Quick Introduction to the New Wine System
Philip B. Brown ( www.newwine.org )

The gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Mat. 24:14).  The gospel (good news) of the kingdom is that anyone can choose to completely overcome sin (all sinful habits), which is to be completely sanctified (1 Thess. 5:23), through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. No one who abides in Christ keeps on sinning (1 John 3:6), because in Christ there is no sin.  No one born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9).

But what about the people who fall short of this goal?  What about people who die before they have overcome every sinful habit?  Does death change us and remove all sin?  No verse of Scripture says this.

Traditional Christian doctrine is based on the two-type system of everyone going to either heaven or hell immediately after death.  This is Greek thinking.  Children are taught this, and every verse of the New Testament is interpreted in this context.  The resurrection becomes simply a time when the righteous get better bodies and the wicked are judged.  It's not when they become alive again.

The ancient Jews, however, did not believe this.  The Old Testament teaches that both the righteous and the wicked sleep in Sheol (the grave) until the resurrection, at which time they become alive again.  This allows for more than two types of people to be in the grave.  Ancient Jews believed in three types: (1) The chosen people of Israel, (2) righteous Gentiles, (3) and the wicked.  The New Wine System interprets the New Testament based on this Old Testament context.  The New Wine System applies Old Testament Jewish eschatology to the New Testament Church.

Salvation is a journey to holiness, by faith in Jesus Christ, who is the Savior of all people, especially those who believe (1 Tim. 4:10).  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22).  Therefore, everyone is saved by Christ's death on the cross, even if they are not Christian.  But without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mat. 5:48).  Jesus is the road, the truth, and the life.  No one journeys all the way to the Father except through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ (John 14:6).   Death, however, is not the end of the journey.

The wise (Dan. 12:3,10, Mat. 7:24, 25:2) complete their journey in this age (1 Thess. 5:23).  They are the saints, which means holy ones.  They are the elect in both Old Testament and New.  They are the Bride of Christ.  They are the firstfruits of the harvest (2 Thess. 2:13, James 1:18).  They will be resurrected with immortal bodies (1 Cor. 15:50), and will inherit the kingdom, when Christ returns.  The saints will no longer be under judgment (John 5:24).  They will reign as kings and priests over the nations (Rev. 2:26, 5:10, 20:6), here on earth (Mat. 5:5), leading the nations to righteousness (Dan 12:3).

The foolish, (Mat. 7:26, 25:2) still have sinful habits when they die.  This includes believers as well as lost sheep.  But all of Christ's sheep, both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15), hear his voice (John 10:16, 27).  They will hear Christ's voice from the tombs and be resurrected with mortal bodies to continue their journey of salvation to holiness (John 5:28-29).  They will still be under judgment (John 5:28-29). They are saved, but they will not inherit the kingdom (1 Co. 6:9, Gal 5:21). During the millennial reign of Christ's kingdom, some will be led to righteousness (Dan. 12:3) and will receive eternal life.  But others will become wicked (Rev 20:7-9), and will die the second death (Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8).

The wicked (Dan. 12:10, Mat. 24:48, 25:26) are those who harden their hearts and can no longer hear the voice of Christ (Heb. 3:7, 15, 4:7), as in taking the mark of the beast (Rev. 14:9-11).  They forfeit their salvation (Mat. 12:31, Heb. 6:4-6).  They will not be resurrected.  Today, the dead are asleep (John 11:11, Acts 7:60, 13:36, 1 Cor. 15:6) in hades.  But after the millennial reign of Christ, the wicked will come to life and be thrown in to the lake of fire (Rev. 20:5, 14), which is hell-fire (gehenna).  The smoke of their torment will go up forever and ever, and they will have no rest, day or night (Rev. 14:11).

If you want to be invited to the wedding banquet, if you want Jesus to say he knows you when he returns (Mat. 25:12, 7:23), if you want to be in the Bride of Christ, if you want to be a part of the true Israel that will have authority over the nations when Christ returns (Rev. 2:26), then you must repent and seek Christ's help to completely overcome all (100%) of the sinful habits in your life.  Because, without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).

Philip Brown
www.newwine.org