As you and ALL know, the prophecy - Daniel 7:7-8- is revealing about the fourth Empire- the dreadful and terrible, and strong Roman Empire- diverse from the Greek, Persian and Babylonian kingdoms that were before it. As you and all know, the Roman Empire was specifically and genuinely a GENTILIC Empire, but there was also a completely alien being, or nation, in the Gentile Roman Empire: It was ISRAEL, descendants of Abraham. For this reason the prophecy reveals Israel as an APPENDIX linked to the Roman Empire as 10 other independent powers, DESCENDANTES OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC and JACOB, prophetically represented by 10 horns, which in turn represents the 10 toes of the statue, part of iron, and part of clay- Daniel 2:42. In Daniel 2 , Israel, the clay- Isaiah 64:8-, is represented by 10 toes of the feet of the Nebuchadnezzar's estatue.
The roots of the Gentile Beast of sea, the Papacy, a religious MONSTER having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy, the main partner of the red Dragon- Revelation 12:3-4 & 9, yeah, the roots of the Gentile Beast of sea-the Papacy, are described in Revelation 13:2. In this current decade must be elected the last Pope, the next, and to this last Pope the dragon- Revelation 13:11-, will give him his Power, and his Throne(in JERUSALEM), and great Authority. Both as a RELIGIOUS AND SATANIC MONSTER-Catholicism and Judaism-iron and clay-, both will establish an Universal and religious kingdom- Daniel 2:41-44 combined with Luke 21:24 and Revelation 11:2. Take a look.
There will be a terrible spiritual War in the Earth from now on- Revelation 16:13-15.
GET READY
Revelation 21:8 - The fearful(COWARDS), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
The main happenings before the beginning of the last week- Daniel 9:27.What will happen from now on.The last week is not too far to start.Here are the happenings that will preceed the last week as was prophesied by Daniel:
- Death of the current Pope and election of the next and last Pope,ruler and guide of the religious MONSTER of 7 heads,and 10 horns,upon his HORNS ten crowns,and upon his 7 heads the name of blasphemy-Vicarius Filli Dei?
-The Beast of the earth with two horns LIKE A LAMB rises up in Israel;(the clay- Isaiah 64:8-the dry land);
-Election of a new Pope-his pseudo-name or nickname may be Paulus VII??(Re.17:10);
-Then the Beast of the earth LIKE A LAMB will manifest himself as God in Israel;in fact a false messiah,an esoteric,and kabbalistic,and spiritist false messiah;Then there will be two powerful and satanic Beasts in the Earth;
-The esoteric and kabblistic,and spiritist Beast of the earth will make great signs and wonders of lie,even makes fire come down to the earth before men;Rev.13:13-15
-The ELECTED LAST Pope(Paulus VII??)will meet the Beast like lamb;
-Both will develop an union between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism,iron with clay- Daniel 2:41-43-but they shall not cleave one to another,even as iron is not mixed with clay;
-A religious and universal satanic Empire will be build by both religious leaders;Rev.11:1-2;
-The esoteric and kabbalistic, and spiritist Beast of the earth-the false messiah of the Jews-AN IMPOSTOR,will make a deal with the Beast of sea-the Papacy-,the Beast of earth, the false messaiah, will give to the Beast of sea his Power, and his Throne,and great Authority.Then the Antichrist's Empire is conceived by both satanic Beasts;
All events or happenings listed above,some will happen before starting the last week- Daniel 9:27-,for example,death of Pope Francis,others during the week as soon it starts, and others in the middle of the week and until the end or until the consumation.
The message below is for your meditation, as a clue, to decipher an enigma / conundrum.
As you know, Revelation 13 describes two terrible different Beasts:
Beast of sea(verse 1),
Beast of the earth(verse 11)
Which of the two Beasts are you referring to?
According to the Revelation, sea means waters, waters mean peoples, and nations, and multitues of all tongues- Revelation 17:15-i.e. Gentile nations, so the Beast of sea is a Gentile Beast.
The Beast of earth has two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a DRAGON (a false lamb), by allegory, earth here is Israel, the clay( Isaiah 64:8) a dry land, like an isle in the sea, a portion of earth surrounded by waters (gentile peoples) on all sides.
According to the Daniel 9:27, he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Revelation 13:2 says the DRAGON shall give to the GENTILE Beast of sea his Power, and his Seat(his throne in Jerusalem), and great Authority. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations( Daniel 12:11) he shall make it desolate until the consummation.
THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS - Revelation 16:13
I searched deeply an explanation for this biblical mystery, and by the Word of GOD what I found is the follow:
First of all, frogs are amphibians vertebrate animals that live in the aquatic environment and on the terrestrial environment. But is it the same in the spiritual environment? Yes, it is.
1-AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
Revelation 17:15-And the angel saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. NOTE: Except the TRUE CHRISTIANS/ ELIEVERS, all the peoples of all the nations are leaded and guided by the THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS like frogs.TERRIBLE.
The aquatic environment of these three spirits of demons like frogs which guide the peoples or rule nations of all tongues in whole earth, through devilish systems, as religious systems(Catholicism, and Judaism, spiritism, budhism, islamism, among others),and also political systems,and military systems,and social and cultural systems,among others systems. In fact, Satan goes to and fro and from walking up and down among them.
2 - TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
FIRST we need to understand that Israel is an island among the waters (Gentile nations)or in the middle of the sea, as is described above in according the Scriptures. Israel is the earth, a dry land, Genesis 1:v.10-3rd Day-or still the clay- Isaiah 64:v.8-a dry land surrounded by water on all sides or by allegory surrounded by the Gentile nations. Isaiah prophesyed saying: Is.41:1-2 -> 1-Keep silence before me,O islands; and let the people renew their strength:let them come near;then let them speak:let us come near together to Judgment.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east,called him to his foot,gave the nations before him,and made him rule over kings?he gave them as the dust to his Sword- Revelation 2:v.26 to 28-,and as driven stubble to his bow.(bow- Revelation 6:v.2)
Romans 5:12 says Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The fact is that we are all born with Adam's sin and hence at enmity with God. Our hearts are as Jeremiah 17:9 says "desperately wicked." No one does good ( Romans 3:10-12 and in Psalms); and we are estranged from the womb ( Psalm 58:3). So the first issue is the thought that anyone is "good" which inevitably comes from comparing ourselves to another "worse" person like Hitler (unless we are that bad ourselves and we can't appeal to anyone worse; in that case we probably wouldn't want to concern ourselves with doing good deeds. Our deeds also; BTW are evil; even our best deeds as "filthy rags". ( Isaiah 64:6). This "grace Gospel" as it is known is obviously taken from Romans as a primary source but reflects many scripture verses. Or as someone once said "a hundred percent sinner needs a hundred percent savior" (can't seem to find this entire phrase quoted by anyone).
Now death; of course in the law comes in two ways; MURDER or justifiable killing whether to exact a punishment "a life for a life" (part of Deuteronomy 19:21). It also is involved with the wars and conquests of Israel with the admittedly hard verses about exterminating entire peoples including women and children in certain circumstances. The understandable aspect of this is when the descendents of the Nephilim (or angels with women producing giant hybrid offspring) were exterminated; being an aberrant being without and eternal soul perhaps the proper interpretation of Isaiah 26:14. That is a deep study; but no doubt this is easier than explaining extermination of human beings. Those nations which were conquered had common practices of child sacrifice with idol worship; therefore it could have saved the children from a worse death. Genesis 15:16 shows how God waits until iniquity is full before utter destruction.
