Blog(Book 1) – Main Blog(Book)

Blog(Book 1) Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth—main blog(book)(this book)

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” II Timothy 2:15—NKJV Bible—rightly dividing the Bible means separating Judaism (law) from Christianity (grace), separating the Judaism Star of David from the Christian cross as Judeo-Christianity, and believing that God the Son, the I AM eternal Spirit Jehovah became the flesh and blood man Jesus, whom together with God the Father and the Holy Spirit are (is) the Triune Godhead—the one true eternal Creator God, the God of the Bible.

You have to separate law from grace, and have a dispensational view of Scripture to understand the rapture of the Christian church which is His body, before and separate from the second coming of Jesus on the Mount of Olives.

Companion blog(book) links:

Blog(Book 2) The I AM, Free Will and the Conscious Universe (some speculative and non-speculative science ideas);

(Blog(Book 3) The End Times—the Day of the Lord;

Blog(Book 4) From the Big Bang to Man, Evolution Naturalism—Delusion and Deceit—Duped Too Long

Blog(Book 5) Life and Death—Body, Spirit and Soul;

Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible;

Blog(Book 7) The Myth of Evolution;

Blog(Book 8) Additional Thoughts—Lost and New Posts(Chapters).

The companion blogs(books) at the links above will each open in a new tab in your browser for side by side reference.

Creator and author: Randall J. Hoogerhyde

Question: how do I become a Christian and get saved (receive the gift of eternal life in heaven with Jesus, God the Son)? Note: water baptism has nothing to do with this. Water baptism is of no consequence in your salvation. Neither is bread and wine communion nor confirmation in a Church. You have to accept Jesus personally as your Lord and Savior (being born again)—“Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’” John 3:5-7—being born of water is the water in the womb of your natural physical birth, not water baptism. Being born of Spirit is personally accepting Jesus as your Savior by acknowledging His death burial and resurrection to save you ie. being born again (see Romans 10:9,10).

Answer: to become a Christian and get saved, you simply believe the following apostle Paul’s gospel of grace message by saying an audible heartfelt prayer to the Lord (Jesus) and yourself like this: dear Lord, I know I’m sinful. I want You (need You) as my Savior. I believe in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus to save me.—“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9,10—this is accepting Jesus as your personal Savior to become a Christian. Also see Romans 4:5, Galatians 2:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9.

A Christian receives the gift of eternal life in heaven with Jesus, sealed and secure. (see Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 11. Salvation Sealed Security)—if you truly believe with your heart and mouth you can never lose your salvation, no matter what you do.

Christianity is the only thing that offers eternal life. No other faith, religion or science offers eternal life.

Just as you had no role in your natural physical birth, so you have no role in your Spiritual birth. In John 3:5-7 Jesus makes this point of first being born of water. Being born of water is the water in the womb of your natural physical birth, to repeat, just as you had no role in your natural physical birth other than breathing, so you have no role in your Spiritual birth either, other than acknowledging your belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus with your heart and mouth to save you. This is excepting Jesus as your personal Savior. No one else has any power in any of this but the Holy Spirit and you. It’s that simple to receive and always keep the gift of eternal life. Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 10:9,10. Baptism and confirmation in a Church have nothing to do to do with this and are of no consequence or use in your salvation. It’s that simple, no works required.

There will always be fighting in the Middle East until the Day of the Lord when the man of sin (the Antichrist) is revealed (II Thessalonians 2:3). It’s another sign of the near end times we are in. See blog(book 3) above. The important thing is to always support Israel, God’s chosen people.

These blogs(books) are written especially to: (1) those who believe in billons and millions of years of evolution naturalism, God initiated and directed or not ie. theistic evolutionists or atheists, and; (2) those who do not have a dispensational approach to Scripture and thus do not believe in the Christian rapture of the church which is His body ie. those who do not apply II Timothy 2:15 when reading and studying the Bible. See the KJV or NKJV Bibles, the NIV Bible does not have a good translation of this verse because in the original Greek it says to “cut straight” meaning to cleanly separate (rightly divide), ie. separate Judaism (law) from Christianity (grace).

These blogs(books) are based on many years of lifelong personal literal interpretation home Bible study and nondenominational Bible church attendance by my mother during her 90 years of life. The Bible theology in these blogs(books) is both personal and Pastor led Bible study that stems from Otis Q. Sellers (see in bold below), not a predefined denominational doctrine. I reacquainted myself with these nondenominational Bible study details by way of email and phone call questions and answers to and from my mother after my sudden severe right brain stroke in 2013 when I had to retire early at 58 years old from my computer software career. The science parts of these bogs(books) are based on my personal thoughts and studies.

These Bible study theology details here-in are similar to the various Protestant denomination doctrines but are refined and different regarding several different topics based on Bible study.

Other than accepting Jesus as your personal Savior, the single most important thing you need to do when you read and study the Bible is to understand and apply II Timothy 2:15. See this verse in the King James Version (KJV) or the New King James Version (NKJV) Bibles. In the original Greek it says, to cut straight (righty divide). Unfortunately the New International Version (NIV) Bible does not have a good translation of this verse. Rightly dividing implies a dispensational approach to Scripture to separate and divide your interpretation of it into separate Dispensations. You cannot understand the rapture of the church without having a dispensational approach to Scripture.

