Bridge of Reason

A familiar Watch Tower teaching is that there are two groups of people after judgement, one in heaven and one on earth (a third if you count the ones that don’t make it). A good question we should always be prepared to ask is, ’Where does the Bible say that?’ Of course, they usually have an answer. They say on their website : ‘Those “who are called and chosen” to rule with Christ in the Kingdom are referred to as a “little flock.” ( Revelation 17:14; Luke 12:32 ) This shows that they would be relatively few in comparison with the complete number of Jesus’ sheep.​— John 10:16 .’ This is where you ask the second question. Who in the Bible makes those links? Who in the Bible talks like you? As far as they’re concerned it jumps off the page, but it really doesn’t. They believe they alone have the explanation, often thinking we are puzzled by such questions. None of this is true. In Luke 12 Jesus, addressing his disciples, tells them they are to acknowledge him before men (8-12). The...

  The immutability of God is defined as God’s not changing in any way in his nature, in his moral character; God is ‘without variableness or shadow of turning.’ James 1:17 A corollary of this is God’s impassibility, meaning God is emotionally unchangeable; he doesn’t suffer, he is not subject to fits of passion in response to circumstances. James writes: ‘ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shadow due to change.’ 1:17 In the Old Testament we read: ‘ God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it? Numbers 23:19 Yet we also read: ‘ Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people...And [Moses] said, ‘If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here...And the L...

  Is God Omniscient? ‘ O LORD, you have searched me and know me! You k n ow when I s it down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my ly i ng down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.’ Psalm 139:1-4 ‘ For I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done…’ Isaiah 469,10 ‘ I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’ Jer.17:10 ‘ No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ Heb.4:13 An omniscient God is a God who knows everything. From the Latin omnis meaning ‘all’ and scientia meaning knowledge. He knows the thoughts of the hearts of human beings, a word before it is spoken, an action before it is taken...

Is God Omnipotent? ‘The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah ; ‘Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?’ Jer.32:27 An omnipotent God is a God who is infinitely powerful, for whom nothing is too hard. It is often thought this means there is nothing God cannot do. That sometimes prompts the question, ’Can God make a rock so big he can’t lift it?’ Here we come across something God can’t do; God cannot do something that is self-contradictory. He can’t make something that limits his own power.   He can only do things that are logically possible. Jesus taught his disciples, ‘Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, ‘Who then can be saved?’ But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossib...

The cry of the Reformation is sola gratia, sola fida, solus Christus, sola scriptura, soli Deo Gloria . We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. That fourth sola, sola scriptura , is under attack as much as it has ever been. The doctrine of sola scriptura , Latin for 'Scripture alone,' is the theological principle that the Bible is the sole infallible rule of faith and practice for the Christian. It does not argue that Scripture is the only authority, but rather the ultimate and supreme authority, against which all other sources—such as tradition, reason, or prophetic claims—must be judged. This principle did not emerge in a vacuum, but arose in the sixteenth century as a direct challenge to the late medieval Roman Catholic Church, which held that authority rested in a combination of Scripture and ecclesiastical tradition, interpreted by the Magisterium. The Reformers, led by figures like Ma...

T oday, when we come across Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons we find that they are led by a group of people who hold unquestioned authority. Members of this group know this, some even believe it themselves. This puts them in a powerful position, even to the point where they can create their own Bible. Two examples are the J oseph S mith Translation of the Mormons and the N ew W orld T ranslation of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. T hey can add words into their own Bible, words that are not in other, respectable, translations. F or example, in the Greek, C olossians 1:1 6 say s that J esus created all things: ‘ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.’ Col.1:15,16, ESV Jehovah’s Witnesses say that this runs counter to their understanding that Jesus is God’s first creat...

Have you ever asked yourself this question? I spoke about this at our 2023 Reachout Trust Convention. Our 2024 Convention is already planned and booked for September. Why not join us and enjoy a weekend of teaching, equipping, and fellowship? Find out more here.  Meanwhile, I hope this teaching blesses you.  

I wonder would you do something for me? Read through the following brief account of a little adventure I had recently and then answer the two questions at the end. Its a true story, I know because I made it up myself: I recently bought a car because I planned to go on a road trip with a friend and my old jalopy simply wasn’t up to it. It surprised me that, within my budget, I was offered a great little model, much better than my old banger and with an interior so comfortable it was like driving a limo. When I arrived at my friends’ house he took one look and said, “Nice wheels.” “You like my motor?” I replied. “Its a nice Auto,” he said, “and it looks like that model is going to take us places.” With that we got in the vehicle and drove off on our adventure. Q1 . How many times does the word “car” appear in this narrative? Q2 . How many times is a car mentioned in this narrative? We’ll get back to this shortly. It still amazes me how Mormon thinking makes Mormon leaders s...

  In Questions from Readers, the Watch Tower Society addresses the question: ‘ Does Stephen’s prayer to Jesus, as found in Acts 7:59, show that he understood Jesus to be Jehovah?’ The New World Translation gives us: ‘ And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal, and said: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: ‘Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.’ And after saying this he fell asleep in death.’ vv 59,60 They put the name Jehovah in the text where the Westcott and Hort Greek text has the word Lord translating the Greek kurios. Their own Kingdom Interlinear also translates Lord. The article they use is from a 1959 Watchtower: ‘The prayer offered by Stephen when he was being martyred is recorded at Acts 7:59, 60, which says: “And they went on casting stones at Stephen as he made appeal and said: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then, bending his knees, he cried out with a strong voice: ‘Jehova...

  Jesus, Moses, and Elijah Death The Watchtower Society teaches that at death a person goes into a state of ‘non-existence’ and those opposed to Jehovah will be annihilated. “ Death Definition: The ceasing of all functions of life. After breathing, heartbeat, and brain activity stop, the life-force gradually ceases to function in body cells. Death is the opposite of life.” - Reasoning from the Scriptures, WBTS, 1985, p.98. “ Paul speaks of those who have known the truth, have been partakers of holy spirit, and then have fallen away .The ransom could no longer help them; hence they would receive no resurrection .This illustrates the future before them: complete annihilation.” - Insight on the Scriptures, Vol.2, WBTS, 1988, p.792. Genesis 2:17 – They argue Jehovah warned Adam against disobedience, which would lead to death. Ecclesiastes 9:5 – Insist the dead are conscious of nothing. Resurrection The personality and character, of a person worthy of resurrection, are in Go...

  Cult victim found alive after three days in Malindi grave ‘ Detectives under the homicide unit have found one person alive after exhuming a grave linked to Shakahola church members.’ It’s a shocking headline, hardly believable, but there it was in the Star of Kenya . The story has been unfolding on our screens, in our news feeds, across the world as we have looked on incredulously at the horror unfolding . How does it come to this? Who is Paul Nthenge Mackenzie and what drove him to insist his followers go to such extremes of fasting that it brought many to the grave? P aul Mackenzie, pastor of Good News International Church, is widely reported to have encouraged his congregation to extreme fasting in order to ‘meet Jesus’ or go to heaven. As with all such things, this ‘starvation cult’ has an origin story. Mackenzie is said to be a devotee of William Branham’s ‘the Message’ cult, having been radicalised by the Latter-Rain version of Branham’s message . Branham referred to ...