B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #15

B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER #15
August 15, 2003

I Cor. 16:9  For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

INTERPRETATION – Principle #5
A we read from Genesis to Revelation, we find that the Scriptures reveal more and more of what God wants man to know.  The Old Testament is the ‘shadow of the substance’ Col. 2:16-17.  Old Testament history, types, symbols, rules and promises give way to New Testament realization.
Both Testaments are clear and present God and his will.  The Old Testament was like the sunrise, while the New Testament is like the blazing sunlight at noonday.

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A MISTAKE was made in a previous BASIC in printing out the information on what some call the ‘rapture’.  Part of the article was left off.  Here is the whole article.

There are Christians who teach a rapture, that is that Christians depart this earth before the judgment.  They try to use Matt. 24:40-41 to show this.  In those verses it  is stated “one is taken and one is left.”  The context of that is in v. 36 “that day” the judgment day.  At the end God separates the sheep from the goats, Matt. 25:32. Matt. 24:40-41 is simply briefly stating what our Lord explains in detail in Matt. 25:31-45.  First He gathers the sheep to His right, “one is taken,” there is a separation. Then He gathers the others, that is described as “and one is left”, but taken after the sheep.  These are gathered to the left for judgment.  The last day is clearly also taught  in I Thess. 4:13-18.  There is no time period between the gathering of the believers and the end.  It is all on the last day.  First the believers who are dead are raised. Then “then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” I Thess. deals only with the believers. Matt. 24-25 includes all people.  The “one is taken” in Matt. 24 is “those who are alive” in I Thess. 4.  Once those alive are taken up, caught up into the clouds, there is no returning to this earth after a time period.  I Thess. 4:17 “so we shall always be with the Lord.” Peter tells us that on the “day of the Lord”, judgment day, “the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and the works that are upon it will be burned up.”  II Peter 3:10  Our new home is from above as John tells us, “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven  from God.” “a new heaven and a new eath; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,” Rev. 21:10,  Here we have had Scripture explaining itself to us.  The  rapture that is taught among some Christians is a misinterpretation of Scripture.

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A REPORT FROM PASTOR MOSES RAGHU OF THE NELLORE DIST. OF BELC – INDIA
He now uses the Jesus film, showing it in the villages.  The 12 new pastors are asked to distribute cards to people door to door as part of an outreach program.  The cards contain many options for the people to check:
a) hearing the word of God personally,
b) listening to an audio cassette,
c) watching a video of the Jesus film if they have a video player of their own or if
they can rent a video player to see the video cassette,
d) to conduct a film showing or Gospel meeting in their street.
The pastors collect these cards with the option chosen and hand them over to Moses. He then carries out the option checked.

In Christ,
Pastor David Koenig