From: heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 1997 1:15 AM
To: Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup
Subject: Bride of Christ Book Question
From: "LaSarge, Paul A" <Paul.Lasarge@HSV.Boeing.com>
To: "'heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com'"
<heb_roots_chr@mail.geocities.com>
Subject: a question for you
Hello Eddie,
I've been discussing some of the things you have written in "Who is the
Bride of Christ" with a work mate of mine and a question has arisen
about what you have written. It appears you are saying that carnal
Christians, that is those living in iniquity (without the law), though
saved, will spend eternity in the outer court of the tabernacle; in
darkness. The Bible talks about the kind of folks who will not
inherit the Kingdom of heaven. You said that the kingdom is the
Bride's inheritance. Are you saying once you're saved you're always saved,
it's
just a matter of whether you end up in the Holy of Holies (the light
of God's glory and the inheritance), the Inner Court, or in the outer
court (the outer darkness) where there will be wailing and gnashing of
teeth?
I have always been one to believe once saved NOT always saved, but if
I am understanding you correctly this is very interesting. This is an
awesome book, by the way.
Shalom,
Paul LaSarge
>From Eddie:
**************
Mmmm ... how can I give you a short answer to a question that I
took 476 pages to explain? Have you FINISHED the book? Perhaps your
questions will be answered AFTER you read the ENTIRE book where
I explain the spiritual characteristics and her qualities in GREAT
detail.
>
> It appears you are saying that carnal
>Christians, that is those living in iniquity (without the law), though
>saved, will spend eternity in the outer court of the tabernacle; in
>darkness.
>
I did NOT state in the book what you just said as you
stated it. I explain what I was saying below.
>
> The Bible talks about the kind of folks who will not
>inherit the Kingdom of heaven. You said that the kingdom is the
>Bride's inheritance.
>
No, I said that the HEAVENLY CITY OF JERUSALEM in the Bride's
inheritance (Revelation 21).
But, examine CAREFULLY Revelation 21. In
Revelation 21:1-3, 9-10 it is written:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new EARTH: for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And I John
saw the holy CITY, new JERUSALEM coming down from God out of heaven
AS A BRIDE .... And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying,
Behold, the TABERNACLE OF GOD is with men ... And there came unto
me one of the seven angels ... saying, come hither, I will show thee the
BRIDE, the Lamb's wife and he carried me away in the spirit to the great
and holy mountain and showed me that great CITY, the holy
JERUSALEM, descending out of heaven from God ..."
Notice that Revelation 21 BEGINS by talking a new EARTH and
then ONLY talks about a SPECIFIC CITY in the new EARTH which
is the CITY of JERUSALEM which is likened as a BRIDE.
The new EARTH is the inheritance of ALL BELIEVERS in the
Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:5 .... Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the EARTH) but the CITY of JERUSALEM is the inheritance of
the BRIDE (Revelation 21:9-27)
In Revelation 21:24 it states:
"And the NATIONS which are SAVED shall walk in the light of it (the
CITY of JERUSALEM, the BRIDE)"
In Genesis 17:5-6, G-d promised Abraham that NATIONS would
come from him as it is written:
"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall
be called Abraham: for a father of MANY NATIONS have I made thee. And
I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make NATIONS of thee
.."
Through faith in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah, this promise is
given to believers in Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah and is our inheritance.
In Galation 3:16, 29 it is written:
"Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made ... and if ye be
Christ's then are you Abraham's seed and HEIRS according to the
promise"
The BRIDE of Christ is a ROYAL priesthood and a ROYAL NATION.
In I Peter 2:9 it is written:
"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy NATION
.."
The Bride is a holy NATION but G-d promised Abraham that his
spiritual heirs would be NATIONS. Believers who are saved and will
spend eternity in the Olam Haba are NATIONS and will inhabit the
new EARTH but the BRIDE is a royal NATION and will dwell in the
heavenly CITY of Jerusalem. In the ancient Biblical wedding ceremony,
the CITY of Jerusalem was the right and domain of the BRIDE (see the
book, "Made in Heaven" by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan)
This is a more accurate reflection of what I stated in the book.
