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We started this blog in 2006 to be a place where Christians could engage in biblical conversation in an effort to pursue truth wherever it leads. Since then authors have posted over a thousand articles and visitors have left more than 20,000 comments. When we first started we would have been happy with 100 visits in a week. Now we regularly get well over 100 visits to the blog each day. More than 2,000 different people check out the blog each month. People spend an average of four and a half minutes per visit on the blog. 53% of these people are new visitors who come through search engines and referrals from other websites. In other words, there are a lot of people stopping by and most of them do not comment. To all of you, whether you comment regularly, once in a while, or never, welcome!
The Purposes of this Blog
We did not have a clearly defined purpose for the blog in the beginning. Over time a community of posters and commenters has grown far beyond what we had anticipated. As a result, I have invited people to join in by writing weekly and have needed to refine the purpose(s) of the blog so that new posters would know what was expected. So, here is a list of what I now see as the general purposes of this blog (I have tried to provide examples for each):
- The Newspaper Concept: The blog should be a place where people can go each morning and find a fresh chunk of Christian literature (to be enjoyed with one’s morning coffee). This concept has more to do with frequency of posts than it does with content.
- A Place to Propose New Ideas: As we continue to study the Bible in its historical context new concepts and facts come into view. The blog is a great place to propose a new idea and put it to the test. This is especially helpful because if there is a hole in one’s idea someone is likely to point it out so that we can all move closer to the truth on a given matter. Posts in this category include Eschatologically Motivated Ethics and the series of posts called The Politics of the Message.
- A Repository of Good Answers to Perennial Questions: I get a lot of email from people who bring up specific verses and ask for explanations. I used to write a custom answer each time (which was very time consuming) but then I realized that I could instead refer people with a link to a blog article explaining the particular issue. Furthermore, there are some times when I do not really have a good answer for a particular question and instead pose the question to the community to gain the insight of others. Examples include 1 John 5.7-8: A Spurious Text, Who Raised Jesus?, and A “Difficult Text” (i.e. Luke 17.21).
- Teach the Basics of the Faith: New people are constantly visiting the site and so it is fitting to constantly present the established basics of Christianity: the one God, the kingdom, the sleep of the dead, holy living, conditional salvation, annihilationism, etc. Also, it is beneficial to be reminded of these truths and it is always interesting to hear someone else’s way of presenting the material. A great example of this has been Brian Keating’s recent Kingdom Study Series.
- Inspire/Encourage/Convict Each Other: This genre includes posts which challenge us to draw closer to God in prayer, get out there and speak the gospel, spurr us on to strive for holiness, or else just confront us with the Scriptures. This is the category where there are often Youtube videos. For example see Don’t Let the Beanbag Get You, The Stool, or Fishermen Who Don’t Fish.
- Defending the Faith: These posts generally refer the reader to great resources giving reasons to believe in God, or how to answer objections to Christianity. See Dinesh D’Souza Defending Theism, Tim Keller at UC Berkeley on Exclusivism, or Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?.
- Events and Updates Generally these posts do not focus on politics, economy, wars, or news stories; instead they tell of an upcoming event or a conference that was recently held. For example see Who Is Servetus the Evangelical, Introducing Truth Matters, or Isolated Members Ministry.
- Recommended Audios or Books Here posters highlight sermons, debates, lectures, or books that they found beneficial. Check out BW3 on the Ossuary of James, Romans from a New Perspective, or Stunning Byzantium Podcast.
This blog is a place where, by the grace of God, we can grow together in doctrine and practice.
dear John (and all of you at KINGDOMREADY),
Cash Reynolds here from eugene, oregon. i’m glad that you created this blog, making it possible to get to know each other a little and talk about the word.
i was first exposed to the kingdom message a few years ago by my dear friend Brice Basset and life hasn’t been the same since.
i’ve run Gary Gudlin’s Kingdom of God seminar as a class for several people over the last couple years but have yet to see anyone “take” to the message.
last week i finished up my community service work at a drug/alcohol detoxification center. i was reading Vince’s “change to change” book and was so excited about it that i just had to leave it on the detox center bookshelves along with Anthony Buzzard’s “coming kingdom of the Messiah” book in hopes that someone hungry for the things of God may find them there someday.
