James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote in his Epistle, "My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment" (James 3:1 NKJV) One of the fundamental truths of the ministry is that all men and women of God, no matter what else their calling may be, are ALL called to be teachers first. Since most Christians never read their Bibles, the vast majority of what people believe about the Bible, about Christ and about God centers around what they are told in Bible studies, classrooms and from the pulpits of the churches of the world. Not a day goes by without a man or woman or God telling or sharing something from the Word of God with someone who is looking to them to guide them into the way, the light and the truth. The Ephesians 4 Centre for Learning places a premium on rightly dividing the Word of God. Our founder and president, Pastor Ray Young, has personally read through the entire Bible twelve times from cover to cover. We stress the literal accuracy of the Word of God. Unless specifically indicated in context by the Scriptures themselves, the Word of God is not to be taken symbolically or allegorically. Nor are teachers allowed to change the meaning of the words, or what they represent. II Peter 1:20-21(NKJV) says "...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any PRIVATE INTERPRETATION, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit". What does that Scripture mean? Simply put, if a passage says, for example, that Jesus is talking to John, it MEANS JUST THAT. The Ephesians 4 Centre for Learning does not and will not support the allegorical or symbolic re-interpretation of Scriptures to satisfy the whim of those who simply want God to tell them what they want to hear. As an example, for over 1,000 years, most Scriptures referring to the return of Israel to their homeland were viewed by the church as symbolic or allegorical because everyone simply "knew" that the Jews would never be in their homeland again. Amazing, isn't it, how all of those so-called experts were completely wrong! We teach the Word of God as the literal, complete truth, to be believed, obeyed and taught.