God grants repentance which leads to salvation; and godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to life. There is no way of getting around it; that we must repent and believe; and both true desires come from God. Judas Iscariot had worldly sorrow because it lead to death; He had no understanding of Christ being God in the flesh just having offended an innocent man. He didn't want to seek forgiveness and repent for his sins; his pride wouldn't give him that option apparently.
At this point we have belief; and in order to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart we have to also do a public act of identification and show how we are dying to ourself. Jesus made it clear that if we are ashamed of Him He will be ashamed of us when He comes with His Holy angels ( Luke 9:26; following Luke 9:25 about gaining the world and losing one's soul). I would identify Baptism as being associated with belief and therefore in conjunction with it but immediately after true faith is established. Any church in good standing would ensure a person believes before submitting to the authority of Christ and symbolically being part of the Body of Christ; dead buried and raised with Him.
Believing as the initial step must be more than a mental affirmation of Christ as Lord for even the demons believe and under compulsion everyone on heaven and earth will bow in submission to this fact. To be our Lord and Savior also means a change of who our master is; rather than the god of this world Jesus is our true Master. There are actions therefore that must accompany any true profession of faith; albeit rare circumstances like the thief on the cross who didn't have time to be baptized.
There is no good reason when it can be done to wait; then one has to doubt the sincerity of one's profession.
I would say believing and being born again are pretty much simultaneous; therefore AFTER repentance and remittance from sin with Baptism to follow.
Luke 22:36 states: Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
I am not going to take this posting to decide to support one viewpoint over the other as to having a weapon of protection or relying just on prayer. I will simply state that different circumstances may merit different approaches. I also will add that in the case of the passage in Luke; we are looking at defending ourselves along paths where dangerous criminals tend to hang out so that long term travel after the Lord went to heaven would necessitate this wisdom at times according to Christ. When it comes to the government; we don't see any evidence in scripture in the New Testament of active resistance but just one or two occasions when Paul appealed his beatings as a Roman citizen; which probably was primarily to continue to allow others in the same position as himself to continue to preach the Gospel for a time.
We also see that in the church age the Lord works differently then in other times. When Elijah comes as one of the two end time prophets he and the other prophet WILL indeed cause fire to come down and kill anyone resisting them. We have; therefore the final dispensation that the Lord will use signs and wonders gifts; the complete fulfillment of Joel 2 started at the time of Pentecost. (sorry about that d word it isn't necessarily favored by some but I don't know a better way of describing two such distinct periods of time)
We also see a difference; of course with the Tribulation saints who say "how long" until vengeance is given for their martyrdom ( Rev. 6:10). I am sure that since the death of all saints is precious in His sight ( Psalm 116:15) all martyrs are avenged.
More thoughts on life after death and our identity as Christians
There is no doubt that this series of posts is going to generate a lot of buzz; and some major backlash. I can only be as transparent as I can in regard to my past experience when it seemed I sensed the presence of my grandmother who now has been gone the better part of 40 years. I had a quick dream for a few seconds the night before she passed with me telling her she was about to stand before God. As far as I know she was unsaved. Even if there was some last minute repentance it isn't something I would have known about her. There was much surrounding her in terms of possessions and photos and things that I cannot have as keepsakes.
Again; for those who are saved it is in the new identity as a believer that one becomes part of the Body of Christ; this takes us from what in some sense is Satan's body; if not his dominion ( Eph. 2:2). To the lost world it would seem we lose our freedom; and our individuality in such an identity where we die to our old self. But there are many facets like a jewel which we are compared to in Malachi 3:17; the Lord has made us to uniquely minister in and through Him and we shall rule and reign with Him as well.
I did want to say if anyone is still reading this at this point that I believe children before they can understand sin will by God's grace enter heaven. Also when considering the only scriptural example we have of a lost man in hades; we see how he wanted to warn his family not to go there; hence we should in that sense be further emboldened to share the Gospel.
I am not here to try to convince anyone to think this way. On one hand Jesus said "let the dead bury their own dead" ( Luke 9:60); on the other hand someone who compassionately has taken care of a rebel all their life who passes certainly can mourn.
It is only when such a loss keeps us stunted permanently in our growth in God that we need to step back to evaluate ourselves.
Genesis 18 involves a conversation with the Lord (likely the incarnate Christ) about the fate of Sodom. Since technically a conversation with God is a prayer (but these days God doesn't appear and have interaction with us in that way) it can be said this is a prayer. The discussion itself was more of a "tit for tat" inquiry or inquisition as it were. This "testing" of God of course can be a dangerous thing; but we must keep in mind first and foremost Lot would have been on his mind; particularly in light of the destruction to come announced by the two angels who had just departed to see what was going on on the ground as it were.
Since Abraham was not privy to God delivering FROM disaster at this point and perhaps was too afraid to state the obvious he whittled down a righteous total to 10 and stopped; with God assuring him that the city would remain if 10 righteous people could be found. Perhaps he was counting on the son in laws if he was aware of them; the same ones who would ridicule the angels when the message was dellivered. He may have also thought SURELY SOMEONE else besides Lot and his immediate family would be justified; perhaps being as removed as he was from the wholesale depravity that had become the lifestyle of everyone in Sodom. He was desperate; no doubt. What he didn't realize; of course is that he stopped just ABOVE the true number of righteous there; in fact Lot's wife would famously turn back and Luke 9:62 seems a fitting epitaph for this pathetic woman who turned into a pillar of salt.
In this case; of course we had a pagan nation God had determined was time to destroy. We see a similar request of intercession after the idolotry in Exodus 32. Moses interceded in verses 11-13 and God relented. We might say that he THROUGH the power of the Spirit interceded and Christ would have foreseen through his future atonement how to cover their sin. This shows the mystery of the Godhead.
the dead know nothing at all must be read in its context." For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion./For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten." Dead and the living. For to him (Christ) that is joined to all the living there is hope. (Jesus Christ-"I am the Life") Those who have found life know there is a physical death. Hence they keep themselves pure unspotted from the world. They are like the tree planted by the river (Ps.1) and their hope is like an anchor. Jesus explained who the dead are. Luke 9:60 The dead may be workaholic, socially active, volunteers to every politically correct causes.But after soul is cast to hell there would be no remembrance and tey are blotted out of the book of life and book of the lamb. A woman who lives in pleasure is dead.
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us./ But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me./For he that is not against us is on our part." Lucan gospel also gives this incident.( Luke 9:48-50)
Principle of Association is reconciling all things in heaven and on earth. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;/And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."(Col.1:10) The Mind of Christ is to see in his light so his name is preeminent whether persons places or events, whichever is named is subject to him. For this reason he rebuked Peter who was viewing his master as one who must be protected from all harm. "Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."(7:33)
Jesus Christ was anointed the Christ above all others." Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre./Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."(Ps.45:6-7) As a Son he chose all those who were called and as the Son of man he made manifest grace and truth. So he would after transfiguring before the three disciple tell them, "And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead."(v.9)
The disciples did not understand its significance. They had to go a longway in their discipleship.
Please pray for my outreach witness this coming Easter week. That I preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick Luke 9:2. The fields are white already unto harvest please pray that I may reap for the Lord. That i reflect the love of Jesus to lost searching needy souls.
