaction. They are both necessary and proper to keep-

1.) Sound doctrine by “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15) making proper exegesis from a dispensational standpoint. That is necessary for the apostle Paul makes mention of the word “dispensation” four times in his epistles. Now that is what many Fundamentalists will avoid like the plague, which they ought not.

2.) Practice, i.e., witnessing, or soul-winning as the Bible most certainly often speaks of for, “…he that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30). “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:23) along with many other verses. That’s clear!

THE “FUNDAMENTALS” “STANDARDS” and “SEPARATION”

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One of the biggest outcries of the second half of the twentieth century in Christianity was the movement among independent Baptists and their stand for “the Fundamentals” “standards” and “separation.” The onslaught of New Evangelicalism was sweeping professing Christians in America and others around the world down the steady slope of apostasy. Because of the drug culture, the long-hair movement of the hippies, the degradation of dress, the rock scene and other shocking waves that hit America during the 50’s and 60’s, the reaction of those that stood for the Fundamentals and “standards” was an attempt to bring America back to the God of the Bible that she once seemingly professed to have. There were campaigns such as “save America” spearheaded by many Fundamentalists, such as John R. Rice, who was the editor of the Sword of the Lord, Jack Hyles of the First Baptist Church of Hammond Indiana and the Hyles-Anderson College, Lee Robertson of Highland Park Baptist Church and Tennessee Temple University and many others that stood for the Fundamentals of the faith. The stand that these men and many others along with them was “the Fundamentals.” These fundamentals can be listed as such:

1.) The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2.) The inerrancy of scripture. 3.) The literal and physical death, burial and resurrection of the Lord

Jesus Christ. 4.) The literal, physical and pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus

Christ. 5.) The literal one-thousand year reign of the Lord Jesus Christ on this

earth in Jerusalem on the throne of David.

“THE FAITH”

Now before we get into the more unknown fundamentals of the faith, it would be appropriate to make mention of what “the faith” is.

The term “the faith” is mentioned in the King James Bible 43 times in 42 verses only in the New Testament. Definition: “The faith” is a body of revealed truth. It is also that faith of Jesus Christ,

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

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“Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). See also Rom. 1:5; 2 Cor. 13:5; Col. 1:23; 2:7; Tit. 1:13).

“…it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 3). “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith” (Acts 6:7).

“But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith” (Acts 13:8).

Again, as you can see that “the faith” is a body of revealed truth. It is the revelation of God that is WRITTEN from which men from the time of the apostles until now can preach.

Now getting back to the five points listed above concerning the fundamentals of the faith, these are noble doctrines that the Christian should stand for, but for the sake of the big church movement that swept this country, many professing Fundamentalists have turned aside from some of the “unknown” “fundamentals” and “standards” and “separation” which God Himself according to His word has neither left nor forgotten. It would be well for every believer to take hold of the following “standards,” “separation” and the “fundamentals of ‘the faith” that have become increasingly “unknown” these last days of the Laodicean period of the Church Age.

What the “fundamentals of the faith” have been and always will be are not just the five “fundamentals” listed above (which is believed by a wide spectrum of professing Christians) but something else that makes a clear demarcation between true Bible-believers and many of the modern Hyper-Fundamentalists. This list will most certainly prove to be true for time and eternity.

1.) The fact that God has preserved His word, word perfect and infallible in the international language of English in the Authorized Version of

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the King James Bible (Psa. 12:6,7). That is a fundamental of the faith. As a matter of fact since it is the word of God it is literally “the faith.”

2.) The method of Biblical interpretation as the Holy Ghost and the word of God bear witness to should be and is according to Isaiah 28:10, 13; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:15. It is absolutely a fundamental of “the faith” for a man to obey the command to “study” the word of God and learn how to rightly divide it, (2 Tim. 215) which implies learning the different dispensations from cover to cover. The covenants are also a fundamental of the faith. Therefore they deserve our attention and proper exegesis.

3.) Further concerning Biblical interpretation “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20). That means that “interpretations belong to God” (Gen. 40:8). Again 2 Timothy 2:15 will play a major role in interpretation of the scriptures.

4.) Studying (2 Tim. 2:15) and searching the scriptures to know what is “so” (Acts 17:11) should not be made subservient to “hyper soul-winning activities.

5.) The heart attitude toward the Authorized Version of the King James Bible is one of a contrite spirit. “…but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” That is a fundamental of the faith.

The above five points are the fundamentals of “the faith” that is, sound Biblical doctrine of the body of revealed truth, SCRIPTURE. Now whether you believe them or not is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that these “standards” are from “the faith of God” (Rom. 3:3). Now if you are to believe in them, then they will work effectually in you according to First Thessalonians 2:13. Then you will be a partaker, doctrinally and practically of the faith of the Son of God.

“For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” (Rom.3:3). “And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.”

Dr. Ruckman writes, “The faith by which the man believed on the Name (vs. 16) was given to him by the One in Whom his faith was placed.”

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This goes along with Galatians 2:20 and Ephesians 2:8, 9.

