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The Pope got it wrong again today.

www.gopusa.com/pope-to-catholic-leaders-dont-allow-executions-this-year/


Thou Shalt Not Kill

The phrase “Thou shalt not kill” from Exodus 20:13 (The Ten Commandments) definitely means Thou shalt not murder, (meaning take innocent human life). It does not apply to animals. It does not apply to people who need to be executed.

Passover
One of the first ordinances commanded by God was for each household to kill a lamb for the Passover. Collect the blood and paint the door posts and the lintel with the blood.

Exodus 12:21-22
[21] Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
[22] And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.

God didn’t rescind the Passover after telling Moses “Thou shalt not kill.” Ex 20:13 does not apply to animals.

Exodus 21:29
[29] But if the ox were wont to push with his horn in time past, and it hath been testified to his owner, and he hath not kept him in, but that he hath killed a man or a woman; the ox shall be stoned, and his owner also shall be put to death.

Exodus 22:1
[1] If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep.

Note in these two verses that if an animals dies, it’s a much smaller matter than if a person dies.

The high priest would kill all sorts of animals as a sacrifice to God. There were rams, lambs, bullocks, turtledoves, etc. It is a sacrifice to God.


Death Penalty

Leviticus 20:16
[16] And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

Leviticus 23:17-21
[17] And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.
[18] And he that killeth a beast shall make it good; beast for beast.
[19] And if a man cause a blemish in his neighbour; as he hath done, so shall it be done to him;
[20] Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.
[21] And he that killeth a beast, he shall restore it: and he that killeth a man, he shall be put to death.

Notice again the distinction between killing a person and killing an animal. Also notice the distinction between killing an innocent person and killing a guilty person (v 17). If someone kills a man, he needs to be put to death. Putting him to death is not a sin. It is a command from God. He is a murderer. He needs to die.

Numbers 35:16-19, 30
[16] And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
[17] And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
[18] Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.
[19] The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.

Deuteronomy 13:6-11
[6] If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
[7] Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
[8] Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
[9] But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
[10] And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
[11] And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.


Aaron’s grandson Phinehas slew a man and his woman right in front of everyone and God promoted him. The man and the woman were wicked.

Numbers 25:6-13
[6] And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
[7] And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;
[8] And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.
[9] And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.
[10] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[11] Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
[12] Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
[13] And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.


This passage goes further and explains why God requires the death penalty. The shedding of innocent blood defiles the land itself. Only the shedding of the guilty blood can cleanse the land.

Numbers 35:33
[33] So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.




Now let us look at King David. When he worked for King Saul, he would routinely slay tens of thousands in battle. Saul hated him for it, out of jealousy. But later when David was the king, Abigail noted that evil had not been found in David all his days. David had slain tens of thousands of Israel’s enemies in battle. That is not murder.

1 Samuel 18:7-9
[7] And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
[8] And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?
[9] And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.


1 Samuel 25:26-28
[26] Now therefore, my lord, as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, seeing the LORD hath withholden thee from coming to shed blood, and from avenging thyself with thine own hand, now let thine enemies, and they that seek evil to my lord, be as Nabal.
[27] And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
[28] I pray thee, forgive the trespass of thine handmaid: for the LORD will certainly make my lord a sure house; because my lord fighteth the battles of the LORD, and evil hath not been found in thee all thy days.


However, when David later killed Uriah the Hittite and took his wife for his own, God sent Nathan the prophet to proclaim judgment against David. God never punished David for the tens of thousands of enemies he slew. When David killed Uriah, it was murder.

2 Samuel 12:5-10
[5] And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die:
[6] And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.
[7] And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
[8] And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
[9] Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
[10] Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.


Note that many of the sins listed in the Old Testament carry the death penalty. This is not an accident. In truth, all sin carries the death penalty. Sin equals death.

Ezekiel 18:
[20] The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Romans 6:23
[23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And the sad truth is that we are all sinners. We have not all sinned alike, but we all alike have sinned.

Romans 3:10-12
[10] As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
[11] There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
[12] They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Romans 3:23
[23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Romans 5:12
[12] Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

James 2:9-11
[9] But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
[10] For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
[11] For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

RON's HANDOUTS

Ron reached into his pocket to give me some handouts. He had many, and carefully chose 4 to give me, in support of the two main positions he stated earlier.

These are descriptions of the 4 religious handouts given to me by Ron, under strict conditions that I not let anyone else read them, else he wouldn’t give them to me. I agreed, and plan to keep that agreement. However, he said I was free to discuss their contents with anyone, which I will now do.

These handouts were intended to prove his case. They were all 3rd or 4th generation Xerox copies, but still quite legible. Many of the titles and arguments were “shouted” in all caps, so I took the liberty of un-shouting them.

There were three main thrusts of his position:
a. If you backslide, you can lose your salvation.
b. In order to be saved, one must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior AND be baptized. In other words, without baptism (and it must be a proper baptism), there is no salvation.
c. As a supporting argument, the thief on the cross died in the Old Testament, so he doesn’t count. He was apparently the final person who could be saved without baptism.

My position at the time was that all three of these were in error.

In the process of investigating the validity of Ron’s positions on backsliding, baptism, and the start of the New Testament, I made the intentional decision to allow whatever God said in the Bible to take precedence over whatever I had been taught previously, or whatever I found in these handouts. Anyone can claim something as “the truth” but I require the spiritual authority of Scripture before I believe it for myself. It should be self-evident to any Christian that the words of God trump any philosophy of Man.

One “Thus saith the Lord…” is worth more than a thousand “Here’s what I think…” philosophies of Man.

And before anything else, I must stress that I write all of this in love. My writing style can seem harsh at times, but I am writing this in love. I am seeking true doctrine, wherever it leads. It might disprove things I previously held dear, or things Ron held dear, or both. Truth, in love. But I will not water down the truth for anybody. God’s word takes precedence above any of my previous beliefs or philosophies.

So the real question here is how do these handouts compare to Scripture? I will first review these pamphlets in the order they were presented to me. Then I will research the Scriptures in greater depth to see what the Bible says about backsliding (and losing your salvation), baptism, and the real start of the New Testament.


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1. An Open Bible and an Open Mind
(by Kenton K. Smith)

The point of this handout is to read the Bible with an open mind. Approach it with humility. Let the Holy Spirit help you understand it. Enjoy group study as well as private study. So far, this is almost exactly what I said concerning the next handout (I wrote those notes before these).

