Hell is an English word to translate 4 Scriptural terms: -Hebrew 'Sheol' and Greek 'Hades' refer to the World of the Dead; Tartarus is the place of punishment for fallen angels awaiting final judgment; Greek
'Gehenna' is the place and condition of just retribution saved for the post-judgment impenitent.
- Sheol was the grave and the shadowy realm of the dead, where the human way of life no longer exists.
-Hades is a preparatory place where the souls await their end. Sheol and Hades are understood as the dark and gloomy abodes of the dead. The belief in resurrection means GOD would bring the dead from Hades back to life -a return of corporeal life; a life for resurrected spirits in Heaven. GOD will bring the soul form Hades and the body from the grave to be rejoined in resurrection. At the resurrection death ceases, and Hades will be closed. Both death and Hades diminish into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20 says, "Then I saw a great White Throne and HIM Who sat upon it; from HIS Presence Earth and Sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing Before the Throne, and Books were opened. Also another Book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the Books, by what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged by what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the 2nd Death, the Lake of Fire; and if any one's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire." (11-15)
- Gehenna refers to the final place of retribution, an eternal doom for the wholly wicked.
In Jewish point of view, Death means separation of body and soul. Yet no harm occurs after death, for the soul remains secure. The Old Testament makes no reference to torture once persons are relegated to Sheol.
JESUS did not proclaim a doctrine of Hell nor describe damnation, and spoke only marginally of Hell.
Matthew 25 says, "Cast the worthless servant into the outer Darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. When the Son of Man comes in His Glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His Glorious Throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and He will place the sheep at His Right Hand, but the goats at the Left. Then the King will say to those at His Right Hand: 'Come, O blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World; for I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger and welcome You, or naked and clothe You? And when did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My Brethren, you did it to Me.' Then He will say to those at His Left Hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the Eternal Fire prepared for the Devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave Me no food, I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome Me, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?' Then He will answer them, 'Truly,I say to you,
as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to Me.' And they will go away into the Eternal punishment, but the righteous into Eternal life. " (30-46)
Trying to understand how this world function in our minds. Interrelation between physical and nonphysical entities.
Sunday, 26 March 2017
GOD 's DREAMS.
Dreams are the thoughts or mental images a person has while asleep. The Scripture refers to Dreams from GOD; Natural Dreams; and False Dreams.
- Dreams from GOD were received by GOD's Servants and by persons not devoted to Him.
In Numbers 12, when Miriam, the sister of Moses is punished, we have a clear example of Dreams from GOD received by His Servants. The narrative claims: "Moses had married a Cush'Ite woman, and Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses for it. Miriam and Aaron said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?' And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was 'very meek', more than all men that were on the Face of the Earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, 'Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.' And the 3 of them came out. And the Lord came down in a Pillar of Cloud, and Stood at the Door of the Tent, and Called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. And GOD said, 'Hear MY WORDS: If there is a Prophet among you, I the Lord MAKE MYSELF KNOWN to him IN a VISION, I SPEAK with him IN A DREAM. Not so with My Servant Moses; he is Entrusted with All My House. WITH MOSES I SPEAK MOUTH TO MOUTH, CLEARLY, and NOT IN DARK SPEECH; and HE BEHOLDS THE FORM of the LORD. Why then were not you afraid to speak against My Servant Moses?" (1-8)
In 1Kings 3, when Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, he prayed to GOD for wisdom. The narrative claims: "Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her into the City of David, until he had finished building his own palace (house), the Temple, and the Wall around Jerusalem. The people were sacrificing at the High Places, however, because no Temple had yet been built for the NAME OF THE LORD. Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father; only, he sacrificed and burnt incense at the High Places. And Solomon the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the most famous and great High place's altar. He used to offer a thousand Burnt Offerings upon that altar.
At Gibeon, during the Night, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a Dream; and GOD said, 'Ask what I shall Give you.' And Solomon said, 'You have shown Great and Steadfast LOVE to Your Servant David my father, because he walked Before You in Faithfulness, in Righteousness, and in Uprightness of heart toward YOU; and YOU Have Kept for him this Great and Steadfast LOVE, and Have Given him a son to sit on his throne and rules in his place this Day. O Lord GOD, You have Let me succeed my father as king, although I am but a little child in spirit; I do not know how to go out or come in, and here I am in the midst of Your People whom You Have Chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. So give me therefore an 'understanding mind' to govern Your People, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this Your great People?"
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. (1-9)
- Natural Dreams are the ones stimulated by certain thoughts or emotions, sensations or daily activities.
