Paul made a very impotant statement when he said in 1 cor 1:
17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Notice paul did not say that Christ sent me to baptize and to preach the gospel ?
Why is that ? I believe because water baptism is optional, and contingent upon the circumstances ..However, the truth of the gospel is of upmost and priority of importance, The gospel actually is the genuine substance of what The Lord Jesus christ accomplished for his chosen people, irregardless of the times the elect are called into fellowship with the Lord Jesus christ via His gospel..
another important notation is mk 16:
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Not, he that believeth not and be baptized not, shall be damened, but the one not beieving the gospel is evidencing themselves to be in a damned state..
Some even during the apostles ministry were water baptized and were still in a damned state..see acts 8:12-24
It may be that water baptism served as a proper symbol of what actually occurs in the death , burial, and resurrection of christ..however, the symbol becomes invalid if the reality or the substance is faulty..As long as the gospel was kept pure, water baptism would have a proper meaning in its place..
I do know that the scriptures teach of a time coming that men would not adhere to sound doctrine [The gospel] but to the form, that is water baptism and perhaps the lords supper.
2 tim 3:
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth
In the last days, shortly before the return of christ, will be perilous times..
Now we know from scripture that the last days commenced during the time of christ ministry here on earth judging from heb 1:
2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
So if the last days began over 2000 yrs ago, how much more time has the mystery of iniquity had to develop and to counterfeit the true gospel, and to replace it with forms of that which is true ? At the brink of christ return, when the true gospel has been silenced..rev 11:
7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. [silencing the true gospel]
8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
The religous world, empowered by satan and his demons, would prevail against christ and his church and the true gospel of Jesus christ and usher in this period here:
1 tim 4:
1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
This is the time we are living in presently..whereby satan has been loosed, to do his last hour deception work as told in rev 20:
7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Why is he loosed ?
rev 20:
8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
also notice this:rev 20:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
The time of the deception will be at the end of the thousand years, technically the church age is over with..notice the word expired:
to bring to a close, to finish, to end
a) passed, finished
2) to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)
a) with special reference to the subject matter, to carry out the contents of a command
b) with reference also to the form, to do just as commanded, and generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfil
3) to pay
a) of tribute
The word is in the aorist passive voice, which means this time period id fulfilled, has been brought to its completion..and now is the time of deception talked about in daniel and what christ refers to here:
matt 24:
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25Behold, I have told you before.
26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Yes, to deceive, with false doctrines and gospels..Thats why Jesus says in matthew, right before his coming, to be aware of :
matt 24:
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
This deception, is religous deception, having a form of godliness, not the true gospel, but a counterfiet, and elevating the importance of forms, like water baptism, taking the lords supper, and at the same time, denying and ignorant to the true power of the Holy Gospel of Jesus christ..
From such, the elect are turned away..have been seperated from, by a powerful work of God the Holy Ghost, teaching them the truth..
The church during this time will have been called out of this terrible religous apostacy,[rev 18:4] and her role will be to Just once more testify to the truth of the gospel, but only for a witness..matt 24:
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This coincides with the last little revival of truth before christ comes and raptures his true church..rev 11:
11And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
When the witnesses stand on their feet, it will be for that last witness of the gospe against the harlot church, then the end will come as matt 24:
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This is in agreement with rev 11, when the witnesses stand on their feet, they testify of the gospel, and then, it is said, the enemies of the church, the false religous world, will see them ascend up to the heavens, which I take to be the gathering of christ elect church from the four winds, at his coming, and the wicked world will observe this because the day of Judgment has arrived..
it is said, come up hither ? This i believe is the gathering together talked about in ..
2 thess 2:
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
In the mean time, the false church will continue to be decieved and decieving the non elect, or them whose names are not written in the lambs book of life from the foundation..rev 13:8
This is where we are with water baptism and form, its taken over and used a deceptive tool..Its no longer valid, and its importance was secondary to preaching the gospel, as paul mentioned..in the text..christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach the gospel..
Jesus foresaw this deception, since he decreed it, and I believe, submitted to water baptism, for the sake of his elect, who were yet in him, by federal union, at the time..no form of obedience has been not provided for in the person and work of Jesus christ..
I dont know if God will be merciful and convert some elect from this ritual deception or not in this last hour, for it appears He is not, and this time will be just for a last confirming witness against the wicked world, or he may out of His eternal electing love, yet convert some..
17For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Notice paul did not say that Christ sent me to baptize and to preach the gospel ?