Next, remove conscious prejudices. God works in mysterious ways. Don’t try to put God in a box or restrict what He can do. He’s already outside your box. If you have any beliefs that don’t agree with the Bible, be prepared to throw those beliefs out the window. God doesn’t do things your way. You need to learn to do things God’s way.

Master basic truths first. The end of this section sums it up well. God created Man, Man sinned against God, God desired Man’s salvation (John 3:16).

Act upon what is understood. Certainly you can’t act upon things you don’t understand yet, but that’s not what we’re saying here. Once you gain a working knowledge or basic understanding of a Biblical concept, act upon it. Make it part of your life. Then it’s no longer some abstract concept, but something you’ve already done. It’s yours.

But again (I wrote my notes on the next handout earlier) I must stress that people don’t start out reading the Bible. They start out hearing Scripture quoted to them from a friend who wants them saved.

Romans 10:17
[17] So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.


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2. The Bible Can Be Understood
(by Jim Nichols 22959 W. Edison Rd, South Bend, IN 46628)
(re-branded “Ron’s Library”)

Three main parts to this one.
a. The Bible can be understood because we’re capable of clear communication.
b. The Bible can be understood because it’s written in common language.
c. The Bible can be understood despite the difficult parts.

I mainly agree with the central idea of this handout, saying that you should read the Bible and pray over what you read. But whether people CAN understand the Bible or they WILL understand the Bible is another matter. None of us are going to understand it as well as Christ did. It’s not going to happen.

To address the three main parts:
a. True, but every time we read the Bible there is new information illuminated by the Holy Spirit. You’re not going to see the same things on the first pass as you will on the 23rd pass. Each time, you get a much deeper understanding as the Holy Spirit illuminates the text in a new way. This must mean that on your first few times through, you will get less meaning. There’s always something new to learn, so I don’t think anyone ever gets a total 100% full meaning of the entire contents of the Bible.
b. It was written in common language for the year 1611. Today it reads like Shakespeare. People frequently get lost in the thees and thous. Also many verses discuss topics that were common in Biblical times but no longer. Sometimes you need to review history to understand what they mean.
c. True but some Books are harder to comprehend, like Numbers (people get lost in all the numbers) and Revelation (lots of imagery and things we haven’t seen yet). Daniel jumps around in time. Yes, you can understand it, but it takes more time and effort to digest.

I don’t see a solution presented here for how to understand the Bible. So I will tell you my experience.
a. It starts with preaching. Nobody starts by reading the Bible 30 times through. You start by hearing someone preach the Word to you. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). My preacher often says that you are the only Bible some people will ever read. He’s right. You need to memorize Scripture so you can preach to others. Imagine telling an atheist to read THIS (hands him a Bible) and get back to me. It’s not going to happen. You need to preach to them and put it in context with real-world events.
b. Read the Bible. There is no substitute for actually reading the Bible (KJV) for yourself. I first read it because I had gotten tired of people telling me foolish and obviously wrong doctrine but then saying it was in the Bible. When I asked where, they would point me to a verse – that out of context seemed to support their argument. And I knew that if I didn’t read the Bible I would never get the proper context to point out their error.
c. Pray for wisdom. God preserved that Bible you’re reading through thousands of years, many wars, and countless attempts to destroy it entirely. God has delivered to you His Word on a silver platter. Why would He do all this if you couldn’t understand it? He wouldn’t. So pray for wisdom from God, doubting nothing. He wants you to pray for wisdom. Remember how happy He was with Solomon when he prayed for wisdom? The Holy Spirit will illuminate the text you’re reading so it makes more sense. Let the Holy Spirit teach you. That’s one of His duties. Pray for God to send you strong wisdom – godly wisdom, not earthly wisdom.
d. Take advantage of Bible studies and workgroups. Iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17). God reveals more to you each time you read the Bible. So what if you took notes from someone who has read the Bible 50 times instead of half of one time? You can get deeper knowledge. For years I had prayed diligently for God to illuminate the Book of Revelation for me, as it was clear we were heading into the End Times. Then my pastor held a three month in-depth study of Revelation. Much was revealed to me, and the Holy Spirit was confirming the knowledge to me the entire time.

Bible studies and study workgroups are important. Even if you don’t learn anything, others may learn from you. Let your iron sharpen someone else’s iron.


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Handouts 3, 3a, and 3b were all stapled together.

3. Let Jesus Come Into Your Heart
(by Charles R. Gresham)
(link unavailable)

The first thing that jumped out at me was how the author quoted the NASB version of the Bible. I only deal in KJV (King James Version) and consider all other “translations” to be inferior. I can’t sufficiently stress the need for the sarcastic quotes around the word “translation” as the NASB is not a translation. It’s a perversion. The people who wrote the NASB started with the KJV and rearranged enough words (in defiance of Revelation 22:18-19) so that it becomes an “original document” and they can get a copyright on it and make more money selling it. There was no team of translators carefully looking at ancient Hebrew manuscripts, as King James provided. They just took the KJV and twisted it into a cash cow. On Judgment Day, the people who did this will have to account for their actions. I will take no part in pretending that the NASB is a “real Bible” because it is not. I never quote from the NASB or any other modern per-version except to point out how awful they are.

The gist of this handout is that Jesus doesn’t really come into your heart. Instead, you are placed in the Body of Christ. These are both true.

Jesus doesn’t come into your heart, although this is close enough to the truth that it doesn’t bother me when people say it. To be technical, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your body (your heart?) and you become a temple to the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is one Person of “God” while Jesus is another Person of “God”. Both are God. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all God and are all one. We don’t worship three gods. We worship one God who appears to us in three different ways.

I liken this to people who say that the unsaved go to Hell for eternity. They don’t. Hell is temporal. Eventually the people in Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is for eternity. Death and Hell will also be cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:14-15). The unsaved remain in the Lake of Fire forever. But saying that Hell is forever is close enough to the truth that you might cause harm by saying it isn’t forever. The underlying truth is that the unsaved will be punished forever, with no mercy, and never enter Heaven. This truth is necessary to show people the need for salvation, and it needs to begin right away, before the people preaching understand the distinction between Hell and the Lake of Fire.

So no, if you’re saved, “Jesus” didn’t enter your heart but the Holy Spirit did. And the Holy Spirit is saying the same things Jesus said, and is working to keep you focused on Jesus. A 6 year old child may not understand the distinction here, so it really doesn’t bother me if they say that Jesus came into their heart. I know what they meant. The Holy Spirit came into their heart and now they are being conformed into the image of Jesus.

