The Creature

Not long ago, I saw a video of a bible study.  Essentially, it was an in depth ‘word’ study comparing two single words: 'creation' and 'creature.'  In it, the conclusion was that a creature as used in scripture referred to a man, an animal, or an angel—as they were live, animate beings.  A creation on the other hand was something inanimate; for instance, a piece of furniture, a tree, etc.

However, in reference to the creature mentioned in Romans 1 and Romans 8, a study of the key words ‘worship and serve’ along with the phrase “the creature” is needed in order to produce a definition for 'the creature.'  A definition that is literally out of this world! 

Below are some verses containing a combination of most (or all) of those key words to consider in order to see God’s definition for ‘the creature.’  As you review them, take particular note of the wording in Rom 8:19-21 which cannot be denied or ignored as relating to something that is alive; something that is capable of expecting, or that has a will, or has a hope “by reason of him” who put it in the bondage of corruption. 

Deuteronomy 4:19

And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest THE SUN, AND THE MOON, AND THE STARS, EVEN ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN, shouldest be driven to WORSHIP them, and SERVE them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

Deuteronomy 17:3

And hath gone and SERVED other gods, and WORSHIPPED them, EITHER THE SUN, OR MOON, OR ANY OF THE HOST OF HEAVEN, which I have not commanded;

Jeremiah 8:2

And they shall spread them before THE SUN, AND THE MOON, AND ALL THE HOST OF HEAVEN, whom they have loved, and whom they have SERVED, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have WORSHIPPED: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.

Romans 1:25

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED and SERVED THE CREATURE more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Romans 8:19-21

For the earnest EXPECTATION of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For THE CREATURE was made subject to vanity, NOT WILLINGLY, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same IN HOPE,

Because THE CREATURE ITSELF also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the WHOLE CREATION groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

Romans 1:25 simply says they “worshipped and served the creature” not giving any hint as to what the creature is (although, even many grace teachers stumble over trying to explain exactly what it is). But linking the key words (worship and serve) with Deuteronomy 4:19, Deuteronomy 17:3 and Jeremiah 8:2 we can come to a conclusion of who the creature is.  It is, “the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and all of the host of heaven.” 

It’s interesting to see that Romans 8:19-22 mention both ‘the creature’ and the ‘whole creation.’  So what makes up the “whole creation”?  The answer would be, the creature PLUS whatever is left.   And, what is it that is left out?  The earth! 

In other words, it is safe to say all would agree that the WHOLE creation of God includes…

>  the earth, and
>  the heaven, which would include
>  the sun,

>  the moon, the stars,

>  the planets, including the earth, and

>  all the angels (elect and fallen; i.e., the host of heaven).

The creature on the other hand, scripture teaches, is only…

>  the sun,

>  the moon, the stars, and

>  the host of heaven.

Therefore, the creature plus the earth equal the "whole creation."

While the unsaved world will mock, and puffed up bible scholars will scoff, the serious bible students with readiness of mind are exhorted to consider and let the Holy Ghost be our teacher, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, searching them out to see whether they are so. 

2 Timothy 2:7
Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.

1 Corinthians 2:13

Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

Acts 17:11

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

In our finite minds, we must not try to explain it according to a dictionary or any other way common to man, but as the Spirit leads, comparing verse with verse, studying every word—rightly divided—letting scripture say what it means and mean what it says.  It is the Lord that will give the understanding, but only if his word is received and believed…understood just yet, or not. 

2 Peter 3:16

As also in all his [Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood…

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with these verses to ponder…

Ephesians 1:10

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

********

Whether one agrees or disagrees, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. And last of all, let us all remember...

1 Corinthians 8:2

And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

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Listen to this 10-minute summary teaching by Michael McDaniel of Millenium Bible Institute regarding:  THE CREATURE.  

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Update: 7/29/2019

Why I believe Paul did not write Hebrews

2 Thess 3:17

The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write.

If you look up the word "salutation" in the dictionary, you'll find a definition that goes something like this: 

SALUTATION: 

- word of greeting used to begin a letter opening 

- the initial part of the introduction.

While we today sign our name at the bottom of letters we write, that's not how epistles (i.e., letters of instruction meant to teach, as from a teacher to a student) were written.

Rather, verse 17 is instructing us that Paul is the author of the epistles, Romans-Philemon.  Those are the only books that contain his name in their introduction, as shown below.

Romans 1:1
PAUL, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

1 Corinthians 1:1
PAUL called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

2 Corinthians 1:1
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

Galatians 1:1
PAUL, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

Ephesians 1:1
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:

Philippians 1:1
PAUL and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Colossians 1:1
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

1 Thessalonians 1:1
PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1:1
PAUL, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 Timothy 1:1
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

2 Timothy 1:1
PAUL, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

Titus 1:1
PAUL, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

Philemon 1:1
PAUL, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

...and then there is the book of Hebrews that does not include that salutation of Paul, that which is "the token in every epistle" he writes. 

