Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell

Chapter 163

Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell

© 2018 Richard O’Decatur, All Rights Reserved

While attending a local congregation of the Christian Church denomination for several months, I had the opportunity to talk with the pastor several times to learn about what that church believes, teaches, and practices. In one of our get togethers, the pastor gave me a copy of a book that he said was written by the most authoritative expert in theology that he knew and who taught several of the religious classes at the Cincinnati Christian University in Cincinnati, OH. This pastor often quoted this man and it was easy to tell that he was a ‘devout’ follower of all this man taught. The pastor even said that if I wanted to know the truth, then all I had to do was read and follow his book. The book is entitled “The Faith Once for All” is authored by Jack Cottrell, the man who had taught the pastor mentioned above. This book is the source book for many classes Cottrell has taught at Cincinnati Christian University for individuals who seek to become ministers in the “churches of Christ, which are part of the Restoration Movement which also includes the Disciples of Christ and the Churches of Christ. He was a professor of theology at Cincinnati Christian University from 1967 to 2015”. Wikipedia. As I am a seeker of truth, I decided to read and study this book to see if there were truths that I was not acquainted with presented within its pages. So, in earnest I began. Let me say that my hope was like that of the Berean community mentioned in the Bible. It was my intent to search this book ‘with all readiness, and search the Scriptures to find out whether these things were so.’ The key is for one to try to prove things are true first of all rather than just try to prove things are not true first of all. There is a major difference in what you find depending on which approach you take, as I learned when researching the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Acts 17:10 - 11 (NKJV) 10Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

Unhappily in my quest, I ran into difficulties on the third page of introductory text two-thirds of the way down page 11 where he presents a question that was asked by Pilate, “What is truth” (John 18: 38). At this point, Cottrell began discussing philosophy mentioning Pragmatism’s definition of truth and then the correspondence concept of truth. He then quotes Richard Bowman, who is a conservative Disciples of Christ minister and co-founder of Disciple Renewal who tells of his experience with liberal seminary professors. Bowman states that these professors tell their students, “Thus

1 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell ministers may confidently affirm that the doctrine of the virgin birth and the resurrection, for example are true, while denying in their own hearts that they actually happened!” Cottrell continues in his book in like manner, not affirming exactly what is truth but rather what others say about it and then gets into a discussion of the denial of truth for a couple of pages. He quotes William James, one of the founders of pragmatism philosophy. Next, he quotes Kenneson who promotes postmodernism. Then he quotes William Baird, a Disciple of Christ scholar. He quoted Fred P. Thompson, a champion of the Campbellian movement that espouses openness and generosity toward all. I searched page after page in vain to find Cottrell presenting the scriptural answer to Pilates question about truth. I wondered, why is Cottrell talking about everything else and quoting others and what they believe when the real Truth is so simply and directly found in a couple of verses in the Bible. It was like the Bible was the last place he wanted to go to in his discussions. As I went through this book, I found that this was Cottrell’s standard for presenting Biblical subjects and concepts. He would exhaust what other nonbelievers said to a great extent and then hardly mention what the Bible presents. Why go to such trouble presenting error? Why not shout the Jesus Christ is the living Word of God? There is no need or reason to be apologetic when presenting the truth of God. John 14:6 (NKJV) 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 17:17 (NKJV) 17Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.

It is as if Cottrell is trying to put the wrong ideas into the minds of his students and readers of his book. Why else would he print such as the following statements from page 14, supposedly of others; but, perhaps himself as well. “Thus, what exists in our minds as ‘knowledge’ is only our own perception of things, not the things themselves. This means we can never really know to what degree our perceptions actually correspond to others’ perceptions of the same things…Given this ‘predicament’,” it is literally impossible for finite beings to know all there is to know about any specific thing, much less to have a complete knowledge of the whole picture…Thus, it would seem impossible for anyone to have absolute, 100% certainty about any matter of fact, including the facts of theology…This skepticism is applied even to any attempts that God may make to communicate with us in our own language, i.e. through word revelation.”

