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Gino Jennings, Deceiver and Antichrist

For many deceivers have come into the world, who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. (a more literal translation of 2 John 7; ουτος εστιν ο πλανος και ο αντιχριστος.)

Introduction:

In the 20 years since establishing the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Jennings has grown the institution from a core of 12 believers who worshiped in the basement of his parents' Hunting Park home to a denomination that has founded more than 15 satellite churches in the continental U.S.

Today his church, a towering structure more than a century old whose windows are appointed with ornate stained-glass designs, is based at 2431 Frankford Ave. in Port Richmond. It attracts hundreds of congregants at its regular Tuesday and Thursday evening prayer services and Sunday worship.

The Philadelphia location is the global headquarters of Jennings' Truth of God movement and message.

The movement also counts nearly 200 international sanctuaries in Africa, Asia and Europe as members of the flock. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/church_news.asp)

Although Gino Jennings is against the Catholic holidays of Easter and Christmas (see footnote #1), which are indeed pagan, he is nonetheless a false teacher who claims to be an apostle and "prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ" (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/history_of_ministry.asp).

This is the official website of the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ were [sic] the Apostle Pastor Gino Jennings is the General Overseer. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/introduction.asp, hard copies on file of all documentation)

He also claims to have seen the Lord.

"He stood there before me ... I saw his hands...something just comes over me when I talk about it...," Pastor Jennings has often testified..."...He showed me my work...," he would say,..."...my calling was made known to me : Jeremiah 1 verse 5...'...Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.' ,... He placed his hands in my face and made it hard as flint..." (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/history_of_ministry.asp, ellipsis in original)

1 John 3:6 says,

Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known him.

As will be proven below, Gino Jennings has neither seen Him nor known Him, even though he claims he has.

Jennings claims to,

teach those doctrines and traditions delivered to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy Apostles and Prophets. Therefore, all our preaching, teaching and manner of life is based solely on the inspired scriptures as recorded in the Bible. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/introduction.asp, see also footnote #2 below)

This is a lie. His teaching is,

I. Antichrist

In Jennings document, "Is Your Doctrine Damnable?" he writes,

If you believe that Jesus Christ is still the Son of God in the flesh, your Doctrine is Damnable. Read II Cor. 5:16, I Pet 3:18, John 4:24, I Cor. 15:50. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/multimedia/downloads/is_your_doctine_damnable.pdf, p. 2)

On page 3 of his paper, "Have You Been Born Again?" Jennings writes,

JESUS CHRIST IS FATHER, WAS SON, IS HOLY GHOST. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/multimedia/downloads/have_you_been_born_again.pdf)

The Bible says,

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

Jesus has always been the Son of God (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:4; Psalm 45:6-7/Hebrews 1:8-9; Psalm 102:25-27/Hebrews 1:10-12) and He always will be the Son of God (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:28). He has always been in flesh (Genesis 3:8; 18:1-2, 16-17; 32:22-30; 1 Timothy 2:5; Revelation 13:8) and He always will (e.g. Revelation 2:18; 19:11-13). When 2 John 7 speaks of those who "do not confess Jesus Christ coming in flesh" it speaks of those who deny His very person of being ("coming," ερχομενον, present active participle) in flesh. He was in flesh before, came, and left in flesh (Luke 24:39; Acts 1:9-11). As it is written,

For in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

In other words, in the flesh and blood body of Christ dwells all the fullness of God. Whoever denies this, whoever does not confess it, is antichrist (2 John 7; 1 John 4:2-3).

Among the Scriptures given to justify Jennings' antichrist teaching, he gives 2 Corinthians 5:16.

Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Is Paul saying here that Jesus is no longer in the flesh? Paul is no more saying that, than he is saying that everyone else that he speaks of is no longer in the flesh. When he writes, "we regard no one according to the flesh," he obviously is not saying everyone is without a body, since he is talking to people who are still in flesh. So, what does Paul mean in regards to Christ?

