The Higher Calling, a review of a sermon by Bertrand Comparet

The Higher Calling, a review of a Sermon by Bertrand Comparet

Perhaps it is fitting that each time I begin a review of a sermon by Comparet or Swift, or an essay by Emahiser, that I do so with reflections on my own early Christian Identity studies. However I had originally embarked on my studies because I was compelled by sermons such as these from Comparet or Swift, and I was helped along the way by Emahiser.

This sermon, however, is important to me because it shows that regarding one critical issue, I have always generally agreed with Comparet, while many other Christian Identity pastors or teachers and their followers have different opinions which are not so well-grounded in Scripture. Often, those who have disagreed with me on this issue have even attributed to Comparet a position which he did not hold. That critical issue is the fact that all Israel shall be saved.

That “all Israel shall be saved”, the Bible states rather plainly, as it is found in both the letters of Paul in Romans chapter 11 and in the prophecy of Isaiah in chapter 45. The Scriptures also lead us to make the same implication in many other places. But in spite of that, many Identity Christians argue against it, and even despise us for holding to the assertion. However we would assert that their doctrines are remnants of their denominational baggage, and they are not founded in Scripture.

There is one popular belief that is probably found in every Christian denomination, which is that people who are generally “good” in their patterns of behavior go to heaven, and people who are “bad” in their patterns of behavior, or who have been especially “bad” at one time or another, are in danger of going to hell forever. To that, the Roman Catholic Church added the concept of purgatory, as priests needed an angle by which to extort men out of their money, convincing them that their loved ones were stuck and couldn’t quite make it to heaven without the intervention of the priests.

Being raised Catholic to some degree, as a young man I had the same general understanding regarding these teachings on salvation, except that I don’t think I ever really believed, or perhaps only never cared about, the claims concerning purgatory. So when I found Christian Identity, sermons such as this made an impression which led me to inquire into these things more carefully, and when I began to actually study the Scriptures, especially in their original languages, the conclusions which I reached remained in general agreement with Comparet’s position on this issue, and perhaps the differences we may have are due only to semantic differences. So now we will hear it from Comparet himself, with some notes both from myself and from Clifton Emahiser:

THE HIGHER CALLING by Bertrand L. Comparet

Taken From Your Heritage (a transcription of Comparet’s sermons by Jeanne Snyder) and prepared for publication by Clifton A. Emahiser, along with some of his own critical notes.

As Christians, we all look forward to another life. The doctrine of resurrection is fundamental in Christianity. However, this is not the final answer to our questions. It is only the starting point for many questions. What will this other life be like? Are there different grades and levels in that life? How can you know what your earned place in that life will be? The only gospel preached in the Christian churches today, is the gospel of personal salvation. Is this the all-inclusive answer? No, for some churches regard salvation as a temporary, changing thing. These churches say you can be saved today and lose your salvation tomorrow. I presume they believe you can regain salvation the day after tomorrow. If this is true, you had better be careful on which day you die! Other churches teach, once you have salvation, you have it forever. Which teachings are correct? Let’s find out just what salvation is, and what benefits it implies.

As for my part, I would state that salvation is according to the creation of God, as the Scriptures teach, and I will probably end this evening with that citation from Wisdom chapter 2 where Solomon wrote that God created the Adamic man to be immortal, to be an image of His Own eternity. That is an aspect of the creation of God which man cannot change under any circumstances. Man is awfully full of himself thinking that he could change these aspects of the creation of God, or that his deeds could affect the original plan of God or His creation.

Some denominational churches, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses or the United Church of God, deny the so-called “eternal security” or “once saved always saved” doctrine. The Presbyterian Church, and other chuches which follow Calvin, teach “once saved always saved” as doctrine, but they put qualifications on what it is to be “saved” which allow them breathing room to account for so-called “saved” people who fall away. In any event, none of the denominational churches properly know who is “saved” in the first place, as none of them teach the racial aspect of the covenants which Yahweh had made with the children of Israel. But since the attacks on this doctrine almost always include the statements made by Paul of Tarsus on those who fall away, which are found in Hebrews chapter 6, for that reason I will offer my commentary on the relevant verses from that chapter, which were first presented here in September of 2016. This is from our presentation of Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews, Part 5 titled The High Priest of God, and our citation begins with Hebrews 6:4-6, but I will omit some of the technical notes:

4 For impossible it is, those once being enlightened both tasting of the heavenly gift and becoming partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and tasting of the good word of Yahweh and powers of the coming age 6 yet falling away, to restore again in repentance, upholding the crucifixion among themselves and making an example of the Son of Yahweh.

