CHRIS ROSEBROUGH: THE SINS OF MARTIN LUTHER DOWNPLAYED

The Sins of Martin Luther - Chris Rosebrough (youtube.com)

Chris Rosebrough has posted this video in response to the points made by Michael Brown regarding Martin Luther during a recent roundtable discussion between Brown & Storms vs. Peters & Osman: (1: 26) Roundtable: Brown & Storms vs. Peters & Osman - YouTube Rosebrough's response massively downplays Luther's antisemitism: "Luther lashed back in a way that went beyond what was necessary and crossed into the line of sinfulness.."

Although I regard Brown as a false prophet and someone who facilitates NAR false teachers and prophets, his observations about Martin Luther were far from irrelevant. The double standards or "differing weights" employed by Lutherans and Calvinists are nowhere more evident than their reverence of this wicked man. (Proverbs 20:10).   

In his earlier period, until about 1537, Luther sought to convert Jews to Protestant Christianity. However, when they failed to convert he became hostile towards them. In his 65,000-word antisemitic treatise On the Jews and Their Lies he referred to the Jews in the vilest terms imaginable and urged their persecution. His influence upon Hitler's Nazi Germany is beyond doubt.

Rollins: "Martin Luther and Adolf Hitler are inseparably linked with their extreme anti-Semitism and nationalism. It is impossible to assume that Luther did not have any influence on Hitler and his views, for it cannot be mere coincidence that Hitler’s anti-Jewish sentiment of the 1930s and 1940s mirrors that of Luther’s anti-Semitism of the 1500s."1 

Excerpts from "On the Jews and Their Lies"

I had made up my mind to write no more either about the Jews or against them. But since I learned that these miserable and accursed people do not cease to lure to themselves even us, that is, the Christians, I have published this little book, so that I might be found among those who opposed such poisonous activities of the Jews who warned the Christians to be on their guard against them. I would not have believed that a Christian could be duped by the Jews into taking their exile and wretchedness upon himself. However, the devil is the god of the world, and wherever God’s word is absent he has an easy task, not only with the weak but also with the strong. May God help us. Amen..

He did not call them Abraham’s children, but a “brood of vipers” [Matt. 3:7]. Oh, that was too insulting for the noble blood and race of Israel, and they declared, “He has a demon’ [Matt 11:18]. Our Lord also calls them a “brood of vipers”; furthermore, in John 8 [:39,44] he states: “If you were Abraham’s children ye would do what Abraham did.... You are of your father the devil. It was intolerable to them to hear that they were not Abraham’s but the devil’s children, nor can they bear to hear this today..

Therefore, the blind Jews are truly stupid fools...

Now just behold these miserable, blind, and senseless people ... their blindness and arrogance are as solid as an iron mountain.

Learn from this, dear Christian, what you are doing if you permit the blind Jews to mislead you. Then the saying will truly apply, “When a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into the pit” [cf. Luke 6:39]. You cannot learn anything from them except how to misunderstand the divine commandments...

Therefore be on your guard against the Jews, knowing that wherever they have their synagogues, nothing is found but a den of devils in which sheer self-glory, conceit, lies, blasphemy, and defaming of God and men are practiced most maliciously and veheming his eyes on them.

Moreover, they are nothing but thieves and robbers who daily eat no morsel and wear no thread of clothing which they have not stolen and pilfered from us by means of their accursed usury. Thus, they live from day to day, together with wife and child, by theft and robbery, as arch thieves and robbers, in the most impenitent security.

However, they have not acquired a perfect mastery of the art of lying; they lie so clumsily and ineptly that anyone who is just a little observant can easily detect it. But for us Christians they stand as a terrifying example of God’s wrath.

If I had to refute all the other articles of the Jewish faith, I should be obliged to write against them as much and for as long a time as they have used for inventing their lies­­ that is, longer than two thousand years.

...Christ and his word can hardly be recognized because of the great vermin of human ordinances. However, let this suffice for the time being on their lies against doctrine or faith.

Did I not tell you earlier that a Jew is such a noble, precious jewel that God and all the angels dance when he farts?

Alas, it cannot be anything but the terrible wrath of God which permits anyone to sink into such abysmal, devilish, hellish, insane baseness, envy, and arrogance. If I were to avenge myself on the devil himself I should be unable to wish him such evil and misfortune as God’s wrath inflicts on the Jews, compelling them to lie and to blaspheme so monstrously, in violation of their own conscience. Anyway, they have their reward for constantly giving God the lie.

No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants.

...but then eject them forever from this country. For, as we have heard, God’s anger with them is so intense that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!

Over and above that we let them get rich on our sweat and blood, while we remain poor and they such the marrow from our bones.

I brief, dear princes and lords, those of you who have Jews under your rule­­ if my counsel does not please your, find better advice, so that you and we all can be rid of the unbearable, devilish burden of the Jews, lest we become guilty sharers before God in the lies, blasphemy, the defamation, and the curses which the mad Jews indulge in so freely and wantonly against the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, this dear mother, all Christians, all authority, and ourselves. Do not grant them protection, safe-conduct, or communion with us.... With this faithful counsel and warning I wish to cleanse and exonerate my conscience.

Let the government deal with them in this respect, as I have suggested. But whether the government acts or not, let everyone at least be guided by his own conscience and form for himself a definition or image of a Jew.

However, we must avoid confirming them in their wanton lying, slandering, cursing, and defaming. Nor dare we make ourselves partners in their devilish ranting and raving by shielding and protecting them, by giving them food, drink, and shelter, or by other neighborly

Therefore, we Christians, in turn, are obliged not to tolerate their wanton and conscious blasphemy.

Accordingly, it must and dare not be considered a trifling matter but a most serious one to seek counsel against this and to save our souls from the Jews, that is, from the devil and from eternal death.

What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming. If we do, we become sharers in their lies, cursing and blasphemy. Thus, we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews. With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames. We dare not avenge ourselves. Vengeance a thousand times worse than we could wish them already has them by the throat. I shall give you my sincere advice:

First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians. For whatever we tolerated in the past unknowingly ­ and I myself was unaware of it ­ will be pardoned by God. But if we, now that we are informed, were to protect and shield such a house for the Jews, existing right before our very nose, in which they lie about, blaspheme, curse, vilify, and defame Christ and us (as was heard above), it would be the same as if we were doing all this and even worse ourselves, as we very well know.

Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues. Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies. This will bring home to them that they are not masters in our country, as they boast, but that they are living in exile and in captivity, as they incessantly wail and lament about us before God.

Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them. (remainder omitted)

Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. For they have justly forfeited the right to such an office by holding the poor Jews captive with the saying of Moses (Deuteronomy 17 [:10 ff.]) in which he commands them to obey their teachers on penalty of death, although Moses clearly adds: “what they teach you in accord with the law of the Lord.” Those villains ignore that. They wantonly employ the poor people’s obedience contrary to the law of the Lord and infuse them with this poison, cursing, and blasphemy. In the same way the pope also held us captive with the declaration in Matthew 16 {:18], “You are Peter,” etc., inducing us to believe all the lies and deceptions that issued from his devilish mind. He did not teach in accord with the word of God, and therefore he forfeited the right to teach.

Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesmen, or the like. Let they stay at home. (...remainder omitted).

Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. The reason for such a measure is that, as said above, they have no other means of earning a livelihood than usury, and by it they have stolen and robbed from us all they possess. Such money should now be used in no other way than the following: Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred florins, as personal circumstances may suggest. With this he could set himself up in some occupation for the support of his poor wife and children, and the maintenance of the old or feeble. For such evil gains are cursed if they are not put to use with God’s blessing in a good and worthy cause.

Seventh, I commend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam (Gen 3[:19]}. For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time behind the stove, feasting and farting, and on top of all, boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat. No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants.