In 1 Corinthians 15:7 Paul writes of those to whom Christ appeared and he says,

After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

"All the apostles" would not only include the twelve, but also Barnabas (Acts 14:14), Andronicus and Junia (Romans 16:7), Timothy and/or Silvanus (1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6). Then Paul says,

Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

Paul was the last person to whom Christ appeared. Paul saw the flesh and blood resurrected Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1), as did the others he mentions. That's his context (1 Corinthians 15:4-7). Paul saw and knew Christ in flesh (Acts 9:17; 22:14; 26:16). The last recorded time was in Acts 23:11 where the Lord "stood by him."

But now, in 2 Corinthians 5:16, Paul declares, "we know Him thus no longer." This is the same thing Peter told the elect "pilgrims of the Disperson in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Peter 1:1):

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice . . .". (1 Peter 1:8)

In this present age, in these perilous days (2 Timothy 3:1), believers do not know nor see Christ in flesh. Nevertheless, this does not mean He is not in flesh, as Paul wrote,

in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

Christ is still a flesh and blood man (1 Timothy 2:5). He has always been a flesh and blood man (Hebrews 13:8; Malachi 3:6). Those who deny this are antichrist (2 John 7). [For more on this, see our article The Lord is a Man, particularly points VII & VIII.]

II. Idolatry

Consistent with preaching a false Christ, as illustrated above, Jennings preaches a false God as he rejects the plurality of the Godhead.

If you believe there are three distinct persons in the God Head, you are a false prophet and the Doctrine that you are preaching is damnable. Deu. 32:39, Ecc. 4:8, Is. 44:6-8, Is. 45:21-22, I John 5:7. (ibid.)

Three distinct persons can be easily seen in the Godhead at the baptism of Christ.

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized, and while He prayed, the heaven opened. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, "You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased." (Luke 3:21-22)

Luke portrays three distinct persons:

1) Christ, in a physical body being baptized
2) the Holy Spirit in a physical body descending
3) the Father speaking from heaven.

Jennings misses the obvious.

Likewise, Matthew 28:19 speaks of these same three who are the one God (Deu. 32:39), the Lord God Almighty. And, being that they are the same God, they have the same name, יְהוָה, Yehvah (see, e.g. Jeremiah 33:2; Hosea 12:5; Amos 5:8; 9:6).

In his document "Have You Been Born Again?" Jennings writes,

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are Titles. (p. 2)

Nowhere does the Scripture teach that these are Titles (Proverbs 30:5-6).

One of the verses Jennings gives to support his claim in the first quote above is 1 John 5:7.

For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.

They are indeed one (Deuteronomy 6:4), but Jennings misses the plural demonstrative pronoun "these," the plural numeric literal number "three," and the plural verb "are" and the fact that 1 John 5:7 is talking about three witnesses. "There are three that bear witness . . .". That's a lie if what Jennings claims is true. "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are Titles." In fact, note what he means by this. In the same article, immediately after he claims they are titles, he writes,

Jesus didn't say to be baptized in the titles; He said do it in THE NAME! NOT NAMES, BUT THE NAME! HEAR ME! When a man got married, he was a husband, but to the man's mother he is was a son. When a man's wife gave birth to the first child he became a father. The man's name was not husband, son and father! The man's name is Brown! AMEN! Therefore, Mr. Brown is a Son, Husband, and Father! Three titles to the one Mr. Brown, YOU UNDERSTAND?!

Yes, Jennings has made himself clear. The same man that is a son, husband, and father is one who bears witness, not three. Thus, Jennings denies 1 John 5:7 (and John 8:17-18).

Jesus said,

that they all may be one, as You Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us. (John 17:21)

The oneness of believers in this text is oneness involving distinct persons. Christ uses this same concept of oneness dealing with individual believers when He speaks of Himself and His Father ("as You Father, are in Me, and I in You"). The only way Christ's statement makes any sense at all is if He and His Father are truly two distinct persons, who are yet one nonetheless as well. How else could believers be one as Christ and the Father are one? Might they mesh into a blob of humanity that become one person and are no longer distinct persons? Of course not! Scripture teaches no such thing. Believers are one indeed in the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3-6; 1 John 4:6), and are one body (Ephesians 4:4), but they are nonetheless, at the same time, distinct persons in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11-12).

Finally, one need not look far in reading the Bible before it is manifest that God is indeed plural with distinct persons in the Godhead. The very first chapter reads,

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; . . . . (Genesis 1:26)

In whose likeness and image was man made?