… Paul is only referring to those who were truly given a chance to understand the Gospel. So he is careful to describe as his intended subject, those who were once enlightened, and who experienced the heavenly gift and who had become partakers of the Holy Spirit, who were given the understanding of the promises of God in reference to the powers of the coming age. Saying these things, Paul refers to those who indeed understood the true racial covenant of the Bible and the very purpose of the creation of the Adamic race on earth. Today, most men reject Christ, but this verse is not for them. That is because most men were never given a chance to actually understand the Gospel. The government-approved churches, whether they be the churches of Imperial Rome, or the papal government churches of the Middle Ages, or the tax-exempt government churches of the modern world, have never taught the true Gospel of Christ.

When men who should be Christians, meaning men who are of “the lost sheep of the House of Israel” reject Christ, if indeed they have heard the true message of the Scriptures, then if they reject it they are ostensibly upholding the Crucifixion, whereby the enemies of Christ sought to kill Him. Christ Himself had said “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30).

However where Paul says that when such men fall away it is impossible to restore them to repentance, he is only referring to their conduct in this life. All of Israel shall be saved, yet some will evidently have much more difficulty than others. For instance, speaking of two of his own fellow-workers among those who had made a “shipwreck” of the faith, as he described it, Paul said in 1 Timothy chapter 1: “Of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.” Ostensibly, as Paul had said of the fornicator in 1 Corinthians chapter 5, disobedient or sinful men are delivered to Satan “for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”

So we have this example in Hymenaeus and Alexander, who were evidently once enlightened, and who must have experienced the heavenly gift and had become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and who were given the understanding of the promises of God in reference to the powers of the coming age. It is quite evident that they would suffer for rejecting it all, and would therefore be punished so that they would “learn not to blaspheme.” But there must be a point in their learning, since there is no point in learning anything if the spirit is destroyed. Therefore, as Paul had explained in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, “13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” Those with the spirit of God who have no works will still be preserved through the fire, and therefore they shall all learn from their experiences here, but many of them, like Hymenaeus and Alexander, they shall have learned too late. [In verse 7] Paul continues with a poetic analogy in reference to those who reject Christ, which by itself explains why many of them would reject Him:

7 For the ground which drinks the rain coming often upon it, and produces fodder well fit for those by whom it is also tilled, takes a share of blessing from Yahweh, 8 but bringing forth thorns and thistles is rejected and akin to a curse, of which the result is for burning.

And these are the works of men, which are all tried and burned in the fire. Anything which endures the fire is worthy of reward, and anything which does not stand the trial goes up in smoke. But we also learn from the Gospel that there are men themselves who are tares. The same Christ who said that “he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad” also said in that same manner, as it is recorded in Matthew chapter 7, “16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.” [For instance, the Canaanites, ancestors of the modern Jews, were described as thorns.] Likewise, John the Baptist is recorded as having proclaimed that “he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

So Paul also warned the Corinthians in this same manner where he said in his second epistle to them, in its final chapter, “5 Truly, do you not yourselves observe that Yahshua Christ is among you, unless somehow you are spurious?” The works of men can be spurious, but since the tares were planted among the wheat by the enemies of God at the beginning (Matthew 13), there are men who may also be spurious. And spurious men are also the works of men, while spurious men certainly are not the works of God, as God created nothing which is spurious. That is why a good tree cannot possibly bring forth bad fruit, but a bad tree cannot possibly bring forth good fruit.

