Bible Doctrine

SATAN HAS HAD THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO PERFECT HIS DECEPTIONS. YOU HAVE HAD A MERE HANDFUL OF YEARS, A FEW DECADES AT MOST TO SEE THROUGH HIS LIES AND FALSE REASONING. UNLESS FULLY SURRENDERED TO JESUS CHRIST, HAVING HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO GUIDE AND ENLIGHTEN YOU AS YOU REALLY “PROVE ALL THINGS” YOU DON’T HAVE A WIN. AGAIN AND AGAIN SATAN WILL SAY, “GOTCHA!”

The apostle Peter declares that believers are “born again” by the word of God. (See I Peter 1:23). He goes on to say that a believer is nurtured by the word of God and is prompted to grow spiritually by feeding on that word. (See I Peter 2:2). James wrote “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth” (See James 1:18). He goes on to say that it is “the engrafted word which is able to save your souls” (See James 1:21). Well, what if someone doesn’t have access to the word of God? What if I am a South American Indian living in the Amazon in the 15th Century! How can I be saved and nurtured and brought into spiritual maturity? I do not have the word of God available to me. I have no written language. I cannot read. My observation of created things around me cannot bring me into a relationship with the Creator of those things. How would I know that the Creator of life and earth and all things on it is a benevolent and kind Creator who wishes to impart eternal life to me? How can it be said that I am without excuse for failing to worship the true God? How can I know what or who is the true God? The mighty sun in the heavens that gives light, and warmth, and growth to the trees and plant life around me, surely that is a god, perhaps the only true god!

The apostle Paul wrote that the church is sanctified, washed and nourished by the word of God. (See Ephesians 5:26, 29). He also says that the word of God is “the sword of the Spirit.” (See Ephesians 6:17). It is the tool provided to us by God in which we fight error and falsehood. How would the ancient Babylonian fare spiritually without the word of God available to him? How about someone born in Japan or China in the third of fourth century, hundreds of years before the first Christian missionary visited their land? Do such billions just live and die without hope, steeped in ignorance through no fault of their own? That’s what many preachers ignorant of God’s inspired prophets think.

Paul wrote, “For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed, for there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher. And how shall they preach except they be sent?” (See Romans 10:11-15).

Those that were without excuse for submitting themselves to God were the Jews, to whom God had revealed Himself and given to them “the oracles of God” – His Word! If one reads Romans 1 and 2 slowly and carefully, paying close attention to every declaration made in those two chapters, it will become abundantly clear that Paul is not saying all mankind are without excuse for rejecting God. It is his fellow Jews of whom he writes in those two chapters, those who had known God but were unthankful and turned to idolatry, forsaking the one true God. Paul actually states this as a fact in verse 17 of Romans 2. God help you to understand.

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

Paul uses that term “under the law” three times in the Book of Romans and five times in the Book of Galatians. What is confusing to some is that he means something different when using that phrase in these two letters. (Remember Peter warned that Paul wrote some things hard to understand by those who were spiritually unstable and not all that familiar with God’s Word!)

When using that phrase in Romans 3:19 and 6:14 and 15, Paul means that the redeemed are no longer under THE PENALTY OR CONDEMNATION OF THE LAW as Jesus Christ has died paying that penalty for us. We are now under the gracious pardon of God.

When using that phrase “under the law” in the Galatian letter, Paul is stating that believers are no longer obligated to observing the sacrificial and ceremonial laws of Moses. Males no longer need to be physically circumcised. We need not offer sacrifices at the temple, etc.

One need only look at the context closely in these passages to discern what I have stated above..

Regarding the moral law, Paul wrote again and again how he loved that law and stated that God’s moral law was holy, and just and good. He warned that when we break that law we dishonor God! He stated clearly that only the DOERS of the law would be justified, not the hearers only. And he stated that God’s moral law has dominion over a man as long as that man lives! (See Romans 2:13, 23, 25, 26 and 27. Also Romans 3:31 and Romans 7:12, 16, and 22, as well as Romans 8:4).

How any thinking mind can believe the apostle Paul belittled God’s moral law amazes me. Those having such a mindset have had their minds darkened and are walking in profound error.

Christ’s Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

What is happening in Italy right now is going to eventually prove to be of the utmost importance to all the inhabitants on this planet. And I do not exaggerate one iota. One might think that Italy would be one of the last countries on earth where Islam would set its sights and hope to gain territory and a following, but the number of Muslims in Italy now number between one-and-a-half and two million with 250,000 of them already holding Italian citizenship! Turin, Italy alone has 130,000 Muslim residents. The second largest mosque in the Western world is in Rome and will accommodate 12,000 worshipers.

