by David J. Stewart
May 2016 | Updated December 2016
Acts 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”
No, I don't believe so! We plainly read in our text Scripture passage that
if ANYONE preaches another Gospel than that taught in 1st
Corinthians 15:1-4, let him be accursed!!! I find nothing in the Holy Bible
which teaches Christians about a coming new Gospel, that will apply only
for Tribulation saints. That is a strange doctrine that only Dr. Peter
Ruckman and some of his followers teach. There has always been just one
Gospel. Old Testament saints were saved by looking forward to the cross of
Calvary; whereas New Testament saints are saved by looking back to the cross
of Calvary. Either way, we are all saved by grace through faith in the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:8-9, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
Those who receive the Mark of the Beast will be damned to Hell (Revelation 14:11). Those who wrangle and pervert the incorruptible words of God into corruptible words, will burn in Hell (Revelation 22:19). Whether you corrupt the holy Scriptures or receive the Mark of the Beast, it is effectively equivalent to rejecting the Gospel.
I do not find any Scripture passage teaching that works will be required for salvation. To the contrary, the Bible teaches that ALL THE PROPHETS testified of the Gospel. Act 10:43, “To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.” It is heresy for Peter Ruckman to say that Old Testament saints were saved by faith and works. In fact, Dr. Peter Ruckman is so doctrinally flawed that he teaches no less than SIX DIFFERENT PLANS OF SALVATION!!!!!! That goes against the plainest teachings of Scriptures! In Genesis 15:6 we read that Abram (Abraham) BELIEVED THE LORD and it was counted (imputed) to him for righteousness (Romans 4:3-6). Abraham was saved WITHOUT WORKS. Abraham was saved ONLY by faith!!! There has always been only one plan of salvation.
Every Old Testament saint was saved by trusting in the blood of the Lamb of God, which is what the day of “PASSOVER” was all about! The Lord said in Exodus 12:13, “And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.” If the Lord saw the blood applied to the doorposts of the home, then the firstborn's life was spared. WHEN I SEE THE BLOOD!!! Hallelujah!!! No blood APPLIED meant no salvation!!! Likewise, there couldn't be salvation for anyone if it weren't for Jesus' literal, liquid, precious blood, sprinkled upon the heavenly Mercy Seat, in the Holy Place, in the presence of the Father (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24).
I disagree with some errant, but sincere, Bible students who say that James 2:24 (“Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only”), refers to the Tribulation period, alleging that works will be required to be saved during the Tribulation. That is utter heresy! NO WORKS WILL EVER BE REQUIRED TO RECEIVE THE GIFT OF GOD!!! If there were a new Gospel during the Tribulation, which requires works, then what happens to the gift of God? What happens to the imputed righteousness of Christ? What happens to the Apostle Paul's stern warning against being deceived by “ANOTHER GOSPEL” (which is not another). What happens to God's curse upon anyone, even an angel, who teaches “ANOTHER GOSPEL”? Dr. Ruckman is full of bologna!!! There will NEVER be another Gospel. What's wrong with the Gospel that we have? Nothing at all!!! Dr. Ruckman is teaching strange doctrines not taught in the Bible, but he has a very strong following of churches and pastors.
It is heresy to teach that abstaining from receiving the Mark of the Beast to be saved is a “work,” and that this work changes the Gospel. We are warned now, presently, about avoiding the “unpardonable sin” (i.e., not getting saved), and not to remove words from the Bible lest God remove our name from the Book of Life (Revelation 22:19). So there is no difference between now and the future concerning how to be saved. Men have always been sinners, and sinners need a Savior! The law is our schoolmaster, showing us our hopeless condition because of sin, and then points us to Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24-26), Who is the END OF THE LAW to them that believe (Romans 10:3-4). In other words, If you BELIEVE THE GOSPEL OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, then God's law has accomplished its purpose of showing you that you cannot save yourself by keeping the law (i.e., by good works)!!! It is insane to even suggest that there will be saints in Heaven, who were saved by some alternate method. What in the world is Dr. Peter Ruckman thinking? Everything in the Old Testament is leading up to the cross. Yet, Dr. Ruckman says they were saved by WORKS + FAITH. That is satanic heresy!!! I'm really surprised that many preachers support Dr. Ruckman, when he is 100% corrupt on the plan of salvation.
