DOLLED-UP CHRISTIANITY
A PROPHETIC VIEW
Many theologians have wrestled with the idea of how to make Christianity "acceptable" to all nations in the world. They argue that it is the way to go if Christians are serious about taking the Great Commission "to all nations" (Mat.28:19)
A CHRISTIAN versus A DISCIPLE
The problem is that in general Christians do not understand the Great Command of their Commander in Chief. He asks of them to make "DISCIPLES of all nations", but somehow, the wording got mixed up and Christians ended up going "to all nations" in a fruitless attempt to make Christians of all nations, something that is very far removed from being a Disciple of Christ.
E.G. - Christians are those who consider water Baptism (in its different applications) THE priority, and the Eucharist with its physical elements, THE "food of Life", while Disciples regard water Baptism as minor, but the spiritual Baptism in the WORD as paramount (see1Cor.1:17), as Jesus also confirmed in Joh.15:3 - "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."
When it comes to the Eucharist, Disciples go beyond the mechanical actions of Christians and regard this Feast as a STOP-SIGN, where they tarry to do some "self-examination" remove "divisions" between themselves and others (1Cor.11:17-34), check if they toe the line in forgiving others, check if their agape Love life is in order, see to it that their cross is firmly on their shoulders, while they walk the Via Dolorosa, destroy the "acts of the flesh and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit!" (Gal.5:19-26) in their lives!
IS CHRISTIANITY THE TRUE RELIGION?
When Jesus send His Disciples to the "nations", He send them to the different RELIGIONS that are manifest in the different countries of the world. To Christians, Christianity may be the "only true religion", but the same can be said of "Muslims", Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and all other. Even the irreligious think that their irreligion is the only way to go!
Jesus does not have the same problem. He is Commander in Chief of all while His Seven Commanders (the seven angels of Rev.1:20) command and teach the seven Mainstream Religions and their sub-streams. To the Christians He sent the Comforting Spirit or “Advocate” as Teacher (Joh.15:26, 16:7 etc.)
It means that Christians do the most dangerous thing when they go to believers of other religions to tell them the TRUTH that Jesus Christ is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Joh.14:6) but they couple it to the LIE, that CHRISTIANITY is the only way to the Way!
This is proselytizing by hook AND crook!
Other religions also proselytize, and all have their different hooks, because of this warped conception that the own religion is the only true path to God. Many millions of humans lost their lives in religious wars which resulted from this gruesome misrepresentation of God.
THE TRUE DISCIPLES
Again, Jesus does not have this problem: He said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.” (Mat.7:21) And who are those who say "Lord, Lord" to Jesus? The Christians! (2Cor.4:5)
So, Jesus clearly distinguish between Christians and Disciples. At the same time Jesus also confirms that those who are not Christians, but who do the Father's Will, are also acceptable to Him, when He said: "WHOEVER does God’s will, is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mar.3:35) Here Jesus again very frankly and clearly say that His Disciples are not boxed in by religious boundaries. This is also how Apostle Paul understand the Gospel:
Rom.2:12-16:
“All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, AS MY GOSPEL DECLARES.”
THE GOLDEN RULE
To Jesus all religions are on a par. His seven Spirits lead their flocks according to what is written in their Books of Law. All the Books with all their "Laws and Prophets" are based on the Golden Rule, which Jesus refer to in Mat.7:12. Where He give us the obverse side of the Golden Rule “coin”: “So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” The reverse side reads: “So, in everything, do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” (Confucius)
These two sides sound almost the same but are in fact two different views that need to be cemented together back-to-back, in order to be regarded on an equal plane as the greatest Law of Love. In other words, a person that “do not do to others…” adheres to the imperfect reverse side of the Golden Rule. In order to be perfect one must not do bad things to others, but also also need to do good things unto others. The story of the Good Samaritan (Luk.10:29-37) sums this up perfectly. The Priest and the Levite adhered to the reverse side only of the Golden Rule, but the Samaritan to both sides and was regarded as a true neighbour.
Jesus added that this (Golden Rule) “sums up the Law and the Prophets,” which means that this Divine Rule in fact rule the Books of Law and their Prophets of ALL religions, although these Books are also riddled with misinterpretation, just like the Bible!
To Christians, this Law is condensed into a single word and is known as the Law of LOVE! (Mat.22:37-40), and here another distinction between Christians and Disciples come to the fore. Of Christians Jesus said: "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Mat.15:8; Mat.7:21), but of Disciples God says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Heb.10:16)
To the Jews their Torah is also encapsulated in the “Law of Love”: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” (Deu.6:4-6)
To “Muslims” the Law is encapsulated in the “Law of Love”, which is expressed in the Bismillah, the opening phrase of the Quran and just about all Surahs and which is used to begin all their prayers and speeches, and which is just a different angle on the Golden Rule:
“In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”.
