One of the most effective weapons utilized by Satan to draw people into his various denominations, faiths, etc., is the notion that, due to their having taken Jesus into their hearts as their personal Savior, joined the church, been baptized, etc. that they are saved, born again and rapture ready.  To ensure that they remain in his camp he, through his false prophets, warns them against all voices or Scriptures that refute their sect’s theology.  While admitting that God’s Word is His Truth (Jn. 17:17), they tell the proselyte that some of that Truth is in reality not Truth, that only that which passes through the sect’s Truth filters is in fact Truth, and that only the sect’s fathers are capable of operating the filters.  The unwitting, Truth-challenged proselyte, by reading, hearing and believing only what he is told from pulpit and podium, remains in Satan’s camp throughout his life, all the while convinced that heaven awaits.

For centuries millions of well-meaning people have been lured into various religious traps (denominations, etc.) by being persuaded to join a particular sect, take that sect’s god as their god, etc.  By following the sect’s leaders, they would, at the moment of death or the rapture, officially enter into what they had received at the moment of salvation–eternal life.  God, however, paints a totally different picture relative to what salvation/rebirth is, when it takes place and how it is appropriated.  This segment examines the physical-to-spiritual transition that will take place in the life of a true saint upon being saved/born again upon the return of the Lord to earth to set up the Kingdom of God.

In John 1:1-4,14 we are told that in the beginning the One Who came to be known as Jesus of Nazareth was called “the Word”–a God Who, like the other being in the Godhead, was comprised of spirit.  Later, that same Word came to earth as a man Who, like all other men, was composed of flesh, having been transformed from Godly Spirit composition to humanly flesh composition.  Thirty-three plus years later He was once again transformed, this time from flesh back to His original spirit composition.   The following narrative will explain why His change in bodily composition was necessary in order for Him to rejoin the Father, and why man must undergo the same flesh-to-spirit process (rebirth) in order to join Father and Son.

Before His transformation from spirit to flesh, the Word Who became Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1-4,14) had been in heaven with God “… from the beginning.”  The Word’s descent to earth as a man and His bodily transformation from spirit to flesh completed, He, now known as Jesus of Nazareth, no longer had bodily access to heaven in that “Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:46-54/Jn. 3:3-8).  As Jesus told Nicodemus, “… that which is born of the flesh IS flesh (not spirit), and that which is born of the spirit IS spirit (not flesh).  We are one or the other at any given time.  In this life we are flesh; in the next life, if we qualify to enter God’s presence, we will be composed of spirit exactly as was Jesus when He lived in heaven with God.  He became flesh when He came to earth in order to live as other flesh beings.  It was only upon His death and rebirth–transition from flesh back to spirit–that He was able to reenter the Kingdom of God, for flesh and blood cannot enter therein.  How did this transition take place?  And did His transformation have any bearing on the future of the saints of God?  The answers to these questions highlight one of the major disinformation strategies of the devil, whose goal is to deceive church people into believing that, being saved/born again, they have done all they need to do in order to enter into God’s presence at the moment of death or at the time of the “rapture.”  Is this God’s Truth or church heresy?  God tells us.

In that man in his flesh body cannot enter the Kingdom where God lives, he must of necessity be transformed into spirit in order to do so.  When Jesus took on the form of a man He became one with all other men–composed of flesh and capable of sin and death.  Note that, though He was born of a human woman, He did not inherit Adam’s sin.  The theory of “original sin” is one of Satan’s numerous church-embraced lies that will be exposed in a future posting.  One of Jesus’ goals was to show us that, as physical beings, we can meet God’s requirements for salvation as had He Himself.  He set the example for us by meeting those requirements as a man, having no advantage over us in that, before coming to earth He divested Himself of His divinity.  In Philippians 2:7 He tells us through Paul that He “… made Himself” no longer deity by coming to earth as a man.  “Made Himself” is the Greek construction “kenosis,” which means to empty out, drain, deplete.  Jesus completely emptied Himself of His divinity and came to earth as a man.  On the Mount of Transfiguration He revealed to the disciples what they would look like following their rebirth and entrance into the Kingdom of God (Mat. 16:28-17:9).  His transfigured appearance represented the bodily composition of all who will enter God’s Kingdom as saved/born again saints.  By comparing the Matthew 17:2 description of the glorified Jesus to the one recorded in Revelation 1:13-15/Ezekiel 1:26,27 and Acts 9:3;22:6 we get a preview of how saints will appear following their rebirth, which will take place following the Lord’s second advent.

The divine plan was that, once His earthly purpose was completed, He would return to God’s heavenly kingdom to await the time for His return to earth.  However, in His flesh body He could not do so.  He, like all other human beings, had to be changed from physical to spiritual bodily composition–be born again–in order to enter the Kingdom of God, for flesh and blood cannot enter therein (Jn. 3:1-8).

Jesus, like all other men, was created “… in the image of the earthly” (flesh, blood, bone, etc.-1 Cor. 15:49), making Him mortal–incapable of entering God’s heavenly kingdom.  Likewise, man, being flesh/mortal, cannot enter God’s kingdom.  Jesus, a man, had to be transformed from flesh to spirit in order to return to the Father’ kingdom.  Likewise, man must be so transformed in order to join Them in Their earthly kingdom following Christ’s return.

While in heaven with God before coming to earth Jesus was of the same bodily consistency as God (totally spirit), Himself being a God (Jn. 1:1-4,14).  We know this for “God is spirit” (Jn. 4:24).  By becoming totally man, Jesus serves as man’s only model, His example and words serving as man’s “instruction book” for entering into the presence of God.  In John 3:3-8 Jesus tells us that in order to enter God’s kingdom man must be born again (transformed from flesh to spirit) as was He at His resurrection from the dead.  He uses the term “verily,” meaning that His Words are sure.  Exactly what does it mean to be born again–what changes must take place?  He tells us.  L.J.