Welcome Theophilus
This site was created in October, 2007.
There is only one purpose for this web site: To share my thoughts and experiences with you, with the desire that I may be of some help and encouragement ..... whomever you are.
There is no church here to join. There is no group of any kind here to join. In fact, I would caution you about joining any group, religious or not. My view is, if you ever find yourself meeting with members of an organization that has created a "statement of beliefs", it's the time to consider moving on.
However, I do envision an already existing fellowship of spiritually matured individuals, scattered around the world, being drawn to this site to further their already existing mature relationship with God.
This site is also provided to assist those not yet in that fellowship, but may be ready to move into it. Or, as the apostle Paul said, ready to "go on to perfection" (Hebrews 6:1).
This relationship lies beyond the covenants. It is referred to many times in the new testament as "the fellowship of the mystery", a fellowship that has been hidden in God from the foundation of the world (Eph. 3:9, Col. 1:26).
The Greek word mystḗrion, means mystery or secret, and is translated both ways in the bible (Strongs #3466). The fellowship of the Mystery already exists in the world without any regular meetings. Many may not even realize that they already fit into this spiritually mature fellowship. In fact, this fellowship reaches beyond just Christianity. It harkens back in time before even Abraham, who lived before there ever was a christian. Yet all true Christians, spiritually mature or not, are counted among Abraham's seed and therefore heirs according to the promise God made to him.
Those who are identified with the fellowship of the mystery are no longer considered to be Jews (physically or spiritually), nor are they considered to be any kind of Gentile (physically or spiritually), nor is any distinction made because of them being male or female, bond or free. In fact, they are not considered to be any kind of human being any longer. Instead, they are considered to be an entirely separate creature, no longer man-kind, but as the children of God they are considered to be the offspring of God right now, the Elohim-kind (I John 3:4).
The old and the new covenants are both contracts. They have the Elohim-kind (God) as one party of the contract and Man-kind (Jews, Gentiles, men and women of all kinds) as the second party of the contract.
The moment God begins to consider you to legally be one of the Elohim, all covenants, loose one participant - YOU! Immediately you assume the rights and privileges of the Elohim. The following are some verses which pertain to such a person:
I John 3:4- "Beloved, we are God’s children now [literally, right now],"
(English Standard Version)
II Cor. 5:17-"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creature,"(King James)
Romans 4:17- "God, who gives life to the dead, and calls
those things which are not as though they were. (King James 2000).
Hebrews 11:13-"All these people died having faith. They did
not receive the things that were promised, yet they saw
them in the distant future and welcomed them,
acknowledging that they were strangers and foreigners
on earth. " (International Standard Version)
Philippians 3:20-"But we are [present tense] citizens
of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives." (New Living Version)
Having been through the "boot camp" of the Worldwide Church of God during the 1970's and 1980's, I feel I am somewhat qualified to make such a statement. This is where I received both my ELEMENTARY(Old Covenant) and ADVANCED (New Covenant) fellowship training. I wouldn't do that again for a million dollars. However, I wouldn't exchange my experience in WWCG for a million dollars either. I liken it to a spiritual K-12 education. It was a great foundation to build on, but there is an immense number of foundations that can be used in a similar way.
Fellowshipping with others, by openly studying our Bibles together is a wonderful beginning. It can be uplifting and reassuring. There may even be one or more people in a group who are proficient at teaching; and that's fine too. Just realize that it is human nature to not teach from the abundance of one's objective research and understanding, but from one's own subjective opinions.
What you will find on this website are my opinions for sure. They have been arrived at by a half century of personal bible study. Some of them you may decide to adopt as your own views and some you may decide not to. That is your business. Never believe anything you don't fully understand. Instead put those things on the shelf to come back to later, then read widely, and pray for God to guide you into believing the things you should.
I have tried to view all things as objectively as an honest researcher can. I have objectively considered the opinions of other teachers and theologians. Yet, in the final analysis, this website does reflect my own developing opinions. My personal observation is that Christ seems to have patiently adjusted and corrected my understanding through the years as I have grown spiritually.
In addition, I have experienced several things in life that does not normally happen to people. Being agnostic for my first 21 years of life, I just couldn't say I believed in an unseen spiritual reality. And, being agnostic, I could not say matter-of-factly that one didn't exist either. Agnostic means "I don't know", and I just didn't.
The unusual experiences I mentioned above are the things that changed my mind. Read the short articles, "Is God A Cube, A Cloud .... Or What?", and "You Can't Get There From Here" and view video #54, video #10, video #14 for some related information.
I may relate some of those convincing experiences on this website some day, but for now, I suggest you put no one between you and God. There is already someone occupying that position: Jesus Christ.
Until next time,
C. K. Rockwell
P.S. If you haven't tried to research bible things before, look at to whom this letter is addressed. Swipe the word Theophilus, plug it into your browser, and search for the meaning of this Greek word that Luke used to address the Book of Acts and the Gospel of Luke.
If you have read this far, I think the word Theophilus may apply to YOU!
Here is how the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines the meaning of Theophilus:
