Matthew 24:35
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.
1 Peter 1:25
25
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
The only way that prophesy for the church as a whole is ever done away is through apostasy and wickedness. This was prophesied by the Prophet Amos as follows:
Amos 8:11-12
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
This happened shortly after the death of the Apostles of Jesus Christ. Maybe this is why many so boldly proclaim that the canon is closed and no more prophesy can be had for the children of God as a whole. Continuing revelation was taken from the earth because of the falling away from the church of God.
Apostasy of the Early Christian Church
- changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant, Isa. 24:5.
- this people draw near me with their mouth, Isa. 29:13.
- darkness shall cover the earth, Isa. 60:2.
- a famine … of hearing the words of the Lord, Amos 8:11.
- his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, Matt. 13:25.
- saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many, Matt. 24:5.
- shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, Matt. 24:24.
- his disciples went back, and walked no more with him, John 6:66.
- shall grievous wolves enter in among you, Acts 20:29.
- there be divisions among you, 1 Cor. 11:18.
- I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him, Gal. 1:6.
- who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey, Gal. 3:1.
- shall not come, except there come a falling away first, 2 Thes. 2:3.
- some having swerved have turned aside, 1 Tim. 1:6.
- giving heed to seducing spirits, 1 Tim. 4:1.
- all they which are in Asia be turned away from me, 2 Tim. 1:15.
- Who concerning the truth have erred, 2 Tim. 2:18.
- Having a form of godliness, but denying the power, 2 Tim. 3:5.
- turn away their ears from the truth … unto fables, 2 Tim. 4:4.
- profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, Titus 1:16.
- From whence come wars and fightings among you, James 4:1.
- false prophets also among the people, 2 Pet. 2:1.
- being led away with the error of the wicked, 2 Pet. 3:17.
- now are there many antichrists, 1 Jn. 2:18.
- many false prophets are gone out into the world, 1 Jn. 4:1.
- certain men crept in … denying the only Lord God, Jude 1:4.
- which say they are apostles, and are not, Rev. 2:2.
- thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, Rev. 3:16.
- to make war with the saints, Rev. 13:7.
Martin Luther and many others understood that the Catholic church was in a state of apostasy and for this reason we had the great protestant reformation. However, these protestant reformists broke away from an apostate church but were not a restoration of the priesthood or the spirit of prophesy and revelation. This was all prophesied by the Prophet Amos. However, Jesus was not to leave us in darkness but made us the following promise:
Acts 3:20-21
20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:
21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
Here we read of a restitution of the gospel of all things spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since the world began. Jesus Christ would once again be sent to restore his true church upon the face of the earth. Revelation was not received on the earth until Jesus came again and restored his true church upon the face of the earth. Jesus was in heaven until the time of this great restitution of all things. We are now living in the time of the restitution of all things. God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the boy prophet Joseph Smith and restored his church once again upon the face of this earth. Again the heavens were opened and the revelations of God were again with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Heavens are no longer closed to the public and a true knowledge of God has been restored. God the Father and Jesus Christ are the ones in whose very image and likeness mankind was created. This is in the Bible:
Genesis 1:26
26 ¶ And God said, Let
us make man in
our image, after
our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The "us" and "our" in the above verse refer to God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. So is God the Father not in the same image and likeness as mankind? YES! He is the Man of Holiness. And Jesus is the Son of Man. After Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven, we read that Jesus was the express image of the person of the Father:
Hebrews 1:1-3
1. God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
2. Hath in these last days spoken unto us by
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
3.
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
Here are other verses that attest to the corporeal nature of God:
God, Body of, Corporeal Nature
- See also Man, a Spirit Child of Heavenly Father; Man, Physical Creation of
- God created man in his own image, Gen. 1:27 (Moses 2:27).
- God created man, in the likeness of God made he him, Gen. 5:1.
- in the image of God made he man, Gen. 9:6.
- Lord went his way, as soon as he had left communing, Gen. 18:33.
- I have seen God face to face, Gen. 32:30.
- they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet, Ex. 24:10.
- written with the finger of God, Ex. 31:18 (Deut. 9:10).
- Lord spake unto Moses face to face, Ex. 33:11.
- thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen, Ex. 33:23.
- With him will I speak mouth to mouth, Num. 12:8.
- a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, Matt. 3:17.
- every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, Matt. 4:4.
- a voice out of the cloud, Matt. 17:5.
- for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have, Luke 24:39.
- he that hath seen me hath seen the Father, John 14:9.
- the Son of man standing on the right hand of God, Acts 7:56.
- predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, Rom. 8:29.
- Christ, who is the image of God, 2 Cor. 4:4.
- Who, being in the form of God, Philip. 2:6.
- our vile body … fashioned like unto his glorious body, Philip. 3:21.
- Who is the image of the invisible God, Col. 1:15.
- the express image of his person, Heb. 1:3.
- men, which are made after the similitude of God, James 3:9.
- when he shall appear, we shall be like him, 1 Jn. 3:2.
- they shall see his face, Rev. 22:4.
- image after which man was created, Mosiah 7:27 (Ether 3:15).
- he created man, male and female, after his own image, D&C 20:18.
- His eyes were as a flame of fire, D&C 110:3.
- Savior shall appear … see that he is a man like ourselves, D&C 130:1.
- Father has a body of flesh and bones, D&C 130:22.
- Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten, Moses 1:16.
- In the image of his own body … created he them, Moses 6:9.
- Abraham, talked with the Lord, face to face, Abr. 3:11.
- Gods went down to organize man in their own image, Abr. 4:27.
- See also Gen. 33:10; Deut. 4:28; Acts 17:29; Col. 3:10.
Do you not find it strange that Jesus and all mankind will be resurrected with bodies of flesh and bone as shown in Luke 24, yet the Father needs no body of flesh and bone to be eternally perfect? Why do we need resurrected immortal bodies if God does not? Why would Jesus need to resurrect if God the Father has no body? What is the purpose of resurrection if God the Father needs no resurrection? Why is it part of our salvation to become immortal with bodies of flesh and bones? Where does it ever teach that God the Father does not have a body of flesh and bones?
To whom was it ever revealed that God has shut down the canon of scripture and no longer gives revelation to his apostles or prophets for the direction of his church? Can't find it anywhere in the Bible! Funny how it is claimed that after the Apostles died that revelation was considered closed even though the apostles never claimed such. Who got the revelation after it was closed to say it was closed? The only closing of revelation and the canon came by means of apostasy from the true church of Jesus Christ as the prophet Amos testified.
