Things I Got Wrong - Mea Culpa
We all get things wrong. All of us. The question is whether we will admit our errors. And, I can't remember when a pastor or Bible teacher ever admitted an error. Maybe my memory is bad, but I have no memory of that ever happening.
That's wrong.
Why?
Because it is literally impossible for a pastor or Bible teacher to never be wrong. And, it's the number one reason why we must all be experts in the Word of God, so that we can challenge error in our teachers and pastors.
So, let's talk about a few of my own errors.
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Things I Got Wrong - Mea Culpa
If you are too afraid of making mistakes, you will never get anything done. But, when you make mistakes, you need to admit them or you will never learn from them. And if you taught a spiritual mistake, then you have a duty to undo that mistake as quickly as possible.
Any pastor or Bible teacher who makes a mistake in what he teaches, needs to broadcast the fact that he made this mistake.
Why?
Well, James (whose real name was Ya'acov) says it like this:
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.
- James 3:1 (NKJV)
Why did James say that we would receive the 'stricter judgment'?
Because teaching wrong and rebellious doctrine is an even greater sin than merely believing it. And yes, it is a sin to not believe what the Bible clearly says. Of course, God is merciful and will teach us our errors and forgive us for erroneous beliefs, if we did them in ignorance. And no, there isn't going to be a theology exam to get into heaven.
But, once we know that we got something wrong, we need to fix it and fix it fast. Because God will judge those who allow error to flourish, when they could have stopped it. And, I've heard stories of commentary writers who later wanted all their writings burned.
The Presentation of Jesus
Here's a minor example:
I once said to someone that when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the Temple, it was for Him to be circumcised.
WRONG.
That is not possible, for under Torah, Mary would have needed to wait a certain number of days before she was 'clean'. This means that Jesus was circumcised in Bethlehem on the eighth day and then presented more than a month later to the Temple with an offering for the end of Mary's period of 'uncleanness'.
Here's the passage in Leviticus 12:
1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a woman has conceived, and borne a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days; as in the days of her customary impurity she shall be unclean. 3 And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. 4 She shall then continue in the blood of her purification thirty-three days. She shall not touch any hallowed thing, nor come into the sanctuary until the days of her purification are fulfilled.
- Leviticus 12:1-4 (NKJV)
Well, when Joseph and Mary came into the temple, it would have been 40 days after Jesus was born. And, they came for two reasons:
6 ‘When the days of her purification are fulfilled, whether for a son or a daughter, she shall bring to the priest a lamb of the first year as a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Then he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her. And she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who has borne a male or a female.
8 ‘And if she is not able to bring a lamb, then she may bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons—one as a burnt offering and the other as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for her, and she will be clean.’ ”
- Leviticus 12:6-8 (NKJV)
So, when we read this in Luke 2:
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
- Luke 2:22-24 (KJV)
This shows how poor Joseph and Mary were, since they could not afford to buy a lamb to offer for Mary's purification. And, it's additional proof that the wise men (Matthew 2) did not reach Mary and Joseph until long after the birth of Jesus.
Isaiah 2:12
Here's a far more recent error, that I made when writing about The Day of the Lord, when I talked about Isaiah 2:12. Here's some of what I said:
Isaiah 2:12
For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:This reference is the more traditional meaning of the Second Coming followed by the Millennium. So, Isaiah does more than talk about the Day of the Lord, but also backs up what Revelation 20 and Zechariah 14 say about the Millennium.
The Millennium will be physical. On Earth. And, it really will be a thousand years long.
Where did I go wrong?
I made the assumption that all of chapter 2 of Isaiah was single vision. That's completely wrong. There are TWO PROPHECIES in Isaiah 2. Tee DoubleYoo Oh. TWO. Two Prophecies. And, I didn't see that until long after I had made my error, in writing.
It's an easy mistake to make, but I should have been more careful, since I also know that the chapter divisions are artificial, inserted by a Roman Catholic priest 800 years ago.
Only the first four verses of Isaiah 2 are a prophecy about the Millennium. The rest of chapter 2 is a completely different prophecy.
What Isaiah 2:5-22 talks about is the redemption of Israel, and how terrifying it will be. This passage speaks of a fantastic earthquake that knocks everything down and that people will throw their idols away.
Which people?
This people:
O house of Jacob, come and let us walk
In the light of the Lord.- Isaiah 2:5 (NKJV)
This vision of Isaiah 2:5-22 is about the coming of Gog and Magog, the Redemption of Israel and something that I have called Ezekiel's Fire. It will crush what is left of our civilization, and people will know that God is real - at least, for a moment.
(Given enough time, people forget that God is real.)
So, instead of my contention that this was the Second Coming, I now have come to realize that this must be the time of Gog and Magog - and Ezekiel's Fire. And now, I have to go back and fix that mistake.
Luke 21:36
There's another mistake that has been bugging me for a while, and it's all about using a corrupted Greek manuscript that had changed a key word. My fluency in Greek is tiny, and I did not realize that the interlinear Greek/English New Testament that I was using was corrupt. This is the one I used:
Biblehub Interlinear
https://biblehub.com/interlinear/
You cannot trust anything from the New Testament section of that Interlinear Bible. Although, the Hebrew part is fine.
They were using the Nestle-Aland version of the Greek Scriptures which included many Greek manuscripts that were corrupt and not dependable - such as Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus.