These dreams are of no great significance. A hungry person may dream of eating and a thirsty one of drinking, but they awake unsatisfied. Babylonians had such trust in these type of dreams that on the eve of important decisions they slept in temples, hoping for counsel. Greeks used the same type of dreams in his pursuit of health instruction. They slept in shrines of Aesculapius, and Romans in temples of Serapis. Egyptians were very familiar with this type of dreams that they were able to elaborate books for dream interpretation. The Scripture warns against looking for omens, whether in natural dreams or in various incidents. Deuteronomy 18 claims: "When you come into the Land which the Lord your GOD gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. In the Land shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord,and because of these abominable practices the Lord your GOD is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless Before the Lord your GOD. (9-14)
- False Dreams are Scripturally condemned. According to the Law, a false dreamer who urged the committing of idolatry was to be put to death. Deuteronomy 13 claims: "If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder which he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them.' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your GOD is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul." (1-3) The prophet Zechariah assures the Deliverance of GOD's Promises by saying: "Ask the Lord for rain in the season of spring rain, from the Lord Who Makes the storm clouds, Who Gives men showers of rain, making the Fields green to everyone. For the Teraphim utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; the dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for want of a shepherd. My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of Hosts cares for His Flock, the House of Judah, and will make them like His Proud Steed in Battle. Out of them shall come the Corner Stone, out of them the Tent Peg, out of them the Battle Bow, out of them every ruler. Together they shall be like Mighty Men in Battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall defeat the enemy cavalry, the riders on horses." (10: 1-5)
The Scripture speaks of Dreams in a figurative sense describing the actions that defiles the Flesh, and those already defiled are the ones who found a way to slip into the Christian congregation.
Jude warns the Believers against such men "indulging in dreams," and these persons apparently dreaming (imagining) think they can with impunity violate GOD's WORD and defile flesh in the Congregation. They will receive adverse judgment from the Supreme Judge our Lord and GOD.
- Dreams from GOD were received by GOD's Servants and by persons not devoted to Him.
In Numbers 12, when Miriam, the sister of Moses is punished, we have a clear example of Dreams from GOD received by His Servants. The narrative claims: "Moses had married a Cush'Ite woman, and Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses for it. Miriam and Aaron said, 'Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?' And the Lord heard it. Now the man Moses was 'very meek', more than all men that were on the Face of the Earth. And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, 'Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting.' And the 3 of them came out. And the Lord came down in a Pillar of Cloud, and Stood at the Door of the Tent, and Called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forward. And GOD said, 'Hear MY WORDS: If there is a Prophet among you, I the Lord MAKE MYSELF KNOWN to him IN a VISION, I SPEAK with him IN A DREAM. Not so with My Servant Moses; he is Entrusted with All My House. WITH MOSES I SPEAK MOUTH TO MOUTH, CLEARLY, and NOT IN DARK SPEECH; and HE BEHOLDS THE FORM of the LORD. Why then were not you afraid to speak against My Servant Moses?" (1-8)
In 1Kings 3, when Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, he prayed to GOD for wisdom. The narrative claims: "Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh the king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her into the City of David, until he had finished building his own palace (house), the Temple, and the Wall around Jerusalem. The people were sacrificing at the High Places, however, because no Temple had yet been built for the NAME OF THE LORD. Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father; only, he sacrificed and burnt incense at the High Places. And Solomon the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the most famous and great High place's altar. He used to offer a thousand Burnt Offerings upon that altar.
At Gibeon, during the Night, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a Dream; and GOD said, 'Ask what I shall Give you.' And Solomon said, 'You have shown Great and Steadfast LOVE to Your Servant David my father, because he walked Before You in Faithfulness, in Righteousness, and in Uprightness of heart toward YOU; and YOU Have Kept for him this Great and Steadfast LOVE, and Have Given him a son to sit on his throne and rules in his place this Day. O Lord GOD, You have Let me succeed my father as king, although I am but a little child in spirit; I do not know how to go out or come in, and here I am in the midst of Your People whom You Have Chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. So give me therefore an 'understanding mind' to govern Your People, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to govern this Your great People?"
It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. (1-9)
- Natural Dreams are the ones stimulated by certain thoughts or emotions, sensations or daily activities.
These dreams are of no great significance. A hungry person may dream of eating and a thirsty one of drinking, but they awake unsatisfied. Babylonians had such trust in these type of dreams that on the eve of important decisions they slept in temples, hoping for counsel. Greeks used the same type of dreams in his pursuit of health instruction. They slept in shrines of Aesculapius, and Romans in temples of Serapis. Egyptians were very familiar with this type of dreams that they were able to elaborate books for dream interpretation. The Scripture warns against looking for omens, whether in natural dreams or in various incidents. Deuteronomy 18 claims: "When you come into the Land which the Lord your GOD gives you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. In the Land shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord,and because of these abominable practices the Lord your GOD is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless Before the Lord your GOD. (9-14)
- False Dreams are Scripturally condemned. According to the Law, a false dreamer who urged the committing of idolatry was to be put to death. Deuteronomy 13 claims: "If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder which he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, 'Let us go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us serve them.' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your GOD is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your GOD with all your heart and with all your soul." (1-3) The prophet Zechariah assures the Deliverance of GOD's Promises by saying: "Ask the Lord for rain in the season of spring rain, from the Lord Who Makes the storm clouds, Who Gives men showers of rain, making the Fields green to everyone. For the Teraphim utter nonsense, and the diviners see lies; the dreamers tell false dreams, and give empty consolation. Therefore the people wander like sheep; they are afflicted for want of a shepherd. My anger is hot against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord of Hosts cares for His Flock, the House of Judah, and will make them like His Proud Steed in Battle. Out of them shall come the Corner Stone, out of them the Tent Peg, out of them the Battle Bow, out of them every ruler. Together they shall be like Mighty Men in Battle, trampling the foe in the mud of the streets; they shall fight because the Lord is with them, and they shall defeat the enemy cavalry, the riders on horses." (10: 1-5)
The Scripture speaks of Dreams in a figurative sense describing the actions that defiles the Flesh, and those already defiled are the ones who found a way to slip into the Christian congregation.
