'Earnestly contending for the faith,' (Jude 3 ) as well as sharing encouragement and hope through Scripture (Romans 15:4), and through the poems and posts that I write. One of many voices on the Internet warning Christians of the importance of testing the teachings of men (and women) against the unchanging truth of God's Word. (Acts 17:11) I 'warn you with tears' through much of what I write, to 'be on guard against the savage wolves that will come in among us who will distort the Word of God' as God's Word warns us about in Acts 20:26-31
Hey there! Thanks for dropping by Living4HisGlory! Take a look around and grab the RSS feed to stay updated. See you around!
JULY 8, 2020 NOTE: When time allows I will be updating this post with information regarding the latest developments concerning Doreen Virtue, Joshua Chavez, and Justin Peters.
NOTE: Updated this post on July 17, 2020 1:26 P.M. You will find all new UPDATES written in this teal color.
NOTE: Updated this post again on July 20, 2020 10:32 P.M. and July 21, 2020 2:49 P.M. with the latest developments. You will find these UPDATES in this pink color near the end of this post.
NOTE: Updated this post again on July 30, 2020 5:22 P.M. You will find this updated section near the bottom of this post in this green color.
NOTE: Saw the need to update this post again on August 24, 2020 12:20 P.M. by adding two videos. See the end of this post in this dark purple color.
First I want to begin this post by clearly saying that my intention in writing this post is not to bash Doreen Virtue, but rather to emphasize the extreme importance of not only praying for spiritual discernment but also to emphasize the extreme importance of testing everything that a professing Christian says against Scripture to be certain that all that they say lines up with Scripture. (Acts 17:11) Sometimes we are too quick to accept everything that a professing born-again Christian says is true without taking the time to pray for discernment as we either carefully listen to or read their testimony. Sometimes the music that may be played in the background of one’s testimony can move us emotionally and affect our ability to spiritually discern truth from error, as well.
I also want to make it clear that I am not denying Doreen’s salvation. Only God knows where each person stands regarding this extremely important eternal life issue and whether a person has made the decision to place their trust completely — and only — in the “once for all” sacrifice of His life in our place that Jesus Christ willingly offered when He shed His blood and died on the cross for our sins. What I am trying to show through all of the following information is the extreme importance of thinking for ourselves and examining all of the evidence in order to know what the truth really is, because the truth matters!
I also want to say that I personally do not know Doreen Virtue or Joshua Chavez, (who is known as Servus Christi on YouTube), and I have never personally interacted with either one of them in any way.
Although there are many concerns that could be brought to your attention regarding all that has transpired since Joshua Chavez posted his video entitled, ‘Justin Peters Now Believes Visions Of Jesus? (Doreen Virtue)’ the main issue that I will be addressing in this post is Doreen’s alleged vision of Jesus. However, I will post some of the information that addresses all of the issues so that you can see a well balanced view from all sides of this issue. It is my prayer that you will pray for discernment before you watch all of the videos posted below and come to your own conclusion after seeking God in prayer for the truth in this matter and looking into His Word.
For those of you who are not aware of who Doreen Virtue is, she was a top selling author for a top selling New Age publisher –Hay House. During her time in the New Age Movement she wrote many New Age books such as: ‘Healing With The Angels’, ‘Archangels & Ascended Masters: A Guide to Working and Healing with Divinities and Deities,’ ‘Daily Guidance From Your Angels,’ as well as many different types of Oracle cards (occultic cards used in giving so-called readings). Doreen is now a professing Christian, but many Christians (including myself) have some very valid concerns regarding some of the things that she has been saying.
This all started when Joshua posted his very in depth video analyzing Doreen Virtue’s testimony, the main point being on how she focuses on her alleged vision of Jesus that she claims to have had on January 7th of 2017 almost every time that she shares her testimony –including very recently. You will see that this is a fact by viewing the videos and documented information that I have added to this post. Although I would have liked to have seen more Christ-like love and grace shown by Joshua in the way that he presented much of his information regarding Justin Peters and Doreen Virtue, the fact remains that oftentimes Doreen does focus on the vision of Jesus that she claims to have had.
Picture above is a quick capture of Doreen Virtue holding a picture of the painting done by an artist that represents the alleged vision of Jesus that she claims to have had on January 7, 2017. You can watch the video HERE and the link is also posted further below in this post. NOTE: A comment was made in the comment section on one of these videos that show this painting which pointed out the disturbing fact that this “Jesus” does not have nail marks in His wrists or palms of His hands.
NOTE: Joshua has not allowed his video to be played on anyone’s website, so if you would like to watch it you will need to click on the link where it says, “Watch this video on YouTube.”
UPDATE: This video has now been taken down.
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 As you can see, YouTube reinstated Joshua’s video:
Here is a quick capture of what it originally looked like:
At the link below you will see a reupload of one of Joshua Chavez’s videos. IMHO it is the best one of his recent videos that focuses on Doreen and her inconsistencies regarding her alleged vision of Jesus. (This is the video in which you will see a picture of the Jesus that she allegedly saw in her vision). In this video Joshua gives his perspective and presents the documented facts on this whole issue:
Here is another very good video that contains clips of Joshua’s videos that were taken down by YouTube as well as documented evidence presented by Blood Bought Ministries regarding Doreen Virtue and her alleged vision of Jesus:
5-16-2020 – UPDATE: IT NOW APPEARS AS IF BLOOD BOUGHT MINISTRIES WAS FORCED TO REMOVE THE VIDEO, BUT CHOSE TO SET THIS VIDEO AS PRIVATE RATHER THAN DELETING IT.
5-17-2020 – 9:00 A.M. UPDATE: TODAY IT CAN BE VIEWED. PLEASE WATCH NOW WHILE IT IS STILL AVAILABLE:
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 At of today, this video is still available to watch in spite of what the text says:
BLOOD BOUGHT MINISTRIES – DOREEN VIRTUE AND HER DAMAGE CONTROL
After watching Joshua’s entire very lengthy video, which, for the most part, I found to be very eye opening regarding the very troubling fact that Doreen oftentimes focuses on her alleged vision of Jesus when she publicly shares her testimony, I immediately went to Doreen’s YouTube channel and watched her featured personal testimony video, which now has been marked private, (see quick captures of information I posted further below). In its place she now has a video of an interview that she did with Pastor Chris Quintana.
I then proceeded to go to her website where I found the following information as of 7:13 P.M., May 8th 2020 and quick captured everything and posted it below for you as documentation of what was presently there:
Under About Doreen Virtue in part it says:
“Raised in the new age, Doreen had a profound vision of Jesus on January 7, 2017 that led to her getting baptized and converting to Christianity.”
When I clicked on Doreen Virtue Testimony page it said the following:
“In this video, you’ll hear about the amazing experience and the 4 realizations which led to me becoming a born-again Christian, by clicking here.”
However, when I clicked on the link to view the video, as you can see from the quick capture below, it said,
“Video unavailable. This video is private.”
This appeared to be Doreen’s decision to begin what some would call, damage control.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
As I searched for other copies of Doreen’s testimony on video to see if she focuses on her vision of Jesus (before those videos possibly end up disappearing, as well), I came across the following two videos put together by a Bible believing Christian who is a former New Ager. She has a YouTube channel called, Truth Matters. In the following two videos she tests Doreen’s original testimony against Scripture and makes some excellent observations. Please considering listening to them when time allows:
UPDATE: Sadly, the person who put these videos together must have been forced to take them down. Her channel no longer exists, as well, but I can assure you that she did not present her comments in a mean-spirited way; she presented her information in a clear and Biblical manner using many Scriptures and in such a way that all Christians would see the serious concerns one should have with what Doreen had shared in her testimony.
Doreen Virtue’s Original Testimony to Christianity
Doreen Virtue’s Original Conversion Video Part 2
In the video further below, Doreen shares her testimony with Matt Blackburn. This video was posted on December 7th 2019 which was just five months ago at the time that I am writing this post. Beginning at the 24:49 – 28:49 minute mark you will hear Doreen say some of the following regarding her alleged vision of Jesus:
“I had this big experience on January 7th, 2017, Matt, that completely changed everything…”
“…all of a sudden everything disappeared in my vision field and all I saw was this vision of Jesus.”