When a Christian matures to the point of understanding dispensations and covenants (which are both very rarely preached these days) that does not mean that he rejects the milk of the word concerning witnessing, soul-winning, passing out tracts, being concerned about missions and other practical aspects of the Christian life and virtue. Any accusation by many of our beloved Fundamentalist brethren concerning those that seek a proper interpretation from a dispensational standpoint are all “deeper lifers” and have no burden for souls that are dying and going to hell is simply missing the point and is false accusation (2 Tim. 3:3). The fact of the matter is there are a great number of pastors, preachers, teachers of the word of God, missionaries on the foreign field, and also laymen who are quite active in soul-winning and visitation, street preaching, passing out of tracts and witnessing for the Lord Jesus Christ because they are simply obedient to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19, 20). A lot of them simply are not motivated by contests for earthly rewards, nor by worldly methods to try to keep a quota of conversions. They, on the contrary have an understanding that the “philosophy” (Col. 2:8) of pragmatism (the end justifies the means) is not striving lawfully as the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully” (2 Tim. 2:5). A pragmatist is one that teaches that the end justifies the means. Again it must be emphasized that a true servant of God who is practical in his Christianity is going to try to “go” to sinners and try to win souls (Prov. 11:30). Also, as the Lord leads, and as the opportunity offers, he’ll try to persuade the unsaved sinner to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. But the fine line is between those that are really being lead of the Holy Spirit and those that are simply fleshly in their approach, looking for a quick “decision.” The latter is all too often the case among the “hyper-soul-winners.” [Concerning the “hyper” soul-winners, see the Book “For His Pleasure” by Dr. Samuel Gipp]. In our discussion at hand, a modern-day pragmatist in the body of Christ would be one that will cut corners of virtue, Biblical doctrine and practice at any cost so as to have more people come to his church or so as to broaden his influence and be accepted among the brethren and do all of this in the name of a “burden.” In other words you hold back that one Biblical truth that is going against your “philosophy” (a word often used among

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Fundamentalists) for the approval of men and your personal gain, thinking that “gain” i.e., a bigger church, a broader influence and a more acceptable ministry, “is godliness.” Nothing of the kind! That was neither the intention nor “the end” of the ministries of Enoch, Noah, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John the Baptist, Peter, Paul, James, Jude and John etc.

Chapter Two

THE DOCTRINES OF THE MODERN CHURCH MOVEMENT

If we were to take for example the doctrine of Eternal Security, it should be taught from a dispensational standpoint because without it, even the Fundamentalists will fall and have fallen into grave error. Many have either preached or written that:

1.) Old Testament saints were Christians. 2.) Everybody is saved the same way in the Old Testament as in the New

Testament. 3.) Old Testament saints looked forward to the cross while those in the

New Testament look back to the cross. 4.) Get away from any man, or his books (if he has written any) and or if

he has been married more that one time, especially if he has ‘called their (the Fundamentalists’) hand’ concerning interpretation and their approach to the Book (the Bible) in matters of faith and practice.

5.) And of course as mentioned earlier many go so far as to knock and preach against dispensations.

One of the reasons why many Fundamentalists believe they are right is because their main concern is, “How many have you got in your church?” The numbers game plays a major role as to the “end” of their Christianity. That is, if you’ve got a larger church, then you are better off. The thought behind this movement is, “If it is a big church then it has got to be right.” Now that is the thinking behind the big church movement. Any sound Christian will be concerned about more people getting saved and coming to a Bible-believing church BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF SOUND INTERPRETATION. For God Himself says that if a man is to be “approved unto God,” he is to “study…rightly dividing the word of truth,” (2 Tim. 2:15). That means that if he does not study the word of God

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with a sound attitude from a dispensational standpoint, “rightly dividing the word of truth,” then at that point he is NOT approved of God; plain and simple. Because of this all important issue of Eternal Security and other doctrine from a dispensational viewpoint it has been a “bone of contention” so much that now many of our beloved Hyper-Fundamentalists have begun calling themselves “Bible-believers” because they use a King James Bible and also for the sake of avoiding any confrontation concerning that word “dispensation” as if it were some kind of cuss word. It has been the practice of many of them to ridicule and preach against any practice and teaching of dispensationalism, even while they’ve had access to Scofield’s reference notes in their own Bibles, which explain dispensationalism somewhat. Also, the modern versions of the Bible that have torn apart 2 Timothy 2:15 express the approach and practice (concerning Biblical interpretation) of a great many modern Fundamentalists who have a King James Bible from which they preach but “hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). By that I mean while preaching from the King James text they will deny and will not preach or teach any sort of any dispensationalism, (which 2 Timothy defines) as we mentioned previously for fear and becoming a “deeper lifer,” and for fear of what Hyper-Dispensationalism has created. All three cases then are a result of “hyper-reaction” rather than a proper attitude to the truth. Thus we can make the following conclusion;

1.) A real “deeper lifer” has no active practical life of soul-winning, street preaching, visitation and passing out of tracts. At this point many of our Fundamentalist friends for some reason have wrongly mixed up the “deeper-lifer” crowd of the New Evangelicals and/ or others with the true King James Bible-believers that are not only active in soul-winning, street-preaching, witnessing and missions but are also dispensational.

2.) Hyper-Dispensationalism is what it is; Hyper, for this is a group that wrongly divides the word of truth and has fallen into grave error doctrinally concerning water baptism, confession of sins and Calvinism, and practically their churches are dead. Their position is an extreme opposite one from the Hyper-Fundamentalist.

3.) Hyper-Fundamentalist is a Fundamentalist who won’t divide the

word of truth. His church attendance, outward apparel, soul-winning and tithing is far more important to him than a proper exegesis of the

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word of God based on 2 Tim. 2:15. His reaction causes him take an extreme position by denying a dispensational stand. Two extremes!

A true Bible believer will be active in his concern about souls getting saved and growing but acknowledging also the fact that there is more to the word of God than the milk of the word, (1 Cor. 3:1-4; Heb. 5:11-14). An understanding of dispensations and rightly dividing the word of God is most certainly sound Biblical and necessary teaching for proper interpretation of the scriptures to know what is so (Acts 17:11). He allows the Holy Spirit to be his interpreter of the scriptures.

Chapter ThreeBIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

Do not interpretations belong to God?