What the writers of this handout miss here is the fact that earthly baptism is an outward show of an inward change that has already occurred. You were saved when you received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This was spiritual baptism. Just as a child may not understand the technicality error of saying that Jesus came into their heart, some adults are spiritually still children and don’t understand how baptism really works. All they see is the physical.

There are really two baptisms going on. When you get saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence within you, and then places you (or “baptizes” you) into the Body of Christ. Then your pastor or whoever baptizes you in a tank of water. You can focus on the water too much and miss the greater spiritual truth of the other baptism. A tank of water is not salvation. The Holy Spirit baptizing you into the Body of Christ indicates salvation.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14
[12] For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
[13] For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
[14] For the body is not one member, but many.

The Holy Spirit is the one who baptizes us (or places us, “submerges” us) into one body, that being the Body of Christ. Your preacher is not the Holy Spirit. There are two baptisms going on. The Holy Spirit baptizes you into the Body of Christ (mandatory for salvation) and your preacher baptizes your body in a lake, river, or tub of water (mandatory for spiritual growth within the Body).

Let’s look at a similar verse.

Galatians 3:27
[27] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

This seems to me that Paul is saying that we were baptized into the Body of Christ, and that means we have “put on Christ”. When you perform a baptism ceremony, you baptize someone in water. You first baptize (fully submerge) them into the water and then move them back into fresh air. You don’t baptize them into Christ. Do you literally see Christ and cause that person to be absorbed into Christ like fruit into a jello mold? How can you tell where Christ is standing? Do you get to decide where to put that person into the Body of Christ? What if they don’t want to be a toenail and bribe you to place them into the hand, as that seems more important? No, your pastor doesn’t place you into Christ, nor decide where you will be placed into Christ. That’s the Holy Spirit’s job. We on earth baptize people in water. On a spiritual level, the Holy Spirit baptizes people into the Body of Christ (or “into Christ”). We can’t do that, nor can we see it happen.

This is in no way saying that you should not be baptized in water. You should. Every Christian should, and it is the first order of business for all new Christians. That makes it mandatory for spiritual growth. But if for whatever reason you can’t, you will not be denied a place in Heaven. If you choose not to get baptized, this would be a serious mistake. It’s the first thing every Christian should do. If you don’t do it, Jesus will never give you the next thing He wants you to do. That means you can never grow from faith to faith and from glory to glory. You’re still stuck at Square One. You have to cross the Red Sea before you get to the Promised Land.

Jesus gives you commands in order. First get baptized. Second, do this other thing over here I (Jesus) want you to do. If you skip baptism and say, “What’s next?” then Jesus will tell you to go back and get baptized first before He gives you anything else. Your spiritual growth will be stunted and you will never advance past initial salvation.


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3a. What About the Thief on the Cross
(by James E. Gibbons)

This handout makes it immediately clear that it is common knowledge (and therefore a common argument) that the thief on the cross was never baptized. This is somehow a “loophole” to indicate that baptism isn’t necessary. By this the author means it’s a dangerous loophole because baptism is needed and people are going to Hell unbaptized.

It then goes on to say that the Old Testament lasted until Jesus died on the cross. It cites Galatians 3:24-27, Colossians 2:14 for this.

Galatians 3:24-27
[24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
[25] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
[26] For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
[27] For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Colossians 2:14
[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Galatians calls the Old Testament the “schoolmaster” that is no longer needed. Colossians calls the Old Testament (or The Law) the “handwriting of ordinances against us” that was nailed to the cross. But both of these are vague as to when the Old Testament “died”. According to Colossians, one could make the case that the Old Testament died as soon as it was nailed to the cross, while Jesus was still laying flat on the ground, and before the Romans ever lifted Him up. If the Law was nailed to the cross with Christ, this happened several agonizing hours before He died. Jesus didn’t die the instant He was nailed to the cross.

Then it says to look at Hebrews 9:15-17. Now we’re actually getting somewhere.

Hebrews 9:15-17
[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Hebrews 9:17 is the one and only verse in the entire Bible that suggests the Old Testament lasted until Jesus died on the cross. This is a wrong interpretation for several reasons, of which I elaborate more later on.
a. The Gospel is the New Testament. Mark 1:1 says this is the beginning of the Gospel.
b. Just because the testament (will) had no strength until Jesus died, it still existed. The Gospels don’t start with Jesus dying. A dying man writes his will before he dies. It exists before it is in force.
c. Jesus died first. The thief on the cross died afterward. This undermines the entire argument against the thief dying during the “Old Testament”. He definitely died in the New Testament, according to Hebrews 9:17.

The author then goes on to compare a testament to a will, saying that Jesus could make up whatever rules He wanted while alive, but then was shackled by the plan once He died. But Jesus was following God’s perfect plan, so He couldn’t just change the will on a whim. Also, Jesus was promoted higher than ever by the Father after He resurrected. He was anything but a shackled version of His former self.

Look at what Jesus said in Luke 12:49-50.
[49] I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?
[50] But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Jesus said He was straightened (constrained) for now (before the cross) but after it was accomplished He would not be. This is the exact opposite of what the author of the handout is saying. Jesus was constrained during His earthly ministry, but not afterwards.

Also take note that in Luke 12:50, Jesus says He has a baptism to be baptized with. But He had already been baptized by John the Baptist at the beginning of His earthly mission. There is no mention of Jesus being baptized a second time by submersion in water. He’s talking about a spiritual baptism that His disciples won’t be able to witness personally.

The author then misquotes Mark 16:16 by editing in the exact same way as in the handout for Baptism- What is it for? This is intentionally deceitful, for the same reason.

The author then repeats the lie that Jesus could forgive sins in any way he* wanted to, but was then restricted after He died, which is the opposite of the truth (see above).

* The author called Jesus “he” (not capitalized). I think we can all agree that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords deserves to be called either “He” or “HE”. He is the great I AM. Jesus is not a “he”.

In the last paragraph, the author starts out truly, by saying that the thief had no opportunity to be baptized. But then he lies and says that the New Testament was not in force. Remember, the ONLY verse in the entire Bible that says anything about the New Testament not being in force (or having no strength) is Hebrews 9:17. This verse clearly states that a testament has no force while the testator lives. But Jesus died first. So that thief was still alive when the New Testament took full effect. Although the Romans wouldn’t have allowed it, it was definitely possible for them to let that thief get baptized before he died. As improbable as this was, it was possible.

