Shepherds Conference 2026

 As I suspected, the upcoming Shepherd's Conference in 2026 will be all about John MacArthur. These men are so predictable that I called this months ago. They need the money. This is their last chance to milk the MacArthur legacy. 

The top row are The Gospel Coalition (TGC) biggest leaders. Piper was at the 2024 ShepCon where he taught doctrines of demons, namely calling for eros (sexual) love for God (go here and here). He also holds to other demonic doctrines like Evolution's Long Age theory; accused God of sinning; has a gospel of works; is a Post-Modernist mystic (Charismatic) which you can read about here.

TGC is reprobate. Mark Dever and Ligon Duncan shared the pulpit with a sodomite Anglican priest Sam Allberry. 

For a list of articles on the problems with TGC go here.

In 2024 MacArthur rightly said how absolutely bad TGC was. However, he just had two of it's most popular teachers (one which continues to preach at GCC and related functions). Now ShepCon 2026 will have at least FOUR of it's most popular teachers. 

The sin of hypocrisy, partiality, and man-centeredness is off the charts now. Having a conference centered on a man, not to mention an unfaithful servant of the Lord, is stunning. It appears GCC is bored with Christ and Scripture. They need a "new" theme. Something that will grab attention and bring fill up the coffers.  And they need to grab as much money as they can before they flip over to being basically another TGC affiliate. What a disgrace. 

My guess at this man centered conference will have the following as topics:

MacArthur on the Puritans

MacArthur on the Charismatics

MacArthur on the Truth War

MacArthur on How To Preach

MacArthur on How to Lead (family, marriage, church)

MacArthur on Hymnology

MacArthur on Eschatology

MacArthur on The Beginning

Do Not Join Pagans In A Battle Against Demons For Political & Cultural Gain

 Roman Catholic & political pundit Matt Walsh:

"Enough of this in-fighting bullshit. We are up against demonic forces from the pit of Hell. They’re killing us in our churches. They tried to kill our president. They killed Charlie, one of our greatest advocates. Put the personal squabbles aside. Now’s not the time. This is existential. A fight for our own existence and the existence of our country."

RCC is part of demonic doctrine--paganism, worshipping the dead, works righteousness, blaspheming Christ's finished work on the cross by their "mass", pay to pray, purgatory, etc. The dead can't fight demons; they are influenced by & are in the devil's kingdom.

2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

2Co 6:15 What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever?

2Co 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2Co 6:17 Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you,

2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

2Co 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

2Co 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

Eph 4:17  Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  Eph 4:18  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  Eph 4:19  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 

Heb 12:26  At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 

Heb 12:27  This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 

Heb 12:28  Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 

Heb 12:29  for our God is a consuming fire. 

Charlie Kirk And Roman Catholicism

Continuing to pray for this nation with such evil happening before our eyes in the last month.

My ongoing concern was Charlie Kirk's view of Roman Catholicism  and Catholics. 

Quote: 

It’s clear from the article that they targeted Charlie because he was a devout Christian and an unapologetic supporter of the pro-life movement. He was also a vocal critic of the toxic and destructive feminist ideology espoused by Jezebel.During a recent episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, Charlie encouraged his Evangelical listeners to embrace the Virgin Mary as a solution to “toxic feminism.”“I believe that one of the ways that we fix toxic feminism in America is Mary is the solution,” he said. 

End quote. 

He goes on to say that we don't venerate Mary enough. That women should pursue her qualities etc. You can listen to the clip. He's really really riding on the edge there b/c we are never to venerate her. What we do see is Sarah as our example  of faith and trusting God in Heb. 11:11 & 1 Peter 3:6. Roman Catholics are not brothers in Christ. They are enemies of Him. Our gospel, our Lord, and our Scriptures condemn the false religion of the RCC. Sharing ethics and politics is not having like faith nor like mind. There is no fellowship with them. They remain His enemies.

Heb 11:11  By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. 

1Pe 3:4  but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 

1Pe 3:5  For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 

1Pe 3:6  as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. 

Let's remember too, through such dark times:

Heb 12:25  See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 

Heb 12:26  At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 

Heb 12:27  This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 

Heb 12:28  Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 

Heb 12:29  for our God is a consuming fire. 

Heb 13:14  For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 

Austin Ducan Blasphemes Christ on the Cross

Austin Duncan has been fired from GCC last week. No real reason was given. I found that  his most blasphemous and disqualifying sermon was on Ps. 22. In recent days GCC edited it with Duncan making additional notes. I have included those below.

At the time I marked what he said and when he said it:

Time mark  41:40 "His distress, pain,  trouble, misery,  wretchedness, misfortune, sorrow, adversity, torment, and tribulation, is not ultimate."

Time Mark 43:58 - he says "Jesus was evil incarnate".  

Jesus is abandoned by God: 15:40 - 19:00

"Jesus, who had God as His God, was forsaken by God. This is the anguish, the terror, and the despair of the cross."  19:28 

God could not look upon sin especially in His own Son 17:38

Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross 18:25

No Christian should ever use the terms "wretchedness" and "misfortune" in describing Christ Jesus on the cross. Neither of those words are biblical and promote sin and happenstance, which clearly is impossible with the God of Scripture.  And to accuse Christ as having sin "in" Him, and that He was "evil incarnate" is absolute blasphemy. He was without sin, a perfect and pleasing sacrifice on the cross in the place of elect sinners. Is. 53 as well as the New Testament say that the Father was well pleased with Him and that He is without sin. 

Psa 22:24  For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; Neither has He hidden His face from him; But when he cried to Him for help, He heard. 

Isa 53:10  But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

Mat 3:17  and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” 

So after exposing him repeatedly, someone finally flagged Duncan's blasphemy. This must've happened recently, but I don't know if it led to him being fired or not. 

https://www.gracechurch.org/sermons/8037

Quote:

A correction has been made to this sermon at 43:58, removing a phrase. The following is a note from Pastor Austin Duncan regarding the correction:

"'Imputation' is the word I should have said, not 'incarnation.’ This truth is found throughout all of Scripture. 2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, Gal. 4:13, and Isaiah 53 clearly teach that Jesus having no sin Himself, was treated as if He sinned. That's imputation. Jesus was not ontologically evil and He committed no sin whatsoever. Christ carried our sins and bore the wrath of God on behalf of all who believe. Jesus is perfectly holy in His righteous life and in His atoning death. That's the imputation of our sin on the eternally perfect, sinless Son of God."

End quote.

However, I don't think they edited the other blasphemous remarks:

Jesus is abandoned by God: 15:40 - 19:00

God could not look upon sin especially in His own Son 17:38

Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross 18:25

Time mark  41:40 "His distress, pain,  trouble, misery,  wretchedness, misfortune, sorrow, adversity, torment, and tribulation, is not ultimate."


Besides that, evil can't be imputed INTO Christ. He was very clear on what he stated at the the time. Jesus is eternally sinless and our sin, while imputed or charged to His account was not put INTO HIM. That's still abject heresy. That he held to this is clearly shown when he ALSO said sin was "in Him" and our sins He "bore IN His body". That's exactly what lead to his summariazing such blasphemy as "evil incarnate" because He wrongly holds to sin having been PUT INTO CHRIST, rather than symbolically placed UPON Him as was the case in during the annual atonement using animals. The animals never had sin placed IN them. 

Alistair Begg Prays At MacArthur's Memorial Service But Quadruples Down On His Sin

Alastair Begg quadruples down on his "wisdom" to show "compassion" toward a transsexual/gay person by supporting their blasphemous union called a "wedding". Go here for my article of Begg's tripling down in unrepentance.

Quote:

"If people said, 'What do you know about Begg?' I don't think compassion is necessarily the first word that they would use," he said.

"I'm not trying to be unkind to myself," he said regarding how others might assess him. "I think, realistically, they might say he's very direct, they might say he's funny. They could say a bunch of stuff, but I don't think they'd say 'compassion.'"

"So now, in my one attempt at compassion, I should have known better," he added, as the audience laughed. "I don't do compassion. I do compassion, all hell breaks loose against me."

End quote.

So according to Begg, this was a PR stunt to make him look more compassionate. It backfired. Moreover, he himself is mocking Scripture including the very letter of Jude that condemns such a twisted view:

Jud 1:7  just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 

This denies God's absolute sovereignty over the salvation of a person, too because it's from a pragmatic stance of "trying to win a person" to salvation. It also denies the doctrine of Election. Both MacArthur and Begg claim to hold to these doctrines, yet their sin and compromise regarding a gay or transsexual wedding proves they don't. They fear rejection of the ungodly. Instead of encouraging Christians to stand firm against such blasphemy as a gay/transsexual wedding which is what noble men of the faith did (like Noah, Lot, and John the Baptist), Begg and MacArthur are encouraging cowardice, compromise, and treason.
Moreover, the believer's disposition is not to celebrate what God says in Romans 1 is unnatural, wicked, and ungodly (see Rom. 1): 

Jud 1:23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with FEAR, HATINGEVEN THE GARMENT STAINED BY THE FLESH.

Shame on Alastair Begg. He's twisting words to deceive Christians. It's not "compassionate" to celebrate blasphemy of God, His name, His created order, and His creation of genders & marriage. That's literally HATRED. It's also NOT the disposition of Lot toward the same thing.  

Isa 5:20  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 shrewd in their own sight! 

Isa 31:2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will arise against the house of the evildoers and AGAINST THE HELPERS of those who work iniquity.

Rom 1:32 Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but GIVE APPROVALE to those who practice them.

Rather, we're to have this disposition toward such unnatural, immoral abominations:

Gen 19:6 Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door after him, 7 and said, “I beg you, my brothers, DO NOT ACT SO WICKEDLY.

2Pe 2:7 and if he rescued righteous Lot ,GREATLY DISTRESSED by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was TORMENTING his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard)

Jud 1:23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with FEAR, HATING EVEN THE GARMENT STAINED BY THE FLESH. 

Heb 11:7  By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 

The loving thing to do is to NOT go to such a blasphemous occasion NOR to give such a relationship validity. Instead one should make it clear this is heinous sin, is earning them death, and call them to repent as Jude clearly states: 

Jud 1:22  And have mercy on those who doubt; 23  save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.  Begg's "wisdom" is earthly and demonic.

Jas 3:13  Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.  Jas 3:14  But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  Jas 3:15  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  Jas 3:16  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.  Jas 3:17  But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.  Jas 3:18  And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.  

Jas 4:4  You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 

Heretic Molinist William Craig Lane Is Clearly An Open Theist

*Molinist William Craig Lane has made it very clear that he is in fact an Open Theist (should anyone ever had been in doubt previously).

As reported by Dissenter: 

Here’s what Craig actually said—verbatim:

“One might think that if God is omniscient, then he can’t learn anything new, because to be omniscient is to know all truth, it’s to know all the facts there are. But in fact, an omniscient being can learn things that are new if he is in time.

If God is in time, then at any particular moment of time, he knows all the truths that there are at that moment. But if truth changes over time, then God’s knowledge will change over time as well. So to illustrate, say at a certain moment, God knows that Bill Craig is now eating lunch....

So if God is in time, even though he knows all the truths that there are at any moment of time, because truths change over time, God will in fact learn new truths, new facts as time elapses.”

End quote.

Dissenter goes on to say:

Quote:

But it seems Craig wants a God who is in time, reacting and adjusting like a weather app. Why? Because a God who is outside of time, who decrees all things, who is immutable and omniscient and sovereign, is a terrifying God to those who still want to sit on the throne themselves.

This is the dirty little secret behind all forms of Open Theism. It’s not about God. It’s about man being in control of himself. Intellectual control. Spiritual control. The control to define a God you can argue with, tame, and keep on a leash.

End quote.

*What is Molinism"

Molinism is related to Open Theism. It's where today's Open Theism cam from, along with 

Molinism is named after the Roman Catholic Jesuit, Luis de Molina from the 1500's. It tries to "reconcile" the sovereignty of God with man's "free will". It denies God's absolute sovereign control over all creation and man's total depravity. Molinists claim God has "Middle knowledge", that God knows all the potential outcomes of theoreticals or hypotheticals (if you were born 100 years earlier or if you married a different person).  Of course Scripture destroys such notions particularly with the whole nature of prophecy (eg Judas in  John 13:18; Acts 1:16; of Jesus: Is 7:14 & Luke 2:12; Luke 4:21,Luke 22:37, John 19:36; of Abraham in James 2:23 and Rom 4-5).

Psa 139:16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. 

Act 17:26  And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 

Eph 1:11  In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 

Eph 1:19  and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 

Rom 8:28  And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 

Rom 8:29  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

Rom 8:30  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 

1Pe 1:1  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2  according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 

There is no "free will" of man. Man is born dead in his sins, hostile toward God, without any good in him, enslaved to his sin nature (Eph. 2:1-5; Rom.3:10-18;6:16-17,20; 8:7-9; 1Cor. 2:14).

Eph 2:1  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 

Eph 2:2  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 

Eph 2:3  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 

Eph 2:4  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 

Eph 2:5  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 

Open Theism is the logical end of Arminianism's free willism.  It deifies man to be the determiner of what happens. It removes God as absolute and sole sovereign God who is reigning over all things, bringing history to His decreed conclusion. It instead sits in the seat of the ancient Serpent of Gen. 3 attacking God's name, nature, and word by dangling the . It was the devil's sin of seeking to be like the Most High God and then seducing Adam and Eve:

Gen 3:4  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

The god of Molinism, Open Theism, and Lane is a foreign little god that is powerless and ever shifting, ever having to LOOK TO MAN to gain knowledge and then to act. This is contrary to the whole of Scripture:

Is 40: 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?

Isa 46:9  remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, 10  declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, 'My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,'

Psa 50:21  These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

Isa 40:18  To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? 

Moreover, the very name---God's memorial name forever (Ex. 3:14-15) is Yahweh: the Self Existent One. It reflects God's eternal nature. Jesus in John 8:24, 58-59 declared Himself to be eternal as well ("I am") who was before Abraham's existence. John the Baptist also declared Jesus to exist before his own existence although John was born 6 months before Jesus. This also demolishes the damnable doctrine of Open Theism.

Job 38-42 declare the unreachable knowledge of God OUTSIDE OF TIME.

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

Another wrong view of Open Theism's heresy is that God is limited to the constraints of time just because He works inside time. They and their predecessors the Molinists, constrain God's knowledge to both time and man's experience. They see time as a fixed state.

To quote Eric Powers in his "Is There Any Warrant For Doctrinal Triage?",

“Eternity is not a measurement of time. Eternity is forever. On the other hand, time is a  measurement because it has a beginning point and a point of cessation. On the other hand, God’s existence is immeasurable.” 

Moreover, God created time and will end it therefore it is linear and finite (Gen. 1-2; 2Peter 3:10-11; Rev. 21).

Open Theism has a god that has the fallen attributes of man: very limited, finite, and with error. This is what Scripture calls "doctrines of demons" in 1 Tim. 4:1 and "wisdom" from demons in James 3:15. It comes straight from Satan himself, the Ancient Serpent who lied from the beginning in Gen. 3.  It is of unbelief and rejects the God of Scripture, His nature, name, and Word. Moreover, it is at war with the thrice Holy God of Israel. It is damnable doctrine created by the devil to elevate man and lower God.

Flat SUN Theory

 

Makes just as much sense as the demonic and delusional "flat earth" theory. Scripture is clear: the earth is a sphere. All planets and moons in our galaxy are globes. Physics, eyewitness accounts, photos, all confirm this obvious truth. 

1Ti 1:4  nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. 

1Ti 4:1  Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 

1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, guard the deposit entrusted to you. Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge,” 

1Ti 6:21  for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. Grace be with you. 

Amillennialism Destroyed By Scripture

God, who cannot lie and who is faithful and true to His Word, will keep His covenants with Abraham and David. True faith trusts in His promises and timing. Amillennialism is destroyed by these passages.

Rom 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

Rom 15:5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

Rom 15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 15:8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

Rom 15:9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.”

Rom 15:10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

Rom 15:11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”

Rom 15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”

Rom 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Tit 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began 3 and at the proper time manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by the command of God our Savior;

Amillennials do not have perseverance and encouragement of Scripture and God's eternal promises to Abraham and David. They aren't believing in the Scriptures and God's promises therefore they reject His Messiahship (kingship) and God's sovereignty by redefining Scripture by use of darkened minds of speculations and allegories via "spiritual" things. God's Covenants include physical realities such as land, boundaries, a city with measurements, a king who rules the nations with justice from His throne. Amillennials deny God's absolute and unchanged sovereignty, by saying that the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants are now turned over to the Gentiles and are merely spiritual in nature. They created a Plan B simply because it hasn't happened on their time line, having given up hope, encouragement and preservation in HIS promises as HE clearly spelled out in detail throughout all of Scripture. Now they hope in mere man. Their false doctrine leads to ungodliness (why would it do anything else? They deny that Christ is literally King and will literally rule and judge them, so there's no fear of God in their eyes (Rom. 3:18). Moreover, God's promise to Abraham remains unchanged because HE is unchanging. Replacement/Covenant theology attacks His very name, nature, and Word: Heb 6:13  For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself,  Heb 6:14  saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.”  Heb 6:15  And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise.  Heb 6:16  For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation.  Heb 6:17  So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,  Heb 6:18  so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.  Heb 6:19  We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain