The true Christ

 In the earliest period of Christianity, the understanding of Jesus grew out of oral traditions of divinity that were common across cultures. Ancient peoples saw divinity not as a fixed category belonging only to gods, but as something humans could share in to varying degrees. Kings, heroes, and other chosen figures embodied this mixture: human yet endowed with qualities associated with the gods. Jesus was recognized in this same way—not as God Himself, but as one chosen by God, bearing divine qualities that set him apart from those around him. The disciples saw in him nobility of spirit, preeminence of character, and an extraordinary measure of God’s presence. This did not erase his humanity; indeed, denying his humanness was considered a mark of false teaching.

Jesus spoke of preexistence, and his followers understood this in continuity with earlier Jewish writings. The Book of Enoch describes a Son of Man as if he existed even before the Flood, while David refers to “my lord” in a way that implies preexistence. These texts show that the concept of a preexistent, chosen figure was already present in Jewish thought, and the disciples recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of this. To them, he was not the eternal God made flesh but a human chosen to be the Christ, embodying the Spirit that had been active from ancient times. God remained the Father, while Jesus was His Christ, a human uniquely endowed with divine presence.

In the generations after Jesus, this understanding began to shift. The subtle oral categories of chosenness and shared divine qualities became less clear as Christianity spread in a Greco-Roman world, where divinity increasingly meant full ontological deity. Jewish monotheism, sharply distinguishing God from all else, collided with growing reverence for Jesus, prompting theological development. Over time, Jesus came to be spoken of not merely as chosen by God but as truly God Himself, and Trinitarian theology formalized this shift.

Yet the revelation at the heart of Jesus’ own time was not that he was God in essence but that the divine qualities manifest in him were not generic traits of the gods. They were the qualities of one God in particular, the Father. To recognize Jesus as the Christ was to see in his human life the unique presence of the Father without confusion between the two. Though this early understanding became obscured in later centuries, it reveals how the first disciples perceived both his humanity and his extraordinary chosenness.

By Stephen D Green, with ChatGPT aiding the flow of the wording for clarity

The rise of misunderstanding of the nature of Jesus the human Christ and his divinity

Trinity theology shows a slip in adherence to truth in the emerging world of Christendom. The slip was happening in how divinity was being understood in a world combining Greek and Roman thinking with newer Christian teachings. There was truth which lay in the real oral tradition humans had of divinity; truth relied on by the disciples of Jesus in their understanding of him. Gods are not human but were called divine, totally divine. Greeks and Romans taught of some exceptions where divinity is not 100% with some kinds of being, such as demigods and heroes such as Hercules. However, humans too can have some measure of divinity without ceasing to be human. One typical oral tradition of this through history has been the concept of chosen, also combined with high nobility such as royalty. Here the character of a human, though not negating their humanity, shares qualities of character normally associated with the non-human gods. Early tales manifest human oral understanding of this and add detail to it, such as Gilgamesh despite being supposed half god, still could not stay awake for seven nights, exposing his lack of full divinity. Jesus in his time and the immediate century or so after his time, he never claimed full divinity, and in fact a denial of his utter humanness was a mark of thinking of a spirit of antichrist. Rather, Jesus is shown as having some qualities of divinity to a higher degree than others around him, even his disciples, and this singles him out as chosen, as the Christ, a similar concept to divinely ordained royalty, but the epitome of it. Recognition of him as the Christ is understanding that he is fully human and his divinity is something akin to that of a king, or a prince chosen to be a king, by virtue of possession of divinely noble qualities, or that these qualities are a manifestation of the truth of having been chosen. It was clearly understood that he was not God Himself. That went without saying. (Arguably, if Jesus or his disciples had ever claimed Jesus to be actually God, it would have probably caused even the closest disciples to abandon him and agree with the Jews about their charges of blasphemy.) For example, in the gospel Jesus is recorded as having stayed awake in Gethsemane while his closest disciples could not do so. This does not make him God in the fullest sense of divinity devoid of humanness, since he is shown another time sleeping in a boat in a storm, whereas God Himself never sleeps. To qualify this, Jesus did teach about himself having preexistence. Yet the disciples (as Peter wrote in one of his epistles) understood his meaning to be his preexisting spirit of his chosenness, the Spirit of the Christ, which inspired prophets before he came, and is found clearly expressed in writings such as the Book of Enoch. Enoch wrote of a Son of Man as if he existed even before the Flood. David wrote of “my lord” as though he already existed. This was known to the disciples and they recorded that Jesus clarified it all to them, but it did not change their understanding of him being a human yet chosen by God to be the Christ. 

