The Great Deep and the Genesis Gap

Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

There is a “great deep”  of water separating the third heaven and second heaven and the face of it is frozen like glass according to the Bible (Gen. 1:6-8; Ps. 18:9-11, 29:3, 29:10, 104:3, 148:4;  Job 26:7-13, 37:18, 38:30-32; Hab. 3:15; Rev. 4:6, 15:2; Jer. 10:13, 51:16, etc.). 

Genesis 1:6 states that the firmament (the atmosphere and outer space, or 1st and 2nd heavens) was placed in the “midst” of the waters to divide the waters from the waters. The water is already present on the 1st and 2nd days of creation. On the second day of creation, God created a "firmament"; He did not create the waters on that day. The waters are present before the first day of creation (vs. 2). God did not create the Earth or the water during the creation week. He created the Earth in Genesis 1:1 and by Genesis 1:2 He has flooded it. The waters are already present, both on Earth (waters under the firmament) and above the Earth in the heavens (waters above the firmament). Many of the “young earth” creationists say that everything was created during the 6 days of creation, yet the Earth and the waters are already present (Gen. 1:2) before the week starts. 

As a side note, before any flat earth conspiracy theorists come forward talking about a “dome” over the earth being the firmament rather than the heavens themselves being the firmament, I would refer them to Genesis 1:20. “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” 

The “great deep”, the “waters above the heavens”, are mentioned many times in the Bible in the context of heaven, the stars, and God’s thrown. Job 26:13 mentions the “crooked serpent” in the context of these waters, which is no doubt the location of Leviathan. "In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." (Isa. 27:1).

Psalms 18:

[9] He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.

[10] And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.

[11] He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies. 

(context of the waters are the heavens and cherubs)

Psalms 29:3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.

(context is where God is, the third Heaven)

Psalms 29:10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.

(context is where God is, the third Heaven)

Psalms 33:

[6] By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
[7] He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

(context is the making of the heavens)

Psalms 93:

[2] Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
[3] The floods have lifted up, O LORD, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves.

(context is God's throne)

Psalms 104:

[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:

(context is the heavens)

Psalms 148:

[1] Praise ye the LORD. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens: praise him in the heights.
[2] Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts.
[3] Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
[4] Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.

(context is the heavens)

Job 26:

[7] He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
[8] He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.
[9] He holdeth back the face of his throne, and spreadeth his cloud upon it.
[10] He hath compassed the waters with bounds, until the day and night come to an end.
[11] The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof.
[12] He divideth the sea with his power, and by his understanding he smiteth through the proud.
[13] By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent.

(the context is the heavens and God's throne)

Job 37:18 Hast thou with him spread out the sky, which is strong, and as a molten looking glass?

(clearly a cross reference to the "sea of glass" that is spread out below the third Heaven [Rev. 4:6, 15:2]. The "face of the deep is frozen" as we will see in the next set of verses.)

Job 38:

[29] Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
[30] The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.
[31] Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?
[32] Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?
[33] Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

(the context is the heavens and stars [pleiades, Orion, Mazzaroth, Arcturus])

Habakkuk 3:15 Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses, through the heap of great waters. (Context is the Second Coming)

Satan, Leviathan, dwells in this body of water. It is his  “place” in the second heaven (Job 41:4; Isa. 27:1;  Rev. 12:7-9). His “high place” in the “air” (Eph. 2:2, 6:12). 

So how did the Earth become covered in these waters for God to need to separate them before the creation week? 

Genesis 1:

[1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

The present world was “founded upon the floods” of Genesis 1:2. Psalms 24:1-2 “The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.” There are several cross references to God flooding the Earth after it was originally created. 

Psalms 104:

[1] Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
[2] Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
[3] Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind:
[4] Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
[5] Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
[6] Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the waters stood above the mountains.
[7] At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they hasted away.
[8] They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
[9] Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover the earth.

Psalms 104 is another creation account that provides details on Genesis 1. We see that after God created the angels (vs 4) and laid the foundation of the Earth (vs 5), that He covered it with the deep (vs 6). Verses 6-7 clearly refer to Genesis 1:2-8. Some have suggested that this is the flood of Noah’s day, but the context is creation (vs 1-5). And when the flood of Noah’s day was over, the waters did not flee away and nor is it said that God spoke anything (“rebuke”, “voice of thy thunder”). The waters in Psalms 104 “fled” and “hasted away”. The waters of Noah’s day persisted for months after the flood.

Genesis 8:

[3] And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
[4] And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.
[5] And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen.
[6] And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made:
[7] And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth.
[8] Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground;
[9] But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark.

After all that time had past, the dove still found no rest and the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Psalms 104 clearly is not referring to Noah's flood. 

Here is another creation passage that clearly says God flooded the original creation. 

Job 38:

1] Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,
[2] Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?
[3] Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.
[4] Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.
[5] Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?
[6] Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof;
[7] When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
[8] Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?
[9] When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
[10] And brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors,
[11] And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?
[12] Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place;
[13] That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the wicked might be shaken out of it?

