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So, if my understanding is correct, Gad and Reuben were not asking to inhabit land outside of what was promised to Abraham. If I am wrong in my understanding and the great river is the Jordan, then these tribes did not want to possess the land promised, but found the land adjacent to Canaan favorable for cattle. If this is the case, then it may seem like they made a decision similar to Lot, who chose land east of the Jordan river also which eventually brought much vexation to him due to the sinfulness of the inhabitants who worshipped idols and were sexually immoral. Will Gad and Reuben run into a similar vexation as Lot?
And it doesn't say when the half-tribe of Manasseh joined up with Gad and Reuben, but perhaps this was a given if all three were cattle ranchers.
I, for one, do not want to settle for less than what God has promised to those who of us who live by faith like Abraham. I don't want to stop short of receiving the fullness of deliverance and redemption from the kingdom of evil, the forgiveness of ALL my sins, and salvation from the wrath of God for my sin. I want to receive the "place" Jesus promised He was going to the Father to prepare us who follow Him. I want to receive the full inheritance as an adopted child of God. Therefore, I do not want to fall short in any way.
We shall see if these tribes actually made a decision that was based on the lead of God or by their own wisdom. Perhaps God intended this to be so that the eastern flank adjacent to Canaan was protected as a buffer from the strong nations in this eastern section or even farther eastward beyond the Euphrates. Maybe these tribes that raised cattle did need this expanse of land to have enough grazing land that was naturally replenished with forage for their cattle. Perhaps cattle need far more range for grazing than sheep or goats. Cattle on the west side of the Jordan would leave too little land for the remaining tribes to raise their crops and herds.
In this battle, 1,000 men from each tribe went to war. Phineas, son of Eliazer (the high priest) was to take the holy instruments to the battlefield along with trumpets.
I am wondering what these instruments were. Were they musical? Or were they worship implements?
So Israel went to war with Midian. They killed the 5 kings of Midian along with Balaam. They killed all the adult males, but they spared the women and children. God was not pleased with this since the women of Midian seduced the men of Israel to engage in the sin that brought a plague from God unto Israel for falling into sin with these women.
Perhaps the men of Israel felt merciful to these women, but God said to kill all of the women except those who were virgins (most likely young women under the age of puberty). They were also to kill all of the male children. In this way, Midian as a nation was wiped out. The young girls that remained were assimilated into Israeli culture and practice.
It is interesting to note that Moses' father in law, Jethro, was a Midianite along with his wife Zipporah. Perhaps they were a godly anomaly among the Midianites.
Balaam, who could not curse the Israelites because prevented him to do so supernaturally, but instead devised the plan to tempt Israelites into sin with the women of Moab/Midian, was slain in this war. God brought him to justice. Even though Balaam had spoken with God and had an angel intervene, he still was unrepentant and did not submit to the true God. He had a stubborn heart. It seems also that the Moabites and Midianites must have either intermarried or else formed an alliance prior to the arrival of the Israelites and were allies together in this land that they shared. ...cont.
I like her have been divorced several times and have been happily living with a man for over 21 years. I was saved by grace through faith and biblically baptised in 1979. I have had peace of mind and spirit because Christs response was different toward the woman at the well vs the woman caught in adultry when after he rebuked the crowed with challenging the one without sin to cast the first stone. He rebuked the woman by telling her to go and sin no more.
Why the difference? I have asked for forgiveness because I acknowledge I am continuing to live in adulty, even though it is a committed spousal relationship. He does not believe in marriage and marriage has not worked out for me in my past.
12 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
13 But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.
Does this mean that Christians should judge Christians and not waste their breath on the infidels???
