La Luz Del Mundo: A Church Founded on Lies
I find it painful and rather bothersome how masses can be brainwashed with lies and deceit, how some twisted individuals take advantage of people’s genuine faith in God by making them believe they are messiahs. I grow weary of false prophets and religious establishments founded on lies. You, as the reader, tell me: is it right for Christianity to be spread if the church’s foundation is based on lies? Personally, I think Christianity can spread with integrity, slowly but surely, without false prophets starting churches at every corner.
There is this particular church in mind called La Luz del Mundo, which translates directly to English as The Light of the World. It is a Christian denomination church headquartered in my father’s hometown of Guadalajara, Jalisco in Mexico. The church claims to be the largest non-Catholic Church in all of Latin America, and its main church, in Guadalajara, can accommodate approximately 12,000 worshipers. The Light of the World has about 5 million members in about 40 countries. All this information is all good and all, the problem lies in its foundation.
My father and his family have long tidings with this church, as most of his siblings and his parents (my grandparents) belonged or continue to belong to this church. He knows the inner workings of the church from close range and saw things that made him refuse to be a member of it. Needless to say, my father is the most ethical man I know, and if he saw wrong, then there was something wrong. He was enveloped in this church practically since birth. Since he is not a member of the church, his own siblings turned their back on him, preferring their religious brothers and sisters than their own blood. They never call to even say hello. My grandparents on my Dad’s side were never like that. Heck, my grandfather was eventually disillusioned and refused the position of pastor in his later years. An uncle, one that is not a member of this church, recently told me this about The Light of the World : “Those people are disrespectful and hypocrites”.
The church was started by a man named Aaron Joaquin Gonzales who (like Paul who encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus and was instructed to go as an apostle to the gentiles) was also called on as an apostle in 1926 in Monterrey, Mexico. This made him apostle #14, after Paul and the twelve original apostles. Aaron Joaquin Gonzales thus began to preach this new church and began to have many followers by making them believe he was “appointed” by God himself to “restore the church of Jesus Christ”. Like many churches, this church is no different in that it has evolved into a money-hungry establishment. Aaron Joaquin was revered as a deity, God on earth mentality by his followers. He passed away on June 9, 1964, and as it is common, his son, Samuel Joaquin Flores, took control of the church afterwards. It has been this man who has expanded The Light of the World to its current state and continues to serve as the director of the church. Here is the catch: He is also an apostle, on the same terms as Paul, Thomas, Peter, and the others! He is apostle #15, after his father of course, and according to his 5 million followers. I have never heard of an apostle passing down the powers of apostleship to his son but it happened here.
The only good thing I see about this church is that it introduces people to Christ and the Bible. That is the only thing. People are bred into the church and arranged marriages are not uncommon. Every year, on August 14, wherever people of the congregation may be, they must travel to Guadalajara to pay homage to the apostle of Jesus Christ. It used to be that people would kiss his hand and place their tithe in a large jar next to him. Nowadays, it is no longer required to kiss his hand. Samuel Joaquin is, of course, filthy rich. Brainwashing ignorant masses can make you so, tax free. It will be very interesting to see if they were the 14th and 15th apostles in reality. 
1,636 Responses to “La Luz Del Mundo: A Church Founded on Lies”
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September 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 pm
I agree with you Colin
Crystal must have read something about this sight to even know what this sight is all about. Or she could have just read the title LLDM founded on lies, got mad, quickly posted that we do not know anything because we do not have faith in a man, a false apostle and quickly left the sight hoping that she did something to defend the false apostle. Sadly, little did she know that we are suppose to have faith only is Jesus and no one else. So so dad that LLDM dose not take some time to stick around and think of their soul of being saved. What LLDM dose not realize is that the truth can be anywhere and if they do not read the bible they will never know the whole truth and the words of God. The bible contradicts this false apostle that they worship and that is why they can not read it on their own. If I was in a cult going their three times a day I would think that the church is all I need because I am being fed the word three times a day but little would I know that I can not trust any one not even a paster or an apostle that could be teaching me the apposite of the truth. And believe me it is a big difference that the bible says Jesus is our only savior and to be taught that we need an apostle. Big big difference.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Frank Medina,
I get that feeling too, as it seems again and again we have to go back to square 1 and explain and show how this is not just something made up or based on how we “feel”, but we are instead going by what the Bible itself actually says. It does get a tad wearisome.
But then again, we will sometimes get tired in the work of Christ, but we can never grow tired of the work of Christ. It’s one of the great Christian paradoxes. And that’s the reason I really never mind having to reiterate the point to newcomers to this blog.
I think if LLDM Members would take the time to go through and actually read all the comments on this blog, they’d find the same points repeated at least a dozen times – points made by everyone here, not just me. And the thing is, no one from LLDM has ever been able to refute these points, they tend to just get angry, insult and leave; or in some cases offer refutations by just saying “you’re wrong”, without any support for the claim Biblical or otherwise, just opinions.
God bless whoever invented copy and paste.
September 1st, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Colin,
Oh my God! You need to start all over again with crystal. I believe that they (LLDM members) do not bother to read your writings at all, or at least that is the way it looks.
GOD HELP YOU!
August 31st, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Beloved members of LLDM – What is the reason I recommend that Crystal begin with the book of Hebrews? Simple.
LLDM does indeed teach that the only way to Salvation is through Jesus Christ. But the heresy that they have added to this truth is that it is impossible to reach Jesus without Samuel Joaquin. He is heralded as an apostle, but also as a prophet and as an angel of God.
“”Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”(Proverbs 30:5-6)
http://www.luz-delmundo.com/principal/samuel-angel-apocalipsis.php
this link contains a YouTube video produced by Casa Cultural Berea (owned by Samuel Joaquin) which declares that Samuel Joaquin is an angel (specifically the angel of Rev. 10)
How is this relevant to Hebrews?
Well, my friends, the first 10 chapters of Hebrews reveal that Christ is better than the Old Testament economy – that is the doctrinal section.
Then in chapters 11-13, it’s revealed that Christ brings better benefits and duties – that is the practical side. By the way, this is the pattern of the writings of the Apostle Paul, and I think there is an abundance of evidence that Paul (even though he was the Apostle to the Gentiles) is the author of this epistle to the Hebrews. But regardless of the human author – this is very clearly the Word of God. That which the Spirit of God has given to us, and because of that the human author is secondary.
The Bible is the Word of God, and Hebrews is one of the greatest epistles in the Word of God. This book emphasizes the Person of Jesus Christ, and therefore we are able to claim the promise of our Lord when He said that when The Spirit of God comes, He would take the things of Christ and show them to us. Unless He does, you will not get very far into studying this epistle, or any of the Bible in depth, I assure you.
The first section is divided like this:
Christ is better than the Old Testament economy, that is everything in it. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Christ, but now we see more about Him, such as:
In 1:1-3, we see that Christ is superior to the prophets.
In 1:4 through chapter 2, we see that the Lord Jesus is superior to the angels.
These things are important. And we need to keep in mind this epistle is directed to Hebrew Christians. Hebrew Believers who stood at the juncture of 2 great dispensations. The dispensation of the Law of Moses had now come to an end. The sacrifices in the temple that were so meaningful now have become meaningless. And what God required before, now actually becomes sin for a Believer to go through with them. This epistle makes that very clear.
It’s addressed to Hebrew Christians in the 1st century, but it’s teaching is for ALL Christians today, whether Hebrew or Gentile. And it is very meaningful for you and I today. We need to keep these things in mind when we read Hebrews. To say Christ is superior to the prophets would be meaningless to a pagan because the prophets didn’t mean anything to him at all. But the prophets ARE meaningful to a child of God, so to say Christ is superior to the prophets is a tremendous statement.
Now, beginning from the beginning, chapter 1, verse 1, this epistle reads:
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”(Hebrews 1:1)
There are several things to say about this verse. It begins, notice with God. God. This epistle has a certain thesis on which it rests.
As you know, when you study geometry, there are certain axioms that you begin with. If you didn’t begin with them, you wouldn’t begin at all. If 2+2 doesn’t equal 4, then you’re at C as far as mathematics is concerned. And a straight line is the shortest distance between 2 points. They can prove that, sure. But you accept that, and when you do, you can move on and prove something else. The Word of God in this epistle is just like the book of Genesis, it makes no effort to prove the existence of God.
In this epistle, you will find (if you read all of it) that when you get to the 11th chapter (which is called the faith chapter) – “He that comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). That is an assumption in this epistle and in the book of Genesis, and all throughout the Word of God.
The Bible makes no effort to try to prove the existence of God. The 2nd assumption that we have here is that God has spoken. If we did not have a revelation from God, and we were without the Bible; then realizing that God is all-knowing and has given us a certain level of intelligence, then He would speak to us. If we did not have the Bible today, then certainly somehow the creator would get a message to us. He is an intelligence, and He can communicate, and He HAS communicated with us. The revelation that we have from God (The Holy Bible) is the inspired Word of God.
That is another thing that we accept – that the Scriptures that we have are Divinely Inspired. God, therefore, has spoken to us here in Hebrews. He deals with that revelation, and of course the revelation He is talking about here in verse 1 is the Old Testament as we have it today. Notice what He says and how He says it here
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”(Hebrews 1:1). If you ever have a chance to study the original Greek text of Hebrews, I highly recommend it, because you will see the real beauty of the language, it’s almost poetic. He says “at many times and in various ways,” (in the Greek, it’s “Polyu Morose, Polyu Tropose”), it’s beautiful language, but there is also a tremendous statement here.
