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INDEX
INTRODUCTION – Court Scene
MAJOR WITNESSES
Witness 1 – Jesus (100 questions)
Witness 2 - Peter - one of the 12 Apostles (36 questions)
Witness 3 - John - the Baptist (7 questions)
Witness 4 - Luke - author of the Gospel of Luke and Book of Acts (3 questions)
Witness 5 - Mary - mother of Jesus (6 questions)
Witness 6 - John - one of the 12 Apostles (25 questions)
Witness 7 - Paul - a later Apostle (49 questions)
Witness 8 -John - author of Revelation (19 questions)
MINOR WITNESSES (1-2 questions each)
Witness 9 – Solomon - a king of Israel
Witness 10 – Amos - a prophet
Witness 11 – Joel - a prophet
Witness 12 – Jeremiah - a prophet
Witness 13 – Moses - a ruler
Witness 14 – Joshua - a ruler
Witness 15 – Daniel - a prophet
CONCLUDING SENTENCE by Yahweh
CONCLUDING REMARKS by the Lawyer.
APPENDICES
1. Testimony of Josephus - Jewish historian who lived through 66-73CE (41 questions)
2. Testimony of Professor H - History Professor on Biblical times (5 questions)
3. Testimony of Professor G - Geography Professor on the Middle East (13 questions)
4. Historical Timeline from 1000BC to 70CE.
5. My Background and Contact details.
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INTRODUCTION: Court Scene.
I am a journalist. The judge has entered and is now seated. This case has been entitled by the court, “The Case of Past Versus Future.”
The first witness is about to be called to the witness stand and it is Jesus. He will later be followed by others of his disciples. The purpose of this trial is for all of them to confirm and clarify what they had said or written in scripture, in particular about what Christians call “the Second Coming of Jesus,” but also about related subjects.
The reason I'm following this case is because it is challenging the orthodox view that Jesus' return is a future event. The witnesses are in collective agreement that his return happened long ago.
I have heard that there are several others who are not disciples who will be interviewed in an anteroom and I have been given permission to listen in to questions asked of them. One in particular I'm curious to hear from is Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived through the period in question which was 30-70CE (AD.)
MAJOR WITNESSES
WITNESS 1: JESUS
Hand on the Bible, Jesus. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
JESUS: I will not swear on or by anything. (Mathew 5:34) My Yes is Yes and my No is No. (Math 5:37) I am the truth. (John 14:6)
Q1: Jesus, thank you for returning to confirm and clarify what you stated in what are known today as the Old and New Testaments.
A1. You are welcome.
Q2 : Did you directly state at any time that you would return before the conclusion of the generation when you were living?
A2: Yes, I did. I said, “This generation (genea) shall not pass by (parerchomai) until all these things are fulfilled.” (Math 24:34)
Q3 : To whom did you make that remark about “this generation”?
A3 : To my disciples as we sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem. (Math 24:3)
Q4: Did they understand you to be talking about your generation or a generation of Israelites at some future time?
A4: I’m sure they understood me to mean them, our generation, that is those living when I said it.
Q5 : Had you said anything else about your generation that would assure them it was about them and not some future generation? If so, can you please tell us exactly what you said?
A5: Indeed, many times I said this. I remember saying, “Who shall I liken this generation?” (Math 11:16) when I saw people not responding to the Kingdom message. I said some pretty harsh but true things at times like “You generation of vipers!” (Math 12:34) When they asked for a sign I replied, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign.” (Math 12:39) The generation living when I was there was so corrupt I told them “the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and condemn it.” (Math 12:41) At times I despaired at being around them and once said, “You faithless generation. How long shall I be with you?” (Math 17:17) And on the same theme I said, “Whoever shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when he comes.” (Mark 8:38) In my same diatribe to the Jewish elders, in two different ways I said, “The blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation.” (Luke 11:50-51) Finally I said, “The Son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation,” (Luke 17:25) and as you know it happened.
Q6: Did any of your disciples mention “this generation”?
A6: Yes, Peter did at the end of his first preaching after I had ascended and the Father’s Breath (Spirit) Fire had been received. Peter said, “Save yourselves from this warped generation.” (Act 2:40) He meant that generation then living. Peter also called the saints then living “a chosen generation” (1 Pet 2:9) for indeed they were – the beginnings of the Kingdom, a generation that would last to the end of the ages.
Q7: So in conclusion to Q1, you are adamant that your disciples understood you to mean their generation?
A7: Absolutely. If they hadn’t understood this, then they couldn’t have seen all the signs that I said they would see happen.
Q8: Did you actually say that your disciples would see all the signs?
A8: My exact words were, “When you shall see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors.” (Math 24:33) It was imperative I let my disciples know ahead of time that they personally would see all these things so that they would be able to track everything I had said and not be deceived by people who tried to tell them otherwise. Then I made the remark about “this generation.”
Q9: And by “all these things” what did you mean exactly?
A9: All the things I had just been talking about. My disciples had asked me 3 questions at the start of my reply – 1) When shall these things be? 2) What is the sign of your coming? and 3) What is the sign of the end of the age? (Math 24:3) Their first question about ‘these things’ was related to my earlier remark (v1-2) about all the stones of the Temple in Jerusalem being thrown down. They linked that to my coming and the end of the age. It was “all these things” I then related from warnings about deception (v4) to the elect being gathered up (v31).
Q10: When you said “when you see all these things, know it is near, at the doors,” (Math 24:33) what did you mean by “it” and how “near”? And how near did the disciples understand?
A10: You will have to ask the disciples themselves what they understood me to mean but I believe you are calling them as witnesses so that’s good. By “it” I meant my return. By “near” I meant in their lifetime. Just like the fig tree, they would see all these things happen and know that my return was imminent. It would happen within the lifetime of some of them, the Father having told me that some saints of our generation would die in the meantime and I would be the first. My second coming was going to be 40 years away. I myself didn’t know the exact time until I returned to the Father but He had told me enough specifics to tell them too. They needed to be able to read all the signs. Curiously in the end it related to the First Passover.
Q11a: How does the First Passover relate to this topic?
A11a: From the First Passover in Egypt to entry into the Promised Land of Israel was 40 years (a time of testing). Then from the Last (Supper) Passover with my disciples prior to my death until the Last Passover in 70AD was 40 years (a time of testing.) Following that testing, unbelieving Israel lost the temple and rulership of their nation, but the saints entered into the Promised land in my Father’s House. Of course, the Father knew that all the time. He often put signs in His word of things He had planned.
Q11b Was the date of your death connected to the end of the age?
A11b. Yes. I died on Friday 7th April 30CE at the start of Passover that year. The end of the age began on 14th April 70CE when the Romans surrounded the city of Jerusalem, 3 days before Passover began that year. The significance of the two dates is that it was 40 years to the month. The same length of time Israel was in the desert up until when they entered the Promised Land. In this case, when the age ended, my disciples entered the Promised New Land in the sky with my Father and me (after 40 years of testing following the conversion of the first apostles.)
Q12: So your disciples understood that your statement was talking about them and their generation. But you didn’t actually say you were coming back in this statement.
A12: Not in that sentence but I had during that discourse. It was after saying they would see me ”in the clouds” that I said they would “see all these things.”
Q13: Since you mention coming in the clouds, people of my generation say you couldn’t have come in the clouds yet because the whole of Planet Earth didn’t see you return in the clouds.
A13: All of Planet Earth? But I never said all the people on planet earth would see me return.
Q14: No, not those exact words. I’m referring to two statements of yours. The first when you said, “All the tribes of the earth (ge) shall mourn and shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Math 24:30) And the second which you gave via your angel, “He comes with clouds and every eye shall see him and they who pierced him, and every tribe of the earth (ge) shall wail because of him.” (Rev 1:7)
A14: I wasn’t talking about Planet Earth. I was talking about the land of Judea. I’ve checked your Greek dictionaries for the word ‘ge’ which says it has several meanings – ‘country, planet earth, world, land, or ground.' I always used it to mean land (and the people on that land) and specifically the land of Israel, never Planet Earth. All the tribes of Israel could have seen me because they were all in Jerusalem for Passover when it happened.
Q15: Isn’t taking ‘ge’ to mean a local land a rather restricted meaning of the word?
A15: Not at all. It’s one valid meaning from your Greek dictionary. I would say it was quite correct for me to always use one meaning alone. It seems to me that in your era, they have invariably chosen only one meaning being Planet Earth. But I can prove that I only meant local land.
Q16: I’m glad to hear that. So the question is, how do we know you meant ‘land of Israel’ and not ‘Planet Earth’?
A16: I hope you’ve got all day but I’ll try to be as succinct as possible. To begin with, I notice that even in the Old Testament your bibles invariably translate the Hebrew equivalent (eretz) as meaning Earth when it meant Land so that confuses things.
Q17: Can you please give an example of somewhere where ‘eretz’ should mean land in the Old Testament?
A17: Certainly. Gen 1:1. Eretz does not mean Planet Earth. Planet Earth existed before the Land (eretz) existed.
Q18 : Are you saying that the text should read “In the beginning God created the heavens and the land?” (Gen 1:1) And on what grounds?
A18: I am, except that a better translation would be “In the beginning Elohim created the skies and the land.” (Gen 1:1) My grounds are Gen 1:10. “And Elohim called the dry (ground) Land (eretz) and the gathering together of the water he called Seas.” The word eretz is related to the dry ground not to seas. It can’t mean Planet Earth because that includes Seas and v10 clearly tells us that the Land is in contrast to Seas. In v11 it is the Land that brings forth the grass, not the Seas. In v26 mankind’s dominion is over creatures in the Seas and on the Land. Moreover, since he made the Sky and Land come out of the Sea, the Sea had to be there in the first place – so the sea was there before Gen 1:1 so he couldn't have made Planet Earth in Genesis 1:1.
Q19 : We are not here to debate Genesis. However, Gen 6:17 speaks about Earth being flooded. “I bring a flood of waters upon the Earth to destroy all flesh which has the breath of life from under heaven and everything that is on the Earth shall die.”
A19: Actually it doesn't. “I bring a flood of waters upon the Land to destroy all flesh which has the breath of life from under the sky and everything that is on the Land shall die.” (Gen 6:17) Firstly, you don’t flood the Sea. It serves no purpose and the sea creatures didn't die anyway. Noah didn't have to rescue them. Secondly, you may also remember that when the flood finished it was reported, “the waters dried up from off the Land.” (Gen 8:13) If the waters had dried up from 'off Planet Earth' then we would have had no seawater left anywhere. That’s why Gen 1:1 is about the Land and not the Seas. Thirdly, this was “under the sky” which means where the Father was reigning. There are places on this planet where His kingdom is in effect and places where it is not. Those who are His faithful saints are where the Kingdom is. That’s what ‘under the sky’ means. Luke used it to describe where the saints were in our day ‘in every nation under the sky,’ that is “where devout men were living.” (Acts 2:5) Finally, if Heaven meant the universe then everything in the universe would have died but it didn't mean that. It was a local phenomenon.
Q20: But you’re not suggesting that the whole Genesis account is only about the Land of Israel, are you?
A20: The Land changes in the context in which it is used. When I talk about the Land in regard to Abraham, I mean the Land that my Father promised Abraham which is much larger than the current area of Israel. Abraham’s promised Land stretched “from the Great River in Egypt (the Nile) to the Euphrates (in Iraq.) (Gen 15:18)
I believe you will interview Professor G to explain the geological background of Genesis 1 (in Appendix 3.) The Promised Land once lay underwater in darkness awaiting Light and Existence. My Father raised it in steps – first through the ministry of His Ruach/Breath “over the waters” (Gen 1:2). Then declaring light upon the land in darkness beneath the water. Did you know that seaweed grows down only to 200 metres because below that the light does not sufficiently reach? The Father needed the Light to reach that Land and so he spoke it into existence over that area where His Kingdom was going to reign (Gen 1:3). Light already shone over Iran and Turkey – that’s how Day One (Gen 1:5) could exist. If the sun wasn’t created until Gen 1:14, day and night could not have occurred and ‘Day 1' would be meaningless. But the sun and moon and stars did already exist before the new Land was brought out of the waters. Now the sun and moon were going to shine onto this new specially created Land freshly raised out of the sea.
On that new Land which the Father brought out of the sea, he “caused grasses and trees to grow” (Gen1:11). In the new Rivers/Seas he made sea creatures (Gen 1:20) and on the Land he made Land creatures (Gen 1:24). And finally he made a man in His image (Gen 1:26), and gave him jurisdiction over the newly created Land where the Father would initially reign.
Q21: So you are saying that the Land you refer to when talking to your disciples is the land God promised to Abraham?
A21: Yes and returning to your Question 8, when I said “All tribes of the Land shall wail” (Math 24:30 and Rev 1:7) I meant all 12 tribes of Israel and I’m sure my disciples understood this. I didn’t mean every tribe on Planet Earth. The Greek word ‘phule’ means offshoots (tribes), meaning the offshoots or descendants of Abraham and specifically Jacob’s offshoots. Virtually the whole focus of the Old Testament is about Abraham’s descendants through Jacob.
Q22: So the “all the tribes shall wail” refers to the 12 tribes of Israel only?
A22: Correct. The Hebrew equivalent of offshoot is ‘shebet’ which means a branch. Every time this is used in the Old Testament it refers to the 12 tribes of Israel/Jacob starting from Gen 49. And every reference in the New Testament also refers to the 12 tribes.
Q23: You say every reference in scripture relates tribes to Israel, but in Rev 5:9 (and similarly Rev 7:9 and 13:7 and 14:6) we read, “You have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.” We take this to mean people from all over Planet Earth from all tribes and countries. Your meaning?
A23: Oh, dear no. Never Planet Earth. Firstly, every other text in scripture refers only to tribes of Israel, not of any other country. That on its own should be enough to deduce I meant the 12 tribes of Israel throughout my angel’s Revelation.
Secondly, let’s look inside Revelation. In Rev 11:9 I said, “They of the people and tribes and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three and a half days.” This happened in Jerusalem during its devastation when the Temple fell in 70AD and up to 1 million Israelites lost their lives inside the city walls. In this case, the people I’m referring to were unbelieving Israelites who had come to Jerusalem for Passover that year from among the 12 tribes scattered round the Mediterranean Sea. Many of these had been born in foreign countries and so spoke various languages and dialects including the most common for them, Aramaic, Common (Koine) Greek and Hebrew. The phrase ‘tribe, tongue, people and nation’ doesn’t refer to all people but to Jacob’s descendants among those, as it does everywhere else in scripture.
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Q24: Are you saying you only came for Jacob's descendants?
A24. Yes, for Yahweh's people Israel. My purpose was prophesied, “For out of you Bethlehem shall come a shepherd to rule my people Israel.” (Micah 5:2). “I reign over the House of Jacob and my kingdom shall never conclude” (Luke 1:33) because I came only “to rule my people Israel.” (Math 2:6). I was not sent to anyone “except the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” (Math 15:24) So you see I did not come for other races but only for the descendants of Jacob. My apostles were, like me, “sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Math 10:6) and rightly as a result they would later “judge the 12 tribes of Israel” (Math 19:28) not anyone else because the God of Israel was their God alone. It was “many of the children of Israel who I turned round to Yahweh our God” (Luke 1:16) because I came only “to redeem Yahweh's people Israel” (Luke 1:68), to give “repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31) and to “comfort Israel” alone (Luke 2:25). “I am the son of Yahweh and the King of Israel.” (John 1:49) I am not the King of any other people group – only Israel. “I am the Saviour of Israel.” (Acts 13:23) Paul was chained and bound because he believed I was “the hope of Israel.” (Acts 28:20) It was only with the reunited “House of Israel and the House of Judah” that I promised “a new covenant” (Heb 8:8) and I would put “my laws in their mind and hearts and so be their God and they be my people.” (Heb 8:10)
Q25: Are the current descendants of the 12 tribes of Israel still your focus?
A25: That is not being discussed in this trial. I will only testify to the age I spoke about. The 12 tribes of Israel were the focus of what the Father did up to and during the generation when I was alive in Israel. You live in a different age. I came for my generation of Israel. It was their last opportunity as a people (who had been scattered among many nations) to be the People of God. Those of the 12 tribes of Israel who chose me from that generation were redeemed by my blood and live with me in the Father’s Palace. Those of the 12 tribes of Israel who rejected me were rejected by my Father. After 70AD when the Father destroyed the temple, the Kingdom was given to those who love, trust and obey Him in the power of his breath.
Q26. You have mentioned the “Breath” a few times now. What is this “breath”?
A26. Many of you call it the Spirit. In the Old Testament it is called the Ruach (Gen 1:2), that is the Breath or Wind of God. In the New Testament it is known as the Pneuma, that is the Breath or Breeze of God. When Yahweh speaks, His Will shapes the Word on his Breath. The Father's Will directs the Son's Word through the Spirit's Breath. You would find it closer to the meaning if you were to use Breath rather than Spirit. After my resurrection, John records what happened - Jesus breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Breath.” (John 20:22) I was passing the Holy Breath to them, breath to breath. Later they would receive the Fire Power of the Breath at Pentecost (Act 2:3). They couldn’t receive this Fire Power from me until I had ascended (John 16:7).
Q27a. We’re getting off our original subject but just one last question on the current topic. What is the ”Fire Power of the Breath/Spirit”?
A27a. The creative power of God. It was through the Ruach Breath that God created. When a person has the Breath of God inside them, they are able to do things that create life where there wasn’t. They can heal the sick, raise the dead, do things they could never do without the Breath in them. The Fire Power was what changed the apostles from ordinary men into extraordinary men. Before my ascension they were ordinary doubting men. After my ascension, once they received the Breath’s Fire Power, they were faith-filled men who never looked back. John the Baptist had prophesied correctly: “Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Breath and Fire.” (Math 3:11) The Fire Power of the Breath is against all evil. It always acts rightly. It confronts sin. A person with the Holy Breath indwelling them cannot contravene the 10 Commandments in thought or deed. Such a person may misunderstand teaching or may offend a fellow saint inadvertently but never on purpose, and will always strive to resolve all such misunderstandings as soon as possible.
Q27b. How does a person receive the Holy Spirit/Breath and Fire/Power?
A27b. A person must “ask the Father for it” (Luke 11:13 and John 16:23). The Breath is not given to those who don’t want it or even to those who are not sure if they want it. A person must want it and actively seek the Father to have it. After a person hears about the Kingdom of God (“How shall they believe if they have not heard?” Rom 10:14 ) and if they resolve absolutely to turn from sin and walk righteously, then I place in that person’s will a desire to come and ask the Father for His Breath. I also place in them the desire to “fast from food (Mark 2:20, Acts 13:2) in secret (Math 6:18)” prior to receiving His Breath.
Because I passed the Father's Breath by my breath to my disciples, those disciples of mine who had his Breath passed it to other seekers by my arranging. So a seeker for the Breath would go to someone who had it. During the time of prayer and seeking, the one with the Breath would “lay hands on” the one without (Acts 8:17) and breathing on them, the other would receive the Breath. Following this, there would be a period of time, which might have been seconds, minutes, days, weeks, months or years, and then when I had determined the disciple was ready, I would send the Fire Power (Acts 2:3-4) .
Q27c. How would a person know if they had received the Spirit/Breath and subsequent Fire?