Jude warns the Believers against such men "indulging in dreams," and these persons apparently dreaming (imagining) think they can with impunity violate GOD's WORD and defile flesh in the Congregation. They will receive adverse judgment from the Supreme Judge our Lord and GOD.
UNDERSTANDING CONSCIENCE.
In Greek literature, the word 'Conscience' comes from the root verb 'Sunoida,' sun=with; oida=I know. When it is used in a reflexive sense for self-assessment of ones own deeds it is clear how the connection with 'conscience' arises. The apostle Paul expresses the operation of his conscience in this manner: "My conscience bears witness with me in holt spirit." (Romans 9:1)
The Hebrew language has no specific word for it, using instead 'the language of the heart.' The Hebrew perspective about it is that one's moral awareness is not an autonomous psychological category of person-hood, rather, it is the willingness 'to Obey the Commands of GOD.'
Conscience is inherent in man, having been made part of him by GOD. It is an inward realization or sense of right and wrong that excuses or accuses one. Hence conscience judges. Conscience also can be trained by the thoughts and acts, convictions and rules that are implanted in a person's mind by study and experience. Based on these things conscience makes a comparison with the course of action being taken or contemplated. Then it sounds a warning when the rules and the course conflict, unless the conscience is 'seared,' made unfeeling by continued violations of its warnings.
Conscience can be a moral safety device, in that it imparts pleasure and inflicts pain for one's own good and bad conduct.
From the very beginning man has had a conscience. The first couple manifested this as soon as they broke GOD's Law and hid themselves: "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the Lord GOD walking in the garden in the cool of the Day and the man and his wife his themselves from the Presence of the Lord GOD among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3: 7-8)
Conscience must be enlightened; if not, it can deceive. It is an unsafe guide if it has not been trained in right standards, according to the TRUTH. Its development can be wrongly influenced by local environment, customs, worship and habits. It might judge matters as right or wrong by these incorrect standards or values. King David sets an example of this, as one of the saddest episodes of his life, when in his continued campaign against the Amorites, he felt himself terrible exhausted, spiritually and mentally. To recover, he just stayed in his room that day resting instead of going to battle. Then it all began when the king upon observing from his rooftop a beautiful woman, Bath-Sheba, bathing herself, entertained wrong desires. The Letter of James claims :"Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the Test he will receive the Crown of Life which GOD has promised to those who Love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by GOD,' for GOD cannot be tempted with evil and HE Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death." (James 1:12-15)
Conscience has not been wiped out among non-Christians, because all mankind descended from the first couple and through the line of Noah, in whom conscience was inherent. Many Laws of the Nations are in harmony with a Christian's conscience, yet such nations and lawmakers may not have been influenced by Christianity at all. Laws were according to the leadings of their own consciences.
In Romans 2:13-16 we read: "For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before GOD, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires, they are a Law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that Day when, according to my gospel, GOD judges the secrets of men by CHRIST JESUS."
Conscience properly trained only by the WORD OF GOD can correctly assess and set matters of life thoroughly straight. In the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 2, we read: "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the WORD OF GOD is living and active, sharper than any two-edged Sword, piercing to the Division of Soul and Spirit, of joints and marrow, and Discerning the Thoughts and Intentions of the Heart. And before Him no creatures is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the Eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." (2: 11-13)
The Hebrew language has no specific word for it, using instead 'the language of the heart.' The Hebrew perspective about it is that one's moral awareness is not an autonomous psychological category of person-hood, rather, it is the willingness 'to Obey the Commands of GOD.'
Conscience is inherent in man, having been made part of him by GOD. It is an inward realization or sense of right and wrong that excuses or accuses one. Hence conscience judges. Conscience also can be trained by the thoughts and acts, convictions and rules that are implanted in a person's mind by study and experience. Based on these things conscience makes a comparison with the course of action being taken or contemplated. Then it sounds a warning when the rules and the course conflict, unless the conscience is 'seared,' made unfeeling by continued violations of its warnings.