When He says here “at many times” (Polyu morose) it’s actually not a time word as we think of it (i.e. God spoke today, and yesterday, and the day before, etc.), that’s not the emphasis. The emphasis is this – that God spoke.
He spoke through Moses, but before that He spoke through Abraham. He spoke to Abraham apparantly by dreams and by sending the angel of the Lord to him. But, when He spoke to Abraham, He didn’t tell him anything about the Law at all. He didn’t give Abraham any 10 commandments. But He gave the 10 commandments later on to Moses. And then later on, He told David that there was coming in his line a King, and that King would be a Savior. In fact, David when he was an old man said basically “this is my Salvation – there’s one coming who will be my Savior.”
Now, He didn’t give that to Moses, and He didn’t give it to Abraham. In fact, He gave Moses the Law – they were not to have a King, they were to turn to God. But God knew the human heart, and in time they said they wanted to be like the other nations around them, and they asked for a King. It’s marvelous how God moved in at a time like that, granting their request.
But God used that as the method of getting the Messiah, the Savior into the world. So, what He’s saying here is that God, as He went along, He didn’t ever give it all to any 1 person. He didn’t give it all to Abraham. But in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son, so that you actually have a development. The 2nd word (Polyu tropose), translated as “in various ways” – that means He used different ways of communicating. He appeared in dreams to Abraham, but He gave Moses the Law. And later on, He made certain promises to Joshua.
He spoke through dreams, through the Law, through types, through ritual, through history, through poetry, through prophecy, and He used all those different methods over a long period of time. God brought together about 40 different writers, and He communicated His word throughout a period of about 1500 years. So, here in the first verse of Hebrews, the writer is saying something quite wonderful.
Have you ever stopped to think how that in and of itself makes the Bible a remarkable book? Shakespeare’s writings are great on the human plane – but Shakespeare wrote all of them. God, on the other hand, used a whole series of human writers. Different men from different backgrounds and of different competence. This epistle to the Hebrews is written in masterful Greek (which I think is more evidence of Paul’s authorship, BTW).
Verse 1 says God spoke to our forefathers. Who are the forefathers it’s talking about? Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua, Moses, David, Isaiah, etc. etc., these are the forefathers.
But they’re not my forefathers or yours either. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and thank God He’s our God too (Romans 3:29).
But, He is the God of the forefathers, and He is talking here to Jews (Hebrews) who could call Abraham, Isaac and Jacob their forefathers. God has spoken by the prophets in the past. Moses was a prophet. God has spoken in the past by the prophets to the fathers. It is important to read Scripture correctly – this was addressed to the Jewish Christians in that day. And because they were Jewish, their forefathers had the Old Testament first.
None of your ancestors from Spain or Mexico, nor any of mine from Ireland, Italy, Germany, or England had the Old Testament. It was given first for the Jews, then to the Gentiles. So you and I, our ancestors, our barbarian and pagan Gentile ancestors did not have the Old Testament at first, it came to us later on – from the Jews.
So, with that in mind, let’s continue, and let’s let the Scripture say what it says, and not make it say what we want it to say.
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,”
“but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”(Hebrews 1:2)
The literal translation here is “but in these last days God spoke to us in the Son…” We see here, that He is saying that He has “in these last days he has spoken to us”, and the ‘us’ here, is very important to realize, that it’s the same “us” of whom He spoke to their forefathers by the prophets in the Old Testament. Therefore, these were Hebrew believers.
And if God has given His final Word in the Lord Jesus Christ, then it is also the final Word for you and me today.
Remember the Father out of Heaven said “this is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” He is the one that is before us. Now, it says He has spoken to us by His Son. Therefore, Christ is superior to any of the Old Testament writers, because the revelation is filled up in Him. He fulfills all of the Old Testament, and He Himself gives God’s final Word to man.
If God spoke from heaven today, He would just say something that Jesus has already said. Because of the fact that the Final Word came through the Son of God when He was here some 2,000 years ago.
And as He himself said, The Spirit of God will take the things of Christ and show them to us. And the Spirit of God – speaking through John and James, and Simon Peter, and Jude, and Matthew, and Mark, and Dr. Luke and Paul – has given us the full and complete revelation from God. Now, He shows the superiority of the Son in 7 unmatched statements about Him here. “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”(Hebrews 1:2) 2 of the statements are here in verse 2.
#1 – “whom He appointed heir of all things.” That reveals the program for the future. The Lord Jesus Christ is the heir of all things. But there is something else here as well that we should look at very carefully.
John said that all things were made by Him (John 1:3), and without Him nothing was made that has been made. So it belongs to Him already – creation is His. For He created it, we are told. So then, how can He be the heir of all things? He came down to this earth and He took upon Himself our humanity; and the first man in the human race was given dominion over this creation.
In Genesis, tremendous statements are made in very few words. When God gave Adam dominion – He didn’t place him in Eden as a 1st class gardener to plant plum trees. Adam had dominion (that is ruler ship) over all creation. But Adam lost that. And when the Lord Jesus came to this earth, He became a man.
Notice that Jesus performed miracles in every realm (natural and physical realms). He had control over the human body, control over nature, and over life and death. He could quiet a storm and feed 5,000 people with a couple fish and a few loaves of bread. He recovered what Adam had lost. And now, the Lord Jesus is going to be heir of all things because He did recover what Adam had lost, and even more.
We are told in Scripture that we are heirs of God also (Romans 8:16-18), and we are co-heirs with Christ. That does not mean equal heirs. Christ has control of all of it, and He will allocate to each child of God their portion at the proper time.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the heir, He controls it. But He may let me have a little patch somewhere. He may put me in charge of a little something, but that is the way that we are co-heirs with Christ. We have an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading. And it’s reserved in Heaven for us. Why? Because of all the wonderful things that He did for us. He recovered what Adam lost and even more. We today are co-heirs with Christ. He is the one who is going to inherit everything and no prophet was ever promised that in the Old Testament.
The 2nd thing we are told “and through whom he made the universe.” See, as the heir, that shows us the program for the future (Christ will inherit all things), but now in the fact that the universe was made through Him – that shows us purpose in everything! He not only created everything, He did it for a purpose.
The Bible makes sense then, when you realize this truth, my friend. God created man, put him in a garden, and He put down just 1 condition – he was not to eat of a certain tree.
Well, there was nothing wrong with that tree, the fruit on it was good. But that was God’s test of that man. After all, it wasn’t the fruit on the tree, it was actually the pair on the ground – that’s where the problem was. So man absolutely and completely failed at that time.
God has a program, see? And He has a purpose in everything. And there came another period where God tests man, and He gave the Law.
And today, you and I are saved by grace – that’s the way we get in. We would never be able to get in by the Law. It wasn’t given to us to begin with, and secondly, no man can keep the Law. No man can live up to the righteous standard that God has set. God just can’t save us by our own works at all. I think that should be obvious to everyone who has thoroughly studied the New Testament.
God can not save us by works, and the reason for that is because no man can offer perfect works. We can’t measure up to that. And He can’t save us by imperfect works, because His standard is higher than that. Therefore, God had to have another way. And today it is by grace that you are saved (Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Lord Jesus Christ was the only one who could live a perfect life, and it’s through faith only in Christ that God extends grace to us today. Now, notice as we go along that we have more statements about Christ:
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”(Hebrews 1:3)
“the radiance of God’s glory” “radiance” here means the out shining. The sun gives a good illustration of this. We could never know the glory of this material sun our planet revolves around. To begin with, you can’t look at it directly. It would blind you if you did. But from the rays of the sun, we get light and heat and even healing from it. That’s the way we know about the sun.
Now, we would never know anything about God apart from the revelation that God has given in His Son. He is the brightness! He is the Light of the World!
No one has ever seen God, but we know about Him through Jesus Christ. Just like the rays of the sun with their warmth and light tell me about the physical sun, the Lord Jesus reveals God to us today.
Now, when He uses this other expression here “and the exact representation of his being,” – the word translated “exact representation” actually means steel engraving. (The Greek word is ‘charactare’). We get our word “character” from that. So, we can see today that the Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God because He is God, and that is the important thing.
He is not just printed material, He is the steel engraving of God. Paul says “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,”(Colossians 2:9). How wonderful He is!
Then we are told a 4th thing about Him – “sustaining all things by his powerful word. ” That little baby in the manger, lying helpless on the bosom of Mary out yonder in Bethlehem – He could have spoken the universe out of existence. He upholds All things by His powerful word. He not only created all things as the Word of God (John 1:1-2), but He holds everything together today.
Have you ever stopped to think about the power that’s required to hold it all together? Man has learned little about it, but we have learned a little. For instance, when they split the atom – they released a whole lot of power from that tiny little atom.
Well, who put that power there? Who holds the atom together? Well the Lord Jesus Christ does, of course. He furnishes the program and the purpose, He is the Person of God and He is the preserver of All things. He not only created the universe, but He holds everything together. If He let go today, like say if He didn’t hold us here by the elmer’s glue that is gravity, we would go floating off into space. He holds everything together and this universe would come unglued without His constant supervision and power. He is not just an atlas holding up the earth passively, He is actively engaged in maintaining all of creation today. He’s holding it together – keeping the darn thing functioning and running. And that is one of the tremendous things that He is doing today.
