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1Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
2But we are sure that the Judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
3And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the Judgment of GOD?
4Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of GOD leadeth thee to repentance?
5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the Day of Wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of GOD;
6Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the Truth (GOD IS TRUTH), but obey unrighteousness, INDIGNATION and WRATH,
9TRIBULATION and ANGUISH, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11For there is no respect of persons with GOD.
12For as many as have sinned without law (THE GENTILES) shall also PERISH WITHOUT LAW: and as many as have sinned in the LAW shall be JUDGED by the LAW;
13(For not the hearers of the law are just before GOD,but the doers of the law shall be justified.
14For when the Gentiles(believers),WHICH HAVE NOT THE LAW, do BY NATURE the things contained in the law, these, HAVING NOT THE LAW, are a law unto themselves:
15Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts,their conscience also bearing witness,and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another)
16In the Day when GOD shall Judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel
THE WORD IS GOD
The theory or doctrine of the Law was invented and was sowed by those which interpreted the Law from a human perspective, in fact a stumbling block- Genesis 3:1, not from GOD's perspective- Matthew 16:23.
JESUS said: John 7:38-He that believes on me,as the Scripture has said,out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Thus, about Sababath,for the understanding of all of us here,I would ask for you: Do you believe in the Word made flesh,Lord JESUS? You know that The Word is GOD,right?The Word made flesh-Lord JESUS-,He Himself preached,saying:Mat.11:17-All the prophets and the Law prophesied until John,period.Therefore,GOD Himself established the Law to last 1500 years,from Moses until JESUS,no more,no more than this.
See,JESUS was not abolishing the Law His Father gave to Moses,it's evident: JESUS and the Father are One,although be two distincts Persons- Hebrews 1:3 & 8-, so,in fact,JESUS was only clarifying the period of validity of the Law given to Moses by His Father. GOD the Father had established The Law by His own power, the period of validity or prevalence of the Law lasted from Moses until JESUS specifically, understand?And JESUS only preached what GOD commanded Him to say to the people.JESUS said:Jo.12:49-I have not spoken of myself;but the Father which sent me,He gave me a commandment,what I should say,and what I should speak.
That said, keeping the Sabbath day over time after grace came, i.e.after JESUS came,these people do not do this by the Spirit of Christ,but by the letter written in the stone,according OT,the letter kills,and also they keep Sabbath day according to the calendar created and developed by devilish/satanic worshipers of the Beast of sea-Revevelation 13:1-10.
The true followers of my Lord JESUS do not fight against the Law of GOD given to Moses,but against seducing spirits,and doctrines of devils,speaking lies in hypocrisy;having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
Be careful- 2Peter 3:7&11-12 & Isaiah 33:10-14
I see in this forum lot of arguments regarding the Sabbath, and I wonder why are we splitting hairs while we have come to the ends of the world,?- and there is some mighty shaking that is about to set off. The Jews could not enter the rest God promised them since observance of the day was good enough for them. Not live therein to His praise and glory.
God blessed man on the sixth day and sanctified it since his calling and gifts are irrevocable. What stopped them from entering into God's rest but disbelief? "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."(1 Co.10:11-13) As His mercies are new everyday what prevents our churches from entering into the rest? Culture wars of the ungodly are very much within. How the church historically is grafted to Rome is unholy. In the Book of Daniel it is called miry clay trying to fit with the iron of pagan world. No wonder dialogue is never about settling the spiritual significance of the day but about the letter which kills. It is thus literal reading of the Holy writ has created divisions. If the root be unholy, what about her branches, the Reformation of Luther Calvin, Charismatic movements but a snake-pit to breed controversies? When God shakes the world as it shall happen before long and after the dust clears we shall see the word of God once again shaping a world the pure speech shall be found."For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent."(Zep.3:9)
A question we should ask ourselves; Do we study it with a confirmation bias? I know I have in the past and I must fight it every time I open the Bible. It is part of our subconscious mind; confirmation bias is when we study the Bible, we look for verses to confirm our existing beliefs, without even knowing it we ignore any Bible verses that conflict with what we believe.
