Kategoria: In-english

”The book of the birth of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Matt. 1:1.
The angel said to Joseph, the husband of Mary, ”Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Matt. 1:20. Thus, Jesus’ Davidic kingship was known even in the angelic realm. Jesus was born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:1), which was also the birthplace of King David. And he was born into the line of David spiritually and legally, Joseph being his adoptive father.

Jesus’ position was recognized among the first disciples in the time of the apostles. ”Hosanna to the Son of David!” the children sang. Matt. 21:15. Rom. 1:3. He is the eternal King of Israel.
“Remember Jesus Christ, the descendant of David, raised from the dead according to my gospel.” 2 Tim. 2:7,8.

Pilate wrote an inscription on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” John 19:19.

“Two blind men were sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet. But they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” Then Jesus stopped and called them to him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” Jesus was moved with compassion for them, and touched their eyes. And immediately they received their sight, and followed him.” Matt. 20:30–34. Thus this sign of the Messiah’s identity was fulfilled. “The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk.” Matt. 11:5.

The kingship and dominion given to David continues (2 Sam. 7:16,29), although it sometimes collapsed. The kingship now continues in Jesus, who is the successor and King of David’s eternally established throne. Thus David is still the King of all Israel and of the kingdom of God, and he has one kingdom, WE, who received Jesus as the propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. 2 Cor. 6:1,2. Col. 1:13,14. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.” Matt. 28:18.
JESUS ​​IS OUR KING FOREVER. Amen.

The angel Gabriel announced to Mary the birth of Jesus: ”Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Look, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:30-33.

The prophets taught this hundreds of years before Jesus was born: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will take the house of Israel from among the peoples among whom they have gone, and I will gather them from all the nations (now in the end times) and bring them into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king over them all. … … They will live in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They will live there forever, they and their children and their children’s children. And My servant David will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them.” Ezek. 37:21-22 and 25, 26.

“Now that he raised Jesus from the dead, he will no longer return to corruption. As he has said, ‘I will give you the sure and holy promises made to David.’” Acts 13:34.

DAVID’S FOUNTAIN WILL BE REPAIRED
This prophecy is reaching its final goal now in the end times. The repair work began at the cross, where sin was atoned for and the new covenant was established. Jer. 31:31. John 2:19:22.

“I will return and rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David.” Acts 15:16. “In that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David (!) and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem because of sin and impurity.” Zechariah 13:1. “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplications; and they will look on me (=Jesus) whom they have pierced (on the cross). They will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son, and will be in bitterness for him as one grieves for a firstborn.” Zechariah 12:10.

We who have been converted from paganism will also participate in the restoration of the fallen tabernacle of David. It will soon burst forth in its full glory. This is what we expect and pray for. Ezek. 37:12.

”Afterward the children of Israel shall return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king: and they shall come trembling unto the LORD, and unto his goodness, IN THE END OF THE TIMES.” Hosea 3:5. This is happening now, about 3,000 years after the birth of David, and about 2,000 years after the birth of Jesus.

The Eternal Kingdom
Thank God for every dear brother and sister who has been cleansed by the atoning blood of Jesus, and who has since been baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and thus become members of the ONE congregation of God. WE are His flock, ”the sheep of His pasture.” John 10:9. Acts 2:41. Our King is Jesus, “who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and has made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Rev. 1:5,6.

We have come under the influence of the eternal throne of David; both Jew and Gentile. Eph. 2:11-22. Jesus is our common King. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:27-29. We acknowledge that we are working for ONE congregation founded on the cross against division. 1 Cor. 1:2,10. And WE want the best for Israel and its capital, Jerusalem, which is “the city of the great King.”

David—a type of Jesus
The shepherd boy David grew up among the sheep of Israel some 3,000 years ago. There he learned his shepherding duties and was trained to be a great shepherd and king of the people of Israel. God said of him: “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.” Acts 13:22.

Even as a young man, David took good care of his sheep. He defeated a bear and a lion that attacked the flock. Then God led him to the camp of Israel, which is God’s flock. There he faced the duelist Goliath, who was taunting the armies of Israel with his taunts. David said to Goliath, ”You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. The Lord will deliver you into my hand today, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God. All this assembly will know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear, for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.” When the Philistine set out and approached David, he quickly ran to meet him. David put his hand in his bag, took a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and the Philistine fell on his face to the ground. Thus David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. David struck the Philistine down, although he had no sword in his hand. David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him with it, and cut off his head.” 1 Sam. 17:45–51.

Thank God! This is still happening to the enemies of Israel. It is also happening to the enemies of the congregation. Those cruel wolves who are tearing God’s congregation to pieces will meet the same sad end. Acts 20:29,30.

Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, OUR GOOD SHEPHERD, continuing the mission of King David. He cares for God’s sheep, the flock that He purchased with His blood, and leads us to our heavenly home. John 10. Jesus is the Lamb of God who took away our sins.

“Therefore we are buried with Him through baptism into death (after our faith), in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. If indeed we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be in a resurrection like His.” Rom. 6:4,5.

“But now that you have been set free from sin and have become servants to God, your fruit leads to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:22,23.

Finally, the completed Israel and the congregation will be united so that “there will be one fold and one shepherd.” John 10:16, under one King. The King is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Hallelujah! Jesus, “The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered.” Rev. 5:5.