“…it was like the veil lifted and he’s always there and I got to see him, but this light is what did move; it came out of his heart and I could feel the rays of this light and he actually had even pushed me back in my chair, and while this was going on, and I don’t know how long it lasted, I had these epiphanies which which means a realization and this knowingness.”
“And the first thing I knew was that Jesus is real. Jesus of the Bible is real. I had always doubted what the Bible had said about him, but he’s real.”
“And then the second realization was the Bible’s real. I mean, it just, I went from being a skeptic to a believer in a nanosecond, just…I knew the Bible was real. ”
“The third realization is that Jesus really had died for our sin. Again, I didn’t even believe he was crucified, let alone that he had died for sin “…and I could feel all of the sins on his body. I mean it was a palpable experience…”
“And the forth realization is I need to get out of the New Age…”
I am almost certain that it is just a matter of time before the above video gets taken down, as well, in what appears to be Doreen’s attempt to do damage control in order to keep the truth hidden of how recently she has proclaimed her vision as being Jesus without any doubt whatsoever. Here are some quick captures of some of the things that Doreen said in her interview with Matt Blackburn which shows that she bases her belief of the reality of Christianity not on the Word of God, but instead on the experience that she had –her alleged vision of Jesus that she said took place on January 7th of 2017:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
In case you missed it, I would like to bring the most concerning thing to your attention regarding what Doreen said at the 49:58 minute mark in the video above; speaking about Christianity, Doreen said the following:
“How do I know that it’s [Christianity] the real deal? I…I had this experience on January 7th of 2017. To my very bones…every soul in my, cell in my body knew that I was looking at the real Jesus.”
How many of you can see the serious danger in the things that Doreen has said? She is saying that she came to the realization that Christianity and Jesus Christ and the Bible are real after allegedly seeing a vision of Jesus. A Jesus that she describes as having rays of light coming out of his heart similar to the alleged vision seen by now deceased Catholic nun and mystic, Maria Faustina Kowalska, as Joshua rightly points out in his video, as well.
Doreen is telling everyone that she did not come to the realization that Jesus Christ and the Bible are real and that Jesus died for our sins by reading the Bible and hearing the gospel being preached. Instead she is saying she came to this realization by the vision that she allegedly saw! This is extremely troubling! Yes, Doreen is now speaking out and warning about some of the New Age practices that she was once involved in, practices that she claims she has repented of, but why is it that she mainly focuses on this vision almost every time that she shares her testimony? How is it that all of the thousands of Doreen’s followers cannot see this troubling fact?
Why is it that some Christians do not take the time to research a professing Christian’s beliefs before they choose to follow them or agree to accept their invitation to come on their show? People like Justin Peters, (whom I deeply respect because of how he speaks out regarding the false Word of Faith Movement), Chris Quintana, Phil Johnson, Chris Rosebrough — well respected professing Christian men who should know better — have all been guests on Doreen’s YouTube channel.
Since I had never heard of Matt Blackburn before I decided to do a little research on him simply by taking a look at some of the videos that he has posted on his YouTube channel. Here are just a couple of the troubling things that I found:
Although he professes to be a Christian, Matt Blackburn promotes the New Age practice of earthing (which is also referred to as grounding) on his YouTube channel (among other New Age things). If you’d like, you can read THIS POST that I wrote back in December of 2017 on this subject in order to warn Christians about it. On his website it gives a list of the things that he has studied extensively, which includes things such as crystal technology. This may be a case of a lack of diligence on Matt’s part to keep the information on his channel and website updated in order to reflect where he presently is in Christian walk with Jesus Christ, but it’s very troubling to think about the many people that he is leading astray by not deleting these things from his channel and website –if indeed he has rejected New Age philosophies and practices and repented for practicing and promoting them.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
In the process of writing this post I was contacted by a dear sister-in-Christ who shared a very disturbing update with me. It seems that Doreen Virtue is now saying that the vision she saw of Jesus could possibly have been a demon!
Do any of you find that rather suspicious that up until now she has insisted that she had seen the real Jesus in her alleged vision, and yet shortly after Joshua Chavez comes out with a video bringing attention to how Doreen focuses mainly on her January 7th 2017 alleged vision of Jesus when she shares her testimony, all of a sudden she is now saying it could possibly have been a demon? Doesn’t this seem more than just a coincidence? What will it take for some Christians to see the truth about someone they admire and follow who is quite clearly not being honest regarding some of the things they are saying and teaching?
On May 9, 2020, the day after Joshua posted his video, Doreen came out with this video. Although she does not mention Joshua Chavez by name, clearly it was a video response to what he had shared in his video entitled,‘Justin Peter Now Believes Visions Of Jesus? (Doreen Virtue),’ and she accuses him of slandering her:
UPDATE 7-17-2020: Doreen chose to delete this video. Appears to be more damage control:
The day after Doreen was interviewed by Katie — The Berean Millennial, (her interview is at the link that I shared with you earlier in this post), Doreen posted the following video which was basically what she had shared with Katie on Instagram, including that she was now saying that the alleged vision of Jesus that she claimed to have had on January 7, 2017 may possibly have been a demon:
UPDATE 7-17-2020 Doreen decided to delete this video, as well.
In the following video that I found on 5-11-2020 (a video that was first posted on YouTube on November 21, 2019 — less than six months ago from the time that I am writing this post), Doreen also shared her testimony — including her alleged vision of Jesus — on Tulips & Honey YouTube channel, and she does not say anything about it possibly having been a demon. She does say that she was not a Christian at this point, but again, the truth is that Doreen does focus on sharing her alleged vision of Jesus in the very recent past and she does not say that it was possibly a demon. Therefore, what Joshua said regarding her vision is true and it is not slander.
Below you will see some of the things that Doreen said in the above video that I have quick captured for you not only so that you can see what she says for yourself if you don’t have the time to watch the video, but also just in case the above video gets taken down at some point:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
You will hear and see the same thing in this audio (and the quick captures) of what Doreen had said when she shared her testimony very recently on the B.A.R. (Biblical And Reformed) Podcast that was posted on April 29, 2020:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Yes, we are to extend grace to Doreen since she appears to be a fairly new Christian, and we definitely need to pray for her. Yes, she has been speaking out and warning about the dangers of yoga, the Enneagram, Contemplative Prayer, and other New Age practices because she has taught many occultic things in the past and she seems to genuinely want to warn Christians about the dangers of these things , but the following points need to be made:
The first point is this:
Why does Doreen see the need to put the emphasis on this vision almost every time that she shares her testimony?
The second point, which is the most important is:
Since she shared her alleged vision of Jesus on Tulips And Honey YouTube channel in November of 2019 , and then again in December of 2019 with Matt Blackburn, and again as recently as April 29th on B.A.R., and did not mention in any way whatsoever that it could possibly have been a demon, this is clear evidence that shows Doreen is presently covering up the truth with lies in her latest videos. Maybe she is afraid, and out of fear she is lying to protect herself from rejection, but a lie is a sin that must be confessed to the Lord, repented of, and admitted to her followers if indeed she is a Christian and wants to be pleasing to the Lord.
MY CLOSING THOUGHTS AFTER COMPLETELY WATCHING ALL OF THESE VIDEOS
Even though Joshua did not present all of his information in a Christ-like and compassionate manner regarding Justin Peters and Doreen Virtue, the fact remains that Doreen Virtue now looks like the completely innocent one being victimized by Joshua, when the facts show that she has lied and covered up the truth about her testimony and changed things to seemingly gain sympathy. In other words, Doreen has changed the facts and is misleading all of the thousands of people who follow her; people who deserve to know the truth — no matter what the cost.
Although I do not agree with Justin Peters’ Calvinistic/ Reformed Theology, as I previously mentioned I do truly appreciate his Clouds Without Water series exposing the Word of Faith heresies, and I agreed with much of what he said in his video regarding Joshua’s attitude and lack of love and compassion for Doreen. It was deeply troubling — and even embarrassing — to see the way Joshua treated Justin in his video playing that short clip over and over and over, ignoring — and seemingly not even taking the time to watch — the interview that Justin did with Doreen.
