Video Feed of Defenders of the Faith

To view the Defenders of the Faith Conference through the internet make sure you log in Friday, April 25th at 7:30pm and on Saturday, 26th at 6:00pm (Houston, Texas time).

To visit Mundo Pentecostal's video page click here.

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Defenders of the Faith Conference 2008

Click to enlarge image


Mark your calendars for April 25 and 26, 2008

Our Defenders of the Faith Conference is not designed for the shallow Christian, but rather for the soldiers of the Cross that want to make an impact in their generation. Those that want to deepen their knowledge of the Word of God and become skilled in the use of the Sword of the Spirit are encouraged to attend.

Friday, April 25th, 2008 - 7:30pm


"Nobody Left Behind"
G. Jorge Medina
Founder & Director of the Defenders of the Faith Conference on Apostolic Doctrine
Authored and compiled the Word Aflame Press published prophecy book Upholding Our Future Hope: An Apostolic Response to Preterism

"How Close Are We To The End?"
Dannie Hood
Evangelist and Prophecy Teacher

A multimedia session outlining the accelerated fulfillment of Bible prophecy in the endtime.

Brother Hood, along with Brother Lee Stoneking, taught a prophecy conference in Houston's Astroarena the year 2000, ministering to thousands of Apostolic Pentecostals. Untold numbers received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Saturday, April 26th, 2008 - 6:00pm

"Why I Left Islam"
Brother Farhad
Ex-Muslim converted to Oneness Pentecostalism

A multimedia session revealing Islam's secret agenda. Find out why this insider asked us not to use his last name.

And later on in the night...

"The Unstoppable Advance of the Oneness Message"

Trinitarian ministers are being baptized in Jesus' Name by the hundreds all over the world. Find out what God is doing and why so many are forsaking their Catholic and Protestant traditions for the revelation of the Name of Jesus.

DVDs, CDs and books on these subjects will be available at the conference.

Place: Mundo Pentecostal sanctuary, 1008 S. Main Street, Pasadena, Texas 77506

Cost: $10 per person

More info: faithdefenders@hotmail.com
or call Mary Mendizabal at 832-755-1775



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Refuting Preterism - 2 CD Album

CD 1: Has Jesus Already Come in the Clouds?
Refuting Preterism and the AD. 70 Date

CD 2: Has God Rejected Israel Forever?
Refuting Preterism & Replacement Theology

2 Audio CDs $13.99
Shipping & Handling $3.50
Your total will show the shipping charges included ($17.49 dollars).

Refuting pro abortion arguments

The only differences between a fetus in the womb and a newborn baby can be remembered by the acronym S.L.E.D.

Size

Level of development

Environment

Degree of dependency

None of them are essential (that is, none of them have to do with "what" the fetus "is") and none of them make the fetus non-human.

Refuting pro abortion rhetoric is essential to the pro life cause. In this podcast we give you some foundational tools.

To listen to the podcast click [Here]

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The Bible on Trial

Famous people have had different views on the origin of the Bible, and as far as human opinion goes, they have a right to their views.

But when we examine the Bible itself, what does the internal evidence tell us? Is the Bible really the Word of God?

Should we consider the Bible’s own claims regarding its origin?

Listen to this Defenders of the Faith podcast by clicking [Here]

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Defenders of the Faith Podcast

Now you can tune in to our English Podcast. Click here to listen


The first program treats the subject of Preterism.

As Preterism continues to deceive believers, it has become more necessary to expose its fallacies. Preterists believe that many (or all) of the prophecies regarding the second coming of Christ were fulfilled in a.D. 70, when the Roman armies destroyed Jerusalem. To them that was "Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven."

Listen in as we explain what they believe and why their theories are mistaken.

The complete study is available on Audio CD by clicking the following button:

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Why Christians must practice critical thinking

Charles Francis Potters authored, Humanism, A New Religion in which he wrote:

Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools, meeting for an hour once a week, and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?

Researchers continue to come up with increasingly grave statistics that reveal the success of the Secular Humanists. Consider how serious the condition is among self-professing Christian adults:

64% believe moral truth depends on the situation;
60% believe male/female co-habitation outside of marriage is acceptable;
55% believe a good person can earn his or her salvation;
44% believe Jesus Christ committed sins while on earth.

And consider the peril of college students:

67% of college professors approve of homosexuality;
84% of professors approve of abortion;
65% embrace socialist and communist ideals;
88% of students from “Christian” homes deny their faith before they graduate from college;
91% of students from evangelical churches do not believe in absolute moral truth.

We must teach our members biblical discernment and critical thinking. Instead of accepting the postulates of a godless society without examination, they should be able to analyze such ideas from a biblical worldview mindset.

The Apostle Paul advised:

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 12:2)

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Statistics used above were recently reported by a Worldview Weekend email update.

Homosexuality brainwashing for third graders

Pastor J.R. Ensey reported this in his Advance Ministries Newsletter:

"If you doubt that the homosexual agenda is being promoted in our public schools, just check out these two excerpts from a film that teachers are required to watch to learn how to promote gay and lesbian lifestyles. This is not a set up. These are real teachers and real students. It will shock you!"

Click here to see the video

This is another wake-up call to our churches, specially our Sunday Schools, to really "train" our children in the ways of the Lord. Need we mention the responsibility parents have to explain such issues to their children?

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The Crucifixion in Prophecy

One of the clearest prophecies of the crucifixion of Messiah is found in Psalm 22:16

"For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet." (NKJV)

Written centuries before the coming of Christ, this prophecy is not only amazing because of the time-span between the writing and the fulfillment; the unlikelihood of a Jewish person to be killed by crucifixion was, at the time the prophecy was written, very unlikely to say the least. That method of execution would not be invented until centuries later.

Also, Jewish people would usually apply capital punishment by stoning in cases of blasphemy (which was the charge brought against Jesus by the Sanhedrin); what are the odds they would kill him any other way?

In the Book of Zechariah there are more scriptures that speak of the piercing of his hands:

"If someone asks him, 'What are these wounds on your body?' he will answer, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my friends.'" (Zachariah 13:6)

And then again:

"And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son." (Zechariah 12:10)

The context makes it clear that Messiah is in view.

The Bible, in spite of its critics, proves time and again that it is the Word of God. The exactness of its prophecies are one more evidence that it was really God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16).

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Planned Parenthood vs a baby's smile

April 18, 2007 - Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- The Supreme Court has reversed a decision it handed down in 2000 and upheld a Congressional ban on the gruesome partial-birth abortion procedure. The ruling indicated that the federal ban on the abortion procedure did not violate the so-called right to abortion established under Roe v. Wade.

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion for the Supreme Court and indicated that the abortion advocates who sued to overturn the ban "have not demonstrated that the Act would be unconstitutional in a large fraction of relevant cases."
President Bush signed the national partial-birth abortion ban into law in 2003 and abortion advocates took it to court in three separate lawsuits and federal courts in each case relied on the Supreme Court's decision in 2000 and declared the ban unconstitutional.

Calling the decision a "dark day," for the fight to keep abortion legal, Planned Parenthood president Cecille Richards sent out a fundraising email to the abortion business' supporters just hours after the decision.

"Your immediate help is essential as Planned Parenthood responds to the disastrous U.S. Supreme Court decision," Richards wrote in the financial plea.

She claimed the high court "turned its back on more than 30 years of Supreme Court decisions" promoting abortion, despite numerous decisions uphold pro-life laws since the Roe ruling in 1973.

"There is no way we will let this stand," Richards warned, adding that "Planned Parenthood lawyers and medical experts are carefully studying the justices' opinions, searching out ways to ensure" that it can continue doing hundreds of thousands of abortions despite "this reckless ruling."

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Hmmm. Let's see what the babies in peril of being killed with the partial birth abortion procedure think:




Sorry, "Planned Parenthood," I'll side with the babies on this one.

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Dealing with Postmodernism

Modernism was partly a reaction to premodernism’s lack of evidential integrity. Premodernism was a blind faith that would not be bothered by the facts. Modernism swung the pendulum in the extreme opposite way, making reason and science the arbiters of what one should believe. With Postmodernism comes the tendency to overcorrect the abuses of modernism but in so doing the very idea of ultimate truth is lost (Truth with a capital “T,” if you please). Anyone can and should believe anything they choose, even if their ideas are contradictory to those of others, no one is wrong because no one can be sure they are absolutely right.

Postmodernism and premodernism are similar in that they embrace personal experience as a valid way of “knowing,” although they both may define “knowing” in a different way; “knowing what and with what amount of certainty” is the question that may remain.