Brice gave me another copy so im continuing to read change to change.
recieving both “Glad Tidings” and Anthony Buzzards newsletter is a real blessing also.
this page is now my homepage and i look foreword to reading the articles and continuing to write to you all.
thank you, cash 🙂
I’m so thrilled to see that you’re out there — having been a member of the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith all my life, I always thought we were “the only ones” who believed the Kingdom message! Anthony Buzzard is a tremendous mind and a great teacher!
Vicki,
Thanks for the comment, where are you from, and which COG church are you a part of?
Hello everyone,
We just wanted to get in on the conversation and send a warm greeting from Spring Hill TN….
We are part of Higher ground Church in White House TN and very eager to share with others….
We welcome all to visit and am so glad to be part of Gods vision!
Lots of love & Joy,
Lisa and Mark*
This is my first time using this blog. I have been a member to the living hope community church since I was a child. I am extremly eager to learn. The 26th i am taking the geds. After I take them I wan’t to go to a minisry college but I don’t know of any who has the message right drop me a line.(p.s. I’m the frank who goes to sean’s fellowship
Good afternoon, Frank,
I realise this may be a late reply, but there is Atlanta Bible College. It’s the CofG’s seminary, and the place where Sir Anthony Buzzard teaches. No idea what it costs …
I look forward to meeting many in the Albany, NY area soon.
Leah
Glad to see that more and more people are finding us! Leah, I hear you are from Troy, great to find local people, I hope to see you soon!
what made you decide that the KJV bible is no longer good enough? How do you know that a certain book is the corrrect translation? How can you trust what a man says what God says?
Hey Jonas good to see more and more people here. Your second and third question can be levied against every translation of the Bible, including the KJV. So if you prefer it, I’d be just as fair to ask you why the KJV is better? I find the NASB to be the best I’ve found. I find the NAB, and the ESV are also good. This is primarily because the form (old english) of the KJV is outdated to us – and because the KJV is based on older, western manuscripts. It did not use earlier, greek, manuscripts that were known at the time. And since that time many many more earlier greek manuscripts have been found. These are the two reasons I don’t read the KJV anymore.
Here’s are a hefty theological question for you.
If there were a part of us that survived death, would there be any reason or need for a resurrection? Can we believe in both immortality of soul & the resurrection?
This is a question for all you hefty theologans!
Tony,
I’m sure we could do much of anything that we like. I just don’t see it making much sense, and it detracts from the hope of Jesus – the Kingdom. Genesis surely contradicts the notion of an immortal man. Only because of the Tree of Life is mankind immortal. Once God takes that away, man is mortal, that is, he can die. Therefore immortality is not inherent in us, it is external to us.
The Scriptures don’t ever state that we go to heaven when we die, even though it is an incredibly popular idea. Jesus’ focus rather is on the coming of the Kingdom. It is a corporate focus, not an individual focus. It is focused on the parousia, the return of Jesus, not the moment of our death. It is focused on the restoration of the entire creation – not leaving the creation behind.
Take a look at some videos that Sean and I have done on the subject:
http://kingdomready.org/topics/video-wmv.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highergroundonline.org%2Fei_videos%2Fei-condimm
http://kingdomready.org/topics/video-wmv.php?link=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.highergroundonline.org%2Fei_videos%2Fei-2cor58-hi
They are both from our resource page on the topic:
http://kingdomready.org/topics/death.php
Hello there. I’m in Columbus, Ohio. I was invited here by someone I met on beliefnet. Thanks again.
I have only begun to check out your site but so far I like what I see.
I love meeting like minded believers and followers of truth so pleased to meet you all.
My church is not affiliated with anyone so I’m sure most of you have not heard of us. We were started about 45 years ago by my husband’s Grandfather. We have had a few names but currenty we are just The Bible Church of God.
Hope to get to know some of you!
Be blessed.
Jen
By the way, I love that picture on your site. It’s so beautiful I’d like to hang it in my house. My husband and I love fall.
Jen,
We’re so glad to have you. It is wonderful to meet more and more believers who have discovered the same truth we have. Perhaps sometime we could get your story posted up here. We hope to see you in the comments again!
Jen,
So glad you found the site and introduced yourself. I just found your reply in the Beliefnet community this morning (my auto-notice of it got sent to my “spam” box).
Be sure to post your thoughts/comments to the daily articles when ever the notion strikes you!