Conscience can be a moral safety device, in that it imparts pleasure and inflicts pain for one's own good and bad conduct.
From the very beginning man has had a conscience. The first couple manifested this as soon as they broke GOD's Law and hid themselves: "Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the Lord GOD walking in the garden in the cool of the Day and the man and his wife his themselves from the Presence of the Lord GOD among the trees of the garden." (Genesis 3: 7-8)
Conscience must be enlightened; if not, it can deceive. It is an unsafe guide if it has not been trained in right standards, according to the TRUTH. Its development can be wrongly influenced by local environment, customs, worship and habits. It might judge matters as right or wrong by these incorrect standards or values. King David sets an example of this, as one of the saddest episodes of his life, when in his continued campaign against the Amorites, he felt himself terrible exhausted, spiritually and mentally. To recover, he just stayed in his room that day resting instead of going to battle. Then it all began when the king upon observing from his rooftop a beautiful woman, Bath-Sheba, bathing herself, entertained wrong desires. The Letter of James claims :"Blessed is the man who endures trial, for when he has stood the Test he will receive the Crown of Life which GOD has promised to those who Love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted by GOD,' for GOD cannot be tempted with evil and HE Himself tempts no one; but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death." (James 1:12-15)
Conscience has not been wiped out among non-Christians, because all mankind descended from the first couple and through the line of Noah, in whom conscience was inherent. Many Laws of the Nations are in harmony with a Christian's conscience, yet such nations and lawmakers may not have been influenced by Christianity at all. Laws were according to the leadings of their own consciences.
In Romans 2:13-16 we read: "For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before GOD, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires, they are a Law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. They show that what the Law requires is written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that Day when, according to my gospel, GOD judges the secrets of men by CHRIST JESUS."
Conscience properly trained only by the WORD OF GOD can correctly assess and set matters of life thoroughly straight. In the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 2, we read: "Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, that no one fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the WORD OF GOD is living and active, sharper than any two-edged Sword, piercing to the Division of Soul and Spirit, of joints and marrow, and Discerning the Thoughts and Intentions of the Heart. And before Him no creatures is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the Eyes of Him with Whom we have to do." (2: 11-13)
Saturday, 25 March 2017
SPIRITUAL CONVICTION.
Conviction means "the act or process of convincing; the state of being convinced; or a fixed or strong belief." Thus, spiritual conviction means the one derived from and based on a commitment to the Word of GOD. It is the absolute index for the whole of our lives: -Faith and practice.
The original source of conviction is emotion. They testify to the distinctive quality of the human mind, the instrument of thought. The 'wish' is father to the thought and breeds Truth. The strength and direction of forces that shape men's convictions furnish the decisive motive power of its spiritual or material universe.
People have believed and continue to believe what they are told and taught to believe. Man follows to it responsively. No moment of thought or action is exempt from the rigidity of the established way of life of today. In terms of efficiency this factor is the worldly definition of conviction. Its field of operation is wide, that is why the need to inquire into the mental processes that generate and direct our spiritual conviction becomes imperative.
In the Scripture, the first man gives us a good example of the meaning of conviction when he expressed in his thoughts the idea of the type of helper he would need to complement him. The narrative says: Then the Lord GOD said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the Lord GOD formed every Beast of the Field and every Bird of the Air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called Every Living Creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord GOD caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept HE took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord GOD had taken from the man HE made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Genesis 2: 18-23)
Man had dominion over all the forces of nature and they responded at his call. There was a purpose in GOD's putting man in the garden alone for a period of time. It was to show him that he had a need, that he needed someone to be with, one agreeing and answering to him, a helper, in order to be complete. Woman's creation was indirect, for GOD took her out of man to reveal the fact that she is part of man.
GOD took her from the man's side to be equal with him, to be along with him. GOD intended man to take the lead -GOD created him first- and HE created woman to follow.
Man is the spiritual aggressor -even physically- and woman is the responder. She became the other half of man and he is now subject to his wife in the sense that he is responsible for her. Here is a couple whom GOD really joined together. He is only half a man without her and that thought played its role when she gave him the prohibited fruit to eat.
Man has free will and because privilege creates responsibility, he must be given a test to determine whether he will obey GOD or not. Man's kinship with GOD, man's worship of GOD, man's fellowship with GOD, man's service to GOD, man's loyalty to GOD, man's authority from GOD, and man's social life from and for GOD are the Scriptural message to humankind in order to make them know where they are placed, the occupation that they perform, the condition upon which they are with and the entitled responsibility, the need for brotherly companions, and when the spiritual conviction of a believer is made upon these principles then GOD's creation of the spiritual marriage of man and woman have a meaning which is His Church.
The fact that worldly conventional conformity occupies our today background, constant in its presence, shifting in its setting, jointly operative, plays a huge role against to the spiritual atmosphere beneficial to new believers and the edification of the ones looking for conviction in their beliefs.
