The Petrine Doctrine

Posted on 2025/08/14 by JimR, Chaplain

Just a quick study today. I’d never heard of the Petrine Doctrine. So, of course I’m going to find out what it’s all about. Here’s a brief definition. This post is a bit long, but if you’re a student of the Bible, it is worth the read.

What is the Petrine theory in Roman Catholicism?

The Petrine theory asserts the legitimacy of the Pope’s ministry and primacy as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. It states that the apostle Peter was the first pope, and his ministry was passed to his successors as bishops of Rome.

The foundation of the Petrine theory is from the Bible or is so assumed. The first source is Jesus’ words: “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church”. The second is Christ bestowing the “keys of the Kingdom” on Peter. The Pope’s office is the link between the church’s apostolicity and its universality.

Several historical milestones affirm the Petrine principle. By the time of Leo I the Great, the pope was viewed as the “heir of Peter” and “Peter’s vicar,” as Peter was vicar of Christ.

There are four viewpoints on and around this statement that Peter is the rock upon which the church was built.

Number one is the view that Jesus was declaring that Peter would be the “rock” on which He would build His church. Jesus appears to be using a play on words. “You are Peter [petros] and on this rock [petra] I will build my church.” Since Peter’s name means “rock,” and Jesus is going to build His church on a rock, it appears that Christ means to link Peter with the founding of the church. God indeed used Peter greatly in the foundation of the church. It was Peter who first proclaimed the gospel on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:14–47). Peter was also the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:1–48). In a sense, Peter was the rock “foundation” of the church.

Number two is another popular interpretation is that the rock Jesus was referring to is not Peter, but Peter’s statement in Matthew 16:16: “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” In this view, the “rock” is the truthfulness of that statement—the church is built on the rock-solid truth that Jesus is God’s Chosen One and the eternal Son of God. In confessing Jesus as the Christ, Peter, the “rock,” was demonstrating his own stability as he stood on that truth. He was, in a way, showing his character and why Jesus nicknamed him “Cephas” or “Peter” (see John 1:42).

Number three says Jesus had never explicitly taught the disciples the fullness of His identity, and so it was God who had sovereignly opened Peter’s eyes to that revelation. Jesus marks the source of that truth in Matthew 16:17. Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God poured forth from him as a heartfelt declaration of personal faith. Since personal faith in Christ is the hallmark of the true Christian, those who place their faith in Christ, as Peter did, are the church. Peter, writing to believers dispersed through the ancient world, likens them to stones used to build the church: “As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5). The faith of believers is what makes them “living stones” able to be built into the church.

Number four says after Jesus declares that God the Father had revealed the truth to Peter, He says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church” (Matthew 16:18). The word for “Peter,” Petros, is a masculine noun that means “a detached stone, a stone that might be thrown or easily moved” (Zodhiates, S., The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, AMG Publishers, 1992, p. 1,154). The word for “rock” next mentioned is a different Greek word, petra, a feminine noun that means “a mass of rock” or “a cliff” and therefore something foundational (ibid.; see also Matthew 7:24–25). The difference in the two terms may suggest that Jesus was contrasting Peter with Himself. That is, Jesus was saying, “You are the small rock, but I am the foundation of the church.” This view finds support in other passages that present Christ, not Peter, as the foundation of the church (1 Corinthians 3:11) and the life-giving rock (1 Corinthians 10:4).

Of course, the apostles played a foundational role in the building of the church, but the role of primacy is reserved for Christ alone. So, Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18 are best interpreted as a simple play on words: a boulder-like, foundational truth came from the mouth of one who was called a small stone.

Christ Himself is called the “chief cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6–7; cf. Matthew 21:42). The chief cornerstone of any building was that upon which a building is anchored. If Christ declared Himself to be the cornerstone, how could Peter be the rock upon which the church was built? Believers are the stones that make up the church. They are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (not just Peter) and anchored to the Cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). “The one who trusts in [Christ] will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).

