In The Beginning...

In the beginning, God set up a few rules...nothing difficult...just guidelines to preserve the Garden of Eden and humankinds virtue. However, Satan had a plan of his own and he used man's weakness to exploit his intentions. This weakness was the very same weakness that got him thrown out of heaven...a desire to be God-like. It appears that the Devil became the prince of this world when he led man (Adam and Eve) to sins against God and thus brought the ruler of earth under his domination (Genesis 1:26:3:1-6; John 12:31; Colossians 1:13; Acts 26:18). Thus was the beginning of man's long ordeal with original sin.

It wasn't until the Son of God, Jesus Christ, came to earth and died on the cross for the propitiation of our sins that we realized a way out of sin...or, should I say...a way in...to heaven. "That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." (Hebrews 2:18) We are given the ability to overcome our sinful nature by accepting that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, is our Savior, and is the only means by which we can enter into Heaven or have a conversation with The Father. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." (John 11:25) "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:5–6) "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of
the whole world." (1 John 2:2)

Now we have a new standard to live and die by and remember, the scriptures are the inerrant and inspired word of God that have withstood thousands of years of debate and distortion. I have copied (with permission) the basic teachings of the Holy Bible and God's spoken Truth. Do not "...get caught up in the numbers game of six, seven, or eight teachings. The numbers and the fact they all begin with the letter "S" are to make it easier to read and remember. You can rest your eternal soul, spirit, and body upon the truth revealed in the scriptures." (By Jack Hook, Babylon The Great Is Falling)

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(1) Son of God

The fundamental doctrines of Christ begin with the truth of the trinity or one God in three persons, Father, Word (Son), and Holy Spirit. The Jewish prophet, Isaiah, saw the person of the Son and said unto a rebellious Israel..."For unto us a child is born (in Bethlehem), unto us a Son is given (in Jerusalem), and the government shall be upon his shoulder" (on Earth during the millennial kingdom)..., Isaiah 9:6. Daniel spoke of the same Son and his mission when he said the Messiah would be "cut off" or given for the people of Israel, Daniel 9:26.

The apostle John's very first words given to him by the Holy Spirit, as he described this Son who the small remnant of Israel was looking for, were..."In the beginning was the Word (Son), and the Word (Son) was with God (Father), and the Word (Son) was God. The same was in the beginning with God (Father)...and the Word (Son) was made flesh, and dwelt among us", John 1:1-2,14. When the Word or Son came to this Earth through the virgin birth of Mary, God and man were forever linked in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus, the eternal Word and Son, said to the Father..."a body thou hast prepared me", Hebrews 10:5. God the Word (Son) was now wearing the fleshly body of a man, yet without sin as all others possessed from the fall of Adam and Eve.

Many who read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John become confused by false teachers who deny that Jesus was God, the second member of the eternal Godhead. They will cut and paste the words of Jesus out of context to prove their point. When you read the words of Jesus written in the four gospels he seems to be talking to his followers one time as the Son of Man, like when he says..."the Father is greater than I". These false teachers will use this verse to say Jesus was only a man. But they quickly forget that another time Jesus says.."before Abraham was, I am", which identifies the Word (Son) of God inside the body of the Lord doing the speaking, for Jesus the man had not yet been born when Abraham lived. Remember, the Lord Jesus was both a man and God and could speak from either position or nature. We must know also that the triune Godhead had planned before the worlds were created for the Word to also become the Son, which John so clearly alluded to in his gospel account.

(2) Satan's Rebellion

The next thing we must understand is the fall of Lucifer, who was created as one of God's archangels, Isaiah 14:12-14. He was created with a pure and perfect heart, just as Adam and Eve much later in time. Both angels and men were created to live forever like their creator. God created multiple millions, some say billions, of other angels that administered the Kingdom of God that flourished throughout the universe. Everything was filled with love, light, and life that worshipped the triune Godhead. According to Ezekiel's account of Lucifer's rebellion, he was perfect in his ways until the day sin was found in him. For pride filled his heart as he desired to not only be a creation of God, but attain the place and position of being God himself, Ezekiel 28:11-19. He managed to convince one-third of all the angels to join him in this attempt to be like God, Revelation 12:3-4. He now became known as Satan.

