Since I've started on my walk with God, I've learned so much about the different denominations of Christianity. I figured that since I'm becoming a Christian, I should know what I'm getting myself into. Luckily for me, my Church is non-denominational and we follow what the scriptures say.
I'm not saying that makes my Church perfect, because it's gone through some dark times as well. But we don't try not to mistranslate what the scriptures say, we don't attempt to interpret them differently from what the scriptures actually say, or pick out whatever makes us feel good. We follow the Word of God, and put it into practice.
What's interesting to me, are the thousands of different denominations that I've either been told about, or read about. According to Wikipedia, there are over 38,000 Christian denominations. And I'm willing to bet that only a couple of them actually follow what the scriptures say.
Example: Some Evangelist Churches can be pretty lazy when it comes to certain scriptures, like Baptism. Some Churches don't feel that Baptism is all that important, and that you only need to have faith in Jesus Christ to get into Heaven. While other Churches feel that you should be Baptized as an infant, even though that type of Baptism isn't supported by scripture at all. Other Churches believe that you can Baptize yourself, but that's not what is said in the scriptures. While faith is absolutely required for Baptism, faith is not the only thing that makes a disciple of Jesus Christ. You have to be Baptized, to wash away your sins, and be united with God. And Christ calls upon us to imitate him, so we must be baptized, since HE was baptized. So why do some denominations ignore the importance of Baptism? Baptism is basically our marriage to God.
While I appreciate the Catholic Church, and many of the great things that it has done for the world, and I rejoice at the fact that they spread the Gospel, however, has become a church system that attempts to control and abuse people.
Priests in the past, would read the hold the singular Bible in their hands and preach the Word in Latin not English, which can be a dangerous thing, since they would be the only ones utilizing the Bible to teach the people.
They also threatened and attempted to kill anyone who tried to translate the Bible into English. It's easy to control people, when you're the only one preaching the Word, and no one else has the word in their hands to read along during that time.
And I don't believe Jesus would even approve today's Catholic Church, since Jesus was basically homeless and he did not like organized religion.
Christ didn't come down to Earth to start a religion, he came to save our souls. According to the Gospels, Jesus was not a founder of a religion. His teachings were completed and written before Christianity was ever coined. The Bible was written, and completed before Christianity was ever created. In the NIV translation, Christianity is only mentioned one time!
Mormonism is not Christianity. They believe in a false Jesus. They believe that Jesus is the brother of Satan. Mormonism claims that Jesus came from planet Kolob. Mormonism teaches that we can become Gods, have our own planets and have polygamous sex for eternity.
In the 1950's, Mormons preached that the only way a black man could get into Heaven, was as a slave.
Mormons also claimed that Native Americans are the lost tribe of Israel. Joseph Smith was basically a con man and is the founder of this religion. Brigham Young stated that race mixing should be punishable by death and that any White Mormon who mixes with a Black person must have their head cut off.
Mormonism is not Christianity!
There are denominations that misinterpret the Bible and use it against people. There are ministries who claim that "God hates fags", when the Bible clearly states that God loves everybody. God doesn't hate anybody, because God is love, God is grace, and God is compassionate. But because of people's sinful nature, we like to twist and turn what the scriptures say, and use them to hurt other people. This may be a reason why Christianity is losing it's numbers, because many people have been hurt by different denominations, who stopped focusing on Christ and started focusing on themselves: Jesus Christ should always be the head of the Church.
If Christ isn't the main focus, the Church will fall apart. When he's not the main focus, the Bible isn't the standard anymore. Jesus Christ must always be the main focus, and the Holy Bible should always be the standard for every Church.
Growing In Grace International Ministry,is run by a man, José Luis de Jesús Miranda, who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. His ministry has over 100,000 followers, and his members bear the mark of the beast, which is 666. Sounds more like the anti-Christ to me! Don't believe me? Look him up.
Luckily, Jesus Christ, warns us about false prophets.
In Luke 7:15, it says, "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."
Jesus says this again in Matthew 24:11, "and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."
2 Peter 2:1-22 completely talks about false teachers and their destruction. It says, "
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But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
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Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3
In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
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For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
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if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
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if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
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and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
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(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—
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if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
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This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.
Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
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yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
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But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
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They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
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With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!
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They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness.
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But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.
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These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them.
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For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.
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They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.
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If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning.
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It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them.
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Of them the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit,"and, "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."
If any person claims to be God, or related to Jesus Christ in any way, they are lying. When Jesus comes back, we will know it because he'll return in a way that is described and written in the scriptures.
Another denomination that contradicts scripture, are Jehovah Witnesses. They constantly try to predict when the world will come to an end, and when the Day of Judgement will arrive. Well guess what, nobody knows when the Day of Judgement will come. I think the Bible states that anyone who tries to predict when the father will come, is a false prophet, or just creating false prophecy. Let's look at what Jesus says about the Day of Judgement.
"The Day and Hour Unknown" is in Matthew 24:36-51. It says,
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"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
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As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
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For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
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and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
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Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
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Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
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"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
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But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
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So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
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"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?
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It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
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I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
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But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,'
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and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50
The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
So according to the Son of God, it is unknown when that day will come. He is the Son of God, and even he states that only the father knows when that day will come.
Below are more scriptures to validate this fact.
In Luke 17:20-24, it says,
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Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation,
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nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you."
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Then he said to his disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
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Men will tell you, 'There he is!' or 'Here he is!' Do not go running off after them. 24
For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other."
So no ordinary man can predict when the Kingdom will come; only God knows when it will arrive.
Jesus says this again in Luke 21: 8-9!
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He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them.
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When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."
Now let's take a look at Mark 13:1-7. It says, "1As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"
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"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
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As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately,
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"Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"
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Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.
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Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many.
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When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come."
Once again, only Jesus knows when the time will come, therefore pay no attention to false prophets, and false prophecy.
And finally, Mark 13:32-37 says,
"
32"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
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Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
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It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
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"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36
If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping.
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What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "
So if Jesus didn't know, then we definitely don't know when the Day of Judgement will come. So will the world end in December of 2012? I hope not, because I still want to write a couple more books, become a director or a screenwriter, and I want to get married and probably start a family. But according to scripture, it most likely will not come to an end in 2012. Because the world will not end, according our own predictions. Something might happen in 2012, but not what some people want to believe. If Jesus is the Son of God, and he didn't know, then we don't know, because we're not God.
And in the end, who cares? The fact that denominations like Jehovah Witnesses spend time trying to predict when the world will end, means that they missed the point of Jesus's sacrifice. Christians spend alot of time waiting for the world to end, when they should be serving people, helping people, and doing what Christ commanded us to do, which is to love one another. That was his greatest commandment. He said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind! The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself!
Here's one last scripture to supports what's been written here.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-28 says,
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Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,
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for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3
While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
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But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
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You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
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So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.
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For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
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But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
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For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
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Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
Final Instructions.
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Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.
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Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
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And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
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Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
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Be joyful always;
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pray continually;
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give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
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Do not put out the Spirit's fire;
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do not treat prophecies with contempt.
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Test everything. Hold on to the good.
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Avoid every kind of evil.
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May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
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Brothers, pray for us.
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Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.
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I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you."
So my message to everybody is this. Don't follow people, and don't follow yourself. Follow Jesus Christ. Because he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
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