Genesis 1:2 should read "And the earth became without form . . . ." The word translated "was" is hayah, and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in Genesis 19:26.

Genesis 10:9 should read " . . . Nimrod the mighty hunter in place of [in opposition to] the LORD." The word "before" is incorrect and gives the connotation that Nimrod was a good guy, which is false.

Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26 in the KJV is "scapegoat" which today has the connotation of someone who is unjustly blamed for other's sins. The Hebrew is Azazel, which means "one removed or separated." The Azazel goal represents Satan, who is no scapegoat. He is guilty of his part in our sins.

Deuteronomy 24:1, "then let him" should be "and he." As the Savior explained in Matthew 19, Moses did not command divorcement. This statute is regulating the permission of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts.

2 Kings 2:23, should be "young men", not "little children."

Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ."

Ezekiel 20:25 should read "Wherefore I permitted them, or gave them over to, [false] statutes that are not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." God's laws are good, perfect and right. This verse shows that since Israel rejected God's laws, He allowed them to hurt themselves by following false man made customs and laws.

Daniel 8:14 is correct in the margin, which substitutes "evening morning" for "days." Too bad William Miller didn't realize this.

Malachi 4:6 should read " . . . lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction." "Curse" doesn't give the proper sense here. Same word used in Zechariah 14:11.

Matthew 5:48 should be "Become ye therefore perfect" rather than "be ye therefore perfect." "Perfect" here means "spiritually mature." Sanctification is a process of overcoming with the aid of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 24:22 needs an additional word to clarify the meaning. It should say "there should no flesh be saved alive."

Matthew 27:49 omits text which was in the original. Moffatt correctly adds it, while the RSV puts it in a footnote: "And another took a spear and pierced His side, and out came water and blood." The Savior's death came when a soldier pierced His side, Revelation 1:7.

Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." should be translated literally, "Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward the first day of the week . . . ." The Sabbath does not end at dawn but at dusk.

Luke 2:14 should say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of God's good pleasure or choosing." That is, there will be peace on earth among men who have God's good will in their hearts.

Luke 14:26 has the unfortunate translation of the Greek word miseo, Strong's #3404, as "hate", when it should be rendered "love less by comparison." We are not to hate our parents and family!

John 1:31, 33 should say "baptize" or "baptizing IN water" not with water. Pouring or sprinkling with water is not the scriptural method of baptism, but only thorough immersion in water.

John 1:17 is another instance of a poor preposition. "By" should be "through": "For the law was given by [through] Moses . . . ." Moses did not proclaim his law, but God's Law.

John 13:2 should be "And during supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV).

Acts 12:4 has the inaccurate word "Easter" which should be rendered "Passover." The Greek word is pascha which is translated correctly as Passover in Matthew 26:2, etc.

1 Corinthians 1:18 should be: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God", rather than "perish" and "are saved." Likewise, 2 Thessalonians 2:10 should be "are perishing" rather than "perish."

1 Corinthians 15:29 should be: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the hope of the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the hope of the dead?"

2 Corinthians 6:2 should be "a day of salvation", instead of "the day of salvation." This is a quote from Isaiah 49:8, which is correct. The day of salvation is not the same for each individual. The firstfruits have their day of salvation during this life. The rest in the second resurrection.

1 Timothy 4:8 should say, "For bodily exercise profiteth for a little time: but godliness in profitable unto all things . . . ."

1 Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ."

Hebrews 4:8 should be "Joshua" rather than "Jesus", although these two words are Hebrew and Greek equivalents.

Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God."

Hebrews 9:28 is out of proper order in the King James. It should be: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them without sin that look for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation."

1 John 5:7-8 contains additional text which was added to the original. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." The italicized text was added to the original manuscripts. Most modern translations agree that this was an uninspired addition to the Latin Vulgate to support the unscriptural trinity doctrine.

Revelation 14:4 should be "a firstfruits", because the 144,000 are not all the firstfruits.

Revelation 20:4-5 in the KJV is a little confusing until you realize that the sentence "This is the first resurrection." in verse five refers back to "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" in verse four.

Revelation 20:10, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years previously.

Revelation 22:2 should be "health" rather than "healing."

When was Cornelius saved?

The conversion of Cornelius has been a mystery in some sense to many charismatic Bible scholars. However, the complexity of Acts 10 and 11 can be vanquished. In order to discover the answers to some of our heart felt questions we must lay aside those denominational tendencies and submit to the authority of the scriptures. We must not be too proud to reject correction concerning basic Bible principles. If somehow we discover that our heart has deceived us we know that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins (conditionally). Moreover, this matter should not be taken lightly considering the fact that the blind who follows the blind shall suffer the same condemnation.

There have been many who have built a false doctrine around the conversion of Cornelius starting from the plan of salvation and leading into miraculous spiritual gifts. In this article I will attempt to address the purpose, truth, and facts of Acts 10 and 11. I am confident that you will find this article to be irrefutable and quite controversial. I hope that this controversial topic will either encourage you or cause you to examine your own beliefs and become a Christian.

Beginning in Chapter 10 of the Book of Acts we are introduced to a character by the name of Cornelius. In verses 1 and 2 we find a flattering description of this man. Cornelius was a centurion who dwelt in Caesarea and feared God. The scriptures tell us that Cornelius was a devout and just man that held a dear devotion to the Lord. We are told that Cornelius gave much alms and prayed to God always. We will latter find that God was faithful and Christ spoke the truth when he said “Ask, seek, knock...” and it shall be given unto you (Matthew 7:7).

