HAVE YOU READ THE NEW SCRIPTURES YET?    PART 1

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Copyright 1994 - 2012 Endtime Prophecy Net

Authored By  : Bill Kochman (aka The WordWeaver)

Published On : March 30, 1998

Last Updated : January 3, 2009

Father David And The Family, The Apostle Paul, Man Worship,
Many Teachers But One In Christ, Book Of Mormon, The Urantia
Book, A False Gospel, The Roman Catholic Church's Authority,
Divine Inspiration Of The Scriptures, Private Interpretation
Philip Witnesses To The Ethiopian Eunuch



In my articles 'Elijah: Where Are The True Prophets Of God?:
Part One' and 'The Kings Of The North And The South: Part
Two', I mention the fact that in their early years, one of
the controversial practices of the organization known as The
Family, was to encourage their members to memorize a set of
Bible verses known as the 'David Set'. The primary purpose
for memorizing these verses, which are taken mostly from the
Old Testament, was to enforce the belief with group members,
that their now-deceased founder, David Brandt Berg, also
known variably as Moses David, Mo, and Father David, was
God's chosen prophet and one true voice for the Endtime. As
I explain in the second of the aforementioned articles, I
believe that the organization has totally misinterpreted
these verses of Scripture. Please refer to that article for
a list of the verses, as well as my explanation concerning
their proper interpretation.

However, it appears to me that one of Father David's primary
errors was the same as that committed by some of the other
self-proclaimed prophets, faith healers and preachers who
have stood in the limelight of American Christianity; and
that is that he allowed and encouraged his followers to set
him and his words on a pedestal. The practice of memorizing
the 'David Set' is one clear example of this; but it is not
the only one. Like certain other organizations, such as the
Mormons and the followers of the Urantia Book, members of
The Family believe that the writings of Father David, and
possibly those of his wife and successor, Maria, are new
Scriptures which supercede the Bible in certain instances.
This belief is particularly true in regards to some of the
writings of the Apostle Paul, quite possibly because some of
Paul's writings challenge some of the questionable doctrines
of The Family.

This belief in viewing the writings of Father David as
modern-day Scripture is held so strongly amongst members of
the group that, just as student radicals of the 1960's
memorized quotations taken from 'The Little Red Book'
written by former Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung, The Family
also encourages memorization of quotations taken from the
'Mo Letters' of Father David; and this practice began even
before the man's actual death in 1994! To aggrandize a man
after his decease is one thing, but to do so while he is
still alive through memorizing his words and making them
equal to the Bible almost defies belief. While the communist
ideology of Mao Tse Tong is far removed from the Christian
ideology of Father David, it is nevertheless the same
principle at work which causes people to memorize their
works; and that is the glorification of a man and his words.

At this point, someone might present the argument, 'Well,
don't we as modern-day Christians memorize the words of the
Prophets, and of Jesus Christ and of His Early Disciples?
Don't we memorize the words of the Apostle Paul as well?'.
While this is indeed true, I believe there is a marked
difference between these two practices, which I will explain
shortly. Personally, I can very easily imagine that had such
things occurred in Paul's day while he was still alive, upon
discovering it, he would have become quite upset, and
probably very embarrassed as well. On one hand, it is true
that the Apostle Paul did say:

"Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me."
(1 Corinthians 4:16)

However, if we look at other parts of Paul's Epistle, and
put his statements in their proper context, we see that he
was actually saying 'Follow me inasmuch as I follow Jesus
Christ.':

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ."
(1 Corinthians 11:1)

Paul wasn't telling anyone to follow him as a man. He was
telling them to recognize the Spirit of Christ working
through him. In his Epistle, Paul was rebuking certain
members of the congregation at Corinth because they had
taken their eyes off of the Lord, and had begun to argue
between themselves regarding who had been instructed by
which Earthly teacher. Paul emphasized that who they
identified as their Earthly teacher wasn't what was
important, but rather that they all belonged to Christ:

"For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and
walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another,
I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal? Who then is Paul, and
who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as
the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered;
but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that
planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that
giveth the increase...Therefore let no man glory in men. For
all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas,
or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or
things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and
Christ is God's." (1 Corinthians 3:3-7, 21-23)

While at times Paul was quite bold and forthright in some of
his comments, he absolutely refused to accept the praise or
worship of men. As I have explained before, in Acts chapter
fourteen, when the people of Lystra tried to declare him a
god along with his companion Barnabas, this is how they
reacted:

"Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they
rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of
like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should
turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made
heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are
therein:" (Acts 14:14-15)

In the Book of Acts, as well as in his Epistles, Paul was
quite candid about his own waywardness and former life as a
self-righteous Pharisee who persecuted the True Church. He
willingly admitted his own human weaknesses, and pointed to
and uplifted the Lord as the only way to Eternal Salvation.
Paul's overall view is clearly reflected in the following
verse he wrote to the Hebrews:

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of
the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

While it is certainly true that we memorize verses from the
Bible for our own edification, as well as to enlighten
others concerning the Truth of the Gospel, in my view, the
primary difference between this practice and the practice of
memorizing the writings of modern-day men of God, is that
the canon has been universally recognized as the inspired
Word of God within the Christian world. The same cannot be
said of the writings of Father David, of Joseph Smith, of
the communicators of the Urantia Book, or of any other
modern work which boasts of being equal to or superior to
the Bible. The Divine Inspiration of these other works has
only been accepted by a small minority, that is, by those
who actually belong to each of these groups. On the other
hand, in accordance with the Scriptures, the acceptance of
the canon has been universally established in the mouth of
many more than just two or three witnesses:

"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or
two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every
word may be established." (Matthew 18:16)

"This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of
two or three witnesses shall every word be established."
(2 Corinthians 13:1)

"Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two
or three witnesses." (1 Timothy 5:19)

"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or
three witnesses:" (Hebrews 10:28)

Concerning the Book of Mormon, as I mention in part two of
'A Biblical Cafeteria, Or The Whole Course?', I personally
view it as a complete fabrication of Joseph Smith's wild
imagination. His purported method of interpretation, that
is, by looking into his dark hat, has been a source of great
controversy for many years. Even amongst his early followers
there were a number of conflicting views regarding how and
when Mr. Smith received his revelations and interpretations.
Despite these apparent conflicts which occurred during the
development of the Mormon Church around the middle of the
nineteenth century, in the minds of modern-day Mormons, the
Book of Mormon is still considered to be sacred scripture.
In fact, it is so sacred to them that they place it above
the Authorized King James Bible. In their minds, the KJV is
a supplementary work to the imaginary ramblings of Joseph
Smith. They claim that the Bible is not the primary source
of the Word of God. Surely this is the epitome of deceit.

The origin of the Urantia Book is also doubtful and should
be called into question. According to the ardent supporters
of this blasphemous tome, it was received from higher level
spiritual entities during the early part of the twentieth
century I have discussed this in other articles such as
'The Urantia Book: A Dangerous New Age Doctrine', The
Urantia Book: An Attack On The Blood Atonement', and 'Noah's
Flood: The Urantia Book Exposed Again!'. The fact that the
Urantia Book totally denies and rejects the necessity of the
Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ clearly exposes its demonic
origin. Thus, while works such as the Book of Mormon and the
Urantia Book claim to present Biblical Truth in a new light,
for me personally, it is easy to recognize that they are no
such thing. As the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put
darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter
for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isaiah 5:20)

While the Book of Mormon and the Urantia Book are easy to
classify as works of darkness, the many writings of Father
David are not so easy to categorize. While this man espoused
some very radical and questional doctrines, an honest reader
must also admit that some of Father's David's writings are
indeed inspirational, and are either very Scripture-based,
or contain many direct quotes from the Bible; but then we
have the others which are very hard to accept as being
Divinely Inspired; and this is precisely the danger. As I
have expressed in other articles, just because a certain
person quotes the Scriptures does not necessarily mean that
he or his writings are inspired by God's Spirit; or that his
particular interpretation is the correct one. Sometimes we
misunderstand things due to simple human error. On other
occasions, it might be a result of demonic influence.

We would all do well to remember that Satan is also very
knowledgeable of the Scriptures; and he can use them to
deceive well-meaning people; even sincere Christians. We
have but to recall the events in Eden, and the Lord's
temptations following His forty days of fasting in the
wilderness. In the Garden of Eden, Satan said, 'Hath God
said?', and in Matthew chapter four he said '...it is
written...'. So, as the Apostle Paul warned the Corintians,
sometimes Satan can appear as an angel of light to the
unwary:

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an
angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Do these warnings apply to my writings as well? Of course
they do! I am not an infallible human being. Absolutely no
one is forced to accept my interpretation of the Scriptures.
In my articles I am simply sharing what I believe may be
true based upon my personal understanding of the Word after
many years of studying the Bible. I could be wrong about
some things, and I openly admit it. I am not like some of
these others who say 'Thus saith the Lord!' and then condemn
you if you don't agree with them. I normally stay away from
criticizing specific individuals unless I strongly feel that
they have gone astray to such a dangerous degree that they
are having a negative affect upon many others. Let us not
forget Peter's sober warning concerning those who wrest, or
twist, the true meaning of the Scriptures:

"As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these
things; in which are some things hard to be understood,
which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do
also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."
(2 Peter 3:16)

As I point out in other articles, the other Apostles were
also quick to warn the First Disciples to beware of false
doctrine creeping into the Early Church. Consider the
following sobering admonitions:

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh
preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye
receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or
another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well
bear with him." (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is
not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would
pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
(Galatians 1:6-8)

"If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:
For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil
deeds." (2 John 1:10-11)

In contrast to these workers of darkness, there have also
been many men of God over the past two thousand years who
have been moved by the Holy Spirit to write many wonderful
books, papers and treatises which are in agreement with the
Holy Scriptures. These works feed your soul. They motivate
you to follow the Lord. They inspire you to do good. They
defend many of the doctrines of the Bible. I truly hope that
some day some of my writings will be viewed as belonging to
this category. However, does this mean that all of these
other godly works should automatically be accepted as Holy
Scriptures as well?

In an indirect subtle way, the Roman Catholic Church seems
to hold the opinion that, yes, some of these writings should
be accepted as Scripture. I base this view on several facts.
First, millions of Catholics worldwide esteem the words of
the Pope as the voice of God on Earth. Second, it has long
been held as a tenet of Roman Catholic doctrine that the
'holy mother church' is the only religious body on Earth
with the spiritual authority to properly interpret the
Scriptures. This is clearly spelled out in older church
documents. To enforce this belief amongst their followers,
the Roman Catholic hierarchy will often quote the following
verse written by the Apostle Peter:

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of
any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20)

In their mind, 'private interpretation' refers to any person
outside of the Pope and his close associates who alone have
the Divine Authority to interpret the Scriptures. Through
the enforcement of this doctrine, Catholics have been taught
to not trust in their own judgment or leading of the Spirit
in understanding the Scriptures, but rather to trust solely
in the 'authoritative' interpretation of the Roman Catholic
Church. It is for this reason that when Roman Catholics
participate in Biblical discussions, they are more prone to
quote from one of their 'church fathers', which might be a
saint, a bishop, a cardinal or the Pope, than they are to
quote directly from the Prophets, or from Jesus, or from His
Disciples, or from the Apostle Paul. In other words, while
they don't openly say that the writings of these men are
Holy Scripture, through the very act of quoting them more
often than they do the actual Bible, they are in fact making
just such a claim.

To a certain degree, I can understand this approach to
studying the Scriptures. In the minds of sincere Catholics,
relying upon the works of their 'church fathers' acts as a
kind of safety net which prevents them from falling into
Biblical error; at least I believe that is the intention of
those who use this method; however, it is precisely because
of their limited knowledge of the actual Scriptures that
many Catholics have been led astray by those who rule over
them. Due to various reasons, the Catholic laity has placed
their faith more in the words of men, than in the actual
inspired Word of God. While the Roman Catholic hierarchy
applies the term 'private interpretation' to others, it is
quite apparent that it excludes itself; however, notice what
Peter said in full:

"Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of
any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old
time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets
also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers
among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon
themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their
pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be
evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with
feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of
a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth
not." (2 Peter 1:20-2:3)

The whole reason Peter issued this warning was because he
was concerned about false prophets and false teachers
creeping into the flock, just as we read in the verses I
shared earlier. This is a very legitimate concern. While
Peter and others were speaking primarily of the unbelieving
Jews of their day, these verses have their modern-day
counterpart, and it isn't just found in the flesh Jews!
Notice that one of the traits of these false teachers will
be that 'through covetousness shall they with feigned words
make merchandise of you'. While the Jews certainly control
the modern world of business and finance, they are not
alone. The Roman Catholic Church certainly has a worldwide
empire of wealth, much of which was obtained at the expense
of the poor of the world who feel obligated to tithe to the
'holy mother church'. Jesus accused the ancient Jews of the
very same thing when He said:

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye
devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer:
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
(Matthew 23:14)

