On the Gospel of John, Part 10: The Only-Begotten is Not the Only

In our last presentation in this series on the Gospel of John, which was subtitled The World of Salvation, among other things we had discussed were several aspects of the statement of Christ which is recorded in John 3:16. This is a favorite verse of the universalist denominational Christians, but it certainly does not mean what they imagine it to mean. They read this verse as if it says that Yahshua, or Jesus Christ, is the only Son of God, and had come to die in order to save the entire planet and everything, or, at least, everyone, dwelling thereupon. Of course, that is absolutely contrary to the entire body and context of the Scriptures. But with their interpretation of one verse, and only sometimes with imagined support from a couple of other verses, they would negate the entire meaning and value of all of the books of the prophets, as well as the complete substance of the epistles of the apostles and many of the other statements of Christ Himself.

So we began to address this particular passage by explaining that the Greek words translated as world were never intended to describe what we now know as the planet, and that even in the Medieval English of the King James translators, or in the German of Martin Luther, the concept of world did not imply the inclusion of the entire planet and everything on it, as the word is usually understood in modern times.

Now we are going to address another aspect of this passage, which is the use and translation of the Greek term μονογενής (Strong’s # 3439). In its most literal sense it means “only-born”, and it is the word which the King James translators rendered as “only-begotten” in John 3:16. But is that what the Gospel writers really meant to convey when they used the term? This is debatable, but we would rather understand it according to the idiom of the times, and especially its use in the idioms of the Greek Old Testament, where we will find that it was not necessarily used in that literal sense in our Scriptures.

On the Gospel of John, Part 9: The World of Salvation

Ancient Gnostic influences adversely infected early Christianity with wrongful ideas that basic words such as seed, father, son, brother, and house, among others, had other than plain meanings when they appeared in Scripture in the prophets or in the New Testament writings, and modern adherents to the organized church institutions routinely cite those writings without giving thought to the actual and literal meanings of such words. This allowed them to accept another false doctrine, which we shall call replacement theology, because the words of all the prophets and apostles could then be corrupted and imagined to apply to “whosoever”, to anyone other than those who are expressly intended by the Scriptures, so that in that manner, anyone who would comply with the church institutions could be imagined to be a party to the covenants which Yahweh had made with Israel. So it is also with another word, world, which they now imagine refers to the entire planet and to every thing in it, yet that concept is relatively new, and nothing could be further from the truth.

One cannot be a Gnostic, and be a true Christian. In order to be a Christian, and truly accept the Word of God in the Old Testament, which is also manifest in Christ, one must accept the meanings of the words of Scripture as they were understood by the writers of Scripture or by those who had spoken those words when the Scriptures were written. Abraham would never have believed in any so-called “spiritual seed”, but rather he was told that his seed would come out from his loins, from where we may expect it to come. To Isaiah and Jeremiah and the other prophets, a son was a genetic descendant, a brother was a man of shared parentage, seed was the collective of a man’s offspring, a tribe was an extended family unit, a father a male ancestor near or remote, and the words never represented a mere group of disparate and unrelated believers. For example, a man who was a son was a son first, and then whether he was believing and acted accordingly so that he would be entitled to an inheritance was secondary to his being a son.

In many ways, Gnosticism is the true basis of the doctrines of the modern so-called Orthodox or Catholic churches. When they make appeals to their traditions found in their so-called “church fathers”, the true foundation of those traditions is very often found in Gnosticism, and sometimes also in Plato or Aristotle, but certainly not in the Christian Scriptures. When the other Protestant denominations followed the Eastern Orthodox by parting ways with Rome, they nevertheless retained Gnostic concepts as the basis of their faith. So if Identity Christians are criticized, it is because we reject Gnosticism. We believe the words of Scripture according to the meanings which they represented when they were written, and in that manner we truly seek to understand and believe the Word of our God. Doing this, we may also attest that the words of His prophets are manifest both in ancient history and in Christian society as it has existed historically.