Also, consider this. If there were to be another Gospel during the Tribulation, then the Bible would be obsolete and a lie, because Galatians 1:6-9 would still pronounce a curse upon anyone who perverts the Gospel. Unless God's Word will be changed to remove the curse on teaching ANOTHER GOSPEL, then we must reject the absurd idea from some Baptists that there will be another Gospel of WORKS + FAITH to be saved during the Tribulation. And certainly this nonsense never existed in the Old Testament. The truth is that there has always been only one way to be saved, and that is through faith in the Messiah. Revelation 7:14, “And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Saints during the Tribulation will be saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the same blood that saves us today, the same blood that has saved every Old Testament saint. 1st Peter 1:18-19, “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
There has always been only one plan of salvation. There is no such thing as a “dispensation of grace.” We've always been saved by God's grace! Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” If even one work of human effort will be added to the Gospel during the Tribulation period, then eternal life will no longer be a “GIFT.” I am amazed how any Bible student could make such a gross theological blunder, as to conclude that people can get saved by believing the Gospel only during the Church Age. We are all saved by “THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST,” which is “the Gospel” (2nd Corinthians 11:3-4; Romans 1:16; 1st Corinthians 15:1-4). If you BELIEVE THE GOSPEL, you are saved!!! “The Gospel” is that Jesus DIED on the cross for our sins. He was BURIED, and He bodily RESURRECTED three days later for our justification. Believe it, Oh sinner, and you are a permanently born-again child of God!!! Amen!
There is debate over when the Church Age started. Dr. Oliver B. Greene and other theologians believe that the Church started on the Day of Pentecost. However, we read about “THE CHURCH IN THE WILDERNESS” in Acts 7:38, “This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” I agree with Dr. Jack Hyles that the Church began with the first family, with Adam and Eve. A local church is a surrogate family, since we move away from our biological family as we grow up to adulthood and get married. The local New Testament church is the believer's family in the Lord. Sadly, many local churches shun away sinners, cater to the wealthy, ignore the poor, are doctrinally corrupt, use corruptible seed, are lukewarm, teach another Gospel of “Lordship Salvation,” and are spiritual hellholes. Heresy is creeping into our fundamental churches by the hour!
Please listen to the needful, awesome, MP3 sermon, “FUNDAMENTAL HERESY” by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001).
Please note that there will NOT be a split-Rapture of the saints. There will be one Pre-Tribulation Rapture (before) the 7-year Tribulation period. After the Tribulation, the moon and sun will be darkened, and men's hearts shall fail them for fear from the horrifying things they experience, as foretold in the prophetic book of Revelation. This wicked world is going to find out just how much God hates sin and evil during the Great Tribulation (the last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation). Some theologians conclude that the saints saved during the Tribulation period will require another Rapture, but they won't. Those people who are saved during the Tribulation will enter into the 1,000 year Millennium in their physical bodies. They will bear children. Longevity of life will once again return.
However, since many saints will be killed during the Tribulation, there will need to be another resurrection. In fact, the 'First Resurrection' Of Revelation 20:6 Consists Of 5 Separate Resurrections (by Dr. Max D. Younce). So there will only be one Rapture. Albeit, at the end of the Tribulation, the angels will gather the tares (unsaved) to cast into Hell. Two men shall be in the field, the one taken and the other left. The wheat (believers) will be left behind. This is similar to a Rapture, but it is not. It's the opposite!!! This will simply be a time of separating the tares from the wheat. There is no split-Rapture. There are numerous resurrections.
One of my favorite Scriptures is Ephesians
3:15, “Of whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named.” Praise God, we have a “FAMILY” in Heaven!!! I am
looking forward to meeting my heavenly family. Every person who is led to
the Lord through my labors for Christ, joins my family in Heaven! Boy,
that's exciting!!! If you are a born-again Christian, you have a family in
Heaven waiting for you. If you go to burn in Hell, you'll never see your
family again. The Lake of Fire is a horrorifying literal place of darkness,
weeping, brimstone, excruciating pain, torment, ascending smoke, no rest day
nor night, regret, wailing, a furnace, gnashing of teeth, where the fire is
not quenched and the worm dieth not. The choice is yours alone to make.
2nd Timothy 2:13, “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot
deny himself.”
No Double Inspiration of the Word of God
I disagree with Dr. Peter Ruckman that the King James Bible was “given” by inspiration. 2nd Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” This refers to the originals, not a translation. In other words, I don't believe God gave His words directly to the King James Bible translators as He did to the holy prophets of old. If God had given those 47 men original content, then there wouldn't have been any need for a translation. (There were 54 translators at the beginning, but 47 ended up actually completing the work.) The 47 translators of the King James Bible had inspired texts (incorruptible texts) to work with, to produce a magnificent English translation of the holy Scriptures. It took them eight years, which they finished in 1611.
The Greek meaning of the word “inspired” is God-breathed. Some Bible scholars interpret this to mean that since only the original autographs of the Scriptures were breathed out from God; therefore, only the originals are inspired. I disagree with that entirely. I don't believe that the King James Bible was newly “given” words from God to mankind. I certainly believe that the King James Bible is inspired, because the originals are inspired and God has preserved His “pure words” (Psalms 12:6) unto every generation as He so promised in Psalms 12:6-7. I think it simply means what Matthew 4:4 tells us, “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Inspiration means that the Scriptures came forth from God's own mouth, every word. Thus, they are all God's Words! All Scripture is given by inspiration of God. That is, all Scripture is from God's own mouth. Those words are not men's words. Man did not author the Holy Bible, God did. Albeit, God used approximately 40 men to write the Bible, as His pen.
If only the original autographs were inspired, then it presents some serious problems:
First, there are no original texts available today. So if only the originals were inspired, we do not have God's inspired words today. Obviously, a copy can be inspired, otherwise we couldn't have God's Word.
Second, if only the original manuscripts were inspired, then we do not have a perfect copy of God's Words, and we cannot live by “EVERY WORD” that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. God humbled the Hebrews in the Wilderness, by allowing them to go hungry, to teach them that they needed to live by God's Words, and not just food (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4). If I am to obey God, by living by “EVERY WORD” out of His mouth, then I need an “EVERY-WORD-BIBLE”!!! Amen! Thank God, I believe we have that preserved, holy, reliable, tested, inerrant, infallible, perfect, blood-sprinkled, inspired BOOK... the beloved KING JAMES BIBLE!!!
Respectfully, I disagree with Dr. Gail Riplinger and Dr. Peter Ruckman that the King James Bible is superior even to the Hebrew and Greek from which it was translated. In computer programming terms, the Hebrew and Greek are like binary computer language (all 1's and 0's). The King James Bible is like C++, a mid-level computer programming language. There's nothing inferior about C++, it's just not as detailed and precise as binary. For example: There is only one English word for “hell,” but in the Greek there are three different terms: Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus. All of these three Greek terms are translated as “hell” in the New Testament.
God gave us His words in the Koine Greek, which was a military language developed by general Alexander the Great for its precision in battle. There has never been a more precise language on earth. That's why God commands us to “study” the Word of God (2nd Timothy 2:15). We have tons of study resources available to us these days. I disagree with preachers who scold believers for consulting the Greek for a better understanding of the Scriptures. That's what God wants us to do! You'd just better make sure that you're not wholly relying upon corrupted study aids, like W.E. Vine's concordances. I recently sadly discovered that Dr. Merrill F. Unger denied that Jesus' blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat in Heaven, sharing the same heretical view of the blood as John MacArthur, Robert B. Thieme Jr. and William E. Vine. Mr. Vine, like Dr. John MacArthur, denies that Jesus' literal blood ever made it to the Mercy Seat in Heaven. Like MacArthur, Vine teaches that Jesus' blood soaked into the ground and dried up at Calvary's cross. That is deadly doctrine! They foolishly claim that Christ's “blood” merely refers to His death.
To say that the King James Bible was not given by inspiration in no way detracts from the King James Bible being inspired by God. It's just important to realize that the Hebrew and Greek are more precise. The English word for “repent” is nowhere near as precise in meaning as the Greek word “metanoia” (a noun). The verb form is metanoeo. Metanoia is a grand word, wonderful, which means “to think differently” (or, “to change one's mind”). The English King James Bible is not inferior, it is just not as precise. There are 7,000 languages in the world. Every two weeks another language vanishes from the earth, due to the forming New World Order. English is the predominant language in the world today. God knew what He was doing when He gave us the blessed King James Bible. The King James is not a “version,” it is the Holy Bible. I stand firm and true alongside the King James Bible. You can trust it! I believe the 1611 King James Bible (and its typo-edited editions, not revisions) is inerrant, perfect, infallible, inspired, preserved, holy and incorruptible—they are God's Words!!!
The Textus Receptus (or Majority Text; also, Received Text) is the Antiochan (i.e., from Antioch, Syria) manuscripts from which are beloved King James Bible is translated. The Textus Receptus is not better or more powerful than the King James Bible, it is simply more precise. No matter what language the Word of God is translated into, there will never be a language more precise than the Koine Greek. Certainly, you don't have to be a Greek scholar to understand the Bible, but there are some truths which would be impossible to grasp without the Greek (such as the difference between Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus). For an excellent exegesis of these terms, please read the free online .pdf book by Dr. Max D. Younce titled, “A BIBLICAL EXAMINATION OF HELL.”
Only the originals were given by inspiration (i.e., God breathed), and that inspiration has continued. It is utter heresy to say that the King James Bible is not inspired. God promised in Psalms 12:6-7 to preserve His refined “pure words” unto every generation. The King James Bible does not correct the Greek and Hebrew. God words have always been inspired, not just the originals. Only the originals were given by inspiration, but those breathed out words will ALWAYS be inspired. They were inspired before they were ever breathed out to man. The originals are in Heaven (Psalms 119:89). It is God's “Words” that are inspired, not the translations. A translation is preserved inspiration if it has been translated correctly. God's words are inspired. If those words are faithfully interpreted into another language, properly conveying the “Words” which God has spoken, then they are still inspired, and have been divinely preserved as God promised in Psalms 12:6-7. (Note: All Alexandrian based modern Bible revisions corrupt this passage of Scripture, errantly saying that God preserves His saints, not God's pure words.) Our beloved 1611 King James Bible is 100% inspired!!!
Also, I do not believe that God only promised to preserve His words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. There are no original manuscripts in existence today. They have all faded away, been stolen, deteriorated or lost. All we have are copies of copies of copies of the originals. Those copies are still inspired, because God's words are inspired. The New Testament writers didn't have any original manuscripts to work from. Yet, they often quoted the Old Testament, and these quotes are still inspired by God. Thus, a copy can indeed be inspired!
The honest Bible student needs to distinguish between the giving of the Words of God while “holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2nd Peter 1:21); verses God's solemn promise to “preserve them from this generation for ever” (Psalms 12:7). It is heresy to say that only the originals given by God are inspired. It is also heresy to say that God has given new words by revelation in the King James Bible. The 47 King James Bible translators did not receive any words from God. They were simply highly skilled men in the ancient languages, and labored diligently with God's blessing and help to produce the best translation possible. I believe that the King James Bible is superb, accurate, perfect, inspired, preserved and God's Word for the End Times. There will never be another translation of the Word of God; Our English language is too inferior today. You need those “thee's” and “thou's” to properly convey God's Words. END