The Roman Catholic Church argues that Peter is the rock upon which Jesus built His church, confers upon Peter the title of pope, and claims to be the one true church. As we have seen, however, identifying the rock as Peter is not the only valid interpretation of Matthew 16:18. Even if Peter is the rock upon which Jesus promised to build His church, it does not give the Roman Catholic Church any authority. Scripture nowhere records Peter being in Rome. Scripture nowhere describes Peter as being supreme over the other apostles. The New Testament does not describe Peter as being the all-authoritative leader of the early church. The origin of the Catholic Church is not in the teachings of Peter or any other apostle. If Peter truly was the founder of the Roman Catholic Church, it would be in full agreement with what Peter taught (Acts 2, 1 Peter, 2 Peter).

Source: https://www.gotquestions.org/upon-this-rock.html

My take away from this is that the revelation was not about Peter, but about what he recognized as Jesus being the Son of God. That was the primary focal point.

The second and fourth interpretations of this revelation tends more to the revelation, not Peter, although he facilitated much of the establishment of the church. His work made it foundational, but without that revelation he had nothing upon which to build.

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The Chapter of Noah

Posted on 2025/08/12 by JimR, Chaplain

I am still studying the Book of Enoch I. I’m now in the chapter concerning Noah and the building of the Ark. What I see is things that are hidden from view in the Protestant Bible. For instance, there is no mention of Noah having help building the Ark other than his sons and himself. But in the Book of Enoch, there is mention of Angels that helped build the Ark.

The book also states that on that day, God waited till all the righteous people had died except for Methuselah and Noah. Perhaps Lamech, Noah’s father, was around, but I cannot say. There were giants (Nephilim) who poked fun at Noah. They had been warned of a great deluge that would destroy the inhabitants of the earth. They mocked him, saying they were too tall to become submerged and that the geysers could be stopped by simply placing their feet on the mouth of it to stop it from erupting. One instance says they tried to do so, but God caused the geyser to spew hot water, burning their feet. In all their taunting, they did not or could not stop Noah from his task, because God had ordained it to be built. There is also mention that nothing like it had ever been built, so Noah didn’t know what to call the Ark in an ocean-going way upon water.

This is my third reading of the Book of Enoch, and each time it has become clearer to me. I am getting the understanding of this book, and it has enlightened me to mysteries that are left unanswered in the Canon of Scripture. Understanding has become real to me in how it meshes with the Holy Bible of the Protestant faith. Those who read this may consider me errant in my studies. I take any thought of God’s plan into consideration. There are too many writings out there in the world that tie together with the commonly known scriptures.

The whole plan of salvation is a part of the whole. God wants a people who love Him simply because of who He is. I don’t love Him for what He can do for me. That becomes self-centered and selfish on my part. I can’t deny that He does things for me, but it comes out of my knowledge of Him and my love for Him. For God to take care of me is an extended benefit of loving Him for who He is to me. I don’t say this to disguise or mislead anyone. I’m still learning to lean on Him as my Father. Without Him none of the other things in this life matter. So I want to know all I can about Him. I won’t let men stop me by hiding writings from me or telling me what I read isn’t for me to know or believe.

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How Do I Study?

Posted on 2025/08/07 by JimR, Chaplain

When someone reads the Bible, we must interpret scripture not only for what it seems to say, but also to understand the cultural setting in which the scripture was written. We often overlook much of what the Bible says by applying our Western thought to it. I discussed this with someone recently who has no concept that the Bible was not originally written in Western terms.

I have access to Hebrew studies from the Israel Bible Center. I listened to Dr. Schaser, who gave a short explanation of the value of understanding scripture through the eyes of the Jewish mind.

I adopted the “word study” method of learning as my primary way to understand scripture that falls back to the cultural setting and mindset of the day the scripture was written in or about. I look at the typical Christian today and shake my head at the lack of overall understanding of who they are in relationship with God.

