Understanding the “Blog”  & its Author

William Starkey is a Christian and construction worker living in northern California. Under the Bible preaching ministry of Anton van Straaten, God caused Will to be born again by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in 2019 at the age of 14. Amidst suffering and trials and warring greatly with his own sin, God has blessed him with the gift of His Holy Spirit and His Word through the work and righteousness and compassion of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Shortly after being born again, the Lord chose to move him and his family to Idaho where they spent almost 5 years being apart of a local church that preached the Word of God. These have been very foundational years for Will as a Christian; these years have served to ground him on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19-22), as well as give him a strong foundation in Biblical Hebrew and Greek. Will is very thankful to the Lord Jesus for redeeming his brother Andy de Ganahl and calling him to minister the Word of God to Jesus' sheep. Will now gathers with the saints at First Baptist Church of Red Bluff in northern California.
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Brief Doctrinal/Theological Introduction & Purpose. 

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(For a thorough doctrinal statement that very explicitly outlines what we do and do not believe as the Church—or what we should and should not believe—I point to the one on the websites of Calvary Baptist Church in Burley, Idaho and The Lord’s Church in Catonsville, Maryland which can be found on the home page of this website. This doctrinal statement has been in the making for several years now (it is still a work in progress) and is a joint effort between several autonomous churches whose desire is to fellowship and be united together in sound doctrine. For a more concise doctrinal statement, I point to the one on the website of First Baptist Church in Red Bluff, California.) 

 

My name is William Starkey. I’m a Bible-believing Christian whose desire is to be a true worshiper of God, who worships God in spirit and truth (John 4:21-24); to proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called His Church out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9-10). And by the compassions of God to present, along with the rest of the Church, my body a sacrifice—living, holy, pleasing to God, our logical service (Romans 12:1).

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Jesus is my Lord, my King, my God. “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen” (1 Timothy 6:15-16). By faith because of the gracious work and redemption of God our Savior, we can say with Paul: “‘I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me’” (Galatians 2:20). He determines the terms of service because He is Lord (Romans 1:4; 4:24; 10:9) and I am one of His slaves (Ephesians 6:6; 1 Peter 2:16; Revelation 1:1). God is my Father, and He has called me to be one of His beloved children (1 John 3:1), and to walk worthy of the calling with which He has called us (Ephesians 4:1-3). He has saved His Church and called us with a holy calling according to His own purpose (2 Timothy 1:9). He has called us to Himself (Acts 2:39; 1 Peter 5:10), He has brought us near by the precious blood of Christ Jesus His Son (Ephesians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:17-21). The Son of His love (Colossians 1:13). May we be those who love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8). We have nothing in ourselves: all we have is Christ. He is the reason for our existence; He is the motivation for all that we do (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:11, 17). “‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created’” (Revelation 4:11).

 

I'm a Biblical dispensational, futuristic premillennial; meaning that I understand that God has worked, and works, and will work differently with His people at different times in history (ex: God’s relationship with His people before the flood was different than His relationship with His people here in the Church age). And meaning that I believe and submit to the fact that God teaches plainly and clearly in His Word a literal, 1,000 year reign of Christ who is Jesus on planet earth (Revelation 20), which comes after His return (Revelation 19 comes before 20, follow the chronological markers [19:1, 6, 11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 11, 12]), and that the content of Revelation 4 through 22 (ish) is completely future from our standpoint—because of the testimony of the book of Revelation by itself from a plain and clear reading of the text, and from the overabundance of the testimony of the rest of the Scriptures, upon which Revelation stands and continually points back to. This contending for the truth of the book of Revelation is so necessary because this is about God and God’s glory. False teachings such as amillennialism and postmillennialism rob God of His glory; they are lies and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1). But God will not give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). God will have His day on this earth (the Day of Yahweh as revealed in the Old Testament is what is recorded in most of the book of Revelation). He will reign in His righteous glory (Psalm 2, 72, 110). This is going to happen very soon. Jesus is coming quickly (Revelation 22:20). We, the Church, are going to give an account before Him (2 Corinthians 5:10) of how we have lived in accordance with the hope of His calling (Ephesians 1:17-19; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 1:17-21; 2 Peter 3:11-15).