Pope Francis has stated a number of times that Islam is strengthening Europe and is a blessing to the church, meaning the Roman Catholic Church, of course. Always in the past the Catholic popes have been hostile toward Islam. (Remember, it was the popes who ordered the crusades in order to drive the Muslims out of Europe and Jerusalem, killing them by the thousands). But, believe it or not, Pope Francis has offered to build a Mosque on the grounds of the Vatican.

Pope Benedict XVI was forced to resign the papacy following a speech he gave at the University of Regensburg September 12, 2006 in which he disparaged both the Quran (Koran) and Mohammed, whereas Pope Francis has referred to the Quran as “a book of peace.”

When reading of the beast and the great whore in Revelation think Islam and Roman Catholicism. Islam and Roman Catholicism will do as Pilate and Herod did two thousand years ago: “And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were at enmity between themselves” (Luke 23:14). And history is going to repeat itself when these former enemies, Islam and Roman Catholicism come together as friends. And when that day arrives then lift up your heads and look up for your redemption draws near.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

Huge mega-mosques are being built all around the world for a very good reason. THEY ARE GOING TO BE NEEDED TO HOUSE ALL THE WORSHIPPERS OF ALLAH! The largest mosque in America is located in Dearborn, Michigan. There are mosques or Islamic Centers in every state, including Montana, Wyoming and tiny Rhode Island! In the year 2020 there were 2769 mosques or Islamic Centers in America.

Americans are not the only ones oblivious to the massive changes that will be seen on planet earth in the not too far distant future. And there is no stopping what is coming. Islam IS the wave of the future. Jesus Christ will be returning to a planet in Satan’s firm control and sway. One need read AND BELIEVE the Book of Revelation alone in order to understand the accuracy of that statement.

A massive number of professing Christians will fall away to embrace Islam when they find Jesus is NOT rescuing them and that their loved ones and friends are being beheaded in front of their eyes. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). When President Bush, President Obama and Billy Graham referred to Islam as one of the world’s three great faiths, or religions, they showed their profound ignorance, of disbelief, of the scriptures. Islam is NOT a great faith, although it IS a religion – the devil’s religion! Allah is NOT the Creator God by another name! Allah is one of two things: Satan disguised as a “god” or one of Satan’s most powerful demons in the devil’s hierarchy of fallen angels. This evil “god” inspires his followers to both kill themselves as well as kill as many others as they possibly can in ending their own misguided, miserable lives. This “god” hates and despises Jesus Christ, the Son of God, while deceiving his followers into believing he has the greatest respect for Jesus Christ, calling him a great, if not the greatest of all prophets, while flatly denying over and over again in the pages of the Koran that God has a Son. He speaks out of both sides of his mouth to his deceived followers. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Militant Islamists are going to visit such horrors on this country as will make the destruction of the Twin Trade Towers appear as a minor insult. We haven’t seen nothing yet. Islam will continue to spread over the Americas and the Western Hemisphere. The 91st Psalm gives me great comfort when I read Daniel, Revelation, Isaiah and Ezekiel.

Islam fits into the same category of the deceived as those spoken of by the apostle Paul when he wrote of those who would appear on the scene preaching “another Jesus” (See 2 Corinthians 11:4). I have read the Koran from cover to cover. It is only about one-fourth the size of the Bible. The “Jesus” presented in the Koran is indeed another Jesus, bearing no resemblance whatever to the Jesus Christ of glory, the ever-living Son of God! The apostle John forewarned long ago that the spirit of anti-Christ would surface, making God a liar, believing not the record that God gave of His Son. (See I John 5:10). “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. He is ANTI-CHRIST that denieth the Father and the Son” (See I John 2:22). Over and over again the Koran states quite clearly and matter-of-factly that God (i.e., Allah) has no Son.

Satan is an expert at using smoke and mirrors, at deception, sleight of hand, sowing confusion. Those guided by the Holy Spirit in reading Revelation should not see Roman Catholicism so much as seeing Islam. Islam is going to be the real threat to world peace and stability at the close of the age. Satan has hungered for worship since before the creation of man. He even exhorted Jesus Christ to fall down and worship him. (See Matthew 4:9). He has finally attained that worship through cloaking himself as Allah and inspiring a godless Arab to compose the Koran. The past few centuries have proven to him that he cannot gain the worship of the entire world via peaceful means and a slow spreading of the message of the Koran. He is now resorting to violence. That violence will grow and spread and engulf the entire planet. We, who are elderly now, cannot possibly live long enough to see the entire planet under Islamic control. But it is coming as sure as tomorrow’s sunrise. Our ONLY safety is in total, unswerving surrender to the LORDship of Jesus Christ. God help us to see and understand.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