Our existing beliefs are deeply entrenched in our subconscious mind, and our subconscious mind blocks the true meaning unless we accept that we may be wrong and in prayer make a sincere effort to come to the Scriptures with an open mind as we know nothing, praying for the truth with open ears, that we may hear.
Like stories we have heard from childhood, only two, a male and a female of each animal and bird went into the ark with Noah, or the wise men went to the manger when Jesus was a baby. Is that the truth? We must not automatically defend our beliefs without ever really questioning them, if not, the truth becomes harder to find.
1 John 4:1, we are told to test the spirits and many other Scriptures tell us to be aware of false prophets, and false teachers, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15. It is easy to start with a doctrine, or something we have been taught, or what we believe to find Scripture that will confirm it, but is that the true meaning that God inspired the writer to write?
I read and study the KJV, but we must be honest it is a translation and if something feels wrong in our heart, we must not ignore it. Whatever version we have we must trust it is the word of God and His Spirit will give us the understanding of it and shine light on the truth, not from our mind.
We can study in two ways, exegesis, considering the context, and God's intent, and open to the truth given to us through the Holy Spirit, or eisegesis by reading into it with one's own presuppositions, ideas, or the traditions of man.
Just a thought for the new year. Love you guys.
God bless,
RLW
as to what the devil's next step is in creating this show? I'm sure most of you have seen the ads on TikTok promoting the app
Hallow by, guess who, Jonathan Roumie. This app promotes Catholicism with praying the rosary, for one thing, as being a
complete worship of Mary. Blatant idolatry. Jonathan Roumie is now a famous man with many ardent followers and his intention
is to convert as many poor souls to this terrible religion as he can. I knew the TV show was just the beginning of something like
this when found out he was a devote Catholic. One viewer commented he loved listening to him because he had such a
soothing, peaceful voice. Do you suppose the devil can use a soothing, peaceful voice to fool souls? I pity Jonathan Roumie and
am praying earnestly that he will find true salvation, leave this church and denounce it. Only God knows.
11And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,and by the word of their TESTIMONY;and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12Therefore rejoice,ye heavens(heavenly places in Christ JESUS-i.e. the celestial environments of the Old and New Testaments),and ye that dwell in them-the believers-.Woe to the inhabiters of the earth(Israel)and of the sea!(sea/waters=peoples,and NATIONS,and multitudes of all tongues-Gentile peoples-which were deceived by that old serpent that deceives the whole world)for the Devil is come down unto you,having great wrath,because he knows that he has but a short time.13And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth(from the heaven- Isaiah 14:12-15),he persecuted the woman...
14And to the woman were given TWO WINGS of a great eagle(the Old Testament and New Testament-two witnesses of GOD- Revelation 11:3-4.Take a kook),that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,where she is nourished(by the Old and New Testaments-the Word of GOD,the Scriptures)for a time,and times, and half a time,from the face of the serpent.
15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman(be careful,don't drink of that water),that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16And the earth(144K of Israel- Revelation 7:1-10 and 14:1-5.Take a look)helped the woman(the Lord's Church- John 10:15-16),and the earth opened her mouth,and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman,and went to make war with the remnant of her seed,which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. -The testimony of Christ is the Spirit of prophecy-Re.19:10 combined with Ro.8:9-11.GET READY
I know the world has made it very hard for true believers to honor the 4th commandment. The other nine are getting that way too, but does that excuse us from obeying them? Again how do we justify ignoring the 4th commandment and not the other nine? Jesus' rest is a spiritual rest, the commandment is a physical, mental and spiritual rest. One doesn't replace the other. No scripture says that. There's no wrong in worshiping on Sunday and relaxing but the commandment was for the seventh day; Saturday so it must be done on that day also if we are to be obedient to what God wants us to do. You say I'm being legalistic? Well, I'm not going to worship another God, or take God's name in vain, or build idols to worship, or to not honor my parents, or to murder, or lie (not even little white ones) or to steal or to be jealous, is that being legalistic? If so then I love being legalistic and obeying God's commandments and that is why I worship and rest on Saturday. Each commandment is clear including the 4th. It is so simple, however, we've let the world command us to what day we worship and rest. However, even that has pretty well fallen along the wayside. Our disregard for resting on the sabbath has brought us to a place where we disregard ceasing our labor in any way that resembles what God commanded us to do even on Sundays and the world is suffering because of it
God Bless :)
I am not a part of any church or denomination.