The author then spends a great deal of time blurring the lines of what was stated plainly in Hebrews 9:17. He stretches it out to say at the end that the New Testament couldn’t yet apply because Christ was still alive (blatant lie) and not yet buried. So what if He wasn’t buried yet? Hebrews 9:17 says nothing about burial. The testament takes on strength when the testator (Jesus) dies. As soon as Jesus died on the cross, the full force of the New Testament took effect. Jesus died, but the repentant thief was still alive and unbaptized.

The thief was definitely still alive when Jesus died. They had to break his legs to kill him before the Sabbath day. According to this author’s interpretation of when the New Testament really started, the thief still died in the New Testament. If baptism is 100% absolutely mandatory for people to be saved in the New Testament, then the thief on the cross couldn’t be saved. This makes Jesus a liar when He promised that He and the thief would be together in Paradise that same day. The thief would go to Hell instead.

After carefully reading this handout and comparing it to Scripture, it falls short. Even when taking it as fact that the New Testament really started when Jesus died, the argument falls apart and contradicts itself all over the place. No amount of intellectual gymnastics (such as illegally editing Mark 16:16) can make this add up to anything worth reading. The author obviously had a hidden agenda and was willing to twist the clear wording of Scripture around to suit his view.

After reconciling the contradictions and errors of this handout, there is nothing left. It was all useless. This is not even close to sound Biblical doctrine. It was closer to something an atheist might write in an attempt to disprove the Gospel.


++++ ++++ ++++


3b. Baptism – What is it for? (handwritten “Proves Its Necessity”)
(by The Christian Contender Magazine, no specific author)

The first thing I noticed on this handout was that they abbreviated every single verse they cited. This raises a red flag. Why are you editing God’s word? Who gave you the authority to do this?

In all of these edited verses, important information was eliminated. There was plenty of room on this page to print the entire verse, but the verses were edited – clearly with the intent of hiding inconvenient information that didn’t support their argument. Let’s un-eliminate what God said. We shall compare what they (mis)quoted and what the Bible really says.

Mark 16:16
Them: [16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved...
Bible: [16] He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
In Mark 16, they edited out the part that says the person who doesn’t believe shall be damned. Notice that it says nothing about anyone who doesn’t get baptized being damned. The contrast here is that belief means saved and believing not means damned. If you believe you should get baptized as well. Belief is the key. We are saved by grace through faith.

Ephesians 2:
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

How does this work? God supplies the grace and you supply the faith. This is the path to salvation. But not just any faith. You might have faith in Buddha, but that won’t get you saved. You need to have faith (believe) in the Gospel. And what exactly is the “Gospel”? It is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The thief on the cross witnessed Jesus dying, and could easily assume his burial to come. But he also saw (through the eyes of faith) Jesus being resurrected and coming into His kingdom. Jesus knew exactly what this meant and promised him that he would be with Him that day in Paradise.


Acts 2:38
Them: [38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins...
Bible: [38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
In Acts 2, they edited out the part about receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. Anyone who receives the gift of the Holy Ghost (Comforter, Holy Spirit, Spirit of God) is saved. Period. The Holy Ghost is God. The Holy Ghost doesn’t make mistakes. The Holy Ghost knows exactly who is saved and who is not. When you get saved, you receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, meaning that He takes up residence inside you, and your body becomes a temple for the Holy Ghost.


Acts 22:16
Them: [16] And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins...
Bible: [16] And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
In Acts 22, they edited out the part about calling upon the name of the Lord. This is the most important part. They falsely make it look like baptism alone washes your sins and saves you, when it definitely doesn’t. Calling upon the name of the Lord is what does it.

Romans 10:13
[13] For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

But “call upon the name of the Lord” to do what, exactly? To paint your house? No. To save you. You believe the Gospel (Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection) and you call upon the name of the Lord (Jesus Christ) to save you and let you share in His resurrection.

So if baptism in water doesn’t cleanse us from our sin, what does? The blood of Jesus does. Christ had to shed His precious blood for the remission of sins.

1 John 1:7
[7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Hebrews 9:22
[22] And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

This passage in Hebrews shows the comparison between the Old Testament sacrifices and Jesus making Himself a perfect final sacrifice, to fully satisfy the wrath of a holy God.

Isaiah 53:5
[5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53 was a chapter devoted to the “Man of Sorrows”, a clear prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. We are healed by His stripes. What does that mean? When the guards whipped Jesus, and the blood came out, we are healed. He took the punishment we deserved. He was bruised for our iniquities, not His own, because He was perfectly sinless. He was the innocent, perfect, sacrificial Lamb that willingly shed His blood for us. His beatings (chastisement) now equals peace between us and God. The Gospel brings us into peace with the Father, who at one time was our enemy because of sin.


1 Peter 3:21
Them: [21] The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience…)
Bible: [21] The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:
In 1 Peter 3, they edited out two things. First is that your good conscience is toward God (and not just your own personal good conscience). Second, they left out the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our hope is in the resurrection. If Christ is not risen, then we are all doomed. But Christ has indeed risen, and is now sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. This is our hope and faith. This is what Christ did and why our hope is in Him.

1 Timothy 1:1
[1] Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

I found all of these excerpts from the Bible to be intentionally misleading, to the point of being bad doctrine. The author(s) of this had to know that they were editing out the most important information about salvation.

Now look at what Paul said. Paul didn’t come to baptize.

1 Corinthians 1:17-21
[17] For 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.
[18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
[19] For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
[20] Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
[21] For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Paul put the major emphasis on preaching the Gospel, preaching the cross of Christ, because the “foolishness of preaching” is what saves people. They hear the preaching and believe in Jesus Christ. Getting baptized comes afterward, and can be done by a subordinate later. Paul’s intent here was most definitely to save the lost (verse 21). But he didn’t come to baptize (verse 17). Why not, if baptism were required for your salvation? Because it’s not required. Faith is required. Without faith it is impossible to please God. There is no similar verse saying that without being baptized it’s impossible to please God.