Rightly dividing is the key to interpreting the entire Bible, per II Timothy 2:15. You have to separate Judaism (law) from Christianity(grace), where Christianity (grace) as a parenthesis faith special calling out faith from within the religion of Judaism (law) where Jesus is Jehovah. For all the several different rightly divided separate dispensations in history, see Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 12. What are Biblical Dispensations?

______________________________

II Timothy 2:15 is the key to this blog(book) This collection of blogs(books) has gone from more science centered to more Bible centered since creating it over the years since my stroke in 2013.

Especially see the bold numbered reference items below.

______________________________

Following are the important numbered items in bold:

(1) see the book More Than a Carpenter if you doubt the Bible is true , and ask yourself why is the little country of Israel in the news everyday? That’s not normal for such a small country. It’s because it’s supernatural Bible prophecy. Don’t blow that off as non-consequential. It has a bearing on foreign policy. It is ggthe supernatural blessing of our country, and ultimately whether our country (America) remains a world leader and superpower;

(2) See the video documentary Is Genesis History? hosted by Del Tackett (it’s also a DVD series). It nothing less than transformed my thinking on the origins of our world (also see Dr. Terry Mortenson and Dr. Jason Lisle on YouTube). The fairytale billions of years are all gone now. This was quite a “pill” for me to swallow, as I’ve studied astronomy and cosmology all my life. I’ve got boxes full of books on cosmology, math, science and computers. Why did no one ever tell me that we do not actually know the speed of light c? We can only measure the two way speed of light from a source bouncing back off a mirror. We divide by two and assume the speed is the same both ways to get the speed c. I find this division by 2 and silence about it curious. I wonder if the silence on this dividion by 2 to get the speed of light c is due to its potential ramifications: that while the universe is as big as science says, it’s not necessarily nearly as naturalistically old as science thinks, ie. it’s supernaturally much younger. This infers a supernatural Creator. The scientific arguments are very much there for this but they are either overlooked or marginalized to avoid admitting a Creator (see II Peter 3:3-6).

(3) on YouTube see Les Feldick. He’s an excellent independent nondenominational, rightly dividing (dispensational) Bible explainer;

(4) see Otitis Q. Sellers for a complete Bible study theology. That’s the Biblical theolgy of these blogs(books), including the question of death and the hell(grave) (hades ain’t so hot), at the link above see blog(book 5).

(5) for a Bible see the C. I. Scofield King James Version Bible. I have the old Scofield King James Version Bible in the black box with a small gold cross on it on amazon.com (it’s a standard King James Version Bible with Schofield study notes).

All Bible verse quotations in these blogs(books) are from the New King James Version (NKJV) Bible.

Christianity(grace) ie. the mystery.

Christianity in a nutshell:

The Christianity (ie the mystery) is the combination of:

(1) the grace of God and your faith alone (per the verses above);

(2) the indwelling Holy Spirit, and;

(3) the sudden surprising rapture of the church which is His body (Bible believing Christians both dead and alive). The rapture may happen soon. See Blog(Book 3) The End Times—the Day of the Lord). Don’t let them say it was an alien abduction, only Christian graves will be open and empty and only living Christians will be gone (missing).

These three things together are why Christianity is truly a mystery. This mystery was a secret revealed by Jesus only to Paul on the road to Damascus when the bright light shone down on Paul and he fell to the ground. Christianity(the grace mystery) was not known until Paul. Christianity was not known during Jesus’ earthly ministry (how could it be, Jesus hadn’t died on the cross yet?) nor before in the Old Testament. It was a secret kept in the mind of God. Jesus never spoke of it. He never even alluded to it. In this way Paul stands at the headwaters of Christianity as our apostle today, the apostle to the Gentiles. Today that means Jew and Gentile alike (see Ephesians 2:14). During and before Jesus’ earthly ministry it was Judaism, not Christianity. This is a key thing to understand. That’s Judeo-Christianity (the Star of David and the cross, where Jesus is Jehovah). This the heart of rightly dividing the entire Bible into different dispensations from Adam and Eve to the new heaven and new earth eternity (see Dispensational Relationships by C. F Baker). This has a baring on how you believe you receive eternal life ie. works are not required. It also has a baring on eschatology.

______________________________

When you are a Christian, you are sin free and innocent in the eyes of God, meaning you do not deserve death, no matter what you have done or do. The cross and the blood of Jesus Christ are that powerful, but that does not mean you have a license to do whatever you want. As a Christian you should still live a good moral Christian life to show your faith, meaning your faith is not dead. Jesus set the example, but how you live your life cannot save you. God the Father took out His wrath on His Son Jesus on the cross, for you. Jesus would become a flesh and blood man, and die on the cross all over again just for you. He loves you that much.

Being saved is your escape from death. Once you become a Christian you can never lose your salvation, no matter what you do. (See Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 10. Salvation Sealed Security, and Blog(Book 5) Life and Death—Body, Spirit, and Soul 3. The Path and Arc of Your Life—the Lord or You?)

____________________________________________

Literal Bible interpretation is used throughout these blogs(books), meaning the Bible means what it says. Figurative and poetic interpretation are used only where necessary and appropriate when comparing Scripture to Scripture.