But what will happen even if we do burn down the Jews’ synagogues and forbid them publicly to praise God, to pray, to teach, to utter God’s name? They will still keep doing it in secret. If we know that they are doing this in secret, it is the same as if they were doing it publicly. for our knowledge of their secret doings and our toleration of them implies that they are not secret after all and thus our conscience is encumbered with it before God.

Accordingly, it must and dare not be considered a trifling matter but a most serious one to seek counsel against this and to save our souls from the Jews, that is, from the devil and from eternal death. My advice, as I said earlier, is:

First, that their synagogues be burned down, and that all who are able toss in sulfur and pitch; it would be good if someone could also throw in some hellfire. That would demonstrate to God our serious resolve and be evidence to all the world that it was in ignorance that we tolerated such houses, in which the Jews have reviled God, our dear Creator and Father, and his Son most shamefully up till now but that we have now given them their due reward.

I wish and I ask that our rulers who have Jewish subjects exercise a sharp mercy toward these wretched people, as suggested above, to see whether this might not help (though it is doubtful). They must act like a good physician who, when gangrene has set in, proceeds without mercy to cut, saw, and burn flesh, veins, bone, and marrow. Such a procedure must also be followed in this instance. Burn down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly with them, as Moses did in the wilderness, slaying three thousand lest the whole people perish. They surely do not know what they are doing; moreover, as people possessed, they do not wish to know it, hear it, or learn it. There it would be wrong to be merciful and confirm them in their conduct. If this does not help, we must drive them out like mad dogs, so that we do not become partakers of their abominable blasphemy and all their other vices and thus merit God’s wrath and be damned with them. I have done my duty. Now let everyone see to his. I am exonerated.
 
My essay, I hope, will furnish a Christian (who in any case has no desire to become a Jew) with enough material not only to defend himself against the blind, venomous Jews, but also to become the foe of the Jews’ malice, lying, and cursing, and to understand not only that their belief is false but that they are surely possessed by all devils. May Christ, our dear Lord, convert them mercifully and preserve us steadfastly and immovably in the knowledge of him, which is eternal life. Amen.2  

Rosebrough: "The Judaism of today and even the Judaism of the Medieval period is exactly the same false Judaism that the Pharisees had created, and was responsible primarily for the crucifixion of Christ. And so we recognize that unbelieving Jews today are not neutral as relates to Jesus Christ, instead, they are overt enemies of Christianity and the saving message that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the promise of the Old Testament, that he is the promised son of David, the promised Prophet that Moses prophesied about in Deuteronomy 18, and that we must listen to Him and that salvation is only in Him. Modern-day Jews oppose this gospel vehemently. Modern-day Judaism is an enemy of Christ and must be countered with sound reasoning as well as with love and temperance and respect."  Neither Luther nor Rosebrough have understood Romans 11, Zechariah 12 and other passages regarding the final salvation of the Jews. If Luther had been theologically sound he would not have dared savage them in such wicked terms! (Romans 11:18). Luther's diatribe against the Jews was eschatologically ignorant and was injected with hatred and theological error. Its source can only have been demonic.

I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them when I take away their sins.”Regarding the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but regarding election, they are loved on account of the patriarchs. For God’s gifts and His call are irrevocable. (Romans 11:25-29).

Luther and the Peasants Revolt 1524-25

I have addressed this subject in a previous post: WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: STEVE KOZAR + DANIEL LONG: ILLEGITIMATE BAPTISM (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)

Beginning in 1524 and ending in its suppression in 1525, the Peasants' Revolt began as a result of abuses cited by the peasants by the government and the church. Luther is often credited with the role of encouraging the Peasants' Revolt. However, he maintained allegiance to the German Princes against the violence of the rebels. Luther openly condemned the peasants and called for their brutal suppression, arguably inciting the demise of more than 100,000 peasants and facilitating further oppression of the lower classes."(German: Wider die Mordischen und Reubischen Rotten der Bawren) Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants typifies Luther's reaction to the Peasants' War, and alludes to Luther's concern that he might be seen to be responsible for their rebellion." 

Tract Against the Murderous and Thieving Hordes of Peasants, published in May 1525 

Therefore, let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you, and a whole land with you.

To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them. Leave no stone unturned! To kill a peasant is to destroy a mad dog! – If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned. Let whoever can stab, strangle, and kill them like mad dogs”[Erlangen Vol 24"

I have killed all the farmers in their rebellion; all their blood is on my neck..

Luther was massively obese and weighed a hefty 150kg (23st 8lb) at his death in 1546 at the age of 63. Luther was a glutton and a drunkard, and by his own admission, he indulged himself to excess. Apparently, he drank up to two litres of fortified wine with every meal in addition to large quantities of beer.

Luther's first German translation of the scriptures omitted 25 books (i.e., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Jonah, Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (i.e., Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation. Luther referred to the Epistle of James as 'straw not worthy to be burned in my oven as tinder'. He referred to other books as 'Judaizing nonsense'.  

If Rosebrough is unable or unwilling to see that Luther was a vile person who was theologically ignorant and unqualified as a leader and teacher then he is in spiritual darkness. (Matthew 7:5).

1. "Luther and Hitler: A Linear Connection between Martin Luther and Adolf" by Daphne M. Olsen (rollins.edu)
2. Martin Luther - "The Jews & Their Lies" (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

Further Links

On The Jews and Their Lies : Martin Luther : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
German Peasants' War - Wikipedia
'Slay the mad dogs': How Luther betrayed the peasants' revolt that he inspired (christiantoday.com)
Chris Rosebrough Calls Dr. Michael Brown - The Sins of Martin Luther (youtube.com)

DANIEL LONG THE WARTBURG CASTLE: WILLFULLY IGNORANT OR CATASTROPHICALLY CONFUSED?

 The Necessity of Grace (youtube.com)

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.. (Ephesians 2:8).

How tragic that Confessional Lutheran Daniel Long has missed the very essence of the gospel. Long continues in the heresy that "other things" are salvific apart from grace through faith. This heresy is just as lethal as the false doctrines he exposes on LongforTruth1. In this video, Long continues to promote this diabolical doctrine by quoting parts of  Franz Pieper's Christian Dogmatics.

Franz Pieper's Christian Dogmatics.

Pieper: "When describing the way of salvation, Scripture indeed mentions other things besides the grace of God in Christ. It declares, for example, that the gospel and baptism save.."  

It is a grievous error to depend upon "other things" besides the grace of God in Christ for salvation. Any interpretation that adds water baptism, the Lord's Supper, or "Holy Absolution" as salvific has compromised the very gospel itself! 

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him. (1 Peter 3:18-21).. 

Baptism corresponds to i.e. it is an antitype of the flood waters which physically saved Noah and his family. Prior to the flood, Noah is described as - a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:9). Baptism is -  an appeal to God for a good conscience.

Long: "We have to distinguish between how we receive God's grace, and how God delivers his grace to us, how He gets his grace to us. God delivers his grace to us through means. We always receive God's grace by faith.. God has multiple ways.. the main way is the preached word, but baptism is also a way that God delivers his grace to us the Lord's Supper is another way God delivers his grace to us and Holy Absolution is another way God delivers his grace to us..   16:30 mark..

The New Testament clearly and repeatedly states that salvation comes only through faith in Christ by God's grace. (Ephesians 2:8-9). The act of baptism is an expression of faith and obedience, it is not a means of salvation. There is no instance in the New Testament of an unbeliever receiving salvation through water baptism! Those who teach the lethal doctrine of baptismal regeneration violate the scriptures and are either woefully confused or willfully ignorant. (2 Timothy 2:15). The consequences for self-appointed teachers like Daniel Long and Steve Kozar, who mislead the body of Christ will be severe! ( 1 Timothy 4:1; James 3:1;).

Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 10:47-48).

One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well.. (Acts 16:14-15).

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18).

To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” (Acts 10:43).

..he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household. (Acts 11:14).

..having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12).

since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (1 Peter 1:23).

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. (1 John 5:13).

See also Matthew 28:19-20; 18:42,24:47; Galatians 3:23-27; Romans 6:3-5,10:17 etc.

Smith's Bible Commentary: But if it has not happened in my heart, it cannot happen by the ritual. The ritual itself cannot save me. Now you may be baptized by sprinkling, by dunking, by full immersion, and still not be saved. You know, they could hold you down until you drown and it still won't save you. The rite of baptism doesn't save. It symbolizes that which has already transpired in my heart. If it hasn't transpired in my heart, then baptism is meaningless. In fact, it's worse than that; it is --it's almost condemning to me.

Such as communion is condemning to the person who doesn't believe. The partaking of the bread and the cup, if you --if you don't believe in Jesus Christ, you're actually partaking your own damnation. You're witnessing against yourself. And "he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to his own soul, not discerning the Lord's body" ( 1 Corinthians 11:29 ).
So the same if you go through the rite or the ritual of water baptism and it hasn't happened in your heart; it's only a witness against you. It doesn't save you. So I do not believe in what is called baptismal regeneration. I do not believe that if a person is not baptized, then they are not saved. I can't believe that; you're saved by believing in Jesus Christ. Now because I believe in Jesus Christ, I want to obey Him and thus I am baptized as a sign of what has transpired already within my heart. But should I never get around to being baptized by some unfortunate accident or circumstances of some kind, I will still be saved. I have every confidence of that. "It isn't the putting away of the filth of the flesh," but it's that work of the Spirit within my heart, "the good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" 1 

..if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).

1. 1 Peter 3:21 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org

CHRIS ROSEBROUGH''S STAGGERING SELF-CONTRADICTIONS! EZEKIEL 37-38

(54) F4F | A Biblical Perspective on Israel and Prophecy - YouTube

Chris Rosebrough's staggering self-contradictions! 

In the above video, Lutheran teacher and broadcaster Chris Rosebrough gives his take on Ezekiel 37-38 and Israel in bible prophecy. Rosebrough often asks what false teachers are talking about.. but we might ask him the same question.

Rosebrough (2023): "Ezekiel 37 is not a prophecy of the restoration of the nation-state of Israel.. This is a prophecy regarding the resurrection of the dead, not a resurrection of the nation-state of Israel in 1948. It is a misappropriation of the text to make it be anything other than that." (1:17 mark)

Rosebrough (2013): "The immediate fulfillment of this prophecy was not that the exiles were raised from the dead, but that the house of Israel was raised from the dead and brought out of exile into the land of Israel and was reestablished as a nation. ..This text is really a prophecy about God resurrecting the dead nation of Israel that ceased to exist as a nation because they were now in exile. That's what this is about. If you make it about something else.. then you are missing the whole point of the text.. (See note) (56) Louie Giglio Twists Ezekiel 37 at Passion 2013 - YouTube (11:00 mark)

Note: I have assumed that Rosebrough was not referring to 538 BC when the Jews in Babylon were allowed to return to the land of Judah due to Cyrus' decree. (Ezra 2:1-2). If this is what he was referring to then it is ill-founded. Ezekiel 37 identifies the land of Israel as a whole i.e. Judah and Ephraim (Ezekiel 37:15-29). Judah became the Persian province of Yehud Medinata following the return from Babylonian captivity. The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel (Hebrew: הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948. 

Rosebrough describes Jesus' stinging condemnation of the Oral Torah/Law as taught by the Pharisees from approximately 200 BC. The Oral Torah is given predominance by rabbinic Orthodox Jews of today making them guilty of adding to the statutes and ordinances given to Moses on Mount Sinai. (Deuteronomy 4:2; Proverbs 30:6; Matthew 23:1-36). 

Rosebrough observed that the modern state of Israel is in rank rebellion and idolatry, and he drew attention to the Buddha statue at the "Supernova Sukkot Gathering", the site of the Hamas massacre on the 7th of October. The "Supernova Sukkot Gathering" is the open-air psychedelic trance music festival celebrating the Jewish holiday of Sukkot near the Re'im kibbutz. Videos show the chilling spectacle of young Israelis dancing to trance music under a giant Buddha statue and prayer flags. 1 

Rosebrough makes a distinction between the genetic descendants of Abraham and those who have the same faith as Abraham, i.e. Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ. (52:00 mark). He quotes from Romans 9: For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.. (Romans 9:6-8 cf. Galatians 3:27-29).

Rosebrough: "The genetic people of Israel who do not believe, who do not worship according to scripture and deny Jesus as the Messiah - they are not part of true Israel - at all. They may be genetically related to Israel, but true Israel are those who have the same faith as Abraham, the Yahwehists, not the Pharisaical Jews or the Hasidic Jews.."  (59:00 mark)  

Rosebrough acknowledges that true Israel was founded upon the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and he says that he rejects replacement theology (supersessionism). Nevertheless, he fails to acknowledge specific future promises concerning ethnic Israel ~ as such, he is a supersessionist by definition. Supersessionist theology is the belief that God does not have specific plans for the nation of Israel and that Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus Christ have replaced ethnic Israel as the people of God.

Below are various promises given to ethnic Israel.

Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. (Romans 11:25).  

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! ..I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.” As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. (Romans 11:11-12, 25-29 cf. Isaiah 59:20).  

"And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD. (Isaiah 59:20).

By "all Israel" Paul is referring to one-third of the Jewish people who will cry out to God in repentance during the great tribulation, the time known as "Jacobs Trouble" following the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel. (Matthew 24:21). Although they are in unbelief at the present time, a remnant of ethnic Jews will be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:24). 

I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:7-8).

The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:1-4 cf. Isaiah 11:59-62;  ).

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the LORD, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Thus says the LORD: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 31:35-37).

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10).

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:30-31).

..Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from all around, and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. And one king shall be king over them all, and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. But I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” (Ezekiel 37:21-28).

In my view, Ezekiel 38 is the eschatological battle at the end of the millennium cross-referenced in Revelation 20. The reason I hold this view is that Ezekiel 38 describes Israel dwelling securely. Many pre-tribulation rapture speculators claim that the Gog/Magog battle will happen in the near future. However, since it is highly unlikely that Israel will be at peace prior to the return of Jesus Christ this view is implausible. 

This is what the Lord GOD says: On that day, thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will devise an evil plan. You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will come against a tranquil people who dwell securely, all of them living without walls or bars or gates— in order to seize the spoil and carry off the plunder, to turn a hand against the desolate places now inhabited and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and possessions and who live at the center of the land.’ (Ezekiel 38:10-12).

When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison, and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore. And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10).

This is an appropriate time to point out that Lutheran theology is amillennial. 2 Problematically Lutheran theology is based on a non-literal interpretation of Revelation 20:1-7 regarding a literal thousand-year period following the second coming of Jesus Christ. The amillennial position views the millennium as “realized” i.e. the 1,000 years allegedly occurs during the church age. Amillennialists believe that the second advent of Jesus Christ will be followed by the last judgement and the eternal state. The amillennial view was established in the 5th century by Augustine of Hippo, and was the primary view of most of the reformers in the 16th century. It should be noted that the dominant view of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, including Irenaeus, Papias, Justin Martyr, Tertullian and Hippolytus was historic premillennialism. Historic premillennialism (known in the early church as chiliasm) is the literal futuristic view that the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur prior to the thousand-year reign subsequent to the great apostasy. 