That question is recorded in the Book of Genesis chapter forty and verse eight. The answer to the above question obviously is “yes” without a doubt. And yet the Lord gave the interpretation to Joseph so that he would tell the interpretation to Pharaoh. “And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you.”

Daniel was another man in the Old Testament who could interpret what God said. “And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom” (Dan. 5:16). The New Testament practice is as the Old Testament practice concerning interpretations. God, by the Holy Spirit has interpreted the Holy Bible. As many a ministers have said that the best commentary on the Bible is the Bible itself. The Lord then gives the divine method of proper interpretation so that we would “interpret.” His divine method is

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1.) COMPARING -This is explained in 1 Corinthians 2:12, 13 “Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” The application of this verse would be comparing the words of the Bible in one place while comparing them with another word or words in another portion of scripture in another place of the Bible. Thus, the word of God will comment on itself. God Himself within His own words can give you the proper interpretation of the scriptures. The Holy Ghost teaches a contrite heart (Isa.66:2) His own words, defines His own terms by “comparing spiritual things” (His words) “with spiritual” (His own words).

2.) REPETITION and CONTEXT - This is explained in Isaiah 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:” Here the application would be as many have said, “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” God will repeat Himself many times concerning a word or words or a portion of a verse, the whole verse or even a certain passage. This is for emphasis. Many times he will give something by piecemeal, i.e., “here a little, and there a little.” God may give certain revelation concerning something and then supplement that revelation with additional revelation in another place.

3.) CONTRAST – This is explained in 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Contrast is synonymous with divisions, covenants, Testaments (plural), dispensations, “ages” (plural), etc.

WHAT IS A DISPENSATION?

You will find that Scofield makes the attempt to define what a dispensation is. Here is the note: "Dispensation -is a period of time during which man is tested in respect of obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God. Seven such dispensations are distinguished in Scripture."

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We purposely underlined part of Scofield's definition to show you where he put the emphasis; on a period of time. The Holy Spirit is much more definite concerning the meaning of dispensation. Let’s proceed! The Scriptures mention “dispensation” only four times in the entire Bible. “What saith the scripture? 1 Corinthians 9:17

“For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.”

Here a dispensation means, "a giving out," "a dispensing of," "a distribution of something." In Paul's case where he says, “a dispensation of the Gospel is committed to me;” he is talking about his accountability and obligations and faithfulness to the revelation that God gave (dispensed) to him, God making him willing and able to do it. You see, it was Paul whom was first given the revelation by God of NEW Testament salvation. But wait a minute. He wasn't saved until Acts 9. What was going on in Acts 2 for example, when Peter preached at Pentecost? He certainly did not preach the Gospel mentioned in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. They certainly were not told to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” Peter didn't know to preach such a message. Nobody had the revelation of God's purpose and plan of salvation by grace through faith only until Paul told it to others later on. Although it was in effect when Christ did on the cross, nobody actually preached a clear message of salvation by grace without the deeds of the law until the Eunuch of Acts 8. Amazing how he had partial knowledge, and it was enough for the man to get saved by simply believing the finished work of Christ on the cross, but the new economy, and revelation, obligations to it were given to Paul. That is why we have the Epistles of Paul. And that is why many of our brethren cannot get beyond the law (Charismatics, Pentecostals, etc.). They always try to keep a brother under the law somehow. That is, they are not listening to Paul. They do not want to receive God's plan for this age, nor be faithful to the obligations of it. Eternal Security of the believer is a major doctrine, which is inseparable to the Gospel. Let’s go to the next verse.

Ephesians 1:10

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“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:”

In this verse a dispensation has to do with God's plan and purpose of the “ages” (Eph.2:7; 3:5; Col.1:26) and the culmination of “all things” because the verse says, “of the fulness of times.” Now without going into a long explanation of the verse we will simply say that it is dealing with a future event of which Peter had spoken of (Acts 3:21). It's dealing actually when “all things” i.e., God's dealings, designs, dispensations etc., culminate. God has determined that the Lord Jesus Christ will be the capstone of these plans. When eternity begins (Rev.21-22), the Lamb will be the centre of attraction (Rev.21:23); and those saved from different time periods; Old Testament, the Church Age, the Tribulation, and the Millennium will gather around Him. Until that event takes place the different time periods must be kept DISTINCT, from one another. That is what a great many pastors, preachers and teachers are NOT doing. Now the third mention of “dispensation:”

Ephesians 3:2 “If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:” Here we see that the dispensation is grace that was given to Paul. Now the grace that was given to Paul enabled him to understand something. “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,” (v.3). speaking of the "...mystery of Christ)" (v.3), which was not known before, “Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;” The mystery was “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:” (v.6). Here a dispensation is explained as God's PLAN or METHOD and Him giving, or "dispensing," or "revealing" this mystery to Paul, which He gave during a particular time. The application would be that just like the Pharisees that met with the apostles at the Jerusalem Council (watch out for that word "council"). They would not accept the official theological, doctrinal, statement by Paul (Acts 15:1-11) that salvation is an instantaneous work of God in the heart of the

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believer by grace through faith without any works of the law. See also Acts 13:39. And lastly the fourth mention of “dispensation:”

Colossians 1:25 “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”