No, both ARE NOT the same person, of course, that theory is of spiritism, spiritists believe in reincarnation. What GOD made was to give the same spirit of Elijah to John the Baptist, by the way, John was/is an angel of the Lord, he was born by the Word of GOD, I mean by prophecy, according Isaiah 4O and Malachi 3.
By your better understanding, GOD had made the same with Elisha. 2Kings 13-15
13 Elisha took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord GOD of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
Luke 9:29-30
29 And as JESUS prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah:
31 Who appeared IN GLORY, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.
Let us significance of the house of bread from which he came on a divine Mandate. He came to fulfill the will of his Father. In multiplying loaves of bread as given in the gospel let us examine the leftovers. "And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full."(14:20) In John's Gospel, "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost./ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." ( John 6:12-13) Number 12 signifies the Gospel of God. In fulfilling his Father's will the same Gospel is Gospel of Christ.
All four gospel records this 'miracle' and more significance in in the gathering of fragments that remained.
In the Gospel of Mark we read,"And they did all eat, and were filled./ And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes."( Mark 6:42-43) In Luke "And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets." ( Luke 9:17)
There are other instances in which 4x1000 has significance as the number Seven to mark the baskets. (Mark.8:8) (15:37-38)
According to principle of Similitude the symbol of bread in the House of God must match. The number 12 refers to the Gospel and 7 denotes fulfillment of the Will. In all these instances all those who partook were full.
Contrary to this we have an indictment against Israel. "Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword./.. that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people."( Micah 6:13-16) Bethlehem as a result has fallen into insignificance.
By the Word of GOD - the Word is GOD - self-executing, heavens are celestial environments in Christ that have nothing, but nothing, with the material space of Universe. You are confounding Heaven with Sky, so your interpretion of the Word of GOD is merely a materialist interpretation. Terrible, very terrible. By your words, you have knowledge only of sky, but have not knowledge of Heaven. Your thinking is from HUMAN perspective, a stumblingblock, not from GOD's perspective.
JESUS took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray, Moses and Elijah came to speak with JESUS, but both did not do any travel through your materialist sky of course. Luke 9:29-36:
29 And as JESUS prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah:
32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two MEN that stood with JESUS.
33 And it came to pass, as they departed from JESUS, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said.
34 While he thus spake, there came a CLOUD(the same CLOUD of Exodus 24:15-16, understand?), and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the CLOUD.
35 And there came a voice out of the CLOUD, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear Him.
36 And when the voice was past, JESUS was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
Yes, Giannis; Moses and Elijah came to speak with JESUS, but both did not do any travel through your materialist sky of course.
Heaven is not Sky.
17 Seventy returned with joy, saying: Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through thy name.
18 JESUS said unto them: I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (not from Sky)
"Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake (v.22)"
Who are these sons of Belial? In the Book of Deuteronomy we are shown what they do. You shall know them by their fruits. They have certain zeal but not according to the knowledge as St Paul writes,"that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge(Ro.10:2)"."Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;(De.13:13.)"
These men whose activism is to make others much more worthy of hell by their heretical mindset are sons of Belial. Jesus calls such who know the truth but would not live accordingly as hypocrites. "Hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves(Matt.23:15)". In short they hold their truth in unrighteousness. Their heart is without borders so when they handle serpents they shall not let another ask,'do you have to tempt God' they point to the verse from the gospel ( Mark 16:17) and conveniently ignore the call of Jesus,"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me( Luke 9:23)". 'Denying himself goes with taking up the cross daily which are only two legs for the one who wants to be part of the body of Christ. His eye must be ever on the way followed by Jesus, 'Not my will but thine'.
Sons of Belial are those who have no vision."Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he(Pr.29:18)".
The Spirit while organizing the Bible has assigned numbers as tags where the number multiplied by 10 refers to man's life. A godly man therefore lives by the Law of the word. (Ps.119:89). 7x10 explains him.
In the Book of Exodus we have this line: "And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already (Ex.1:5)".
Compare this citation from the Acts. "Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls." Here we have two numbers 75 and 70. There is no discrepancy here. The number 75 refers to the exact number of souls but in the same sense we find 70 is placed in the narrative. "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water(Ex.15:27)". The significance of number 12 and 70 there is placed as a reminder that this wanderings of the children of Israel has a spiritual ancillary. Compare it with the occasion Jesus sent his 12 disciples and later 70 other disciples ( Luke 9:1 and 19:1). The trek towards the Promised Land is a dry run where Moses is a stand-in for the Son. The Spirit uses command number as additional safeguard so when we compare spiritual significance of the Salvation Plan with another passage there shall be no error.
Likewise 70 weeks refer to unfolding and fulfillment of events revealed to Daniel, which are part of the history of Israel with frame of reference to the Son.
True Christ Followers will be obedient to all of God's 10 Commandments as taught by Jesus in the New Testament.
Luke 9:23"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
John 14:15"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Keeping God's 10 Commandments - plus the additional commandment that Jesus emphasized - to Love each other.
John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
Jesus warns all of us that we will not enter into Salvation without keeping God's Commandments.
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
IF a Christian is filled with God's Holy Spirit they will naturally be following all of God's/Jesus Commandments.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to live a worldly life and be a Christ follower.
" And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth."(v.7)
What is the role of the raven and later a dove that Noah sent from the ark? The writer to the Hebrews says, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,/Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."(He.1:1-2)
" The dove has a double function and the significance of the raven goes beyond feeding Elijah in his distress but serves us to understand the mind of Christ.
"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us./ And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."( Luke 9: 49-50) Jesus could work with people of all hues for he knew what was in their mind. Noah similarly accommodates,-metaphorically speaking, the entire creation under his charge. His name Noah signified rest. So the Spirit ties Noah as a rest-giver with Jesus who was the prince of peace.
The raven flew hither and thither till the waters drained off from the face of the earth but he chose not to return. He however serves us to understand that it makes all sorts of people whose service to God have their own shape and colour. When Jesus tells his disciples, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour."( John 4:38)
The dove with 'an olive leaf pluckt off' is an emblem. Its primary sense: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which would meld holy families 'in the now' for the holy city of God in eternity.
The dove represented His messengers ie., John the Baptist who was anointed in his mother's womb to serve as ' friend to the groom'. Thirdly the dove served as a harbinger of House of Prayer for all nations in eternity. (Ps.128:3) Olive signifies gladness and glory of the church. (Ps.104:15)
The attitude of a believer to the spirit of life is demonstrated in this incident "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?/ But he(Jesus) turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of./ For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."( Luke 9:54-56) John was for imitating the exploits of Elias while Jesus was for fulfilling the will of God. John and James had to learn which would come by and by, and only after they received the Holy Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit are the children of God.
Water and fire are two witnesses to which Jesus alluded in Luke 12:54-56
The word-wide web set up by the Spirit of God is ever in control so symbols, emblem and events are all in accordance so God is in control. The fourth beast in the vision of Daniel is about to fulfill in not so distant future. "Even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows". Well my readers say hello to the High Tech! Meet the killer robot and AI he is a little gizmo, little horn that has eyes and mouth to speak. " I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."(Dan.7:20-21) It is the same spirit of Satan even as he gave the beast power to blaspheme. It came out of the ten horns, which indicate he is under judgment.
Who but a man makes a robot works? He cannot work with wisdom of heaven which is the significance of God being with Moses, "And I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Ex.4:12). "Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments./For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods"(Ex.7:11-12) The eternal Word in control.