Therefore Christians, true Christians who have tasted “of the good word of Yahweh and powers of the coming age” originally had an obligation to reject all those who reject the true message of the Gospel. As the apostle John had said in his second epistle: “9 Each who going forth and not abiding in the teaching of Christ has not Yahweh. He abiding in the teaching, he also has the Father and the Son. 10 If one comes to you and does not bear this teaching, do not receive him into the house and do not speak to welcome him! 11 For he speaking to welcome him takes a share in his evil works.” Rather than heed this advice, the government-sanctioned churches of today have instead accepted the anti-Christs and rejected the apostles [of Christ].

Returning to Comparet’s sermon, The Higher Calling:

In the Old Testament, three words are commonly translated salvation. These words are yeshuah (yesh-oo-aw), yeshah (yeh-shah), and rarely teshuah (tesh-oo-aw).

Comparet missed a fourth word, which is translated as salvation only once in the King James Version, mowsha’ah. In a related sermon, Salvation or Redemption?, he said “In the Old Testament, four Hebrew words have been translated salvation.” I am not trying to be overly critical, as we all make similar mistakes. There are other words with similar definitions, but which were not translated precisely as salvation in the King James Version.

The word which is transliterated as yeshuah here is not the same as the word which we transliterate as the name Yahshua, as it is missing the H, the letter he which the Hebrew form of Yahshua, or Joshua, contains following the initial letter Y, the Hebrew yod. Continuing with Comparet:

The root meaning of the three words is basically safety, varying through rescue to health. All of these words mean deliverance from danger. In the New Testament, two Greek words are translated salvation, these are soteria (so-tay-ree-ah) and soterion (so-tay-ree-on). Their meaning is identical with the three Hebrew words I mentioned. [Like yeshuah and yeshah, they are actually different forms of the same word. - WRF] All five of these words can be used, very correctly, to describe the rescue of a person from drowning or any other danger in his life. In our Christian doctrines, they have a special usage, to describe our rescue from a permanent death. This doctrine is not something new, it is clearly stated in both the Old and New Testaments.

Now, I must interject that there is often temporal salvation which is referred to in Scripture, and temporal salvation is often a matter of keep the commandments of God. This is evident in many places, such as in Romans chapter 10 where Paul, citing Leviticus chapter 18, had written “ 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.” In other words, Moses was told that the man who keeps the law shall live for that reason. This understanding was maintained in the New Testament. For example, where in Acts chapter 16 Paul had told the jailer at Philippi to “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Ostensibly, the faith of the man would not bring the members of his house eternal life, nor could his actions guarantee that they would attain to the resurrection. But a man who believed would keep the commandments also, as Christ Himself had insisted, and at that time if a man kept the commandments, his house would also have had to keep the commandments, and by that they would live.

Because there is a temporal salvation, some so-called Christians seem to imagine that is the only salvation of which the Scripture speaks, but that is not true. Aside from temporal salvation, Comparet now describes the manner in which salvation was promised to the children of Israel, because there is indeed a greater salvation:

In Hosea 13:14 Yahweh promises us this deliverance from death. In the Hebrew it is clearer than in the King James Bible. “From the hand of the grave I do ransom them, from death I redeem them. Where is thy plague O death? Where thy destruction, O grave?” In the New Testament John 11:25-26 states it clearly. “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth on Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth on Me shall never die.” Hebrews 2:9, 15 says, “But we see Yahshua, who was made for a little time lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He, by the grace of Yahweh, should taste death for every man…. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.”

Surprisingly Comparet did not cite Isaiah chapter 26 where we see a promise to Israel that “19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body [the body of Yahweh Himself] shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” Then a little further on, we read in a Messianic prophecy in Isaiah chapter 28: “14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem. 15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: 16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. 17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”

Continuing with Comparet, we shall disagree with him in one aspect:

Needless to say, this immortality only comes to Christians. It is clearly promised only to those who claim it in the only possible way, by faith in Yahshua, this is recorded in Exodus 12:12-13. This was demonstrated as far back as the first Passover in Egypt. None would be spared, even among the Israelites, except those who put the blood of the lamb on the door posts, outside the front door of their houses. This was a public proclamation of their faith that by the blood of the real Lamb of Yahweh, they would be saved. The same truth is confirmed in the New Testament in Acts 4:12 and Hebrews 2:3. Salvation comes not just from being an Israelite, one of the chosen people and one of the sons of Yahweh, but only to those that believe in Yahshua.