Hebrews 11:5-6
[5] By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
[6] But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


++++ ++++ ++++


4. How to Receive a Gift
(no author listed)
(link unavailable)

This handout basically says that you can’t pay for a gift or it’s no longer a gift. Salvation is a gift from God that we can never repay. This I totally agree with. But then it goes on to say that you must be baptized, emphasizing that baptism doesn’t actually repay God. No, but then neither does fasting, prayer, giving food to the poor, or any other “work” you can do. There’s nothing you can do to repay God even if you wanted to. He already owns this world and the next. What can you give Him that He doesn’t already own? You can’t even give Him yourself, because He already owns you. He can accept you into Heaven or cast you into Hell because He owns you. He owns everyone whether they accept Him or not. You may not be His child, but you are His property.

He doesn’t call baptism a “work”, but a manner in which we should accept the gift of salvation. But this suggests that you are already saved before baptism, doesn’t it? Otherwise, it’s a carrot dangling in front of you. Do this deed or you can’t be saved. This makes baptism sound a lot like a “work”. But what if I live in the middle of the dessert, where water is scarce and there’s no good place to be baptized? Am I unsavable?

Or let’s suppose that I’m on a space station (that’s a real thing). We just found out that it’s leaking air and we’re going to die before a resupply ship can reach us. We’re all going to die in space. This nearly happened with Apollo 13, so it’s not crazy fiction. Anyway, we will all die in space. That’s a certainty. The unsaved people, facing their own mortality, look to me as a Christian to properly meet their maker. Do I shrug my shoulders and tell them they can’t be saved because we don’t have enough water to perform a proper baptism? Or do I lead them to Christ, trusting in Him to save sinners to the uttermost?

Or here’s another scenario that actually happened to my pastor. There was an awful car wreck. There’s a man trapped upside-down in his car and he’s bleeding out. He won’t live to see the hospital. He has mere minutes to live and the ambulance is still a half hour away. Did my pastor say, “Come by the church on Sunday and get baptized,”? No, he led the man to Christ. With his last remaining breaths, the man accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.

How about ministries where people preach to those in prison? Part of Christ’s mission was to set the captives free. This is a very serious mission. Paul spent the last year of his life preaching as a prisoner in Rome. It’s often easier to preach to prisoners because they know they are sinners and understand their need for a Savior. There’s no false wall of pride to overcome. Death Row prisoners especially are quite aware of their own mortality and the cost of sin. But there are no bathtubs in prison. There are no immersion tanks. Prisoners could drown each other with them, so they are not allowed. How can you baptize someone in prison? How can you baptize someone as he’s being strapped into the electric chair? Are these people outside of God’s reach?

No, not at all. Jesus can save sinners to the uttermost. I may not know how great a sinner you are, but I do know how great a Savior He is. Jesus saves.

BAPTISM - IN WHOSE NAME?


GREAT COMMISSION

Let us start directly at the Great Commission. Jesus told His disciples to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 28:19
[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:


NEVER HAPPENED

But there is no record of anyone in the Bible ever doing this.

First off, Jesus did not personally baptize anyone
John 4:1-3
[1] When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,
[2] (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)
[3] He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

Peter baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:38) and the Lord (Acts 10:48). Peter and John together baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:16). Apollos baptized people in the baptism of John (Acts 18:25). The People of Ephesus were also baptized in the baptism of John (Acts 19:3), so Paul baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5).

Baptism in the name of Jesus Christ
Acts 2:38
[38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Baptism in the name of the Lord
Acts 10:46-48
[46] For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,
[47] Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?
[48] And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Baptism in the name of Lord Jesus
Acts 8:12-16
[12] But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
[13] Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
[14] Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:
[15] Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
[16] (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Baptism of John (John the Baptist)
Acts 18:24-26
[24] And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus.
[25] This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John.
[26] And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Baptism of John (John the Baptist), and baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus
Acts 19:3-5
[3] And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism.
[4] Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
[5] When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

There is not one time in the entire Bible where we see anyone following Jesus’ command exactly, They were supposed to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Matthew 28:19
[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

If baptism is required for your salvation, then it must be done properly. Baptism means full immersion in water, not sprinkling someone with water. It doesn’t mean using something else as a substitution for water. The water of baptism is already a substitution for a grave.

And if baptism can be done wrong, then the most obvious way to do it wrong is doing it in the wrong name. Apollos baptized with the baptism of John (Acts 18:24) but Aquilla and Priscilla corrected him and taught him the ways of God more perfectly (Acts 18:25). The people of Ephesus were also baptized unto John’s baptism (Acts 19:3) but Paul corrected them and re-baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5).

So here we have two examples of people being baptized incorrectly because they were calling upon the wrong name. They had to be re-baptized properly.

Does “Jesus” equal the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Yes, actually He does.

Colossians 2:8-10
[8] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
[9] For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
[10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

Jesus Christ fully and completely embodies the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He is the Holy Trinity. But this only makes it that much more important that we look at whose name He gave us to baptize people.

Matthew 28:19
[19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

These words might mean the same as “Jesus”, but they are not the same words. Also, look at when Peter baptized them in the name of “the Lord” (Acts 10:48). Which Lord? Lord Buddha? Lord Krishna? At the end of the George Harrison (of the Beatles) song “My Sweet Lord”, he rattles off a bunch of names like Vishnu and Hari Krishna as his Lord. Those are not MY Lord. And they certainly are not THE Lord.

If baptism is essential for your salvation, and it only counts if done right, then none of the Apostles baptized anyone the right way as far as we can tell. The only right way, according the Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19) would be to baptize people in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. That’s it.

START OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

Where exactly does the New Testament start? And is it relevant when discussing the thief on the cross?


Contrary to the obvious evidence, I was informed that the New Testament didn’t really start at the beginning of the New Testament. Instead, it started with Jesus dying. I wasn’t too clear on the precise timing of this, as I was unable to ask many questions at the time, thus the need for this study.

It came in the context of the need for baptism in order to be saved. His argument was that without baptism, you will go to Hell. I quickly brought up the thief on the cross. In the immediate vicinity of Jesus, there were two thieves on crosses. One of them became a believer, and the other did not. Jesus promised paradise for the believer.

Luke 23:39-43
[39] And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
[40] But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
[41] And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
[42] And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
[43] And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

The man I was speaking to laughed and said he knew I was going to bring up the thief on the cross. But that happened in the Old Testament. So it didn’t count.

Really? The thief on the cross died in the Old Testament?