In reaching the postmodern world new methods must be employed, but people will not accept us and our message only if we show them love, because postmodernism has redefined the word “love.” To a postmodern person love is shown in never judging anyone else’s actions and above all by never telling them they are wrong and that you are right regarding anything, specially religion. It can be misleading to expect that if you show people love they will automatically associate that with your Christianity. “Love” is the battle cry of the postmodern and is misused to provide acceptance of those that are different than us, including gays, lesbians, and transsexuals. Although we should love all sinners, that should not be construed as an acceptance of their sinful lifestyle. In today’s society the only wrong is thinking you are right. Unless you accept everyone around you as they are, without trying to change their moral (or immoral) convictions, you are not “loving,” but rather a “hate-monger.”

We need apologetics(1) in order to overcome the insidious philosophy of relativism in the postmodern world. This is not only necessary to reach the postmodern world outside the church, but also the postmoderns that have been born into the church. Our children go to postmodern schools, are trained by postmodern teachers, many of them grow up watching T.V. programs with a postmodern, relativistic bend (I know what most of our churches say about television, I also know that realistically speaking the recommendation of not owning a television has been highly disregarded). Statistics show that up to 80% of Christian youth abandon the church when they reach college age. Could it be that we have failed to provide them with sound reasons for faith? How many youth do you personally know that have no biblical clue as to why they dress the way they dress? To them it is just the way they were brought up, or their parents insist they do so. What usually happens to their dress codes when they leave the home to go away to college?

A young person that attends secular college is not only bombarded with a sensual environment, but also with an academic world that thinks the Bible is a bunch of tales and that evolution has done away with the need for a God. They have no answers to their nagging questions. Could they have been wrong? There is a divorce of the mind and the heart, which is unscriptural. The mind and heart should be united in their worship of the one true God (Mark 12:28-30).

We must not forget that when it comes to biblical faith it is never an either/or situation, but rather a both/and reality when it comes to knowing, believing in and experiencing the God of Pentecost.

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Note.
1. Apologetics is defined as a "rational defense of the Christian faith."

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The Apostolic Doctrine of God, Part 2

In the first part we asserted that Jewish monotheism was the basic and fundamental belief during the Old Covenant and there could be no other God but YHWH.

Strangely, when Jesus comes on the scene, He demanded and His disciples offered Him the same kind of worship that only YHWH God should have,(1) they gave Him the exclusive titles of God,(2) became witnesses of His Name,(3) notwithstanding they were people of the covenant, Jewish monotheists that would repeat the Shema on a daily basis. In fact, the Apostle Paul goes so far as to modify the Shema and includes Jesus in the monotheistic confession of fundamental faith.(4)

How can this be explained? David S. Norris believes that “Christology, then, must be defined within its Jewish provenance…”(5) Scholar Richard Bauckham asserts that such an approach should be the hermeneutical key to the study of Jesus in Scripture.(6) If we are to approach Scripture with such an understanding, and read what the Apostles wrote about Jesus being God, then we must conclude that by “God” they meant only what a Jewish monotheist would mean, that is: “YHWH,” the only true God. Scripture makes no room for another, neither should we.

The doctrine of the incarnation, revealed in 1 Timothy 3:16, is the answer to the dilemma of how Jesus could be called God. “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.” Jesus is the revelation of God in human flesh.(7) YHWH of the Old Testament coming to earth to “seek and to save that which was lost,”(8) fulfilling His promise of redemption.(9) God becomes a Son in the fullness of time.(10) In the man Jesus God dwells, not the presence of a second “God,” nor another “Person”(11) of God, but the fullness of the one Godhead.(12) That is, everything that God is was revealed in Jesus Christ (13) so that whoever has the Son has the Father also,(14) for the Father was in the Son (15) reconciling the world unto Himself.(16) Therefore, the confession of Thomas upon seeing the resurrected Jesus, “My Lord and my God,”(17) is in reality a reaffirmation of the Old Testament confession of faith in YHWH (18) rightly applied to Jesus, God manifest in the flesh.


