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I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
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I am a retired pastor of
the Church of God (Tennessee). My name is Isaac Livingston. I am from Neyyoor India. |
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Email: Pastor True Gospel
A covenant is a contract, and a contract is an agreement made by two or more persons or parties that are legally enforceable. This contract could be the result of a bargained settlement. But, God will not bargain, or compromise, or settle with people; and so, God’s covenant never was a bargained settlement. What God gives is the covenant and we must accept what God gives us as is and it will be mandatory. If we do not keep his covenant, not only God will revoke it, but also he will punish us for not keeping it. So, we must obey him by his covenant. So, the covenant of God is his commandments for us to obey to receive his rewards. God will reward us, according to how well we fulfill his commandments. God is righteous, he is not a respecter of persons, and nobody can cheat or exploit God. We may see the principle of a covenant from the beginning with Adam. Soon after creation, God took Adam to paradise, which is the garden of God, which is a part of heaven. The covenant part is in "Genesis 2:17. It says, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Paradise was given to him to keep, but if he ate from the forbidden tree, he would surely die on that day. Adam and Eve ate the fruit, their Spirit body died on that day, and they lost paradise, which is heaven. Covenant has consequence. God enforces them, if we keep them or not.
God the Father has sent God the Word as a man to the world. When he became a man, his name was Jesus. "Hebrews 10:7-10. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." Christians preach many versions of the purpose of his coming. But scripture says that Jesus came to do the Will of God the Father. So, here we will see what the true Will of God the Father is. "8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;" It was God who gave the law to give sacrifices and offerings. They were different sacrifices including burned offerings for sin, and offerings that include tithes also. By offering himself on the cross, Jesus removed or took away the sacrifices and sin offering. By destroying the Jerusalem temple with the priesthood with it, he took away the tithe and the offerings also to the temple. So, in the new testament there must be no animal sacrifices, and there must also be no tithes and offerings. "9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." So, the Will of God the Father is to take away the system that they had to sanctify people, and to establish a second system to sanctify. "10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ... 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Here, Jesus Christ offered himself as a sacrifice on the cross and shed his blood to sanctify and to perfect his people once for all, that is, the blood cleansing is one time work, and when it is done the work is complete. That is, Jesus has shed his blood one time, and the cleansing of sins by his blood is also for one time. However, by his power the sanctification will be perfect and complete. The resurrected Jesus Christ as God turns his people away from their sins as in Acts 3:26, and by his shed blood he forgives their past sins as in Romans 3:24&25. So, and his people will be sanctified and perfected forever. But the churches try to use his blood of Jesus as often as they commit sins for their forgiveness of sins. But the old system is removed, and God has established the New covenant with his people.
3. God removed all Old Covenants; made Brand New.
The bible contains old testament and the new testament. The old testament is about the blessings and curses in this world. Mostly they were given to Jews. We always say that God is for the Jews and against Gentiles. But God created all people, and he is God of all. God is the one who blessed Pharaoh, a Gentile king, to become great, and he punished Pharaoh when he did not obey him. God blessed Jews, and he destroyed Jews also when they did not obey him. So, the primary principle of God that works as covenant is that God bless who obeys him and he destroys who do not obey him whoever that may be. God made covenants with many old testament people. But except for a few people like Noah, Abraham, and such, most of them did not keep their covenants. So, God punished them and broke their covenants. "Colossians 2:14 says, Jesus, Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances ... and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. Hebrews 8:13 says, ..., A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." So, Jesus Christ took away all ordinances of the old testament, at his cross, and established new covenants with his people. New testament is about inheriting the kingdom of God in heaven. But Christians think that heaven is already given to them since, Jesus died for them, and he loves them. And so, they run after the wellbeing of them in the world, their health, wealth, fame, pleasures, and such things. So, they try to apply the blessings from the old covenant, which God has removed and taken away.