This means every word of law in the Quran must be weighed against the “Mercy and Grace” of God and not be found wanting. In the same way the lives of “Muslims” must reflect the Mercy and Grace of God.
Thus, all religions are bound by the Law of Love expressed by the Golden Rule.
This means that any "Muslim", Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, or adherents of any other religion is perfectly acceptable to God, if they show that the Law of Love is written in their hearts and they show that their deeds match their hearts. Even Reverse-Theists (the so-called atheists) are acceptable to God if the Law of Love is written in their hearts.
Believers of all religions outside of Christianity are not at fault if they proclaim that their good works of love take you to heaven, if they LIVE the Law of Love. They are not commanded to preach the Grace of Christ or the Gospel. That is the Great Commission entrusted to Christianity, and this Mandate was entrusted to DISCIPLES, because it is only possible for Disciples to make disciples, to make disciples...
Christians must get their house in order and first make Disciples of all Christians, because discipling "all nations" does not mean planting Christian Churches on false pretences but going to the nations and be Ambassadors of Christ.
That's all the Spirit(s) of God wants Disciples to do. The Spirit will convince people to become disciples and whether those disciples are in Islam, Judaism. Hinduism, Buddhism or whatever religion or non-religion, does not matter to God. Those Disciples that God want to draw into the Christian ranks will act positively on the urge to join the Christian Disciples, but don’t be surprised that God will keep the bulk of Disciples in their respective religions, because a Gospel Fire need to be lit in every religion, to conquer the world for the Gospel.
If Disciples are made in all religions, and the Law of Love is written in every human heart, groups that feed on hatred like ISIS, Boko Haram, The Lord’s Resistance Army and so many other so-called fundamentalist groups will soon become a bad memory. Then believers of the different religions will not poach each other’s believers anymore, because everybody will know that Love is the ONLY key that can unlock the door to the Kingdom of God.
Then a blanket of peace will envelop the earth because the nations will no longer be able to play the religious card but will have to dig deep for other reasons to war among each other.
A UNIVERSAL CHRISTIANITY?
So, can Christianity be dolled up to make it acceptable to other nations to form some sort of universal religion that will be acceptable to all? Such thinking will surely be extremely short-sighted.
The answer is a very straightforward and short NO! The different religions are to God what the different Christian Denominations and Sects are to Christ, what the different members of a congregation amount to: making up one Body (1Cor.12:12-31) with its diversity of members; the different Christian Denominations etc. together make up the Body of Christ in the world and the different religions, assembled, become the true Image of God (Gen.1:26)
That means syncretism is not on! The different “body parts” each have their own function and, like in a human body, cannot be joined inappropriately with other parts without making the body dysfunctional.
Jesus is also very unambiguous in this regard. He says to the “Church” in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev.3:15-16)
Every believer thinks that their religion is “hot” and all others “cold”. To Jesus all are okay, except the ones that by syncretism become “lukewarm”. Those abominations He treats like “vomit”!
The main body of Christianity must be founded on the Love of the Gospel and the Teachings of the Apostles. That basis cannot be compromised. The reunification of Christianity is God’s top priority because that will be the precursor of the eventual unification of all religions in the world.
A UNIVERSAL CHURCH
However, for the mighty Image of God to become manifest, it is of paramount importance that all the different religions are joined together into one conglomeration. It can be compared to a gigantic jigsaw puzzle that will give us a complete glorious picture of the Enigma called God.
We have already discussed that syncretism is out, which means that a dolled-up Christianity is an abomination before God. The only possible model that will be acceptable to God is the concept of One University with many Faculties.
Jesus endorse this line of thinking in Joh.14:2 – “In my Father's house are many mansions…” (KJV) Yes, “mansions”, and not “rooms, as the NIV has it. The rooms are inside the mansions.
In the Fathers House there is a Jewish Mansion, a Christian Mansion, an Islam Mansion, a Hindu Mansion, a Buddhist Mansion, a Reverse-Theist (“atheist”) Mansion as well as a Science Mansion.
These Mansions have many rooms to accommodate all the branches of these religions and institutions.
THE ROAD AHEAD
A difficult but joyful road lies ahead when God will bring again together all the “tongues” and reunite humanity, bringing it to the same status when “the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” (Gen.11:6)
WHEN?
God will reveal His endtime Prophet soon. He is Elijah II of Mal.4:5-6. Soon after his coming the humans on earth will be subjected the the unprecedented "great and dreadful day of the Lord"! that will be God's special signal to bring humanity under starters orders for the penultimate race to a United Humanity.
Now for a million dollar question: How can Christianity go about to accommodate Homosexuality in its full spectrum of diversity? Please click on this link to learn more.
AMEN.