Blessings from the God of Israel upon us.

Weijo Lindroos
Turku,
Suomi Finland

The old covenant ended at the cross, where the new covenant began through the blood of Jesus. “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:20. The new covenant was made with the descendants of Jacob. But later, into THAT covenant, we who have turned from paganism also became included. This is the covenant mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-33.

The Bible does not teach that those who come into the new covenant should still observe the commandments and ordinances of the old covenant. From the cross began the NEW covenant, which changed the whole world. The time of the law covenant, which was intended to be temporary, ceased. Galatians. 3:16-18. The sacrifices ordained by the law of Moses, the temple rituals, the priesthood, the food regulations, etc., ended. Heb. 9:10. It is good for those who teach the law covenant to know that they are leading people into the chains of bondage.

The law of Moses is one whole, and its partial observance is the breaking of the law. If you keep only the Ten Commandments but reject the hundreds of other parts of the law, you are a transgressor of the law. Not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the entirety of the law before it is fulfilled. Matt. 5:17-19. / John 19:30.

A more detailed explanation of this is given in the text.

Here are some “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” ordinances and commandments, all of which must be kept if one says that one holds the Law of Moses and the commandments of God:

– All male children must be circumcised. Gen. 17:10-14. Ex. 12:48.
– The feast times prescribed by the law must be kept as they are, in the appointed manner and at the appointed time, without altering any part of them. Ex. 12. 34:18-26. The Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of the First Sheaf, the Harvest Feast, the Great Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the fast. Lev. 23:26-32. Num. 29:1.
– The Passover vigil night must be kept: “It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.” Ex. 12:42. / Matt. 26:38-41.
– The appointed fast days must be kept. “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The fast of the fourth month, and the fast of the fifth, and the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth…” Zech. 8:19.
– The sabbatical rests of the cultivated lands must be observed. Ex. 23:10-17. Likewise concerning the fruit trees. Lev. 19:23.
– “A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it.” Lev. 25:11.
– The purification ordinances after childbirth must be observed, as also, for example, the ordinances concerning sexual uncleanness. Lev. chapters 12–15. !
– The Day of Atonement must be kept as Lev. 23:24- teaches.
– The Day of Trumpet blowing with a burnt offering must be kept. Lev. 23:23-25.
– Tithes must be paid of all income. Deut. 14:23.
– A garment woven of two different kinds of thread must not be worn. Lev. 19:19.
– The beard must not be trimmed. Lev. 19:27.
– “Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.” Deut. 22:12.
– Bible verse case must be worn on the forehead. “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Deut. 6:8.
– The ordinances of the water of purification must be kept. Num. 19.
– Only a virgin may be taken as a wife. Deut. 22:13-21.
– The dietary laws commanded by the law must be strictly kept: “Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.” Deut. 14:3.
– The firstborn must be given unto the LORD. Ex. 13. Etc., and more besides…
– The examination of a wife suspected of adultery. Num. 5:12…
Etc.

The law includes as an inseparable part also the measures of punishment, Leviticus 24:20: “Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.” And so on. But in the covenant of grace Jesus, as the substitutionary sacrifice, took upon Himself to suffer the punishment that belongs to us, and merited for us a new mind, so that we desire to live together with Him. The will of God is written into our inner being as part of our new nature. In the new covenant we may be in that state of blessing of which it is written, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13.

The main content of the new covenant was already depicted through the prophets of the old covenant: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31–33.

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:12–13.

The old covenant written on tablets of stone DOES NOT belong to the believers of the new covenant. Moses is proclaimed in the synagogue, not in the congregation. Acts 15:21.

The first Christians of the new covenant, Jews, did not teach the old covenant. But from those of the sect of the Pharisees who had come to faith, there arose some who began to oppose the teaching of the apostles, saying: “That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” Acts 15:5.
It was decided that the matter would be examined in Jerusalem under the leadership of the apostles, and the result was that “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us” that the law of Moses does not belong to the new covenant. Read Acts chapter 15.
Peter said that those who supported the covenant of the law were tempting God. “Now therefore why tempt ye God..” Acts 15:10, 28–29.
This, then, was the decision of the highest leadership of the congregation, which the Holy Spirit gave to the congregation founded at the cross, and which was given as instruction to all who had newly come to faith, both Jews and Gentiles. Acts 16:4. Ephesians 2:11–22. = “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.”

The new covenant has filled our hearts with joy: “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8 (KJV).

Partly or entirely?
But if someone therefore teaches that the covenant of the Law should be observed only partly, then who in that case would be qualified to say what must be observed and which parts of the Law may be rejected? In the Old Testament there are about 600 legal commandments. Which of them would belong to us, and which could be dismissed? James 2:10–11 teaches thus: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”

THE LAW IS FULFILLED
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8–10.

And everyone who has come into the new covenant knows that this does not mean freedom to practice sin, because God’s will is in our new nature, in our hearts. “We have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor. 2:16.

The whole of the Law of Moses therefore includes also the Law of the Ten Commandments, which is now fulfilled from the first commandment to the last. The first commandment forbids making an image of God. This is fulfilled, because the true “express image of His being” was revealed in Jesus. “Who is the image of the invisible God.” Col. 1:15. “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Heb. 1:3. The “glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:3–4) removed the shadow-pictures brought by the law. Heb. 10:1. 2 Cor. 3:6–18.