In assessing Lot's narrow escape from Sodom; the patience of God is unmistakeable. The angels put up with the hemming and hawing in Lot's pathetic request to go to a closer town rather than far away in the mountains to escape (see Genesis 19:20). In the end he ends up fleeing further once he sees the destruction.
REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE. I highly recommend the tract by Chapel Library on this topic with this title. ( Genesis 19:26). I cannot ultimately prove that Lot's wife was lost in her curiousity to look back but it certainly cost her her life. We are reminded; of course of the verse in Luke 9:62 of he who looks back once he has put his hand to the plough not being suitable for the Kingdom of God.
It would seem that Lot's wife couldn't have been alongside him and turned to a pillar of salt the same distance away from the destruction. It would seem she lagged some distance behind OR stood still quite a while when Lot continued on before this happened. Anyway; the tract I mentioned shows her priviledge in being in a home where someone read God's word and believed. I would say that it was probably much compromised what Lot was actually teaching as head of the household not to mention what his daughters knew scripturally. She was nonetheless without excuse; if we look at Rahab "the harlot" and her commendation saving the spies and preservation of life and listed in Hebrews 11 as an example of faith ( Hebrews 11:31) she was commended and actually part of the lineage of Christ eventually. Being OBEDIENT at such a time requires true faith; and Lot's wife clearly was more enamored with the world in this case than a pagan prostitute because of the ACTIONS demonstrating faith or lack thereof. This is why works ARE important. In all this we can't ignore Abraham's pleading to God in Gen. 18:32; clearly he had Lot in mind and his family to be the rightous who would escape. His sons in law ended up being wicked.
Presence of God is applied to the face so while the Spirit of God moved upon the waters it created a context so God can interface with us and lead us by the light of his word.
"The light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ' throws off heat and the two disciple felt it when the risen Christ 'expounded to them from the word'. "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?( Luke 24:32)"
Presence of God is the word that went forth before the worlds began.(Is.55:11;2 Co.4:6)
Sometimes one mistakes the person of Jesus, his humanity for the face as in this case. Here antipathy of the Samaritans for his Jewishness came in the way.
"And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem."( Luke 9:51-53) They were taking cues from the presence of God and not the person of Jesus who wanted to be helped along the way.
I thought I would start in the Old Testament; realizing of course that the Holy Spirit didn't remain with a man as it does in the New Testament era. There are; nonetheless principles here that need to be addressed. Perhaps an appropriate start is with the story of Saul and the prophets. 1 Samuel 10:10 states "the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them." A similar event happened in 1 Samuel 19:24. When we see the last state of Saul; who the night before his death consulted with a witch to seek his fate ( 1 Samuel 28) and other things that happened once he started pursuing David; we see a man who probably died lost.
The principle here is that God COULD allow certain true manifestations in the Spirit to occur with someone (as we see with Judas Iscariot going out and healing/casting out demons along with the other 11 Disciples in Luke 9:1-2.) The manifestation of the Spirit therefore doesn't guarantee FRUIT of the Spirit which is in all those who have true faith (again as illustrated with the Parable of the Sower and the seed in Matthew 13; and as we see listed in Galatians 5:22-23. We see quite the opposite in Saul; we see jealousy; strife; and a murderous intent; and presence of a tormenting spirit or demon.
Suffering for His name's sake and prioritizing the Lord over everyone and everything else was a challenge the Lord used on many would be disciples such as in Luke 9:57-62 with three men in a row who apparently walked away after being challenged.
Jesus chose His 12 Apostles as Disciples carefully; the 11 who truly believed along with the 12th in the Book of Acts chosen would rule and reign with Christ someday ( Matthew 19:28). This would cost them their lives; however as martyrs except for John. A crown is promised for martyrs ( Rev. 2:10). Others are for pastors; those patiently waiting for His coming; evangelists; and apparently for self control. Many variations exist; let the reader study all passages
Comments posted on this discussion forum, just tell stories from the 'Word of God' but do not provide wisdom and knowledge about deliverance from the 'spiritual' bondage or salvation for mankind, but they rather raise many questions according to God's judgment.
So, who are these false apostles (e.g. Edward Burroughs - 1657) and false Christs the 'Word of God' speaks of ( Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Luke 9:55; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 4:8; Rev. 12:9)?
1 Cor. 2:15. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man ( John 8:15,16; 16:11; 17:16).
Comments posted on this discussion forum, that just tell a story but cannot provide deliverance from 'spiritual' bondage or salvation to mankind, raise many questions according to God's judgment.
Do they follow after an image of a false God ( Exodus 20:3,4,7) and a false Christ ( Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Luke 9:55;
2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 4:8; Rev. 12:9) or do they remain ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, but have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God ( Romans 10:3).
I agree, and concur with you, and totally with the scripture directed at "living in obediance" and worshipping God in the Spirit! I also agree, many can be conversant in the scripture - but NOT OBEY the scripture. To walk in the Spirit is to obey the scripture and God's Commands. If we have God's Holy Spirit in us; He will NOT let us disobey His Comands, I have found this out the hard way too, and believe me, when Jesus says to sin no more - or something worse will happen to you - it will! If we really have the Spirit in us we will obey all of His Commands.
Example: Hebrews 5:9 "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Please note: That obey Him, That obey Him, That obey Him, That obey Him
Pual isn't telling us that we get the salvation for free - as many of todays modern christains believe. Paul states in the scripture above: only those that obey God recieve eternal salvation!!!
And Jesus tells us plainly: Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Once we begin to deny ourselves and we pick up our cross, then and only then - can we begin to follow Jesus in the manner that He wants. If we are living for the worldly things..we are serving satan!
It is very painful to die to ourselves, so to picking up our cross daily can be extremely painful, but nowhere near as painful as what Christ endured for us!
Jesus tells us: Luke 9:24 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."
Is Jesus telling us that we must give up our worldly lives? Yes. Why is it so hard for us to understand this? Christains may not like to hear this scripture - but we simply can't ignore it!
And by the way, the difference between a preface and prologue is that a preface is an introduction, and a prologue is like a book within a book. When you read the first 18 verses of John's gospel, that is a prologue, not a preface. So, this is a preface. This is an introduction, Verses 1 through 4.
CHAPTER 1:5 THROUGH 2:52: The Pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary.
CHAPTER 3:1-4:13: The Preparation for the Ministry of both Yochanan ha-Matbil, that is John the Baptist, and Yeshua, for Jesus.
CHAPTER 4:14-9:50: The Preaching of Jesus in Galilee
CHAPTER 9:51-19:27: The Prompting of Jesus toward Jerusalem.
One of my favorite verses is Luke 9:51. When it came time to for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, it says He set His face towards Jerusalem, and that many villages rejected Him because His face was set towards Jerusalem.
As believers, we have to ask ourselves, what is our Jerusalem? What does God want us to do? What are we here for? When you find out what God wants you to do, set your face toward Jerusalem. Don't stop. Don't go to the left or to the right.
And you'll find that people will reject you because you're just passing through. You've got something God wants you to do and you are doing it. Very, very important section! It is almost 10 chapters of people rejecting Jesus because He had His face set towards Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 19:28-21:38: The Preaching of Jesus in Jerusalem. That final week, Passover week.
CHAPTER 22:1-23:56: The Particulars of the Crucifixion of Jesus, His suffering, the different trials, and the actual crucifixion itself.