 

Being a Biblical dispensational, futuristic premillennial also means that I believe and submit to the fact that God teaches in His Word a distinction between Israel and the Church; God promised specific things to Israel, and created Israel for a specific purpose, with a function to fulfill in His coming Kingdom. God will fulfill His promises to Israel (Deuteronomy 30:1-10, Isaiah 4:2-6, 9:2-7, 42:1-4, 49:1-7, 50:4-11, 52:13-53:12, 60:1-22, Jeremiah 31:27-37, 32:1-33:26, Ezekiel 33-37, Joel, Amos 9:11-15, Obadiah, Zechariah 10-14, Galatians 3:15-18. Romans 9-11), and all Israel will be saved (Rm 11:26) because God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). And the Church, not having replaced Israel, is instead the first fruits of the New Covenant which God will cut and fulfill with Israel when He comes Himself to establish His physical kingdom here on earth (in accordance with the Feasts of YHWH revealed in the Old Testament, 4 of which have been fulfilled in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost which began the Church age; note the Old Testament language referring to the Church as first fruits and us having the first fruits of the Spirit in the New Testament [Romans 8:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; James 1:18]; this language comes from that fourth feast, a feast of first fruits, that pointed forward to something in the future; there are more Scriptures that reveal that the Church is the first fruits of the New Covenant and not the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises of the New Covenant). 

 

I believe that the Old Testament teaches that Israel must die because they have broken God’s covenant (the Mosaic Covenant [Deuteronomy 30-32]; which Moses assumed that they would not keep in Dt 30:1, and which YHWH told them they would break in Dt 31:16-17, 20), but also that Israel cannot die (Hosea 1:10-3:5; 11; 14) because God made an irrevocable covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (the Abrahamic Covenant). And so One must die in Israel’s place, Israel’s corporate Head must die in her place, the firstborn Son of God must die in place of Israel, in the same way that all the firstborn of Egypt died in Exodus 12:29-32 (Zechariah 12:10-14, Israel confessing Isaiah 53). But this same corporate Head of Israel is also the corporate Head of the nations, being the perfect representative of mankind—the Son of Man—to whom YHWH will give the nations as His inheritance, and the ends of the earth as His possession (Ps 2). And thus, this One died on a tree not only for Israel but also for those of God’s elect from the nations. 

 

God has caused me to be born again (John 3), He has taken out the heart of stone and given me a heart of flesh, the New Covenant heart (Jeremiah 17:1; 31:33; Ezekiel 36:25-27; 2 Cor 3:3, 6-8, 17-18; John 3:3, 5-8; 4:22-24) so that I would love from a clean heart and a good conscience and an unhypocritical faith (1 Timothy 1:5). I have been redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ—as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, of Christ (1 Peter 1:17-21)—which He shed on the cross for the sins of His people, bearing the full wrath of God in place of His elect—those whom the Father has chosen and predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son (Rm 8:29). This was God’s work which He accomplished by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5). This salvation is by God’s grace through faith, and this not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). We do not deserve God’s love, mercy, grace, and compassions as demonstrated in His redeeming, justifying, and even now sanctifying and one day glorifying of us (Romans 8:28-20); but He Himself has foreknown us, predestined us to adoption as sons (Ephesians 1:3-6; Romans 8:15), and placed His love upon us even though we were the scum of the world (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). It is through Christ Jesus that we are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that our faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:20-21).

 

Ephesians 2:11-22 is so good and true, because we who are Gentiles, who once were without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world—but now in Christ Jesus we who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and He has accomplished peace between Jew and Gentile through Himself and His propitiation which He accomplished on the cross—He is our unity and fellowship and the reason for our existence. 