The scriptures do not lie.  Either that token is in every epistle Paul wrote, or it isn't.  This is why Hebrews cannot be said to have been written by the Apostle Paul.  

Approved activities...

                                          ...but "who" approved them?  

Satan doesn’t care if you go to CHURCH every Sunday and/or Wednesday.*

Satan doesn’t care if you get BAPTIZED.*

Satan doesn’t care if you ASK JESUS INTO YOUR HEART.*

Satan doesn’t care if you MAKE JESUS THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE.*

Satan doesn't care if...etc., etc., etc.

*There is no supporting doctrine in this present disposition of the grace of God for such “bodily exercise”

~For bodily exercise profiteth little:

but godliness is profitable unto all things,

having promise of the life that now is,

and of that which is to come.  

[1 Tim 4:8 KJB]

But he does care if you get SAVED and COME UNTO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH. [1 Cor 15:1-4; 1 Tim 2:4]

But he does care if you believe EVERY word that proceeds from God. [Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4]

But he does care if you hold the KJB as your FINAL AUTHORITY in all faith and practice. [Psm 12:6-7]

But he does care if you KNOW who YOUR APOSTLE is, i.e., the Apostle Paul, and what his message according to the revelation of Jesus Christ is. [Rom 11:13; 16:25]

But he does care if you RIGHTLY DIVIDE the word of truth. [2 Tim 2:15]

…and he will do everything in his power to make sure you don’t see these truths.

~In whom the god of this world [Satan]

hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,

lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,

who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

[2 Corinthians 4:4]

Lost or saved, it's only wisdom to know your enemy--and, in this case, the Enemy of your very soul.

Believers Beware of Counterfeit King James Bibles

An important article from Biblebelievers.com...

King James Bible believers are faced with an array of problems to day. Of course we all know that the multiplicity of all the new modern versions are a big problem but another big problem is the fact that many of the worldly publishing companies are publishing Bibles and calling them King James Bibles when in actuality they are not.  They are counterfeits.

Because the King James Bible is in the publick domain and not copyrighted, these worldly publishing companies think they can make minor changes to the standard text so that they can please certain groups which translates into extra sales for them.  That's the way the modern world operates to day.  All the common ordinary Bible believer wants is the same Bible that his grandmother had and the same Bible her grandmother had and the same Bible her grandmother had etc. that's all.

Just give us the text that has established itself as the standard text of the Holy Bible, an old fashioned, Christ exalting, devil kicking, Authorized King James Bible.  To the best of my understanding this is the 1769 edition of the 1611 King James Bible with a few minor printing errors and spellings corrected along the way in the 1800's.

Until the twenty-first century you could get a copy of it in any nickel and dime book store.  To day you can still find it but you must proceed with caution.  You will be hard pressed to find it at all in any typical Christian book store without some alterations to the text.   

The Bible of our forefathers which we received through process of time comes with three specific warning labels.  One is near the front.  The other is near the middle and the last one is at the very end.  Let's read them:

WARNING LABEL # 1 - Deuteronomy 4:2 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. WARNING LABEL # 2 - Proverbs 30:5-6 5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. 6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. WARNING LABEL # 3 - Revelation 22:18-19 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: 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. 

I would like to think these worldly publishing companies are just ignorant to the seriousness of what they are doing.  However in some cases I'm sure that these deceptive maneuvers are being done with fore thought.  In other words they are aware of the warning labels but choose to ignore them. They have hardened their hearts against the standard text of the Holy Bible.

Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about.  It was approximately six months ago I purchased a King James Bible from a popular on line book store.  It was a straight text (advertised as the standard text) meaning it had no notes, no references, no helps, and no maps.  It was just what I wanted.  Just give me the Bible and if I need help with a difficult passage I'll ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and I'll check other scriptures for references.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not against some of the commentaries and other Bible study tools.  In fact I consider some of them a necessity, for example a good dictionary.  It's just that commentaries, dictionaries, concordances and the like are the words of men and not the words of God.  They are not infallible.  Therefore I do not believe they should be mixed together under the same cover and be called the word of God.  In actuality it is the word of God plus the words of a man or a group of men. In my opinion the Holy Bible should be just the word of God only from cover to cover.  That is why I prefer a straight text.