Again God had given to Paul the revelation of a particular “mystery” (v.27), “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:” Which means that although the Holy Spirit was in Old Testament saints (Gen.41:38), they did not have Jesus Christ dwelling inside them. (See 1 Pet.1:11) A dispensation then is a DISTINGUISHABLE revelation that is administered, (dispensed) during different time periods. It is a dispensing of God's revelation to man for us to understand these DISTINCTIONS. A dispensation is a divine economy, which denotes such an authority and administration as is used in a family. The church (the body of Christ) is the “house of God” (1 Tim.3:15) or “household of faith” (Gal.6:10). God is the householder or master of the family; Christ is the Son over his own house; ministers are "stewards" in it (1 Cor.4: 2). That is why it is important and necessary to rightly divide the word of truth because of these distinctions outlined throughout the whole Bible. For Christians to deny that there are different distinctions of revelation during differing times in the Bible (as Hyper-Fundamentalists do) is to deny God's “wisdom” (Eph.1:8) and “grace” (Eph.3:2); it shows a lack of spiritual character to see and fulfill God's “purpose” (Acts 26:16; Rom. 8:28; Eph 1:9, 11; 3:11; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 John 3:8) and plan for the “ages” (Eph 2:7; 3:5; 3:21 Col 1:26) AND THUS RETARDS HIS OWN SPIRITUAL GROWTH. Having considered what a dispensation is, it would be proper then to define what a Bible-believing dispensationalist is; He is one that-

1.) Believes every word in the Authorized Version as it stands within its context such as “dispensation.” He believes comparing scripture with scripture (1 Cor. 2:13), repetition of precept upon precept (Isa. 28:10-13), and contrast by “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

2.) His practice will be to depend upon the Holy Spirit for the proper interpretation (Gen. 40:8; Dan. 5:16) in matters of “covenants,”

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“ages,” and “dispensation” in light of 2 Timothy 2:15. He will be honest in his exegesis and not add to the words of the King James Text when it is not written nor will he deny, take away, make light of or preach against any part of the scriptures that any of the authors of the Bible had written especially concerning our subject at hand, DISPENSATIONS.

Chapter Four

“RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH” (2 Tim. 2:15)

Unfortunately, one of the most important verses that has been destroyed by the translation committees of many versions, and or almost ALL of them is 2 Timothy 2:15. As it stands in the Authorized Version 1611 it reads this way:

“Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

This is one of the key verses in the entire Bible on how to study the Bible. It was the verse that hung over the pulpit in the auditorium of Moody Bible Institute (founded by the great evangelist 1837-1899, Chicago), until the Institute went apostate, rejecting the AV as their final authority. Now they are using multiple versions, which say nothing about “rightly dividing the word for truth.” It was also the verse that Billy Sunday (famous evangelist of America during the first half of the 20th century) used to sign His checks with. That is, people before took it for what it said. The word to God is to be divided. For any blind fool can see that things are not being divided, as God would have it. Integration is "in." i.e., integrated, "bibles," integrated people, integrated marriages, integrated schools, integrated Testaments, etc. What we are dealing with is a worldwide conspiracy to have EVERYTHING leavened, but not divided. God Himself is a "Divider" (Gen.1:4, 7; 10:5, 32; Ex.14:21, etc.). Again let's make note of this all-important subject of DIVISION in the Bible;

There are divisions. Things that are different are not equal.

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Dr. Peter S. Ruckman makes the following observations concerning divisions in the Bible-

(1) No Old Testament saint was “born again”; none “chosen in Christ” before or after salvation. None of them were spiritually circumcised (Col.2:8-11), adopted eternally into the family of God and none of them were “adopted” as literal SONS. For lack of this understanding many take verses like Ezekiel 18:24, (as a matter of fact the whole chapter) and apply to a Christian. He overlooks the finished work of Christ on Calvary and overthrows the whole system of Bible interpretation of New Testament salvation. (2) Faith and WORKS are part of Tribulation salvation and Millennial salvation...." (3) No one receives the Holy Spirit by water baptism after Acts 2:38 as many believe today especially the cultic Church of Christ, along with the Catholic, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Mormon, and many other churches. “(4) Old Testament saints had the Holy Spirit IN them as well as on them (Exod. 31:3; Isa.63:11; 1 Pet.1:11), and He could even leave them (Ps. 51:11; Judg.16:20), which is IMPOSSIBLE to the church age believer. (5) Eternal salvation is by grace through faith-APART FROM GOOD WORKS OF ANY KIND TO BE SAVED OR EVEN STAY SAVED was the official declaration by Paul at the Council of Jerusalem, (who “was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles” 2 Cor.11:5), and by the Holy Ghost (Acts 15:23, 26, 28), (6) The Rapture is not the Advent. The Jew is not the Gentile. The Church is not the Jew. The Church is not the "true Israel." The Spiritual Jew has not done away with the literal Jews. The Kingdom of Heaven is most certainly not The Kingdom of God. The new birth is not found in a "sacrament." The covenant God made with Noah is not the covenant God made with Moses. The covenant God made with David is not the covenant made with Adam. The covenant with the “house of Judah” is not the Gospel that Paul preached in Acts 13, 14, 16, and 20. (7) The fruit of not dividing has been among the Baptists teachings that the born-again believer can lose his salvation, ecumenicism with the Pentecostals, and the World Council of Christian Churches, setting up centralization of offerings; (Southern Baptists, Baptist Union, etc), praying for world peace, not seeing the difference of taking up arms ("Alternative life-style"), according to Romans 13:1-6 and murder with malice.

Finally we will quote Arthur Pink, (1886-1952), another expositor of the Bible who saw the importance of Bible interpretation, for he says;

"Thus the chief and constant duty of the preacher is to conform unto that injunction, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing me word of truth" (2 Tim.2:15). IN THE WHOLE OF SCRIPTURE THERE IS NO EXORTATION ADDRESSED

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TO PREACHERS WHICH IS OF GREATER IMPORTANCE THAN THAT ONE, AND FEW EQUAL."