CHAPTER 24:1-53, THE ENTIRE CHAPTER 24 OF LUKE: The Promise of the Resurrection of Jesus.
That is the Introduction to Luke's Gospel. I will share with you the introduction to the Gospel of John soon, Lord willing!
the rapture that everyone is talking about in today Christendom is a myth, divise from a theological cemetry in Dallas Tx if I understand right & yes I meant cemetery, cemetery & seminary are spiritual synonyms
Jesus prayed, John 17:15John 17:20
Titus 2:11-14 appearing of the Great God & Savior is the Grace of God that appears to all mankind, His spiritual appearance in everyones heart, making it possible for all the other Scriptures you quoted possible.
The tribulations are our spiritual inward trials & suffering as Christ breaks thru the darkness that we're captivated too,& redeems, delivers & translate us into the kingdom of His dear Son, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit unto the new creature, culminating the work of sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience & sprinkling of of the Blood/Life of Jesus within us. When were truely born again, experientially Matt 3:11,12 He gathers us unto the Garder, seeing Him spirituallly come in the clouds in great glory. We're still here on earth, but we're spiritual conscious of heaven 2Cor 2:17
The writers of the NT were speaking in the present tense, they said "we" it would be a cruel hoax to tell them to look for Him when it would be over 2000yrs later. Jesus said Luke 17:20-23Luke 9:27 to those who were with Him then.
Luke 11:2Luke 12:32 here & now, this is the exceedingly great glory of the Christ sacrifice John 17:21-24
Thanks, I agree they were told that but we see it was after Stephen's death and the priests along with Saul/Paul put in prison, beat, killed, and drove out the believers in Jesus, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. The ones Philip shared the word within Samaria must have been Jewish because the apostles did not have a problem with it because Peter and John went and prayed for them to receive the Holy Ghost, Acts 8:14-17
When Peter had his dream, it was a clear vision that God showed him the time had come for the gospel to go to the Gentiles, Acts 10. But when he told the apostles and brethren when he went to Cornelius the centurion and preached to the Gentiles, they had a big problem with it and they rebuked Peter for doing this, Acts 11, and in Acts 11:19 the ones who were persecuted and driven out were preaching the word to the Jews only.
To me, it looks the same as when Jesus told them how He was going to die and be resurrected but it was hidden from them, Luke 9:45, and we see they were devastated after He was crucified and did not believe He rose from the dead, Luke 24:10-11. It was God's perfect timing when this would happen, fulfilling prophecy and a promise.
51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
This section shows the fourth error of the Disciples. What could have been an honest misunderstanding (such as a similar situation when Christ after He was resurrected acted as He would go further on the road to Emmaus) turned into another lesson from the Lord as to the role of Christ. Jesus would come as judge; but for the time was only there to save men. Those He did condemn were the ones who saw the miracles and didn't believe (Bethsaida; Capernium; and Chorazin)
57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Lack of shelter; and family commitments before God held back these three individuals.
44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
This discourse came; as it frequently did seemingly as a random insert to whatever other events were going on in conversation.
This understanding was paramount in Christ's messages specifically to the Disciples; who were privy to such information before Christ revealed it to the crowds that He indeed was the "I am" of scripture; the Son of God. The only Disciple we can be sure of got the message on His deity was Peter; but verse 45 shows that they didn't grasp what His mission was; besides being truimphant someday ruling as King over Israel. The fear of preserving Christ in fact was what caused Jesus much later on to say "Satan get behind me" when Peter insisted that this should not happen to Him.
46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
This nonsense was again repeated during the Passion week; so Satan no doubt would continue to recycle the same garbage.
This shows how human pride comes before a fall; and how far their hearts were from where they should have been.
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
Again; this third error showed their pride in being His hand picked Disciples rather than focus on God and His work done by any willing vessels.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST (PART TWO: LUKE 9:37-62)
37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
These verses demonstrate how Jesus was besieged by crowds whenever He appeared. The request is from a man in regard to his only child requesting healing (v. 38-40). The upbraiding by Christ in verse 41 was unclear in whether it represented the lack of faith of the Disciples; the man himself or the crowd in general (perhaps all three). He cast out the demon; and other cross references in Mark 9 and Matthew 17:21 states that prayer and fasting were needed to perform this casting out. Perhaps we see how the previous experience in the beginning of the chapter wasn't enough to make the Disciples proactive; or it made them think that success was guaranteed without proper preparation in prayer (where God may have revealed that He wanted them to fast).
In this and subsequent studies; I would like to examine a random day in the life of Christ. How He prepared the path He was destined to trod through prayer and other planning would make our heads spin.
The preeminent concern throughout Christ's ministry; of course in the long term was a long walk to the cross. We shouldn't neglect the disciplines that He displayed in the first 30 years of His life (which encompassed the vast majority of His earthly existance). This allowed Him to be as was expected in Jewish customs subject to His family. This work ethic and family committment shouldn't be underplayed; particularly as we see the decay of such things in society today in both family and work ethics. Food for thought. It also reminds us how maturity is helpful for those who seek a pastorate or other leadership role in the church.
Focusing on His ministry; we see how He went from having a roof over His head to the opposite situation ( Luke 9:58). After 40 days; the body starts to shut down and starts to cosume internal organs for nutrition; therefore Jesus in the wilderness was dependant on supernatural help just to be strong enough to get out of that situation; much like we see in 1 Kings 19:6 and following verses. First; however He had to go through the temptations that Satan lobbed at Him in which the Word was used as counteroffensive with each blow of the enemy.
An interesting sidenote that I never noticed before is that Jesus picked His disciples after a period of time; basically weeding them out among the whole group of disciples or followers (see Luke chapter 6 starting in verse 12). The story of individually meeting them is found in Matthew 4 starting in verse 18. It seems the Luke 6 account was later as Christ chose them also as Apostles at that time (along with Judas Iscariot).
Anyway; when we put the pieces of the 4 Gospels together we see the whole picture of each of Christ's narratives.
I mention; I Didn't advocate studying the Scriptures by carnal means, by the arts of natural science as you would for a vocation.
Doing this feeds the natural part in man, with a knowledge apart from the Life of God, nor can such knowledge give us the life of God, for how can it? The flaming swords which guards the Tree of Life only gives way to those who are led by the Spirit. 2Cor 3:6; The letter in any dispensation kills, giving him a form of godliness without the power to be truly godly. It a false form, promotes self righteousness, one doesn't come to 1John 1:1 in a personal encounter with the living God in Spirit, who would lead him to take up the cross, teach him to deny, mortify & crucify spiritual old man of sin, by the operation of the Spirit to the rebirth & renewing of the mind. Instead; it offers a fake cross that flesh carnal mind can easily carry & bare It doesn't separates him from 1John 2:16, but leaves him one in it. It takes away our dependence from God, Psalms 123:2; that God maybe all in all, for He alone is the blessedness of the creature.
I'm speaking not from hearsay, but from 27 yrs of personal experience, than in 2010 while in ministry school, God extended His outstretch Arm, encountering me again & slowly began opening the eyes of my heart, as I was able to bear it, to what I've been speaking of here, leading me to quit school & Luke 9:23
At this point we have belief; and in order to confess with our mouth and believe in our heart we have to also do a public act of identification and show how we are dying to ourself. Jesus made it clear that if we are ashamed of Him He will be ashamed of us when He comes with His Holy angels ( Luke 9:26; following Luke 9:25 about gaining the world and losing one's soul). I would identify Baptism as being associated with belief and therefore in conjunction with it but immediately after true faith is established. Any church in good standing would ensure a person believes before submitting to the authority of Christ and symbolically being part of the Body of Christ; dead buried and raised with Him.