Notice, there is a 5th wonderful thing now – “he had provided purification for sins” He Himself provided pardon for our sins. And He purged our sins. He went through it for you and me, and that’s the reason we need to only trust Christ. He has paid the penalty. How wonderful it is!
Up to this point in Hebrews, we had only gotten to Bethlehem, now we’ve come to Calvary. And He today offers pardon for our sins. The purification was accomplished by what He did on Calvary for you and me. And today we are accepted in the beloved and you can’t add to anything He’s done for us.
The 6th tremendouos statement is after what He did down here – “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
Now, this is actually the main message of Hebrews. Christ received a glory and a Majesty when He went back to the Father’s throne that He never had before. In other words, there is something in heaven today that was not there 2500 years ago or in eternity past, that is the Man and the Glory with nail pierced hands, and the prints on His feet, and the spear wound in His side.
And in a glorified body He is there, and we shall know Him by the print of the nails in His hands. We’re going to see Him some day, but at this very moment He is there. He was not there like that 2500 years ago, He was God 2500 years ago, but today He is the God Man. And when it says “He sat down”, it doesn’t mean He’s tired or He’s resting or that He’s doing nothing. He’s not twiddling His thumbs. It means that when He finished our redemption that He sat down because it was complete. That’s exactly what the 7th Day meant in creation. God rested on the 7th Day. Why, was He tired? No, He created the universe by speaking it into existence, He wasn’t tired. But it was complete, there was nothing more that He needed to do.
Christ sat down because our redemption was complete, and my friend you can not even lift your little finger to add to what He already wrought for you on the cross. He has already completed your redemption, and we are complete in Christ. As Paul said “and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.”(Colossians 2:10).
You are made full in Him and we are accepted in the beloved. That is the meaning of that “He sat down.” But there is another aspect in that there is a Man in the Glory, but the church has lost sight of Him.
Christ today has a ministry and it can be expressed like this – He died down here to save us, He lives up there to keep us saved. A ministry of intercession and of shepherding. A ministry of disciplining His own. He is still our only mediator. He is still interested in His church, He never took it out of the earth. He is still there to provide for you and me today.
What do you need my friend? Do you need mercy? Do you need help? Comfort? Do you need wisdom? What do you need? Well, why don’t you go to Him? Tell Him what your problem is, have you done that? Have you laid out your problem before Him and asked Him to intervene on your behalf, and work it out according to His will? (and BTW, He will work it out according to His will, not yours.).
Prayer is not to persuade God to do something that He didn’t already intend to do. Prayer is for you and me to get in line with the program of God. And therefore, He is there today. He ever lives to make intercession for us. We can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. That’s what the book of Hebrews is all about – the present ministry of Christ, and that makes this pretty real.
Samuel Joaquin can not help you today. Aaron Joaquin can not help you today. Nor can Buddha or Mohammad or Ghandi or Pope Benedict or any of these modern religious founders today. They can not help you today.
Can Aaron help you today? Of course not, he’s dead (and Samuel follows close behind). But Jesus is alive forever! The Lord Jesus – Our Great High Priest is alive today. And that’s quite wonderful. That is the true message of Hebrews – Aaron is dead, Jesus is alive. He’s the one today that can help us and that is the message of this book. He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high and He took back there a glory which Heaven did not have before that. That was the body in which He wrought out your redemption and mine upon this earth. He gave Himself. He shed His blood for you and for me.
Please listen to the Holy Spirit, only He can make Christ real to you.
“As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”"(Hebrews 3:15)
August 31st, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Crystal,
May the grace of God our Father, the love of Jesus Christ our Lord, and the knowledge of Christ by the Holy Spirit be with you.
Crystal, please understand that the reason we speak out against Samuel Joaquin is because he is not teaching the truth of the Bible to his followers. Of course, you will disagree with that statement, which is why I would like to address some of your comments as well as ask you a few questions. I trust that even though we may not agree, you will be comfortable with answering some questions about your church, for the Bible does instruct us:
“But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,”(1 Peter 3:15)
Now, you say:
“hey, out there just because you dont belive in Apostol we do. (his followers).”
With all due respect, does believing in something make it true? Dr. Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, who claims to be both the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ and the antichrist, also has many followers who do believe in him as Christ on earth. Does that make their belief true?
For a belief to be true, I contend that it must find some basis on the Bible. The totality of the Scripture shows that Jesus Miranda is a fake just the same as it shows Samuel Joaquin is a fake, so that is why we do not believe in SJF – because the Bible says not to:
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”(2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
You continue saying:
“i belive in him and know he is sent from God.”
Again, respectfully – how do you know? Does the Bible make any mention of Samuel Joaquin Flores? Or you only “know” because you “believe”?
You continue to say:
“All he says is the truth and he has not come and twisted our faith. because God has put this faith in our hearts so you should Stop saying this about The Apostol of God!!!”
If God indeed is the one who put this faith in your heart, then the teachings of SJF would line up with Scripture on every single point. Perhaps you could explain some discrepancies I have found with what the Bible says and what the man SJF teaches.
Doctrine of SJF:
#1 – Samuel Joaquin is the only true Apostle of Jesus Christ.
This most basic and fundamental teaching in LLDM doctrine is flawed according to the Bible.
Because the Bible lays out certain qualifications for a person to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, and Samuel Joaquin does not meet any of the Biblical requirements. And this is not what I say an apostle should be – this is how the Bible ITSELF defines an apostle. They had to meet certain qualifications.
Qualification #1 – The Witness of an Apostle.
Let me start by saying that the Bible makes it very clear that Apostles of Jesus Christ had to bear eye witness to the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. To do this, they had to have seen him after he was resurrected. As Peter wrote “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” (2 Peter 1:16). The story of Aaron’s “calling” – eyewitness account, or cleverly invented story?
Christ told His apostles that they were to be His witnesses to testify as to what they had seen with their own eyes – “He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.” (Luke 24:46-48).
When presenting candidates to replace Judas Iscariot, the one chosen had to be an eyewitness – “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.” (Acts 1:21-22).
Jesus told the apostles “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). And so they did “With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.” (Acts 4:33).
Paul is unique in that He is the only Biblical apostle to have been witness to the fact that Jesus had risen and was alive after He had already ascended into Heaven. “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.(Acts 9:3-8).
It states here that the men with Paul heard the sound, but did not see anyone. When later recounting this story, Paul says that the men with him saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to him (Acts 22:6-9). Is Paul contradicting himself here? Absolutely not.
Paul saw someone in the brilliant flash of light and heard an audible voice speaking to him. The one he saw was Jesus, and He spoke with Jesus, and was given specific instructions from Him. If you examine the words used in these chapters closely, it’s clear that the men with Paul did see a flash of light, but did not see anyone. And they did hear a sound, but could not understand as they would an audible voice. Paul was blinded, and the men with him were not effected at all – although no one present would be able to deny that something supernatural had occured. I’ve always taken Paul’s subsequent blindness after this event to be both literal and metaphorical. Paul had seen Jesus after He had already ascended into Heaven, that is why he was blinded literally, because no one (with the possible exceptions of Moses, Enoch and a few others) had seen the full glory of God while in their earthly bodies. Now, metaphorically I take the fact that Paul came away blinded to signify that anyone who does not see the value in accepting Jesus as the Lord and the only path to Salvation (as was the case with Saul of Tarsis), is blind spiritually. It’s also very significant to note that the men who were with Paul could see and hear that something was happening, even though they did not understand what it was.
Most recounts of the story of Eusebio, AKA Aaron’s calling, state that he was in bed with his wife when he had his “vision” and heard the sound of God’s voice. However, most would agree that his wife did not see anything nor hear anything herself, but the “apostle” was able to convince her that it had indeed happened. Seem fishy? It certainly can not be considered reliable according to the Bible:
“A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”(Deuteronomy 19:15)
“……”Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”(2 Corinthians 13:1)
But, moving on…Paul, in defending his apostleship, appealed to the fact that He had seen Jesus with his own eyes – “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 9:1-2).
To test anyone who claims to be an apostle today, you don’t have to look any further than the gospel they teach, and whether it matches exactly to the gospel preached by the Biblical Apostles. In that same 1st epistle to the Church in Corinth, Paul lays out the true gospel which was preached by all the Biblical Apostles:
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
By this gospel we are saved. This has been the true gospel of Jesus Christ for almost 2,000 years. If we do not hold firmly to this gospel, our belief is in vain. Now, since I am discussing the witness of an apostle, I would like to point out verse 8 – “and LAST of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born”. Paul was the last person whom Jesus appeared to and designated as an apostle. This translation is from the NIV, but in the NKJV, this verse reads as: “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” Again, last of all, he was seen by Paul, and Paul’s apostleship was “born out of due time.” If Paul’s apostleship was “born out of due time” in first century AD, then 1926 I dare say was almost 2 milleniums too late.
I do not question the sovereignty of God, and if God wishes to raise up new apostles in this day and age, then of course he can. But, he would not alter the gospel, nor would he leave us in the dark without a way to test the claims of men who claim to be apostles
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”(Revelation 2:2).
Qualification #2 – signs.
The eyewitness testimony of the New Testament Apostles was confirmed through the Holy Spirit in the form of signs, wonders, and miracles. “The things that mark an apostle—signs, wonders and miracles—were done among you with great perseverance.” (2 Corinthians 12:12). “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.” (Romans 15:18-19) “how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” (Hebrews 2:3-4).
Jesus gave the apostles the ability to drive out demons and perform other miraculous signs. “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” (Matthew 10:1).