Ron
Hey all at KReady,
Gotta say after leaving a so called Christian Ministry of which I was involved with for 23 years, your material, insight, and research is a breath of fresh air. I was also told about this website from a great man named Brice Bassett who Cash mentioned in his response. I have the Change book and Inside out, and also listen to your many teachings. Thanks for making so much availiable on your website, it is so amazing and needed in this day and time. I still have not explored all you offer, which is a ton of material.
Keep up the great work and getting us info on so much of what God offers with such little effort on my part. (point and click)
Thanks Gang!!!! I pray for you daily!!!
Monty
How come comments are deleted in this blog? I think some of mine have been deleted.
We had a bit of a spam comment overload that was causing issues with our blog software. So we had to go through and clean out those spam messages with a blunt instrument (me). Sean noticed that a couple of comments from one thread might have gone missing. If that is true, I’m sorry. We might be able to recover them. Generally comments are only moderated when inappropriate language or attitude is seen. And, any comments you leave with the email address you’re using now will definitely not be caught in the spam filter.
Ahh,
I’m glad that it happened for a greater purpose. No worries, brother.
Just curious, is there any articles that have been written specifically about worship to God and Christ?
Sean, can you post that link again on the paper you have written into the topic of worship?
Thanks
Joseph,
Most of our resource related to God and Jesus can be found on our God is 1 not 3 page. My article on worship can be downloaded there or by clicking here.
grace & peace
Have you guys written a blog concerning the early leaders of the Church that were in support of the Trinity doctrine? If not, this would be highly beneficial to the readers.
Hi everyone.
I’m so glad to have found this website. Most of your posts are very helpful, and have helped me to clear up most of the subjects, which are ignored by the majority of Christians (including myself).
It is my wish that one day I can be in a congregation of biblical Unitarians like myself. Here in South Africa, there is not a single congregation that I know of.
Please help me find them, if you happen to know anyone.
Yours in Christ
All I can say is that religion sucks. I lost very good friends due to differences of opinion. I lost my marriage cause I stood up for myself. Good luck. Everybody interprets the Bible in different ways.
Religion is hurtful, but GOD is good and somehow at the end of this (my) little sinner’s pain and experience, perhaps, GOD will forgive me.
Hi, John!
Knowing the truth that the dead are dead until the resurrection, how is it that often times TRUE Christians ignore clear verses in the Bible like Ezekiel 18:20? The same ones invariably believe in a “trinity”, yet ignore Scriptures like John 17:3? They read the same Bible we read, yet seem to totally miss the truths in Scripture. I’m waaaaaaay confused.
I look forward to your answer, brother… be blessed!
Peggy McIlveene
Hi Peggy,
Welcome to K.R.!!! I don’t believe that John is still posting on this site. I haven’t seen a post by him in quite some time. People seem to come and go. There is a small core group that seems to post here regularly though. I like your quote from Ezekiel 18:20;
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”
From what I understand everyone on this site agrees that the dead are dead until the resurrection, and that there is no such thing as eternal suffering in hell. From what I understand most of the main stream beliefs regarding eternal suffering in hell originated with St. Augustine. I’ve always found the O.T. very confusing and difficult to understand. In your quote from Ezekiel above it says, “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father.”
I’ve never been able to understand how this jived with Exodus 20:5;
“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,”
Or Exodus 34:7;
“keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Or Numbers 14:18;
“The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Or Deuteronomy 5:9;
“You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
I’d be most interested if anyone has any ideas regarding this. TKS – Peace and Grace…
Hi, DT, I JUST now today (4/6/12) saw your questions. OT people were under the Law. It’s only been since Yahshua’s death and subsequent resurrection that we came to be in the Age of Grace, and no longer UNDER the Law. Remember, before Yahshua’s sacrifice and shedding of His blood for our sins–past, present AND future–animals had to be sacrificed and laws had to be followed to the “T”, or you were in BIG trouble, as well as your family. Hebrews 9:22 tells us: “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Yahshua’s shedding of His blood cleanses us and keeps us renewed. Now we are also each responsible for our individual choices to either be saved or not be saved. And have but to ASK for forgiveness and Father remembers our sins no more: Psalm 103:12 – As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Hope this helps.
Thanks Peggy,
That does seem to make sense, but I still think the O.T. has contradictions in it that make it difficult for me to completely understand. A just God shouldn’t punish a person for the sins of their father. At least that’s how it seems it should be to me… 🙂
Hi, My name is Immanuel Fitoussi, I posted a comment on April 24, 2010
which was posted as #3 on the blog. I regret now the way I posted it. It has created me some discomfort…
Is there a way to have it removed?