Rightly dividing the Bible between Judaism(law) and Christianity(grace) is the key to correctly interpreting the Bible, see II Timothy 2:15 (I think the King James and New King James Version Bibles have the best translation of this verse.)

This literal interpretation also means that there will be a literal Jewish Kingdom on earth in the future, ie. God will keep His promises to both Abraham and David to make Israel a great nation. There will be a literal rapture and a literal tribulation. (In this Blog(Book) see, post(chapter) 6. Why the Rapture is Demanded—Judaism vs. Christianity—the Kingdom vs. the Church).

The Bible based content in these blogs(books) is a dispensational premillennial, rightly dividing, literal interpretation of the Bible to see what the book says, and what picture it personally paints. It’s an evangelical nondenominational interpretation. This is the interpretation and perspective of my Christian Bible study doctrine. It is based on years of personal Bible study and Bible church attendance, searching the Scripture, comparing Scripture to Scripture. I have included as many Bible verses as I think are necessary, but you be the judge as to wether the interpretation is correct.

These blogs(books) were written between 9/25/2015 and 1/30/2021 all mixed together, but the book was too long and unfocused, so I split it up into smaller more focused books in 2021 and 2022. It was a lot of selective organizational work, especially in my condition, missing 2/3 of my right brain, due to the spontaneous dissection of my right internal carotid artery, resulting in a severe stroke, causing me to be paralyzed on my left side.

Rightly dividing most importantly means separating Judaism(law) from Christianity(grace) ie. separating the Old Testament Jewish Kingdom from the New Testament Christian church. Rightly dividing also means separating the entire Bible into separate dispensations, where God handles man differently in each dispensation down through history. While God handles man differently down through history, He always remains Immutable. This is a progressive revelation of His plan for mankind.

Note: strictly speaking the the four books (gospels) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John more appropriately belong in the Old Testament because they are before the book of Acts transition to Christianity ie. Saul’s conversion to Paul on the road to Damascus. This was Paul’s revelation of the secret mystery of Christianity(grace) given by Jesus only to Paul.

Before Saul’s conversion to Paul, he was an ardent believer in Judaism and Jehovah. He thought Jesus was an impostor. Saul was a raging persecutor of those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but when he saw that the light was Jesus he became Paul. God poured out His grace on Saul when he became Paul.

I. Dedication

to my parents Robert and Harrietta

______________________________

I could not have written any of this on here without the help of my youngest son setting me up on WordPress. Thank you son.

I could not have written much of this Bible based content without my mother’s lifelong home, and Bible church attendance, Bible study knowledge help, imparted to me by phone call and email questions and answers over the last several years since my stroke. If you asked my mother if something is in the Bible or not, she would tell you if it is or not, and if it is, roughly where it is, then look it up. Thank you Lord, thank you son, and thank you mother. I am thankful and very fortunate for my Bible study upbringing and this help.

II. Foreword

____________

The Bible theology of these blogs(books) is based on two church break aways: (1) Harry Bultema years ago Pastor of Holland, Michigan Parkside Christian Reformed Church, who along with some of his church members, started a new church in Muskegon, Michigan named Berean Reformed Church, but because of the change in their doctrine they had to leave the Cristian Reformed Church Denomination. They dropped Reformed from the church name and named their church Berean Church after the people in the city of Berea in the Bible who eagerly searched the Scriptures to see if they matched what Paul was teaching, Berean Church became the first church in the Grace Movement of churches; (2) Otis Q. Sellers, a Baptist church Pastor, left the Baptist church because his Bible study led him to disbelief in any church ordinances ie. disbelief in the appropriateness of baptism and communion, so he started a new church in East Grand Rapids, Michigan named Fellowship Bible Church. His disbelief in any church ordinances is due to rightly dividing the Bible between Judaism (law) and Christianity (grace) later in the book of Acts at Acts 28:28,29.

Christianity is: (1) God’s grace separate from Judaism law; (2) the indwelling Holy Spirit, and; (3) the premillenial rapture of the church.

These three things together are known as the mystery.

This is rightly dividing the Bible between Judaism (law) and Christianity (grace).

We are now living in the dispensation of mystery ie. Christianity(grace), a parenthesis faith special calling out from within the religion of Judaism(law). That’s Judao-Christianity, the Star of David and the cross where Jesus is Jehovah, God the Son.

Only the Pauline epistles and the other New Testament God inspired books written by men influenced by Paul’s grace message of mystery, are written to and about us today, Jew and Gentile(Greek) alike equally—“For He Himself is our greatest peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,” Ephesians 2:14—regarding Christianity(grace), the church which is His body (Christians), and the rapture (the gospel of grace mystery). This was a secret from old revealed by Jesus only to Paul on the road Damascus when the bright light shone down on Saul and he became Paul and he fell to the ground. The rest of the Bible is for our learning, but it is not written to and to and about us today in the dispensation of Christianity(grace/mystery).

Grace = God’s love for the world + the death burial and resurrection of Jesus to Pay for our salvation, plus the Lord Jesus’ strength and help when you need it. (John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8,9, Galatians 2:16, Isaiah 64:6, II Corinthians 12:9). This grace is an undeserved favor from God to us. Grace is an attribute of God. As such, it’s definition is hard to pin down and describe.

faith alone, the indwelling Holy Spirit and the sudden surprising rapture truly make Christianity a faith mystery, rather than a religion.

