Church of the Latter Rain
33115 Central Avenue
Union City, CA 94587
We are descendants of the Early Church Jesus established in the 1st century and exercise the true practice of worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.
JAMES 5:7 KJV
We believe in the bible (King James translation) as the authenticated Word of God.
Evolution A theory explaining the appearance of life on earth and the process by which living things have acquired their present form. In the Mid-19th Century the British naturalist Charles Darwin proposed his theory of evolution which has formed much of the basis of modern biology. From the point of view of biologist, the problem of evolutionary origin of man is only one of many problems, of mammalian evolution, for, in his physical structure and physiological functions, man falls within the biologist’s definition of mammal and may be presumed to be the product of an evolutionary process believed to have occurred with other groups of mammals. Opposition to the concept of evolution as a whole was due to the influence of the Biblical story of creation. But opposition also arose because of the scientific evidence adduced by taxonomists (the science of classification) the species are clear-cut and sharply defined and usually do not interbreed with other species. Darwin’s hypothesis of organic evolution involved consideration of man’s relationship to the lower animals; and the implied conclusion that if man is the product of an evolutionary process then he is not a unique and special creation. Taxonomic classification includes man as a member of the Order Primates (any member of the most highly developed order of animals, composed of man, the apes, monkey, etc.) Geology and astronomy indicates that during the early history of the earth, high temperature and other factors precluded the existence of any form of life and that of living organisms, therefore, must have first appeared at some definite epoch (an arbitrary date, era, age), within the past 3 billion years. However, the theory of evolution is concerned solely with the development of higher forms of life from the first organism, and makes no attempt to explain the origin of life. Mechanism of evolution: If it is true that all life evolved from a simple form, and that every cell comes from pre-existing cell, the necessity for a mechanism of inheritance is oblivious. Evolutionary scientific giants such as: Darwin, Wallace, and Lamark, their study and research of the evolution of man are at best a theory and worse, speculation. Their research documents are sprinkled with such statements as “Darwin’s theory” or “Wallace’s theory”, “It is presumed”, “It is reasonable”, “It is implied”, “If it is true that”, etc. A theory is nothing more than a systematic statement of principles, a mere conjecture, or guess. Creation God’s Creating of the World, something Original or the origin of all (life) things. Genesis is the foundation on which Divine Revelation rests and on which it is built up. It is not only the foundation of all truth, but it enters into, and forms part of all subsequent inspiration. The Book of Genesis is quoted or, referred to many times in the New Testament: Matt: 19 4-6; Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 11:51; Luke 17:26, 29, 32; John 8:39; Acts 7:1-18. The introduction to Genesis ascribes everything to the living God, creating, making, acting, moving, and speaking. There is no room from evolution without a flat denial of God’s Word. One must be true, the other false. All God’s works were pronounced “good” seven times (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). Man starts from nothing, therefore, all his works proceed on the principle of evolution. The principle is seen only by humans as “from the tree (apes) to the cave (cavemen); from the hut to the palace; from the canoe to the oceanliner, etc.” The birds build their nests today as at the beginning. The moment we pass the boundary line, and enter the Divine sphere, no trace or vestige of evolution is seen. There is growth and development within, but no passing change, or evolution out from one into another. In the introduction to Genesis, forty-six times everything is ascribed to direct acts on the part of God as the Creator. God Created- 6 times (Gen. 1:1, 21, 27; Gen. 2:3) God Moved- 1 time (Gen. 1:2) God Said- 10 times (Gen.1:3, 6 ,9 ,11 ,14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29) God Saw- 7 times (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) God Divided- 2 times (Gen. 1:4, 7) God Called- 5 times (Gen. 1:5, 8, 10) God Made- 7 times (Gen. 1:7, 16, 25, 31; Gen.2:2, 3) God Set- 1 time (Gen. 1:17) God Blessed- 3 times (Gen. 1:22, 28; Gen.2:3) God Ended- 1 time (Gen. 2:2) He Rested- 2 times (Gen. 2:2,3) He Sanctified- 1 time (Gen. 2:3) For one to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and that he is the Son of God, one would have to accept the authenticity of the Book of Genesis. In the Book of Matthew (Matt. 19:4-5), Jesus said that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female (not cells or apes), for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. Evolution is only one of several theories invented to explain the phenomena of created things. It is admitted by all scientists that no one of these theories covers all the ground, and the greatest claim made for evolution, or Darwinism is that it covers more ground than any of the others. The Word of God covers all the ground, and to deny this statement is a denial of the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures (II Timothy 3:16-17) in order to weaken it. The theory of evolution bases its conclusions on human assumptions and reasoning, instead of on the documentary evidence of the Word of God
Many times in our encounters with the legal, financial, and judicial systems, or in other situations, we may be required to present a clear understanding of what our ministerial training is based upon. We must be prepared to give an answer of our qualifications, or more to the point, provide training for our ministry. It has been my experience if you provide a biblical answer it will in most cases satisfy them due to the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution. Following is a brief outline for the basis of New Testament Trained Ministers: According to New Testament scriptures, a minister’s training or apprenticeship is achieved through discipleship. A disciple is a pupil, scholar, and follower of his teacher. This is most profoundly demonstrated by Jesus, as the twelve followed Jesus as his disciples (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt.8:21-23; Matt.9:9) . In addition, the 12 had disciples, or followers (Acts 6:1-6) . A disciple must eventually be able to implement or master what he has been taught by his instructor (II Tim. 2:1-2; II Tim.3:10-11; Titus 1:9) . Apostle Paul’s training was through discipleship, although it was under the Mosaic Law (Acts 22:3; Phil. 3:5-8) . He also trained ministers through discipleship during his missionary journeys (Acts 14:22-23; Acts 16:1-2; I Tim. 1:1-2; I Cor. 4:16-17; Titus 1:4; I Cor. 11:1) . Discipleship training is more widely recognized in the civil world as on-the-job training, apprenticeship training, or cooperative training. One must first have proven himself a servant prior to his eligibility to the ministry, according to New Testament scriptures. As Jesus was a servant, a minister is also a servant (Matt. 12:18) . However, for any man to qualify as a New Testament minister, he must have first been a servant himself (Matt. 10:24; Matt.20:25-28; Matt. 23:11; John 13:13-16; I Tim. 3:8-10) . New Testament Order does not promote, nor do we believe that formal education, ecclesiastical institutions, or inherited ministries are qualifications. However, we do stress education for the purpose of livelihood (John 7:15; Acts 4:13; I Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:1-7) . Courses of study such as human behavior, sociology, psychology, and other courses of professional training, which do not rely on the New Testament scriptures, but rather rely on studying the conduct or behavior of individuals, does not prepare you to become a New Testament Minister. Such counseling should come from the Holy Scriptures. This is the strength of discipleship training, which relies on the Holy Scriptures (Col. 2:8; I Tim. 6:20-21) . However, we do not object to anyone receiving professional counseling. Although we recognize that it does not rely on the Holy Ghost Scriptures, but is a decision of the individual. In addition to this, seminaries and bible schools offer the opportunity for one to promote himself into the ministry simply because he may have a great degree of natural talents, or may be accomplished scholastically, or simply might just see a vocational interest in the ministry. None of this relies on or is supported by New Testament scriptures (John 10:12; John 15:16; Gal. 1:1) . A servant serves from the desires of his heart and love for the Church. Although a servant may desire to work in the ministry, he also may not, yet his service is still to the Church. If they have never served through a discipleship, they do not qualify as a New Testament minister. When it comes to training ministers as Jesus taught us, we believe we have the best scripturally-trained ministers there are (Luke 22:25-27) .