A27c. They would know when they had received the Breath’s Fire by much evidence within and externally. Firstly, they would feel a deep sense of God’s acceptance, joy and peace deep within (Luke 3:22 and Gal 5:22) that was never extinguished. All sins against God’s 10 Commandments would have been washed away (1 John 1:9). They would discover they had no desire to ever break any of the 10 commandments again in thought or deed. They would know because they would want to praise the Father and speak about me to others. (Luke 1:41-42, 67 and Luke 2:25-32 and Acts 1:8)
They would also feel like doing creative things in our will that help others as we gave them opportunity. As a result, they would see people healed of illnesses through their faithful ministry to such people (Acts 5:16 and 28:8). They would hear unclean breaths leave a person because the unclean breath would speak as it left the person (Acts 8:7). They would help new disciples receive the Breath and see their lives transformed.
Q28. Getting back to your text “every eye shall see Him” (Rev 1:7) We take that to mean every eye/person on Planet Earth.
A28. Yes, I see that you always have the macro view in mind when I have something else in mind. Say you go to a large convention and someone says, “Everyone is entitled to free lunch today.” Do you all rejoice that everyone on planet earth is getting a free lunch today? No, you know it is only for conference members. So my ‘every eye’ is related to the people I am talking about.
I came to redeem Israel. We gave the Revelation not for everyone on planet earth but for our “servants” (Rev 1:1) that is, the saints of my generation. We told them that all the things related to my coming would “shortly come to pass” (1:1) for the “time is at hand.” (1:3) My coming was imminent – in their lifetime, a few years hence. You can see that “every eye” refers only to Israel from Isaiah 40:1-5 (and Luke 3:4-6) when Yahweh says, “Comfort ye my people Israel... all flesh shall see it together... Say unto the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'”
Q29. Returning to the question of generations, you once said, “The blood of all the prophets from Abel to Zechariah shall be required of this generation.” (Luke 11:50-51) Has this happened and how?
A29. Yes, it has. That’s why your generation is in a different age to the time of the 12 apostles. My generation was the concluding generation of Israel as the People of God. Someone had to pay for all the prophets’ deaths from the time of Adam to the time preceding my coming. That was an age: Abel to Zechariah. The end of that age concluded with blood needing to be shed. My blood for the saints’ perfection. The blood of the unrighteous generation for killing the righteous prophets throughout Israel’s age. That’s why all was fulfilled. That’s why the New Testament has never been added to, because it spoke of the end of one age and the beginning of a new age. Not the ‘new age’ that the devil likes to counterfeit with wickedness but the ‘new age of righteousness’ in the Kingdom of God.
Q30. I’d like to ask you some questions now about the events around your return. Some people in our day say that more Jews suffered in World War 2 than in 70CE. So why did you say “For then shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world to this time; no, nor ever shall be.” (Math 24:21) ?
A30. I wasn't speaking about the age in which you live, nor did I say 'nor ever shall be.' I said, “no, not at all shall be (oude oume ginomai)” emphasising that the greatest tribulation happened between the creation of Adam and the time of my generation. It would be better translated, “For then shall be great tribulation such as has not been, no nor at all shall be, from the beginning of Adam's creation to this time.” This great tribulation would signal the end of that age.
Q30a. So what was this 'Great Tribulation'?
A30a. The Tribulation began with my death in 30CE and when my disciple Stephen was stoned to death in 30CE. It increased in intensity up until 70CE. James my apostle (brother of John and the son of Zebedee Math 10:2, not the apostle James who was the son of Alpheus Math 10:3) was killed by a sword in the Spring of 44CE by Herod Agrippa I, king of Israel. The Great Tribulation came to a climax in the Judean war years of 66-70CE. for I had predicted over 30 years before that “they shall fall by a sword's edge, and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the nations until the time of the nations is fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24) During the Great Tribulation my people Israel fought countless wars with each other (sadly) and against the Romans. Israelites were killed or enslaved by each other or by the Romans, or they died of starvation or disease, or by persecution. Peter and Paul died in 68-69CE. The Israelites who survived and were enslaved almost all died later in the gladiator stadiums in the nations to which they were transported. Over these 40 years, Rome trod over and took control of Jerusalem through their procurators, and defiled my temple several times. I brought this all to an end with the fall of the Temple in August 70CE and I did it quickly “for the sake of the elect.” (Math 24:22, Mark 13:20)
Q31.You said just prior to your return, “Immediately after the Tribulation (thlipsis) of those days the sun shall be darkened and the moon not give its light and the stars fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven.” (Math 24:29-30) My first question is: What and when was the “tribulation of those days”?
A30. The word thlipsis means tribulation, trouble or persecution. It started in earnest in 66CE at the start of the Judaean Wars in Galilee and reached its climax when Roman General Titus laid siege to Jerusalem at the start of Passover in April 70CE. In 66CE fights, murders and battles broke out among the Jews (Judaeans) by several faction leaders, and between the Jews and Romans. Then from April to August 70CE all the Jews who had gone to Jerusalem for Passover that year, about 1 million of them, were trapped in the city when the Romans laid siege to it. Almost everyone died from several causes: starvation, disease, murders, fights with themselves and with the Romans. At the end of these 5 months of imprisonment in Jerusalem in August 70CE when most people in Jerusalem had died (and that is what I call the Great Tribulation), then the city and temple were set on fire. This is the event I am describing in your question to me.
Q32. After the tribulation which you said took place 66-70CE, “the sun and moon lost their light.” (Math 24:29) Did these events happen?
A32. Yes, they did. When Jerusalem was burning, the smoke from the huge fire blocked out the sun by day and moon by night so their light couldn’t reach the city. It also turned the sun and moon red at dawn and dusk. You can see this happen in any city whenever there has been a great fire nearby.
Q33. And “the stars shall fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens be shaken.” (Math 24:29)? Did this take place?
A33. Yes, it did. The Greek phrase for falling is pipto peto. I used it many times for ordinary things like “the seed falling on stony places.” (Math 13:5) The Greek word aster is translated star or heavenly object. Obviously physical stars are suns which can’t fall, certainly not to the ground. If a sun moved out of its orbit and came anywhere near planet earth, our planet would explode. In this case, I was speaking about a meteorite shower falling through the sky. The powers being shaken were the terrific winds generated by those falling objects. You may not know that objects that fall at speed from outer space have at least 7 noticeable effects - heat, pressure shock waves, flying debris, tsunamis, wind blasts, seismic shaking and cratering.
Q34. Did you talk about stars falling any other time?
A34. I repeated mention of the falling stars/objects in another allusion about unripe figs being blown off by “a mighty wind” (Rev 6:13) and about “a great object known as Bitterness from the sky” causing waters to “turn bitter” and the “sun turning to darkness” (Rev 8:10-12.) These all describe the ferocity and result of meteorites.
Q35. You also said: “And then the sign (semeion) of the Son of Man shall appear in heaven.” (Math 24:30) What sign appeared in heaven?
A35. The unbelieving of my generation were always looking for signs. I had told them no sign would be given them “except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Math 16:4) And I added, “As Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also shall the Son of Man be to this generation.” (Luke 11:30) I was the sign. They would see me in the clouds at the final hour of their judgment.
Q36. Was this the Judgment spoken of by all the prophets and by yourself? And who was the “prince of this world”?
A36. Yes, I said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince/ruler (archon) of this world be cast out.” (John 12:31) The high priest and rulers of my people Israel would be cast out when Jerusalem and the Temple fell. They would cease to rule my people as the Temple would cease to exist.
Q37. After you spoke about the Son of Man appearing in the clouds, you said: “Then all the tribes of the Earth/land shall mourn.” (Math 24:30) Why were they mourning?
A37. The unbelievers among the 12 tribes of Israel were mourning because their judgment had come. Those who had rejected me were about to be punished for the blood of all the prophets, I being the last. They were mourning for having rejected God’s Sons through the ages and because their end was separation from God. They were mourning because I was “taking the Kingdom of God from them and giving it to those who brought forth its fruits.” (Math 21:43)
Q38. Next you said: “They shall see the son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Math 24:30) Who saw that happen?
A38. The unbelievers of that generation of Israel in Jerusalem did. This happened just before they all perished in judgment in the fires of Jerusalem (as had thousands of others died in other Judaean cities the previous years of the Tribulation.)
Q39 Why did you mention the fig trees? (Math 24:33)
A39. Because their new leaves come out in late Spring “so you know Summer is near.” Likewise, the siege of Jerusalem of Jerusalem would begin in Spring (14 April 70CE) leading into Summer which was the stage for judgment and my return.
Q40. Were there any believers walking among the unbelievers in Jerusalem during the siege?
A40. No, the believers had all escaped as I had warned them beforehand and they were in the hills waiting for me.
Q41. How did they know to go into the hills?
A41. When they saw General Titus arrive and surround Jerusalem, they knew it was time to flee. I had earlier warned them, “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded with armies, then know that its destruction has come. And let those in Judea flee to the mountains, and those in its midst, let them go out, and those in open spaces, let them not go into Jerusalem.” (Luke 22:20-21) This began on 14th April 70CE. I had also told them that if they were on the rooves of their houses, not to go back down inside to get anything but to run as fast as possible out of the city (Math 24:17). They didn’t have time to get any food or clothes. And those in the fields, also didn’t have time to go home either (v18). Any pregnant women or those with small babies would have a really hard time coping (v19) but we watched over them and “shortened the days of trouble for the elect’s sake.” (v22) The saints’ Exodus from the Judean cities into the hills at this time was as rapid as the Exodus from Egypt with the Roman armies behind them. And as the Father miraculously saved the Israelite People of God by pulling back the waters of the Red Sea, again the Father saved His people by pulling back the clouds of Heaven above and transporting them there.
Q42. Were the believers in any danger in the hills?
A42. Absolutely. Nowhere was safe in Judea at that time with the Roman-Judean wars taking place. But at least in the hills they could hide in the rocks whereas the Romans were more occupied with the towns. There was also the danger of deception. Unbelievers were roaming but the saints knew if they were approached by others who claimed to know where the Messiah was, they were not to take any notice nor go with them. (Math 24:23-26)
Q43. What did you mean when you said: “For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even to the west, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Math 24:27)
A43. This was the reason they were not to believe the false prophets and go with them and that’s why I began this sentence with “for.” The false prophets told the people that the Messiah was only known in secret places known to just them (v26). But I told the saints that my coming would not be secret to them, “for” they would see me in plain daylight coming down through the clouds. It would be as plain as the brightness of lightning, and my light would instantly spread from horizon to horizon at my coming.
Q44. How far afield would people standing on the ground actually see you “in the clouds” (Math 24:30)? Would people in Egypt or Italy or America see you?
A44. No, my arrival on the clouds was localized to where it happened in Judea.
Q45. Can you give evidence for you appearing only locally “in the clouds” (Math 24:30)?
A45. When I ascended I gave word to my angel to tell my disciples how they could expect me when I came back. “Jesus shall come in the same way in which you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11). I said this because they needed to know I would come back locally to them in the hills and through the clouds. At the time, we were standing on the Mount of Olives which overlooks Jerusalem about a kilometer away.
Q46. So did you return onto the “Mount of Olives” (Acts 1:12)?
A46. Yes and I brought the saints who were still alive up with me to meet the others. Paul will testify, “For the Lord himself shall descend with a shout by the voice of the chief angel and by the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we who remain alive shall be gathered together, with the others in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air and so we shall ever be with the Lord.” (I Thess 4:17) I had come back for two reasons: a) to bring the saints to their new Home and b) to signal to unbelieving Israel that the destruction of Jerusalem was the Father’s judgment on them. When unbelieving Israel saw me in the sky from their besieged city below, they knew at once that they had been wrong about me and there was a great wail of woe. It was a great grief for me but one I had long expected.
Q47. Was the disciples' new home far away?
A47. No it was not. A relatively short distance up.
Q48. Zechariah said, “There shall be no more doom but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.” (Zech 14:11) Is that right?
A48. Yes for the New Jerusalem is safely inhabited.
Q49. Isaiah said, “Jerusalem would be called holy and the Lord would purge the blood of Jerusalem.” (Isa 4:3-4) Which era is this talking about?
A49. Judah had sinned against the Lord and Jerusalem’s judgment in 587BC was the result. By day the Lord defended the city by a cloud and at night by his Breath’s Fire (v5). It was also prophetic of the establishment of the New Jerusalem.
Q50. Isaiah said: “The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord.'” (Isa 40:3) Was Isaiah speaking about his time or about your birth time?
A50. About his time leading up to the Babylonian captivity. I applied it to my time. Isaiah was the voice in the wilderness declaring Jerusalem’s future in his day. In my day, the same truth was applied to John the Baptist who prepared me. Every time an Israelite moved from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, “the crooked paths are made straight.” (Isa 40:4) It happened in Isaiah’s day after Jerusalem had been cleansed and it happened in my day. Isaiah brought encouragement from the Father that He was “God over the cities of Judah” (v9).
Q51. Isaiah further declared, “The Lord shall feed his flock like a shepherd” Isa 40:11. Who was his flock?
A51. Israel. Which is why I often spoke about the good shepherd.
Q51a. But didn't say you had “sheep of another flock” too (John 10:16)?
A51a. Yes, I did. The first flock were those drawn from among the Hebrew speaking Israelites (who were listening in to this conversation.) The other flock were drawn from among the Greek speaking Israelites many of whom were living in other countries. My intention was “to make the two flocks one flock” as they had been before.
Q52. Isaiah continued, “The Lord sits upon the circle of the earth.” (Isa 40:22) Is this Planet Earth or Land as you earlier said?
A52. Land. It’s always land. “The Lord sits over the circle of the Land.”(Isa 40:22)
Q53. How is Land “a circle”? (Isa 40:22)
A53. Stand outside and look at the horizon, then swivel on the spot around 360 degrees. That’s the circle. Stand on the highest mountain in Israel and do that and you have some idea of the extent of the circle of Land. The Father sat over that circle, meaning He reigned over the kingdom where his people were living. The sky is like a tent over the circle of land and in this way the Lord guarded and watched over His people.
Q54. Does the Father still “sit over that circle of land” (Isa 40:22), the land of Israel?
A54. He reigns over and guards His saints where they are. He always has and He always will.
Q55. That's an obtuse answer. Where precisely does God sit?
A55. You can't see it which is the problem. It's where his Breath moves. Imagine an invisible cube 2,414 kilometers high, wide and deep. In this space which is full of life in all its awesome fullness lives Yahweh and His saints. "And the city lies as a square, and the length is as large as the width. And he measured the city with the reed, 12,000 furlongs (2,414 kilometres.) The length and the width and the height of it are equal.” (Rev 21:16)
Before and up to 70CE, this invisible (to the human eye) cube was positioned directly above Jerusalem. It contains the New Jerusalem and the New Land. It is where I went and from where I descended to take up my disciples. It's from where the Father spoke to Moses on the Mount and gave him the Commandments. It's what Stephen looked into just before the Jewish leaders stoned him to death. It's where Enoch walked into. It is only made visible to the ones the Father chooses. I'm not saying where it is now and I can't prove it to you by what I said.
Q56. Isaiah continues: “The everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth/land faints not.” (Isa 40:28) Did God create Planet Earth?
A56. Isaiah is not addressing that question. He is describing Yahweh's creation of the extremities of the Land which the Father promised Abraham.
Q57. Assuming Isaiah is not addressing this question, please tell us your opinion. Did God create Planet Earth?
A57. As that question is outside the parameters of this trial, I can't give you evidence for this because I never addressed this question, but the answer is that Elohim created Planet Earth. “In the beginning Elohim.” (Gen 1:1)
Q58. When did Elohim create Planet Earth?
A58. I never told my disciples and you won't find it recorded anywhere in scripture but since you are asking me, Elohim created the universe, as you know it, millions of years ago. The Bible does not speak about this time for it was long before Gen 1:1. When Moses wrote Genesis, he was merely recording the creation of one part of Planet Earth by Yahweh Elohim, and on that part the Father put his special people for a special purpose.
Q59. But Gen 1:1 says “In the beginning God created.” Then why does it say the beginning?
A59. Every era or age has a beginning and an end. Many children's stories begin 'Once upon a time.' That's the same meaning. This was the beginning of an age, not the beginning of everything that exists, nor would its end mean the end of everything that exists because the Bible never speaks of the end of the world but only of “the end of the age.” eg “So shall it be at the end of the age (aion) and the angels come forth.” (Math 13:49) The beginning of the Gen 1:1 era began with me being involved in its people creation (the formation of Adam son of Yahweh) and it ended with me (the last Adam son of Yahweh) at the time that Revelation speaks about, once we had accomplished everything among those generations. “Known unto Yahweh are all his works from the beginning of the age (aion).” (Acts 15:18)
Q60. Since you have taken us to the Book of Revelation, and lest we get bogged down in Genesis, let’s go there. John records: “The first heaven and the first earth passed away and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.” (Rev 21:1-2) If the new earth/land exists now, how can the old one still be here?
A60. The Greek word ‘parerchomai’ means 'to pass alongside or pass near or pass by.' It never means to destroy something. Mark used this word when my disciples were asleep on the boat on the lake and I was about to overtake them (parerchomai.) Mark records it, “Jesus would have passed them by.” (Mark 6:48) This doesn’t mean that one of us died. When I reached Jericho it was reported, “Jesus of Nazareth passes by” meaning I was passing by the houses and citizens of that town but not staying. (Luke 18:37). Two things can exist side by side and pass by each other even if you can’t see the other. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there. Sound waves are passing you by every day but you can’t see them and they don't cease to exist once they have passed by. So the first heaven and land exists, and the new heaven and land exists, but not in the same place.
Q 61. Yet Peter said, “The heavens shall pass by with a great noise” (2 Pet 3:10) at the day of the Lord.
A61. Indeed and this happened on the day of Israel’s judgment. Peter accurately prophesied the burning of the physical fabric of Jerusalem –“the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (v12.) Everything they knew to be true was “broken and burned up” (v10-11.) The very “skies glowed” (v12) physically. But the geography of old Jerusalem remained. When the saints left for the New Skies and New Land, the old skies passed by with a great noise. When Jerusalem went up in flames and the walls were destroyed after a siege that lasted months, the whole of the sky above it was affected by smoke and the noise of a great wind but even worse was the noise of screams as that generation of Israel suffered the final judgment. A terrible noisy cataclysmic experience. The saints thankfully escaped this but heard the noise as they passed by on their way up to the New Sky.
Q62. Returning to Rev 21:1, one aside question: Is there really “no sea” in God’s heavenly kingdom?
A62. We have something far better than sea in the new Land. The old sea with which you are familiar with is difficult to navigate and almost impossible to explore at depth. But this is something I can’t verify in writing so let’s move to the next question.
Q63. Right. Now John said, “The holy city, new Jerusalem, would come down from God out of heaven” (Rev 21:2) onto the current land of Israel. Correct?
A63. No, he didn't say that. John was “looking at the New Heaven and New Land” (Rev 21:1) and said the New Jerusalem would come out of the New Heaven onto the New Land.
Q64. Why does the “new Jerusalem” (Rev 21:2) have the same name as the old Jerusalem?
A64. Things and places on the old Land are but a shadow of the true things. Jerusalem in Israel was a shadow of the holy city in the new Land that would one day be revealed to the saints. The Jewish priests offering gifts serve “as an example and shadow of heavenly things.” (Heb 8:5 and Heb 10:1) Jewish customs were merely a shadow of things to come (Col 2:16-17). The tabernacle was a shadow of the tabernacle in the New Jerusalem where the Father Himself is the tabernacle.
