Dear Don;
Many times in scripture God warns us not to be deceived. I have always believed that true deception can only come to someone who is absolutely sure of his position. This is a warning I give to myself often as I attempt to listen to people about their beliefs. I have spoken for weeks to Mormon men who could lead through scripture convincingly that Yeshua is the spirit brother of Lucifer. The end of these arguments is always anger and debate and little is accomplished.
I believe that we can agree on one thing; one of us is wrong. Scripture tells us that there is a real Yeshua and also counterfeits. God warns us in His word that there is another Yeshua.
II Cor 11:4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.
I was not brought up in the church. I was saved the 2nd time I entered a church building as a young adult in my late 20's. I was introduced to Yeshua as Lord and Savior and my life and understanding were changed immediately. I came home that evening and my wife told me of her hatred for Christians, calling them Jesus freaks. Out of love for my wife I stayed home with her, reading my Bible and learning of this man who had so changed me. For awhile my wife did not know who I was, the change had been so thorough. I was and am a chief of sinners.
The fellowship where I met the Lord was wild, not at all my style of worship and one that really scared my wife. I was not sure what to do so I stayed home with her a tried simply to love her the way Yeshua had loved me.
I have met many people who believe as you do. They have always been good men who were sincere in their beliefs. One thing they all had in common was that they were taught their beliefs from men. Ultimately these ideas come from one group, the WatchTower.
I have shared with you my belief that the Gospel must be available to all. It must be able to be understood by the simplest to the most gifted mind. I have a son who is autistic. He is a very intelligent young man but He does not think like most people do. His mind is wired differently. The Gospel of God must be freely available to him or a man stranded on a dessert island with only the Bible to guide him.
This was the way I learned what I know of God. My life was not among Christians. My wife would get angry if I would even speak of the Lord. I learned of him alone with only His spirit to guide me. I read the passage that said, Yeshua stands at the door and knocks and a promise that If I opened the door He would enter in and dine with me. I believed Him and He did as He had promised.
You are an intelligent man Don and I believe you are sincere. I must share with you that I have never met anyone who believes as you do who arrived there simply by reading the word of God. I do not wish to anger you but I have never met a Mormon believer who arrived there without the leading of a woman or man from the Latter Day Saints leading him. You believe that I am following a false Messiah, a divine Savior and not the true Angel of God. However when Yeshua used the divine title "ego eimi", the "I am" soken by YHWH, the Jews understood him to be claiming equality with God. They tried to stone him for blasphemy. Three times this occurred in John 8 and the Messiah knowing they believed He blasphemed did not correct Him. You may argue that my understanding is an error and present many reasons for you belief. Like the Jews I understood him to be claiming divinity without any input accept my mind, the Holy Spirit and His Word. It is certainly a reasonable supposition.
I look forward to someday meeting Yeshua to tell Him that I love Him, to hug Him and thank Him for all He has done. Especially for saving my wife and making us of one mind together. She saw the difference in me and while she could ignore the words I spoke to her she could not ignore the reality of Yeshua's work. I am far from perfect and a horrible sinner still. I praise God the changes were enough to win her and after many years she too gave her life to Messiah. She has since blossomed.
I must share one last thing with you Don. The word of God tells us that an organization that prophesizes falsely is not of God. I have held in my hands Watch Tower publications that dated events, changed their minds, re-dated events over and over again. I know them to be false prophets and I could never believe what they alone teach. I am sorry because I do not believe this about you. I simply encourage you to step away for a moment and read the scripture for yourself without the lens of Watch Tower doctrine and teaching. Read it as a child and believe what it plainly teaches. God will have a wonderful gift for you.
I would relish the opportunity to continue to share with you. I will go through any scripture you wish and we can debate back and forth for as long as you like. I love to share about Messiah and to learn of others ideas. I would ask however that you do so by way of Private Mail so that our interaction can be more honest and our true motives will be to teach each other. If this is not acceptable to you I understand. You may post to me as much as you like and I will read each post but feel obligated to answer only a private dialogue.
I pray that God will give you the desires of your heart, that Messiah will hug and hold you and speak words of love to you. I pray that both of us may someday come to a fuller understanding of the love of God in Messiah and that we can fellowship together under his loving care forever.
Shalom - DLL
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