You have to be a rightly dividing dispensationalist to see that the rapture is separate from the second coming of Jesus. You can think of rightly dividing as separating the Christian Cross from the Jewish Star of David. This is Christianity separated from Judaism as Judeo-Christianity, where Jehovah in the Old Testament is Jesus in the New Testament. Jehovah is a Jewish name for Jesus.

Rightly dividing is the separation of Judaism(law) from Christianity(grace), see II Timothy 2:15. In the original Greek it says cut straight. The NIV Bible mistranslates this as handle.

Rightly dividing is the key to correctly interpreting the Bible. In separating Judaism(law) from Christianity(grace) it is important to remember that all the faithful Jews and Gentiles before Paul who believed in Jehovah(God) are also saved by grace, just as Christians today are. Everyone from Adam and Eve all through history who believed/believes in Jehovah/Jesus(God) is saved by grace through faith alone. Christianity is faith alone grace without law. This is Judeo-Christianity. See Galatians 2:16

Rightly dividing is the separation of and difference between believing in Jehovah or believing in Jesus as Jehovah God, where Jehovah is Jesus, the begotten God the Son (begotten means uncreated (always was and always will be). Jehovah is a more Jewish name for Jesus. This is the separation of the Jewish Kingdom from the Christian church which is His body. This is rightly dividing. Where down through history, there are other dispensations. See, Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 11. What are Biblical Dispensations?

In contrast to the post Acts New Testament books in the Bible about Christianity, is the post Acts New Testament book of Revelation, which is a post rapture, post Christianity Judaism prophetic book about the day of the Lord end times and a return to Judaism, where Christianity is a parentheses faith calling out between Old Testament Judaism and end times Judaism. (See 11. Eschatology—the Dual Eternal Kingdom of God, and the companion Blog(Book 3) The End Times—The Day of the Lord)

The rapture begins the day of the Lord (see Blog(Book 3) The End Times—the Day of the Lord)—“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” II Thessalonians 2:3.—Note: “the falling away” is better translated as “the departing” ie. the Christian rapture of the church—“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” I Corinthians 15:51,52—at the rapture we are changed and our dead body is gone and not found, or our living mortal being just disappears from this world.

If you die before the rapture, at the rapture your grave will be open and empty for everyone remaining to see, just as the Lord’s tomb was empty and the stone rolled away for all to see that His body was gone. Note: it was not necessary that the stone was rolled away for His resurrection because after His transformation to His immortal eternal body, He could pass through walls, so how your body is able to get out of its grave is not a concern, because when your body(dust) is transformed by being united with your spirit(breath of life) from God, you will be like Jesus able to pass through walls ie. able to pass through your casket, vault, and the earth above that your body was buried beneath. Note: Jesus was not cremated, so I do not want to be cremated either. My body will be like a seed in the ground resurrected to new life at the rapture. By the way, the eternal Triune God was Spirit(Mind) in the eternal past at the creation of the universe, not some physical bearded old man sitting in a cloud somewhere. Adam and Eve were created in Their image, an image in Their Mind. There was no eternal bodily God siting one a throne somewhere. God is Spirit(Mind). The universe and everything in it came from Spirit(Mind).

Whether or not our disappearance at the rapture will actually be witness-able is speculation, as it will be instantaneous “in a moment in the twinkling of an eye,” I Corinthians 15:52. Our current body must somehow be a source in the transformation to our new incorruptible immortal being, but God knows your DNA along with every hair on your head and every cell in your body, so strictly speaking He can construct and create your new immortal eternal body from His mind alone without any information from your old dead or living body. Scientifically, information can neither be created nor destroyed. This is a fundamenrmtal law of thermodynamics, so even dissipated smoke, ashes, and dissipated heat energy can be an information source. Information only comes from a mind (the mind of the Creator). Your body’s DNA is an information language and system. This is another reason why evolution naturalism is false and a lie.

All that can be speculated is that our current body must contain transformation information, such that, along with our spirit and the Mind of God, we continue on as the same person (being) with a perfected thirty something body of who we are now, as Jesus was in His 30s when He was crucified and died. This will be a perfected thirty something body of who we are, so our transformed immortal eternal body will look like we did in our 30s, having memories of this life, so we will physically know who we are and who are our loved ones are in heaven after we are transformed to be in and with Jesus higher than the angels, eternally. The details of this are not given in the Bible, so that’s snout as much (or more) than anyone can figure as to how the rapture transformation works. (Also see Blog(Book 5) Life and Death—Body, Spirit, and Soul)—“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” I Thessalonians 4:16,17—this is the rapture of Christian believers today as the body of Christ, ie. the church which is His body. This is not the second coming of Jesus, as Jesus does not set foot on earth on the Mount of Olives. That is later for the Old Testament Jews after the 7 year tribulation when Jesus comes in power, glory, and judgment, with His Saints and Archangels as King and Lord of the universe to end the tribulation.

To understand this end times eschatology you have to rightly divide the Bible between Judaism(law) and Christianity(grace) per II Timothy 2:15.