Here we see a chronology of these events

1.) God laid the foundations of the earth [vs. 4-6]

2.) The morning stars and sons of God shouted for joy (sons of God referring to the angels) [vs. 7]

3.) The "proud" waves of the sea broke forth and had to be shut up with doors [vs. 8]

4.) God covered the earth with clouds and darkness [vs. 9] 

5.) God commanded the morning and caused the dayspring to know his place [vs. 12]

6.) The morning/dayspring (creation of light) was created [vs. 12] 

The passage fits hand in glove with Genesis 1:1-5 where we see these same events take place. Notice in Job 38:13 that the reason for the morning/dayspring (creation of light) was for this purpose, "that the wicked might be shaken out of" the earth. Satan had fallen already before the first day of the creation week. Some have accused those of us who believe in the Genesis gap of not being able to associate the flood of Genesis 1:2 with Lucifer's fall. However, this reference to "the wicked" being shaken out is clearly a reference to Satan (Matt. 13:19; Eph. 6:16; 2 Thes. 2:8; 1 Jn. 2:13-14, 3:12, 5:18). Not to mention the famous passage in Ezekiel on Satan being the fallen anointed cherub also mentions being "destroyed in the midst of the seas" and "slain in the midst of the seas" (Ezek. 27:32, 28:8). God said to the king of Tyrus, "I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee" (Ezek. 26:19). 

Ezekiel 26:

[18] Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at thy departure.
[19] For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;
[20] When I shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set glory in the land of the living;

Ezekiel 27:

[32] And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?
[33] When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.
[34] In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

Some have attempted to argue that the king of Tyrus, "the Assyrian", and Pharaoh in Ezekiel are not prophetically speaking of Satan and his fallen minions, but I have not seen strong evidence for such an argument. Historically these people were not in Eden the garden of God and were not anointed cherubs.The references to their fall to the pit and their association with "the deep", "the multitude of waters", etc. can only be true of Lucifer (Ezek. 31:3-18, 32:2-30). 

Ezekiel 31:

[4] The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field.
[5] Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth.
[6] All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations.
[7] Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters.
[8] The cedars in the garden of God could not hide him: the fir trees were not like his boughs, and the chestnut trees were not like his branches; nor any tree in the garden of God was like unto him in his beauty.
[9] I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied him.
[10] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thou hast lifted up thyself in height, and he hath shot up his top among the thick boughs, and his heart is lifted up in his height;

Ezekiel 32:

[2] Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.
[3] Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will therefore spread out my net over thee with a company of many people; and they shall bring thee up in my net.
[4] Then will I leave thee upon the land, I will cast thee forth upon the open field, and will cause all the fowls of the heaven to remain upon thee, and I will fill the beasts of the whole earth with thee.
[5] And I will lay thy flesh upon the mountains, and fill the valleys with thy height.
[6] I will also water with thy blood the land wherein thou swimmest, even to the mountains; and the rivers shall be full of thee.
[7] And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
[8] All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD. 

There is a repeated emphasis on the deep, these waters. Satan is also called Leviathan, swimming in the great deep (Job 41:1; Ps. 74:14, 104:26; Isa. 27:1; Rev. 12:15-16). 

A study of the great deep and Satan will lead you to the truth of the Genesis Gap. It has nothing to do with evolution; none of these Biblical facts accommodates evolution whatsoever. The so called "young earth creationism" movement does not explain the origins of Satan or the many references to the body of water that is above the heavens. They also give faulty interpretation on creation passages such as Job 38, Psalms 104, and Genesis 1:1-2.Meanwhile they accuse those of us who believe in the Genesis Gap of being evolution compromisers and worse. Though this is not an essential doctrine, it is something the Bible has a great deal to say about and it would be neglectful to not study out these references. 

I hope these references will spark your interest into studying these matters out further and to know God's word better.

 

 

“Grace Movement” Religion. Are “pastors” for the Body of Christ?

As I said recently in a post about Jan Wilborn and the term “born again”, some fellow Mid Acts Dispensationalists have been creating religious dogma in the name of “rightly dividing the word of truth”. They are letting their religion interfere with what the Bible says. 

The fellow that made the Facebook post above is a Mid Acts Dispensationalist like myself. He claims to let the Bible say what it means and mean what it says. However, his religion says that if Israel had “pastors” then the church the Body of Christ cannot have them. I would like to see a chapter and verse for this rule of Bible interpretation. Israel breathed oxygen under the law, does that mean we cannot breathe oxygen under grace? Of course not. Terms such as “saved”, “righteous”, “justified”, etc. are used of both groups….along with many others (such as a new birth, Galatians 4:29). There is no Bible rule that if a word is used for Israel then it cannot be used for the Body of Christ also. 

So the fellow above says that “pastor” is a Jewish term only for Israel. I wonder if he would say the same thing about the word “teacher” since it is first used in 1 Chronicles, Psalms, Proverbs, etc. to Jews? How do we know what terms can be used for both Israel and the Body of Christ? Do we need a religious guru to tell us? No. The answer is simple. If the Bible uses a term for both groups, then it is a term that can be used for both groups…

Ephesians 4:

[11] And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
[12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
[13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Pastors are clearly given as something used to edify the Body of Christ after the resurrection. 

What does the word pastor mean? It comes from a Latin word meaning “to feed” and is connected to shepherding sheep.

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary: “ A shepherd; one that has the care of flocks and herds.”

Is this a fitting word for the Body of Christ? 

Acts 20:

[28] Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
[29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Paul likened the believers to a flock and the teachers to overseers feeding them. So how could “pastor” not be a fitting word, unless your religion is blinding you to the word of God? 

Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Religious tradition is creeping into the so called “grace movement”. People are creating false rules of interpretation based on tradition (dispensational based tradition is still tradition) rather than what the scripture says. Some people are forgetting that creating a false division in the word of God is just as much a failure to “rightly”divide as not making a division at all. 2 Timothy 2:15 is not just commanding to divide, the division must be “RIGHT”. 