Luke records the Lord Jesus himself declaring how he was there when God banished Lucifer and his rebellious friends from Heaven..."I beheld Satan as lightning fall from Heaven", Luke 10:18. That statement confirms the truth that Jesus was both the eternal God and a man in perfect flesh when he spoke those words to his disciples. The light and life that filled the universe through the hearts of holy angels was now cursed with the darkness by the fall of Lucifer and his friends The apostle John plots the course of this vital and foundational teaching of Lucifer/Satan's fall in the Revelation with the glorious and ultimate political-religious defeat of Satan and the fallen angels.

(3) Sin Nature

When Adam and Eve fell into rebellion against God through the crafty lies of Satan, all future generations were now under a curse. Satan now had dominion over humanity, and ultimately the various nations or kingdoms that would arise from a divided world after the flood of Noah's day, including America. Satan even offered the nations to Jesus if he would worship him as God, Luke 4:5-8.

We all inherited the sin nature of Adam and Eve which consists of many elements and characteristics, all flowing from the self-exalting pride of this life (militant national patriotism a manifestation), and the love of self and money, 1 John 2:16. It consumes and controls our entire tri-part being comprised of body, soul, and spirit. This nature of pride within us all was the root cause of Esau's (Edomites) hatred toward Israel just as the Old Testament prophet Obadiah declared..."the pride of your heart (spirit) has deceived you", Obadiah 3. The Islamic neighbors of Israel today are no different than their Edomite ancestors, as they are totally consumed by their desire to destroy the Jewish people.

(4) Sacrifice of Blood

According to the scriptures, this evil sin nature can only be removed by the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. This removal is likened unto the circumcision of a male child, but this one is of our heart or spirit wherein dwells the control room of our entire being. Hebrews 9:22 says it plainly..."without shedding of blood is no remission (of sin)," It is that simple my friends We have no power or ability within ourselves to remove the dominance this nature has over our entire being. All we can do is come to the bloody cross of Israel's Messiah. This sacrificial death on the cross to pay for our sins, to offer us mercy and forgiveness is why he came from Heaven in the first place. How can anyone not love him and unashamedly proclaim his name for what he did?

The scriptures teach that Jesus came once to die in the end of the ages, appearing unto man to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, Hebrews 9:26. But properly understanding the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ must include the truth of his glorious bodily resurrection. As Paul taught the Corinthians, if Jesus did not rise bodily from the dead then he is not our Savior and Lord, and we are yet in our sins, 1 Corinthian 15. This resurrection truth must be included with the cross to be the cornerstone of our faith. They are inseparable.

The next two foundational doctrines describe the part we must play in order to be freed from the sin nature within us, but as I just said, the sacrificial death and glorious bodily resurrection of our Lord which our brothers, Peter, James, and John, witnessed first hand and so testified before a doubting world, remains the heart and soul of the gospel message.

(5) Sorrow

This might shock some of you, but it is not enough to just give mental assent to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The fallen angels and their leader, Satan, do this every day. They know this all happened, they saw it with their very own eyes, they were there. You must take this knowledge and apply it to your own life. His death is your death and his resurrection is your resurrection and freedom from the sin nature, like Paul taught in Romans 6-8. This application of Godly knowledge then becomes wisdom, and wisdom changes our lives. But you might be asking, what does it mean...his death is my death? Great question!