Having wiped out my last posting AGAIN by pushing the wrong button I will have more to say perhaps later regarding devotionals.
I thought I would shift gears and discuss Catechisms. I expect many know that a Catechism is a sort of reciting of a Doctrinal Statement.
Let's be honest here; although maybe it's just me...such studies can often be the most BORING ones we undertake and if someone is really not a believer it could in my opinion do more harm then good even if it is a scripturally solid one. The first thing of course we must investigate is; when considering becoming a church member in particular is are there any issues that jump out to us that we cannot believe or are unwilling to be dogmatic about? I am from a Protestant and primarily Reformed background; and generally ascribe to things in the Heidelburg confession; for instance. That being said; for whatever reason the designation exist; I find the term "DIVINES" for those who came up with certain Reformed confessions as being a repulsive term. I have shown evidence in the past of certain behaviors among Calvin and Luthor; no matter how critical they were for getting back to "Sola Scriptura" and concepts of Predestination that I don't care to mention them as examples to follow and say instead that they brought out scriptural truths such as are found in the book of John in particular as to God calling and choosing people the Son would reveal Himself to. Such a concept saturates many chapters in John in particular but is found in many other places in scripture. We don't find the term "total depravity" in scripture but there are many places where it says man can do no good and his good works are as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6).
I mentioned in an earlier post that the Orthodox Presbyterian church (OPC) that existed in Pittsburgh before folding allowed me to be a member but not of full standing as to my take on infant Baptism. We shoudn't rush membership.
Israel, as 'Dry Bones'- Ezekiel 37-Now,Dry land, but before was the clay( Isaiah 64:8), exactly when the Most High make a separation between water and water- Genesis 1:9-, that is, when the Most High separated the Hebrews from the Egypcians through Moses, and He created a celestial environment and called it of expanse, called heaven (that is the Dispensation of the Old Testament used in the Promised Land), then the Most High, the Lord, the I AM, separated the water (the Egypcians) that was BELOW of the expanse He created(an heavenly environment), and the water that that was ABOVE the expanse (the people of Israel- GOD's people), and it was evening, and it was morning, the second GOD's Day.
Genesis 1:10-19
10And God called the dry land Earth(israel);and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas(Gentile peoples/nations): and God saw that it was good.
11And God said,Let the earth(Israel)bring forth grass,the herb yielding seed,and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,whose seed is in itself,upon the earth:and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth grass,and herb yielding seed after his kind,and the tree yielding fruit,whose seed was in itself, after his kind:and God saw that it was good.
13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14And God said,Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day(light)from the night(darkness);and let them be for signs,and for seasons,and for days,and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven(expanse)to give light upon the earth:and it was so.
16And God MADE two great lights;the Greater Light-JESUS-to rule the day,and the Lesser light to rule the night:he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night,and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. ( Rev. 21:8)
Unbelieving: The first verse that comes to mind here is the man with a son that had a demon possessed son who was being thrown into water; etc. That passage is Mark 9:24 and the whole incident is worth reading to understand further how there was rampant lack of faith as well as preparation for casting out the demon. REALIZING we have unbelief results from the Holy Spirit changing us; it is not what is often a false gospel of not having faith enough for a family member to be healed; or some power trip by a ministry more interested in notoriety and ultimately greedy for gain with someone given a title of "healer". We can say at the time of Christ it was indeed foolish not to believe He could work any miracles including bringing one back from death; because it was only rejecting His claim of Divinity that a person could reject Him which shows the depths of blindness of the Pharisees. The core issue which remains the same is the fact that we are all as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6) and this includes our so called "good deeds".
Abominable: Luke 16:15 shows what men hold as esteemed is an abomination before God. To esteem something shows a sort of prideful mentality; acclaim and praise is something Christ warned about in numerous passages (see Luke 6:26; another passage in this book as one example). Even calling Christ good implies that he as a mere man or prophet is good; and Christ makes it clear only God alone is good ( Mark 10:18). This is what is so dangerous about anyone who men praise; not only do they almost always practice false theology but we are convinced our own righteousness will justify us in the day of judgment.
No wonder Satan appearing as an angel of light fools lost souls ( 2 Cor. 11:14).
Oh yes,it's by the mouth,but what JESUS is revealing has nothing to do with a teaching on how"a frog capture it's prey"/or swallow his food,it would be ridiculous, the matter is much more deeper than you imagined.But what is the mystery?
See,even now and from now on, in this current time, Satan is mobilizing and gathering these three types of caste of demons he has under his power in earth and in waters, for the battle against the establishment of GOD's Kingdom.Rev.11:15:The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our LORD,and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
I searched deeply an explanation for this biblical mystery. By the Word of GOD it is the follow: Frogs are amphibians vertebrate animals that live in aquatic and on terrestrial environment. But is it the same in the spiritual environment? Yes, it is.
1-THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
Rev.17:15-And the angel saith unto me,The WATERS which you saw, where the WHORE sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. This is the aquatic environment of these three unclean spirits of demons like frogs, which rule/guide the nations/peoples of all tongues in whole earth through all kind of devilish systems, as religious systems, the idolater Catholicism, the esoteric Judaism, spiritism, budhism, islamism, among others,and also THROUGH political systems,and military, social, cultural, among others systems.In fact,Satan goes to and fro and from walking up and down among the Gentile nations.
2-THE TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
FIRST Israel is an island among the waters(Gentile nations)or in the middle of the sea described above according Scriptures.Israel is the earth, a dry land or still the clay- Isaiah 64:8-a dry land surrounded by water on all sides or, by allegory, surrounded by the Gentile nations.
Israel, the earth/dry land, was/is infested of idolatries, wichcraft, esoterism/kabbala,they wait a messiah,a false Messiah-John5:43-47
Good question: Why wd this woman keep the commandments when she has the testimony of Jesus.
First, the testimony of JESUS is the Spirit of prophecy. She is clothed with the Sun, the Greater Light , sent in the fourth Day or around 4000 years after Adam, that is JESUS. JESUS said:My Father worketh hitherto, and I work- John 5:17KJV. I and my Father are One- John 10:30. Under her feet the Lesser light, the Holy Spirit, also sent in the fourth Day, gives her sustention / sustenance, furthermore, the woman is already crowned under the doctrine of the twelve Apostles chosen by our Lord JESUS.
Yes, the dragon (the man of sin, son of perdition, the Beast of the earth- Revelation 13:11 combined with 2Thes. 2) was (will be) wroth/wrath with the woman, he will persecute the woman which brought forth the MAN child -the ancient of days - the Lesser Light - and to the woman is given two wings of a great eagle -the OT and the NT -, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished - nourished by the OT and NT, the commandments and testimony of JESUS -, for a time, and times, and half a time (42 months), from the face of the serpent- Revelation 12:14KJV.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth(earth here is the clay- Isaiah 64:8, the dry land) helped the woman(will be 144K???), and the earth(Jewish believers) opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon (a strong DELUSION that will be sent by GOD-2Thes.2:11-12 combined with Revelation 13:11-18) cast out of his mouth.
