Promises and Secrets
A website for those not afraid to examine their beliefs, compare them to the real world, and make sure they fit.
Colossians Mystery
VIEWPOINT
The mysterious "secret" is Jesus. Why would He die for us? Why would God want Him to do that for us? Especially when most of the world that claims to love Him does not obey Him?
FACT
Did you know that there was a mystery in the Bible book of Colossians? In fact, based on the actions of most of the world, it is a "mysterious" secret of God that few people know about.
VIEWPOINT
What do you think?
VIEWPOINT
He seeks the few
If you remember something Jesus said, you will realize that God and Jesus are not looking for the majority of those who claim to worship Them. They are seeking those who obey them and by doing so, act like They want people to act. Now, calm down. I know that I have just contradicted every Sunday-keeping pastor in the world, but if you listen to the reasons why I say this, and you will understand. You might not agree, but you will understand what the Bible says, and what God and Jesus mean.
Let's start with what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14
13Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
. Now, at last count as of the year 2025, there are about 2.38 billion people (Wikipedia) who claim to be followers of Christ. I don't know about your math skills, but if you calculate, that is nearly 1/3 of the world's population (31.2%). I have a problem thinking of that number of people as a "few".
What would cause that number of people to claim they know Christ when He said that the path to eternal life is so narrow that "few find it". Well, starting with what the word of God says (all of it, not just selected pieces), most people, even most of these "Christians", do not follow what it says. Oh listen, here it comes. I can hear the shouting from way over here. O.K., let me explain.
Read what it says, not what you are told it means
Most people read the Bible as though it is a selective text with different parts written to different groups of people. What if that is not true? If you found out that this book was written to everyone who wants to follow God, not just the Jews, would that change how you would read it?
In the beginning...
First off, the main objection of the Sunday-keepers is that the Bible was only written to the Jews. Well, what about the first part of the Bible up to Abraham? It is full of people to whom God was paying attention, and none of them were Jews, but somehow no one pays attention to that fact. God was speaking to everyone on earth, but very few seemed to be paying attention to what He said.
"Well, that didn't work, Let's try this..."
The first time people started acting so badly, He decided to just destroy with a flood all but 8 people in one family. Then mankind built a tower to try to make themselves equal to God. So, God scattered them with language. Then some started acting like savage animals, causing the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. However, did you notice that He saved only half a family this time? Part of that family had acted in a manner pleasing to God. Two of the family, the future sons-in-law, didn't think that Lot was serious about God's plan. And one of the family (Mrs. Lot) was so sad about leaving Sodom and Gomorrah that she looked back in longing.
They need a guide
Now, having all this happen in His created world evidently caused God to "rethink" His approach to the world's population. It seems that out of a large population, only a few were the kind of "nice" and obedient that He expected. He couldn't just make them robots, they should act in their own will. So, He decided to take them to school, but first He had to educate a "teacher". He chose a good man (Abraham) who pretty much knew how to act. His son Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, and God chose one of them (Jacob) because he had the "nice" character. Well, maybe his character was more "clever and smart" than his brother Esau.
"After three generations, I think they're getting it"
So, now we have Jacob. Evidently God was satisfied with Jacob's nature, so He chose Jacob's twelve sons to become the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel. However, in the past, leaving men to their own devices had not worked out well. The brothers started acting out on their own, and eventually became so jealous of one of their own brothers (Joseph) that they sold him to the Egyptians.
Oops
So, as punishment, God allowed a famine to hit the land. Once the tribes ran out of ways to grow or buy food, they moved to Egypt and became slaves to the Egyptians. Little did they know that one of the Egyptian leaders was their brother Joseph they had sold earlier. After 400 years of slavery, God decided to see if they had learned anything, so He used Moses to "persuade" Egypt to "let His people go". The persuasion worked, and the Israelites, none of whom had ever known freedom, embarked on a journey through the desert.
"Now, we're going to do it my way"
But, here God changed His approach. Since people eventually developed their own approach, usually a bad one, to interacting with each other, He figured that a clear set of rules would work better. So, on the journey through the desert, He gave the people a set of rules by which He expected mankind to live. Since no one seemed to want to follow any good principles on their own, He decided to lay out some rules by which He expected loyal believers to follow - 613 of them.
Go and tell the world about Me
Of course, the Israelites were not the only people on the earth, so somehow His words had to get out into the world. Here is where many "Sunday-keepers" begin to scream loudly that those rules are for "only the Israelites".
Well, you should read Isaiah chapter 49, or at least verse 6
6The Lord said to me,
"I have a greater task for you, my servant.
Not only will you restore to greatness
the people of Israel who have survived,
but I will also make you a light to the nations -
so that all the world may be saved."
. Now, here people will say that that light is really Jesus, not Isaiah, because Isaiah was a Jew. Well, yes and no. Yes, Isaiah, a Jew, was to spread the word to the Gentiles as well, and the only word he had was that Torah (first five books of the Bible) to spread to the nations (Gentiles). What else could he give to the nations to shed light on what God expected of His people so the "world may be saved"?