Cordially thankful.
Response to postings 27 & 29: Hi, Doubting! The Bible is Father’s Word, and as such, never contradicts itself (Scripture interprets Scripture). Ezekiel 18:20 refers to ETERNAL LIFE or lack thereof; each of us is responsible for our own faith or lack of faith. There are eternal consequences for each person. Either we will spend eternity with our Messiah and our Father, or we will eternally die… just as if we had never existed (Revelation 20:11-15).
The other Scriptures you quoted relate to the OT Jews, and refers to “punishments” during the Age of Law. We are no longer under the Old Testament/Covenant. With Yahshua’s death, burial and resurrection, true believers are now in the Age of Grace, and are covered by His blood, so when we ask for forgiveness of our sins, Father doesn’t see them again, just like the Jews in Goshen. When Father sent the Angel of Death through Egypt to take the first born of everyone there (even the animals), the Jews in Goshen were told to kill an unblemished sheep, take hyssop, and paint the blood from the sheep on the sides and top of their doors, so that when the Angel saw the blood, he would pass by their home and not touch their firstborn.
I hope this clears up some confusion for you.
Response to #23: I have written an entire book (complete with Scriptures to back up everything I wrote). I have a LARGE section of the book on the Trinity. Feel free to read it here:
http://www.his-forever.com/Truth%20vs%20Tradition.pdf
I hope this will clear up some misconceptions. There were LOTS of the early Christians who did NOT believe or espouse the Trinity. In fact, Yahshua Himself tells us that: “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the ONLY true God, and Yahshua Messiah whom You have sent.”
DT
The key words in these verses are “of those who hate me”
Peggy’s claim ” refers to “punishments” during the Age of Law” is without biblical support . There is no such thing as the age of the Law but there is the Age of animal sacrifices which provided a covering for Adam’s sin and after the Law revealed what sin is provided a temporary forgiveness of personal sin. Hebrews goes into details shows the presciption for forgiveness was Faulty because the Priesthood was faulty, animal sacrifices could not make one perfect because if they continued in sin they could crucify another animal which was contrary to the purpose of Grace God placed upon the sacrifice. The priesthood was faulty because they continued in Sin not teaching the people how to be perfect. Jesus by being sinless proved that a man could be perfect in the Commandments not needing to offer a sacrifice for personal sin therefore fulfilling the Law in the Commandments that provided Grace . Because of His perfection Jesus was pure enough to become the Lamb of the Covering for Adam’s sin releasing All mankind from being accounted of that sin and also became the High priest who entered once to offer his own blood as covering for the sins of his people past ,present and future who continued in the Covenant made with them by God. Now after this change within the Law one must accept the Words of the Covenants by agreeing to obey them, being cleansed by water baptism and receiving the instructor(a Holy spirit) that will teach them how to be perfect in the Commandments God gave Israel to live by and to be identified by.
But since Jesus removed the accounting of Adam’s sin remaining in death nolonger reigns allowing us to raised from the grave for Judgement by our own actions against humanity and nature. Many will be found worthy of receiving eternal life in the Third heaven which will come upon this earth after the millennium
[…] alone (Sola Scriptura). Further, certain ProtestantĂ‚Â churches (those mentioned above, as well as individuals or groups who call themselves “non-denominationals”) do not hold to the doctrine of the […]
[…] alone (Sola Scriptura). Further, certain ProtestantĂ‚Â churches (those mentioned above, as well as individuals or groups who call themselves “non-denominationals”) do not hold to the doctrine of the […]
Hi Alex,
I like how you summarize key points of larger works ie Harnack, et al. I heard you on byteshow and learned there that you had a site (godfellas.org) with lots of articles that you have written. I drooled over the prospect of getting my eyes on these articles but was disappointed when I found out the site was down. Is there an alternative website where I can get a hold of these articles?
Thanks.
Tom
Dear fellow blogger!
I invite you to read my blog post about the Kingdom of God:
“The Bible says that we should put it first in our lives (Matt. 6:33) and that we should be preaching it to others (Luke 9:2). We pray for God’s kingdom to come on a regular basis, but if someone were to ask us: “Please, explain to me exactly what the Kingdom of God is”, would we know what to say?”
Read more: https://faithandencouragement.wordpress.com/2015/02/19/what-is-the-kingdom-of-god/