House of Truth Ministries
February and March 2019
House of Truth Ministries is about sharing the Gospel in various venues.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (ESV)
February and March 2019
House of Truth Ministries is about sharing the Gospel in various venues.
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (ESV)
In this newsletter, we are sharing a Q&A with Kurt Van Gorden
Q: A lady, who was witnessing to a Jehovah’s Witness, wrote and asked, “Where does the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society get their idea that Jesus is Michael the Archangel?”
A: The Jehovah’s Witnesses borrow much of their theology from reading obscure, and often rejected, sources of speculative writers. One source they drew from was some of the mid-1800 Adventist writers. Although Adventist writers today repudiate the Watchtower’s view that Jesus was created, it is their writers who provided the fountain from which Russell drank. The Witnesses cross-reference the angel that was in the wilderness (Exodus 23:20-23) with Michael disputing over the body of Moses (Jude 9), and conclude that this angel was the preincarnate Jesus, named Michael. Then they use 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that Jesus will return with the voice of an archangel, which makes them conclude that he is, in fact, an archangel. Putting it all together, they believe there is a special archangel named Michael, who became Jesus Christ. None of this is supported by any clear passage of Scripture. Furthermore, the Bible clearly describes Jesus as the Creator of all things, which prevents him from being a created angel (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17).
Q: After teaching a group of high school students, a young man asked me about the three levels of heaven that are taught by Mormon Missionaries. “Is it true,” he asked, “does their doctrine on three heavens come from the New Testament? It sounds like what Paul taught in Second Corinthians.”
A: It is not difficult to see why this question would be challenging for Christians. Mormonism quite profoundly builds doctrinal positions from the slightest mention of anything in the Bible. This was Joseph Smith’s idea of the “restoration.” He felt that many things had been removed from the Bible and it was his duty to restore them. Hence, he built an entire theology on several items mentioned once in the Bible, such as “third heaven,” “baptism for the dead,” and “seventies,” the latter of which is seventy-two in the best Greek text, but this escaped Smith. In part, answering the Mormon question on three heavens should first be answered by stating that one of the primary rules for biblical interpretation is never to build a doctrine upon an isolated verse of Scripture.
More directly, there is no verse or passage of the Bible that speaks of “three heavens” in anyway similar to their Doctrine and Covenants (131:1). The Mormon doctrine of a “celestial, terrestrial, or telestial” heaven (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 348) is unique to them. The verses oft quoted by Mormons to support their position are 2 Corinthians 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:40-42. In the first passage, Paul speaks of being “caught up into the third heaven.” Exactly what did this mean to the reader at Corinth? Did the early Christians believe there were three places, three heavens of abode after death? Most certainly not. Paul uses that expression to express where the believer will spend eternity.
In contrast to Mormonism, there are three usages of the word heaven in the Bible. These are not to be confused with three heavens for the afterlife. In the book of Genesis, we find that God created the “heavens” (plural) and the earth. The Old Testament description of the first heaven was the atmosphere around the earth. We find such descriptions as rain falling out of heaven (2 Samuel 21:10), which no Christian or Jew would take to mean that the atmosphere where clouds exist and the rain falls is actually a dwelling place after death. See also passages on the birds of heaven (Psalm 79:2; 104:12), obviously meaning the sky or atmosphere. The second way heaven is used is for the planetary system and stars, i.e., heavenly bodies (Genesis 22:17; 26:24). Again, these are never portrayed as eternal dwellings for human afterlife. What we find, though, is that what Paul called the “third heaven,” is the dwelling place of God and the future dwelling place of all Christians (Philippians 1:21). Never are we told that there is a division of three heavens where good, better, and best go after death. That is unscriptural.
In the second often quoted text, 1 Corinthians 15:40-42, we are reading of the kind of body the dead receive in the resurrection. The Latter-day Saints confusion can be cleared up by understanding that Paul is describing what kind of “body” one receives in the resurrection (vs. 35, 42), not the location for where they go. Yet Mormons often appeal to this passage as if it speaks of location, hence, their usage of stars, moon, and sun as levels in the architecture of the towers of the Salt Lake City temple. All of this points toward our opening statement that no doctrine should be built upon an isolated passage of Scripture, otherwise, one falls subject to the same errors of Joseph Smith.