This simple method of learning will revolutionize a person’s concept of God and their worth. Self-worth is not an option. It’s all based on how God looks at us. He created a way to mold a people in His image who would love Him just because they want to. Not because they are scared into Heaven and kept there by fear. It’s a love that makes you want to give Him a great big hug and thank Him for who He is to us. Our Father, our Savior, and our way to live in total peace. To totally understand this, try the method I use. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

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Taking Stock

Posted on 2025/08/05 by JimR, Chaplain

Hello again. Summer break from driving a school bus is coming to an end in a couple of weeks. I keep forging ahead.

Today, I feel the need to take stock of where I am with God. I think we all need to do that occasionally. This is how I do this.

I’ve never considered how others think about God or themselves. Over my lifetime, I have found myself amazed at people who claim to be Christians but say they have never heard God speak to them. From my earliest age, about twelve, God began speaking to me. I didn’t think of it as being unusual. I just thought it was supposed to be that way. He told me when I was about thirteen, He was calling me to be in the ministry. My mom’s dad, my granddad of course, was a Baptist mnister. He was a small man of stature. He may have been five feet tall. Having heard him preach and being raised in the Baptist church filled me with the vernacular and culture of the denomination. I told God I would accept the call and I would lie in bed at night and preach with all the furvor I could muster up. I kept my voice at a whisper to keep from alarming everyone in the family. It was hell fire and brimstone preaching. Then something else fell upon my thinking. I needed to make a statement of salvation. Sounds a bit out of sync doesn’t it? God does, what God does. I don’t question it. He then began to impress upon me my need for a confession of my sins and ask for His forgiveness. That required me to step out of my pew row and walk to the front and tell the preacher I why I was there. That struck fear in me, as I was not one to do things in front of people. From the age of thirteen until sixteen I held myself back from doing this. Then one week in June of 1967 during a week of revival meetings, the spirit of God came to me in such a way I decided my old life had to end. The last day of the revival I planned out my walk to the front. When the song started for the invitation to come forward, I slipped out the far left side of the pew and walked down the outside aisle to the front and came across to the preacher and gave myself to God for the remission of my sins. A weight came off of me. My mom was proud of me. My dad said nothing. I was baptized that Sunday with others and became a church member.

My side note here was when I went to bed that Friday night, I can only say I started with such a negative thought of what lay ahead. My first prayer to God that night was pitiful. My bedroom window was above the headboard of my bed, so I put my knees on my pillow, my elbows on the top of my padded headboard, and looked out my window into the stars. Then I said. “God, come get me tonight, because I know I’m not going make it.” That was meaning I knew I was not going to be the stellar person required to get to Heaven. God did not come get me of couse. He wanted to refine me.

I had been saved. I came to know many years later that Jesus wrote everyone’s name in the Book of Life when He was crucified. He made atonement for all men and women. So how is it we don’t know this, and why is it some will not find their name in the Book of Life? If one does not accept this fact, then upon their death, their name is removed from the Book of Life. When we are saved, it is an acknowledgement of Him, whom God sent, and our name is recognized as being in the Book of Life. We are then sealed to that confession.

That confession and birth of our spirit (reactivation) is just the beginning. The Spirit of God then comes into us via connection to our spirit and begins the process of bringing the soul into submission to God. He put a bridle on us so He could lead us on the right path. So begins the salvation of the soul, which is ongoing and completed upon our bodily death when we are finished with our salvation process.

The whole process throughout life is to marry the soul to the spirit. I think it would be beneficial to study to marriage of Christ to His bride, the church. This is a mystery. The ultimate goal of God is to become one with us in this marriage. The teaching of the Bible says that when a man and woman marry, they become one. But it is indeed a process. I believe in the confession of sins for their remission unto salvation, but I don’t stop there.

The Pentecostals found the next step. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit with evidence of tongues is a step further towards God. This is where conversation with God increases. I knew the voice of God, but when I experienced this stage of growth, it was like God’s voice became magnified. My understanding was increased. God gave me my own personal phrase in tongues. To this day, when I say this phrase, my whole body feels it from my head to my feet. It rejuvenates me when I’m in need.

