Master of Deception

Satan is the "Adversary" of truth.  God created him to fill that role, and he is really good at his job, having earned a Masters Degree in Deception. Jesus and Paul both warned people about his deception...

"You are of your father, the Adversary, and the desires of your father you are wanting to do. He was a man-killer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, for truth is not in him. Whenever he may be speaking a lie, he is speaking of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. Yet I -- seeing that I am speaking the truth, you are not believing Me..."..."Satan himself is being transfigured into a messenger of light."  John 8:44-45; 2 Corinthians 11:18 CLNT)

The "Adversary", or Satan, has disguised himself as a "messenger of light", not among the wicked, but among the religious folks.  One of his favorite tools is the mistranslation of Scripture.  For example:

Mistranslation of Greek words into English:

"Aion" and its cognitive adjective "aionios": The Greek words mean "a space of time, an age and age lasting".

Satan, however, influenced theologians to define the words as "eternal" or "everlasting" or "forever and ever" in various places!

"Gehenna': This was a place in the valley of Hinnon, near Jerusalem, where propitiatory sacrifices were made to the god Moloch. It is derived from the Hebrew ge ben Hinnom, the valley of the son of Hinnom.  It was being used as a garbage dump when Jesus was on earth.

Satan, however, influenced theologians to translate the Greek word as "hell", the Greek mythological underworld ruled over by Hades, son of Zeus. 

But his most deceptive victory was getting believers to to mix the good news of the Kingdom promised Israel with the good news of Grace which applies to all mankind. 

Mixing the gospel of the Kingdom with the Gospel of Grace: Paul writes...

"...perceiving that I have been entrusted with the EVANGEL OF THE UNCIRCUMCISION, according as Peter OF THE CIRCUMCISION (For he who operates in Peter for the apostleship of the Circumcision operates in me also for the nations), and, knowing the grace which is being given to me, James and Cephas and John, who are supposed to be pillars, give to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we, indeed, are to be for the nations, yet they for the Circumcision." (Galatians 2:7 CLNT) 

This was not just a matter of to whom Peter and Paul went, but it is a matter of what they taught  - the content of the gospel they were to share.  Both evangels (gospels) are rooted in Jesus but are two different ministries to two separate groups of believers with two separate destinies in this age and the two following ages:

1. Gospel of the Kingdom "for the Circumcision": It is good news for God's covenant nation, Israel. They were to obey the Law of Moses in order to prosper.  They failed but God had promised to send another Prophet like Moses who would restore to earth the Kingdom that God had promised ISRAEL. That Prophet was Jesus, the Messiah.  But they rejected and killed him. And the irony is that his blood that they shed is the very blood that has atoned for their sin.  It is all a part of God's plan, and Jesus promised Israel that he would come again to establish the Kingdom, and bring in the "times of refreshing".

The promises and curses in the Law of Moses, the Levitical Priesthood, the word of the Prophets, and the Pentecostal gifts and miracles are for them and applies directly ONLY to them. As the covenant nation, they are to confess their sin, call upon the name of the Lord, turn from their evil ways, be baptized for the pardon of their sins, and continue to do works of righteousness found in the Law of Moses.  And most importantly, to believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah). His resurrection was the proof to them that he was the Messiah.

"And Jehovah testifies against Israel, and against Judah, by the hand of every prophet, and every seer, saying, ‘Turn back from your evil ways, and keep My commands, My statutes, according to all the law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent unto you by the hand of My servants the prophets."... "Simon Peter said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, answering, Jesus said to him, Happy are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood does not reveal it to you, but My Father Who is in the heavens."..."Peter is averring to them, Repent and be baptized each of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the pardon of your sins...so that the times of refreshing should be coming from the face of the Lord." (2 Kings 17:13 YLT; Matthew 16:16-17 CLNT; Acts 2:38, 3:19 CLNT) 

It is Israel's destiny to rule and reign with Jesus Christ in His Kingdom to be established on this earth during the two ages following this present Age.  The details of the Gospel of the Kingdom for Israel is found in the Books of the Old Testament and the New Testament Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, James, 1st and 2nd Peter, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, Jude and Revelation.

2. Gospel of Grace "for the Uncircumcision": It is the good news for all mankind that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried and rose again, and the result will be the salvation and reconciliation of all creation . Those of all nations who believe this good news are "placed" in the Body of Christ by God as He "wills". Members of the Body are to share this good news on earth during this present Age and their destiny is in the heavens in the following Ages. Jesus is the Head of the Body and His death on the cross for all sinners, flowing from the love, grace and mercy of God, is the focus of this gospel. Jesus gave the details of this good news first to the Apostle Paul which had been hidden in past Ages. Paul was the worst sinner, and the FIRST member of the Body of Christ..