Now I would contend with this, that the blood on the door posts in the time of the Exodus was for a sign of temporal salvation, not for eternal salvation. While Christians today should cloak themselves in the blood of the lamb, that too is for a sign of obedience to God. It is my opinion is that if we cloak ourselves in His blood, we shall survive once it is time for another exodus, which is for Christians to come out of Mystery Babylon. Rather, Christ had said in the gospels that “41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here. 42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.” The Queen of the South was certainly not an Israelite, and neither were the men of Nineveh whom He made reference to here, as they were the Ninevites of the Assyrians to whom Jonah had preached repentance.

So other Adamic people shall be in the resurrection, although they are not redeemed in the sense which Comparet later explains of Israel. Nevertheless even Paul had said “22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” By saying “as in Adam”, he refers to the entire Adamic race and not only that portion of it which is of Israel. From the Wisdom of Solomon, at the end of chapter 2, we read: “23 For God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.” Then again, at the beginning of chapter 3: “1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them.” In that manner, in 1 Peter chapter 3 the apostle described Christ as having “went and preached unto the spirits in prison”, by whom he was referring to the souls of those Adamic men and women who died in the flood of Noah. Then in relation to them he also said in chapter 4 that: “6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.”

In 1 Corinthians chapter 15, in his conclusion to the fact that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”, Paul wrote: “54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Writing this, Paul was citing the same passage which Comparet had cited here, by which we know that Comparet was not misunderstanding the meaning of the words of the prophet, because Paul of Tarsus had interpreted the passage in the very same way. But now Comparet puts the understanding of eternal salvation in its proper perspective:

Carefully note this fact, just being saved promises you nothing more than that you will escape eternal death. It does not say what your future life will be in any particular rank. Will you be among those who are great in the kingdom of Yahweh? Or will you be only a sort of low man on the totem pole? This is another question that we will take up the answer to in detail, a little later. Is even this much uncertain, will Yahweh, after having given you eternal life, change His mind and take it away again? No, you need not fear this. Salvation is not something that you have earned, or could possibly earn, no man is good enough to achieve that. It is purely the gift of Yahweh, and He doesn’t take back His gifts. We are assured in Romans 11:29, “Yahweh does not change his mind about those to whom he gives his blessing or sends his call.” So we may safely conclude that nobody ever loses his redemption. However, this is not the full answer to our problem.

I would rather hope that there are no totem poles in the Kingdom of Heaven. In any event, as we read in Daniel chapter 12, “and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” That book of which Daniel speaks must be the Bible itself, and only the Adamic race is written into it as having been created by God. If one is written in the book, one has eternal life. Here we must understand that even resurrection to everlasting contempt is nevertheless resurrection, and infers that there will be eternal life along with it, because everlasting contempt is nevertheless everlasting. Although as Comparet said, “Carefully note this fact, just being saved promises you nothing more than that you will escape eternal death. It does not say what your future life will be in any particular rank.”

Saying this, Comparet cited Romans 11:29, where Paul wrote “29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” This is just after Paul had said “26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.” No matter how ungodly any of the children of Israel were, that ungodliness shall be turned away from them, or they will be turned away from ungodliness. So if the Scriptures say that “all Israel shall be saved”, who are we to imagine that any portion or any member of Israel is not saved, as “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance”? Comparet continues:

We find the great apostle Paul highly worried that he might lose something very precious. Remember that Paul had been selected and called by Yahshua, personally. Paul had received direct revelations from time to time, he had even been caught up into the third heaven for these revelations. Surely, Paul had no fear of losing his redemption. No one understood more clearly than he that his redemption had been bought for him on the cross, given to him by Yahweh. Nothing could frustrate the will of Yahweh to save him. Let’s therefore carefully examine Paul’s words, to see what he feared he might lose.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, as it reads in the Greek, Paul says, “Know you not that those in a race course running, all indeed run but only one receives the prize? Thus run, that you may obtain. And everyone therein contending, in all things has self control: they indeed, therefore, that they may receive a perishable wreath; but we, an imperishable. I therefore thus run, as not uncertainly; I thus, box as not beating the air. But I severely discipline my body and keep it under control: lest possibly, having as a herald summoned others, I myself should be disapproved.” Indeed run.