For more information on the Nestle, Aland and the other occultists and non-believers who had input into the 'modernized' Greek Scriptures that were the basis for many modern translations, take a peek at what is said here:
The Heretics Behind Modern Bible Versions Supported By James White
https://dorightchristians.wordpress.com/2016/02/20/the-heretics-behind-modern-bible-versions-supported-by-james-white/
Now, what was wrong with what I said about Luke 21:36?
Well, here is how the KJV renders the verse:
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
- Luke 21:36 (KJV)
It was that phrase 'ye may be accounted worthy' that I got wrong. And, looking at the Biblehub Interlinear, it looked like the KJV was wrong and that this was the more correct translation:
But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
- Luke 21:36 (ESV)
What's the difference?
Well the Textus Receptus manuscripts say that the Greek word for 'accounted worthy' is:
καταξιωθῆτε - to deem entirely deserving: account worthy
Here's the link to the Strong's reference to the root for that word:
G2661 - kataxioō
https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2661/kjv/tr/0-1/
Here's the word that the Nestle-Aland corruption uses:
κατισχύσητε - you may have strength
Here's the link to the Strong's reference to the root for that word:
2729. katischuó
https://biblehub.com/greek/2729.htm
Those are two completely different Greek words with two completely different meanings. And, for someone to deliberately choose a completely different word while copying the copying the words of Jesus, in a deliberate attempt to change the meaning from worthiness to strength is vile beyond belief. And, it makes me mad that I got caught by that corruption.
I believed the Biblehub Interlinear version, without realizing that it was using manuscripts that had been thoroughly corrupted. And, you will notice that I have switched over to the Blue Letter Bible Interlinear, which uses the Textus Receptus exclusively for their Greek Scriptures.
Oh, and did you notice how badly the ESV rendered that verse?
Wayne Grudem and the Corruption of Genesis 3:16
I have already proven that the English Standard Version is horrifying in its corruption, especially its latest 2016 edition. For instance, they dared to reverse the meaning of Genesis 3:16 from:
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
- Genesis 3:16 (KJV)
To:
To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
- Genesis 3:16 (ESV)
They literally flipped the meaning of that verse. And, this wasn't an issue of of a corrupt Hebrew manuscript. Both the KJV and the ESV were using the same Hebrew manuscript, but the a snake named Wayne Grudem slipped that change in at the last minute and Crossway refused to change the meaning back, even in the face of worldwide outrage among Hebrew experts.
There is literally no excuse for what he did. None. He was not a Hebrew Scholar, but even the most basic Hebrew reader could have seen how wrong this was. He has earned eternal condemnation for this, and the many corruptions that are in the ESV.
So, not only does the ESV use corrupt Greek manuscripts, it also has corrupt translators, willing to corrupt the literal words of God to fit their own evil desires.
One More Error...
Hyper Calvinism
I once was so hyper-Calvinist that someone more than 30 years ago referred to me as being as fatalist as an Arab. And yeah, I was that bad. It took me a very, very long time to escape that error, and to stop beating people over the head with it.
The concept of predestination, should not be a divisive issue. If it is, you have it all wrong. But, it took me a while to see it. And, it helped to know that those who believe in Free Will are so good at sharing the Gospel.
None of us are going to understand where the dividing line is between predestination and free will is. That's a part of the mystery of God that we are not allowed to know yet. So, I'll tell you how I handle it:
I go through each day as if I have free will...
...but I trust God for my future...
...that I don't.
What free will I have, I gladly give into God's hands. I don't want it. God has shown Himself to be better at managing my life than me. My life is His to do with as He sees fit.
If someone wants to argue with me over predestination and free will, you're going to have a very tough time winning that argument with me, or getting very far into it. It's not a salvation issue, and I understand why people choose one side over the other.
As Peter said about Paul's writings in 2 Peter 3:16:
...in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.
I got other things wrong in the past, and I'll get to talk about those some other time. But, that's enough Mea Culpa for now - especially since I'm over 2500 words.
Cancer Report
If you've made it this far, you now get to hear about my cancer. It's pretty much bad news all around. My Leukemia has accelerated, so I'm not far from having to start chemotherapy.
With my version of Leukemia (CLL), you don't want to start chemo until you are as close to death as you can get, without being too close - which can be a really tough call to make. And, I got pretty close a few weeks ago, when my platelet count started crashing. (Intracranial bleeding is a bad way to go.)
The reason for waiting until you have to stare down the Grim Reaper, is that CLL will come back. Remission usually lasts only three to five years. And, there aren't many options when it returns. So, wait as long as you can, even if it gets scary, and it kinda already has.
The point is that I have a limited time to finish whatever job God has for me. But, I know that God will give me whatever I need to cross the finish line, as long as I remain faithful.
The emotional and physical cost has been high, so if you have a moment... pray that I can continue moving forward, with God's direction as I do so.
May God bless all of you in whatever task our Lord has set for you.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
שאלו שלום ירושלים
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My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you... Hosea 4:6
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Keep this ministry alive with a donation.
And, read my two books:
I created five Android Apps that will help you read through the Bible in a Year. You can find them here:
https://revelationsix.com/android-apps/
If you miss my rantings about geopolitics, idiocy, resource collapse and incompetent globalism, follow me on Twitter.
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Thank you for sharing and correcting what you felt you needed correction. Humble man you are. Many pastors will never correct and repent for their errors.
Praying for you John ❤️
John are you folks okay over there in Taiwan?