[VoiceInWilderness]

Guest said that Titus was expelled along with John Ingalls and Bill Mallon. Ingalls and Mallon were expelled in 1988. Titus and Nigel were expelled around 2007, after brother Lee went to be with the Lord, because they spoke against the new doctrine of One Publication.
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Continuing my previous post:

I am covering Nigel's points in order, but the important ones to me are Oikonomia, Ginosko, Laodicea & Logos/Rhema.

3. Ekklesia - I agree with Nigel because of the way the word is used in the NT when not referring to the church.

4. Hebrews - I think the word does mean what WL said it means, and that it is relevant to us today because our God said he is the God of the Hebrews. I think WL's use of etymology here, and in most places, brings out more richness of meaning, and brings out a truth that may be overlooked otherwise.

5. parakletos - Nigel's criticism seems unfair too me. Brother Lee did not say the Holy Spirit was like a waiter in a restaurant answering our every whim. He said that in some aspect the HS is like a waiter. Also, I personally, don't care for statements like, "NT scholars conclude that, “Parakletos does not mean ‘one called alongside’.” Some NT scholars say that and some disagree. I understand that BDAG is the top NT Gk lexicon. BDAG gives the original meaning of word as ‘one who is called to someone’s aid’. The main meaning it gives is "one who appears in another’s behalf, mediator, intercessor, helper"

6. dunamis - I agree with Nigel. I found Nigel's description of the reverse etymological fallacy helpful because I think I have been guilty of it.

7. proginosko - I agree with Nigel and appreciate his description of "Illegitimate totality transfer".

8. Oikonomia - I agree with Nigel and appreciate his explanation. The problem here is not use of etymology but of "cherry picking" what one wants from an etymology. God's dispensing of Himself into us is prominent in the Bible, but WL used this cherry picked etymology to over-emphasize it as the only thing God cares about, to the extent that if something doesn't have to do with God's dispensing of Himself into man, drop it. I think most of WL errors are in the over-emphasis of some things.

9. 7 churches. - I agree with WL and WN. The meaning of the city names are meaningful. Revelation is a book of prophesy, and prophesy is often given as a puzzle. The interpretation of the city names should not be as strong as the actual words to the churches, but the city names add meaning to the direct words. I think WL observed this rule except for Laodicea, which is covered separately.

10. Laodicea - A terrible teaching in LR is that no one should have an opinion except the human leader. Where is this in the Bible? Laodicea does mean "opinion" or "judgment of the laity". It can be + or -, but from the context of the epistle, it is clearly negative. It means an absence of leadership. There may be a supreme leader at the top, but no leader in the local church thinking for himself and giving constructive criticism. According to the epistle to Laodicea, what was the opinion of the laity? It was that everything is great, we are rich and have need of nothing. No one is pointing out that they may be blind, naked, wretched and poor. This kind of fellowship requires leadership. 1Cor14, which is what we base our meetings on, says that the prophets should judge what the others say, and not just confirm it. WL's problem here was not the use of etymology, but making it supersede what the actual text says.
There are LC leaders who seem to think that they should not listen to any constructive criticism. To do so, they think would be Laodicea. If you say anything out of the flow, they raise their voice and don't let you talk. They think they should only listen to God, but do they hear God? How do you know if someone loves God? He loves those begotten by God. How do you know if someone listens to God? He listens to those begotten by God.


11. Nicolaitans - I agree with WL and WN.

12. Oida vs Ginosko - This is another of the worst teachings in LR, the despising of knowledge. It is right to differentiate synonyms, but in this case WL did not do it fairly. This is an especially terrible teaching for young people. Ginosko is usually a positive word in the NT, but WL taught that it was bad, ignoring the + verses in the NT, which is the majority of them.

13. Apapao vs Phileo - I agree with WL based on 2Pet 1:5-7.

14. Logos vs Rhema - This is another very damaging teaching in LR. WL simplified the difference between these 2 words, and over emphasized the importance of Rhema over Logos. The thought here, which was implied rather than expressly taught by WL, is that you don't need to obey every word of God, but only that which is instantly spoken to you by the Spirit. To do otherwise would be to follow the law or to put someone under the law. But the apostle John in his mending ministry emphasized that we need to keep God's commandments. "Commandment" means not optional.
In the church in Detroit we had at 1 time 2 parties: LSM and non-LSM. Our leadership was non-LSM. Before the actual split, my good friend in the church was of the LSM view. Every Lord's day he would come to the church meeting very angry that the church was not one with the ministry enough. So I shared with him some verses from Ps 37 that we should drop anger lest it lead to evil. He replied, How do you know that these are the right verses for me at this time? In other words, his concept was that, I only have to obey the words of the Bible that are the right ones for me at this time. This is not an isolated example.
This teaching is also very damaging to young people.

15. Holy, holy, holy implies the Triune God. I agree with WL.

Thank you again, Nigel, for your diligent service.