Breaking one part breaks the whole law: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them… Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Galatians 3:10,13 (KJV).

Jesus said that no one has been able to keep the law: “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” John 7:19 (KJV). The apostles said the same: Acts 15:10.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Galatians 5:1 (KJV). This continues the message of Galatians 4, which speaks of deliverance from the enslaving covenant of the law: “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Galatians 4:30. Abraham’s wife Sarah represents freedom; the bondwoman represents the covenant of Moses’ law: “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants.” Galatians 4:23–24.

Scripture says that the covenant of the law is useless: “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.” Heb. 7:18 (KJV). Therefore Scripture gives a serious warning not to return ( Galatians 5:1) to the covenant of the law: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” Galatians 5:4 (KJV).

The new covenant is based on the mercy that Jesus merited on the cross: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old.” Heb. 8:12–13 (KJV).
From this began the life-union with Jesus for us who have received Him as our Savior. Now, “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” 2 Cor. 5:14. It is a holy desire in the Spirit of freedom, a willing of the heart toward all good and right. In our hearts is God’s gracious instruction, which works in us so that we live according to His will by the influence of the Holy Spirit. We have come to know Jesus in a heart-to-heart fellowship.

And the truth is, no one in our time keeps the law. Even the best attempts fall short: “none of you keepeth the law?” John 7:19 / Acts 15:10–11.
We live under the New Covenant, in the very fulfillment of the Law, in the Holy Spirit.

Scripture also does not set before us the man-made church-year cycle of the pagan churches with their daily themed observances and the daily words/devotions.

NEW COVENANT
The substitutionary sacrifice of the cross brought into our hearts the new covenant. “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:20 (KJV). The old ended when “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Mark 15:38 (KJV). The way into “the holiest”, before the mercy seat, was opened by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19 (KJV): “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”

The new covenant is not like the old covenant, but entirely NEW (Jer. 31:32), whose constitutional law is the commandment of love:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34,35 (KJV).
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Galatians 5:14 (KJV).

Thanks be to God! The law of the Ten Commandments is therefore fulfilled. We live in the New Covenant, in the substance of the fulfillment of the Law. John 8:31–36.

None so-called church feast days (hypocritical holy days) belong to Christians according to the Scripture.
They are all unbiblical inventions of the churches, having no divine value whatsoever. Therefore those who are truly in the faith do not celebrate, for example, Easter with Palm Sunday and such, nor Pentecost, etc. Isa. 1:14.

“For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. …
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” Hebrews 7:18–22 (KJV).

Jesus is the founder of the new covenant. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore He had authority to establish an entirely new covenant and to give to it a NEW constitutional law. John 13:34,35. Luke 22:20. Jer. 31:31.

Thus the Scripture teaches that the new covenant is LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, a life-union with Jesus.
“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Galatians 5:18 (KJV).
The Holy Spirit does not lead one to act against the will of God.

The liberating and blessing teaching of the Scripture to all who are saved under the new covenant is that:
“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Galatians 2:19,20 (KJV).
“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held.” Romans 7:6 (KJV).

This message of freedom is directed especially to those who have turned from Judaism to God, the “graffed in again”. Romans 11:23. Acts 2:38,41. But the same message belongs to all who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, to us who are born again, God’s holy ones.
“And put no difference between us and them.” Acts 15:9 (KJV). Eph. 2:11–22. – Read the entire chapter of Acts 15.
The congregation is one, to which everywhere belongs the same doctrine of the Scripture.

Welcome therefore into the blessing of the covenant of grace. Jesus is the ONLY Savior. He is full of grace and truth.
“And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:16,17 (KJV).

Jesus is eternally the same, the good Redeemer, who saves, heals, and fills with the Holy Spirit. He also delivers from binding legalism. Our hearts rejoice and already now taste the blessedness of heaven.

The fulfillment of the Sabbath is perhaps the greatest source of blessing in this matter. In it the chains of slavery have been finally removed. Each of our days has now become equal and thus sanctified to the Lord. We have a continuous state of rest, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. So all days of the week are rest, even when working. The eternal Sabbath rest is in effect NOW. Hebrews 4 teaches this clearly in the original language. ”For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath rested from his own works, as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:10.

”Therefore NOW there is a Sabbath rest in effect (apoleipetai) for the people of God.” Apoleipetai = IS in effect. Hebrews 4:9 (Novum). And Hebrews 3:18,19!

The Greek word “Apoleipetai” in verse 9 sets Hebrews chapter 4 into an understandable and coherent whole. So we are in the same state of rest as God Himself. Thank God for the state of freedom and rest. The Sabbath is a state, not a day, for New Covenant Christians.

Jesus died away from the Sabbath and took the Sabbath with Him into the tomb. He rose from the dead on the first day of the week without the Sabbath. From that moment on, the New Covenant was in effect. Compare Rom. 6:4. All the requirements of the law have been fulfilled so that we could receive them. When we abide in the teachings of God’s Word, we are in the freedom, the state of rest, of the New Covenant. “Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free?’” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. And the slave does not remain in the house forever, but the Son remains forever. If the Son therefore sets you free, you will be truly free.” John 8:31–36.

But you can also choose the days, as long as they do not bring back the shackles of slavery into your life: “One person esteems one day above another, another esteems all days alike. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards the day as important, regards it as important to the Lord…” Rom. 14:5–6. So choosing the days is not important, just as not choosing them is not important. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29. = Inner rest.