Notice that under the guise of being religious and holy,
these Jewish leaders devoured widow's houses. Perhaps you
will recall the story of the widow's mite in which the poor
woman cast into the Jewish treasury all that she had, of her
very own need, while the rich Jews simply offered a small
portion of their abundance. The Lord seemed to imply that
this woman would receive the greater reward in the Kingdom
of Heaven:

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the
people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich
cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she
threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called
unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say
unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all
they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did
cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in
all that she had, even all her living." (Mark 12:41-44)

According to what I have read, in the Catholic country of
Spain, tithing to the Roman Catholic Church is actually a
part of the country's constitution. Some watchers of the RCC
claim that this may soon become a worldwide practice. In his
first Epistle to Timothy, Paul also mentions some of the
traits of these Endtime false apostles of Christ:

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times
some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats,
which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of
them which believe and know the truth." (1 Timothy 4:1-3)

In the previous verses, Peter and Paul describe a group of
men who, although they have forsaken the True Faith of the
Bible, will feign to be apostles of the Lord. These usurpers
will control a worldwide financial empire, and will place
certain restrictions on marriage, and on the eating of meat.
In my view, this perfectly describes the modern Roman
Catholic practice of celibacy, and the tradition of not
eating meat during the Lent season. In short, while on one
hand the Roman Catholic Church teaches that the Scriptures
are of no private interpretation, on the other, they are
guilty of this very thing themselves! In the strictest sense
of the word, not only have they falsely interpreted the
Scriptures for their vast worldwide following, but they have
also written new scriptures, or church laws and doctrines,
which totally contradict the writings and teachings of the
Original Writers; all for the sole purpose of maintaining
power over the hearts and minds of the laity.

Frankly, I am quite happy with the Original Scriptures. They
are all that we need. There is more in the Holy Bible than I
could ever hope to understand in one lifetime; and believe
me, I am trying my best to do exactly that. In his second
Epistle to Timothy, just as Peter had done, the Apostle Paul
also clearly tells us that the Bible is the inspired Word of
God:

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16)

Paul is clearly telling Timothy that the Scriptures are
inspired of God. He then tells him that they are to teach us
doctrine; they are to reprove and correct us when we stray
from the ways of the Lord; and they are to teach us the way
of Salvation, that is, 'instruction in righteousness'. After
all, the only way to achieve true Righteousness is through
admitting our own sinful condition, then understanding God's
Plan of Salvation, and finally accepting that Salvation
through the Sacrifice of His Son. That is the only
Righteousness there is:

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"
(Titus 3:5)

All of the things which Paul described for Timothy can be
achieved throught a personal direct reading of the Holy
Scriptures without having to rely upon any self-proclaimed
prophet of God, without spending a lot of money on all of
these tapes, books and videos published by so-called learned
theologians and scholars, and without the need for a rich
and powerful religious body like the Roman Catholic Church.
This being the case, why do Roman Catholics go to their
'church fathers' instead of straight to the Word of God for
their spiritual enlightenment? Do they believe that their
'church fathers' have more of the Spirit than those who
actually met and lived with Jesus Christ? Now, I will admit
that when we are all young in the faith, we need someone who
is more spiritually mature than ourselves to explain things
to us. I am reminded of the story of Philip and the
Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of Acts:

"And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise,
and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from
Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went:
and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority
under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of
all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the
prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join
thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and
heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest
thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some
man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would
come up and sit with him." (Acts 8:26-31)

Once Philip had explained to him that Isaiah was writing
about the sufferings of Christ in the fifty-third chapter of
his book, the Ethiopian man was gladly baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus. Having accomplished his task, to the
eunuch's amazement, Philip was suddenly whisked away by the
Spirit and was later found at Azotus. Exactly what these
verses mean delves into a lot of interesting speculation:

And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of
the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no
more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found
at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the
cities, till he came to Caesarea." (Acts 8:39-40)

Sadly, what occurred on that wonderful day almost two
thousand years ago, and what we have in the world today are
two very distinct situations. The eunuch had the blessing of
being taught directly by one of Jesus' very own Disciples.
Philip had sat at the feet of the Master and obtained the
straight pure unadulterated Truth from Him. Philip and the
other Apostles were then able to take that Truth directly to
the masses during their lifetimes. However, beginning the
very day that Jesus was resurrected from the dead, the Jews
had already begun their dirty work of perverting the Truth
of the Gospel message:

"Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came
into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the
things that were done. And when they were assembled with the
elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto
the soldiers, Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night,
and stole him away while we slept. And if this come to the
governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you. So
they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this
saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day."
(Matthew 28:11-15)

Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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