 

I agree with God and confess that I am a finite sinner whom God has graciously called to Himself exclusively through His Son and by His Spirit for the purpose of glorifying Him through worshiping Him as He has prescribed in His Word in this Church age; and that I myself am imperfect and have faults, errors, and sins that I at times will not see (Psalm 19:12-14; 1 John 1:5-10). Which is why the Body of Christ is a body; with members each of whom are necessary for the function, building up, and unity of the whole. I am committed to the local church body where God has placed me exactly where He desired. It is my desire to live in submission to God’s Word, doing His will in all things—to love and to fear God and to thus keep His commandments (Ecc 12; Jn 14:15), and to do so by His mercy, grace, and strength and because of the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, and because God has given me faith to believe in Him and to obey His good commandments by His Spirit who is at work in us (Philippians 1:6; 2:12-13).

 

I am a sinner like everyone else, and I war against sin every day along with the rest of the Body of Christ. But God has not called us to impurity but in sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:7; Romans 6:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We are in a spiritual warfare. Paul said to the Corinthians, “For though  we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds, as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is fulfilled" (2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Ephesians 6).

It is not enough just to affirm Scripture; we must put our faith into action and be doers of the Word not merely hearers who delude themselves (James 1). But even if we have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13). “By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). The only way that I and every Christian can fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12), can pursue sanctification (Hebrews 12:14-17), can follow Jesus alone (Mt 16:24-28) is through our Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 15:5; Hebrews 12:1-3). Romans 11:36 says that “from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” 

 

God has given us faith/belief/trust. But this faith is concrete, it is faith in something. And God has revealed it in His word. May we contend earnestly for the faith once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 3); let us receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17); may we be standing firm in one spirit, with one mind contending together for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27, 2:2; 1 Corinthians 1:10).

 

This is NOT the Kingdom, we are sojourners and exiles here on this earth in this time (1 Peter 2:11; 1 John 5:19), we do NOT replace Israel (which would make God a liar), and we do NOT bring Christ’s kingdom (Psalm 2; Revelation 19). Our purpose as the Church here in this time is simple: to make disciples of all the nations by 1) baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and 2) teaching them to keep all that Jesus commanded His apostles (Matthew 28:16-20). We must live in submission to God’s word, believing and living in accordance with His word and His plan as He has revealed it in His word. Paul often sums up the Christian life as this: faith, hope, love (or sometimes faith, love, hope). It is that simple: we believe/have faith in/trust in God and His word as He has revealed it and not as we would make it to be; we put that faith into action by loving God, loving His Bride (the Church), and loving the unbelieving world; and we hope/confidently wait for and anticipate Christ’s return to glorify and vindicate His name—God’s promises for His coming salvation, judgment, and restoration of all things. We look forward to the day when Jesus who is Christ will rapture/snatch His Church, coming like a thief in the night. This will be the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets, which served as a wake-up call to all Israel, and introduced the third group of feasts, the fall feasts (the feast of trumpets, day of atonement, and feast of booths/tabernacles). The rapture of the Church will be a wake-up call to Israel as it ushers in Daniel’s 70th week (Daniel 9:24-27) which is the Day of Yahweh. When Christ raptures/snatches His Church, He will resurrect us; first those who have fallen asleep in Christ, then we who are alive and who remain (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). And we will all be changed, we will put on the incorruptible and immortality (1 Corinthians 15:50-58; the whole chapter). Christ will take us (the Church) before the Tribulation because God has not appointed us for wrath (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2:16; 5:9-10). This has very real, practical, and most importantly instructed and commanded applications (Matthew 24:36-25:46; 1 Peter 4:7; 1 John 2:28-3:3). 

 

“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

“See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God; and we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not been manifested as yet what we will be. We know that when He is manifested, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” — 1 John 3:1-3

 

“For they themselves report about us what kind of an entrance we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.” — 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10

 

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” —  Romans 8:24-25. Jesus Christ our Lord and hope will set us free from the body of this death when He returns and resurrects us.

 

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us [Hebrews 11], laying aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” — Hebrews 12:1-2