Many theologians have wrestled with the idea of how to make Christianity "acceptable" to all nations in the world. They argue that it is the way to go if Christians are serious about taking the Great Commission "to all nations" (Mat.28:19)
A CHRISTIAN versus A DISCIPLE
The problem is that in general Christians do not understand the Great Command of their Commander in Chief. He asks of them to make "DISCIPLES of all nations", but somehow, the wording got mixed up and Christians ended up going "to all nations" in a fruitless attempt to make Christians of all nations, something that is very far removed from being a Disciple of Christ.
E.G. - Christians are those who consider water Baptism (in its different applications) THE priority, and the Eucharist with its physical elements, THE "food of Life", while Disciples regard water Baptism as minor, but the spiritual Baptism in the WORD as paramount (see1Cor.1:17), as Jesus also confirmed in Joh.15:3 - "You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."
When it comes to the Eucharist, Disciples go beyond the mechanical actions of Christians and regard this Feast as a STOP-SIGN, where they tarry to do some "self-examination" remove "divisions" between themselves and others (1Cor.11:17-34), check if they toe the line in forgiving others, check if their agape Love life is in order, see to it that their cross is firmly on their shoulders, while they walk the Via Dolorosa, destroy the "acts of the flesh and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit!" (Gal.5:19-26) in their lives!
IS CHRISTIANITY THE TRUE RELIGION?
When Jesus send His Disciples to the "nations", He send them to the different RELIGIONS that are manifest in the different countries of the world. To Christians, Christianity may be the "only true religion", but the same can be said of "Muslims", Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and all other. Even the irreligious think that their irreligion is the only way to go!
Jesus does not have the same problem. He is Commander in Chief of all while His Seven Commanders (the seven angels of Rev.1:20) command and teach the seven Mainstream Religions and their sub-streams. To the Christians He sent the Comforting Spirit or “Advocate” as Teacher (Joh.15:26, 16:7 etc.)
It means that Christians do the most dangerous thing when they go to believers of other religions to tell them the TRUTH that Jesus Christ is “the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (Joh.14:6) but they couple it to the LIE, that CHRISTIANITY is the only way to the Way!
This is proselytizing by hook AND crook!
Other religions also proselytize, and all have their different hooks, because of this warped conception that the own religion is the only true path to God. Many millions of humans lost their lives in religious wars which resulted from this gruesome misrepresentation of God.
THE TRUE DISCIPLES
Again, Jesus does not have this problem: He said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven.” (Mat.7:21) And who are those who say "Lord, Lord" to Jesus? The Christians! (2Cor.4:5)
So, Jesus clearly distinguish between Christians and Disciples. At the same time Jesus also confirms that those who are not Christians, but who do the Father's Will, are also acceptable to Him, when He said: "WHOEVER does God’s will, is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mar.3:35) Here Jesus again very frankly and clearly say that His Disciples are not boxed in by religious boundaries. This is also how Apostle Paul understand the Gospel:
Rom.2:12-16:
“All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, AS MY GOSPEL DECLARES.”
THE GOLDEN RULE
To Jesus all religions are on a par. His seven Spirits lead their flocks according to what is written in their Books of Law. All the Books with all their "Laws and Prophets" are based on the Golden Rule, which Jesus refer to in Mat.7:12. Where He give us the obverse side of the Golden Rule “coin”: “So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” The reverse side reads: “So, in everything, do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.” (Confucius)
These two sides sound almost the same but are in fact two different views that need to be cemented together back-to-back, in order to be regarded on an equal plane as the greatest Law of Love. In other words, a person that “do not do to others…” adheres to the imperfect reverse side of the Golden Rule. In order to be perfect one must not do bad things to others, but also also need to do good things unto others. The story of the Good Samaritan (Luk.10:29-37) sums this up perfectly. The Priest and the Levite adhered to the reverse side only of the Golden Rule, but the Samaritan to both sides and was regarded as a true neighbour.
Jesus added that this (Golden Rule) “sums up the Law and the Prophets,” which means that this Divine Rule in fact rule the Books of Law and their Prophets of ALL religions, although these Books are also riddled with misinterpretation, just like the Bible!
To Christians, this Law is condensed into a single word and is known as the Law of LOVE! (Mat.22:37-40), and here another distinction between Christians and Disciples come to the fore. Of Christians Jesus said: "These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." (Mat.15:8; Mat.7:21), but of Disciples God says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Heb.10:16)
To the Jews their Torah is also encapsulated in the “Law of Love”: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.” (Deu.6:4-6)
To “Muslims” the Law is encapsulated in the “Law of Love”, which is expressed in the Bismillah, the opening phrase of the Quran and just about all Surahs and which is used to begin all their prayers and speeches, and which is just a different angle on the Golden Rule:
“In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”.
