COGR – We See The Light Through The Apostles’ Faces.
January 31, 2024
Good day! I am writing a series of short reviews of abbreviated COGR video clips. I am looking for input and comments. If it makes it easier, I will be glad to supply a Word document so comments can be put in the document, and we can communicate directly. My email address is lattema@icloud.com. I hope you find these reviews helpful.
Transcript:
It’s strange that it would say over and over; in fact, it says the same language in Isaiah. Why would Revelation keep saying, “It doesn’t need the sun, doesn’t need the sun, doesn’t need the sun”? Isn’t the sun the Gospel? And why would it be referring to the physical sun? Because, as we’re talking about spiritual symbolic vision here, it doesn’t line up. I mean, that thinking doesn’t necessarily line up. But the fact is, brethren, that they don’t need the sun; it’s saying that they’re not looking up to the sky for a source of light, some distant light. They’re not separated from the source of light like we would look up to the sun and the rays that fall upon us.
But the lamb, who is the light, is in the midst. The light is coming from the face of the lamb. The lights coming from the face of the son of man may remind you of the book of Corinthians when Paul said, “for god hath given the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of Jesus Christ. In god, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts,” talking firstly about the apostles. You can go read it, go read in context, and you’ll see what I’m talking about. He’s talking firstly, chiefly, primarily, fundamentally, about the apostles. He’s shined in our hearts to give… He shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of Jesus Christ.
I remember a message you preached ten years ago in Oklahoma about the face of Moses and the face of the apostles, and the face of god saying when you look into the face of the ministry, it’s the brightness of the face of Jesus Christ. Brother, when we have these thrones, once these thrones are cast down, once the ancient of days sits in our midst. Has he always been sitting yes but from the Daniel seven, sense the ancient of days, has just sat with us. Like he sat, like Jesus Christ sat in the morning time. Now we’ve sat down, and god has sat down with us, and he’s reigning, he’s taken under him his great power and reigned.
And brethren in the face of this apostolic ministry, I’m almost done. In the face of this apostolic ministry, is the brightness of the glory of god, the light of god is present with us. Perhaps for the Wesley. And I’ll leave this for the apostles to help more, and lord to give us even more understanding. But as we talked about last night, brother Patrick, perhaps for the Wesley, and Fletcher and Girolamo Savonarola, given that they didn’t have this throne, they didn’t have this fullness of light among them like we do, were looking at the sun as it were, afar off, looking either back to the morning time when it was bright, or looking forward to when god’s going to make it bright again. That’s what they were doing.
Brethren, they were looking at the sun when it shined in its strength. You follow me. But the sun had gone down at noon. So they were forced to look at the glory days, the old glory days, or hope for better times. And that’s what a lot of people are doing today, but looking back to the glory days, or looking for better times. Well brethren, the lamb is in the midst, and his face gives us the light. I’m telling you now we’re going to say, I will say a couple more strong things before I’m done.
Commentary:
As a matter of housekeeping, Revelation 21:23 and 25 and Revelation 22:5 refer to the fact that we will no longer need the sun. A literal reading here makes sense. The idea is that the light from God’s tremendous glory will overwhelm any other light source, and therefore, the sun will not be needed. There is no need to assign symbolic meaning to the sun. The point is God’s immense glory.
Again, we find a section of Scripture that the COGR’s apostles are desperate to claim exclusively for their own. Addison Everett is not the only one who does this, Stephen Hargrave also makes similar claims several times in the series. The logic seems to be, “We are apostles, and these verses apply only to the apostles.” In doing so, they set themselves apart from the rest of the church and enhance their power and authority within the group.
The first question that should be asked is whether this self-exaltation is a legitimate understanding of the text’s meaning. It seems that there were a few problems right from the beginning. If we were to limit this light to the original 12 apostles, and we have not yet addressed that, we would note that the original 12 apostles died, with the last dying around the year 100. That would mean that the reference to the light of Christ was only for those apostles, and the light becomes only a historical reference. However, despite the COGR’s claim to exclusive access, it is likely that those mentioned by Addison, (Wesley, Fletcher, and Savonarola) experienced that same enlightenment. Addison Everett would like to have us accept that he holds the very same prestigious office of an apostle that the original 12 apostles held and that we should recognize that both he and the other self-appointed apostles share the exclusive privilege of having the light of Christ shining forth from them. However, his claim falls short. There is no Biblical reason why anyone would assume that he is any more an apostle than you or me.
When someone makes a statement, that statement may possibly be understood in more than one way. Not everyone appreciates that. The COGR will often present a particular understanding of a verse but fail to look at other possibilities. Here, in 2 Corinthians 4:6, there are three ways scholars believe Paul’s comment could have been understood. The first is that Paul is speaking about himself and the transformation he experienced in meeting Christ; the second is that Paul is speaking of himself and his believing companions; and the third is that Paul is speaking about all believers. No matter which of the three we choose, our decision does not limit who may experience this enlightenment, nor does it exclude the understanding that this experience is typical of all those who encounter Christ. Therefore, it applies not exclusively to any group but instead to all believers. To be clear then, our understanding of whom Paul was referring to does not prevent a universal application of that light to all believers. All believers have access to Paul’s experience.
Another interesting point is that there is no evidence at all that the supposed modern-day apostles are sitting down with God. I appreciate the metaphorical nature of the statement, and I am not proposing that we begin looking in the church basement for a room with thrones where God is hanging out. But a good metaphor captures reality. If the modern-day apostles had such a relationship with God, we would see evidence of their power and influence as well as “the signs of the apostles”. Instead, we see nothing that cannot be explained by acknowledging that there is a small cult with abusive leaders taking advantage of its people. These people are not apostles, and their claims are fanciful mythology.
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