God destroyed the Old temple by the hands of Roman soldiers and scattered the Jews all over the world. And God says that he will not come in any temple anymore, which are worship places, made by hands. In the old testament they are temples, but in the new testament we call them churches. Acts 7:48&49 says, "48 Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, 49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest? In Acts 17:24 ... Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;" God says that he will not enter into the churches that we build for him to dwell in. So, if God will not be in churches, then who will be there? 2 Thessalonians 2:3 shows a person, "that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;." The phrase "man of sin" means the embodiment of sin, and it is given to Satan since he induce people to sin. The son of perdition is also Satan, who already lives more than 2000 years, and sits invisibly in all churches of the world, as God would sit. Satan is also called the devils. "4 says, Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." So, God will not enter any church, and Satan is sitting in all churches receiving the worship of Christians as God would. Despite the bible says this, Christians neither know it, nor care about this. Further theologians teach that a man like Henry Kissinger will come and sit in the temple as God. How stupid that is and Christians believe this. God is Spirit. He is Omnipresent and can sit in all the churches at one time for more than 2000 years. Can a man like Henry Kissinger sit as God in all churches for 2000 years? Other than God, one person who can do this is Satan, with the devils with him. But Christians built monumental buildings for churches all over the world, and the devil is in these churches showing himself as he is God and receive the worship of people. Perhaps, if people would have known that God will not come in the churches, and he would rather live in his people as his temples, they would not have built such grand marvelous buildings for churches spending tons of money for them.
In the New Testament, the Spiritual things of God are explained. The temple was destroyed, sacrifices were stopped, the priesthood was taken away, people built new churches and God said that he will not come into the temples built by the hands of people anymore, People try to find new ways to worship other than sacrifices, God says that no ceremonies nor rituals will be accepted for worship, all the old testament laws were made void and removed, Jesus Christ gives new commandments to obey, and so on. The priesthood was removed and the resurrected Jesus Christ, who is God in the omnipotent Spirit became the only one priest and the high priest in the new testament after the order of Melchisedec. It is mentioned in many places, let us see one. "Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec."
We know that Abraham is the father of the Jews. After the slavery of Jews in Egypt, and their delivery under the leadership of Moses, Aaron was made the high priest and his descendant Levites. This priesthood was in the loins of Abraham, when Abraham slaughters the kings and come victoriously. At that time Abraham bowed down to the priest of the most high God; and hence scripture says that the Levitical priesthood also bowed down to the high priest Melchisedec, from the loins of Abraham. So, the Levitical priesthood was inferior and subordinate to Melchisedec. Who is this Melchisedec? He was the Lord Jesus Christ, at that time he was God the Word. It is in Hebrews 7:1-10. "1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; 2 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; 3 Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. 4 Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. 5 And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 7 And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. 8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. 10 For he (Levites) was yet in the loins of his father (Abraham), when Melchisedec met him." The same Jesus Christ who came to Abraham as the high priest of the most high God, and Abraham bowed down to him, and he blessed Abraham; has come down in the new testament as Jesus Christ; removed or took away the priesthood entirely; and established himself as the only one priest and mediator between God the Father and his people. "Hebrews 7:11 If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." So, the old testament priesthood and the law were removed. The old laws were like circumcision, sacrifices, celebrating feast days, sabbath days, paying tithe and offerings, and such. The new covenant is from the high priest Melchizedek, it is to take victory over Satan, to give glory and honor to God, and they are to be obeyed in life, but not in ceremonies or rituals. In short we may say that they are the commandments of Jesus Christ, followed by the apostles doctrine. So, in the new testament, the only one priest is Lord Jesus Christ; and his people will be his royal priesthood, that is, priests and kings in millennium and in eternity. We will study them latter with details.