A critical concern about Lutheran doctrine that has major implications regarding salvation by grace through faith is their belief in baptismal regeneration which is an unbiblical throwback to Roman Catholicism. (Ephesians 2:8). It was a very bad day when Chris Rosebrough became a Lutheran. False doctrines inevitably come back to bite us! They are even more egregious when they are propagated by those who claim to be "watchmen" who call out false teachers in the church! (Matthew 7:5).

1. Re'im music festival massacre - Wikipedia
2. The Augsburg Confession - Evangelical Lutheran Synod (els.org)

Further Links:

(68) About Replacement Theology: Romans 11:25-32 - YouTube

(66) Premillennialism Answering Amillennialism - Dr. Alan Kurschner - YouTube

LUTHERAN STEVE KOZAR: THE EIGHT-HUNDRED-POUND GORILLA IN THE ROOM!

 (62) Steve Kozar and Jared Mindel Interview on "Scholastic Lutherans" YouTube Channel - YouTube

Above - Steve Kozar has posted a further video promoting Lutheranism on his channel The Wartburg Castle. While Kozar's stance against the NAR and their lunatic claims and teachings is valid, problematically, his solution is just as dangerous as Charismania. 

Kozar: "We (Lutherans) have multiple ways of being delivered from our sins; it's through baptism, it's through communion, it's through confession, it's any number of ways..  we don't have that one moment when you get saved and that's it.." (1:15:00 mark)

Kozar denies what he refers to as "a one-moment conversion experience", in other words, he denies a one-time conversion event or experience.

Kozar:  "We don't believe in a single conversion experience that Evangelicals are so familiar with .. we see that as one of the ways to express salvation but it is not the only way.. "  (1:21 mark) 

There are a number of instances in the scriptures when people believed the gospel and were saved at a particular point in time e.g. Acts 2:40-41; Acts 8:12, 35-39; Acts 14:14,30-34 etc. By contrast, I can find no instance where salvation is jettisoned into various sacraments following conversion. In all the above instances water baptism is performed subsequent to conversion! (Mark 16:16). I view Kozar's anti-conversion rhetoric as very dangerous and anti-biblical! There is only one way to be saved! (Acts 16:31). There is of course the sense that repentance and forgiveness continue throughout one's life, but continuing repentance, by necessity, follows initial salvation. 

Kozar puts the emphasis on Lutheran sacraments rather than an inner relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. The three Lutheran sacraments are the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the Sacrament of Holy Absolution (Confession), and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Lutheran sacraments involve the aberrant doctrines of baptismal regeneration, consubstantiation (a variant of transubstantiation), and absolution, all of which are deviant doctrines inherited from Roman Catholicism. It is critical to bear in mind that Satan's objective is to somehow displace believers from their pure devotion to Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:2). Not only does Satan employ obvious deception as demonstrated by the rotten fruit of the NAR; he also employs more subtle means, such as the sacraments, as demonstrated by Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism. 

Creeds: Lutheran churches use the three Christian creeds: the Apostles' Creed (second century). the Nicene Creed (fourth century), and the Athanasian Creed (sixth century). These ancient professions of faith summarize basic Lutheran doctrine. The above creeds agree with the scriptures and are useful in that they add structure and substance to a church service. However, liturgy does not have the authority of the scriptures and it can be problematic when it becomes an end in itself. The veneration of liturgy above the scriptures undermines the believer's personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Chris Rosebrough (Fighting For The Faith): "We come to church and our sack is empty.. we hear that we are forgiven, and that is thrown into the sack, and then we have the absolution spoken over you, that's put into the sack, and then you are hearing the gospel that Christ forgave you through the Word, and that's put in the sack, and then you go and you partake of the sacrament and that's put into the sack, and then you hear the benediction spoken over you and that's put into the sack, and so you have got your sack full when you leave church.. that sack throughout the week starts to empty and you have to go back and do it again." 2

The difference between proclamation and absolution

Regarding the Lutheran throwback to the Roman Catholic deviant practice of absolution ~ Kozar: "Did you ever read what is says is John chapter 20.."  (1:21:00 mark)

Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.” When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven (ἀφέωνται); if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.” (John 20:21-23).

The NASB reflects the passive voice of "forgiven" and "retained" in the Greek. The recipients' sins will have already been forgiven or retained by God before the apostles’ recognition of the fact. NASB Lexicon: ἀφέωνται (apheōntai) [their sins] have been forgiven. 1 

The issue of forgiveness and retention of sins is related to binding and loosing in Matthew 16:18, 18:18. 

Bible Exposition Commentary: "The Roman Catholic church built its doctrine on the special priesthoods’ right of absolution of sin. This is done through the confessional. Although the church
acknowledges that God ultimately forgives sin, it nevertheless asserts that God does this through the action of the priest.
The Roman church then believes that the priest absolves but God forgives. God allows sins and judgment to remain. This is backward. God first forgives and then, on that foundation, people can proclaim forgiveness. There is a difference between absolution and proclamation. We have the right to preach forgiveness but do not have the right to absolve others of their sin.." 3

Chris Rosebrough's Influence

One of Steve Kozar's mentors is Chris Rosebrough. Rosebrough has some pretty good teaching in certain areas. However, he is compromised to a significant degree by Lutheran departures from the scriptures, not only the sacraments as mentioned above, but by flawed amillennial eschatology. 

Kozar's attitude regarding differences between Lutherans and Calvinists: "I don't get into the weeds about the differences very much.. I just don't want to be so mean about everybody.."  (20:00 mark)  We are not called to be people-pleasers! ..you put up with it readily enough. (2 Corinthians 11:4 cf. Acts 4:19-20; Galatians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:4). Kozar's idea is to contrast early Protestant beliefs from the first hundred or so years of the Reformation with the world of pop evangelicalism. My personal conviction is to go back to the scriptures themselves rather than rely on the flawed ideas of men like Luther and Calvin.

Paul advised Timothy: Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. (1 Timothy 4:16). Paul refers to all doctrine, not just the low-hanging fruit of deviant groups like the NAR. It appears that Kozar has settled for Lutheranism as a remedy for his bad experiences within evangelicalism. Very sadly he has compromised and has settled for partial reform i.e. he has settled for a system that in his view has a more acceptable level of truth! A little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Galatians 5:9 cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6; Ephesians 5:27). 

On many occasions, the nation of Israel was guilty of the particular sin of partial reform. The charge to Israel to completely (not partially) destroy God's enemies transfers into the New Testament teaching regarding doctrinal compromise. (Ephesians 5:11).  

In the second year of Joash the son of Joahaz, king of Israel, Amaziah the son of Joash, king of Judah, began to reign. He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddin of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, yet not like David his father. He did in all things as Joash his father had done. But the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and made offerings on the high places. (2 Kings 14:1-4 cf. 2 Kings 12:3).  

In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God, as his father David had done, but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. And he sacrificed and made offerings on the high places and on the hills and under every green tree. (2 Kings 16:1-4).

All this stands in stark contrast to King Josiah's sweeping reforms in 2 Kings 23.

So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 18:30).  

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. (Numbers 33:55).

If those who claim to be teachers are doctrinally unsound themselves, then how are they qualified to correct others and to be credible witnesses? Lutheranism is the eight-hundred-pound gorilla in the room which unfortunately blights the efforts of Chris Rosebrough, Steve Kozar and Daniel Long to expose error. (Matthew 7:5). Steve Kozar is neither qualified nor gifted to be a teacher! (John 3:1).