Believing as the initial step must be more than a mental affirmation of Christ as Lord for even the demons believe and under compulsion everyone on heaven and earth will bow in submission to this fact. To be our Lord and Savior also means a change of who our master is; rather than the god of this world Jesus is our true Master. There are actions therefore that must accompany any true profession of faith; albeit rare circumstances like the thief on the cross who didn't have time to be baptized.
There is no good reason when it can be done to wait; then one has to doubt the sincerity of one's profession.
I would say believing and being born again are pretty much simultaneous; therefore AFTER repentance and remittance from sin with Baptism to follow.
Luke 22:36 states: Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one.
Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
I am not going to take this posting to decide to support one viewpoint over the other as to having a weapon of protection or relying just on prayer. I will simply state that different circumstances may merit different approaches. I also will add that in the case of the passage in Luke; we are looking at defending ourselves along paths where dangerous criminals tend to hang out so that long term travel after the Lord went to heaven would necessitate this wisdom at times according to Christ. When it comes to the government; we don't see any evidence in scripture in the New Testament of active resistance but just one or two occasions when Paul appealed his beatings as a Roman citizen; which probably was primarily to continue to allow others in the same position as himself to continue to preach the Gospel for a time.
We also see that in the church age the Lord works differently then in other times. When Elijah comes as one of the two end time prophets he and the other prophet WILL indeed cause fire to come down and kill anyone resisting them. We have; therefore the final dispensation that the Lord will use signs and wonders gifts; the complete fulfillment of Joel 2 started at the time of Pentecost. (sorry about that d word it isn't necessarily favored by some but I don't know a better way of describing two such distinct periods of time)
We also see a difference; of course with the Tribulation saints who say "how long" until vengeance is given for their martyrdom ( Rev. 6:10). I am sure that since the death of all saints is precious in His sight ( Psalm 116:15) all martyrs are avenged.
There is no doubt that this series of posts is going to generate a lot of buzz; and some major backlash. I can only be as transparent as I can in regard to my past experience when it seemed I sensed the presence of my grandmother who now has been gone the better part of 40 years. I had a quick dream for a few seconds the night before she passed with me telling her she was about to stand before God. As far as I know she was unsaved. Even if there was some last minute repentance it isn't something I would have known about her. There was much surrounding her in terms of possessions and photos and things that I cannot have as keepsakes.
Again; for those who are saved it is in the new identity as a believer that one becomes part of the Body of Christ; this takes us from what in some sense is Satan's body; if not his dominion ( Eph. 2:2). To the lost world it would seem we lose our freedom; and our individuality in such an identity where we die to our old self. But there are many facets like a jewel which we are compared to in Malachi 3:17; the Lord has made us to uniquely minister in and through Him and we shall rule and reign with Him as well.
I did want to say if anyone is still reading this at this point that I believe children before they can understand sin will by God's grace enter heaven. Also when considering the only scriptural example we have of a lost man in hades; we see how he wanted to warn his family not to go there; hence we should in that sense be further emboldened to share the Gospel.
I am not here to try to convince anyone to think this way. On one hand Jesus said "let the dead bury their own dead" ( Luke 9:60); on the other hand someone who compassionately has taken care of a rebel all their life who passes certainly can mourn.
It is only when such a loss keeps us stunted permanently in our growth in God that we need to step back to evaluate ourselves.
Genesis 18 involves a conversation with the Lord (likely the incarnate Christ) about the fate of Sodom. Since technically a conversation with God is a prayer (but these days God doesn't appear and have interaction with us in that way) it can be said this is a prayer. The discussion itself was more of a "tit for tat" inquiry or inquisition as it were. This "testing" of God of course can be a dangerous thing; but we must keep in mind first and foremost Lot would have been on his mind; particularly in light of the destruction to come announced by the two angels who had just departed to see what was going on on the ground as it were.
Since Abraham was not privy to God delivering FROM disaster at this point and perhaps was too afraid to state the obvious he whittled down a righteous total to 10 and stopped; with God assuring him that the city would remain if 10 righteous people could be found. Perhaps he was counting on the son in laws if he was aware of them; the same ones who would ridicule the angels when the message was dellivered. He may have also thought SURELY SOMEONE else besides Lot and his immediate family would be justified; perhaps being as removed as he was from the wholesale depravity that had become the lifestyle of everyone in Sodom. He was desperate; no doubt. What he didn't realize; of course is that he stopped just ABOVE the true number of righteous there; in fact Lot's wife would famously turn back and Luke 9:62 seems a fitting epitaph for this pathetic woman who turned into a pillar of salt.
In this case; of course we had a pagan nation God had determined was time to destroy. We see a similar request of intercession after the idolotry in Exodus 32. Moses interceded in verses 11-13 and God relented. We might say that he THROUGH the power of the Spirit interceded and Christ would have foreseen through his future atonement how to cover their sin. This shows the mystery of the Godhead.
the dead know nothing at all must be read in its context." For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion./For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten." Dead and the living. For to him (Christ) that is joined to all the living there is hope. (Jesus Christ-"I am the Life") Those who have found life know there is a physical death. Hence they keep themselves pure unspotted from the world. They are like the tree planted by the river (Ps.1) and their hope is like an anchor. Jesus explained who the dead are. Luke 9:60 The dead may be workaholic, socially active, volunteers to every politically correct causes.But after soul is cast to hell there would be no remembrance and tey are blotted out of the book of life and book of the lamb. A woman who lives in pleasure is dead.
"And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us./ But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me./For he that is not against us is on our part." Lucan gospel also gives this incident.( Luke 9:48-50)
Principle of Association is reconciling all things in heaven and on earth. "For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;/And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven."(Col.1:10) The Mind of Christ is to see in his light so his name is preeminent whether persons places or events, whichever is named is subject to him. For this reason he rebuked Peter who was viewing his master as one who must be protected from all harm. "Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men."(7:33)
Jesus Christ was anointed the Christ above all others." Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre./Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."(Ps.45:6-7) As a Son he chose all those who were called and as the Son of man he made manifest grace and truth. So he would after transfiguring before the three disciple tell them, "And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead."(v.9)
The disciples did not understand its significance. They had to go a longway in their discipleship.
I'm Jesus Name I claim souls for the Kingdom.
Greetings in Christ JESUS
No, both ARE NOT the same person, of course, that theory is of spiritism, spiritists believe in reincarnation. What GOD made was to give the same spirit of Elijah to John the Baptist, by the way, John was/is an angel of the Lord, he was born by the Word of GOD, I mean by prophecy, according Isaiah 4O and Malachi 3.
By your better understanding, GOD had made the same with Elisha. 2Kings 13-15
13 Elisha took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord GOD of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
Luke 9:29-30
29 And as JESUS prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah:
31 Who appeared IN GLORY, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem.
GOD bless
All the Old testament saints and the New testament saints were RAISED with Christ.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,
Ephesians 2:6 and hath raised us up together .....
Luke 20:36 Neither can they DIE ANYMORE: for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the RESURRECTION.
John 8:51 .... if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.
Luke 9:27 ... there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death.
