BOOK UPDATES
What is wonderful about the internet…
is that an author can write a book and then keep his reader’s updated on changes he would like to make. One of the biggest drawbacks in the past was that once a book was written, that was it. There was no going back. But with cyberspace, the whole world of authorship is changing. This is especially so with such a crucial topic as ours. Accuracy is critical. This is very important to me, as writing a book on the judgment of God is the most serious of all subjects. The Apostle James wrote, “Let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment (James 3:1).” Not only is it critical to me because of James’ warning, but for the integrity and authority of my writing. My desire and purpose in living is to faithfully deliver the GOOD NEWS of the grace of God in order to transform lives (bringing comfort, peace, and joy) and ultimately the world. (See Acts 20:24).
UPDATE July 14, 2010: Adoption
UPDATE April 27, 2011: Minor Corrections (previous editions)
UPDATE May 09, 2011: Better Had Judas Not Been Born
LATEST UPDATE Dec 11, 2011: FAQ 10
“My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. …If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (See “Refining Fire” p. 209). This may mean that Christ “removes” from his company of co-workers those who are not worthy to rule and reign with Him. This would be a great loss of privilege and honor. What happens after we are removed, as I see it, is a process of God’s purification in His refining “spiritual” fire. This is a good thing because our God is a loving Father who lovingly corrects His children (as we see in Hebrews 12:5-11) .
One blogger wrote: “No one has yet nailed John 15 (especially verse 2) like Bruce Wilkenson did in his book “Secrets of the Vine” on pages 32-36. Vineyard owners/workers understand this much better than the rest of us. A branch down in the dirt is not “cut off” or “taken away” as most translations have it. Sadly, even the Young’s misses this. The proof is overwhelming using a Strong’s. Airo, pronounced ah’ee-ro, is translated as “lifted up” or “taken up” over 90% of the time in the rest of the bible. This makes perfect sense when you understand that God’s heart is like the vineyard owner toward the branch not producing down in the dirt. He “takes up” or “lifts up” the branch, cleans it off, and ties it up on a stake to retrain it to grow correctly so it can produce fruit.” – Jeremy
I have not yet verified the details of the above quote. However, regarding “airo” (Strong’s #142), the recently published, “The Concise Greek – English Lexicon of the New Testament by F.W.Danker, seems to agree with Jeremy. It states: —1. “to cause to move upward’, raise up, lift:take up a pallet Mt 9:6; a cross 16:24; 27:32; pick up a stone J 8:59; 11:41. The 1st aor.act. impv. apov 19:15, in view of the attendant cry otavpwoov, is prob. to be understood as hoist (him), namely on a cross. Lift/draw up skiff Ac 27:17; abs.w. obj. undertstood weigh anchor vs. 13. In extended sense: of vocal sounds, npav owvnv (the lepers) raised their voice Lk 17:13. In imagery keep in suspence J 10:24. —2. ‘move by lifting/taking from one position to another‘, take away, remove, carry off Mt 21:21; 24:39; Lk 6:29; J 2:16; 19:31, 38; expel 1 Cor 5:2. Cp 6:15. In imagery of sin taken away by Christ J 1:29: 1 J 3:5. In some of the Johannine passages there is probability of wordplay, with aipw functioning in combinations of upwardness, removal, or elimination. This seems to be the case esp. J11:48; 15:2.
