Beginning of Wisdom (Torah Club) lesson #42-43: Afterlife uncertainty and more mysticism

Lesson 42-43, page 13
"God has ordered things so that 'man will not discover anything' about his fate in the next life.  We are only granted glimpses of Gehenna and Paradise.  It's impossible to construe those glimpses into a single and universal doctrine of eternal destinies."

One of the challenging things that I have found in my efforts to expose the false teachings of First Fruits of Zion is that there continue to be more dominoes that get knocked over by their abandonment of orthodoxy.  In this case, the orthodox belief that is now being cast aside by FFOZ is what is known as eternal security.  Since the Apostles, the followers of Jesus Christ have operated with the understanding that we have all the knowledge about the Afterlife that is necessary for faith and practice.  We don't know everything we want to know, in particular that whole "day and hour" piece of the puzzle, but we know everything we need to know to live with the certainty of faith in the here and now.  Using an unsound (non-contextual) interpretation of Ecclesiastes 7:14, FFOZ is proclaiming in this lesson that faithful certainty about what the future holds must be replaced with "glimpses" that cannot be pulled together to form an understanding that is true for all of us.

The implications of this sentence are far-reaching, unbiblical, and deeply dangerous: "It's impossible to construe those glimpses into a single and universal doctrine of eternal destinies."  The Word of God tells us otherwise.  There are only two kinds of people: Those who have been saved by the Blood of the Lamb who are safe in the Father's hands, and those who remain Lost who will perish apart from a relationship with God.

John 10:28-30 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

1 John 5:12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

God has given us sufficient clarity about the Afterlife.  God has given us the rubric that applies to every single human being who has ever lived.  By proclaiming that this certainty is impossible to have, FFOZ is sowing seeds of doubt that will harm the faith of many.  Why would they do this?  What profit can they hope to reap from blurring lines that were clearly laid out by Jesus himself?

Lesson 42-43, page 19
"The soul forgets nothing.  It carries with it the record of every event, every deed and misdeed, every mitzvah and every sin.  Acquiring these memories is the reason the soul descends into a body and lives life as a human being in the first place.  The soul enters the world of concealment to attain merit through the free will to choose good or evil.  In this world, the soul learns to seek God, and through its many experiences in the body, it becomes uniquely you.  With those memories intact, the soul will one day be returned to the body for the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment.  The memories create continuity between the old you and the new you." {emphasis mine}

Did God create you so that you could obtain memories?? Is that why you were born?  My friends, we have a higher purpose than this.  We were created to love.  To love God and love each other.  To overcome evil with good. To live self-sacrificially in this life in the hope of God's justice in the next.  What FFOZ is teaching here is built on a false premise (the pre-existence of the human soul), and far too shallow to reflect God's glorious purpose in Creation.

In addition to the heresy of the pre-existence of the human soul, we once again see FFOZ teaching that merit is earned and combining it with the idea that human beings are capable of seeking God on their own {which is consistent with their embrace of legalism in the form of Torah idolatry}.  They need to teach that human effort on its own can bear fruit because they've staked their entire organizational existence on the belief that the key to pleasing God is properly obeying a set of rules.  

Here's the thing, the Apostle Paul knew better.  The book of Romans more than sufficiently debunks this wishful thinking.  Humanity apart from God cannot please him, has no hope of earning any measure of merit, and in fact is not seeking God anyway.  Without God's grace and the calling of the Holy Spirit we are dead in the water, period.

Lesson 42-43, page 19b
"This aspect of the life review can be considered the spiritual objective behind the commandment, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  In the end, you will live your neighbor's experience as yourself."

Lesson 42-43, page 20
"one day, we will experience what we did unto others as if it was done unto us."

Lastly, one more new false teaching from FFOZ is introduced in this lesson, the "life review."  Borrowing from the testimonies of those who have been through Near Death Experiences, FFOZ is teaching that as you die you will actually experience your life over again, and on top of that, you will experience your life through the view of everyone else you have every interacted with.  They are saying that you will, literally, experience the impact of every good and bad choice you ever made in life by having that action done to you.

Aside from being a bizarre speculation into mysticism that has ZERO biblical basis, what is the harm of teaching what is assuredly unknowable and unprovable in this life?  It fits a pattern.  A pattern of embracing mysticism and teaching it as fact that is akin to FFOZ's uplifting of rabbinical teaching and even Jewish folklore as fact (rather than opinion).  A teaching ministry needs to be able to distinguish fact from fiction, truth from opinion, and what is known from what is only guessed at.  FFOZ has shown many times over that they lack this basic skill.

Sermon Video: What is your soul worth? - Mark 8:36-37

 The human soul is unique, there's only one of mine, and one of yours. The rarity of each is not its only reason for value, that is validated by the price which God was willing to pay to redeem them: the vicarious death of Jesus Christ. Both of the following are true: trading one's soul for anything in creation (including wealth, fame, and power) is a fool's bargain, and there is nothing that we can (ourselves) do in exchange for our souls. Thankfully, because God is gracious and loving, a solution already exists. What mankind cannot do, God has done. What rebellion wrecked, the Son of God's obedience has remedied.

