Gospel after Revelation

Gospel

after

Revelation

Gospel

after

Revelation

Heb. 4:12

DR STEPHANUS

VAN DER MERWE

Copyright © 2019 Dr Stephanus van der Merwe

Published by Dr Stephanus van der Merwe Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Dr Stephanus van der Merwe

fanusvan@vodamail.co.za

This work is

dedicated with love

to my deceased parents,

Nico and Lenie:

They never doubted me

and always encouraged me.

They also taught me that not everything

that appears sweet should be believed,

but thoroughly examined.

Acknowledgments

A special word of thanks to:

• My wife, Santie, who for the last three years had to hear and read all my writing. You were a real sounding-board, a typing star and a language champion. I believe through this experience you have not only gained but also given spiritual joy. Without your help this task would have been impossible.

• All my family and friends who have mentally supported me during this journey.

• The publishers of this work, for all their effort and professional care of the work to obtain our goal of getting it out on shelves.

• Savannah Ridenour for her translation and editing efforts, who is set to graduate Arizona State University June 2019.

Foreword

The writer today, after thirty years of wondering whether to pick the pen up has decided that time runs out. Since, no man has a permanent place of residence here on mother earth, the writer considers it important research; and an essential experience for our future generations. So that, they have a seed left in the form of a God-inspired Gospel before it is too late.

All people on Earth are conceived in sin and they share further in a lost world. There is, however, promised salvation for the people that closely follow God’s salvation plan. Therefore, it will be important to find out exactly what God’s plan is and to investigate the relevant information so that they are able to make an informed decision. In 1 John (5:11-20) we read that God gave eternal life to man, and this life is in His Son. Those who do not have the Son of God do not have life. In verse 20, the same idea is strongly emphasized by saying that the Son came and gave us understanding so that we may know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true by being in His Son, Jesus Christ.

The writer wonders about the many people that expect Jesus on the clouds. According to John, Jesus is already in the presence of people who confessed that they have eternal life through the Son of God. The gospel of John makes it clear that eternal life and the Son do not function separately. So many believers say that they have eternal life because Jesus died for their sins, but Jesus is still to come. We must read the whole passage of John for more clarity.

For those, whom the matter is still not clear enough, this subject will be addressed again and it will be made clearer with references and further information.

Each reader is invited to walk along with the writer and to rediscover the simple message and plan that God has made for us. Reading and prayer will be required to strip down the Bible and the religious books from the elements that take the core message out of sight. It is free for any one person to research the biblical composition and its creation; and it will be found through this search that there are still many obstacles to overcome. Some of the most educated people in the world will not be able to provide an explanation for these obstacles.

Perhaps it is important to remind the reader at this point that, at the beginning of writing, God did not set academic qualifications as a condition for understanding the Bible. No, on the contrary, in various parts of the Bible it is expressly stated that God reveals His messages and mysteries to the simple public. He also warned the people against the scribes and Pharisees. Both the simple people and scribes still exist in today’s life; and it is said in the Bible that we should be careful not to reject someone because they could be a messenger of God. Hospitality as a Christian principle must be handled with care and allowed to prosper.

The writer does not want to offend anyone with the writing of this gospel. It is for our fellow believers and friends who have always wondered about how to bring the collection of information in the Bible together to simplify understanding. There is a simple model that could help with this goal (see chapter 1).

There, since the creation history, has been about six thousand years that have passed. The Bible began to take its form a thousand or so years after the creation began by means of parchment scrolls, tablets and word of mouth recounts.

These primary sources refer, of course, to the old testament history. You can try to imagine how much a man can remember after a thousand years, especially since symbols and writing have just only developed around this time. At this point in history, the Bible obviously did not appear in its current form. Everything was written in capital letters; they had no chapters, headings or punctuation marks. Only many years later were these writings processed by translators, editors and publishers in a format that was more readable. The division of chapters started around 1200 AD and the format was reshuffled around again in 1500 AD. You can imagine for yourself how much material has been added and edited to create the end product that is the Bible, as we know it today. Not to mention the language phenomena of Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew and Latin; these all had a further impact on the end product of the Bible. These variables will be referred to again when we discuss in more detail the understanding of the Word of God (see Chapter 8).

There is also the attempt to always keep simplicity in mind, because as we know, the Bible clearly mentions that those that are simple and those that are poor in spirit will give the wise cause to be shamed. The Great Teacher of all time has never spent time at a university or school. Therefore, the writer of this gospel will not make use of scientific causes and methods for explanations. Instead, the fact that all disciplines stem from connections and overlap with religion is acknowledged.

For example, we can think of a road and the road signs that provide information for arriving at a particular destination. These road signs we are looking at will never reach the destination, only those who use the road will reach it. The Bible mentions a salvation that cannot be found in the scriptures; but that the scriptures are useful like the road signs and can be used in the pathway to salvation. This statement compliments the previous paragraph about the scriptures, which are generalized as the Word of God. Jesus himself referred to the scriptures that bear witness of God. A lot of references are supposed to be made of the written and/or present word of God. This topic will be more fully discussed later in this gospel.

Information on the different chapters will be given from reference that come from the King James Translation (circa 1611) since the literal translation will be a more appropriate way to approach this work. This work is in no way an attempt to re-write the Bible, but rather to present a model that will enable the readers to work through the Bible in an efficient and independent way.

While reading this work, you will soon find out that the writer has used information from the Bible, starting from the last book of the Bible; Revelation 22 verses 18 and 19 and then continuing further into the New Testament to better understand the Bible.

The key idea behind this approach is that the history of the New Testament is not only historically more reliable, but that the New Testament times can also be regarded as the most recent and reliable period in religious development. Therefore, it is the most perfect religious scripture.

The question of why some people understand and interpret the Bible differently than others will also be addressed in this book, and if the shoe fits then the reader will have to wear it.

In the writer’s conversations between believers and the different denominations, he heard so much about the wonderful God, Holy Spirit and the Son. He also heard that they would never do to the Son that which the Pharisees, Scribes, High Priests, Chiefs, Jews and Romans did to Jesus. However, if the facts are observed, the believing population has repeated the same violation and denied it; even in the twenty-first century it still occurs that the Son is being denied, crucified and mocked. Clear references to this will be provided in the relevant chapters.

The simple model will not only appear in Chapter 1, but will be constantly referred to in the subsequent chapters of the book. Readers and scholars are invited to give feedback and they can be ensured this will be met with an open mind, because this work can make a difference between life and death. We are not talking about the natural death that we must all face at some point in time, but of the future life that as believers we look forward to.

An attempt was made in the work that no important information was to be left out, and that minor details were not constantly repeated.

If one were to take the structure of a simple building and name its components, they would most likely be naming things as foundations, floors, walls, roof, windows and doors. The owner of the building can then decide on the finishing touches and the furniture that they want to decorate the building with. Likewise, it will be with God’s house and the structure created by God and not by man. If the components of the eternal home of God becomes clear as God created it, the believer has a choice to decorate and inhabit it according to their own special gifts, which are also given by God.

Perhaps here it becomes important to emphasize to the reader that once the eternal house of God is discovered in its structural components and the dwelling of God is avoided or denied, it is akin to Jesus being crucified. The writer believes that the readers should not seek to be like the Pharisees, whom always sought to understand Jesus in the wrong way.

On a serious note, the writer can explain that he had a similar experience to that of the Apostle Paul. Through a dream he experienced that the bright light that highlighted Paul’s case was indeed Christ. So, the writer experienced Christ as Paul did. The experience happened a long time ago and the writer feels that the day and time has come to share this information with other believers. The writer does not appoint or moderate himself as extraordinary; on the contrary, the writer feels as a sinner ashamed to put together such a remarkable document.

An additional important frame of reference is that the title of this book Gospel after Revelation, is titled in such a way that all the information contained in this Gospel was established in the same way as the rest of the New Testament. The command for this gospel comes from a higher authority, and the writer is only the instrument; much like Paul was long after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, whom also received a similar command. Paul did not study nor read the Bible before he received the revelation of

Christ. On the contrary, he studied the laws and Jewish writings in order to persuade the believers away from the road they were walking, he then captured them and allowed the authorities to kill them. The writer of this Gospel’s name is Abraham Stephanus, but the writer felt that Abraham was too big of a name in the writing of this gospel as it is a covenant name of our Father. The second name, Stephanus, is more appropriate as one of the former disciples was also named Stephanus and he was stoned for the sake of the gospel. This gospel will read Gospel after Revelation by Stephanus.

Gospel after Revelation refers to two important aspects. First, the gospel originated as a result of a revelation similar to the revelation spoken of by Paul in the book of Acts. Secondly, the gospel came after the book Revelation. This Gospel after Revelation is possibly the only one gospel written because of a revelation after the book of Revelation in the Bible.

The writer also wants to shed some light on a matter that is not clear, namely the use of the word gospel. The word gospel was used in ancient times to make an important announcement. These announcements did not necessarily have to do with religion. Gospel means happy message. The four gospels have accepted this word gospel to refer to the happy message of Jesus and His Kingdom. The word gospel is not limited to these four gospels, but every good message about Jesus and the Kingdom is counted as gospel. Messages that are inspired by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are also gospel. That is why Jesus says the desire has been imposed on you to proclaim the gospel.

The writer wishes you good luck with this journey through the book and he will hope that the Holy Spirit will guide you and touch you as it has touched and honored the writer.

As promised in the previous paragraphs, the different chapters are briefly explained in the foreword and then again after each chapter. The following chapter will be used to sketch an overall picture of the gospel.

In chapter one, a simple model is explained which will be referred to throughout this gospel. This model presents temporary and eternal life as two worlds, and it is also illustrated graphically. This model may possibly contribute to a better understanding of the important concepts: temporary and eternal. The model is further used with simple and understandable language to make a clear distinction between the earthly and eternal.

In chapter two, I, Stephanus, the writer of this gospel, share my experience and the process of my decision to share this gospel word with my readers. Chapter two also points out that academic qualification is not a prerequisite for understanding the Bible and God’s Kingdom. Rather, the Bible is full of evidence that God used simple people to convey his message. A call