This is an excerpt from Ed's book, the Death of Calvinism. Before his death Ed was faithful to send me articles and notes.
Look at our PURE FOOD advertisements. They say no ADDITIVES, yet when you read the label farther down the ad, you see a lot of stuff that you cannot pronounce. In the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ, you can see the same stuff. Each denomination and even the non-denomination-denominations, have a lot of additives to their BIBLE-ONLY group. Read the Bible and Church History then compare. I have compiled a little selective history to let you get a glimpse of the problem.
Paul and Peter state the value of the Bible in 2 Tim. 3:14-17 and 2 Pet. 1:19-21. Yet look at the history of Christianity and see all the additives and replacements until there is now no Holy Truth from God anymore. Most so-called Christian churches have no Bible truth left in them. Many seek to return to the pure N.T. but they get stuck on half-way reforms. Then each N.T.-only-group fights another N.T. group because Dr. so-and-so or some other false prophet draws a line in the sand and dares anyone to say; "he is not N.T. nor is he a Christian." All such groups and clubs must submit to "this or that" to be one of the "elect". The following is a short outline of many such additives.
By the end of the first century, the gospel of transferred righteousness by God through trusting in Jesus' appeasing death to satisfy God's holy wrath against the rebel was gone. Justification by faith for those who prefer theological language, did not fulfill all of God's demands and righteousness anymore. The N.T. became the NEW LAW of works. The Pharisees entered the church by another door. See the DIDEKE & THE SHEPERD OF HERMES. Romans 3:21-4:8 was replaced by the ideas from the Stoics.
By the end of the second century, the mystery religions influenced Christianity to accept their definition of the ORDINANCES of Immersion and the Lord's Supper. The MYSTERION was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, Col. 1:27. God made known his plan of salvation in Christ. Faith in Christ made one a saved Christian. But the new scholars who wanted to bridge the gap from the known to the unknown and teach other pagans the truth of Chri the meaning came to mean: salvation through the magic (sacramental) waters, and by eating Jesus literally or sacramentally one gained spiritual strength. The Lord's Supper became the old GOLDEN CALF religion of ancient Baalism again. Where was faith in Jesus' finished work on the cross? Tertullian was trying to correct the abuse in his writings by returning to the correct meaning of Sacramentum when all along it should have never been translated that way in the first place. Tertullian's MONTANISM caused more problems than he solved since he had some extras also, such as, no remarrying, do not flee martyrdom, etc. The mystery religions had come through a priest of Cybele who spoke in TONGUES.
Justin Martyr, a platonic philosopher, was converted and began to reconstruct the Bible according to Plato which is now standard. First it was used just as an illustration but later all the Biblical words acquired platonic meanings, such as, soul meant the immaterial part of a man instead of man as a whole being. Desert monks and hermits began to multiply in the Egyptian heat and baptized oriental Buddhism and Hinduism into the Christian mode. They came to be called Gnostics who re-interpreted the Bible to have their secret meanings. One great spiritual (?) leader spent his life sitting on a pole. How stupid can people get! The abnormal was supposed to mean one was spiritual???
In the third century, the Gnostics and the Church fought. So the Church began to define itself by the Bishop (an elder elevated to managerial control). Where the Bishop was, with his apostolic succession of pure doctrine soon became the standard of the true church. Thus the Bible Authority was again weakened. Then the Bishops began to divide over the TRINITY, Deity of Jesus, the Propitiation of Christ, and finally, each Christian sect had its own translation of the Bible. This sounds just like today!
In the fourth century, the first Pop, Constantine, ordered the church to settle its theology on who Jesus was/is. The Bible settled nothing and the state entered where it had no business to be. Then when the Roman Empire was destroyed, the Bishops of Rome took over the secular powers which was the beginning of the Papacy. The four Patriarchs were forced to submit, therefore, they split over the Latin and Greek culture. Gregory, the Great, was the first official Pope. He added to the false ideas (Prayers for the Dead, Sign of the Cross-an Egyptian symbol for the psyche-resurrection, worship of Angels and Saints - Col. 2:18, the MASS) the doctrine of Purgatory from the ancient Orientals. St. Gus also defended the State Wars to keep the Donatists in line-fellow Christian killing a fellow Christian??