This means every word of law in the Quran must be weighed against the “Mercy and Grace” of God and not be found wanting. In the same way the lives of “Muslims” must reflect the Mercy and Grace of God.
Thus, all religions are bound by the Law of Love expressed by the Golden Rule.
This means that any "Muslim", Hindu, Buddhist, Jew, or adherents of any other religion is perfectly acceptable to God, if they show that the Law of Love is written in their hearts and they show that their deeds match their hearts. Even Reverse-Theists (the so-called atheists) are acceptable to God if the Law of Love is written in their hearts.
Believers of all religions outside of Christianity are not at fault if they proclaim that their good works of love take you to heaven, if they LIVE the Law of Love. They are not commanded to preach the Grace of Christ or the Gospel. That is the Great Commission entrusted to Christianity, and this Mandate was entrusted to DISCIPLES, because it is only possible for Disciples to make disciples, to make disciples...
Christians must get their house in order and first make Disciples of all Christians, because discipling "all nations" does not mean planting Christian Churches on false pretences but going to the nations and be Ambassadors of Christ.
That's all the Spirit(s) of God wants Disciples to do. The Spirit will convince people to become disciples and whether those disciples are in Islam, Judaism. Hinduism, Buddhism or whatever religion or non-religion, does not matter to God. Those Disciples that God want to draw into the Christian ranks will act positively on the urge to join the Christian Disciples, but don’t be surprised that God will keep the bulk of Disciples in their respective religions, because a Gospel Fire need to be lit in every religion, to conquer the world for the Gospel.
If Disciples are made in all religions, and the Law of Love is written in every human heart, groups that feed on hatred like ISIS, Boko Haram, The Lord’s Resistance Army and so many other so-called fundamentalist groups will soon become a bad memory. Then believers of the different religions will not poach each other’s believers anymore, because everybody will know that Love is the ONLY key that can unlock the door to the Kingdom of God.
Then a blanket of peace will envelop the earth because the nations will no longer be able to play the religious card but will have to dig deep for other reasons to war among each other.
A UNIVERSAL CHRISTIANITY?
So, can Christianity be dolled up to make it acceptable to other nations to form some sort of universal religion that will be acceptable to all? Such thinking will surely be extremely short-sighted.
The answer is a very straightforward and short NO! The different religions are to God what the different Christian Denominations and Sects are to Christ, what the different members of a congregation amount to: making up one Body (1Cor.12:12-31) with its diversity of members; the different Christian Denominations etc. together make up the Body of Christ in the world and the different religions, assembled, become the true Image of God (Gen.1:26)
That means syncretism is not on! The different “body parts” each have their own function and, like in a human body, cannot be joined inappropriately with other parts without making the body dysfunctional.
Jesus is also very unambiguous in this regard. He says to the “Church” in Laodicea: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” (Rev.3:15-16)
Every believer thinks that their religion is “hot” and all others “cold”. To Jesus all are okay, except the ones that by syncretism become “lukewarm”. Those abominations He treats like “vomit”!
The main body of Christianity must be founded on the Love of the Gospel and the Teachings of the Apostles. That basis cannot be compromised. The reunification of Christianity is God’s top priority because that will be the precursor of the eventual unification of all religions in the world.
A UNIVERSAL CHURCH
However, for the mighty Image of God to become manifest, it is of paramount importance that all the different religions are joined together into one conglomeration. It can be compared to a gigantic jigsaw puzzle that will give us a complete glorious picture of the Enigma called God.
We have already discussed that syncretism is out, which means that a dolled-up Christianity is an abomination before God. The only possible model that will be acceptable to God is the concept of One University with many Faculties.
Jesus endorse this line of thinking in Joh.14:2 – “In my Father's house are many mansions…” (KJV) Yes, “mansions”, and not “rooms, as the NIV has it. The rooms are inside the mansions.
In the Fathers House there is a Jewish Mansion, a Christian Mansion, an Islam Mansion, a Hindu Mansion, a Buddhist Mansion, a Reverse-Theist (“atheist”) Mansion as well as a Science Mansion.
These Mansions have many rooms to accommodate all the branches of these religions and institutions.
THE ROAD AHEAD
A difficult but joyful road lies ahead when God will bring again together all the “tongues” and reunite humanity, bringing it to the same status when “the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.” (Gen.11:6)
WHEN?
God will reveal His endtime Prophet soon. He is Elijah II of Mal.4:5-6. Soon after his coming the humans on earth will be subjected the the unprecedented "great and dreadful day of the Lord"! that will be God's special signal to bring humanity under starters orders for the penultimate race to a United Humanity.
Now for a million dollar question: How can Christianity go about to accommodate Homosexuality in its full spectrum of diversity? Please click on this link to learn more.
AMEN.