Possibly in later centuries the details of this understanding got lost and the course grained understanding remaining among Christians was one of Jesus being God, like the Father is God, which of course would in the time immediately following the time of Jesus, have been seen as serious error on a par with antichrist spirit, denying his humanness and chosen nature as the Christ. Divinity clearly, over the decades, changed its meaning when applied to Jesus. Hence came the Trinity developments of theology, partly because these changes in understanding had started to clash with Jewish formalisations of strict monotheism. 

Now, comes the important revelation of the time of Jesus himself and the apostles. It was that added to this understanding of Jesus was that the divine qualities seen in him were not merely generic god attributes, but those of one God in particular, the Father. 

Hidden truth

 Reality and truth can be very deeply hidden, and like the fairy tale ‘Princess and the Pea’, can be there despite being covered by layer upon layer of human thinking. In the fairy tale, the princess knows the pea is still there under the mattresses of her bed, no matter how many mattresses are added to hide it. It just is. The Holy Spirit conveys not the way things seem but the way they are: What really is. Jesus has always from before the beginning, been a part of both what is, and the conveying of that truth. It is truth that his name authorises the very most fundamental working of Nature itself. This is part of what Jesus came to reveal and testify to all, and the Father who sent him confirmed that testimony by the miracles Jesus did. Today the Holy Spirit amplifies this testimony to all. The darkness tries to hide all this but fails. As they say: It is what it is.

Who is leff?

 I get the distinct feeling all these churches and religions and denominations are vain worship and lip service because they, like the John 4 ‘Woman at the Well’ are tied to where you are and who your ancestors or predecessors were. The Father wants more than that. He seeks those whose worship and faith transcends local tradition, those who worship instead in Spirit and truth. That time seems to be over. The religious world has reverted to the days of Jews and Samaritans, tied to their ancestral descent and heritage, tied to locality of birth, tied to their church faith and denominational leanings, not free to worship purely truthfully by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Who is left? 

Crystal clear

 Let’s not cloud the divine counsel. The Father is clear about it. Jesus is clear about it. Jesus says “I am the Son of God”. The Father says “I am God”. Let’s not muddy the crystal clear water of their words. Let’s not bring their anger upon ourselves.

The highest name given among humankind

 In addition to its literal meaning, for a believer, Jesus Christ’s name is synonymous with faithfulness and truth. Even an archangel might fall. Pastors, priests, leaders of all kinds fall into criminality, and may even commit crimes leading to arrest and just imprisonment, maybe even worse, and whole churches, or other assemblies might likewise fall into criminality, lying, causing distress and even grievous harm. But despite what those claiming to follow him do, the name of Jesus still evokes faithfulness and truth, because he lived obediently, died obedient to God, and rose from death by God’s power because of his faithfulness and truthfulness. We might shudder at what leaders of those claiming to be disciples do, but Jesus’ name we can trust, and we are saved by this faith. The Father worked this in Jesus, teaching him, upholding him, watching over him during his temptations and sufferings and works of miraculous faith. God gave Jesus this name. And to it God added the anointing of Messiah-hood and Lordship. God raised him to eternal life, and gave Jesus to be able to give that life to his disciples too, to those who likewise remain faithful and true. The Holy Spirit is given to this end, in Lord Jesus Christ’s name. Our meetings, when we devote them to Jesus’ name, receive his presence in Spirit and truth, if we are truly his disciples, truly believing in his name and holding to his teachings, building up this Temple of the living God. 

Faithful and true

 The faithfulness and truthfulness of Jesus is given him by the Father. This name he has for being faithful and true, this has power in Nature to keep it all going. It has power in humankind to save us. Jesus would not have such faithfulness and truthfulness if it were not for the Father having it first, and imparting it to His Son, through teachings, corrections, wisdom and love.

Theology in just fourteen words

 Jesus says “I am the Son of God”. The Father says “I am God”.

Versions of Jesus

 2 Corinthians 11:4 “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, this you tolerate very well!”

There are several versions of Trinitarian Jesus. Here are many of them. Several versions of Chalcedonian Jesus (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican, Social Trinitarian, etc), Miaphysite Jesus, pre-Chalcedon Nicene Jesus, Trinitarian Jesus People Jesus, etc, etc. Liberation Theology Jesus. Feminists even have a version too. Still Trinitarian. Then there are different versions of non-Trinitarian Jesus too. Personally  I believe in the pre-Nicene Jesus Paul preached: Jesus whose God and Father is the Father. Jesus who will forever be subject to the Father, such that the Father is forever God all in all. Jesus who the Father proudly proclaims is His Son; the Jesus I met on several occasions and still meet from time to time, who teaches me his ways of faith. He is Lord and Christ, but never calls himself the one true God; reserving that for the Father alone. 