He handed me a set of handouts, under condition that I not show them to anyone, including my family. But he said I could discuss them with anyone. So I will.

One of the handouts included information “proving” that the New Testament didn’t start until after Jesus died. This was the key passage proving it.

Hebrews 9:14-17
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.


There are a few problems with this line of reasoning.


GOSPEL IS NEW TESTAMENT

Mark starts off his Gospel account by saying it’s the beginning of the Gospel. He didn’t proclaim this at the point where Jesus died on the cross.
Mark 1:1
[1] The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

The word “Gospel” occurs exactly zero times in the Old Testament. Each of the Gospel writers started at the beginning of the Gospel. Mark stated plainly that this was the beginning of the Gospel.

In the “What About the Thief on the Cross” handout, it cited Colossians 2:14 as saying that the Old Testament (handwriting of ordinances) was nailed to the cross with Jesus and presumably died with Him.

Colossians 2:14
[14] Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

But if the Gospel was the “Old Testament”, and the Old Testament died on the cross with Jesus, then Jesus killed the Gospel along with the Law. This is error. The Gospel is alive and well. The Gospel is New Testament. That means Mark 1:1 is New Testament.


CHANGE THE WILL
Firstly, the author of the handout went on to add that if you make a will, you can change it before you die. He said that Jesus could have changed everything around however He pleased and none of it would have mattered until He died. This is not true at all.

Jesus Christ didn’t come here to do His own will, but that of the Father.

John 5:30
[30] I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

God doesn’t change His mind willy-nilly. He’s not fickle. He’s steadfast in all things.
James 1:17
[17] Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Man might change his mind. Man might have to go back and eat his words. Man might have to correct past mistakes. God does none of these things.

Psalm 119:89
[89] For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.

Matthew 24:
[35] Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Matthew 5:18
[18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Man’s words may fall to the ground and die. God’s holy Word does not. God’s Word goes forth with power and does amazing things. God’s words are chiseled in stone, while Man’s words are penciled in silly putty. There is an enormous difference between the ways of God and the ways of Man, the thoughts of God and Man, and the words of God and Man. God’s word never returns void.

Isaiah 55:9-11
[8] For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.
[9] For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
[10] For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:
[11] So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

So let’s dispense with the notion that Jesus could have made random, tentative, or temporary sayings that were subject to later revision. And who exactly would be qualified to revise Jesus’ words? I will tell you right now, you had better not. There is a sever warning for those who seek to “improve” what God said in the Bible.

Revelation 22:18-19
[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:
[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.

The Bible is the written Word of God. Jesus is the living Word of God. The two will never contradict. No man is qualified to revise anything Jesus said. God won’t do it, and you had better not even try. Jesus was, and still is, perfect. There is no sin or error in Jesus. There never was. He is perfect in all His ways.


STARTING WITH DEATH
The second problem is the idea that the New Testament started with the death of Jesus Christ. Let’s look again at that key Scripture passage.

Hebrews 9:14-17
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.


This passage doesn’t say the testament (in this case the New Testament) doesn’t exist. It says that it has no strength. Just because it’s not yet being fully enforced doesn’t make it nonexistent. Most of the Gospel accounts occur BEFORE Jesus died on the cross. They happened. They were important. Jesus had much to say, much to do, much to teach. He was also accused, convicted, despised, and caused to suffer before He died. These things can’t be ignored simply because He was still alive at the time. The things Jesus said were no less true when spoken by Jesus before He died on the cross, as opposed to after He rose from the grave. He’s still the Son of God, and equal with God. That was never conditional upon His death.

Without the part of the Gospel that happened before the cross, we lose much. We lose the virgin birth. We lose the many miracles Jesus performed. We lose Jesus’ authority over the seas, the wind, and even demons. We lose Barabbas being the first person being saved because Jesus was condemned to the cross in his stead. We lose almost everything Jesus said about Heaven and Hell. We lose Jesus’ great forgiveness, even to those who condemned Him to the cross.

If Jesus had “no strength” to enforce His Testament before He died, then how dare He tell the prostitute that her sins were forgiven? How dare He perform any miracles? Jesus had power. Real power. And real authority. This authority didn’t begin after He died. He had it all along. He also had the authority to delegate authority to others.

Matthew 21:23-27
[23] And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?
[24] And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.
[25] The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?
[26] But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet.
[27] And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Mark 1:27
[27] And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Luke 9:1-2
[1] Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.
[2] And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Matthew 9:4-7
[4] And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?
[5] For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
[6] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
[7] And he arose, and departed to his house.


Jesus’ authority and power didn’t start when He died on the cross. The authority and power of the Gospel started when He died on the cross. The living Word was replaced by the written Word. This was actually better, because Jesus was limited to being in one place at a time. But the Gospel (written Word) went forward in the power of the Holy Spirit, who could be everywhere at the same time.


John 14:16-19, 25-26
[16] And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
[17] Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[18] I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
[19] Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

[25] These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
[26] But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 15:26-27
[26] But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
[27] And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:5-13
[5] But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?
[6] But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
[7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
[8] And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
[9] Of sin, because they believe not on me;
[10] Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;
[11] Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
[12] I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
[13] Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

So until Jesus departed (died and rose again) He would not have been able to send us the Holy Spirit. This was expedient for us, in that the Gospel spread far more after Jesus died than it did before He died on the cross.

In all this, Jesus had authority and power. During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He had power and the Holy Spirit, but other people did not have the Holy Spirit. But after He died and rose again, the Gospel had power through the Holy Spirit.

Acts 10:38
[38] How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Romans 1:16
[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

1 Corinthians 1:17-18
[17] For 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.
[18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6
[5] For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
[6] And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

Hebrews 4:12
[12] For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.


As Christians, we are living temples of the Holy Spirit. People became the living temples of the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
[17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
[20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

2 Corinthians 6:15-17
[15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
[17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

So yes, the New Testament had power after Jesus died, but this does not mean that Jesus Himself had no power or authority before He died on the cross. Let’s look again at that key passage.

Hebrews 9:14-17
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Truly, the Gospels had no power before Jesus died on the cross. Indeed, Jesus said there was no reason to believe them at all, unless He rose from the grave.


JESUS DIED FIRST
The third problem with this whole idea was that Jesus died first. The only reason I was told that the thief on the cross was “Old Testament” was to refute the idea of being saved without baptism. It supposedly didn’t matter that the thief was never baptized because he died in the “Old Testament”, which in this case was before Jesus died on the cross.