All Vain Janglers,
Imitators and Licentious Persons,
Shut out of the Scriptures who are Not
Guided by the Same Spirit that Gave them Forth
By one who desires the redemption of souls out of Satan's wiles, James Nayler
Cease your vain janglings, you that take the Scriptures to contend with against the truth but live in your lusts; with a vain mind do you contend about the Scriptures and saints' conditions, but you have naught to do with them, you unholy ones; for holy men of God spoke them forth as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; and the kingdom of God consists not in words but in power. Now all you who talk of the Scriptures and saints' conditions but live not in them, you are shut out of the Scriptures and kingdom of God and are in the kingdomsc of the world, whose kingdom is in words, but not in life and power, who saith and doth not. You have long covered yourselves by talking of the Scriptures and professing other men's conditions; but now the truth is appeared, and your deceit is laid open, and your covers are too narrow, for words can no longer hide you, for the righteous Judge is risen to reward everyone after their works, and not after their words. And you workers of iniquity of all sorts, you are shut out of Scriptures and kingdom of God, you that live in your hearts' lusts and in your own wills; what have you in the Scriptures? for no prophecy of old ever came by the will of man, but they witness against all who
are guided by their own wills.d And you unholy ones, what have you in the Scriptures? they belong not to you, for they were holy men that spoke them forth. And you that are led by your carnal wisdom and reason, and not by the movings of the Holy Ghost, what have you in the Scriptures, for they were given forth by the movings of the Holy Ghost; and they condemn you and your ways, who are not guided by the same Spirit that gave them forth. And you who take them to plead for sin, and live in it, what have you to do in the Scriptures, who use them quite contrary to the end for which they were given forth? for they were given forth by holy men from the Holy Spirit, for holy ends, and they condemn you and your practice, and you are shut out of them who would use them to uphold the devil's kingdom and your own lusts. You envious scorners, backbiters, and false accusers, you are shut out of the Scriptures, and they condemn you. Swearers and liars, the Scriptures have shut you out, and by them you are condemned. You drunkards, gluttons, whoremongers, and unclean persons, what have you to do to talk of the Scriptures, which holy men gave forth, they witness against your filthy practices. You
In the temples of this city (for in all the streets thereof, yea, in every house, there are temples) antichrist sits as god, and is worshipped. 2 Thes. 2:4. "He, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." He hath clothed himself like God, he appears like God (like the holy, pure spirit of life and power), he appears in the temple of God, he sits there, he rules there, he gives forth laws and ordinances of worship and devotion. Yea, if any one will question his godhead, or his right to do thus, he will prove it, he will make it manifest in the very temple of God, that he is God: "He, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." He hath exalted himself into the throne, above all that is called God; he hath got into the temple, he sitteth there as God, and there he maketh it manifest to all his worshippers that he is God; insomuch as, among all the inhabitants of Babylon, he is acknowledged and worshipped, and the true spirit of life is hid from their eyes, and denied and crucified. He hath showed himself that he is God; he gives demonstrations of his godhead, which that eye which is out of the life cannot but acknowledge and take to be true. There is none can see and acknowledge the true God, the true Christ, but those that have the true eye, the true anointing ("no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the holy spirit," 1 Cor. 12:3); and yet how many can speak great words of God, and of Christ, who know not what belongs to the anointing? Alas! alas! all nations and sorts of professors, out of the life, are cozened with the devil's demonstrations, with antichrist's demonstrations, with the whore's demonstrations, with the false prophet's demonstrations, which are undeniable to that wisdom wherein they stand, and to that eye wherewith they look to see.
BABYLON THE GREAT
THE CITY OF CONFUSION IN EVERY PART WHEREOF ANTICHRIST REIGNS
WHICH KNOWETH NOT THE ORDER AND UNITY OF THE SPIRIT, BUT STRIVETH TO SET UP AN ORDER AND UNIFORMITY ACCORDING TO THE WISDOM OF THE FLESH, IN ALL HER TERRITORIES AND DOMINIONS
HER SINS, HER JUDGMENTS WITH SOME PLAIN QUERIES FURTHER TO DISCOVER HER; AND SOME CONSIDERATIONS TO HELP OUT OF HER SUBURBS, THAT HER INWARD BUILDING MAY LIE THE MORE OPEN TO THE BREATH AND SPIRIT OF THE LORD, FROM WHICH IT IS TO RECEIVE ITS CONSUMPTION AND OVERTHROW
That which is far off, and exceeding deep, who can find out? I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason; and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness. And I find more bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, her hands bands. He that is good before God shall escape from her; but the sinner shall be taken by her. Eccl. 7:24-26
He that is born of the pure, immortal seed, and lives in the anointing, escapes the golden cup of fornication, and all the painted beds of fornication, and is not defiled with women; Rev. 14:4. but remains chaste to the bridegroom.
Lo this is the city which is built up of and filled with images and likenesses of the ways and truths of God, without the life and power.
On her outside there is the likeness of a church, the likeness of a ministry, the likeness of the ordinances, duties, and ways of holiness.