Notes:

1. John 5:23; Revelation 5:12.
2. Romans 10:13; Philippians 2:11; John 1:1; 20:28; Titus 3:5; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5:19, etc. Cf. Isaiah 9:6 where Messiah is called El Gibbor (Mighty God) the same title give to YHWH in Isaiah 10:21.
3. Acts 1:8; 9:15; 8:12; 4:12; 5:40-42.
4. “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6.) Emphasis mine.
5. David S. Norris, I AM the God WHO IS in Covenant, unpublished paper, p. 161.
6. “the understanding of Jewish monotheism… will function as the hermeneutical key to understanding the way in which the New Testament texts relate Jesus Christ to the one God of Jewish monotheism.” (Bauckham, God Crucified, p. 26.)
7. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; John 14:9-11;
8. Matthew 1:21, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” Jesus literally means “YHWH Savior” or “YHWH is become salvation." See also Luke 19:10.
9. “Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:4-6). Jesus applied this Scripture to Himself in Matthew 11:3-5.
10. John 1:1, 14, 18; Galatians 4:4.
11. The word “Person” as applied to God is not used by the New Testament writers in the Trinitarian sense not even once. It would be Tertullian who would invent such extra-biblical words to try to explain his nascent trinitarian belief. In Tertullian’s view, however, the members of the Trinity were not co-equal, but there’s a subordination of the Son and Holy Ghost to the Father.
12. See Colossians 2:9-10. The oneness of the Jewish God is reaffirmed in the New Testament in such passages as Romans 3:30; Galatians 3:20 and James 2:19.
13. John 12:44-45.
14. 1 John 2:23.
15. John 14:10-11.
16. 2 Corinthians 5:19.
17. John 20:28.
18. “Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord.” (Psalm 35:23) Emphasis mine.

The Holocaust Never Happened?

I guess this is as good a way as any to silence those that would deny the truth about the Jewish Holocaust under Hitler's regime.



If you haven't yet read the classic Diary of Anne Frank you owe it to yourself (and your children) to read it.

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The Apostolic Doctrine of God, Part 1

How does Jesus relate to the Godhead? Is He a member of a triune God? Or is Jesus the fullness of YHWH of the Old Testament manifest in the flesh? Our approach is to study what the biblical writers wrote, seeking to understand them in their own historical and cultural context.(1) Apostolics approach Scripture with reverence and awe since they consider the Bible as wholly inspired by God and the only authority for faith and praxis. An Apostolic hermeneutic seeks to mine the treasures of Scripture and apply them to their daily lives as authoritative, having the seal of God’s revelation to humankind.(2)

The doctrine of God has as its foundation God’s self-revelation in covenant to the people of Israel. Deuteronomy 6:4 is known as the Shema, the most foundational commandment in all of Scripture, “Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God is one YHWH.”(3) There could be no other god or gods beside YHWH.(4) No other being could even be compared to YHWH,(5) and He would not share His glory with anyone.(6) YHWH is the only mighty God,(7) the lone Creator of everything that exists.(8) No other god could ever be known,(9) nor other Savior ever expected.(10) The people of Israel were called to become witnesses of God’s oneness and of His Name.(11)


Notes:
1. David K. Bernard, “An Apostolic Approach to Hermeneutics,” paper.
2. Cf. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. The Scriptures are literally God-breathed (Greek theopneustos).
3. Reaffirmed in the New Testament by no other than Jesus Christ Himself. See Mark 12:28-31.
4. Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5, 21.
5. Isaiah 46:9; 44:8.
6. Isaiah 48:11; 42:8.
7. Isaiah 10:21. Hebrew: El Gibbor.
8. Isaiah 44:24; 37:16.
9. Hosea 13:4.
10. Isaiah 43:10-11; 45:21-22; Hosea 13:4
11. Isaiah 43:6-7, 10-11.

Proof that God exists

Try this on an atheist friend. See if they can follow it to its logical conclusion.

Click on the title of this message to see proof that God really does exist!

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Trinitarians see Jesus as YHWH

Having to read scholarly work on the Godhead from a Trinitarian perspective may have its surprises!

I recently read the book God Crucified by Richard Bauckham and I found that he had some beautiful insights into the deity of Jesus, specially his explanations of Jesus as the greatest revelation of God, “when the christological pattern of humiliation and exaltation is recognized as revelatory of God, indeed as the definitive revelation of who God is.” We can say, Amén! to that.