I also accept his explanation of why he didn’t check her out more closely before accepting her invitation to come on her program because many of us have learned that lesson in one way or another a little too late at least once in our lives, but I do pray that Justin will speak to her specifically about her vision and address these concerns that many of us have about the latest things that she has done and said in her recent videos.
Yes, Doreen did seem to have some, “Aha” moments as Justin Peters was sharing some Biblical truth with her regarding dreams and visions when she had asked him if “dreams from God are still for today,” but this question must be asked:
If Doreen sincerely did embrace this truth that Jesus does not speak through dreams and visions today based on what God’s Word says in Hebrews 1:1,2, why then did she continue to emphasize her vision at least two times since she received Justin’s Biblical response to her question during his interview that was posted on Doreen’s YouTube channel on November 28, 2019?
As I always try to stress in many of my posts:
As Christians *we are to be followers of Jesus Christ alone; we are not to follow any man — or woman — and their ministry to such a degree that we would ever wrongly think that they could never err in what they say or do. *(1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 1 Corinthians 3:1-7)
As Christians we need to realize the extreme importance of testing what professing Christians say — and do — in light of Scripture. (Acts 17:11)
As Christians we need to keep in mind the many warnings in Scripture about spiritual deception and false teachers in the last days and how even from our own number men — and women — will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. (Acts 20:30)
I will be praying for Doreen to realize that Jesus Christ of the Bible knows the truth regarding her heart and her motives as well as what she truly believes about the alleged vision that she claims to have had on January 7th of 2017. He also knows why she now seems to be trying desperately to change her story. However, there is no good reason whatsoever for Doreen, a professing born-again Christian, to lie and to wrongly accuse Joshua Chavez of slander.
After watching some of Doreen’s videos it first appeared to me that she does seem to have a genuine and sincere desire to please God. I pray that is true, but honestly after watching her two latest videos I now have very serious concerns about her. If Doreen truly is a born-again Christian now, then I pray that out of a desire to live a life that is honoring to the Lord, she will take some time off from her YouTube ministry and go before the Lord and seek Him with all of her heart and do whatever needs to be done to make things right, all the while learning to trust Him even more. I also pray that she will come to the knowledge of the truth about the Biblical gospel and ask God’s forgiveness for placing her trust in experiences instead of in the finished work of Jesus Christ and the truth of His Word. I pray that many other Christians will pray for her, as well, instead of calling her horrible names in the comment section of these types of videos that allow for comments.
If you took the time to pray for discernment before reading this lengthy post and watching all of these videos, I pray that you now see the extreme importance of reading and studying God’s Word, constantly praying for discernment, and testing what every professing Christian says in light of Scripture so that you will never be deceived and led astray from Jesus Christ.
I am not wrongly judging Doreen by saying all that I did in this post. I, along with many other concerned Christians, simply tested what she has said and claims to have said against her own words that she has shared publicly. God’s Word shows us very clearly that there are times when we are to judge:
“Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” (John 7:24)
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-13)
PLEASE REFLECT ON THESE SCRIPTURES
“You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars — all the heavenly array — do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has appointed to all the nations under heaven.” (Deuteronomy 4:15-19)
“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:1-3 – KJV)
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22)
“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas ”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:10-13)
“Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-7)
“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. “(2 Corinthians 11:13,14)
“In fact everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus I give you this charge, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage –with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 3:13-4:1-4)
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But a man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it –he will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:22-25)
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth. When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:22,23)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:7-10)
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11)
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures above are from The Holy Bible New International Version® 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
The Biblical Gospel
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” (John 3:16-21 – KJV)
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36 – KJV)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6 – KJV)
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:8-12 – NIV)
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes. Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” Romans 3:10-26 – KJV)
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 – KJV)
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4 – KJV)
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:1-6 – KJV)
“For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.” (1 Timothy 4:10 – KJV)
“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:3-7 – KJV)
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9,10 – KJV)
All Scriptures above were found on biblehub.com
RELATED VIDEOS
Video that my friend and dear sister-in-Christ put together regarding this issue has now been taken down.
Doreen Virtue’s Dishonesty
Justin Peters’ response to Joshua Chavez’s original video posted on May 2020:
Joshua’s Video Responding To Doreen Virtue’s Video – Posted May 11, 2020:
UPDATE: Joshua’s video has now been removed – Quick capture of his video can be seen further below.
UPDATE: 7-17-2020 As you can see, YouTube reinstated Joshua’s second video, as well!
Here again is the link to a reupload of this original video by Joshua Chavez that has documented information about this whole very extremely troubling situation regarding Doreen Virtue:
5-16-2020 UPDATE: There is now another upload of the original video by Joshua Chavez on YouTube, as well:
CHRISTIAN WRITER AND SPEAKER, WARREN B SMITH, WHO WAS ONCE DEEPLY INVOLVED IN THE NEW AGE:
PLAYLIST – WARREN WARNS CHRISTIANS ABOUT THE NEW AGE AND APOSTASY
ANOTHER VERY BIBLICAL AND IMPORTANT PRESENTATION GIVEN BY WARREN B SMITH
UPDATE: 7-17-2020MY FINAL CLOSING COMMENTS:
After watching Joshua’s latest video that you can watch directly below, I must confess that I was wrong to say that Joshua was being unloving towards Doreen because of some of the things that he had said in his previous videos. When a professing Christian is in error and is teaching error, we are to rebuke them sharply as Jesus Himself did, and as many of the apostles did, as well!
Also, because of some documented evidence that Joshua shared in THIS VIDEO (entitled, ‘DISQUALIFIED,’ which I have also posted below) regarding Justin Peters, I no longer trust Justin Peters or believe all that he had said concerning what he knew about Doreen before he accepted his invitation to be her guest on her YouTube Channel. Although Justin Peters has done a wonderful job of exposing the many heretical teachings in the Word of Faith Movement, his soft spoken manner can be very misleading; we must always test everything against Scripture and the truth that is presented to us regardless of how we may feel about a person!
JOSHUA CHAVEZ – MOST PROFESSING CHRISTIANS WOULD HAVE HATED JESUS
UPDATE JULY 20, 2020 – VIDEOS – I DOCUMENT, YOU PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF
JOSHUA CHAVEZ – VIDEO POSTED JUNE 19, 2020
THE VIDEO BELOW IS JUSTIN PETERS’ RESPONSE TO JOSHUA’S ABOVE VIDEO – THIS VIDEO WAS POSTED ON JULY 10, 2020
[NOTE: JUST SO YOU KNOW, I DO NOT FOLLOW OR ENDORSE JACOB PRASCH WHOM JUSTIN SPEAKS OF AT ONE POINT IN THIS VIDEO.]
After watching Justin Peters’ above video, I must tell you that even though I completely reject his Reformed Theology, I now believe Justin’s explanation regarding the other e-mails that were sent to him warning him about Doreen Virtue and the reason he gave for why he did not see them.
DOREEN VIRTUE’S APOLOGY VIDEO THAT INCLUDES AN ANALYSIS OF HER VISION WITH GUEST, CHRIS ROSEBROUGH, CAN BE SEEN AT THE LINK BELOW. [IMPORTANT NOTE: Many years ago I shared some of Chris Rosebrough’s videos with you in some of my posts in which he analyzed the sermons of some professing Christian pastors and teachers, such as Steven Furtick, and at that point I saw some value in his ministry. However,I no longer endorse him due to some of the things that have come to my attention, such as him being a Lutheran pastor who preaches in front of a statue of Jesus.]
This will probably be my last update for you on this post. If you would like to know the latest, then check both Joshua’s and Justin’s YouTube channels as well as Doreen’s channel from time to time. However, I encourage you instead to earnestly pray for Joshua Chavez, Justin Peters, and especially for Doreen Virtue, because there are some serious issues regarding Doreen and her soon to be released book in which she still speaks about her alleged vision of Jesus. If she is now in doubt about her vision regarding if it was Jesus or a demon that she actually saw, one must ask this important question:
If she took down her video about her vision that was on her website as well as on her YouTube channel because she did not want her vision experience to be a stumbling block for anyone and she didn’t want to cause confusion, (see video entitled, ‘DOREEN ANSWERS FAQ’S at the link below the following quick capture), why then is she openly and boldly posting advertisements on her Facebook page for her new book that includes the account of her vision?