Isn't that something how people will cut a loaf of bread every day and Christians cannot understand that the word of God is likened unto bread (Deut.8:3; Matt.4:4; Isa.55:10) that is divided by the knife (Heb.4:12) according to its own directions (2 Tim.2:15). You see, the Bible is very plain in its illustrations for us to understand what to do with it. So then, for us to understand the word of God better we must seek God's help and His Guidance to lead us to do EXACTLY what he told us to do-DIVIDE THE WORD OF TRUTH. The holy scriptures are not so much a systematic treatise on Theology, History, Science or any other topic, (although the Bible is the “key of knowledge” Luke 11:52); Biology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Astronomy, Anthropology, etc., as they are a REVELATION from God of His Plan and Purpose in the Ages as to the earth and the human race. There is a progress of revelation and doctrine in it. The Judges knew more than the Patriarchs, the Prophets than the Judges, and the Apostles than the Prophets. While the Bible was written FOR all classes of people, and FOR our learning, it is not addressed to all people in general. Part of it is addressed to the JEWS, part to the GENTILES, and part to the CHURCH. These three constitute the "Three Classes" into which humanity is divided; “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God” (1 Cor. 10:32). It follows therefore that while the whole Bible was written for the instruction of the Church, it is not all written about the Church. The Old Testament is mostly taken up with the history of one nation, that of Israel. When we take the Old Testament promises and apply them to the Church we rob the Jew of that which is exclusively his. For illustration, the prophecy of Isaiah in the chapter headings of many bibles is largely applied to the Church, whereas the very first verse declares that it is-“concerning JUDAH and JERUSALEM” (Isa. 1:1). In the New Testament the Epistles of Hebrews and James are Jewish. The Epistle of James is addressed, not to the Church, but to the “TWELVE TRIBES scattered abroad” (James 1:1). In the Epistle to the Hebrews many Christians stumble at the words “fall away” (Heb. 6:4-6), and “if we sin willfully...there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins...” (Heb. 10:26). But these words do not apply to Christians. They were spoken to apostate Jewish professors of Christianity who had never been born again, and who, if they did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, practically crucified Him again, and were as bad as their brethren who did crucify Him. There is a great

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possibility that it was written BEFORE the Apostle Paul was saved (Acts 9) and received the revelation for the body of Christ (Eph.3:1-6). When Stephen preached to the nation Israel, he said he saw “...the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). And since the nation Israel rejected their Messiah (Acts 7) AFTER the body of Christ already started, the “last days” of HEBREWS (1:2) are postponed for more than approximately 1950 years, so that after the body of Christ is raptured (1 Thess.4:16-18) the book of Hebrews would play a major role to Hebrews (not Christians) in the Tribulation. May it be clearly understood that that does not mean we throw out the Books from Hebrews to Revelation, ABSOLUTELY NOT! What it does mean is if any word, scripture or passage of scripture from Genesis to Revelation agrees with what the apostle Paul had written to the CHURCH (1 Cor. 10:32), then we take it as our doctrine, but if any word, scripture or passage from Genesis to Revelation DOES NOT agree with what Paul wrote to the CHURCH then it belongs doctrinally to someone else in a different period. It’s that simple. That is the only way you are going to reconcile many verses in the Bible, especially in such Books as the Gospels, Acts, Hebrews, James, Revelation, etc., let alone the Old Testament. ALL Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction, (2 Tim. 3:16), and what happened to Israel was written for our ENSAMPLE and ADMONITION, (1 Cor. 10:11), but we must not apply to the Church what does not belong to it. To do so is to misapply scripture and lead to confusion.

Chapter Five

APOSTASY OF LAODICEA

Remember that apostasy always starts within the Body of Christ where members begin to use the worlds approach to the word of God by either doubting it or rejecting truth therein (Gen. 3:1). A great Bible preacher and teacher said, “It’s dangerous when you get too big.” When you get too big you’ve got more bills to pay and then you’ve got to maintain some kind of image so therefore you start cutting corners to maintain a tithing crowd to pay the bills. The temptation is receiving something very POSTIVE, i.e., more members by not preaching “all the counsel of God,”

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(Acts 20:27) which at times is quite NEGATIVE, and DIVIDING is negative. The word of God is to be divided. For any blind fool can see that things are not being divided as God would have it. Integration is “in,” i.e., integrated “bibles,” integrated people, integrated marriages, integrated schools, etc. What we are dealing with is a world wide conspiracy to have EVERYTHING leavened, but not divided. God Himself is a “Divider” Gen.1:4, 7; 10:5, 32; Ex.14:21, etc. Apostasy does not begin with unsaved sinners. It starts with those who know the truth and then turn from it. This then is the process of the sin of omission where the Bible is preached but with the absence of certain Biblical truths, and then this absence is passed on to other generations and students. That is what the Devil did, (Is.14:12-14). He knew the truth but rebelled. Adam and Eve knew the truth also but rebelled. And in the Church Age the apostasy starts in the body of Christ. The Bible says there would be a “falling away” (2 Thess.2:3; Tim.3:1).

The Sin of Omission

The first sin that was committed by man was when Eve omitted from the “text” i.e., what God said. “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:16, 17).

God told Adam that he could “FREELY eat” of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when Satan approached Eve, he tempted her by casting doubt as to what GOD SAID, “Yea, hath God said...” Her answer reveals something very important. She misquotes what God said. She OMITTED just one word, “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:” (Gen. 3:2). She left out “FREELY.” What a revelation as to what would happen after that. Millions of sinners have gone to hell because of the sin of omission, they would NOT receive the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, although they did many “good” things in their lifetime such as received baptism, went to church, sat in Sunday School, etc. You see, it is DISASTER when a man is only a hearer of the word and not a DOER. And in our discussion of Hyper-Fundamentalism, there are a great many of saints that are caught up on “the fundamentals” hiding behind soul-winning, tithing,

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church attendance and “standards” while at the same time knock, or neglect or OMIT in their preaching and teaching THE ONLY COMMANDMENT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CONCERNING “STUDY” and to be “approved unto God” is by “RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH.” Now isn’t that amazing that the ONLY time the word “STUDY” is mentioned (outside of 1 Tim. 4:11 which has to do with being quiet) in Holy writ has to do with RIGHTLY DIVIDING???