Constantine and the Catholic Church made it mandatory to worship on Sunday.)
I know the world has made it very hard for true believers to honor the 4th commandment. The other nine are getting that way too, but does that excuse us from obeying them? Again how do we justify ignoring the 4th commandment and not the other nine? Jesus' rest is a spiritual rest, the commandment is a physical, mental and spiritual rest. One doesn't replace the other. No scripture says that. So worship and relax ,on Sunday but the commandment was for the seventh day; Saturday so it must be done on that day if we are to be obedient to what God wants us to do. You say I'm being legalistic? Well, I'm not going to worship another God, or take God's name in vain, or build idols to worship, or to not honor my parents, or to murder, or lie (not even little white ones) or to steal or to be jealous either, is that being legalistic? If so then I love being legalistic and obeying God's commandments and that is why I worship and rest on Saturday. Each commandment is clear including the 4th. It is so simple, however, we've let the world command us to what day we worship and rest. However, even that has pretty well fallen along the wayside. Our disregard for resting on the sabbath has brought us to a place where we disregard ceasing our labor in any way that resembles what God commanded us to do even on Sundays and the world is suffering because of it.
God Bless :)
I am not part of any denomination.
Nothing in these verses below tells us to replace the Sabbath with the beautiful rest of Jesus. We are steadfastly in His rest as long as we are true believers.
Matthew 11:28-29 "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Acts 2:26 "Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope."
Thessalonians 1:6-7 "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels."
1 Corinthians 16:2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." (Paul is just asking the church to gather donations on the first day of each week for when he comes, it doesn't in any way point to them having to be in church to do this.)
Romans 14:5 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."(Question? Does your church only meet on Sunday to fellowship and hear preaching and teaching? This verse is just speaking of believers gathering on a Sunday to fellowship and listen to Paul preach because he had to leave the next day. It doesn't interpret as abolishing their regular worshiping on the Sabbath.)
God the Spirit sets his Will of God as sovereign and perfect. Significant was that the Son taught us how to pray so we first put ourselves subject to his Will. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Matt.6:10). So everything works accordingly. Principle of Similitude sets entire kingdom on this principle.
"On Judgment"
Judgement of the world is predetermined so God sets the years of man in multiples of ten. 120 years are not counted in terms of earth time but according to the eternal word settled in heaven. (Ge.6:3). Noah secured salvation for his family because he built the Ark to God's specification. So the Spirit gives us the day his salvation took effect. "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened." (Ge.7:11).
"In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark" (v.13) Now is the day of salvation.
In the end times we have judgment as pre-set from heaven. On command from above we have this," Loose the four angels, which are bound in the great river Euphrates./And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men." (Re.9:14-15)
Comparing passages are to be done on the basis of this principle so how do we settle this verse given here below? "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Pe.3:8). This is to show the ways of man are different from that of God. The Lord will come as a thief as Apostle Peters speaks further down. (v.10)
1 Corinthians 16:2 "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, t
Romans 14:5 "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight."(Question? Does your church only meet on Sunday to fellowship and hear preaching and teaching? Is Sunday the only day of the week you might hear preaching from the minister? This verse just tells of believers gathering on Sunday to fellowship and listen to Paul preach because he had to leave the next day. It doesn't interpret as abolishing their regular worshiping on the Sabbath.)