At any rate I had bought the Bible I thought I wanted.  It had been published by Cambridge.  They have always been the giant in the industry. In fact they are the oldest Printer and Publisher in the world.  They are supposed to be the gold standard for dependability according to many King James Bible believers.  This Bible had a nice black French Morocco leather cover with golden coloured gilt edges.  It was very nice on the outside but when I started checking out the inside I was shocked. This particular edition of the Cambridge Bible that calls itself a King James Bible is not genuine.  IT'S A COUNTERFEIT!  It's not the Bible of my forefathers!  

Here are some of the changes I located: Asswaged has been changed to assuaged.  Basons has been changed to basins.  Chesnut has been changed to chestnut.  Cloke has been changed to cloak.  Enquire has been changed to inquire.  Further has been changed to farther.  Jubile has been changed to jubilee.  Intreat has been changed to entreat.  Morter has been changed to mortar.  Ought has been changed to aught, and rereward has been changed to rearward.

Brother Nic, why get so upset?  These are just minor changes in spelling.  Well maybe they are, but have you never read "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"  You see I believe God wrote the Bible through sinful men.  I believe God copied the Bible through sinful men.  I believe God translated the Bible through sinful men, and I believe God edited (purified) the Bible through sinful men.  So therefore I believe God gave us the exact words in the exact order He wanted us to have them in.  If that's the case then He spelled the words exactly the way He wanted to spell them, and gave them to us in a pure language, and that language is the standard text of the King James Bible.  This is the Bible that has stood the test of time without any editing whatsoever and this is the Bible The Believers organization, with God's help, intends to preserve for all future generations.  

Beside all this, Cambridge has also taken the liberty of making doctrinal changes.  Notice the following: The capital S in the word Spirit has been changed to a lower case s in numerous passages.  The capitalS refers to the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, whereas the lower case s in the word spirit could have multiple definitions such as simply referring to a mood or emotion.  Its primary definition means to breath.  All living self moving creatures have a spirit within them.  So many definitions could apply to the word spirit when it is not capitalized.

To change the capital S in the word Spirit to a lower case s is an attack against the Godhead, the most powerful threefold cord in heaven and earth: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Cambridge has made this critical error in the following places: Genesis 1:2, 41:38, Judges 3:10, 6:34, 11:29, 13:25, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14, 1 Samuel 10:6, 10:10, 11:6, 16:13, 16:14, 19:20, 19:23, 2 Samuel 23:2, 1 Kings 18:12, 22:24, 2 Kings 2:16, 2 Chronicles 15:1, 18:23, 20:14, 24:20, Job 33:4, Isaiah 40:13, 48:16, 61:1, 63:10, 11, 14, Ezekiel 11:5, 24.  For hundreds of years Cambridge published these verses with a capital S, but now in the twenty-first century it has been changed.  Actually this so called standard text edition first hit the market in 1993 and is being endorsed by many King James Bible believing websites to day.  I assume that they are not aware that it has been modernized.

Here is another change that has been made in this particular edition: the word twoedged has become two-edged.  They added a hyphen.  This word is only in the King James Bible four times (Psalms 149:6, Proverbs 5:4, Hebrews 4:12, and Revelation 1:16.)  Now check this out: they added the hyphen in only three of the four verses.  They left it without a hyphen in Hebrews 4:12.  Why?  Was this a mistake or did they mean to do it that way?  Why tamper with it in the first place?  Don't say you were trying to help us Cambridge.  If that's the case then please don't try to help us any more.  All we want you to do is to publish the same standard text of the King James Bible as you have done so very well for hundreds of years. Don't publish something that is not the standard and call it the standard.  Once you modernize spelling, change capital letters to lower case letters and add hyphens, you are changing the standard text in order to please modern society.

Here are some other ploys that some of these other worldly publishing companies are pulling on an unaware publick. One thing a lot of them do is change the spelling of words that end with the letters o-u-r to the more modern American spelling of o-r.  For example armour becomes armor.  Behaviour becomes behavior.  Clamour becomes clamor.  Colour becomes color.  Endeavour becomes endeavor.  Favour becomes favor.  Honour becomes honor.  Labour becomes labor.  Neighbour becomes neighbor.  Odour becomes odor.  Rigour becomes rigor.  Rumour becomes rumor.  Valour becomes valor and vapour becomes vapor.  Well Brother Nic what's wrong with that?  Remember what we said about the warning labels?  Remember what the scripture said about a little leaven leaventh the whole lump?

Now the very worst of this battle of o-u-r vs. o-r comes when dealing with the only begotten Son of God, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  The modern day counterfeiters have changed Saviour to Savior.  They have given us a six-letter Savior in place of a seven-letter Saviour.  In Bible numerics seven is the number of completeness, purity, and spiritual perfection.  On the other hand six is the number of man which is earthly not heavenly.  Every one has heard of 666.  It has a bad connotation and is not highly esteemed in Bible numerics.

