Newsletter contents: family news, why bother with prophecy, NT Textual Criticism, the Ante-Nicene fathers, my personal testimony video, latest videos and articles, and much more!
Hello dear friends,
We hope all of you are well and prospering in Jesus. In case you didn't already know it, unto us a child was born! A cute little boy joined our family on May 5th, 2018 (see attached pics). Our son, Joseph Moses Aziza was born healthy at 9 lbs, bringing great joy and delight to our little clan. We feel his name is very significant. In Hebrew, it means to gather (Yoseph) and draw out (Moshe). We gave him that name because we feel certain that God is currently gathering together His remnant and will soon be drawing us out of this present world at His glorious return.
The second thing is that we recently started a young people's Bible study in our home comprised mainly of local Slavic Pentecostals. I've prayed that the Lord would give us an opportunity to have fellowship with local Believers who are hungry for God's Word, and the young people here are really seeking for revival and have a hunger to learn the Bible. So it's a real blessing to be involved in this way. You can watch my recent teaching on how to experience God more intimately, recorded during one of our Bible studies, by clicking this link to my Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/LKX9F3s5vp0. Please pray that the Lord would anoint me as I seek to teach these young people God's Word with humility and love.
Last summer went by in a rush! My brother Josh and his family flew up here from PA to visit us, which was an incredible highlight because I hadn't seen him for nearly two years. Just like old times, we did lots of fishing together and had a number of good Bible discussions. As a family, we spent the summer mainly enjoying the beautiful outdoors of Alaska--boating, hiking, fishing, berry picking, etc. During the winter, we took the children up to Hatcher's Pass (a local ski and sled area) and managed to safely sled down a pretty steep slope without any injuries, although we nearly got plowed down a time or two by a group of teens on snow tubes.
Molly has been doing a fine job of homeschooling our oldest and we've seen tremendous progress in our children's academic learning, including our daughter Daniela, who was delayed in some areas due to her prior health condition. Praise God she is progressing daily! It is a tremendous blessing living in a state where the local government funds all of our homeschooling expenses to the tune of $2,200 per child, per school year. This money can be used for many different things and has been a real help to us financially.
2019 has been a blessed year for us in terms of chiseling away at our massive family debt incurred from the loss of our poultry business back in '15. So we praise God for that too. We intend to pay off a good chunk of our debt this year with the help of the Alaska PFD (oil revenue). This will be the first year we qualify for it.
Over the course of '18 and '19, I've been able to produce a number of new Youtube videos on Bible prophecy and I've spent a considerable amount of time writing doctrinal articles on different issues. I continue to feel the Lord impressing on me the need to minister in this way (as a teacher of the Word). I will provide links to all of my new articles and Youtube videos along with a brief description of each further down.
Also, some of you have asked us about our future plans for New Zealand and whether we still intend to move there. The answer is yes, we are actively planning and preparing for this in more ways than ever before and we are better equipped to make the move prior to 2021. We envision our move transpiring in the late fall of 2020. And we have a number of reasons for stating this, but more about this in the months to come.
Why Bother With Prophecy & Current News Events?
Some of you might be thinking, is Bible prophecy really all that important? My answer to this is yes and no. You see, it's pointless to study eschatology when one may be spiritually lacking in the weightier matters of God's Word. The mysteries of the Scriptures are intended for those who are mature enough to handle them and are sufficiently acquainted with the essentials of salvation. Paul referred to these mysteries as "meat" and meat is not meant for spiritual babes (Heb. 5:12). I'm also confident that those who are living a holy and consecrated life while abiding daily in fellowship with God will be awakened to the relevant prophetic events of our time. As such, we will rejoice at the prospect of Christ's nearing return. It is our "blessed hope" after all. On the other hand, those who are too entrenched in this present world and shackled by sin will cringe at the thought of Christ's coming. Obviously, they will dread that awesome day and anything that reminds them of it. Others, however, are simply afraid of witnessing the era of God's judgement unfolding on this world, which is totally understandable. So they prefer to pretend that things are "business as usual" and to ignore the changing political and spiritual climate around them. But let me tell you that you don't have to fear anything if you're walking right with God. And you can face the future realistically without ignoring the facts. Notice some verses pertaining to these thoughts:
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:13).
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? (2 Pet. 3:12).
...but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure (1 Jn. 3:2-3).
It's interesting that according to 1 John 3, the hope of Christ's return has a purifying aspect to it. Could this be why we are instructed to "look" for our blessed hope (Tit. 2:13)? Maybe the mindset of readiness will help us modify our lifestyle to reflect our transient existence in this world. And it might even help us overcome our spiritual laziness and backslidden condition.