Paul refers to his ability to perform signs, wonders, and miracles as the things that mark an apostle (2 Cor. 12:12). But it was not only Paul, but also the 12 Apostles who by the grace of God had this ability – “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” (Mark 16:20) “Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.” (Acts 2:43) “The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade.” (Acts 5:12). “One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
While the beggar held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.” (Acts 3:1-16)
I have brought this point up in discussions with several members and pastors of LLDM, and the majority say they have heard of Samuel Joaquin working miracles (although they refuse to give details of such tales), but have not seen it with their own eyes. Others have said they have seen and experienced miracles by SJF, but that it was merely through a vision or dream that Samuel did his miracle working and that he was not physically there in person. And none of these claims have been substantiated by any newspaper reports on the events. Once again, not reliable accounts according to the Bible (2 Corinthians 13:1; Deuteronomy 19:15).
But the miracle working power of the Biblical Apostles was indeniable, and done out in the open for all to see. They had nothing to hide. “But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. “What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.” (Acts 4:14-16).
The Bible also adamantly warns that in latter times, false (counterfeit) miracles will be performed by satan in an effort to deceive those who reject the truth of the Bible. “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
Now, I do believe the old saying that miracles happen every day. They most certainly do – in answer to our prayers, but no longer by the hands of miracle workers (in a spiritual sense: there is healing, but no healers). The testimony of the Biblical Apostles (New Testament) was confirmed in signs, which shows that it is inspired of God. It sufficiently upholds the message that Jesus is God’s Messiah, He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and that this Jesus God has raised up from the dead. “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.” (Acts 2:32) “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5) “I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:11-12).
No additional apostles are needed to testify that Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead on the 3rd day according to the Scriptures. Instead of “modern apostles” we are to rely on the Holy Bible, which is God’s living word (Hebrews 4:12).
You want me to believe in Samuel’s apostleship? I will need to see him defy the laws of physics. He will need to do something that human beings just simply cannot do. I don’t care if it’s a card trick – show me something.
Qualification #3 – The Foundational role of Apostles:
Let me start by pointing out that The Apostle Paul, before he was called to be an apostle, had only one occupation and it was as a tentmaker. Therefore, it can be concluded that he understood something about construction, and that is why he used some metaphors comparing the church to a building. I have worked in my younger days as a carpenter’s assistant and I learned a lot about construction. A chief cornerstone is laid along with the foundation, and it’s function is to align the the foundation properly, ensuring the foundation will be solid and allowing for construction on top of it. Although it is called a chief cornerstone, it technically is still a part of the foundation, and in fact is the MOST important part of the foundation. In understanding this, it’s quite clear that Paul’s writings never contradict themselves. Now, hundreds of years before Jesus came to the earth, the Sovereign Lord spoke through the prophet Isaiah, foretelling the laying down of the foundation of the emerging church:
“So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isaiah 28:16).
All the Old Testament Prophets, and Isaiah especially spoke of the redemption of mankind coming through a Son who was to be born to us, and the New Testament makes it clear that the Son is Jesus – who is the Christ. The prophets are a part of the foundation as well because they foretold Jesus’ coming, and yes even the apostles, centuries before they arrived. Now, looking at this passage from Ephesians:
“Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:11-22)
There are two majorly important things that stand out in this passage. The first – verse 14, which makes it clear that the barrier that divided Jews and Gentiles was broken down by Jesus Christ, and both were united in Him. Samuel Joaquin claims that only members of his church will be certain to receive Salvation from God as they are following the only “true” “apostle” Samuel Joaquin, and those who are not members (who they refer to as Gentiles), well that will just be up to God’s Judgement.
This is heretical and divisive and contradicts this passage, which speaks about unity (for all people) through Jesus Christ – NOT through any apostle. The other is of course Ephesians 2:20, which states that God’s household is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone.
As I have also learned working construction, a foundation is laid down one time in the beginning, and it is never done again. The apostles served as the foundation of the emerging church by teaching about Christ Jesus, and by making the New Testament available in written form. In addition to the gospels of Jesus Christ, the New Testament includes the epistles (letters of instruction), for how to carry on in the faith after the apostles had passed.
Surely, no one would want to take anything Samuel Joaquin writes and add it to the New Testament. And well, if you would, then I would advise that you please read Revelation 22:18-19.
To summarize, we know that the foundation of our faith, which was laid in the first century AD, was a sure foundation (Isaiah 28:16), because Jesus Christ was the chief cornerstone. We know that the apostles comprised a part of this foundation, along with the prophets. We know that once a foundation has been laid, it can never be laid again.
As I have asked before on this site, if we are to believe that Samuel Joaquin is a living apostle today, then we should conclude that he is laying a foundation, so should we expect another Lamb of God to ensure it is a solid foundation? Absolutely not!
1 Corinthians sums it up very well: “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:1-11).
Verse 7 – only God is anything. And verse 11 – NO other foundation can be laid, then the one which already has been.
SJF teaches people that they must “earn” their salvation through good works. Yet the Bible does not say that Salvation can be earned – it is a free gift from God, which once received by faith will produce good works.
Paul writes that we are saved by GRACE, we are not saved by works, so therefore no one can boast. It would be impossible for anyone to save ourselves by doing good works, because all human beings are sinful creatures. Even on your best day, you still messed up. We have righteousness through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. “He came to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay.”
Qualification #4 – the election of an apostle – that is they had to be chosen specifically by Christ.
We all know the original 12 were hand-picked by Jesus Christ Himself.
“When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. (Luke 6:13-16).
“With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. (Acts 1:18).
The remaining 11 apostles were left to choose who would take Judas’ place among the apostles. But the thing is, Jesus made that decision too. “Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:24-26).
I have asked pastors of La Luz Del Mundo about this, and their reasoning was that since Jesus was not there in person to choose Matthias, it was not a direct decision from Jesus. However, the fact that they “Cast Lots” indicates that it was not a personal decision by any of the men, but was directly from God the Son.
The main obvious reason for casting lots was the impartiality of a certain decision. No one could argue that the decision was the result of politics, nepotism, favoritism, etc. It basically was the same as the casting of dice of today.
Next, Jesus Christ personally appeared to Saul of Tarsis to make him his “chosen vessel” to deliver the message of the gospel to the Gentiles – “As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” (Acts 9:3-16)
Paul even refers to himself as – “Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead” (Galatians 1:1)
Jesus appeared to Paul for the purpose of personally designating him as an apostle – “‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you” (Acts 26:16).
In hearing the story of Aaron’s calling (depending on who’s version you hear), most people do not say he saw Jesus Christ appear to him personally. One pastor even tried to reason with me that “hearing His voice is the same as seeing him.” To which I would reply “Did hearing Him cause him to go blind for 3 days like Paul?”
Apostles of Jesus Christ were thoroughly familiar with Him, they were with him throughout His personal ministry on earth (Acts 1:21-22). They heard Him teach, they saw His works, and they touched Him. And they declared everything in the New Testament to us so that we may have life and fellowship with our God – “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” (1 John 1:1-3)
Jesus affirmed these things when promising the gift of the Holy Spirit – “And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:27)
The Holy Spirit empowered the Biblical apostles with full rememberance of everything Jesus taught, and directed them in what to say and write – (John 14:26, Matthew 10:19-20, 1 Corinthians 2:6-13, Ephesians 3:3-7). As a result of this, we have complete confidence in the apostles’ testimonies concerning the life and teachings of Jesus.
By their message, we are brought to faith only in Christ and eternal life in Him. –
“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31),
“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.” (1 John 1:3-4).
Qualification #5 – The test of the Gospel.
If SJF were a true apostle, he would be preaching the exact same gospel preached by the Biblical Apostles. For it is written –
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”(Galatians 1:8-9)
There are several warnings in the Bible about accepting a different gospel from the one in the Bible. This is all important. Let’s look at the gospel preached by the Biblical apostles. If it is added to, subtracted from, or changed in any way, it is not the gospel of the Bible.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:”(Romans 10:8)
OK, follow closely, because nowhere is there a clearer statement of what the Biblical Apostles proclaimed then what Paul writes here:
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(Romans 10:9-13)
There it is: “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
What’s LLDM’s version? It would be something more like this: “If you confess with your mouth that you believe Samuel Joaquin was elected as apostle, and believe in your heart that he is the only authoratative representative of Christ on earth, you will be saved.”
Pretty distorted huh?
Let’s look at another passage where Paul makes it clear:
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and LAST OF ALL he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”(1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
Again, let’s compare this to the gospel of Samuel Joaquin, what has LLDM added to this? It would be like this: “After LAST OF ALL appearing to Paul, Christ waited another 1,893 years, then he appeared again to Aaron, and 34 years after that he appeared also to Samuel and gave them divine revelations to pass on to us. These revelations include new regulations for how people should be baptized, dress, live, and believe. You must believe in the election of these “modern day apostles” if you wish to have any hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.”
Once again, pretty distorted huh? It is clearly not identical to the gospel preached on by the Biblical Apostles. In preaching this, the leaders of LLDM, and “apostle” Samuel especially, are bringing condemnation on themselves. And that isn’t me who says this, it’s the Word of God:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”(Galatians 1:8-9)
That’s the most important test of an apostle. And in failing this, Samuel now completely fails the test of apostles based on how the Bible defines Apostles. Let’s look:
Eyewitness to Christ 0/1; Elected by Christ, 0/2; Signs, wonders and miracles, 0/3; Foundational role in Christianity 0/4; preaching of the true gospel, 0/5.