It is unfortunate, that churches brought the old covenants back to Christians, after God has taken them away. They brought all the old priesthood back in churches, do ceremonies, rituals, follow traditions, and such; except the animal sacrifice; but they replaced animals with man Jesus and his shed blood. They pretended that the blood of Jesus Christ is available for any sinner if they believe that Jesus died for them. They also preach and apply every blessing that was given to old testament heroes like Abraham, King David, and such people for themselves and to believers in church. Preachers offer them in every sermon and worship service, to entice Christians to receive their money. God took them all away, they are preaching them as if they are available to people now; it is rebellion against God. And disobedient false preachers are doing it, but Christians boast them as men of God, and the old covenants as blessings of God. So, churches are the old temple in disguise. Satan is behind this work of rebellion. But churches are well established, despite their divisions with many denominations. The glamor of the church establishment appears as God is with them. But God says that he will not be in churches, and Satan is sitting in churches. Old covenants are revoked, and they do not exist anymore.
Now, Jesus Christ is the only priest between God and men; and he is after the order of Melchizedek. And so, the priesthood is void and cancelled, and no priesthood is allowed in churches of the new testament. Let us see what we do as Christians? The old testament blessings were good; and all of them are about prosperity, joy, and the glory of this world. Unfortunately they are not available anymore, since God removed them all. And Christians were Gentiles in the old testament, and so, they were never under any covenant blessings any time. So, Christianity is never with any covenant of God either Old or New. Now preachers preach the old promises and covenants to Christians, which were dead and void, at the death of the man Jesus. How do they enter Christianity? How did churches establish priesthood for themselves, ignoring Jesus Christ, the only one priest mediator after the order of Melchizedek? Satan the devil brought them into the churches with the overwhelming support of church leaders and Christians. Further Satan is sitting in churches showing himself as God and receiving the worship from Christians. Christians worship the devil with songs, praises, tithes, and offerings; and they do not have the truth and Spirit. If a Christian is prosperous, it is in the same way a worldly person becomes prosperous. It is not with a covenant with Jesus Christ, because he does not have any covenant with Christians. As Christians, they are not under any blessings, promises, or covenant of God. They should not bring the name of God in any of their testimonies. Now, Christianity is religiosity. It is like any other religion, and they do not have the truth and Spirit in them. If we have the holy Spirit in us, we know these things.
We saw that Jesus Christ came as a man, as in "Hebrews 10:9 ... I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." When he turned 30 years old, he began his ministry. He went to John the Baptist, but not to the high priest, to begin his ministry. Then the religious group, which bear the name of God, was the priests, Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. They represented religion. God became man Jesus to take away, that is to remove religion from the chosen of God. Jesus chose a few people from common people, made them disciples, gave them power, and told them to preach his commandments as his gospel to inherit the kingdom of God in heaven. This group is known as godly people. Religious people hated godly people, killed Jesus, and were trying to destroy the rest of them. But God took away the old covenant with the religious people and made a covenant with the godly people. Caesar and Romans were between religious group and godly group, and they are considered as worldly people. God has rejected the religious group and has made no covenant with the world. God has not made any covenant with Christians as a group; but Christians can become godly and include themselves in the covenant. We will study about all of them, especially about the godly group and the covenant God made with them, in the next study. Until then may the presence of God be with you all.
Please write to me in the 'Mail Box' below. I will
reply promptly. Thanks.
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Matthew 28:20, & Mark 16:15. Jesus Christ preached his commandments to obey, as his
Gospel; it is the true Gospel to inherit Eternal life. Genesis 3:1-4 & 2 Corinth 11:2-4. But Preachers, who are Serpents of Satan, preach the life of man Jesus just to believe, but not to live as a chaste virgin, as the gospel; it is another gospel, which cannot and will not give Eternal life.The true gospel will convert evil people to do good and thereby they will inherit the kingdom in heaven
. John 3:19-21 say that people are two kinds, evil and true. Evil doers will not come to the Light, who is God; but people of truth come to God for their deeds to be made manifest. We have good and evil people by our standard of our society or culture. These evil people may be converted to be doers of truth by the power of God, and they may inherit the kingdom of God in heaven.
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Email: Pastor True Gospel
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