PRAYER AND SUPPORT Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are praying for those who can partner with us monthly. We can take online donations. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks can be written to House of Truth Ministries and they can be sent to the address below.
A: The Jehovah’s Witnesses borrow much of their theology from reading obscure, and often rejected, sources of speculative writers. One source they drew from was some of the mid-1800 Adventist writers. Although Adventist writers today repudiate the Watchtower’s view that Jesus was created, it is their writers who provided the fountain from which Russell drank. The Witnesses cross-reference the angel that was in the wilderness (Exodus 23:20-23) with Michael disputing over the body of Moses (Jude 9), and conclude that this angel was the preincarnate Jesus, named Michael. Then they use 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that Jesus will return with the voice of an archangel, which makes them conclude that he is, in fact, an archangel. Putting it all together, they believe there is a special archangel named Michael, who became Jesus Christ. None of this is supported by any clear passage of Scripture. Furthermore, the Bible clearly describes Jesus as the Creator of all things, which prevents him from being a created angel (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17).
Q: After teaching a group of high school students, a young man asked me about the three levels of heaven that are taught by Mormon Missionaries. “Is it true,” he asked, “does their doctrine on three heavens come from the New Testament? It sounds like what Paul taught in Second Corinthians.”
A: It is not difficult to see why this question would be challenging for Christians. Mormonism quite profoundly builds doctrinal positions from the slightest mention of anything in the Bible. This was Joseph Smith’s idea of the “restoration.” He felt that many things had been removed from the Bible and it was his duty to restore them. Hence, he built an entire theology on several items mentioned once in the Bible, such as “third heaven,” “baptism for the dead,” and “seventies,” the latter of which is seventy-two in the best Greek text, but this escaped Smith. In part, answering the Mormon question on three heavens should first be answered by stating that one of the primary rules for biblical interpretation is never to build a doctrine upon an isolated verse of Scripture.
More directly, there is no verse or passage of the Bible that speaks of “three heavens” in anyway similar to their Doctrine and Covenants (131:1). The Mormon doctrine of a “celestial, terrestrial, or telestial” heaven (McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 348) is unique to them. The verses oft quoted by Mormons to support their position are 2 Corinthians 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 15:40-42. In the first passage, Paul speaks of being “caught up into the third heaven.” Exactly what did this mean to the reader at Corinth? Did the early Christians believe there were three places, three heavens of abode after death? Most certainly not. Paul uses that expression to express where the believer will spend eternity.
In contrast to Mormonism, there are three usages of the word heaven in the Bible. These are not to be confused with three heavens for the afterlife. In the book of Genesis, we find that God created the “heavens” (plural) and the earth. The Old Testament description of the first heaven was the atmosphere around the earth. We find such descriptions as rain falling out of heaven (2 Samuel 21:10), which no Christian or Jew would take to mean that the atmosphere where clouds exist and the rain falls is actually a dwelling place after death. See also passages on the birds of heaven (Psalm 79:2; 104:12), obviously meaning the sky or atmosphere. The second way heaven is used is for the planetary system and stars, i.e., heavenly bodies (Genesis 22:17; 26:24). Again, these are never portrayed as eternal dwellings for human afterlife. What we find, though, is that what Paul called the “third heaven,” is the dwelling place of God and the future dwelling place of all Christians (Philippians 1:21). Never are we told that there is a division of three heavens where good, better, and best go after death. That is unscriptural.
In the second often quoted text, 1 Corinthians 15:40-42, we are reading of the kind of body the dead receive in the resurrection. The Latter-day Saints confusion can be cleared up by understanding that Paul is describing what kind of “body” one receives in the resurrection (vs. 35, 42), not the location for where they go. Yet Mormons often appeal to this passage as if it speaks of location, hence, their usage of stars, moon, and sun as levels in the architecture of the towers of the Salt Lake City temple. All of this points toward our opening statement that no doctrine should be built upon an isolated passage of Scripture, otherwise, one falls subject to the same errors of Joseph Smith.
PRAYER AND SUPPORT Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are praying for those who can partner with us monthly. We can take online donations. All donations are tax-deductible. Checks can be written to House of Truth Ministries and they can be sent to the address below.