At this point in my life occurred when I was about twenty-seven. I had been to Sunday evening service after a week of fasting. I had felt an overwhelming presence of God all week. After that service I had to go to work on the graveyard shift. I found myself without that presence. I started to work, but that feeling became stronger and I began to cry to God. He did not answer. I had to cross a bridge going to work that was over the Cape Fear River. For a few moments, I contemplated killing myself as I got to the middle of the bridge. The fall over the rail in my car would have plummeted over 100 ft to the water below. As I was about to snatch the steering wheel in a hard right towards the rail, it was like God grabbed it at that moment, and I drove on to work, but I was crying uncontrollably. When I got into the building at work, I was trying to compose myself, but I wasn’t doing it very well, so I decided I would go back home. I went to my supervisor and told him I did not feel well and was going home. He took one look at me and said I did not look good either and agreed I should go home. I cried all the way home. When I entered the living room at home my wife got up to see why I was home and I sat on the floor in front of the couch with my head in her lap and just did the “ugly” cry. I tried to explain to her what I was feeling or not feeling, but she remained quiet and finally said she was going back to bed. A few minutes later after she’s gone back to sleep, I lifted my eyes up and God met my gaze. His Spirit then flowed down into me all the way to my feet. I felt super engergized. It was like electricity and then it began. The Heavenly language. I spoke in tongues. I kept this up for some time. God had come back to live inside of me through his Spirit. I became possessed by God.

In the Bible, its speaks of God saying to those who thought they were saved, He told them to depart from Him because He never knew them. This is a very deep thought. He is saying to them that He never had a relationship with them. Just as Adam knew Eve and begat children, so God also wants to and knows His. It is a mystery, and sounds unusual to some, but to know God in such an intimate way assures your eternal life. You must know God intimately. I did that evening have that intimate time with God and have felt His presence in my life for the vast majority of my walk with Him. I know I’m saved by the birth of my spirit and the indwelling of His spirit in communion with me in this manner where my spirit and His are conforming my soul to become like Him so the marriage between Him and me would completely cosummate our union. Upon my leaving my physical body the salvation of my soul will be said with a final “I do” in marriage.

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Strange Days

Posted on 2025/08/05 by JimR, Chaplain

I’m not nearly as close to who I personally used to be. My studies have opened my eyes to things I never dreamed about. I know I have someone somewhere concerned about just where my mind is.

Old age is indeed a place I’d rather not be, but here I am. I am planning on seeing seventy-five in about three months. Once I get there, I’m sure my mind will steady out a bit. I have health concerns to get past. I have likely posted about this some time ago. I have prostate cancer, but it’s stable. The prognosis is ten years out with slow to no growth. It is to be monitored only.

I have another issue that concerns me. I’ve been taking a strong anti-acid drug called Rabeprazole. I have GERD. It keeps me from having heartburn. I’ve not known of anyone in my family with cancer except one of my brothers, but he was a half-brother.

I say this even though having said I have cancer. The issue is that no males in my family lived past sixty for at least three or four generations back. With them not having gotten as old as I have, it becomes apparent to me that it comes from following God’s voice and pursuing His calling on my life.

He came upon me a few years ago and rested on me while I wrote a small book that has been published. God has given me life abundantly, and even though my body is exhibiting the signs of aging, He still has me doing things.

I have to get past this year in my life, and I will forge ahead for another while.

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My Country

Posted on 2025/07/23 by JimR, Chaplain

Although I write mostly concerning my faith or personal issues, this post involves my patriotism. I love my nation and grew up in simpler times when respect was foremost in life, even toward our enemies, but we protected out nation.

The paragraph below is an excerpt from a post by Trey Gowdy. True U.S. citizens have indeed watched the noted group of faceless people march forward with designs on destroying the United States of America by their own hands and allowing foreign countries to buy into American land and business properties. Our very sovereignty of this nation has already been eroded by them. This needs to stop, and it isn’t just Democrats. It’s also Republicans. Both contain groups of professional political types, which shows that we need term limits for this ilk of people. I would rather we do what is necessary so that our children and grandchildren will have the opportunity to experience what we older folks enjoyed during our lifetime.