It's not by mistake that the Gospels give us specific events that we should be looking for in relation to Christ's return (Mathew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21). The same events can be found in the Epistles and Revelation, which provide even more details concerning the great "Day of the LORD". Paul specifically outlined what must precede the coming of Christ in 2 Thes. 2:1-3. He wanted us to be aware of those events so that the coming of Christ would not overtake us like a thief (1 Thes. 5:4). How can we then intentionally ignore the signs of the time? To me, it's exciting to see new and more compelling evidence for the imminent return of Christ churned out in our daily headlines. And I feel specifically called to bring these significant news events to the Church's attention in order to wake up God's people to the lateness of the hour:
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand (Joel 2:1)
My Youtube Channel
Good news! For easier access and better organization, all of my Youtube videos are now filled into playlists. I created a playlist for each category of videos and you can access these playlists rather conveniently by clicking on the playlists tab of my channel. Also, through my children's homeschool funding, I've been able to acquire professional recording equipment for use with my Youtube channel. This has greatly improved the sound quality of my videos. Because of this, I've gone back and redone all of my old Youtube videos and added some new background features and better content. I've even trimmed down the length of the clips so that way they're not too long. So please check out my new series on Bible prophecy titled "Rome in Bible Prophecy". This video series is packed full of history and scripture in order to convince the viewers of Rome's vital role in prophecy:
I'm also excited to announce that one of the videos which I recently recorded is my personal testimony of how I came to saving Faith in Jesus. I really hope you will find it interesting. But more importantly, I hope this will give many of you a deeper glimpse into my background and history and the reasons for why I believe as I do. You can watch my personal testimony by clicking here: https://youtu.be/6hmszYerk_M
You will also find a brief clip of David Wilkerson from back in 1973 where he describes the vision the Lord gave him of the coming "super world church" created by Rome. He saw this "church" being comprised of a union between Catholics and Protestants (click here: https://youtu.be/NH-_aP2JaEc). What he describes in his vision from way back in the 70's is exactly what's happening now, as you will discover by watching my video, "Rome's Ecumenical Agenda....Pt 4" (click above provided link). I urge you to watch these two videos in conjunction with each other.
Now I've also included all three of Chris Pinto's documentaries on the history and transmission of the New Testament, and Rome's dramatic role in this process. All three parts are up on my Youtube channel by permission from Chris Pinto, whom I've personally contacted and spoken to by phone. I had a nice conversation with him on Bible prophecy and came to find out that he's a partial historicist like myself. Really neat guy--knows his stuff, that's for sure! I intend to include a few of his other breakthrough documentaries which are now gaining momentum and have been featured in Pureflix's catalogue of Christian films.
Since my dream last February, I've been seeking God for some insights into what awaits America and the world in the immediate future. I now feel confident that the dream I described in my previous email was a picture of the coming economic collapse here in the US, which will then impact the rest of the world. This economic collapse will be devastating and will strike suddenly and without warning. I spent many months praying about it and doing specific research into our American economy and financial system. To me, it's important not only to warn God's people, but to also provide tangible evidence in support of my warnings so that there remains no doubt in people's mind that these events are real and will have a greater impact than many realize. So please watch my latest Youtube video in the Bible prophecy playlist titled, Economic Collapse--then Cashless Society. This documentary style video is packed full of 9 months worth of intense research into the trajectory of the global economy and the mark of the beast system. I also list 7 acting contagions on the US and global economy, expose Fintec's ID 2020 agenda, and uncover the IMF's plot to replace the dollar with their new digital SDR money. Did you know that Israel, Australia, and many other countries are now members of the SDR priced AIIB bank and that by the end of 2020 all nations are expected to begin transacting in digital money? This is perhaps the most important video in my prophecy series.
Lastly, I've uploaded a sermon clip on revival by Leonard Ravenhill, one of my favorite preachers. I will be adding more such videos in the coming weeks. So don't forget to subscribe to my Youtube channel to view the latest videos.
Hisperfectbride.com
I recently made a few changes to the website in order to streamline user experience. For instance, I fully optimized our website for mobile view so that way it can be easily accessible to mobile users. I will be redesigning some of the layout of the website and copy all of my articles into pages so that they can be viewed either on the site itself or be downloaded for printing via pdf. By the way, all of my newsletters are now archived in the blog area of my website. Scroll down from the home page to see my previous or latest newsletter updates. I did compose a few more doctrinal articles over the winter which I think will greatly bless you. Here is a list of my latest articles with a brief description of each:
I've watched a number of my friends leave the Faith on account of the influence of the Hebrew Roots Movement. They usually start out by keeping the dietary laws or observing sabbath and the Jewish feast days LEGALISTICALLY, and then from there they fall deeper and deeper into Old Testament theology and Law observance until at last they completely forsake the Christian Faith and convert to Judaism. Not all go as far as to convert to Judaism, but one individual I met looked to be on the brink of this transition. He sent me a link to the Youtube channel of a Jewish man from Israel involved in countering the claims of Christianity. This particular Jew happens to be a former convert to Christianity, who later apostatized and is now running a ministry based in Israel aimed solely at discrediting the common tenants of Christianity. He has written books such as, "If, The End of the Messianic Lie" and runs a YouTube channel focused on attacking Christianity. Sadly, undiscerning Christians have been deceived into abandoning the saving grace of Christ in exchange for Old Testament principles of Law observance. You can find his book on Amazon and read the reviews below it to see just how devastating it is to the Faith of many Believers. At the recommendation of my friend, I watched his Youtube video called "The Passover Lamb-Debunked?" It critically challenges Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and seeks to undermine the plain but symbolic meaning of Jesus acting as a type of our Passover Lamb, thus fulfilling the purpose of this Hebrew festival. So I wrote the above linked article in defense of the New Testament's claim that Jesus fulfilled the Passover.