Q65. Amos speaks about “the tabernacle of David that is fallen being raised up.” (Amos 9:1) When was this?
A65. Amos began prophesying in 773BC (around the same time as Hosea) when Judah and Israel were separate kingdoms of Israel each with their own kings. Amos spoke of a day when the northern kingdom of Israel broke from God’s Kingdom because of its sin (v10) and this occurred and they were exiled to Syria by the Assyrians in 721BC. A later judgment would happen to the Kingdom of Judah to Iraq by the Babylonians in 587BC when the First Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem. The sinners among God’s People would die (v10) and he would make that kingdom desolate (v8) but would sift and save His own (v9.) The Father would bring His People back from exile (v14) and they would rebuild the devastated cities and the Temple, and they would not again be torn away from their land (v15). All this came to pass after the Babylonian exile. Ultimately, the temple of David is the Father's devoted People to whom I came to give life and to raise them to the New Jerusalem.
Q66. I'm changing the subject for a moment to verify the mission you had in regard to how a person lived. What would you say was the main goal of a person’s life?
A66. “To serve Yahweh without fear, in holiness and righteousness.” (Luke 1:74-75) Holiness in self and righteousness towards others.
Q67. Can a person “be holy and righteous?” (Luke 1:75)
A67. Yes, a person who carries the indwelling Breath is holy and can live righteously. John the Baptist and I both spoke about the need for the people of Israel to live righteous lives as a true sign of their repentance. John was very specific when he said, “If you have 2 coats and another has none, give him one of yours.” (Luke 3:11) I told the people that “their righteousness had to exceed that of the scribes and pharisees or they wouldn't get into the kingdom of heaven.” (Math 5:20) This was the level of repentance we were calling the people of Israel to.
Q68. Do you mean that this person has your holiness and righteousness but that they are still sinners? Many people today complain about the state of the church.
A68 No, I mean that they are holy and not sinners. My church is perfect. The saints who live in my Kingdom are perfect. Just as you cannot see the Kingdom with human eyes, so you cannot see my church with human eyes either. People who have my Breath in them and live righteous lives are my church. My church is extremely healthy and always has been.
Q69. Can you please verify this belief that your disciples can be both “holy and righteous”?
A69. A person is made holy by me when the Breath inhabits them. Having cleansed them from all sin and its penalty, they are free and sinless to live righteously. With the Breath’s indwelling assistance, they remain holy and continue to live good lives. Before my birth there were righteous people. John (Johanan) the Baptist’s parents, “Zachariah and Elizabeth were righteous before God and blameless by keeping the whole Law” (Luke 1:6). That’s why my Father chose John and put His Breath in him while he was still in the womb (v15), so John was holy from birth.
Q70. Yet Paul says in Romans 13:10-11 (quoting David in Psalm 14:1, 3) that “none were righteous, none were seekers after God.”
A70. Paul will have to interpret that himself but if you read on in David’s psalm he later says, “God is in the generation of the righteous.” (v5) So at the time David writes, none of that generation were righteous but other generations were. The generation before my birth had righteous people born to it, for I said that Zacharias and Elizabeth were both righteous. Noah was righteous in his generation but he was the only one with his family (Gen 6:9).
If you read on in Paul’s statement he says about these unrighteous people that “None of the Judaists (Jews) or those from the Nations seek after God. They are all gone out of the way, speaking deceit, being violent, no fear of God in their eyes” (Rom 3:10-18.) Paul has already established that the person “who seeks eternal life by righteous living” is quite unlike the person “who does not obey the truth, does unrighteousness and causes trouble, whether a Judaist (Jew) or one from the Nations.” (Rom 2:7) So Paul is agreeing with David that seekers after God do exist and the righteous do exist. But among the unbelievers, none were righteous nor sought after God. For my Father certainly ”rewards those that diligently seek Him” (Heb 11:6).
Q71. I’d like to return to one of your sayings to your disciples: “False Messiahs and false prophets shall arise and show great signs and wonders that if possible they might deceive the very elect.” (Math 24:24) Which false Messiahs and prophets arose prior to 70AD?
A71. John said, “Many antichrists have risen up, whereby we know its the last hour” (1 John 2:18). Luke wrote about the false prophet “Barjesus, a son of Diabolos” who lived in Paphos in Cyprus where he met Paul (Acts 13:6, 10). Peter spoke about false teachers (2 Peter 2:1) as did John (1 John 4:1). Paul wrote of “false teachers and false apostles” (2 Cor 11:13.) If you have a word with the historian Josephus, he will testify to many false messiahs at that time which he wrote about in his numerous books.
Q72. Josephus is not part of this formal trial though we will ask him some background questions out of court. Let’s turn to Ezekiel for a question. The Lord said, “I will make a covenant of peace with them, being an everlasting covenant with them and bring and multiply them and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.” Ezek 37:25. Where and when was this covenant to take place and with whom?
A72. This covenant was between the House of Judah and the House of Israel joining the two houses back together after their long separation. Hosea had prophesied this hundreds of years before in 721BC, that the northern kingdom of Israel (House of Israel) would come back into the Kingdom then ruled by the House of Judah. (Hos 1:10 and 2:23.) As soon as the people sought this, it happened. The covenant happened once Jerusalem was rebuilt and the city and people cleansed by the Lord. That is, after the Babylonian exile. It also happened through me when I took the reunited Israelite believers to the Father's sanctuary in the air.
Q73. But what about the words “for evermore”? (Ezek 37:25)
A73. The word ‘ever’ in English comes from a word which means 'an age.” That’s why sometimes you say ‘forever and ever', ie 'for one age and another age.' Both the Hebrew and Greek have the same idea. In Greek, the word aion means 'age', and aionios means 'ages.' In Hebrew the word is olam olam meaning “to the veiled or unseen point.” In other words, to a certain but unknown time. On the other hand, my Father shall reign olam olam ad which means ‘to the concealed time and beyond.’ (Exod 15:18)
Most covenants have a beginning and end. Likewise covenants usually also have conditions. My father made “an age long (olam olam) covenant” with Israel during the Exodus conditional upon Israel “keeping the Sabbath throughout their generations.” (Exod 31:16) Nehemiah reminded them of the Sabbath keeping (Neh 13:22) Even a non-Israelite could enter this covenant if they kept the Sabbath holy (Isa 56:6). But Jeremiah warned them that Jerusalem would be burned by the Lord if the Sabbath was not kept holy (Jer 17:27). So despite it being an age-long covenant, there would be a terrible price to pay for breaking this sole condition. The covenant my Father now has with His saints in the New Jerusalem is “for ages.”
Q74. Is “Sabbath keeping” still in effect for believers? And which day of the week?
A74. I can only testify up to the time when I returned. I am not here to testify about your age. Moses wrote, “Remember to keep the Sabbath holy for Yahweh made the sky and land in 6 days and rested on the 7th day.” (Exod 20:8) The keeping of the Sabbath honoured my Father who created it when he rested on the 7th day of the week and resting from work is good for a person’s health. In the Father's House, there are no longer any customs attached to this day for my disciples rest in me constantly. Prior to my ascension, we always went to the synagogue on the Sabbath (Saturday) and kept the day holy by not working on it (Luke 4:16 and Mark 1:21) Those who honoured the 7th day were blessed by my Father. After Pentecost my disciples continued to keep the 7th day Sabbath as did Paul after his conversion. (Acts 18:4) Wonderfully, on one Sabbath the whole city came to hear Paul preach (Acts 13:44). In the New Land believers have entered the rest of the Father (Heb 4:3-11). At the end of the age (around 70AD) the Sabbath as a law was fulfilled and so passed by, for I made a new covenant of the heart. Judaeans (Jews) who have not entered into my new covenant continue to keep the Law of the Sabbath not knowing that there is now something far better.
Q74b. What do you mean by no longer any customs attached to the Sabbath?
A74b. While I was alive and thus before the end of the age and entry into the New Promised Land, I specifically told my disciples to “Keep the commands and to teach others to do this too.” They were not to diminish this teaching at all. It remained in effect until Judgment Day. “For truly I say to you, until the sky and land pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law until all is fulfilled.” (Math 5:18-19) Even though Judaism had added many customs to the Sabbath, such as how far you could travel (about 1 kilometre) and what kinds of work were permissible, it was important we all kept all these things. In the New Covenant in my Father's New Jerusalem, these customs have passed away. The Holy Breath in a believer guides them as to what they do every day which they do willingly and joyfully.
Q74c. Many believers in our day keep the 1st day of the week as the Sabbath. Should they not do this?
A74c: I am not addressing your day in this trial. Any person seeking the Father, will want to live how the Father and I live. With the written Law passing by, there is no written law for the Sabbath anymore. In his Kingdom, people live and breathe with the Father every moment of every day. I'm not prescribing what you do in your age. You may rest from work on the 7th day in honour of the Father but “let none of you judge each other for the days you keep holy” (Math 7:1, Col 2:16).All the saints actively seek me all the time and know therefore what they can and can’t do on any day. They know to take rest days for honour and health reasons. They know to fellowship with other saints wherever and whenever they sense it right. They know that helping others for good reasons is good every day.
Q74d. Is prayer public or private? And what about prayer in public in church?
A74d. Prayer is private between you and Yahweh. I said, “When you pray, enter into your room, shut your door, pray to your Father in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly.” (Math 6:6) Prayer should always be in private, your heart speaking directly to Yahweh. When I was with my disciples, we never prayed together. I always retreated to a quiet place “to pray alone” (Math 14:23, 26:36) because the Father wants to hear what I have to say, not for me to hear what another says. The beauty of this is that then only the Father knows if we are in agreement in prayer. Then “if 2 or 3 of them agreed together, my Father would do it.” (Math 18:19) There are occasions when my disciples "gathered together and were praying" in the same house such as when Peter was in prison (Acts 12:12) but each person still prayed separately and in private to the Father as I had told them to do. For fasting, no-one except Yahweh should ever know you are fasting – "fast in secret" (Math 6:16-18).
Q75. You said, “Until heaven and earth/land pass away, not one jot or tittle of the law shall pass until all is fulfilled” (Math 5:18) and “Whoever therefore shall break and teach others to break one of the least of these commandments shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (v19.) So has the Law been fulfilled?
A75. Yes, it has. My coming on the clouds began the New Covenant, and the Father’s judgment on my generation of Israel concluded the Old Covenant and its Laws and Customs. When the saints left for the New Heaven/Land, the old Heaven/Land passed from their sight. At that point came the fulfillment of all things. At that point the Old Law ceased. If the Law hadn't been fulfilled, keeping the Saturday Sabbath would still be in effect. All my saints have the 10 commandments written in their minds sand hearts which they live in thought, word and action. My Father gave these for his people and they hold true age upon age.
Q76. What significance do “clouds” (Math 24:30) have that you would choose that way to return?
A76. We live in the invisible space where people could only see sky and clouds. The Father often spoke through the clouds when he opened the door of his heavenly kingdom so that his brightness could not be seen. He appeared to Moses in the clouds on Mt Sinai. He appeared to me many times in the clouds on the hills of Israel. Jeremiah said, “Behold he shall ascend in clouds and his chariots as a whirlwind.” Jer 4:13. Daniel said, “I saw in the night visions and behold the son of man came by the clouds of heaven.” (Dan 7:13)
Q77. Did you tell anyone else that they would see you “on the clouds of heaven”?
A77. Yes, I did. I directly told the ruling chief priest in Jerusalem, “Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Math 26:64) Responsibility for the spiritual life of Israel had been ascribed to him and he would be the first to see me and receive judgment by the Father. He would lose this spiritual oversight and his life as well.
Q78. You said, “the men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation and condemn it.” (Math 12:41) What has Nineveh got to do with Israel?
A78. The people of Nineveh were living on part of the Land that God promised Abraham. They were descendants of Abraham. These men would testify to the corruptness of this generation of Israel.
Q79. If you had allowed anyone to look into the Father's House from the land of Israel, what would they have seen?
A79. We did allow some to look if they were holy, for example, Stephen while he was being stoned in Jerusalem by the priests and elders. “Being full of the Holy Breath, looking up intently into Heaven, Stephen saw the glory of Yahweh, and Jesus standing at the right hand of Yahweh. And Stephen said, 'Behold, I see the sky opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of Yahweh.'” (Acts 7:55-56)
Q80. Was John the Apostle still living when you returned?
A80. Yes, he was. Some of the others had died – James in 44CE. Peter and Paul (67-68AD) died just before I returned. I had told the apostles I might leave John alive until my return and they will testify to that. (John 21:22-23)
Q80b. Yet John wrote immediately after that “Jesus did not say 'He shall not die' but 'If I will that he stay until I come.'” (John 21:23)
A80b. Yes, John reminded the others that his survival was not a foregone conclusion as they were proclaiming but up to Jesus. I did keep John alive and it was a joy to see him rise with those saints still alive, to meet Peter and the others who were raised from the dead.
Q81. Did you state at any other time that some of the disciples would be alive when you returned?
A81. No, but I did mean that when I said, “Truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death even if they see the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:17)
Q82. Before you left, you told the apostles, “And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikoumene) for a witness to all nations (ethnos), and then shall the end (aion) come.” (Math 24:14). Surely it wasn't preached in the whole world before 70AD?
A82. It was. The word you translated 'world' specifically means 'a region.' They knew that the world we lived in was the world wherever the people of Israel lived. I never said anything to my apostles that they couldn't verify from beginning to end. I told them to preach through this (Greek/Roman) world to convert the House of Israel who were living there.
Q83. How did your apostles know the limits of where to preach?
A83. I instructed them. They were to do just what I had done in that respect. I ministered only “to the lost sheep of the House of Israel” (Math 15:24.) I had focussed on those living in the physical land of Israel. My disciples would extend my mission out to the extremities of where Israelites lived in other nations, but they were to go only to Israelites. I specifically said to them, “Don't go to any roads of the Nations, nor any walled towns (polis) of the Samaritans. Instead go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” (Math 10:6)
Q84 Which towns were they to go to?
A84. Every town where my people Israel lived. I did warn them that they would suffer for preaching so “to run to other walled towns (polis)” (Math 10:23) when that happened. I concluded by saying, “for you won't have completed all the towns of Israel before I the son of man return.” (Math 10:23) In other words, they would not have brought the gospel to every town where Israelites were living before I returned. But the gospel would still have got to the towns by word of mouth, taken by those who heard it during the feasts in Jerusalem, for “all nations” (Acts 2:5) attended there.
Q85. So they were only to go to Jews in those towns?
A85. It depends what you mean by Jews. Jews is an English abbreviation for Judaeans.
During the period of the First Temple, Jews (Judeans) were only from the 2 tribes of the House of Judah centred on Jerusalem and Judea. The rest were the 10 tribes of the House of Israel who were not Judeans (Jews.)
During the period of the Second Temple these 12 tribes reunited into one People of Israel. Gradually Judaism was established by the rabbis based on the Torah and Talmud, until their way became the rule. You were a true Jew (Judaist) if you kept the Torah and laws they taught. If you didn't, you were not a Jew. By the time of my generation, there were two separate groups of Jews:
1) Judaeans (Orthodox Jews/Judaists) who kept the Torah and Jewish customs, and spoke Hebrew and/or Aramaic (and would have understood some Greek.)
2) Judaeans (Hellenistic Jews known as the Nations/Gentiles) who had adopted the Greek language and customs (but would have understood sufficient Hebrew and/or Aramaic.) Those among them who wanted to keep worshiping Yahweh had to meet in the Court of the Nations in Jerusalem as they were not allowed into the main Temple court which was restricted to Orthodox Jews.
Both sets of Judaeans (Jews) came to Jerusalem for the customary festivals, especially Passover and Pentecost, and there they would have first heard the gospel preached by Peter the apostle who spoke to “Judaeans (Jews) who had come from every nation under Yahweh.” (Acts 2:5) Therefore, my command “to preach to all nations” (Math 28:19) was begun in that very first speech of Peter's. Those from “all the nations” would have gone back and told other Jews who lived in those nations. Subsequent speeches and visits by Peter and the others would make sure everyone heard the message during their lifetime.
Q86. You said ”under heaven” not “under Yahweh” (Acts 2:5.)
A86. Same thing. Wherever Yahweh had his people of Israel living, that was “a nation under heaven/Yahweh.” Sometimes I said Kingdom of Yahweh (God), sometimes Kingdom of Heaven. Peter listed the nations under heaven: “Dwelling at Jerusalem were devout Jews (Judaeans) from every nation under heaven...Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libya/Cyrene, Roman residents, Jews (Judaeans) and immigrants, Cretans and Arabians.” (Acts 2:5, 9-11) These were all Jews but from many nations. Notice he doesn't include any cities in China or South America which were inhabited at the time, because Yahweh's people weren't living in any of those places; nor could they have got back to Jerusalem and to the Temple in time for the festivals.
Q87. But they all spoke different languages.
A87. No, they all spoke the one language or they wouldn't have understood what was happening in the Temple and in Jerusalem during the festivals. They all spoke Hebrew “in the dialect (dialektos) of the place where they were born” (Acts 2:8), and yet when the apostles addressed them, everyone heard them in their own dialect. It wasn't a different language, just a different dialect. This was the opposite of the Tower of Babel where Yahweh “confused their speech” (Gen 11:7) by creating different dialects and, without his indwelling Breath to translate, they couldn't understand each other.
Q88. Yet there were times when your apostles spoke to non-Jews, such as when Peter met the Roman centurion Cornelius.
A88. Not non-Jews to me. Only non-Jews to the Jews. Cornelius was a Hellenised Jew but not an Orthodox Jew. Luke records it: “You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to keep company with or approach one from another tribe (allophulos) but Yahweh has shown me not to say any man is ceremonially or morally unclean.” (Acts 10:28) For Yahweh had earlier spoken to Peter and said, “Whoever Yahweh has cleansed, do not call unclean” (Acts 10:15). Because “Cornelius was a righteous man and revered Yahweh and witnessed such among the whole nation of the Judaeans” (Acts 10:22), Yahweh pronounced him clean. Cornelius was exactly the kind of man our mission was for – Jewish men and women from the Nations who knew Yahweh and longed to be reunited to the House of Jacob. The Orthodox Jews classed Hellenistic Jews as unbelievers but I had not. I came to save and re-unite all the tribes.
Q88a. But Cornelius was a Roman.
A88b. So was Paul. (“Paul was a Roman” Acts 23:27) and Paul was a Jew too from the tribe of Benjamin, “born in Tarsus (in Turkey) but grew up in Jerusalem.” (Acts 22:3)
Q89. Is the word allophulus (other tribe) used again in the New Testament?
A89. No, it is not. However, phule is used several times and always means tribe. I used phule twice: “You who have followed me will judge the 12 tribes (phule) of Israel (Math 19:28). Anna was from “the tribe (phule) of Asher.” (Luke 2:36). Saul was from “the tribe (phule) of Benjamin.” (Acts 13:21)
Q90. In your Mathew 24 discourse you said, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and pestilences and quakes in different places.” (Math 24:7) Did all these things happen prior to 70AD and can you prove it?
