Dear Pete: I have a stranger question/concern. The gospels are all different from each other…..but we are told the gospel of John was written so that we may believe. The first 2 gospels Mark and Matthew say his last words were “why have you forsaken me”. Luke says the last words were “into your hands i command my spirit” and John says “it is finished”. This makes me wonder which one is true if any of them are.
John’s gospel also speaks of taking the name of the lord in vain and Jesus said that he shall not be held guiltless who takes the name of the lord in vain. I have done this, I have taken Jesus’s name in vain. What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks C_____________
Dear C______,
Thanks for the questions. I hope my answer will make you aware of one of the keys to the kingdom of God. That is coming to know and apply the principle that it is the SUM of the Scriptures that is the truth not just SOME of them. May seem like a play on words but this is absolutely essential to know the truth.
Psa 119:160 (ASV) The sum of thy word is truth; And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.
Jesus Christ is the truth.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus Christ is the Word .
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
But that Word is not divisible, there are no divisions within Christ as all In Christ have the same mind.
1Co 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
To find the truth, one must take it all of His Word to find the truth otherwise we have another jesus.
That is exactly why Peter said this.
2Pe 1:20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture at all is becoming its own explanation
Yet that is what we do being carnal and not taking the sum. This is why we have thousands of denominations in the Babylonian churches. Making bread is making doctrine and that is what we do in our yet carnal deluded state before we come to the real faith. This is also how we justify ourselves and think we wear the garments only Christ can give us.
Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
The Scriptures cannot be broken, they are ONE with one another.
Joh 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;
One cannot take some of God’s word to the exclusion of others. We are warned not to add nor to subtract from the Word and this is speaking of the WHOLE BIBLE. There are serious consequences for us not applying these commandments.
Rev 22:18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
What are the plagues written in this book? They are the diseases of Egypt which are the lies and false doctrines we all first believe until we are given to know the truth by the gift of faith and the Lord opening our eyes and ears. We have to be able to hear the call to come out of her, the harlot church and all the false doctrines we learn as carnal men in a wicked world waxing worse and worse. Coming out of her is far greater than leaving the organized church system, it requires us to truly be separated from this world.
Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
So when in Spiritual Babylon still subject to the lies of the carnal mind and false church, we add to the word of God mixing carnal thoughts with the words of Scripture. We take away when we deny certain words or passages do not apply to us. The carnal delusion is those bad things only apply to those evil people over there yet we need to look in a mirror and come to see that we truly are beasts (Ecc 3:18) and nothing good dwells in us (Rom 7:24) and that we are the abomination of desolsation (Mat 24:15).
Rev 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
If we take away from the Scriptures we take away our part in the book of life for the time being. All will be saved in the end but you do need to come to understand what it means to live by EVERY WORD. The Bible is not a history lesson, every story is a living story and one you and me will live out.
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
This truth is so important we have it multiple times.
Luk 4:4 And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Deu 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
Jesus Christ is HIS WORD. We will live by every word in due time, all men will and this is how we will eat of His Body. He is the bread of life, this is the bread we must be eating daily to have AIONIOUS (eternal) life. All those words in the Prophets and the Book of Revelation are His Word and we will live them out, we will eat them in due time. That is how we come to possessing eternal life. Here is the definition of eternal life we should never lose sight of. It is to KNOW Him and we only know Him by going through and living through judgment.
Joh 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
Living by every word is good news for the new man, as Christ is formed in us and bad news for the old man. Hence we are told these two witnesses to the truth.
Eze 2:8 But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; Be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house: open thy mouth, and eat that I give thee.
Eze 2:9 And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;
Eze 2:10 And he spread it before me; and it was written within and without: and there was written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe. (for the old man)
And here is the same message in the New Testament. Eating the book is living the words and taking them to heart. It is sweet to the new man but bitter to the old.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Living by every word, is what Paul meant when he writes to us these words.
1Co 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
1Co 3:22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
This is the ONE event that comes alike to all men. It only awaits the times the Lord has already determined.
