What was lost to apostasy
1, The priesthood, most of today’s “Christians” deny there is such a thing even though John wrote;
Rev 1
“Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, ….hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
And Peter admonished;
1Peter 2
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ….But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:… but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
Jesus built his Church with a “..foundation of the apostles and prophets” who were suppose to keep the church from being “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine”. But those apostles and their priesthood authority were eventually ejected by many and finally martyred.
2, The knowledge of a true and living God and Father in whose image we are created.
Within a few short years God the Father became an incomprehensible and immaterial invisible substance without body parts or passions. A being that was no longer a loving Heavenly Father but an “it”. God became a fearsome god who was used to frighten the sinner into obedience. Jesus became some sort of indescribable extension of this substance and the true Father and Son relationship was lost.
Jesus taught that God was his Father and our Father his God and our God.
3, With the loss of God’s true identity as the living God and “the Father of Spirits” mankind lost their own identity as children of God. Christianity began to teach that we were nothing more than a filthy rag which only come into being on the day of conception. They lost the knowledge that Jesus is our brother and loves us as his brothers and sisters. They lost the concept of the family of heaven and earth, Ephesians 3:15 and ignored Paul teachings that we are the offspring of God, Acts 17:29
4, With that loss of identity also came a lost of what our potential is, to be
“joint-heirs with Christ” and “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.“ the notion of what it means for us to be one with Jesus and the Father and what “And they shall see his face; ….for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.” all means is gone. Rom &, Rev 2 & 22.
5, For some Christians a complete understanding of the resurrection has been lost because they don’t see God as having a body but as some kind of substance.
The idea that he will;
“…change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,” is no longer part of their doctrine.
And lastly 6, A complete understanding of the atonement was lost. The concept of the fall and the reasons for it has been misunderstood as if it were some kind of mistake instead of part of God’s plan to make us in his image. Since that element is missing the atonement’s full nature of why and how is not understood.
The idea that Jesus paid for our sins has been the true and central theme of Christianity but how that is applied has been lost. With no priesthood authority to baptize the necessity of it has been lost. The concept of binding covenants has been lost.
The Evangelical world has focus on one passage from Eph 2
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
while ignoring “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone”
and the rest of the Bible which teaches
“Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him”
Even Jesus was obedient to his Father, somehow trying to be obedient to God has been equated with works which is a false idea.
Perhaps my Mormon friends here can think of a few more.
You have to write a book every time??
All these verses clearly state we
ALL are kings and priests. Why do you single out just the priests? Do you have kings in your church also?? Says nothing here about a special, separate priesthood.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
1Pe 2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.
And why do you just take out words from a chapter in the bible and lump them all together as though that is the way it is written???
It is the same knowledge today of God as was in the time of Jesus and that He Himself worshipped.
Joh_4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Num_23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Exo 34:5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.
Exo 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Exo 34:7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exo 33:20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.
It is extremely foolish to try to figure out what God is made of---He has not declared it. We are a likeness, an image, of the original, not the same as the original. That has been shown you over and over it is you who refuse to acknowledge the greatness of God and must bring Him down to a human likeness for the sole purpose of making yourselves gods. We are not His physical children, we are adopted ---Jesus is his one and only True Son, there is no other, not in this world nor any other. And God is the God of this universe, not just of this world He is the one and only God anywhere. It is JS that apostatized and diminished this One and Only Great God into just the god of this world and there are others on other worlds, again for the sole purpose of wanting to be god--just as Satan and those who want what he wants will end up where he is going.
Mar 7:6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
Mar 7:7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mar 7:8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
Mar 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own
poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
This is not poetic language being used:
Rom_8:15 For ye have not received the s
pirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom_8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
Rom_9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Gal_4:5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
Rom_3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
This is quoting the OT---the same OT that Jesus read and preached. Nothing was lost, nothing was changed. What was done away with was the priesthood, as it was no longer needed that is why the veil between the Holy and the Most Holy was rent by the hand of God. We are now under the New Covenant predicted in the OT with Jesus as our High Priest.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Psa_14:3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psa_53:3 Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
It is the blood of Jesus that cleanses--this is not a birthright. Jesus became human and is therefore also our brother. Before that He was our creator. What Mormonism does is elevate man, and diminish God that we can then think we will be gods. That is not a Godly wish but a Satanic one.
What it means to be given eternal life has been rejected by JS and in it's place levels of salvation are given. Totally false doctrine. There is one salvation, and all who are saved are one with God and Jesus on that same new made earth with the New Jerusalem that God has made, not man in Missouri. To change the gifts of God into some man made concept of what we are being given is to call upon the curse that Christ spoke at the end of Rev.
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Rev 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Rev 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Rev 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev 21:6
Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Rev 22:2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Rev 22:4 And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
Rev 22:5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
Rev 22:20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Rev 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