God Bless You
Let us significance of the house of bread from which he came on a divine Mandate. He came to fulfill the will of his Father. In multiplying loaves of bread as given in the gospel let us examine the leftovers. "And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full."(14:20) In John's Gospel, "When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost./ Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten." ( John 6:12-13) Number 12 signifies the Gospel of God. In fulfilling his Father's will the same Gospel is Gospel of Christ.
All four gospel records this 'miracle' and more significance in in the gathering of fragments that remained.
In the Gospel of Mark we read,"And they did all eat, and were filled./ And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes."( Mark 6:42-43) In Luke "And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets." ( Luke 9:17)
There are other instances in which 4x1000 has significance as the number Seven to mark the baskets. (Mark.8:8) (15:37-38)
According to principle of Similitude the symbol of bread in the House of God must match. The number 12 refers to the Gospel and 7 denotes fulfillment of the Will. In all these instances all those who partook were full.
Contrary to this we have an indictment against Israel. "Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword./.. that I should make thee a desolation, and the inhabitants thereof an hissing: therefore ye shall bear the reproach of my people."( Micah 6:13-16) Bethlehem as a result has fallen into insignificance.
By the Word of GOD - the Word is GOD - self-executing, heavens are celestial environments in Christ that have nothing, but nothing, with the material space of Universe. You are confounding Heaven with Sky, so your interpretion of the Word of GOD is merely a materialist interpretation. Terrible, very terrible. By your words, you have knowledge only of sky, but have not knowledge of Heaven. Your thinking is from HUMAN perspective, a stumblingblock, not from GOD's perspective.
JESUS took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray, Moses and Elijah came to speak with JESUS, but both did not do any travel through your materialist sky of course. Luke 9:29-36:
29 And as JESUS prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His raiment was white and glistering.
30 And, behold, there talked with Him two men, which were Moses and Elijah:
32 But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw His glory, and the two MEN that stood with JESUS.
33 And it came to pass, as they departed from JESUS, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah: not knowing what he said.
34 While he thus spake, there came a CLOUD(the same CLOUD of Exodus 24:15-16, understand?), and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the CLOUD.
35 And there came a voice out of the CLOUD, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear Him.
36 And when the voice was past, JESUS was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.
Yes, Giannis; Moses and Elijah came to speak with JESUS, but both did not do any travel through your materialist sky of course.
Heaven is not Sky.
17 Seventy returned with joy, saying: Lord, even the demons are subject unto us through thy name.
18 JESUS said unto them: I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. (not from Sky)
"Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake (v.22)"
Who are these sons of Belial? In the Book of Deuteronomy we are shown what they do. You shall know them by their fruits. They have certain zeal but not according to the knowledge as St Paul writes,"that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge(Ro.10:2)"."Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;(De.13:13.)"
These men whose activism is to make others much more worthy of hell by their heretical mindset are sons of Belial. Jesus calls such who know the truth but would not live accordingly as hypocrites. "Hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves(Matt.23:15)". In short they hold their truth in unrighteousness. Their heart is without borders so when they handle serpents they shall not let another ask,'do you have to tempt God' they point to the verse from the gospel ( Mark 16:17) and conveniently ignore the call of Jesus,"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me( Luke 9:23)". 'Denying himself goes with taking up the cross daily which are only two legs for the one who wants to be part of the body of Christ. His eye must be ever on the way followed by Jesus, 'Not my will but thine'.
Sons of Belial are those who have no vision."Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he(Pr.29:18)".
The Spirit while organizing the Bible has assigned numbers as tags where the number multiplied by 10 refers to man's life. A godly man therefore lives by the Law of the word. (Ps.119:89). 7x10 explains him.
In the Book of Exodus we have this line: "And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already (Ex.1:5)".
Compare this citation from the Acts. "Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls." Here we have two numbers 75 and 70. There is no discrepancy here. The number 75 refers to the exact number of souls but in the same sense we find 70 is placed in the narrative. "Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water(Ex.15:27)". The significance of number 12 and 70 there is placed as a reminder that this wanderings of the children of Israel has a spiritual ancillary. Compare it with the occasion Jesus sent his 12 disciples and later 70 other disciples ( Luke 9:1 and 19:1). The trek towards the Promised Land is a dry run where Moses is a stand-in for the Son. The Spirit uses command number as additional safeguard so when we compare spiritual significance of the Salvation Plan with another passage there shall be no error.
Likewise 70 weeks refer to unfolding and fulfillment of events revealed to Daniel, which are part of the history of Israel with frame of reference to the Son.
True Christ Followers will be obedient to all of God's 10 Commandments as taught by Jesus in the New Testament.
Luke 9:23"And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
John 14:15"If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Keeping God's 10 Commandments - plus the additional commandment that Jesus emphasized - to Love each other.
John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love."
Jesus warns all of us that we will not enter into Salvation without keeping God's Commandments.
Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
IF a Christian is filled with God's Holy Spirit they will naturally be following all of God's/Jesus Commandments.
It's IMPOSSIBLE to live a worldly life and be a Christ follower.
Happy Sabbath Day!
" And he sent forth a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth."(v.7)
What is the role of the raven and later a dove that Noah sent from the ark? The writer to the Hebrews says, "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,/Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son."(He.1:1-2)
" The dove has a double function and the significance of the raven goes beyond feeding Elijah in his distress but serves us to understand the mind of Christ.
"And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us./ And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us."( Luke 9: 49-50) Jesus could work with people of all hues for he knew what was in their mind. Noah similarly accommodates,-metaphorically speaking, the entire creation under his charge. His name Noah signified rest. So the Spirit ties Noah as a rest-giver with Jesus who was the prince of peace.
The raven flew hither and thither till the waters drained off from the face of the earth but he chose not to return. He however serves us to understand that it makes all sorts of people whose service to God have their own shape and colour. When Jesus tells his disciples, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour."( John 4:38)
The dove with 'an olive leaf pluckt off' is an emblem. Its primary sense: the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which would meld holy families 'in the now' for the holy city of God in eternity.
The dove represented His messengers ie., John the Baptist who was anointed in his mother's womb to serve as ' friend to the groom'. Thirdly the dove served as a harbinger of House of Prayer for all nations in eternity. (Ps.128:3) Olive signifies gladness and glory of the church. (Ps.104:15)
The attitude of a believer to the spirit of life is demonstrated in this incident "And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?/ But he(Jesus) turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of./ For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."( Luke 9:54-56) John was for imitating the exploits of Elias while Jesus was for fulfilling the will of God. John and James had to learn which would come by and by, and only after they received the Holy Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit are the children of God.
Water and fire are two witnesses to which Jesus alluded in Luke 12:54-56
The word-wide web set up by the Spirit of God is ever in control so symbols, emblem and events are all in accordance so God is in control. The fourth beast in the vision of Daniel is about to fulfill in not so distant future. "Even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows". Well my readers say hello to the High Tech! Meet the killer robot and AI he is a little gizmo, little horn that has eyes and mouth to speak. " I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."(Dan.7:20-21) It is the same spirit of Satan even as he gave the beast power to blaspheme. It came out of the ten horns, which indicate he is under judgment.
Who but a man makes a robot works? He cannot work with wisdom of heaven which is the significance of God being with Moses, "And I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Ex.4:12). "Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments./For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods"(Ex.7:11-12) The eternal Word in control.