When I presented my commentary on this section of the first epistle to the Corinthians, I remarked that “It is not that only one Israelite may be rewarded in the Kingdom of Heaven, but that every Israelite should live his or her life in the service of Christ as if that were so.” Now if that is disputed, it can also be said that if every Adamic man and woman were perceived as living for the purpose of having run in a race, then the winner must be Christ Himself, as only He had run the race perfectly, yet through Him we all share in the prize, according to the immutable promises of God.

Continuing with Comparet’s description:

Paul’s reference was to the well known Greek games. The winner was crowned with a wreath of olive, laurel, pine or parsley. The contestants were kept under strict training rules, just as modern athletes are. When the games opened, a herald sounded a trumpet and summoned the contestants.

Paul knew he was in a contest wherein there could be losers, as well as winners, and he was determined not to lose. What was this contest in which he was entered? In Philippians 3:11-15 Paul explains this. It is much clearer in the Greek than in most translations. “If possibly I may attain to the resurrection out from among the dead. (exanastasis, resurrection out, nekros, out from the dead) Not that I have already received it, or have already been perfected; but I pursue, if indeed I may lay hold on that for which Christ also laid hold on me. Brethren, I do not reckon myself to have laid hold on it; but one thing I do: forgetting the things behind, reaching out toward the things ahead, I pursue along the line toward the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ. As many, therefore, as are mature should be of this mind; and if in anything you think differently, even this will God reveal to you.”

Paul knew he was certain to be at least in the resurrection out of the dead (anastasis nekros): but he was trying hard to be in a special resurrection out from among the dead, leaving most of the dead behind. This was not a gift, he had to win it, and this he might fail to do. This higher calling was a great prize, if he obtained it. Paul knew very well what our Savior had said, “Many are called but few are chosen.” With the calling went a heavy responsibility. Failure to meet this responsibility would surely lose him the great prize, although he would still retain his salvation and his resurrection along with the other dead. This responsibility was repeatedly emphasized by Yahshua.

Here I cannot entirely agree with Comparet, because he is making the distinction of a special class among those of the resurrection based on a single preposition, ἐξ, prefixed to the word for resurrection, ἐξανάστασις here rather than the typical word ἀνάστασις, which is literally only a making to stand although the word was also used to describe resurrection. In fact, the only other time that ἐξανάστασις appears in Greek Scripture is in Genesis chapter 7, where Brenton translated the word as offspring, as it appears in the Alexandrian copy of the Greek which he read: “and I will blot out every offspring which I have made from the face of all the earth.” In that sense, ἐξανάστασις was used to refer to something which came to be from something else, the offsping of the man Adam having come out from Adam.

Instead, I would assert that Paul used ἐξανάστασις here merely for emphasis, and not to create or to support an entire doctrine. Liddell & Scott define the word to mean only “a rising from death… resurrection”. There is a higher calling of God in Christ, which Paul makes evident in the last two verses of the passage which Comparet had cited, but we do not need the prefixed preposition to see or to understand that. As Paul had explained it, the higher calling of God is to be in Christ, because as all Israel shall be saved, and as the entire Adamic race has a promise of eternal life for which they were created, not all of the race has been called to Christ. Comparet could not see this, as he wrongly thought that the resurrection was only for Christians, as he had said earlier in this sermon.

Rather, the resurrection is for all Adam, and the higher calling is for Christians, which is what Paul was explaining in Philippians chapter 3. Paul worked hard to run the race, doing his best to ensure that he was in Christ, as being outside of the will of Christ and not being obedient to Christ, Paul had professed that he may fail to attain to the higher calling in Christ, thereby setting an example for his students.

Continuing with Comparet:

For example in Luke 12:48, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required.” Paul states his realization of this duty in 1 Corinthians 9:16-17. “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.”

