Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Bread of Life


Now, usually, the strong can support the weak, the rich can support the poor; but not the other way around. It seems therefore hard to understand how, in Nature, it is the other way around: the lower creatures support the higher creatures: the soil (minerals) support the vegetables, the vegetables support the animals, and all three support man. Take bread, for instance. Bread has no life, no mental or intellectual qualities. Yet, when a person eats bread (or other foods), it is not only transformed into human flesh and blood-which is a most wonderful transformation in itself-but also into those extraordinary cells of tissue which make up the human brain, which enables a person to think and to speak. A child feeding on cereals and other foods grows and develops, not only bodily, but also mentally and spiritually. How is this possible? Does bread have mental and spiritual qualities, which pass on to man as he eats it?

The answer is that it is not the physical matter of the bread (the carbohydrates, proteins, minerals, etc.) which gives and sustains life. For in every particle of matter, there is the "word" of God which created it out of nothing and constantly says to it: Be! It is this "word" of God which is the real thing, while the physical matter is but an outer "shell," very much like our body is the outer shell or frame for our; inner, and hidden, soul. It is this real thing -the "word" of God, which "brings forth bread from the earth" -which really gives life and sustenance to the human being.

To make it a little clearer: When God willed to create the world, there was nothing at first, and God created every- thing out of nothing by saying, "Let there be!" The process of creation has continued ever since. If God should withdraw His "word" for one instant, everything would turn back to nothing as before Creation. Thus it is the "word" of God, or "that which issues from God's mouth," which is the real bread that gives life to the person eating it, and with it all those mental and spiritual qualities which make up a human being.

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 6:48-59 "I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?" Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever." These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum."

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Working at Arthur Bay....:D

So this is my new job. I go in at three and dump cheese curds into bags and then I drive to Madison and back. Pretty fun stuff!


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(**Update: I no longer work at Arthur Bay. It was a fun job. Wish I could'a kept up with it. :( )

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

What is Preterism?


So I figured since I’m a relatively unknown person online and I have been writing some controversial stuff. I figured I would start putting out there some of my positions on certain things that may come up from time to time in the comments.
The first one I’ll “hit up” is Preterism.

Now, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among self-proclaimed preterists as to solid across the board hermeneutic with regard to Preterism. I can point you to all kinds of sources that talk about Preterism in this form or that form. But I would hate for you to come back and say to me…”Chad, Don Preston (or whomever) says *this* or *that*. Do you believe that? I can’t speak for other preterists. They can speak for themselves. Especially Don Preston. He speaks quite well for himself. There are other big names that are attached to Preterism as well. You may have heard of Max King et. al.

I assure you, that in no way, will one ever be able to point at any ONE leader (aside from Christ and the Apostles) and say, “Everything that guy/gal says is what I believe.”  I guarantee that not one person who visits my blog would ever say/admit/reveal that there is ONE person (besides Christ) that ANYTIME “so-and-so” preaches, teaches or writes anything, that, that is what they believe wholeheartedly.
Case in point. Are you a Premillinialist? Do you believe EVERYTHING Jack Van Impe teaches? Are you a Postmillinialist? Do you believe EVERYTHING Charles Hodge or Greg L. Bahnsen taught? Are you an Amillinialist? Do you believe EVERYTHING R.C. Sproul teaches?
Preterism should never be accused of not being legit in that it has no uniformity among believers/”subscribers”. Just look at this site The Last Days: Four Views. You can see that Millinialism is just as disjointed as many claim Preterism is.
So, now that we have that out of the way. The real question should be…What is it that I (Chad Kennow) believe about Jesus’ return after His ascension into Heaven.
Let’s talk about what we know. I’ll separate into sections.

What did Christ say?

John 18:36
”Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.’”

Millennialists like to speak of a physical kingdom where Christ would rule physically. In accordance with this verse, if they are correct, then they are calling Jesus a liar.

Matthew 23:29-39
”‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’“Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’’'”

Jesus stated that the punishment for the wickedness of all mankind from Cain until the death of Zechariah would be visited on the generation of Jews alive in THAT generation. If it were to occur at ANY other time, including today, or some future date from today, (as millennialists would have us believe) then Jesus was a liar and cannot be trusted or be deemed a prophet of God.

Matthew 16:24-28
”Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.  Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.’”

Millenialists ignore this verse. In my opinion this verse CANNOT hold true with a futurist viewpoint unless someone were to reveal themselves AND PROVE that they are 1,980 (give or take a decade) years old and heard Jesus LITERALLY speak these words in Aramaic. Three gospel accounts reference this statement of Jesus. If He did not return in THAT Generation, then He is a liar.

Mathew 24:14
”And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Then he commissioned it.

Mark 16:14-20
”Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen. And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”  
So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”

Matthew 28:18-20
”And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Millinialists typically claim that this has not yet been accomplished. They claim that it is near to completion though. However, if this be true, then the apostle Paul is a liar.