A90. Yes and your historians will tell you about the Wars of the Romans and Jews from 66-73AD, terrorism to the extreme and a terrifying period to live through. Scripture confirms the famines and earthquakes. At the moment of my death in Jerusalem “there was a great earthquake.” (Math 27:54) When I resurrected “a great earthquake rolled back the stone” in front of my tomb so I could walk out. (Math 28:2) After praying in Jerusalem, the place where my disciples were meeting in Jerusalem “was shaken.” (Acts 4:31) When Agabus, one of my disciples from Jerusalem, went to Antioch, by my Breath he declared that there would be “a great famine all over the land (which happened in the reign of Claudius Caesar.)” (Acts 11:27-30) When my disciples Paul and Silas were in the Roman prison in Philippi, “a great earthquake occurred” (Acts 16:26) which rocked the foundations of the prison, opened all the doors and freed the prisoners. The worst famine of all happened in Jerusalem from April to August 70CE during the Roman siege – hundreds of thousands died as a result.
Q91. You also said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world (oikoumene) for a witness to all nations, and then the end shall come.” (Math 24:14) After this Jerusalem was surrounded. What was the pivotal moment that brought the preaching to all nations to an end?
A91. The pivotal moment was finishing the task of preaching. Paul testified to this completion in 60CE when he wrote: “The hope of the gospel, which you have heard and which was proclaimed to all the human creation under Heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” (Colossians 1:23) Paul saw the preaching of the gospel completed to all the nations under Heaven (ie wherever children of Israel lived.) The word for world I used here was oikoumene meaning the region of the Jews. In Thessalonica, people complained that our disciples “turned the world (of the Jews) upside down and have come here now.” (Acts 17:6) Whichever way you interpret that word, it shows that my gospel had gone out to all those I intended it to reach. No Jew could then say that they hadn't heard the good news of Yahweh's pardon through me nor of the promise of the Kingdom to come. Later, Felix the Roman Governor of Caesarea (about 70 miles from Jerusalem) was sought out by senior Jewish elders and was informed by them, “We have found this man stirring sedition among all the Jews throughout the world.” (Acts 24:5) Thus, the end was very nigh as I had prophesied and when the Romans murdered Peter and Paul and others of my disciples in 68-69AD, that was the catalyst for me shortening the days of the tribulation in 70AD at the end of the age and my return. My disciples had been true to me and between them had proclaimed my word in all the Jewish world as a witness to all people. So my Father brought the age to a swift conclusion so that more of my disciples wouldn't have to suffer. “Because you have kept and patiently endured my word, I will also keep you from the time of testing which shall come on the whole world (of the Jews) to examine those that live on the land.” (Rev 3:10)
Q92. Let's stay in Revelation because you said a lot there which has been interpreted in a thousand different ways over the centuries. Why do you think there have been so many opinions on the Book of Revelation?
A92. My Father and I gave it for our disciples living at the time in Turkey. It was a coded message to them and they understood everything contained in the message. In those days, they had many codes to evade the Romans and those who wanted to betray them. That's why I said, “Guard and watch over all these things for the time is at hand.” (Rev 1:3) They couldn't have watched over them if they hadn't understood the codes. Once their generation passed on, the codes were lost to future generations. That's why you have so many theories about the words contained therein. You will never understand it all because it wasn't for you. It was for our generation and all the events happened in our lifetime and are long past.
Q93. Are you prepared to tell us what the codes are in Revelation?
A93. No, I'm not because it's pointless and it would take too long because many of them were related to things that happened in what you call the Old Testamant. “Do not seal the prophecy of Revelation for the time is at hand.” (Rev 22:10) Hundreds of years before, I had prophesied through Daniel that the end was going to come but I told him to “seal that vision and prophecy until the time of the end.” (Dan 12:4). He did. Finally the end was ready so I told John “not to seal this revelation” because that was the end. This proves it was the end when John recorded it.
Q94. Well, I'm going to make some statements and you can just comment if you wish. Some codes you gave us. You said, “The 7 stars are the 7 angels of the 7 churches, and the 7 candlesticks are the 7 churches” (Rev 1:20.) You also said that the “7 lamps of the throne in heaven are the 7 spirits of God” (Rev 4:5.)
A94. Churches are actually the 'called out ones' (ekklesia) and it's “Breath of Yahweh,” not spirits. The words is pneuma from which you have pneumatic.
Q95. The heavenly beings said, “You have made us kings and priests to God, and we shall reign on the earth.” (Rev 5:10)
A95. Technically, “rule over (epi) the land,” not reign on earth.
Q96. “The riders Death and Hell would be given power over the 4th part of the earth to kill with the sword, hunger, etc.” (Rev 6:8) So we take that to mean a quarter of Planet Earth.
A96. Actually, “Death and Hades... 4th part of the land.” Jerusalem with the surrounding towns of Judea (which were all devastated by the Romans) was ¼ of the wider Roman Judaean land. Hades and Hell were two different things. Hades was the underworld of the dead. Hell was the lake of fire.
Q97. “The number of them who were sealed was 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel.” (Rev 7:4)
A97. 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Jacob.
Q98. So then who are the next group of people? “A great multitude which no one could count by oneself of all nations, kindreds, peoples and tongues, stood before the throne.” (Rev 7:9)
A98. The same 144,000 who had been sealed in Rev 7:4. A throng no one person could count. 144,000 out of all the nations under heaven.
Q99. Can you prove the 144,000 (Rev 7:4) are the multitude (Rev 7:9)?
A99. Firstly, John “heard” the number 144,000 spoken and then he “saw” them. Secondly, the multitude “wore white robes and served Yahweh day and night in his temple” (Rev 7:14-15.) Likewise, the 144,000 “are before the throne of Yahweh.” (Rev 14:5). If the multitude were some other group then they were not sealed as the 144,000 had been and shouldn't be in heaven.
Q100. Lastly, Jesus, when did you come back in the sky to collect your saints? And do you still come back?
A100. My Father said, “No one knows the day and hour” (Math 24:36) and even though I obviously know now, it's not for you to know. Suffice I can tell you that it happened between 69-73CE but you won't find it recorded anywhere except in everything I have said above. You have sneaked in a very last question which I didn't address in scripture and so I cannot confirm it but the answer is yes. Since 70CE I have been living and reigning in the New Jerusalem with my Father and my saints, and I have been coming and going between the two heavens/lands, ministering in person across his kingdom in both worlds, and those who honour me in your world have been joining us upon their death.
WITNESS 2 : PETER
Hand on the Bible, Peter. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
PETER: I will not swear on anything, especially the Bible.
Q PET1 : Peter, can you please explain what you said here: “You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people….” 1 Pet 2:9. Did you mean your generation, some future generation or no particular generation?
A PET1: My generation. Otherwise I would have said 'future descendants shall be the chosen generation' which would have been untrue. I used the word genos which is better translated family or people.
Q PET2: So you didn’t use the same word as Jesus for generation?
A PET2: No, though they have the same root. Jesus did use my word (genos) from time to time but mainly to speak about “a person” who needed deliverance. (Math 17:21) When Jesus spoke of “generation” (genea) he meant a time period, namely that of the people born in our lifetime.
Q PET3: So who were “the chosen (eklektos) generation”? (1 Pet 2:9)
A PET3: Children of Israel scattered through the nations who had come out of (eklektos) our evil generation by trusting in Jesus, elected such by God the Father, made holy by His Spirit, and were living obedient to His will. (1 Pet 1:1-2)
Q PET4: When you said “holy nation (hagios ethnos)” (1 Pet2:9) did you mean the nation of Israel?
A PET4: No, I meant that these chosen people were a holy nation. They were an entirely new nation birthed in Jesus Christ.
Q PET5: Had they all been Jews prior to becoming a new holy nation?
A PET5: They had been either Orthodox or Hellenised Jews, ie all from the House of Israel. At the Dispersion, Israelites migrated to nations surrounding Israel. In that letter, I was addressing those Jews born or living in nations in Turkey. (1 Pet 1:1)
Q PET6: So there were no non-Israelite recipients of your letter?
A PET6: Correct.
Q PET7: Can you please give evidence for this remark, that you were only addressing descendants of Jacob?
A PET7: Certainly. I spoke about “our prophets diligently searching for salvation” (1 Pet 1:10). No other prophets searched out these things for Israel was Yahweh’s People alone. The Israelite prophets were “advance witnesses of the Messiah” (v11) to Israelites, not to other peoples. Other races didn’t read the Hebrew scriptures. Frequently I quoted these scriptures which Jews knew well. For example, Lev 11:44 “Be holy for I am holy.” (1 Pet 1:16). Non-Israelites hearing me quote Moses and the prophets all the time would have wondered why I did so. I spoke about the anointed Messiah being “foreordained” (1:20) by which I mean through reading our scriptures. I used Abraham and Sarah as examples because we were all descended from them and they knew them well through both oral and written traditions (1 Pet 3:6).
Q PET8: Did you ever say that your generation or era was the last?
A PET8: Yes. I said the Messiah Jesus was “manifest in these last times” for them (1 Pet 1:20). And also that since ”the end of all things was so close” that the saints persevere “in sound thinking and being free from wine addiction to devote themselves to prayer and care for the saints” (1 Pet 4:7). If they hadn't, they would have missed their great reward to be with him.
Q PET9: Did you ever say that Jesus would return in your generation’s lifetime?
A PET9: Not in all those exact words at once but I certainly meant that. I told them they would be exceedingly joyful “when Messiah’s glory was revealed” (1 Pet 4:13). They were all expecting “the chief Shepherd to appear” (1 Pet 5:4) and it would have been false prophecy of mine if it hadn’t happened and none of them had seen him appear. We knew many of us would suffer but only “for a short time.” (1 Pet 5:10) Jesus had told me I would die before his return so I was prepared for that. (2 Pet 1:14-15).
Q PET10: Were all the believers holy?
A PET10: Absolutely. Jesus achieved this by his death. The change to holiness took place when his Breath indwelled them, sanctifying them and cleansing all their sin. He “purified their breathing to obey the truth” (1 Pet 1:22). They continued righteous and were not in the group of “ungodly sinners” when Jesus appeared but were among “the righteous” (1 Pet 4:18).
Q PET11: Did their holiness after sanctification remain? I mean, did they sin again?
A PET11: They did not sin again. Their holiness remained and they remained righteous to the end, in contrast to the disobedient ones whom the Lord was against (1 Pet 3:12). Since the flesh had died so had sin (1 Pet 4:1). They had everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). They had escaped the world’s corruption (2 Pet 1:4).
Q PET12: When you said, “Conduct honest conversations among the Gentiles” (1 Pet 2:12) who were the Gentiles?
A PET12: I don't know where you get this word Gentiles from. I used the word ethnos which means Nations. The “scattered expat” (parepidemos diaspora) Jews I was writing to lived in the nations of “Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia” (1 Pet 1:1). I exhorted them to have “honest conversations among the nations” where they lived with the hope that, by their good example, other Jews among those nations might also come out of the darkness.
Q PET13: When you said, “who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light who in times past were not a people but are now the people of God” (1 Peter 2:9-10) what did you mean by 'were not a people'?
A PET13: Yahweh is the God of Israel. “You who then were not a people, are now the people of God; those not pitied, are now pitied." (1 Peter 2:9-10) I quoted Hosea who around 800BC spoke about northern Israelites who, through disobedience to Yahweh, had lost their inheritance but he prophesied they would one day come back into the fold of Israel, out of the darkness and back into their true inheritance (Hos 1:10 and 2:23). This happened after the fall of the First Temple and at the start of the Second Temple period. This is what I was alluding to. In our day, the Jews who had forsaken Yahweh had likewise become like these Not My People, and once again needed to hear the good news that Yahweh still loved them. Paul also spoke about this in Rom 9:26. These ones “returned to their Shepherd” (1 Pet 2:25) – they couldn’t have returned if they had not been formerly his.
Q PET14: What about non-Jews? Didn’t you want to reach them to?
A PET14: It wasn't a case of who we wanted to reach. We only wanted to reach who Jesus instructed us to reach. My call was chiefly as Paul said to “circumcised Israelites” (Gal 2:7-8) ie to Orthodox Jews. Paul's commission was chiefly to Hellenised Jews. We had no commission to non-Jews.
Q PET 15. Did Jesus ascend into Heaven from a mountain in Galilee or a mountain near Jerusalem? There seem to be conflicting passages about this.
A PET 15. Jesus ascended several times into the sky when he left us during the 40 days he was with us after his resurrection. One time from a hill in Galilee (Math 28:16), another time from the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:51.) In his resurrected state, he could come and go from the Father's House in the sky as he pleased.
Q PET16: During that time did he tell you to “Go and teach all nations on Planet Earth”? (Math 28:19)
A PET16: No, not on Planet Earth. He told us we would be “his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the land.” (Acts 1:8) Moreover, he said we wouldn't have gone through all the towns where Israelites were before he returned. That gave us great hope and so by 65CE this had been achieved. The following year 66CE began the great tribulation of Israel and the beginning of the end.
Q PET17: Did Jesus tell you he would “be with you to the end of the world”? (Math 28:20)
A PET17: No, Jesus said he would be with us “to the end of the age (aion)” (Math 28:20) and he was. At the end of the age, we all went to be with Him and your world continued. The Bible never speaks of the end of the world.
Q PET18: But Jesus used the phrase “end of the world” many times.
A PET 18: Actually he never did. He always said “end of the age (aion).” “The harvest is the end of the age (aion.)” (Math 13:39) “What shall be the sign of your coming and the end of the age (aion)?” (Math 24:3) “Now once at the end of the age (aion) has Christ appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Heb 9:26) “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the age (aion).” (Acts 15:18)
Q PET19: Why did you think you personally would see Jesus appear in the clouds after he had gone?
A PET19. Because the two angels said to us, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into the heaven? This same Jesus who is taken up from you into Heaven, will come in the way you have seen Him going into Heaven.” (Acts 1:11) They wouldn't have said that to us if they didn't mean that he would come back to us from the clouds. They emphasised “you have seen Him going” so we knew we would see him returning.
Q PET20: Did you ever say that your generation was in “the last days” and, if so, what did you mean by that?
A PET20: Yes, I did and I meant that we were living in the last few years before the coming of the Messiah and the end of the age. When I addressed all the Jews (Judaeans) from all nations at Pentecost in Jerusalem I said, “"And it shall be in the last days, says God, I will pour out of My Breath upon the whole body. And your sons and your daughters shall foretell events, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. And in those days I will pour out My Breath upon My male and female servants, and they shall foretell events.” (Acts 2:17-28)
Q PET21: Don't you mean “poured out on all flesh” ie all people?
A PET 21. No, I don't mean that and neither did Joel who I was quoting (Joel 2:28-32). “Sarx” means the physical body in contrast to the spiritual body. And the Breath wasn't given to all people but only to selected of the People of Israel. Joel in his previous sentence had just said, “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I Yahweh am your God, and no one else's, and My people shall never be ashamed” (Joel 2:27). So he wasn't about to give his Breath to anyone else except those of the House of Israel.
Q PET22: Can you confirm the meaning of “the last days” by anything else you said?
A PET22: I only used this exact phrase one other time - “scoffers will come in the last days” (2 Peter 3:3) referring to those among us who doubted the Messiah would ever come at our time because they would claim there had been no announcement of the fact. Yet Jesus and we were the announcement, and all the prophets pointed to his coming!
Q PET23: But I'm not convinced “the last days” was meant for your disciples in particular.
A PET23. I don't know why you can't see that. I also said to all the dispersed Israelites who believed in Jesus: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance... reserved in Heaven for you... ready to be revealed in the last time... at the revelation of Jesus Christ... you obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of souls, about which this salvation the prophets sought and searched out, prophesying concerning the grace for you” (1 Pet 1:5-10). You see, the prophets of old looked ahead to our day, knowing we would be living at the coming of the Messiah and the end of all prophesies. This hope we had was a real true living hope which had it not happened would have been a false hope that only led to death. But it didn't, it led to life. So my next few words were, “Therefore girding up the loins of your mind, being sober, perfectly hope for the grace being brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 1:13). I would have been a false prophet were these words not true and Jesus not return to us.
Q PET24. So you did use other “last” (eschatos) or “end” (telos) phrases?
A PET 24. Yes. We said this in lots of different ways. “Last days, last times, last period.” It all meant the same thing and we were living it. “Christ indeed having been foreknown before the foundation of the people, but revealed in the last times for you” (1 Pet 1:20). Also, "The end of all things is at hand” (1 Pet 4:7). By all things, we knew that to mean all the prophesies concerning Yahweh's People.
Q PET25. So you state you were sure that your hearers believed that Jesus would come while they were still alive?
A PET25. Absolutely, yes. “And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a never-fading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4). I said them, not their grandchildren nor distant descendants. And after they had “suffered a little” Yahweh would “perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish them” (1 Pet 5:10).
Q PET26. Where would these disciples go when Christ returned?
A PET26. First they would be spared from the evil around them. “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of evil experience” (2 Pet 2:9). Then into his kingdom. “For so an entrance shall be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 1:11).
Q PET27. Some people in the modern church say, 'Once saved, always saved,' meaning once a person comes into experience of Christ and trusts him, then that person can never lose their inheritance in heaven. Do you agree with that?
A PET27. No, I do not. It is not true. "Ananias and Saphira" both fell back and died as a result (Acts 5:1-11). Part of my job was exhorting the saints to remain true to Jesus until he returned.
Q PET28. In our day, many people come to Christ and then 'go back to their sins' and then repent again, and go back and forth many times. Some go back and forth every week.
A PET28. Then you are not describing the church which I know. Repentance is not an ongoing act. It happens once when a person receives Jesus as Lord and Saviour. “Beloved, knowing beforehand, beware in case you are led away with the error of the lawless, and so you you fall from your own steadfastness.” (2 Pet 3:17) Sadly Ananias and Sapphira were such as these. They had come to faith in Christ but “lied against the Breath in them” and both died that very same day. (Acts 5:1-10) “For it would have been better for them not to have fully known the way of righteousness, than fully knowing, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Pet 2:21) “For if they escaped the pollution of the people (kosmos) through the full knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and are again entangled and overcome by it, their end is worse than their beginning.” (2 Pet 2:20) The author of Hebrews agrees, "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Breath, and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come, and who have fallen away; it is impossible, I say, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify the Son of God afresh to themselves and put him to open shame.” (Heb 6:4-6)
Q PET29. What happened to unbelievers ultimately?
A PET29. Note that I'm only talking about Israelites/Jews. Moses said to our fathers, "Yahweh your God shall raise up a Prophet to you from your brothers, like me. You shall hear him in all things, whatever he may say to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be completely destroyed from among the people." (Deut 18:15-19) I quoted this passage (Acts 3:23) and said the Prophet was Jesus so whoever did not receive Jesus as Messiah and trust him, Yahweh would destroy. Sadly this happened to the letter from 66-73CE across Israel.
Q PET30. How do you know that all the people in Jerusalem knew the gospel of Jesus prior to 70CE?
A PET30. The high priest said to me, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine.” (Acts 5:28) Everyone knew it and that's why the high priest who didn't believe was so strongly trying to stop us.
Q PET31. What did you hope to achieve by your preaching?
A PET31. To get as many as possible to see the corruptness of that generation, to give them every opportunity to escape it and the subsequent judgement on the nation of Israel, and to live righteously as Yahweh ordained. They could only do that if they had Yahweh's indwelling Breath inside them after their sin had been expelled. I said to them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Breath. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all those afar off, as many as Yahweh our God shall call. Be saved from this wicked generation.” (Acts 2:38-40) Happily 3000 of them responded positively that day in Jerusalem and were baptised. (Acts 2:41) This number grew to 5000 shortly after that. (Acts 4:4)
Q PET32. Were these words for future generations?
