About

Miami Valley Bible Students Ecclesia
Who They Are

It has come to our attention that some readers of our class letters and visitors to our web site are interested in knowing who are the Bible Students.

The Miami Valley Bible Students Ecclesia are a group of consecrated, non-denominational, Bible believing Christians that meet in the Dayton, Ohio (USA) area. They are a part of The Bible Students movement that began in the 1870’s. During that time, the desire to study Bible prophesy relating to the Lord’s second advent had been generated by the William Miller movement which had started around 1829. These prophesies as recorded in Daniel Chapters 9 and 12 and others had long been a mystery (Dan 12:9). God had also given many promises and prophesies in the Bible that would be fulfilled by Christ and His coming Kingdom as shown in Isaiah 25:8,9, Psalms 46:8-9 and Acts 3:19-21 These small but independent classes shared a desire for this more advance Bible study and the prophetic atmosphere proved to be an instrument for rapid growth of the movement. The various classes studied and conversed with each other,(2Tim 2:15), the Lord blessed their efforts, and a system of theology emerged. This was not a new system of beliefs but a compilation of Bible Truths held by the Christians during the time of the Apostles and the early Church fathers before the creeds of the Dark Ages became universal.There were independent Bible Classes formed by earnest Christians that had the courage and conviction to go against what they believed to be the erroneous teachings of established Christianity. They began to spread the Gospel, the good news, and other congregations were formed. There were no central headquarters, office or authority because the various congregations held strictly to self government but there was co-operation in the printing of literature and co-ordination of some of the activities of the various classes. Since then the idea of independence has grown and also the printing and distribution of various Bible study aids. As a result many classes have been formed in the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, and India.

The Church services are simple as in the days of the Apostles recorded throughout the book of Acts. Meetings are held in private homes or rented facilities and the Bible is studied with the aid and guidance of printed material. ( Acts 8:27-31) There are periodic public witness meetings held where seats are free, with no formal collections taken. Elders and Deacons are elected (Acts 14:23)from the congregation who serve “willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind” (1 Peter 5:2) receiving no monetary compensation.

The Miami Valley class was originally formed in 1938 as The Piqua Bible Students Ecclesia and combined with the Dayton Bible Students Ecclesia in 1988. Due to the fact that both Dayton and Piqua, Ohio, are located in close proximity to the Miami River and are in the Ohio Valley, They adopted the name of the area and became know as the Miami Valley Bible Students Ecclesia. The word Ecclesia comes from the Greek word “Ekklesia” and means a calling out, a religious congregation or “Church” and is found so translated in many New Testament Scriptures such as Matt. 16:18, Acts 2:47, Rom. 16:5 and 1 Cor. 1:2.

To prevent any inaccurate conclusions from being drawn as to who are the Miami Valley Bible Students, we state very plainly that we are not Baptists, Catholics, Episcopalians, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormon, Presbyterians or any others that you may name. However, you may find among us those that were formally associated with these, or other groups, because they were not satisfied with the creeds they were being taught. They now find with the Bible Students a message that satisfies their longings as nothing else will do. A soul satisfying portion found in the Bible itself.

What Doctrines does the Bible really teach?

There have been volumes written and are available concerning the doctrines that define our kind and loving Heavenly Father. We highlight a few fundamental doctrines in this letter for your consideration. If you are interested in knowing more about these or other Bible subjects not mentioned, please write to the address above or contact us on the Web (www.Godsplan.org). We have various books, booklets, and tracts available. Most are free of charge with postage paid but due to the high cost of printing, some of the larger books have a nominal fee.

To us the Bible clearly teaches that:

1. It is the inspired word of God, respecting His will and purposes in connection with all of mankind. (2 Tim. 3:16,17), (Heb 4:12). And that God intended for us to seek the harmony of it’s complete scriptural testimony and we are advised in 1Thes. 5:21 to “Prove all things hold fast to that which is good”.

2. There is but ONE God, the great creator and Father of all. (Isaiah 46: 9-11), (Mal. 2:10) (Mark 12:32), (Matt. 19:17), (1Cor .8:6) and (1 Tim 2:5,6) Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son and that he died, not only for the Christian, but for the whole world. (John 3:16-21) and 1Tim. 2:5,6 further states “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

3.The doctrine of a ransom for all distinguishes the true Bible Student from other Christian groups. The scriptures show that there are two distinct salvations as initially stated in the Promise to Abraham Gen. 12:18, and explained further in Gen. 22:15-18 “And the angel of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only [son]: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying, I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, (Heavenly salvation) and as the sand which [is] upon the sea shore; (Earthly Salvation) and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Notice, all the nations of the earth and note the two salvations in this promise, One for the general world of mankind later described in Acts 3:19-21, the earthly hope, and One for the Church, The Little Flock, the true saints of God as referred to by Jesus in John 14:2,3 and as mentioned in Rev. 20:6. These members of the bride of Christ will become partakers of the “Divine Nature” 2 Peter 1:4

4. The wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.( Rom. 6:23) The death condition is an unconscious state and there is no knowledge, works or device in the grave where thou goeth (Ecc. 9:4-10) The Bible does not teach that man has an immortal soul, but it does teach that upon receiving the breath of life man became a living soul. Gen. 2:7 and repeated in 1 Cor. 15:45.

5. Hell is a reference to the grave (Ecc. 9:10) and not a place where tormented human beings are burned alive forever.. A prophecy about our Lord Jesus in Hosea 13:14 reads: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O’ death, I will be thy plagues; O’ grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes” Jesus was in Hell or the grave for 3 days,(Acts 2:31,32), and a literal burning hell fire, as taught, is an error that is contrary to the character of a God of love. A burning Hell fire is a human tradition and is not the punishment for sin. Death is the punishment for sin as clearly stated, first to father Adam in Gen. 2:17which says Dying thou shalt die. and reiterated in 1 Cor 15: 21,22, 2 Cor. 5:14,15, Acts 26:8, Psa. 6:5, and Gen. 3:19.

6. Upon close examination of scriptures and fulfilled prophesies, the Anti-Christ mentioned in the Bible is not an individual man. but a system of false religion, evil doctrines and religious practices. (Write for the free booklet “Who is the Anti-Christ?)

7. Bible teachings are Non-Trinitarian based on scriptures such as Rev. 3:14, Col. 1:12, John 1:17,18, John 3:16,17, John 14:28 and 1 Cor. 15:20-28. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and is manifested in all true Christians. 1Cor. 2:9-16, 2Tim. 1:13,14

8. The Bible emphasizes personal devotion, consecration and commitment to God, the Heavenly Father and to HIS Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We consecrate our body (Rom. 12:1), mind (Rom. 8-9), influence (Phil. 3:7), reputation (Luke 6:22), time (1 Pet. 4:2), talents (Rom. 12:6), and substance (1 Cor. 16:2). To present our bodies a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1) means to be crucified with Christ, baptized into his death, dead with him as men but alive unto God as new creatures. We study as 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches; “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”.

9. God’s Kingdom is to be here on earth just as the Lords prayer indicates in Matt. 6: 9,10. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as {it is}in heaven (The Two Salvations). A millennium kingdom of 1000 years to restore Adam’s race to the earthly condition promised by God through the resurrection of the dead spoken of by all of His holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:21, John 11:21-26, Luke 20:28-36, 1 Cor. 15:12-22) and John 5:28,29 which reads: “Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation”. Notice all in this scripture, and in the graves, not in heaven, hell, or purgatory. (Order the free booklet “ Where are the Dead?”)

10. There are exciting and beautiful truths that the scriptures clearly teach and many of them are explained and expanded upon in the book that we offer entitled “The Divine Plan of the Ages.” If you are asking, seeking or knocking (Matt. 7:7-8) and would like a better understanding of the depths and magnitude of God’s Plan as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and the orderly process in which things are being accomplished, we encourage you to contact us. You will be glad that you did.

We sincerely believe that God has a plan and YOU are in it.