Although I am trying to be gracious towards Doreen and not judge her heart or her motives, as a Berean at heart (Acts 17:11) I see the need to bring the following information to your attention:
After listening to DOREEN VIRTUE’S VIDEO in which she reads her revised version of Chapter 9 of her new book, DeceivedNo More, and talks about her alleged vision of Jesus, here are some troubling things that you need to be aware of:
As I was listening to her read from Chapter 9, a few things that she wrote in this revised version sent red flags waving and alarm bells going off in my spirit. Beginning at the 14:12 minute mark until the 14:36 minute mark, you will hear Doreen say this:
“…when the demon tried to tempt me by appearing as Jesus, God melted the snow upon my heart and allowed the Biblical truth to finally penetrate my heart. These were legitimate epiphanies, a term which means insights that help you to suddenly realize a deep spiritual truth. You might say it’s like a divine download.”
The term divine download is a New Age term, and you can see some examples of this by clickingHERE
Starting at the 18:05 minute mark until the 18:35 minute mark of this same video, Doreen said the following:
“I did not identify as a sinner because I didn’t understand the nature and the gravity of sin. My false beliefs unraveled as I had this epiphany. It was like I could feel the extreme weight of humanity’s sins striking Jesus’ crucified body like agonizing arrows. Of course I felt only a fraction of the weight and the suffering that Jesus endured on the cross to save us, but this realization radically transformed my beliefs. “
It’s very troubling to see that Doreen chose to keep that mystical experience that she claimed to have had in her revised version of Chapter 9. It brings to mind the Catholic mystic, Teresa of Avila, who allegedly had visions of Jesus and she claimed to have been pierced in her heart by arrows, as well:
Then beginning at the 24:14 minute mark, Doreen gives examples of how those in the New Age “ascribe healing and divination properties to each type of crystal.” She then goes on to mention two certain crystals and the divination properties that are given to them by those in the New Age. IMHO, as a professing Christian, Doreen should not be sharing that type of occultic information to those who may be influenced by hearing something like that because it could easily lure some of her followers into dabbling in the occult! This is why it is so very important for Christians to not only be followers of Jesus Christ alone, but also why it is so very important for us as Christians to test everything in light of Scripture and to focus on the truth that is found in God’s Word alone and not on any experience that a professing Christian — or anyone — claims to have had! END OF UPDATE
UPDATE: August 24, 2020 After watching the two following videos I saw the need to add them to this post so that you all can be aware of the disturbing facts regarding Doreen that cannot be denied:
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
Please keep Doreen Virtue and this entire situation in prayer. Pray that the whole truth will be made known and that God will be glorified in and through all of this. And, although Joshua Chavez has brought forth a lot of troubling things, I do pray that he will learn not to be so harsh and cruel with his attitude and words and try to present the truth in a more loving manner.
I do sincerely pray for Doreen, because only God knows her heart and her motives.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke – Living4HisGlory – Reflections Of His Glory Photography
Featured photo taken by Mary K Dalke – Reflections Of His Glory Photography
Scripture added to photo by Mary K Dalke using Pixlr X free online photo editor
UPDATE:
Due to the fact that I have taken the past few days to research and to write this post, it will probably be another two week or so before I am able to finish the next post in my present series, Comparing Scriptures In A Catholic New Testament Bible To Teachings Found In The Catechism Of The Catholic Church — Dear Catholic Are You Going To Believe The Word Of God, Or The Word Of Man? UPDATE: Already completed and posted.
In light of all that has been happening regarding Harvest Bible Chapel lately, I’d like to share the following videos and Scriptures with you as a way to help you learn to discern, and to offer hope and encouragement to you, as well. Even though these videos were made in 2012, you will hear many things that clearly apply to this tragic and shameful situation.
Here are just a few of many eye opening things that you will hear Ingrid Schlueter say:
“A toxic church is any church or ministry leadership structure where maintaining an exterior image of a church or leader is more important than any single soul in the congregation.”
“A toxic church is any church or leadership ministry structure where truth tellers who raise honest questions, heart-felt questions, are shut down, demonized, and made to feel that they are the spiritually defective ones.”
“If you are in a situation that is toxic and abusive, don’t waste time. Don’t let the locust eat any more time, any more years of your life. Get out. Get your kids away from a place like that because they can become cynical. They can become disillusioned very quickly when they hear Mom and Dad discussing all of this stuff. It’s very harmful and Satan uses it in a thousand different ways to cause destruction. Leave. If they will not listen, if they will not hear you out, then go and let God deal with it.”
SCRIPTURES FOR YOU TO REFLECT UPON
“He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11)
“As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.” (Ezekiel 34:12)
“When He saw the crowds He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36)
“To the elders among you I appeal as a fellow elder, witness of Christ’ sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed. Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.” (1 Peter 5:1-4 )
“Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” (James 3:1)
“For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)
I hope that you are praying along with me for all involved in this matter.
For those of you who are unaware of some of the troubling teachings that can be found in Catholicism, I’d like to share the following two part Playlist with you. In these two videos you will see actual quotes made by former popes and those canonized as saints in the Catholic church regarding Catholicim’s teaching, “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” My prayer is not only that you will come to understand why I see the extreme importance of continuing the series in which I began comparing the teachings found in the Catechism Of The Catholic Church against the Word of God, the Bible, but also my prayer is that you will become aware of the extreme importance of reading and studying God’s Word for yourself so that you will not be led astray by those who teach things that are based on the traditions and philosophies of men and contradict the truth of God’s Word.
There are some religions that use fear tactics to control those in their belief system by teaching that they are the “one true Church.” This induces fear in many people to the extent that they dare not even question a teaching or ever consider leaving their church for fear of losing their salvation. Among the religious groups who teach that they are the “one true Church” are The Watchtower Bible And Tract Society/Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints/Mormons, and, yes. Roman Catholicism –the Catholic church.
There are many former Catholics (myself included) who can attest to how some of the teachings in Catholicism only produced fear, and peace and assurance of salvation was nowhere to be found in their teachings. The Church that Jesus Christ spoke of in the gospels is not an organization, institution, or a specific religion. It is the called out ones (ecclesia); people who have chosen to believe the true Biblical gospel that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God as the apostle Peter proclaimed by a revelation from God. Upon this solid truth — this rock — Jesus Christ would build His church:
13 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.
18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:13-23)
Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is the Rock upon which the Church would be built, not Peter, as Catholicism teaches. Consider these Scriptures:
“I will proclaim the name of the LORD. O praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. You deserted the Rock who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth.” “For their rock is not like our Rock, as even our enemies concede.”(Deuteronomy 32:3, 4,18, 31)
“There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2)
“He said, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior–from violent men you save me. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.” (2 Sam 22:2-4)
“For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?” (2 Samuel 22:32)
“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God, the Rock, my Savior!” (2 Samuel 22:47)
“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2)
“For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God?”(Psalm 18:31)
“The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! He is the God who avenges me, who subdues nations under me, who saves me from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:46-48a)
“In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness. Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.” (Psalm 31:1-4)
“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”(Psalm 62:2,5-8)
“In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer.”(Psalm 78:32-35)
“He will call out to me, “You are my Father, my God, the Rock my Savior.” (Psalm 89:26)
“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:1-4)
It is very important that you understand Catholicism’s teaching, “There is no salvation outside the [Catholic] Church” because it will lay the groundwork for some future posts that I will be writing not only out of my desire to reach precious Catholics with the truly good news of the Biblical gospel that can be found in God’s Word, but also out of my desire to warn Christians of the many ways that they may be enticed into wrongly believing this teaching and be lured into the Catholic church and away from believing the Biblical gospel.
Now I present to you:
Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus – No Salvation Outside The Church
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
“Therefore as by the offence of one [the sin of Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus Christ] the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)
“For when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy.” (Titus 3:4,5)
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6)
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12)
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. ” (1 Timothy 2:5,6)
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (Galatians 1:6-9)
“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:3,4)
“When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:11-14)
“For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as man is destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.” (Hebrews 9:24-28)
1 “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.
2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.
3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins.
4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’”
8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law.
9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second.
10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”
17 Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless actsI will remember no more.”
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.” (Hebrews 10:1-18) (SOURCE – biblegateway.com)
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18)
“For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.” (Galatians 3:21-24)
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God –not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we have done, but because of His mercy.” (Titus 3:4,5)
“Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD will never count against him.” (Romans 4:7,8)
“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.” (2 Peter 2:1)
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men. after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13)
“Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:26-31)
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
Mary Dalke/Living4HisGlory
Featured picture by Mary K Dalke – Reflections of His Glory Photography
Scripture added by Mary K Dalke on Pixlr Editor
Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are from:The Holy Bible New International Version® 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
What was it that Jesus Christ, God in human flesh, did when He was upon the cross that fully satisfied God the Father’s wrath and His just demands to pay for all of our sins and to provide for our salvation? Was it enough that Jesus shed His blood and died in our place after taking upon Himself the full wrath of God that we deserved because of all of our sins, (as well as bore our griefs and our sorrows) as it says in Isaiah 53? Or did Jesus Christ also have to die spiritually as some professing Christian pastors and teachers tell us today? Regarding 2 Corinthians 5:21, did Jesus actually become sin as many pastors and teachers also teach and as many of us hear stated in some songs that are presented to us to sing at our churches (which I refuse to do) during worship time? (Chris Tomlin’s, ‘Jesus Messiah,’ Kristyn Getty’s ‘Power of the Cross,’ etc. ) These are very important issues! Teaching and believing that Jesus died spiritually has an extremely damaging impact upon the Biblical gospel as presented to us in God’s Word because the focus is taken off of what God demanded as payment for sin and what Jesus truly accomplished by His shed blood and physical death that completely satisfied God, His Father. I hope that you will take time out of your busy schedule to read this post and to check out the very important information that I have linked to for you below when time allows you to do so.
Many of you are aware of the false teaching that those in the ‘Word of Faith‘ movement, such as Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joyce Meyer, Fred Price, and others present when they say that ‘after Jesus died physically He also died spiritually and descended into hell where He was tormented by the demons, and became the first ‘born again’ man.’ If not, please take a few minutes to listen to one example in the following video:
However, this Jesus Died Spiritually (JDS) teaching that I am speaking of in this particular post is different in many ways and is presently being taught by some well respected professing Christian teachers and pastors! I personally heard two different pastors teach this on one particular Sunday (December 10th 2017) as I was looking for a sermon to listen to since I was, and presently still am, churchless. I was shocked and quite stunned because I had never heard this being taught by those whom I believed presented Biblical Christianity.
The first time that I heard this being taught was while I was watching a live streamed service from Duluth Bible Church, and it was said right before their communion service. Although this may not be an exact quote (because they deleted that portion of their service when they uploaded it onto YouTube), it was very close to what I heard Pastor Dennis Rosker say:
‘It wasn’t Jesus’ physical death that brought about our salvation, it was His spiritual death that did.’
I was completely shocked to hear him say that!
After I listened to him for a couple of more minutes to make sure that I understood him correctly and in context, I shut off this live streamed service and then decided to listen to another pastor that I had been listening to at that time –Pastor Greg Durel, of Heritage Bible Church. This particular sermon was entitled, ‘Who Did Jesus Claim To Be?’ This was a prerecorded sermon, so you can imagine how shocked I was to hear him say almost the same exact thing when he spoke of the spiritual death of Jesus Christ! Below is a written portion from that sermon which is an exact quote from a portion between the 25:31 minute mark and the 27:30 minute mark. You can listen to his whole sermon or just listen to the three minute portion which will be enough for you to hear what he says concerning Jesus dying spiritually in context.
“Now, John 19:30, Christ, human plus deity. Understand, God in the flesh. 100% human, 100% God. He had to be 100% human otherwise, what did He prove? He’s tempted in all points in His humanity as we are, yet He never transgresses. So He’s sinless. So He’s going to offer Himself as the sin offering, the Lamb of God. Now, He’s on the cross and He dies spiritually, during the course of time when He says, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” We understand that to mean that the humanity of Christ, in some form or fashion, experiences separation, spiritual separation, from the deity of Christ. The penalty for sin is spiritual death, the consequence of the byproduct of spiritual death is physical death. Remember, the day Adam sinned he died. How? Spiritually. The byproduct was hundreds of years later he died physically. That’s what has to be corrected. The spiritual death has to be paid for. If that’s paid for then we don’t experience spiritual death, we can have eternal life with the Lord. Why? Because our sins have paid for, by whom? By Christ.”
Let’s take a few minutes and examine what Greg Durel said in light of Scripture. (Acts 17:11)
Yes, Jesus Christ was 100% God and 100% man. (John 1:1, Hebrews 1:1-13, Philippians 2:5-11, Colossians 1:15-19)
Yes, Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and became our sin offering; the Lamb of God. (1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5)
No. Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Jesus died spiritually.
No. Nowhere in Scripture can we find anything to even hint at the humanity of Jesus Christ separating from the deity of Christ. That would have divided the Trinity; the oneness/unity of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Many try to use the Scripture in Habakkuk 1:13 that says the eyes of the LORD are “too pure to look upon evil,” so he turned away from His Son, when, as some (wrongly) teach, He became sin. We must not add to God’s Word — or take away from it — in order to make it say what it does not clearly say. (Deuteronomy 4:2, 12:32, Revelation 22:18)
Yes, the penalty for sin is spiritual death, the byproduct being physical death, however, this applies only to Adam and Eve and passed on to all humanity because of their choice to sin. Jesus Christ never sinned, and thus He did not die — or have to die — spiritually. Jesus’ shed blood and His physical death was all that God required to pay the debt for all sin.
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1 Peter 3:18)
In the sermon series exposing this unbiblical JDS teaching that I have linked to for you below, Pastor Tyler goes into this much deeper by explaining that Jesus was fulfilling Psalm 22 when He cried out on the cross:
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34)
God did not turn His back on His Son. Pastor Tyler goes on to clearly show from Isaiah 53:11 that God, His Father, actually saw Jesus as He hung on the cross:
“He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” (Emphasis added).
Using many other Scriptures in his sermon series he also shows that this is why it is necessary for people to accept the unbiblical teaching that Jesus literally became sin, in order to accept the unbiblical teaching that Jesus died spiritually).
Continuing on:
After hearing that same false teaching a second time from Greg Durel within just minutes after hearing it the first time, I then knew that God was trying to clearly show me just how prevalent this false teaching is becoming, and realized that I needed to write about this not only to warn Christians, but also in order to expose this false teaching and to “earnestly contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” (Jude 3)
A related side note:
A few years before I permanently left Harvest Bible Chapel Rolling Meadows (the church I called home for 14 1/2 years – June 1997-January 2012 , right after ER2), I remember Pastor James MacDonald taught this in one respect when I heard him say something very similar and equally disturbing during a *sermon regarding what Jesus said to God, His Father, when He prayed on the Mount of Olives:
“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)
What I heard James MacDonald clearly and loudly say during his sermon raised an immediate red flag, brought many Scriptures to mind to refute what he said, and caused me to jump and my eyes to open wide out of shock. He said:
“What was in the cup? He saw Himself becoming sin!”