It is finished!

Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland

The various stages of the Jewish nation throughout their chronological history: It began with Abraham. God called him to fulfill His plan. He blessed Abraham to be His servant and the patriarch of His chosen people. The covenant relationship began with Abraham and continued with his son Isaac, then with Isaac’s son Jacob and in the descendants of his twelve sons. They were the first Israelites chosen by God. The grandson of Abraham, Jacob, received from God the name Israel, in connection with the so-called “wrestling of Jacob”: “Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28, KJV). God blessed them and their descendants and gave them the great and wonderful land of Canaan. How vast it is: Genesis 15:18-21: From the region of present-day Turkey a straight border line to the river of Egypt, from there to the river Euphrates, and thence directly back to the middle region of present-day Turkey, near the city of Hattusa, which was the capital of the Hittite kingdom in the time of Abraham. These, then, are the boundaries of Israel as set by the Bible. The blessing given by God to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4; 22:15-18) continued in Isaac (Genesis 26:4) and then in Jacob (Genesis 28:14). At the end of his life Jacob blessed his twelve sons to carry out God’s plan (Genesis 49). From that time, about four thousand years ago, Israel has been God’s peculiar people, “the apple of his eye.” (Zechariah 2:8, KJV).

In the time of Jacob, because of famine, the people of Israel came into bondage in Egypt for about four hundred years. But under the leadership of Moses the people departed from there back toward their own land. “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” (Deuteronomy 32:10, KJV). Then Joshua divided the land of Canaan to the twelve tribes “according to the number of the children of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 32:8, KJV). A symbolic victory was first gained when the walls of Jericho fell: “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.” (Joshua 1:3-4, KJV). But the original borders of Israel were already declared in Genesis 15:18-21.

For the last time, the descendants of Jacob were from about the year 70 A.D. until 1948 in the diaspora, scattered among all the nations of the world and at the same time apart from the goodness of God. The blessing hand of God had for that time been withdrawn from upon them. “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you…” (Matthew 21:43; 24:1-2; Revelation 2:9; 3:9, KJV). But that was not the final state. Neither were they forgotten by God, but were waiting under all His promises for a new time of blessing. God has never cast away His people (Jeremiah 31:35-37, KJV). About three thousand years ago, Israel’s great king David made Jerusalem the undivided capital of Israel. It remains so to this day.

NOW is the era in which God is gathering ALL the Jews of the world into Israel (Ezekiel 37:21-22, KJV) and into His blessing. The good hand of God is thus again upon them. The final fulfillment is in Romans 11:25-27. Then “all Israel shall be saved” and shall receive the forgiveness of sins in Jesus and in the grace of His atoning sacrifice. They will not receive any church-religion or the like, but the same faith and doctrine which Jesus and the apostolic congregation gave to us all (Ephesians 2:11-22, KJV). Follow the faith of the first Christians. (Hebrews 13:7; 1 John 2:24-25, KJV). The love of God encompasses the whole Jewish nation and, among them, also us who have turned from heathendom (Ephesians 2:11, 22, KJV). And when Israel has received her Messiah Jesus, the word shall be fulfilled: “there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:16, KJV; Galatians 3, KJV).  

Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email: weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi

We do not use unbiblical names for the congregation, because the congregation belongs to God. This means that we have been bought for Him with the precious blood of Jesus. (Revelation 1:5–6) His one flock (John 10:16), without nameplates, is equal to His congregation.

Note, therefore, the ownership:
– “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth.” (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1)
– “Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:32; 11:16; 15:9)
– “…neither the churches of God.” (1 Corinthians 11:16)
– “What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God?” (1 Corinthians 11:22)
– “…how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.” (Galatians 1:13)
– “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 2:14)
– “…that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.” (1 Timothy 3:15)

The congregation is therefore God’s! That is why we use only this biblical name for it.

It is also biblical to name according to the locality. For example, 1 Thessalonians 1:1: “unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ.” In the same way one may say, for example, the congregation of Turku, the congregation of Helsinki, the congregation of Tampere, and so on.

We who live in the same city, having come to faith and then been baptized according to the Scriptures, are the congregation of our own locality. (Titus 1:5; Revelation 1:11) — And NOTE! According to the Bible, the congregation does not include the unbaptized. Such have not yet come into the same faith in which the first Christians were. (Acts 2:41) —

To what, then, should you join yourself? — Join yourself to Jesus in the way that the Bible teaches! Then you belong to His congregation.

Man-made nameplates over meeting places are elements of division, which every believer should remove from his own life, so that he no longer functions under such.

WE are not Lutherans, Pentecostals, Baptists, Adventists, Free Church members, or ecumenicals, or any other -ists and -isms. We are neither Catholics nor Protestants… We are only children of God, bought with the blood of Jesus. We belong to the same congregation as the first Christians. (John 2:19–22; 1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 Peter 2:15, etc.)

The Bible does not teach Lutheranism, Pentecostalism, or any other -ism..

Blessings to us!

Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email: weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi

In this activity we are not – Lutheran – Pentecostal – Baptist – Adventist – etc.,
We are just Christians, Children of God bought with the blood of Jesus. That is why we do not advertise or recommend denominations.
We are building up the congregation founded on the cross of Calvary, which was completed at the end of the apostolic age around 100 AD. We are continuing the same work that the first Christians began. We are not co-Christian ecumenists, etc., building fellowship ”over the congregation boundaries”.
We are building up the congregation WITHOUT congregation boundaries.