Freewill began to be taught by Pelagius, a monk from England who got his ideas from Justin M. and Alexandrian School of Gnostic Christianity. This is a philosophical argument from Origen, Philo, and Plato. The Bible says: believe in Jesus or rebel, but not this doubletalk. From now on, the pharisaic-philosophers run the Church. People superstition is re-arranged by the THEOLOGIAN, made into Christian words, and signed by the Pope to make it official. The Pope only spoke ex cathedra after the people forced him to change the Bible truth into idolatry.
Jerome translated the Greek/Hebrew Bible into the Latin Vulgate, the common Latin of the day. Then it became the standard Bible for Rome until Vatican II, in the 1960's.
St. Gus summarized all the past theology, clarified the sacraments, and invented TULIP WHICH is called Calvinism today. Calvinism is only infant Catholicism. Gus' theology governed the Papacy's Platonism until Luther, the church history is called the dark ages while the Papacy calls it their Golden Age.
The fifth century brought in more changes. Virgin worship was becoming more popular and other superstitions were rapidly replacing any vestige of Christianity that remained. Where were the true believers? Few were buried in the State Church mess. Most were forced to separate and form other groups as today. Up until religious freedom was introduced in England and followed in the U.S.A., the minorities were murdered and persecuted. But even today in the USA the true believer is lost in Pagan-Gnostic-Christianity. Now we hide in tall buildings instead of mountains and valleys.
At the Reformation Period (From Wycliffe thru Huss to Luther & Farel), the people had the Bible and started to return to it. The newere State Chruches left the Papacy in varying degrees, yet the Reformation never reallly accepted the Bible. They still kept baby slavation by magic water and EATING Jesus for spiritual strength. The Ana-Baptist came the closest to the Bible, but they had many aberrations as the current TONGUES movement of today. But among the mess, a few genuine believers have appeared.
I will start my detailed ADDITIVES from Luther's time. I will show how the ancient heresies re-entered the church since the 16th century. This is the origin of the current heresies that are being preached every Sunday in the USA. Do not be shocked! The people want lies. They pay well for them. 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 was written by Paul to tell us that such things do happen. My only problem is that when I was in error I had great jobs. But now that I have found the truth, I cannot get a position of pastor becuase the churches do not want one who does tell the truth.
If you accept Luther and Calvin as good theology (TULIP) which was taken from Augustine, then we can document the slide back to Papal heresy very clearly under different names than in the first 16 centuries. All Christians have a measure of error, but where do we draw the line between the living faith and a false faith? It depends on where we are coming from or to where we are headed. Is the Trinity really necessary to be believed in order to be saved? At the final resurrection, we will all find out. I say YES! But others say NO to this and other doctrines. I defend historic Christianity and any deviations will leave on in the Lake of Fire.
#1. The following is the errors that have entered the Immersionist’s Assembly. Luther tried to leave the Papacy, but only on salvation did he do it. He kept baby baptism/salvation and EATING Jesus to get spiritual strength. He was correct on TULIP, but messed up elsewhere. His chosen replacement, Melanchthon, was a traitor. He introduced synergism back into his theology and compromised with Rome, just for peace. So Luther’s Reformation stopped and returned to where he left the Papacy. Check out your local Lutheran Church and see if I am correct?
#2. La Fabre and Wm. Farel started the Reformation in France. Most do not know that. But Calvin came along and changed the Freedom of Farel to the legalism of the O.T. Calvin desired the Genevan Republic to be a reproduction of the O.T. state of society, page 389. This rejects Hebrews 8:1-13 and keeps the Reformation under Rome, even though he had the truth on St. Gus’s TULIP. Once again the second generation gave up what the Reformers had started. The Reformed doctrine of Faith and Election was lost again in the Sacramental Salvation of Baby Baptism/salvation thru magic water and EATING Jesus spiritually for spiritual strength. They deny John 6:63-65 and follow the idolatry of Shintoism.