Trey Gowdy: For nearly a decade, Americans have watched with growing horror as unelected power brokers, faceless bureaucrats, corrupt corporate media, and political leaders abused their power to sabotage a president and a Presidency that threatened their grip on power. The story began long before Trump even descended the escalator. It began with an entrenched political class of Republicans and Democrats alike who readily embraced the view of the American people, not as the sovereign, but as the problem.

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Somethings Wrong

Posted on 2025/07/21 by JimR, Chaplain

I’m told the church is full of imperfect people worshipping a perfect God. I say that is true. I’m one of the imperfect. There is something wrong that I find I have to address without making it an issue that makes people upset. I prefer God makes us convicted instead.

I’m in a church that fits the category of many churches. This is a young church in terms of both years of existence and leadership. I have over forty-seven years in church, minus a couple of years where I crashed and burned from “doing” instead of “being”. I may explain that again sometime, but I think I have done so in past posts. I had a long road to get myself back in line with my calling. Despite all that I have done against God, He has been kind to me with unending blessings. I fall at His feet asking Him to change me. And He has done so with unconditional love. Even now, I still contend with the remains of my past life, but if asked of you, my answer will always be, I chose God above all. Nothing else that presents itself in temptation can control me or change my response to God. I try to be the best disciple I can be. That means giving up all else. God and I continue to talk daily, and my spirit is always on to hear Him. I can’t seem to understand why all Christians cannot align themselves to give up their sins to get closer to Him. Therein lies my observation that something is wrong.

I go to church Sunday after Sunday and see the same people. I’ve seen a lot of different people pass through, and some stay. I love them all, and my heart hurts that in time, they still adhere to the same sins they came with. There appears to be no repentance from the sins they walk in. I see people who have not controlled their speech. I see immaturity in senior folks who have not allowed their lives to mature in God. They still exhibit childish responses to something that offends them. I see people leaving because they are fleeing from investigative processes by social services. I’ve seen preachers with narcissistic attitudes and would overlord people he found useful to his cause and then cast them aside when he had extracted what he needed from them through manipulation. I even allowed him to do so to me, but knowing what he was doing, I limited what extent he would take me. My own closest friend at the time was found to have been embezzling the church for some eleven years. I’ve seen that the principal of a Christian school was found to be grooming high school boys for his lust and was expelled from his position. I was brought before the Elders myself for trying to get a woman in the church to stop cheating on her husband by procedures that weren’t following scriptural process. God forgave me, and I’m sure others sought and received forgiveness, yet the problems are still practiced in church. We had a worship leader who was a good friend who fought with his homosexuality. There was a lot of background on this issue, but he finally gave in to his sin and left to pursue his lusts. Presently, we have a “couple” in church who are a lesbian couple, yet they have no intention of pursuing repentance. I don’t mind having them in the house. I love both of them for who they are, not what they are, but my heart hurts that they think this is okay. My brother ceased talking with me several years ago because I couldn’t condone his lifestyle, even while still caring for him. Lots of people have come and gone for various reasons, and most follow their own unique reason.

I have a pastor who tries his best to be a pastor. I give him credit for that, but I note he has issues no different from what I do. We all fight our own earthly nature. That is a consequential issue in our learning process during our walk. I have insight from God, and I see things my pastor doesn’t. I can only let him make his own mistakes, so it will be his indelible learning. A man of experience cannot be convinced of something otherwise. Experience always leaves a permanent mark towards maturity.

What’s wrong? I don’t see enough of the Father in the house to change people decisively. I see people going to the altar every Sunday with the same problems. Why? Why God? Why do we not learn through it all? My heart cries out for us to completely and decisively repent.

Posted in Biblical teaching, Christian, Christian Mission, Failure Not An Option, Family, Follow God, God's Calling, Hope, Maturity, Mental Health, Mission Work, More of God, Old Age, repentance, Righteous alarm, Sadness, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Spiritual, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I’ve Grown Quiet

Posted on 2025/07/19 by JimR, Chaplain

I’ve been quiet for a good while now. Inner turmoil has been my portion. I love structure, and driving a school bus has helped me to keep depression away. During the summer break, I need to maintain a schedule of some sort. I mow a young man’s yard. He works twelve-hour shifts and has little time to maintain a two-acre yard.

