"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:"
There are two ways of speaking. One is this, "I believed therefore have I spoken." St Paul annotates it to indicate salvation that comes from open confession. At the bottom what works is the spirit of faith which outpours from God a Spirit. Holiness of God makes no separation and every man is entitled to it. So St Paul explains,"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Ps.116:10; 2 Co.4:13; Ro.10:10)
Second way is what Lucifer, an angel employed. God charges him thus, "For thou hast said in thine heart,"I will ascend into heaven." God makes angels spirits so their thoughts have a centre. Since they do not have a body we cannot foist upon them a heart that we associate with human anatomy. Mind is indicated here. Satan expresses, "I will" which contradicts the will of God the Father so pride is a spiritual anomaly that Satan has coined. No man may invent in the world of the Spirit as one invents a tool from flint or a water wheel. He works with his visible world. Now what is evolution but tinkering with what is already existing, which is outside the will of man. The Bible is the God document and the Spirit is not teaching us anthropology or a treatise on ethnography but of the righteousness of God.
Without the Spirit giving us grace, what is faith as it is bandied about in the churches? Justification, yes but works, oh no! I wonder if Luther had got his scripture right? St James in his epistle was correct to connect works where it rightfully belongs. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."(Jas.2:17)
Then Peter says that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. Remember that the Jews of the first century understood that Son of God is a divine title, as I explained earlier. So for Peter to say that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, He is saying that Jesus is God.
In Matthew 16:16-17 Jesus again asked a very profound question. "Who do you say that I am." Again, Peter the same statement. "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus receives this statement as true and declared that Peter didn't come up with this idea on his own but that the Father had revealed this truth to Peter (because God can only tell the truth).
In john 20:28, Thomas, upon seeing and touching the risen Jesus exclaims, "My Lord and my God." Jesus does not rebuke Thomas for saying He is God, nor does He say Thomas is mistaken and then correct Thomas. No, Jesus accepts Thomas' statement of worship.
In Is. 43;15, YHWH says, "I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, you King." In Jn. 1:49, after Jesus calls Natanael, Nathanael says, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Jesus does not negate what Natanael states because this disciples is equating Jesus with YHWH of Is. 43:15.
Also, even demons knew that Jesus was God, calling Him the "Holy One of God" in Mk. 1:24; Lk. 4:34.
Next, I want to go to Hebrew1:6 where the inspiration of God had the author say that the angels worship Jesus, In Rev. there is worship of Jesus, the Lamb, along with the Father, who sits on the throne. How could this worship be allowed in heaven if Jesus was not God?
For now I will stop. There are many, many more verses that speak to Jesus; divinity. One can look on this site under the question "Is Jesus God?"
For me, I am convinced that Jesus is God and worthy of worship as God. And it is not idolatry to worship the Father and Jesus, the Son, for there are not two Gods (or three), but one God who exists as several divine persons who are one in nature.
The apostles knew that they were to believe and worship only YHWH. So, why would Jesus tell them to believe in the Father as God and also believe in Himself as God? In verse 7 He tells Thomas that if they know Him they would also know the Father and have seen the Father in knowing Himself. Right away, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus says, "He that has seen me has seen the Father." and in vs. 8 He says "I am in the Father and the Father is in Me." Her Jesus is telling the truth that He is in a oneness relationship with the Father. He speaks that the Father is one person and he is another, but together they are truly one.
In vs. 23 He says that those who love Him, the Father and Himself will come and together with the Father (and the Spirit -vs.17) God will live within the believer. In Chapter 15:23 Jesus says that He who hates Him also hates the Father, once more speaking to their divine oneness.
John 17 is Jesus' high priestly prayer (which I so love to read again and again) After saying in vs. 2 that the Father has given Jesus power over all flesh (divine sovereignty) and that Jesus give eternal life to all the Father gives Him, in vs. 5 Jesus speaks of the Father glorifying Him again just as He was glorified within the Father eternally from before he came into the world. This is clearly a statement of His Deity because in Is. 42:8, 48:11God said He will not give His glory to another.
Next, I wish to cite passages that tells us what the disciples believed about Jesus. Jesus asked a very pointed question to His disciples in John chapter 6 after telling the crowds that He was the Bread of Life and many followers deserted him. He asked "Who do you say that I am (again using the name YHWH). in vs. 62 He says "What and if you see the Son of man (Himself) ascend up where He was before? (Speaking about His eternal existence with the Father). In vs. 69 Peter boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) see part 6
Most of all, John would have known the doctrines being taught about Jesus and the writings of the other apostles. After being released from Patmos, John returned to Ephesus where he remained until his natural death. Polycarp, Ignatius and Papias were his pupils who were appointed as bishops either by John or Peter. Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp. John was active in ministry in Asia Minor prior to his imprisonment on Patmos. He planted churches in the region.
So, what was John inspired by God to say about J9esus' deity?
He begins his Gospel right away claiming Jesus was God ( John 1:1-3, that Jesus the divine Son of the Father, became enfleshed in human form. (vs. 1:14, Immanuel, God with us). John says that the Father (God) sent divine Son from Himself to be born into the world, fulfilling Is. 9:6-a child is born, a son is given). John says in vs. 1:4 that in Jesus was Life (just as the Father had Life within Himself ( Jn. 5:26, divine, eternal life that both the Father and Jesus can give to believers). Vs. 3 says that Jesus created ALL things ( Rev. 4:11 says the same) which is an act only God can do (see 1 Cor. 8:6). John goes on to say that in Jesus was the fullness of God bodily. (vs. 14. 16) Paul says the same thing in Col. 2:9.
In Jn. 1:18 some of the earliest Greek manuscripts wrote Theos instead of the Greek word of Son, but both speak of the Son/God being the only begotten. The Father is completely unbegotten, but the Son is begotten and it is the Son who reveals the Father to humanity. This gospel was written in Greek, and in Greek, 'only begotten' is written "monogenes", which, (from what I read) means a unique, one-of-a-kind offspring-as having the nature of its father. So, it seems that 1;18 is saying that Jesus , as the only Son of God by nature is divine as the Father is. This verse does not seem to say that the Son had a beginning in the Godhead. see part 4
The past weeks I have taken much time in Scripture to once again find out what it teaches on the deity of Jesus. It is very important to me to believe what the Scriptures do say as the basis for my belief in Jesus. Jesus asks us to believe in Him, and to me, this means believing the truth about Him from Scripture as well as trusting in Him for salvation. So, in the following posts I will accept what the Scriptures say about Jesus' nature. What does the Scriptures say concerning Jesus in this view?
First, I will bring forward some OT prophecies concerning Jesus:
Psalm 45:6
"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
The writer of Hebrews applies this prophecy to Jesus in 1:8
"But unto the Son, he (God) saith: "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre ofthy kingdom."
Verses 9-13 goes on to speak of the Son as creating the foundations of the earth and of the heavens; that the Son will fold these up again, and bring about the changed to them; but the Son is changeless and eternal.
Isaiah 7:14 gives a prophecy concerning Jesus.
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call him Immanuel."
Matthew 1:22-23 cites this prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus, who is Emmanuel (another spelling of Immanuel) which means "God with us."
isaiah 9:6 prophesies that:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, The Everlasting Gather, the Prince of Peace"
Here, Isaiah the prophecy of vs. 9:14 is extended and still refers to Immanuel who Jesus is. In this verse Jesus is called Mighty God (an OT name for God) along with the Everlasting Father: (which shows Immanuel's oneness with the Father as Jesus said that "I and the Father are one" in John 10:30. cont. to pt. 3
Mind of man is not brain which facilitates assembling information it receives into a thought pattern. Mind like heart is a spiritual space. By breathing into the nostrils of Adam he made him a living soul. So truth in man's inward pars make heart and mind interchangeable. Heart supplies the force from the inclinations that mind of man assembles. Thus King of Tyrus understands his advantages, "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence,"(28:16) This pre-eminent position of the seafaring nation did not come by playing by the rules but with violence, 'greed is good' the king would have rationalized. In order to maintain their lead meant playing a dirty cut-throat game. The pride and ruthlessness showed their DNA came from Lucifer, the covering cherub.
Satan or Lucifer was set up perfect in beauty. Whereas Jesus Christ the Son was perfect in the beauty of holiness. "Thus saith the LordGod; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty./Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God" (28:12-13)
God blessed man in his Son. So the river from Eden watering the garden shows Eden as a kingdom where the Son had his presence even as Satan has had. Eden is qualified as the garden of God. It is also described as the mountain of God. In Is.14 Satan would want to sit higher than the rest of the congregation to which we shall come in the next post. Eden and Zion have their own significance.
The point we need to understand the creature telling the creator, "I will want more honour than you are willing to give." It is the spirit of disobedience which marks the children of darkness or the children of wrath. Either you have the inheritance among the heirs in the kingdom of light or with Satan,"Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me./Why do ye not understand my speech?...."
"Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the LordGod; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:"
What does the heart signify for a child of God?
God calls Prophet Ezekiel the son of man, a generic term to indicate the covenant of God with Man. St Paul explains it, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" and another verse tells us in whom we have been chosen. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"(Ep.1:4-5)
We are chosen in the Man component so each one of us is a son by adoption. Jesus Christ is the firstborn and we are His children in his Son. It is according to the good pleasure of his Will that is one idea we need understand well before we explain the nature of God.
By His breath he garnished the heavens so we shall interpret the verse, "Who (God) maketh his angels spirits"(104:4) in context of a quote from the Book of Job. "By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." ( Job 26:13).This crooked serpent refers to the red dragon and also Lucifer which in turns brings us to the King of Tyrus, a man. As Ezekiel is addressed by God King of Tyrus is the son of Perdition, We trace here children by adoption according to the good pleasure of the divine Will. On the other hand the king of Tyrus owe his parentage to Lucifer who resisted the will of his Father. "I will" is his credo while the Son said,"Lo I come to do they will." God is a Spirit. The Son chose to totally align his will to that of the Father. The heart of the Son, obedience, trust faith delineate the holiness of the Son. Ph.2:5-9 explains the mind of Christ or the heart as a spiritual space.
12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
Prayer of the day in favor of God's people throughout the Earth, in favor of His beloved Church, until He returns to be with us forever and ever, as He promised us
Beloved GOD, father of the Lord JESUS Christ
We thank you for more this day of life that you have granted us
We lie down, we get up, because you have kept us alive until this moment that we call upon You, it in Your presence
We thank you for this daily bread that you have not missed on our table
To nourish and strengthen our body
but above all, beloved Lord, strengthen our soul in the Power of your Word,
the bread of life, the bread of heaven, the heavenly manna
Bless us throughout this day, keep us and deliver us from all evil and all danger
May your angels be encamped around your people, your servants in whole Earth, to protect them, today and always
Give us victory in struggles, in difficulties,
supplies our needs, and heals us of our illnesses,
heals the illneness in the midst of your people throughout the Earth,
Lord, in our work, in our activities, bless us and prosper them
Your kingdom come to us according to your Word, as is written "the
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever",
It continues to accompany us and guard us throughout the day, protecting us from all danger and all evil, today and always.
We ask, we pray, and we thank You, in the name of the Lord JESUS Christ, now and forevermore
JESUS' own testimony of Himself is wonderful,it reveals in depth the mystery of His existence in the greatness of the Universe created by GOD the Father,full of heavenly bodies,and on Earth specifically He populated the planet with living beings,and He sat in the circle of the Earth: Is.40:21-22:->21Have ye not known?have ye not heard?has it not been told you from the beginning?have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 22 It is GOD that sits upon the circle of the Earth,and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;
That said,we must remember what JESUS said from His own existence:Jo.17:4-5:
4I have glorified thee on the earth:I have finished the work which thou gave me to do( John 1:3&5:17& Hebrews 1:1-2 testify what JESUS said.Check it)
5And now,O Father,glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the WORLD was.(John the Baptist,angel of the LORD,testified about this,saying:Jo.1:18-No man has seen GOD at any time,the only begotten Son,which is in the bosom of the Father,He has declared Him)
Paul testified:Col.1:14-16:
14 In JESUS we have redemption through His blood,even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the INVISIBLE GOD,the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by Him-by JESUS-were all things created,that are in heaven, and that are in earth,visible and invisible,whether they be thrones,or dominions,principalities,powers:all things were created by Him,and for Him:( John 1:3&5:17& Hebrews 1:1-2 confirm)
Acts 4:11-12:
11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,which is become the head of the corner.
12Neither is there salvation in any other:for there is none other NAME(except JESUS)under heaven given among men,whereby we must be saved.
Mat.11:27-No man knows the Son,but the Father;neither knows any man the Father,save the Son,and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.
No man has seen GOD,the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.John1:18
Continuing with conviction of the Spirit vs man made manipulation.
In light of John 16:8 it is hard to understand the concept of bending over backwards to have people feel comfortable and "fit in" to a church. In fact; I would even go so far as to say it wouldn't be a bad slogan for a church to say in their bulletin that people should "plan to feel UNcomfortable" in their services. How can the fear of the Lord be something which is entertaining to anyone?
How can to so called "hole in men's hearts that only God can fill" appeal to anyone who doesn't conceive their own hopelessness before a righteous and Holy God who they have offended and continue to do so as long as they are unregenerate? ( Psalm 7:11-13). God is angry with the wicked every day; and it is truly sad that many don't get that to appreaciate His love; mercy; and kindness that we have to understand who we are and what great cost it was that He had to send His only Son to die in our stead.
We need something powerful enough to stand against an intractable foe; who seeks to kill; steal and destroy. Let's be real; if a church wants to seek and save the lost they won't be focusing so much time on flashy entertainment; and expensive building projects but will focus on missionary efforts. Many have bought into either careless giving with unscrupulous ministries that are not biblically sound or doing a bunch of service projects without the MAIN priority being presenting the Gospel. We can't err on the other side either with resources; but I have found it is often individual efforts of laypersons on a consistant basis that have more effect than occasional outings where everything tends to be rather scripted. And of course there is the BIG issue of cult personalities where noteriety becomes a snare; sadly that seems to have occured with Billy Graham when he didn't protest having a star in hollywood with his name on a pavement. SEE LUKE 16:15. We don't need approval of politicians or the world.
Conviction of the Spirit vs. man made manipulation
When God gets a hold of a man; He has no interest in using a man's intellect; beauty; or any other thing the old nature has to offer. He must put these things to death through the power of the risen Christ to begin His transformation and make a man suitable as a servant for His Kingdom. Compare this to a cult leader; he is using one of two techniques; flattery in order to draw in susceptible victims (usually young attractive women whose true purpose is only later realized); or fear and control to keep them in. At the inception; therefore is a weakness in a person which sucks them in to their hypnotic mind control where in the beginning there is often a period of time when a person can free themselves from such a fate if they truly seek the Lord.
More often we are in situations which are rather nebulous or ill defined as right or wrong. Particular denominations or individual Pastors can have their own temperment; or doctrines that are more or less severe or restrictive than others. This can result in what has happened with a friend of mine who is a young Pastor; where the influence of the church founders often controls the narrative which in his case has been a hindrance to maturity in the congregation. I won't focus here on the various nuances in regard to remaining with or leaving a particular fellowship and I probably covered it some time in the last 2 years on this site.
When it comes to things like prayer; for instance things seem to usually swing toward an extreme of a bare bones diet in today's churches. When people are pressured to do things we have to be certain we are not creating our own kingdom. When I got to see an elderly lady preaching to someone living on the street and the lady was in tears it wouldn't have happened with a half hearted effort; but with a true anointing of the Spirit of God. Would you want someone who doesn't demonstrate love praying for you? Food for thought..
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. ( 2 Cor. 7:10).
Giving careful thought to the subject at hand I thought I would mention some more scripture. Romans 14:17 says:
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Understanding sin; first of all has to go beyond what we are used to in this world. Our actions are sinful; and our bodies corrupted but nothing is inherently evil about the physical part of man; indeed we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" ( Psalm 139:14). Jesus demonstrated as a perfect man that he could weep; eat; drink; and sleep as others did but set an example of serving rather than being served ( Matthew 20:28). All things are right in their place; physical intimacy in the marriage bed ( Heb. 13:4) is one good example. Killing a man in defence of a family or serving in the armed services is diametrically opposed to murdering someone out of spite.
As believers; we should find not only repugnant the desires we once had of the world flesh and the Devil but also find that what was once the obsession of our daily lives; although we are to work diligently to serve the Lord and continue with our families whenever possible the everyday procedures are strangely dim; as it were to our heavenly hope which we have now "seated in heavenly places" ( Eph. 2:6). Our focus goes away from OURSELVES and to the Body of Christ as well as seeking to reach the lost. Proverbs 11:30 says The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Again; as per some of my older posts in regard to the Christian "music industry" as well as many megachurches or those supposedly exercising "manifestations" which of these exactly is causing conviction of sin to occur and is focused on God's righteousness? Finally where is the Godly fear of His wrath; that is what brings revival
To compare, here's two similar terrible situations
Ps.34:19-Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Acts 14:22-We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of GOD
The KING of DARKNESS,the Devil, showed to JESUS all the kingdoms of the world,the glory of them,and said:All will I give thee,if thou fall down and worship me.Mat.4:8-9.
Re.13:1&15:
1 I stood upon the sand of the sea(John was a citzen of Israel),and saw a(MAN)Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile nations),having 7 heads,10 horns, upon his HORNS 10 crowns(CROWNS UPON HORNS?),and upon his heads a NAME of blasphemy.