On her inside there is the likeness of the good knowledge, the likeness of repentance and conversion, the likeness of faith, the likeness of zeal for God, the likeness of love to God and his saints, the likeness of the Lamb's meekness and innocency, the likeness of justification, the likeness of sanctification, the likeness of mortification, the likeness of hope, peace, joy, rest, and satisfaction, etc.
IX. METHODS OF INTERPRETING REVELATION:
There are various methods of interpretation. We will find out that John was told to write in symbols what he saw. The symbols aren't really anything new to the Jewish mind, but they are to us.
But there are people who have different systems and methods of interpreting the book of Revelation:
1) THE SPIRITUAL METHOD:
They allegorize everything. And they allegorize it as a symbolic picture of the struggle between the church and evil throughout the present age. That is, whatever age in which we live, it's just symbolic of the church's struggle against evil.
2) THE PRETERIST METHOD:
This is very popular in our day. This method presents the events that happened in the past, and the events of the present day in which it was written. This method depicts the struggle between the church and Rome.
And you might ask how do we know which is which? Well, right up above, we have the representation of that outline. If the spiritualists say that this is all the battle between good and evil in our day, we've got the things which thou hast seen in the past, the things which are in the present, and the things which shall be, that is, in the future.
So, these are not present things. The things that are present are present in John's day.
So, if the method of interpretation doesn't fit in with Revelation 1:19, which gives us the outline of the book, then it is not the correct method.
The Preterists depict it as a struggle between the church and Rome, and they only deal with past and present events. But what about the future? They say there's no future events happening, that it's all now, and it's between the struggle between us and Rome.
VII. THE DIVISION OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION:
This is probably one of the most important facts that we need to know, just in understanding Revelation, and the various teachings that we hear about the book of Revelation, which I'll get to here in a moment.
The division of the book of Revelation is given to us right in the book of Revelation. Revelation 1:19 provides the division of the book. Jesus tells John, write the things which thou hast seen (which would be the vision of Christ), in Chapter 1 Verses 9 through 20.
Secondly, write the things which are, that is, presently in John's day. That would be Chapters 2 and 3, the messages to the seven churches.
And write the things which shall be hereafter;
The term hereafter is a Greek phrase that means after these things. Revelation 4:1 begins with after these things. After what things? After the things of the church which are existing in John's day. That would be Chapters 4 through 22, which actually present to us the Tribulation Period that breaks out upon the earth.
There's a threefold division in the book of Revelation. If someone has a method or system of interpretation of the book of Revelation, it must fit into the structure that Revelation itself sets out.
VIII. SECTION OUTLINE OF REVELATION:
REVELATION 1:1-8: Prologue
REVELATION 1:9-20 PART ONE: The Things which Thou Hast Seen
REVELATION CHAPTERS 2-3 PART TWO: The Things which Are
REVELATION 4:1-22:5 PART THREE: The Things which Shall Be Hereafter
REVELATION 22:6-21: John signs off with the promises for all those that hear and keep the words within this book.
III. ABOUT THE DATE AND LOCATION:
The Book of Revelation was written around 95 A.D., about a year before John was brought back off the island of Patmos, during the reign of Domitian.
John received the Revelation while exiled on the island of Patmos.
Again, according to the early church fathers, John was sent to the island of Patmos as a criminal to work the mines with the other prisoners. After the death of Domitian, Nerva released John around 96 A.D.
IV. ABOUT REVELATION:
John received the Revelation in order to encourage the believers who were under extreme persecution from Rome. The believers were weary and confused. They wanted to know that if Jesus defeated Satan on the cross, where is the victory? It seemed like things were getting worse. They were being beaten, imprisoned, and even put to death.
So, they wanted to know "Where's the victory? I was better off before I received Christ!" And so, they were discouraged and confused. So, John wrote to encourage them to endure and to wait for the victory, that the victory is yet to come, maybe not seeing it in our day, but it will come.
Is this really the God-breathed word I'm supposed to follow? Is this supposed to be relevant to the future of Christianity, completely unchanged and unadapted for future situations? Should one take this "as a warning" for what happens when you disobey God? Is this supposed to instill a reflection of His love?
Or, should I accept this as a method used at the time, and it's God-breathed nature is in the fact someone factually recorded this historical occurrence?
I am much more willing to accept the latter than try to justify genocide as "ordained by God" in any way, shape, or form. That can send us living today down an exceptionally slippery slope to recreate something as horrendous as the Holocaust while saying, "It's all the Lord's Will."