A PET32. No, only for our generation because it was the last of the age.
Q PET33. How were you able to do so many healing miracles? “And many miracles and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the apostles” (Acts 5:12).
A PET33. On the day of his resurrection, Jesus breathed on us and said, “Receive the holy Breath. Whose sins you you send forth, they are sent forth. And whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (John 20:21-23) We had Yahweh's holy Breath operating inside us and so, because we were without sin, we could heal ceaselessly. Jesus had earlier told us, “As you go, proclaim 'The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. You have received freely, freely give" (Math 10:7-8). Thus Jesus gave us permission to heal whenever we had stated that the Kingdom was at hand, meaning that in our generation the Messiah would come for his people.
Q PET34. Why can the church today do so few “healing miracles” all the time?
A PET34. His words weren't for you or your age. They were for us and our generation. The Breath of Yahweh is the power by which healing takes place, so a person has to be perfectly holy (ie all sin forgiven) and that person walking righteously thereafter (and with his indwelling Breath) for ongoing miracles of healing to occur.
Q PET35. Did anyone else besides the apostles do “miracles of healing”?
A PET35. Yes. We chose others after prayer to help us in the ministry. One of these was Stephen, “a man full of faith and the Holy Breath.” Later Stephen “full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people” (Acts 6:5, 8).
Q PET36. Did God like the Temple in Jerusalem?
A PET36. No, he did not. He was glad to get rid of it. He never wanted a temple in the first place and got angry when they proposed one. He gave in and let them build it and he made it holy but he knew it would come to harm. Stephen drew this to the attention of the High Priest in Jerusalem saying,. “Solomon built Him a house. But, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the rophet says, 'Heaven is My throne and land is My footstool. What house will you build Me, says Yahweh, or what place for My rest? Has not My hand made all these things?' O stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so you do” (Acts 7:47-51).
WITNESS 3 - JOHN the BAPTIST
Q JB1. John the Baptist, where did you preach and why?
A JB1. In the Judaean desert by the Jordan River east of Jerusalem. My father “Zacharias was a priest” (Luke 1:5) in Jerusalem who “served and burned incense in the Temple” (Luke 1:9) I was called to preach from the outset. “Many of the sons of Israel will John turn to Yahweh their God.” (Luke 1:16)
Q JB2. When Jesus spoke of the nations, who was he referring to?
A JB2. The nations that came out of Noah, scattered around the land of Judah. “These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations. And from these were the nations divided in the land after the flood.” (Gen 10:32)
Q JB3. When the Old Testament refers to the land what land is it talking about?
A JB3. It usually specifies which land it is talking about. “Abraham dwelled in the Land of Canaan... Arise Abraham and walk through the length and the breadth of the Land (eretz) for I will give it to you.” (Gen 13:12, 17) He wasn't giving Abraham Planet Earth. “Look from the place where you are (Bethel) in all directions, for all the Land you see will I give to you and to your seed, until the concealed time.” (olam olam.) (Gen 13:3,14-15)
Q JB4. So the flood of Noah wasn't a worldwide global flood?
A JB4. It was a worldwide flood but not a global one. Our world of lower Mesopotamia lay on the floodplain basins and hills of the lower Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The flood covered all the hills of lower Mesopotamia where our forefathers were living around Ur. All the villages and cities were covered by flood water. All the people and animals died, and after the flood Noah repopulated the land with the animals he had saved on the ark plus his own family. That race is the one the Old Testament speaks mostly about. Those families that were sired by Noah's 3 sons grew into nations which the Bible lists. They spread out around Iraq and into Egypt and Syria and Israel.
Q JB5. Did you predict that Jerusalem would burn down, the righteous be protected from it and unrighteous Israel burned with it?
A JB5. I didn't specify Jerusalem but I did mean that when I said, "He will thoroughly purge His floor and will gather the wheat into His storehouse. But He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire.” (Luke 3:17) Jesus gathered his righteous ones together into the New Kingdom and the rest perished in the siege and fire of Jerusalem.
Q JB6. But were you referring to the generation when you were living?
A JB6. Yes, I said, “You generation of vipers” (Luke 3:7) and that these things would happen to them.
Q JB7. When you were put into prison, Mathew states, "Jesus went back into Galilee" (Mark 1:14). Why did he do that?
A JB7. Jesus knew it was the time to begin his preaching. I had completed my task in heralding the Messiah by focussing on the cities of Judah. Now was the time of the Messiah who was going to reach out first to those Jews "in the synagogues of Galilee", and then make his way to Jerusalem. "From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, 'Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'” (Math 4:17, 23)
WITNESS 4 - LUKE
Hand on the Bible, LUKE and swear to tell the whole truth.
LUKE: Jesus said, “Do not swear at all.” (Math 5:34) My testimony is true.
Q LUKE1: Near the beginning of your gospel, you said, “And it came to pass in those days, that all the world should be taxed.” (Luke 2:1) The word you used in Greek was 'oikoumene' which we translate world and generally mean by that Planet Earth. Can you please state if that is what you meant by it?
A LUKE1: No. The Romans weren't taxing America. They were taxing the Roman world. The Romans didn't know that America existed.
Q LUKE2: In the future, who would Jesus be King of: a) just Israelites on Planet Earth or b) all the people on Planet Earth?
A LUKE2: Neither. I said, “And Jesus shall reign over the House of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there shall be no end.” (Luke 1:33) The House of Jacob of which I spoke was the reunited reborn House comprising the 12 tribes of Israel. This was not intended to exist on Planet Earth but on the New Land which Yahweh promised and where we now reside. There his kingdom is ageless.
Q LUKE3. Was Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary, or only of Mary?
A LUKE3. Jesus was the legal son of Joseph and the biological son of Mary. “Joseph the husband (aner) of Mary of whom was procreated (gennao) Jesus.” (Math 1:16) Mary was his engaged wife (Luke 2:5) His parents brought Jesus into the temple at 8 days old (Luke 2:27).
WITNESS 5 - MARY
Hand on the Bible, MARY and swear to tell the whole truth so help you God.
MARY: I will not swear on anything. I will tell the truth and Yahweh will help me to remember.
Q MARY1. How did John the Baptist receive the Holy Spirit/Breath?
A MARY1. The Breath came to him when I “welcomed” and hugged his mother Elizabeth while John was in her womb. (Luke 1:41). This happened “in the 6th month” (Luke 1:26) of her pregnancy.
Q MARY2. Was Jesus related to John the Baptist?
A MARY2. Yes, John's mother “Elizabeth was my cousin” (Luke 1:36) so Jesus and John were related. We were very close which is why I raced to tell her the news from the angel, and also because Zecharias was the priest, and because he and Elizabeth were “both righteous before God, walking blameless in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.” (Luke 1:6)
Q MARY3. Did you see Elizabeth and John after his birth and before Jesus began preaching?
A MARY3. I saw Elizabeth sometimes at the feasts in Jerusalem. I didn't see John because from his childhood, “he was in the wilderness until the day of his showing to Israel.” (Luke 1:80)
Q MARY4. When did John find out that Jesus was the Messiah?
A MARY4. We all knew from Jesus' birth because the shepherds related to us what the angels had told them, “Today is born in the city of David (Bethlehem) a saviour who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) After seeing Jesus, the shepherds “told this news to others who were around who wondered about this message (v17-18).” No-one was expecting a baby to be the Messiah. However, Simeon knew the moment he saw the 40 day old Jesus at the temple that here was the Christ, (Luke 2:25-35) as did 84 year old Anna (Luke 2:36-38). It was a long time before my family and I truly believed Jesus really was the Messiah though we always knew he was special in some way because of what he said and did.
Q MARY5. What for example did he do that made you wonder?
A MARY5. When he was 12 we lost him for a couple of days in Jerusalem after Passover that year and finally found him in the Temple “asking and answering wise questions of the teachers there” (Luke 2:46-47). When he was 30 “he turned water into wine at a wedding” of a friend of ours (John 2:1-10).
Q MARY6. How is the Holy Spirit/Breath related to prophesy?
A MARY6. “With God no utterance cannot” but do what it states it will do (Luke 1:37.) When the Holy Breath fills a person, they breathe out divinely inspired words which always come true. “When the Holy Breath filled Zechariah, he prophesied.” (Luke 1:67)
WITNESS 6 - JOHN
Hand on the Bible please John and swear to tell the whole truth.
JOHN: That is a contradiction in terms. Jesus said, “Do not swear at all nor by anything.” (Math 5:34) My testimony is true.
Q JOHN1. We want you to confirm what you meant by the word kosmos when you used it in John 3:16. Did you use it to mean the whole of Planet Earth? I quote your own translated words - “For God so loved the world (kosmos) that he gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”
A JOHN1: To start with, we had no concept of Planet Earth. We didn't know we were on a planet, nor that it was round, nor that there were continents beyond the continent we were on. Secondly, if kosmos means Planet Earth, then the 'whoever' must include animals, birds, rocks, trees and so on. But we never took it to mean all those things; we took kosmos to mean just people. So the Greek word kosmos here means people not planet Earth.
Q JOHN2: So are you saying that kosmos meant 'all people on Planet Earth'?
A JOHN2: Absolutely not. The disciples and I and all the Israelites used kosmos to mean only Yahweh's people, the House of Israel.
Q JOHN3: But weren't Yahweh's people all the people on the globe?
A JOHN3: No, they were not. Yahweh (the name of the God who addressed Moses in Exodus 3:14), told us time and again in the Old Testament that He loved His people Israel, the 12 sons of Jacob. He showed kindnesses to other races from time to time but his love was his People of Israel. That was the kosmos of which I spoke.
Q JOHN4: How do you know that everyone you preached to assumed that by kosmos you meant only Israelites?
A JOHN4: We were not preaching to everyone. Our hearers were only Israelites which is why we quoted the Old Testament all the time, books which they alone knew. Jesus had specifically instructed us, his apostles, to only go to the cities where Israelites lived and speak to them. He also said he would return before we had been through all the cities of Israel (Math 10:23).
Q JOHN5: Did the Orthodox Jews also have this understanding that their world was just Israelites?
A JOHN5: Yes, they did. “Then the Jews said among themselves, 'Where is Jesus about to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?'” (John 7:35) Here we see that the people of Israel had been scattered through the Greek Empire and that the Orthodox Judaists (Jews) thought they might find Jesus there in future teaching the Greek speaking Israelites. These are the ones his gospel was for and why Paul went to these places to reach them, which is why he quoted Old Testament scripture all the time to identify with his audience.
Q JOHN6: Please give us more evidence that Jesus supposedly only came for Israelites.
A JOHN6: Jesus was born an Israelite, in Israel and never left the country of Israel. He identified with Israelites through and through. He spoke to Israelites, all his disciple were Israelites, he was crucified by Israelites and when he resurrected he appeared to Israelites alone. Jesus was only sent to Israelites because they alone were Yahweh's loved and chosen people.
Q JOHN7: Yet Jesus rejected them.
A JOHN7: Jesus only rejected the Israelites who rejected him as Messiah. On the positive side, Yahweh's promise was to all Israelites that if they “trusted (pisteuo) Jesus they would not cease to exist (apollumi) but would live (zoe) through the ages (aionios.)” (John 3:16)
Q JOHN8: You said, “He was in the world (kosmos), and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” (John 1:10) Are you saying here that it was only the Israelite people who were made by God, and only the Israelite people who didn't know Jesus?
A JOHN8: Yes.
Q JOHN9: But Genesis 1:27 says, “And God made mankind in his own image.” Was that not everyone on Planet Earth?
A JOHN9: It was not. To be precise it says, “Elohim made Adam(kind) in his own shadow, male and female he made them.” Yahweh made Adamkind (not humankind) roughly 6000 years ago who lived at a time when Planet Earth had other people living elsewhere. Later Noah came from that creation (the 10th generation from Adam who had lived through the first 9 generations.) From Noah sprang all the Hebrew-speaking offspring, and among those were Abraham and later Jacob. It was upon Jacob and his 12 sons that Yahweh then covenanted his blessing and love. This was Yahweh's world/kosmos. Malachi says of the House of Israel, “Have we not one Father? Has not one God created us?” (Mal 2:10).
Q JOHN10: Can you please explain to us in what sense “the world was made by Jesus,” especially in light of the Genesis account?
A JOHN10: Love to. I need to backtrack to the beginning of our age. “In the beginning,” Yahweh existed. By his Word (Jesus), he formed Adam at the beginning as his chosen people, and put his Breath in Adam. Adam lived through 9 generations and just missed meeting Noah. Noah's generations overlapped Abraham's. All these in the line of the Messiah were sons of Yahweh. As an aside (but I can't prove it by what I said), all these (Adam to Jesus) spoke Aramaic (a Semitic language, as is Hebrew) and various dialects as their lives overlapped over roughly 4000 years. By the time Jesus was born, Aramaic was still being spoken which was one of the direct links back to Adam. Jesus was part of the first generation, and he was part of the last generation when we all lived – this was the world I was specifying in John 1:10. The last generation. Jesus was the first and the last of that age.
Q JOHN11: Can you just elaborate for a moment on that phrase 'first and last'?
A JOHN11: Jesus was the first in that it was Yahweh's Word (Jesus being the incarnate Word) which breathed life into Adam, and Jesus was the last of the sons of Adam. All of these sons had access to the Breath of Jesus (known as the Holy Spirit or Breath of Yahweh) and could, if they chose to, speak and “walk with Yahweh.” Adam walked with Yahweh until he sinned. Moses did. Enoch did. Noah did. Abraham did. Jacob did. Jesus did.
Q JOHN12: So God only created Israelites?
A JOHN12: No. The 12 Sons of Jacob came late in the story. Yahweh created Adam whom we could call a pre-Israelite since he fathered that clan. Yahweh's world was wherever he reigned. He reigned through the chosen sons all the way from Adam to Jacob, and then he put his chosen blessing on all Jacob's 12 sons and made them his chosen people. It was to them that he promised a Messiah. This became Yahweh's world henceforth.
Q JOHN13: Didn't God promise blessings to all nations because of Abraham?
A JOHN 13: Yes and this promise was fulfilled in his lifetime to all the surrounding nations who were Abraham's cousins. Abraham's life and faith in Yahweh were a great blessing to all these during his lifetime. “Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation (goy goy), and all the nations of the land shall be blessed in him.” (Gen 18:18)
Q JOHN14: And yet you say that the world which didn't know Jesus were only Israelites?
A JOHN14: Correct. In this I am following the teachings of Jesus, and of the Israelite prophets of old. “Then the Pharisees said among themselves, 'Do you see how you gain nothing? Behold, the world has gone after Him.'” (John 12:19) The Jews were speaking about fellow Israelites when they use this phrase 'world.'
Q JOHN15: And who do you mean by 'his own' in “He came to his own and his own knew him not” (John 1:11)?
A JOHN15: Jesus was born an Israelite and, specifically, he was born a Judean (Jew) and his own tribe of Judah, even his own family, didn't initially recognise him as a son of Yahweh nor as the Messiah. The House of Judah had become hardened by sin and ultimately many of the leaders rejected their Messiah.
Q JOHN 16: In the 4th chapter of your gospel, you describe Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman. There you quote her testimony: “Now we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.” (John 4:42) Surely having a Samaritan state 'Saviour of the world' means that Jesus came for a world bigger than just Israelites?
A JOHN16: Not at all. I also state that the woman is herself an Israelite when she says, “Are you greater than our father Jacob?” (John 4:12) She knows that the Messiah is called the Christ because she was steeped in the oral traditions of her Israelite forefathers. She had been expecting the Messiah to come to them as much as the Judaeans. She was a descendant of the northern House of Israel.
Q JOHN17. To revert to Qu 1 and your quote from John 3:16 you mention the word perish. In another place you mention the state of darkness (1 John 2:9). Are these themes connected?
A JOHN17. Yes. Being in darkness is the way I use to describe the state of a person who is outside the reign of Yahweh and not living with Jesus. This person lives in sin and is unrighteous and does not know Yahweh. Their future is destruction.
Q JOHN18. But don't all Christians sin at some point?
A JOHN18. All Christians sinned before they came into the presence of Christ but none sinned afterwards and joined him in the sky.
Q JOHN19. Can you prove you stated that Christians don't sin after becoming Christians?
Q JOHN19. I said it many times and in various ways. My whole First Letter addresses this question. Statements like, “Everyone who has been born of God does not commit sin, because His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1John 3:9) I thought I made that pretty clear. Once you are truly in Jesus, you are righteous and don't go back. To go back would be to be lost.
Q JOHN20. But you yourself said at the start of that letter, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Surely whenever a person sins, they can ask forgiveness and come back in?
A JOHN20. Oh dear no. I never said that it could happen more than once which is the whole point of my whole letter. When a person first comes to Christ they are in darkness and weighed down by sin and outside the covenant of Yahweh. Then they confess their sins and, because Jesus died to grant forgiveness and bestow a righteous way of life, he willingly does that for the confessor. His blood washed away the sin. So the confessor is washed clean from all sin and unrighteousness and thereafter walks righteously with Jesus. There is no going back into sin from that moment.
Q JOHN21. Yet you say in v20 “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” Doesn't that mean that a Christian can sin?
A JOHN21. No. You need to read my letter chronologically. I am teaching the process. In the first chapter my point is that all Christians have sinned and walked in unrighteousness before coming to Christ. You can't say you have no sin because everyone did have some. But having recognised your sin, you asked forgiveness and Jesus cleansed you. End of story.
Q JOHN22. But at the start of chapter 2 you say “My little children, I write these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1) Aren't you then saying that if any of these little children subsequently sins that Jesus is their advocate and will forgive them?
A JOHN22. I do not say “and if you sin” but “if anyone sins.” These little ones "knew the Father" (1 John 2:13), they had "an anointing and knew all things" (1 John 2:2) and "walked in righteousness" (1 John 3:7). If anyone else sinned, these little ones could introduce the sinner to Christ.
Q JOHN23. How did you know God was with you?
A JOHN23. I said, “And by this we know that we have known Him, if we keep His commands.” (1 John 2:3) All Jesus' teachings were his commands. We kept all these so we knew we were with him. My assigned job in the last few years before Jesus returned was to teach all the saints what to watch out for in terms of unrighteousness and to encourage them to persevere to the end. There were false teachers who were saying that some of the commandments were not important any longer or that love was more important than obedience to certain commands. But we knew Yahweh was with us because we kept all of Jesus' commands.
Q JOHN24. Did you state that Jesus was God's only created son? (John 3:16)
A JOHN24. No, I said Jesus was Yahweh's "remaining made son." I used the Greek word 'monogenes.' Mono means remaining or sole. Genes means coming into being. All the other sons had died or abandoned their trust in Yahweh. Jesus came to bring back God's children. I was following what Yahweh said to Abraham in Gen 22:2 when he offered up Isaac. Abraham had sent his other sons away so Isaac was the only son remaining with him. Heb 11:17 confirms this, as does Josephus. "By faith Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. And he who had received the promises offered up his remaining (monogenes) son.” (Heb 11:17) Josephus also used this phrase in his Wars of the Jews Book 20 Chapter 2. "Monobazus had other sons by other wives besides, yet did he openly place all his affections on this his only (monogenes) son, Izates.” So, like Abraham who had other sons, this one son was chosen for a particular purpose.