SATAN’S APPROACH

Now here is something else that is quite mind blowing. Let’s go just a little further as to WHY Eve misquotes God’s word? Of course she had heart problem, and Adam’s problem was the same (Jer. 17:9) but what was it that tricked her??? Note Satan’s approach, his first word was “YEAH.” He was very POSITIVE in his approach to trip her. That is exactly what a modern preacher will do for the sake of his own ministry-emphasize the positive and keep back the negative. Ah yes, DIVIDING is negative. Rightly dividing is a COMMAND FROM GOD ALMIGHTY. The command is negative but it is also quite sound and healthy to practice. You may have noticed that Charismatics, Pentecostals, New-Evangelicals, etc., who do not rightly divide the word of truth suffer terribly spiritually because of a lack of sound Biblical understanding.

The examples of how apostasy started in the body of Christ are listed below. Each and every one of these example are obvious to see to any discerning eye, but the last one, the fourth one is probably the most subtle of all today. That point is basically our discussion at hand, the OMISSION OF BIBLICAL TRUTH. Let’s look at each of the four ways that apostasy begins.

1. When Christians begin to use heathen vocabulary that comes from heathen universities.

For example; “The Greek says...” “The Septuagint says…” “In the original, the word is…”

(1) Ignatius, although a martyr, uses not the Bible term, but used the word, “Catholic,” which is a term borrowed from the Greek literary culturists of 300 B.C. i.e. Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates etc. He would say “Catholic faith” instead of “Biblical faith.”

(2) Polycarp, when asked to recant his beliefs while burning at the stake, he denied it and said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him and He has done me no wrong, how can I speak evil of my king who has saved me.” He

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considered the Church as the “mother of us all.” Or “the faith is the mother of us all.” That is exactly what a Roman Catholic would want to hear.

EVERY NON-SCRIPTURAL HERESY TAUGHT BY THE ROMAN-CATHOLIC CHURCH IS BASED ON THE WRITING OF A CHURCH FATHER.

2. When the Christian, pre-millennial, soul-winning, “godly,” born-again fundamentalist, alters the word of God to defend it.

(2) Origen changed the Bible to impress the heathen philosophers how true the Bible was; Almost all “Christians” Colleges. Once you begin to correct the Bible in order to defend it you are telling the world that you are the judge and the Book is under your judgment, and you control the Book, and are able to sit in judgment on the Book. That is how to convince the heathen the Book is not the final authority.

3. When Christians do not receive the Old Testament literally. Augustine did not. The priests did not. They used the Septuagint in many places.

The apocrypha, “LXX,” Nestle’s text, and all the modern versions are considered the word of God by many in the body of Christ.

You see the problem is THEIR OLD NATURE REFUSED TO SUBMIT

ITSELF TO THE WORD OF GOD WHERE IT DEALT WITH TERMINOLGY, ORGANIZATION, THEOLOGY, AND DOCTRINE.

When dealing with the men who apostasize we must understand that although the motive was not bad, the Devil messed them up just as he messed up Eve. See Gen. 3:1-6. Every reason that Eve had for REJECTING the word of God was for a ‘good’ reason. After all, the Devil said, “Yeah hath God said...” Did He not give her a good motive?

1. “your eyes will be opened.” 2. “You shall be as gods knowing know good and evil”

If the devil wants to overthrow the word of God, He will always appeal to a man who is a good godly dedicated man to do it.

Therefore we come to the conclusion that the apostasy started when MARTYRS WHO DIED FOR JESUS CHRIST WERE MORE AUTHOITATIVE THAN THE WORD OF GOD, SO AS TO TRUST WHAT THE MARTYRS SAY INSTEAD OF WHAT GOD SAID.

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4. When pre-millennial, soul-winning, “godly,” born-again Fundamentalists do not preach “all the counsel of God” and doctrine such as dispensations and rightly dividing the word of truth.

The fourth way that apostasy begins and which is by far the most subtle today is

when a man claims to be a Fundamentalist and believes he has the word of God (the King James Version of the Bible) preaches from that text but does two things:

A. He uses worldly methods to gain his crowd (a pragmatist). B. He will reject or neglect the command by not preaching nor teaching what

God says concerning dispensations. He will shun preaching all the counsel of God. It was the apostle Paul that said, “For I have not shunned to declare unto you ALL the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

What does God think about those that reject or omit words from His Book? Here is your answer. “And if any man shall take away from the WORDS of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book” (Rev. 22:19).

Of course a true believer cannot lose his salvation in the Church Age but a saint in the Tribulation or Millennium CAN. Revelation 22:19 is not dealing doctrinally with a Church Age saint but it shows the severity of God’s judgment when men mess with His words.

Well you might say that your preacher or you are preaching from the King James Bible. That’s good but have you taught your congregation about 2 Timothy 2:15 and what dispensations are? THAT IS THE KEY OF THE WHOLE BIBLE OPENING UP. Of course it is the work of the Holy Spirit to enlighten a brother to the truth that lies therein (John 16:13). Have you taught what the covenants are? And what’s the difference between Old Testament salvation and Church Age salvation? And what’s the difference between Tribulation salvation and Millennial salvation? Are you expounding verses that contradict each other? And why they contradict? And what significance do dispensations have, having been written in the Holy Bible four times in the Pauline Epistles? Dispensations and 2 Timothy 2:15 are the wisdom of understanding the differences of verses that the Holy Spirit has written; otherwise the minister is left blinded to such revelation and sound Biblical doctrine. Many battles have been fought, sadly to say within the Body of Christ, but nevertheless for a good cause, for the inspired apostle wrote: “For there must be

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also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you” (1 Cor. 11:19).