Let us get ready, it is midnight, the bridegroom comes; let us go out to meet Him, all of us need to arise and trimmed our lamps. But wait, only lamp is not enough to walk now, it's necessary / essential to have oil, otherwise, the lamp will go out, but at midnight? in full darkness and nocturnal terrors?
Hi Natasha St John! If you read in Revelation 7:4-8 It explains that the 144,000 are out of the 12 tribes of Israel. As we read on starting with verse 9 we see that the nations that make up the rest of the world, that have their garments washed white in the blood of the Lamb, are a multitude that no man could number. So the 144,000 are only those that God has sealed, out of the 12 tribes of Israel. Now we know because God's Word is truth and there is a thread in the bible. Isaiah 64:6 says that all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. In Matthew 7:21-23 says that God will say depart from me ye workers of iniquity. Also in
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 it says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. And in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So by fallowing the thread of the Bible we can clearly see that the 144,000 are only out of the 12 tribes of Israel, they are washed in the blood of the Lamb and sealed by God. The rest of the world is the multitude that no man can number and is also washed in the blood of Christ Jesus.
I hope this answers your question.
I always try to remember these verses; 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
I see that there may be a confusion between a gift and a reward. A Gift is something given voluntarily without any expectation of a return; usually given out of love or deep concern. A Reward is something given to recompense or requite someone for some hard work, acknowledging an achievement, or meritorious act.
If the salvation of God to mankind required that man do a worthy work to gain it, then it would be God's reward for our efforts. If then it is our efforts to gain this gift of salvation, it would make our efforts of greater worth than what Jesus achieved, thus nullifying His Sacrifice for us. We can never hope to be able to do anything or contribute anything that would make Jesus' Sacrifice more effective.
Therefore, Salvation must be a Gift & not a Reward. Sinners certainly can't do anything to gain a reward from God, for "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6), in God's Sight. And for this reason, God had to step in to help the sinner in his predicament, drowning in his sin, on his way to judgement for it. God's love could only bestow upon the sinner a Gift, undeserved & unmerited by us. It came without any conditions, just to receive it with grateful repentant hearts, with joy that our sins are fully paid for & dealt with. But if God left it there, we might be thankful for His Gift of Salvation, but have no power & convictions over the enemy that ever lurks to make us reprobates before God by compelling acts of sin.
Thus the Holy Spirit was sent as part of that Divine Gift, Who ensures that these redeemed lives remain true to God, living lives in the power of the Spirit. And yes, faith & salvation must now produce good works because of the Spirit's Presence & enabling, or else James 2:14 becomes very valid, 'can faith without works save him?' Salvation is the Gift from God - Works is our response - the two must go hand-in-hand - but Salvation stands alone as a Gift from God, apart from works or else it's no longer a gift.
In a way you we lost our salvation win Adam sinned. Romans 5:12. There is no way we can redeem ourselves. Isaiah 64:6. Without focusing on what the filthy rags are, have you ever tried cleaning with one? Our salvation is not in our hands. Our salvation and Sanctification is in the Lords hands.
If our lack of perfection couldn't achieve salvation, how is our lack of perfection going to keep salvation? or obtain it again if we lost it.
If you have ETERNAL LIFE you have it NOW.
John 10:28. And I give unto them eternal life; AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND.,
When we are saved we are sealed.
Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, WHEREBY YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.
It's God spirit in you, you may and will grieve him but he will never forsake you. Hebrews 13:5.
Hi Barb, I don't think it must be one or the other.
The Bible is full of metaphors to explain things like our relationship to God. I see T. Levis shared scriptures for "sons", so I'll share different ones:
We all have 2 bodies, a flesh body, and a spiritual.
The flesh is of clay(figure of speech)God uses nature to teach,, and when it dies, it goes to hell, hell meaning(the grave)it returns to dust, whereas the spiritual body returns to the Father that gave it, which is Heaven because wherever the Father is that is Heaven.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
When the clay pot breaks All souls go back to the Father
Ecclesiastes12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
There have traditionally been two main camps since midieval times; that of the Calvanists believing in Predestination (along with some other early theologians) and those of the "Arminian" or free will camp. There is no doubt that there is a predetermined path known beforehand by God (and translated predestined as Romans 8:29 states). The debate is to whether it is the individual who is always referred to or the PLAN that is established from eternity for the church in general to conform us into His image. It ends up being a logic sort of argument; basically stating that we are "totally depraved" which is deduced from many verses showing that man is estranged from the womb ( Psalm 58:3); and many other scriptures indicating that since the fall of Adam we are all in the nature of fallen man. It does seem clear that without Divine guidance we are indeed unable to do any good works ( Isaiah 64:6).
We cannot ignore Romans 1 and Psalm 19; two examples that show man deliberately ignoring the obvious design of nature and His Divine attributes. Man has a conscience; but that is already subjective as to our own emotions and will and fallen; and sin hardens it further so that it can become seared ( 1 Tim. 4:2). It is clear whatever school of thought we entertain that God knows who will be saved and who won't be ultimately as He knows all things. Jesus knew His sheep ( John 10:14); but also that Gospel shows that those who are NOT His sheep ( John 10:26). It is pretty clear that God has predetermined all who Christ will die for in that Gospel as well. We really don't get these concepts BEFORE in time and space we come to a state of repentance and new birth (again; things GIVEN by God). We must repent and be held accountable; whether it is for works done apart from grace for nonbelievers; or those done as believers at the Bema Seat Judgment. We also must agree that God is fair; judges impartially; and doesn't rejoice in the death of the wicked. (see Deut 29:29).
Amen, and thank you for sharing this piece of scripture. It comes from Isaiah 64:4. Man and his human faculties cannot understand the things of God. In my own human way of thinking, I have no idea. Eye hath not seen and ear has not heard the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. It comes by inspiration and by God's Spirit.
Do you not know that the biden administration has elected more muslims in office? Do you not know how many muslim mosques are in the United States of America? Did you know right now there are islamic clubs at almost every secular university in America? I am just creating awareness of the horrors of islam. You talk about only talking about the Bible, and I am also doing that by exposing the damnable heresies in the koran. There are verses in the Bible that talks about how the followers of Christ are to expose the unfruitful works of darkness. There are verses are in the KJV Bible that talk about it, so that is what I am doing what the Bible says..
Ephesians 5:11, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
We are to not just talk about the Holy Word of God, but apply the Holy Word of God in our daily lives. I am not better than anyone, just better off spiritually speaking than most ( Matthew 7:22-23), but only because of how Jesus Christ suffered and shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross for all my sins and the whole world, for I am nothing and can do nothing apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 64:6, ""But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
I do not want to be deceived in thinking that just by talking or hearing about God's Holy Word is enough for me to go to Heaven, when only the doers of God's Holy Word will make it to Heaven, and we are not saved by works, but by what Christ accomplished on the cross by offering up Himself as a living sacrifice for all of us. Love you in Christ!
Commandments; if they were a NATURAL thing to do wouldn't need the Spirit of God to accomplish; merely our own efforts.
The meaning behind the commandments that Christ illustrates; such as that of lust and murder clearly point out the intentions of our heart as being part of what is within that produces BAD fruit in unregenerate men.