Hearing him say that troubled me so much that I left Harvest and did not plan on returning! Jesus did not literally become sin or He would not have been the perfect, spotless Lamb of God. He was our sin offering (Isaiah 53:10). He bore our sins (1 Peter 2:24), our sins were placed upon Him (Isaiah 53:6), but He did not literally become our sin; our sin was imputed to Him, just as the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to those of us who choose to place our trust in the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ as being sufficient to pay the debt for all of our sins and guilt –in full! *[Sermon by James MacDonald that I am referring to was preached on Nov. 17, 2008]
After that incident I did a search to find some information regarding 2 Corinthians 5:21 and came upon an article written by Ron Rhodes. Here is a portion of his article:
When I first became a Christian my first Bible study teacher presented us with a very good teaching in which she shared many Scriptures and explained to us from the Old Testament regarding the scape goat and how one was to be sacrificed to the LORD for a sin offering, and the sins of the people were spoken over the second goat and then it was released into the desert as a scape goat, and how it was foreshadowing the day when all of our sins would be laid upon Jesus Christ, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. (Read Exodus 12, Leviticus4:3, 23,33 Leviticus16:6-10, Isaiah 53)
Regarding this teaching of Jesus becoming sin, I took some time to search the Scriptures and to write down many of them that show Jesus Christ was sinless: Isaiah 53:9, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 4:14-16, Hebrews 7:26, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 3:5
I also searched through the Scriptures for instances where the word “cup” was used in that type of context in order to see what God’s Word revealed about it and found the following verses that clearly show, in most cases, that “the cup” is symbolic of God’s judgment, fury, or wrath:
“Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.”(Isaiah 51:17)
“Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.” (Isaiah 51:22)
“For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.” (Jeremiah 25:15)
“Then took I the cup at the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me.” (Jeremiah 25:17)
“And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.” (Jeremiah 25:28)
“For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it.” (Jeremiah 49:12)
“Thou art filled with shame for glory: drink thou also, and let thy foreskin be uncovered: the cup of the LORD’S right hand shall be turned unto thee, and shameful spewing shall be on thy glory.” (Habakkuk 2:16)
“Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 12:2)
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
“But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.” (Mark 10:38,39) *(See more information concerning this verse a little further in this post that I marked with an asterisk).
“And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.” (Mark 14:23)
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” (Revelation 14:10)
*If indeed “the cup” symbolized Jesus becoming sin or spiritual death, as some teach, then, as Pastor Tyler Leigeb correctly reasons (in his three part sermon series that I posted for you below regarding the false JDS teaching), the meaning in the passage of Scripture below would then be that the disciples would lose their salvation, and that simply cannot be true:
“But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him,”We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized.” (Mark 10:38,39)
During the time after I left Harvest I attended another church for a few months, but ended up returning to Harvest (for two more years, all the while praying for change) simply because I couldn’t find a Biblically solid church to attend after something happened at that church that caused me to believe that I couldn’t trust the leadership there either.
Now back to the main topic of this post:
After listening to the second sermon that one Sunday in December of 2017, I quickly messaged one of my dear friends who also (once) appreciated the teachings coming from Duluth Bible Church, and I expressed my deep concerns to her about what I had heard Pastor Dennis Rosker say, as well as what Pastor Greg Durel had said, and I continued to express my concerns with her for the next couple of days. I also made it clear to her that what they were teaching was different in some ways than what the false teachers in the Word of Faith Movement, such as Joyce Meyer, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, etc., teach. Being the Berean (Acts 17:11) that she is, she contacted Duluth Bible Church via email to ask Pastor Rosker about this to receive clarification on what he had said. Below I have shared her email interaction with one of the pastors at Duluth Bible Church with my friend’s permission, but removed her last name to protect her privacy:
As you can (hopefully) see from Pastor Stegall’s reply to my friend’s email above, even though he makes it abundantly clear that he “categorically rejects the Word of Faith view,” (something I never claimed that Pastor Rosker taught), he admits — without apology– that the pastors of Duluth Bible Church do hold to a belief “about the “spiritual” aspect of Christ’s death,” thus admitting that they believe Jesus died spiritually as well as physically. Note also what Pastor Stegall goes on to say concerning what they do believe about the spiritual aspect of Christ’s death:
“….the view we hold and teach is the view held by the vast majority of grace oriented, dispensational, non-charismatic Bible teachers over the last century.”
In the next paragraph Tom Stegall clearly denies that what he and Dennis Rosker “believe about the spiritual aspect of Christ’s death” is a “false view of Christ’s death” after at least one blogger, it seems, took the time to shed light on this teaching in order to expose it as error. One of them being Jim Floyd, the author of the book, ‘The Perfect Sacrifice,’ (which I have linked to below).
What seems like an attempt to discredit Jim Floyd’s Biblically based belief that “Christ died only physically on the cross,” Tom Stegall goes on to say:
“I don’t know of any other Bible teachers of any prominence who holds Jim’s view.”
Tom Stegall then basically accuses Jim Floyd of attacking their ministry and wrongly labeling them as false teachers by saying:
“I’m not sure why Dennis and I have been targeted and labeled with teaching a false view on this subject since the view we hold (and have always held) is simply the mainstream view among sound Bible teachers…”
Dear reader, we cannot base what we hold to believe upon the teachings of men, but rather we are to test the teachings of men against the truth of God’s Word — in context — and compare Scripture with Scripture. No matter how well known and respected a pastor or Bible teacher may be, we must reject everything that does not line up with Scripture.
Throughout Scripture we are urged and shown to test everything in light of Scripture:
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22) (KJV)
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” (Acts 17:11) (NIV 1984)
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15) (KJV)
God’s Word also shows us that we are to expose error and warns us about those who will falsely teach God’s Word: (Ephesians 5:11, Acts 20:26-31, Romans 16:17,18, 2 Corinthians 11:4, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 Timothy 4:1)
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him about the signs that would signal His soon return and the end of the world, Jesus lists spiritual deception as the first sign:
“And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”
For Jesus to list deception first should alert us to the importance of being on guard against being deceived.
Even though some who teach that ‘Jesus died spiritually’ (JDS) do not teach that Jesus went to hell, was tormented by demons, and became the first born again man, as those in the Word of Faith movement do, what they do teach contradicts the clear teachings in God’s Word that say it was His shed blood and the physical death of Jesus Christ that provided for our salvation.
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”(Ephesians 1:7)
“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:12-14)
“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:18,19)
Jesus did not have to die physically and spiritually. He died once for all. Consider these Scriptures:
“Wherefore he is also able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.” (Hebrews 7:25-27)
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:12-14)
“Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)
“Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)” (Hebrews 10:8-23)
So much more could be said, but since my time is presently rather limited, and since Jim Floyd did such an excellent job in exposing this JDS teaching by reasoning with many Scriptures in his articles and book, and as Pastor Tyler did, as well, in the same book and in his sermons, there is no need for me to say any more than what I have already shared with you in this post.
I urge you to please take time to read the very thorough teachings by Jim Floyd that expose this heretical ‘Jesus died spiritually‘ teaching so that you are aware of how it perverts the Biblical gospel. I have linked to both of his excellent articles below.
Here also is the book that Jim Floyd just recently finished writing on this topic along with his pastor, Tyler Leigeb:
You can learn more about this book and purchase it, if you’d like, at the link below:
This book goes into great detail concerning the heretical JDS teaching, focusing on many Scriptures, as Jim Floyd does in his excellent and very in depth articles:
I also highly encourage you to listen to the sermon series that Pastor Tyler Leigeb preached on this subject (JDS) at the link further below. He exposes this false teaching with many Scriptures and reasons with Scripture the damaging effects that this teaching has upon the Biblical gospel. If you choose to listen, I pray that you will find (as I did) your faith being renewed and strengthened as you become encouraged by hearing the many Scriptures that he shares and that you will also come to appreciate even more all that Jesus Christ accomplished for us through His sinless life, His willingness to submit to the will of God, His Father, and go through such brutal torture as crucifixion in order to take upon Himself the full wrath of God intended for us because of our sins, and to shed His blood and die in our place, thus fully satisfying God’s wrath and just demands as full payment for all sin –no matter how heinous those sins may be. When the veil/heavy curtain that hung in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38), it clearly showed that God, the Father, accepted the death of Jesus Christ, His Son, as fully providing the way for sinful man to come into His presence and to be reconciled to Himself –a completely Holy God. (Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:15,16, Hebrews 10:19-23)
When Jesus Christ gloriously arose bodily from the dead, it further showed that His physical death was enough to satisfy God’s just demands and wrath that He had towards us because of our sin, proving that His death paid the debt for all sin in full, and that we can know that we have — present tense — eternal life.