About Samuel, I confidently say this, but once again it is not me who says it, but the Word of God:
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”(2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
Crystal, I know that you sincerely believe in this man SJF in your heart.
Do you know that the Bible says most wicked thing is a person’s heart? Because it so easily lies and is so quick to believe lies that sound like the truth.
(Jeremiah 17:9) – “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
(Ecclesiastes 9:3) – “This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.”
(Matthew 15:19) – “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
The point that I am making here is that no human can rely only on their heart to decide rather something or someone is the truth. This is why the Apostle Paul praised the Bereans.
(Acts 17:11) – “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.”
And the Apostle John commands us to test very spirit against the Scriptures to test rather the spirit is from God or from the Antichrist.
(1 John 4:1) – “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
To conclude, you say:
“and i will never stop beliving in him because he is the only way to heven. god bless you.”
Now, if that’s true that SJF is the only way to heaven, then Jesus is a liar, for Jesus said:
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:6)
And if it’s true, then that also makes the Apostle Paul a liar, because Paul wrote to Timothy and said:
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.”(1 Timothy 2:5-6)
And we must also face reality – Samuel Joaquin is a mortal. I do not wish any harm on him (in fact I wish he would have much more time so he can find Christ and repent), but the fact is some day he will die. On that day – which of his sons will then be said to be the only way to heaven? Benjamin? You can take your pick, but it still will not be the truth according to the Bible.
Crystal, please take your Bible, go off by yourself somewhere, pray to God for the Holy Spirit to teach you the things of Christ, and then begin to read the book of Hebrews. In that book you will be introduced to the Only true Apostle of God – the Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless you, beloved.
“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”(Hebrews 3:1)
August 31st, 2010 at 12:27 pm
you just dont belive that the Apostol is sent from God because God hasnt shown you in your heart. and in the Bilble dont say we are not going to have Apostols in this time. and if he wasnt really from God how did he get so many followers, in soo many different states. you just dont belive and its not right to be talking about our faith. what we belive in. God bless you.
August 31st, 2010 at 12:15 pm
hey, out there just because you dont belive in Apostol we do. (his followers). i belive in him and know he is sent from God. All he says is the truth and he has not come and twisted our faith. because God has put this faith in our hearts so you should Stop saying this about The Apostol of God!!! and i will never stop beliving in him because he is the only way to heven. god bless you.
August 27th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Sum, it’s kind of like something the Lord Jesus said, isn’t it? He said:
“”If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.”(Luke 14:26)
Beloved members of LLDM: I do know that there are some of you who do have a sincere love for God. It is so sad, LLDM has taught you a lie that you cannot commune with God and therefore know the love of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, unless you go to Jesus through Samuel Joaquin. THIS IS A DAMNABLE LIE!!
You can go to God through the Living Lord Jesus Christ any time, day or night. Go to Jesus, tell Him you love Him and you want to know Him. Tell Him you want to know God’s love. He will help you by His grace.
August 27th, 2010 at 3:28 pm
SO what dose this mean? what dose it mean all of the most important verses that is only talking about Jesus they make LLDM believe that the bible is talking about the their apostle? Ok even if they want to believe in that, it still dose not make any sense because LLDM had two apostles the Dad of Samuel and then Samuel so even if they are slow enough to believe in fake teachings it still dose not make any sense to believe in it. What I think is going on is the love of their belief the love of their religion, their love of the church, their families and the apostle of LLDM. They believe and think they see and feel in their hearts what is being preached to them because they love their church not God. They love their families and their religion before God. They think they love God because they were taught that they have to love the apostle and their church first and that is what proves that they love God but no they are blind because they have no sight to the truth their eyes are covered and can not see the truth. They are in love with what they have been trained and taught to love and not the true God that gave his only begotten son that who so aver believes in him (Jesus is him) shall have eternal life. If LLDM can not see that it is talking about Jesus not their apostle then they will never find our true God.
August 27th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Frank, in response to your comment:
”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, but only if the world believe that Samuel Joaquin Flores is the only truth apostle of God and the only authorized by God to forgive sins.”
Isn’t this preposterous and even blasphemy?”
Yes it is. And the preposterous blasphemy will continue when Samuel passes away, because the Joaquin family will again alter the beautiful truth spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ, and the “faith” of LLDM will be based on something like this:
”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, but only if the world believe that [INSERT NAME OF ONE OF SAMUEL JOAQUIN'S SONS HERE] is the only true apostle of God and the only authorized by God to forgive sins.”
An altered truth is no truth at all. A half truth is a whole lie. The Lord Jesus Christ spoke the whole truth some 2,000 years ago:
“”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,”(John 3:16)
August 27th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
Dear readers,
What bothers me more about LLDM is that even though there are many highly educated people (not too many though) that know or at least suspect that there is something fishy going on in the high hierarchy (real family), they chose the easy way of looking to the other side and justifying their lack of action to continue living comfortably between the ignorant masses. Some of them because they have a position of honor in LLDM or an easy income thriving on the spoils that fall from the “apostolic” table.
Between them, some people that once I considered my friends like Lic. Rafael García, his sons and his brothers the Garcia doctors. Among them some engineers and architects, etc.
In the USA there are many professionals that have been close to “the apostle”(mainly female professionals, some of them daughters of pastors).
I question them how can they live like that knowing the truth and how can you justify the abuse of women and enrichment by Samuel Joaquin and his off-springs under the light of the Word of God? How can they feed spiritually from a corrupted source?
That is why I left LLDM, I was nauseated and couldn’t stand listening three times a day about the goodness and virtues of a corrupted simple man posing as servant of God.
August 27th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Colin and Chris,
Your biblical arguments are completely devastating to the “doctrine of election” of the Joaquin family.
Why I called it “Joaquin’s Family” doctrine? Because it is not the doctrine of LLDM but the doctrine of a cunning family feud to control the minds, therefore, the pockets and lives of all LLDM members.
This supposedly “revealed” doctrine is a total contradiction to the most known Bible verse in the Christian world:
“John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
However in LLDM, they have changed this truth by saying:
” For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, but only if the world believe that Samuel Joaquin Flores is the only truth apostle of God and the only authorized by God to forgive sins.”
Isn’t this preposterous and even blasphemy?
August 26th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
The LLDM doctrine of “Election” and that a “man of God” must be here on earth for salvation is a flat out lie.
If any member of LLDM can show any place within the context of any Old Testament or New Testament passages where Moses, the prophets, or any of the Biblical Apostles of Jesus Christ declared that it was because of them living on earth that mankind can receive the gift of Salvation and forgiveness of sins – then I will personally insist that Oscar delete this whole blog and all 1600+ comments, and the other blog LLDM revisited, as well as apologize publicly for giving LLDM a bad reputation.
I say this with my tongue firmly in cheek because the LLDM doctrine of “Election” is not a Biblical concept whatsoever, and that gives LLDM a bad reputation all on it’s own.
As Christopher once commented:
“You will not find any place either in the Old or New Testaments of Moses, the prophets, or the original apostles of Jesus ever declaring that it is because they are here on earth that mankind may receive the gift of salvation and forgiveness of sins.
The Old Testament declared the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, as the way for forgiveness of sins to bring mankind back into God’s righteousness. And the New Testament points us back to Jesus the Christ as the only way forgiveness of sins and the only way for salvation (Acts 4:12) “Salvation is found in no one else. There is no other name under heaven by which man must be saved.”
Apostle Paul always pointed to the Christ Jesus for salvation and for the forgiveness of sins and he spend a great deal of the time instructing Timothy and Titus in the same ways of the Lord for salvation because he knew that he was die soon in Rome.
I ask you why would Paul give such great detail in his writings if the way for salvation would be lost when he died?
The doctrine of “Election” is taught from the mouths of man under the control of Samuel Joaquin Flores and not from God’s spoken word the Holy Bible.”
“Then the Lord said,
“Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”(Isaiah 29:13)
“THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’”"(Matthew 15:8-9)
LLDM also teaches the lie that you will not be able to understand the truths of the Holy Scripture without it being interpreted to you by Samuel or his pastors.
LLDM Members:
Do you believe that you have the Holy Spirit within you? If so, trust in Him to teach you the truths of Jesus Christ by reading the Gospel of John and let Him guide you.
August 26th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I dare LLDM members to show me in the bible where it talks about Samuel being the chosen one where it talks about Samuel at all. If any one can prove to us in the bible that it talks about Samuel the apostle I will help you to close down this sight. Good luck you need it. with proof from the holy bible and it has to talk about samuel your apostle not Jesus.
August 26th, 2010 at 1:14 pm
LLDM members
What is wrong with all of you why are you opening your hearts and minds to the apostle from LLDM rather then Christ him self who died for us to forgive us of our sins and who is the only one worthy to praise and to take our sins away? Why are you looking at verses that talk about Jesus and Jesus alone and you are believing that the bible is talking about Samuel? THE BIBLE DOSE NOT TALK ABOUT SAMUAL IT TALKS ABOUT JESUS AND ONLY JESUS. what do you guys mean that oh is says in the bible if you do not except him you do not except me. God is talking to us about excepting Jesus not any apostle no one but Jesus. God is saying that if we except Jesus then we except God and that is it. I think that if you guys can not see the truth from a verse that is so clearly talking about Jesus then you will never see the truth with out the love of Jesus in your hearts alone. As long as you are all trying to share the love with Jesus and the apostle then Jesus will never come into your hearts to teach you the truth by the holy spirit. I promise all of you from LLDM that are not reading the bible fully on your own that the bible dose not say anything ab out Samuel and dose not tell us to worship any of the apostles. If some one wants to try to prove me wrong that it dose mention the apostle Samuel then I will bet big money on it If you are so confident that Samuel was talked about in the holy bible then come forward and fight for him.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:59 am
frank
Exactly.