Welcome to the events:
Sunday at four o’clock pm,
and Wed and Sat at two o’clock pm.
Address:
Maariankatu 2. 20100 Turku. Finland

God continues to speak to people by the Word in the Bible in order to open our understanding to comprehend His will. Luke 24:45. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. Isa 50:4.

One of the things, that those who pray come to understand, is the truth about Bible teaching on the church. This includes the message of Heb 12:26-27. At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. The content of this Scripture shakes religious constructs.

A church in accordance with the original plan is the worst threat to the devil. That’s why he resists the restoration of the church to God’s original plan with all his fury. 1 Jn. 2:24-25. But God will give us the mindset that Caleb had: We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. Numbers 13:30.

Read this whole text. It’s the only way for you to understand the teaching in it. I repeat myself in order to ensure that that the teaching will be down pat. After all, God’s vision of His church is in question here.

THE WAY TO THE BLESSINGS THAT WERE AT THE BEGINNING

God wants to restore His church to a clear, living fellowship with the Lord of the church, Jesus. The Holy Spirit leads those living Christians to a fellowship and work where Jesus is saving, healing and filling people with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2. He sends the believers to preach the gospel, help those who are suffering and to heal the sick etc. Mark 16:15-20.

The most important thing in human life is to have one’s sins forgiven and so become a child of the God of the new covenant. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins, Rom 11:27. This must not become overshadowed by other important Bible teachings.

Thanks be to the Lord! To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom… Rev 1:5-6. Thank you, Jesus! With your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom. Rev 5:9-10. So the church is a group of people who have been bought by Jesus’ blood; His kindom, whose purpose is spiritual only. Anyone who reads the Bible can understand what the true church is. The asnwer that the Bible gives is very simple: those who have become believers are God’s church. Religions, religious sects, denominations, chariteis and so on are not churches. The born again people in each local area form the local church of where they live. Thus the Bible mentions churches in the plural only based on the fact that there are believers in many local areas. = one city, one church. Tit 1:5. Two cities, two churches. Seven cities, seven churches. Rev. 1:11. But in the Bible, the church as a whole is remains mentioned in the singular, the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27) because Jesus is the only founder of the church.

The teaching on the being of the church is a subject that has become badly distorted among all of the human race. The majority have swallowed the lie that leads them astray, that the church is some institution established by man. That teaching has led people outside of original Christianity. And even though the matter of the church is not a question of salvation, its destruction is a serious fall. The Biblical fellowship (oneness) and love of believers has been broken by the establishment of denominations. This is why, Thus saith the Lord, Return, faithless people, I will cure you of backsliding. Jer. 3:22. Thus God calls his own back to all things good and right, such as the original ways of the church.

The teaching mentioned in John 17:21-23 that concerns us will happen: that all of them may be one. So we will all be perfectly one. We can’t see it yet but it will happen in this age. Otherwise Jesus’ prayer would ahve been mere empty words. But waking to reality and to fellowship will CERTAINLY happen! Mathew 25:7-12. It will happen by returning to the way of the Bible teaching talked of in this text. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. Jn 17:7. The church is going to be set back into the faith and truth of the apostolic time before Jesus comes back. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. Acts 3:21. Heb. 12:7-14.

Genuine repentance includes the cleansing of the church of so-called ”great men” who raise themselves above others (e.g. church clergy, the bishopry etc.). There is only one great person in the church. He is Jesus, the supreme shephard. The time of the great prophets ended with John the Baptist. Math 11:17-14.

WHO BELONGS TO THE CHURCH

Only those who have been genuinely born again belong to the church, those who have been baptised by immersion in the name of Jesus after they believed. Acts 2:41. Genuine coming to faith is that you begin to live with Jesus. That’s when the truth of the church begins to open up. God wants to lead us to experience this way of blessings that they had at the beginning. So we understand that everyone who has come to believe belongs together in the same flock of God, ergo the church. No other way is possible because belonging to Jesus is the same as belonging to His church. Having ones’s name on a church register does not mean the person belongs to God’s church.

Joining Jesus is joining the church. The Bible knows no other way of joining God’s church. It has no concept of someone genuinely being a believer and then supposedly not belonging to the church. Acts 2:38, 41, 42. You belong to the church if you live with Jesus, i.e. you are in Christ, not Adam. Being in fellowship with believers is another matter. And God wants all of his own to congregate and work together. Heb. 10:25/Acts 2:41-42.

A Biblical fellowship is God’s will!

Every locality has just one group of born again people (John 3:3, 1 Pet 1:23, 2:9/Tit 1:5), which has been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Pet. 1:19. This church that has been established by the cross, we can start to build in each local area, continuing from where the apostles left off! Everyone can begin to carry out the tasks and dreams that they have recieved from God as long as they have been checked against the Bible. All forms of service that God has given us can and must be carried out in this fellowship.

