STATEMENT OF BELIEFS
of
The Philadelphia Church
The Philadelphia Church
self-identifies itself as the endtime fellowship best representing the sixth (Rev 3:7–13) of the seven churches to which Christ addresses letters to their angels. Its evangelistic efforts are directed first toward born-from-above disciples spiritually enslaved in sin, and secondarily toward those individuals who have never known Christ or the Father. As such, its mission is to return born again disciples to spiritual Eden, the walls of which are the laws of God written on the hearts and minds of disciples when drawn by the Father (Jer 31:33; Heb 8:10 & 10:16). To do this, it preaches the endtime gospel of the kingdom that all who endure to the end will be saved (Matt 24:13–14 & 10:22). Its understanding of Scripture is based upon typological exegesis (1 Cor 10:11 & 15:45–46).Further, The Philadelphia Church recognizes that it is a steward of the mysteries of God, the steward to whom God has entrusted the revelation that the greater Body of Christ consists of genuine spiritual Israelites enslaved in spiritual Babylon just as circumcised Israelites were enslaved in physical Egypt. Spiritual Israel will be released at a second or spiritual Passover when firstborns not covered by the blood of Christ as the Lamb of God will be slain. If these firstborns are spiritual Israelites, they will lose both their physical lives [psuche] as well as their spiritual lives [pneuma]. Therefore, The Philadelphia Church will extend toward its critics within enslaved spiritual Israel as much love and compassion as they will allow, in hopes that they will cover their lawlessness with the blood of Christ, taken how and when Jesus of Nazareth commanded and how He taught the Apostle Paul, revealed in Paul’s first epistle to the saints at Corinth. God the Father and Christ sent greater spiritual Israel into bondage because of this holy nation’s lawlessness, and He will recover this holy nation at the end of the age as many prophecies reveal.
BELIEFS
1.
The Philadelphia Church recognizes the Bible as canonized without the Apocrypha as the inspired Word of God. The Philadelphia Church teaches that events recorded in the Old and New Testaments represent the physical antetypes of spiritual antitype events that pertain to maturation of spiritual Israel. Further, The Philadelphia Church teaches that prophecy exists to reveal events and the shadows of events occurring in the supra-dimensional realm usually identified as heaven that also effect the maturation of spiritual Israel. As such, the Father and the Son have revealed to drawn disciples the past, the present, and the future through the conclusion of the day of the Lord (Amos 3:7) in canonized Scripture.2. The Philadelphia Church teaches that God is one in unity and in love, but consists of two entities: the Father (John 20:17) and His Messiah, or Son, Christ Jesus (Rev 11:15). These two closely connected entities are revealed in the name Elohim, the plural of Eloah, and in YHWH. "Eloah" consists of "El," the name for God, plus the aspirated Breath of God "ah". So in the name Eloah, one God and His Breath is present. "Elohim" is the plural or multiple of Eloah, revealing the presence of at least one additional God and His Breath, as seen in the plural usage of Elohim in Genesis 1:26.
YHWH reveals the number of deities present in the name Elohim: one deity with His Breath is represented by "YH," and a second deity and His Breath is represented by "WH." This agrees with the Gospel of John, verses one through three of chapter one, where the Logos is Theos, and Theos is with Theon, and both Theos and Theon are God. The Logos or Theos is then born as the man Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:14).
Further, The Philadelphia Church teaches that the doctrine of Elohim being triune in nature is one of two primary errors that spiritual Israel, as the second Eve, accepted which resulted in her spiritual enslavement to the king of Babylon (Isa 14:4–21). These two errors have caused the second Eve to be barred from spiritual Eden, just as the first Eve was banned from physical Eden for believing and acting upon the lie of the serpent that she would not die if she ate forbidden fruit. And outside of Eden, the second Eve will experience severe pain during the spiritual childbirth of many heirs of God (i.e., she will experience the pain of the Tribulation). Out of Eden, the second Eve’s desire is for her husband, the second Adam, but seven of ten spiritual Israelites will not be ruled by Him (Luke 19:14, 27).
3. The Philadelphia Church teaches that the Pneuma "Agion, or Holy Spirit is the Breath of God, "breath" used in its figurative sense to represent the creative power of each member of the Godhead. An individual doesn’t usually assign personhood to his or her breath. Likewise, disciples should not assign personhood to the Breath of God.
4. The Philadelphia Church teaches that everlasting life is the gift of God (Rom 6:23). Humanity doesn’t have within itself everlasting life. Rather, the first Adam was banned from the Garden of Eden before he could eat of the Tree of Life (Gen 3:22). The only life the first Adam possessed was his physical breath [psuche] (Gen 2:7 & Eccl 3:19).