“And the same day (the day of Christ’s mock trial and subsequent crucifixion) Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves (bitterly hostile toward one another)” (Luke 23:12). If you live long enough to be yet alive at the close of this present age, you are going to witness something that none would believe possible, a blending of Roman Catholicism and Islam! Keep this in mind as you read Isaiah, Jeremiah and Revelation and scriptures that previously proved quite puzzling and difficult to understand will suddenly begin to become quite clear. (Remember, it was a Muslim that shot Pope John Paul II, hoping to assassinate him). It was a fatwa issued by incensed Muslims against Pope Benedict’s Regensburg speech condemning Mohammed as evil that caused him to resign and go into seclusion. Catholicism did not want a second pope targeted for assassination. (If you have not read Pope Benedict’s Regensburg speech, look it up on the Internet. His remarks may well surprise you. They incensed radical Muslims around the globe when published). It is finally going to dawn on the Roman Catholic leadership that to survive they must enter into a truce with Islam. When that occurs the prophetic clock will start ticking loudly. Those surrendered to the total LORDship of Jesus Christ, if yet alive at that time, will hear the very first tick.

Christ’s Aged Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

I know that some might have thought I was exaggerating, or worse, when they have heard or read that I have said I have read the Bible from cover to cover somewhere between fifty and a hundred times, yes, even including all of the begats.  I say somewhere between fifty and a hundred times as I used to keep track but in passing the fifty mark I stopped counting, and I passed that mark a long, long time ago.  (I am now in my 83rd year of life).

The Bible is really not all that big a book. Many novels have many more pages. In reading the scriptures, I was not wanting to get in the Guinness Book of Records. I was not wanting to have something I could boast about realizing that few others could say the same. I wanted understanding. I wanted to know the truth in spiritual matters. In early years I realized that the Bible was not a book easily understood as readers of that book were so varied and opposing one another in their beliefs – all of them claiming they got their beliefs from the Bible. Many insisting, “The Bible is our sole authority and guide,” yet embracing doctrines and teachings absolutely contrary one with the other – one teaching one thing in a given matter and another teaching the exact opposite, yet all saying, “That’s what the Bible says!”

Since the Bible commands that we walk in the truth and that we prove all things of a spiritual nature, I knew the truth, therefore, could be known, but looking about at the aged scholars who differed widely from one another in their beliefs, common sense told me “getting it right” wasn’t going to be easy. Actually it has proven to be a lifelong task.  (Many believers fail to realize that other opposing denominations have their revered theologians and scholars, too, those well respected men differing widely as to what they believe the Bible says and does not say).  No, I am not infallible. That’s WHY doctrines I believed and held to some years ago I no longer accept as taught in the scriptures. But, just as practice makes perfect, so a continued in-depth study of God’s Word coupled with greater more continuous obedience affords more light and understanding.  Of course one must remain open minded and teachable, realizing they are human and can be dead wrong in some of their long cherished beliefs.  My point: Read the Bible – ALL of it, and root all known sin out of your life. God grant you understanding is my prayer..

Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley

“He whom God has sent speaks the words of God!” (John 3:34). And God says, “You will seek me, and you will find me when you search for me with ALL YOUR HEART!” (See Jeremiah 29:13). The preacher who says, “All you gotta do is believe,” or “Just receive Jesus as your Savior” isn’t speaking the words of God. God never said any such thing – not through one of His prophets, not through one of Christ’s apostles, and not through the lips of Jesus Christ Himself.  THIS is what He said through Moses, “If…thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, IF thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (See Deuteronomy 4:29).  Wise King Solomon said, “Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keeps covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee WITH ALL THEIR HEART” (See I Kings 8:23).  God knows nothing of any half-hearted commitment.  Such a mindset was insufficient to have fellowship with God under the Old Covenant and such a mindset is likewise insufficient to have fellowship with God under the New Covenant.  “Jesus said…Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (See Matthew 22:37).  That does not mean those who do not measure up to that high standard lose out on eternal life, but it does cost them many benefits and blessings in this life and can grossly diminish their eternal rewards.  (See I Corinthians 3:11-15).