“The Mythological “Gap Theory” by Dr. Peter Ruckman (Bible Believers Bulletin)

“The Mythological “Gap Theory” 

By Dr. Peter S. Ruckman:

 In a recent publication called The Gap Theory, by Kent Hovind and Stephen Hawwell, we have a denial of thirty-one verses in Genesis 1 on the basis that the “Institute for Creation Research” (El Cajun, California) believes in correcting the King James Bible anywhere its “constituents” cannot understand it. In this case, Dr. Kent Hovind, who taught Stephen Lawwell how to correct the Bible “with the original Hebrew,” as all Alexandrians have done since 1800 (to the tune of 30,000 changes in the Old Testament). 

The alibi for perverting the first chapter in Genesis (as the Scofield notes did in verses 6 and 16 to make them fit “modern, scientific research”) is that a “gap theory” was invented in the early 1800s to blend the belief in a 6,000-year-old earth with a 2,000,000,000 year old earth, as taught by evolutionists. The teaching, therefore, that Genesis 1:2– 3 refers to a catastrophe that took place AFTER God created the original earth is said to be a “godless theory” (Kent Hovind). The denial of this Biblical truth , in the book we are examining, is something so precious that it is “dedicated to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for His unchanging grace and mercy,” blah, blah, blah.

Typical, pious Fundamentalism in the Laodicean apostasy. Here is what is in this pamphlet ( The Gap Theory —no date or publisher on the pamphlet). 

Page 2: The writer assumes that every Christian who believes in the first chapter of Genesis, AS IT STANDS (see below), thinks that “billions of years passed between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.” 

They believe nothing of the kind. If you want the time it would be about 2,000 years, making an even 7,000 years between the first creation (2 Pet. 3) and the second creation (Rev. 21), in case Israel had accepted John as Elijah and the Rapture had taken place in Acts 7, ushering in Daniel’s Seventieth Week—which it did NOT. 

You see, at the root of the denial of Genesis 1:2–3 causing a necessary “recreation” is pure ignorance of both Testaments. This is always the case in every case of scholarly, Christian scholarship that messes with the King James Bible; not one exception since 1800. 

Then you are sidetracked for five pages with a “history” of the supposed invention of a “theory” (Chalmers, Hutton, Lyell, Darwin, Scofield, Larkin, Billy Graham, John Hagee, et al.) to prove that if any Christian discovers a Biblical truth that the highly educated Christian scholars have not found, it cannot be a genuine revelation; it has to be a heresy. 

All Alexandrians have done this for 300 years; they continue to do so in regards to more than forty-five revelations which came from the AV Bible, AFTER 1950, that none of them were able to find in any Hebrew or Greek text since those texts were written. (See The Unknown Bible, The Mythological Septuagint, ISRAEL: A Deadly Piece of Dirt, and the Bible Believer’s Commentaries on Genesis, Exodus, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Acts, Hebrews, The Minor Prophets, and Revelation.) 

All apostate, Laodicean Nicolaitans have one desire: to drag YOU down to their level of ignorance. 

Page 7: Now your time is taken up with the word “replenish” (Heb. “male”) with TWO meanings; one being “to fill AGAIN.” The apostate Fundamentalists tell you that God made an error here and should have used the Hebrew word “shana” if He had intended to “refill” instead of “fill.” Typical Bible correcting by a gnat-straining nothing, as you will see in a moment. 

Page 8: “Gap theorists frequently quote Jeremiah 4:23–24 to prove their point.” Not at PBI, sonny, Not once in thirty-eight years. Anyone can see the “birds” in verse 25 and the Tribulation references (vss. 20, 26), which liken the catastrophe in Genesis 1:2 to the earth in the future. 

You are to reject the King James text in 2 Peter 3 on the grounds that “there are good reasons to believe that Peter is referring to the flood of Noah” in verse 6. No text of 2 Peter 3 implies such a reference; verse 4 states the time of the flood to which Peter refers. 

“And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation” (2 Pet. 3:4). 

Now watch how the Lord destroys the minds of Christians like Hovind, Lawwell, and Jim Tedder as they seek to destroy both Testaments (Gen. 1 and 2 Pet. 3). They say that the phrase “willingly are ignorant of” has to refer to a flood about which everyone knew, so it had to be Noah’s flood. Then to cinch

their case, they take the word “heavens” out of the context (see vss. 5, 7, 10, 13) and claim that if “the world” perished in the flood of Noah (Gen. 7:23) that fulfills the requirements of “the heavens and the earth” (2 Pet. 3:7) and “the heaven and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). 

Typical Laodicean “Fundamentalist” scholarship by Biblical illiterates who mess with the AV text: absolutely typical. 

To get rid of the THREE heavens and earths that are listed in 2 Peter 3, Hovind and Lawwell grab a verse out of Revelation 21 to refute them. This verse (vs. 1) was simply comparing the new heavens and new earth (AND New Jerusalem— they forgot that one! ) that had just vanished away. There was no Jerusalem, new or old, in Genesis 1:1. 

“The first” in Revelation 21:1 is NOT a doctrinal reference to the history of the earth since Genesis 1:1. Second Peter 3 is a history since Genesis 1:1. 

