Ruth Marie Funderburg

Ruth M. Funderburg

1931 – 2026

My Mother loved the Lord Jesus Christ. She was a member of the Church, the Body of Christ. She is now home with the Lord and shall ever be.

 During her lifetime, Mom loved to witness to everyone. By “witness,” I mean she liked to tell everyone about the Lord and salvation. In fact, one time, while at the Dorothy Lane Market, one of her favorite places in her later years, she was having coffee and a sandwich when she overheard a group of people talking about Jesus. As she moved closer to the group, she decided to join in the discussion and let them know about her love of Christ. Unfortunately, she soon found out this particular group was from the Dayton Atheist Society! Oh well, that was my Mom, always ready to talk to people, absolutely anyone, about the Lord.

Since her passing, my brother, Steve, my sister, Barb, and I have tried to figure out the best manner to honor Mom. We decided to not have a formal service, but to do what she liked to do, tell people about Jesus Christ and let everyone know the path to salvation and eternal life. As such, we are distributing this letter along with a book that helps make the Bible really easy to understand; it helps introduce you to the Bible, explains the various programs of God’s history and gives insight on how to understand God’s plan.

The book is “God’s Programs: An Introduction to Understanding the Bible” by Don Samdahl. Don has a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Dallas Theological Seminary. I must say, I have never read an author that has such a way of clearly explaining complex issues and presenting them in a manner that even I can understand. I hope you will take the time to read this book cover-to-cover; yes, you have to read it to get a full grasp of the subject matter!

I would not be doing my Mother due diligence if I did not at least explain salvation. At the present time, we are in the “Church” period. The Apostle Paul clearly tells us how to be saved right now. He tells us in I Corinthians Chapter 15 Verses 1-4:

Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

If you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you will be saved and have eternal life. I know, this is hard for us to believe, but it is true!

According to Don, there are several Programs throughout history. Don labels them as: Mankind, Israel, Church, Israel Redux, Kingdom and New Heavens and New Earth. Please don’t be put off by these labels. Read on to see how they are explained.

During the first, Mankind, God created the heavens and the earth and everything else. See Genesis Chapter 1-11. God created Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, they sinned and caused everyone thereafter to have a sinful nature. During this period, God dealt with mankind. What did man do? He continued to sin and rejected God and God had to destroy mankind and start over. How did he do this? He caused a great world-wide flood and had Noah and his son’s gather two of each kind of animal to start fresh. This period lasted about 2000 years.

During the next period, God decided that he would have someone else represent him and minister to mankind. He chose Abram with whom he made a covenant. He renamed Abram to Abraham and made the Abrahamic Covenant with him. The Abrahamic Covenant is found in Genesis Chapter 12 Verses 1-3:

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

With this, Abraham and his son Isaac and his son Jacob began the Jewish Nation. Jews were to become a nation of Priests and provide God’s Gospel to the World. This was the period of the Mosaic Law, the Kingdom message, John the Baptist and water baptism. During this period, Jesus and the 12 Apostles, except in a couple of instances, did not minister to Gentiles. During this period the issue was “who” Jesus was.

Of course, we know what happened. The Jewish people rejected Jesus and hung him on a cross. But, Jesus rose after 3 days and now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven. This period lasted about 2000 years. The Kingdom message was paused at this time; but, will continue following the next period.

The next period, the Church, is the period in which we currently find ourselves. Having failed to repent and accept Jesus, the Jews failed God and could not become the nation of priests God intended. God needed a new way to reach the World. He chose Saul of Tarsus, someone who hated Jesus and persecuted those that followed Jesus. On the road to Damascus, Saul was met by the Resurrected Jesus, temporarily blinded for three days and in the end, changed to Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Jesus told Paul a secret, a mystery that had been kept secret from the ages. Paul taught belief in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. During this period, if you believe, you need do nothing else for salvation; faith plus nothing. This is unlike earlier periods where you had to have faith plus works, i.e., animal sacrifice, circumcision, water baptism, etc. If you believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, you are no longer Jew or Gentile, you become a new thing, the Church, the Body of Christ. This is found in Galatians Chapter 3 Verses 26-29.

For you are all sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There 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. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

This period has lasted about 2000 years. During this period, the issue was not “who” was Jesus, but “what” did Jesus do for us. What did he do? He died on the cross, shed his blood to cleanse our sins, rose on the third day and now sits at the right hand of God in heaven. If we believe, we will have eternal life with the Lord Jesus.

The Church period will conclude with the Rapture. Following the Rapture, the Kingdom period will resume. The Rapture is when Jesus comes down in the clouds and takes up the Church, the body of Christ, to be with him in heaven for eternity. I Corinthians Chapter 15, God tells us of resurrection. Also, I Thessalonians Chapter 4 Verses 13-18 provide:

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as indeed the rest of mankind do, who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead, so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep through Jesus. 15 For we say this 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, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

The next period is Israel Redux. During this period, the Tribulation occurs. This horrible period only lasts 7 years; but, it is truly hell on earth the last three and a half years. Fortunately, members of the Church, the Body of Christ will not have to endure this period as God will not allow members of the Church, the Body of Christ to suffer his wrath. In I Thessalonians Chapter 1 Verses 9-10 we find:

9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception 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, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.

The Book of Revelation explains this period. At the end of this period, Satan is cast into the bottomless pit for 1000 years.

Following the tribulation, The Kingdom period occurs. During this period, Jesus Christ will reign as King on Earth for 1000 years.

Following this period, the New Heaven and New Earth period will occur. This period will be for eternity.

If you rightly divide the Word of truth, you will not mix and confuse God’s plan for each of the above periods of time. If you confuse God’s plans and try to mix the Kingdom message with the Church message, you will have a mess. You will have all of the various religions of today with contradictions that don’t make sense. If you rightly divide the Word of truth, things begin to make sense and God’s message becomes clear. II Timothy Chapter 2 Verse 15 provides:

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

A good example of mixing messages is just this, Jesus Christ is NOT my King. Jesus will be the King during his 1000 year reign on earth following the Tribulation. Jesus is the Head of the Church, the Body of Christ. I am a member of the Church, the Body of Christ; so, he is the Head, not the King of the Church, the Body of Christ. This is very important. Do not mix messages. God has different plans for different periods of time.

If you are going to “rightly divide,” you must have something to divide. God has dealt differently with his people during the various periods. For example, we no longer offer animal sacrifices. Also, water baptism went away after the Council at Jerusalem in Acts 15. There, James and the Apostle Paul were arguing for their positions. James argued for the Kingdom message. Paul argued for the Church, the Body of Christ. The Apostle Peter settled the argument by reminding James that he, Peter, had been sent by God to the Gentile Roman Centurion Cornelious’s house, to provide witness. Peter witnessing to a Gentile – may it never be. Yet, that is precisely what God had Peter do. And, guess what. Cornelius and his family were saved prior to being baptized with water. Clearly, the Council at Jerusalem demonstrated a change in God’s plan for mankind. Acts Chapter 15 Verses 7-11:

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us, 9 and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they.”

After you read the “God’s Programs” book, you will have a framework for reading the Bible. The Bible will make more sense and will not be as daunting. As you read the Bible, please keep in mind the words of Myles Coverdale on understanding scripture:

"It will greatly help you to understand scripture if you note - not only what is spoken and written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before and what follows."

Each one of us has been provided by God with free will. It is entirely up to us whether we choose to believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. By reading this letter, the book and the Bible, you will have the necessary information to make an informed decision. You will surely know that

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.

No decision is a decision to NOT BELIEVE. Satan is doing everything in his power to prevent you from making the right decision. Remember, the only way to eternal life is to make the decision TO BELIEVE. It is my prayer that you do not hesitate one more moment.

Don has a wonderful website at www.doctrine.org. He has several in-depth studies posted on the site. If you have a question about the Rapture, Water Baptism, Predestination, etc., etc., there are well researched, well written and well-presented articles that provide you with all of the necessary Biblical reference, documentation and information to educate you on the issue and help you make decisions about how you feel about the issue.

Of course, Don is not the only source of the above information. There are many great Christian authors, C.R. Stam and his wonderful book, “Things that Differ;” Joel Fink, “The Mystery;” Josh McDowell, “God Breathed,” and others too numerous to mention here. And, I want to thank my long-time Pastor, Marv Wiseman, for his years of tutelage and my current Pastor Nathan Rambeck.

On behalf of me, my sister and my brother, thank-you for taking the time to read this letter. I pray that it has been a blessing to you and has properly honored Mom and most importantly, the Lord Jesus Christ.