Q JOHN25. Are you a son of God?
Q JOHN25. Yes, I am. All those in the kingdom of Christ are sons or daughters of Yahweh. “Behold what manner of love the Father has given us, that we should be called sons of God. Therefore the world (kosmos) does not know us, because it did not know Him.” (1 John 3:1)
WITNESS 7 – PAUL
Hand on the Bible please PAUL and swear to tell the whole truth.
PAUL: Jesus said, “Do not swear at all.” (Math 5:34) My testimony is true.
Q PAUL1: Paul, please tell the court by what authority you wrote.
A PAUL1: Jesus, through his servant Ananias, commanded me to witness. (Acts 9:15)
Q PAUL2: Were you alive at the time of Jesus returning?
A PAUL2: No, I was not. I died in 68AD, two years before his return. I was raised from death and in the air I met Jesus and those still alive at the time. Then we all ascended into the New Land.
Q PAUL3: Were you expecting Jesus to return in this way in the sky?
A PAUL3: Yes. We were all expecting it to happen.
Q PAUL4: You wrote “Your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world (kosmos)” (Romans 1:8). What do you understand this word kosmos to have meant here?
A PAUL4: Kosmos in Koine Greek (which is the common Greek we spoke) means 'order' and in particular 'an ordered society.' Its opposite is kaos meaning 'disorder or chaos.' The concept of kosmos comes from Gen 1:2 when Elohim began “bringing order” to what was previously void. He subsequently birthed a nation in Adam (and subsequently Noah) with his order – righteous character and moral attributes. Rightly ordered society is known by what I called the “fruit of the Breath” (Gal 5:22) - “love, cheerfulness, peace with one another, patience, usefulness, goodness, conviction of truth.” Where these are being lived, Yahweh lives among them, and that is his order, that is his kosmos at work. His hope was to bring his order everywhere to bless everyone. His kosmos subsequently became his people whom he named children of Israel/Jacob.
Q PAUL5 I hope all your answers aren't going to be that long-winded.
A PAUL6: Well, these are big concepts we are discussing.
Q PAUL6: Returning to the Romans 1:8 text, then please clarify, succinctly if possible, why you said “spoken of throughout the whole world”? Did you mean all of Planet Earth?
A PAUL6. No, I meant throughout Yahweh's people Israel who were living in Roman Judaea (Israel) and in mostly Greek-speaking nations.
Q PAUL7: In Acts 17:24 while you were in Athens and addressing the Athenians there in public, you said, “God made the world (kosmos) and all things in it. He is Lord of sky and land, dwelling not in temples made with hands.” Did the Greeks view kosmos in the same way you did, that is, as descendants of Noah?
A PAUL7: By definition, they viewed kosmos as ordered society but we would have disagreed on what comprised right order and which society lived it.
Q PAUL8. Did God only send Jesus as a Messiah to Israelites? Please quote what you said about this and explain it.
A PAUL8. I said, “Of David's seed has God according to his promise raised to Israel a Saviour, Jesus.” (Acts 13:23) So yes, Jesus was the Messiah only to Israelites. The other disciples and I often quoted the Hebrew scriptures (which our Israelite audience knew well) to show how Yahweh's promises had come to final fruition in Jesus. Here I confirmed the genealogical link of David to Jesus to help the Israelites in the synagogue at Pisidia to see that this was the Messiah whom they had been expecting.
Q PAUL9. But in that same talk you said, “Men, Israelites and those fearing God, listen." (Acts 13:16) Doesn't that prove that there were some there besides Israelites, namely those who feared God?
A PAUL9. That was not my meaning. In the synagogue there were only Israelites. My statement is a cumulative statement from broad to narrow to get to the heart of the matter. It would have been better translated, “Men, Israelites, fearers of Yahweh, listen.”
Q PAUL10. Can you prove Yahweh was only for Israel and not for any other people group?
A PAUL10. I stated, "I have this chain around me for the hope of Israel" (Acts28:20) and in Antioch in Psidia I said to the Isrealites in the synagogue, "Of David's seed, Yahweh by his promise has raised for Israel a Saviour, Jesus." (Acts 13:23) He wasn't raised for any other race. "Out of Zion shall come the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." (Rom 11:26) Jacob is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Jesus was coming for them and them alone.
Q PAUL11: Who were the Gentiles in your day?
A PAUL11: I am unfamiliar with the word Gentiles. I used the word 'ethnos' which means peoples or nations, and by that I meant specifically all the peoples who had come out of the line of Jacob. All of the ethnos of which I spoke were Israelites.My point was that I was addressing fearing Israelite men whose sole focus was Yahweh. “Is Yahweh the God of the Judaeans (Hebrew speaking Orthodox Jews) only? Is he not also of the Nations (Greek speaking Israelites)? Yes, of the Nations also” (Romans 3:29).
Q PAUL12. Did you state that anywhere else?
A PAUL12: Yes, I did. I referred my Israelite audience to our prophet Hosea who described the falling away of the House of Israel from the ways of Yahweh and him pronouncing them Not My People. (Hosea 1:9) Then I quote the rest of what Hosea said: 'Whom He also called, not only us, of Judaeans (Hebrew Jews), but also of the Nations (Greek Jews)? As He also says in Hosea, "I will call those Not My people, My People; and those Not Beloved, Beloved." And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them. "You are not My people, there they shall be called sons of the living God." (Romans 9:24-26.) Hosea explained that the House of Israel had fallen away and become mixed with other Nations (whom you call Gentiles) but Yahweh promised that he would bring them back into his fold. So I was saying that Jesus had not only come for the House of Judah (Judaeans) but also for the House of Israel (the Israelites who had fallen away among the surrounding nations) so that both Houses would reunite into one House again as they were in Jacob's day. And Jesus would be Lord of that one House.
Q PAUL13. So when you said “your faith is spoken of throughout the world world” (Romans 1:8) you meant that the Roman Christians' faith was spoken of throughout Yahweh's people, all of whom lived in the Greek/Roman Empire?
A PAUL13. Correct.
Q PAUL14. Are you saying that your audience were only Israelites?
A PAUL14. Descendants of Jacob, yes. My teaching and preaching were full of reference to our spiritual heritage. “And, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.” (1 Cor 10:1) No-one else would have identified with that. “To which our twelve tribes hope to attain, serving God fervently night and day." (Acts 26:7) Ezekiel had said, "Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from among the nations where they have gone, and will gather them on every side, and will bring them into their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and one King shall be king to them all. And they shall not still be two nations, nor shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all.” (Ezek 37:21-22) So you can see that everything focuses on Israel, the 12 tribes of Jacob.
Q PAUL15. Was this 'kosmos' world being perfectly lived when you were alive on Earth?
A PAUL15. No, it was not. This is why Jesus came to restore Yahweh's order and for righteous living to be lived properly. The reason being that unrighteous living is innately unhealthy for the body and the mind, and leads to emotional and physical death. Yahweh won't protect those who go this path by their own choice. But Yahweh loved his people (and the blessing he wanted them to have with healthy right living and communication with him) too much to let that be the end of the story. That's why I spoke often about the corrupted nature of kosmos (Yahweh's people going in the wrong direction) and pleaded with my audiences to turn their lives around and come to Jesus “the author and completor of their faith” (Heb 12:2) who epitomised the character of Yahweh. by his life and teaching.
Q PAUL16. So 'kosmos' was originally God's people living righteously but then those same people became unrighteous?
A PAUL16. Correct. Adam was the beginning of that kosmos. At the beginning he walked with Yahweh and did what Yahweh asked but then he disobeyed and became unrighteous. Successive generations and kings were judged either righteous or unrighteous in Yahweh's eyes. Noah was righteous, as were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Because of those latter 3 consecutive sons of God being righteous, it was Jacob's 12 sons that Yahweh promised to bless above all others to the end of the age. They became his people, his kosmos. Everything Yahweh did was geared towards them, exhorting them to know him and to live by his laws.
Q PAUL17. So when you say “Invisible things of him from the creation of the world,” (Rom 1:20) you mean the creation of Adam and Yahweh's way of life?
A PAUL17. Yes, because I am describing there the contrast between good and evil.
Q PAUL18. And when you say “all the world may become guilty before God” (Rom 3:19), you mean all the Israelite world?
A PAUL18. I do. All the descendants of Jacob. It could only mean them because Yahweh was not known to anyone else, and it would have been unfair of him to judge other races on things they knew nothing about.
Q PAUL19. When you were alive, where were those descendants of Jacob living?
A PAUL19: The 12 tribes were scattered across what had been the Greek Empire before Rome took over a few centuries before but all within a boat trip to Israel and Jerusalem for the annual festivals, which was the heart of our world.
Q PAUL20: What language did Jacob's descendants speak during your generation?
A PAUL20. They spoke Hebrew, Aramaic and/or Common (Koine) Greek. Because they had lived so long in those various places, the language they spoke had developed local dialects. So when they met in Jerusalem for festivals, they could still communicate with one another but the way they pronounced it was different depending on the region they came from. That's why they said to each other on the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, “How do we each hear these Galileans speak in our own dialect in which we were born?” (Acts 2:7-8)
Q PAUL21. When you say “How shall God judge the world?” (Rom 3:6), I take it you mean God only judging Israel?
A PAUL21. Correct. Caiphas the high priest confirmed this when he said, “It is better that one man should die for the local people (laos) that that the whole race (ethnos) should perish.” (John 11:50) He wasn't talking about all races but just about Israelites and in particular Judaeans (Jews.) The Romans were threatening us on all sides and Jesus' death would pacify the Romans for awhile, the leaders hoped. How wrong they were!
Q PAUL22. What do you mean in Rom 12:2 “Be not conformed to this world”?
A PAUL22. Actually, there I said, “Be not conformed to this age” (aion not kosmos.)
Q PAUL23. How is age (aion) different from world (kosmos)?
A PAUL23. Age is related to time primarily. We were living in “an evil age” (Gal 1:4) meaning the time when our generation were living was corrupt.
Q PAUL24. When did you speak about an age (aion) in relation to its beginning or end?
A PAUL24. In 1 Cor 2:7 I spoke about “the hidden wisdom which Yahweh ordained before the age (aion)” and “Not only in this age but in the age to come.” (Eph 1:21)
Q PAUL25. What was “the age to come” (Eph 1:21)?
A PAUL25. In the age to come, in the New Jerusalem, Jesus would “reveal his full kindness to believers.” (Eph 2:7) His glory would be upon his people (called out ones) “through all generations age upon age.” (Eph 3:21)
Q PAUL26. When did you say or believe Planet Earth would cease to exist?
A PAUL26. I never mentioned this and don't know the answer to that. This was never mentioned by Jesus or anyone. We only ever spoke about the completion of our age.
Q PAUL27. May I ask you then to comment on Heb 9:26 “For then Jesus must have suffered from the foundation of the world, but now once at the end of the world has he appeared to cancel sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
A PAUL27. Mistranslated. It should read “But now once at the completion of the age” (aion not kosmos.) Jesus (son of Yahweh) died to bring a conclusion to the age that had begun with the creation of Adam, the first son of Yahweh.
Q PAUL28. So when Jesus said, “I am with you to the end of the world” (Math 28:20), he didn't mean to the destruction of the planet?
A PAUL28. Correct. Jesus actually said, “I am with you to the entire completion of the age (aion.)” (Math 28:20) And he fulfilled that promise by coming to get us at the end of the age and took us to the New Jerusalem.
Q PAUL29. So if the age (aion) ceased with Jesus' return to get you, what age do we live in and are there any rules for our age?
A PAUL29. We never spoke about your age. We all spoke about the age from Adam to Jesus only.
Q PAUL30. Yet Jesus said, “Whoever speaks against the Holy Breath shall neither be forgiven in this world nor in the one to come.” (Math 12:32) Are we not in the world to come?
A PAUL30. Actually Jesus didn't say that. He said, “neither in this age (aion) nor in the coming suffering (mello).” (Math 12:32) When Jesus does speak of the age to come he is referring to the age where we live with him in the New Jerusalem. For Jesus said, “In this time (kairos) he shall receive 100 fold... and in the age to come ages life.” (Mark 10:30) This shows that the age to come is a vast time with no death and so is not the age you live where people still die.
Q PAUL31. So when Jesus said, “The harvest is the end of the world” (Math 13:39) he was actually saying that the harvest was at the end of your age?
A PAUL31. Correct. “The end of the age (aion).”
Q PAUL32. Did you state that you expected Jesus to be coming in your lifetime?
A PAUL32. Once I said it like this: “Now our rescue is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far advanced, the day is approaching.” (Rom 13:11-12) By that I meant that having come to faith during the 30s-60s AD (over 30 or so years), during a time of much suffering, the return of Jesus was very close and certainly within 10 or so years.
Q PAUL33. What word did you most use for Jesus' coming and please illustrate this?
A PAUL33. Parousia. I used it not only for Jesus but for others too. When Titus visited I said, “Titus comforted us by his coming.” (2 Cor 7:6) Of Jesus' coming, I said, “For what is our hope or joy or crown of rejoicing. Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming (parousia)?” (1 Thess 2:19) How meaningless those words would have been if Jesus had not come to rescue them.
Q PAUL34. But you didn't specifically state that these ones would be alive when Jesus returned.
A PAUL34. I said it so many times in person but I didn't write it every time. We all took that to be my meaning. I said it specifically here, “We who are alive and remain up to the coming (parousia) of the Lord shall not precede those sleeping, that is dead.” (1 Thess 4:13-15) Some of our generation we knew would die during this 40 or so years leading up to his return because Jesus had told us that. Some would still be alive and see him without having to face death. But both groups would rise together at the same time to be with him.
Q PAUL35. Did you say both groups would rise together with Jesus?
A PAUL35. Yes, I did. I said that next. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of Yahweh. And the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who remain alive shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall at all times be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thess 4:16-18) This was our hope and the hope was fulfilled as promised.
Q PAUL36. When did Jesus say some would die and some still be alive during your generation leading up to his return?
A PAUL36. Jesus said, “Whoever lives and trusts in me shall not die in this age.” (John 11:26)
Q PAUL37. I want now to look at why you continued the institution of what we call the Last Supper. Was this intended to be kept forever by believers or only until the end of the age?
A PAUL37. It was to be kept until Jesus returned - “to remember him”and “to proclaim his death until he comes” (1 Cor 11:25-26) - after that there was no need to keep it because we were with him and there we “drank it new with him in the Kingdom of Yahweh.” (Mark 4:25)
Q PAUL38. Are you saying that the Last Supper doesn't need to be kept now?
A PAUL38. It was for us to remember him and only up to the time that he came back.
Q PAUL39. But don't the believers now still need to remember Jesus and have their sins washed away each time they meet at the Last Supper?
A PAUL39. I wasn't speaking about your time. The age of the Lord's Supper is long past. In regard to sin, Jesus died once for sin and thus sin is cleansed once only by him. When a believer received Jesus, he forgave them of all sin and they entered into life. There was no going back to sin otherwise Jesus would have needed to die again. (“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins.” Heb 10:26)
Until the death of Jesus, followers of Yahweh could go to the temple once a year and through blood sacrifices have their sins cleansed. But with the death of Jesus he forgave sin once and for all. There was no sin for a believer after that. That's why I was only speaking about my generation. They were either living in sin or living in Christ. There was no cross-over back and forth. “Now being made free from sin and become servants of Yaheweh, you have your fruit of holiness and at the end life eternal.” (Rom 6:22)
Q PAUL40. If what you say is true, it would dramatically affect the way Christians meet today.
A PAUL40. No comment.
Q PAUL41. Did you complete your mission?
A PAUL41. It wasn't my mission. Jesus instructed us to go to all nations, and then the end of the age would come and he would return. I went to all nations as I stated: "After this, king Agrippa, I did not disobey the heavenly vision. But to those first in Damascus, and Jerusalem, and to all the country of Judea, and to the nations, I made it known to repent and to turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance. (Acts 26:19-20) So I fulfilled the command to go to the nations – and the nations I went to were primarily Syria, Judea, Turkey, Greece and Rome. I completed this task. These were the nations where his people Israel lived. I exhorted the sons and daughters of Jacob to see how far they had fallen from God's standards as given through Moses and to repent and turn back to our God. King Agrippa was a son of Jacob who knew our scriptures which why I then said to him, “King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you believe." (Acts 26:27)
Q PAUL42. But at one point you said "For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is made of no effect.” (Rom 4:13-14) There you implied that people other than Abraham's seed could come to faith. And you strengthened this by saying, “For not all those of Israel are Israel; nor because they are the seed of Abraham are theyall children.” (Rom 9:6-7) Therefore, you say it matters not if you are descended from Abraham because everyone who has faith are children of God.
A PAUL42. I implied no such thing. You are interpreting that in a way I did not mean. I meant that if you take 100 Israelites, not all 100 Israelites are true believers in Yahweh's eyes just because they are an Israelite. Say there are 50 true Israelites who put their faith into action. The other 50 rely purely on the Law not on faith which counts for nil and so they are not true Israel. So “not all those of Israel are Israel.” So you see there are none outside the family of Abraham.
Q PAUL43. But you also said: “For if you were cut out of the natural wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more these being according to nature will be grafted into their own olive-tree?” (Rom 11:24) So you meant that anyone could be grafted into Abraham's seed.
A PAUL43. I didn't mean that either. The true natural olive tree is righteous Israel honouring Yahweh and living according to his ways. I had earlier made the point from Hosea (Rom 9:25-26) that part of Israel fell away from Yahweh and he cut them off as his people. These ones who had been part of the natural olive tree were thus cut off and became “wild olives.” They didn't cease to be olives, that is descendants of Jacob. Then Yahweh forgave these wild Israelites and grafted them back in.
Q PAUL44. But you said, "Salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentiles." (Rom 1:16)
A PAUL44. Actually I said, "To the Judaeans (Ioudaios) first and also to the Greek speakers (Hellen)." The Judaeans spoke Hebrew and Aramaic. Those Israelites living in the nations spoke Greek primarily.
Q PAUL45. But then you said, "For there is no difference both of Jew and of Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone, whoever shall call on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Rom10:12-13) Didn't you mean everyone on the planet?
A PAUL45. But look at the context. In verse 1 of that same chapter I began by stating, “Brothers, truly my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is for them to be saved. For I bear record to them that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God.” (Rom 10:1-3) So you can see that the context is only Israel, as it is in all of my teaching and preaching. God is the God of Israel alone. It is Israel that needs saving not any other race. It is Israel who are ignorant and not submitting themselves to God's ways. The Lord is over Israel and for Israel and everyone of Israel who calls on his name shall be saved, no matter whether they are speakers of Hebrew or Greek. My audience all knew this because I spoke of “our fathers” time and time again. All my references are to our law and our prophets. “There is no difference between Judaeans and Greeks, all are one in Christ.” (Rom 10:12)
Q PAUL46. Did you say that “the last enemy will be death?” Has this happened?
A PAUL46. I said, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in order: Christ the first-fruit, and afterwards they who are Christ's at His coming. Then the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God, even the Father, when He makes to cease all rule and all authority and power. For it is right for Him to reign until He has put all the enemies under His feet. The last enemy made to cease is death.” (1 Cor 15:22-26) Remember I am talking about the people of Israel. All those who were in Christ would be raised at his coming. Following their leaving, Jesus would bring to an end the Israelite rulers and all who had opposed him would die This all happened and their rulership ended when the Temple fell in August 70AD. Death ceased for Christ's saints who were all raised to life in the Father's heavenly kingdom.