Now notice that. Notice it carefully. Observe the same “Scriptural ignorance” of Curtis Hutson and John R. Rice when dealing with Acts 10:43 to prove that everyone in the Old Testament under the Law got forgiveness of sins through the name of Jesus Christ; His blood atonement was preached by all of the Old Testament prophets (Acts 10:43). IT WASN’T. 

They didn’t. Not one prophet in the Old Testament talked about salvation “through the name of Jesus Christ.” Not one of them. Acts 10:43 said they did, just like Revelation 21:1 said the

New Heavens and New Earth came right after “the first” ones. Note another example in the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4, which would indicate no others exist. But there are seven of them; they are listed in any version of a King James Bible. The trick is to quote and use Ephesians 4:5 as a “proof text” to prove a lie. That is why Hovind and Lawwell quoted Revelation 21:1. 

Note! All Biblical illiterates can find “proof texts” with which to teach a lie if they lack the spiritual discernment (or the zeal) to “search the scriptures” instead of “history” (pp. 4–7) or Hebrew and Greek words (pp. 7–9). Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in all Laodicean colleges, seminaries, and universities. 

Now, Exodus 20:11 is quoted to prove that nothing existed before Genesis 1:3. No angels, no cherubim, no seraphim, etc. Unfortunately, angels were present in Genesis 1:1, before God made the earth. The apostates forgot Job 38:4, 7 (“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding . . . When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”) in their anxiety to make a liar out of the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2–3. 

Finally, to undermine your faith in the word of God completely, these apostates tell you that if you believe what Clarence Larkin, E. Bullinger, Cornelius Stam, C. I. Scofield, Gabelein, Frank Norris, Jack Hyles, Oliver Green, Pember, et al., believed about Genesis 1:2 you have “ denied the purpose of the cross.” That would make you a Christ-rejecting infidel. The Mythological “Gap Theory” 

Note: this is the exact position of all Dry Cleaners (“Bereans”) when teaching 1 Corinthians 1. They link verse 14 with verse 17 so that if you teach that a convert of Jesus Christ should follow Him (and Paul!) in water baptism you are denying the efficacy of THE BLOOD ATONEMENT. 

Typical bigoted, ignorant, Biblical illiteracy in the twentieth and twenty-first century. Absolutely uniform from all quarters. 

In their deluded madness Hovind and Sawwell cry out, “If death existed prior to Adam’s sin then would it be the RESULT of sin?” (p. 17). 

Simple, you silly asses (and I say that with “charity” of course! Of course!): who said anything about any man or animal dying before Genesis 3? Straw dummy. It couldn’t have been Satan, for he is alive and well before Genesis 1:2 as a cherub (Ezek. 14), and he is alive and well AFTER the mythological “gap” (Isa. 14), and he is still alive and running the world in the twenty-first century. The angels were “cast down” (2 Pet. 2), not killed, and are in a pit (Jude) of fire. Those angels were drowned in the days of Noah long AFTER Genesis 3. 

What is the matter with Hovind and Sawwell? Nothing that hasn’t been a standard order of procedure for more than 300 years with EVERY Christian scholar who messed with the King James text (any edition of any revision). God messes with his mind. Now! Let me show you why we call these great, good, “godly,” scholarly men “twinkies,” “cloned robots,” “goofballs,” and “programmed jackasses.” Look at Genesis 1. This time read it and dot each

verse. Have you done it? Got thirty-one dots, do you? If not, do it. You do not need a third-grade education to do it: do it. 

Do you see the word “and” at the beginning of verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc. to the end of the chapter? You do not need a thirdgrade education to see it. Only a Greek or Hebrew scholar would fail to see it. So let us, for the sake of “argument,” pretend for a moment that we are highly-educated, scientific, godly Christian “researchers” bent on “enlightening” the Body of Christ and saving them from the awful heresy of “the Gap Theory.” Let us “go to the original Hebrew” and see what this word “and” should be! 

Oops! It is “waw consecutive”  (“VAU” in some texts), the sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It pops up thirty times in thirty-one verses, beginning with verse 2. Guess what it means! 

It means “AND”! “And” is an addition. Not once in thirty verses does it refer to anything that happened in a verse BEFORE it. Every time “and” occurs in Genesis 1 it is an additional statement of something that takes place AFTER the previous verse. Not one time— not one out of thirty times —does any verse in Genesis 1 describe what took place, in time, BEFORE the “waw consecutive.” What does this mean? It means that verse 2 can no more have any reference, in time, to what took place in verse 1 than it would have a reference to John 3:16 or Romans 8:28. 

There has never been a gap “THEORY.” The “gap” was a Scriptural fact confirmed thirty times in the very chapter in which it appeared. Any second-grade student could see it. apostate Biblical illiterate could fail to see it. We have the “winners,” don’t we, baby?! 

I hate to keep saying “note,” but if you don’t “note” it, these fake “Bible teachers” will keep right on pulling the wool over your eyes till the Rapture: and it is 80 percent cotton at that. Here, an entire chapter in the Bible has been sacrificed to prove a LIE, and any simpleton, without referring to ANY Hebrew word or ANY Greek word (LXX version), should have into such nonsense as “replenish” and “fill” in Hebrew, or “tohu” and “became,” etc., are NOT RELEVANT to any system of interpretation or exposition. 

These are just typical “dodges” and “distractions” to call to your mind that the destructive critic is more highly educated than you are, so you need HIM and his opinions or “researches” to understand a verse with which no one would have any trouble if they read the chapter. 