1. John 20:23 Lexicon: "If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained." (biblehub.com)
2. WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING: FALSE PROPHETS AND BIBLE TEACHERS IN THE LAST DAYS: THE WARTBURG CASTLE: DANIEL LONG / STEVEN LONG'S JOURNEY INTO LUTHERANISM (bewareofthewolves.blogspot.com)
3. John 20:23 | Bible Exposition Commentary (versebyversecommentary.com)

CHRIS ROSEBROUGH'S CURIOUS UNDERSTANDING OF THE WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS (MATTHEW 25:1-13)

(34) F4F | Do You Have Enough Oil? - YouTube

Chris Rosebrough (Fighting for the Faith) is usually a pretty good expositor of the scriptures and is worth listening to, with the proviso that he is a Lutheran and apparently endorses the false Lutheran doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Furthermore, the Lutheran Confessions are amillenial which is a huge concern.

In the above video, Chris Rosebrough critiques a recent episode of the Jim Bakker Show (yuk) featuring Colonel James Durham: (34) Do You Have Enough Oil? | Colonel James Durham - YouTube  It is all well and good critiquing false teachers like Jim Bakker and his associates, but we need to offer a credible alternative. In this instance, I do have issues with Rosebrough's interpretation of the parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13.     

I was pleased to hear Rosebrough state unapologetically that he is at odds with Calvinism (specifically Limited Atonement) based on 1 John 2:2, despite the fact that he has friends in the Calvinist camp. (12:00 mark)  

Without going into detail, the parables of Jesus are generally considered to be metaphorical stories or allegories. The parable of the wise and foolish virgins in Matthew 25:1-13 is a continuation of the Olivet discourse in the previous chapter when Jesus answers the disciples' question: ..when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3). 

At that time (τότε) the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. (Matthew 25:1). At that time (τότε = then, at that time). The parable of the virgins therefore continues the discussion in Matthew 24 i.e. the Parousia (τότε is repeated four times in Matthew 24: Matthew 24:10,21,23,30). 

As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy (ἐνύσταξαν) and slept (ἐκάθευδον). (Matthew 25:5).

According to Rosebrough, "they all became drowsy and slept" refers to the "sleep" of physical death. Although "sleep" does refer to physical death a number of times in the New Testament, in this parable the two Greek verbs for "sleep" surely refer to apathy or indifference. Benson's definition is: "unwatchful, remiss and careless, lukewarm and indolent." {1}  

ἐνύσταξαν (enustaxan) 3573: to nod in sleep, to fall asleep: From a presumed derivative of neuo; to nod, i.e. (by implication) to fall asleep; figuratively, to delay -- slumber. {2}

ἐκάθευδον (ekatheudon) 2518: to sleep: From kata and heudo (to sleep); to lie down to rest, i.e. (by implication) to fall asleep (literally or figuratively) -- (be a-)sleep. {3} 

Another word for "sleep" in the New Testament is κοιμάομαι: sleep, fall asleep, die {4} κοιμάομαι is commonly used in the New Testament when referring to physical death (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:18; John 11:11; Acts 13:36; Matthew 27:52).

According to the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, after they die, unbelievers go to a place of torment and Christians are with Christ. (Philippians 1:22-23). In other words, once people physically die, they will know their ultimate fate. As such, neither group will be waiting for the bridegroom to return or asking questions about purchasing oil - it will be too late! It seems pretty clear that Jesus is speaking about those who are alive on the earth at the time of His Parousia.  

Cambridge Bible: "They that were foolish took their lamps] All watch for their Lord, but some only—'the wise'—with true intensity and with due provision for the watch. The foolish virgins have sufficient oil if the Lord come quickly; not sufficient for long and patient expectation. It is a rebuke to shallow religion that dies away when the excitement passes." {5}

   

The difficulty with Rosebrough's definition of foolish virgins as "everyone in the world". 

Can unbelievers (i.e. the wicked) be referred to as "virgins"? Is everyone in the world a "virgin", or are the foolish virgins backsliders?  I do question whether the parable of the ten virgins should be taken in isolation since all three parables in Matthew 25 are associated with the Olivet Discourse and appear to give us a fuller picture. 

For instance, the parable of the talents refers to "servants".

Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’
‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ (Matthew 25:24:30).

The parable of the sheep and the goats.

Vincent's Word Studies: "Goats (ἐρίφια)Diminutive. Lit., kidlings. The sheep and goats are represented as having previously pastured together. Compare the parables of the Tares and the Net." {6}

Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:41-46).

According to Rosebrough, the oil in the parable of the ten virgins is an allegory for faith based on Romans 3:24-30 and Romans 4:4-12. Some commentators say that oil represents faith, and others say that it represents the Holy Spirit. I do not take issue with Rosebrough on this point since no true believer can function without either faith or the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly, faithful believers who trust in Jesus Christ for their salvation will be saved. (Ephesians 2:8). Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Faith is not static. (2 Corinthians 10:15; 2 Thessalonians 1:3). According to Paul our faith can be shipwrecked. (1 Timothy 1:19). There are definite warnings about falling away in the New Testament. (Matthew 24:10-11; 2 Peter 3:17). It appears that once saved always saved is refuted by this parable.

 

Bengel's Gnomen: "Matthew 25:3. Ἔλαιον, oil) i.e. except that with which the lamps were then burning: see latter part of Matthew 25:8. The lamp burning is faith; the lamp with oil beside is abundant faith.[1080]

[1080] Elsewhere he suggests another interpretation, viz.: “In a Burning Lamp there is Fire and Oil. By the Fire is here signified the supernatural, heavenly, fiery Spirit-power (Geisteskraft) which is bestowed upon the soul without its co-operation (ohne ihr Zuthun): see 2 Peter 1:3-4; and by the Oil, holy Assiduity (Fleiss) on the part of man: see 2 Peter 1:5. And of this, man should have not only enough for the exigencies of the present time, but also an abundant supply, see 2 Peter 1:8 [sc. “if these things be in you and abound”], for all future circumstances: so does the entrance to the Wedding-House become sure to him, and abundant besides, see 2 Peter 1:11 [sc. “an entrance shall be ministered to you abundantly”]. The foolish virgins did not even remain resting only on their own unassisted nature: they too had something of grace and of the Spirit. Nowhere is it more clearly (deutlicher) written than here how far a soul can advance in good, and yet fall through (durchfallen): see Matthew 25:8—B. G. V. in loc." {7}

Ellicott: "..and the 'oil' is the divine grace, or more definitely, the gift of the Holy Spirit, without which the torch first burns dimly and then expires." {8}  

Cambridge Bible: "The oil seems to mean generally the perfection of the Christian life or preparedness for the Lord’s coming." {9}

1. Matthew 25 Benson Commentary (biblehub.com)
2. Strong's Greek: 3573. νυστάζω (nustazó) -- to nod in sleep, to fall asleep (biblehub.com)
3. Strong's Greek: 2518. καθεύδω (katheudó) -- to sleep (biblehub.com)
4. Strong's Greek: 2837. κοιμάω (koimaó from NG2749) -- sleep, fall asleep, die (biblehub.com)
5. Matthew 25 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (biblehub.com)
6. Matthew 25 Vincent's Word Studies (biblehub.com)
7. Matthew 25 Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament (biblehub.com)
8. Matthew 25 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers (biblehub.com)
9. Matthew 25 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (biblehub.com)

STEVE KOZAR + DANIEL LONG: ILLEGITIMATE BAPTISM

 (7) My Response to Sean Christie of Revealing Truth on the Topic of Baptism - YouTube 

Daniel Long and Steve Kozar's exposés of the Azusa Street "revival", John G Lake, Charles Parham, William Branham etc. are well-researched and accurate. Ironically, it is very remiss of these men not to have dug up the dirt on their own cult leader Martin Luther, and there is plenty of dirt to be had! Arguably Martin Luther's wickedness exceeds that of all the false teachers Kozar and Long have exposed!