Q PAUL47. But our world continues.
A PAUL47. I wasn't addressing your world.
Q PAUL48. So what happened to your proviso, “until the fulness of the nations has come in”? (Rom 11:25)
A PAUL48. We were living during that time and saw the end of the fulness. I saw the completion of this and testified many times that all the nations had heard the gospel. Your quote of mine, by the way, ends "and so all Israel will be saved... who shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Rom 11:26) proving once again that everything is only about the House of Jacob/Israel.
Q PAUL49. Where and what is the New Jerusalem?
A PAUL49. We also called it “Paradise” (2 Corinthians 12:4). It is “in the third heaven” (2 Cor 12:2) which was above the land of Israel but invisible. I received “revelations” from Paradise (2 Cor 12:7) but much of what happens there was not to be told. Suffice was to know what was necessary for life.
WITNESS 8 - JOHN of Revelation.
Hand on the Bible JOHN of Revelation and swear to tell the whole truth.
Scribe to note that he couldn't swear.
Q REV1. Much as I would like to, I am not going to question you about all of the Revelation but only about those things pertaining to the timing of Jesus returning. First I need to establish who you are. Are you John the Apostle?
A REV1. No, I am not.
Q REV2. Can you prove from scripture you wrote that you are not John the Apostle?
A REV2. No, not directly, however I never said I was. I simply stated that I was their “brother and companion.” (Rev 1:9) Furthermore, if you compare the way I wrote in Koine Greek and the phrases and themes I spoke of, I think you will soon conclude that the apostle John and I were two different people. I believe the theologian Martin Luther concluded this and added that my Revelation shouldn't even have been in the canon of scripture, and he wasn't the only theologian who concluded that the past 2000 years.
Q REV3. We are not discussing information later than the time that scripture was written.
A REV3. Sorry, I won't do that again.
Q REV4. Thank you. Who and what was the Revelation for?
A REV4. For Jesus' disciples “To show his servants what must shortly take place.” (Rev 1:1). His disciples were all those who had been cleansed from sin, were walking together in righteousness, and were eagerly looking for his soon return.
Q REV5. When you said “A Revelation to declare to his servants things which must shortly come to pass” (Rev 1:1), how short a time did you take that to mean?
A REV5. Imminently. Like within days, weeks, months, at the most a few years.
Q REV6. Did you talk about the 'nearness of the end' more than once?
A REV6. Yes, I said it quite a few times in different ways because we all knew the time of his return was not only in our lifetime but just round the corner. However, we also knew that some of us would die before it happened because of the wars with the Romans. I believe the Revelation was given to keep us strong leading up to this event.
Q REV7. Can you prove that from what you wrote?
A REV7. Yes but I will need to quote the Greek too. In Rev 1:1, I used en tachos and by that I meant 'in a short space of time' (also shortly or speedily.) I used this phrase one other time to say the same thing in Rev 22:6 “To show his servants the things which must shortly be done.”
Q REV8. Did any others use this phrase en tachos (shortly)?
A REV8. Yes. Jesus used it twice. Once when he spoke of judgement upon his return “I will avenge them shortly.” (Luke 18:8) And when he told Paul to “shortly leave Jerusalem” (Acts 22:18) The angel of the Lord also used it to tell Peter to “quickly get up” (Acts 12:7) when he was imprisoned and his chains fell off at that very moment! The only other reference is when Festus told Paul at Caesarea that “he would depart shortly” (Acts 25:4) So you can see from all these that the phrase always means shortly or quickly at that time.
Q REV9. What other phrases did you write to mean the time was short and the end near?
A REV9. I used the phrase kairos eggus meaning 'the time is at hand' firstly in Rev 1:3. I repeated this in Rev 22:10.
Q REV10. Did any others use this phrase kairos eggus (the time is at hand?
A REV10. Only Jesus and only once. Jesus said just hours before his crucifixion, “My time is at hand.” (Math 26:18) When Jesus spoke of the signs before his return, he used a very similar phrase kairos eggizo meaning “the time draws near.” (Luke 21:8)
Q REV11. And did you write any other time phrases to mean the end was imminent?
A REV11. Jesus' angel used tachu and said, “Repent else I come to you quickly.” (Rev 2:16) And “Behold I come quickly.” (Rev 3:11) And “I will show you the things which must accompany these afterwards (meta tauta).” (Rev 4:1) By that, he meant that all these things would follow together immediately after (meta tauta.)
Q REV12. Did anyone else use this phrase 'meta tauta' to mean 'happening immediately afterwards'?
A REV12. Yes, many used this phrase. “After that (meta tauta) Jesus appeared in another form to two of them.” (Mark 16:12) This was after Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. We know it happened “the same day” because Luke 24:13 confirmed that. Luke 5:27 used it in “After these things Jesus went forth and saw a publican.” And Luke 10:1 in “After these things the Lord appointed 70 others also.” Jesus used it in the same sense 3 times (Luke 12:4, Luke 17:8 and Luke 18:4.) The apostle John used it 12 times always in reference to something happening immediately after something else. I used it 9 times in the Revelation always to mean immediately following the previous event.
Q REV13 Did you write anything else which meant Jesus was going to come in your lifetime?
A REV13. The angel said, “Hold on to what you have until I come.” (Rev 2:25) That wouldn't have made sense if Jesus wasn't coming. It would have been a hollow statement and a false hope. He then repeated it, “Behold, I come quickly. Hold on to that which you have so that no-one can take your crown.” (Rev 3:11) And so we did because we knew that Jesus would honour his word and take us home with him, which he did.
Q REV14. So you are suggesting that the events in the Revelation were going to take place over days, months, and possibly years but not centuries or millenia?
A REV14. Absolutely. The events began the moment Jesus ascended to heaven and they were all finished 40 years later. Jesus “has prevailed to open the book and to loose the 7 seals thereof.” (Rev 5:5) We took this to mean in our time because Jesus prevailed by his death and resurrection, so there was no need for any delay in the outworking of the end. In the vision, I saw Jesus sit “upon the throne” (Rev 5:7) which commenced the things which then followed.
Q REV15. How do you know that Jesus sitting on the throne was during your time?
A REV15. He sat on the throne after he overcame death and ascended to heaven. The angel said, “To him who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame and am seated with my Father on his throne.” (Rev 3:21) There was no gap in time between overcoming, ascending and sitting on the throne; and it was the same for us as Jesus had promised. The author of Hebrews declared that Jesus was already “seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb 12:2)
Q REV16. Did you write anything else that indicated the Revelation was only for those living at the time?
A REV16. I wrote “Blessed is the one who reads and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things written therein for the time is at hand.” (Rev 1:3) The pertinent word I would like to highlight is 'keep' (tereo) also translated 'keep watch on or guard' which I used 10 times altogether. The readers and listeners had to keep a watch on all these things so they would hold on until the end of the age. As they saw all the events unfolding they would be reassured that the fulfilment of the prophesy was imminent, and they would meet Jesus once again in the flesh and in the air.
Q REV17. You probably know what I will ask next! Did anyone else use this word tereo meaning to keep or to watch?
A REV17. Yes. Many times Jesus used it such as “Keep the commandments.” (Math 19:17 and Math 28:20 and John 14:15) During the crucifixion the centurion was “watching/guarding (tereo) Jesus.” (Math 27:54) In fact, Jesus said, “If a man keeps my word, he shall never experience death.” (John 8:51) This proves that some people alive at that time were going to walk into heaven alive. Paul used it many times such as “Keep the commandment without spot until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.”(1 Tim 6:14) Paul here also confirms that the keeping would lead up to the time of Jesus' return.
Q REV18. Let's move to this statement you make: “You (Jesus) have redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe (phule) and tongue (glossa) and people (laos) and nation (ethnos).” (Rev 5:9) Do you mean every language and nation on Planet Earth?
A REV18. No. I had never heard of Planet Earth when I wrote this. This was referring to every nation comprising Israelite people and Israelites did not live in every nation on Planet Earth. By the way, I'm delighted you translated ethnos as nation not as as Gentile.
Q REV19. Can you prove that Rev 5:9 is only talking about Israelites?
A REV19. Yes, John spoke about this. “Then the Jews said among themselves, 'Where is Jesus about to go that we shall not find him? Is he about to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and to teach the Greeks?'” (John 7:35) Here we see that the people of Israel had been scattered through the Greek Empire and that the Judaeans thought they might find Jesus there in future teaching the Greek speaking Israelites. These are the ones his gospel was for and why Paul went to these places to reach them.
MINOR WITNESSES
WITNESS 9 - SOLOMON
Q SOL1. Solomon did you rule all the land which Yahweh had promised Abraham from the Euphrates to the Nile?
A SOL1. Yes, I did. 2 Chr 9:26 “And he was the ruler over all the kings from the Euphrates River even to the land of the Philistines, and as far as the border of Egypt.”
WITNESS 10 - AMOS
Q AMOS1. Amos, did you ever state that Yahweh is only the God of Israel?
A AMOS1. Yes. I said, “Hear this Word that Yahweh has spoken: against you, sons of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying, “You only have I known of all the species of the soil; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.” Therefore, judgement is only on Israel, not on other nations. (Amos 3:1-2)
WITNESS 11 - JOEL
Q JOEL1. Joel, did you ever state that Yahweh is only the God of Israel?
A JOEL1. Yes I did. “And you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I Yahweh am your God, and no one else's, and My people shall never be ashamed.” (Joel 2:27)
WITNESS 12 - JEREMIAH
Q JER1. Jeremiah, did Yahweh fulfil his promise to Abraham in regard to the land?
A JER1. Yes, he did. "In order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day." Then I answered and said, "Amen, O LORD." (Jer 11:5)
WITNESS 13 - MOSES
Q MOSES1. Moses, did God say that if Israel got all the land he promised, then they would have 6 cities of refuge?
A MOSES1. Yes, he did and Joshua will confirm that we got the 6 cities of refuge and all the land promised by Yahweh. "Therefore, I command you, saying, 'You shall set aside three cities for yourself.' "If the LORD your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers— if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three." (Deuteronomy 19:7-9)
Q MOSES2. Did you ever meet Jesus personally?
A MOSES2. Yes, I did. On a hill in Israel and Elijah came with me. We talked about his “exodus which was about to occur at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31)
Q MOSES3. Where did you and Elijah come from at that time and where did you go back to?
A MOSES3. We live in New Jerusalem which was hidden “in the clouds.” (Luke 9:34) Elijah had come here many years before. “And it happened as Elijah and Elisha went on and talked, behold, a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and they separated between them both. And Elijah went up in a tempest into Heaven.” (2 Kings 2:11)
WITNESS 14 - JOSHUA
Q JOSH1. God said that if Israel got all the land promised to Abraham, then they would have six cities of refuge. (Deut 19:7-9) Can you please list the 6 cities of refuge?
A JOSH1. “Kadesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan.” (Josh 20:7-9)
Q JOSH2. Joshua, did Israel receive all the promises of Abraham?
A JOSH2. Yes all of them. "So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it. And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand. Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass. " (Joshua 21:43-45)
WITNESS 15 - DANIEL
Q DAN1: Was the God of Israel only God of that nation?
A DAN1: Correct. My mission was calling Yahweh's people Israel back to true faith and right living. Having them scattered among other nations was a challenge but we could reach them by messengers. “Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our rulers, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us the shame of our faces, as today to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, and to all Israel who are near and who are afar off, through all the lands where You have driven them because of their sin which they have sinned against You.” (Dan 9:6-7)
WITNESS 16 - YAHWEH: My witnesses speak the truth. I rest my case.
CONCLUDING REMARKS by the Lawyer.
The Lawyer presents to the court his summary of what the Witnesses have confirmed concerning Jesus' Second Coming.
1. Jesus has testified that he told His disciples he would return to their generation, not to a future generation. Jesus consistently only spoke about His generation.
2. Jesus specifically told the chief priest in Jerusalem than he personally would see Jesus coming on the clouds of heaven.
3. Everything Jesus said would happen prior to his coming on the clouds did happen and that generation of believers witnessed all these things.
4. Localised Israelites were the “every eye.”
5. Jesus said the time of his second return was imminent and those 40 years from 30-70CE were the period leading up to the end of the Old Covenant with Israel.
6. All the nations (where Israelites were living) were reached with the gospel by 70CE by his disciples.
7. Israel’s judgment in 70CE and Jesus’ return for His saints marked the fulfillment of all scripture and the start of the New Covenant.
8. All the written laws of Judaism ceased at that time. The 10 commandments are now written on the hearts of the saints in the New Jerusalem.
9. Jesus opened the door to the New Heaven and New Land which is where believers go.
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1 : JOSEPHUS
We have one last witness, your honor. We are not taking his testimony as direct evidence for this case because his name does not appear in Hebrew scripture. We are only presenting his testimony as background material since he did live through the period in question. This is why we are hearing this evidence in a side room and why the transcript is in an Appendix. This material is not open for discussion.
Hand on the Bible. FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS. Do you swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
JOSEPHUS: I do and as God is my witness, it is my intention to only tell the truth.
Q JOS1: Please tell us Josephus what you primarily did with your life and your role during the siege of Jerusalem in 70CE?
A JOS1: I was an Israelite Historian from the House of Judah. I wrote a great deal about interactions among our people, and also about the wars between our people and the Romans. During the siege of Jerusalem, the Roman authorities paid me to be a negotiator to try to end the siege quickly so they could take Jerusalem with as little loss of life and structures as possible. However, my people were not interested in the Romans' terms and stubbornly refused to open the gates for months. During that time, many of them died of starvation and disease, and some even ate others to survive. It was truly tragic.
Q JOS2. I believe you were once the Jewish commander of all Galilee?
A JOS2. Yes, that's correct.
Q JOS3. And also that you built many walls round Galilean cities to fortify them against invaders. Is that true?
A JOS3. Yes, it is.
Q JOS4. Which Galilean cities did you have fortified?
A JOS4. Tiberias, the capital among others.
Q JOS5. When the Romans attacked Galilee in 66CE, which side were you on?
A JOS5. The Jews.
Q JOS6. Why?
A JOS6. Because I was a Jew and the God of Israel was our God.
Q JOS7. You were captured by the Romans after trying to defend a Galilean city. Is that true?
A JOS7. Yes.
Q JOS8. And the Romans asked you to be their chief mediator during subsequent sieges of various cities. Is that true?
A JOS8. Yes it is.
Q JOS9. You have written extensively on the events in the mid 60s-70sCE in Israel. Which of your books best describes the destruction of Jerusalem?
A JOS9. “The Judaean War,” known in English as “The Wars of the Jews.”
Q JOS10. Is everything you wrote in that book true?
A JOS10. Yes and that was my aim. I stated it several times. In fact in the very last line I wrote, “Of which history, how good the style is, must be left to the determination of the readers; but as for its agreement with the facts, I shall not scruple to say, and that boldly, that truth has been what I have alone aimed at through its entire composition.”
Q JOS11. Most of my remaining questions will be about what you said you saw happening in Jerusalem after it came under siege and up to its utter destruction.
Q JOS12: How many people were in Jerusalem when the Romans surrounded Jerusalem at Passover 70AD?
A JOS12: Just under 1 million Judaeans and other Israelites had come that year for Passover.
Q JOS13: Was there no warning that the Romans might lay siege to Jerusalem?
A JOS13: Virtually none at the time though the Romans had sent troops before. When the two Roman armies led by Generals Titus and Scipio began surrounding the walls, you could have got out if you had been quick but even then no one had any idea what was really happening until it was too late. The only way you could have escaped would have been to literally run for your life across the rooftops, out through the city gates and up into the hills, and not take anything from your house. The Judean authorities quickly shut and barricaded all the gates which then protected the city but also trapped all inside. Weeks into the siege, the Romans stripped all the surrounding woods of trees to use for their assault on the city.
Q JOS14: At the time Jesus lived and up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, did you hear of false christs and false prophets?
A JOS14: Yes, I heard of many. “Magicians and sorcerers led people out into the deserts, and promised to work miracles to deliver them.” (Antiq. b. 20 chapter 8, section 6.)
Q JOS15: Did you ever see or hear of any signs in the sky during the time of the siege?
A JOS15: Yes, there were many unusual events in the sky.
Q JOS16: Why did no-one else write about these things?
A JOS16: They were too busy surviving and fighting. I alone was in the safe and privileged position of being free to write.
Q JOS17. Did the fire in Jerusalem cause any noise beyond the city walls?
A JOS17. I said in Book 6 Chapter 5 as the holy house was on fire, “Nor can one imagine anything either greater or more terrible than this noise.” This noise was the shout of the Roman legions, the clamour of the seditious, the groans, moans and outcries of the people. I said, “The flame was carried a long way and made an echo together with the groans of those who were slain.”
Q JOS18. But did the noise go wider than Jerusalem?
A JOS18. I wrote, “The mountains around about the city returned the echo of the noise, and augmented the force of the entire noise.”
Q JOS19. When the temple burned how hot was it?
A JOS19. “Seething hot” because the whole of it was being burned.
Q JOS20. Was there much blood in the city?
A JOS20. There was "more blood than there was fire." By the time the temple was burning, the ground wasn't visible for the amount of dead bodies everywhere. The soldiers had to run over dead bodies to continue the fighting inside the city.
Q JOS21. Why had so many people gone into the temple near the end of the siege?
A JOS21. Because there was a false prophet among them who proclaimed that “God commanded them to get into the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of their deliverance.”
Q JOS22. Why do you think the false prophet proclaimed that?
A JOS22. A great number of false prophets had been sent out by the troublemakers to say that God would deliver them and to keep them from deserting. Sadly for them it was not true for God had not promised this. Sadder still, the people believed their false prophets.
Q JOS23. Do you believe God had given true signs or prophesies ahead of the destruction?
A JOS23. Yes, I do.
Q JOS24. Can you please give evidence for that?
A JOS24. A “star that looked like a sword” and “a comet” had been over Jerusalem for a whole year from 65-66CE.
Q JOS25. Did anything appear on a particular day leading up to the war?
A JOS25. Yes. In Spring 66CE "on the 8th of Nisan at the 9th hour in the evening", when the people had come to Jerusalem for the Feast of Unleavened Bread “a great light shone round the altar and holy house so that it appeared to be bright daytime.” The “unskilled people considered it a good sign” but the “temple scribes interpreted it as a warning of events to follow.”
Q JOS26. Anything else?
A JOS26. Yes, three years before, during Passover in Spring 63CE, “the high priest led a heifer up to be sacrificed and it gave birth to a lamb in the middle of the temple.” They considered this a foreboding of an event to follow.
Q JOS27. Were there any signs related to the walls or towers of the temple?
A JOS27. During the Festival in the Spring of 66CE, "the eastern gate of the Temple court opened by itself at the 6th hour of the night."
Q JOS28. Why was that unusual?
A JOS28. Because of its weight. The gate was “made of brass” and was extremely heavy and “it took 20 men to shut the gate. The gate rested on a base of iron and had bolts fastened deep into the solid floor which was made of only one stone.”
Q JOS29. What was the reaction to the eastern gate opening by itself?