While Paul understood that he had to preach the gospel, that he faced certain peril if he neglected his obligation, he nevertheless had to do it on his own volition if he were to be rewarded for his efforts. Again Comparet continues:

This same responsibility was placed upon the prophet Ezekiel to whom Yahweh said, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die and thou givest him not warning, now speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity: but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity: but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

We see that salvation alone, is not the answer for everyone. He who aspires to be rewarded with a special place, a higher calling, must earn it. He must expect to have his performance judged with a critical eye. The churches have almost completely overlooked the requirement of earning your rewards. You can also lose these rewards, if you fail to meet the requirements for them. The clergymen, in these churches, concentrate on teaching only the gospel of personal salvation. As usual, this is because they won’t read and study the Bible. This principle of rewards to be earned is emphasized in many parts of the Bible.

For that reason, James wrote in chapter 3 of his epistle that “1 You must not produce many teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive a greater judgment.” Apparently, the greater numbers of teachers invites a greater number of heresies from those who should not be teachers. Continuing with Comparet:

For example in Isaiah 40:10 we read, “Behold, Yahweh will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him.” The New Testament also consistently states this theme. In Matthew 16:27 Yahshua says, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.” Revelation 11:18 states, “And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldest give reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them that destroy the earth.”

I know most of the ministers, and their unfortunate congregations, who have been misled by them will say, but this can’t apply to us, because we have been told that Christians are no longer subject to any judgment. This is a mistaken and false doctrine. The clergymen would know this if they only studied their Bible, even just the New Testament.

The apostle Paul tells us this plainly in 2 Corinthians 5:10. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” The best Christians that have ever lived will be judged. Not a judgment of condemnation for punishment, but a judgment to decide how small or how great his reward shall be.

This is evidently what the Scriptures teach in Daniel chapter 12, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, and throughout the related sayings and parables of Christ in the gospel. Comparet continues:

This is what Paul was speaking about when he said in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, “Know you not that those in a race course running, all indeed run: but only one receives the prize? Thus run that you may obtain. And everyone therein contending, in all things has self control: they indeed, therefore, that they may receive a perishable wreath; but we, an imperishable. I therefore thus run, as not uncertainty; I thus box, as not beating the air. But I severely discipline my body and keep it under control: lest possibly, having as a herald summoned others, I myself should be disapproved.”

Paul was making an illustration by comparing what worldly runners run for, which is a wreath, to what Christians strive for, which is the reward which they shall receive in eternal life. Returning to Comparet:

Paul knew that the prize of the higher calling could be won or lost. He would do nothing that would risk its loss. John also gives the warning in 2 John verse 8. “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.”

Faith alone cannot bring you the great rewards. Habbakuk 2:4, which Paul quotes in Romans 1:17 records, “The just shall live by his faith.” Notice, merely life is all this promises. If you want more than that, it is up to you to show yourself worthy of it. Therefore Paul, who stressed the value of faith more than any other writer in the Bible, worked for his reward. He finally felt that he had gained it, for he says in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which Yahweh, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day.”

Yahshua discussed this idea quite thoroughly. Of course there are many varieties of good deeds, each of them has its own value, some great, some small. In Matthew 10:42 Yahshua said, “Whosoever shall give drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, I say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward.” We certainly cannot compare the reward for this simple deed with the reward of such works as those of Matthew, John and Paul. The higher the quality of the work done, the reward must be proportionately just.

But on the other hand, there is the parable of the vineyard workers who came late to the vineyard, yet were still rewarded with the same pay as those who had come very early. Then there is he who is given much, and while he may appear to have done a lot, may have had the talent and resources to do even much more, and did not. So the reward is what is just in the eyes of God, although it may not be quite what is expected by men. Returning to Comparet:

The cost of the great deeds is high, men will hate you for it. Even those men who are receiving the most benefit from what you are doing. It will take more and more of your time and effort, crowding out many things which you formerly liked to do. It will become your life itself. The claims of this world are strong, it is not easy. Can you take it?

Actually, and rather sadly, many of the men whom I know who have taken up the cause of our faith have quit, for one reason or another. Some of them I know had quit simply because things did not go as well for them as they had imagined. Yet Paul never quit, although at diverse times he was stoned, he was jailed, he was ship-wrecked, he had to walk great distances on foot for want of a better way to travel. In the face of adversity there is greater trial, and he who faces it cheerfully shall indeed have a greater reward. Returning to Comparet:

In Luke 14:27-34 Yahshua gives the warning. “Whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassador, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?”