German theologian Louis Berkhof in his Systematic Theology gives some more theological Oneness “candy” when he says, “All the titles which in the N[ew] T[estament] are ascribed to Christ have an O[ld] T[estament] root,” and recognizes, in my view, that a Trinitarian attempt to harmonize passages like John 10:30 and John 14:28 has “given classical systematic theologians great difficulty.” To Oneness believers passages like those were used to teach us that Jesus was both God and man even when we were new converts.

I certainly enjoyed reading Berkhof and Bauckham’s take on the deity of Jesus. They brought to mind once again that the most substantial evidence for who Jesus is can be found in Jesus’ own words and self-understanding. His actions, his life, speak so loud that we really would not need a theologian like Paul to help us understand that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,” or that “God was manifest in the flesh.” Facts that to some are but details attain greater significance when seen through the eyes of a first century Jew.

For instance, the fact that Jesus healed all manners of disease, cast out demons, even resurrected the dead, and not even once calling the name of God over them to do it. He never said, “In the Name of YHWH you are healed,” yet, in His John 17 prayer, He assures the Father that He has made God’s name known. He affirms He revealed the Name of God, yet we find Him always saying, “In my Name you shall cast out demons...”, “where two or three are gathered together in my Name...”, etc.

He revealed the Name that was given to Him as inheritance: the very Name of God (Hebrews 1:4).

In Jesus we truly encounter YHWH revealed for our salvation.


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Da Vinci Refuted: Spanish Apostolics fight back

As the movie The Da Vinci Code comes out on DVD we continue with our Apostolic response.

We are sending our Spanish book "Desenmascarando El Código Da Vinci" [Unmasking the Da Vinci Code] to everyone that asks for it. We have created a digital version (Acrobat PDF with multimedia enhancements) and are asking everyone to share it with anyone they might think is interested in it (and understands Spanish).

We wrote the book thinking beyond the current controversy to be a defense of the deity of Christ and the trustworthiness of the Bible. We even have a short appendix on the newest gnostic release, "The Gospel of Judas."

If you think this might be helpful to someone we ask that you please let them know all they have to do is email: faithdefenders@hotmail.com with the subject: DaVinci book. We will send them the digital version free of charge via email.

If they need anymore information, please direct them to our Spanish blog site: http://defensoresdelafe.blogspot.com. You can visit it by clicking in the title of this message.

The Watchmaker

Click here to see a good presentation of the design argument for God's existence.

Specially neat for kids, also useful for adults.

The fact that there's such intricate design in everything living, specially at the molecular level, leaves little room for mindless, purposeless evolution to do. This demonstrates God's existence at the most fundamental level.

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“I’d rather obey Jesus than Peter”

Sometimes when talking to Trinitarian friends we hear the phrase, “When it comes to baptism, I’d rather obey Jesus than obey Peter.” This usually comes after we’ve shown them Acts 2:38,

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

The part that bothers them is that Peter said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and they see that as contradicting what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19,

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

Which is the right way to be baptized?

When a Trinitarian friend says that they’d rather obey the words of Jesus they imply that Peter may have been mistaken, but Jesus, of course, could never be mistaken. By asserting this they essentially shot themselves in the foot, among others, for the following reasons.

1. He is admitting there’s a contradiction in the Scriptures. He assumes Peter was wrong when he said baptism was in Jesus’ name. Then, ALL Scripture would NOT be inspired of God as Paul asserts in 2 Timothy 3:16. No true Christian should ever make such an affirmation. It destroys the trustworthiness of the Bible.

2. If there's a contradiction between both scriptures, then the Holy Spirit made a mistake, because Peter had just received the anointing of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-4) and this was supposed to have given him the power to be a witness of Jesus (Acts 1:8).

3. If the Holy Ghost can make a mistake, then, how can we trust the rest of the Scriptures? How can we know which parts are true and which are in error?

4. We must also remember that Jesus never wrote an epistle. Matthew is the one that reports Jesus commanded to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. This would not be a case of Jesus vs Peter, but Matthew vs Peter (IF there was a contradiction).

5. If there was such a disagreement between Peter and Matthew, why did Matthew, on the day of Pentecost, say nothing but rather stood with the other Apostles backing up what Peter was preaching? Why did Matthew not correct Peter, if Peter was mistaken? (Acts 2:14).

6. Why did Jesus give Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven if He knew that the day Peter was to receive the Holy Spirit he would disobey and betray His instructions?

