My Beliefs and Faith

Basics

I believe in one God, eternally existing in three facets at once: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  (See Who Is God?)

I believe in the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments as having been inspired directly by God, that they are inerrant in their original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and in life.

I believe that Romans 10:9,10 is the foundation of eternal salvation.  It is by God’s grace through our faith, not by our “good works,” that we are saved (Ephesians 2:8,9).

I believe that the first man, Adam, was created in the “image” of God; however, Adam and Eve sinned.  Because they sinned, they incurred upon mankind, as a whole, not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God.  As such, all people are born in the “image” of Adam and Eve; they must be “reborn” to be able to be restored to the original “image” of God.

I believe that, whereas the first man was imperfect, the “second man”—the Lord Jesus Christ—was/is perfect (see first and second Adam).  He came the first time to die for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, so that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood.  He will come a second time, as the Rider on a white horse, to rule and reign forever, and for all eternity.

I believe that Yeshua (Jesus)

• has existed from eternity past,
• was begotten by the Holy Spirit,
• was born of the Virgin Mary,
• was and is the one, true Christ (Messiah), and
• was and is fully God (see Was Jesus God?), in human form and likeness.

I believe that it is important for someone to be baptized, by water immersion, in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), as an outward expression of his/her belief and faith in the Triune God.  However, I do not believe that water baptism is a requirement for eternal salvation.

I believe that all who receive, by faith, Yeshua Ha’Machiach (Jesus, the Christ), as Lord and Savior, are “born again” of the Holy Spirit.  As such, they no longer are children of Adam, but are delivered from death and their sin nature, becoming living children of God for all eternity.  Yet, it still is important to obey the Law and commandments set forth by God, to Moses, in the Torah.  Jesus’ death on the cross paid the penalty for transgression of God’s Law (sin), but it did not eliminate the requirement for us to continue upholding and obeying the Law (Romans 3:31).

Eschatology

I believe in “the blessed hope,” the personal, premillenial return of Jesus Christ at the Pre-Wrath Rapture, to occur in the latter part of the 70th Week—most likely, one year prior to Jesus’ second advent back to earth (see The Seventh Year).  I also acknowledge the possibility of a partial Mid-tribulation Rapture, midway through the 70th Week, in fulfillment of Matthew 25:6,7,10, and the probability of a Post-Tribulation Rapture, on the final day of the 70th Week, in fulfillment of Revelation 14:14-16.  That is, I do believe in multiple Rapture events, although I firmly reject the notion of a Pre-Tribulation Rapture.

I believe that this imperfect, tainted Creation will end and that it will be replaced by a brand new, perfect, pristine Creation (Revelation 21:1,5), which will come into existence following the Millennium (see old and new Creations).

I believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, and in the everlasting blessedness of the saved.  I believe that the unsaved will be lost forever.  However, “forever” may end with the cessation of time, as we know it, coincident with the ultimate annihilation of this universe, at the end of the Millennium.

After that, the new Creation will come into existence.  It will remain for eternity, in another realm of time and space that we, in our present forms, are unable to comprehend.

I acknowledge the possibility that the 70th Week of Daniel, prophesied in Daniel 9:27, already may have begun, coincident with the establishent of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), which may be a confirmation of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EuroMed).  If so, counting from October of 2006 (when the ENP was established and funded), the physical return of Jesus back to earth may take place in the Fall of 2013, on Yom Kippur.