I cannot help but believe that such statements made by a professor to an impressionable class of students may well leave them with a frustrated sense that it is impossible for them to know the truth or that the truth cannot be found with certainty. I was almost ready to toss this book into the trash can, but I read a few more pages. Finally, on page 16, Cottrell gets to the truth. He states that “God, and God alone is the

2 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell source of absolute truth.” He goes further, “But God has spoken truth to us, in language we can understand, in the words of the Bible-the Word of God. I again had hope that this book might have relevance even though Cottrell goes an incredibly long way around before getting to presenting his opinion as to what subject matter is true. I hardly care what others think and believe, I want to know what God thinks and has to say about any topic. I skimmed over the next few pages as Cottrell presents ‘Possible Sources of Theology’. He discusses 1. Revelation from God; then 2. Experience; then 3. Reason; and finally, 4. Tradition. Cottrell sums this up on page 23, “In a sense, all the theological thinking throughout Christian history, as it is passed along to us through the study of the history of the church and the history of doctrine, can be considered as a general kind of tradition that may help us to shape our theology today.” I like his conclusion to what is the ‘normative’ or valid source that is the basis for theology. “Our conclusion is that, because of its very nature as the revealed and inspired Word of God, the Bible is this normative source.” Cottrell then discusses revelation from God. He states categorically that any revelation must come from outside ourselves rather than from within. Anything from within ourselves is “subjective and inherently ambiguous with regard to its origin and its meaning, especially in a fallen world.” He says, “We can never be sure that our inner feelings, experiences, or ‘voices’ are from God, from Satan, or from our own subconscious; and we can never be sure that we have interpreted or even remembered them correctly. He stated that the Bible warns us about such ambiguities inherent in all personal experiences (Matthew 7: 21-23; Luke 13: 25-27), and this especially applies to subjective ones. Thus, anything subjective, including subjective general revelation (Romans 2:15), is ruled out as a normative source of theology. In the previous statements Cottrell presented some scriptures that are supposed to ‘backup’ what he says. Those scriptures are printed below. Please read both passages and try to find anything that has anything to do with subjective revelation or “inner feelings, experiences, or ‘voices’ from God, from Satan, or from our own subconscious.” Matthew 7:21 - 23 (NKJV) 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Luke 13:23 - Luke 13:27 (NKJV) And He said to them, 24“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’

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27But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’”

If you are like me, you cannot find a thing in these two passages that have anything to do with what Cottrell is writing about at the bottom of page 23 in his book. I have underlined the bold text in the two passages above. The reason some are commanded to depart is clear. The first passage deals with those who practice lawlessness. The words ‘practice’ and ‘lawlessness’ means they continually engage in breaking the Ten Commandments. The second passage mentions ‘workers’ and ‘iniquity’ means those who work or labor in committing sinful acts. These two groups of people are not allowed to enter. These examples have nothing to do with ‘inner voices’ and subjective revelations. What about the other passage in Romans? I will print a few other verses in this passage so we can understand the context of what is being discussed by Paul. The verse referred to by Cottrell is in bold text. Romans 2:12 - 16 (NKJV) 12For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law 13(for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; 14for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, 15who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) 16in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

This discusses the inner conscience that is shaped by the law written in one’s hearts. This comes the closes to what Cottrell was talking about but fails to really mention “voices’ from God, from Satan, or from our own subconscious.” Here I am very disappointed. In both cases Cottrell has failed to present any scripture that backs up what he is writing about. He states that it is a fact that “God does speak to individuals.” He asks “How can one know whether they are hearing the voice of God or of Satan?” No Jack, the truth and fact is, God has not left us clueless. 1 John 4:1 - 3 (NKJV) 1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.

According to what Cottrell stresses, the above verses in 1 John 4 are meaningless as he stresses that all “our inner feelings, experiences, or ‘voices’” are from Satan and not God.” Cottrell states “The Bible warns us about such ambiguities inherent in all personal