> Are you saying once you're saved you're always saved, it's
>just a matter of whether you end up in the Holy of Holies (the light
>of God's glory and the inheritance), the Inner Court, or in the outer
>court (the outer darkness) where there will be wailing and gnashing of
>teeth?
>
>I have always been one to believe once saved NOT always saved, but if
>I am understanding you correctly this is very interesting.
>
This is NOT EXACTLY what I stated so I will once again try to
clarify myself.
The Christian world is EXTREMELY SALVATION oriented. So, they
often discuss who is saved and if you are saved if you are always
saved and whether you can lose your salvation. Some of the issues
and arguments about "once saved always saved" are arguments
based upon a LACK OF UNDERSTANDING of Bridal concepts,
characteristics and attributes because of this EXCLUSIVE
SALVATION oriented mentality. In doing so, they fail to make a
distinction and understand the DIFFERENCE between making
Yeshua/Jesus your SAVIOR and making Him your LORD over
your LIFE.
Making Yeshua/Jesus your SAVIOR is a SALVATION issue. Making
Yeshua/Jesus LORD is a BRIDAL issue. Christians fail to understand
this Biblical teaching and begin to JUDGE other Christians regarding
what they believe or how they live against THEIR DOCTRINE and if it
doesn't line up then they are "not saved". They then begin to make
DOCTRINE issues SALVATION issues. THIS is UNBIBLICAL.
Most accept that SALVATION is by GRACE and NOT by what we
DO (works) (Ephesians 2:8-10). Then, they try to make the argument
that if you don't BELIEVE a certain way that you are "deceived" and a
part of the "false church". So, they say in this that you are SAVED
by GRACE but keeping your salvation is based upon WORKS and
DOCTRINAL beliefs.
Then they also say that if you struggle to overcome some
weak areas in the flesh that you are then "not saved". Once again
they begin by saying that salvation is by GRACE and then keeping
salvation is based upon if we can overcome fleshly weak area
ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY JUDGE as being "ungodly".
So, let begin seeing the Biblical requirement for
SALVATION. In Ephesians 2:8-9 it is written:
"For by GRACE (UNMERITED FAVOR) are ye SAVED through
faith and that NOT OF YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT of God:
NOT OF WORKS lest any man should boast"
THIS is the Biblical REQUIREMENT for SALVATION. This is
making Yeshua/Jesus your SAVIOR.
THEN, look at the NEXT verse as a RESULT of being saved by
GRACE and it is a FREE gift. In Ephesians 2:10 it is written:
"For we are his workmanship CREATED in Jesus Christ unto GOOD WORKS,
which God has ORDAINED that we should WALK IN THEM"
But, notice in Ephesians 2:8-9 that WORKS DO NOT SAVE us
THEN we are commanded to DO GOOD WORKS.
DOING GOOD WORKS is making Yeshua/Jesus LORD over our LIVES.
IF we DO GOOD WORKS AFTER we are SAVED (by a FREE GIFT) then we will
have REWARD in heaven. If we do NOT do good works AFTER we are saved
then we will have NO REWARDS. Christians confuse NO REWARDS with
"losing your salvation".
This is explained in (I Corinthians 3:12-14 as it is
written:
"Every man's WORK shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare
it, because IT (your WORKS) shall be revealed by fire, and the fire
shall try every man's WORK of sort it is. If any man's WORK ABIDE
(they did GOOD WORKS) which he hath built thereupon (HIS SALVATION),
he shall receive a REWARD. If any man's WORK shall be BURNED, he
shall suffer LOSS (OF REWARD): BUT he himself shall be SAVED yet so
as by fire"
Therefore, there shall be SAVED believers with NO REWARD
and SAVED believers with GREAT REWARDS. Those believers who are SAVED
with GREAT REWARDS will be the BRIDE of Christ and she will be a
royal NATION of people. Those believers who are SAVED with NO REWARDS
are members of the other NATIONS because there are CATEGORIES and
LEVELS of REWARD in heaven. Each CATEGORY and LEVEL is seen as
a NATION of people.