On the physical side, I’ve gotten weaker. At seventy-four, I find I need more downtime. Like yesterday, I trimmed some but mowed about an acre and a half of church lawn. I have to leave the rest to younger, stronger men. I came home and mowed over my yard and called it a day. Committing myself to this routine keeps me rested and out of the heat. The heat is what takes me down the hardest. I was dehydrated when I got done. My BP was 90/60, pulse 109. I drank water and such till I went to bed, and my reading was normal this morning. It was more like 123/73 pulse 89. My glucose readings are what concern me. It was 145 upon rising this morning. I’d say it averages a mild 125. My A1C is 6.6.. That is a bit high, but I’m still not taking medication. I’m still trying to maintain an appropriate diet.

My biggest problem at the moment is my sight. I can see pretty good, but when I take an extended time with reading, my left eye crosses. This has been an issue since I was in my early teens. When my eyes get tired this happens. I am due an exam, so I will have to call soon for an appointment.

Thank goodness I’m not where I was last summer. We picked up our Aussie/Doxie mix on the 20th of July and I had my TURP procedure done on the 22nd and was out of commission for three weeks. This is when I found out I have prostate cancer. Thank goodness I have a very weak form of it and was told I would only be monitored to ensure it was stable. I have another biopsy coming up in November. I’ve had several skin cancers, but they don’t give me concern. They get cut out and all is well.

I’ve had to surrender myself to retain my spiritual level. It is so difficult sometimes when fighting against the fleshly nature of a human frame of thinking. As I said in my previous post, I’m studying the Book of Enoch. There is so much to learn about the afterlife.

I never know who will be reading this blog, so I am only going to say I am glad to have reestablished my relationship with the younger of my two sons. Sadly, though, his wife of twenty years left him to go find herself. They have a daughter who is about nineteen years old. She grew up way to quickly for me. She is a beautiful woman now. Today is a bright day for me. My son is coming with his new lady. She is Indonesian. I have no problem with that. She’s a smart, intuitive person. She’s very observant. My son loves her. He says she is smarter than he is, and he loves the challenge she presents him with. Her name is Komala. My wife and I have previously met them for lunch in Raleigh. I’m eager to get to know more about her. We’re going for lunch today. My son’s previous wife came to visit us before they got married. Her mom and step-dad came along. I could tell they thought little of me. I didn’t have enough money for them. Their family was rather well-off. The grandmother was a high-up muckety-muck matriarch. She could barely see us over her nose. She was late for the wedding because she got stopped for speeding in the little speed trap town of Holly Ridge, coming up from Wilmington. Our military town was not to her liking, and our little place was certainly not fitting for her. Anyway, I like Komala much better. I am pretty sure her family still lives in Indonesia. She recently went back there to visit.

Let’s move on. Libby and I are ministers in our church. Libby heads the group labeled as SALT, which stands for Seasoned Adults Living Triumphantly. She is looking to perform a marriage in the next month or so. I’m still performing my duties as a Chaplain as requested. I talk to anyone and everyone who will listen to me. Aside from that, I mow the church lawn and perform security duties for the church during services. I’m mostly floating around. I help people who encounter spiritual or mental issues during a service.

I attended a Catholic memorial service this past Monday for a close friend of mine. He was forty-eight. Cancer took him way too soon. He was a fire station Captain aboard Camp Lejeune. He had a well-represented contingency of firemen from the base. Whenever he introduced me to a friend of his I had not met he would always tell them I taught him how to invite God into his meditation time with a noticeable presence. I tell anyone that asks that for this to happen, all one has to do is surrender themselves in the moment and sit quietly listening and inviting Him to come into the space around us. He was a good student. As I told my wife, the way to hear God is to be quiet. When we get quiet, God has the floor to speak. You will be amazed at how much God will share with you if you listen more than you speak. Cory was always seeking God, and I give him credit for his hunger to get closer to God.