4 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell experiences”. He bases this statement on the scriptures I have printed out previously (Matthew 7: 21-23; Luke 13: 25-27)” and (Romans 2: 15). However, having read these verses we find they have nothing to do with what he is writing in his book. Therefore, Cottrell is ignorant in understanding what the scriptures tell us, so we should ignore whatever he writes and teaches for it contains errors and is unscriptural. The fact remains that Cottrell is purposefully presenting lies; therefore, he is being deceitful and is a liar and tool of Satan! What he writes and teaches, should be ignored. The Bible gives us clarifying ways to determine if these “voices or feeling” within ourselves are from God, or Satan, or our subconscious mind. What I found in Cottrell’s book that I have just described gives me a Red Flag Warning to carefully read and consider what else Cottrell might try to tell us in this book without Biblical support. Remember his own words, “the Bible is this normative source,” which is true, even if he does not use it. On page 24. Cottrell says the only way to determine if the Bible alone is the sacred objective written revelation from God, it is “necessary to call upon Christian apologetics in order to establish the exclusive validity of the Bible as God’s written Word.” “The Bible alone, is our only rule of faith and practice.” I disagree with Cottrell’s statement that we must use the Christian apologetics of the Catholic Church to establish the validity of the Bible as the Word of God. There are many other sources that show that the Bible is the Word of God without using anything from the Catholic Church and its theologians and philosophers past and present. I do not like the extent of what Cottrell does on pages 24 and 25 where he is disparaging Jesus Christ as the example for Christians to follow and grow spiritually toward His stature. (Ephesians 4: 13-15). He tries to minimize what Jesus did to correct wrong teachings of the Jews. Cottrell further seems to infer that this was Jesus only purpose; even though he writes “this was Jesus’ main purpose to redeem mankind from sin through the atonement and resurrection.” He virtually ridiculed the idea that Christians should stop and ask themselves “What would Jesus do?” when facing various dilemmas. The next area that caught my attention was on page 27 near the bottom of the page. Here Cottrell tries to infer several ideas that simply are not true. He states “on passages about first day worship (Acts 20: 7; 1 Corinthians 16: 2)”. Before going on let us look at the scriptures Cottrell says supports what he is writing. Let us pickup the context of the first passage by beginning at Acts 20: 6 and extending it to verse 12.

Acts 20:6 - 12 (NKJV) 6But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and in five days joined them at Troas, where we stayed seven days. 7Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. 9And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, 5 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. 12And they brought the young man in alive, and they were not a little comforted.

Let us note that it was the first day of the week and Paul was ready to depart the next day. The church at Troas came together to break bread [they had a meal]. Paul spoke to them perhaps during and for sure for a long time after they had finished their meal and this occasion continued until midnight. At that time a young man fell three stories from a window and the crowd thought he must be dead. Paul went to the young man and perhaps by some miracle the young man was alive. Notice the group again had broken bread and ate. At daybreak, Paul departed. Please check your Bible dictionary to see that the Greek words referring to breakG2806 breadG740 in verse 7 and brokenG2806 breadG740 in verse 11 are identical and mean the same thing. Verse 11 adds that they had eaten (a meal). These verses define the meaning of the phrase ‘break bread’ and this absolutely does not mean in any possible way that they had a church service on Sunday evening that lasted until Monday morning. If you still believe that the words, ‘break bread’ in verse 7 means the church at Troas had a worship service and churches today must follow this example; then, you are advocating the following. Churches must have a worship service beginning Sunday evening and the meeting must last until midnight (but it does not end at this point.) After a short break, congregations must have another meeting (the scripture says they ate another meal but it seems like Cottrell does not want to believe the scripture) and this worship service lasts until daybreak on Monday morning. At this point, is Cottrell willing to admit that he has been wrong as to the meaning of ‘break bread’? Let us look this phrase up in another passage and see what the meaning is. The same Greek words are translated ‘breaking bread’ in Acts 2: 46. In this case it mentions that “they, continuingG4342 dailyG2596-G2250 with oneG3661 accordG3661 in the templeG2411, and breakingG2806 breadG740 from house to house and did eat G3335 their meatG5160 with gladness and singleness of heart.” We have already found out that breakingG2806 breadG740 means they ate a meal. Eat comes from G3335 is defined as to participate; generally to accept (and use):—eat, have, be partaker, receive, take. Meat comes from G5160 is defined as nourishment (literally or figuratively); by implication rations (wages):—food, meat. I have always read that taking the Lord’s Supper involved wine and unleavened bread and I have never heard of taking any ‘meat’ with the bread and wine? Please read the entire passage below. The reader should be able to understand that both passages have absolutely nothing to do with having any kind of church service and everything to do with simply eating a meal. Acts 2:45 - 47 (KJV) 45And soldG4097 their possessionsG2933 and goodsG5223, and partedG1266 them to allG3956 men, as everyG5100 man hadG2192 needG5532.