Similarly important is the fact that in any liberal and modern spiritual environment, conformity escapes from a very narrow and stereotyped conviction, and encounters the rivalry of conventions, the contest of opinions, and the competitive selection among the loyalties. Congenial beliefs are the one absorbed in the social environment and the uncongenial ones shunned.
But with an expanding knowledge of the Word of GOD, spiritual conviction tenaciously hold in the mind of the believers, convinced and confident that it is Truth. It stands opposed to doubt and skepticism.
Convictions have a definite impact on how a person lives, on what he does, and where he goes. It is really the product of 3 things: -commitment; -construction; -courage.
In the early chapters of the Book of Isaiah, we see the nation of Israel destitute in its leadership because its leaders adulterated, polluted and diluted their minds with ideas and opinions of the World, and putting them as their index for life, abandoning the Word of GOD. They were like immature boys who acted not out of spiritual conviction, but out of their fleshy caprice -from the whims and fancies of their wants and selfishly-motivated opinions. The transformed themselves into beings without spiritual convictions. This resulted in expedient and arbitrary decisions where the end justified the means. (Isaiah 1:21)
The Second Book of Peter provides another illustration of the necessity of spiritual convictions based on the Word of GOD. The basic problem was the apostate leadership of false teachers who were leading people astray in both doctrine and in moral behavior and it did not occurred overnight. Unrighteousness is invariable linked to ungodliness and ungodliness is linked to unsound doctrine or rejection of the Truth.
2 PETER 2: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the Way Of Truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep." (2: 1-3)
"Bold and willful, they are not afraid to revile the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a reviling judgment upon them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with the angels who sinned, suffering wrong for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed." (2: 10-14)
If we do not reckon with its early symptoms and protect ourselves by a right position of conviction and behavior toward the Word of GOD, we gradually become desensitized and more and more open to the deceptions of Satan.
The original source of conviction is emotion. They testify to the distinctive quality of the human mind, the instrument of thought. The 'wish' is father to the thought and breeds Truth. The strength and direction of forces that shape men's convictions furnish the decisive motive power of its spiritual or material universe.
People have believed and continue to believe what they are told and taught to believe. Man follows to it responsively. No moment of thought or action is exempt from the rigidity of the established way of life of today. In terms of efficiency this factor is the worldly definition of conviction. Its field of operation is wide, that is why the need to inquire into the mental processes that generate and direct our spiritual conviction becomes imperative.
In the Scripture, the first man gives us a good example of the meaning of conviction when he expressed in his thoughts the idea of the type of helper he would need to complement him. The narrative says: Then the Lord GOD said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." So out of the ground the Lord GOD formed every Beast of the Field and every Bird of the Air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called Every Living Creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord GOD caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept HE took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh; and the rib which the Lord GOD had taken from the man HE made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, 'This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man." (Genesis 2: 18-23)
Man had dominion over all the forces of nature and they responded at his call. There was a purpose in GOD's putting man in the garden alone for a period of time. It was to show him that he had a need, that he needed someone to be with, one agreeing and answering to him, a helper, in order to be complete. Woman's creation was indirect, for GOD took her out of man to reveal the fact that she is part of man.
GOD took her from the man's side to be equal with him, to be along with him. GOD intended man to take the lead -GOD created him first- and HE created woman to follow.
Man is the spiritual aggressor -even physically- and woman is the responder. She became the other half of man and he is now subject to his wife in the sense that he is responsible for her. Here is a couple whom GOD really joined together. He is only half a man without her and that thought played its role when she gave him the prohibited fruit to eat.
Man has free will and because privilege creates responsibility, he must be given a test to determine whether he will obey GOD or not. Man's kinship with GOD, man's worship of GOD, man's fellowship with GOD, man's service to GOD, man's loyalty to GOD, man's authority from GOD, and man's social life from and for GOD are the Scriptural message to humankind in order to make them know where they are placed, the occupation that they perform, the condition upon which they are with and the entitled responsibility, the need for brotherly companions, and when the spiritual conviction of a believer is made upon these principles then GOD's creation of the spiritual marriage of man and woman have a meaning which is His Church.
The fact that worldly conventional conformity occupies our today background, constant in its presence, shifting in its setting, jointly operative, plays a huge role against to the spiritual atmosphere beneficial to new believers and the edification of the ones looking for conviction in their beliefs.
Similarly important is the fact that in any liberal and modern spiritual environment, conformity escapes from a very narrow and stereotyped conviction, and encounters the rivalry of conventions, the contest of opinions, and the competitive selection among the loyalties. Congenial beliefs are the one absorbed in the social environment and the uncongenial ones shunned.
But with an expanding knowledge of the Word of GOD, spiritual conviction tenaciously hold in the mind of the believers, convinced and confident that it is Truth. It stands opposed to doubt and skepticism.
Convictions have a definite impact on how a person lives, on what he does, and where he goes. It is really the product of 3 things: -commitment; -construction; -courage.