Daniel Long on the validity of infant baptism

Long: "If you are going to say that somebody who was baptized in the Catholic Church did not have a valid baptism, then you have to say that Martin Luther didn't have a valid baptism, Calvin, any/all of the reformers, and the early church fathers were all baptized as infants. Are you saying that their baptism was an illegitimate baptism and that they all should have been rebaptised?"  YES, that it precisely what I am saying.. although I do not acknowledge the claim that Luther and Calvin were true believers. (Matthew 7:16).

The argument that believers do not need to undergo believers baptism if they have undergone infant baptism is extremely weak and is not validated by the scriptures. Luther went to extreme lengths to validate the doctrine of infant baptism. However, his arguments depend upon tradition and his appeals to the scriptures regarding the faith of infants are dubious: “Since our baptizing has been thus from the beginning of Christianity and the custom has been to baptize children, and since no one can prove with good reasons that they do not have faith, we should not make changes and build on such weak arguments.” {1} 

Thousands of believers have been denied valid baptism as a result of this demonic teaching. (1 Timothy 4:1). Baptism is the very first commandment required of those who have repented and believed the gospel. To prohibit baptism to genuine converts is a very weighty matter indeed! These teachers will have to give an account to the Lord for this wicked teaching when the time comes. (Hebrews 4:13).   

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38).

Luther - A drunkard and glutton

The widespread belief that Luther lived in poverty is easily debunked. Luther was massively obese and weighed a hefty 150kg (23st 8lb) at his death in 1546 at the age of 63. {2} Luther was a glutton and a drunkard, and by his own admission he indulged himself to excess. Apparently, he drank up to two litres of fortified wine with every meal in addition to large quantities of beer.

Luther: "What other cause do you think that I have for drinking so much strong drink, talking so freely and making merry so often, except that I wish to mock and harass the devil who is wont to mock and harass me." {3} 

"By his own admission, Luther put on a few extra pounds in his later years. During a business trip (of sorts) to Eisleben (his place of birth) several days before his death, he joked to friends that he would shortly return to Wittenberg and "give the worms a fat doctor to feast on." In actual fact he never made it back to Wittenberg. He passed away in Eisleben early in the morning on 18 February 1546." {4} 

Luther - As He Was

(Death Mask by Lucas Fortnagel - Leipzig, University Library)

Luther and the scriptures!

Luther's first German translation of the scriptures omitted 25 books (i.e., Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, Jonah, Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach (i.e., Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation. Luther referred to the Epistle of James as "straw not worthy to be burned in my oven as tinder".  He referred to other books as "Judaizing nonsense". {5} 

Luther and the Peasants Revolt   

Beginning in 1524 and ending in its suppression in 1525, the Peasants' Revolt began as a result of abuses cited by the peasants by the government and the church. Luther is often credited with the role of encouraging the Peasants' Revolt. However, he maintained allegiance to the German Princes against the violence of the rebels. Luther openly condemned the peasants and called for their brutal suppression, arguably inciting the demise of more than 100,000 peasants and facilitating further oppression of the lower classes."(German: Wider die Mordischen und Reubischen Rotten der Bawren) Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants typifies Luther's reaction to the Peasants' War, and alludes to Luther's concern that he might be seen to be responsible for their rebellion." {6} 

Quotes from Luther:

Tract Against the Murderous and Thieving Hordes of Peasants, published in May 1525: "Therefore, let everyone who can, smite, slay, and stab, secretly or openly, remembering that nothing can be more poisonous, hurtful, or devilish than a rebel. It is just as when one must kill a mad dog; if you do not strike him, he will strike you, and a whole land with you".

“To kill a peasant is not murder; it is helping to extinguish the conflagration. Let there be no half measures! Crush them! Cut their throats! Transfix them. Leave no stone unturned! To kill a peasant is to destroy a mad dog! – If they say that I am very hard and merciless, mercy be damned. Let whoever can stab, strangle, and kill them like mad dogs”[Erlangen Vol 24"

"I have killed all the farmers in their rebellion; all their blood is on my neck.."

Luther's condemnation of the Anabaptists

The most distinctive belief of the Anabaptists was believer's baptism. The Anabaptists repudiated infant baptism as a blasphemous formality. They maintained that infants and young children are not accountable for sin until they become aware of good and evil and can exercise their own free will, repent, and accept baptism. The Anabaptists were mercilessly persecuted by the Reformers and most of the early Anabaptist leaders died in prison or were executed. Protestants were especially fond of “baptizing” Anabaptist heretics by drowning them in rivers.

Ken Rathbun: "Writing against the Anabaptists regarding the matter of faith and baptism, Luther strenuously denied that faith needed to be present in order to baptize. He even turned the argument around and stated that the 'rebaptizers' could never know for sure if anyone really had faith. Luther left open the question of whether infants could have faith in some mysterious way: 'There are Scripture passages that tell us that children may and can believe, though they do not speak or understand. . . . I grant that we do not understand how they do believe, or how faith is created. But that is not the point here.' {7}

"August 7th, 1536, a synod was convened at Hamburg to devise the best means of exterminating the Anabaptists. Not one voice among all the delegates was raised in favor of the Anabaptists. Even Melancthon voted to put all those to death who should remain, obstinate in their errors. The ministers of Ulm demanded that heresy should be extinguished by fire and sword. Those of Augsburg said: “If we have not yet sent any Anabaptists to the gibbet, we have at least branded their cheeks with red iron!? {8} 

Luther and the Jews

Luther's hate-filled vitriol against the Jews is legendary. He wrote at least five treatises on the subject of the Jews, including The Jews and Their Lies in 1543. 

Luther's seven recommendations to church and state authorities for actions concerning the Jews: 

Their synagogues and schools should be burned to the ground, their houses should be “razed and destroyed”; their “prayer books and Talmudic writings” should be confiscated; their rabbis should be “forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb”; they should be denied safe-conduct on the highways; usury should be prohibited to them and their gold, silver, and cash should be taken from them; finally, they should be subjected to harsh labor.

Luther can also take responsibility for influencing Hitler and the Holocaust.

For Daniel Long to read aloud swathes of Luther's large catechism is scandalous. Luther was a gluttonous monster whose understanding of the scriptures was deeply flawed. We should mark and avoid those who promote the aberrant teachings of this imposter. (Romans 16:17).

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:1-7).

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 cf. Proverbs 23:20).

 

1. The Reformers' Defense of Infant Baptism - Faith Baptist Bible College
2. Researchers dig up the dirt on father of Protestantism | Religion | The Guardian
3. To Spite the Devil | Lapham’s Quarterly (laphamsquarterly.org)
4. Martin Luther: Fat Reformer? - Reformation 21
5. Luther's canon - Wikipedia
6. Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants - Wikipedia
7. The Reformers' Defense of Infant Baptism - Faith Baptist Bible College
8. The reformers and their uncivilized behavior against the anabaptists | Bjorkbloggen

THE WARTBURG CASTLE: DANIEL LONG / STEVEN LONG'S JOURNEY INTO LUTHERANISM

(5) From Doubt to Assurance: A Journey to Lutheranism - YouTube

Above Daniel Long's brother, Steven Long, shares his story of how he became a Lutheran. 

Steven Long related how he was previously a very strong Calvinist, but found himself in a spiritual battle in which he describes a constant struggle regarding condemnation over sin.

Steven Long's struggles remind me of the main character in Pilgrims Progress, Christian, who was plagued by spiritual doubts and condemnation.