Cutting right to the chase; as Zechariah 3:3 and other verses state we have filthy garments when sin has contaminated us; and it seems clear even as believers this can happen. Our righteous deeds are as filthy rags ( Isaiah 64:6) and we need to understand that all of our love and affections also are self centered without Christ. Once we recognize our helpless state; then we can as Isaiah state "woe to me; I am undone." ( Isaiah 6:5). At that point then we can BEGIN to do the works of righteousness He has prepared for us from the foundation of the earth ( Eph. 2:10).
Then; of course we have to heed to sins not just of commission but OMISSION. And also avoiding things that are grey areas that may offend a brother or if we know to do good and don't do it is sin ( James 4:17). We can therefore; never do the law perfectly; and it must be done with the Holy Spirit within us.
Without the Spirit; even those things which are specifically warned against will; as man becomes increasingly blind be succumbed to; as wickedness increases; consciousness becomes seared even Israel was seduced to follow foreign gods warned against and they sacrificed their children to Molech; and worshipped idols. The teachers of the law became hypocrites; "sons of hell" as Jesus referred them to. And we can't follow the 1st Commandment on our own strength; or love the law as Psalm 119 the longest psalm in scripture indicates in the whole passage. Yes; as Christians if we love Him we obey His commandments.
We also TRUST God that these are what is best for us; even if as with human fathers it is not enjoyable in the short term.
That question involves a sense of one and the same when the accuser torments us and puts us in bondage. Obviously; as Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21 and other verses indicate we all were enemies of God and remain so until we are Born Again.
It seems with Satan's role as the "accuser of the brethren" ( Revelation 12:10) that he focuses more on those who are saved than the rest of the world-for several reasons. For one thing; being the god of this world" (Corinthians) that men being already under his spell are better to not fear reality. Undoubtably; the enemy has learned that when the fear of God comes on someone as to their spiritual state they are more likely to turn to God. If the enemy of our souls affects us it starts in our minds; and when a weakness is exploited that leads to sin the carrot as it were switches to the accusations and oppression. It is because of our sin that he has legal authority to accuse us. He may also buffet us as occurred with Paul; or use people to go after us. This is; of course no battle to seek alone-we must trust God that Christ is sufficient-it is He who remains faithful even when we are not ( 2 Tim. 2:13). If we are rendered useless to produce fruit spiritually; that is enough to kill off our witness.
We need to understand that all our good works apart from Christ is "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6). If we do have a healthy appreciation of that; we also need to see us as having a new nature (if truly we have examined ourselves in Christ to see if we are in the faith). The way to do this is to recognize His voice; and I pray that you can do that today. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We; however fall at His feet realizing our unworthiness and undeservedness of His mercies. We still are capable of sin; but in Christ that is not truly who we are as our identity; but we are dying daily to self.
He chastises all He loves; that is different than destruction of His enemies.
Precious friend, 1) Respectfully 'disagree," As Scripture Clearly teaches, Under God's GRACE, For The 'Body Of CHRIST'!:
"...we walk BY FAITH, 'Not' by sight..." 2Co 5:7 Thus, all "signs, experiences, dreams, visions, looking for antichrist, great tribulation prophecies, etc. Are 'Not' for us. However, When This "GRACE Is 'Ended' At our Great GRACE Departure," 1Th 4:17; 1Co 15:51-54...
...THEN God Will 'Resume HIS Prophetic Program,' For 'ISRAEL And the nations, Under Judgment/Great Tribulation/Wrath, And 'ALL the SIGHT signs' and Matthew 22 and 24, Will Then 'Be Applicable!'
2) Today, Under GRACE, it Is 'UNbelief' that "keeps us from Heaven" = 'Eligible For Heaven'?:
Look at Linda Rika YouTube testimony. Six hours in hell two hours in Heaven. Read Matthew 22:11-13 clothing only keeps a man from Heaven. The last chapter and verse in Isaaih. Many people lying. He got tired of watching the whole church go to hell. Ask God. Lord is it you in the dream? Lord am I eligible for Heaven?
As Brother Jesse said I believe a verse to consider is Revelation 19:8.
Garments is often used as an idiom for our righteousness. In Revelation the Lord clothes us with Revelation 3:4-5. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
The Lord clothes us with his righteousness.
Our righteousness is as filthy rags
Isaiah 64:6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Our effort to cleanse our self apart from Chist is as filthy rags.
Oseas, thanks for sharing your scripture and your interpretation of it. Yes, I read the scripture and believe it, but it does not say Eve had sex with satan. It is absolutely not there and not even close in my opinion.
It appears your primary source from which you hinge your theory is Jude 1:6-7. I encourage you to search 'What is the strange flesh in Jude 1:7?' on GotQuestions website. They did a thorough breakdown of this which I agree with.
I think the strange flesh in verse 7 is the unnatural homosexual behavior that took place within Sodom and Gomorrah, not relations with angels. Of course there was a visit from 2 angels there that the men wanted to have relations with, but they didn't know they were angels. Genesis 6:2-4. HEBREWS 13:2.
Secondly, the example of Jude 1:4-7 points out that God will punish those who disobey and deviate from God's plan for them.
Third, yes, the Bible has metaphors. Example: John 6:56. Eat flesh and drink blood. Have you literally given into cannibalism and eaten Jesus? And is that what it means? No, it's a metaphor. The bread symbolized it. Isaiah 64:8 - are you literally clay? Ezekiel 34:31 - are we a flock of sheep? Here's a simile: Matthew 10:16. 'as' sheep, 'as' serpents, 'as' wolves, which explains it's symbolic. So, when Jesus or God called humans satan were they actually satan or acting like satan? Jesus called Peter satan: Matthew 4:1. So, does that mean Peter was acting like satan or WAS satan? If he literally was satan why then did Jesus forgive him? Peter said he loved Jesus 3 times. Does satan love Jesus?
The other 2 verses you posted seem to serve confirmation bias for your theory, as they are general and are only used to reinforce the original misinterpretation.
Israel is the earth, the dry land, with its great city spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, yeah, Israel, the earth, was and is ALSO dominated by unclean spirits like frogs, which infested the nation of idolatries, and wichcraft, and idolaters and spiritist peoples or esoteric and kabbalistic peoples that follow the kabbalistic and spiritist Judaism, and Israel is waiting their messiah who must manifest himself soon (he was born decades ago), and he will be one of the heads of the monstrous and satanic Antichrist's Empire together the Beast of sea- Daniel 2:v.40 to 43:
v.40 - And the fourth kingdom(that is, the Roman Empire-Gentile peoples) shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it (the Roman Empire) break in pieces and bruise.
v.41 - And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes(the feet -two foot- and the 10 toes of statue), part of potters' clay(God is the Potter of clay. The clay is Israel, says the Word of God- Isaiah 64:v.8), and part of iron(Roman Empire), the kingdom shall be divided (evidently); but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron(Roman Empire), forasmuch as thou sawest the iron(Roman Empire) mixed with miry clay(clay is Israel- Isaiah 64:v.8).
v.42 - And as the toes (10 toes) of the feet(two foot) were part of iron(Roman Empire), and part of clay(Israel or Jewish), so the kingdom shall be partly strong(Roman Empire), and partly broken(weaker).
v.43 - And whereas thou sawest iron(Roman Empire) mixed with miry clay(Israel), they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men (many nations, Gentile peoples- Revelation 11:v.2): but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron(Roman Empire-Gentile peoples) is not mixed with clay(Jewish people - Israel).
