Thanks to never having been taught how to interpret Scripture properly, there are many spiritual concepts that those in the Christian religion (and most of those outside of it) miss out on. There are so many important terms and concepts that almost no Christian I’ve met is familiar with, terms and concepts which, when actually understood, reveal just how different the Christian religion is from what Scripture actually teaches. Not only that, lack of knowledge of these things also tells us they very likely aren’t actually members of the body of Christ.
When I meet people who want to try to teach me something from the Bible (quite often these people are standing on the street in front of the mall, talking into microphones and/or handing out religious literature), I’ve reached a point where I now have to start asking them certain questions to determine whether they have the first clue about what Scripture actually teaches or whether they’re just wasting both of our time. If they don’t know the answers to at least most these questions, it’s invariably turned out that they also aren’t members of the body of Christ and don’t have much to tell me. That’s not to say that esoteric knowledge is required for salvation, but these are basic words and concepts in Scripture that very few members of the Christian religion are actually familiar with at all, while most people who have actually been members of the body of Christ for a few years tend to know about them.
I’m sure you’re wondering what the questions I have to ask these so-called teachers who are generally trying to get me to join their ranks are, so I present them to you now:
- What does the term “the word of truth” refer to in Scripture? (Hint: it doesn’t refer to either the Bible or Jesus)
- What’s the difference between the Gospel of the Uncircumcision and the Gospel of the Circumcision? (Yes, there is a difference)
- What’s the difference between forgiveness (or pardon) and justification?
- What is an eon, and how many of them does Scripture say there will be total?
- What is the eon of the eons, and when does it occur?
- What’s the difference between an eon and a dispensation?
- What’s is eonian life?
- Does ”everlasting life” mean to live forever?
- How long does ”everlasting punishment” last?
- What was the disruption of the world, and when did it take place?
- What is the consummation of the eons, and when will it take place?
- What’s the difference between reconciliation and conciliation?
- What is the dispensation of the conciliation, and when will it end?
- What is vivification, or quickening, how many groups of people still have to experience it in the future, and when will each of these groups experience it?
- What is “the unseen?”
- What, and where, is Gehenna, and who specifically ends up there as a punishment?
- At death, the body, the soul, and the spirit each return to one of three separate “locations” (one to each). What are they?
- What do the Greek words porneia and epithymia actually mean, and are they both always sinful?
If someone can’t answer at least most of these questions off the top of their head right now, there’s a good chance they haven’t studied the Scriptures in depth enough to actually be worthy of listening to.
If you don’t know the answers to these questions yourself, and would like to find out what they are, they’re discussed in depth in my free Nearly everything we learned at church was wrong: What the Bible actually teaches about sex, hell, tithing, and much more book (and in the supporting links throughout that book).