The seven-letter Saviour is the only begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.  The six-letter Savior is the son of perdition, the anti christ. He wants to be like the most High (Isaiah 14:14,) but not in a good way, but in an evil way.  He is not a follower.  He's a counterfeiter.  Therefore his final destination is the lake of fire.  The new versions, along with the new age movement, and some of the King James Bible counterfeits are preparing the way for this six-letter so called Savior. That's the way he will spell his name, S-a-v-i-o-r not S-a-v-i-o-u-r.   No thank you Satan.  I'm sticking with the seven-letter Saviour as portrayed in the old black Book that I inherited from my forefathers.

There are many other things going on by the worldly publishing companies.  Almost all of them have hardened their hearts against the standard text of the Holy Bible.  They do not believe God actually had His hand upon it much less wrote it.  They treat it as a product of men.  That is why they do not hesitate to publish all the different new versions.  Nor do they hesitate to change the old King James and still call it the King James. If a person can't see the fingerprints of God upon this Book then he is either clouded in the cabassis or he is as lost as a duck in the desert with his head in the sand!

The rules of English grammar may change but the King James Bible is fixed in a moment of time (the 1800's, the 1900's and for ever more) and is unchangeable.  This is the standard text and there is no other.  This is the Book that spread the gospel of Jesus Christ all over the world. This is the Book my grandmother had and her grandmother had and her grandmother had without any alterations (editing) whatsoever.  It is basically the same Book that rolled off the printing press in 1611.  The only differences being it was changed from Gothic type to Roman type, printer's errors were corrected and spelling was stabilized.  The King James Bible is a very old Book.

Now consider this: the scriptures have been translated into over 1,200 languages.  Of all these over 800 languages had it translated straight from the Elizabethan English of the King James Bible. Not from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Not from the Latin, not from the German, but straight from the Authorized King James.  Now some of these people have learned English as a second language.  They are not familiar with these modern Americanized spellings nor are most of the other English speaking people of the world.  Can you see what God has woven together through process of time? The Holy Bible is from above and is a finished book from God. It is written in a pure language. Furthermore this language is very peculiar and has been used and still is being used in a very unique way.  Let's preserve it as we received it and quit trying to change it!

QUICK CHECK LIST WHEN BUYING A KING JAMES BIBLE

Scripture Reference	The Real Bible	Counterfeit
GENESIS 1:1	heaven	heavens
GENESIS 1:2	Capital S (Spirit)	lower case s (spirit)
GENESIS 8:1	asswaged	assuaged
GENESIS 11:3	throughly	thoroughly
GENESIS 11:3	morter	mortar
GENESIS 12:1	shew	show
GENESIS 21:26	to day	today
GENESIS 23:8	intreat	entreat
GENESIS 24:57	enquire	inquire
GENESIS 30:37	chesnut	chestnut
GENESIS 31:42	labour	labor
GENESIS 41:38	Capital S (Spirit)	lower case s (spirit)
EXODUS 8:23	to morrow	tomorrow
EXODUS 24:6	basons	basins
EXODUS 25:30	shewbread	showbread
EXODUS 25:30	alway	always
LEVITICUS 25:9	jubile	jubilee
NUMBERS 10:25	rereward	rearward
NUMBERS 22:26	further	farther
1 SAMUEL 18:6	musick	music
PSALMS 149:6	twoedged	two-edged
ISAIAH 59:17	cloke	cloak
MATTHEW 1:19	publick	public
MATTHEW 4:1	Capital S (Spirit)	lower case s (spirit)
LUKE 2:11	Saviour	Savior
PHILIPPIANS 3:17	ensample	example
1 TIMOTHY 6:20	so called	so-called
JAMES 4:14	vapour	vapor

This is just a very short list of the changes being made by some of the worldly publishing companies.  If you find one counterfeit word then that is a pretty good indication there are many more.  Don't buy that Bible, check elsewhere.

The best place I know to purchase a good Bible at a reasonable price is at Bearing Precious Seed Ministry.  They sell them at cost. However they do expect a donation with each purchase.  This is a church ministry, not a business.

This article is © Copyrighted by Theological Research, a department of The Believers Organization.  Permission is granted to copy and distribute this article, or any portion of it, as long as it's not for profit and not edited in any manner whatsoever.  If you wish to use this article in a profit making capacity then permission must be granted by the author.  Contact Nic Kizziah, President, The Believers Organization, P. O. Box 40862, Tuscaloosa, AL  35404, phone: (205) 462-1873,  email: TheBelievers@charter.net, visit their website:  www.thebelieversorganization.org.