In the early chapters of the Book of Isaiah, we see the nation of Israel destitute in its leadership because its leaders adulterated, polluted and diluted their minds with ideas and opinions of the World, and putting them as their index for life, abandoning the Word of GOD. They were like immature boys who acted not out of spiritual conviction, but out of their fleshy caprice -from the whims and fancies of their wants and selfishly-motivated opinions. The transformed themselves into beings without spiritual convictions. This resulted in expedient and arbitrary decisions where the end justified the means. (Isaiah 1:21)
The Second Book of Peter provides another illustration of the necessity of spiritual convictions based on the Word of GOD. The basic problem was the apostate leadership of false teachers who were leading people astray in both doctrine and in moral behavior and it did not occurred overnight. Unrighteousness is invariable linked to ungodliness and ungodliness is linked to unsound doctrine or rejection of the Truth.
2 PETER 2: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them the Way Of Truth will be reviled. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words; from of old their condemnation has not been idle, and their destruction has not been asleep." (2: 1-3)
"Bold and willful, they are not afraid to revile the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a reviling judgment upon them before the Lord. But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and killed, reviling in matters of which they are ignorant, will be destroyed in the same destruction with the angels who sinned, suffering wrong for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their dissipation, carousing with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed." (2: 10-14)
If we do not reckon with its early symptoms and protect ourselves by a right position of conviction and behavior toward the Word of GOD, we gradually become desensitized and more and more open to the deceptions of Satan.
Friday, 24 March 2017
THE BABYLONIAN GOD, MARDUK.
The "Enuma Elish" is the Babylonian creation myth, named after its opening words. When the 7 tablets that contain the narrative were first discovered, evidence indicated that it was used as a "ritual" meaning it was recited during a ceremony or celebration. It tells about the creation of the world, and of Marduk's victory over Tiamat, and how it relates to him becoming king of the gods. This is then followed by an invocation to Marduk by his 50 names. It was recovered in fragmentary form in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq), and published by George Smith in 1876.
George Smith was the son of a working-class family in Victorian England. He was limited in his ability to acquire a formal education. At age of 14, he was an apprentice in the London-based publishing house of Bradbury and Evans to learn bank note engraving, at which he excelled. From his youth he was fascinated with Assyrian culture and history. In his spare time, he read everything that was available to him on the subject. His interest was so keen that he spent hours at the British Museum, studying publications on the cuneiform tablets unearthed near Mosul during archaeological expeditions of 1840-1855. Smith's natural ability was noticed by Samuel Birch, Egyptologist and Director of the Department of Antiquities, who brought the young man to the attention of Henry Rawlison who became proficient in Persian language. He started working evenings sorting and cleaning the mass of friable fragments of clay cylinders and tablets in the Museum's storage rooms.
In 1866 Smith made his first important discovery, the date of the payment of the tribute by Jehu, king of Israel, to Shalmaneser III in an act of submission or allegiance, becoming subject to Assyria. Jehu was the 10th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the House of Ahab under GOD's instruction. Jehu reigned for 28 years. Jehu appears in the Assyrian Black Obelisk where he is depicted as kissing the ground in front of Shalmaneser III and presenting a tribute in silver. The prophet Hosea writes that the House of Jehu was punished by GOD through the hands of the Assyrians for the bloodshed carried out by Jehu at Jezreel.
The "Enuma Elish" is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian Worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the creation of humankind for the service of the gods. Its purpose is the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.
The first tablet begins saying: "When the sky above was not named, and the earth beneath did not yet bear a name, and the primeval Apsu, who begat them, and chaos, the mother of them both, their waters mingled together, and no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen; when of the gods none had been called into being.
The narrative names 2 primeval gods: Apsu who represents fresh water and Tiamat represents oceanic waters. Several other forces or gods are created -Ea and his brothers- who reside in Tiamat's vast body.
They make so much noise that annoys Tiamat and Apsu greatly. Apsu wishes to kill the young gods, but Tiamat disagrees. The vizier, Mumu, agrees with Apsu's plan to destroy them. Tiamat, in order to stop this from occurring, warns Ea, the most powerful of the gods. Ea uses magic to put Apsu into a coma, then kills him, and shuts Mumu out. Ea then become the chief god, marries Damkina, and has a son Marduk, greater still than Ea himself. Marduk is given Wind to play and he uses the Wind to make dust storms and tornadoes. This disrupts Tiamat's great body and causes the gods still residing inside her to be unable to sleep.The gods persuade Tiamat to take revenge for the death of her husband, Apsu. Her power grows, and some of the gods join her. She creates 11 monsters to help her win the battle and elevates Kingu, her new husband, to "supreme dominion."
A lengthy description of the other gods' inability to deal with the threat follows. Marduk offers to save the gods if he is appointed as their leader and allowed to remain so even after the threat passes.