The only solution to harmonize this apparent contradiction is to see in Matthew 28:19 the commandment and in Acts 2:38 the fulfillment or obedience to the commandment of Jesus. Both scriptures are true. The “name” of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is Jesus!

In other words, the Spirit that was in Peter reminded him of the words of Jesus, and gave him the Name that should be called on the baptismal waters. Matthew, being present, full of the same Spirit, was in total agreement with Acts 2:38. The rest of the Apostles understood Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:19 in the same way since they consistently baptized calling on the name of the Lord. (Please do take the time to study the following scriptures: Acts 2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5; 22:16.)

For Apostolic Pentecostals “all Scripture is inspired of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). There are no contradictions in the Holy Word of God. There’s perfect harmony between Matthew 28:19 and Acts 2:38. There’s a Name revealed for our salvation, a Name so high and glorious that manifests the identity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That name is the name of Jesus (Please see Hebrews 1:4; Ephesians 1:21-23).

"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 4:12 NKJV)

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A "Preterist" Prophet

Preterists insist that Jesus returned on 70 A.D., evidenced by the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies. They assert that we are waiting for a Second Coming that's already come.

They also insist that the "end of the world" or "end of the age" really meant the "end of the Jewish age." So, in their view, this "end of the world" has already occurred.

They can believe and preach what they want, but we remain, as the Apostle Paul, "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ." (Titus 2:13)


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What does this passage mean to me?

Most small group Bible studies are lead by reading a portion of the Scriptures and then asking the participants, “What does this passage mean to you?” Everyone answers what they feel this passage is trying to say to them, they have a group discussion and that’s it. That’s a cell group’s “Bible” study.

The problem with this approach to Scripture is that it makes every individual’s feelings the interpreter of Scripture. It is one of the easiest way to twist Scriptures and make the Bible say what we want it to say rather than what God intended. The important question when sharing Scripture in a small group settings (as well as when preaching from a pulpit) is not “what does it mean to me?” but rather, “what does the passage say and what reasons do I have for such an interpretation?”

In Apostolic circles, not even a “Holy Ghost impression” is enough to judge the validity of an interpretation, but rather we judge every impression by the written Scripture as instructed by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. Interpreters (this includes the leaders, pastors and theologians) are not infallible, only Scripture is. That is why the context of a passage is so important to determine the meaning of the author. We compare Scripture to Scripture to make sure we are interpreting it correctly.

We believe the Holy Ghost can guide us in ascertaining the meaning of Scripture, but His meaning will never contradict the plain meaning of the Bible. The Holy Spirit didn’t make any mistakes when he inspired the writers of Scripture, therefore He doesn’t need a prophet or apostle today to fix His Word. He doesn’t make mistakes when He leads us in our Bible studies. But sometimes we think God is guiding us to a certain meaning when in reality is just our own mind or emotions. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make mistakes but people do. That is why we teach that the best interpreter of the Bible is the Bible itself.

We don’t ask, “What does this Scripture mean to me?” but rather, “What does God mean in this Scripture?”

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Are tongues for preaching the Gospel?

I was at a wedding early in the year when a man that had been a member of a United Pentecostal Church (UPC), now backslid, came around trying to engage every UPC member he could get to listen to him.

“You should leave the UPC, the UPC doesn’t save, only Jesus saves. You don’t need tongues to be saved. Tongues were for missionary work, to preach in foreign languages. We don’t need tongues like that anymore, and certainly the UPC doesn’t use tongues that way.”

Since this was his son’s wedding I found it really strange that he would be spending his time going from table to table trying to find an apostolic to engage in the same conversation.

When he approached me I assured him that I was very interested in conversing with him, but that perhaps this occasion wasn’t the best venue for it. He had strayed so far from the truth that now he wasn’t even able to enjoy his own son’s wedding without attacking the church he had left many years ago.

I emailed him a couple of months later wanting to resume the conversation. I asked him where specifically the Bible taught that tongues were for preaching the Gospel in missionary work. He asked for more time to send me his reply. It’s been about four months now, and I have followed up with him on at least three occasions. He hasn’t replied yet. I wonder if he is still trying to find a Bible verse that teaches what he has come to believe about tongues. He will not find such a verse.

