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A response to Jason Watkins' letter to a believer who has left the message: Difference between revisions
A response to Jason Watkins' letter to a believer who has left the message (view source)
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= | =Jason Watkins' Defense of the Message= | ||
Jason Watkins | Jason Watkins is the pastor of [[Bethel Tabernacle]], a message church in Beaufort, South Carolina. He has no formal theological training, which is a badge of honor in [[The Message|the message]]. | ||
The following is our response to his defense of the message. | On December 22, 2019, in a post on Facebook, Jason Watkins provided a copy of a letter that he stated was written by "a man in Christ who had a dear friend of many years who was departing the faith once delivered to the saints." We have confirmed with the recipient of the letter that the original letter was actually from Jason Watkins himself. We cannot comment on why Jason Watkins did not simply state on his Facebook post that the letter was originally written by him. | ||
The entire letter that was posted by Jason Watkins is reprinted at the bottom of this page. In it, among other things, Jason Watkins issues a challenge which we respond to below. | |||
Additionally, one of the co-hosts of the Off The Shelf podcast contacted Jason Watkins to respond to his challenge directly. A copy of his emails to Jason can be found by clicking [[A Discussion with Jason Watkins|here]]. | |||
==A response to the challenge issued by Jason Watkins== | |||
Jason Watkins states (incorrectly): | |||
:''I have made a challenge around the world for my many years of ministry. Preaching this very message on six of the seven continents of the earth myself personally. I have challenged all to disprove any single doctrine from the message that William Branham brought to us. I have never found anyone who can do it. They can’t do it, you can’t do it, I can’t do it, no one can do it. | |||
We have highlighted many doctrinal problems with William Branham's doctrines. Our complete list can be viewed by clicking [[List of Issues with the Message#Are William Branham's teachings in agreement with the Bible?|here]]. | |||
=A summary of our response to Jason Watkins= | |||
Jason Watkins starts with a premise that is flawed. | |||
:''The message of the hour is the restoration of the original teachings as Jesus promised it would be. Did not Jesus promise that Elijah would truly first come and restore all things? Do you now believe that Jesus was wrong?" | |||
Jesus DID NOT promise Elijah would come and restore all things... in fact, Jesus tells us this: | |||
Matthew 11:13-15 (HCSB) | |||
:''For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Anyone who has ears should listen! | |||
:AND | |||
Matthew 17:10-13 (HCSB) | |||
:''So the disciples questioned Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” | |||
:''“Elijah is coming and will restore everything,” He replied. | |||
:''“But I tell you: Elijah has already come, and they didn’t recognize him. On the contrary, they did whatever they pleased to him. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.” | |||
:''Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them about John the Baptist. | |||
Jesus RESTORED ALL THINGS: | |||
John 19:28-30 (HCSB) | |||
:''After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, He said, “I’m thirsty!” | |||
:''A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on hyssop and held it up to His mouth. | |||
:''When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” Then bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. | |||
IT IS FINISHED!! | |||
Jason Watkins also claims that there is a requirement for a Gentile prophet. This is a problem across the message and is simply a bad starting point. | |||
In OLD TESTAMENT times, there were only two ways for God to speak to His people: | |||
#at the time when the High Priests offered sacrifice for the people in the Holy of Holies, and | |||
#when God gave specific instructions to His prophets. | |||
But we are in a NEW COVENANT which was ushered in by Jesus Christ Himself when this happened: | |||
Matthew 27:50-51 (HCSB) | |||
:''Jesus shouted again with a loud voice and gave up His spirit. Suddenly, the curtain of the sanctuary was split in two from top to bottom; the earth quaked and the rocks were split. | |||
Notice here that the curtain in the sactuary, the veil which separated everyone EXCEPT the High Priest from God was torn from top to bottom giving EVERYONE direct access to God Himself. | |||
And then we know that Jesus told us in advance that a NEW COVENANT would be arriving when Jesus Christ tells us this: | |||
Luke 16:16 (HCSB) | |||
:''“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is strongly urged to enter it." | |||
:AND | |||
Matthew 11:13-15 (HCSB) | |||
:''For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Anyone who has ears should listen! | |||
The Apostle Paul reaffirms this after Christ died on the cross when he writes his letter to the Hebrew church: | |||
Hebrews 1:1-3 (HCSB) | |||
:''Long ago God spoke to the fathers by the prophets at different times and in different ways. | |||
:''In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son. God has appointed Him heir of all things and made the universe through Him. | |||
:''The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of His nature, sustaining all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. | |||
Both Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul tell us that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit are our direct access to God... NO PROPHETS REQUIRED... | |||
Now, are there prophets in the NEW COVENANT? YES, ABSOLUTELY!!! Paul the Apostle instructs us here: | |||
Ephesians 4:11-13 (HCSB) | |||
:''And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness. | |||
But they are not the access required for God's People to hear from God, and they behave differently as is discussed here: | |||
1 Corinthians 14:29-33a (HCSB) | |||
:''Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should evaluate. | |||
:''But if something has been revealed to another person sitting there, the first prophet should be silent. | |||
:''For you can all prophesy one by one, so that everyone may learn and everyone may be encouraged. | |||
:''And the prophets’ spirits are under the control of the prophets, since God is not a God of disorder but of peace... | |||
Here we see that the prophets are to be judged by the church and they never lie in the Lord's Name (as Branham did numerous times), they never teach that which directly opposes the Word of God (as Branham did multiple times), and the visions and prophecies which they speak ALWAY come to pass (we can't find a single instance where what Branham said as a vision or prophecy BEFORE THE EVENT actually came to pass). | |||
There is no requirement for a Gentile prophet. | |||
=A detailed response to Jason Watkins' defense of the message= | |||
The following is our detailed response to his defense of the message. | |||
==Lack of historical records== | ==Lack of historical records== | ||
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:''Philippians 3:18 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Now you feel disdain for the message because of their actions, but don't forget that they have defamed Christ as well. Do you also feel disdain toward Christ because of unfaithful men who claimed to believe and follow him falsely? Would you now forsake him because of his so-called followers who were false? | :''Philippians 3:18 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Now you feel disdain for the message because of their actions, but don't forget that they have defamed Christ as well. Do you also feel disdain toward Christ because of unfaithful men who claimed to believe and follow him falsely? Would you now forsake him because of his so-called followers who were false? | ||
| Line 154: | Line 240: | ||
:''The validity and life-changing power of this message is overwhelmingly proven the world over daily and has been for decades. | :''The validity and life-changing power of this message is overwhelmingly proven the world over daily and has been for decades. | ||
==If you reject the message, terrible things will happen...== | |||
:''You will burn down your ministry, burn down your testimony, burn down your family, your church, and all of those who follow you. You will doom yourself to a lake of fire because it will be nothing less than trampling the blood of the covenant underfoot and calling Christ, the Word in this day, an unholy thing. | |||
=Jason Watkins' original letter= | =Jason Watkins' original letter= | ||
'''Facebook post from Jason Watkins''' (in its entirety) | '''Facebook post from Jason Watkins''' (in its entirety) | ||
December 22, 2019 | |||
:''Please note that while Jason Watkins stated that this was a letter written by "a man in Christ who had a dear friend of many years who was departing the faith once delivered to the saints", we have confirmed with the recipient of the letter that the original letter was actually from Jason Watkins himself. We cannot comment on why Jason Watkins did not simply state on his Facebook post that the letter was originally written by him. | |||
'''December 22, 2019''' | |||
I knew a man in Christ who had a dear friend of many years who was departing the faith once delivered to the saints. He wrote to him from his heart. He still prays for him and hopes it is not too late. Here is that man's letter to his friend. | I knew a man in Christ who had a dear friend of many years who was departing the faith once delivered to the saints. He wrote to him from his heart. He still prays for him and hopes it is not too late. Here is that man's letter to his friend. | ||