When the gods agree to Marduk's conditions he is selected as their champion against Tiamat, and becomes very powerful. Marduk challenges Tiamat to combat and destroys her. He then rips her corpse in 2 halves with which he fashions the earth and the skies. Marduk then creates the calendar, organizes the planets and stars, and regulates the moon, the sun, and the weather.
The gods who have pledged their allegiance to Tiamat are initially forced into labor in the service of the gods who sided with Marduk. But they are freed from these labors when Marduk then destroys Tiamat's husband, Kingu, and uses his blood to create humankind to do work for the gods.
Most noteworthy is Marduk's symbolic elevation over Enlil, who was seen by earlier Mesopotamian civilizations as the king of gods.
The etymology of the name Marduk is derived form Amr-Utu meaning "Bull calf of the sun god Utu."
The ritual care and worship of the statues of deities was considered sacred. It was believed that the god resided simultaneously in their statues and in the natural forces they embodied. An elaborate ceremony of washing the mouths of the statues was passed on from the Old Babylonian period.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, the Chaldean prince Marduk-Aplaiddina II fled into the Southern marshes of Mesopotamia with the statues of Babylon's gods to save them from the armies of Sennacherib of Assyria. This Chaldean prince usurped the Babylonian throne in 721BC and reigned from 722 to 710BC, and from 703 to 702BC. He was known as one of the kings who maintained Babylonian independence in the face of Assyrian military supremacy for more than a decade. He is called in the Scripture Merodach-Baladan, meaning 'Marduk has given me a heir.'
The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, is a collection of thousands of clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BC. Due to the sloppy handling of the original material much of the library is irreparable jumbled, making it impossible to discern and reconstruct many of the original texts, although some have survived intact.
Old Persian and Armenian traditions indicate that Alexander the Great, upon seeing the great Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, was inspired to create his own library. Alexander died before he was able to create his library,but his friend and successor in Egypt, Ptolemy, oversaw the beginnings of Alexander's library -a project that was to grow to become the renowned Library of Alexandria.
George Smith was the son of a working-class family in Victorian England. He was limited in his ability to acquire a formal education. At age of 14, he was an apprentice in the London-based publishing house of Bradbury and Evans to learn bank note engraving, at which he excelled. From his youth he was fascinated with Assyrian culture and history. In his spare time, he read everything that was available to him on the subject. His interest was so keen that he spent hours at the British Museum, studying publications on the cuneiform tablets unearthed near Mosul during archaeological expeditions of 1840-1855. Smith's natural ability was noticed by Samuel Birch, Egyptologist and Director of the Department of Antiquities, who brought the young man to the attention of Henry Rawlison who became proficient in Persian language. He started working evenings sorting and cleaning the mass of friable fragments of clay cylinders and tablets in the Museum's storage rooms.
In 1866 Smith made his first important discovery, the date of the payment of the tribute by Jehu, king of Israel, to Shalmaneser III in an act of submission or allegiance, becoming subject to Assyria. Jehu was the 10th king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria) since Jeroboam I, noted for exterminating the House of Ahab under GOD's instruction. Jehu reigned for 28 years. Jehu appears in the Assyrian Black Obelisk where he is depicted as kissing the ground in front of Shalmaneser III and presenting a tribute in silver. The prophet Hosea writes that the House of Jehu was punished by GOD through the hands of the Assyrians for the bloodshed carried out by Jehu at Jezreel.
The "Enuma Elish" is one of the most important sources for understanding the Babylonian Worldview, centered on the supremacy of Marduk and the creation of humankind for the service of the gods. Its purpose is the elevation of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon, above other Mesopotamian gods.
The first tablet begins saying: "When the sky above was not named, and the earth beneath did not yet bear a name, and the primeval Apsu, who begat them, and chaos, the mother of them both, their waters mingled together, and no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen; when of the gods none had been called into being.
The narrative names 2 primeval gods: Apsu who represents fresh water and Tiamat represents oceanic waters. Several other forces or gods are created -Ea and his brothers- who reside in Tiamat's vast body.
They make so much noise that annoys Tiamat and Apsu greatly. Apsu wishes to kill the young gods, but Tiamat disagrees. The vizier, Mumu, agrees with Apsu's plan to destroy them. Tiamat, in order to stop this from occurring, warns Ea, the most powerful of the gods. Ea uses magic to put Apsu into a coma, then kills him, and shuts Mumu out. Ea then become the chief god, marries Damkina, and has a son Marduk, greater still than Ea himself. Marduk is given Wind to play and he uses the Wind to make dust storms and tornadoes. This disrupts Tiamat's great body and causes the gods still residing inside her to be unable to sleep.The gods persuade Tiamat to take revenge for the death of her husband, Apsu. Her power grows, and some of the gods join her. She creates 11 monsters to help her win the battle and elevates Kingu, her new husband, to "supreme dominion."
A lengthy description of the other gods' inability to deal with the threat follows. Marduk offers to save the gods if he is appointed as their leader and allowed to remain so even after the threat passes.