So God created man in His Own image; in the image of God He created him. (Genesis 1:27)

Genesis 1:27 lets us know the "Us," "Our," and "Our" of verse 26 is speaking of the singular God, His image, His likeness, but as is evident from verse 26 there is more than one who has that same image and likeness ("Us," "Our"). There is indeed more than one in the Godhead. For more on this, please see our articles, He Is Holy Gods, The Lord Is A Man, The Seven Spirts of God Are God, and Jerusalem Is God.

III. False Requirement

Consistent with Jennings rejection of the true God is his foolish statement regarding baptism.

If you believe that you can sprinkle for baptism or baptize someone using the words Father, Son & Holy Ghost, Surely Your Doctrine is Damnable! Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Acts 8:16, ROM. 6:3-4, Col. 3:17. (bid., p. 3, bold added to text, not references)

Imagine the audacity of "baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19)? Can you imagine someone actually using the same exact words of Christ when they baptize someone?

In "Have You Been Born Again?" Jennings writes concerning baptism,

Jesus didn't say do it in three separate NAMES! He said do it in THE NAME, which is singular. Before you can be baptized in THE NAME of the FATHER, SON and HOLY GHOST, you must know the NAME of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Once you come into the knowledge of the one NAME, then you can use it (THE NAME) in Baptism. (p. 2)

Interesting that Jennings argues, "Jesus didn't say do it in three separate NAMES!" When Jennings says, "do it," he is talking about what is spoken when baptizing someone (see below). So, he is arguing against "NAMES." Yet, he uses "NAME" when denouncing the practice. A little after the above quote Jennings writes,

There is no record in the bible where a Preacher took a candidate into the water and said over them, "I THEREFORE BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST"! HEAR ME AND GET THIS GOOD, THAT IS NOT WRITTEN IN THE BIBLE. I REPEAT! There is no record in the bible where a Preacher took a candidate into the water and said over them, "I THEREFORE BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST"! (p. 2-3, bold added)

A little later Jennings proclaims,

THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST, IS JESUS CHRIST. (p. 3)

If truly, "THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST, IS JESUS CHRIST," then why can't someone baptize "IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST"? Jennings doesn't even believe his own words.

Moreover, he ought to listen to his own words, because there is also "no record in the bible where a Preacher took a candidate into the water and said over them, 'I THEREFORE BAPTIZE YOU IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST.'" That, likewise, is devoid in the written record. By his own measure it will be measured back to him (Matthew 7:1-2).

In fact, the written record is completely devoid of any kind of verbal declaration by any man whatsoever in any and all recorded baptisms. There is not a single time anyone is quoted as saying anything. Yet, Jennings claims,

HEAR ME! AND SAVE YOUR SOUL! Anytime you let a preacher Baptize you using the words: Father, Son and Holy Ghost, he stood in the water and told a lie. He said he was going to do it in the NAME and didn't call the NAME, so that baptism was invalid. (p. 3)

Says who? Says Jennings, not God. It should be evident by Jennings words that he is saying they didn't say the right words. It's amazing here that a man could say exactly what Jesus says, "in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19), and Jennings has a problem with that. He condemns people for saying the exact words of Christ found in Matthew 28:19. Nevertheless, God says nothing about saying anything whatsoever when you baptize.

As the Bible says, "They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" in Acts 19:5, it also says,

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. (Colossians 3:17)

"Whatever you do" (Colossians 3:17) includes the deed of baptism (Acts 2:38). Whether it is baptizing or anything else, it all is to be done "in the name of the Lord Jesus."

Does this mean that every time a word comes out of your mouth ("in word") or every time you do anything ("deed"), you need to verbally declare "in the name of the Lord Jesus"? Obviously not! How could you even function or communicate?

Hi, in the name of the Lord Jesus, how, in the name of the Lord Jesus, are, in the name of the Lord Jesus, you, in the name of the Lord Jesus? Oh, in the name of the Lord Jesus, I, in the name of the Lord Jesus, am, in the name of the Lord Jesus, fine, in the name of the Lord Jesus. How, in the name of the Lord Jesus, are, in the name of the Lord Jesus, you, in the name of the Lord Jesus?

Or, can you imagine every deed you did having to verbally declare, "In the name of the Lord Jesus"? You scratch your nose - "in the name of the Lord Jesus." You take a breath, "in the name of the Lord Jesus." Of course, if you say a word and scratch your nose at the same time (which is highly likely unless you are holding your breath, but then, that would be a deed too) you would have to say it twice, so it would really get cumbersome while you are talking. You would need to say, "In the name of the Lord Jesus" for the breath (or for holding your breath) and also for the word you spoke.

So, what does it mean to baptize "in the name" or to do word or deed "in the name"? It does not mean certain words must be verbally proclaimed. It means it needs to be done for the Lord Jesus. As Colossians 1:16 says,

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Man has been in rebellion against the Lord Jesus since the beginning (Genesis 3) and has refused to submit to the very reason he was created. He was created for Christ (Colossians 1:16). In salvation, this absolute rebellion (Proverbs 17:11) ends, and the man or woman begins to live for the One who created them. The very beginning of this change, this repentance, is faith in Christ and immersion (that's what baptism means)3 into Christ. The immersion is for the Lord Jesus. It is in His name. Not a word would have to be spoken during the baptism (immersion), as long as it is truly for Him, in His name.

It is like someone giving a gift in the name of someone else. They are giving the gift for (in the name of) the other person. If the gift giver called ahead of time and said, "I have a gift for you on behalf of so-and-so," when the gift giver arrived and actually gave the gift to the other person, not a word would have to be spoken. It would be understood it was in the name of the other person. It was given for them.

IV. False Gospel

Jennings' false gospel (Galatians 1:8-9) demands one must speak in tongues. In "Have You Been Born Again?" Jennings writes,

If you never spoke in tongues, you never received the Holy Ghost! (p. 4)

The Bible nowhere says that or teaches that concept (Proverbs 30:5-6). At the end of this article, Jennings likewise writes,

You've never had the Holy Ghost unless you spoke in tongues! Acts 2:1-4; I Corinthians 14:39. Jesus said, "Water and Spirit!", St. John 3:5. If you haven't got it like this:

*YOU'VE NEVER BEEN SAVED!
*YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN
*YOU ARE NOT WORSHIPPING GOD!
*YOU ARE STILL A SINNER!
*YOUR END WILL BE HELL, FIRE AND DAMNATION! (p. 4)

The Scriptures Jennings gives above do not say what he says. John 3:5 says nothing of tongues. Acts 2:1-4 well describes the event where everyone present speaks in tongues upon receiving the Holy Spirit (this was the first time the gift of tongues was given), but does this mean that is always going to be the case? That's Jennings gospel, but it's not the Lord's.

If Jennings was to be consistent, he would also have to contend,

You've never had the Holy Ghost unless you've had a tongue of fire appear upon you!

Thus, "every time a person received the Holy Ghost," Jennings would need to maintain, "he must have a literal visible tongue of fire appear as well."

Acts 2:3-4 is the only place in the Bible where it explicitly records everyone present who received the Holy Spirit also spoke in tongues. It is also the only place that explicitly records tongues of fire appearing upon every one of them. Acts 10:44-47 records them speaking in tongues, but it doesn't explicitly say every last one of them did, nor does it mention tongues of fire. But, note what Peter said:

Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?

How did they receive the Holy Spirit? Every last one of them spoke with tongues and had tongues of fire appear upon each one of them (Acts 2:3-4). Is that what Peter is saying? It doesn't get that specific, so neither should we (Proverbs 30:5-6).

In Acts 19:6 it mentions speaking with tongues, but says nothing, either way, about tongues of fire. Other places in Acts say nothing, either way, regarding speaking with tongues or tongues of fire (Acts 8:17; 9:17).

The problem here is, Scripture nowhere teaches speaking with tongues and/or tongues of fire must be present when one receives the Holy Spirit. Actually, what is explicitly stated is that God gives the gifts of the Holy Spirit as He wills. In any particular event, He can choose to give everyone there tongues and/or tongues of fire, or He can pick and choose to give whatever He wants to whomever He wants as He wills (Psalm 115:3). As it is written,

But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. (1 Corinthians 12:11)

The Spirit distributes individually. It does not say "corporately," or "the same to all." It is individually as He wills, and the context is clearly that He wills some one thing and some another, as Paul wrote,

to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:10)

It does not say, "to everyone tongues." It says, "to another." A little later Paul asks the rhetorical questions,

Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

The obvious answer to these questions is, "No." Not all speak with tongues. But, Jennings says, "You've never had the Holy Ghost unless you spoke in tongues!" Where does the Bible say that? Nowhere. Paul even wished they all spoke in tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:5, but they obviously did not, otherwise, he would not be wishing they did.

Now, some might argue, "Well, the tongues are given to all at the point of receiving the Holy Spirit, but not all continue to have that ability." Scripture does not teach that anywhere (Proverbs 30:5-6). Romans 11:29 says,

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Someone may claim, "The initial speaking of tongues is not the gift." Says who? Not God (Proverbs 30:5-6).

If someone is going to claim something is so important that it is a sign of eternal damnation, shouldn't the Bible teach it? Indeed, it should. Jennings preaches another gospel (Galatians 1:8-9) by adding a requirement that God does not require.

V. Strange Doctrine

More strange doctrine (Hebrews 13:9) can be found in Jennings "Is Your Doctrine Damnable?" on page 3 where he writes,

If you teach that no man hath seen God, you have erred in vision. Read Gen. 32:30, Ex. 24:9-11, Is. 6:5, John 6:46, I Kings 22:19, Rev. 4:2.

The Bible teaches both, that men have seen God, as some of the Scriptures given by Jennings above reveal, and that,

No man hath seen God at any time. (John 1:18, KJV)

No man hath seen God at any time. (1 John 4:12, KJV)

This is not "erred in vision." This is the word of God, something Jennings rejects.

For how they can both be true, see Exodus 33 where Moses both saw His face and yet could not see His face. See also 1 Timothy 6:14-16.

VI. Doctrines of Men

Another example of Jennings Satanic connection is his many doctrines of men (Matthew 15:8-9). Jennings writes,

If you believe that saints can adorn themselves as the world, wear gold or pearls and straighten their hair, Your Doctrine is Damnable and you're a false prophet. I Tim 2:9, I Peter 3:1-5. (ibid., p. 3, bold added)

Can you imagine someone straightening their hair? How horrible! The Scriptures he gives say nothing about straightening hair. In fact, in his by-laws (p. 20) he admits,

a. The term "hair straightening" is not found in the Holy Bible, but it comes under the category and condemnation of outward adorning. When a woman uses a hot comb or any other device or method to straighten her hair, she is not using it inwardly, but rather outwardly, to adorn her hair in a way which God did not make it. The Prophets and the Apostles condemned hair pride. Isaiah called it "well set hair." (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/multimedia/downloads/bookofbylaws_2006.pdf)

Isaiah 3:24 indeed mentions "well set hair," but it also speaks of a sweet smell and a sash, things not evil in and of themselves (Romans 14:14).

Quite a few doctrines of men regarding women can be found in his by-laws. For example, he writes,

c. Women are not to cut their hair, in any manner for any reason.
d. Women are not to dye their hair, in any manner for any reason.
e. Women are not to use 'permanent curl' techniques in their hair in any manner. (p. 20-21)

All women's dresses and skirts are not permitted to come any higher than 5 inches above the ankles. (p. 25)

Fur coats and fur hats such as minks, foxes, rabbits, etc., are not in keeping with the True Holy tradition. (p. 25)

You won't find any of that in the Bible (Proverbs 30:5-6).

For doctrines of men regarding men, Jennings writes,

The Holy Brethren are to wear a conservative hair cut. They are not to follow every foolish hair style as if they were of the world. Brethren are also not to have their hair curled, dyed, or plaited. (p. 28)

The brethren are to be neatly shaven at all times. They are not to wear toupees or false hair at anytime. For those brothers who wear beards, please keep them neat, not sloppy. (p. 28)

Suits, when they are worn, are not to be in flashy colors, such as red, yellow, or other obscene colors which misrepresent the Faith. Modest colors: blacks, browns, grays, blues, greens (not loud), along with any other modest color will be acceptable. Brethren are not to have or wear handkerchiefs in jacket pockets. (p. 28)

Regarding shoes, brethren are not to wear footwear with the toes, heels, or sides out. However, consideration must be made for those who may not be able wear such shoes due to physical malformations or medical conditions. (p. 29)

When in public, Holy Brethren are expected to wear long-sleeved or short-sleeved shirts, which end at the wrist or below the elbow, respectively. "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness" (I Thessalonians 4:7).

BRETHREN ARE NOT TO WEAR SHORTS OR SHORT PANTS IN PUBLIC-EVER! (p. 29, capitalization and bold in original)

Just as the Holy Women are not to be arrayed in jewelry, neither are the brethren. Holy Brethren do not wear chains around their necks, finger rings, bracelets, or any gold ornaments as sinners do. (p. 29)

Coats of mink, foxes, etc. are forbidden. Earrings are not to be worn by the Holy Brethren. (p. 30)

These are man-made standards (Matthew 7:1-2). Jennings adds to God's word (Proverbs 30:5-6) and is guilty of doing the same thing the hypocrites of Christ's day did - "teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Matthew 15:9).

More commandments of men can be found in his by-laws when he writes,

When a brother or sister has an intention to marry, this should first be announced to the Pastor, who will in turn enter them into a counseling session(s). (p. 7)

The Bible teaches no such thing (Proverbs 30:5-6).

More doctrines of men can be found in their by-laws concerning an Elder.

g. He is not to drink wine or any alcoholic beverages at any time. Wine is drunk only for the celebration of the Lord's Supper. (ibid., p. 16)

On page 41 they also write,

In light of this God given liberty, it is imperative that the saints refrain and abstain from all alcoholic beverages and any habit forming or mood-altering substances.

Please see our article on Alcohol.

Footnotes:

1. Jennings against Easter and Christmas:

He contends that many mainstream Christian denominations, and other religions, for that matter, pervert the Bible. As examples, he cites the endorsement of Christmas and other "heathen" holidays by some Christians.

"Many churches sponsor Christmas parties. I don't remember anywhere in the Bible that it says the birth of Jesus was December twenty-fifth," Jennings said. "Yet it's a common practice in churches. If you're going to tell the people something about Jesus, it ought to be the truth."

Jennings takes similar exception to Easter - calling it a "long-term myth" that the date of Jesus' resurrection is also the day to celebrate a rabbit who brings candy - Halloween and Christian rock, which he describes as an oxymoron. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/church_news.asp)

2. Jennings idea of the "Bible" includes the Apocrypha (as in the Catholic Bible) and the book of Jasher.

The Holy scriptures have been consolidated into one volume. These are not new scriptures,however, they're comprised of what is known as the King James Version, the Apocrypha and the book of Jasher which is mentioned in the book of Joshua and the book of Kings. Finally, we're now able to more perfectly follow the man of God, Pastor Jennings in the scriptures. (www.truthofgod.com/site/pages/online_store.asp)

3. What is typically translated “baptism” (which is more of a transliteration than a translation) is "immersion," and this can be seen in the use of the Greek word (βάπτισμα, baptisma) as it is used for being “buried with Him through baptism” (NKJV Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12). Also, its figurative usage of Christ’s death and resurrection depicts an immersion as well (Matthew 20:22 [Mark 10:38]; Luke 12:50; see also Matthew 12:39-41; 16:4; Luke 11:29-32). Also, the verb form, βαπτίζω (baptizô) besides being used for “baptize” is also used for washing (e.g. Mark 7:4; Luke 11:38) and being immersed into the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:2). It is also used in the LXX in 2 Kings 5:14 for when Naaman dipped in the Jordan 7 times. Moreover, the closely related noun βαπτισμος (baptismos) is used for washing (e.g. Mark 7:4, 8 [RT]; Hebrews 6:2; 9:10). Also, another related word is βαπτω (baptô) that means to “dip” (e.g. Luke 16:24; John 13:26; Revelation 19:13). For a Biblical picture of “baptism,” see Acts 8:36-39. There is a Greek word for “sprinkle” (ραντιζω, hrantizô) and it is found in Hebrews 9:13, 19, 21; 10:22; 11:28; 12:24; and 1 Peter 1:2.

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