Per above and the rest of this bog(book), Christianity(grace) is a parenthesis faith calling out from within the religion of Judaism(law); though, everyone all through history since Adam and Eve is saved by grace (See post(chapter) 11. Eschatology—the Dual Eternal Kingdom of God).

The Power and Omnipotence of the Lord is mind boggling to think about, and that He also is all Loving, Kind, all Knowing, and Understanding ie. Omniscient, as well as omnipresent. He is the Shepard, we are His sheep, created in His image. Another way to look at our relationship with Jesus is: He is the head and we are rest of the body. If you believe in Jesus, you will receive an immortal eternal body that conforms to His after you die and are resurrected, or are raptured alive.

We are saved by grace through faith alone in Jesus alone, no religion/works are involved. We learn this by reading and studying the Bible, and believing it—Ephesians 2:8,9, Galatians 2:16, Isaiah 64:6, John 3:16, Romans 10:9,10.

Note: you also have to rightly divide the Bible, per II Timothy 2:15, to understand why works have no bearing whatsoever in your salvation. For example, verses in the book of James could lead you to think works are necessary, but James is a Jew writing to the Jews during the time of Judaism(law), not to and bout us today during Christianity(grace). Jesus died in your place(your escape from death) as an undeserved favor. This is grace, and the gift of eternal life.

Note: today doing works to try to gain your salvation by trying to look good in the eyes of God is disobedience, not so unlike Cain doing his own thing by not bringing a blood sacrifice, like his brother Able did, as God commanded. Blood is a theme throughout the entire Bible. It goes back to the fall of Adam and Eve, and even before that when blood first came to be in the original creation before the first flood in Genesis 1:1,2. This is why God always demanded a blood sacrifice, same with the shed blood of Jesus on the cross to cleanse the sin of the world. (See Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 19. It’s the Blood)

Regarding Jesus’ resurrected body, the Bible mentions flesh and bone, but not blood, so I believe that His resurrected body has just flesh and bone, no blood. I also interpret this to be what our new incorruptible immortal bodies will be like after our rapture. It then comes full circle with no blood, just flesh and bone in the eternal third heaven after our(Christian) rapture. This all means there are three creations: (1) the original, strictly dinosaur Lost World creation that Lucifer had rule over; (2) the subsequent new creation after “The earth was(became) without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2—, without form, and void first flood destruction, where the face of the deep is the first flood destruction of the Lucifer defiled original dinosaur creation (from the original Hebrew translation “was” can also be translated as “became”), then after some unknown amount of time (maybe a few thousand years or so) came the new creation with Adam and Eve 6,000 years ago, and the subsequent cataclysmic worldwide flood in the day of Noah 4,000 years ago that again became a fallen world of blood and death (our fallen world since the fall of Adam and Eve), and; (3) the new heavens and new earth creation after the 1,000 year millennium. God is Omnipotent and eternal. Who knows how many creations went on in the eternal past, or will happen in the eternal future? It’s all speculation.

(See the companion Blog(Book 2) The I AM, Free Will and the Conscious Universe—Body, Spirit, and Soul 13. My Idea On Extra Terrestrial Life).

This repeated evil sin(death) is why Jesus had to come and die on the cross to finally end it all.

In and of itself, the truth of the literal 6 24 hour day Bible interpretation of creation has no bearing on a person’s salvation per se, but it is still important to distinguish for rationale as a potential first step.

My Christian nondenominational doctrine hierarchy:

___

Personal:

I am a married family man born in 1955 and home owner in Standale (a west Grand Rapids suburb) with a wife and two grown sons. I am a man of math, science, computers, and exercise (golf, tennis, weight training, and lap swimming). I also like motorcycles and rock and roll music. I am a 1980 graduate of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) with a high honors BS degree in mathematics.

– Christian(Protestant)

– Evangelical

– Bible—Grace Movement, Berean Bible Church—rightly dividing ie. dispensational premillennialism based on John Nelson Darby’s Bible study interpretation, and C. I. Scofield’s study Bible popularization of it. (Using this Bible interpretation doctrine, Pastor Bultema broke away from the Christian Reformed Church, and started the Berean Church in Muskegon, Michigan

– Fellowship Bible Church, Pastor Otis Q. Sellers, (where a Moody Bible Institute graduate, maternal uncle of mine, my uncle Gary took over as Reverend. This church is where my parents met, and is where I get my doctrine on body spirit and soul, and thwt death as the hell(grave).

___

My Bible doctrine points:

(1) rightly dividing the Bible between Judaism(law) and Christianity(grace), see below ie. separating the Kingdom from the church, where Christianity is the gospel of grace mystery: the rapture of the church, salvation(escape from death), by grace through faith alone in Jesus alone (faith + nothing) see Ephesians 2:8,9, Galatians 2:16, John 3:16, Isiah 64:6; though, we should still try to live a Christian life, a life modeled on the life of Jesus;

(2) belief in: the (maybe imminent) sudden, surprising rapture of the body of Christ(the church which is His body) to heaven, and the subsequent 7 year tribulation, ending with the second coming of Jesus on the Mount of Olives, the final resurrection of all(the unsaved nonbelievers, and pre-Paul Jewish and grafted in Gentile believers), and the 1,000 year millennial Kingdom on earth for the nation of Israel Jews and Gentiles grafted in before Paul;