15 And he-MAN Beast of earth-Re.13:11-a false messiah- John 5:43-47,had power to give life unto the Beast's image,that the image should speak,who worships not the image must be killed.
Daniel 3:2-20
The KING sent to gather the princes,governors,the captains,judges, counsellors,all the rulers of the provinces,to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.They stood before the image and an herald cried:To you is commanded,O people,NATIONS,and languages,that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,flute, harp,and all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image the king has set up:Whoso falls not down and worships shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.But Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,O king, have not regarded thee,they serve not thy gods,nor worship the image you has set up.So in his rage and fury the KING commanded to bring them,and said:Is it true,O Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,do not ye serve my gods,nor worship the IMAGE I have set up?When you hear the sound of the cornet,all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image I have made;well:if not,ye shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;who is that GOD that shall deliver you out of my hands?
O king,our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from furnace,thy hands,and we will not serve thy gods,nor worship the image you have set up.
I may seem to have strayed from my original topic of prayer; but since all types of "miraculous" ministers of the Gospel whether genuine or fake use some method of prayer as a means of operation. I haven't even delved yet into emotional; mental and spiritual healing although they are often either interchangeable or intersecting in many ways in a person's earthly existence.
Matthew 9:5 gives us food for thought; as to the greater challenge of forgiving sins than healing someone. Since the enemy can manipulate things somewhat in the physical realm a false miracle is certainly possible within limits; but cannot do the same in forgiving sins. (I should paraphrase that comment in saying that yes; some form of mental tranquility is used to render one senseless; and sear their conscience to their own sinful and appalling state but if God is calling that person the enemy is allowed also to cause increasing torment as only true love casts out fear). We; of course can't be so glib as to tell someone their sins are forgiven; instead we wait for someone to be convicted and say as the jailor to Paul how must we be saved?
Before discussing the emotional and mental healings which obviously are more difficult to prove scientifically (not to mention healing of the soul which HAS to be spiritual) I don't want to leave the question unanswered that may come up.
The question is; of course when should we pray for a healing and when NOT? Obviously I cannot play God here and tell someone as long as someone is alive at least that they shouldn't pray in that way. I would say that if someone has died that normally at least we shouldn't resort to that. It SEEMS on the surface that a few people appear to have experienced this; but in one case I may have brought up recently of a man in Africa; within a year he seems to have disappeared from view when others tried to find him. I'll leave that subject to a missionary to respond.
To continue; here is the third scenario with healings.
Healings that ARE verifiable as at least unexplained with reliable medical information (hint: it helps to have first and last names at the very least). This would as far as I can tell be subdivided further into 3 categories:
1) Prayers that were given by either doctrinally unsound or downright heretical preachers that appear to have resulted in a genuine healing following the standard above. I will call that the Judas Iscariot factor; based on the verses where Jesus sent him out when the disciples were commanded to do these type of miracles (read Luke chapter 10).
2) Prayers that were given by doctrinally sound individuals which appears to have resulted in genuine miracles and
3) Miracles that are verifiable which either the person healed and/or those around him or her were not believers or had no interest in religion. I could add a fourth situation here similar to above but performed by "New Age" practitioners. I think I'll make a seperate post on that soon.
So; what are we to think? As Jesus said; go to the priests ( Luke 5:14) as evidence of true healing; as they were used for this purpose in the O.T. as well as deciding when a person was ceremonially unclean and what procedures were to be rendered for this to become a reality. Red flags should certainly go up when we have so called "faith healers" who don't have the guts to prove things through the medical establishment. Once that is initiated; if their reaction is "yes; but.." and they cannot let us make our own decisions as to further care then of course it may be good to walk away from their counsel. That is perhaps a fifth thing to add to this section; REMISSION can occur for unexplained reasons scientifically. That doesn't mean we should brush off even a temporary healing but be cautious of a "thus saith the Lord" that it is gone for good. All of us are mortal evenhealed
Luke 18:1 says And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
This begins the well known parable about the "persistent widow" and is as all Christ's sayings deep and profound with meanings.
Nonetheless; our Father in heaven isn't bored with any prayers that are truly seeking His will; and the petitioner shouldn't pray in vain repetitions as Matthew 6:7 warns us. The question; of course comes what IS a viable request and what isn't?
What should be clear in regard to this issue is not praying for something CLEARLY outside of scriptural bounds; to put it more simply NOT to ask for something the Word makes CLEAR is for sinful purposes ( James 4:3 to "consume on your own lusts.")
That could be explained with several points
1) Asking God for something we intend to use for sinful purposes. This could be for a woman we can sleep with before marriage; drugs; alcohol; a gun to kill someone etc. This sort of prayer would; it seem be made by someone who is a cult leader; who would have to be under enough delusion to believe what is clearly demonic doctrine that they are some sort of Messianic figure. I would assume Jim Jones would be a good representative of such insanity; between the insane relationships he had with minors; and the final mass suicidal genocide inflicted on hundreds including himself.
2) Asking God for something with an insincere intention to please our own desires thinly veiled in a feigned humility or piety.
This is much more common; no doubt. This could also involve asking for a partner and or grooming someone with an intention to later take advantage of the situation; or fooling ourselves thinking we can compromise and continue to refrain from sin in any area of our lives which we in particular have demonstrated a pattern of weakness before in such matters. Such is alcohol to an alcoholic which of course would elicit money for actual needs but funnel it later for what we really desire.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
If we don't have assurance of salvation then of course we are fickle in any witnessing endeavors and it is hard to reflect the hope within us ( 1 Peter 3:15). We must have confidence and as Phillipians 1:28 states And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Part of this is giving a bold defense of judgment to come as John 16:8 states is how the Spirit works on men's hearts. If we doubt ourselves because of what men think; or somehow think we can dodge verses that state categorically that what is stated in 2 Timothy 3:12 about all who are Godly suffering persecution we are only fooling ourselves. Society today has gone to great lengths to ensure we don't offend anyone but the Gospel IS an offense ( 1 Peter 2:8). Having a proper foundation of scripture is necessary to give a sound testimony. Hell and judgment should be taught with fear and trembling; not with a proud attitude but nonetheless must be preached.
We have made too much of presentation in form rather than substance with a sideshow of music and a "two spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down" to quote an old tune probably not familiar to young folks here. Revelation 10:10 states that although it tastes sweet it was bitter in the stomach (in regard to the prophetic words John was to speak). When we are surrendured to the Spirit we will see reactions like the jailor in Acts 16:30 "what must I do to be saved?" NOWHERE in scripture to we see pleading and cajoling for any individual to be saved. God draws all those who He eventually saves; so we should let Him do the work and get out of the way ourselves and any agenda that isn't Biblically sound. Only the Spirit convicts of sin and until it does that work we can only sow a seed. The numbers game where prizes are offered when a certain number of new converts a day make a confession is an abomination.
QUESTION: Is salvation "one sided" or interactive? On this site; I would expect a unanimous affirmation of the first idea that God and God alone is able to save. I am pretty much in line with "Calvinist" (or I would say BIBLICAL) reasoning; namely that repentance itself is a gift from God and that Christ saves each and every one God has given Him; and no one else.
What I would NOT agree to is that understanding a FORMULA how to be saved; such as memorizing verses such as Romans 10:9-13 or "accepting" Christ as Lord when of course He is Lord whether we ascribe to it or not is sufficient; at least without TRULY believing in our heart as that verse states. What I WOULD say (sorry for the caps for emphasis) is that a relationship is part of KNOWING Christ. This enables us to sense His love as well as His chastisement and discipline so that we not only are aware of the law but sense in our spirit when we are displeasing to Him. In our society today; it is clear to anyone studying our society that family discipline is at an all time low. It is certain that a certain number of homes are ruled through discipline; but many or most invole tyrannical and hypocritical domination and quite often blatent hypocrisy so that we cannot respect that sort of authority. We hear a lot of talk on God's goodness; but His severity isn't very popular today. Of course when kids aren't properly disciplined and trained how to be independent; mature and responsible in this world they end up as they are now.
The Lord does not allow His children to continue in this manner (see 1 Corinthians 13:11). Our character and trustworthiness affects others who may base their faith in God on our actions.
For a true child of God; often we are STRIPPED OF OUR FRIENDS; FAMILY AND SUPPORT SYSTEM. In spite of this we are to follow Hebrews 10:25; even if the Lord calls us elsewhere from our current fellowship we trust Him to provide a new one in His timing.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain (a Prince) of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Daniel 12:-13
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time(because Michael stand up): and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 24:15and21-23
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand )
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man(Pastors, Bishops,Evangelists,etc.) shall say unto you,Lo, here is Christ( John 5:43-47.Take a look),or there;BELIEVE IT NOT.
Re.12:7 & 10-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his messengers fought against the dragon( Revelation 13:11);and the dragon fought and his messengers.
