Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 87

Matt.14:13-21 "Feeding Five Thousand"

v.13 Jesus was there not to right the wrongs of temporal powers; nor was he there as a social reformer to create changes from the existing environment but to bring the huddled masses to the light. He began preaching only when they same the light shine on them. "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet," and what in his time was received in indifference,- so he was a prophet without honor' was now beginning to make sense to the generation of Jesus, and feeding the five thousand stands as culmination of the Word, cast forth upon the waters, connecting with Jesus as the bread from heaven. It is thus every word of God shall be fulfilled in the time appointed.

In the Law of Moses towards restitution it is laid down,"If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep." (Ex.22:1) The ox is man's livelihood so man and ox is considered as one. Feeding Five thousand (5x1000) is an indication of symbolic partaking. "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."( John 6:53). (In this context number Four signifies The word become Flesh. Jesus Christ as the Savior in terms of four cardinal direction. Salvator mundi, the Savior of the World).

The Spirit gives us a number 5x1000. Thousand always refers to the end times. So Feeding Five Thousand is a tag for the humanity of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of the above mentioned quote from St John. We shall similarly discuss feeding of the the Four Thousand in terms of the Word.

Matt.14 "Herod"

vv.1-12

Herod beheaded John the Baptist on a whim. His personal honor was at stake lest he did not commit the crime and give his head to the damsel who has had not an iota of understanding. One who lives for pleasure is dead since truth with which one may stake claim, rightly so, for life everlasting is let go. What else is he good for if he had lost his saltines, truth?

It was for this reason Jesus said,'Let the dead bury their dead'. ("But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.1 Ti.5:6)They are drunk with power as Herod was and mindless pleasure as we get to see nowadays in news media are like wise dead. "They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again."(Pr.23:35). Such are the dead men walking of which Herod is a good example. What was his honor worth when 'he feared the multitude'? In such a pusillanimous spirit what made him equate John whom he had beheaded with Jesus? For that matter what has resurrection to do with one who was given to pleasure. It is what we call truth in his inward parts, the inner man nudging his callous conscience to itself. The Preacher says, "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."(Ec.3:11).We have the key in this verse, "Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."( John 6:28-29) 'The work that God maketh' is believing in the Son whom he sent. So Jesus is the only Way for 'the dead', "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light."(Ep.5:14)

Thanks for your reply. I value your input.

Who would you say is then referred to, towards whom we should be honoring in the commandment of "honor your father and your mother?

If we are to hate our father and mother and even yourself to be a disciple, whom is here referred to?

I am in fair understanding of all, just that I have no scriptural proof or enough insight to be able to avail such to others. Hoping you could maybe help?

Thank-you

Matt.13 "Like begets like"

"Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord."(v.51)

Jesus having explained the parables to the disciples treats each of them as a scribe 'a man that is an householder.' They had understood what the power of the Spirit could do in their missionary circuit so the understanding came from their association with Jesus as the Word become flesh. These disciples were called before the foundation of the world. ( John 17:8)

Principle of Similitude sets Jesus Christ as the bread from heaven. The body of man is nourished by food. How it is set in terms of his body spirit and soul we can apply in terms of the Word sent forth. (Is.55:11) The preacher gives us an instance."Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days." The twelve disciples are a proof to it. Their association gives them an understanding of the kingdom of heaven as never before. Jesus as the Word become flesh.

When God created man it was 'in our image after our likeness' Consequently Trinity must be compared the like compared with the like. God breathed into the nostrils and made him a living soul. So truth is knowable. Heart can be most deceitful in man of which the despair of the prophet we read here. Despair of the conflict between law of sin against the Law of Spirit he speaks as an ongoing war, "My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war."(Je.4:19) Soul, sovereignty of which rests upon God and it is the reality of man. The nacre around which the word of God builds up compares to a pearl."Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:/Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."(vv.45-46) Man sells all as the disciples who left all behind in order to win Christ.

Matt.13:54-59 "A Prophet's honor"

Prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of the Savior. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:"(Is.9:6) He was delivering the Messianic prophecies as was directed by the Spirit of Christ to a generation whose pride was given, and we see it further down,"The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars."(v.10) In the shadow of great calamity coming over them from Syria were they unduly worried. Oh no! They knew their Scripture and were awaiting the coming of Messiah-King. Only they did not connect the Promise with the Law given to them and their heart remained in neglect while their observances according to the traditions of their fathers went on as before. Isaiah also had said of the Messiah as a tender plant growing up before them. (Is.53:2)

Here we see Isaiah was misunderstood since by principle of Similitude he referred to the tree of life planted by God in the Garden. The like begets like. Parables of the kingdom of heaven must be comparing the like with like. Isaiah was correct while the nation of Israel read his message wrongly. As with Jesus in their eyes Prophet Isaiah was without honour. "A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house./ And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."