Why is that ? I believe because water baptism is optional, and contingent upon the circumstances ..However, the truth of the gospel is of upmost and priority of importance, The gospel actually is the genuine substance of what The Lord Jesus christ accomplished for his chosen people, irregardless of the times the elect are called into fellowship with the Lord Jesus christ via His gospel..
another important notation is mk 16:
15And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Not, he that believeth not and be baptized not, shall be damened, but the one not beieving the gospel is evidencing themselves to be in a damned state..
Some even during the apostles ministry were water baptized and were still in a damned state..see acts 8:12-24
It may be that water baptism served as a proper symbol of what actually occurs in the death , burial, and resurrection of christ..however, the symbol becomes invalid if the reality or the substance is faulty..As long as the gospel was kept pure, water baptism would have a proper meaning in its place..
I do know that the scriptures teach of a time coming that men would not adhere to sound doctrine [The gospel] but to the form, that is water baptism and perhaps the lords supper.
2 tim 3:
1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, 7Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth
In the last days, shortly before the return of christ, will be perilous times..
Now we know from scripture that the last days commenced during the time of christ ministry here on earth judging from heb 1:
2Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
So if the last days began over 2000 yrs ago, how much more time has the mystery of iniquity had to develop and to counterfeit the true gospel, and to replace it with forms of that which is true ? At the brink of christ return, when the true gospel has been silenced..rev 11:
7And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. [silencing the true gospel]
8And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
9And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. 10And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.
The religous world, empowered by satan and his demons, would prevail against christ and his church and the true gospel of Jesus christ and usher in this period here:
1 tim 4:
1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
This is the time we are living in presently..whereby satan has been loosed, to do his last hour deception work as told in rev 20:
7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Why is he loosed ?
rev 20:
8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
also notice this:rev 20:
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
The time of the deception will be at the end of the thousand years, technically the church age is over with..notice the word expired:
to bring to a close, to finish, to end
a) passed, finished
2) to perform, execute, complete, fulfil, (so that the thing done corresponds to what has been said, the order, command etc.)
a) with special reference to the subject matter, to carry out the contents of a command
b) with reference also to the form, to do just as commanded, and generally involving the notion of time, to perform the last act which completes a process, to accomplish, fulfil
3) to pay
a) of tribute
The word is in the aorist passive voice, which means this time period id fulfilled, has been brought to its completion..and now is the time of deception talked about in daniel and what christ refers to here:
matt 24:
15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25Behold, I have told you before.
26Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Yes, to deceive, with false doctrines and gospels..Thats why Jesus says in matthew, right before his coming, to be aware of :
matt 24:
4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.
This deception, is religous deception, having a form of godliness, not the true gospel, but a counterfiet, and elevating the importance of forms, like water baptism, taking the lords supper, and at the same time, denying and ignorant to the true power of the Holy Gospel of Jesus christ..
From such, the elect are turned away..have been seperated from, by a powerful work of God the Holy Ghost, teaching them the truth..
The church during this time will have been called out of this terrible religous apostacy,[rev 18:4] and her role will be to Just once more testify to the truth of the gospel, but only for a witness..matt 24:
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This coincides with the last little revival of truth before christ comes and raptures his true church..rev 11:
11And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.
12And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.
When the witnesses stand on their feet, it will be for that last witness of the gospe against the harlot church, then the end will come as matt 24:
14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
This is in agreement with rev 11, when the witnesses stand on their feet, they testify of the gospel, and then, it is said, the enemies of the church, the false religous world, will see them ascend up to the heavens, which I take to be the gathering of christ elect church from the four winds, at his coming, and the wicked world will observe this because the day of Judgment has arrived..
it is said, come up hither ? This i believe is the gathering together talked about in ..
2 thess 2:
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
In the mean time, the false church will continue to be decieved and decieving the non elect, or them whose names are not written in the lambs book of life from the foundation..rev 13:8
This is where we are with water baptism and form, its taken over and used a deceptive tool..Its no longer valid, and its importance was secondary to preaching the gospel, as paul mentioned..in the text..christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach the gospel..
Jesus foresaw this deception, since he decreed it, and I believe, submitted to water baptism, for the sake of his elect, who were yet in him, by federal union, at the time..no form of obedience has been not provided for in the person and work of Jesus christ..
I dont know if God will be merciful and convert some elect from this ritual deception or not in this last hour, for it appears He is not, and this time will be just for a last confirming witness against the wicked world, or he may out of His eternal electing love, yet convert some..