Justin Taylor: "When we meet him, Christian has an enormous burden on his back, and Christian’s burden represents not sin per se, but it represents the shame and doubt that he feels because of his sin. Christian’s sins get forgiven, and he was justified when he received Christ, which is represented by his entering the Wicket Gate. But Christian does not yet understand the basis of his forgiveness, so his conscience continues to bother or burden him. Put in more technical terms (always a welcome means of clarification) the burden represents psychological guilt not forensic guilt. Therefore, what Christian loses at the cross is his shame and doubt caused by sin, because his sins had already been forgiven when he entered the Wicket Gate. Also, at the cross Christian receives a scroll, which he later calls his assurance. When Christian entered the Wicket Gate, he received Christ. When Christian gazed at the cross, he understood substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness, and this gave him assurance that his sins were forgiven." {1} 

What struck me about Steven Long's story is that his deliverance seems to have come from the Lutheran church rather than directly through Christ, although I am sure he would protest otherwise.  

Daniel Long: "We are receiving God's gifts to us in the service, We are receiving His word, we are receiving His sacrament, we are receiving the absolution spoken over us, we are confessing our sins.. partaking on a regular basis, partaking of the sacrament, the body of blood of Christ, and just having that strength, that assurance.. that gets me through the week." 

Daniel Long quotes Chris Rosebrough: "We come to church and our sack is empty.. we hear that we are forgiven, and that is thrown into the sack, and then we have the absolution spoken over you, that's put into the sack, and then you are hearing the gospel that Christ forgave you through the Word, and that's put in the sack, and then you go and you partake of the sacrament and that's put into the sack, and then you hear the benediction spoken over you and that's put into the sack, and so you have got your sack full when you leave church.. that sack throughout the week starts to empty and you have to go back and do it again."

Steven Long: "Some weeks my sack is empty by Monday morning, so we need it all the time." 

All these things are administered externally through the minister, the sacrament, the benediction etc. There appears to be an intermediary between the people attending the Lutheran service and Jesus Christ reminiscent of Roman Catholicism. To say that your sack empties until the next time you attend is very concerning to me. It is as if there is no immediate relationship between the person attending the Lutheran church and Jesus Christ Himself .

"If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32 cf. John 15:5).

1. At What Point in Pilgrim's Progress Does Christian Get Saved? (thegospelcoalition.org)

DANIEL LONG'S DUBIOUS CASE FOR BAPTISMAL REGENERATION

 (9) My Response to Sean Christie of Revealing Truth on the Topic of Baptism - YouTube

Above, Daniel Long (LongforTruth) continues to defend the dubious Lutheran doctrine of baptismal regeneration. 

Long: "We do not believe that if a person has not been baptized, they are not saved."  Nevertheless, Long does link baptism and salvation. Long: "We do believe that baptism saves.. Baptism is a means of grace.. it is a way that God delivers His grace to us." There is a great deal of obfuscation involved in the Lutheran doctrine of baptismal regeneration. Essentially, the Lutheran doctrine of baptismal regeneration recognizes two ways of salvation. Most Christians adhere to the orthodox belief that salvation occurs by grace through faith. (Ephesians 2:8). However, Lutherans hold the illogical belief that salvation also, but not exclusively, occurs through baptism. This perplexing assertion compromises the doctrine of justification by faith alone (sola fide) and, as such, it is a primary issue. 

Long refers to passages (plural) that link baptism and salvation. Actually, there is only ONE passage that definitively links regeneration and baptism. Lutheran teachers make the error of taking Acts 2:38 in isolation as their proof text for baptismal regeneration at the expense of the sum of God's word. (Psalm 119:160). The passage in question (below) identifies those who received Peter's word and were subsequently baptized.

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for (εἰς) the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added about three thousand souls that day. (Acts:2:36-41).

The preposition εἰς (eis) has been translated for in verse 38 which gives the slightly confusing meaning that baptism facilitates the forgiveness of sins. εἰς is translated elsewhere as to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases. {1} The Amplified Bible gives a clearer interpretation: because of the forgiveness of your sins.

Peter instructed the Jews to repent and to be baptized in order to receive the Holy Spirit. At that point in time they were deeply convicted of their sin and were asking Peter "What shall we do?". The practice of the early church was that believers repented and were baptized within a very short period of time, repentance being the necessary requirement for baptism. The norm for the early church consisted of repentance and baptism in close proximity to one another. In our time, Christians are often baptized weeks, months, or even years following conversion. The assertion that unbaptized believers have not received the Holy Spirit in the intervening period prior to baptism is false. The critical question is: When do believers receive the Holy Spirit?  The Gentile converts received the Holy Spirit prior to baptism:

>Then Peter declared, “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days. (Acts 10:46-48).

Long proposes that the aorist imperative passive βαπτισθήτω (baptisthētō) (be baptized) demonstrates that the person being baptized is a passive recipient of God's grace. In this instance, the passive voice indicates nothing more than the fact that baptism is administered by another person. In the very early church, baptism appears to have been administered by apostles or elders. Paul was thankful that he baptized only Crispus and Gauius and the household of Stephanas. (1 Corinthians 1:13-17). 

> That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, (Ephesians 5:26).

Many commentators refer to water baptism as a sign, a representation, a symbol etc. rather than a literal cleansing. I have listed a few examples below. {2} 

Benson: "Ephesians 5:26-27. That he might sanctify and cleanse it — Might remove the guilt, power, and pollution of sin; with the washing of water — In baptism, as the sign of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, which can only renew, sanctify, and cleanse the soul. See 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2; Titus 3:5. By the word — The ordinary channel by which justifying, regenerating, and sanctifying grace is communicated; (John 15:3; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; John 17:17;).." 

Matthew Henry: "..baptismal water was the outward sign."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown: "..He speaks of baptism according to its high ideal and design, as if the inward grace accompanied the outward rite; hence he asserts of outward baptism whatever is involved in a believing appropriation of the divine truths it symbolizes, and says that Christ, by baptism, has purified the Church [Neander] (1Pe 3:21)."

Matthew Poole: "With the washing of water, viz. in baptism, in which the external washing represents seals, and exhibits the internal cleansing from both the guilt and defilement of sin by the blood of Christ, Hebrews 9:14 Revelation 1:5."

>In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses.. (Colossians 2:11-13).

The context of the above is passage adds baptism to "the circumcision without hands" i.e. baptism is performed subsequent to faith. Paul is contrasting circumcision and baptism in this passage. 

> Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4). 

Long: "You died to sin in your baptism.. The old you was killed in baptism, and the new you arose.. Paul very specifically tells us how we were placed in Christ. Paul says in Romans chapter 6 it was through our baptism." (29:00 mark)

Gill: "..because baptism is an ordinance of his; it is to submit to it with a view to his glory, to testify our affection for him, and subjection to him, without laying any stress or dependence on it for salvation; such who are thus baptized, are "baptized into his death"; they not only resemble Christ in his sufferings and death, by being immersed in water, but they declare their faith in the death of Christ, and also share in the benefits of his death; such as peace, pardon, righteousness, and atonement: now this proves, that such persons are dead to sin, who are so baptized; for by the death of Christ, into which they are baptized, they are justified from sin; by the death of Christ, their old man is crucified, and the body of sin destroyed; besides, believers in baptism profess themselves to be dead to sin and the world, and their baptism is an obligation upon them to live unto righteousness." {3}

> And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children (τέκνον) and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38-39).  

τέκνον is the Greek word for child, descendent, inhabitant. {4} Many commentators agree that the broader sense of τέκνον i.e. descendents or posterity is indicated in this verse rather than the specific children of Peter's audience. Previously these very same men had imprecated Jesus' blood upon themselves and upon their children i.e. their posterity (τέκνα): “His blood be on us and on our children!” (Matthew 27:25).

"..in a broader sense (like the Hebrew בָּנִים), posterity: Matthew 2:18; Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8; Acts 2:39; Acts 13:33(32). with emphasis: genuine posterity, true offspring, John 8:39; (of women) to be regarded as children, 1 Peter 3:6. β. specifically, a male child, a son: Matthew 21:28; Acts 21:21; Revelation 12:5; in the vocative, in kindly address, Matthew 21:28; Luke 2:48; Luke 15:31.