The truth is tongues are not a preaching tool, tongues are given as a sign of the infilling of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 14:22; Acts 2:1-4; 11:15-18). Sometimes they are known languages (Acts 2), some times they are angelic tongues (1 Cor 14:2). They can help us in time of prayer for private edification or even for intercession (1 Cor 14:4; Rom 8:26). Tongues don’t save, the UPCI doesn’t save, Jesus does and He comes to us in the Holy Ghost if we repent of our sins and are baptized in Jesus name (See Acts 2:38-39). This experience is available to everyone that thirsts after God. Jesus is still making the invitation:

“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…)” (John 7:37-39).
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Attitudes in defending the faith

When the Apostle Peter instructed us to defend the faith, he laid out some principles that every successful ambassador of Christ will follow:

1 Peter 3:15:
"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."

"Meekness and fear" means with a humble attitude, with reverence. It is not the pedantic Apostolic that gets a listening ear, but the one that is not afraid to treat others with the same respect he'd like to receive.

God has given us a beautiful treasure to share with others, we must do so in a Christian spirit of love. We are not suppossed to hit people over the head with the truth.

For those that think that an argumentative way of doing apologetics is the best way, I'd like to ask them how many Trinitarians have they won to the Lord that way?

Every Trinitarian minister that our local church, Mundo Pentecostal, has baptized in Jesus' Name has been won first by love, then by doctrine. Both are important, both are required.

We are not shy to share the truth. We will never be ashamed of being Oneness believers. We will never be ashamed of believing in the Holy Spirit baptism with tongues or our lifestyle. At the same time, we will never be afraid to become friends with those we want to win to the truth.

We did not receive the truth because we deserved it. We weren't worthy. We weren't more honest that other people that go to denominational churches or other religions. It was by God's mercy and grace that we were saved. In ourselves we have nothing to be proud of. We certainly can not look at others as less spiritual or less honest. We must show them the "mark" that everyone can see: love.

I haven't found any other method that works to win souls. Have you?

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The Christian Origin of the University

Harvard, Yale, Princeton and others schools were founded primarily for the training of ministers for the evangelization of the world. The world may be surprised to learn that a full-fledged university was a Christian idea, not a secular one.The Church may be even more surprised to learn that such world-renowned universities used to be ministerial training centers.

The idea of a University, a place where all different sciences can be learned and studied in depth was born out of a desire to study God’s world precisely because creation was thought to be a revelation of the true God. It was thought that compartmentalized knowledge (the focusing on only one subject) was not worthy of a man created in God’s image. Man should be able to discourse on different subjects, was the thought, so a place where all avenues of knowledge could be explored for the glory of God was devised in the university.

I am not sure when anti-intelectualism hit the Church, but I have a feeling that part of it had something to do with Darwin’s theory of evolution. The thought was that if science had disproven God by making Him obsolete due to evolution, then believers either accepted science and denied God or held on to their faith by closing their eyes to modern science. Such thinking was very mistaken (and that’s a huge understatement), specially because evolution used faulty assumptions to construct its main theories.

Apostolics are called to reclaim science (and other disciplines) to the glory of God. I can only speculate the difference that Harvard, Yale and Princeton (among others) would have made in our world if they had remained Christian centers of knowledge and training. God and true science are never opposed to each other.

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We can do better than abortion

Right-click the image above to save the graphic. Please email it to all your contacts.

There are better options for the crisis pregnancy mother than abortion.

1. Give birth and keep the baby. It may not be easy, but this is one decision they'll never regret.

2. Give birth and give the baby up for adoption. They will always know their child is with a loving family and well taken care of. New Beginnings, an Apostolic Pentecostal organization is always ready to help with this option. Click on the title of this message to visit their website.


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The Vision recommends Upholding Our Future Hope

The Vision, the official magazine of the South Texas District of the United Pentecostal Church International carried an article by Brother David Bernard in their November/December 05 issue recommending to their readership our book Upholding Our Future Hope: An Apostolic Response to Preterism.

We thank God for what He is doing.

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What others have said:

The belief in the soon coming King was a significant part of the gestalt of beliefs that led to the rise of Pentecostalism. Early Pentecostals were convinced they were living on the cusp of the coming of the Lord and this belief provided added motivation to live their lives fully committed to the Gospel. This book takes a fresh look at the importance of the coming of the Lord in the life of the church. I trust it will renew our committment to the coming King.