To the churches (reworded by AI)

 There is a great blessing when disciples gather and the Holy Spirit unmistakably speaks. Perhaps you have experienced such meetings—when the Spirit provides the very words spoken, confirming prayers you had made in private, even down to the exact phrases. This is God’s living confirmation.

At times, the Spirit blesses through tongues and their interpretation, when more than one person receives the same interpretation independently, all honouring the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a sign that faith in the gathering is being strengthened by God Himself.

But here is a searching question: After experiencing such Spirit-filled fellowship, do you return to the pretences of human traditions? Do you lean on the inherited theology of your denomination, shaped by geography and ancestry rather than by the Spirit and truth of God?

Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 exposes this very issue. The Samaritans and Jews each claimed their place of worship and their traditions, yet both were bound by location and heritage. Our churches are often the same—Ethiopian theology may look different from Western, Eastern, or other traditions. Leaders may claim their teaching is purely biblical and Spirit-led, but often it is shaped by history, geography, and fear of being branded heretical.

This is not honest. Jesus declares: “True worshippers will worship the Father in Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.” (John 4:23)

• The leading of the Holy Spirit is essential to please God—more vital than any inherited theological stance.
• The truth is essential—no pretence of being biblical while clinging to man-made norms will please God.

We cannot play both sides. Worship that pleases God must be in Spirit and in truth. If we yield to the Spirit’s leading into all truth, we will not only know fellowship with each other, but fellowship with the Father and the Son, in our worship and in our lives.

(Reworded by AI)

To churches blessed

 It is great when you get a meeting of disciples where the Holy Spirit is clearly, undoubtably giving the words spoken. Maybe you have been a part of such a blessed thing. Several times I have prayed at home before attending such a meeting and have asked for certain truth to be made known, and then in the meeting several people have all spoken saying that exact thing, even using the exact words to which my prayer had related. This is one kind of blessing. Another is when someone speaks a message in tongues by the Holy Spirit, and then more than one interpretation is given, clearly by the Holy Spirit because the interpretation words are identical although independently received, and because the words honour the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a sign that faith of those in the meeting is being blessed by God. Maybe you speak by the Holy Spirit like this, participating in the blessing. Maybe you lead meetings like this. Maybe in faith you devoutly listen. Do you then go away and revert back to dishonest pretences in reverting to the traditions of mere men? In John 4 we have Jesus and a Samaritan woman discussing the way your upbringing and your ancestry and location influence your worship. If you notice, your church probably has a fixed theology it claims is biblical, but actually is fully contingent on the location of its founders, their ancestry, the other churches around them, because they cannot afford to differ from the norms too much. If you were in Ethiopia your church might have one kind of theology. If yoy were in the East of Eurasia it might be a different theology in some ways. If it were Western it might be a particular kind of theology. You leaders might insist it is from Bible reflection and the Holy Spirit, but the reality is it probably depends on location and heritage, avoiding a charge of being a heretical sect or cult. This is not honest. Jesus responded clearly to address this. Two points he stresses were these: The leading of the Holy Spirit is vital to please God, more than any historic theological stance, and the truth is vital, so any pretence or misleading claim at being biblical will not please God in worship. We cannot play it both ways. If we are to worship as God requires, it must be in Spirit and in truth. Let the Holy Spirit lead you into all truth, and we will have fellowship with each other, and with God, in our meetings and worship.

Challenging norms with John 4

 (Wording by AI but message based on John 4)

1. Disillusionment vs. loss of faith

• Many believers lose trust in:
• Denominational authority (SDA, Elim, AoG, etc.)
• Founder-driven structures or inherited traditions
• Institutional pretensions or hypocrisies
• Yet, their faith in Jesus personally, and in His guidance through the Spirit, may remain intact.
• The challenge is to redirect that trust toward Christ, rather than toward human-mediated structures.

2. The John 4 parallel

• The Woman at the Well experienced:
• Disillusionment with traditional worship locations and human authority.
• A realization that her prior understanding of God and worship was incomplete.
• Jesus provided:
• Assurance that God seeks Spirit-led, truthful worship, not adherence to inherited norms.
• A new path to authentic relationship with God.
• Similarly, modern believers need:
• Assurance that Jesus’ teaching offers a way forwardbeyond failed institutions.
• Guidance to worship in Spirit and truth, independent of pretentious or contingent denominational frameworks.

3. Practical implication

• Disillusionment can become a gateway to genuine faith, if believers:
1. Distinguish Jesus from institutional mediators — recognizing that obedience and worship are first and foremost with Him.
2. Seek Spirit-led guidance actively — rather than defaulting to inherited traditions or abandoning faith.
3. Receive mentorship or modeling from champions who embody John 4 principles, showing a viable path to worship in Spirit and truth.