Collisians 2:14 & 16 "Blotting out the handwriting of ORDINANCES (my caps) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or the new moon or of the sabbath days." (This judgment is speaking of situations on the sabbath as when David fed his men shewbread that was only to be eaten by the Jewish Priests on the Sabbath. 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Christ feeding His disciples from the cornfield on a Sabbath. Matthew 1:21 and pulling an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath. Luke 14:5; if there are things that needed to be done out of necessity on the Sabbath, you should not let men judge you for doing that.)
I don't know how any of the verses I noted can be interpreted as showing that the early church willingly changed it's weekly worship and fellowship from the sabbath to the first day of the week. As I presented, there is historical proof that they didn't. As the "ravening wolves in sheep clothing" ( Matthew 7:15) began to creep into the church, a change was eventually made to abolish the sabbath and worship and refrain form labor on Sunday. Constantine and the Catholic Church mainly changed it and the world followed.
God Bless :)
This situation and others like it are not disobeying the Sabbath. But if you get a part time job helping your fiend with his moving business on The Sabbath, this is disobeying the Sabbath. If you need the extra money, pray and God will provide it to you without you having to break the Sabbath. Remember David and his feeding his men the shewbread. ( 1 Sam. 21: 1-6). It wasn't something he did all the time, it was something of need at the time. The same with Christ feeding his disciples from the cornfield on the sabbath ( Matt. 12:21) or someone pulling their ox out of a ditch on the sabbath ( Luke 14:5). So the Holy Spirit is telling us to not let others "judge" you for this kind of behavior on the Sabbath. It does not say to no longer keep this day Holy.
Corinthians 16:2, "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
Excuse me but how-in-the-world does this scripture indicate that the church met on Sunday? Paul is asking them at the beginning of each week to set aside an amount of money for whatever so this won't have to be bothered with when he visits them again. This is not work and he certainly doesn't say for them to switch to Sundays to have church until he comes. Please use some discernment.
Colossians 2:14 & 16 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." God did give Moses statues and ordinances for instructions on His 10 commandments to give to the Jews but they eventually added foolish ones of their own. Verses 14 explains this by calling these ordinances that were "against" them and which caused the Jews much confusion in following the real laws of God and Moses.
OTHER VERSES OF IMPORTANCE:
1 Corinthians 16:" Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." This can't be the Sabbath, Paul is asking them to do work.
Romans 14:5 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. Question? Does your church only meet on Sunday to fellowship and hear preaching and teaching? Is Sunday the only day of the week you might hear preaching from the minister? This verse just tells of believers gathering on Sunday to fellowship and listen to Paul preach because he had to leave the next day which was the Sabbath.
( Col. 2:14 & 16 God." Blotting out the handwriting of ORDINANCES (my caps) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or the new moon or of the sabbath days: In the 10 Commandments of God there is only 1 day that God commanded us to keep hollowed out for Him for our good; the sabbath. There were other sabbath days during festivals that were not all on Saturday but were kept during the festivals that were a week or longer. These were sabbath dayS. The statues and ordinances in Moses' laws is what this verse is talking about but, not the commandment, if you don't agree with me and believe it is talking about the last day of the week, let me give you an example of this verse's meaning: A friend calls you on a Saturday and says he needs your help right away moving some things out of a garage he was storing them in because the person who owns the garage said if he doesn't do it immediately they were going to haul it all of to the dump. So you help your friend move his things. A lot of work, that took some time.
Ephesians 4:
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
2 Timothy 3:
.
16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Although the work may be important, there is nothing more important than to spend a "rest time" with the LORD.
As CHRIST always had a time of rest, and prayer with HIS FATHER; let us do the same that we may be restored spiritually, physically as we await the coming of our KING of Glory, the LORD of HOST.
Ps 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.
Numbers 6:
24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Happy New Year, brethren! Our redemption is near.
December 30, 2023
A-dorn' (Gk: kosmeo) has its primary meaning, "to arrange," "to put in order," "to decorate."
"So are my ways higher than your ways"(Is.55:8-9)
We shall compare the simplicity of Christ required of women in the early church, 'that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array';(1 Ti.2: 9; 1 Pe.3: 3) on the other hand we have the bride of Christ, "the holy city, new Jerusalem". (Re.21:2;19:7)"
How come?