5. The Philadelphia Church teaches that born-from-above disciples receive actual life [pneuma -- 1 Thess 5:23] in the spiritual realm when they receive the Holy Spirit (John 3:8 & 1 Peter 1:23 & Titus 3:5). This life, though, can be lost when the disciple’s judgment is revealed at Christ’s return (1 Cor 4:5). Jesus said not to be surprised when some disciples are resurrected to life and some are resurrected to condemnation (John 5:29).
6. The Philadelphia Church teaches that disciples are not under the Law, but are under Grace; for each disciple has become an ark of the covenant, containing the two tablets upon which the Law of God is written, along with the jar of manna, and Aaron’s budded staff. As a condition of being drawn by the Father (John 6:44, 65), the laws of God have been written on the hearts and minds of disciples (Heb 8:10). This is spiritual circumcision of the heart (Deu 30:6), and this spiritual circumcision presently separates born again disciples from the world, just as physical circumcision separated physical Israelites from Gentiles--circumcision of the heart is a euphemistic expression for receiving the Holy Breath of God.
Further, each disciple, in addition to having internalized the laws of God, has the indwelling of Jesus as the bread of life, representing the true manna from heaven (John 6:33, 35). This indwelling of Jesus is Him bearing the disciple’s sins so that no sin is even imputed to the disciple who remains in covenant with the Father and His Christ. This indwelling completes the logic of grace.
Plus, each disciple has the promise of resurrection to everlasting life (John 5:24), physically represented by Aaron’s budded staff.
The veil to the Holy of Holies was rent so each disciple can enter and rest under the Mercy Seat, representing Grace, which remains above the ark of the covenant. His or her prayers are offered to God in lieu of burning incense, and the disciple’s good works represent the Show Bread offerings. Good works is doing that which the disciple knows is right (Rev 22:11 & James 4:17).
7. The Philadelphia Church teaches that Grace is the glorified Christ bearing the sins of drawn disciples after judgment has come upon them. Jesus’ shed blood as the Passover Lamb of God reconciles disciples to the Father, who abides no sin. Jesus’ sacrifice at Calvary is represented by the goat slain on Yom Kipporim. The second, or Azazel goat that has the sins of Israel read over it before being lead away into a wilderness by the hand of a fit man (Lev 16:20–22) represents the glorified Christ bearing the sins of spiritual Israelites as their covering. This was the annually enacted shadow of Grace that circumcised Israel so misunderstood that eventually they killed the Azazel goat by throwing it over a precipice…a figurative precipice separates physical life from resurrection in an incorruptible body; hence, the linguistic reference to a precipice in the signifier "Azazel."
All transgressions of the laws of God a person commits prior to being drawn by the Father are covered by Jesus’ shed blood at Calvary when the person is drawn from the world through receiving the Holy Spirit. The person begins his or her spiritual life absolutely sinfree…being born of spirit (John 3:8 & 1 Pet 1:23) is real birth in the spiritual realm, where a physical offering for sin does no good. A second covering for sin will be needed, or the born-again disciple will be cast into the lake of fire if the disciple commits any transgression of the laws of God (sin is the transgressions of the law of God [1 John 3:4]). Jesus’ shed blood at Calvary was a physical covering of sin large enough to cover every sin committed in the physical world. But Jesus will not be sacrificed a second time for sins committed in the spiritual realm. He does not pay the spiritual death penalty for the sins of drawn disciples under judgment (1 Pet 4:17). He will, however, temporarily bear those sins committed in the spiritual realm so that they are not even imputed to disciples--this is the meaning of Grace.
Jesus will give those sins that He presently bears and will continue to bear until the judgment of disciples is revealed at His return (1 Cor 4:5) either to Satan, or to disciples who have left the covenant. The sins He bears for disciples who will be resurrected to life (John 5:29) will be given to Satan when the reality occurs of which Yom Kipporim is the antetype. By then, He will have already returned the sins He had borne for disciples resurrected to condemnation (same verse) to those disciples. Thus, Christ rests from His labors (Gen 2:3) of creating heirs of the Father. So all disciples who remain in covenant have no sin imputed to them, and are under no further judgment (John 5:24). They are covered by Christ bearing their sins. Therefore, these two coverings--one in the physical realm (Calvary) and one in the spiritual (Grace)--represent the reality of the Day of Atonement, a fast day to be kept in perpetuity. These two coverings can be described as Reconciliation and Justification.
Further, The Philadelphia Church teaches that the doctrine "once saved, always saved" is a false doctrine that does extensive harm to the greater Body of Christ.
As an aside, the reason why animal sacrifices will return during Christ’s Millennium reign is that He is resting (on Sabbath) from carrying the sins of disciples. Before His reign begins, Christ will have returned the sins He has been bearing to either Satan or to out-of-covenant disciples, thereby causing both the resurrection to life and the resurrection to condemnation to occur prior to the beginning of His reign.
8. The Philadelphia Church teaches that the glorified Jesus of Nazareth will return as the Messiah following seven years of tribulation to establish a thousand-year reign as King of kings on earth. These seven years of tribulation are the birth pains of spiritual Israel. Born again disciples will not be raptured prior to these years of tribulation. As the second Eve, the Christian Church will not escape the pain of childbirth.
9. The Philadelphia Church teaches that humanity is presently divided between those individuals who have been drawn by God the Father and those individuals who have not yet been drawn by the Father (John 6:44, 65). God, however, is not a respecter of persons. Every individual will eventually be drawn, with the majority of humanity that has never known the Father during their lifetimes to be drawn after being physically resurrected during the great White Throne Judgment. This will not be a second chance for salvation. Rather, to know the Father requires possessing life in the spiritual realm through receiving the Holy Breath of God. This gift is presently given to some individuals, those predestined to be called or drawn out-of-season as vessels created for special use. The remainder of humanity is not now in an ever-burning hell, but is in the grave awaiting resurrection, without knowledge of time or status.
10. The Philadelphia Church teaches that the Sinai covenant, the law that physically separated humanity into circumcised and uncircumcised, has been abolished (Eph 2:15), thereby physically returning humanity to being one nation. This one new humanity, though, has been separated spiritually between those who have the Breath of God and those who do not. This separation will end when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of God the Father and of His Messiah (Rev 11:15) halfway through seven years of tribulation. Then, all of humanity will have been liberated from bondage to sin; i.e., to the spiritual king of Babylon, Satan (Isa 14:4–21). All of humanity will then be called (Rev 18:4 & Joel 2:32). All will have received the Breath of God. All who endure to the end will be saved (Matt 24:13 & 10:22). This is the great endtime harvest of humanity for which the Father and Christ have patiently waited.
11. The Philadelphia Church teaches that the man of perdition will come during the first half of seven years of tribulation as the shadow or antetype of Satan coming as the antiChrist when he is cast from heaven on day 1260. Satan presently deceives humanity by controlling its mental topography (Rev 12:9). He can only do this from the heavenly realm. Once he is cast to earth, he will be limited to physical means to recapture his newly liberated slaves (Rev 11:15), the logic for him requiring his slaves to accept the mark of the beast (Chi xi stigma, the tattoo of the Cross of Calvary). Again, he comes pretending to be Christ the day armies surrounding Jerusalem have been destroyed and the man of perdition is destroyed--and he comes after those disciples who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus (Rev 12:17).
The place of safety for spiritual Israel is inside the walls of spiritual Jerusalem, which doesn’t have geographical coordinates, but theological. Spiritual Jerusalem is the capital of spiritual Eden, the walls of which are the laws of God. All disciples who live within the laws of God are in Eden. Those disciples who are of the Church in Philadelphia are in spiritual Jerusalem, the fortified capital of Eden.
The tree of life only grows in Eden, so disciples must live (as revealed by their choices) within the laws of God. Grace covers a disciple’s failures to live by his or her choice to do what the disciple knows is "right." Ultimately (because of the indwelling of Christ), all that matters is a disciple’s choice to do what is right. By a disciple’s choices of doing what is right, or what is evil, he or she determines whether the disciple lives in Eden, or among the thorns and thistles and hypocrites beyond its walls.
Hypocrisy will cause a disciple to be cast into the lake of fire--hypocrisy is sinning against the Holy Spirit. Hypocrisy is rejection of the laws of God written on a disciple’s heart and mind. If a disciple knows to keep and to teach keeping the least of the commandments (Matt 5:19), which is the Sabbath commandment, and does not keep or teach keeping this commandment, this disciple will not be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but will go into the lake of fire. It is the person who is genuinely deceived and through ignorance doesn’t keep or teach to keep the least of the commandments who will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; this person will be in the kingdom, though.
12. The Philadelphia Church teaches that historical exegesis is the teaching of the traditions of men. The church’s theological positions are entirely text based. As such, they are subject to modification as the church grows in grace and knowledge. Further, The Philadelphia Church teaches that any centrally organized fellowship with many satellite fellowships will ultimately look to "headquarters" for its authority to implement theological growth instead of to Christ. Therefore, as shown through observing new moons, local fellowships are autonomous, and are fully responsible to Christ for the implementation of doctrinal growth. Whatever a fellowship does that is not of faith is sin; thus, every disciple needs to be fully convinced concerning his or her practice of worship, with the hand of fellowship extended to all who do not cause disruption within the church.
This concludes the STATEMENT OF BELIEFS as The Philadelphia Church understands Holy Writ on this day: the 8th of July, 2003 CE.