Chapter Six

“APPROVED OF GOD”

It would be quite appropriate to learn from the Holy Scriptures whom the Lord approves. Here is a list comparing scripture with scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13) where the Holy Spirit makes mention of those whom God approves. Make very careful note of this all-important subject for it is that which will divide the men from the boys or shall we say the Bible-believer from the modern big church growth mentality Hyper-Fundamentalists. Whom does the Lord approve?

1.) Jesus Christ. “Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:” (Acts 2:22).

Application: No man is approved before God unless God Himself is doing what He wants with that man and through that man. Since interpretations belong to God (Gen. 40:8) and “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Pet. 1:20), any minister of the word of God is supposed to allow the scriptures to give him the proper interpretation by the God-given method (i.e., Isa. 28:10; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:15; dispensations, and covenants, etc.).

2.) One who can expose heresy “For there must be also heresies

among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.” (1 Cor. 11:19).

Application: Concerning our subject at hand, Hyper-Fundamentalism, a Christian that understands that the spirit behind the big church growth movement and the “hyper-soul-winners” at the expense of “rightly dividing the word of truth” would be one that is approved of God. He will reprove, rebuke and exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine, preaching and teaching “all the counsel of God” will strive LAWULLY” (2 Tim. 2:5) and won’t cut corners just to “get in” with the big boys of “Hyper-

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Fundamentalism” unless he has the liberty to preach in their churches as the Book says.

3.) A man whom the Lord commends and not one who commends himself or whom others approve, “For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth” (2 Cor. 10:18).

Application: In other words quality is far more important than quantity. A man that boasts that he has the “world’s largest church” is not to be commended because for the sake of that principle then the Pope could easily boast that he has the worlds largest church. He most certainly has never been commended of the Lord. A Fundamentalist that boasts of his achievements in such Christian papers or other magazines circulating among the Christian world is most certainly NOT to be commended.

4.) Those who obey the command to “study” and “rightly [divide] the word of truth” (2 Tim.2:15).

Application: When a Christian learns that God has most certainly made specific divisions and dispensations of His revelation during different periods of time, that man is approved of God. If a minister preaches, teaches or practices that there are no dispensations and does NOT rightly divide the word of truth at that point is simply NOT approved of God.

What a blessing of the unsearchable riches of the King James text.

Chapter Seven

SAUL AND HIS “PHILOSOPHY” OF THE “MINISTRY”

After Saul had been chosen king (1 Sam. 9) he was anointed by Samuel (chapt. 10). Saul was given specific orders to go down before Samuel to Gilgal and to wait for him a full seven days. There Samuel would “offer burnt-offerings, and to sacrifice sacrifices of peace-offerings: seven days shalt thou tarry, till I come to thee, and shew thee what thou shalt do” (1 Sam. 10:8). When you get to chapter

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thirteen the Bible says that Saul didn’t wait for Samuel. He intruded into the priest’s office. “And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him. And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass, that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might salute him” (1 Sam. 13:8-10). Notice that Saul took it upon himself to do as he saw fit instead of listening to the command of Samuel. If that isn’t enough not only did he sin, but he “went out to meet him (Samuel) that he might salute him,” (v. 10) as if he did nothing wrong. Oh, of course he had some kind of explanation for what he did, “And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Michmash; Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering” (vvs. 11-12).

Notice how Saul uses the first person singular “I” five times just as Satan uses that in Isaiah 14:12-14, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High”

He’s on an ego “trip.” Note the clincher, the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BIBLE-BELIEVING PREACHER WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT THE WORD OF THE LORD AND SOME CHEAP OPPORTUNIST WHO THOUGHT HIS “MINISTRY” WAS MORE IMPORTANT.

And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast NOT KEPT THE COMMANDMENT OF THE LORD thy God, which he COMMANDED thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.” But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD COMMANDED thee.

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After a rebuke like that you’d think that this guy would get his act together. But what does he do instead?-

“And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men.

Now do you get the point? He is stuck on numbers. No repentance, no remorse, no understanding, no humility, etc. He could care less about what the Book says where it crosses his ministry. Now that is the danger of our modern age where the “philosophy” of pragmatism which we are warned against (Col. 2:8) becomes the priority. Where the word of God gives the COMMAND to study…and rightly divide the word of truth that becomes subservient to “soul-winning,” numbers and “results” bigger buildings, etc. Saul was looking out for himself and his ministry as you will further see. In Chapter fourteen of First Samuel you will witness again the arrogance of Saul. During the heat of the battle, Jonathan along with his armourbearer slew many of the Philistines (v. 13). It caused a reaction among the Israelites to regain their courage to fight (vvs. 19-22). In verse 23 we read, “So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Bethaven.” But there was not a shout of victory among the soldiers but rather distress,

“And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food” (v. 24).

What do others say concerning his action?

“Saul's severe order was very unwise; if it gained time, it lost strength for the pursuit. Such is the nature of our bodies, that daily work cannot be done without daily bread, which therefore our Father in heaven graciously gives. Saul was turning aside from God, and now he begins to build altars, being then most zealous, as many are, for the form of godliness when he was denying the power of it.” (Matthew Henry)

“Such was his hypocrisy and arrogancy, that he thought to attribute to his policy that which God had given by the hand of Jonathan.” (Geneva Bible Notes)

Because of the great feat of his own son he then gained confidence to build his own altar

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“And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.” (v. 35).

“Saul seems to have thought he had sufficient authority to erect one himself, without the prophet, as he had once offered sacrifice without him” (1 Sam. 7:9, 17). (Treasury of Scripture Knowledge)

What was the result of all this? Would the Lord speak to him?

“And Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us draw near hither unto God. And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day”

Unknowingly, Saul begins to ‘spin his wheels.’ Because of his self-opportunist, pragmatic attitude God gives him less and less light. Saul takes it upon himself to do as he pleases and make a show of his power and ministry while the Lord begins to manifest Himself less and less to Saul. And yet the Lord was still using him and was yet merciful toward him.

The next time where Saul is to “hearken…unto the voice of the words of the LORD” is in First Samuel chapter fifteen. “Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass” (v. 3). Now that is what God SAID. But what did Saul do?

“But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

What was God’s attitude toward Saul’s “ministry?”

“Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,

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It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night” (1 Sam. 15:10, 11).

But of course Saul would try to justify his ministry-

“And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.” (v. 13).

He thought his ministry was more important than the word of God. But how did God look at that?

“And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better thansacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejectedthee from being king” (vvs. 22, 23).

Despite the fact that Saul was told again that he had “rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD [had] rejected [him] from being king over Israel” (v. 26), he couldn’t humble himself to the point to acknowledge his pride. Even after Samuel mentioned to him that the LORD had rent the kingdom of Israel from him and hadgiven it to a neighbour that was better than him, (v. 28), Saul, although he said, “Ihave sinned” he was still looking for honour, “yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD they God” (v. 30). And finally, Samuel fulfils the word of God by hacking off Agag’s head “before

the Lord…” Nothing like going for the ‘jugular vein.’

Chapter Eight

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOD’S HOLY WORD

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD that proceedeth out of the mouth of GOD” (Matt. 4:4).

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God has magnified His word (the written word and not just the originals but copies and translations of those originals) above all his name, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name” (Psa. 138:2). Can you imagine that? He puts His word above His very name. There are many names of God; Jehovah, Almighty, LORD, Father, Holy, The Most High God, God of Peace, etc. No matter what name is given to God, He Himself inspired David to write that His word is above all His Name. This fact is hard for even believers to understand but “let God be true, but every man a liar…” (Rom. 3:4).

THE REAL BATTLEGROUND- “YEA, HATH GOD SAID…?”

Since the written word of God is the battleground where Satan is going to attack then it is perfectly understandable why the very first words spoken to man by Satan recorded in the Bible were, “Yea, hath God said...?” (Gen. 3:1). His desire is to make a liar out of God and deceive the whole world (Rev.12:9). Unfortunately, his deception is great, by using even Christians to promote his words and not God’s through manuscript corruption and the false bibles. These “bibles” are only the symptoms of a disease that was contracted years ago through corrupt manuscripts upon which the false readings of many “bibles” are based. This problem is a world wide conspiracy against absolute truth. But let it also be know that there is something even more subtle than that concerning Satan’s attack and that is he would have ministers of the New Testament keep quiet about some absolute truth. And that one absolute truth has to do with DIVISIONS. God Himself is a divider. The word “division or “divided” “dividing” is written throughout the Old and New Testaments, Josh.19:49; Is. 63:12; Luke 12:51; 1Cor. 12:11; Heb.4:12, etc. let alone 2 Timothy 2:15. So while the Hyper-Fundamentalists preach about “separation” and the “fundamentals” and “standards” they have been deceived into thinking that “rightly dividing the word of truth” as written in their King James Bibles is to be overlooked and not taught. At that point they have not separated themselves from the onslaught of apostasy today but have rather joined hands with the apostates who refuse to “rightly divide the word of truth.” If the Lord tarries, only time will tell the end of such apostasy among Hyper-Fundamentalists and their rejection of Biblical truth concerning dispensations and a proper, Biblical approach to 2 Timothy 2:15.

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FAIR WARNING

The last straw among Hyper-Fundamentalists concerning the big church movement and their ‘big days,’ promotions, “results,” etc., will eventually ‘give way’ to the ever increasing winds of deceit. The sin of omission and neglecting the command to study the word of God by rightly dividing the word of truth are obvious to the discerning eye.

“The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”

The winds are picking up. The tornadoes are increasing, storms are increasing around the world, earthquakes are increasing, and natural disasters are increasing. The Lord compared that to the signs of the times of a wicked and adulteress generation that seeks after a sign. In a spiritual sense there is the “wind” of the philosophy (Col. 2:8) of pragmatism (the end justifies the means) and the “fundamentals” at the expense of a command given by the apostle Paul for us to “STUDY” to be “approved unto God…rightly dividing the word of truth.” He also told those in Ephesus, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Eph. 4:14). “For I have not shunned to DECLARE unto you all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

CONCLUSION

Where do you stand??? Lastly, one of the greatest preachers and evangelists this world has ever seen, Billy Sunday, was a professional baseball player. He gave up that career for the ministry. He often signed his name with the verse reference 2 Timothy 2:15 right next to it.

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May that be a reminder today in this late stage of the Laodicean Period of the Church Age not to neglect the purpose and practice of a COMMAND for the sake of a pragmatic philosophical method of a modern church growth movement of “hyper” soul-winning. In this case the other side of Fundamentalism would be Hyper-Fundamentalism.

“If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the WORLD AND THE DEVIL ARE AT THAT MOMENT ATTACKING, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ.”

Martin Luther

Perry DemopoulosE-mail: pdkjv1611@gmaill.com

kjv1611@i.com.uaTRANS-UKRAINIAN EVANGELISTIC “REACH”

(2 Cor. 10:13, 14)For further material by this author see-

Website: http://www.harvestukraine.org/books

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