Literally one may take the narrative mode of the Spirit and make the woods disappear while counting all those leaves as we are familiar. How many times the word perfection comes up in KJV is one example. Spiritually comparing the perfection of the Father in Jesus Christ by abiding in him and seeing the light with his yet another. His grace is what makes our perfection sit well in the sight of his Father. The Spirit has set this down for instruction in righteousness.

I have been presented with a question which gave rise to another question:

In Matthew 12:49 Jesus refers to His brothers and sisters and even His mother as His followers whom He is surrounded by. This He replies when asked by His biological family. Should it then be considered possible that the commandment of "Honor you father and your mother" refers to your elderly persons within the Body of Christ as your "mothers and fathers", and not your biological parents?

If we are to be willing to hate our father and mother and ... ( Luke 14:26) to be a disciple, does these again refer to our biological parents?

Could someone with Hebrew understandings assist me by explaining if there is differences in the term mother and father in the different verses, and what is actual intended?

Thank you

Matt.13 the kingdom of heaven

Principle of Similitude serves the kingdom of heaven to be set on the same scale for comparison with natural world to which the key to understand the truth is in the Son of Man. We shall briefly consider spiritual meaning of the three parables where Jesus Christ is the Way, the truth and the Life. The like begets the life as "Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit."(7:17-18). These are pure words (Ps.12:6)

The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field(v.44)

Man is formed of the dust of the ground. What was the treasure hid in a field: Isaiah refers to the pit from which we are dug up. "Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged."(Is.51:1) Possessing this treasure would entail being conformed to death of Jesus and resurrection, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death," and it means stripping oneself of everything else of worldly advantages which is what the man does,"the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.. (Ph.3:10)

2) is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls.

A merchant trades, if he gives up an advantage it is to gain another in its place. It is thus man who in search of goodly pearls goes about it. "For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.(1 Pe.2:25). Soul is the truth about which a meaningful trade off can take place."but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." (Ph.3:12)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind" The net serves as Word wide web bringing every thing in its dragnet.

Matt.13:33 "Parable of the Leaven"

Soul is neither in our material body which shall dissolve with death. Spirit is immaterial leaving no testimony of the individual. Soul in short is betwixt and between. It is the mystery which only by faith can be revealed. It is like the signature in a legal document and it shall speak in a court of law for the person. Jesus was the Man the message. Gospel of God became Gospel of Christ in the manner he made manifest. In our bodies we bear the message so dying to the world and sin by baptism we declare where are lives are henceforth found. In heavenly places and groaning to put on a body not made with hands. Body,spirit and soul are alike involved in our transformation which is as mysterious as a caterpillar morph into a butterfly.

In the parable of the leaven"The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened (v.33)" the doctrine of Jesus made body spirit and soul subject to it.

The Sign of the Fleece in the life of Gideon explains how physical bodies change into spiritual bodies about the soul. Ju.6:36-40

Matt.13:45-46 "One Pearl"

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:/Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it".

Parables of Jesus are mysteries, the centre of gravity of which falls in his example. His divinity and humanity in the manner he solved the two-in-one problem made the Word doable. It is of significance that in eternity we read the holy city of God is adorned with pearls, "And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl(Re.21:21) We are considering formation of soul as one pearl of great price. Having escaped condemnation we are many members of the body of Christ, collectively soul has become merged into one. So prayer of Jesus 'that they may be one, as we are,' is our reality. ( John 17:11)

It was not simply a question of ethics or moral that directed our lives but the Spirit. Our in-house tutor held a candle so our inner man may grow from glory to glory. It learned to trust, man child of our redemption.

So when Jesus says, 'Learn of me' we are exercising faith. If Jesus could forgive his enemies so can I. He shed his blood for us and he would having fulfilled the will of his Father say'It is finished'. This is the doctrine of Jesus where his life is on the line. In perfecting the will of his Father he testified faith. There is only one faith. It is the soul representing a child of God where faith is the DNA of our Father.