Sermon Video: The defeat of Death by Jesus - 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

We love stories that end with, "and they lived happily ever after", but real life isn't like that, is it? We know that evil doesn't stay vanquished and that death will end even the best of love stories eventually. But this won't always be the case. When Christ returns, the dead in Christ will be raised to new life, immortal and transformed into Christ-likeness. Death will cease to exist once Jesus has established fully and completely God's reign, putting an end to rebellion and sin. For now, death itself is not a cause of fear for those who are in Christ, for we know that it is but a doorway to another life, and a better one. That confidence is available to everyone who is willing to put hope and faith in Jesus Christ.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: A world without life after death - 1 Corinthians 15:29-32

What would be different about our world if we knew that there was no life after death? Considering that most people both now and throughout history have some sort of belief in an afterlife, the changes would not be small. The Apostle Paul outlines three of them, (1) we would lose our connection to our ancestors, (2) any rationale for self-sacrifice {much less worth dying for}, and (3) any hope for final Justice. In the end, without a resurrection the most likely human response is, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." Hedonism and hopelessness are a toxic combination. Thankfully, Paul's thought is only a hypothetical, for the resurrection of the dead IS a reality, there will be a Judgment Day, and we have every reason to Hope beyond this life when we are in Christ.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: In Christ all will be made alive - 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

The fear of death is common to all of humanity, and in the present COVID-19 crisis, it is being felt keenly by millions. But death is not the natural state of humanity, it is an aberration, one that God has provided the solution to. Because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a historical fact we can place our hope for life beyond death in Jesus. Those who are in Christ, that is, those who have repented of their sins and chosen to live by faith in this world according to God's Word, have not only received a promise of full live in the world to come, but a more abundant life here and now as well. This is the blessing that God offers to all who believe.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "What is impossible with men is possible with God." - Luke 18:18-30

Following two previous illustrations of what it takes to gain entrance into the kingdom of God, the prayers of the Pharisee and tax collector, and then the comment by Jesus that the kingdom of God must be entered like a child, Jesus confronts the question of entrance into the kingdom directly when a rich and powerful man asks him, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"  The man asking the question, though the only things we know of him are that he has both authority and riches, seems to be in a great position to accept whatever answer he is given to his question by Jesus, after all, he has come seeking an answer to his spiritual need, which he recognizes he has, and has sought that answer from Jesus.
And yet, in the end, he will walk away from his encounter with Jesus, abandoning his quest to reconcile with God, over the one negative quality that outweighs all of the positive: his riches.  The tragedy of his refusal to place his spiritual need above his material possessions prompts Jesus to comment about the impossibility of a rich man entering the kingdom of God.  The warning about the danger of riches, while in and of itself is important for those with wealth, and those aspiring to wealth, is also a reminder of the impossibility of anyone, rich or poor, entering the kingdom of God on their own merit.  To obtain eternal life is always a matter of grace, a gift from God, Jesus here reminds us that its harder for a rich man to accept it.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "whom you should fear" - Luke 12:1-9

Fear is a powerful emotion, it affects many of the decisions we make in life, for both good and ill.  After speaking to the crowd about the danger of hypocrisy, Jesus transitions to one of its causes, fear of persecution by telling them that they should not fear those who can ONLY kill you and then do no more.  On the surface of it, that statement is one of the boldest things Jesus ever said.  It is only natural to fear those who could kill you, and if they can do that, what more could there be?  Jesus explains his statement by going on to say that we should fear him who can actually send our immortal souls to hell.  The perspective Jesus is advocating, viewing the afterlife as more important than this life, and fearing God more than man, is necessary if we are to truly become his disciples.  We must begin our path to God with a healthy fear of his divine power and authority as both Creator and Judge of this world.  Our realization that we must account for ourselves before God need not lead to despair over our unworthiness, however, as Jesus goes on to say, God cares for the sparrows, surely he will not leave you in a state of depravity without a rescue plan?  The way out, the escape plan from our earned fear of the wrath of God, is to simply acknowledge the Son, claim Jesus as Lord and he will testify before his Father that you are part of the family, and we can have confidence that Jesus will be our advocate, which in the end will leave us with nothing to fear.

To watch the video, click on the link below:

Sermon Video: "resting on the hope of eternal life" - Titus 1:1-4

In this introductory message for an ongoing series that will cover the Apostle Paul's letter to his protege Titus, the background information concerning this book of the Bible is briefly explored prior to focusing on the greeting of Paul to Titus which speaks of Paul's role as a servant of Jesus Christ for the sake of the faith, knowledge, truth, and godliness of God's elect which is predicated upon the hope of eternal life.  The certainty that Christian's can have, regarding life after death, is not based upon experience or logic, but rather rest wholly, and yet completely soundly, upon the character of God.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ proved the power of God to overcome death, but it is the faithfulness of God which gives us hope that his promises to us will certainly come true.  Christ walked the road from death to new life, we can trust his word that if we place our hope in him, we will follow in due time.  The implications of this truth are profound and varied for Christians, offering us perspective for life now and taking away the universal and ancient fear of death and replacing it with hope in the word of God.

To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video