August 23rd, 2010 at 10:04 am
Sum,
I agree with you.
When we have to subsidize our relatives real life concern-free life style, that makes the greed of the “apostle” and his big fat family our business.
When LLDM needs money to fund their frenzy acquisition of fore-closured properties to expand their franchise base (Which is now a permanent state and not an exception), LLDM sucks all the resources from their poor membership base which thrives mainly on welfare and subsidized housing. The best example is the Low income housing project close to East L A called “Maravilla”. Almost 80% of the residents are members of LLDM, some of them living there for decades.
However, when a members is in necessity of money to pay the rent, utilities or medical expenses and they dare to ask for help at the local LLDM church they are casted as “abusive” people that wants to take advantage of the wealth of the church for their own benefit.
Usually, LLDM pastors preach that when you are a member of the church you do not have other family but the “spiritual family” formed by LLDM congregation.
But when they are in need, they are told to look for help in their families no matter if they don’t belong to LLDM.
Every year one or two members of my family ask me for financial help after the “Holy Supper” in Guadalajara. I help them gladly because they are my family but I believe that makes LLDM and SJF exploitation of the church my business too.
August 23rd, 2010 at 8:46 am
LLDM keeps telling us to mind our own business about how they spent their money well my mother in law came back from visiting the apostle and her utilities were shot off and now who is going to help her? is LLDM members? I don’t think so. And yes that makes it my business when I see members lending her the money to see the apostle but not caring to help her with her bills or keeping her home. SO again yes it now it makes it my business.
August 21st, 2010 at 2:03 am
Beloved members of LLDM, heed the words of the Messiah, Christ Jesus.
The Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”(Matthew 6:19-20)
Is LLDM’s supposed “apostol de jesucristo” really obeying the words of Christ?
In May 2008, it was discovered that Samuel Joaquin Flores purchased an exotic zoo in Seguin, Texas, known as Silver Wolf Ranch. Flores came under fire by local communities for closing off access to the public, given that “IRS regulations require nonprofits to actively promote their tax-exempt purpose of benefiting the public and not the personal wealth of anyone”.
Silver Wolf Ranch, which is worth in excess of $3 million dollars, was renovated with a private mansion and a “long rectangular warehouse” where, according to the ranch’s manager Vaspi Coronado, the family’s private collection of “real restored vintage automobiles are kept.”
The Lord Jesus told His disciples not to store up treasures on earth, but that is exactly what Samuel Joaquin Flores does! He clearly has his heart set on and dedicated to the things of this world and not on heavenly things:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”(Matthew 6:21)
The Lord Jesus also warned His disciples:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”(Matthew 7:15)
“Silver WOLF Ranch”? Are you starting to see the bigger picture?
August 21st, 2010 at 12:14 am
“LLDM Pastors and others use disconnected single verses out of context. If you take their explanations and answers at their face value, everything sounds truthful and wonderful.
But when you dig more for yourself and look at the whole passage and chapter surrounding those verses being used, it becomes they clear they are being used out of context in order to promote a false Gospel of SJF’s “election”.”–myself
For any LLDM skeptics who would comment that I made that statement without having actually spoken to any pastors, I would like to demonstrate what I mean.
I once asked a LLDM pastor named Carlos Montemayor via email where Aaron or Samuel Joaquin were spoken of in the Bible. This was his response:
“Obviously you do not read the Bible. The name Aaron is mentioned in the Bible (Hebrews 5:4)”
This was my reply:
“Hebrews 5:4 is speaking about Aaron Joaquin? I truly don’t think so. I do read the Bible daily, and that is how I know this in Hebrews is not a mention of Eusebio “Aaron” Gonzales:
“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.”(Hebrews 5:4)
what honor? which Aaron? It does not say future (at the time of this writing) Aaron in 1926 will be called to be high priest, but past Aaron the Levite, the brother of Moses was called. “just as Aaron WAS”.
Aaron was Moses’ brother. He was sent with Moses to go before Pharaoh (Exodus 6:28 – 7:7). And after the children of Israel came out of slavery in Egypt into the wilderness towards the land of Canaan, Aaron was called by God to serve as high priest and consecrated (Exodus 28:1; 29; Leviticus 8).
But what the writer to the Hebrews is doing in the passage marked chapter 5 is showing that Aaron was written about in the Old Testament as a type to point the way to Christ Jesus, our true Great High Priest forever:
“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”"(Hebrews 5:4-7)
Christ was sworn in by God the Father to be a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Who is Melchizedek?
Melchizedek is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20. He was the high priest and king of Salem, who met Abram (who later became Abraham) upon his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings with him. Melchizedek met with Abram and blessed him, and Abram payed tribute to him.
But who is Melchizedek? There is no biographical or genealogical details for this ruler, which is very strange in the book of Genesis. His name means “righteous king”, he was a king-priest over ancient Jerusalem. But He just kind of walks into the pages of Scripture and then walks off. Melchizedek is another type of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is pictured in Genesis 14 as a righteous king, with no beginning or end, his birth and death are not recorded. Just like Christ has no beginning or end. And even Abram, who was the most blessed man by God at that time, he still paid tribute to Melchizedek and received his blessing from him.
Melchizedek is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Psalmist picks this up in Psalm 110:4. And the writer to the Hebrews picks this up in Hebrews chapters 5 – 7.
Because you see, old Aaron never did give them rest. He served God as high priest, and he ministered to the people, but nothing was really ever completed in Aaron’s priesthood. Aaron never sat down. Christ has now come, and we rest in Him. Christ serves before God as our Great High Priest day and night, ministering for His own. Christ completed our redemption by His work on the cross, He rose again and He sat down at the right hand of God. He is our great High Priest today. This is the meaning of the passage in Hebrews:
“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their brothers—even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.
If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the law was given to the people), why was there still need for another priest to come—one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”(Hebrews 7:1-17).
So my original question still stands, where are Aaron or Samuel Joaquin spoken of in the Bible?”
Pastor Montemayor’s reply:
“BYE.”
This may be a bad example because he was already irritated with me from previous unanswered questions, so he began with a clearly biased spouting of prejudice (”obviously you don’t read the Bible” – definitely not truthful or wonderful). But if I had just read verse 4 of chapter 5 of Hebrews taking his interpretation as face value truth, and not instead read the whole Epistle to the Hebrews, cross referencing with the Old Testament & looking up references to Aaron & Melchizedek, I might have fallen for it.
Beloved members of LLDM – test your teachers and preachers and test your apostle. And follow the truth no matter where it takes you or how you feel about it – follow the truth, it will set you free. Let the Holy Spirit teach you, let the Scriptures be your guide, let Christ be your shepherd.
“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”(Hebrews 3:1)
August 20th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Sum,
I too am encouraged. I feel like God had a plan in mind when he put it in Oscar’s heart to write this blog. This site offers a forum for people to reason together about the legitimacy of LLDM’s teachings. I feel blessed by the many opportunities I have found for speaking the truth of Christ to the lost through this website.
I want to mention something that a member of LLDM reminded me of today as she and I had an honest and sincere conversation.
Some (actually I believe most) members of LLDM do truly and sincerely love God and have a desire to serve God and walk in His truth.
Even members raised in the church since birth do (sometimes, not always) question everything because they want to make sure they know exactly what they are promising themselves to.
These are the members I feel for the most.
The deception of LLDM is in the way they distort and twist the truth. As Christopher and others have mentioned here before – LLDM Pastors and others use disconnected single verses out of context. If you take their explanations and answers at their face value, everything sounds truthful and wonderful.
But when you dig more for yourself and look at the whole passage and chapter surrounding those verses being used, it becomes they clear they are being used out of context in order to promote a false Gospel of SJF’s “election”.
Remember, nobody is going to fool anyone with monopoly money, but if you have a counterfeit 20 dollar bill that looks and feels like the real deal, you will fool many people. If it were all just out and out lies, 100%, then no one would buy it. You have to examine the Bible yourself to see that LLDM’s teachings are counterfeit.
August 20th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Colin
I was reading Galations today in the bible and I read exactly what you quoted from the bible about no matter what angel comes if it dose not match Gods words then it is fake. Thank you for sharing
I was going to share that too.
I am sure that God is working among our mist.
August 20th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Ruth, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
The Apostle Paul warned the Galatians:
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.”(Galatians 1:6-7)
Ruth, it doesn’t make any difference even if Samuel is a real humanitarian. It doesn’t matter how many good things Samuel does. It wouldn’t even make a difference if Samuel really were an angel from heaven and was going around healing all the sick people in the world. Samuel preaches and teaches a false Gospel, which means all of his good works come to nothing.
The Apostle Paul warned the Galatians:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”(Galatians 1:8)
This is the most important test of Samuel’s claim to apostleship – the test of the Gospel.