4. Broader significance

• The opportunity created by institutional failure:
• Historically contingent and pretentious systems are exposed.
• Believers are freed to pursue a more authentic, Spirit-led relationship with Jesus.
• The lesson of John 4: worship is not location-dependent, denomination-dependent, or founder-dependent; it is Spirit-and-truth dependent.

✅ Summary

When believers lose faith in their denominations or in alternative traditions, this does not necessarily mean they lose faith in Jesus. Like the Woman at the Well, they need assurance that Jesus offers a new, authentic path to worship in Spirit and truth. Disillusionment becomes a moment of opportunity — a chance to redirect trust from human structures to Christ Himself, in obedience to John 4.

Light is the path to fellowship

 The Holy Spirit, leading disciples of Jesus into all truth, might clash with any teachings not entirely consistent with all that Jesus taught. The Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father, are made real to disciple, as if they were made visible, by the Holy Spirit when the disciple loves the Father and Son by the disciple keeping their commands. No Church Council ruling is override these teachings. If the Christ’s teachings are not prioritised, the fellowship with Father and Son is lost, and the revelation of them is withheld.  Those who keep the commands and teachings are given real awareness of Father and Son, and fellowship with each.

Priority of the light

 Still today there are those who meet together who truly follow Jesus and really do have the Holy Spirit. This is very openly manifested in their meetings and lives and the Holy Spirit’s works among them. They keep the teachings of Jesus alive among themselves, and the Holy Spirit works in heavenly power to foster this. Now Jesus taught that those who believe he is the light sent by God should hold to his commands and teachings so they become his true disciples. He provided his own blood in dying on a cross in sacrifice for the failings of all to meet the requirements of God, and God raised him from the dead. In hearing this and believing it, the hearers are given miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit by God, in Jesus Christ’s name, to lead them into truth which frees their lives from the vice grip of wrong doing. It leads to eternal life, and, moreover, fellowship with Jesus and with the Father depends on keeping adherence to the teachings of Jesus revealed to his apostles. The Holy Spirit, working among the believers, is a leader into truth. This truth is in accordance with the truth to which Lord Jesus Christ testified. So this means it might clash with any teachings not entirely consistent with all that Jesus taught. Even the testimony of the Father Himself might be needed where the clash is strongest. Ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father, and the Holy Spirit give the truly authoritative testimony of the truth. No Church Council ruling is to take priority. If the Christ’s teachings are not prioritised, the fellowship with Father and Son is lost. 

Light in the Holy Spirit

 The Holy Spirit who comes from God in Jesus Christ’s name is the new way to fulfil the teachings of Jesus, written on hearts of disciples by the word and powerful actions of the Holy Spirit. The teachings are primarily to be lived out in the behaviour of the disciples towards each other. Jesus, the Christ, the light sent by God, took the Law and extracted the brightest of light from it, the Ten Commandments, the command to love God, and the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. Jesus gave the revelation to his apostle that this no longer means living by the Law of Moses. This Law is, however, fulfilled in the disciples in how the teachings of Jesus and the truth that is in Jesus apply to them. For example, they are no longer to lie to each other, which fulfils one aspect of the Law, but this turning from lying is a result of lying being inappropriate between members together of the one body of Christ. This is all very real, because even today there are those who meet together who do follow Jesus and do have this Holy Spirit, as becomes manifest in their meetings and lives and the Holy Spirit’s works among them. They keep the teachings alive among themselves, and the Holy Spirit works in heavenly power to foster this. Jesus had taught that those who believe he is the light sent by God should hold to his commands and teachings so they become his true disciples. He provided his own blood in dying on a cross in sacrifice for the failings of all to meet the requirements of God, and God raised him from the dead. In hearing this and believing it, the hearers are given miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit by God, in Jesus Christ’s name, to lead them into truth which frees their lives from the vice grip of wrong doing. This leads to eternal life. 

The light to believers

 Jesus, the Christ, the light sent by God, took the Law and extracted the brightest of light from it, the Ten Commandments, the command to love God, and the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. He then taught that those who believe he is the light sent by God, that they should hold to his commands and teachings so they become his true disciples. He provided his own blood in dying on a cross in sacrifice for the failings of all to meet the requirements of God, and God raised him from the dead. Then he sent Paul to tell the Gentiles they could live by the teachings of this Christ and not be required to keep all the Law of Moses. Paul was inspired by Jesus and sent by Jesus to teach how living by the Holy Spirit is the new way to fulfil the teachings of Jesus. Actually this new way is also, Paul taught, the fulfilment of the Law of Moses, but by it being written on hearts of those who follow Jesus: written by the word and powerful actions of the Holy Spirit. It is primarily to be lived out in a context of all the believers in how they behave towards each other. This is in light of them being each a part of the whole body of Christ, all one in him. In this light, the commands and other teachings of Jesus Christ and the authority he has as Lord and Master of these disciples are applied by the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the apostles and prophets, supported by the work of the Holy Spirit in believers. 