"Marriage of the Lamb is come" is a time for rejoicing. The honor of the bride is in the newness of relationship begun with Christ , from betrothal to the marriage supper where the array of precious stones mentioned in Re.21:19-21 are created under the true Light and created in heaven! "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Re.21:2;19:7)." What is most precious in earth is glass catching the rays of the sun and natural eye is deceived.
King Abimelech of Gerar while compensating Sarah for causing distress to her modesty made amendments, "And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a thousand pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee,"(Ge.20: 16)
Abraham as 'a covering for her eyes' has an equivalent. "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes."(De.6:8) The Spirit implies Abraham as the double for the Son, the word become flesh. ("I am the Way").
Achan
Achan
At the fall of Jericho Achan secretly appropriated some of the spoils of war to himself, disregarding that these were dedicated to the Lord. Joshua had before the battle declared " And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing,.., and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it."(Josh.6:18). Because of his sin Israel lost the following battle of Ai, and the reason was revealed to Joshua from the Lord. Achan and his family were stoned to death and their bodies along with possessions were burned in the valley of Achor. (See entry below-Achor)
(Is.65:10). What does the Spirit aim at with the example of Achan? A disciple' forsaking all for the kingdom of heaven' is to treat appropriating other man's riches as foolhardy as that of Achan. Foolish ministers of our times who espouse prosperity belong to who St Paul would classify as 'reprobate concerning the faith'. (2 Ti.3:7-8)
Achor, the valley of
"A place for the herds to lie down in." (Is.65:10,9) The valley of despair becomes a place for the shepherds to take ease. For Israel it also points a door of hope. (Hos.2:15) Jesus Christ is that door. " I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."( John 10:9)
It would be interesting to do a survey among professing believers. How important would it be in heaven if there was a comment lacking about a favorite sports team; vacations or possessions in discussions among believers? Would we lament that we didn't have time to boast of a particular accomplishment of ourselves or another family member? Or; to really find out if the rubber meets the road would we be sad in the light of His presence above if we missed out on a juicy tidbit about another brother or someone in the world who annoys us?
This commentary is not debating if worldly matters are ever right to discuss. We should focus; always in directing conversation towards the Lord whether it is among others in the faith or to reach nonbelievers. Idle chatter doesn't MATTER otherwise. And IDOLS that we flap our jaws in adoration and praise means that we are no better than the world.
A good remedy for all this; of course is to keep our mouths shut unless we can say something edifying (which I have been admonished about in the past). The fear of the Lord should cause us to consider what we say if nothing else since every word we speak will be accounted for ( Matthew 12:36). It is often curse words and other vulgar statements which we consider here; certainly not to be excluded. But all the vanity of life; the things of this world such as pride are our responsibility to steer away from as 1 John 2:16 states (along with the lust of the eyes). No one needs to blurt out how fat and ugly someone is just as much as someone's physical beauty shouldn't be idolized.
If we enter church with a proactive mindset that we will look for people with needs to offer prayer; we will encourage others with scriptures to edify and other like practices that is a start. Those who are wise will avoid having to involve themselves in any conversation just to fit in. The time to "play church" is over. It is sink or swim. (see Luke 21:36).
v3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
Paul wrote that meats offered to idols are nothing in 1 Corinthians 8 ...
1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.
...9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
We must be careful in our liberties as saints. Be joyful Brethren, for the joy of the LORD is our strength.
Merry Christmas and have a prosperous New Year; enjoy the food provided and blessed by our SAVIOR KING.
May our LORD GOD, continue to shine HIS glorious face on all on this forum.
December 22, 2023
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Water baptism is not a requirement of salvation. Romans 6:
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
When we are Scripturally born again we have been made justified in CHRIST, no longer bound for hell or the lake of fire. We are then called to do the work of the LORD which is called sanctification. v10 of Ephesians 2.