Tonight we discuss the spread of Negroes with the 1968 Fair Housing Act, and its impact on American cities in relation to certain Biblical end times prophecies, and what the prospects are as a result of the destruction of those cities.

The Role of Faith in a Successful Insurgency, Movement, or Community

Recently Dr. Michael Hill, the President of the League of the South, wrote on Social Media that “In all successful movements, there is a vanguard, both intellectual and physical, that must push hard against the established order by violating their taboos and sacred cows, sometimes shockingly, to show the people that oftentimes audacity is the first ingredient for success. We will continue to be audacious and aggressive in our actions in real life and on the Internet.”

Early Christians certainly had that audacity of which Michael Hill had spoken, by refusing to make sacrifices worshiping Caesar, by refusing to pay homage to the idols of Rome, and by voluntarily going so far as death for their convictions, an act of defiance which in itself showed the world how much they despised the established order of their own time. Standing together with Christ, they overcame the world, and the world – their European world – ultimately became Christian. As a result, it also became a much better place.

Of course, Dr. Hill was speaking on behalf of the League of the South when he wrote those words, and I agree with him. I would agree even if I were not a member of the League, but here I must make a disclaimer. Even though I am a member, I am only a member, and therefore I cannot speak for the League of the South or any for other organization. Whenever I speak at Christogenea, it is only on my own behalf. So except for that one short quotation, the words which I present here tonight are my own, and they reflect my own opinions based upon my own studies and observations from both history and the current situation of our White kindred people in general. Neither can I impose my own will and ideas on the League or upon any of its members. So of course my actions within the League will remain in compliance with its own directives and constitutions. My only hope is that these words come to be understood by other members of the League of the South, and also by all of our White and nationalist kindred in every region, and eventually adopted to the greatest degree possible, because I sincerely believe that as a race, we have no other alternative that will ever be successful.

A Eulogy for Clifton Emahiser

It is just over twenty years ago that Clifton Emahiser decided to start his Watchman's Teaching Ministry, and my name was added to his list of subscribers by a mutual friend. He decided to begin his endeavor while he was hospitalized following a heart attack, in February of 1998. With his first issue he said that he was committed to publishing his teaching letters for as long as he lived, saying that “Since I came down with a heart attack February 6, 1998, I have dedicated the rest my life (at least what there is of it) to full time writing for the Almighty.” He very nearly lived up to that promise, and I am certain he never expected to complete 232 monthly editions, spanning 19 years and four months from when he had started. There are still a couple of papers Clifton wrote as late as this past winter, which I must retrieve from his files and evaluate for publication.

Near the end of the first year of his publications, I wrote him with a disagreement in reference to a particular historical subject. Often, pastors and Bible teachers who are challenged concerning such things are offended, but not Clifton. Rather than be upset over my criticism, rather than be angry, Clifton was more than happy to study what I had written him, and to discuss and reconsider his position after investigating the matter further. So we developed a working relationship and an enduring friendship over the subsequent years.

This recording has been appended to the Christogenea Saturdays program for January 27th, 2018. It merits this serparate posting.

What if Jesus were descended from the Israelite tribe of Judah, as the Scripture says that He is? Well, of course He is, because the Scriptures do not lie. But what if the people known as Jews today were NOT of the tribe of Judah? Nor even of Benjamin or Levi? Then how could Jesus possibly be a Jew? The answer is easy, Jesus is not a Jew because the people known as Jews today are not of Judah. The Bible itself tells us this.

For this reason Jesus Himself told the church at Smyrna, in Revelation 2:9: "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."

Just in case that is not understood, Jesus also said to the church at Philadelphia, in Revelation 3:9: "Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee."

So according to Jesus Himself, the people calling themselves Jews at this time are not "real" Jews, meaning that they are not actually of the tribe of Judah. But how can that be? First, we will see that Paul of Tarsus agrees with Jesus, and the events which Luke recorded in Acts chapter 26 had actually transpired about 35 years before John recorded the Revelation.