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1 John 5:9-13)
If you are someone who has yet to hear the truly good news of the Biblical gospel and to believe it and place your trust in *Jesus Christ alone for your salvation instead of trusting in your good works or in your church to save you, the many Scriptures shared in this sermon series will definitely reveal who Jesus Christ is to you. This series will also show you the depth of the love that God has for each and every one of us, and the extent that God went through to provide the one and only way for you to receive His love and forgiveness. That one and only way is by placing your trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ; the sinless life that He lived so that He would become the Lamb of God — the perfect sacrifice — His horrific death on the cross in our place as He took upon Himself the full wrath of God intended for us because of our sin and guilt, His burial, and His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead for your salvation. *(John 14:6, Acts 12:4, 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 4:1-8, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:3-7)
The sermons in this series that expose this JDS teaching can be found at the Sermon Audio link below. The titles of these sermons are as follows:
Although I am sharing Jim Floyd’s articles and information about his book that he wrote along with Tyler Leigeb, and sharing Tyler Leigeb’s sermons with you, as well, it should not be considered by you to be an endorsement of Jim Floyd, Tyler Leigeb, and Billings Bible Church. Sadly, when I have endorsed pastors, teachers, and ministries to you in the past, I have regretted doing so because of the errors that I have discovered in some of their teachings as time went by. This is why I no longer endorse anyone on my Living4HisGlory blog anymore. I do, however, highly recommend these resources to you because they line up with Scripture and show this JDS teaching to be completely unbiblical!
I urge each one of you to please be Bereans and constantly test every teaching that you hear and read by every pastor and teacher that you receive your teachings from, making sure that what is said is in context, as well, in order to make sure that what they say lines up with the truth of God’s Word (Acts 17:11). Make sure that you pray for discernment, as well! (Side note: Also pray for discernment whenever you are considering attending a church and make sure to read their statement of faith to find out where they stand on Theological issues to make sure what they believe lines up with Scripture).
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”(Isaiah 53:1-12)
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” (Romans 3:25)
“Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” (Romans 5:9)
“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:12)
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
“Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” (1 Timothy 4:1)
“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-10)
“Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:25-31)
Thank you very much for stopping by today.
God Bless You
~Mary Dalke/Living4HisGlory
NOTE:
I am so very thankful to my friend, Lori, for telling me about Jim Floyd and the book, THE PERFECT SACRIFICE, that he wrote along with Pastor Tyler Leigeb.
I am also deeply thankful to Jim Floyd not only for the excellent articles that he wrote on this JDS subject, but also for his book, THE PERFECT SACRIFICE, that he wrote along with Tyler Leigeb. This is an extremely important book in defense of the gospel and Jesus Christ’s ‘perfect sacrifice.’ I also truly appreciate Tyler Leigeb for the excellent in depth Biblical sermon series that he preached exposing this JDS false teaching. Their teachings were a true blessing to me at the time I needed them the most, and they will continue to be as we see this unbiblical teaching being accepted by many because they fail to test things in light of Scripture. These teachings will help equip us to defend the Biblical gospel and to help us open the eyes of those who have been led astray by this unbiblical JDS teaching.
IMPORTANT UPDATE:
I need to take some time off for the next three weeks for personal reasons and in order to prepare to have my taxes done. Lord willing, in the latter part of April, I will be going back to writing the series in which I began comparing the Catechism Of The Catholic Church to Scriptures in a Catholic New Testament Bible in order to reach precious Catholics with the truly good news of the Biblical gospel. When that series is completed I will then finish the series concerning the Alleged Apparitions Of The Virgin Mary and move on to some other important topics. Thank you for your patience.♥
Photo ‘Clouds – Rays of Glory’ by Mary K Dalke – Reflections Of His Glory Photography
Scripture added by Mary K Dalke using Pixlr free online Editor
UPDATED SUNDAY JANUARY 28, 2018 (See below near the end of the post).
Before I actually begin sharing some information with all of you concerning what I learned after doing research on “the sacred heart,” I want to make sure that you understand that my intention for writing these many different series concerning Catholicism is not to offend Catholics, but to reach Catholics with Biblical truth to help them see the extreme importance of thinking for themselves, and to encourage them to do some research themselves on the origins of their own teachings, and, above all, to urge them to compare their teachings to Scripture to see if it agrees with what Scripture says, or if they actually contradict what God says in His Word. If they choose to do these things, many will be astounded — and even horrified — at what they discover, just as I was and continue to be since I was a Catholic for many years and attended twelve years of Catholic school, as well!
Okay, now let’s begin!
One thing that began to trouble me last year or the year before, was how there is such an emphasis on the actual heart of Jesus Christ, instead of it being completely on Jesus Christ Himself, and you can see this depicted in Catholic art quite frequently:
So, being a detective-at-heart, I decided to start doing some research earlier this year, and this is what I discovered so far:
Searching through images of the “sacred heart” I came across some information that shows how many pagan religions also place a very strong emphasis on the sacred heart:
Among the pictures that I found in my search was this one, which had this caption: “Consecration to two flaming hearts.”
Below is a picture of the Mayan god, Quetzalcoatl,the lord of life and death. The Mayans looked upon his heart as being sacred, as well. Forgive me for sharing these graphic details, but the Mayans would also perform human sacrifices to their gods by slitting the chests of their victims and removing their hearts and offering the blood of their victims to their gods.
“For the Maya blood sacrifice was necessary for the survival of both gods and people sending human energy skyward and receiving divine power in return.” [Source: Maya Civilization – Civilization.ca] [http://historybizarremysterious.blogspot.com/2008/02/why-did-ancient-mayans-go-after-hearts.html]
During my search for information concerning the sacred heart I also came across this very disturbing statue of Jesus Christ that I had never seen before. Jesus has a slit in His chest and He holds a dagger in His left hand and His heart in His right hand. Clearly the message implied by looking at this statue is not only that the slit in His chest was self-inflicted, but also it seems to take the focus off of the Biblical gospel; the sufficiency of His “once for all” sacrifice on the cross in our place resulting in His death, burial, and glorious resurrection from the dead that proved the sufficiency of His death to satisfy God’s wrath towards us because of our sins. This statue is called The Christ of Reconciliation:
Note the crescent moon shape that is incorporated into the necklace below that was created by a woman named Susan Tooker, who seems to be highly involved in the New Age Movement by just one look at her Pinterest page: https://www.pinterest.com/susantooker/.
The information posted in the description for this necklace that I found on Pinterest reads as follows:
The crescent moon is oftentimes seen under the feet of many statues of the Virgin Mary. Here are just two examples:
(More information on the crescent moon in Catholicism coming up in a future post at some point –Lord willing).
It’s also important to mention that Catholicism places a lot of emphasis on the Sacred Heart of Mary, as well:
In the picture below you will see how the New Age/New Spirituality Movement also focuses on the sacred heart. The message given below along with the illustrations of the sacred heart reads as follows:
“I am the light of the sun and the grass of the fields. Millions of years have passed and still the night light glows in our hearts and the same grass carpets the fields. I am always with you for I am the sky above you and the endless love inside your heart.” Sacred Heart Gaia -Toni Carmine Salerno
Note the word “Gaia” in the picture above, and please read the following by Contender Ministries which will reveal to you that Gaia is the goddess of “Mother Earth.”
The quick capture above, as well as the following quick capture from a portion of David Cloud’s article, DARWINIAN GODS, may seem unrelated and off topic at this point, but, Lord willing, I will be connecting the dots in another post either later this month or early next month after my computer problems are all taken care of. In David Cloud’s article he also points out the pagan roots of Gaia and how Gaia is viewed as a living entity –the earth itself:
The main point that I am trying to make in sharing the above two quick captures with you is to show you how Gaia is in no way connected with Biblical Christianity, which leads me back to the picture, Sacred Heart Gaia that I shared with you earlier with the two flaming hearts by Toni Carmine Salerno. Here is some information on him to further show you that those who focus on the Sacred Heart are not doing so according to Biblical Christianity.