Multitudes have taken out of context a statement made by Paul and Silas when asked by the Philippian jailer, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Their answer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house, AND THEY SPOKE UNTO HIM THE WORD OF THE LORD, AND TO ALL THAT WERE IN HIS HOUSE” (See Acts 16:27-32). And what was the word of the Lord Himself as to how to be saved and granted eternal life? “Repent” and “Keep the commandments of God!” Get a red letter Bible, a Bible that prints all the statements of Jesus Christ in red in the four gospels. Read HIS words. Believe HIM.  One must repent in order to be justified and granted God’s Holy Spirit.  And what does one repent of?  Sin!  And what IS sin?  “Sin is the transgression of the law!” (I John 3:4).  Whose law?  God’s law!

Many argue, “Oh, that’s legalism. That’s working for your salvation. That’s trying to earn something God wants to give you as a gift.” They don’t realize they are arguing against Jesus’ own teaching. If Jesus didn’t know how one enters into eternal life, no one does.

Haven’t you ever noticed how the Bible ends? “Blessed are they that DO His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city (of God)” (See Revelation 22:14). To DO God’s commandments is to KEEP or OBEY God’s commandments. Those who do not do so are trying to climb up into God’s holy city some other way!

And again, “Here is the patience (endurance) of the saints; here are they that KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, AND THE FAITH OF JESUS” yes, the two go hand-in-hand. (See Revelation 14:12). Multitudes believe in that “other Jesus” spoken of by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:4. And that is all that “other Jesus” requires – just belief, no obedience.

“And the dragon (Satan) was angry with the woman (those few believers yet surviving at the end of the church age), and went to make war with the remnant of her seed (the truly converted at the very close of the church age), WHICH KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ” (as that was the testimony of Jesus Christ: “I have kept my Father’s commandments.”) See Revelation 12:17 and John 15:10).  And what are some of the closing words of sacred scripture?  “Blessed are they that do his commandments that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the (holy) city” (See Revelation 22:14).  If a mighty angel with flaming sword stands at the gate of that city could you boldly approach him, knowing he will step aside and grant you entry?  Would your belief that Jesus died for you be sufficient if that angel knew you continued to break God’s commandments throughout the remainder of your life?

Something to think about, folks. Something to think about long and hard.  I’M ONLY SAYING WHAT HE SAID!

Christ’s Servant (Galatians 1:10-12)

Donald Wiley

Why do so many Christians embrace and believe false doctrines? Why so many denominations in the Christian religion, everything ranging from Roman Catholics to Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons to Mennonites, Baptists to Brethren, Pentecostals to Presbyterians? Various denominations believe the very opposite from one another, one denomination practicing water baptism of its members and another denomination having no such practice, or one denomination teaching “once saved, always saved,” while another denomination teaches one can most certainly “lose” their salvation.

Of course Satan’s blinding power must be considered to be at work in such matters, but that is not the sole reason for such confusion in the Christian religion. There are several scriptures that shed a great deal of light in this matter. One such text is found in the 97th Psalm where we are told that “light (or, truth, understanding) is sown for the righteous” (verse 17). God does not grant spiritual understanding to rebels, those who continue in their sins.

Again the Psalmist writes in Psalm 119, verse 100: “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.” God gives understanding to the obedient. It’s that simple.

Many seem to think they can come to a proper understanding of God’s Word if they just read more and more of it, not realizing that they must allow the Word to correct them in their actions, speech and thoughts if they desire to truly understand the scriptures and discern true doctrine from erroneous teaching or beliefs. In Proverbs we read: “Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my Spirit unto you. I will make known my words to you” (Proverbs 1:23).

Again, “Receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding” (Proverbs 2:1-2). You are not even inclined to hear and believe the truth and be granted a proper understanding of what God’s Word really says until you begin obeying God’s counsel and commandments! And again, “He lays up sound wisdom for the righteous” (Proverbs 2:7). Over and over again the scriptures teach this truth, and when men try to formulate their doctrine and beliefs while still giving in to the downward pulls of the old nature they will unwittingly embrace false doctrine and believe erroneous teaching thinking all the while that they are ever coming in to greater understanding of the scriptures.

The apostle Peter speaks of a divine law that states how one is appointed to stumble at God’s Word, misunderstanding that Word, if they continue in disobedience. (See I Peter 2:8). Show me someone who practices sin, who sins day in and day out, and I will show you someone who embraces a great deal of error in what he thinks the Bible says. The prophet Daniel speaks of how one must turn from their sins in order to understand God’s truth! (See Daniel 9:13).

So, if you are having a problem understanding the Bible, here is the Bible’s own advice: “Clean up your act. Stop giving in to temptation and sin day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment.”

Christ’s Servant (Galatians 1:10-12),

Donald Wiley