One more time, let’s look at the key passage.

Hebrews 9:14-17
[14] How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
[15] And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
[16] For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
[17] For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Right there, in verse 17, is the supposed proof that the New Testament started when Jesus died. This made whatever Jesus said to the thief on the cross an Old Testament event. So even though you must be baptized to enter Heaven (according to the man who presented me with these ideas), that was only in force during the New Testament. And since the thief on the cross was the last believer to die in what he claimed was the Old Testament, he didn’t need to be baptized to enter Heaven.

Except he wasn’t. He wasn’t the last person to die in the Old Testament. Using this same logic, he was the first to die in the New Testament. Why? Because Jesus died first.

Here’s where Jesus died (in verse 50).
Matthew 27:48-54
[48] And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
[49] The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
[50] Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
[51] And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
[52] And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
[53] And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
[54] Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

But when was this in relation to the other people on the cross? Let’s see what John said about it, since he was standing closer to the action.

John 19:29-36
[29] Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
[30] When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
[31] The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
[32] Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
[33] But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
[34] But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
[35] And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
[36] For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

Jesus died first. In this passage, He died in verse 30. The others were still alive at the time, so the Romans broke their legs to hasten their execution (verse 32). Notice it even says they broke the legs of the first and then the other who was with Him. Let there be no doubt. They were both still alive when Jesus died. They were about to break Jesus’ legs too, but He was already dead. So they didn’t break His legs.

Jesus died first. According to verse 17 of our key passage, the New Testament now has strength, as the testator (He who wrote the testament) was no longer alive.

At that one moment in time, Jesus was dead, and the thief on the cross was still alive, waiting for the Roman soldiers to break his legs so he could die already.

If baptism were truly necessary for being saved, and this rule was only enforced in the New Testament, then the thief on the cross died unbaptized in the New Testament. He went to Hell.

But Jesus said otherwise. Was Jesus a liar? No, that can’t be. Jesus was not only full of truth, but He was truth.

John 14:6
[6] Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus didn’t tell Thomas that He was one of many ways. He wasn’t a special type of truth. He wasn’t one of a variety of life. Jesus told Thomas that He was THE way, THE truth, and THE life. There is no other way. There is no other truth. There is no other life. There’s no other way to approach the Father. Jesus is the only way.

Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him that day in paradise. This had to be the truth. Not only did Jesus say that, but He said, “Verily”. So it was truly truth. Look again.

Luke 23:43
[43] And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

How much truer do you need? This is truly truth. Jesus may have said this before He died, but the thief died (unbaptized) after Jesus died. So one of these must be true.
a. Jesus lied. Not possible.
b. The thief somehow died during the “Old Testament” time, before the need for baptism could take full effect. Not according to Hebrews 9:17, the very verse they used to prove their point.
c. Jesus took the thief to paradise just to tease him, and then sent him to Hell for not being baptized. Is someone seriously going to argue this to me?
d. Baptism is not required for salvation.

The only answer that makes any sense here is that baptism is not required for salvation.

So why baptize? We are commanded to. It is the first step for a new Christian. You are showing everyone that you identify with Christ and are partaking in His death, burial, and resurrection. Don’t be ashamed. If you haven’t been baptized (full immersion) then you should. Invite your friends and family. Let them know that you identify with Christ publicly. Take the dunk already and let the world know you identify with Jesus.

Also consider people being “baptized” in the Old Testament. God knew what was coming.

1 Corinthians 10:1-6
[1] Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
[2] And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
[3] And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
[4] And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
[5] But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
[6] Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

In the case of the thief on the cross, can there be any doubt that he took part in Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection? Our baptism in water is a symbol of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The thief on the cross experienced it all literally, not symbolically. He literally died mere feet away from Jesus, probably only a few minutes afterward. He was literally buried on the same day, but in a different grave. And he was literally resurrected to be with Jesus in Paradise that same day. This is a far more public sign than baptism, and far more accurate.

And remember, the Hebrew day starts with the evening. This is why the Jews were in such a hurry to make sure the criminals on the crosses were dead. The Sabbath day would soon start and this would be a violation of the Law. They had to get them down off those crosses quickly. The evening was quickly approaching, meaning the start of a new day (the Sabbath).

But this means that the bodies were probably not even buried yet when Jesus met the thief in Paradise. Jesus told him TODAY he would be with Jesus in Paradise (Luke 23:34).

Baptism is easy. Thank the Lord that we’re not commanded to get nailed to a cross to identify with Jesus. Even if just for a few minutes, it would be torture. But if it was required of us, it would be worth it for salvation.

No, we’re not required to get nailed to a cross or get buried in a grave to identify with Jesus. It’s a relatively painless process to be placed under water for a second or two and then arise to “new life”.

The thief on the cross clearly identified with Jesus. He clearly took part in His death, burial, and resurrection. It was a public show, just like baptism, only more so. But it wasn’t baptism. There was no water. It wasn’t anything like what we would consider a true baptism.

Millennial Remnant 2: The Day of the LORD

The “Day of the LORD” is the day on which the Battle of Armageddon is fought. Armageddon equals Day of the LORD. Throughout the Bible there is reference to this day. It is a dark and terrible day of sadness and God’s wrath. God alone will be glorified on that day. Your gold and silver won’t be able to save you. Only Christ can save you.

The Day of the LORD will come unexpectedly upon the world, like a thief in the night. People everywhere will be in pain like a woman delivering a baby. People will be afraid, and for good reason. There will be amazing astrological events in the sky. God will eventually send His cleansing fire to destroy all the things of this world.

Also note that this Day of the LORD was seen by several prophets, not just one. These verses were written by 12 or 13 different people over about a 600-year timespan. They were merely relaying information they obtained from God. Since God stays the same, their message stayed the same. It was only a matter of how much God chose to reveal about the future to any one man at any given time.

Isaiah 2:11-12
[11] The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.
[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:

Isaiah 13:5-11
[5] They come from a far country, from the end of heaven, even the LORD, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
[6] Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
[7] Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
[8] And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
[9] Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
[10] For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
[11] And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

Isaiah 34:8
[8] For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.

Jeremiah 46:10
[10] For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Jeremiah 51:6 (In Revelation, the fall of Babylon happens just before the Battle of Armageddon)
[6] Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
[7] Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

Lamentations 2:22
[22] Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD's anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.

Ezekiel 13:5
[5] Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the LORD.