Be careful, or get ready
WHO IS PREPARED FOR THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON AGAINST THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS WHICH DOMINATE THE WHOLE WORLD AND GUIDE AND RULE ALL THE NATIONS?
As you and ALL know, the prophecy - Daniel 7:7-8- is revealing about the fourth Empire- the dreadful and terrible, and strong Roman Empire- diverse from the Greek, Persian and Babylonian kingdoms that were before it. As you and all know, the Roman Empire was specifically and genuinely a GENTILIC Empire, but there was also a completely alien being, or nation, in the Gentile Roman Empire: It was ISRAEL, descendants of Abraham. For this reason the prophecy reveals Israel as an APPENDIX linked to the Roman Empire as 10 other independent powers, DESCENDANTES OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC and JACOB, prophetically represented by 10 horns, which in turn represents the 10 toes of the statue, part of iron, and part of clay- Daniel 2:42. In Daniel 2 , Israel, the clay- Isaiah 64:8-, is represented by 10 toes of the feet of the Nebuchadnezzar's estatue.
The roots of the Gentile Beast of sea, the Papacy, a religious MONSTER having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns 10 crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy, the main partner of the red Dragon- Revelation 12:3-4 & 9, yeah, the roots of the Gentile Beast of sea-the Papacy, are described in Revelation 13:2. In this current decade must be elected the last Pope, the next, and to this last Pope the dragon- Revelation 13:11-, will give him his Power, and his Throne(in JERUSALEM), and great Authority. Both as a RELIGIOUS AND SATANIC MONSTER-Catholicism and Judaism-iron and clay-, both will establish an Universal and religious kingdom- Daniel 2:41-44 combined with Luke 21:24 and Revelation 11:2. Take a look.
There will be a terrible spiritual War in the Earth from now on- Revelation 16:13-15.
GET READY
Revelation 21:8 - The fearful(COWARDS), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
The main happenings before the beginning of the last week- Daniel 9:27.What will happen from now on.The last week is not too far to start.Here are the happenings that will preceed the last week as was prophesied by Daniel:
- Death of the current Pope and election of the next and last Pope,ruler and guide of the religious MONSTER of 7 heads,and 10 horns,upon his HORNS ten crowns,and upon his 7 heads the name of blasphemy-Vicarius Filli Dei?
-The Beast of the earth with two horns LIKE A LAMB rises up in Israel;(the clay- Isaiah 64:8-the dry land);
-Election of a new Pope-his pseudo-name or nickname may be Paulus VII??(Re.17:10);
-Then the Beast of the earth LIKE A LAMB will manifest himself as God in Israel;in fact a false messiah,an esoteric,and kabbalistic,and spiritist false messiah;Then there will be two powerful and satanic Beasts in the Earth;
-The esoteric and kabblistic,and spiritist Beast of the earth will make great signs and wonders of lie,even makes fire come down to the earth before men;Rev.13:13-15
-The ELECTED LAST Pope(Paulus VII??)will meet the Beast like lamb;
-Both will develop an union between the Roman Catholic Church and Judaism,iron with clay- Daniel 2:41-43-but they shall not cleave one to another,even as iron is not mixed with clay;
-A religious and universal satanic Empire will be build by both religious leaders;Rev.11:1-2;
-The esoteric and kabbalistic, and spiritist Beast of the earth-the false messiah of the Jews-AN IMPOSTOR,will make a deal with the Beast of sea-the Papacy-,the Beast of earth, the false messaiah, will give to the Beast of sea his Power, and his Throne,and great Authority.Then the Antichrist's Empire is conceived by both satanic Beasts;
All events or happenings listed above,some will happen before starting the last week- Daniel 9:27-,for example,death of Pope Francis,others during the week as soon it starts, and others in the middle of the week and until the end or until the consumation.
Get ready
The message below is for your meditation, as a clue, to decipher an enigma / conundrum.
As you know, Revelation 13 describes two terrible different Beasts:
Beast of sea(verse 1),
Beast of the earth(verse 11)
Which of the two Beasts are you referring to?
According to the Revelation, sea means waters, waters mean peoples, and nations, and multitues of all tongues- Revelation 17:15-i.e. Gentile nations, so the Beast of sea is a Gentile Beast.
The Beast of earth has two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a DRAGON (a false lamb), by allegory, earth here is Israel, the clay( Isaiah 64:8) a dry land, like an isle in the sea, a portion of earth surrounded by waters (gentile peoples) on all sides.
According to the Daniel 9:27, he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Revelation 13:2 says the DRAGON shall give to the GENTILE Beast of sea his Power, and his Seat(his throne in Jerusalem), and great Authority. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations( Daniel 12:11) he shall make it desolate until the consummation.
GOD BLESS
I searched deeply an explanation for this biblical mystery, and by the Word of GOD what I found is the follow:
First of all, frogs are amphibians vertebrate animals that live in the aquatic environment and on the terrestrial environment. But is it the same in the spiritual environment? Yes, it is.
1-AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
Revelation 17:15-And the angel saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. NOTE: Except the TRUE CHRISTIANS/ ELIEVERS, all the peoples of all the nations are leaded and guided by the THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS like frogs.TERRIBLE.
The aquatic environment of these three spirits of demons like frogs which guide the peoples or rule nations of all tongues in whole earth, through devilish systems, as religious systems(Catholicism, and Judaism, spiritism, budhism, islamism, among others),and also political systems,and military systems,and social and cultural systems,among others systems. In fact, Satan goes to and fro and from walking up and down among them.
2 - TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
FIRST we need to understand that Israel is an island among the waters (Gentile nations)or in the middle of the sea, as is described above in according the Scriptures. Israel is the earth, a dry land, Genesis 1:v.10-3rd Day-or still the clay- Isaiah 64:v.8-a dry land surrounded by water on all sides or by allegory surrounded by the Gentile nations. Isaiah prophesyed saying: Is.41:1-2 -> 1-Keep silence before me,O islands; and let the people renew their strength:let them come near;then let them speak:let us come near together to Judgment.
2 Who raised up the righteous man from the east,called him to his foot,gave the nations before him,and made him rule over kings?he gave them as the dust to his Sword- Revelation 2:v.26 to 28-,and as driven stubble to his bow.(bow- Revelation 6:v.2)
Romans 5:12 says Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
The fact is that we are all born with Adam's sin and hence at enmity with God. Our hearts are as Jeremiah 17:9 says "desperately wicked." No one does good ( Romans 3:10-12 and in Psalms); and we are estranged from the womb ( Psalm 58:3). So the first issue is the thought that anyone is "good" which inevitably comes from comparing ourselves to another "worse" person like Hitler (unless we are that bad ourselves and we can't appeal to anyone worse; in that case we probably wouldn't want to concern ourselves with doing good deeds. Our deeds also; BTW are evil; even our best deeds as "filthy rags". ( Isaiah 64:6). This "grace Gospel" as it is known is obviously taken from Romans as a primary source but reflects many scripture verses. Or as someone once said "a hundred percent sinner needs a hundred percent savior" (can't seem to find this entire phrase quoted by anyone).