(3) belief in the literal 6 24 hour day supernatural creation including the initial immortality of Adam and Eve, as recorded in the book of Genesis;

(4) neither water baptism nor communion are appropriate or necessary today in the church age(dispensation) of grace(the mystery); rather, you are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ when you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, water baptism is a religious ritual that was instituted by John the Baptist as a showing of your faith during the time of Judaism(law), not cleansing of sin, it is unnecessary to grace through faith alone in Jesus alone, and turns Christianity into a religion rather than a faith; communion is is another ordinance like this. It is a throwback to Judaism and the Passover celebration, my further thought is: we were not there to witness or be directly told about Jesus and His crucifixion, so we can not have a mental image to remember as our remembrance, communion is a religious ritual that is unnecessary to grace through faith alone in Jesus alone, “eat my flesh and drink my blood” in John chapter 6 means reading and studying the Bible for Spiritual nourishment, not communion, see John 1:1,2 and John 1:14, where Jesus ‘is’ the Bible(the Word). (This is why the Bible is Holy);

(5) hell, Sheol, Hades, death, and grave are all synonymous, not a place of torment. Gehenna(the lake of fire) is the place of eternal torment (commonly thought of as hell) for the devil and the devil’s angels who are a spiritual creation, and can be tormented eternally;

(6) rejection of the Devil’s lie of eternal torment of unsaved nonbelievers, because body(dust) + spirit(breath) = soul(being), ie. you do not have a soul; rather, you are a soul, and when you die your spirits goes back to from Whom it came when you were born(conceived). Without a spirit a body is dead, not a soul and has no being to be alive and aware. Nowhere in the Bible does it say nonbelievers receive an eternal body, so a nonbeliever can not have immortal eternal being to be tormented eternally; rather, unbelievers are resurrected and judged, where their spirit(breath of life) will again go back to God, and their dead body will be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and the the angels who followed Lucifer are angels, a spiritual creation, able to be tormented eternally day and night with no rest.—“Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” Revelation 20:14.

(7) when you die, you do not immediately go to heaven, or any other place, your body goes into the grave in know-nothing death(sleep) resting until the resurrection of your body(dust) when it is changed and reunites with your spirit(breath) and you are again are a living soul(being), in the meantime your spirit(breath) has gone back to God Who gave it, and you have no sense of time, so to you the person who died, it will seem like you are immediately in heaven, or at the great white throne judgment if you died as a nonbeliever. Your spirit is your breath of life and nothing more until it is united with your body, to be a soul(being) at: (1) creation, Adam and Eve; (2) birth(conception, when a unique DNA is formed identifying an individual), and; (3) resurrection;

(8) an understanding of the difference between foreknowledge and predestination, and that predestination means when you become a Christian you are predestined to eternal life in heaven with Jesus, not that you have been predestined to go to heaven;

___

Pre-stroke hobby: reading books on various mathematics and science topics, and working on CAD computer code (3D surface model mesh generation/wrapping/flattening and draping, and surface scattered scan cloud data points rapid 3D search, and rapid 2D image color processing).

I have boxes full of books on various math, computer, and science subjects, including the nature of and arrow of time, subatomic physics, complexity, thermodynamics, and consciousness and the brain (curiously the last topic I read about before my stroke when I lost almost half my brain).

Here is an overview of my math and science background, and my computer software career which ended suddenly when I had a severe right brain stroke. I have been trained in mathematics and computer science. After college, and after a brief internship and then my first computer programming job, the first part of my career was in 3D and 2D CAD software engineering for 3D surface and solid modeling, especially patented 3D surface model mesh covering to simulate cloth fabric, and 2D image CAD computer software, as a programmer(senior software engineer) and project manager. This all fit perfectly with my interest and my college training. Then I got into web programming and database management. In the end I became a MCPD full stack e-commerce software developer subcontractor consultant.

This blog(book) is about rightly dividing the Bible, see II Timothy 2:15. Rightly dividing, most importantly, means separating Judaism(law) from Christianity(grace) ie. separating the Old Testament Jewish Kingdom from the New Testament church(the church which is His body). The four gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are parallel eye witness accounts of the earthly ministry of Jesus (each takes a different perspective on Jesus to give a complete description of Him (there is a post(chapter) on this see the last post(chapter in Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible), including His death, burial, and resurrection during the time(dispensation) of Judaism(law) before the church age(dispensation) of Christianity(grace) that we live in today since Paul. These four gospel are the basis of Christianity; however, they are not about the Christianity grace mystery reveled only to Paul. The four gospels are written for our learning. Only the Pauline epistles and the books written by the apostles influenced by Paul and his message of mystery, are books written to and about us today as Christians. Rightly dividing also is about separating the entire Bible into progressive unfolding dispensations of the different ways God deals with man (see Blog(Book 6) Regarding The Bible 11. What are Dispensations?). God is Immutable and unchanging, but the way He deals with man changes dispensation by dispensation. For example: (1) Adam and Eve were not supposed to eat from a certain tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; (2) Noah had to build an ark; (3) Abraham had to build an alter and be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac, until the last moment when God provided a lamb as a replacement instead of Abraham having to sacrifice his son. There are more dispensations and more tests. Today we believe in Jesus alone. See Blog(Book 6) Regarding the Bible 11. What are Dispensations?, The Scofield Study Bible, and Dispensational Relationships by C. F. Baker.

