FELLOWSHIP IN CHRIST

ACCURSED ANGELS “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.” Galatians 1:8 The thought of interaction with angelic beings has occupied the minds of mankind from the dawn of Creation and continues until this day. In the first century AD the apostle Paul, in an almost throw-away fashion, simply stated that angels and humans can, and do, communicate with each other. He further confirmed that this was possible with... “ Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13: 1-2 A study of angels in the Holy Scriptures reveals that “angel” and “angels” are mentioned some 280 times. Secular writings about angels over the centuries would possibly total in the millions.   Fiction and non-fiction accounts of angels showing themselves to mankind have kept the printing presses rolling at an amazing rate. Our article is not concerned w...

ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13: 1-2 Our last issue dealt with some of the dangers associated with convincing oneself that some amongst us are ‘the more-blessed’, with frequent visitations of the angels. That our blessed Lord can, and will, despatch His ministering spirits at certain times, to input into the life of the saints of His inheritance is beyond argument. However, allowing us to see them and to have knowing and frequent discourse with them is quite another thing. The Old Testament is crammed with astonishing tales of angelic encounters and I want you to know this, dear reader, I personally believe every one of those encounters to be true! The New Testament, on the other hand has plenty to say about the ‘warring angels of the Revelation’, but few mentions of angels in Old Testament-like encounters. “Why, we may ask, does God withhold the angels from us?” The...

ORIGINAL SIN? “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:...”   Romans 5: 12 As we look again at the subject of sin and its consequence, it takes no time to realise that we have opened up another “can of worms”. How amazing, that those who struggle with so many doctrines of the Christian faith seem to hone in those doctrines which carry the burden of “not being in the Bible”, or so it is claimed! Original sin , according to most Christian theological doctrine, is humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways: ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency in all men and women, with a tendency toward sin, yet without collective guilt. It is also sometimes referred to as man’s “sin nature”, something so drastic as to indicate man’s total depravity, or automatic guilt, in which all humans stand condemned through th...

Vol.   24    #4    No 255     February 2012 AD      THE CHURCH IN A CHANGING SOCIETY “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil (one). They are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth.”   John 17: 14-17. The Church, and by that I mean us - the people of God, have struggled with this scripture for centuries.   It has proved to be a word from Christ Himself that has either condemned us for our lack of obedience, or caused hurtful separation from society’s inhabitants and turned some of us into virtual hermits. Of course the truth is, Christ never set out to cause either condemnation or separation with this teaching - man has successfully accomplished that for himself...