First of all, we must humbly confess from our hearts that we are indeed sinners before a holy and majestic God, and rightfully deserve to be judged and sent to an eternal Hell in the Lake of Fire. At the same time we must do what Paul taught the Corinthians, when he told them Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation, 2 Corinthians 7:10. This sorrow can only come when we realize that all of our sins are not just against other people, but against God. Our sins are the very nails that punctured the skin of the Son of God when evil men crucified him over two-thousand years ago. I was one of those evil men and still am in my carnal flesh! We were all there in a spiritual sense, my friends, and all of us stand guilty before him. After thirty plus years of knowing this fundamental truth about myself and the bloody cross of our Savior, I continue to stand in awe of the incredible love the Son of God has toward all men, in that while we were yet sinners and his enemies, he died for us.

Sorrow of a Godly kind instinctively produces repentance and must be included when placing or applying our God-given faith upon the person of Jesus Christ and his teachings. Then his death becomes the death of your old life as a practicing sinner. For the Lord Jesus teaches us that if we repent and put our trust and faith in him he will freely give us "the gift" that brings salvation. Regrettably, many in Christendom today want a free gift of salvation "only" to escape being thrown into the Lake of Fire, when the truth is our Lord gives this free gift to save us from our sin nature and the fallen angels who stir it up to do their bidding.

Many are traveling upon a dark and wide religious road leading to an eternal Hell, while at the same time thinking they have Jesus as Savior, when he is not the Lord of their lives. I was once one of them before becoming an atheist after my experiences in the Vietnam war. I was a believer in name only, even having the name "Protestant" engraved on my Army dog tags. Like all false believers, I had no desire to understand the spiritual components of my sin nature which poured out of me naturally, let alone be free from its power. In fact, I didn't think for a second I was a false believer, and would look down on anyone who would even suggest such a thing. After all, I was serving God and country, just like other Christian Americans have since 1776.

So just what is this free gift that we "receive by faith" when Godly sorrow has worked repentance within our hearts?

(6) Salvation

Salvation is not a reality in our lives unless we believe the Word of God when he says the Holy Spirit will enter into our bodies instantly upon our true Godly repentance and expression of faith in the bloody cross and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. As Peter cried out to his Jewish audience on the Day of Pentecost..."Therefore, let all of the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom "ye have crucified", both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were "pricked" in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit", Acts 2:36-38. Do you see how this Jewish audience was told they killed the Messiah? How did they respond when their hearts were pricked or convicted by the Holy Spirit using the mouth and words of Peter?

You can clearly see now that the ultimate free gift of God is not just escaping the Lake of Fire, but receiving the Holy Spirit, the third member of the triune Godhead. He is a person, God himself, who enters into our sinful bodies, washes away the sin nature controlling our heart or spirit, and recreates a new heart now surrounded by the Holy Spirit. Our bodies and old minds have yet to be saved and contain the remnants of the sin nature that tempt us, but the dominant power of sin was located in our spirit or heart. This evil nature has been crucified on the cross and our new heart lives in the love, life, and teachings of Jesus Christ while our minds are renewed daily waiting for the final salvation or glorification of our sinful bodies on the day of resurrection. This what Paul meant when he cried out..."Christ in you the hope of glory", Colossians 1:20-29

But false Christian teachers inspired by fallen angels have always twisted or redefined this indwelling miracle in order to keep men trapped in the self-exaltation of themselves (self-love, self-image, self-esteem) that comes naturally from the religious pride of our sin nature. Men like Robert Schuller, Bennie Hinn, Joel Osteen, and their friends on television, have redefined the elements of the sin nature and are trumpeting "another" Holy Spirit that is deceiving millions in Christendom. There is only one true Holy Spirit and Paul said to the Christians in Rome if any man has not this Spirit of Christ, he is not yet saved and part of the Body of Christ, Romans 8:9.

The fallen angels that guide false teachers, like Schuller, hate the truth of the bloody cross and will do anything they can to keep men from the power of the cross that produces Godly sorrow and true repentance. Moreover, these unseen haters of God do not want anyone to understand the spiritual components of our sin nature, and the power of the Lord's blood to wash it away.