Verses 10-12 state: And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. 12Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
This passage illustrates the reaction of Joshua after they were routed in battle. Joshua lamely states that it would have been better to not have entered where they were than to be routed by the Amorites. He ignores promises 400 years prior about the fullness of the iniquity of the Amorites; but is totally blind to the REASON for the event; which boiled down to one person coveting gold and other things which were cursed objects somehow tied into the demonic realm that were; as the rest of the populus to be devoted unto destruction. Joshua 6:18 warns about such behavior; and Achan was the individual responsible and was summarily stoned afterwards; followed by victory on the battlefield. They should have learned from what happened with Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:32 when they were swallowed up by the earth after trying to usurp the role of Priesthood that Moses had. We see in both these passages that unless the sin was dealt with the entire people would be destroyed.
In today's New Testament church we see Ananias and Sapphira in the same sort of swift judgment in Acts 5. Normally; of course our first priority has to be our own sin but we have to guard not only our own hearts but watch out for the "enemy in the camp" which today often involves "damnable heresies" ( 2 Peter 2:1); also see 1 Timothy 4:1 on last days false teaching.
WAR AGAINST THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
The end of times has arrived and what the Devil intends to do as the father of the Jews( John 8:44), is to direct the current world under his rule towards a global environment that will facilitate the establishment of his much desired Universal Kingdom, his fifth Universal Kingdom, for which Satan has been working since ancient times starting with Abel's murder- Matthew 23:33-35.Take a look. GOD revealed to the king of Babylon through Daniel this desire of Satan by interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream: Daniel 2:41-43, but in verses 44 to 47 GOD reveals how He will destroy the Kingdom of the Devil, father of the Jews- JOHN 8:44.
There will be a TERRIBLE WAR from now on between GOD's people X Satan's people. Re.11:15 says: The KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. ( Matthew 5:5 combined with Revelation 5:10).
But Satan as a God intends to do the same with global world ruled by him-2Thes.2:3-4&9-12 combined with Revelation 12, i.e. to establish his satanic Universal religious Kingdom.
The WAR will be against THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
Revelation 16:13 to 16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like FROGS come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar - mag - eddon.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. (Get ready)
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
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)
Hello all! Christian Greetings! I am wondering if the of King James is active now for going back further in one's comments?
On another topic, in the past I have meditated on whether God's people on earth are always surrounded by hostile forces. I believe this thought with history can help us understand Daniel and therefore Revelation.
Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for letting me know about Friends of King James.
Is.30:27-Behold,the name of the Lord cometh from far,burning with his anger,and the burden thereof is heavy:His lips are full of indignation, His tongue as a devouring fire:
Is.13:6-13
6Howl ye;for the day of the Lord is at hand;it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty
7Therefore shall all hands be faint,and every man's heart shall melt:
8And they shall be afraid:pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:they shall be amazed one at another;their faces shall be as flames
9Behold,the day of the Lord cometh,cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,to lay the land desolate:and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it
10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light
11And I will punish the world for their evil,and the wicked for their iniquity;and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold;even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir
13Therefore I will shake the heavens,and the earth shall remove out of her place,in the wrath of the Lord of hosts,and in the Day of His fierce anger.
Is.33:10-15
10Now will I rise,saith the Lord;now will I be exalted;now will I lift up myself.
12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime:as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13Hear,ye that are far off,what I have done;and,ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15He that walks righteously,and speaks uprightly;he that despiseth the gain of oppressions,that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.
PUT THIS IN YOUR MIND - THE RED SEA AND THE RED DRAGON
I believe you know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea,and walk through a desert,walk until they got to the Promised Land after 40 years of pilgrimage.What about GOD's people now or in this current time?
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,that's exactly it,a Red Dragon yes,this is no coincidence,it was predicted millennia ago.He's a false messiah who will soon manifest,just ahead,with great signs of lying,he will manifest in Israel like a lamb with two horns,he's a Jew,of course, and he'll speak like a Dragon. Revelation 12.3-17 and Revelation 13: 11-18.
Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceedingly joy - the day 1335.Amen.
Remembering and understanding that the departure of the Hebrew people from Egypt was not without first having taken place a battle against Pharaoh(by the way,there and now is Satan himself),and when the march began for the departure of GOD's people from Egypt, then the enemy army persecuted the Hebrews,the same will happen now,initially the persecution will be by the man Beast of the sea,it is he who will first persecute the Christian believers- Revelation 13:5 - for 42 months,that is the first half of the last week, week 70th Daniel 9:v.27.This POINT is only and only the half of the way -3,5 years or 42 months,the GOD's people will need to march more 3,5 years,so the murch will last 7 years,it will not be easy this journey of course.
Again:Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceendigly joy-the day 1335. Amen.
JESUS in His prayer to the Father,said: John 17:15 - I pray not that thou take them out of the world, but that thou keep them from the evil.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Many think there will be a WWIII now,oh no,there will not be,absolutely.We just entered in the current seventh and last millennium,so there will not be WWIII,absolutely.JESUS listed the events that must happen in this beginning of the seventh and last millennium or seventh and last GOD's Day. Matthew 24:1-8:
PRE TRIBULATIONAL PERIOD-BEGINNING OF SORROWS
Verses 1- 2:->JESUS went out and departed from the Temple.His disciples came to Him and showed Him the building of the Temple. JESUS said:See ye these things?I say unto you,There shall not be left here ONE stone upon another.JESUS disappointed his disciples, evidently.
What JESUS prophesied about the Temple it fulfilled LITERALLY in the year 70AD, the Temple was destroyed,Israel was banned from their land and scattered around the world for 1.878 years, from 70AD to 1948AD, more than 100K died under of the Roman's attack.
JESUS went to the Mount of Olives, there the disciples privately asked TWO things to Him:
1-What shall be the sign of thy coming?
2-and of the END of the world?(END of the current Devil's world)
JESUS listed several events linked 1st:to His Coming;2nd: about END of this current Devil's WORLD.
Mat.24:4-8-JESUS said:
4-Take heed that no MAN deceive you;(this was the first concerns of JESUS)
5-For many shall come in my name,saying,I am Christ;and shall deceive many; (Soon will manifest the MAN Beast of the earth like a lamb,a false lamb,false messiah,AN IMPOSTOR,as said JESUS- John 5:43, 2Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:11-18.
6-And ye shall hear of WARS and RUMOURS of WARS; ALL THESE THINGS must come to pass but THE END IS NOT YET.
7-NATION shall rise against NATION, kingdom against kingdom;(Will G7,G20,EU,UNO,be DISSOLVED from now on? Pe.3:7, Re.11:18, Micah 4:3).
-and there shall be famines;it is fulfilling LITERALLY
- and pestilences;In fulfillment;
- and earthquakes-divers places;
8 All these are the beginning of SORROWS(Pre-tribulational)
44 And in the days of these kings shall the GOD of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
GOD revealed to Daniel and to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (and to us too), that the Kingdom He establishes it can NEVER be destroyed, neither be left to other people. GOD's dominion on Earth is absolute, an example or proof is the GOD's garden, garden of Eden, that was governed by a Cherubim that GOD had created to rule and protect the garden. The reign of Eden was not destroyed by a conventional war or invasion of enemies, neither left to other people.
The same will occur from now on with the millennial Kingdom of GOD, it will never be destroyed or invaded by the enemies.
Revelation 11:15-18
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms OF THIS WORLD are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped GOD,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord GOD Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18 And the NATIONS were ANGRY, and thy WRATH is come(GOD's WRATH), and the time of the dead, that they should be Judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest DESTROY them which destroy the earth.
Get ready
Matthew 25:10->And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Do you know the Hymn "When the Trumpet of the Lord shall sound"? Or "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder"? Listen to this hymn and wake up,... fast.
"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:"
There are two ways of speaking. One is this, "I believed therefore have I spoken." St Paul annotates it to indicate salvation that comes from open confession. At the bottom what works is the spirit of faith which outpours from God a Spirit. Holiness of God makes no separation and every man is entitled to it. So St Paul explains,"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Ps.116:10; 2 Co.4:13; Ro.10:10)
Second way is what Lucifer, an angel employed. God charges him thus, "For thou hast said in thine heart,"I will ascend into heaven." God makes angels spirits so their thoughts have a centre. Since they do not have a body we cannot foist upon them a heart that we associate with human anatomy. Mind is indicated here. Satan expresses, "I will" which contradicts the will of God the Father so pride is a spiritual anomaly that Satan has coined. No man may invent in the world of the Spirit as one invents a tool from flint or a water wheel. He works with his visible world. Now what is evolution but tinkering with what is already existing, which is outside the will of man. The Bible is the God document and the Spirit is not teaching us anthropology or a treatise on ethnography but of the righteousness of God.