The path to salvation is smooth and easy, faith is all that it requires, not much in the way of deeds.

I would assert that it doesn’t even require faith, at least on our part. Rather, it requires faith on the part of God to fulfill the promises which He had made to Abraham, and in turn Abraham received those promises because he had believed God. As Paul had explained of Abraham, in part, in Romans chapter 4: “16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, 17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.” So because of the faith which Abraham had, the promise is sure to all of the seed, in spite of whatever faith any of the seed may have. Returning to Comparet:

This way has been left open for those who could not climb the steep and rocky path, which is the only way to the great rewards. If you are satisfied merely to be in the kingdom of Yahweh, but not to be a part of Yahshua’s administrative staff with which He governs the world, then salvation may be all that you need. If you aspire to a higher calling, then you must prepare for it in this life, as the next life will be too late to begin.

Further on in this paper, Comparet justifies the comment concerning “Yahshua’s administrative staff”, not to say that I entirely agree. So he continues:

If you consider taking the difficult and thorny path to the higher calling, then count the cost and frankly estimate your own ability to pay the price, as Yahshua warned. Be sure that you will be tested, to see what sort of metal you are made of. Only the finest steel will make a good sword blade. Not all can take it. Remember what Yahshua said, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” In Luke 9:61-62 we read, “And another also said, Master, I will follow Thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house, And Yahshua said unto him, No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of Yahweh.”

Is it worth it? Yes, it is. In this world, it means plenty of trouble. To make a fine sword blade, the metal is heated red hot, then laid on an anvil and heavily beaten with a hammer, forging it into shape and compressing the metal to give it strength it could never get any other way. Then it is again heated red hot and suddenly plunged into cold water to harden it. Finally, it is heated again, to draw the temper enough that it will not be brittle, no longer easily broken.

So your troubles, when you seek to become a follower of Yahshua, may well be compared to the making of a fine sword blade. After this you will be really fit to do battle with the devil and his children. It certainly isn’t a pleasant process, but don’t you want to become the man which this process will make? There is no easy, cheap, financially profitable way. If you start on this hard path, be sure to hold out to the end. Hebrews 10:38 sums up the whole point. “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Don’t be laughed to scorn because you have started to build, but could not finish.

Paul reviews all of this in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. “For [an-]other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Yahshua. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet through the very fire.”

Of course, there are other competing “religions” and “philosophies”. But because all things were created through Christ, He being Yahweh God incarnate, nobody can really build except on the foundation already laid by Christ, even if they think they are doing something original. Being in opposition to Him, they also are only building wood, hay and stubble. Now Comparet concludes:

If you are really one of Yahweh’s elect, then build something which can stand the fire, and receive your reward!

That is the goal which each and every Christian should have, to build such a thing, and to keep building, in one way or another.

Now we shall present comments by Clifton Emahiser:

Along the same topic as Comparet’s thesis here, the following is a small portion of what I wrote in a brochure entitled Resurrection Life, How, When and For Whom?:

There is probably no other Biblical topic with so many and varied concepts as the Resurrection. Each little splinter-group [denomination or sect - WRF] has its own interpretation, and usually applies it to their own sect. [In other words, our sect is the sect with the 144,000, or our sect is the sect that does everything right, so that we can be saved. All of that is simply bullshit.] But at 2 Peter 1:20 he says: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.” To this we must ask, “Does the Resurrection fall under the category of prophecy?” It would appear that it might be a good idea to see what Scripture has to say on the subject. When studying a topic in Scripture it is always a good idea to use the rule of first mention. The first mention alluding to eternal life is found at Genesis 3:22: “And Yahweh singular Elohim [Clifton was always trying to stress the fact that while the word elohim was plural in form, it was singular – a plural of majesty – when it referred to Yahweh.] said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.”