For years some of my acquaintances thought I was an atheist, agnostic, or deist, rather than a theist Christian, because I strictly studied and espoused math and science, but when I suddenly had a sever stroke and became half paralyzed a guy named Chuck befriended me in the locker room of the pool where we swam laps in the morning before work. He got me started on science and the Bible. After that my mother took over and refreshed me on my upbringing Bible study doctrine by way of phone call and email questions and answers. Now I know my Bible study doctrine better than ever—“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” II Corinthians 12:9.

___

(A theist is a Christian because Jesus is the only true God. The third Person in Triune Godhead)

___

It is my primary concern in this book to be understanding of the different views that the reader may have on historical science hypothesis about our supposed evolutionary origins, and overall Bible interpretation doctrine, while being true to what I believe based on what the Bible says when you read it literally. If you do not read the Bible literally where appropriate, you are on a slippery slope of open interpretation, putting man’s ideas ahead of God’s Word; and, rightly divide it between the Kingdom and the church ie. rightly divide the Bible between Judaism(law) and Christianity(grace). Meaning, you have to separate out the church as a parenthesis faith (that begins with Paul), from within the religion of Judaism()law); otherwise, you will interpret verses that conflict, and you will have a false doctrine. Regarding origins, I am thinking of the hypothesis of millions/billions of years of evolution/macroevolution naturalism ie. putting man’s ideas of deep time evolution naturalism ahead of God’s Word that the creation was a 6 24 hour day supernatural creation 6,000 years ago, Recorded in Genesis 1; meaning, you want to tell God what He did and how He did it; rather than letting God tell you what He did. Whenever the term evolution is used in this blog(book), unless specifically qualified, it means the myth of inter-kind macroevolution, as opposed to the fact of intra-kind microevolution variation within created kinds, that we see happening around us all the time. Microevolution causes people to falsely think that macroevolution is how we got here. Macroevolution has never been observed. It is just an interpretation of the past from bones in the ground, and observing microevolution in the world around us in the present. Thus making macroevolution a hypothesis myth not a theory.

The book of Acts is a transitionary book about the transition from Judaism(law) to Christianity(grace). I make the transition separation late in the book at Acts 28:28,29. In doing this, I believe water baptism is not appropriate for us today as Christians. It along with bread and wine communion turn Christianity into a religion of rituals, rather than simply a faith mystery. This is my late in the book of Acts rightly dividing doctrine. If you rightly divide earlier in the book or not at all, you probably believe you should get baptized with water to show your faith. Water baptism is not necessary for becoming a Christian and salvation. It is a matter of personal choice; regardless, water baptism does not cleanse sin. I believe bread and wine communion is a throwback to the Judaism Passover celebration and is thus a ritual not appropriate to the pure faith of Christianity. These ritual points are included later on in my Christianity doctrine list.

___

References:

www.answers.tv – Ken Ham, creation history and science.

Terry Mortenson, https://youtu.be/5CQT5q_Vhg0

YouTube: Dr. Jason Lisle, science and creation: https://youtu.be/aQ_UxcV-xcM
https://youtu.be/14XOKncrix8,
https://youtu.be/bEejUyEyhhg, Dr. Terry Mortenson, operation science and origins science https://youtu.be/_V58ma6ykP0;

Books: all Bible verse references are from the New King James Version (NKJV) Bible, also see the old Scofield KJV Study Bible, annotated by C. I. Scofield, and Dispensational Relationships, by C. F. Baker;

Les Feldick – Oklahoma rancher and excellent Bible explainer:

Twitter: follow @lesfeldickdaily @lesfeldick, @lesfeldickbible;

Web and TV: Les Feldick channel (channel also on Roku);

Grace Christian University(Grace Bible College), formerly Milwaukee Bible College;

Moody Bible Institute, Chicago;

YouTube: John MacArthur, rightly dividing premillennial dispensationalism;

______

Thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful.

Comments and questions are welcomed.

I will be doing editing as long as I can.

Randy

III. Table of Contents

Blog(Book 1) – (Main Book)

I. Dedication

II. Foreward

III. Table of Contents

IV. Prologue

V. Acknowledgements

1. Faith Alone, in Jesus Alone

2. The Apostle Paul—Our Apostle—the Mystery

3. Christianity a Faith, Not a Religion

4. Overall, What Does the Book Say—What Picture Does It Paint?

5. Day of the Lord

6. Why the Rapture is Demanded—Judaism vs. Christianity—the Kingdom vs. the Church

7. One Reason Why the Rapture Doctrine is Not a Contradiction

8. Righty Dividing—the Dispensational Changes in the Way God Handles Man

9. The Rapture vs. the Second Coming—Christianity vs. Judaism (Judeo-Christian)

10. Catechism/Tradition vs. Bible Study—Salad Bowl vs. Rightly Dividing

11. Eschatology—the Dual Eternal Kingdom of God

12. The Great White Throne Judgement, the Second Death, and the Lake of Fire

13. The Rapture, and After

IV. Prologue

Bible study, science, history, faith, truth, rationale, and hubris are words that, together, capture the theme of these blogs(books).

V. Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my former fellow swimmer and friend Randy, for first suggesting that I create a blog to keep people updated on my stroke recovery, unfortunately at that early time in my stroke, I was not recovered enough to do that. I am now recovered enough to do this, for which I thank the Lord, my family, my friends, my doctors, and my therapists (you can see my FaceBook page for pictures and descriptions of some of my recovery); my brother Steve, for another suggestion to create a blog that became this book and its companions; my former fellow swimmer and friend Chuck, for getting me started on science and the Bible after my stroke during his once a week, Tuesday visits; my mother Harrietta, for helping me with her extensive Bible knowledge; years ago, my uncle Gary, an ordained Reverend, trained at Moody Bible Institute, for his Biblical insights on the body, spirit, and soul, the sleep of death, and his understanding from the original Bible languages that hell, Sheol, Hades, death, and the grave are all synonymous, he spoke often on these subjects together during his Bible classes, that my family and I attended on Sunday mornings for a year or so, when I was in my late teens, before I went to college; my former fellow swimmer and friend Steve, for suggesting that I include Bible verse references; my youngest son Matthew, for helping me during my stroke and putting up with me, for naming this URL, setting me up on WordPress, and hopefully doing cover artwork for an off-line paper book version (he has studied graphic design); hopefully my oldest son Andrew, for proofreading and editing, if he can (he is a college English major), and finally; my wife Maureen, for helping me during the recovery from my stroke, and putting up with me.

1. Faith Alone, in Jesus Alone

(faith + nothing)*1, God did two things that were perfect. The creation, and the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, His death, burial, and resurrection. You can not change either of these things in any way because they were both perfect, and complete. The Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was perfect and complete because Jesus was both fully God and fully man, and He was perfect(sinless); now, in this age(dispensation) of grace, we simply have to have faith plus nothing, to have salvation(eternal life), an escape from death.

___

*1 faith + nothing—Les Feldick: lesfeldick.com, lesfeldick.org, Twitter @lesfeldick, @lesfeldickbible, @lesfeldickdaily

2. The Apostle Paul—Our Apostle—the Mystery

Our apostle is Paul. Of all the authors of the books of the Bible, Paul is the only one who writes about the mystery—the church which is His body ie. Christianity.

Paul calls himself a master builder—“According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.” I Corinthians 3:10—when does a master builder enter the building project? At the foundation. That means what Paul writes about is a new church with a new foundation, that is Jesus and His death burial and resurrection. This is the foundation of Christianity, the church which is His body.

The Christianity gospel grace message of mystery was revealed by Jesus as a secret only to Paul. It was on the road to Damascus when the bright light shone down on Paul and he fell to the ground—-“Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.” Acts 22:6—this is the secret mystery that was kept in the mind of God, not revealed until the bright light shone down on Paul.

This is rightly dividing between the Kingdom and the church, ie. separating Judaism(law) from Christianity(grace)(faith + nothing).

In this way Paul stands at the headwaters of Christianity(the grace mystery).—“Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began” Romans 16:25—“how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already,” Ephesians 3:3—“This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Ephesians 5:32—“the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:26,27—“that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ,” Colossians 2:2—“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” I Corinthians 15:3,4—“For by grace you have been saved though faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9

The Catholic mysteries are totally different.

3. Christianity a Faith, Not a Religion

The secular world likes to think of religion as an undesirable thing. Strictly speaking, from a Christian viewpoint they are not really wrong because Christianity is a faith not a religion. Christianity(grace) is a special calling out faith from within the religion of Judaism(law)—“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9.
Religion involves rituals which are works, Christianity does not. Also see Galatians 2:16.

4. Overall, What Does the Book Say—What Picture Does It Paint?

When reading the Bible, you can’t just make up a reason why a verse doesn’t mean what it says, or that it means what you think it means to suit your own needs, to support your doctrine. The reason must be supported by other Scripture, and that Scripture by other Scripture, until based solely on the Bible, there can be no doubt that your interpretation is correct. Your interpretation must not contradict any other other Scripture. It is the ultimate goal would be a closed circle of logic, that affirms that your interpretation and your doctrine are correct. This will be consistent with the rest of the Bible because the Bible is consistent with itself, and thus your interpretation and your doctrine in this case are both absolutely correct, and are true because the Bible is God’s Word of truth, God can be subtle, and He is not Self-contradictory. This applies to both literal and figurative interpretations, and ferrets out what is literal and what is figurative, and if it is literal, how it is literal. How it is literal may sound unnecessary, but how do you interpret—“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” John 6:54-56—with—“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many.'” Mark 14:22-24—with—“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” John 1:1,2—“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14—the Bible is the Word and the Word became flesh, so reading and studying the Bible ‘is’ eating His flesh and drinking His blood—-“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”—by putting this all together, bread and wine communion has no bearing on, or power in salvation; rather, reading and studying the Bible does.
Literal interpretation of Genesis is the same way: days mean 6 literal 24 hour days, not millions or billions of years for man’s idea of evolution naturalism which also render the flood as an impotent judgement because evolution would say all life in its variety will naturalistically come back on its own by way of evolution. This also would make Noah’s ark unnecessary.
(See Blog(Book 7) The Myth of Evolution 16. Noah’s Ark vs. Evolution—Moses vs. Darwin)