Know this my friends, when a man has the true Spirit of God within him he will not contradict or re-interpret these fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ. Neither will the true Spirit condone any notion that in any way suggests we can have Jesus as our Savior, but not the Lord of our daily lives. Like I said, there are many false Christians who want only to escape Hell, but not the sin that sends us there. Remember this, he will not be our Savior from Hell if we have no desire for him to be our Lord to give us his power to walk in his commandments no matter what the cost. This indwelling of God within us is the power that also brings a great love for all people, including the worst of our enemies, whereby we can then obey the two greatest commandments of God, loving him and our neighbors. All other commandments hang upon these two, just as Jesus said.

Paul wrote to his friend, Titus, instructing him to remind the followers of Jesus, now being seduced by false Christian teachers, that we were saved not by offering our own good works unto God that he might then forgive us. Men who teach these things only keep men in the carnal pleasures of their sin nature, while convincing their followers they have the innate ability within themselves to please God by good deeds or works. Paul was astonished at how these false teachers would twist the Word of God around trying to convince people they needed to do good works in themselves before God would forgive and save them. He carefully told Titus..."Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Spirit", Titus 3:5. Both Peter and Paul understood and taught this fundamental teaching of regeneration or being born again in one's heart, and the work of the Holy Spirit in renewing our minds with the teachings of Jesus.

(7) Second Coming

The cross and resurrection are inseparable teachings, as I wrote earlier. There is one more doctrine that must be connected to them in order to have complete understanding of the gospel message. And that is the doctrine of the physical and pre-millennial second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to establish his rule and reign from Jerusalem over the nations for one-thousand years, Revelation 19-20. If any of these three teachings are redefined or omitted from the proclamation of the gospel, confusion will rule in the hearts of those who profess to be Christians, the followers of Jesus Christ. If this confusion or distortion is not corrected the gospel proclaimed by these deceived brethren then becomes as Paul said to the Corinthians and Galatians, "another" gospel preaching "another" Jesus.

Do you now believe that he is alive, risen from the dead, and your sin nature has been washed away by his blood? If you do, then where is he now and is he coming back as he promised his amazed followers who watched him as he ascended into the heavens, leaving them with his promise to someday return in like manner, Acts 1:9-11? Our Lord will return to and for his faithful followers in his glorious risen body before he unleashes his militant judgment upon the nations for rejecting him and his message. These are the Christians who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and walking in his power to continue in the faith concerning these seven pillars of sound doctrine.

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If you wish to read Jack's entire email, you can visit his site, Babylon The Great Is Falling, and join his email list or read his recommended articles: "I invite you to once again read the two-part article "The Fundamentalist" which details and defines these foundational doctrines or teachings in the holy scriptures. Just click on "Articles" on the left side of our website homepage and scroll down to the article. Please let me know if you have any comments, criticisms, or questions by visiting our website and signing the "guestbook" or sending an email. Thank you for reading this and I hope to hear from you soon. I hope you will also consider reading the articles "Then Comes the Fire", and “The Judgment Chronicles” posted on our web site. For details concerning my military background during the Vietnam era, please read the articles "Vietnam: The Manchus of Charlie Company", "Pacifist, Patriot, or Pilgrim" and “Moved with Compassion”. Just click on the web site link below and click on “Articles”. The radio interviews I have been part of can be listened to by clicking on this link: http://www.thebyteshow.com/JackHook.html " (excerpt from email by Jack Hook)

Now that we have a good foundation of solid truths, we can go ahead and get into the meat of what is happening in the world today concerning scripture, Jesus Christ, the Holy Bible, God's Word, and the controversial and often misdirected proclamations put forth by such authors as Robert Schuller, Marianne Williamson, Wayne Dyer, Gary Zukav, Barbara Marx Hubbard, James Redfield, Deepak Chopra, Rick Warren, and yes, believe it or not, Oprah Winfrey. It's going to be an eye-opening, mind-boggling (at times), mind-clearing (at times) event that you won't want to miss. So, stay tuned...

Yours in Christ Jesus (everlasting), friendship (eternal), and Love (enduring & unconditional)...

David K. Irwin