Ezekiel 30:2-4
[2] Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Howl ye, Woe worth the day
[3] For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
[4] And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.

Joel 1:15
[15] Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.

Joel 2:1-3, 10-11, 30-32
[1] Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
[2] A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
[3] A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
[10] The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:
[11] And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?
[30] And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
[31] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
[32] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel 3:13-16
[13] Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
[14] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[15] The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
[16] The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

Amos 5:17-20
[17] And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD.
[18] Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
[19] As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
[20] Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?

Obadiah 1:15
[15] For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.

Zephaniah 1:7-8, 14-16
[7] Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.
[8] And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
[14] The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
[15] That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
[16] A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
[17] And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
[18] Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

Zephaniah 2:1-2
[1] Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
[2] Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD's anger come upon you.
[3] Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD's anger.

Zechariah 14:1-3
[1] Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
[2] For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
[3] Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

Malachi 4:5-6
[5] Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Acts 2:20-21
[20] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
[21] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

1 Corinthians 5:4-5
[4] In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
[5] To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:13-14
[13] For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
[14] As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
[2] For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
[3] For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
[4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

2 Peter 3:10
[10] But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

Revelation 6:15-17
[15] And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
[16] And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
[17] For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?



This passage is the one that definitively ties the Day of the Lord to the Battle of Armageddon.
Revelation 16:14-16
[14] For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
[15] Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
[16] And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Watch this video, made by professional cosmological scientists.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyH2D4-tzfM


At 15:13 they say that everything is caused by randomness (accidental).
At 16:50 they discovered the Cosmological Constant.
At 17:33 they still believe in randomness (or luck) causing the universe to be conducive for life.
At 17:45 they realize that nobody could believe this to be accidental. It's not reasonable.
At 18:30 they realized that this happening by chance was out of the question but the alternative (God) was "impossible to contemplate".
At 18:40, watch this cosmologist start stammering and stuttering to avoid saying "controlled by God".
At 19:15 they realized it was impossible to deny that the universe was designed specifically for Mankind.

Notice how the tone changes here to that of a personal attack.

At 20:08 they realized they were caught "between a rock and a hard place".
Why? You observe something and record it. Simple. Your feelings don't matter if you're a real scientist.

At 20:25 they became "afraid".
They were most fearful that Creationists would say, "See we were right all along."

At 20:55 the physicists "shrank" before the idea of an anthropic universe.
This is an emotional reaction, not a scientific process.

At 21:50 they came up with a solution that "required a leap of faith".
Not science. So not science.

At 22:40 they came up with the idea of other universes. Just have infinite universes and we just happen to have gotten lucky by living in the one with the ideal Cosmological Constant.

This is all typical of the mainstream scientific movement. Their motives here were loud and clear. They were doing whatever they could to avoid having to admit that God made the universe. When faced with the overwhelming evidence that God (or "some Designer") did make the universe just for us, they went into emotional panic mode. They also kept silent about their discoveries for fear of Creationists being right.

This is not science. It's doing everything in their power to deny God, and then pretend it's science. They are grasping at straws because the overwhelming evidence points at a Creator God.

After the fact, they will lie and say that they made "discoveries" that led them to their theories about other universes. But they really didn't. The only discovery they made pointed them toward a Creator God, and they did whatever they could to weasel out of it.

These other universes have never been observed, never been measured, and only make sense if you're trying to disprove God. They weren't even considered before it occurred to them that the existence of the Cosmological Constant would topple their house of cards. They were fat, dumb, and happy with the idea of there only being one universe until the realization set in that this universe was specifically created to host life. This drove them to much greater lengths (outside the bounds of science) to deny the evidence they could see, and replace it with something that can't be seen.

And as we all know, once you open the door to infinite universes, you've just evoked Infinite Monkey Theory. Eventually one of those moneys will type out the complete works of Shakespeare. Because with an infinite number of universe can make literally ANYTHING possible. But can any of these unobserved universes have God in them? No, that would be silly. So just to drive home the point of this video, with infinite universes, anything is possible except for God somehow.

Go back and watch the video again, and listen to these guys' own words. Once the observable science indicated a Creator God who built the whole place with Man in mind, they went all emo and sought desperately for something, anything, to disprove their own lying eyes, just for the sole and solitary reason that they couldn't live with themselves if science truly points to God. Which it still does, by the way. Their panic-riddled attempt to call into being an infinite number of mythical alternate dimensions hasn't changed the facts.

This is indeed faith, not science. It is a type of religion that does not rely on facts, but instead on philosophical musings that can't be proved. And indeed this was ONLY done so they could tell themselves there is no God.

They now teach it as fact. And because they state with such certainty the existence of multiple dimensions, you may think that they have proved other dimensions using their scientific data. But they didn't. They did it solely to dodge the obvious conclusion that someone designed all this. And the worst possibility would be the God of the Bible, making those pesky Creationists right for believing in Him.

Let's go a little further into the clip.

At 25:30 look at the smile on the cosmologist's face when he announces that they no longer need a "fine tuner" (meaning they don't need God).

At 26:00 they can see why people like me say this is not science.
They try to weasel out of that too by saying it's all about disproving theories, but it's really not. It's all about the observation - an important step they skipped.

At 26:35 they were headed toward another "trap" that would lead them to a Creator.
OH NOES! NOT A CREATOR! Notice the ominous music as they show a cross.

At 26:55 they flat-out admit that they came up with the concept for the multiple universes to avoid the conclusion that an intelligent force had a hand in any of this. C'mon now. Right there. Do I really need to go any further? How much of an admission do you need? Oh, but I will go further.

At 28:10 they say that maybe one day they can prove these other dimensions.
Translation: Today they can't prove them. There is zero proof for their "truth".

At 28:20 they say they can't even address the question at present.

So are multiple universes a proven fact?
No, by their own admission.

What evidence do we have for multiple universes?
None, by their own admission.

Why are they even discussing multiple universes?
To avoid the conclusion that God is real, by their own admission.

And if there are no other universes?
Then there must be a God, by their own admission.

The Bible actually predicts scientists doing things like this.

Romans 1:18-22
[18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
[19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
[20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
[21] Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
[22] Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

And that's exactly what these guys did. They held the truth in unrighteousness.
They could clearly see the invisible things of God, and understood them.
They are without excuse.
They glorified Him not as God.
They entered into vain imaginations.
Their foolish hearts were darkened.
They profess themselves to be wise, but became fools.