The missionary asked why the Japanese woman gave rice to the idol? She replied: “The idol does not eat the rice, but the spirit of the idol eats the spirit of the rice.” The same with the Reformed doctrine of the sacraments: The water does not save as in ex opere operato but the spirit of the water makes one savable if they obey the means of grace; and the Calvinist does not EAT Jesus literally as in the Mass, but the spirit of man eats the spirit of Jesus in the Sacrament. With this doubletalk, you can see why the local church REFORMED has returned to the Papacy. In fact, in my town the Presbyterians and the Roman Catholics use the same church building. Where did the Reformation go?
WITH NO BIBLICAL GUIDANCE, ANYONE CAN SEE THAT ROME IS WINNING MORE OF THE PROTESTANTS THAN THE PROTESTANTS ARE FREEING THE PAPISTS FROM IDOLATRY AND ERROR!
#3, Arminius came along to demote Calvinism even more. He was Beza’s best student and on his return to Holland, he reintroduced the Papal errors of Common grace, Freewill, Jesus’ death for abstract sin, resistible salvation with the devil’s strength, and if saved, then one could lose it if they did not stay saved by GOOD WORKS. Now TULIP was gone and the monkeys took over the Zoo. Where was the Bible in all this theological battle that sent troops who murdered each other in the name of Jesus?
LOST IN PLATO'S AND ARISTOTLE’S PHILOSOPHY! Only God knows where his sheep were, John 9:38-10:30?!!
There are always Bible-Only-believers, but they are fodder for the King’s troops who defend the magic sacraments. Now we have the magic KJV even though people cannot read it and understand it anymore. They think that they are saved by the magic book and not by our Lord Jesus Christ as if he wrote it in Victorian English and culture.
#4. Next the Unitarian and Deist Doctrine took over the Church. Luther’s and Calvin's attempt to restore the Church to THEIR PURITY was now a relic of the past. Socinus was the leader in the Reformation that now produced its weedy fruit in England and Europe. So if one wanted good Trinitarian Doctrine but mixed a little with heresy, they returned to the Papacy. At least, Rome has the Truth on the books even though they do not believe it anymore. Most Protestant and Baptist Seminaries now teach Unitarian/Universalism.
#5. Revival came to the Anglican Church thru Bible study groups. Whitfield, an Anglican priest, returned to the good past of TULIP and revived the Anglicans and formed the Evangelical party in the pagan State Church. But most forgot the truth and gave credit to John Wesley who was so-called converted and split the revival movement with his heresy of Arminianism and introduced his unique foolishness of PERFECTIONISM. He got several who had obtained PERFECTION to live in a home so as to prove his doctrine was possible to live, but within the month they all hated one another and split. He did not believe I John 1:8-10. As John W. rejected the Bible to start his Methodist Church, so today the UMC believes nothing BIBLICAL and are leaders of the New Age Movement in the USA. This is just the clear extension Wesley's teaching. John was in the occult FRENCH PROPHETS, learned the Second Blessing Perfectionism from the Moravians, practiced shock treatments on the mentally ill, plagiarized ideas from many others, besides denying TULIP and keeping the magical sacraments. It amazes me that the current Evangelical Church gives such high praise for this man who was the leader in spreading heresy all over England and USA thru Finneyism???
IF OUR USA CHURCH READ HISTORY, THEY WOULD HAVE SAVED THEMSELVES FROM SUCH ERROR!!!
#6. Darby broke from being an Anglican priest (good!), but he went to the occult and brought its millennium into the Church from Irving’s Cult. He made error accepted to the gullible. He became extremely literal in his Bible interpretation and invented the Seven Dispensations that is popularized in the Scofield Bible. The proof of his system was given by M. MacDonald ill a demonic trance. The Bible which rejects this means of teaching, is now given this so-called correct interpretation by one who practices demonism! Darby’s System destroys the Church which Christ died for, and brings back God’s enemies, tihe Jews, into prominent place. He rejects Eph. 2; Gal. 3; Rom. 2. Fundamentalists of the Presbyterian Faith invaded the Baptist Church with the idea of reviving Christianity against Liberalism, But their cure was worse than the disease. TULIP was gone and the second century Gnostics had taken over the church. Yet they kept the magic sacraments to make sure the heretics were saved.