Without the Spirit giving us grace, what is faith as it is bandied about in the churches? Justification, yes but works, oh no! I wonder if Luther had got his scripture right? St James in his epistle was correct to connect works where it rightfully belongs. "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."(Jas.2:17)
Then Peter says that Jesus is the Son of the Living God. Remember that the Jews of the first century understood that Son of God is a divine title, as I explained earlier. So for Peter to say that Jesus is the Son of the Living God, He is saying that Jesus is God.
In Matthew 16:16-17 Jesus again asked a very profound question. "Who do you say that I am." Again, Peter the same statement. "Thou are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus receives this statement as true and declared that Peter didn't come up with this idea on his own but that the Father had revealed this truth to Peter (because God can only tell the truth).
In john 20:28, Thomas, upon seeing and touching the risen Jesus exclaims, "My Lord and my God." Jesus does not rebuke Thomas for saying He is God, nor does He say Thomas is mistaken and then correct Thomas. No, Jesus accepts Thomas' statement of worship.
In Is. 43;15, YHWH says, "I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, you King." In Jn. 1:49, after Jesus calls Natanael, Nathanael says, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Jesus does not negate what Natanael states because this disciples is equating Jesus with YHWH of Is. 43:15.
Also, even demons knew that Jesus was God, calling Him the "Holy One of God" in Mk. 1:24; Lk. 4:34.
Next, I want to go to Hebrew1:6 where the inspiration of God had the author say that the angels worship Jesus, In Rev. there is worship of Jesus, the Lamb, along with the Father, who sits on the throne. How could this worship be allowed in heaven if Jesus was not God?
For now I will stop. There are many, many more verses that speak to Jesus; divinity. One can look on this site under the question "Is Jesus God?"
For me, I am convinced that Jesus is God and worthy of worship as God. And it is not idolatry to worship the Father and Jesus, the Son, for there are not two Gods (or three), but one God who exists as several divine persons who are one in nature.
Part 5
The apostles knew that they were to believe and worship only YHWH. So, why would Jesus tell them to believe in the Father as God and also believe in Himself as God? In verse 7 He tells Thomas that if they know Him they would also know the Father and have seen the Father in knowing Himself. Right away, Philip asks Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus says, "He that has seen me has seen the Father." and in vs. 8 He says "I am in the Father and the Father is in Me." Her Jesus is telling the truth that He is in a oneness relationship with the Father. He speaks that the Father is one person and he is another, but together they are truly one.
In vs. 23 He says that those who love Him, the Father and Himself will come and together with the Father (and the Spirit -vs.17) God will live within the believer. In Chapter 15:23 Jesus says that He who hates Him also hates the Father, once more speaking to their divine oneness.
John 17 is Jesus' high priestly prayer (which I so love to read again and again) After saying in vs. 2 that the Father has given Jesus power over all flesh (divine sovereignty) and that Jesus give eternal life to all the Father gives Him, in vs. 5 Jesus speaks of the Father glorifying Him again just as He was glorified within the Father eternally from before he came into the world. This is clearly a statement of His Deity because in Is. 42:8, 48:11God said He will not give His glory to another.
Next, I wish to cite passages that tells us what the disciples believed about Jesus. Jesus asked a very pointed question to His disciples in John chapter 6 after telling the crowds that He was the Bread of Life and many followers deserted him. He asked "Who do you say that I am (again using the name YHWH). in vs. 62 He says "What and if you see the Son of man (Himself) ascend up where He was before? (Speaking about His eternal existence with the Father). In vs. 69 Peter boldly proclaims that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) see part 6
Part. 3
Most of all, John would have known the doctrines being taught about Jesus and the writings of the other apostles. After being released from Patmos, John returned to Ephesus where he remained until his natural death. Polycarp, Ignatius and Papias were his pupils who were appointed as bishops either by John or Peter. Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp. John was active in ministry in Asia Minor prior to his imprisonment on Patmos. He planted churches in the region.
So, what was John inspired by God to say about J9esus' deity?
He begins his Gospel right away claiming Jesus was God ( John 1:1-3, that Jesus the divine Son of the Father, became enfleshed in human form. (vs. 1:14, Immanuel, God with us). John says that the Father (God) sent divine Son from Himself to be born into the world, fulfilling Is. 9:6-a child is born, a son is given). John says in vs. 1:4 that in Jesus was Life (just as the Father had Life within Himself ( Jn. 5:26, divine, eternal life that both the Father and Jesus can give to believers). Vs. 3 says that Jesus created ALL things ( Rev. 4:11 says the same) which is an act only God can do (see 1 Cor. 8:6). John goes on to say that in Jesus was the fullness of God bodily. (vs. 14. 16) Paul says the same thing in Col. 2:9.
In Jn. 1:18 some of the earliest Greek manuscripts wrote Theos instead of the Greek word of Son, but both speak of the Son/God being the only begotten. The Father is completely unbegotten, but the Son is begotten and it is the Son who reveals the Father to humanity. This gospel was written in Greek, and in Greek, 'only begotten' is written "monogenes", which, (from what I read) means a unique, one-of-a-kind offspring-as having the nature of its father. So, it seems that 1;18 is saying that Jesus , as the only Son of God by nature is divine as the Father is. This verse does not seem to say that the Son had a beginning in the Godhead. see part 4
Part 2.
The past weeks I have taken much time in Scripture to once again find out what it teaches on the deity of Jesus. It is very important to me to believe what the Scriptures do say as the basis for my belief in Jesus. Jesus asks us to believe in Him, and to me, this means believing the truth about Him from Scripture as well as trusting in Him for salvation. So, in the following posts I will accept what the Scriptures say about Jesus' nature. What does the Scriptures say concerning Jesus in this view?
First, I will bring forward some OT prophecies concerning Jesus:
Psalm 45:6
"Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre."
The writer of Hebrews applies this prophecy to Jesus in 1:8
"But unto the Son, he (God) saith: "Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre ofthy kingdom."
Verses 9-13 goes on to speak of the Son as creating the foundations of the earth and of the heavens; that the Son will fold these up again, and bring about the changed to them; but the Son is changeless and eternal.
Isaiah 7:14 gives a prophecy concerning Jesus.
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and they shall call him Immanuel."
Matthew 1:22-23 cites this prophecy as being fulfilled in Jesus, who is Emmanuel (another spelling of Immanuel) which means "God with us."
isaiah 9:6 prophesies that:
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, The Everlasting Gather, the Prince of Peace"
Here, Isaiah the prophecy of vs. 9:14 is extended and still refers to Immanuel who Jesus is. In this verse Jesus is called Mighty God (an OT name for God) along with the Everlasting Father: (which shows Immanuel's oneness with the Father as Jesus said that "I and the Father are one" in John 10:30. cont. to pt. 3
Mind of man is not brain which facilitates assembling information it receives into a thought pattern. Mind like heart is a spiritual space. By breathing into the nostrils of Adam he made him a living soul. So truth in man's inward pars make heart and mind interchangeable. Heart supplies the force from the inclinations that mind of man assembles. Thus King of Tyrus understands his advantages, "By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence,"(28:16) This pre-eminent position of the seafaring nation did not come by playing by the rules but with violence, 'greed is good' the king would have rationalized. In order to maintain their lead meant playing a dirty cut-throat game. The pride and ruthlessness showed their DNA came from Lucifer, the covering cherub.
Satan or Lucifer was set up perfect in beauty. Whereas Jesus Christ the Son was perfect in the beauty of holiness. "Thus saith the LordGod; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty./Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God" (28:12-13)
God blessed man in his Son. So the river from Eden watering the garden shows Eden as a kingdom where the Son had his presence even as Satan has had. Eden is qualified as the garden of God. It is also described as the mountain of God. In Is.14 Satan would want to sit higher than the rest of the congregation to which we shall come in the next post. Eden and Zion have their own significance.
The point we need to understand the creature telling the creator, "I will want more honour than you are willing to give." It is the spirit of disobedience which marks the children of darkness or the children of wrath. Either you have the inheritance among the heirs in the kingdom of light or with Satan,"Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me./Why do ye not understand my speech?...."
( John 8:42-45)
"Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the LordGod; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:"
What does the heart signify for a child of God?
God calls Prophet Ezekiel the son of man, a generic term to indicate the covenant of God with Man. St Paul explains it, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world" and another verse tells us in whom we have been chosen. "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,"(Ep.1:4-5)
We are chosen in the Man component so each one of us is a son by adoption. Jesus Christ is the firstborn and we are His children in his Son. It is according to the good pleasure of his Will that is one idea we need understand well before we explain the nature of God.
By His breath he garnished the heavens so we shall interpret the verse, "Who (God) maketh his angels spirits"(104:4) in context of a quote from the Book of Job. "By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the crooked serpent." ( Job 26:13).This crooked serpent refers to the red dragon and also Lucifer which in turns brings us to the King of Tyrus, a man. As Ezekiel is addressed by God King of Tyrus is the son of Perdition, We trace here children by adoption according to the good pleasure of the divine Will. On the other hand the king of Tyrus owe his parentage to Lucifer who resisted the will of his Father. "I will" is his credo while the Son said,"Lo I come to do they will." God is a Spirit. The Son chose to totally align his will to that of the Father. The heart of the Son, obedience, trust faith delineate the holiness of the Son. Ph.2:5-9 explains the mind of Christ or the heart as a spiritual space.
12 What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
13 I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
Prayer of the day in favor of God's people throughout the Earth, in favor of His beloved Church, until He returns to be with us forever and ever, as He promised us
Beloved GOD, father of the Lord JESUS Christ
We thank you for more this day of life that you have granted us
We lie down, we get up, because you have kept us alive until this moment that we call upon You, it in Your presence
We thank you for this daily bread that you have not missed on our table
To nourish and strengthen our body
but above all, beloved Lord, strengthen our soul in the Power of your Word,
the bread of life, the bread of heaven, the heavenly manna
Bless us throughout this day, keep us and deliver us from all evil and all danger
May your angels be encamped around your people, your servants in whole Earth, to protect them, today and always
Give us victory in struggles, in difficulties,
supplies our needs, and heals us of our illnesses,
heals the illneness in the midst of your people throughout the Earth,
Lord, in our work, in our activities, bless us and prosper them
Your kingdom come to us according to your Word, as is written "the
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of the Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever",
It continues to accompany us and guard us throughout the day, protecting us from all danger and all evil, today and always.
We ask, we pray, and we thank You, in the name of the Lord JESUS Christ, now and forevermore
Amen
That said,we must remember what JESUS said from His own existence:Jo.17:4-5:
4I have glorified thee on the earth:I have finished the work which thou gave me to do( John 1:3&5:17& Hebrews 1:1-2 testify what JESUS said.Check it)
5And now,O Father,glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the WORLD was.(John the Baptist,angel of the LORD,testified about this,saying:Jo.1:18-No man has seen GOD at any time,the only begotten Son,which is in the bosom of the Father,He has declared Him)
Paul testified:Col.1:14-16:
14 In JESUS we have redemption through His blood,even the forgiveness of sins:
15 Who is the image of the INVISIBLE GOD,the firstborn of every creature:
16 For by Him-by JESUS-were all things created,that are in heaven, and that are in earth,visible and invisible,whether they be thrones,or dominions,principalities,powers:all things were created by Him,and for Him:( John 1:3&5:17& Hebrews 1:1-2 confirm)
Acts 4:11-12:
11This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,which is become the head of the corner.
12Neither is there salvation in any other:for there is none other NAME(except JESUS)under heaven given among men,whereby we must be saved.
Mat.11:27-No man knows the Son,but the Father;neither knows any man the Father,save the Son,and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.
No man has seen GOD,the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.John1:18
In light of John 16:8 it is hard to understand the concept of bending over backwards to have people feel comfortable and "fit in" to a church. In fact; I would even go so far as to say it wouldn't be a bad slogan for a church to say in their bulletin that people should "plan to feel UNcomfortable" in their services. How can the fear of the Lord be something which is entertaining to anyone?
How can to so called "hole in men's hearts that only God can fill" appeal to anyone who doesn't conceive their own hopelessness before a righteous and Holy God who they have offended and continue to do so as long as they are unregenerate? ( Psalm 7:11-13). God is angry with the wicked every day; and it is truly sad that many don't get that to appreaciate His love; mercy; and kindness that we have to understand who we are and what great cost it was that He had to send His only Son to die in our stead.
We need something powerful enough to stand against an intractable foe; who seeks to kill; steal and destroy. Let's be real; if a church wants to seek and save the lost they won't be focusing so much time on flashy entertainment; and expensive building projects but will focus on missionary efforts. Many have bought into either careless giving with unscrupulous ministries that are not biblically sound or doing a bunch of service projects without the MAIN priority being presenting the Gospel. We can't err on the other side either with resources; but I have found it is often individual efforts of laypersons on a consistant basis that have more effect than occasional outings where everything tends to be rather scripted. And of course there is the BIG issue of cult personalities where noteriety becomes a snare; sadly that seems to have occured with Billy Graham when he didn't protest having a star in hollywood with his name on a pavement. SEE LUKE 16:15. We don't need approval of politicians or the world.
When God gets a hold of a man; He has no interest in using a man's intellect; beauty; or any other thing the old nature has to offer. He must put these things to death through the power of the risen Christ to begin His transformation and make a man suitable as a servant for His Kingdom. Compare this to a cult leader; he is using one of two techniques; flattery in order to draw in susceptible victims (usually young attractive women whose true purpose is only later realized); or fear and control to keep them in. At the inception; therefore is a weakness in a person which sucks them in to their hypnotic mind control where in the beginning there is often a period of time when a person can free themselves from such a fate if they truly seek the Lord.
More often we are in situations which are rather nebulous or ill defined as right or wrong. Particular denominations or individual Pastors can have their own temperment; or doctrines that are more or less severe or restrictive than others. This can result in what has happened with a friend of mine who is a young Pastor; where the influence of the church founders often controls the narrative which in his case has been a hindrance to maturity in the congregation. I won't focus here on the various nuances in regard to remaining with or leaving a particular fellowship and I probably covered it some time in the last 2 years on this site.
When it comes to things like prayer; for instance things seem to usually swing toward an extreme of a bare bones diet in today's churches. When people are pressured to do things we have to be certain we are not creating our own kingdom. When I got to see an elderly lady preaching to someone living on the street and the lady was in tears it wouldn't have happened with a half hearted effort; but with a true anointing of the Spirit of God. Would you want someone who doesn't demonstrate love praying for you? Food for thought..
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. ( 2 Cor. 7:10).
Giving careful thought to the subject at hand I thought I would mention some more scripture. Romans 14:17 says:
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Understanding sin; first of all has to go beyond what we are used to in this world. Our actions are sinful; and our bodies corrupted but nothing is inherently evil about the physical part of man; indeed we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" ( Psalm 139:14). Jesus demonstrated as a perfect man that he could weep; eat; drink; and sleep as others did but set an example of serving rather than being served ( Matthew 20:28). All things are right in their place; physical intimacy in the marriage bed ( Heb. 13:4) is one good example. Killing a man in defence of a family or serving in the armed services is diametrically opposed to murdering someone out of spite.
As believers; we should find not only repugnant the desires we once had of the world flesh and the Devil but also find that what was once the obsession of our daily lives; although we are to work diligently to serve the Lord and continue with our families whenever possible the everyday procedures are strangely dim; as it were to our heavenly hope which we have now "seated in heavenly places" ( Eph. 2:6). Our focus goes away from OURSELVES and to the Body of Christ as well as seeking to reach the lost. Proverbs 11:30 says The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
Again; as per some of my older posts in regard to the Christian "music industry" as well as many megachurches or those supposedly exercising "manifestations" which of these exactly is causing conviction of sin to occur and is focused on God's righteousness? Finally where is the Godly fear of His wrath; that is what brings revival
Ps.34:19-Many are the afflictions of the righteous:but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Acts 14:22-We must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of GOD
The KING of DARKNESS,the Devil, showed to JESUS all the kingdoms of the world,the glory of them,and said:All will I give thee,if thou fall down and worship me.Mat.4:8-9.
Re.13:1&15:
1 I stood upon the sand of the sea(John was a citzen of Israel),and saw a(MAN)Beast rise up out of the sea(Gentile nations),having 7 heads,10 horns, upon his HORNS 10 crowns(CROWNS UPON HORNS?),and upon his heads a NAME of blasphemy.
15 And he-MAN Beast of earth-Re.13:11-a false messiah- John 5:43-47,had power to give life unto the Beast's image,that the image should speak,who worships not the image must be killed.
Daniel 3:2-20
The KING sent to gather the princes,governors,the captains,judges, counsellors,all the rulers of the provinces,to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.They stood before the image and an herald cried:To you is commanded,O people,NATIONS,and languages,that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet,flute, harp,and all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image the king has set up:Whoso falls not down and worships shall be cast into the burning fiery furnace.But Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,O king, have not regarded thee,they serve not thy gods,nor worship the image you has set up.So in his rage and fury the KING commanded to bring them,and said:Is it true,O Shadrach,Meshach,Abednego,do not ye serve my gods,nor worship the IMAGE I have set up?When you hear the sound of the cornet,all kinds of musick,ye fall down and worship the image I have made;well:if not,ye shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace;who is that GOD that shall deliver you out of my hands?
O king,our GOD whom we serve is able to deliver us from furnace,thy hands,and we will not serve thy gods,nor worship the image you have set up.