A JOS29. The guards ran to the Temple captain to tell him. He came and then after great struggling, they shut the gate again. Some simple people thought it was a good sign to make them all happy. The scribes however deduced that it was a sign indicating “the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies and that the desolation was coming upon them."
Q JOS30. Were there any other signs at this time?
A JOS30. Yes, the most remarkable signs of them all. A few days after that feast in Spring 66CE, "On the 21st day of the month Artemisius, a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities."
Q JOS31. Did anything happen at any other Festivals?
A. JOS31. Yes. at that feast which we call Pentecost in the Spring of 66CE, as the priests were going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence." Some of them interpreted that to mean that God would leave there and go elsewhere.
Q. JOS32. Did anyone publicly prophesy about Jerusalem's fate?
A. JOS32. Yes. A man called Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebian and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, (in 63CE) came to that Pentecost feast in Jerusalem and began suddenly to cry aloud, "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole people!"
Q. JOS33. Did he do this just once?
A. JOS33. No, he did it for 7 years. This was his cry, as he went about by day and by night, in all the lanes of the city. The leaders of the people hated him doing this and whipped him to stop him.
Q. JOS34. Did that stop him?
A. JOS34. No. Despite severe punishment, he still went on with the same words which he cried before. Our rulers then concluded that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, and so brought him to the Roman procurator, where he was whipped till his bones were bare. Despite this, the man didn't plead for himself nor did he cry. Instead his voice became like a very grave lament and at every stroke of the whip he cried, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!"
Q. JOS35. Did anyone try to reason with him?
A. JOS35. Yes, Albinus, our procurator, asked him, "Who are you? Where do you come from? Why do you say these thing?" The man ignored the questions and continued his plaintive cry. Albinus decided he was mad and let him go.
Q. JOS36. And the people, what did they think of this man?
A. JOS36. Some people beat him because of his constant cry "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" Some people gave him food. He didn't talk to either his supporters or his abusers.
Q. JOS37. Did he go to other festivals as well?
A. JOS37. Yes. This cry of his was heard at all the festivals and he continued this refrain for seven years and five months, without letting up.
Q. JOS38. When did he stop?
A. JOS38. Not until the day he died over 7 years later during the siege. He watched the Romans come against the walls of Jerusalem with their siege machines. As he was going round upon the wall, he cried out forcefully, "Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!" And just as he added at the last, "Woe, woe to myself also!" there came a rock out of one of the engines, and struck him, and killed him immediately; and as he was saying the same words as he died.
Q. JOS39. What do you think about all these signs, Josephus?
A. JOS39. If our people had stopped to think about life, they would have found that “God takes care of mankind, and by all ways possible shows ahead of time to our race what is for their preservation.” If any had been wise enough before the event to see the signs for what they were, they might have escaped.
Q, JOS40. When you say mankind, you seem to be implying that you are only talking about your race the Jews?
A. JOS40. Yes, we are descendants of Adam.
Q. JOS41. But isn't God the lord of all races and aren't all races also descendants of Adam?
A. JOS41. I never said that. Jews (Judaeans) are descended from Adam through Jacob and the Lord (Yahweh, though we never said this name) is the God of Jacob alone.
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APPENDIX 2 – PROFESSOR G.
Q G1. Professor G, could a flood occur in lower Mesopotamia that covered the whole land?
A G1. Absolutely. Around 10,000BC the glaciers melted and flooded many places. In very recent times from April 3, 2018 to March 28, 2019, at least 1,900 cities and villages across 26 of Iran's 31 provinces have been severely affected by flooding, which has killed more than 60 people and made thousands homeless. Farms have been wrecked across the country, with flood waters causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages and lost produce. Some areas of Golestan Province received 70% of their annual rainfall in one day. Flash flooding was worse near Shiraz. Hundreds of roads and bridges have been washed away. In Iraq, the centre and north were devastated in late March 2019 and those flood waters have since swollen the Tigris and Euphrates rivers threatening the towns in the south.
Q G2. Is there anywhere else in the Middle East that a great flood could have occured?
A G2. Debate has been raging for 20 years about the Black Sea having a catastrophic flood about 7000BC with the Bosphorus suddenly letting in sea water but in the past couple of years scientists have concluded that it wasn't catastrophic but happened gradually.
Q G3. Was what is known as Abraham's Promised Lane (Israel, NE Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq) ever underwater?
A G3. Yes. As you may know, the Mediterranean Sea has been closed at its western entrance a few times in geological history. What you may not know is that the Mediterranean once had no eastern boundary either – it was directly connected to the Indian Ocean. At that time the "Promised Land" lay completely underwater. Iran and Turkey existed and SW Egypt but there was nothing in the middle – in other words, the whole of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel, north-east Egypt and most of Saudi Arabia lay underwater. I don’t use Google but if you do hopefully you can find the map which shows this. When you see the map or if you can visualize this emptiness with just sea, then you can see what happened in Gen 1:2 and how the land came up from under the sea and became dry land.
In New Zealand the same thing happened. The land subsided and around 25 million years ago most of the land was under the sea. Then around 20 million years ago many volcanoes erupted and the land rose out of the sea. Until this point Northland and East Cape were connected at Whangarei as an underwater basin. Then higher underwater land slid down from further in the north-east and it separated East Cape and the land rose from the sea.
Q G4. The Bible speaks about heavens or skies, and Paul speaks about "the third heaven." (2 Cor 12:2) What atmospheric levels exist above the land?
A G4. There are 5 primary levels of atmosphere:
1) We live in the Troposphere which lies 0-13 kms (highest near the equator) above the surface. The temperature gets colder 6.5C per km ascending to -75C. Cumulas clouds float at 1-2 kms. About 75% of all oxygen is here and virtually all water. The top of the Troposphere is called the Tropopause. Most planes fly about 13 kms in the Tropopause region.
2) The Stratosphere is 13-50 kms above the surface. It is full of ozone and this protects us from harmful solar rays. The temperature starts at -75C and goes up to -15C ascending. Cirrus clouds float at 10-13 kms. Humans could exist without a pressurised suit up to 18kms (the Armstrong Limit) though most need one after 4.5 kms. Hence why planes must be pressurised.
3) The Mesosphere is 50-80 kms above the surface. The temperature starts at -15C and gets colder with height down to -101C at the Mesopause.
3.1. The Ionosphere is 60-1000 kms above the surface and exists through the upper 3 layers (Mesosphere to Exosphere.) Radio waves are reflected and absorbed here for shortwave transmission. The Karman Line at 100 kms is the legal point where outer space begins.
4) The Thermosphere is 80-100 kms above the surface. The temperature starts at -101C and gets hotter up to OC as you ascend up to the Thermopause. It has a 10 km thick belt of sodium replenished from incoming meteors. Magnetic disturbances cause Thermospheric Storms.
5) The Exosphere is 500-10.000 kms above the surface. Has very few oxygen and hydrogen atoms, and some escape into space.
5.1. The Magnetosphere is 3000-16,000 kms above the surface. Charged particles spiral along magnetic field lines called the Van Allen Radiation Belts.
Q G5. Paul speaks about “a man going up to the third heaven though he doesn't know if he went in the body or not.” (2 Cor 12:2-4) Which atmospheric level might this be?
A G5. Since he says the 'third heaven” and if he knew about the 5 levels I have described, then it could be the Mesosphere that he is referring to. The heights within the Mesosphere change so it may range from 50-100 kms. If by third heaven he includes the Ionosphere, then that is a much larger area up to about 1000 kms.
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APPENDIX 3 – PROFESSOR H.
Q H1. Professor H, where was Abraham from?
A H1. "Ur of the Chaldeans (Kasdites)." (Gen 11:28) Kasdites were descendants of Kesed (Gen 22:22), a relative of Abraham.
Q H2. What language did the Chaldeans speak and did any Chaldean words carry over into Aramaic?
A H2. Their language group was East Semitic. Many words casrrie over into Aramaic. For example, Jesus said at the end of his testing in the desert, "Withdraw, Satan." (Math 4:10) Satan was a Chaldean word.
Q. H3. How did the Samaritans know about the Messiah?
A. H3. The Samaritans had a copy of the Pentateuch enscribed in the ancient Phoenician or Hebrew characters. This book was held in awe by them and from this the Samaritan woman would have heard that the Messiah was to come. (John 4:25)
Q H4. Who was Gessius Florus and why did the Jews (Judaeans) hate him enough to rebel against Rome in 66CE?
A H4. Gessius Florus was the Roman procurator ruling Judea. He loved money and hated Jews. When tax revenues were low, he seized silver from the Jerusalem Temple. The Judaeans were enraged by this and, as their uproar against him grew, he sent troops into Jerusalem in 66CE who massacred 3,600 people. That triggered what became known as the First Jewish Revolt.
Q H5. So there had been no Jewish Revolts before this?
A H5. Not significant ones against the Romans but certainly Jewish Revolts against the Greek King Antiochus IV Epiphanes who ruled Israel from 175-164CE.
Q H6. Who led this earlier Jewish Revolt against the Greeks and why?
A H6. It was known as the Maccabean Revolt and it spanned the years 167-160 BC. It was led by Judah Maccabee, a Judean priest, who loathed having the Greek language and culture forced on Jewish life by King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and especially after the king looted the Temple in 169BC. The King forced the Judaeans to abandon their national culture, including their sacred Torah, and begin following the Greek culture and language. Judah detested those Judaeans who adopted the new Grecian ways and set about killing them for apostasy.
Q H7. Is the Maccabean Revolt mentioned in the Old Testament?
A H7. It depends which version of the Old Testament you have. If you have 1 and 2 Maccabees, then yes.
Q. H8. What happened to the Judaeans who adopted Greek language and culture?
A. H8. They became known as Hellenes or Hellenists. These were Greek-speaking Israelites. Some of them abandoned their worship of Yahweh and began worshiping Greek gods.
Q. H9. That must have caused a great divide between Hebrew and Greek Israelites?
A. H9. It did. A seemingly insurmountable divide. In the 1st group were those who remained faithful to the Torah and Jewish culture (known today as Jews.) The 2nd group were those who rejected the Torah and adopted Greek culture. It was into this divide that Jesus and his disciples stepped in the first century. And hence Jesus' mission to heal that divide. “At that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, making us both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition.” (Eph 2:12-14)
Q. H10. So there was a civil war between Hellenized and Orthodox forms of Judaism?
A. H10. Yes, exactly. As a result, an independent Jewish kingdom was formed known as the Hasmonean Dynasty (65-37BC.) This Dynasty eventually collapsed after another civil war and the last Hasmonean ruler was captured by Herod and executed in 37 BC. The Herodian Kingdom (37BC-6CE) followed and over time became Hellenized. Its first Jewish-Roman king was Herod the Great who greatly enlarged the Second Temple adding Greek styles. In 6CE Judea was ruled by Romans and Jesus appeared on the scene at this time.
Q H11. How many Temples did Jerusalem have?
A H11. Two. The First Temple was Solomon's Temple built about 1000BC and destroyed on the 9th of Av in 586BC. The Second Temple was built in 516BC and also destroyed on the 9th of Av in 70CE. This fateful day (9th of Av) is known as Tisha B'Av.
Q H12. Which books in the Old Testament refer to the destruction of the First Temple?
A H12. Many of them. Lamentations laments the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, as well as the desolation of Judea, and the enslavement of God’s people. “How alone sits the city that was full of people.” (Lam 1:1) “Judah has gone into captivity because of depression and enslavement, and now dwells in the nations.” (Lam 1:3) Nehemiah was another who wrote about the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, and the rebuilding he helped begin. “I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, 'The remnant left of the captivity there in the province is in great affliction and shame. And the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.'” (Neh 1:2-3)
Q. H13. Do you know anything about numerology, such as what 1000 years might mean?
A. H13. No, but the Bible says “1000 years is as a day to the Lord” (2 Pet 3:8).
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APPENDIX 4 – HISTORICAL TIMELINE
BC (Before Christ)
• 1000-586BC Period of First Temple. Temple destroyed on 9th of Av.
• 516BC-70CE Period of Second Temple in Jerusalem. Temple destroyed on 9th of Av.
• 356-323BC Alexander the Great was King of Macedon (northern Greece.) Philip his son took over all Greece in 338BC. Turkey was then part of the Persian Empire (which
had controlled Greece for a short time.) Alexander was in the Macedon Argead Dynasty that spanned 700-310BC.
• 312-63BC Seleucid Empire was Hellenistic and took over Persian Empire from Alexander the Great. Turkey to Iran and Israel but didn't include Greece.
• 509-27BC Roman Republic.
• 27BC-285CE. Roman Empire. Pax Romana 27BC-180CE. Roman period of stability.
• 134-104BC John Hyrcanus ruled Judea. Also conquered Edom and forced Edomites to convert to Judaism.
• 47BC Herod became Governor of Galilee
• 38-4BC King Herod ruled Israel.
CE (Common Era or Christian Era)
• 4-6 CE Herod Archelaus ruled Judea.
• 6-39 CE Herod Antipas ruled Galilee and Perea.
• 41-44CE King Agrippa I ruled Judaea until his death in 44
• 48-66CE King Agrippa II superintended the temple in Jerusalem until the Jews threw him out for siding with Rome.
• 66-73CE Jewish Revolt against the Romans.
Events in Judea (in CE)
30 Jesus killed. Stephen stoned.
37-50 Rome suffers a financial crisis. Jews and Romans enmity worsens.
44 James (brother of John) is killed.
45-46 Antioch Christians send support via Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem Christians during a famine.
50 First Christian Council held in Jerusalem.
57 Paul arrested in Jerusalem.
63 A heifer cow gave birth to a lamb in the temple as it was about to be sacrificed (recorded by Jospehus.)
63 Jesus son of Ananus began wailing at Pentecost in Jerusalem “Woe is Jerusalem” and continued for 7 years and died in the 70CE siege.
64-68 Nero persecutes Jews and Christians everywhere.
65-66 A sword shaped star and a comet passed over Jerusalem for a year (recorded by Josephus.)
66 James (brother of Jesus and 1st Bishop of Jerusalem) is killed in Jerusalem by order of high priest Ananus.
66-73 First Jewish-Roman War with the Judaean rebels led by Simon Bar Giora.
66 Great light shone round the Temple altar on the 8th of Nisan at 9pm (recorded by Josephus.)
66 During Pentecost Festival, the heavy eastern Gate of the Temple opened by itself at 6pm. There was also an earthquake and a great noise (recorded by Josephus.)
66 On the 21st of Artemisius, before the sun set, chariots and armoured troops of soldiers are seen running in the clouds and surrounding cities.
68 Peter is killed.
69 Paul is killed. Year of Four Roman Emperors – Nero, Galba, Otho, Vespasian – because of murderous infighting.
70 Roman siege of Jerusalem by General Titus. Destroys the Second Temple and much of the city. 1 million Israelites killed or enslaved.
70 Jesus returns and takes his disciples to the New Jerusalem.
79-81 Titus becomes Emperor of Rome briefly. In 79 Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii. In 80 a fire destroyed much in Rome.
90-96 Jews and Christians enslaved and persecuted. Christians relocate to Pella. Jewish rulers relocate to Yavne.
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APPENDIX 5 : My Personal Background
Ever since I came to Christ in 1968 and received his Spirit in 1976, I have been challenged to search the Bible for the truth contained in it because, if his spirit and his word is life, (and I believe it to be so), then I want it. Therefore, for me there is no orthodox position. Either scripture says something is true and real or it does not. That has been challenging over the years as I have grappled personally with the application of scripture in my own life and also when I have challenged the orthodox position if I believe it has been at odds with scripture.
For most of my Christian walk, I accepted an orthodox evangelical position, in regard to scripture. For about 15 years, I subscribed to the Creation magazine and enjoyed reading the articles and research. However, lots of loose ends about their interpretation of Genesis didn't tie together for me.
I have spent periods of time, the past two decades, reading and re-reading the Genesis account trying to get my head round all the scriptures related to it to find one solution to answer all my questions. I read the whole Bible over and over. All my friends had different theories on what Genesis and Revelation and everything in between meant but I wanted to know what Jesus meant by it.
I studied many biblical subjects using only the Bible following through, in almost all cases, a single word (in Hebrew or Greek) in all its uses right through the Bible so that I could try to find the truth that ran through from start to finish. I examined in depth dozens of subjects including: God (elohim/yahweh/theos), breath/spirit (ruach/pneuma), sin (chatta'ah/hamartia), nations (goy/ethnos), Israel, world (tebel/kosmos), age (aion), generation (dor/genea), land (erets/ge), heaven (shamayim/ouranos), tribes (matteh/phule.)
At various times I would make a conclusion and then test it against all scripture. If the conclusion failed to meet most of the biblical evidence, I dispensed with it and started again. This is how I have come to my present view after reading, testing and reviewing countless times.
This story is based on the possibility that Math 24 was all for Jesus’ disciples and no-one after them. I asked myself if all the events could have happened prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD? And if so, could Jesus have come back then? After years of examining these 2 questions from scripture and reading the account of Josephus, I concluded Jesus could have come back then. (Interestingly, I knew nothing about Preterism until after I had finished and someone said I had preterist views. I had to look up what this meant.)
I wanted to put my view in a way that would be interesting for others to read and provoke thought, but also be as true to scripture as I could make it. So I decided to write what I have called Jesus On Trial.
In this fictitious court scene, I have put Jesus on the witness stand to tell us what he said about his Second Coming and subjects related to that. In addition, I have interviewed other disciples asking them to confirm and clarify what they had said or written in scripture.
I also interviewed Josephus a well-known Jewish historian who lived at the time. He had written about what happened leading up to the fall of Jerusalem and during the siege in 70AD. He wasn't a follower of Jesus but he did state he believed in God. His account is in the Appendices.
For fun, I added in the Appendices an interview with a History Professor named H (for History) who gives us a summary of what happened historically from 66-73AD, and a Geography Professor (Prof G.) Plus a few pertinent dates of events of the time.
My concluded view from scripture alone (not from history since) is that because of what Jesus (and the others testified in scripture), Jesus came back in person the second time at the end of their lifetime while some of his disciples were still alive. These ones had gone to the hills and there they were raised into the sky and met those raised from the dead. Jesus met them in the sky and took them all to the New Land and New Jerusalem.
My Position : Jesus returned from Heaven and collected His saints who now live in the Father’s House in the New Jerusalem. Hell has ceased to exist because it was the burning of Jerusalem in 70AD and the judgement at that time on the unbelieving Israelites.
Orthodox Position : Jesus has remained in Heaven and has yet to return.
I have not met anyone else who holds my view in its entirety but to me it ties up all the loose ends in Scripture. I appreciate the repercussions were my position to be accepted by others. The modern day church may look entirely different but I'm not addressing that predicament in this book. Nor do I want any followers. Nor am I writing to make any money by this. I am happy to cover the costs and distribute it freely.
I would love to hear from you after you have finished reading, and if you find that the weight of scripture disagrees with any of these positions, I will happily re-address them. My hope is that I will find others who come to hold my position so we can explore together what our faith in Christ means in the age after his Parousia.
My hope is that the truth of Jesus be established, and be lived honestly. Written out of my love for Christ, to honour His Word, and to attempt to live it truthfully, with the help of his indwelling Breath (Spirit.)
Yours faithfully,
Murray
Passover April 19-27th 2019
Contact : Murray John Peat
Email: [email protected]
Auckland, New Zealand.
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