WHERE IS THE BIBLE? They threw it out and kept the notes at the bottom of the page, even when they directly contradicted God’s Holy Word,
#7. Irving, an cx-communicatcd Presbyterian, made Montanism popular again. The Bible was not needed anymore since each person received their own truth from God via GIBBERISH and Demonic preachers. The occult reigns In the current Evangelical Church. If you think that I am wrong and a foolish bigot, just try to believe the Blble-in-Contcxt in any local church and you will sec how fast you are put out. The singing is geared to destroy thinking as you become self-deity. Why they carry the Bible and say that they believe it, when they do not, is beyond me.
For example, one pastor read in Numbers 21:6 “God sent venomous snakes to kill the Israelites.” His first words out of his mouth were, “God did not send the snakes to kill the Israelites.” So the people believe the PASTOR and reject God’s Word. What more can I say. THE BIBLE IS NOT BELIEVED OR OBEYED.
#8.I just added this last ADDITIVE because after agreeing with the pulpit committee on being their pastor, they threw me a curve and I struck out. “Will you take a psychology test to see how you get along with people?,” they asked me. I said NO! What can those atheists teach me about myself or others? Nothing!
They said that they would contact me. I sent them a study on Biblical psychology and I await their vote. I am ready to be their pastor, but not a shrink. They must choose who they want; a pastor or a shrink!
This Fundamental church though not fundamentalistic, has the truth in its confession, but they have sold out to modern-occult, atheistic-Gnostic psychology. They say it makes the Bible clearer and one can get along better with others if they practice this shamanism.
There is no more need of ones guilt to be placed on Christ’s substitutional sacrifice. The Bible imputations (Rom.3:21-4:8 and 6:11) are no longer preached or believed since Freud said guilt does not exist. 'You get rid of the guilt complex by therapy and not by receiving God’s PROPITIATION in Jesus’ bloody murder in my stead. If this assembly is a sign of the good churches, what must the bad ones believe???
HERESY AND LEGALISM REIGNS! Long live false prophets! Lord have mercy on us and revive your work in the midst of our stupidity!
LIBERAL ORIGINS come from Platonic Rationalism, Deut 13.
The N.T. answered all these heresies in the first century, but they keep popping up with different names and false prophets. These heretics have been in the State-Church since Constantine invited them all in and the true assembly left, but still fights against them on a smaller basis. As a pastor/teacher I am called to warn the believers and make sure that they are still hearing and obeying the TRUE FAITH, 2 Cor. 13:5 and 2 Tim. 3:12-4:5. I am more aware of this problem since I did preach a false gospel for five years of my ministry.
1. Socinus was part of the anti-Trinitarian movement against Christ at the time of the Reformation. He personally discussed many ideas with Calvin, but he was not convinced so he was exiled from Geneva. He fled to Poland and made his Unitarian stronghold there. Modem Unitarians like to start with him. A doctrinal summary of his theology:
No original sin from Adam, No divinity for Jesus, no propitiation for sin, no election or predestination, no bodily resurrection of Jesus, and their use of the Bible was rationalistic as the current Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc.
2. DEISM of the 17-18th centuries in England came from Lord Herbert and Shaftesbury. They added to Socinus the following: No incarnation, no Biblical revelation, no miracles, no historical redemption, and God is kind and gentle with no wrath toward mankind.
3. Dr. Lessing spread Deism through Germany in the 18th century by the Wofenbuttel Fragments: no historical truth was possible, was his major concept. This is one of the sources of our current non-doctrinal and irrational evangelicalism of the 20th century. The norm is “INNER TRUTH”, feelings, and the existential experience with the SELF and NATURE, but in CHRISTIANITY there is no objective reality.
4. IN the 19th century, Kant’s books spread the ENLIGHTENMENT which means “man’s emergence from superstitious religion and immaturity.” He denied all of the Christian truth in spite of having been raised by a godly mother. He taught TABULA RASA (the basis of Skinner’s BEHAVIOURISM), but he could never solve the problem of “OUGHT”/”CONSCIENCE” and creation, Ecc. 3:11.
5. The Harnack Summary of Liberal Christianity: The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of mankind. Therefore, belief in Jesus’ imputed righteousness is not needed to stand accepted in God’s presence in order to be blessed.