In assessing Lot's narrow escape from Sodom; the patience of God is unmistakeable. The angels put up with the hemming and hawing in Lot's pathetic request to go to a closer town rather than far away in the mountains to escape (see Genesis 19:20). In the end he ends up fleeing further once he sees the destruction.
REMEMBER LOT'S WIFE. I highly recommend the tract by Chapel Library on this topic with this title. ( Genesis 19:26). I cannot ultimately prove that Lot's wife was lost in her curiousity to look back but it certainly cost her her life. We are reminded; of course of the verse in Luke 9:62 of he who looks back once he has put his hand to the plough not being suitable for the Kingdom of God.
It would seem that Lot's wife couldn't have been alongside him and turned to a pillar of salt the same distance away from the destruction. It would seem she lagged some distance behind OR stood still quite a while when Lot continued on before this happened. Anyway; the tract I mentioned shows her priviledge in being in a home where someone read God's word and believed. I would say that it was probably much compromised what Lot was actually teaching as head of the household not to mention what his daughters knew scripturally. She was nonetheless without excuse; if we look at Rahab "the harlot" and her commendation saving the spies and preservation of life and listed in Hebrews 11 as an example of faith ( Hebrews 11:31) she was commended and actually part of the lineage of Christ eventually. Being OBEDIENT at such a time requires true faith; and Lot's wife clearly was more enamored with the world in this case than a pagan prostitute because of the ACTIONS demonstrating faith or lack thereof. This is why works ARE important. In all this we can't ignore Abraham's pleading to God in Gen. 18:32; clearly he had Lot in mind and his family to be the rightous who would escape. His sons in law ended up being wicked.
"The light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ' throws off heat and the two disciple felt it when the risen Christ 'expounded to them from the word'. "And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?( Luke 24:32)"
Presence of God is the word that went forth before the worlds began.(Is.55:11;2 Co.4:6)
Sometimes one mistakes the person of Jesus, his humanity for the face as in this case. Here antipathy of the Samaritans for his Jewishness came in the way.
"And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem."( Luke 9:51-53) They were taking cues from the presence of God and not the person of Jesus who wanted to be helped along the way.
I thought I would start in the Old Testament; realizing of course that the Holy Spirit didn't remain with a man as it does in the New Testament era. There are; nonetheless principles here that need to be addressed. Perhaps an appropriate start is with the story of Saul and the prophets. 1 Samuel 10:10 states "the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them." A similar event happened in 1 Samuel 19:24. When we see the last state of Saul; who the night before his death consulted with a witch to seek his fate ( 1 Samuel 28) and other things that happened once he started pursuing David; we see a man who probably died lost.
The principle here is that God COULD allow certain true manifestations in the Spirit to occur with someone (as we see with Judas Iscariot going out and healing/casting out demons along with the other 11 Disciples in Luke 9:1-2.) The manifestation of the Spirit therefore doesn't guarantee FRUIT of the Spirit which is in all those who have true faith (again as illustrated with the Parable of the Sower and the seed in Matthew 13; and as we see listed in Galatians 5:22-23. We see quite the opposite in Saul; we see jealousy; strife; and a murderous intent; and presence of a tormenting spirit or demon.
Suffering for His name's sake and prioritizing the Lord over everyone and everything else was a challenge the Lord used on many would be disciples such as in Luke 9:57-62 with three men in a row who apparently walked away after being challenged.
Jesus chose His 12 Apostles as Disciples carefully; the 11 who truly believed along with the 12th in the Book of Acts chosen would rule and reign with Christ someday ( Matthew 19:28). This would cost them their lives; however as martyrs except for John. A crown is promised for martyrs ( Rev. 2:10). Others are for pastors; those patiently waiting for His coming; evangelists; and apparently for self control. Many variations exist; let the reader study all passages
So, who are these false apostles (e.g. Edward Burroughs - 1657) and false Christs the 'Word of God' speaks of ( Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Luke 9:55; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 4:8; Rev. 12:9)?
Seek, and ye shall find ( Matthew 7:7).
Comments posted on this discussion forum, that just tell a story but cannot provide deliverance from 'spiritual' bondage or salvation to mankind, raise many questions according to God's judgment.
Do they follow after an image of a false God ( Exodus 20:3,4,7) and a false Christ ( Matthew 24:24; Mark 13:22; Luke 9:55;
2 Cor. 11:13-15; Gal. 4:8; Rev. 12:9) or do they remain ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, but have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God ( Romans 10:3).
Matthew 7:7. Seek, and ye shall find.
I agree, and concur with you, and totally with the scripture directed at "living in obediance" and worshipping God in the Spirit! I also agree, many can be conversant in the scripture - but NOT OBEY the scripture. To walk in the Spirit is to obey the scripture and God's Commands. If we have God's Holy Spirit in us; He will NOT let us disobey His Comands, I have found this out the hard way too, and believe me, when Jesus says to sin no more - or something worse will happen to you - it will! If we really have the Spirit in us we will obey all of His Commands.
Example: Hebrews 5:9 "And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;"
Please note: That obey Him, That obey Him, That obey Him, That obey Him
Pual isn't telling us that we get the salvation for free - as many of todays modern christains believe. Paul states in the scripture above: only those that obey God recieve eternal salvation!!!
And Jesus tells us plainly: Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Once we begin to deny ourselves and we pick up our cross, then and only then - can we begin to follow Jesus in the manner that He wants. If we are living for the worldly things..we are serving satan!
It is very painful to die to ourselves, so to picking up our cross daily can be extremely painful, but nowhere near as painful as what Christ endured for us!
Jesus tells us: Luke 9:24 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it."
Is Jesus telling us that we must give up our worldly lives? Yes. Why is it so hard for us to understand this? Christains may not like to hear this scripture - but we simply can't ignore it!
Read and Believe!
VI. SECTION OUTLINE OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE:
CHAPTER 1:1-4: The Preface.
And by the way, the difference between a preface and prologue is that a preface is an introduction, and a prologue is like a book within a book. When you read the first 18 verses of John's gospel, that is a prologue, not a preface. So, this is a preface. This is an introduction, Verses 1 through 4.
CHAPTER 1:5 THROUGH 2:52: The Pregnancies of Elizabeth and Mary.
CHAPTER 3:1-4:13: The Preparation for the Ministry of both Yochanan ha-Matbil, that is John the Baptist, and Yeshua, for Jesus.
CHAPTER 4:14-9:50: The Preaching of Jesus in Galilee
CHAPTER 9:51-19:27: The Prompting of Jesus toward Jerusalem.
One of my favorite verses is Luke 9:51. When it came time to for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, it says He set His face towards Jerusalem, and that many villages rejected Him because His face was set towards Jerusalem.
As believers, we have to ask ourselves, what is our Jerusalem? What does God want us to do? What are we here for? When you find out what God wants you to do, set your face toward Jerusalem. Don't stop. Don't go to the left or to the right.
And you'll find that people will reject you because you're just passing through. You've got something God wants you to do and you are doing it. Very, very important section! It is almost 10 chapters of people rejecting Jesus because He had His face set towards Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 19:28-21:38: The Preaching of Jesus in Jerusalem. That final week, Passover week.
CHAPTER 22:1-23:56: The Particulars of the Crucifixion of Jesus, His suffering, the different trials, and the actual crucifixion itself.
CHAPTER 24:1-53, THE ENTIRE CHAPTER 24 OF LUKE: The Promise of the Resurrection of Jesus.