Those SAVED believers with NO REWARDS will WEEP when they
see what they have MISSED compared to what they COULD have had.
In Revelation 21:3 it is written:
"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they
shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their
God"
The SUBJECT of this verse is BELIEVERS who will be
living and dwelling with God for ALL ETERNITY (and they shall be his
people and God himself shall be with them and be their God).
THEN in the NEXT verse it says in Revelation 21:4:
"And God shall wipe away all TEARS from their EYES ..."
Since the SUBJECT of Revelation 21:3 is BELIEVERS who
are living in dwelling with God for all eternity, those whose eyes are
being wiped away are BELIEVERS who missed NOT SALVATION but
missed out on ETERNAL REWARDS.
Because God doesn't want BELIEVERS do live in an eternal
state of sadness because of the REWARDS that they missed, God will
take away the former things "for the former things are passed away".
In Isaiah 65:17 it is written:
"For, behold, I CREATE NEW HEAVENS and a NEW EARTH: and the
FORMER shall NOT BE REMEMBERED NOR COME TO MIND"
After initially realizing the REWARDS that he lost, the
BELIEVER who is saved will WEAP but God will then WIPE all tears from
their eyes and the former life (on this earth) will no longer come
into remembrance (that some believers lived foolishly and lost
ETERNAL REWARDS).
So, SALVATION is a FREE GIFT given by GRACE. In
I Peter 1:23 it is written:
"Being BORN AGAIN not of corruptible seed but of INCORRUPTIBLE
SEED by the WORD OF GOD which lives and abides forever"
We become BORN AGAIN from INCORRUPTIBLE SEED
which lives and abides FOREVER.
So, SALVATION is FREE but REWARDS requires OBEDIENCE to
God and HIS commandments and making Him LORD over EVERY AREA of our
lives. When believers fail to make Yeshua/Jesus LORD over EVERY area
of our lives, other believers JUDGE their SALVATION but in fact this
is a REWARD issue NOT a SALVATION issue.
Let me give you an example. There are some who are
teaching that we need to return to our "Hebraic Roots" and those who
practice Christmas and Easter (which are of pagan origin) are members
of the FALSE CHURCH and are NOT SAVED. Some also say that
if a Christian has no interest in their Hebraic Roots that they are
members of the FALSE CHURCH. So, just because THEY have been
enlighted to the truth of our Hebraic Roots and the Biblical
Festivals (BY THE HOLY SPIRIT) they then begin to JUDGE another's
SALVATION if they have not yet come to the truth of Hebraic Roots.
To do this, is RIDICULOUS and a FAILURE to UNDERSTAND
(Christianity 101) and what the Bible describes as SALVATION.
To these I say, GO BACK TO KINDERGARTEN and learn what the
Bible says about SALVATION.
I have been going to church and I have LOVED God since I
was a little boy. I asked Jesus into my heart when I was five years
old. I was DILIGENT to obey God and learn about God in church and any
way I could from that time and into my 20's. During this time,
Christmas and Easter had MEANING to me because that is how I
expressed my love for Jesus who was born, lived and died for me and
is my MESSIAH. If I would have died at this time (I had cancer when
I was 25), I would have gone straight to heaven WITHOUT observing
ONE FESTIVAL and ONLY keeping during this time Christmas and
Easter because I had accepted Jesus into my heart and life and
I lived my life to please Him. It made NO DIFFERENCE to God during
this time that I did not know or understand that Christmas and Easter
had a PAGAN ORIGIN and the Biblical Festivals were HIS ORDAINED
HOLIDAYS because God still LOVED me, He ANSWERED my prayers,
He HEALED my body and He led me into a deeper walk with Him
through the leading of His HOLY SPIRIT. This is also
called GRACE.
When I discovered that Christmas and Easter was of pagan
origin and the FESTIVALS were GOD-GIVEN BIBLICAL HOLIDAYS what
changed was my UNDERSTANDING of God, His Kingdom and His ways.
I didn't "lose my salvation" because I kept Christmas and Easter and
I didn't "get saved" when I began to understand and keep the Biblical
Holidays. This was an OBEDIENCE issue and a LORDSHIP issue
NOT a SALVATION issue.
I hope that I have explained the difference between
SALVATION and REWARDS and between making Yeshua/Jesus
SAVIOR and making Him LORD.
> Are you saying once you're saved you're always saved, it's
>just a matter of whether you end up in the Holy of Holies (the light
>of God's glory and the inheritance), the Inner Court, or in the outer
>court (the outer darkness) ...
>
Once you accept Yeshua/Jesus into your heart and life,
you are SAVED. THEN is an issue of HOW we live our LIVES. Regarding
Torah, keeping the Torah DOES NOT SAVE us. But AFTER we are saved we
keep the commandments of God because we LOVE Him (John 14:15).
Heaven is described as a TABERNACLE. The Tabernacle that
G-d has Moses build (Exodus 25:8-9) was a MODEL of the REAL
HEAVENLY TABERNACLE (Hebrews 8:5). This HEAVENLY
TABERNACLE was seen coming down from heaven to the earth in
(Revelation 21:1-3) as it is written:
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth .. And I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the TABERNACLE of God is with men, and
he will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself
shall be with them and be their God"
There were THREE primary components of the Tabernacle
structure. There was the "outer court, inner court and Holy of
Holies". HEAVEN is a TABERNACLE. So this is a PICTURE of
HEAVEN and ETERNITY.
The LARGEST component was the OUTER COURT. It was the
priests who ministered in the tabernacle. They did so in their bare
feet. The FIRST piece of article in the OUTER COURT was the brazen
altar. This is symbolic of the cross/tree that Yeshua died upon. This
is STEP ONE and this is a picture of SALVATION.
The GOAL was NOT the brazen altar (SALVATION) but the
GOAL was to be in the PRESENCE of God in the HOLY OF
HOLIES. The tabernacle is a BLUEPRINT of heaven and is
PROPHETIC of ETERNITY. The LARGEST NATION of people will
be OUTER COURT BELIEVERS. The priest who ministered in the outer
court walked on the NATURAL EARTH. This is a picture of the
BELIEVER walking (living his life) according to his CARNAL MIND.
This is the LARGEST number of believers. These believers will have
different degrees of ETERNAL REWARDS.
The BRIDE is pictured by the HOLY of HOLIES. This
is the SMALLEST number of believers. She will have the GREATEST
REWARDS.
In Romans 12:1-2 it describes how we LIVE OUR
LIVES AFTER WE ARE SAVED. It states:
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your BODIES (your LIFE) a LIVING SACRIFICE (love and devote
your LIFE to G-d and HIS service and HIS Kingdom), holy, acceptable
to G-d which is your reasonable service. And be NOT CONFORMED to THIS
WORLD but be ye TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF YOUR MIND that you may
prove what is the GOOD and ACCEPTABLE and PERFECT will of God"
Just like there are THREE levels in the TABERNACLE
(a BLUEPRINT OF HEAVEN ... Hebrews 8:5, Revelation 21:1-3), there are
THREE LEVELS of God's Will.
His GOOD WILL is SALVATION.
His ACCEPTABLE WILL is SALVATION and SOME ETERNAL REWARDS
His PERFECT WILL is SALVATION and GREAT REWARDS
Paul, this is what I was explaining in the book. The
GOAL of God for a BELIEVER is SALVATION and GREAT REWARDS.
Christianity teaches the GOAL is SALVATION. By doing so, they get
into "saved or not saved" doctrine but they DO NOT UNDERSTAND
Biblical BRIDAL concepts. That is why G-d had me write my book,
"Who is the Bride of Christ?" to explain these truths to BELIEVERS.
I hope that this answers your question and more
accurately reflects some of the info in the book.
>
> This is an awesome book, by the way.
>
>Shalom,
>Paul LaSarge
>
I am glad that you enjoy it ! For those rooters who have
yet to purchase the book, this is a reminder that you have until
(June 15) to take advantage of my special offer to celebrate
the completion and printing of the book.
Eddie Chumney