Ecc 9:2 All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
That one event is living by every word. So you are King Saul, you are David, you are Jezebel, you are the Simon the sorcerer, you are Saul of Tarsus etc. The bible is about God’s Elect, the Israel of God. It is only written to them and about them and only they will understand in this life. The rest will not understand and that is all the design of the Lord.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
Rom 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
When the Lord truly comes into our life for the baptism with fire, not the other jesus we first know, then all that we thought we knew is shown to be lies. Jesus comes for judgment when He appears, but you need to understand that is what saves us, that is how we are saved, we must go thru it for the old man to be destroyed and Christ to be raised in us.
Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
Exo 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
When Christ comes, we realize we are blind and all we thought we knew was a lie, false doctrines like eternal hell and free will and the trinity are quickly burned up in the fire.
Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
But the plan is always to redeem His people (all men in the end) WITH JUDGMENT.
Isa 1:27 Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
We all think we see when we don’t. Before Christ comes, we are sure we see, have experienced outward signs to prove it in most cases, but we know another jesus. The real Lord is causing all things, even evil, even your very sins and is not going to burn people in eternal hell forever. It is laughable and those that believe such nonsense have to not see the Scriptures or they are adding to and taking away from them as I showed earlier. Here is a short list off the top of my head of Scriptures that make Babylonians dumbstruck.
Isa 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Most have never even seen this verse. But if you show them they still won’t believe it and will want to blame evil on Satan and wicked men. It takes a gift to believe the SUM/ALL the Scriptures and few have it (Mat 22:14).
Isa 63:17 O LORD, why hast thou (GOD) made us to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from thy fear? Return for thy servants’ sake, the tribes of thine inheritance.
One can pair this verse with scores of others (Amo 3:6, Jer 10:23, Pro 19:21, Joh 15:5 etc etc) that make it perfectly clear the Lord causes all things including our bad things but they cannot believe it. Wanting to be self righteous and save itself, the flesh and carnal mind will deny Jesus Christ at every turn.
Pro 16:4 The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Another one of the all things verses that the carnal mind that denies the Lord want to limit or claim He allows things. He allows nothing, He is working all things for the counsel of His will (Eph 2:11).
Psa 78:49 He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them.
I love this verse because it clearly shows the Lord is the one sending evil spirits, they do nothing outside of His will and He created them for His purposes just as Colossians 1 says. The fact the Lord is ending them to Israel, His own people, His Elect is another wake up call to how deep and wide the lies are in Babylon.
The last verse I show here is also a good one. King Saul did not choose of his own free will to try to murder David. It was the Lord working ALL THINGS. How did the Lord do it? The Lord sent an evil spirit to cause Saul to do it. Here is the proof and there are many others witnesses, many more than the 2 or 3 necessary to establish a truth.
1Sa 19:9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
Nobody has not blasphemed the Lord’s name. Doing things in His name refers not to how we pronounce His name, it is whether we are faithful to the true doctrines and obey His word. Much better to obey (do things in His name) than to sacrifice to Him falsely. We all take His name in vain but it is because of that and HIS jealousy that He comes and saves us. This is how the Lord sanctifies His name, IN US. He comes to bring salvation and clean up His temple, which temple we are.
Look at this promise of salvation and the new covenant. It is all THE LORDS WORK, there is no you in any of it.
Eze 36:22 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.
We are saved, delivered of our sins for His name sake, not for anything we do or did not do. All men have sinned, all have profaned His name among the heathen yet He saves us anyway in the appointed times.
Eze 36:23 And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.
And here we see the mystery the carnal mind cannot see. Salvation is of the Lord, HE DOES IT. It is I WILL, there is no you required. We are mere clay in His hands. Let’s read on and see what else is said about how this happens and who is doing the work.
Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
The result of the Lord’s work in us (Phil 2:13, Isa 64:8) is salvation. The promise continues.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Eze 36:29 I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.
The Lord cleans us up and He brings forth the crops and the fruit, the righteousness and no longer has us in darkness, the famine of the word is over.
Eze 36:30 And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.
Eze 36:31 Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.