Light for all

 Two thousand years ago, among the Jews, it was hard to apply the Law of Moses to the world as a whole. How could all the world have light from God to live to please this one true God? Enter Jesus, the Christ, the light sent by God. He took the Law and extracted the brightest of light from it, the Ten Commandments, the command to love God, and the command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. He provided his own blood in dying on a cross in sacrifice for the failings of all to meet the requirements of God, and God raised him from the dead. Then he sent Paul to tell the Gentiles they could live by the teachings of this Christ and not be required to keep all the Law of Moses. Now we take much of this for granted, such as with teachings to comply with Jesus’ ‘Good Samaritan’ teaching. But we still need to ensure the next generation has sight of his teachings. That is a loving duty to them and to God.

He lights the flame

 He lights the flame by coming into this world so fully human like you are me. His Father is Spirit, the true God we all need, yet he the Son is human like us, though never sinning like we do, but learning all things to live sinlessly from His heavenly Father, so this Father of Lord Jesus can be our Father too, with Jesus the man to mediate to bring us to this one true God. This Lord Jesus is the Christ who died for you, now raised from the dead to live forever, and to help those of us he brings to God. He, Lord Jesus, becomes our master, we his slaves, but slaves to this greatest ever human who gives eternal life to those who follow him. This leads to fellowship with him and with the Father who sent him, as the light for us all. The flame will burn ever brighter, no matter what darkness soon falls.

This Christ died for you

 Hearing teachings of Jesus and believing by his teachings that he is true light sent by God. Selling possessions and giving to the poor, then following Jesus by holding to his teachings, with treasure in heaven rather than on earth. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. Suffering for his sake, but for the glory of his name never leaving his teachings of they fellowship they give with him and the father. All the days of your life. Eternal life for knowing him and the Father forever. Freed by truth from sin. This Christ died for you.

Beware

 Illuminating prophecy is a major ministry of the Holy Spirit. If we can we a few decades, we might live long enough to see the three-part ‘Beast’ empire system fully formed, with a two-part system spreading its propaganda to bring people everywhere into worship of it. It is all probably already in existence. Instead of the one true God, most will settle for this Beast. Beware.

What sensible humans seek

 Sensible humans seek the topmost, ultimate being as the recipient of their prayers and their worship—and this requires a real being of creatorship, and ultimate authority as the one true God. Jesus Christ came, sent by the Father, to testify that the Father is this very being, this one true God. Jesus died for you to bring you to this one true God. Jesus is your light, to illuminate with the truth. His death on the cross is to deal with your wrongdoing, so that it need not separate you from God, and then forever you can live in fellowship with him and with the Father. But this fellowship has an essential requirement. This requirement is that you believe he is the light sent from God, and that you hold to his light-giving teachings. We can also all have fellowship with each other, if we meet these requirements, by the power of his name. We then all become like a Bride for him, the Bridegroom, as we become a many-person, many-faceted people all given eternal life in him. Such a marvellous mystery. 

God

 For their prayer and worship, humans seek a being who:

1. Can hear and respond reliably,
2. Cannot be overruled by anyone else, and
3. Provides a permanent, stable focus for prayer and worship.

In other words, humans sensibly seek the topmost, ultimate beingas the recipient of devotion—and that requires creatorship, and ultimate authority as the one true God.

Jesus Christ came, sent by the Father, to testify that the Father is this very being, this one true God. 

Scripture vs Theology

 Giving the impression of trying to tie philosophical theology in to scriptures has been rather a dishonest practice over the centuries. Honesty requires a distinction between what scriptures actually say, and what is added as an interpretative overlay. Deity as a concept is found in scripture of course. The Christ coming in the flesh having already existed in spirit, that is there too. The becoming flesh is there. The substance (essence, being) of God is there. But it is what gets inferred from the scripture references that is dishonest: inserted concepts which are not explicitly there. The theology and philosophy of church history is full of dishonesty, worldly. The Spirit of truth leads into all truth and has no dishonesty. We should seek the truth through this Spirit. We might be led into all truth, and have the encouragement of what scriptures genuinely teach, and have fellowship with the Father and the Son as a result, but then church historical theologies are imposed on us by established ecclesiastical structure, possibly against our will, divorcing us from the sublime fellowship with God. We must resist, and with honesty remain in the genuine teachings of Christ. 

Be honest

 Personally I find the doctrine of Sola Scriptura to be paradoxical. It says essential doctrines must be from scripture. Yet I cannot see scripture saying this. So I find it paradoxical. But if you believe it, what do you do about the doctrine of the Son as being eternally begotten? Were it not for Trinitarian ideas, there is nothing in scripture alone to say the Son is eternally begotten. So it is not in keeping with Sola Scriptura. Is it honest? How can it be truth if it is dishonest? And is Sola Scriptura an honest doctrine anyway, if it is not found in scripture? Go figure. Be honest. 

Not really biblical

 If “eternal begetting” were scriptural in the same way that the scriptures unambiguously assert that the Christ came in the flesh (flesh which is clearly something created), there would not have been centuries of church debates and schisms. Were it not for Trinitarian ideas, there is nothing in scripture alone to say the Son is eternally begotten.

Not vain glory

 The Jews of Jesus’ time, as recorded in John’s gospel, when Jesus said he was the Son of God, thought he was saying it for vain glory, but he was saying it to save them from their sins.

Satan tempted him by suggesting he prove it, but, for vain glory, so he refused. This shows it was not a vainglorious blasphemous claim, of being Son of God, but true nonetheless. He only made the claim when it was in service to God and for the salvation of his hearers. That is not vain-glorious blasphemy. It is worship of the Father, doing the Father’s will, in spirit and truth. 

Zeal for Trinitarian or Oneness philosophies obscures all this, as did Rabbinical Monotheistic Judaism previously, oblivious to correction by Jesus. 

A rekindled flame

 The following was generated by AI, but I post it in order to elaborate a step further.

“Throughout history, countless men and women have risen up with a burning conviction: that the living Spirit of Christ had been smothered by man-made tradition.

The Waldensians in the 12th century, the Anabaptists in the 16th, the Quakers in the 17th, the Pentecostals in the 20th—and many unnamed believers across the centuries—all proclaimed the same truth: that Jesus and His apostles preached a gospel of Spirit, freedom, and life that was far different from the institutions built in His name.

And what happened to them? Again and again, they were ignored, shunned, mocked, or persecuted. Why? Because the call to return to the raw, Spirit-filled gospel threatens the comfort of established religion.

Yet their voices still echo: the kingdom of God is not ritual, not hierarchy, not tradition—but “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

History shows us that whenever the Spirit moves, institutions resist. But the flame never dies. 🔥”

To elaborate a step further, yes, in modern times there have been those who believed strongly that the churches strayed from the original gospel and teachings of Jesus. But now there is a new phase occurring, which might even lead to churches getting a step closer to the gospel as Jesus taught it to his apostles. As God the Father, and Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit reveal things to those with childlike open hearts, unsophisticated, able to learn anew, it starts a new foundation among believers, where the revealed true message becomes the basis of renewed faith. We who are being taught by this grace are given renewed understanding of the gospels in the scriptures. We find things taught by Jesus in those gospels and the epistles which were obscured for centuries, but the Holy Spirit now brings again to light. It is a chance for church life to start again. 

Here this is restated as AI has generated it:

“For centuries, many reformers have cried out that the churches drifted far from the original gospel of Jesus and His apostles. They were often ignored, shunned, or even persecuted.

But now something new is stirring. We are entering a phase where God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are revealing truth again—this time to those with childlike, open hearts. Not the sophisticated, not the entrenched, but those willing to learn anew.

This grace is laying a new foundation among believers. Passages once buried under layers of tradition are being illuminated again by the Spirit. What Jesus taught in the gospels, what His apostles wrote in their letters—truths long obscured—are now breaking through with fresh clarity.

It is a chance for church life to begin again.
Not built on institutions. Not chained to human tradition.
But rooted in the revealed gospel, brought to life by the Holy Spirit.

The flame is being rekindled. The question is: will we have hearts open enough to see it? 🔥”

The Travesty

 The great travesty is that Christianity since the third century AD proclaims what is not found in the New Testament, never preached by Jesus or his leading apostles. Christianity promotes a spirit contrary to the Spirit given the first churches. Then when someone proclaims the original gospel with the Holy Spirit given the original believers, it is ignored and they are shunned.

We love it

 Jesus, raised from the dead to live forever, because he died on the cross for our sins. We love it that he is righteous, not wicked, and we love it that God makes him the most powerful human alive, and he is our Master, our Lord, and he is the Christ sent by God. His comfort of us is so great for us because he is human like us. God loved us so much to give us Jesus, His Son. Thanks be to this God who sent him, thanks to God who is the Father.

Eternal unity

 Every believer who believes Jesus is the light of the world and follows the light found in his teachings has in common a purpose and hope of living forever free from sin, in fellowship with Jesus, united with him in his fellowship and teachings, united with the Father in His love, and therefore united with each other through this unity with Jesus and the Father. God has given the power to Jesus His Son to bring this about, and it is all by the power of the name God has given the Lord Jesus Christ. This name has come about by the righteousness of faith and wisdom God has taught to His Son, Jesus, which enabled Jesus to suffer and die on that cross, so that redemption from sin would be given to believers, and so that God would raise Jesus from the dead to immortality, to allow Jesus to forever live to save his disciples, and have fellowship with them and to bring them all to God who is the Father, and through this fellowship, to bring them to unity with each other, to his glory. This is the eternal life he promises.