Verse 24 does not describe how God carried out verse 22. Verse 22 does not describe how God carried out verse 21. Verse 20 takes place BEFORE verse 21; verse 17 takes place BEFORE God decided to let the lights “rule” and “divide light from darkness”; in verse 15 He decided to do this before He did it in verse 16, which took place before he “set them” in verse 17. Is that clear? 

God did not see the quality of His light (vs. 4) before He spoke it into existence (vs. 3). He did not speak it into existence (vs. 3) till “the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (vs. 2). Verse 2 is not a description of anything God did in verse 1. Verse 1 precedes verse 2. Get it? The “waw consecutive” shows the chronological order thirty times in thirty-one verses. 

Hovind and Lawwell, being just as confused as Bob Jones III or Arlin Horton trying to explain Hebrews 6 (or Clarence Sexton or Lee Roberson trying to explain Heb. 3), pretended that verse 2 was telling you HOW God carried out the previous verse: not one time in thirty verses, NO. 

Note (!!) that Exodus 20:11 is not a doctrinal statement on the history of creation. If it was, it would be false. There are three heavens after Genesis 1:2. Didn’t you read the New Testament (2 Cor. 12)? DO, they didn’t. 

Exodus 20:11 and 31:17 is explaining WHY a Sabbath rest was given to Israel. It is not a chronological account of creation as given in Genesis 1 by the Holy Spirit via Moses. It is the present heaven and earth about which Exodus 20:11 and 31:17 are talking, exactly as Revelation mentioned the earth that was PRESENT in Revelation 20, before Revelation 20:11. Simon Peter, giving a doctrinal account of the history of the HEAVENS and earth (see 2 Pet. 3), clearly locates and describes three different combinations of “heavens and earth.” 1. The heavens and earth that WERE (vss. 5–6). 2. The heavens and earth that ARE (vs. 7). 3. The heavens and earth that “shall be” (vs. 13). The earth, in the heavens and earth “which are now” were not “standing out of the water and in the water” and it was not “overflowed with water.” It was RAINED out (Gen. 6–8). That isn’t all. The heavens and earth that “WERE” were “from the beginning of the creation.” Genesis 1:1 is the “beginning”— not the six days of creation that follow (vs. 2). The “BEGINNING.” Note: “FROM” the beginning. 

Try the “King’s English” from 1611. It is vastly superior to Hebrew and Greek scholarship of any profession in 2002.

Jan Wilbourn and the definition of “regeneration”

A certain religious fellow by the name of Jan Wilbourn said to me regarding the post I did on the new birth: 

“God Rightly Divide's  how the term " born again " was to be used and God used this term to Israel! God used the term " regeneration " with the church the body of Christ and we go by the way God Rightly Divides!”

“God wrote one term to Israel " born again " and another term " regeneration " to the Church the Body of Christ.”

“The word " regeneration " comes from the Greek word " palingenesia " translated twice " regeneration " nothing about birth????? The greek word " palingenesia " comes from another Greek word "palin "  which is translated " again " (142x). [ nothing about birth ]

Probably from the same as πάλη (G3823) (through the idea of oscillatory repetition) which is the Greek word " palē " which is translated " wrestle (1x). [ nothing about birth ? ] And all of these Greek words come from the root Greek word " ballō " which is translated : cast (86x), put (13x), thrust (5x), cast out (4x), lay (3x), lie (2x), miscellaneous (12x). [ nothing about birth ]

If you have noticed NONE of the translated work from the inspired Greek translators of the KING JAMES use " birth " in connection to this word!”  

And also he added…

“Regeneration " is not " generation? " You cannot see that they are even spelled different? These are two different words! Eli, you have a computer or phone because you are on here? Go to Blue Letter Bible and use the [ tools ] to look up words and how the King James translators translated the words and how they differ. Be honest do you see the difference in the two words above? " Re " and no " Re " in the words above? STUDY! Words that are spelled different are different?”

Now as I said in the post on new birth, there are certain people who try to police the terminology new birth, born after the Spirit, etc. because their religion tells them that it is the same thing as Israel being born again as a nation at the Second Coming (Isa. 66:8). This is a religious tradition and not scripture, for Paul wrote to the Body of Christ that they were “born after the Spirit” and had received the washing of “regeneration” and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Gal. 4:29; Titus 3:5). 

My post acknowledged and shared many scriptures on the distinction between Israel being born again at the Second Coming and the new birth of the believer in the Body of Christ. But just as I said in my post on the new birth, people would try to make this an issue of whether you are rightly dividing the word of truth or not. That is not the issue. Jan Wilbourn wants to make it sound like if you believe the members of the Body of Christ experience a new birth upon salvation then you are not rightly dividing the word of truth. That is because his religious denominational mentality dictates that we not question his assumptions (that Israel is the only one that experiences a new birth) and if anyone does question his religious beliefs then he gets mad, accuses you of not rightly dividing, and says not to use that phrase (“born again”). 

Mr. Wilbourn reminds me of the very religious Jews in Acts chapter 22 that got so offended at Paul’s use of one word. 