Eze 36:32 Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.
Eze 36:33 Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.
Eze 36:34 And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.
Eze 36:35 And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.
Eze 36:36 Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.
Eze 36:37 Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.
But I hope you are beginning to see the depth of the lies we all first believe. We must have all that darkness washed out by the fire of the truth and replaced and that takes time. It starts by being given the ability to see that all men are to be saved. That is the MILK one must grow on and if you don’t see that, then you will remain in darkness and be a victim as the Lord says here.
Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!
So getting back to your initial question of the gospel differences. I need to make it perfectly clear that all those variations of what Christ said are true. The SUM is the truth and we need to search out the sum because that is where the treasure lies if we are one of the Lord’s priest and kings.
Pro 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
Let me explain this is greater detail and show you an example. For example, the whole of the Bible goes on to give us great detail of what Genesis 1 tell us.
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
This is not just speaking of the outward physical earth, it is speaking to and about God’s Elect. We are the earth, heaven is our heart and mind, the kingdom of God is WITHIN you.
Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
The rest of the Bible tells us the details of how the Lord does this. Our entire life, our entire walk is ordained before there were any days.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
Isa 46:10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
Here is a new testament witness to the same.
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
We just need to live them out and the end of the matter is the light being called out of the darkness as we are remade into he image of the Son. But that is a process and takes us living through all the events, every word the Lord has spoken.
Isaiah and Jeremiah and the rest of the prophets were not speaking to the physical earth or the blue sky above.
Jer 22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
Isa 1:2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
So light being called out of darkness is the whole process of the Lord remaking us. A day comes when He says let there be light IN US and then there is light and that light begins the process of remaking us into the son of God via the process of JUDGMENT. All things get remade, believe it
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
So with regards to what Jesus is recorded as saying. These are words you and me will speak also. We will first cry out to the Lord when all this affliction comes upon us and ask “why have you forsaken me”. But we know the answer as the SUM of Scripture tells us why.
Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.
So Jesus said elsewhere I will never leave you or forsake you.
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So which is true? They both are true, the SUM is true. We will be forsaken, our old man will be forsaken for a little while as the Lord brings judgment to us to destroy our carnal mind and lustful ways in remaking all things. But the new man will not be forsaken as this is the Lord’s way in bringing salvation. How do we enter the kingdom of God that is WITHIN us? We don’t have to speculate.
Act 14:22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Isa 48:10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.
Jesus says it is finished in another gospel. These gospels do not tell us everything that happened or every single event but they are what the Lord has ordained be recorded and written down for our comfort and edification. The last verse in John tells us this.
Joh 21:25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
So we too, when Christ is formed in us will one day know when we have been delivered from the bondage of our carnal life and flesh (i.e. salvation) and we too will know we have finished our work, we have run our race to the end. Paul said as much and we will to at the end of our physical life (if we are God’s Elect and judged in this life).
2Ti 4:6 For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
2Ti 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
2Ti 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Contrast this truth with the one that says nobody has arrived and we need to continually press onward and upward for the high calling of God.
Php 3:12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
Php 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
Php 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
So all these scriptures that on the surface seem contradictory are true. But the truth is discerned by taking ALL or the SUM of them.
“Into your hands I commend my Spirit” are words you too will live by as every man will. We will enter into the rest that remains for the people of God when our old man is dead, when we cease from our own works and know in the deepest part of our heart and mind that everything we do and have done, good or bad, evil or obedience, is all the work of the Lord in us. That is the true Sabbath coming to know this truth and obeying that truth.
Heb 4:9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Act 17:28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Hope this is helpful. One of the keys to the kingdom is understanding and being able to apply the SUM is the truth. Another is to know there are two sides to the sword, light and darkness. Every word is both a positive meaning and a negative meaning. Knowing that every story of the Bible is about the old man and the new man (the two witnesses) is a monumental piece of wisdom.
Psa 10:17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
Pro 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
Mat 13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Hope this helps and gives you some meat to chew on. I will pray for the Lord to show you and quicken the truth to your spirit.
Your brother in Christ, PETE