The Remnant Church

   Is there a remnant church? It’s not a matter of a declaration by anyone, but only the church that holds firmly to the truths of the God’s word and His purpose. All Christian churches do good work and are interested in spreading the gospel but not all hold to the truths of the Bible. What makes one particular church the remnant church and excludes the others? All Christian churches believe that they are preaching and teaching the truth of the Bible, even though each one professes a different set of standards and beliefs. Is there a "remnant church" mentioned in God's word? According to the King James Version Bible, no remnant church is mentioned by name or implied, but the concept of a remnant people is noted. God speaks of a remnant people, "So as I live declares Jehovah of host, the God of Israel, surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the son's of Ammon like Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and a pit of salt, and a ruin forever. The remnant of My people shall plunder them, and the rest of the nation shall possess them." (Zephaniah 2:9), here Jehovah predicts a "remnant people", ”For there shall be peace for the seed; the vine shall give its fruit and the ground shall give its produce; the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these." (Zechariah 8:12) and this verses speak of a remnant of His people, which would be Israel. There are no remnant people spoken of in the New Testament except if you consider the ones listed in the Book of Life, but they are not a remnant of a group but they are ones individually chosen, but no remnant church or particular group of people. Does your church teach the truth of God's word, or do you diligently search the scripture so you can personally say and confirm that you hold to all Biblical truths? Holding to just some of God's stated truths and guidelines will award you little, except encouragement for more, looking at the last part of the second Commandment, "and doing kindness to thousands, to those loving me and to those keeping My commandments." (Exodus 20:6), but we must not forget that forgiveness of repented sins are an important factor, but our sincere intentions are needed for the first step toward righteousness to be realized, along with asking God for help. Here are some other verses in the Bible that imply of a remnant people, "For it shall be, all who call on the name of Jehovah shall be saved. For salvation shall be in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, as Jehovah has said, and among the saved whom Jehovah shall call." (Joel 2:32), "But Isaiah cries on behalf of Israel, If the number of the sons of Israel be as the sands of the sea, the remnant will be saved." (Romans 9:27) "For though Your people Israel is like the sands of the sea, only a remnant of it shall return; a determined end, overflowing with righteousness." (Isaiah 10:22), "And the dragon was enraged over the woman and went away to make war with the rest of her seed, those keeping the commandments of God, and having the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 12:17). Again, keeping all of God's commandments is stressed in the last book of the Bible.

   Is it your commitment to hold to every word of God? The Bible needs to be thoroughly visited and revisited to answer this question with all certainty. This is a challenge and a responsibility to all people, because all persons are being judged on God's word and not what any church preaching or teaching, or what any speaker or writer projects. We need to research the source of truth, the testimony of Jesus, "And I fell before his feet to worship him, but he said to me, Behold! Stop! I am your fellow slave, and of your brothers, having the testimony of Jesus. Worship God. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. 19:10), which is the entire Bible, this is Christ's testimony and it speaks of God's guidelines, warnings, rewards for the future and His endless love for His created beings, Christ being the Word of God (John 1:1) and He asks us to follow Him, "And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me." (Matthew 10:38). This is our personal duty, to respond to our conscience that listens to Christ's spirit, it is for us to know how to arrive at the entrance to God's kingdom in the proper spiritual condition, holding to all the "Bible only" with commitment, not only reading His word, but doing as His word instructs us for our best interest and Jehovah's salvation which Christ established with His blood. Have we read every word in the Bible? Is it our desire to consume His words or is it just a duty? If we come to know and understand His way, it will be our pleasure to perform His commands.

   Revelation 12:17 (above) mentions the "seed" which can represent the later church in Bible prophecy, because the "women" as most believe, represents the churches at the time of the prophecy, therefore the dragon was to be at war with the church's offspring. The offspring of the church does not indicate a church but people that were part of the church. One can also consider the "church", spoken of 76 times, to be all Christian churches and the remnant are those that saw its errors and left its general teachings in search of the truth, those that now keep the commandments of God and having the testimony of Jesus, plus the faith of Jesus, who are the labeled saints, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12). Since the Bible doesn't speak of a remnant church, but only of a remnant of  some  people, "...the woman (church)...the rest of her seed..." (Rev. 12:17). I can only understand this as being directed to individuals. We are also asked to leave Babylon, which many believe represents false religion and Zion to represent true religion. Is there a particular church that conforms to all of God's word and teaches God's word totally correct? Is there such a church? Each Christian individually needs to come to God's word for them self and make God's written truth their personal commitment, based only on the truth presented in God's word and to avoid the influence of the words of man, the many writers and speakers that claim to know the way and the truth. The pure truth is only found in the original text of God's word. Consider also that not every Bible is translated purely, according to Christ's intended meaning, as it was given to each chosen Bible writer. The original Hebrew text becomes ever so important in reaching the intended truth because the Greek text is logically not the original text from all it New Testament Hebrew writers. A Hebrew speaking to other Hebrews would logically speak in Hebrew and also write in their native language, because it is intended for other Hebrews. When and who translated the New Testament into Greek and also represent it as the original would only be a guess. Paul may have written some of his letter in Greek, but not all. Are there any New Testament copies of the originals still in existence? I've seen Matthew's writings in Hebrew on stone in the Internet, but it was too small to see clear its text, plus the Internet isn't totally dependable. Therefore, considering this fact, one needs to take anything that is not in alignment with all the Bible, and it must be retranslated to what is consistent with the all of God's word, understanding that the Old Testament is more dependable then the New Testament, since the Greek is a first or even second generation from the original, and the Hebrew text is a copy of the original text. There happens to be, unfortunately, more then a couple verses that are questionable, in both Testaments.

    Is there a church that can be considered a remnant of the collective Christian churches? Most believe their denomination is pure and are following Christ lead, therefore the responsibility falls on every church member to test their set of church doctrine. To do this, it is most imperative that each one read all of his trusted Bible. The text I present here is the "Literal Translation" presented in the J. P. Green Interlinear Bible, which also includes the Hebrew and Greek text, used also in translating the King James Bible, and other Bibles, and each word has a Strong's Concordance number for referring and translating for oneself the Hebrew or Greek text, by using the Strong's Concordance dictionary part. Your responsibility is to become a remnant Christian, a saint, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are the ones keeping the commands of God and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:12); no one else can do that for you, and the time is now. Jehovah gave us a day of rest on the Sabbath, a day of rest from the worlds influence and a 24 hour day to study God's word fro yourself.