Richard Niebuhr’s comment on Harnack’s theory: A god without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministration of a Christ without a cross.
6. The SBC PEACE COMMITTEE gave the same old garbage in April, 1986. So I left the SBC because of the following heresy: No Adam, just evolution; No Miracles, just parables; No Biblical Authors, just editors; No revelation from God, just German rationalism.
ABC and SBC are now both united in their deception of churches which they once swore to teach God’s Word to. Once I followed them and I was guilty, but Now I have been delivered from this rationalism. May you who read this, please consider the truth and avoid the errors that will send you to the Lake of Fire and Loneliness forever. There are still some Bible-only people in these “systems”. May we influence the Gnostics to genuine salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew verb Form in the Hiphil
This is the causative form of the verb in Hebrew that has 7 different forms in the perfect and imperfect tenses. Many times it is not translated correctly in the English Bible. Why? I do not know unless they wish to continue to deny and avoid the Sovereign Deity who has the right and authority to control his world, governments, and people???
How can the average Bible reader know for sure what he is reading is correct unless the pastor is trained in Biblical Languages? Years ago, one could not be a pastor unless he knew these disciplines. But today FEELING has replaced TRUTH in the local church and the seminaries avoid any contact with absolute, objective truth.
Current popular watered-down paraphrases of God’s Word are lacking in correct translation as well as the old standard, KJV. At least the king was honest, he did it deliberately in order to keep his false religion going. Henry wanted many wives, so he started his Anglican State Church (Calvinistic Doctrine, Papal Rituals, Arminian Clergy). King James wanted a Bible without notes that told of bad kings, so they would not throw out The Divine right of Kings. Our Baptist ancestors were appalled at his translation of the Geneva Bible. KJV did win out because it was good, in spite of wrong translation of Bishop, unknown, unicorns, etc. Now it needs correcting as the ones it replaced.
So along with that mess, the translators did not translate the “causative” form correctly even though many knew the language well. Others denied God’s unconditional election and did not want the scripture to prove it. The Great Doctrines of the 39 Articles of Faith defend Election and Predestination. So do the godly founders, but the natural, illusion of free-will, man will not allow God his due even in the Bible translations.
Here are six verses that will illustrate the problem:
Gen. 15:6 “Abraham (was) caused to trust in YHWH and YHWH credited it to him as righteousness.” God caused Abe to leave his idolatry, not Abe’s free-will.
Num. 21:9 “Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and CAUSED to look at the bronze snake, he lived.” In verse 8, look or see is not in the causative and a different word is used “RAH”. In verse 9, the word “look” is in the causative form and an intensive word, “RBT”, meaning to look with close attention. Wilson p 258 Only God’s elect are caused to look at the cross and see that their sin has been paid for, John 3:14. The non-elect reject the command (Acts 16:31) and do not see their sin nailed to the cross. Therefore, the Arminian free-offer of the Gospel is not effective if you believe in the Hiphil. The dead cannot look, John 12:39.
Psalm 23:2 “YHWH shall cause me to rest in green pastures.” Those who believe in free-will, shall suffer in their depression and stress, but the elect, those who God causes to enter His rest (Heb.3 &. 4) shall experience peace and patience and contentment in their trials and sufferings. The language is correct. Ask God to give you his rest, Gal 5:22.
Psalm 103:7 “YHWH caused his ways to be (made) known to Moses.”
Pro. 22:6 “Saturate the child according to the custom of his way. Although he shall be caused to grow old, he shall not turn from his own life-style.”
Gen. 4:3-4 “Cain was caused to bring an offering” v.3, from BWA Hi. ft. 3ms wc. “Abel was also caused to bring of the firstling ...” v.4, from BWA, Hi.pf.3ms.
I reject being a Calvinist, Fatalist, Scofieldite, or any other appellation. I just believe what the Bible says and let others build their system of theology which shall eventually deny God’s Word. Reformed no longer believe this even though it is in their creed. Luther believed this, but the Lutherans don’t. Baptists did. The Scripture stands fast. Only the isms change God’s Bible to fit their system.
Editor's note: You can read more of Ed Vrell's book, The Death of Calvinism by purchasing it at Amazon.com