Romans 16:25-27
”Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.”

AND…

Colossians 1:21-23
”And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight— if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”

I for one do not believe Jesus and the Apostles were liars. One can bring up a plethora of other verses talking about the annihilation of the physical earth and universe but if these cannot be reconciled then it is all MOOT!

Since I do not believe that Jesus and Apostles are/were liars, I must accept that this Return happened when the Gospels claim it was to happen. You can see an ongoing theme throughout the New Testament epistles that the first century Christians were expecting Christ’s return in their lifetime. John’s Revelation uses a TON of language that refers to this being fulfilled SOON, IN HIS LIFETIME. Which reminds me…

John 21:18-23
”Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.” This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”

Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?’”

What is odd is that there are some that would willingly believe that John the Apostle is still among us…alive…TODAY. Just so that they can fit it into their weak futurist doctrine. The gullibility of people never ceases to amaze me. I can see why the Lord would state, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6a


If so. Why aren’t people aware of His coming?

I’m not sure why people haven’t taken the time to put the pieces together. There are many accounts of Jesus return in extra-biblical sources. Josephus is one I am familiar with. He was a Jewish General who was tasked with keeping a record of the events of the Jewish people during the siege on Jerusalem. I can recommend many great sources of material on the subject, but you should definitely do the research yourself. Lest anyone say that I am their sole source of information. :)

Here are some links to help you get started:
http://preterist.org/
http://eschatology.org/
http://www.bibleprophecy.com/
Here are some books to add to your reading list:
Avenging of the Apostles and Prophets By: Arthur Ogden
Josephus Wars of the Jews Book 6 Chapter 5 Section 3 How’s this for fanfare? Get it on Amazon.com
There are many other books and resources you’ll find on your journey and discovery of the complete fulfillment of Christ’s prophecies. Feel free to share your finds. Thanks for reading. I will add more as my own journey progresses.
In Christ,
Chad Kennow

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Cindy Temple...Child of God!


My Neighbor Cindy decided to Put on Christ in Baptism today. She saw the Power of God working in our lives and was convinced that Jesus Christ is the only one who can take away the pain and guilt and sorrow and the destructive nature of sin. Please pray for her in her new walk with God! Praise Him! Praise Him!
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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Making Rounds: Apostolic Truth Church (ATC)

Good day to you folks!

Last Sunday I had the opportunity to witness 3 people being baptized into Christ. At least I hope they were. They are friends of mine and had made their decision to be baptized about a week prior. Now, this post isn't going to be about the reasons and  purposes of baptism but rather my experience at this particular organizations services.

There are some students from Turkey here visiting for 3 months and they wanted to do something and I asked them if they wanted to witness a Christian baptism. They agreed and I picked them up and we went. (Turkey is between 98-99% Muslim population) I got pretty excited to find out that they were from Izmir (Modern day Ephesus)!

Anyway back to my trip.

Apostolic Truth Church (ATC) is a building and group of people located on the Northeast side of Appleton near the corner of Meade and OO/Northland Ave. They have a hefty member count. I didn't get an exact number but there was more in attendance that day than Pathways was when I visited there a year ago. The services provided can be seen HERE.

We arrived just before services were starting and were greeted in the parking lot by at least two ushers. They had their little name tags on and I could tell they felt they had a VERY important job to do. Not sure where "ushers" were mentioned in the New Testament but hey, at least they've got something to do, right? Of course as expected we were mostly ignored by the rest of the congregation aside from those whom we were specifically introduced to. (That's the Usher's job after all.)

I greeted my friends who were being baptized that day and was able to speak to them for about two seconds before we were pulled away to do something REALLY important. We were asked pressured into filling out the guest cards.We were allowed to keep their expensive looking pens that had the church name on them. No doubt an advertising tactic used by MANY business's in America to get their name out there. (I guess preaching the Truth isn't enough anymore.) I wondered to myself how much the pens cost and how many poor people could have been fed with that money. I'm sure they got a good deal for buying in bulk.

We then made our way into the auditorium where there were 4 rows of LONG pews and a concert stage up front that was no doubt furnished by some very expensive instruments and audio/video equipment. There were three digital projectors on the ceiling and were used mainly for scripture and spiritual song lyrics. (Good way to save money on Bibles and Hymnals. While at the same time limiting people from reading the context of any verses that are displayed while trying to get your point across during the sermon.) I had my NKJV with me. However, they seemed pretty stuck to the 400 year-old KJV. Which, in my opinion, just makes it that much harder for people to follow along in understanding, while at the same time creating a complacent "laity" that trusts the "clergy's" interpretation. If you wanted to search the scriptures on your own you were better off bringing a notebook rather than your Bible.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The service started off with the baptisms of my friends. The baptism seemed to have been performed properly (i.e. full bodily immersion in water, and in the name of Jesus Christ) But there was a lot of double-talk going on by the pastor performing the baptisms. He rightly stated that baptism was for the remission of sins and that it was the moment you come in contact with the blood of Christ. But he went on to say that they were saved the Wednesday before when they were "baptized by the Holy Spirit". I did ask pastor Soto about this afterwards and of course I got hit with your typical Pentecostal stories attempting to confirm that what they do is legit in regards to speaking in tongues. To be honest, I heard a LOT of gibberish speaking every time the service leader lead a prayer. And furthermore, being honest, it was all quite distracting and I'm not sure anyone heard what was being prayed by the service leader. Yet without hesitation, EVERYONE gave a resounding AMEN when the prayer was finished. That pastor could have prayed for pancakes for all anyone cared.