Now death; of course in the law comes in two ways; MURDER or justifiable killing whether to exact a punishment "a life for a life" (part of Deuteronomy 19:21). It also is involved with the wars and conquests of Israel with the admittedly hard verses about exterminating entire peoples including women and children in certain circumstances. The understandable aspect of this is when the descendents of the Nephilim (or angels with women producing giant hybrid offspring) were exterminated; being an aberrant being without and eternal soul perhaps the proper interpretation of Isaiah 26:14. That is a deep study; but no doubt this is easier than explaining extermination of human beings. Those nations which were conquered had common practices of child sacrifice with idol worship; therefore it could have saved the children from a worse death. Genesis 15:16 shows how God waits until iniquity is full before utter destruction.
Having wiped out my last posting AGAIN by pushing the wrong button I will have more to say perhaps later regarding devotionals.
I thought I would shift gears and discuss Catechisms. I expect many know that a Catechism is a sort of reciting of a Doctrinal Statement.
Let's be honest here; although maybe it's just me...such studies can often be the most BORING ones we undertake and if someone is really not a believer it could in my opinion do more harm then good even if it is a scripturally solid one. The first thing of course we must investigate is; when considering becoming a church member in particular is are there any issues that jump out to us that we cannot believe or are unwilling to be dogmatic about? I am from a Protestant and primarily Reformed background; and generally ascribe to things in the Heidelburg confession; for instance. That being said; for whatever reason the designation exist; I find the term "DIVINES" for those who came up with certain Reformed confessions as being a repulsive term. I have shown evidence in the past of certain behaviors among Calvin and Luthor; no matter how critical they were for getting back to "Sola Scriptura" and concepts of Predestination that I don't care to mention them as examples to follow and say instead that they brought out scriptural truths such as are found in the book of John in particular as to God calling and choosing people the Son would reveal Himself to. Such a concept saturates many chapters in John in particular but is found in many other places in scripture. We don't find the term "total depravity" in scripture but there are many places where it says man can do no good and his good works are as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6).
I mentioned in an earlier post that the Orthodox Presbyterian church (OPC) that existed in Pittsburgh before folding allowed me to be a member but not of full standing as to my take on infant Baptism. We shoudn't rush membership.
Israel, as 'Dry Bones'- Ezekiel 37-Now,Dry land, but before was the clay( Isaiah 64:8), exactly when the Most High make a separation between water and water- Genesis 1:9-, that is, when the Most High separated the Hebrews from the Egypcians through Moses, and He created a celestial environment and called it of expanse, called heaven (that is the Dispensation of the Old Testament used in the Promised Land), then the Most High, the Lord, the I AM, separated the water (the Egypcians) that was BELOW of the expanse He created(an heavenly environment), and the water that that was ABOVE the expanse (the people of Israel- GOD's people), and it was evening, and it was morning, the second GOD's Day.
Genesis 1:10-19
10And God called the dry land Earth(israel);and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas(Gentile peoples/nations): and God saw that it was good.
11And God said,Let the earth(Israel)bring forth grass,the herb yielding seed,and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,whose seed is in itself,upon the earth:and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth grass,and herb yielding seed after his kind,and the tree yielding fruit,whose seed was in itself, after his kind:and God saw that it was good.
13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14And God said,Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day(light)from the night(darkness);and let them be for signs,and for seasons,and for days,and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven(expanse)to give light upon the earth:and it was so.
16And God MADE two great lights;the Greater Light-JESUS-to rule the day,and the Lesser light to rule the night:he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night,and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Unbelieving: The first verse that comes to mind here is the man with a son that had a demon possessed son who was being thrown into water; etc. That passage is Mark 9:24 and the whole incident is worth reading to understand further how there was rampant lack of faith as well as preparation for casting out the demon. REALIZING we have unbelief results from the Holy Spirit changing us; it is not what is often a false gospel of not having faith enough for a family member to be healed; or some power trip by a ministry more interested in notoriety and ultimately greedy for gain with someone given a title of "healer". We can say at the time of Christ it was indeed foolish not to believe He could work any miracles including bringing one back from death; because it was only rejecting His claim of Divinity that a person could reject Him which shows the depths of blindness of the Pharisees. The core issue which remains the same is the fact that we are all as "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6) and this includes our so called "good deeds".
Abominable: Luke 16:15 shows what men hold as esteemed is an abomination before God. To esteem something shows a sort of prideful mentality; acclaim and praise is something Christ warned about in numerous passages (see Luke 6:26; another passage in this book as one example). Even calling Christ good implies that he as a mere man or prophet is good; and Christ makes it clear only God alone is good ( Mark 10:18). This is what is so dangerous about anyone who men praise; not only do they almost always practice false theology but we are convinced our own righteousness will justify us in the day of judgment.
No wonder Satan appearing as an angel of light fools lost souls ( 2 Cor. 11:14).
Oh yes,it's by the mouth,but what JESUS is revealing has nothing to do with a teaching on how"a frog capture it's prey"/or swallow his food,it would be ridiculous, the matter is much more deeper than you imagined.But what is the mystery?
See,even now and from now on, in this current time, Satan is mobilizing and gathering these three types of caste of demons he has under his power in earth and in waters, for the battle against the establishment of GOD's Kingdom.Rev.11:15:The kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of our LORD,and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever.
I searched deeply an explanation for this biblical mystery. By the Word of GOD it is the follow: Frogs are amphibians vertebrate animals that live in aquatic and on terrestrial environment. But is it the same in the spiritual environment? Yes, it is.
1-THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
Rev.17:15-And the angel saith unto me,The WATERS which you saw, where the WHORE sits are peoples, multitudes, nations and tongues. This is the aquatic environment of these three unclean spirits of demons like frogs, which rule/guide the nations/peoples of all tongues in whole earth through all kind of devilish systems, as religious systems, the idolater Catholicism, the esoteric Judaism, spiritism, budhism, islamism, among others,and also THROUGH political systems,and military, social, cultural, among others systems.In fact,Satan goes to and fro and from walking up and down among the Gentile nations.
2-THE TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE EVIL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS
FIRST Israel is an island among the waters(Gentile nations)or in the middle of the sea described above according Scriptures.Israel is the earth, a dry land or still the clay- Isaiah 64:8-a dry land surrounded by water on all sides or, by allegory, surrounded by the Gentile nations.
Israel, the earth/dry land, was/is infested of idolatries, wichcraft, esoterism/kabbala,they wait a messiah,a false Messiah-John5:43-47
Good question: Why wd this woman keep the commandments when she has the testimony of Jesus.
First, the testimony of JESUS is the Spirit of prophecy. She is clothed with the Sun, the Greater Light , sent in the fourth Day or around 4000 years after Adam, that is JESUS. JESUS said:My Father worketh hitherto, and I work- John 5:17KJV. I and my Father are One- John 10:30. Under her feet the Lesser light, the Holy Spirit, also sent in the fourth Day, gives her sustention / sustenance, furthermore, the woman is already crowned under the doctrine of the twelve Apostles chosen by our Lord JESUS.
Yes, the dragon (the man of sin, son of perdition, the Beast of the earth- Revelation 13:11 combined with 2Thes. 2) was (will be) wroth/wrath with the woman, he will persecute the woman which brought forth the MAN child -the ancient of days - the Lesser Light - and to the woman is given two wings of a great eagle -the OT and the NT -, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished - nourished by the OT and NT, the commandments and testimony of JESUS -, for a time, and times, and half a time (42 months), from the face of the serpent- Revelation 12:14KJV.