There are several warnings in the Bible about accepting a different gospel from the one in the Bible. This is all important. Let’s look at the gospel preached by the Biblical apostles. If it is added to, subtracted from, or changed in any way, it is not the gospel of the Bible.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:”(Romans 10:8)
OK, follow closely, because nowhere is there a clearer statement of what the Biblical Apostles proclaimed then what Paul writes here:
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”(Romans 10:9-13)
There it is: “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
What’s LLDM’s version? It would be something more like this: “If you confess with your mouth that you believe Samuel Joaquin was elected as apostle, and believe in your heart that Samuel was sent as the only authoratative representative of Christ on earth, you will be saved.”
Pretty distorted huh?
Let’s look at another passage where Paul makes it clear:
“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and LAST OF ALL he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”(1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
Again, let’s compare this to the gospel of Samuel Joaquin, what has LLDM added to this? It would be like this: “After LAST OF ALL appearing to Paul, Christ waited another 1,893 years, then he appeared again to Aaron, and 34 years after that he appeared also to Samuel and gave them divine revelations to pass on to us. These revelations include new regulations for how people should be baptized, dress, live, and believe. You must believe in the election of these “modern day apostles” if you wish to have any hope of salvation through Jesus Christ.”
Once again, pretty distorted huh?
It is clearly not identical to the Gospel preached by the Biblical Apostles. In preaching this, the leaders of LLDM, and “apostle” Samuel especially, are bringing condemnation on themselves. And that isn’t me who says this, it’s the Word of God:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”(Galatians 1:8-9)
That’s the most important test of an apostle.
So, about Samuel, I confidently say this, but once again it is not me who says it, but the Word of God:
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”(2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
And I have assurance from the Bible of what Christ Himself would say about this sort of questioning of Samuel’s authenticity:
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”(Revelation 2:2)
Now, Ruth, you say:
“An i just have a question you all seem to know so much how he uses his money. Are you guys managing his accounts? Are you managing his expensis? Or are youjust assuming what he is doing with his money and talking about things that you don’t really know whats happening?”
Ruth, much of the information about Samuel’s assets is publicly available information, or simply observable by watching him. The numerous mansions & ranches he owns, and designer suits he wears, is publicly available information. And it is all the result of money being taken in by preaching a false gospel.
It is publicly available information that Samuel Joaquin Flores purchased an exotic zoo in Seguin, Texas, known as Silver Wolf Ranch. To this day, Silver Wolf Ranch has never been opened to the public, which is actually illegal given that “IRS regulations require nonprofits to actively promote their tax-exempt purpose of benefiting the public and not the personal wealth of anyone”.
Silver Wolf Ranch, which is worth in excess of $3 million dollars, was renovated with a private mansion and a “long rectangular warehouse” where, according to the ranch’s manager Vaspi Coronado, the family’s private collection of “real restored vintage automobiles are kept.”
This information is publicly available.
August 20th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Peace of the lord to tall of you. To put your mind to ease yes he is a true humanitarian. He truely does promote the welfare of others. The school that was put in place isn’t free publicity for us its giving many people to opportunity to have an education that otherwise wouldn’t of had. If we like like every other church we’d be charging out the nose for the kids to have a seat there, but we don’t it’s a free school. The hospital and clinic takes in anyone no one is ever turned away for not having any money where i has seen with my own eyes a non-member come into the hospital in tears becasue the another hospital turned them away for not being able to pay upfront for his daughters treatment. They took the little girl in and it broke my heart to know that the little girl was turned away from the other place. ( I do not know what hospital they were turned away from). The Servant of God doesn’t go on the air and say hey everybody look what i did! Each time he does a good act. He does it becuase people need help. An i just have a question you all seem to know so much how he uses his money. Are you guys managing his accounts? Are you managing his expensis? Or are youjust assuming what he is doing with his money and talking about things that you don’t really know whats happening?
August 20th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
A friend of mine who is a member of LLDM works for BEREA VISION TV in LA.
Alberto is absolutely correct about the station, it is no different than any other tv channel. They have soap operas, news, and yes commercials. Some of the LLDM religious ceremonies are broadcast, but there is no daily show about studying and teaching the Bible (pretty ironic for a business supposedly named after the Bereans, don’t you think?)
Just like any other privately owned Televison broadcasting network, they need to be able to pay their FCC and local broadcasting fees, as well as webhosting and webcasting fees; and that means creating Ad Revenue by selling commercial airtime both on their television and web broadcasts. That is the only way they are able to stay on the air and continue producing programs.
But neither my friend nor any of the other LLDM members for BereaVision receive any compensation for their work, and they work them basically 24/7. As I write this right now, my friend is giving up her lunch break to attend a meeting for the station. Her and the other members there are made to believe they are working for God by giving up all their discretionary time for no pay to produce and broadcast shows that have absolutely nothing to do with teaching the Bible. They don’t realize that God’s Kingdom is not of this world. They are working for Samuel Joaquin, and SJF works for himself and his own legacy and wealth, he cares nothing for God, the Bible or the people he is using for slave labor. And by not paying anybody who works for him, he is profiting off of BVTV and many other businesses, because any positive revenue after all costs are paid for goes straight into the Joaquin family bank account. He uses people’s sincere desire to serve God for his own personal profit. PROFIT, not a prophet of God.
And this is also another way LLDM keeps their followers blinded to the truth of God’s Word. In addition to telling them they will not understand the Bible if they study it on their own, they also try to keep their members busy with all their discretionary time working for countless business ventures such as this so that they will not have time to study the Bible themselves either. They will be too tired if they ever do have a free moment.
It breaks my heart.
August 20th, 2010 at 10:27 am
Is SJF a true humanitarian? I don’t believe so! The man is wise, he listens to his business advisers. These institutions that his established are a smart way to generate income.
Perfect examples are: Adventist Regional Hospital, Adventist blsh, blah, blah university, Christian University of bla, bla, bla. Theirs your local community catholic school, the christian day care center, elementary, middle school, highschool, Emmanuel Hospital, regence blue cross, the list goes on and on and on….I’m sure you all get the picture by now. It’s obvious why SJF gets all the recognition for his accomplishments. In all honesty it should be the hard work of the members who should be given an opportunity to share that wealth. after all thats what Jesus and the original apostles did with the church member. But why would he do such a crazy thing like that!
August 20th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Basically what SJF has been doing is replicating what the big corporate christian denominations have been doing for years ehich is to invest money in the local communities. This is a sure way go generate recognition, popularity, membership gsins and most importantly monetary gains. Thats what SJF is doing with all the tithe collected by all his apointed ministers at your local congregations.
August 20th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Hi Oscar, it’s nice to say hello to all of you. I always try to read the latest comments but with the arrival of summer, i’ve been busier with work and all the family outings i lack the motivation to post a comment. Things are beginning to slow down.
As far as SJF being a true humanitarian, i personally doubt it. Every school, university hospital, clinic that he.s opened to the public is just another source of income. LLDM now owns and BEREA VISION a privately own television channel broadcasting to the general in the L.A. METRO area. Its just like any other channel, with a number of programs like sopes, news, commercials etc..
August 19th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
-sigh-
I truly wish LLDM proponents would read the last 1,600 comments instead of accusing us of not doing our research right. It seems we start at square one ALL the time. We don’t attack, the Bible is the one that proves Samuel wrong, the Bible is who is “attacking”. People always point out the humanitarian aid Samuel does–something we acknowledged 1,500 comments ago. What we don’t agree with is Samuel’s gospel, it’s flat wrong. I have had to “spam” dozens of hateful attacks to our person from people of this church, comments that would make anyone cringe! When have we used foul language on them? If they hate us, then it can be reasoned that they hate the Bible because that is where Samuel is proven false. Moreover, don’t LLDM members see the picture of Aaron’s tomb from the 60s?! My family was there since the church’s inception, how they claim that we know “nothing” of their church is ridiculous.
This church DOES divide families. All who know the truth regarding this church KNOW how this church creates a divide between family members. If you don’t belong to this church, you are branded an enemy who fell in love with the sins of the world. Little girls at 15 aren’t motivated to go to college… they are motivated to get married and have LLDM babies to expand the church. One of my uncles found out about this site, perhaps through the church, and claimed he will never lay a foot in our house again! So please, do not come here saying LLDM does not divide families.
“No gasten su tiempo con gente q nunca va a tener parte con Dios, hermanos mios, q Dios Los guarde.”-Jezisomething telling LLDM members regarding us. We are never going to belong to God? My… that’s a big claim. Maybe because LLDM is the “only” church that is going to have salvation?!
P.S.-Alberto! Nice to hear (or read) from you again. Interesting note you put, Samuel is above a king… he is divine! Oh, and members don’t worship him, they “honor” him!
August 19th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Ruth,
The problem is not in what Bible LLDM uses, the problem is that they use it out of context.
I have in fact spoken with over 6 pastors, and let me clarify. I did not say they never answered my questions, I said their answers were never adequate. Generally they would dip in to the Bible, pull out one or 2 disconnected verses and make application based on a pre-conceived notion. But, it was completely out of the true context of the passages, chapters, books, and Bible as a whole. And then they would change the subject or just end the conversation and walk away when I would point out the surrounding verses which invalidated their interpretations.
But, I thank you for your respectful manner toward me Ruth, and I do intend to email you.
God bless!
August 19th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Colin
do you know what is sad, everything you stated in the bible is so true but it is sad that it is the same verses that LLDM church decide to use to make their self right and that we are the ones that are wrong. They also like to say that they are the narrow road and that is why every one disagrees with them. so so sad.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:21 am
There have been a few people on here who say “respect others beliefs and move on with your own lives.” This is in line with a new age movement that has the idea that all religions lead to the same God, and we should all just get along and unite or combine together. “Ecumenism” is the word for it, but all it is is bullying people into accepting political correctness even if it goes against fundamental teachings of their faith.
