Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve Epley
I trust the words of Jesus without a doubt "the gates of Hell shall NOT prevail."
I believe Luke 12:47-48 concerns people IN the Kingdom not excusing folks NOT in the Kingdom. And you know what places you in the kingdom Jn.3:5, Acts 2:38. |
I agree that the gates of Hell did not prevail. Please note something about that verse...it reads that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Church. That means that in the very wording of the verse we see a church assulting the gates of Hell and conquring the stronghold of the enemy. It depicts a war. In every war the battle lines wax and wane as forces advance and fall back. There have been conditions in which enemy forces had advanced on American forces...yet they were not to prevail...American forces regrouped and lead an all out assult pushing the enemy back into defeat and surrender. Don't be so simplistic as to think that just because we are promised that we will prevail that Hell cannot get the upperhand or that Hell has never had the upperhand. The promise is that the gates of Hell shall not prevail...and just when Hell thought it had Catholicized the church and had her bound in apostasy, just when Hell had the Bible chained to Catholic pulpits, just when Hell had the people ignorant and illiterate, just when Hell had seemingly ensured that the Bible would only be read in Latin...GOD breathed on his sleeping bride and embers of faith and a hunger for truth and righteousness began to burn. Men began to challenge the established Catholic church and her godless traditions. These men had read the Scriptures and found that while they didn't understand it all...they were discovering day be day that the Catholic church was wrong. Many gave their very lives. All were repentant, all used of God were water baptized (though perhaps incorrectly), all had experienced the Baptism of the Holy Ghost though they didn't know what it was and many simply called it "ecstatic ecstasy". You may find it interesting that Tyndale was rather hospitable to priests who were being lead to study the Scriptures and were hungry for truth. Do you know what Tyndale called this group? He called them simply, "apostolic brethren", in his writings. Prophetic? Perhaps. However God used him mightily to get the Bible translated into English. As each wave of restoration and revival swept the Church new truths were being discovered in God's Word, communion for memorial, baptism by emersion, believer's baptism, congregational structure as opposed to Papacy, faith, holiness, Holy Ghost infilling, the Oneness of God, and Jesus name baptism.
Friend...it's the story of an epic battle. There were days when it seemed all was lost. There were days when Hell crucified and burned those striving to be faithful to Holy writ. However, just as Jesus promised, the gates of Hell did not prevail. Christ's Words were clear...there would be a battle. Certainly the purpose of his Words was to encourage the Church as she endured these long years of apostasy and persecution. I can see men bound in stocks for reading the Bible...though they didn't know all it taught...they knew it had the answers and the Catholic Church was corrupt. In their eyes you can see a fire and faith for Christ's words..."the gates of Hell shall not prevail".
And they didn't!
Today God has restored his bride to her Apostolic beauty. The movements of yester year have no power, like old manna, their substance has long vanished. Searching for the truth we've received they're uniting to share in their "dialogue of faith"...what they don't see is that we have received the most recent revelation of God's truth. We are the revival we've all been praying for. One by one these denominations are falling to greater and greater error. In their unity they are being positioned to unite once more with the Catholic Church and then they will have completed their rejection of truth, the cup of judgment will be full, and the Harlot will be judged.
I have in my hands a King James Bible. Certainly if God has always had a church like unto ourselves in every age we would know who they were. Certainly they would have preserved God's Word and we would have had no need to receive the Bible as it was unchained from Catholic pulpits. Since there would have always been a church there would have always been an available Bible! Where is that
Apostolic Bible? And better yet...if there isn't an
Apostolic Bible...how was there a church like unto our own if they had no Bible?
We know that Jesus said that a man must be born of water and Spirit. Most Reformers were indeed water baptized, though in the only way they knew. Many have written things that make us wonder if they may have even received the baptism of the Holy Ghost during their studies and search for truth. Yes, there was much tradition clouding their vision...however they were staggering toward the light as a loving Savior beckoned them. And you wouldn't even have a Bible today if God didn't use them to provide it. I praise God for them. And I refuse to stand in condemnatory judgment against them. Nor will I assume that I know for certain that they were saved. I will simply allow God to be their judge.
Remeber,
Acts 2:38 shows us the proper way to be born of water and Spirit. However, we risk playing God if we pretend that God is incapable of having mercy on those who have sought to obey and did so imperfectly. We serve a merciful God.
Luke 12:47-48
" 47And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."
Only God is qualified to judge a soul who obeyed in the best manner they knew.
I assure you I'm for all three steps (repentance, water baptism in Jesus name, and infilling of the Holy Ghost). However, I will not rule out the possibility that God could choose to have mercy on those who performed those steps imperfectly. God alone is qualified to judge and show mercy. I leave him room to be God.
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