Below is a quick capture taken from a YouTube video on a review of Toni Carmine Salerno’s Gaia Oracle [Tarot] Cards which features the same flaming Sacred Hearts:
Below are two more publications by Blue Angel Publishing which shows more of their pagan New Age roots: This one is entitled, ‘The Native Heart Healing Oracle Solar Plexis‘
Now, with all of that as important background information, let’s get back to Catholicism’s Sacred Heart and its origins:
According to Catholicism, a woman named Margaret Mary Alacoque had a vision of Jesus who told her that He wanted her to promote devotion to His sacred heart:
Picture above found on Pinterest
In Catholicism there is a day set aside every year in which special devotion is given to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. How is that day determined? According to this article, it “was set at the request of Christ Himself, Who appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque…”
In the video below you will hear some very disturbing things written by Margaret Mary Alacoque concerning her alleged apparitions of Jesus Christ in which she said that He revealed His sacred heart to her. Here are some of the most troubling and unbiblical things that I heard as I listened to the full video:
“He demanded my heart and I supplicated him to take it. He did so and put it into His own adorable heart in which he allowed me to see it as a little atom being consumed in that fiery furnace. Then drawing it out like a burning flame in the form of a heart he put it into the place once he had taken it, saying, “Behold, my beloved. A precious proof of my love. I enclose in thy heart a little spark of the most ardent flame of my love…” (Starting at the 4:05 minute mark)
“…I was so out of myself that it was only by doing violence to myself could I utter a word. I was obliged to make so great an effort to eat and recreate that my strength was exhausted in my endeavor to endure my sufferings.” (Starting at the 5:15 minute mark)
“…the first fruit of the luminous apparition a sentiment that must necessarily be conceived by one that has rested on the breast of the savior for astonishment, admiration, and love, create humility, Margaret preserved a memento, or rather an ineffaceable mark of divine love. She did not bear it visibly on her breast like St. Francis of Assisi or Catherine of Sienna, that all her life she retained an invisible wound in her side. “The pain of this would is so precious to me causes me transport so lively that it burns me alive. It consumes me,” she said. This divine memorial did not grow faint with time for the Lord renewed it every first Friday of the month, and again showed her his heart. She said, “The Sacred Heart is shown me as a sun brilliant with sparkling lights whose burning rays fall direct on my heart. I then feel myself inflamed with such fire that it seems about to reduce me to ashes.” Such was the first act of this triple revelation of the Sacred Heart.”(6:13-7:19 minute mark)
Second Revelation Begins at the 9:10 minute mark:
“He made me rest a long time on his breast remembering the first… [revelation].” (11:05 minute mark)
“…rejoice me by supplying as much as you can for their ingratitude. After having shown in the first revelation the true principle of the new devotion, namely love whose flames he could no longer confine in his heart, Jesus now revealed in character. This devotion would be amende honorable an expiation for all the crimes of the world.” (Starting at the 12:14 minute mark)
“And at that moment, continued Margaret, “the divine heart being opened, there shot forth a flame so ardent that I thought I should be consumed by it. Admirable symbol of what this new devotion was to going to become in the Church of that Universal rewarming of hearts that which we shall try later to trace to the consoling picture. Thoroughly penetrated with this burning flames and unable longer to endure the fire, Margaret implored our savior to have pity on her weakness. “Fear nothing,” said he to her, ” I shall be thy strength.” (Starting at the 13:19 minute mark)
One of the things that the Lord allegedly asked her to do was to:
“…rise between eleven and midnight on the night between Thursday and Friday of every week and to prostrate for an hour with her face to the ground in expiation of the sins of men and to console his heart for that general desertion to which the weakness of the Apostles in the Garden of Olives had been only a slight prelude. “During all this time,” says Margaret, “I was unconscious. I knew not where I was. Some of the sisters came to take me away, and seeing that I could neither reply nor support myself on my feet, they led me to our mother who found me quite out of myself, trembling as if on fire.” (Starting at the 14:08 minute mark)
CLOSING COMMENTS
God’s Word is filled with warnings about spiritual deception in the last days. Therefore, we must be on guard against lying signs and wonders so that we will not be led astray by them. Anything that does not line up with Scripture, has more in common with paganism than it does with Biblical Christianity, and attempts to take the focus off of all that Jesus Christ has already accomplished through His sinless life, His death in our place, His burial, and His glorious resurrection from the dead cannot be from God!
Jesus Christ’s once for all sacrifice on the cross was all that was necessary to pay for the sins of mankind. (Please read Romans 6:6-10, 1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews Chapters 7-10) God accepted His death in our place as full payment for our sins and guilt; nothing needs to be added to all the sufferings that He endured on our behalf. To say that Jesus Christ appeared to someone demanding them to do something in expiation for the sins of men/to make reparation for the sins of men is to deny the sufficiency of His finished work on the cross. This is not Jesus Christ of the Bible who is appearing to those who have claimed that He did, because He would not deny the sufficiency of His propitiatory sacrifice.
This is just one of many ways in which mystical experiences are attempting to lead many astray by causing them to seek God outside of His Word. To say that Jesus Christ (or the Virgin Mary) is personally appearing and speaking today is going beyond the boundaries of Biblical Christianity. Do not be deceived! When Jesus Christ came to this earth He revealed the Father to us, (John 17:25,26, John 14:8-10) and all that we need to know is recorded in God’s Word; we need nothing more:
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.” (Hebrews 1:1,2)
Thank you very much for stopping by and taking time out of your busy day to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary/Living4HisGlory
RELATED SCRIPTURES
“Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:38-40)
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12)
RELATED VIDEOS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION – NOT AN ENDORSEMENT OF THESE MINISTRIES
Desiring for God to use all that I have been through in life, I decided to start my first blog, living4hisglory.wordpress.com, in order to write poems about some of those experiences to bring glory to God, as well as to share them with others with the hope of encouraging those of you who have been broken and shattered by life's circumstances and hurt by those who were supposed to have loved you rather than abuse you in some way.
Also, because of some pastors and teachers today who seem to be abandoning Biblical Christianity and instead seem to be either seeking to build their own empires and promoting their own agendas, and at times even leading the people in their churches into unbiblical, 'mystical practices' without some people even realizing it, I saw the importance and necessity to begin writing poems and posts in order to inform Christians, as well as to make Christians realize the extreme importance of testing what people say (who claim to speak for God) against the truth of God's Word, (Acts 17:11) so that they will not be deceived. It has never been -- nor shall it ever be -- my intention to bash any particular pastor or teacher; my sole purpose in bringing attention to false teachings is to make Christians realize that we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, and not to be followers of any man (or woman) and his (or her) ministry. I hope that you will be blessed -- as well as challenged -- by the things that I write.
NOTE: COMMENTS ON ALL POSTS CLOSE ONE MONTH AFTER THEY ARE PUBLISHED.
Thank you for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary - Living4HisGlory
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mary K. Dalke and Living4HisGlory Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
NOTE: Any adds that may be displayed on my blog have not been chosen or approved by me; I can't even see any adds that WordPress chooses to post here.
Desiring for God to use all that I have been through in life, I decided to start my first blog, living4hisglory.wordpress.com, in order to write poems about some of those experiences to bring glory to God, as well as to share them with others with the hope of encouraging those of you who have been broken and shattered by life's circumstances and hurt by those who were supposed to have loved you rather than abuse you in some way.
Also, because of some pastors and teachers today who seem to be abandoning Biblical Christianity and instead seem to be either seeking to build their own empires and promoting their own agendas, and at times even leading the people in their churches into unbiblical, 'mystical practices' without some people even realizing it, I saw the importance and necessity to begin writing poems and posts in order to inform Christians, as well as to make Christians realize the extreme importance of testing what people say (who claim to speak for God) against the truth of God's Word, (Acts 17:11) so that they will not be deceived. It has never been -- nor shall it ever be -- my intention to bash any particular pastor or teacher; my sole purpose in bringing attention to false teachings is to make Christians realize that we are to be followers of Jesus Christ, and not to be followers of any man (or woman) and his (or her) ministry. I hope that you will be blessed -- as well as challenged -- by the things that I write.
NOTE: COMMENTS ON ALL POSTS CLOSE ONE MONTH AFTER THEY ARE PUBLISHED.
Thank you for stopping by and taking time to read some of my posts and poems.
God Bless You
~Mary - Living4HisGlory
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog's author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Mary K. Dalke and Living4HisGlory Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
NOTE: Any adds that may be displayed on my blog have not been chosen or approved by me; I can't even see any adds that WordPress chooses to post here.
Picture above is a quick capture of Doreen Virtue holding a picture of the painting done by an artist that represents the alleged vision of Jesus that she claims to have had on January 7, 2017. You can watch the video HERE and the link is also posted further below in this post. NOTE: A comment was made in the comment section on one of these videos that show this painting which pointed out the disturbing fact that this “Jesus” does not have nail marks in His wrists or palms of His hands.
To continue reading, click 
Mary Dalke - Living4HisGlory
Living4HisGlory 