"To Him who has it in His power to make you strong, as declared in the Good News which I am spreading, and the proclamation concerning Jesus Christ, in harmony with the unveiling of the Truth which in the periods of past Ages remained unuttered." ... "Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, and was entombed, and he has been roused the third day..."... "Faithful is the saying, and deserving of universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; among whom I stand foremost. But mercy was shown me in order that in me as the foremost of sinners Christ Jesus might display the fullness of His long-suffering patience as an example to encourage those who would afterwards be resting their faith on Him with a view to the Life of the Ages. Now to the immortal and invisible King of the Ages, who alone is God, be honor and glory to the Ages of the Ages! Amen." (Romans 16:25 WEH; Timothy 1:15-17 WEH)

All of the details and destiny of the Body of Christ are found in the New Testament Books of Acts, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Summary of the Deception:

Satan and his "servants" have succeeded in mixing these two gospels to such an extent that the gospels have become "a different gospel, which is really not another". 

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the GRACE of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ...For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:6-12)

Satan's deception is temporary, for "the truth" of the "redemption" of all mankind will be obvious to all at the end of the ages when all are saved, and all creation reconciled to God.

"For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins...and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach." ..."This is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. Prescribe and teach these things." (Colossians 1:13-22;1 Timothy 4:9-11

Pass on what Paul told us to "teach" so that others might come "to a knowledge of the truth".

"This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth." (1 Timothy 2:1-8)

Grab yourself your favorite beverage, for this may take a little longer than usual. As promised yesterday, I want to tell you what I consider to be the most egregious of the “secretly introduced destructive heresies” which was introduced and remains in Church doctrine. I will use two different translations of Matthew 25:46 to help reveal this “heresy”...

“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:45-46 NASB)

“And these shall go away to punishment age-during, but the righteous to life age-during” (Matthew 25:46 YLT)

So which is it - “eternal” punishment and life as the NASB has it, or “age-during” punishment and life as the YLT has it?

Once again I went to the concordance and the oldest original Greek manuscripts. I found that the Greek word translated “eternal” and “age-during” is “aionion” with the Strong’s Concordance number 166. So I used a research tool and called up all 71 verses in Scripture where “aionion” is used to find its meaning by it use. And I found that almost every time either “eternal” or “age-during” would fit and make sense, except for three times, one of which I will quote in this post…

“In hope of eternal (G166) life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world (G166) began” (Titus 1:2 KJV)

G166 refers to the Strong’s number and is the Greek word “aionian”.  Notice that the same Greek word is translated IN THAT SAME VERSE both “eternal” and “world” in that English translation. But if the word really meant eternal why not translate it “eternal” in both places? Pretty obvious, because it would not make sense!

When God used the word it must have meant the same thing in both places because he is not a God of confusion. So I concluded that “aionion” must mean “age-during” as the YLT (and other translations) indicate, because it makes sense in all 166 places it is used. So the YLT is correct in my opinion and the verse correctly reads…

“Upon hope of life age-during, which God, who doth not lie, did promise before times of ages” (Titus 1:2 YLT)

Then I realized the word “aionion” is an adjective. An adjective describes its noun. And an adjective can never be greater than the noun it describes. (My High School English teacher Mary Jo Gurley would be so proud of me). So I looked up the noun and found it to be the Greek word “aion”, Strong Concordance number of 165. It is used 128 times in the NT. Again looking at all of those verses the only English translation that fits in all places is...drum roll...AGE.

So despite the fact that most English versions of the Bible translate“aion” and “aionion” use eternal or everlasting, they are wrong, and Young's Literal Translation – YLT is correct. It means AGE…IT HAS A BEGINNING AND AN END!

In my opinion, mistranslating the noun “aion” and its adjective “aionion” is the most egregious example of false teachers “secretly introducing destructive heresies”, which has the effect of “denying the Master who bought them”, or at least what he came to do...save sinners, not eternally condemn and punish them. Those mistranslated verses are used (out of context) to back up the horrible heretical doctrine of eternal conscious torment in hell...THE MOST EGREGIOUS “secretly introduced heresy” of all, that of course is only my opinion.

God indeed chastens both believers and unbelievers during this AGE in which we live. Good Fathers do that. And He will chasten (punish) unbelievers during the next two ages spoken about in the Scripture. But not forever, just for the AGE it refers to. And even then NOT in the torture chamber of Greek Mythology and Christian false doctrine. What Father would do that?

So back to Matthew 25 above. What age is Jesus referring to and to whom is Jesus speaking? Well this post is too long as it is so just read Revelation 20 in Young's Literal Translation...Jesus is speaking to Israel, and the age lasts 1000 years...followed by the age of the New Heaven and New Earth. And then read 1 Corinthians 15:20-28 where Paul “completes” the Word of God by assuring mankind that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ ALL shall be made alive…and God will be ALL in ALL”.

So now, as Paul Harvey used to say, you have the REST of the Story!