So, this movement of Gnosticism is beginning to take several forms. Obviously, Diotrephes thought that he had special knowledge.
But the apostle John and his knowledge was a threat to that, especially since John said if anybody listens to us, they're of God, and if you don't listen to us, you're not of God. That's a pretty strong statement to make!
But here's a man that says that what the apostle John thinks is the truth, is not true. I have special knowledge. There are even churches today that tell their people to stay away from Paul's writings because Paul only had "limited" revelation.
They say that he didn't understand the full truth of God, but now, we have complete revelation that's given to us, a special enlightenment that's given to us that's not in the bible. But it's given to us as we pray and as we seek the Lord.
And they did the same with the apostle John. Now if they rejected the teachings of the apostle Paul and John back then, wouldn't you think that that would happen today? And the answer is yes. Many teachings from the scriptures are rejected!
VII. ABOUT THE THEME AND STYLE OF JOHN'S LETTERS:
John's main theme is the correct doctrine of the humanity of Jesus Christ. The subtheme is the assurance of salvation for genuine believers.
John presents these themes in factual statements rather than generalizations.
I John contains a series of conditional phrases describing the differences between doctrinal truth and error, as well as contrasting a genuine believer with a false one.
In our day, we have some legalism. Most of the problems we have today come from Gnosticism, special knowledge and revelation that's not found in the scripture, but that God seemingly gives to those "special people" who can determine what we call insight.
You hear somebody speak, and they take two pieces of scripture and put it together a certain way, and you go, "Wow, how did they come up with that? That person really has some spiritual insight. I never would have seen that." That's because it's not there!
The main teaching about Jesus from this movement denied the Lord's humanity in order to support the Lord's sinless nature. Their reasoning was that if He was sinless, then He couldn't have had a physical body.
But we will see in 1 John that he will use language to address all of the issues that were going on with the Gnostics. He's writing to the believers, but he writing to them in light of the Gnostic doctrine that is just beginning to spread through the churches.
V. ABOUT 2 JOHN:
2 John is one chapter long. It was written right after 1 John. How do you like that for insight?
2 John was written to combat the infiltration of Gnostic teaching into the church. And what I mean by that is that the church met in homes. They didn't meet in public church buildings. So, they had a problem, because in order for the Gnostics to infiltrate the church, they had to come to the church meeting in the homes. And so, John had some instruction there, not to let them into your home.
I think it is interesting, because in our day, we love to have non-believers come. I'm not saying that they shouldn't, but sometimes we actually highlight that, like "We're here for one reason, and one reason only, to bring in the unsaved!"
But John says if you bring the unsaved in, spiritually you will have a big problem. We'll see that in 2 John.
It's kind of interesting that the false teachers that taught Gnosticism didn't come from outside the church, but inside the church. They started spreading this in the church, and so the church had to do something about it.
Gnostic doctrine was based on dualism which asserted that physical matter was inherently evil, and spirit was good. They taught that everything physical is evil, and everything spirit is good.
At the time John was leading the churches in Asia, Gnosticism had two main groups. One was the Docetic Gnostics. They taught that Jesus's physical body was not real but only seemed to be physical. This is known as asceticism from a Greek word that means "to appear."
They said it appeared to be a body, but it was not a physical body because physical is evil, therefore He could not have had a physical body. So, they denied His humanity. They believed in His Deity, but they denied His humanity.
Then there were the Cerinthians, led by Cerinthus, who taught that Christ's Spirit descended upon the human Jesus at his baptism, but left him just before the crucifixion.
So, what they came up with was that Jesus really did have a physical body, but it was like their version of "rent a body," in that here's Jesus standing there to get baptized, and the Spirit of Christ comes upon Him, and Christ takes over Jesus' body and uses Him for three years.
And right when they went to crucify Jesus, Christ left Jesus and they crucified Jesus up on the cross, and that's why He says "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"
But hey "it's scripture if you piece it all together!" This is what is meant by Gnosticism.
Isaiah 33:10-14KJV
10 Now will I rise, saith the Lord; now will I be exalted; now will I lift up myself.
11 Ye shall conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble: your breath, as fire, shall devour you.
12 And the people shall be as the burnings of lime: as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13 Hear, ye that are far off(the Gentiles peoples), what I have done; and, ye that are near (the Jews, the clay), acknowledge my might.
