Christianity, Cults and Culture

COGR – Lost Keys? The COGR Shell Game.

February 8, 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 gladly 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:

“But to say, “I am He that liveth first and was dead, and behold, I am alive everymore, amen, and have the keys of hell and of death.” Who has the keys of hell and of death? Who does this? Not the church, that’s Jesus. Well, we can talk about where the Lord told Peter, “I’ll give unto you the keys.” Actually, it’s the church that has the keys.

“That’s got the keys, yes, to death and hell. All right. Any questions about that so far? And don’t be afraid to ask, yes, brother. It means that they have the ability to open and shut, bind and loose, remit and retain.”

Commentary:

By now, I hope the people studying the ongoing commentary on the Revelation series have figured out they are being conned. The errors and the deception are hardly well hidden. Today’s commentary looks at yet another sleight of hand.

Ray’s goal is to convince his audience that Jesus and the church are synonymous. To help do that, he mentions that Jesus has the keys of death and hell.

Revelation 1:18

¹⁸ and the one who lives, and I was dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death and of Hades. (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Re 1:18.)

¹⁸ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Re 1:18.)

Ray then, after speaking of this verse where Jesus has the keys says, “Who has the keys of hell and of death? Who does this? Not the church, that’s Jesus. Well, we can talk about where the Lord told Peter, “I’ll give unto you the keys.” Actually, it’s the church that has the keys.

Now, because he speaks quickly and there is no opportunity to research, heads nod and he moves on. His point is supposedly made. Jesus has the keys and we know that Peter, who represents the church has the keys so Jesus and the church are the same.

But before also nod our heads let’s look at the comparison. Jesus has the keys in Revelation. Which keys? The keys of Death and Hades. But what about Peter? Here we go to

Matthew 16:19

¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will be released in heaven.” (W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Mt 16:19.)

¹⁹ And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Mt 16:19.)

So, as the argument goes, Jesus and the church share the keys, so they are the same entities. That seems to be the clear sense that Ray is building his case on. Is that true? It turns out that it is not. In Revelation, Jesus has the keys of Death and Hades, something the church is never said to have. In Matthew, Jesus gives Peter (figuratively) the key to the Kingdom of Heaven. So, the keys are different, and the argument does not hold. It should be noted that it was a bad argument to begin with, as it could be argued that even if the keys were the same, it did not prove that Jesus was the equivalent of the church. Unfortunately, when people are listening to preaching, there is seldom time to ponder what they have heard, and not many will go back later and ponder the fine points of what had been said.

From the outside, it appears that the church has an agenda. That agenda appears to be diminishing Jesus and making the church and Jesus synonymous. The 7^th trumpet ministry is effectively the church, and as such, they speak for God. The goal seems to be not so much following Jesus but accruing power.  

These tactics, the frequent manipulation of Scripture, and the Scripture twisting are either accidental or purposeful. If they are accidental, none of the Apostles should be allowed to preach or teach until they have a basic theological education. If the manipulation is purposeful, people should appreciate that they are being manipulated by a false apostle and prophet. A few weeks ago, I heard a very revealing quip by Ray. Speaking of both him and the apostles, he said they were either going to heaven together or hell together. That is not the statement of an individual representing the truth of Jesus Christ or a man who is sure of his status in the Kingdom of God.