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth(earth here is the clay- Isaiah 64:8, the dry land) helped the woman(will be 144K???), and the earth(Jewish believers) opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon (a strong DELUSION that will be sent by GOD-2Thes.2:11-12 combined with Revelation 13:11-18) cast out of his mouth.
Let us get ready, it is midnight, the bridegroom comes; let us go out to meet Him, all of us need to arise and trimmed our lamps. But wait, only lamp is not enough to walk now, it's necessary / essential to have oil, otherwise, the lamp will go out, but at midnight? in full darkness and nocturnal terrors?
Be careful
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 it says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. And in Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So by fallowing the thread of the Bible we can clearly see that the 144,000 are only out of the 12 tribes of Israel, they are washed in the blood of the Lamb and sealed by God. The rest of the world is the multitude that no man can number and is also washed in the blood of Christ Jesus.
I hope this answers your question.
I always try to remember these verses; 1 Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
If the salvation of God to mankind required that man do a worthy work to gain it, then it would be God's reward for our efforts. If then it is our efforts to gain this gift of salvation, it would make our efforts of greater worth than what Jesus achieved, thus nullifying His Sacrifice for us. We can never hope to be able to do anything or contribute anything that would make Jesus' Sacrifice more effective.
Therefore, Salvation must be a Gift & not a Reward. Sinners certainly can't do anything to gain a reward from God, for "all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6), in God's Sight. And for this reason, God had to step in to help the sinner in his predicament, drowning in his sin, on his way to judgement for it. God's love could only bestow upon the sinner a Gift, undeserved & unmerited by us. It came without any conditions, just to receive it with grateful repentant hearts, with joy that our sins are fully paid for & dealt with. But if God left it there, we might be thankful for His Gift of Salvation, but have no power & convictions over the enemy that ever lurks to make us reprobates before God by compelling acts of sin.
Thus the Holy Spirit was sent as part of that Divine Gift, Who ensures that these redeemed lives remain true to God, living lives in the power of the Spirit. And yes, faith & salvation must now produce good works because of the Spirit's Presence & enabling, or else James 2:14 becomes very valid, 'can faith without works save him?' Salvation is the Gift from God - Works is our response - the two must go hand-in-hand - but Salvation stands alone as a Gift from God, apart from works or else it's no longer a gift.
In a way you we lost our salvation win Adam sinned. Romans 5:12. There is no way we can redeem ourselves. Isaiah 64:6. Without focusing on what the filthy rags are, have you ever tried cleaning with one? Our salvation is not in our hands. Our salvation and Sanctification is in the Lords hands.
If our lack of perfection couldn't achieve salvation, how is our lack of perfection going to keep salvation? or obtain it again if we lost it.
If you have ETERNAL LIFE you have it NOW.
John 10:28. And I give unto them eternal life; AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND.,
When we are saved we are sealed.
Ephesians 4:30. And grieve not the HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD, WHEREBY YE ARE SEALED UNTO THE DAY OF REDEMPTION.
It's God spirit in you, you may and will grieve him but he will never forsake you. Hebrews 13:5.
God bless.
The Bible is full of metaphors to explain things like our relationship to God. I see T. Levis shared scriptures for "sons", so I'll share different ones:
Be like children:
Matthew 18:3
Romans 8:17
Galatians 4:6
Be people and sheep:
Psalms 100:3
John 10:11
Jeremiah 50:6
We're clay:
Isaiah 64:8
We're branches:
John 15:5
We're salt:
Matthew 5:13
I'm sure there's more.
The flesh is of clay(figure of speech)God uses nature to teach,, and when it dies, it goes to hell, hell meaning(the grave)it returns to dust, whereas the spiritual body returns to the Father that gave it, which is Heaven because wherever the Father is that is Heaven.
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
When the clay pot breaks All souls go back to the Father
Ecclesiastes12:6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
Clay is made out of dust
We cannot ignore Romans 1 and Psalm 19; two examples that show man deliberately ignoring the obvious design of nature and His Divine attributes. Man has a conscience; but that is already subjective as to our own emotions and will and fallen; and sin hardens it further so that it can become seared ( 1 Tim. 4:2). It is clear whatever school of thought we entertain that God knows who will be saved and who won't be ultimately as He knows all things. Jesus knew His sheep ( John 10:14); but also that Gospel shows that those who are NOT His sheep ( John 10:26). It is pretty clear that God has predetermined all who Christ will die for in that Gospel as well. We really don't get these concepts BEFORE in time and space we come to a state of repentance and new birth (again; things GIVEN by God). We must repent and be held accountable; whether it is for works done apart from grace for nonbelievers; or those done as believers at the Bema Seat Judgment. We also must agree that God is fair; judges impartially; and doesn't rejoice in the death of the wicked. (see Deut 29:29).
Amen, and thank you for sharing this piece of scripture. It comes from Isaiah 64:4. Man and his human faculties cannot understand the things of God. In my own human way of thinking, I have no idea. Eye hath not seen and ear has not heard the things that God has prepared for those that love Him. It comes by inspiration and by God's Spirit.
God Bless, and get well soon!
Ephesians 5:11, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
James 1:22, "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
We are to not just talk about the Holy Word of God, but apply the Holy Word of God in our daily lives. I am not better than anyone, just better off spiritually speaking than most ( Matthew 7:22-23), but only because of how Jesus Christ suffered and shed His precious blood on Calvary's cross for all my sins and the whole world, for I am nothing and can do nothing apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 64:6, ""But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."
I do not want to be deceived in thinking that just by talking or hearing about God's Holy Word is enough for me to go to Heaven, when only the doers of God's Holy Word will make it to Heaven, and we are not saved by works, but by what Christ accomplished on the cross by offering up Himself as a living sacrifice for all of us. Love you in Christ!
The meaning behind the commandments that Christ illustrates; such as that of lust and murder clearly point out the intentions of our heart as being part of what is within that produces BAD fruit in unregenerate men.
Cutting right to the chase; as Zechariah 3:3 and other verses state we have filthy garments when sin has contaminated us; and it seems clear even as believers this can happen. Our righteous deeds are as filthy rags ( Isaiah 64:6) and we need to understand that all of our love and affections also are self centered without Christ. Once we recognize our helpless state; then we can as Isaiah state "woe to me; I am undone." ( Isaiah 6:5). At that point then we can BEGIN to do the works of righteousness He has prepared for us from the foundation of the earth ( Eph. 2:10).
Then; of course we have to heed to sins not just of commission but OMISSION. And also avoiding things that are grey areas that may offend a brother or if we know to do good and don't do it is sin ( James 4:17). We can therefore; never do the law perfectly; and it must be done with the Holy Spirit within us.
Without the Spirit; even those things which are specifically warned against will; as man becomes increasingly blind be succumbed to; as wickedness increases; consciousness becomes seared even Israel was seduced to follow foreign gods warned against and they sacrificed their children to Molech; and worshipped idols. The teachers of the law became hypocrites; "sons of hell" as Jesus referred them to. And we can't follow the 1st Commandment on our own strength; or love the law as Psalm 119 the longest psalm in scripture indicates in the whole passage. Yes; as Christians if we love Him we obey His commandments.
We also TRUST God that these are what is best for us; even if as with human fathers it is not enjoyable in the short term.
Agape.
It seems with Satan's role as the "accuser of the brethren" ( Revelation 12:10) that he focuses more on those who are saved than the rest of the world-for several reasons. For one thing; being the god of this world" (Corinthians) that men being already under his spell are better to not fear reality. Undoubtably; the enemy has learned that when the fear of God comes on someone as to their spiritual state they are more likely to turn to God. If the enemy of our souls affects us it starts in our minds; and when a weakness is exploited that leads to sin the carrot as it were switches to the accusations and oppression. It is because of our sin that he has legal authority to accuse us. He may also buffet us as occurred with Paul; or use people to go after us. This is; of course no battle to seek alone-we must trust God that Christ is sufficient-it is He who remains faithful even when we are not ( 2 Tim. 2:13). If we are rendered useless to produce fruit spiritually; that is enough to kill off our witness.
We need to understand that all our good works apart from Christ is "filthy rags" ( Isaiah 64:6). If we do have a healthy appreciation of that; we also need to see us as having a new nature (if truly we have examined ourselves in Christ to see if we are in the faith). The way to do this is to recognize His voice; and I pray that you can do that today. There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. We; however fall at His feet realizing our unworthiness and undeservedness of His mercies. We still are capable of sin; but in Christ that is not truly who we are as our identity; but we are dying daily to self.
He chastises all He loves; that is different than destruction of His enemies.
"...we walk BY FAITH, 'Not' by sight..." 2Co 5:7 Thus, all "signs, experiences, dreams, visions, looking for antichrist, great tribulation prophecies, etc. Are 'Not' for us. However, When This "GRACE Is 'Ended' At our Great GRACE Departure," 1Th 4:17; 1Co 15:51-54...
...THEN God Will 'Resume HIS Prophetic Program,' For 'ISRAEL And the nations, Under Judgment/Great Tribulation/Wrath, And 'ALL the SIGHT signs' and Matthew 22 and 24, Will Then 'Be Applicable!'
2) Today, Under GRACE, it Is 'UNbelief' that "keeps us from Heaven" = 'Eligible For Heaven'?:
God's 'Simple' Will: Linkquot;
I am curious to know where you encountered this concept.
To be equal with God we must first judge God's value and merit.
One quick response is that the Jews sought to stone Jesus when they perceived His claim of equality with God, as in John 5:18.
Also look at
I John 3:20 - God is greater than our hearts
Psalm 61:2 - God is higher than us
Psalm 89:27 - God will make Christ higher than the kings of the Earth
Ecclesiastes 5:8 - God is higher than the highest
If you will know them by their fruits, let's look to our ways;
Isaiah 55:9 - God's ways are infinitely higher than ours
Job 15:6 - We are unclean
Isaiah 64:6 - NOTHING we do could measure up to God's righteousness
That is a very big and significant thing to say, to claim anyone as an equal with God.
As a comparison, there is one very heretical sect which believes we will judge God.
Clearly, just based upon the references I have listed, their claim is not the least bit credible.
Such statements cannot stand of their own merit nor of that of their speaker.
Equality with God or standing in judgment of God would be enormous claims requiring substance to back them up.
Big claims are either big truths or big falsehoods. Not everyone can determine the difference.
You may or may not be a great theologian or an academic authority.
Even such titles wouldn't be enough for a common joe like me.
Being that this is a Biblical site, answers of that magnitude carry credibility only when they are backed by Scriptural reference.
Otherwise;
If I wanted to debate you, it would be difficult because I don't see here where your basis is or how to clarify a dissent.
If I wanted to agree with you, well, again, your basis is not shown, so I would be at some degree of loss in composing a reply.
On any subject, but especially such a profound claim, let authority be Sola Scriptura and let Scripture interpret Scripture.
As Brother Jesse said I believe a verse to consider is Revelation 19:8.
Garments is often used as an idiom for our righteousness. In Revelation the Lord clothes us with Revelation 3:4-5. Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:18. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
The Lord clothes us with his righteousness.
Our righteousness is as filthy rags
Isaiah 64:6. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Our effort to cleanse our self apart from Chist is as filthy rags.
God bless.
It appears your primary source from which you hinge your theory is Jude 1:6-7. I encourage you to search 'What is the strange flesh in Jude 1:7?' on GotQuestions website. They did a thorough breakdown of this which I agree with.
I think the strange flesh in verse 7 is the unnatural homosexual behavior that took place within Sodom and Gomorrah, not relations with angels. Of course there was a visit from 2 angels there that the men wanted to have relations with, but they didn't know they were angels. Genesis 6:2-4. HEBREWS 13:2.
Secondly, the example of Jude 1:4-7 points out that God will punish those who disobey and deviate from God's plan for them.
Third, yes, the Bible has metaphors. Example: John 6:56. Eat flesh and drink blood. Have you literally given into cannibalism and eaten Jesus? And is that what it means? No, it's a metaphor. The bread symbolized it. Isaiah 64:8 - are you literally clay? Ezekiel 34:31 - are we a flock of sheep? Here's a simile: Matthew 10:16. 'as' sheep, 'as' serpents, 'as' wolves, which explains it's symbolic. So, when Jesus or God called humans satan were they actually satan or acting like satan? Jesus called Peter satan: Matthew 4:1. So, does that mean Peter was acting like satan or WAS satan? If he literally was satan why then did Jesus forgive him? Peter said he loved Jesus 3 times. Does satan love Jesus?
The other 2 verses you posted seem to serve confirmation bias for your theory, as they are general and are only used to reinforce the original misinterpretation.
God bless...
Israel is the earth, the dry land, with its great city spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, yeah, Israel, the earth, was and is ALSO dominated by unclean spirits like frogs, which infested the nation of idolatries, and wichcraft, and idolaters and spiritist peoples or esoteric and kabbalistic peoples that follow the kabbalistic and spiritist Judaism, and Israel is waiting their messiah who must manifest himself soon (he was born decades ago), and he will be one of the heads of the monstrous and satanic Antichrist's Empire together the Beast of sea- Daniel 2:v.40 to 43:
v.40 - And the fourth kingdom(that is, the Roman Empire-Gentile peoples) shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it (the Roman Empire) break in pieces and bruise.
v.41 - And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes(the feet -two foot- and the 10 toes of statue), part of potters' clay(God is the Potter of clay. The clay is Israel, says the Word of God- Isaiah 64:v.8), and part of iron(Roman Empire), the kingdom shall be divided (evidently); but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron(Roman Empire), forasmuch as thou sawest the iron(Roman Empire) mixed with miry clay(clay is Israel- Isaiah 64:v.8).
v.42 - And as the toes (10 toes) of the feet(two foot) were part of iron(Roman Empire), and part of clay(Israel or Jewish), so the kingdom shall be partly strong(Roman Empire), and partly broken(weaker).
v.43 - And whereas thou sawest iron(Roman Empire) mixed with miry clay(Israel), they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men (many nations, Gentile peoples- Revelation 11:v.2): but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron(Roman Empire-Gentile peoples) is not mixed with clay(Jewish people - Israel).
Be careful, or get ready
WHO IS PREPARED FOR THE BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON AGAINST THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS WHICH DOMINATE THE WHOLE WORLD AND GUIDE AND RULE ALL THE NATIONS?