The only tree through which we can receive eternal life is Yahshua the Messiah, and Yahshua was no more a physical wooden tree than “the tree of knowledge of good and evil” (Gen. 2:9). This is metaphorical language for living entities (Yahweh and Satan). The Bible uses the metaphor “dry tree” for a eunuch (Isaiah 56:3). Yet there are those who demand that every Biblical tree be a wooden tree. They even demand that Eve ate from a wooden tree! Thus, at Genesis 3:22 we have the first allusion to eternal life. (Also cross reference Revelation 2:7; 22:2.)

It is amazing, but there are many who don’t believe in a bodily resurrection, that somehow it will be only spiritual. There is probably no other Biblical doctrine so twisted entirely out-of-shape. Let’s read John 5:28: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice ...” Would not this be similar to when Yahshua Christ called Lazarus from the dead, except he was resurrected only to die again; John 11:43? However, this passage is resurrection to life eternal. And, as we shall see later, the term “all” must be qualified.

Continuing at verse 29: “And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” Well, how many resurrections do we have here? Two, of course. There are a lot who teach a general resurrection. Just think of the amount of confusion that would cause. These are two different resurrections at two different times. And the first of these two resurrections is not going to happen just at the beginning of a so-called “rapture”, followed by a so-called “seven years of tribulation” as the futurists claim! Rather, life will be continuing on, similar to how we observe it today, and as Paul describes it at 1 Corinthians 15:51-52: “51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

Rather, I believe that the “resurrection of life” are those whom Daniel says will awaken “to everlasting life”, and that the resurrection of judgment are those whom Daniel says will awaken “to shame and everlasting contempt.” These are two portions of the same resurrection, but that is just my opinion. Clifton now concludes:

This will be an interesting period of time to experience for all those who will go through it. It will be a judgment in itself. Imagine all the embarrassed pastors who were teaching false doctrine, not receiving a glorified body while some in their congregations do! Consider the spouse who receives a glorified body, but the mate who does not because of having a tinge of racial impurity! Envision the surprise of many who had family or friends who recently died who everyone considered outstanding Christians who are not resurrected, while many who were not considered Christian are. Ponder why some are not included, even though racially pure, simply because they dealt deceitfully, confiscating someone else’s valuable lawful possessions. Also, contemplate the wonderment of people when some will suddenly appear to be about 30 rather than 70 or 80. And think of the amazement, when it is discovered, that not a single member of a non-white or half-breed are included. So the “all” at John 5:28 does not include “all” races! William Finck’s translation of Philippians 2:14-15 reads: “14 Do all things apart from murmuring and disputing, 15 that you would be perfect and with unmixed blood, blameless children of Yahweh in the midst of a race crooked and perverted - among whom you appear as luminaries in the cosmos ...”

Where Clifton asked his readers to “Ponder why some are not included, even though racially pure, simply because they dealt deceitfully, confiscating someone else’s valuable lawful possessions”, he evidently thought that perhaps they may not be resurrected, like the aliens and bastards that he correctly said “are not resurrected”. This is contrary to what Comparet had attested here. But I would assert that those people would indeed be resurrected, either to the mercy of God, or possibly to Daniel’s “everlasting contempt”. Clifton first wrote that paper which he references here in April of 2007, so perhaps he was not yet on quite the same page on this subject as he was later in this ministry.

Where Clifton spoke of some people who would “suddenly appear to be about 30 rather than 70 or 80”, and where Comparet spoke of people attaining a position on “Yahshua’s administrative staff with which He governs the world”, these things I would rather not conjecture. The apostle John had written in chapter 3 of his first epistle “2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” If John said “it doth not yet appear what we shall be”, then neither will I pretend to know, and would rather not offer conjecture. But in any event, we must agree that Comparet certainly was correct in two important points, first, that all Israel certainly is saved, and second, that there is indeed a higher calling, a calling beyond that salvation.

But with this it should be fully evident, that the position which we have at Christogenea on the issue of salvation, eternal life and redemption was also the position of Bertrand Comparet, except for a few relatively minor points. We are not teaching anything novel, but rather, we are seeking only to elucidate the true meaning of Scripture in relation to our race, which certainly was created to fulfill a higher calling, and the plan of Yahweh our God will not fail – in spite of the sins and failures of men.