Again this post is not going to be about specific doctrine, (I will answer those questions in another post), but I want to just cover my experience.

So, anyhoo, what I did enjoy about the service was the singing. I really enjoyed the praise and worship. I even teared up a few times singing those songs. Singing is probably (in my mind) the most pure way to worship God. Unfortunately, there were a number of people jumping and dancing around erratically during many of the songs. I understand lifting up Holy hands to God in praise, but I don't remember jumping around and causing a raucous being in scripture. What I do remember is a chastisement by Paul telling the Corinthians to keep things decent and in order lest non-believers come in and think your crazy. See 1 Cor. 14

Now I know what you are thinking, "Chad, Let's be reasonable here. Jumping and dancing to praise God does not mean it's not decent or in order. And certainly anyone who attends there will know to expect that." I would be inclined to concede that for lack of evidence, however, the first thing the Turkish students mentioned to me when we got in the car to leave was that they thought some of the people there were crazy because they were jumping around and speaking gibberish with no explanation. Hmmm, point made?

After the service was over I was visiting with my friends and shortly after we were called to the "Hospitality Room" which felt more like being called to the principal's office. There, we were treated to coffee and cookies. Of course we were surrounded by clergy there. They seemed WAY more interested in the Turkish students than myself. This didn't bother me much. What did bother me is that I'm not sure what the whole point of dragging us all off to the side to talk to us was. And when I did ask some questions they didn't really want to answer them.

One saving grace was that they were willing to help the Turkish students find a place to live with one of their members as they have a little bit of a housing issue right now. I wasn't about to let them be subjected to that though without fair fore-warning that they would be in store for 3 months of straight up militant evangelism. :\

After they had their fill of us, and when most of the other people had left we were quickly ushered out. I guess they all had other things scheduled. I got to speak with my friends for a whole of about 5 minutes of the 2 hours we were there. I didn't get a chance to discuss anything with the "leaders" of the congregation and I certainly didn't get a chance to properly introduce myself to anyone there.

So in essence it was just a smaller version of Pathways Church to be sure. A lot of fake sales tactics being used to rile up the laity and get them to put more money into the coffers of their organizations treasury.

I think the Father's day gift of extra dark chocolate they gave me as I walked out of the auditorium summed it up quite nicely. Extremely bitter taste. My son Max had grabbed a piece of it when I came home and it brought him to tears. Literally. :\ Maybe they should have saved the money they spent on pens and got some decent tasting chocolate. :P

Needless-to-say I enjoyed the singing. But I had absolutely no impression that the "leaders" of the organization had any intention to preach the Gospel but rather to put on an entertaining show. I need to stop attending these churches on holidays. It did seem, however, oddly appropriate having attended this "mini-Pathways" exactly 1 year after attending Pathways itself.

In Christ,

Chad Kennow

P.S. My wife said this post sounded like it had a lot of sarcasm in it. I think she's right. But I will leave it be as I felt that the service I attended was mostly a joke anyway.

P.P.S. You'll have to excuse my bitterness. I haven't slept much recently and I am going through a bit of a current disappointment with humanity in general. Feel free to suggest any overly offensive parts be changed and I'll be sure to season it up a bit.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Happy 1st Birthday to my darling Son Elijah Jesse Kennow!

 

I’m so proud of him. His first steps were at 9 1/2 months and he’s been trying to put a lot of words together lately. Mostly trying to copy what Woody says when you pull his string. “Reach for the SKYYYYYY!” So Eli goes, “KYYYYYYYY”. So cute.

Here’s to another wonderful year with my little boy. And with the whole family! I am so blessed! Thank you God!

In Christ,

Chad Kennow

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Update….

Okay. So I haven’t posted anything in a while but it seems I’ve gotten some hits. Here’s a summary of what I’ve posted so far.

1. I did some reviews of a few churches and seem to have inadvertently exposed a ‘pastor’ for some wrong doings in his past.

2. I celebrated Atari’s 33rd anniversary.

3. I solicited donations for purchasing books written by Frank Viola to be given out freely.

4. I wrote this update.

What would you like to  see me write about? Leave a comment below and I will try to write about it. It can be anything at all. I will research it and write what I know. Let’s see some great ideas folks! And please Subscribe so that I know people are reading.

In Christ,

Chad Kennow
Appleton, WI