The above linked article is my full email discussion with Uriel, the ex-Jewish Believer in Jesus that I mentioned above. This discussion is primarily centered on the subject of New Testament Textual Criticism. However, there are other elements of theology and doctrine discussed between us. Hopefully, our written exchanges will expand your understanding of Textual Criticism and the "Bible versions debate", and also help broaden your understanding of why Jews reject Jesus and what arguments are effective in refuting their objections to Christ and the New Testament. So I hope our recorded email correspondence can counter the damage sustained by this man's ministry and help those who have been negatively influenced by his false teachings.
Which Bible version should we use? Perhaps this is the most important question of our time. The majority of Believers are unaware of the fact that the Word of God is being undermined by scholarly critics who are waging war on the Bible by publishing spurious new versions with faulty readings. And if we are not cautious, we can easily fall victim to owning and reading from a deficient and corrupted Bible translation. Of course, the devil has adopted this strategy in order to hinder our understanding of the truth. I wrote this article and devoted a lot of time and study to the subject only because I feel it is extremely important. So I hope you will find this writing to be a thorough coverage of New Testament textual criticism. I should mention that I not only cover the core issue of how the New Testament was actually transmitted, but also the essential subject of which text stream is most trustworthy. Please read it and pass it forward to others.
I wrote part two of this article while part one is written by David Cloud. This article covers the history of the early Church fathers and their recorded beliefs. It also details the metamorphosis of the early Church from its primitive state to its gradual development into the institutional church now known as the Roman Catholic Church. The inspiration for this writing came to me on account of our family's relationship with many Anabaptist Christians. We've always had a deep respect for Anabaptist Believers and their unique heritage. And we've met quite a number of them over the years. Many of them are dear Believers who serve God sincerely and attempt to be as biblical as possible in how they live their life. However, there are also some distinctly religious traditions which they observe that cannot be found in the Word of God but are derived instead from extra biblical writings. For instance, many of our Anabaptist friends will often quote the Ante-Nicene fathers in order to support their conservative beliefs. They will also use these writings to defend the unscriptural practice of "triple dip" baptism among other things. And unfortunately, when our Anabaptist friends discover we keep Sabbath, almost always they cite the Church Fathers as evidence against it.
So this has lead me into a thorough research of the Church Fathers and their beliefs. What I discovered is that these men planted the very seed of Roman Catholicism in its most basic form. With the help of 45 quotes copied directly from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, I endeavor to establish the fact that these men promoted infant baptism, mariology, transubstantiation, papal supremacy and the exclusive authority of the priesthood, among other heretical beliefs that eventually formed the mammoth institution of the RCC.
David Bercot and Dean Taylor are well known proponents of the Ante-Nicene Fathers and have written extensively in support of the ANF and their beliefs. Unfortunately, they have a lot of influence among Anabaptist Believers. I spent months combing through the writings of the Church Fathers in order to get an accurate survey of their teachings. What I found is that the following often-touted assumptions are flat wrong:
A. The Ante-Nicene Fathers had no disagreement of doctrine between themselves.
B. All of their doctrines perfectly reflect the teachings of the Apostles.
C. The Ante-Nicene Fathers were ordained by the Apostles to bear the original tenants of Christian orthodoxy.
Feel free to read my article on this matter to see this for yourself.
Future Ministry Goals
My next video project is a teaching from Revelation 13 on the mark of the beast. It will contain very pertinent current news info in support of my belief that the microchip (RFID tag) is indeed the mark of the beast and that it will soon become a global human application. I hope to finish this up in the next couple of weeks. I intend to also write an article on the biblical mode of baptism and one that covers the issue of the Trinity (yes, I'm Trinitarian). All of my doctrinal and theological articles will eventually become videos, Lord willing. Also, I will be sending out another update next weekend with a full list of relevant news headlines covering the period of 2018-2019. There is a lot of very important news items that many of you may be unaware of. I do intend to make these emails much shorter and more concise and will therefore try my best to send out regular weekly updates. These will contain doctrinal teachings, prophecy news, and spiritual encouragement. So I hope my future efforts will bless and encourage you spiritually.
Well, that is all for now dear friends.
Love in Jesus,
John A.