I do respect everyone’s right to believe as they choose. But, can we all just get along and unite together? Quite frankly, no we can’t.
What that would create is a broadening of the gospel, a redefining of what it means to be a Christian, and a growing emphasis on inclusion and tolerance. Ecumenism has come to mean “reducing all elements of faith to the lowest common denominator.” God’s Word is neglected, experience is valued above truth, a false and selfish “faith” is promoted, and sound doctrine and correction are despised as “divisive” and “unloving.”
Ignoring the Scriptures, numerous evangelical leaders today claim that a concern for doctrine causes division and therefore should be avoided for the sake of love and unity among the brethren. The Scriptures, however, couldn’t be more specific in its opposition to such a teaching:
“”Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn
” ‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’”(Matthew 10:32-36)
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” [Romans 16:17]
Divisions are created by teachings that are contrary to sound doctrine.
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son” [2 John 1:9].
Unity in the faith is impossible without the doctrine of Christ. Without such a foundation we have no basis for the faith, for the gospel, for knowing Jesus, or for knowing anything pertinent to the Truth.
The glittering terminology of ecumenical is, on close examination, as hollow as a soap bubble and just as slippery and hard to hold onto.
Where is the “common ground” between belief and unbelief? A believer cannot ignore the “major theological differences” between him and an unbeliever. Instead, he should be cutting through those differences with the Sword of the Word to win the unbeliever to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I cannot agree to ignore an unbeliever’s condition without, by that very act, compromising my beliefs. For my beliefs include the Great Commission, which requires me to tell the world of the gospel of Jesus.
August 19th, 2010 at 9:18 am
“Muhammad is just a man just like the apostle from LLDM.”
Yep. A man who came around 1300 years or so after Jesus ascended into heaven, and was completely wrong about who Jesus is.
Just like Aaron is just a man who came around 1900 years or so after Jesus, and was also completely wrong about who Jesus is, and Samuel is just Aaron’s son who elaborated on the error.
I don’t understand how people can believe what these men say about who is Jesus when none of them actually met or saw Jesus.
LLDM Members: The New Testament was written by men who knew Jesus personally, they saw him with their own eyes, they walked with him, ate with him, touched him, and some who even grew up in the same household with Jesus as an older half-brother. You can see what they have to say about Jesus by simply reading your Bible, trusting the Holy Spirit to do His job and show you the things of Christ.
Why would you trust some man who came along 19 centuries later to tell you about Him and not just study yourself so you can hear it directly from the people who actually met our Lord Jesus?
August 19th, 2010 at 7:10 am
Colin
I believe some one said that they were Muslim but when I read back I think abi was speaking in Spanish so I am guessing that she is in the religion and nothing more. In the middle east their was the Muslims which chose to fallow a man named Muhammad and their was the Christians that chose to fallow Christ. Muhammad is just a man just like the apostle from LLDM. That is why when I heard some one mention to leave LLDMs apostle alone it is because mu slums have their own man that they worship and that is how they relate to each other. They relate so much to each other that Muhammad clames that he had a dream and he was blessed and sent by God just because he learned how to read and no one else knew how to read, but what actually append was that he was given to a paster that taught him how to read and that is why all the mu slums fallow Muhammad.
August 19th, 2010 at 3:30 am
Sum,
“cafic
Ana bahab ala bas ento bet hebo mohamad lash? hadola be hebo el apostil, enty ma bethebi Jesus ah oh la? zay homo. la ash inty hona? enty meslameya mab tigrifo Jesus, Jesus ega ellna coolna mish muhamad. Alla magaco coolco. magilsalame.”
Could you translate this please sum?
There was a new book published last year called “The Islamic Antichrist”. It’s been stirring up a little bit of controversy, but it’s actually very intriguing.
The author explores the possible connection between the Biblical Antichrist and the Islamic Mahdi. He reveals what both the Bible and the Qu’ran say about the end times.
The Bible predicts that in the last days a charismatic leader will establish a global following in the name of peace. The Quran also predicts that a man will rise up to lead the nations, pledging to usher in an era of peace. The man in the Quran is called the Mahdi, or Islam’s savior. However, the man in the Bible is the Antichrist, who establishes a false peace only to be destroyed by the Savior Jesus Christ at Armageddon. The question that the book explores is – Could it be possible that they are one and the same person?
This has not only been controversial with Muslims, but also Christians. A lot of Christians believe the Antichrist will come out of the revived Roman Empire, but this book has pretty sound eschatology (of both the Bible and the Quran) and advances the idea that Antichrist will come out of nations which are, today, Islamic.
I’ve tentatively held to the Roman Empire belief myself, but one question I’ve had about it is this: Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek Empires all held possession of the city of Babylon. But Rome never conquered the Parthian Empire (Modern day Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan & Syria), which means Rome never actually conquered Babylon.
The author of this book picked up on that same question and expanded on it. He proposes that because Rome did not conquer Babylon, it was thus disqualified as a possibility. It had to be another empire in the prophecy from Daniel 2 that rose and fell and rose again that would lead to rule of this “man of sin,” described in the Bible. That empire, he says, is the Islamic Empire, which did conquer Babylon and, in fact, rules over it even today.
Sum, I think you would be fascinated by this book, I recommend it highly.
August 18th, 2010 at 10:37 pm
Alberto: it also means Samuel has been lying for years every time he proclaimed “I am the king.”
How could members of LLDM not call that into question? Do they pay attention? or do they just swim with the current like Alberto said? That really is unbelievable.
In regards to the question of worship. LLDM claims they do not worship Samuel because they do not kneel in front of him?
But what about bending the knees of your minds and hearts to Samuel? That’s just as bad.
Beloved members of LLDM, there is something you have to understand about idolatry. Modern idolatry can take many different forms than most people think of. Most people hear “idolatry” and they think of pagan worship – bowing down and worshipping objects created by hand. But it’s really more than that. Idolatry is giving anyone or anything besides God pre-eminence. Anyone or anything that you devote more time and attention to than God, it doesn’t matter what it is. If you spend more time learning a song about an apostle that you spend learning the Bible – the apostle is then your god. I don’t care what church you belong to – he’s your god, because you are focusing more on him than you are on God.
What you also have to remember is that satan is very crafty, and he has had thousands of years to practice and refine his ways of deception. The True Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can set a person free from sin and give them eternal life. The devil’s most dangerous weapon today is something that looks and feels and sounds like the true gospel, but is just a little off. “Counterfeit” Christianity, if you will. It sounds and feels very much like the real thing, and you have to look at it very closely with a microscope to see that it’s twisted and altered slightly – just enough to where it sounds like the truth, but it’s slightly distorted. If you have a slightly distorted Gospel, it may sound like the truth – but it really is no Gospel at all.
No one is going to fool anyone with monopoly money and make them think it’s a real 20 dollar bill. But if you have a counterfeit 20 dollar bill that looks and feels like the real thing – you’re going to fool a lot of people. Anyone know how FBI agents train bankers to spot counterfeit money? They have them spend hours handling real bills, holding them and inspecting them. That way when they do see a counterfeit, they will recognize it.
The same is true of Christianity. That’s why people have to spend a lot of time studying the Bible for themselves in order to recognize the counterfeits.
The Bible gives several examples of idolatry which people don’t think of as idolatry. Here are some that stand out to me from the way LLDM sings about Samuel and Aaron so much:
Idolatry is…..
When Anything or Anybody Gets What God Alone Deserves.
“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”(Exodus 20:3-4)
“Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely?”(James 4:5)
Even good things can become idols, and while reveling and boasting seem good at the time, it is a grave disservice to idolize anything or anybody. The result is God’s wrath, on you and the idol. God will not be eclipsed.
Idolatry is…
Public Image–Making Idols Of Men
“For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and arrogance like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the LORD,
he has rejected you as king.”(1 Samuel 15:23)
“Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,”(Acts 8:9)
“For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.”(2 Peter 2:18)
“”I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.”"(Isaiah 42:8)
Idolatry is Spiritual Adultery (turning anywhere for anything when you should be turning to God).
“You were wearied by all your ways,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found renewal of your strength,
and so you did not faint.
“Whom have you so dreaded and feared
that you have been false to me,
and have neither remembered me
nor pondered this in your hearts?
Is it not because I have long been silent
that you do not fear me?”(Isaiah 57:10-11)
Beloved members of LLDM – have you done this? Have you praised or given Samuel what belongs to God alone? Has he become for you a living and breathing idol? Do you turn to Samuel for forgiveness and blessings when those can only truly come from God?
There’s only 1 way out. Repent, turn to Jesus Christ our Lord and our King, and believe that He rose from the dead. His death of the cross was for the forgiveness of your sins. And He is alive today, at the right hand of God. Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and only He can make intercede for you to the Father. Only Jesus can save and forgive you.
Repent and turn to Jesus, it’s the only way. Please, I beg you.
The Bible warns that those who do not repent of such idolatry will perish. Because a greater judgement is coming:
“”Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs.”(Jonah 2:8)
“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have all deserted me for their idols… Repent! Turn from your idols and renounce all your detestable practices!’”(Ezekiel 14:3-6)
“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.”(1 Peter 4:3)
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”(James 4:7-10)
“”I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.”"(Ezekiel 36:25)
“Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”(1 John 5:21)
“So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,”(Hebrews 3:7-8)