Rev. Robin Johnston
Vice President, Gateway College of Evangelism
Director, The Center for the Study of Oneness Pentecostalism


Apostolic Bible Institute commends Brother Jorge Medina for his scholarship in writing this book which reveals the error of the false doctrine of Preterism. It is a work that we will include in our classes on end-time prophecy.

Rev. Gerald F. Grant
President, Apostolic Bible Institute
St. Paul, Minnesota

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The Pentecostal Publishing House has also been marketing the book agressively in all their mailouts to members of the Pentecostal Book Club and in ads placed in different magazines within the Apostolic community.

The book can be obtained at http://www.half.com (click the title of this message) or http://www.pentecostalpublishing.com


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Prophecy Conference Tapes

Brother William Chalfant sent us this ad which appeared in Indiana Bible College's Perspectives magazine.

The tapes can be ordered by calling 913.773.8318


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Upholding Our Future Hope: An Apostolic Response to Preterism

Printed by Word Aflame Press
$14
272 Pages
$3 shipping & handling
Payment can be sent to the following account: ejad@hotmail.com

Via PayPal

This book refutes the preterist theory that Jesus returned invisibly during the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and demonstrates fully the truth recorded in Scripture.

Compiled by G. Jorge Medina.

Contributing authors include: David Bernard, William B. Chalfant, Steve Pixler, John T. Larabell, J. R. Ensey, Phillip A. Dugas, Jorge Medina, Ken Gurley, and David Norris.


Brother Jorge Medina has provided in these writings a book that has long been needed. For several years we have needed answers to the many questions that the doctrine of preterism has raised in students and ministers across the globe. This book is written from a biblical perspective and we can always trust the Bible to have the correct answers for every subject that would not appear to be sound doctrine. Thank you Brother Medina for the many hours you have spent in compiling such excellent writings.

Bishop James L. Kilgore
Life Tabernacle
Houston, Texas


Our movement has made allowance for unity in diversity. We must not, however, seek diversity at the expense of truth. We must at all times take a firm stand for biblical truth, as the authors of this book have done. They have thoroughly demonstrated that preterism contradicts the Holy Writ. While we can allow for a pre-trib, mid-trib, or post-trib Rapture, we cannot allow preterism to rob us of 'that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.'

Anthony Mangun
Pastor, The Pentecostals of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana


I am happy to recommend this work that calls us back to a renewed emphasis on "that blessed hope," the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Since two men in white stood by the awestruck disciples as they watched Jesus ascending into heaven, believers have waited for Him to "come in like manner" as they saw Him go. With Paul, we confess that we who are alive and remain when the Lord descends from heaven shall be caught up with the dead in Christ to meet the Lord in the air. There is, as Paul says, comfort in these words.

Rev. Daniel L. Segraves
President, Christian Life College
Stockton, CA


For more info, write: faithdefenders@hotmail.com


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Apostolic Prophecy Conference

Wow!

What a Prophecy Conference we had in Kansas!

With names like William Chalfant, Mark Bassett, Todd Nance, David Hunt (Texas Bible College) and others we really had a powerful time digging deep into the Word of God.

Among the subjects treated were:

* Coming in the Clouds (Was Jesus to Return by A.D. 70?)
* God's Covenants in Prophecy
* The Reality of the Resurrection of the Body
* One Coming: Two Views
* Has God Rejected His People? (Israel, the Church, and Replacement Theology)
* The Relation of Apostolic Doctrine & Prophecy
* Judgment in the Plan of God
* And more...

You must obtain the tapes of this conference.

To do so call or write:

Truth Tabernacle
Apostolic Prophecy Conference
79 Ash Street
Leavenworth, KS 66048

913-651-0353


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Welcome to Defenders of the Faith!

Welcome to the Defenders of the Faith blog. This site is dedicated to apologetics of the Apostolic Faith. Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia = defense. It is inspired by 1 Peter 3:15:

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear."

The word "defense" used by Peter is precisely "apologia." We understand apologetics to be a reasoned defense of the Apostolic Christian faith. We strive to do this with humility and love for those that may not share our points of view.

In this blog we will share some entry level Bible studies, answers to doctrinal questions, Evolution vs Creation, the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible, cults, false doctrines, etc, etc.

I truyly hope this will be a blessing to the average church member, and an inspiration to our Apostolic ministers across the globe.

Please note that all Scriptures quoted are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise identified.

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