It is therefore good to take to heart His basic truth that THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN REDEEMED BY JESUS’ BLOOD ARE GOD’S ONLY CHURCH. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Pet 2:9-10. This was written concerning all of us, who have been have been born again. 1 Pet 1:23. Thus WE belong to this ONE people of God, to the same congregation with all those who have been saved through all ages, for example, Peter, James, John and Paul etc; the first Christians. Acts 20:28, 26:18. One body! Eph 4:1-16, 1 Cor 12:27.

No one has been given permission to divide the one host of saints by founding new denominations etc; sects with membership registers, ”name plaquard churches”. Math 24:35. Heb. 13:8. Reve 22:18,19. That is why we don’t accept denominations/sects and don’t participate in their functions. We know that not one ”church” founded by people is a church at all. Albeit individual believers in them, as well, belong to the same God’s church with us and work with us to gather people to God. In that respect, we work together with all believers. But we mustn’t accept the deceptive teaching that institutions established by humans would be churches and that we would belong to different churches based on that. So called ecumenicalism is, in reality, acceptance of dispersion; an ecumenical mix of Babel religion.

HOW CAN YOU JOIN THIS CHURCH?

Joining Jesus is the same as joining His church, the body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:27. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Gal 3:26, 27. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:41-42. So it isn’t possible to join this church like joining a worldly charity organisation or religion by puttin your name down in the register and then you belong to the church, take your name off and you no longer do.” This is not how the Bible teaches it. Man cannot join another to God’s church. And neither can man excommunicate another from the church. Separating someone from the fellowship (because of sin) is another matter. With regard to that, the Bible teaches: Expel the wicked person from among you. 1 Cor 5:13. But either excommunicating or joining someone to the church is exclusively God’s work. Now that we understand the being of the chruch, we can understand this, too. Having your name in a church register or removing it does not relate to belonging to God’s church. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20. The next step for people who have united with Jesus, who have been baptised by immersion in His name, is to enter church fellowship and be blessed into it. According to Bible teaching, only people who already belong to God’s church, who have become believers and are Biblically baptised, can be blessed to join the fellowship of a local church! So we understand that the fellowship and belonging to the church are two different things. There is no such thing as a Christian without a church. Those erraneous concepts must be dispelled from our minds.

NO NEW CHURCH

The Bible contains no example of or teaching that any new churches with new names had been established in the apostolic time. It is an error to believe that Paul supposedly went from one local area to antoher establishin new churches. Paul did not establish a single new church but the congregation that was founded on the cross spread to new areas. Note the word, ”spread”. It is the key to this. One, eternally indivisible congregation of God spread to new areas by Christians preaching the message of salvation, the sacrifice on the cross on our behalf and about the risen Jesus. People became believers, repented of their sins and got baptised and so they became the church in their own area. Acts 2:38, 41. They began to meet as the church of their locality. And every local chruch confessed with the mouth of all their believers that we are a part of the ONE church of God that Jesus founded on the cross. John 2:19-22. We do well to repeatedly emphasise this. So the apostles didn’t establish new churches. People who were led by the Holy Spirit were chosen for different roles from among the believers, eg. Tit 1:5, Rom. 12:4-8, Eph. 4:11-16. Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” 2 Tim. 2:19, 1Cor. 3:11. They didn’t accept that any locality should have two or more churches even though there were multiple meeting places according to need. 1 Cor 1:10-13 and 3:4-5. We should be doing things the same way; Helsinki has the Helsinki church, Turku has the Turku church, Tampere has the Tampere church etc. Rev. 1:11-20. So the question here is not about advocating a new church, on the contrary: the point is getting out of the new ones and back into the oldest one.

Paul’s missionary calling

Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. Acts 26:16-18.

This was the missionary calling that Jesus gave Paul and, at the same time, to all of us. Math. 28:19,20, Mark 16:15-20. It means that a person who has become a believer and been Biblically baptised has come out of Satan’s power into God’s church and from Adam into Christ and has thus come into the church. Rev 1:5,6, 5:9,10, John 3:3, Acts 2:38,41, Gal. 3:26-28, Rom. 8:9. Missionary work is the church’s main task.

BAPTISM

In the beginning of the church, everyone who became a believer and had had their sins forgiven, was baptised by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ…” Acts 2:38,41, ”So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” Acts 10:48, 22:16, Col 3:17. In the beginning of our church, no one was left unbaptised. That is how it should still be.

Baptism is something that God blesses. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. Rom. 6:45,5,11. The old life of sin was buried in the grave of baptism and we began to live in Jesus’ resurrection.

THE LOCAL CHURCH

Those who have been baptised after becoming believers, form the local church in each locality. It was set in order (not established) to function on the basis of the apostles’ teaching. Acts 2:42,42, Eph. 2:19-22, 4:11-16. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. Tit. 1:5. Notice? First there was a chruch and then it was set in order. And the borders of the local area were the borders of the church. eg. Rev. 1:11-30. And Bible teachings have been set for the spiritual boundaries of the church. ”Those who accepted his message were baptized, and (so)… were added to their number that day…” Apt 2:41.

May this be repeated as many times as it takes for it to be understood: all gentuine Christians within a particular local area, who have been baptised, belong to their local church on the basis that they belong to Jesus. A practical fellowship and coming together as a Biblical church can only begin with confessing this. The Bible does not teach ”ecumenicalism” in the sense of a fellowship of believers ”across church borders”. The Bible teaches us to build the fellowship without church borders. This is what we do.