I suppose that is why I’ve gotten quiet. God has spoken to me. I’ve learned so much more doing this.

Posted in Christian, church, Common Sense, Divorce, Family, Follow God, God's Calling, God's direction, God's Guidance, Growing up, Hope, Marriage, Maturity, Mental Health, More of God, Old Age, Priorities, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Soulmate, Spiritual, Spiritual Growth | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Older

Posted on 2025/07/17 by JimR, Chaplain

Old people like me try to side-step getting old by not saying “I’m old”, but saying I’m older. That doesn’t sound like much, but it says a lot. It’s a non-admission of getting old. I’m presently 74 years old. I do not like being refered to as 74 years “young”. That’s another one of those side-steps.

What I have learned in my old age is astounding. Take my belief system for instance. Being a Chaplain and keeping an open mind and it appears I have gotten to a place where I understand why many ministers stop ministering because of cynicism. The KJV of the Bible is no longer the entire belief system for me. I’ve come to see there are extended Christian beliefs wherein the Bible of sixty six books isn’t giving me the whole story, because “church fathers” decided what people “needed” to understand. The Catholic Bible has 72 books and the Etheopian Bible has 81-88 books depending on who you talk to. Just one of those books is enough to put you into a spin.

I’ve started reading the Book of Enoch 1 for the third time. I started this journey after studying what Biblical scholars have said about what goes on in the eternal realm. Then I began delving into the Book of Enoch for my personal study. The God of all things is truly who is portrayed in the Protestant Bible. He is the Almighty and lives up to all the names to describe Him. He has final say. Nothing happens without His decree. He is the Father of my salvation. But then comes the crux behind the whole picture beyond what I just wrote.

There are a lot of beings on the other side of the veil. There are already many being held in captivity until the day of judgment. There were many humans besides Adam and Eve. The difference not inferred in scripture is that God created Adam and Eve in His image, unlike all the other humans. They were a special creation beyond all other men. The test given to them became a failure on their part, but not unbeknownst to God. Their beginning was the beginning of an ongoing process for all men to have the opportunity to refine themselves by regeneration through Jesus Christ’s coming, death, burial, and resurrection. He plans to find a well-refined mankind who loves Him unconditionally. He wants men to sacrifice their well-being to God’s will living in them. What is most valuable about this is that with men doing this, they will find that God has and will take care of men without conditions in His love for mankind. So as scripture says.

He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. – Matt 10:39

So now the understanding of that saying comes to light. Are we willing to give ourselves up for Him to live in us, thus finding ourselves? Then we can declare the ultimate change of who were were for the new “who we are”.

So, as I grow older, I find this truth to be a reality in my old age. I find this a fair exchange in my last days upon this earth is this realm. I will continue in the next realm.

Posted in Abundant life, Biblical teaching, Christian, Christian Mission, Common Sense, Death, Failure Not An Option, Follow God, God's direction, God's Guidance, Hope, Maturity, Old Age, Ponderings, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Spiritual, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Investments | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life Is Changing

Posted on 2025/07/10 by JimR, Chaplain

It’s been a long time since my last post. I have changed so much in my absence from this blog of mine. I once thought I had it all together. I’m pretty sure I did. What changed? I got lax and lazy in doing other things. One of my problems is that I’ve gone into another stage of life that has begun to limit me physically. I had a surgical procedure called a TURP. It’s the old man Roto-Rooter. The biopsy of the tissue removed proved to be cancerous. Thank God it is not so invasive that I need treatment. It’s a slow-growing form of cancer, so for the time being I’m only montored. I have another biopsy around November. I’m at peace with that.

However, physical limitations are setting in, and I’m not able to do what I consider to be typically easy tasks without pain setting in. I’m convinced I may need some heart maintenance of some sort. Then again, I need not pretend to be a doctor. I have brought it up to my doctor my last visit and he just kind of poo pooed it. He seems to think the pains I’m having aren’t heart-related.

I could be a wreck mentally. I stopped taking my Zoloft months ago because I got tired of not having emotional responses. I wanted to feel things that would make me react to situations like either laugh or cry. I had not done that in years. I do sense anxiety prevading my thoughts at times.

My soulish side has tried to overtake my spiritual man and drag me back into the worldly ways of thinking with all the lusts that rule in that realm. I’m trying to correct this course. I need to get back to meditating on spiritual things. That is a struggle.

I’ve come to a place in my Christian walk that has changed me more than anything else. With the Protestant mentality that has ruled my base of thinking, I came to realize I needed to expand my boundaries. Sixty-six books have begun to keep me from that. The Catholic Bible has 73 books, and the Ethiopian Bible has up to 88 books, depending on who’s counting. Some scholars say there are many more books that that. The Eastern/Greek Orthodox Bible has 76 books.

Michael Hiser has flipped my thinking upside-down. Lynn Hiles changed the way to approach the Gospels like I’d never thought about. Their teachings blend very well into all that I heard over thirty years under my mentor, Dr. Kelley H. Varner. Ravi Zacharias is a genius in Apologetics. All but one of these men have passed through the veil. Some have tried to smear the names of at least one of these, but the truth remains to be seen by one’s research.

We have always been taught that we have a monotheistic belief, and in a way, we do. But I’ve come to understand that God is not alone. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, but that’s not all there is. The reason for the sixty-six book Bible we have I declare to stifle my belief foundation is that certain of the church fathers could not bring themselves to tell the whole truth.

My local church associate pastor introduced me to Michael Hiser. He is a deeply involved student of the afterlife. There are so many hints in the Protestant Bible of the things hidden in just the Book of Enoch. I’ve read this book through twice and I’m about to embark on another reading of it. It is a loaded book. There is so much told in that one book to keep scholarly people busy for the rest of their lives. It names the names of characters that rule and attempt to rule in the timeless realm. I’m not even scratching the surface of what I’ve come to know. I’ve seen things and let them mellow and gone back to them to see if they still hold up and so far I cannot revert to my old ways of thinking about God.

God is indeed the one and only God. He is the Head of all things, but He has a council called the Sons of God. When He said in scripture, “Let us make man in our image, Genesis 1:26, he wasn’t talking about the trinity as most would think. God was declaring to the counsel of God His decision to make a man in His image, that is, higher than all others.

To make this interesting, in my studies, I contend that there were other humans present on the earth, but this new creation had higher qualities than all others. This new man was created and then placed in the garden. This garden was a special place for God’s special creation. He gave them every opportunity to grow and expand this garden to cover the whole earth, as I see it. The fall of the first Adam and the recovery of that status in the Last Adam gives all people of the earth the opportunity to become one with God in that original covenant through adoption. God bestows that complete salvation to everyone.

The problem lies in one thing that I have not yet concluded thoughts on. Not everyone on Earth who has a human form is human inside. God destroyed the earth that existed before Noah because of the Nephilim. These were the offspring of fallen entities from heaven with earthly women. They were giants. This is where I can only assume is where Goliath came from. He was some remnant of that age somehow. The Protestant Bible has many unanswered questions that come to light when reading the writings that early church fathers disavowed, because I feel they thought it would not be good for regular people to know about.

Well, you see, I am still around and thinking, but I am nowhere near who I used to be. The books in other Bibles really do clear up a lot of questions in the Protestant Bible. I would say to anyone reading this, don’t let yourself have blinders put on you. You will not be able to see the whole truth of God until you take them off.

Posted in Abundant life, Biblical teaching, Christian, Christian Mission, Common Sense, Death, Follow God, God's Calling, God's direction, Growing up, Hope, Love, Mental Health, Mission Work, More of God, Old Age, Patience, Ponderings, Possibilities, Priorities, Righteous alarm, Salvation, Sobering Thoughts, Spiritual, Spiritual Gits, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Investments | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment