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Consider it done. Get well soon brother!
Very good article indeed! Thanks for sharing that. I have also read some of Dave Hunt's commentary, so I look forward to seeing what you have to share from him.
God Bless!!!
Outline:
1) Creation: Plans and eternity in their hearts.
2) Salvation: Substitutionary atonement predestined from before the foundation of the earth for His elect.
3) Sanctification: Making us into a fit vessel to enter heaven
4) Glorification: Complete salvation of the body after the soul and spirit
God places people in our lives which intersect at the time and place of His choosing. We are adopted into His family; and hence are part of the army of God who rules and reigns with Christ and is given access to His throne in heaven. This is accomplished by giving us a new heart which is able to love the unlovable; and in turn to hate all the things of the world; flesh and the Devil which were controlling us previously. It puts to death the old man; in reverse order first restoring life to the dead soul and spirit of man then eventually the body at the Rapture and/or Resurrection from the dead. His love endures even when heaven and earth pass away; but only His people can live in the new heaven.
Because we are created in His image and spiritually one with Him; the punishment of the wicked is for our benefit as much as anything else. It gives us the mind of Christ; to love Him and obey His commandments and also to abhor evil and any other false gospel. As His ambassadors we are sent forth to proclaim His salvation from hell in all our actions; and accompany it with service to others whether it be our employers or a beggar on the street. Worship is a praiseworthy event for us; which is compelled forth by His love and communion with Him. We are privileged therefore as a child to follow His voice and His sheep hear Him.
I will see about going through this outline in greater detail in my next few posts.
This is the first time I've heard anyone say that. I am not sure how this pastor came to that conclusion but these messages were to seven separate churches in Asia.
The Lord is giving messages specifically for these seven. But they are not the only churches in these areas.
It is kind of interesting that if you do a little digging, you will find that each one of these cities is the head of the postal district in that area. So these are the main cities within their districts.
And there are other churches around, but the Lord picked out seven. And each church has its own problems, and each church has its own good points.
But everybody's church today has some of these things in it. In fact, if you put them all together, you would have the complete seven messages to the church before Christ comes back.
What if the rapture is a doctrine of man, and not the truth of scripture?
God's word cannot contradict itself.
God Bless YOU!
There is only ONE church, Christ.
Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, are the temple thereof.
2 Corinthians 6:16 ... ye are the temple of God .....
Matthew 19:6 Wherefore THEY (you and Christ) are no more TWAIN, but ONE flesh....
This happen at Christ's resurrection, you were made a JOINT HEIR, you and Christ arose as ONE flesh, the new creation, the TRUE church.
God Bless YOU!
That is my understanding also. I believe that 1 Thessalonians Chapter 4 is speaking of the rapture, whereas Revelation Chapter 19 is speaking about the 2nd coming of Christ.
I see this as two separate events (Rapture & 2nd coming). My belief is that we will be at the marriage supper of the lamb during the tribulation, and after the 7-year tribulation is complete, then the Lord will return (2nd coming), and we come back with him.
Revelation 19:14 tells us that the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses (that would be us), clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Clothed in fine linen, white and clean. We see this mentioned in Revelation 19:8 which says, "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white:"
The word white is the word bright. Clean and white: for fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
So we, as His bride, we will be clothed in white, fine linen. And notice that this is all taking place in heaven. We are there. The tribulation is still taking place on earth while we are at the marriage supper with Christ prior to His 2nd coming.
Something else I notice is that at the rapture, Christ does not come all the way to the earth. We meet Him in the air. But at His 2nd coming, He will physically touch down onto the Mount of Olives.
Blessings to you!
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for restoring the media accounts for CSmith. We ask that you clean up the effects of this hacking on the remaining account quickly. We ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, today we come to You asking for healing of the injury Adam has suffered and that You will bring relief from the pain involved. We ask that this injury is healed in the best way. Father, bless Adam in all of his ways. Strengthen him as he endeavors to walk with You each day by the Holy Spirit within him. Guide Adam in his daily work and family life so that he and his family are strong in their witness for You. Lead Adam in every decision and undertaking, thatit will be accomplished to Your glory and honor and praise. In the name of Jesus we come and pray today on Adam's behalf. men.
God bless you.
Why do I think that those two incidents don't match together if they refer to the same event, the rapture? Anybody wants to answer?
ncluding 'they also which pierced him.'(Re.1:7) The Jews would not hear of the offer of Pilate, instead,"When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucifyhim, crucifyhim. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucifyhim: for I find no fault in him( John 19:4-6)".
Jerusalem as it is inhabited now is more of controversy and what is occupying all their attention: How to divide Jerusalem into two states? These are spiritually wilderness that is fit for wild asses and satyrs. Isaiah hits their problem right on spot,"But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he(the Lord) shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness(Is.34:11)".
"And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.(Is.25:7)" So where shall Messiah-King set up his Millennial Reign? As mentioned in the quote from Hosea it shall be latter days. The Church redeemed from the earth as in the Vision of the Woman clothed with the Son (Re.12) is represented by 144,000 mentioned in Revelation 14. They are on Mount Sion seen standing with the Lamb. Gentile Nations and the remnant of the Jews who are genuinely contrite over having rejected their Savior draw to the risen Christ and flock towards him. The Vail that is spread over the nations shall be lifted.
"Thus saith the LordGod; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her./And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations, and my statutes more than the countries that are round about her: for they have refused my judgments and my statutes, they have not walked in them."(vv.5-6)
"Therefore thus saith the LordGod; Behold, I, even I, am against thee, and will execute judgments in the midst of thee in the sight of the nations."(v.8)
There is a literal Jerusalem, and as mentioned in the Book of the Revelation a Jerusalem spiritually called many other cities. In short literal Jerusalem and New Jerusalem, which is to be understood spiritually are entirely consistent with the Salvation Plan of God.
When John narrates the Vision of Two Witnesses gives synonym of this great city of David with this clue, 'where also our Lord was crucified'. In rejecting the Son who was sent from God the nation of Israel brought judgment upon the city. First we shall consider the quote, "And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified(Re.11:8)". Jerusalem as of old is finished. Jesus before his passion says in no uncertain terms,"For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessedishe that cometh in the name of the Lord(Matt.23:39). Perhaps question arises,'Is not the present state of Israel fulfillment of prophecies of old? The prophet Hosea refers to this,"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, andwithoutteraphim:/Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days(Hos.3:4-5)."
In order to set the sequence of events leading to their realization in proper order we have this word of our Savior Lord "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory(Matt.24:30-31)". We have another verse to consider,"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him(Re.1:7).
Here we see judgment of God in terms of the spirit. In order to show this difference we have the Spiritual Rock Christ following the Israelites in the wilderness. Babylon exile as with diaspora after the destruction of Jerusalem completes judgment of the nations- Egypt and Jerusalem thus represent body and spirit. Literal Jerusalem as the city of God is over. Instead New Jerusalem represents the soul. Jesus has completed the mandate given by his Father.( Psalms 2 and 110 make it clear the seat for Messiah is on the Mount that is not any literal place but of the new earth. It must occur before the great tribulation and at the end satan shall be loosed for a brief period- and from then on events move very swiftly to the Judgment and the Marriage of the Lamb.
'Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.' David predicts Millennial Reign of his Lord from New Jerusalem. (He appears in mid-air and gathers his saints). These large movements of the Jews and the Gentiles constitute God's promise to Abraham (Ge.12:3) becoming fulfilled.
God commands Ezekiel to shave his head and beard, signifies that he is shorn of his glory. As a watchmen what he speaks is as though coming from Him(4:2). As a sign what he does symbolically is underwritten by God,'and I will draw out a sword after them(v.2).
In 4:7 we came across this line,'and thine arm shall be uncovered' while he prophesies to them, to indicate his helplessness in the iniquity of them. God shall avenge him which is made clear by vv.3-4. Shall not God avenge His children who cry unto him against those powers-that-be who think they are expendable on account of their color or station in life? Israel is a stand-in for many other nations. 'and cast them into the midst of the fire, and burn them in the fire; for thereof shall a fire come forth into all the house of Israel(v.4).
What is a third part? In the lexicon of the Spirit number Three refers to the Son. The third refers to the tripartite nature of man,body soul and spirit. In his human likeness he was identical with man in all aspects but without sin. In the Book of the Revelation also we come across it in connection with the seven angels with the seven trumpets (Re.8). In the Book of Ezekiel we read thus "...Divide the hair./Thou shalt burn with fire a third part in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are fulfilled: and thou shalt take a third part, and smite about it with a knife: and a third part thou shalt scatter in the wind; and I will draw out a sword after them(5:1-2)."
The three refers to Trinity and when we translate it in terms of judgment we are looking at sin of rebellion in terms of body, spirit and soul. In Torah we have tetragrammaton which when transliterated is YHWH. It is written without vowels, Trinity is somewhat similar. When we consider the Lord Almighty he is expressed as the Father, the Son who is he but the Great Shepherd of souls, and the Holy Ghost.
In an earlier post we mentioned that God forbade Isaac from going to Egypt as his father did in the time of famine. God allowed Abraham to go since it was the necessity of his body. Similarly it was self preservation that necessitated the flight to Egypt surrounding the birth of Jesus. This was predicted by prophet( Hosea 11:1)
How did children of Israel end up in Egypt? In the eyes of God what the patriarchs did to Joseph was sin against his father Jacob. The nation of Israel had to be delivered from Egypt as a synonym for sin. It was against the spirit and crossing the red sea would be in the larger picture of Salvation Plan of God a sacrament, of dying to sin in body. The deliverance of Israelites under the hand of Moses(faithful in all his house) is like a kangaroo word and the Spirit sets him a double for Jesus 'over his own house.'
"And theLordsaid, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them." (v.13)
Here the parable of the Prodigal Son comes to mind. Far away from his father's the son is reduced to eat the husks given to the swines. Diaspora of Jews exposed them to alien customs and their traditions. Defiled bread is like the catch in the Parable of the Dragnet. the bad will be thrown away.
What a terrible thing to feel hungry despite of just having had a square meal? Body craves for nourishment may be it is on account of some ailment that body cannot absorb food. We have seen patients with Bulimea, it is a disorder. In terms of spiritual ailment what is an addiction? Your craving for drugs for instance goes deeper than your need for it.
In a permissive society love of man and woman does not satisfy; experimenting before marriage does not prepare the spouse to find happiness; the more they seek it the end leaves them much worse. Wages of sin simply debases the user and the used. The exiled nation would consume away for their iniquity without addressing their rebellious nature.
Isaiah would say, "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward./Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint./From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment./Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.(Is.1:4-7)
The division of scribes and Pharisees merely created tradition for the Jew to observe. Did it make them perfect? As Jesus would observe, "All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.'For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers (Matt.23:3-4)". Law and traditions of man in themselves did not have power to restore fellowship with God. So Jesus excused the disciples who did not wash their hands before eating, "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.(Matt.15:11)" Later he explained it to his disciples thus,"Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?/But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man./For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:These are the things which defile a man: (vv.17-20)"
Ezekiel was a watchman and a sign. The sign still is as forceful now as was then. We do not know how the people took to the prophet eating defiled food. In the age where the billionaires are spared from paying taxes we see the poor scavenging. Sin has given mind its numbness, it would seem.
God first commanded Ezekiel to serve as a sign and he was to lie on his left side and on his right side for the iniquity of Israel and Judah respectively. Period also is specified, 'and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year(v.6)
He was to be rendered immobile 'till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.'. What had he to do with the siege of Jerusalem? Collective sin of Israel and Judah however exacted its toll on him. Similarly why are we held accountable for the weird climate and global warming despite of being conscious of environment and conservation? Nations who destroyed it for quick profits and continue to do with impunity shall go on from bad to verse. Every citizen as Ezekiel in his day was powerless. So siege of Jerusalem is a sign that judgment of God shall surely descend on them. Their reliance on wealth shall be plundered and it cast to the four winds as it were.
God set a diet for Ezekiel in which barley cakes baked 'with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight./And theLord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them(vv.12-13).
Have we not seen something similar becoming familiar? We are computer savvy but are we good at separating facts from alternate facts? Do we not see people figuratively gobbling up fake news and misinformation peddled through Social Media platforms? It is moral filth coming out of man.
Tradition gave scribes and Pharisees a stick to beat Jesus with. He knew no sin and did no sin but the tradition of man leveled charge "Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread."
What was law they made much of? For example the question of divorce as instituted by the Law of Moses merely arose because of sin. Jesus explained, "because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives."
What is the role of man in the creative Will of God?
He is a sign which is understood as naturally represented in the Fellowship of God with Man. As an emblem of it in the Book of the Revelation we see four beasts and twenty-four elders seated about the throne set in heaven. These serve as memorial to the Creative Wisdom and Power of God. Whereas man and other creation serve as the reality of the divine Will on the earth. It marks peace with God. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth(Ge.1:28)".Everlasting covenant between God and Man covers both heaven and the earth.
The angel of his presence is a sign as to God's sovereignty is not only over man but also his world. The living creature that is introduced in the Book of Ezekiel brings that to our mind. Living creature symbolized the place of man in context of other creation where he was the steward. For this reason ox, eagle lion represented man as representation of the Man in the Fellowship of God. The Spirit uses Adam as a representational figure. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:(Ro.5:12)"It is connected to Jesus Christ,"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous(5:19)".
God sets Ezekiel as His watchman and as a sign. God sets Ezekiel as His watchman and as a sign. The Spirit also tells how we are to consider our days. As expressions day and night, evening and morning as mentioned in the creation account shall have their own meaning."Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity."(v.4)
In this age of pandemic a term like lockdown is as familiar but was as least understood at the time of Ezekiel. . God commands Ezekiel, 'Go, shut thyself within thine house.' Why Ezekiel had to suffer for the sin of rebellion that characterized the house of Israel? One answer is the nature of sin. It is an insult to the Holiness of God. God is long-suffering but that does not mean He is not taking counter measures to combat it. Secondly one always has to pay for sin of others. Towards this God had already prepared a body. The begotten Son explains it. Before his advent God raises people to control the spread virus and at times root out clusters of it. Herd immunity is achieved by partial judgments.
After the revolt of Korah and Dathan God commands Aaron thus:"You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar,so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.6I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,dedicated to theLord to do the work at the tent of meeting.(Nu.18:5-6) Significant is this line,'so that my wrath will not fall on the Israelites.' They were a gift to the people. God is particular as who should be double for his Son. He is the Mediator, High Priest and the Apostle. Whosoever chosen by God had to be by law of Gradation compatible. In the following verse he says, 'I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift to you,dedicated to theLord to do the work." They were to work and intercession meant he has a new motto: 'God works hitherto and so I work. It is life of faith or total surrender.
"And he saw thatthere wasno man, and wondered thatthere was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him(Is.59:16)".Why there was no intercessor? What answer shall modern Christianity give?
Goodmorning.
That is going to be the climax to all things!
But there is atleast 1007 years of unfinished business here on earth that the Bible has a lot to say about that has not been fulfilled.
You see it disclosed chronologically in Revelation.
Revelation 20:1-3.
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Revelation 20:7-10.
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and MaGog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.....
All this comes before Revelation 21:1-4.
"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
A day to look forward to!
Have a blessed day
hen I arose, and went forth into the plain: and, behold, the glory of theLord stood there, as the glory which I saw by the river of Chebar: and I fell on my face.
Here v.23 ends with the expression 'fell on my face' on beholding the glory of God. It is significant we have the same expression coming at the end of the first chapter where he on witnessing the glory of God falls down ."This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake(1:28)".
When the risen Christ reveals to John we read a similar expression, 'And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead (Re.1:17).' The vision of God that Isaiah saw in the year that King Uzziah died was no less impressive but the vision crushes him,'Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts(Is.6:5)".
When God takes over the life of man there is no face to save. King Saul after becoming an enemy of God requires Old Samuel to walk with him while people are looking. So he has sense of royal dignity to save. Is it not how some behave after having made a shipwreck of their faith lives? They still for the grandstand have something to show: shake their prosperity as reward for their services to God. How clever? Saul began well but in harboring implacable hatred and jealousy he backslid from God. It is true in our times.
There is no yea and no with God. Either your heart is entirely given to do His bidding or none at all. Total surrender is total sanctification which in the case of Ezekiel makes him 'fall on his face.'
It is what faith does. Its effect is total. So whether it is mind's eye or physical vision in question faith cannot be divided from the heart. Flesh profits nothing so the glory of God when seen must draw the entire body to respond.