Acts 22: 

[21] And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
[22] And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

Religious people hate for you to question their traditions. Bible believers encourage others to search the scriptures and check to see if what they are saying is true (Acts 17:11) and “prove all things” (1 Thes. 5:21). Jan Wilbourn does not like for people to question his religious traditions that make the word of God of none effect (Mark 7:13). In fact, though Jan Wilbourn professes to be a King James Bible believer, he said above that “regeneration” does not really refer to a new generating (birth) because his Blue Letter Bible app tells him that the same Greek word can be translated other ways. He would never admit to this, but in essence he thinks it is okay to change Titus 3:5 to a different word because the KJB translators translated it differently in other places. The reason he wants to say “regeneration” does not really mean generating again is because it disagrees with his religious system. He wants to change the word of God to (in the name of the KJB translators, how pious!) fit his theology just like all the Bible perverting Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodist, Campbellites, and JWs. The Grace Movement is supposed to be opposed to religious tradition and denominationalism, but Jan Wilbourn is still very much in bed with them. As for his claim that the root Greek word is not associated with a birth or generation, he points out that it is translated as “cast forth”, “cast”, “thrust”, etc. Is not a baby cast out of the mother’s womb? Thrust out? Born. I believe that the KJB translators use of “regeneration” is accurate and is the word God put in His book. 

Jan Wilbourn and I have been to the same Bible conferences and probably agree with each other on almost everything dispensationally (Mid Acts Dispensationalism). Yet because I said at the end of my post that the Body of Christ does experience a new birth, he deleted me from his online “Rightly Dividing Explained” forum and got very offended (I have the correspondence saved if anyone would like proof). 

But as for the issue at hand. Paul said that we are “born after the Spirit”…

Galatians 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

Everyone on Earth has been born at least once (obviously)

#1 physical birth 

And per the apostle Paul, believers are “born after the Spirit”. 

#2 spiritual birth

Therefore, despite all of Jan Wilbourn’s Strong’s concordance Blue Letter Bible perverting smokescreen, the Body of Christ does experience a new birth. A second birth. Therefore we are born “again”. The word “again” means “a second time”. So if you have been physically born and then get saved and are “born after the Spirit” then you have been “born again”.

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

Now as for “regeneration” the scriptures are clear. A “generation” is a birth (Gen. 10:1, 17:12; Matt. 1:1, etc). So a “RE”generation would be a new birth. I am sure Jan Wilbourn would agree that a refill of water is a second cup of water, a rerun is a second airing of a show, a rewrite is a second writing, etc. But because Jan Wilbourn’s religious tradition does not allow him to believe that the Body of Christ experiences a second birth, he has trouble figuring out what “re” and “generation” mean when put together and tries to change the word of God to fit his religion. 

Also, Jan Wilbourn made the statement that “born again” is for Israel and “regeneration” is for the Body of Christ. He seemed to be ignoring Matthew 19. 

Matthew 19:

[28] And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
[29] And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

As I pointed out in the post on being born again, Israel’s regeneration at the Second Coming is different than a member of the Body of Christ being regenerated upon salvation. My point here is not that they are the same, only that the words “regeneration” and “born” are used of both groups (yet to describe different things). 

Like I said in the previous post on being born again, John 3 was not written to the Body of Christ. What I have said is that the Body of Christ is born a second time (spiritually) based on Titus 3:5 and Galatians 4:29. It is okay for both Israel and the Body of Christ to have a spiritual birth. Just like they both have their own rapture/resurrection, destination, salvation, etc. There is no reason to be afraid of the term “born” as if it will make you no longer a dispensationalist “rightly dividing the word of truth”. 

I would challenge Jan Wilbourn to demonstrate from the King James Bible, without changing the words because of the “Greek” he learned from Blue Letter Bible app, that “regeneration” does not mean a new generating. Or can he prove that somehow being “born after the Spirit” is not a new birth or being born “a second time”? Also, can he show what is the danger of both terms being applied to Israel and the Body of Christ? Because the Bible uses “resurrection” for both groups, “saved” for both groups, etc. and it causes no confusion as long as you rightly divide the word of truth.  

The big picture

 

Born again. Israel or the Body of Christ?

Within mainstream evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity in America the term "born again" is synonymous with being saved. I have seen billboards and signs put up by churches that say "ye must be born again". We can admire their effort to use the word of God to reach people, but the term "born again" has no special meaning to a lot of people and they do not know what it means. A better use of the billboards and signs would be scriptures such as "Christ died for our sins" or "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ". The phrase "born again" to people unfamiliar with the word of God could mean a lot of things, such as starting a new life with a clean slate. They think it means to quit doing certain things (drinking, drugs, etc.) and turn over a new leaf. Of course that is not what it means and it is not the fault of God's word that people misconstrue it. But at the same time if you put the five words "ye must be born again" on a sign without the context or explanation that Christ gave in that passage (John 3) how are people going to understand it? The scripture gives light yes, but knowing an isolated few words with no context can be just as dangerous as not knowing the scripture at all. For example, if all you knew was "be saved in childbearing" (1 Tim. 2:15) you could come to the conclusion that only women that bear children could be saved and all the childless women and all men are not saved. Of course the passage is talking about being saved from deception in context, which shows how important context is when learning scripture verses.

On the flip side, many good dispensationalists have started teaching that we (the Body of Christ) are not "born again" and the passage is strictly about Israel. It is true that John was an apostle of the circumcision commissioned to preach the gospel of the kingdom (Gal. 2:9; Matt.24:14). It is also true that Christ said to Nicodemus "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" (so "born again" is found in the Old Testament and Nicodemus should have known about it). Even so, that does not mean right off the bat that John chapter 3:1-10 have no connection to the church the Body of Christ. Christ's death and resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament (Isa. 53; Ps. 22; Acts 2:27), yet that is the basis for there being a church the Body of Christ (Eph. 2:16-18; Col. 2:10-15). Prophecy and Mystery must be rightly divided (2 Tim. 2:15, Rom. 16:25, Acts 3:19-26), but that does not mean that there are not connections between the dispensations or foundational things that cross dispensations. For example, the dietary laws that began in Genesis 2 changed in every dispensation, but that "God made them male and female" has continued in every dispensation since the "beginning of the creation of God". 

So is it of necessity that being "born again" is strictly for Israel? Not simply because it is found in John chapter 3 outside of Paul's epistles. We would need more proof than that. The simple thing to do is look at what being "born again" means and look and see if Paul said anything about it to the Body of Christ. 

Before we look at that, I would like to point out that what we believe about being born again is not the standard for whether we are rightly dividing the word of truth. I have heardcpeople say that if you believe you are “born again” then you must not understand dispensationalism and you are borderline embracing replacement theology. That is simply not true. One of the greatest dispensationalists of the 19th century, Sir Robert Anderson, who was an Acts 28 dispensationalist, believed in using the term "born again" and applying scriptures such as John 3:16. 

Sir Robert Anderson The Silence of God page 157, “Greatest of them all is the miracle of the new birth by the Spirit of God, with its outward side of conversion from a life of selfishness or sin to a life of consecrated service.”. (Reprint of the 8th edition, Kregel Publications) 

Sir Robert Anderson in Forgotten Truths, “In the early years of my Christian life I was greatly perplexed and distressed by the supposition that the plain and simple words of such scriptures as John 3:16, 1 John 2:2, and 1 Timothy 2:6 were not true, save in a cryptic sense understood only by the initiated…But half a century ago a friend of those days—the late Dr. Horatius Bonar—delivered me from this strangely prevalent error.” 

There are many other quotes from other good dispensational authors I could give. Not because they are authoritative, but to demonstrate that this "born again" issue is not what makes you a dispensationalist or not.

From the scriptures, here is what we know about being "born again"....

Israel was born of God in the Old Testament. "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn." (Exod. 4:22-23). God created Israel as a nation and as a son under the Old Covenant. Prophecy states that He will create them as His people again under a New Covenant and that they will be born again.

Isaiah 43:

[1] But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.
[2] When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
[3] For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
[4] Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.
[5] Fear not: for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west;
[6] I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
[7] Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

We see here in Isaiah 43 another reference to Israel being 'created" and "formed" by God for His "glory". They are His "sons" and "daughters". In verse 5-7 we see a prophecy of believing Israel's 'post tribulation' rapture where they will be born at once (again) under the New Covenant. "I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth". They will be born of the Spirit under this New Covenant and their sins will be blotted out. This takes place at the Second Coming of Christ.

Isaiah 44:

[1] Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
[2] Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.
[3] For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:
[4] And they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses.
[5] One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Compare verse 3 with John 3:5-7 "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." 

Further down in Isaiah 44 we see the "regeneration" when believing Israel will receive eternal life just like Christ talked about in Matthew 19:28-29, "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."

Isaiah 44:

[21] Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.
[22] I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
[23] Sing, O ye heavens; for the LORD hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.
[24] Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself;

 This is exactly what Peter was referring to in Acts 3:19-21, "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began."

Back in Isaiah 43 we see more references to God creating Israel as a nation and blotting out their sin.

Isaiah 43: 

[14] Thus saith the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought down all their nobles, and the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships.
[15] I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
[16] Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;
[17] Which bringeth forth the chariot and horse, the army and the power; they shall lie down together, they shall not rise: they are extinct, they are quenched as tow.
[18] Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.
[19] Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
[20] The beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give waters in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink to my people, my chosen.
[21] This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
[22] But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
[23] Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
[24] Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.
[25] I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
[26] Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified. 

"But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob...declare though, that thou mayest be justified." (vs. 22, 26) reminds me of Peter's message in Acts 2:21-22 "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Ye men of Israel, hear these words..." 

Here are more scriptures on Israel being born of God, having their sins forgiven, and brought back to the land (a post tribulation rapture) at the Second Coming for the Millennial reign of Christ. 

Isaiah 46:

[3] Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb:
[4] And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.

Isaiah 49:

[1] Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name.
[2] And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
[3] And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.
[4] Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the LORD, and my work with my God.
[5] And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.
[6] And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
[7] Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.

Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Isaiah 66:7-8 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.

Psalms 22:30-31 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Psalms 102:

[16] When the LORD shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.
[17] He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.
[18] This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
[19] For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth;
[20] To hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death;
[21] To declare the name of the LORD in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem;
[22] When the people are gathered together, and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.

Jeremiah 31:

[8] Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.
[9] They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
[10] Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
[11] For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.

It is clear why Christ said to Nicodemus, "Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" Believing Israel receiving the Holy Spirit is prophesied all through the Old Testament (Isa. 44:3; Ezek. 11:19, 36:25-27; 39:29, Jer. 31:33; etc.). If you follow those references and all the other references to the New Covenant such as Jeremiah 3:17, 7:1-7, 24:4-7, 50:4-6; Ezek. 16:60-63, 34:25, 39:29, etc. it can be seen that Israel will be born again at the Second Coming of Christ when they are gathered to the land to enter the Kingdom, having their sins forgiven, a new heart, and the Holy Spirit that will cause them to walk in God's law. This explains why John says the following.....

1 John 3:

[9] Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
[10] In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

Compare this with Ezekiel 36. 

Ezekiel 36:

[24] For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
[25] Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
[26] A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
[27] And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
[28] And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

John wrote his epistles prophetically to the believers of the gospel of the kingdom in the "last time". 1 John 2:18 "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." 

So with these ideas in mind, we do know that the church the Body of Christ is not born again at the Second Coming as a nation like Israel will be. We are already justified and have our sins forgiven (Rom. 5:9) and our rapture is not at the end of Daniel's 70th (1 Thes. 1:10). We have the Holy Spirit now and we are not waiting for Him to be poured out at the last time (Eph. 1:13). 

With that being said though, we have not actually looked at John chapter 3 yet.

John 1:12-13 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 3:

[1] There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
[2] The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
[3] Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
[4] Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
[5] Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
[6] That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
[7] Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
[8] The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
[9] Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
[10] Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

I underlined a few lines that I think are important when discussing this topic. Christ said that "a man" must be born again to see the kingdom of God. So individual believers had to be born again, not just the nation at the Second Advent. Each individual was born after the Spirit when they got saved (John 1:12-13) and when the nation is gathered at the Second Advent the nation will be born at once (Isa. 66:8). 

Individual new birth does relate the church the Body of Christ. 

1 Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 

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

To be "regenerated" means to be born again. To "gender" as a transitive verb means "to beget", as in Job 38:29. So to "regenerate" means to beget again. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines it as "born anew" (when an adjective). This is indisputable. All the people that are policing the use of terms such as "born again" in the name of "rightly dividing the word of truth" are completely wrong.

Galatians 4:

[22] For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
[23] But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
[24] Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
[25] For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
[26] But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
[27] For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
[28] Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
[29] But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.

In this "allegory" Sinai is represented by Agar, a "bondwoman", representing the law. The "freewoman" was Sara, represented by Jerusalem and being free from the law [see chapter 3 vs. 7-26 for more of the context on Gentiles receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith, described as the "blessing of Abraham" because he received imputed righteousness by faith before the law was given (Rom. 4).]. Isaac was "born after the Spirit" in the sense that his birth was supernatural, the Holy Spirit had to perform a miracle for him to be born due to Sarah's age. But notice verse 29, "as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now". Paul said that the Galatians were "born after the Spirit". That part is not the allegory, that is the interpretation of the allegory. 

There are many right divisions to make in the Bible (2 Tim. 2:15). Israel and the Body of Christ. Prophecy vs Mystery. Standing vs state. There are different raptures/resurrections in the Bible.Things that are different are not the same. Things that are similar are not the same either. Born again is different for Israel than it is the Body of Christ, but they are both still born again. Anyone who is no longer “in Adam” and a child of the devil, is “in Christ” and born into the family of God by the Spirit. If we are hoping to teach people right division then we would be better off sticking to real divisions. We hurt our cause if we tell people that the Body of Christ is not born again and then they read in Paul’s epistles that they are “regenerated” and “born after the Spirit”. 

The people that want to police the terminology “born again” usually present no argument other than the Gospel of John was not written by Paul. They do not address the word regeneration or Paul saying that we are born after the Spirit. They also do not usually address individual rebirth (John 1:12-13, 3:5), they usually only mention Israel being born as a nation. 

 

Church “Attendance” in the Dispensation of Grace

 

God’s inspired book

 “Some have concluded that because the original words that God spoke were in Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic, that God only inspired and preserved the words in the original languages. This is an erroneous teaching for at least two reasons. First of all, because we learn at the Tower of Babel that God is the Author of all languages, and therefore experiences no language barrier. He is capable of articulating His Word in English without losing the perfection and power it had in the original languages. Second, God’s words are spirit, and His Spirit is not limited to a single language. We therefore conclude, on the premise of Psalm 12:6-7, that God has preserved both the perfection and the inspiration of His Word in the King James Bible.” Dr. Dennis Corle, God’s Inspired Book—The Bible, p.18

BIBLICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

 BIBLICAL OCEANOGRAPHY

 By James L. Melton

Throughout history it has been commonly believed that the ocean floors are basically smooth, like large hollowed-out bowls, but modern oceanographers know better. There are actually thousands of underwater mountains, called sea mounts, some even as high as 10,000 feet. How do you suppose the writer of the Book of Jonah had access to this information in 860 B.C.? Jonah 2:3-6 says, "For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the MOUNTAINS; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God."

Apart from the tides, most have historically thought the oceans were like large still lakes without current. That is, until the 1800's when Matthew Fontaine Maury discovered RIVERS in the oceans. The Cromwell Current runs over thirteen thousand miles through the Pacific, and the Florida Current has over four thousand times the flow of the Mississippi. These "ocean rivers” were finally discovered because Dr. Maury insisted on believing Psalm 8:8 literally: "The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the PATHS of the seas."

Today it is estimated that there are some thirty million trillion tons of water trapped beneath the earth's surface, and much of this water makes it's way up to the ocean floors in the form of sea springs. Although this is a fairly modern discovery, the Bible informed us of this thousands of years ago:

“Hast thou entered into the SPRINGS OF THE SEA? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?" (Job 38:16)

 “When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the FOUNTAINS OF THE DEEP:" (Prov. 8:28)

  It is also known today that our ocean floors often contain giant canyons known as submarine canyons. Of course, this is nothing new. David had this knowledge in 1000 B.C.:

“And the CHANNELS OF THE SEA, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils."

  As Doc always said, once in a while "science" catches up with the Bible.