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46And they, continuingG4342 dailyG2596-G2250 with oneG3661 accordG3661 in the templeG2411, and breakingG2806 breadG740 from houseG3624 to houseG3624, did eatG3335 their meatG5160 with gladnessG20 and singlenessG858 of heartG2588, 47PraisingG134 GodG2316, and havingG2192 favourG5485 with allG3650 the peopleG2992. And the LordG2962 addedG4369 to the churchG1577 dailyG2596-G2250 such as should be savedG4982.

The bottom line is this passage was about a supper meal that took place on the evening before Paul was going to depart from them. He used this occasion to teach them. It was not a regular scheduled meeting or worship service and the fact that it happened on the first day of the week was rather meaningless and incidental and not something to justify changing the day of Christian assembly from the seventh day Sabbath as God commands to another day established by man based on their traditions that were false from their very beginning. The fact that after the meal the congregation sat around listening to Paul nearly all night should tell us this event cannot be used as an example for Christian to congregate on the first day of the week anymore that justifying that Christians should all gather together in the evening and lock the doors on the first day of each week like the disciples did in the passage of John 20: 19, “19When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.” The reason for this gathering was the disciples were hiding together for fear of the Jews.

The next verse that Cottrell says justifies first day worship is 1 Corinthians 16: 2. I will printout verses 1 through 3 for you to see the context of this passage. Notice there is no mention of breaking bread. We see the mention of the first day of the week. Is there any meeting or gathering of the congregation taking place in this passage? No, church members were instructed to individually lay aside and store ‘gifts’ (possibly food and clothing) for members of the church in Jerusalem who needed help. 1 Corinthians 16:1 - 3 (NKJV) 1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 3And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

Both scriptures quoted as justifying church congregating on the first day of the week rather than as the Bible teaches on the seventh day Sabbath are false, twisted, and deceitful; and are lies perpetrated by Cottrell (and all other ministers who say the same.) The Word of God supports only seventh day Sabbath day congregating to worship God and there are no scriptures in the entire Bible that authorize changing the day of the week to congregate on nor in justifying the ignoring of the Fourth Commandment to ‘Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy’.

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Now, what about 1 Corinthians 11: 20-34 implying the Lord’s Supper should be observed every Lord’s Day (Sunday or first day of the week). This is a long passage and actually none of it provides information concerning what day of the week or when gathering as a congregation the church should take the Lord’s Supper. Let us look at all the verses but we will comment only on those that involve words of come together, or the Lord’s Supper. Verse 17 says since you come together but no mention as to day of the week or time of day. Verse 18 says when you come together as a church but again no mention of the day of the week or time of the day. Verse 20 says when you come together in one place but again there is no mention of day or time even though it mentions the Lord’s Supper. In verse 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup but there is no mention of the day of the week and time of day. Finally, in verse 33 it says when you come together to eat but again no mention of day or time. 1 Corinthians 11:17 - 34 (NKJV) 17Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.

23For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

26For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

27Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

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28But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.

33Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. 34But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

A person would have to be blinded by bias, ignorant of Greek word meanings, or without scruples to try to justify saying the preceding passages infer that the Lord’s Supper should be observed on every Lord’s Day (Sunday or first day of the week). Cottrell should be ashamed of himself to be used by Satan to try to deceive others in this way. The twisting of things or concepts that should be obvious is condemned by God in His Word. This condemnation of error is for those who are servants of Satan ignorantly or willingly who appear to be too self-righteous, self-important, and who have taken their eyes completely off Jesus Christ and the truths of God found in His Word. Isaiah 5:20 - 21 (NKJV) 20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, And prudent in their own sight!

Cottrell is not the only Protestant or Catholic theologian that teaches college students and molds their young minds into believing the lies I have addressed in my article on Cottrell in this article. As mentioned in the beginning of this article, I have run into one of Cottrell’s students and this guy was so blinded and virtually worshipped Cottrell to the extent that he will not stop and listen to anyone with proof from the Word of God to refute anything that Cottrell taught him.

I decided to continue to refute the errors in Cottrell’s book. Beginning at page 37, Cottrell begins discussing the Existence of God in Chapter 1. He starts this chapter well with several passages from the Bible such as: Psalms 18: 46, “The Lord lives!”; then Psalms 42: 2, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God”; then Thessalonians 4: 10, “We have fixed our hope on the living God.” There are more scriptures and again I became hopeful that Cottrell might have something to say that was meaningful.