THE CHURCH IS ONE

Jerusalem had ONE church with tens of thousands of members. Acts 21:20, 2:41, 4:4,32, 5:13-16. Even so, the one church in Jerusalem only had one body of elders. Acts 15:4, 21:18. But this one church already then had multiple meeting places where the ONE and same apostolic teachhing was received. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship. Acts 2:42, 1:13-15, 12:12, 1 Cor. 1:10, etc. The same principles should apply to the end: one church, one city. Two churches, two cities. Seven churches, seven cities. Rev. 1:11-20. etc. Tit. 1:5, etc. And one local church can have multiple meeting places according to need but the meeting places are not churches. In the beginning, the church met a lot in private homes. It was a good system. But they didn’t consider the homes as churches, only meeting places. So it isn’t Biblical to establish, for example, ”home church movements” or a ”home church”. May God protect His own from doing that, which is what every other divisive movement has done. 1 Cor 1:10-13, 3.3-11.

THE FOUNDATION

Paul preached the gospel, thus laying a foundation in people’s lives. I laid a foundation as a wise builder… For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.1 Cor 3:10,11. That’s how the ”church of the living God” was born in Corinth, amongst other places, formed from people who had become believers. It happened when ”the Corinthians, who were listening, believed and were baptised.” Acts 18:8, 1 Cor 1:2, Acts 2:41, !thes 2:14. They were placed on the foundation, Jesus.

The group of people who are saved is the new covenant temple, the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), whose degradation has always been a serious sin. Don’t you know that YOU yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.1Cor 3:16,17, Eph 2:19-22, heb 3:6. So we are the ”living stones” mentioned here. 1 Pet 2:5. Every living stone sings eternal thanks to the Lamb. In Rev. 21, we are told the angel promised to show John ”the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” Rev. 21:19. And he showed John ”the holy city, Jerusalem”. So ”the bride” is the same as the Lamb’s wife, i.e. the church, the new Jerusalem built from living stones, a city that sings eternal thanks.

JESUS IS THE ONLY FOUNDER OF THE CHURCH.

By His work of salvation, He established his own church in three days. ”Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. They replied, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days? But the temple he had spoken of was his body.” Jn 2:19-22.

THE FINISHED CHURCH

The church was finished by the end of the apostolic period, about 100 AD. All the Bible Scriptures had been put together by then and were at the disposal of the church, 66 books. Also, all the doctrines concerning church practices, teachings, ministries (so-called church offices) etc. were done. But most importantly, everyone understood the being of the church as ONE body of Christ. 1 Cor 12:27. ”One body”. Eph 4:4.

No one has been comissioned by God to establish new churches. The Bible does not teach that. That is why we cannot participate in man-made religions. It is written into the form of the ”one church”: …not giving up meeting together…Heb 10:25. The teaching means tha we must have A PLACE FOR GROWING in a local church fellowship, from where we can go into action in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s lead and the support of the church’s prayer. This is the God given teaching that prevents division and is for our best. It must now be applied. And it doesn’t necessarily mean just one meeting place but the local church can meet in as many places as the number of members requires, as long as none of the meeting places separates itself from other believers in the area to become a seperate sect.

The church as it was at the beginning is given to be an example to all Christians in all ages all over the world. 1 Cor 1:10.13, 3:1-11, Heb. 13:8,9,13, etc.

The Biblical Christian fellowship and work on the principle of one church is the absolute will of God! If anyone teaches otherwise, they have not yet understood Bible teaching.

EVERYONE IS CALLED TO JOIN

In additon to individual believers, all the denominations founded by men can join the church system laid out in this text. HOW? They must stop their solo act and all the teaching that separates believers from each other and renounce the principles of division. For example, all name plaquards and membership registers must be removed and then they should confess that their work is to be within the fellowship of the ONE church of God. They went out from us, 1 Jn 2:19. Should those who have left not return? So When they have decided to do God’s will, they can make a public announcement something like this:

”We now commit ourselves to seeing things the way God sees them, that there is only ONE church in our local area that has been redeemed by Jesus’ blood, meaning all of us who have become believers in this locality and who have been Biblically baptised. You are welcome to the fellowship of your own church. Heb 10:25.

We no longer agree to use unbiblical names for the church, because the church belongs to God. Notice the ownership:

– ”To the church of God in Corinth” 1 Cor 1:2, 2 Cor 1:1.
– ”Do not cause anyone to stumble… or the church of God”. 1Cor 10:32, 11:16, 15:9.
–”nor do the churches of God.” 1 Cor 11:16.
– ”Or do you despise the church of God?” 1 Cor 11:22.
– ”how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.” Gal. 1:13.
-”For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus.” 1 Tess. 2:14.
– ”you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God’s household, which is the church of the living God. ” 1 Tim. 3:15.

It is Biblical to call a church according to its local area, for example, 1 Thes 1:1. But humanly invented name plaquards on meeting places are elements of division that every believer must remove from their lives so that they would no longer work in subjection to them.

We are not Lutheran, Pentecostal, Baptist, Adventist, Free Church, Ecumenical etc. -ists or from those. We are not Catholic or Protestant. We are just God’s children redeemed with Jesus’ blood.

We have come out of sects and all membership register religions.

In every local area in Finland, as well, we should initiate the church function and work in accordance with the apostolic model laid out here. We must procure a meeting place that is for all the believers in the area. And when Biblical church functioning has been started, no new ”chuch” can be established in that area. It would be the beginning of division all over again. 1 Cor 1:10-13, 34-37.