"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?/Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?(Mk.36-37)"

To recap: Body of Christian is to live as Christ did in his body; with the indwelling Spirit we give faith its best possible demonstration so we glorify our Savior Lord . This is Christian Living.

Hi Momsage.

The following verse " Psalms 1:1-6 speaks volumes!

There's a lot of doctrine built around this.

Vs 3 "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, THAT BRINGETH FORTH HIS FRUIT IN HIS SEASON; HIS LEAF ALSO SHALL NOT WITHER; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

(HIS LEAF SHALL NOT WITHER!

Forever being fruitful!)

Jeremiah 17:7-8 is another one that picks up on this.

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, NEITHER SHALL CEASE FROM YIELDING FRUIT.

Jesus uses this idiom in John 7:37-39 "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water

(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Also see John 4:10.

THANK GOD FOR HIS HOLYSPIRIT THAT SEALS AND GUIDES US!

Psalms 1:1-6.

THE UNGODLY ARE NOT SO: but are like the CHAFF which the wind driveth away.

THEREFORE THE UNGODLY SHALL NOT STAND IN THE JUDGMENT,

(They will have their own Judgment)

NOR SINNERS IN THE CONGREGATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

(THE CHAFF IS NOT BINDING TO THE TREE AND HAS NO ROOTS AND NO FRUIT.)

More on the chaff. Matthew 3:11-12

Praise the Lord!

This is why Psalms 1:1 says "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

God bless.

Yes, Momsage, this is such good advice and one of my favorite verses.

PSALMS 1: 1-2

1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the council of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

What a wonder example for us. God Bless :)

In reading I am reminded of the contrast between Paul's words and words some Christians say.

Word of God through Paul: "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." 1 Corinthians 9:24 KJV

Man's doctrine: "Don't run, because you already have the prize. It's bad to put effort into following God, because my pastor says that's legalism and obeying God's law is bad and pleasing God is bad."

James 2:14-26 "...faith, if it hath not works, is dead..."

Man's doctrine: "nah, ignore that verse, cause I'm told all good works are 'bad'. Bad works are ok though since you're already forgiven."

Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"

Man's doctrine: "just ignore this verse, but lets cherry pick something else and focus on that instead."

Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."

Man's doctrine: "Nope, you're already saved right now, not later. So you don't have to endure anything or do anything whatsoever. Just do whatever feels good then rationalize it by saying that's the spirit doing it, not your sinful flesh."

Hebrews 10:36 "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise."

Man's doctrine: "Nah, ignore that verse too. You already have the promise and prize. You don't need to do anything."

"But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:" Romans 2:10 KJV

Man's doctrine: "No, just ignore. Good is bad, but bad is fine, because salvation."

Jude 1:4 "For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ."

Man's doctrine: "Nope"

Are both genuinely following Jesus?

Matt.13:31-32 Parable of the Mustard Seed

Also in other gospels Lk.13:18-19; Mk.4:31-32

A child of God is like an herb tender and lowly as Jesus was. "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground."(Is.53:2) His spiritual growth depends not on what the worldly wise would understand. The Psalmist mentions about such a tree as the mustard tree and it is a tree planted by rivers of water (Ps.1:3). Growing in wisdom he shall be a source of comfort to many who come in contact with him. As the epistle to Philemon makes clear his hospitality shall refresh the saints who come to lodge under his roof.

In the Book of Daniel we read of a tree that is of an altogether league.

King Nebuchadnezzar is compared to a mighty tree (Dan.4:21) on whose branches fowls used to take shelter. But his oversized pride and sense of grandeur needed to be cut to size. What is man but mere breath and once it is taken away what does his glory leave in his wake? Nothing. This is what God wanted the king to realize. His subjects shall seek shelter under another king and the strangers while passing through the realm seek not his company.

Mysteries: the kingdom of heaven

Jesus spoke in parables. Mystery of the kingdom that he brought in his flesh judged all those who judged by appearances. It is for this reason St Luke narrated the healing of the ten in which what determined was faith. Jesus sends the Samaritan away,'Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole(17:19)". Also revealing is the manner the gospel writer began this chapter. "It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones." Who are these little ones? In this time of culture wars ethnic minorities can claim this title. Jesus referred specifically to Lazarus the beggar who did not get any attention though he sat daily in the vision of the rich man whose merrymaking was more offensive while the poor beggar hardly merited a hand out. These little ones come in many shapes and races. But faith wherever exercised makes those differences go away. The deceptive physical world judges on basis of wealth name, pedigree and divides people on basis of race, So what post-pandemic world has thrown up are the tares that fools have lavished their attention on.

The mystery of faith makes you live with hope in world here and now but the power that gives a mustard seed to become the greatest among the herbs comes from the world of the Spirit. And when he (Jesus) was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:/Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.(Lk.17:20-21). It is faith naturally.

Jesus, was the Apostle and also the Mediator brought the Gospel of his Father and, spoke 'things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world'. These things of heaven are made plain with death and resurrection in his body. Parables deal with similitude reconciled in his Fulness. (Col.1:17-19)

Matt.13:50 "The scribe" (2 of 2)

The scribe is instructed by the word. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heedtheretoaccording to thy word(Ps.119:9)".

The scribe mentioned here is taught of God and he is run by not the motions of the world or by the tradition of old; instead he is set abiding in Christ 'In thy light we see the light' shall be the testimony who is created in Christ Jesus. He is a new creation. This newness in vision makes the heaven and the earth as created in the divine Will, sen through his Son as the new heaven and new earth.(Re.21:1)

"Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven./And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things which cannot be shaken may remain."(He.12:26-27)

Matt.13:50 "Scribe" (1 of 2)

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

The twelve disciples by the Power of the Spirit were equipped so their tongue was as that of learned. Jesus had assured them, "For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." (10:20). Isaiah says, "The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season tohim that isweary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned."(Is.50:4) They were his associates brought into the household of God.

Their names were written in heaven before the worlds began; so are the names of all those who were adopted as co-heirs to which the writer to the Hebrews address thus "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,/To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect"(He.12:22-23)

"which bringeth out of his treasure"

Heart of every scribe is the treasure awaiting him and connects his physical life to the very presence of God. It is hidden, and the route map is the Scripture. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps.119:105). It is for this reason the Spirit has in many places compared the word of God to a lamp without which he cannot get his bearings or know what he is getting at. On the way he shall find many who make claim to know all the answers and do great wonders. It is impressive because the spirit that helps them is from some other source. How shall you know? "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.( 1 John 4:4)".

Matt.13:24-30 "While men slept"

"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:/ But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way./ But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also."

The good seed must be what is in accordance with the divine Will, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth."(Ge.1:11) "And it was so". The Abstract is set in terms of the Father Son relationship where God willed and the Son says, "Amen" to it.

"Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." God has no need for sleep so under the watch of his servant the enemy has slipped in tares. How the decadent Imperial Rome became the seat of the Church of Rome reads like the story of Rip Van Winkle and the tares are everywhere. Never mind, the redoubtable Elijah also thought God had none as faithful as he. "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him."(1 Ki.19:18) The Lord God is in control. " Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."(v.30) The wicked shall go one with their false gods and culture wars. Fire shall try their works. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you."(2 Co.6:17)

Matt.13:24-30 "Parable of the tares"

Slipping in tares is the work of a wicked spirit which we would have seen in our times, vandalism,- and rampant vandalism where cherished cultural icons are destroyed merely to stage a political or social protest. Then we have torching of synagogues or desecrating cemeteries. Who but a depraved mind would wage fight with the dead or spirit of times that has set up its own banner? "An enemy hath done this'

When we examine the scripture we shall see an enemy has been there from the beginning. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. The enemy also came along. How and why?

In the epistle of John we have this line, "for the devil sinneth from the beginning."There are miscellaneous allusions to it in the Scripture all of which are not to our purpose. However we infer from the epistle of jude that there are fallen angels, "And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day(v.6)". On the other hand Satan is free to come before the throne of God and go as mentioned in the Book of Job. He was there in the Garden of Eden working by proxy. In the time of Jesus also he was there right behind Simon Peter. "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men(16:23). Satan has thus the means to seduce men of God if they are not wholly abiding in Christ.

We have a description of devil and his speciality, Jesus said, "Ye are ofyourfather the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.( John 8:44)"His speciality is lying and we have it conspiracy theories and have they made the world a better place?

Good question. John 4:24 is pretty clear saying God is a Spirit. We are made in His image too, however that works. Not sure if that means physical or otherwise.

My opinion of heart in this context is that it is a metaphor. According to Strongs Hebrew H3820 means both heart and feelings.

I think its similar to John 15:5 which is symbolic and doesn't mean Jesus is a literal vine and we are a literal branch instead of human being. And when we eat Jesus's body and drink His blood, it doesn't mean we're cannibals and actually doing it (I guess Catholics do though) but an important metaphor.

verse 6, mentioned God grieve him to his heart, so God is flesh ?

Hi Jema,

It will be awesome but there will be horrible times before He returns. If we are still living, we must be strong in our faith to resist the hour of temptation that is coming. When He returns it will not be some silent secret event, Revelation 1:7 and Matthew 23:39. He will return to the same place from where He ascended, Acts 1:10-11. When He touches His feet back on earth on the Mount of Olives the earth will split with the power and glory that has been given Him by God, Zechariah 14:4.

There will be the chosen and faithful, Revelation 17:14 who have been grafted into the vine in the first resurrection, Revelation 20:5-6 that will be a part of this kingdom and reign for one thousand years.

God bless,

RLW

Yes it's an awesome chapter ! V 39 makes me think of John 20 : 22 and of Acts 2 : 1-4 . In verse 16 , I wondered if there was any significance between the use of the two words children and house , children of Judah ( maybe us Christians through Christ ) and house , it says : all the house ( house maybe meaning biological Jews ) ? By the end of the chapter they are one nation under David . Great days are coming , it's going to be awesome ! Thy Kingdom Come .

Hi Jema,

If you ask a Morman they would tell you the two sticks of Ezekiel are the Bible and the book of Morman. Some say this was fulfilled after World War 2 when Israel became a state, my understanding it will be in the future. The two sticks are the Southern tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and many of the Levites, the Jews, are the kingdom of Judah. The northern tribes of Israel are Reuben, Simeon, Manasseh, Issachar, Zebulun, Ephraim, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Gad the kingdom of Israel.

After Solomon died the ten tribes separated from Judah and Benjamin, the northern kingdom was invaded and captured by the Assyrians, and the southern kingdom by Babylon. God is telling Ezekiel He will bring them back into one kingdom, the two sticks will be one, one kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, the one Jesus will set up when He returns. This will be all the tribes that were scattered around the world.

I hope this is enough there is much in this chapter.

God bless,

RLW

Thank you GiGi. I have especially enjoyed having discussions with you. God Bless :)

Momsage, glad you are with us.

How good it is that we all love the Lord and His truth! We can edify one another in our prayers and in our postings here. How great a gift it is to have the means to have such a community as this. It blesses me daily.

Hello everyone. I'd like to, first, say that I am really enjoying being a part of this discussion platform. Second, that I am a passionate believer in God's word, in His truth so I may come on kind of strong in my comments sometimes but it's because I have such a heartfelt concern for those who need the Lord or are confused by false doctrine that puts their soul in danger. I'm, of course, always needing more inspiration as to an understanding of the scriptures and through pray and fasting I continued to be blessed with more and more understanding as I'm sure we all are. Be blessed in all you do for the Lord. :)

Thank you Bennymkje,

He has blessed us in so many different ways.

God is not looking for quantity but quality, the quality of his Son which is obedience. Many are called but few are chosen. So the point is the Son as the way. "and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." He came to manifest the quality, the doctrine of his Father in his logos aspect. Israel neither had stomach for his deity not for his humanity. In the Gospel of St Matthew this is what we see. In the first part the Sermon on the Mount was his Mission Statement and he demonstrated it in his ministry. In the second half 'the woe to ye' of Matt.23 stand as his indictment of the nation.

I pray that God bless you both with long life evermore. 44years is not something to be sneezed at. He that has begun a good work in your lives shall accomplish it. Trust Him.

As for the cheek kissing , I personally think it's lovely , however I can imagine that it could cause problems . Imagine how long it would take you to kiss every member of your congregation on a Sunday ! I would have to get to church an hour early ! Also , we would have to be very conscientious about making sure that we kissed everyone , otherwise this could cause hurt feelings and jealousies as we are all only very much human . It would have to be an all or none situation I think and then , would it be genuine ? If you are only kissing one person out of duty , so they don't feel left out , that's not an honest kiss of affection or respect is it ? Then the whole thing could become a duty or even a chore ! What a can of worms to open ! How complex things become when human feelings get involved :) Best keep our lips to ourselves I think , unless you are a member of a very small congregation :) .