Salvation is only by faith alone, in the shed blood alone, of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
May GOD open the hearts of all unto the sufficiency of the Gospel of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Merry Christmas to all on this forum, and a happy and prosperous New Year.
December 21, 2023
(In the coming months I shall be busy with editing the Bible Dictionary in three volumes.-b)
Is another Bible dictionary really necessary? It would seem judging the dictionaries that are available these provide husks than meat. The name of the author sells and his celebrity status and numbers do count. The word of God is to be treated as Holy Writ and not as a piece of merchandise.
The Holy Spirit makes it plain: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:/That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Ti.3: 16-17)". How many books available now are prepared in strict adherence to the above? The present work is taken up to fill a void, and prepare a child of God to quit him like a man in this age of lawlessness. He sorely needs solid food from the word of God.
The adage 'child is the father of man' is very much true also in the making of a man of God. It is reasonable that a pedagogue relies as much on truth he knows by experience, and the trusting nature of the child does the rest. This is evident in the preceding verse of St Paul's epistle: 'And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (v.15)'. Hearing the word of God is not simply a matter for the ear. The sound one hears is processed elsewhere so it makes sense to him. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." This time St Paul writing to the believers in Rome says this sound has been heard. Instead of being led astray from present topic we may believe that the ability of man to process what he hears is as natural as the night follows day.
Gospel of God when broken down to sounds makes sense and as St Paul puts it, "Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world (Ro.10: 18,17)".
What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people. Psalm 116:12-14
Psalm 1:1-6
1 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.
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
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.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the Judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Praise the Lord
"When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning."
Key to unlock the meaning is to compare the spiritual with spiritual. Passage concerning the daughters of Zion in the previous chapter "Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,"(Is.3:16) refers to the arrogance of Israel which is evident even now. The prophet refers to 'in that day' which is when the Son shall execute by the spirit of judgment upon the daughter for all the filth and blood they have caused to run on the streets. "The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses./What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? (3:14-15)
That day is the day of the Lord. "And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink."(v.24)
Daughters of Zion mentioned here are the virgins Re.14:3 " the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." These are mentioned in Is.4:3 "And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem." This is called New Jerusalem.
Isaiah uses Number 7 and it denotes fulfillment which is what the Son as the Judge shall exact. Seven is a tag as 144,000 (It is made up of 12x12x1000. Thousands refers to the last days when the Marriage of the Lamb is ready.
"And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach." One Man is Jesus Christ. Their righteousness is their apparel Their bread is the spiritual body and their soul is the Son in Trinity. Man child (Is.66:6-7)
"What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" In the parable of Jesus the merchant man seeking goodly pearls found one pearl. "When he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."(13:45-46). The one pearl is Jesus Christ who gave himself as the man who found it in the Son who gave himself for him. A merchant trades thus giving up certain advantages and it applies both parties. The transaction is also fair since the soul of man is the 'inner man' or man child'. Since God breathed into Adam and made him a living soul his fallen state allowed the law of sin into the bloodstream of the world. Conversely when we received Jesus Christ as our Savior we came under the Law of the Spirit. There is no more condemnation applies to our soul. When Jesus the Good Shepherd speaks"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."( John 10:28).
Faith in Jesus Christ connects every believer so our soul is in his safekeeping. This is what faith with works mean. The Abiding life brings the Father also into the equation. I and my Father are one.( John 10:27-30)When we put on spiritual bodies our individual souls are represented by Trinity.While we groaned 'earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, ' our souls were being strengthened in our inner man by the indwelling Spirit. "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life./Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." (2 Co.5:1-5)
Serving God and mammon is what the heathens do. They will have to account for what they did to the soul. "the heart of the wicked is little worth."(Pr.10:20) Choose life as did the merchant in the parable, "And whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."
vv.1-9
Concerning his ministry Jesus was on his last lap moving towards Jerusalem. "From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples"(16:21). He confided to his disciples what must occur there."How that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." The transfiguration is to be understood as a preview of the glory that awaited him. It was also an invitation to his disciples including Judas Iscariot, whom he knew would betray him. In his prayer he makes it clear. "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept,"( John 17:12) Once again we read that they were to keep it a secret till his resurrection.
"Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,/And was transfigured before them."
Why three instead of 12 disciples? The Spirit has shown us the representative nature of Salvation Plan of God. Ro.5: the Spirit makes Jesus and Adam as representatives of the Law of the Spirit and law of sin respectively.The Number Three refers Trinity as well as a tag for the Son. The New Jerusalem is foursquare "On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates." and "On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates."(Re.21:16-21) We see four cardinal directions measurement of each as that of man and angel. Pearl symbolizes the soul of our spiritual bodies where man component refers to the Son. The Spirit helped us understand the mystery of one pearl of great price (13:45-46) New Jerusalem on the east has three gates and identical with the other three. The three pearls are as one. (Every several gate was one pearl-v.21)
If God willing I shall take up with this topic in the coming Year. May God bless you and keep you all in Jesus name, Amen.
"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,/And was transfigured before them"
"After six days" refers to v.28 in the preceding chapter, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." This was a visual clue to the tabernacle, "an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."(2 Co.5:1) The Number Seven signifies fulfillment, entering into the rest of God. This was entirely a preview for the three representing the twelve, indicating the nature of the Son of man coming in his kingdom. This anticipates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh. It is one event to which time and place of generations of man is immaterial. So you and I have been included when the prophesy of Joel was fulfilled upon those who were assembled on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem. Within the generation of Jesus Christ (1:1) generations after generations, includes indwelling Spirit of St Paul identical with that of us, and it is what faith does.
By the same token what does transfiguration of Jesus signifies for us but what St Paul refers? "For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life./Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit."(2 Co.5:1-5)
There is no division here,- and death that Jesus referred in 16:28 is with regards to dissolution of our mortality, ie., earthly tabernacle.
Notice here the mention of the holy mountain referred in the epistle of St. Peter, "And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." (1 Pe.1:18) Visually it connects with the mount in 5:1
"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Firstly we shall examine the manner Jesus used it. "And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?"( Luke 13:18). Jesus used the passkey and it is called the finger of God. In the case of Moses it was the rod with which he stumped the magicians of Egypt who said,"Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God."(Ex.8:19). Jesus explained,"But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." (12:28) Finger of God in the case of the Son is faith that establishes his paternity,- DNA is faith, and when Moses did as was commanded of God, his rod was a substitute as good as any. The key is merely a label for faith. Jesus set an example for his disciples. Whatever he loosed whether on the Sabbath day or any other on earth was loosed in heaven. Jesus also promised,"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father."( John 14:12). The context is about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The indwelling Spirit shall entrust everyone, an associate to the Son who from the right hand of the Most High, and their faith is the keys of the kingdom. Literal interpretation of the passage gave false shepherds to wrest control over His flock, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber."(John10:1) Paul and Barnabas also could bind over Elymas, "And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. "(Ac.13:11)
"But whom say ye that I am?"An opinionated man has his opinion as a man of faith has faith which is Person specific. This faith has its origin which is hearing the word of God.("So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."-Ro.10:17) When Jesus asked,"Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?""And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophet." All these were right since God the Father had revealed it to them. All these association across passage of time and place like strands was woven to connect the Son of man. Faith is one and the Gospel is one. The Spirit lays down the Fulness of God in the Son since the word built up faith which conquers the world. ("For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."- 1 John 5:4)
We shall try to understand this from the very words of Jesus. Concerning the rejection he received from the nation of Israel he quoted from the Psalm to say, "Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner" and of himself,"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." (21:44-46)He was warning the 'the chief priests and Pharisees' who when they had heard, "they perceived that he spake of them." He asserted that the rock was his Person. His victory was that overcame their world and opinions that meant little.
It is in this context we need understand this verse,"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."(v.18). St Peter's claim to the keys is as that of his associate.These symbolic key is with the Son, "he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;"(Re.3:7) The Apostle never made a claim over it in his epistles.