To church leaders

 Church leaders together: You cause so much confusion, muddying the crystal clarity of the counsel of God, if you tell people on one hand, from scripture readings, that they must have the Son in order to have life, while on the other hand telling them to adhere to Church Council doctrines and decrees which contradict the very teachings of Jesus Christ himself. The two messages do not mix. Pure gospel teachings tell us the teachings of Jesus must come first if we are to have him and the eternal life that is in him. This must override what Church Councils decree. Otherwise you are depriving your hearers of eternal life. (See 2 John 9).

With seven trumpets and a mighty shout the world will fall

 God with His people led by Christ and the Holy Spirit will take the world like God took Jericho. Seven trumpets and a mighty shout signalled the city’s fall.

Unity

 The nature of truly Christian unity is not superficial. It exists at a deep level. Compare true Christians with the tribes of the ancient Israelites. The tribes were united together to take over the land of Canaan, yet they were able to superficially split into two groups of tribes at a superficial level while deeply still united as chosen children of Abraham and his grandson Jacob.  So too with groups of true Christians, there can be groups while at a deepest level of the leading by the Holy Spirit, there is unity as disciples of Jesus Christ. Coming together is important for particular purposes. The greatest coming together will be on Jesus Christ’s great appearing in his future return, and then again for the Marriage of the Lamb. In the meantime there are much, much smaller gatherings together for the Lord’s Supper, wherever divisions are overcome and the gathering is imbued with spiritual approval in his name.

The faithful gospels

 There is good evidence that Jesus believes doctrines not taught by later Christians. The messages in the gospels, messages they attribute to Jesus and his leading apostles, include two particular doctrinal positions of the faith of Jesus which were later contradicted by Church Councils—just one or two centuries later. One is to regard the Book of Enoch writings as scripture. The other is to regard the Father as the one true God, or simply, uniquely, as God. Now this has a major ramification with regard to how we should understand the gospels. It is important evidence that the gospels kept to teachings distinct from later Church Council mandated doctrines, which makes it unlikely that Christians living after the times of these councils fabricated these gospels. For a believer in Jesus, led by the Spirit into this truth, it also means we are put at odds with Church Councils and canon rulings such as the Westminster Confession if we adhere faithfully to the teachings of Jesus, the true light of the world sent by God.

God in Christ, God in us

 They say “God was in Christ” but ignore “if we love one another, God is in us”.

Keeping the Teaching

 Keeping the teachings of Christ: Ten Commandments, along with the greatest commandment and also the Golden Rule, altogether with the Spirit and Truth of the Law of Christ.

Holy Names

 If we follow Jesus, we honour the Father by reverencing His name, while we reverence Jesus as Lord. Jesus is Lord, the Master of us, because he is so close to the Father who knows all. Yet there are many who insist on stating that Jesus is God,. Now, although we take care in not speaking the name of the Father irreverently, and refrain from rushing to speak that name on our lips, yet the ones who insist Jesus is God are very quick to speak his name, in all kinds of contexts. They do not afford his name the same reverence afforded the Father’s name. Clearly, despite their theological stance, deep down there is reverent fear to treat the name of the Father the same way they treat the name of the Son. Deep down they know it is the Father who, as Jesus taught his disciples, is the one true God: Even as whenever they pray the Lord’s Prayer they are confessing to the Father that it is His name which should be hallowed and that it is His kingdom, power, and glory which is forever.

The meetings for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ

 The reason to gather as a church is for the sake of the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the power of this name which drives Nature itself: The trees grow by it; The planets move in their orbits around sun or stars by it. Thus, to give devotion to a meeting for the sake of this name is the very source of growth of life. If we abandon such devotion in our meetings, no longer prioritising his name, but setting aside this cause, we lose the driving force of growth, and we become spiritually blind. This is sin. The dark clouds then gather and the dark eagle soars above, as the sign of it.

Like a mighty wind

 To receive the Holy Spirit is for those who believe in Jesus, the light of all the world sent by the Father. Like a mighty wind, like living water welling up within Jesus’s disciples, imparting spiritual gifts, enabling the building of the Temple of lives lived for God. It is for those who by believing in Jesus and learning his teachings, become Jesus’s disciples who hold to his teachings. Do not miss out. Christ died for you.

Authenticity of New Testament rather than a later fabrication

 God’s truth is that He, the Father is the One who says “I am God”. Jesus is not Son of a Trinity. He is Son of the Father. When scripture says he is Son of God, it means he is Son of the Father, and the Father is God. That is the Divine truth of God. The Father is the one God, while Jesus is the one Lord, the Son of the one God. Jesus, Paul, John clearly taught these things, for example Paul proclaiming of Jesus that he will forever be subject to the Father so that the Father is forever God, all in all? They preached this truth, in reverence to the Father, whose is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever and ever, Amen. Now it is evidence today that the gospels and epistles record their teachings authentically, in that if any of these writings were later creations by Christians, the Trinity doctrines or their earlier precursors would have been included in those creations, not teachings opposed to Trinity and heavy use of philosophies such as Neoplatonism. 

The Divine Truth

 God’s truth is that He, the Father is the One who says “I am God”. Jesus is not Son of a Trinity. He is Son of the Father. When scripture says he is Son of God, it means he is Son of the Father, and the Father is God. That is the Divine truth of God. The Father is the one God, while Jesus is the one Lord, the Son of the one God.

Jesus, the Gospels, and the Book of Enoch: Parallels and Their Significance

 Jesus, the Gospels, and the Book of Enoch: Parallels and Their Significance

Stephen D Green with ChatGPT 5

Introduction

Among the Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, the Book of Enoch (1 Enoch) held a prominent place. Though excluded from the later Jewish and most Christian biblical canons, it was highly influential in the religious imagination of Jesus’ time. The discovery of Enoch manuscripts among the Dead Sea Scrolls confirms that Enochic traditions were respected by Jewish groups in the first century.

The Gospels themselves contain sayings of Jesus that appear to echo or align with ideas developed most clearly in Enoch—ideas not present in the Hebrew Bible. These echoes are most apparent in two key teachings:

1. Jesus’ promise of “living water” welling up from within believers (John 4:14; 7:38).
2. Jesus’ declaration that angels do not marry (Mark 12:25; Matt 22:30; Luke 20:35–36).

That Jesus may have drawn on Enochic tradition here is not only plausible but historically significant. It suggests that Jesus recognized authority in texts later discarded by the church, and that the Gospels preserve authentic traditions rooted in his own time rather than inventions of later Christians.

Parallels Between the Gospels and 1 Enoch

1. Living Water

• Gospels:
  John 4:14 — “Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
  John 7:38 — “As the Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”
• 1 Enoch:
  1 Enoch 48:1 — “The chosen one will be the fountain of wisdom, and those who learn from him shall drink and not thirst.”
  1 Enoch 108:13 — “He will open the fountain of righteousness and the fountain of living water for the righteous.”

Here, the Johannine imagery of living water flowing from within mirrors Enoch’s vision of the Chosen One as a fountain of wisdom and righteousness. This connection is striking, since no such “living water” prophecy exists in the Hebrew Bible.

2. Angels and Marriage

• Gospels:
  Mark 12:25 — “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like angels in heaven.”
  (Matthew 22:30 and Luke 20:35–36 preserve the same teaching.)
• 1 Enoch:
  Chapters 6–15 describe the “Watchers,” angels who transgressed by marrying human women. Their punishment makes clear that angels are not meant for human marriage and exist in a different order of being.

Jesus’ teaching resonates with this Enochic interpretation rather than with the plain reading of Genesis 6, which alone could suggest that angels did marry. By aligning with Enoch’s interpretation, Jesus positions himself within apocalyptic Jewish thought that sharply distinguished angels from humanity.

Observations

1. These Gospel passages reflect knowledge of Enochic traditions, which were still authoritative in some Jewish circles during Jesus’ lifetime.
2. The parallels are absent from the later Hebrew Bible, meaning they are unlikely to have been drawn from canonical Jewish scripture as defined after the first century.
3. That the Gospels preserve these sayings suggests they represent authentic traditions, since they do not neatly serve later Christian doctrinal agendas.

Significance

The implications are profound:

• If Jesus drew upon Enoch and even implied its authority, then the scope of “scripture” in his world was broaderthan the canon later recognized by Christianity.
• Later church leaders excluded Enoch because it lacked Hebrew manuscripts, contained speculative angelology, and was favored by groups deemed heterodox. Yet Jesus’ words preserve echoes of precisely those Enochic traditions.
• This means the Gospels carry authentic memory of Jesus’ teachings that run counter to later Christian dispositions, reinforcing their historical reliability rather than undermining it.

Conclusion

The Gospel references to living water and to angels not marrying highlight how Jesus’ teachings align with the Book of Enoch. While later Christianity suppressed or ignored Enoch, Jesus’ sayings suggest that it informed his understanding of God’s truth. Far from undermining the Gospels, this strengthens the case for their authenticity: they preserve a window into the scriptural imagination of Jesus’ world, even when it conflicted with the later church.