We're about to stir the pot...But let me just say this, everything I'm about to display in this post comes directly from scripture. This isn't my opinion, this is just what the bible lays out as plain as day.
That being said, I would love to discuss it if you don't agree and we can follow the biblical way of studying the scriptures as found in Isaiah:
O.k., now that the warm and fuzzy stuff is out of the way, let me start to challenge a lot of your beliefs...
According to our good friends at Google, there is over 45,000 Christian denominations on the planet. That's a lot...And I'm not going to reference other religions, as we are going by the bible alone, but add another 45,000 religions on top of that as well....
Lots of people, looking for the truth...
Truth, what is truth? Didn't Pilate ask that...?
So we have tens of thousands of denominations out there and they all claim to be the truth church of God. So we're either all wrong, or some are right, or maybe there is just one?
Look, I've searched far and wide for a faith that made the most biblical sense to me over my almost 50 years on the planet. And if I'm going to live sola scriptura I need to be in the church that is lined up with what the bible says.
Different interpretations? Maybe....This is what I believe is truth!
Let's see what the bible says is the true church of God...Turn your bible to Revelation 12:17 and let's see what we have here..
Quick back story for context, this is end times prophecy here and when we reach Revelation 13 and 14, we literally see the mark of the beast and the 3 angels messages coming forth. So the context of this verse shows us that we're talking....The end of it all.
A few things as well before we go further...A woman in bible prophecy refers to a church. Jeremiah 6:2 states: "I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman." Across most Christian denominations, they will agree.....Church in bible prophecy = Woman.
So the end times church will do two things. They will keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. The key word here to note is 'AND', because there are plenty of churches that keep the commandments of God which means all 10, including the seventh day Sabbath but don't have the testimony of Christ.
Hold on....What is the testimony of Jesus Christ?
Thankfully, the bible is it's own best interpreter. So let's scan a few chapters ahead to see what the bible says:
The testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy. Which means the end time church has the gift of prophecy, speaks about prophecy and shares bible prophecy....
So some churches love to talk bible prophecy, yet don't keep all the commandments of God so....They aren't it.
2 characteristics....
- Keep all 10 commandments
- Have the testimony of Christ (spirit of prophecy)
When I first learned this, I was kind of stuck....I was kinda sorta going to church, but there was no prophecy being taught. All they talked was love, love, love, which is VERY important but....What did Jesus actually teach?
Repentance.
Which means if we LOVE HIM, we turn from sin and thus...Keep His commandments (John 14:15). We aren't saved in sin, we are saved FROM sin. Lots of churches preach a warm and fuzzy message without a genuine call to repentance. This is not the gospel.
On the other hand, some 'prophecy only' churches will slam the repentance in your face 24-7 and of course tell you that the end is coming tomorrow...This is alas, not the gospel. We need both....Repentance through love of Christ.
What do we do with this information?
Again, sola scriptura for me. So I want to be in a church that has those 2 characteristics....And look, by no means is this an exhaustive study. I have plenty more to share about why the end time church needs to keep all 10 commandments, and what exactly is the gift / spirit of prophecy.
But this is to light the fire and get the mind thinking!
Questions, debates, rebuttals....Are always welcomed :)
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So so many churches forget about the Sabbath but it's clearly written in the Bible. Churches that preach love with repentance miss the full picture too
The biblical gymnastics that some people do to try to do away with it is amazing. God never changes.
yes indeed they try so hard just to pretend it's not there
And someone said that the Ten commandments was the ancient days law and not put to use anymore
I proved him wrong though
Oh they are 100% still binding. He wrote them on stone, with His finger.
Jesus is the only way , but people that truly followed Jesus and obey God commandments are the only people with the true religion
It makes the most sense to me, and I've looked at everything.
I just feel after church, it is important to read the Bible so that we will know if our church is teaching us the right thing to do or not…
It's how I base 100% of my faith.
Hi! I had this post bookmarked many hours, I needed to find it easily again so here I am 🙂
Which is the true church? Yes, there is a true church and it is the duty of one who wants to worship God in truth and in spirit (John 4:23-24) to find that church.
And Jesus Christ promised to build His church here which was fulfilled in Acts 2, let's not forget that Jesus Christ lived as a Jew obeying the old commandments but He didn't fail to correct a lot of what was faulty in the law, the old laws were not perfect and so Jesus Christ came to make amendments. Hebrews 8:6-13.
What I want to make sure to say is, Jesus Christ promised a Church He would deliver to Himself at the end of time as written in Ephesians 5:25-27
How do we identify this church? They practice what Jesus Christ taught while He was on earth and what Christ's Apostles did following Christ's commandments.
The old testaments and commandments were a strong binding on the children of Israel, not on Christians. God is dealing with the whole world now unlike before when He dealt with only the Israelites Matt 5:17-20.
I hope you'll use an open mind to go through this, I bet you'd see the need to do more research. It's beautiful that you are on a search to find the true church because it really does exist. May God continue to help us to be righteous in His own way.