That is the Introduction to Luke's Gospel. I will share with you the introduction to the Gospel of John soon, Lord willing!
God Bless!!!
the rapture that everyone is talking about in today Christendom is a myth, divise from a theological cemetry in Dallas Tx if I understand right & yes I meant cemetery, cemetery & seminary are spiritual synonyms
Jesus prayed, John 17:15 John 17:20
Titus 2:11-14 appearing of the Great God & Savior is the Grace of God that appears to all mankind, His spiritual appearance in everyones heart, making it possible for all the other Scriptures you quoted possible.
The tribulations are our spiritual inward trials & suffering as Christ breaks thru the darkness that we're captivated too,& redeems, delivers & translate us into the kingdom of His dear Son, through the washing of regeneration & renewing of the Holy Spirit unto the new creature, culminating the work of sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience & sprinkling of of the Blood/Life of Jesus within us. When were truely born again, experientially Matt 3:11,12 He gathers us unto the Garder, seeing Him spirituallly come in the clouds in great glory. We're still here on earth, but we're spiritual conscious of heaven 2Cor 2:17
The writers of the NT were speaking in the present tense, they said "we" it would be a cruel hoax to tell them to look for Him when it would be over 2000yrs later. Jesus said Luke 17:20-23 Luke 9:27 to those who were with Him then.
Luke 11:2 Luke 12:32 here & now, this is the exceedingly great glory of the Christ sacrifice John 17:21-24
In Love & Truth
Thanks, I agree they were told that but we see it was after Stephen's death and the priests along with Saul/Paul put in prison, beat, killed, and drove out the believers in Jesus, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. The ones Philip shared the word within Samaria must have been Jewish because the apostles did not have a problem with it because Peter and John went and prayed for them to receive the Holy Ghost, Acts 8:14-17
When Peter had his dream, it was a clear vision that God showed him the time had come for the gospel to go to the Gentiles, Acts 10. But when he told the apostles and brethren when he went to Cornelius the centurion and preached to the Gentiles, they had a big problem with it and they rebuked Peter for doing this, Acts 11, and in Acts 11:19 the ones who were persecuted and driven out were preaching the word to the Jews only.
To me, it looks the same as when Jesus told them how He was going to die and be resurrected but it was hidden from them, Luke 9:45, and we see they were devastated after He was crucified and did not believe He rose from the dead, Luke 24:10-11. It was God's perfect timing when this would happen, fulfilling prophecy and a promise.
I hope this makes sense.
God bless.
RLW
51 And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
52 And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
53 And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
This section shows the fourth error of the Disciples. What could have been an honest misunderstanding (such as a similar situation when Christ after He was resurrected acted as He would go further on the road to Emmaus) turned into another lesson from the Lord as to the role of Christ. Jesus would come as judge; but for the time was only there to save men. Those He did condemn were the ones who saw the miracles and didn't believe (Bethsaida; Capernium; and Chorazin)
57 And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
58 And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
60 Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
61 And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Lack of shelter; and family commitments before God held back these three individuals.
44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.
This discourse came; as it frequently did seemingly as a random insert to whatever other events were going on in conversation.
This understanding was paramount in Christ's messages specifically to the Disciples; who were privy to such information before Christ revealed it to the crowds that He indeed was the "I am" of scripture; the Son of God. The only Disciple we can be sure of got the message on His deity was Peter; but verse 45 shows that they didn't grasp what His mission was; besides being truimphant someday ruling as King over Israel. The fear of preserving Christ in fact was what caused Jesus much later on to say "Satan get behind me" when Peter insisted that this should not happen to Him.
46 Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest.
47 And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him,
48 And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.
This nonsense was again repeated during the Passion week; so Satan no doubt would continue to recycle the same garbage.
This shows how human pride comes before a fall; and how far their hearts were from where they should have been.
49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.
50 And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.
Again; this third error showed their pride in being His hand picked Disciples rather than focus on God and His work done by any willing vessels.
37 And it came to pass, that on the next day, when they were come down from the hill, much people met him.
38 And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child.
39 And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.
40 And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.
41 And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.
42 And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.
43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
These verses demonstrate how Jesus was besieged by crowds whenever He appeared. The request is from a man in regard to his only child requesting healing (v. 38-40). The upbraiding by Christ in verse 41 was unclear in whether it represented the lack of faith of the Disciples; the man himself or the crowd in general (perhaps all three). He cast out the demon; and other cross references in Mark 9 and Matthew 17:21 states that prayer and fasting were needed to perform this casting out. Perhaps we see how the previous experience in the beginning of the chapter wasn't enough to make the Disciples proactive; or it made them think that success was guaranteed without proper preparation in prayer (where God may have revealed that He wanted them to fast).
In this and subsequent studies; I would like to examine a random day in the life of Christ. How He prepared the path He was destined to trod through prayer and other planning would make our heads spin.
The preeminent concern throughout Christ's ministry; of course in the long term was a long walk to the cross. We shouldn't neglect the disciplines that He displayed in the first 30 years of His life (which encompassed the vast majority of His earthly existance). This allowed Him to be as was expected in Jewish customs subject to His family. This work ethic and family committment shouldn't be underplayed; particularly as we see the decay of such things in society today in both family and work ethics. Food for thought. It also reminds us how maturity is helpful for those who seek a pastorate or other leadership role in the church.
Focusing on His ministry; we see how He went from having a roof over His head to the opposite situation ( Luke 9:58). After 40 days; the body starts to shut down and starts to cosume internal organs for nutrition; therefore Jesus in the wilderness was dependant on supernatural help just to be strong enough to get out of that situation; much like we see in 1 Kings 19:6 and following verses. First; however He had to go through the temptations that Satan lobbed at Him in which the Word was used as counteroffensive with each blow of the enemy.
An interesting sidenote that I never noticed before is that Jesus picked His disciples after a period of time; basically weeding them out among the whole group of disciples or followers (see Luke chapter 6 starting in verse 12). The story of individually meeting them is found in Matthew 4 starting in verse 18. It seems the Luke 6 account was later as Christ chose them also as Apostles at that time (along with Judas Iscariot).
Anyway; when we put the pieces of the 4 Gospels together we see the whole picture of each of Christ's narratives.
I mention; I Didn't advocate studying the Scriptures by carnal means, by the arts of natural science as you would for a vocation.
Doing this feeds the natural part in man, with a knowledge apart from the Life of God, nor can such knowledge give us the life of God, for how can it? The flaming swords which guards the Tree of Life only gives way to those who are led by the Spirit. 2Cor 3:6; The letter in any dispensation kills, giving him a form of godliness without the power to be truly godly. It a false form, promotes self righteousness, one doesn't come to 1John 1:1 in a personal encounter with the living God in Spirit, who would lead him to take up the cross, teach him to deny, mortify & crucify spiritual old man of sin, by the operation of the Spirit to the rebirth & renewing of the mind. Instead; it offers a fake cross that flesh carnal mind can easily carry & bare It doesn't separates him from 1John 2:16, but leaves him one in it. It takes away our dependence from God, Psalms 123:2; that God maybe all in all, for He alone is the blessedness of the creature.
I'm speaking not from hearsay, but from 27 yrs of personal experience, than in 2010 while in ministry school, God extended His outstretch Arm, encountering me again & slowly began opening the eyes of my heart, as I was able to bear it, to what I've been speaking of here, leading me to quit school & Luke 9:23