Each and every one must confess and seek the church fellowship depicted in this text. It is God’s will!

Our common task is to bring people together into the faith and doctrine that the first Christians were i;, into Bible teaching. Acts 2:41,42. “Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” Ps 50:5. That is the end time message. Joel 2:16.

This is God’s vision of His own Church.

With blessings,
Weijo Lindroos

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born as a man about 2,000 years ago. He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for you to free you from sin and the bondage of religion. Only Jesus has redeemed for us access to the fellowship of God : ”I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9.

God is looking for you, his prodigal son. And if you seek Him and want to turn to Him, you will surely become a child of God. ”The seeker will find!” God is waiting to show you mercy. ”Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 ”But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 

God’s will for you is good! He wants you to be in Heaven with Him.

Jesus is a living person, He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords! He is not a religious ideology or just a biblical doctrine. Religions cannot lead you to salvation and gain God’s favor. God has prepared a different way for us – ”Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6. Only the blood of Jesus washes away your sins! He never told his followers to start churches or other religions. The difference between religion and living faith is that religions are man-made and man-sustained; the Holy Spirit of God is the creator and sustainer of living faith!

The devil accepts different religions. The devil even uses them to achieve his goals for mankind, which are ultimately to keep people away from Jesus. Religion is often placed in the human heart in a place that should belong to Jesus! Religions are a substitute for living faith.
The moment living faith in Jesus is accepted, the human spirit, the centre of the human person, is given new life in the Holy Spirit: ”…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:3-5.
”Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.

A new man is born to replace the old. Such a person is converted to a living faith, his sins are forgiven, he has repented and is saved, in other words he is born again of the Holy Spirit. This is a very different process from choosing a religion or church. John 1:12

With the eyes of your heart you can look at the scourged and suffering Christ on the cross of Golgotha. You can repent and ask forgiveness for your sins. Jesus has paid for you the penalty that should have been yours, and He wants to forgive you. Accept Jesus as your Saviour and give your life to Him! ”For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18
Mankind is divided into only two groups:
Those who believe in Jesus, who are on their way to Heaven and those who have no part in faith in Jesus, who are still in a state of sin and on their way to damnation.

Belonging to a religion does not change this definition. Being born in the faith is a change of direction that leads to heaven. People who believe in Jesus are the congregation of God. Without a living faith, one does not belong to this congregation , even if one is a subscribing member of any religion.
”He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark. 16:16.
”Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.” Acts 2:41.

You don’t need religion, you need Jesus in your life.

Weijo Lindroos,
Turku Finland

God is waiting to be merciful to you. He has good will towards you. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. John 14:6: ”Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”He atoned for our sins on the cross, thus opening the right way for us to Heaven. ”It is finished!”At the end of our temporal life, an eternal kingdom of glory awaits us:Romans 6:23: ”For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Acts 4:23: ”Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”John 1:12. ”But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

Jesus is the Only Savior and the Atoner for our sins! There is no other way to get to Heaven. Neither man’s own goodness nor religions, ideologies, etc. can save man. No matter how good a person you are, how many charities you belong to, how many of the best religions you belong to, but if Jesus is not in your life, you cannot get there. There is no man so good that he does not need the salvation that comes through the substitutionary sacrifice of the cross; and there is no man so bad that Jesus cannot have mercy on. The blood of Jesus cleanses from sins for every repentant sinner who humbles himself and repents.  His substitutionary sacrifice is our only chance. And the next step is to be baptized. Acts 2:41.

Only those who have come to faith will go to Heaven. The best thing in life is to become a child of God. And in this life, it is enough for us to have our name in the book of life in Heaven. Luke 10:20: ”Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

A simple prayer:
”Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God and that you died on the cross and rose from the dead to Heaven as the Bible teaches. I receive you as my Lord and Saviour. Have mercy on me, help me to repent and turn to you, forgive my sins and lead me on the right path. Help me to believe in You. Amen. ”

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.

But man is sinful and separated from God.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Romans 3:23 & Isaiah 59:2.

Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
Jesus died on the cross for you.
Jesus said, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” John 14:6 & Romans 5:8.

You can receive Christ by faith through prayer:
“Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God and You
died on the cross and rose from the dead. I receive
You as my Lord and Savior. Forgive me for my
sins and take control of my life. Help me to believe in you.”

Date and time: On every Friday at 6 to 7 pm. EET
Place: where ever you are at that moment.

Is meant for everyone sharing the faith in Jesus Christ as our King and Saviour. Place of prayer is where ever you are at this hour.

The united prayer hour on Friday evenings has become an international getting together event. Everywhere in the world we are starting each Friday evening with a united prayer hour, at the same time with the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. We settle together in the united prayer front to pray for each other and to bless everyone in faith of Jesus Christ. We pray in His holy name.

In the prayer you are allowed to cry or laugh, shout out loud or whisper words silently in your mind. You can dance and rejoice. Your style is up to your current life and emotional situation.

It is enormous to know that there are thousands of people in the chain of prayer at the same hour all over the world. By joining this united prayer hour you’ll get yourself lots of others to pray for you and to bless you. The main cause for this united prayer hour is to pray for all of us who join this hour around the world.

Therefore let’s make this chain of prayers more and more known to everyone!