Listen up, world
Do you really think that Isaiah would have gone to the Gentiles and said, "Hey! You guys! God will save you and you don't have to follow any of His rules. He told me to tell you that you can murder, steal, and have other gods, but don't worry. I'm here to save you, no matter what you do. Jesus will have the same message for the world."
Hogwash. Let's say you are building a 50-room mansion and want to share it with some people for free. Now, you want people to take care of the place, so you make it clear that if they want to live in your house, they will have to follow a few rules. Not many, only 20, but they are really important. They think about it and tell you, "Well, I'll only promise to keep 4 of those rules, but the rest I will not do." Would you let them stay in your mansion for free? How about if they said, "I'll keep ten of those rules, but no more." But, they won't tell you which ones they will keep.
"If you want to live in My house..."
God has described a future living arrangement that we can only imagine. In order to get to live there, we have to follow some rules. Most people think that there are only ten of them, but they won't even follow all of those. There are some other rules that most people don't even think about that are major disruptions in most "Christian" lives when they find out about them.
As a small example, read the first five verses of 1 Corinthians 5
1It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father's wife. 2And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? 3For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. 4So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, 5hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
. Now, what possible rule could this man have been violating that even the pagans won't tolerate? Well, take a peek at Leviticus 18:7-8
7" 'Do not dishonor your father by having sexual relations with your mother. She is your mother; do not have relations with her.' "
8" 'Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father.' "
. That would be an Old Testament rule that applied to the Gentile community in Corinth as well as to the Jews, the "teachers" of the world. But, "few" seem to be listening.
Oh, God made a special living arrangement deal with a group of people to which He explained His rules that they must follow. Now He is offering that deal to us Gentiles, but we refuse to limit our actions by following those rules. It's the same deal, but we don't want it because it restricts our definition of "freedom in Christ". So, our "negotiators" (pastors) are telling us that we have been invited in with no restrictions, whatsoever. We supposedly don't even have to follow any rules in this life, much less in His future plans for us if we are o-b-e-d-i-e-n-t.
What are we talking about here?
The mystery of Christ. The "secret" of Jesus. (Colossians 1:27
27To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
) People are constantly reading different meanings into the same statement from the Bible. If Christ is in people, why would He give different people completely different meanings of the same verses? The world has so many churches that all believe something different. How can this be right?
In the King James Version of Colossians 2:11-17 (KJV)
11In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
12Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
13And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
15And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
17Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (KJV)
and in the NIV version
Colossians 2:11-17 (NIV)
11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh[a] was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Freedom From Human Rules
16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.(NIV)
, part of that mystery is explained. Notice in this Bible quote, I used the KJV and the NIV because the KJV changed the list of the things that are a shadow ("16Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days," while the Greek says:
and the NIV added two words to the real words about the shadow from the Greek - verse 17 was rendered as "These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ." but the Greek says:
"which are a shadow of the things coming,", not changing it to things that were coming, implying that is no longer the case. Now, if something that is here now is a shadow of something that is coming, it is a representation of something that is real and will be here to affect us later as well. When a Bible version takes the liberty to change words in Scripture, small changes can change the persception left behind when a seeker tries to learn. The word "holyday" was not used in the Greek, but that word casts doubt in the reader about "Jewish holidays". The words "sabbath days" is not in the Greek, but the reference is to "a Sabbath". The implication here is that we don't have to keep all those Jewish days, especially that gicky Sabbath day on Saturday. That's not what the word of God says.
The real message
Now, here is the real problem with this reference to Colossians. When one reads Colossians 2:16
16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
in most versions, they see it saying "you don't have to worry about what you eat or drink, you don't have to observe Jewish festivals, or keep the Sabbath." That means there are supposedly no rules for the Gentile to get to the same reward that He requires Jews, His people, to jump through hoops to attain.
That is exactly the opposite of what is said in the verses. What the verses are describing is, since we have been forgiven for our old sins and now keep the word of the Lord by observing His commandments, don't let anyone judge you when you are doing these things just because the Jews do the same. It's merely a warning about something that every Sunday-keeper attacks when they find anyone trying to follow the real Jesus. We are to keep the commandments of the real God and follow Jesus. Today's "Christian" hates that thought.
You can confirm this by reading Colossians 2:20-23
20Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21"Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
. This is not minimizing God's commandments, but telling the reader to quit following human leaders and man-made rules that do not follow God. The warning is to not fall back into the old sinful ways they had before they knew Jesus, became forgiven, and supposedly learned how to follow God. If they are not obedient, claiming to follow Jesus will not save them.
O.K., it's not really a mystery if the Bible says it
The only mystery I see is that, regardless of the actual words of the Bible, most "Christians" think that direct disobedience to God is just fine. Oh, their pastors have told them that it is not disobedience to ignore the Sabbath, worship Him the way the pagans do (Christmas and Easter), or eat the things He told His people not to eat. One of our "sacred" holidays is actually named after a pagan goddess (Easter). If you follow the typical Sunday pastor, you are ignoring God, so you might as well murder, lie, steal, and sleep with your mother. Well, what's the difference? God said "Don't", but most say, "It's fine!". If you can just make up the things you want to follow that God said not to do, where do you stop?
Disagree? Find an error? Contact us at glenjjr@gmail.com and give us your view.
VIEWPOINT
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