That said,Get ready
I may seem to have strayed from my original topic of prayer; but since all types of "miraculous" ministers of the Gospel whether genuine or fake use some method of prayer as a means of operation. I haven't even delved yet into emotional; mental and spiritual healing although they are often either interchangeable or intersecting in many ways in a person's earthly existence.
Matthew 9:5 gives us food for thought; as to the greater challenge of forgiving sins than healing someone. Since the enemy can manipulate things somewhat in the physical realm a false miracle is certainly possible within limits; but cannot do the same in forgiving sins. (I should paraphrase that comment in saying that yes; some form of mental tranquility is used to render one senseless; and sear their conscience to their own sinful and appalling state but if God is calling that person the enemy is allowed also to cause increasing torment as only true love casts out fear). We; of course can't be so glib as to tell someone their sins are forgiven; instead we wait for someone to be convicted and say as the jailor to Paul how must we be saved?
Before discussing the emotional and mental healings which obviously are more difficult to prove scientifically (not to mention healing of the soul which HAS to be spiritual) I don't want to leave the question unanswered that may come up.
The question is; of course when should we pray for a healing and when NOT? Obviously I cannot play God here and tell someone as long as someone is alive at least that they shouldn't pray in that way. I would say that if someone has died that normally at least we shouldn't resort to that. It SEEMS on the surface that a few people appear to have experienced this; but in one case I may have brought up recently of a man in Africa; within a year he seems to have disappeared from view when others tried to find him. I'll leave that subject to a missionary to respond.
To continue; here is the third scenario with healings.
Healings that ARE verifiable as at least unexplained with reliable medical information (hint: it helps to have first and last names at the very least). This would as far as I can tell be subdivided further into 3 categories:
1) Prayers that were given by either doctrinally unsound or downright heretical preachers that appear to have resulted in a genuine healing following the standard above. I will call that the Judas Iscariot factor; based on the verses where Jesus sent him out when the disciples were commanded to do these type of miracles (read Luke chapter 10).
2) Prayers that were given by doctrinally sound individuals which appears to have resulted in genuine miracles and
3) Miracles that are verifiable which either the person healed and/or those around him or her were not believers or had no interest in religion. I could add a fourth situation here similar to above but performed by "New Age" practitioners. I think I'll make a seperate post on that soon.
So; what are we to think? As Jesus said; go to the priests ( Luke 5:14) as evidence of true healing; as they were used for this purpose in the O.T. as well as deciding when a person was ceremonially unclean and what procedures were to be rendered for this to become a reality. Red flags should certainly go up when we have so called "faith healers" who don't have the guts to prove things through the medical establishment. Once that is initiated; if their reaction is "yes; but.." and they cannot let us make our own decisions as to further care then of course it may be good to walk away from their counsel. That is perhaps a fifth thing to add to this section; REMISSION can occur for unexplained reasons scientifically. That doesn't mean we should brush off even a temporary healing but be cautious of a "thus saith the Lord" that it is gone for good. All of us are mortal evenhealed
2).
This begins the well known parable about the "persistent widow" and is as all Christ's sayings deep and profound with meanings.
Nonetheless; our Father in heaven isn't bored with any prayers that are truly seeking His will; and the petitioner shouldn't pray in vain repetitions as Matthew 6:7 warns us. The question; of course comes what IS a viable request and what isn't?
What should be clear in regard to this issue is not praying for something CLEARLY outside of scriptural bounds; to put it more simply NOT to ask for something the Word makes CLEAR is for sinful purposes ( James 4:3 to "consume on your own lusts.")
That could be explained with several points
1) Asking God for something we intend to use for sinful purposes. This could be for a woman we can sleep with before marriage; drugs; alcohol; a gun to kill someone etc. This sort of prayer would; it seem be made by someone who is a cult leader; who would have to be under enough delusion to believe what is clearly demonic doctrine that they are some sort of Messianic figure. I would assume Jim Jones would be a good representative of such insanity; between the insane relationships he had with minors; and the final mass suicidal genocide inflicted on hundreds including himself.
2) Asking God for something with an insincere intention to please our own desires thinly veiled in a feigned humility or piety.
This is much more common; no doubt. This could also involve asking for a partner and or grooming someone with an intention to later take advantage of the situation; or fooling ourselves thinking we can compromise and continue to refrain from sin in any area of our lives which we in particular have demonstrated a pattern of weakness before in such matters. Such is alcohol to an alcoholic which of course would elicit money for actual needs but funnel it later for what we really desire.
15 Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: 16 The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds: 17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 18What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
This verse is somewhat baffling; and altogether foreign from my vantage point. When have we seen anyone praching Christ in order to make a jailed believer suffer more? Even in countries with high persecution; it would seem odd to do this as it would bring persecution to those preaching it; making the cost seemingly too high for preaching in "pretence" as verse 17 states.
The only way I could envision this is if someone mocks Christianity by glibly quoting scripture; or preaches then deliberately incites a riot so that those who preach peaceably will be falsely accused of causing insurrections as a result. In any case until we see believers who are detained for a lengthy period of time in our country with a real threat of death it is something we have to understand with wisdom for the day things do head in that direction. For now most who are arrested are only for a short period of time; and if longer it is not usually clear that it is only for defence of the Gospel that they are in jail. There certainly may be cases like this which the media isn't mentioning; it certainly seems this has begun in Canada in the last year or so.
Boldness because of Paul's chains as seen with Philippians 1:14 shows several things. Through Paul's confidence and ongoing ministry it shows the Gospel can't be bound. It also gives sympathy from Paul's beloved members of the churches he founded as an Apostle who want to continue in his stead. How we need these type of believers today! Finally; it sets an example as a true shephard who lays his life down.
If we don't have assurance of salvation then of course we are fickle in any witnessing endeavors and it is hard to reflect the hope within us ( 1 Peter 3:15). We must have confidence and as Phillipians 1:28 states And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Part of this is giving a bold defense of judgment to come as John 16:8 states is how the Spirit works on men's hearts. If we doubt ourselves because of what men think; or somehow think we can dodge verses that state categorically that what is stated in 2 Timothy 3:12 about all who are Godly suffering persecution we are only fooling ourselves. Society today has gone to great lengths to ensure we don't offend anyone but the Gospel IS an offense ( 1 Peter 2:8). Having a proper foundation of scripture is necessary to give a sound testimony. Hell and judgment should be taught with fear and trembling; not with a proud attitude but nonetheless must be preached.
We have made too much of presentation in form rather than substance with a sideshow of music and a "two spoonfuls of sugar make the medicine go down" to quote an old tune probably not familiar to young folks here. Revelation 10:10 states that although it tastes sweet it was bitter in the stomach (in regard to the prophetic words John was to speak). When we are surrendured to the Spirit we will see reactions like the jailor in Acts 16:30 "what must I do to be saved?" NOWHERE in scripture to we see pleading and cajoling for any individual to be saved. God draws all those who He eventually saves; so we should let Him do the work and get out of the way ourselves and any agenda that isn't Biblically sound. Only the Spirit convicts of sin and until it does that work we can only sow a seed. The numbers game where prizes are offered when a certain number of new converts a day make a confession is an abomination.
QUESTION: Is salvation "one sided" or interactive? On this site; I would expect a unanimous affirmation of the first idea that God and God alone is able to save. I am pretty much in line with "Calvinist" (or I would say BIBLICAL) reasoning; namely that repentance itself is a gift from God and that Christ saves each and every one God has given Him; and no one else.
What I would NOT agree to is that understanding a FORMULA how to be saved; such as memorizing verses such as Romans 10:9-13 or "accepting" Christ as Lord when of course He is Lord whether we ascribe to it or not is sufficient; at least without TRULY believing in our heart as that verse states. What I WOULD say (sorry for the caps for emphasis) is that a relationship is part of KNOWING Christ. This enables us to sense His love as well as His chastisement and discipline so that we not only are aware of the law but sense in our spirit when we are displeasing to Him. In our society today; it is clear to anyone studying our society that family discipline is at an all time low. It is certain that a certain number of homes are ruled through discipline; but many or most invole tyrannical and hypocritical domination and quite often blatent hypocrisy so that we cannot respect that sort of authority. We hear a lot of talk on God's goodness; but His severity isn't very popular today. Of course when kids aren't properly disciplined and trained how to be independent; mature and responsible in this world they end up as they are now.
The Lord does not allow His children to continue in this manner (see 1 Corinthians 13:11). Our character and trustworthiness affects others who may base their faith in God on our actions.
For a true child of God; often we are STRIPPED OF OUR FRIENDS; FAMILY AND SUPPORT SYSTEM. In spite of this we are to follow Hebrews 10:25; even if the Lord calls us elsewhere from our current fellowship we trust Him to provide a new one in His timing.
13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14 And he said, Nay; but as captain (a Prince) of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15 And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
Daniel 12:-13
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time(because Michael stand up): and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
Matthew 24:15and21-23
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,spoken of by Daniel the prophet,stand in the holy place,(whoso readeth,let him understand )
21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved:but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
23Then if any man(Pastors, Bishops,Evangelists,etc.) shall say unto you,Lo, here is Christ( John 5:43-47.Take a look),or there;BELIEVE IT NOT.
Re.12:7 & 10-11
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his messengers fought against the dragon( Revelation 13:11);and the dragon fought and his messengers.
Verses 10-12 state: And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. 12Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
This passage illustrates the reaction of Joshua after they were routed in battle. Joshua lamely states that it would have been better to not have entered where they were than to be routed by the Amorites. He ignores promises 400 years prior about the fullness of the iniquity of the Amorites; but is totally blind to the REASON for the event; which boiled down to one person coveting gold and other things which were cursed objects somehow tied into the demonic realm that were; as the rest of the populus to be devoted unto destruction. Joshua 6:18 warns about such behavior; and Achan was the individual responsible and was summarily stoned afterwards; followed by victory on the battlefield. They should have learned from what happened with Korah's rebellion in Numbers 16:32 when they were swallowed up by the earth after trying to usurp the role of Priesthood that Moses had. We see in both these passages that unless the sin was dealt with the entire people would be destroyed.
In today's New Testament church we see Ananias and Sapphira in the same sort of swift judgment in Acts 5. Normally; of course our first priority has to be our own sin but we have to guard not only our own hearts but watch out for the "enemy in the camp" which today often involves "damnable heresies" ( 2 Peter 2:1); also see 1 Timothy 4:1 on last days false teaching.
See Romans 12:19 on God's vengeance.
The end of times has arrived and what the Devil intends to do as the father of the Jews( John 8:44), is to direct the current world under his rule towards a global environment that will facilitate the establishment of his much desired Universal Kingdom, his fifth Universal Kingdom, for which Satan has been working since ancient times starting with Abel's murder- Matthew 23:33-35.Take a look. GOD revealed to the king of Babylon through Daniel this desire of Satan by interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's dream: Daniel 2:41-43, but in verses 44 to 47 GOD reveals how He will destroy the Kingdom of the Devil, father of the Jews- JOHN 8:44.
There will be a TERRIBLE WAR from now on between GOD's people X Satan's people. Re.11:15 says: The KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD are become the KINGDOMS of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. ( Matthew 5:5 combined with Revelation 5:10).
But Satan as a God intends to do the same with global world ruled by him-2Thes.2:3-4&9-12 combined with Revelation 12, i.e. to establish his satanic Universal religious Kingdom.
The WAR will be against THREE UNCLEAN SPIRITS LIKE FROGS-WHY FROGS?
Revelation 16:13 to 16
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like FROGS come out of the mouth of the Dragon, and out of the mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the False Prophet.
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of GOD Almighty.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Ar - mag - eddon.
15 Behold, I come as a thief. (Get ready)
Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Wake up, quick, and get ready
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)
On another topic, in the past I have meditated on whether God's people on earth are always surrounded by hostile forces. I believe this thought with history can help us understand Daniel and therefore Revelation.
Hope everyone is doing well! Thanks for letting me know about Friends of King James.
Carleton
Is.30:27-Behold,the name of the Lord cometh from far,burning with his anger,and the burden thereof is heavy:His lips are full of indignation, His tongue as a devouring fire:
Is.13:6-13
6Howl ye;for the day of the Lord is at hand;it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty
7Therefore shall all hands be faint,and every man's heart shall melt:
8And they shall be afraid:pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth:they shall be amazed one at another;their faces shall be as flames
9Behold,the day of the Lord cometh,cruel both with wrath and fierce anger,to lay the land desolate:and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it
10For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light
11And I will punish the world for their evil,and the wicked for their iniquity;and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease,and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible
12I will make a man more precious than fine gold;even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir
13Therefore I will shake the heavens,and the earth shall remove out of her place,in the wrath of the Lord of hosts,and in the Day of His fierce anger.
Is.33:10-15
10Now will I rise,saith the Lord;now will I be exalted;now will I lift up myself.
11Ye shall conceive chaff,ye shall bring forth stubble:your breath,as fire,shall devour you.
12And the people shall be as the burnings of lime:as thorns cut up shall they be burned in the fire.
13Hear,ye that are far off,what I have done;and,ye that are near, acknowledge my might.
14The sinners in Zion are afraid;fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?
15He that walks righteously,and speaks uprightly;he that despiseth the gain of oppressions,that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes,that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood,and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil.
I believe you know that the Hebrews had to cross the Red Sea,and walk through a desert,walk until they got to the Promised Land after 40 years of pilgrimage.What about GOD's people now or in this current time?
Now GOD's people will have to go through(I mean win a war)against the Red Dragon,that's exactly it,a Red Dragon yes,this is no coincidence,it was predicted millennia ago.He's a false messiah who will soon manifest,just ahead,with great signs of lying,he will manifest in Israel like a lamb with two horns,he's a Jew,of course, and he'll speak like a Dragon. Revelation 12.3-17 and Revelation 13: 11-18.
Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceedingly joy - the day 1335.Amen.
Remembering and understanding that the departure of the Hebrew people from Egypt was not without first having taken place a battle against Pharaoh(by the way,there and now is Satan himself),and when the march began for the departure of GOD's people from Egypt, then the enemy army persecuted the Hebrews,the same will happen now,initially the persecution will be by the man Beast of the sea,it is he who will first persecute the Christian believers- Revelation 13:5 - for 42 months,that is the first half of the last week, week 70th Daniel 9:v.27.This POINT is only and only the half of the way -3,5 years or 42 months,the GOD's people will need to march more 3,5 years,so the murch will last 7 years,it will not be easy this journey of course.
Again:Let's get ready to go through this not easy FINAL journey of GOD's people here until the glorious,marvelous,and day of exceendigly joy-the day 1335. Amen.
JESUS in His prayer to the Father,said: John 17:15 - I pray not that thou take them out of the world, but that thou keep them from the evil.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:5
Get ready, yeah, get ready
PRE TRIBULATIONAL PERIOD-BEGINNING OF SORROWS
Verses 1- 2:->JESUS went out and departed from the Temple.His disciples came to Him and showed Him the building of the Temple. JESUS said:See ye these things?I say unto you,There shall not be left here ONE stone upon another.JESUS disappointed his disciples, evidently.
What JESUS prophesied about the Temple it fulfilled LITERALLY in the year 70AD, the Temple was destroyed,Israel was banned from their land and scattered around the world for 1.878 years, from 70AD to 1948AD, more than 100K died under of the Roman's attack.
JESUS went to the Mount of Olives, there the disciples privately asked TWO things to Him:
1-What shall be the sign of thy coming?
2-and of the END of the world?(END of the current Devil's world)
JESUS listed several events linked 1st:to His Coming;2nd: about END of this current Devil's WORLD.
Mat.24:4-8-JESUS said:
4-Take heed that no MAN deceive you;(this was the first concerns of JESUS)
5-For many shall come in my name,saying,I am Christ;and shall deceive many; (Soon will manifest the MAN Beast of the earth like a lamb,a false lamb,false messiah,AN IMPOSTOR,as said JESUS- John 5:43, 2Thessalonians 2:3-4, Revelation 13:11-18.
6-And ye shall hear of WARS and RUMOURS of WARS; ALL THESE THINGS must come to pass but THE END IS NOT YET.
7-NATION shall rise against NATION, kingdom against kingdom;(Will G7,G20,EU,UNO,be DISSOLVED from now on? Pe.3:7, Re.11:18, Micah 4:3).
-and there shall be famines;it is fulfilling LITERALLY
- and pestilences;In fulfillment;
- and earthquakes-divers places;
8 All these are the beginning of SORROWS(Pre-tribulational)
Wake up-Get ready,now time's still of sorrows.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the GOD of heaven set up a Kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
GOD revealed to Daniel and to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon (and to us too), that the Kingdom He establishes it can NEVER be destroyed, neither be left to other people. GOD's dominion on Earth is absolute, an example or proof is the GOD's garden, garden of Eden, that was governed by a Cherubim that GOD had created to rule and protect the garden. The reign of Eden was not destroyed by a conventional war or invasion of enemies, neither left to other people.
The same will occur from now on with the millennial Kingdom of GOD, it will never be destroyed or invaded by the enemies.
Revelation 11:15-18
15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms OF THIS WORLD are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped GOD,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord GOD Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
18 And the NATIONS were ANGRY, and thy WRATH is come(GOD's WRATH), and the time of the dead, that they should be Judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest DESTROY them which destroy the earth.
Get ready
Matthew 25:10->And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Do you know the Hymn "When the Trumpet of the Lord shall sound"? Or "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder"? Listen to this hymn and wake up,... fast.