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Sadly after 3 paragraphs, Cottrell launches into his routine of discussing various arguments for God’s existence using references as far from the truth as possible. His first reference was from Anselm who lived 1033 to 1109. “Anselm of Canterbury also called Anselm of Aosta (Italian: Anselmo d'Aosta) after his birthplace and Anselm of Bec (French: Anselme du Bec) after his monastery, was a Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher and theologian of the Catholic Church, who held the office of archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to 1109.” Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anselm_of_Canterbury

He continues by referencing others philosophers such as Descartes (1596-1650), Charles Hartshorne, Norman Malcolm, and Immanuel Kant. He spends considerable words on page 39 presenting “Thomas Aquinas’s [another Catholic philosopher] famous ‘five ways’ of proving God exists.” Later, Cottrell adds that Plato’s thoughts about the existence of the Universe does not support the concept of the existence of God. I simply got bored as I scanned page after page with quotes such as from ‘non-theist Michael Denton” on page 41 and “Michael Behe’s book, Darwin’s Black Box.” Cottrell closes out this chapter beginning on page 42, by quoting from his own book, “Cottrell, Solid, chapter 7, GC, 440-442.” I was not surprised as Cottrell’s self-image and self-importance could find no greater scholar or philosopher than himself to prove the Existence of God.

At this point, I had had enough. I just did not like Cottrell’s manner of going the long way around a subject, quoting from sources that I do not consider as godly men or Christian, and generally ignoring or minimizing what the Word of God says about each of the subjects he addressed. I decided to see what Cottrell had to say about the subject of prophecy. This subject was relegated near the back of his book starting on page 459. It did not take very much reading until I found the primary reason that Cottrell put off discussing prophecy till the back of his book. He knew that he would lose a lot of followers if they found out too soon in his book that he does not believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible. The reason that Revelation is so important is that it is the only book in the Bible that sets the order of what will take place before Jesus Christ’s Second Coming. That means all other prophecy in the Bible OT and NT must take place according to its organization. Cottrell really does not believe in the Second Coming as the Bible teaches it and he believes that all prophecy has already been fulfilled. That is why he is so set on discrediting Revelation and trying to alter the meaning of its chapters and events that will take place on earth by saying they were fulfilled in a spiritual reality rather than a physical reality (beginning on page 462.)

In order to try to pull this off, he begins Chapter 27 Interpreting Biblical Prophecy, by stating that unless we use his four basic principles to interpret prophecy, our understanding would be false. More Red Flag Warnings went up. Anytime I hear someone say or write that their way is the only way to truth, I begin to very closely watch out for deception and error.

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Near the bottom of page 459 we read, Cottrell’s “first principle is that the OT [Old Testament] was written for the sake of the church.” He references Romans 15:4, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Then he states, “This purpose was all-inclusive, ‘whatever’ is in the Old Testament is for our benefit.” On page 460, Cottrell includes “especially prophecy”. In the following paragraphs he states that we should interpret OT prophecies “were pointing ahead to the coming of Christ, and specifically to His first coming rather than His second coming”. He further pushes this point by writing, “For all OT prophecies relating to the Messiah, we should look for their fulfillment first of all in this present messianic age. Since all OT writings were given ‘for our instruction’ and ‘for our sake,’ their applications and implications must be meaningful to all who now live under the New Covenant.” Cottrell then quotes or mentions several scriptural passages where prophecy spoke of John the Baptist for example. [I must ask, “Does Cottrell think that only Christians living today will be reading the Bible and its prophecies? What about Christians living during the Great Tribulation and just before the return of Jesus Christ?] Cottrell’s second principle for interpreting prophecy is “the NT itself often gives us or points us to the proper fulfillment of OT prophecy or the proper counterpart of OT types.” He qualifies this by stating, “Not all OT prophecies are interpreted for us in the NT, of course, but enough are so interpreted to give us a fairly clear idea of how to approach the rest.” Cottrell’s third principle for interpreting prophecy is “prophetic language is often figurative. To state it negatively, not all prophecy is intended to be interpreted literally.” Then he equates anyone who disagrees with him are like Hal Lindsey or J. Dwight Pentecost. Cottrell uses reasoning on page 461, “In agreement with the Bible, we note first of all that [prophetic and Bible] language in general is not always literal. In everyday speech, no one would insist that all statements must be taken literally, Biblical language in general is no different, nor is prophetic language.” Cottrell’s fourth principle for interpreting prophecy beginning on page 462 is that prophecy is fulfilled on two levels of reality: physical reality and spiritual reality. He gets into a discussion of how the terms for the two levels of reality do not adequately describe what is intended. On page 463, Cottrell begins to write about the importance of prophecies about Israel. What does he use to convey this? Hal Lindsey’s book, The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind fiction series. Then he mentions “the modern interest in Israel was reawakened in 1948 when the present nation of Israel was born; it gained much momentum in 1967, when in the Six-Day War the Israelis regained control of the Old City of Jerusalem and especially the original temple site.” Then Cottrell pushes his judgment that “this whole approach to the end time is a massive error.” He writes, “The Jews will have no special role in the final events of this age; in fact, they have had no special role in God’s plan since their purpose was fulfilled in the first coming of Christ (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 2:11-16; Colossians 3:11).” “This error is based primarily on their false view of the nature of prophecy as such, and a failure to see that most if not all prophecy about Israel as a nation has