14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us SHALL DWELL with the devouring fire? who among us SHALL DWELL with everlasting burnings?
1 CORINTHIANS 3:13-15KJV
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Jude 1:19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
(looks like, this speaks about causing problem to himself)
But in Tyndale it says
Jude 1:19 These are makers of sectes fleshlie havynge no sprete.
(looks like, this speaks about causing problem to the church)
In BSB it says: These are the ones who cause divisions, who are worldly and devoid of the Spirit.
Which one is correct "separate themselves" or "makers of sectes" or "cause divisions" as in other translations?
Because both "separate themselves" and "cause divisions" are different in meaning.
VIII. THE OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF II PETER:
II PETER CHAPTER 1: The Presentation of the Gospel.
There are three phases that teach us about the gospel message and the Christian life, and we can study those in depth in 2 Peter.
II PETER CHAPTER 2: The Profile of False Teachers.
He gives their characteristics. He tells what they teach, and what they teach about. He tells their motives. And you can tell, even if you don't understand what they're teaching, you can understand by their motives whether they're teaching correctly or not.
II PETER CHAPTER 3: The Priorities of the Believer.
He presents the fact what's going to happen to this earthly realm. It will be destroyed by fire, in spite of what the scoffers say. And so, he says in Chapter 3, what kind of people ought you to be knowing that everything we handle and everything we do in this earthly life is going to burn?
And then he sets the priorities out for the believers, what believers should be involved in as a priority in their life, ending up with 1 Peter 3:18, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I will share the introduction to 1,2 & 3 John soon.
God Bless!!!
VIII. THE OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF I PETER:
I PETER 1:1 - 2:10: The Foundation of Salvation.
So, before Peter even talks about suffering, he wants to teach about the various areas that make up the foundation of our salvation, to show that whatever we suffer, or whatever we suffer by way of persecution, it cannot change our salvation at all.
I PETER 2:11 - 3:12: The Submission in Salvation.
If you study Peter's thorough presentation of what submission means in the bible, I think you will find it very interesting. Once a person is saved, they are given the various relationships, both with other believers as well as with the world, and they are to line up with the Lord with each person. And he lists and shows what those relationships should be like.
I PETER 3:13 - 4:6: The Persecution in Salvation.
I PETER 4:7 - 5:9: The Exhortation in Salvation.
I PETER 5:10-11: The Benediction in Salvation.
I PETER 5:12-14: The Conclusion to Salvation.
So, it's all based around salvation, but all of these issues of suffering and persecution, and submission, and function, all of these different things are part of our salvation. It should not be looked at as being separate.
And that seems to be the theme in all of these letters because if you are poor, and suffering, and things are getting worse, you begin to wonder. I mean here in America with all that we have, even we sometimes begin to wonder "Lord, why are you doing this to me?"
That's often our approach to things as if though we have it bad. But we don't, not compared to these believers that we study about in Peter's letters.
In Matthew 16:18, the text that says, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church," the word "this" is called the Near Demonstrative, meaning Jesus was pointing to Himself.
In the New Testament, Peter (PETROS) is Simon Peter, and Jesus Christ is called PETRA. The church is built upon Christ, not Peter! There is a group that has split off and they believe that this text is saying that Jesus said, "You are Peter, and upon this rock, that Jesus was pointing to Peter and saying upon you, I will build my church." Well, the grammar of the verse, and the usage of the word throughout the New Testament won't even allow it.
The reason I bring this up is that it allows me to introduce something else to you. What a person believes about a text is important. You can say this person teaches this, and another person teaches that, and somebody else teaches something different, but you can't leave it at that. You can't leave it at what a person teaches. You have to also ask why?
For instance, a person can come along and say "Well, Jesus is talking about Peter here. He's not talking about Himself," and then just start talking about something else. And it's like wait a minute, you hold that position, but why do you hold that position from the text? So as a Christian, it's not just a matter of saying so and so teaches this, and so and so teaches that. The question has to be asked "Why do they teach it?"
If somebody comes along and says the two Greek words being used here, one of them means trash can, and the other means pole, then we have a problem because each teacher is using Greek to back up what they're saying it means. So, one of these guys is wrong!
My encouragement to you is not just to take various teachings that people teach, but find out why, especially if you are wondering if it's right or not. They should tell you why from the text or be available to tell you why. You can't just ask what. You have to ask why.