In verses 3-6 we find that Cornelius received a vision from God during the ninth hour of the night. One instructing him to send a few men to Joppa in order to find one named Simon Peter. Many people today are guilty of taking passages in the Bible and directly applying the passage to their lives. For instance, many Calvinist take Romans 8 and 9 to teach that they (the individual) was chosen before the foundations of the world to be saved. However, when we understand the context of the passage, we find that the very thing that Paul rebuked was National Election which is the Cornerstone of Unconditional Election.

To uphold the possibility of miraculous visions as a means of communication with the most Holy God is to belittle the sufficiency of the word of God. When we read our New Testaments and find that men, in times past, have received visions from God a distinction must be made between them and us. One of which pertains to the privileges that those men did not have. The men who received Miraculous Visions did not possess the full revelation of God. God's will had not been fully revealed and in the conversion of Cornelius we find that this vision's purpose was to reveal the mysteries that had been locked up for centuries.

Today, we are able to come to a unity in the faith. We, today, are capable of uniting around the words of truth and be set free from the errors in the world. Jesus emphasized the infallibility of God's revelation and importance of being united around the truth in John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.” Simply put, Miracles and Visions had a purpose and we no longer need miraculous gifts and signs due to the all-sufficiency of His word.

When we examine the conversion of Cornelius we find that there were orders given to Cornelius for him to follow. One of which was the command for Cornelius to send his men to find Peter. Thankfully we're not Cornelius and we don't have to do this to be saved. Nevertheless, had Cornelius tarried he would not have been saved. Within this vision we find that there was a purpose behind this vision. All visions have a purpose and the future purpose of Peter's encounter with Cornelius concerned a matter with which Cornelius must do (Acts 10:6). Latter, in verse 22, we find a continuous description of what Peter was obligated to deliver. In Acts 10:22 we find that Peter's purpose was to speak words unto Cornelius and as we have previously noted, the words were to be instructions concerning a required activity.

Meeting face to face, Cornelius fell at Peter's feet and worshiped him though Peter reproved Cornelius' act of worship by identifying himself as a man to whom one could relate. After their introduction Peter asks; “for what intent have ye sent for me?” It should be rightly noted that after Cornelius expounds on his vision Peter is urged to tell them what was commanded by God (Acts 10:33). It's important to remember the points of purpose that we noted earlier. After reading verse 33 we begin to gather a more full comprehension of Peter's purpose. We noted earlier that Peters message would instruct Cornelius to do something that was required by God. There's no hiding the demanding nature of Peter's message, we can now begin to put together the pieces of this puzzle. We now know that God commanded something of these men, which we will soon discover.

Boldly speaking, Peter lifts up his voice as a trumpet revealing a truth that he perceived, that God is no respecter of persons. Peter continues to review some of the things that these Gentiles already knew concerning the Lord. Peter said; “That word, I say, ye know which was published throughout all Judea... How God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power... who went about doing good, healing, casting out daemons, God was with him... He was slain and hanged on a tree... God raised him up the third day, etc.”

Skipping ahead to Acts chapter 11:15 we find that when Peter began to speak these things the Holy Spirit had fallen on them and as we have already noted the fact that miraculous instances demand miraculous purposes. The purpose of the Holy Spirit falling upon those who believed bore witness to the truth that Peter perceived, that God is no respecter of persons. It's obvious that this outpouring was not for conversion.

Many Scholars confuse this Holy Spirit Baptism with the Water Baptism spoken of throughout the New Testament Epistles but this error can be refuted by simply studying the passage a little more thoroughly. By examining the purpose of this miraculous occurrence we find the impossibility of compatibility with the future references of Baptism within the epistles.

We find that in Acts 11:15 Peter says “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” This is a very important verse, one that should not be taken lightly nor ignored. Here, we find that Peter relates this instance to the miraculous outpouring that the Apostles received in Acts chapter 2. Many men coin this “Holy Spirit Baptism” as the baptism that was written about in the epistles but listen to the words of the Apostle Peter “As on us at the beginning.” Had this been the baptism required for salvation as spoken of in Romans 6 and 1 Peter 3, the Apostle Peter would not have referred to a similar instance which took place 6-7 years prior to Acts 10. Had this Holy Spirit Baptism been a common occurrence, Peter would have said “As on the Jewish converts in Joppa”. Obviously an instance like this had not occurred since the day of Pentecost.

We should refresh our memory of the facts Peter proclaimed in Acts 10:37-43. The facts presented were the facts of the Gospel, which these men already knew. Cornelius and his household already knew about the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ yet the Angel of the Lord still commanded Cornelius to find out what was commanded of God for him to do in order to be saved (Acts 10:6,22,33 11:14). We also find that before Cornelius heard the words by which him and his household would be saved the Holy Spirit fell on them. We also find that the commandment of God is contained in verse 48 “So he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”

Within Peter's sermon we find that there was one commandment that these men had not known. We find that this one commandment was an activity required by God in order for him to be saved. Perhaps this may be a surprise to some but Water Baptism was that required commandment of God that is essential for salvation.

There are three different interpretations on the conversion of Cornelius:

1. Being at the point of belief – Cornelius believed the Gospel before Peter preached his sermon. Had belief been the point of Cornelius' salvation, Peter's presence would have been in vain. (Acts 10:37-43)

2. Being at the point of Holy Spirit Baptism – Cornelius received the Holy Spirit Baptism, which was a rare occurrence, before he heard the words by which him and his household would be saved. (Acts 11:15)

3. Being at the point of Water Baptism – Cornelius was to be saved upon completion of an activity commanded by God which came from the mouth of Peter. (Acts 10:6,22,33 11:14)

The synopsis of this passage teaches us that the purpose of Cornelius' vision was to bring about the commandment of God through the words of the inspired Apostle Peter. The Truth of this passage is that no man should forbid water, hindering a man of Water Baptism. The facts that we discovered contain the unshakable nature of Water Baptism being a required, commanded, activity of God.

Take Care,

Jon