11 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell already been fulfilled, either in OT times themselves or in connection with Christ’s first coming.” Before going further, let us examine the scriptures Cottrell has based what he has just wrote on page 464. For each scripture, I will attach other verses so we can get the context of the noted verses that will be in bold and underlined. Galatians 3:26 - 29 (NKJV) 26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ephesians 2:11 - 16 (NKJV) 11Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Colossians 3:8 - 11 (NKJV) 8But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Cottrell’s statement that the Jews will have no special role in the final events based on these scriptures seem like a ridiculous joke by someone who has no knowledge of Biblical truths. Is he really serious? He has taken such a meaning totally out of context. This is the same misuse of scripture and twisting it to say it means what he thinks it should mean as he did beginning on page 5 when he tried to justify changing the day for Christians to congregate on the first day of the week, totally ignoring or trying to disregard the seventh day Sabbath God had commanded since the Creation Week. The quoted two scriptural passages above is about God calling all to salvation regardless of their ethnic or racial heritage, their status as free or slave, and their sex. It has absolutely nothing to do with end time events affecting the people of the whole world to be played out by the forces of evil and good upon the earth at the end of the age. Still, Cottrell

12 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell insists that there will not be a considerable number of events taking place around Jerusalem nor affecting its inhabitants who just happen to be Jews. Let us see if there are OT prophecies that have not been fulfilled in the NT times in the past and present but still will happen in the future and will impact Jerusalem and its inhabitants, the Jews. I will quote from Joel chapter 2, verses 1 and 2 along with verses 28 through 32. 1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: 2 A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations.

28 “And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. 30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, As the Lord has said, Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

Notice the phrase, ‘Day of the Lord’. This name is used for a period of time in which the wrath of God will be poured out on mankind on this earth because of their sins which they refuse to stop doing. It takes place before Jesus Christ’s Second Coming when the dead rise and the living Christians are transformed from mortal to immortal bodies. Notice this phrase is in verse 1 before and verse 31 after what we read about

13 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell happening in verses 28 and 29. What does it say about our daughters? It says they will prophesy. The old men shall dream dreams and the young men shall have visions. We should not allow anyone to tell us that the OT does not tell of prophecies happening in the future or that no one will prophesy today. This prophecy in part was repeated by the Apostle Peter (Acts 2: 16-21). The book of Daniel prophesied of events taking place just before the second coming of Jesus Christ and this has not happened in any way, shape, or circumstance even today and will not happen until the future. I find it near unbelievable that as educated supposedly in the Word of God as Cottrell is that he could be so ignorant of what it tells us. Chapters 9 through 12 tells of the longest prophecy of the OT of things that will happen in the future after the Day of the Lord (Daniel 12: 1) and this book of Daniel will be closed until the time of the end. When that time comes for God to unseal this book, we will hear what was closed and these words of prophecy will come from the mouths of young girls, old men, and young men. Want more proof that many OT prophecies have not been fulfilled yet or in NT Bible times? Read Ezekiel chapters 38 and 39 will not take place until the future just before Jesus’ second coming. Jesus spoke about the end time in his prophecy in Luke 21:8-25. Just so you will know that I am not trying to deceive you as Cottrell does in misquoting scripture that has nothing to do with what he is writing I will post the entire scripture. This prophecy has not already been fulfilled, for it tells of the second coming of Christ. It is not figurative or symbolic as it is specific about the place, Jerusalem, and the people who are being attacked. This is not a spiritual reality, nor will it happen to the church; but, its fulfillment will be in and include the entire real physical world. You can read this yourself as well as other prophecies in the Old and New Testament. Believe the Words of the Bible not the words of a man whom I have already shown does not really know and understand the Bible as seen in his numerous misquotes where he takes scripture out of context and tries to list various scriptures in his writings that supposedly supports his statements; but rather, they have nothing to do with the subject he is writing about. Luke 21:9 - Luke 21:28 (NKJV) 8And He said: “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore, do not go after them. 9But when you hear of wars and commotions, do not be terrified; for these things must come to pass first, but the end will not come immediately.” 10Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 12But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will

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put some of you to death. 17And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. 18But not a hair of your head shall be lost. 19By your patience possess your souls. 20“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. 25“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; 26men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Cottrell has placed a table of 4 Events that were prophesied and fulfilled in the OT or the NT. Then he spends a couple of page on these events that have nothing to do with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I went through several pages of Cottrell trying to show that various prophecies were all fulfilled in OT times. Then he switches tactics on page 467 as he then states that “With the [first] coming of Christ and the establishment of His church, a new kind of Israel was begun.” “And as far as prophecy is concerned, many of the OT prophecies about Israel, about Jerusalem, and about the temple are in fact prophecies about the new Israel, the church; thus, they have nothing to do with the modern nation of Israel or with the Second Coming of Christ as such.” He has decided that the church is the new Israel in prophecy and that is why he denies that anything happening in the Middle East is relevant. With that mindset, he begins to twist everything that is in the Bible. I do not want to waste paper and ink writing about his conjectures in the pages I scanned over following what he wrote that I presented in the previous paragraphs. I wondered where is this heading??? On page 470, Cottrell begins writing about “Another great theme of OT prophecy is the kingdom of God-that the Messiah will come and set up a kingdom over which He will reign forever.” Then Cottrell tries to persuade us that all this about a kingdom being setup and a millennial reign of Christ is already happening and the Second Coming is a spiritual event that began taking place in Christ’s first coming (pages 472-476). Chapter 28, The Millennium, begins like Cottrell has done in every other subject in his book. He talks about everything else before finally getting to what he has to say. It tells of ideas about Postmillennialism espoused by the writings of Thomas Brightman (1562-1607) as well as other theologians such as Alexander Campbell and B. B. Warfield

15 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell and advocated by Boettner in his writings ‘Millennium’ and ‘Postmillennialism’; John J. Davis, ‘Kingdom’; and Gentry, ‘Dominion’. Cottrell calls this ‘unique’ and he goes on for several pages discussing this view. Then on page 480, he begins to discuss the traditional premillennialism. After mentioning what this view is about, he then tells why this view is flawed [in his mind]. Then on page 484, he introduces Dispensational Premillennialism. This began with a Scottish teenager named Margaret Macdonald in 1830 and her ‘feverish vision’. Cottrell’s list of promoters of this view begins with “the early Plymouth Brethren leader, John Nelson Darby and continues with writers such as W. E. Blackstone, Dwight L. Moody, C. I. Scofield (especially through his Scofield Reference Bible), and L. S. Chafer; and more recent writers such as Hal Lindsey, J. D. Pentecost, John Walvoord, Herman Hoytk and the authors of the Left Behind series.” Cottrell’s fourth millennial view beginning on page 487 is called Amillennialism, “can be traced back to the fourth and fifth centuries A.D., especially to the writings of Augustine.” “Some major modern defenders include Louis Berkhof, O. T. Allis, and William Hendriksen. See especially William Cox, Studies; and Anthony Hoekema, Bible and ‘Amillennialism’.” I do not wish to try and sort all the concepts and ideas of others especially those I do not believe are according to the Word of God. On page 488, Cottrell tells us that “to properly understand the Book of Revelation one must remember that the language, imagery, and numbers are basically figurative.” On page 492, Cottrell sets up ‘An Outline of the Book of Revelation’ in which he tries to align events of the Second Coming with the First Coming of Christ. This was totally against what is well presented in the Word of God. Will readers chose to believe God or Cottrell? I wanted to find out which Millennial concept Cottrell believed and which view he supported. I had to back up to page 488, where he states, “Of the four millennial views described here, it is my judgment that the Amillennial view has the ‘best scriptural support’ [according to Cottrell’s interpretations], as will be explained in the rest of this chapter and the concluding chapters of this book.” I cannot disagree more. Take a look at his diagram at the bottom of page 487. The Millennium according to Cottrell began at the First Coming of Christ and is what he calls the Church Age. That is simply not true. The Millennium is supposed to last one thousand years and it does not begin until Jesus’ actual Second Coming from heaven to this earth wherein Satan is bound and Christ rules over all of the earth as ‘King of Kings and Lord of Lords’ as Revelation chapter 19 and 20 clearly point out. Read it for yourself. Starting in verse 11 we read of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ Revelation 19:11 - 16 (NKJV) 11Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads

16 Errors in Doctrine: The Teachings of Jack Cottrell

the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Then we read of the attack against the beast or Antichrist and all the others on earth that follow him. Everyone is killed except the beast and the false prophet who are captured alive and then are cast alive into the lake of fire. 19And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Beginning in chapter 20 of Revelation, we read of Satan being bound and cast into the bottomless pit at the beginning of the Millennium. Read how long Satan is bound in verse 2. That’s right, ‘a thousand years’. Not some ‘undefined period of time generally speaking’ as Cottrell defines the millennium. This is a call out to Cottrell, “Hey Jack, Satan is not bound and he is still causing a lot of trouble on this earth. Maybe, he is one of your buddies. Oh, by the way I do not find any travel brochures that feature side trips to see the Temple of God in Jerusalem that must be there somewhere if this is truly the Millennium.” How does Cottrell get around this? According to him all of Revelation is figurative or symbolic and ‘cannot’ be taken literally. Cottrell has stated that everything that is prophesied to happen has already happened in a ‘Spiritual Reality’ and will not happen in a ‘Physical Reality’ in which we live. How unbelievably stupid, Jack. I will grant that some of it may be symbolic such as description of some creatures around the throne of God and the beast otherwise known as the Antichrist and the false prophet. However, there is nothing in the Bible that says what is and is not figurative or symbolic. Cottrell has painted everything that does not fit his ideas as figurative or symbolic and he is simply wrong on nearly all counts. A great deal is very specific and detailed in its presentation and those things in reality just may well be exactly as written without deviation. Revelation 20:1 - 3 (NKJV) 1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

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How can Christians put up with Cottrell? He has been teaching that the millennial reign of Jesus began when He first came. Does he not know that the devil is not bound in the bottomless pit but rather is running around rampant on this earth since the time of Jesus’ First Coming? According to the Word of God, Satan is to be bound and put in the bottomless pit immediately after Jesus Second Coming and then the thousand year ‘reign’ of Jesus Christ actually takes place in a physical reality on earth. I cannot help but feel that regardless of how Cottrell may understand some of the Bible, he is completely off and is seriously wrong when it comes to prophecy. Also, based on the lack of support in his quoted verses to the subjects he wrote about throughout this book that I have exposed, I do not trust anything he says or writes as being the truth and no one else should trust him either. Jack Cottrell stands guilty of being a false prophet by his own written statements, his misuse of scriptures, and his deceptive practices. His attitude and self-righteous mannerism presented in his book has rubbed off on at least one of his pupils in college. That person is the pastor of a local Christian Church. That individual, like Cottrell, is so sure of himself and is so arrogant and confrontational when anyone questions what he believes or mentions something they have been taught by Jack Cottrell. While they readily ascribe other’s ideas and inspiration as coming from Satan, it is more probable that they are the ones who have been deceived by Satan.

I have no interest trying to sort out any more errors in the rest of Cottrell’s book, The Faith Once for All. I will put it in my notice of concerns on my website as another, ‘Do Not Read or Follow’ Jack Cottrell as he is a false prophet and deceiver of mankind. It is a truth of God that when you mix lies and untruths with the truth, the whole thing becomes false. Just like what happens to flour when you mix a leavening agent in it, the whole thing becomes leavened. I have nothing else to say but we should pray to God that Cottrell like all others like him some day will come to learn and accept the truth. Sadly, the hardest thing in learning the truth of God is unlearning the errors of Satan.

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