Cambridge Bible: "39. the promise is unto you, and to your children] Just as “to Abraham and his seed were the promises made” {5}

Expositors Greek Testament: "Acts 2:39. ὑμῖν γὰρ: the promise was made to the very men who had invoked upon themselves and upon their children, St. Matthew 27:25, the blood of the Crucified." {6} 

Long's alleged evidence that infants can have faith  (1:00 mark)

> ..and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. (Luke 1:15).

The exceptional events surrounding the birth of John the Baptist were unique. John's birth was in fact miraculous (not in the same sense as Jesus' birth). John was an answer to prayer; Elizabeth was past the age of childbearing and the news was delivered to Zechariah via angelic agency (Gabriel). I am very doubtful whether this passage proves that infants in general below a certain age can have faith. (Luke 1:8-25).

Further alleged evidence

> Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust (מַ֝בְטִיחִ֗י) you at my mother’s breasts. (Psalm 22:9-10)

I am not a Hebrew expert, but in this instance, the Berean Standard Bible appears to render the best interpretation. 

Berean Standard Bible: Yet You brought me forth from the womb; You made me secure (מַ֝בְטִיחִ֗י ) at my mother’s breast.

מַ֝בְטִיחִ֗י (batach) be bold confident, secure, sure, careless one, put confidence, make to hope, put,  {7}

> Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. (Psalm 71:6) .

David did not consciously rely upon God from before his birth, rather he was sustained by God.

NASB Lexicon: "By You I have been sustained נִסְמַ֬כְתִּי (nis·mach·ti) 5564: to lean, lay, rest, support a prim. root" {8}

Barnes: "By thee have I been holden up from the womb - From the beginning of my existence. The 'idea' in all this is, that, since God had sustained him from his earliest years - since he had shown his power in keeping him, and manifested his care for him, there was ground to pray that God would keep him still, and that he would guard him as old age came on. The sentiment in this verse is substantially the same as in Psalm 22:9-10." {9}

>..when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 3:20-21). 

Barnes: "..baptism administered in connection with true repentance, and true faith in the Lord Jesus, and when it is properly a symbol of the putting away of sin, and of the renewing influences of the Holy Spirit, and an act of unreserved dedication to God - now saves us.." {10}

>So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (Galatians 3:24-27). We symbolically put on Christ in our baptism ~ the outward act confirms the inward change.

Long's insistence that infant baptism in the Roman Catholic Church is valid is indefensible. (55:00 mark). The Roman Catholic Church is a false church and is an abomination to the Lord! Anyone who has undergone baptism in that wicked cult has undergone a false baptism and needs to be legitimately baptized. 

Chris Rosebrough's Research

Rosebrough's quotations from various Church Fathers do not match the writings of the Church Fathers that I have located. (?)

Barnabus (?): “Regarding [baptism], we have the evidence of Scripture that Israel would refuse to accept the washing which confers the remission of sins and would set up a substitution of their own instead [Ps. 1:3–6]."

Rosebrough: "Observe there how he describes both the water and the cross in the same figure. His meaning is,‘Blessed are those who go down into the water with their hopes set on the cross.' Here he is saying that after we have stepped down into the water, burdened with sin and defilement, we come up out of it bearing fruit, with reverence in our hearts and the hope of Jesus in our souls” {11} 

Barnabus: "Let us further inquire whether the Lord took any care to foreshadow the water [of baptism] and the cross. Concerning the water, indeed, it is written, in reference to the Israelites, that they should not receive that baptism which leads to the remission of sins, but should procure another for themselves.. Mark how He has described at once both the water and the cross. For these words imply, Blessed are they who, placing their trust in the cross have gone down into the water;" {12} 

Notice that Barnabus prioritizes those who place their trust in the cross and their subsequent act of baptism. Nowhere does Barnabus imply that baptism removes sins

Hermas (?): "I have heard, sir,’ said I [to the Shepherd], ‘from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of our former sins.’ He said to me, ‘You have heard rightly, for so it is."

The only comparable passage I could find in Hermas is as follows:

Hermas: "Explain to me a little further, sir, I said. What is it that you desire? he asked. Why, sir, I said, did these stones ascend out of the pit, and be applied to the building of the tower, after having borne these spirits? They were obliged, he answered, to ascend through water in order that they might be made alive; for, unless they laid aside the deadness of their life, they could not in any other way enter into the kingdom of God. Accordingly, those also who fell asleep received the seal of the Son of God. For, he continued, before a man bears the name of the Son of God he is dead; but when he receives the seal he lays aside his deadness, and obtains life. The seal, then, is the water: they descend into the water dead, and they arise alive. And to them, accordingly, was this seal preached, and they made use of it that they might enter into the kingdom of God." {13} 

I find this passage so obscure that I cannot count it as being doctrinally sound or evidential to the cause of baptismal regeneration. 

Wikipedia: "For Hermas baptism is necessary to be saved and warns those who undergo baptism by the danger of postbaptismal sins. Shepherd of Hermas possibly supports delaying baptism for practical reasons which is because of the fear of post-baptismal sins. According to Hermas, those who fall into sin after baptism, have only one chance of penance" {14}

I have not researched Rosebrough's further examples of the Church Fathers, though I may do so at a later date. Anything written by the later Church Fathers such as Augustine, would, in my view, be invalid.  

Long ends his video with a fairly long quote from the Large Catechism of Martin Luther which is one the most blasphemous documents I have ever read. {15}

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

..whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:25 cf. Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 1:5).

Luther followed the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions by removing the prohibition against graven images from the ten commandments. {16} He also rejected various books of the bible; he perpetuated replacement theology and his writings had a huge influence on Hitler. It is incomprehensible that the writings of Luther should be venerated and viewed as compatible with the scriptures.

1. Acts 2:38 Lexicon: Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (biblehub.com)
2. Ephesians 5:26 Commentaries: so that He might sanctify herchaving cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, (biblehub.com)
3. Romans 6 Gill's Exposition (biblehub.com)
4. Strong's Greek: 5043. τέκνον (teknon) -- a child (of either sex) (biblehub.com)
5. (Galatians 3:16),
6. Acts 2:39 Commentaries: "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." (biblehub.com)
7. Strong's Hebrew: 982. בָּטַח (batach) -- to trust (biblehub.com)
8. Psalm 71:6 Lexicon: By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You. (biblehub.com)
9. Psalm 71:6 Commentaries: By You I have been sustained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You. (biblehub.com)
10. 1 Peter 3:21 Commentaries: Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-- not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-- through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, (biblehub.com)
11. Baptism Texts the Earliest Christians.pdf (dropbox.com)
12. CHURCH FATHERS: Epistle of Barnabas (newadvent.org)
13. CHURCH FATHERS: The Shepherd of Hermas, Book III (newadvent.org)
14. The Shepherd of Hermas - Wikipedia
15. The Large Catechism (Infant Baptism) - Martin Luther (projectwittenberg.org)
16. Luther’s Small Catechism by Dr. Martin Luther (cph.org)

FURTHER LINKS

44) FALSE TEACHER CHRIS ROSEBROUGH-LUTHERANISM-FIGHTING FOR THE FAITH
(48) A Biblical Analysis of Infant Baptism - YouTube
(48) Controversies and Biblical Clarity on Baptism - YouTube
(48) Debate: "Is Water Baptism Required for Salvation?” Dean Meadows and Mike Winger - YouTube
(58) Water Baptism DOES NOT Save - Explaining 1 Peter 3:20-21 - YouTube
Martin Luther On Baptism-Heresy Exposed! SermonAudio - Media Player
Sola Fide Compromised? Martin Luther and the Doctrine of Baptism - The Gospel Coalition