When the gods agree to Marduk's conditions he is selected as their champion against Tiamat, and becomes very powerful. Marduk challenges Tiamat to combat and destroys her. He then rips her corpse in 2 halves with which he fashions the earth and the skies. Marduk then creates the calendar, organizes the planets and stars, and regulates the moon, the sun, and the weather.
The gods who have pledged their allegiance to Tiamat are initially forced into labor in the service of the gods who sided with Marduk. But they are freed from these labors when Marduk then destroys Tiamat's husband, Kingu, and uses his blood to create humankind to do work for the gods.
Most noteworthy is Marduk's symbolic elevation over Enlil, who was seen by earlier Mesopotamian civilizations as the king of gods.
The etymology of the name Marduk is derived form Amr-Utu meaning "Bull calf of the sun god Utu."
The ritual care and worship of the statues of deities was considered sacred. It was believed that the god resided simultaneously in their statues and in the natural forces they embodied. An elaborate ceremony of washing the mouths of the statues was passed on from the Old Babylonian period.
During the Neo-Babylonian period, the Chaldean prince Marduk-Aplaiddina II fled into the Southern marshes of Mesopotamia with the statues of Babylon's gods to save them from the armies of Sennacherib of Assyria. This Chaldean prince usurped the Babylonian throne in 721BC and reigned from 722 to 710BC, and from 703 to 702BC. He was known as one of the kings who maintained Babylonian independence in the face of Assyrian military supremacy for more than a decade. He is called in the Scripture Merodach-Baladan, meaning 'Marduk has given me a heir.'
The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, is a collection of thousands of clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BC. Due to the sloppy handling of the original material much of the library is irreparable jumbled, making it impossible to discern and reconstruct many of the original texts, although some have survived intact.
Old Persian and Armenian traditions indicate that Alexander the Great, upon seeing the great Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh, was inspired to create his own library. Alexander died before he was able to create his library,but his friend and successor in Egypt, Ptolemy, oversaw the beginnings of Alexander's library -a project that was to grow to become the renowned Library of Alexandria.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
OVERCOME SPIRITUAL APATHY.
Spiritual apathy, coldness, or indifference can affect the most sincere Christian at one time or another. It can replace the fervor we once felt for the things of God. Overcoming it is necessary for continuing our walk with GOD in the Body of JESUS CHRIST.
A mechanical service to GOD is not pleasing HIM. When Paul wrote to the Church around 60 AC, he commended the believers for a true and sincere LOVE to GOD and to their neighbors and never take for granted what we have in the person of JESUS CHRIST.
Living for CHRIST is a daily adventure of rediscovering life filled with joy and eternal purpose and give us strength in the pursuing of it. Feel the vibrant Love and Passion for CHRIST.
Satan loves apathy. We must stay alert to the temptations of the old nature. We must never lose the sense that GOD is always with us and in us. These Scriptural verses will help you to remember the meaning of spiritual apathy and avoid to enter in that shelter.
REVELATION 3:15-16 "I Know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My Mouth." 3:2 "Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my GOD."
JOSHUA 24:14-15"Now therefore Fear the LORD and Serve Him in sincerity and in Faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and Serve the LORD. And if it is Evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this Day Whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the Region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
PROVERBS 15:19 "The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway." 18:9"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to the one who destroys."
24:33-34"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and Poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man." 29:15"The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."
ECCLESIASTES 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going."
JAMES 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
EPHESIANS 4:19"They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every king of impurity." 5:16 "Make the best use of the Time, because the Days are evil."
6:10-12 ".. Be strong in the LORD and in the strength of His Might. Put on the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil. For we do not wrestle against Flesh and Blood, but against Rulers, against Authorities, against Cosmic Powers over this Present Darkness, against spiritual Forces of Evil in the Heavenly Places."
HEBREWS 5:11-12 "About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this Time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the Basic Principles of the Oracles of GOD. You need milk, not solid food." 11:6 "And without FAITH it is impossible to please HIM, for whoever would draw near to GOD must BELIEVE that HE EXISTS and that HE REWARDS those who seek Him."
6: 4-6 "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the WORD of GOD and the Powers of the Age to Come, and then have fallen away, To Restore them Again to Repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding HIM up to contempt."
PSALM 51:16-17"For YOU will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a Burnt Offering. The sacrifices offered to GOD are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O GOD, YOU will not despise." 17:10 "They close their hearts to pity; with their mouth they speak arrogantly."
HABAKKUK 1:13 "You who are of purer eyes than to see Evil and cannot look at wrong, Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?"
ACTS 10:1-23 "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who Feared GOD with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to GOD. About the 9th Hour of the Day Cornelius saw clearly in a vision an angel of GOD come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And HE said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a Memorial before GOD. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter ... "
GALATIANS 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
1THESSALONIANS 5:1-11"Now concerning the Times and the Seasons, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the DAY OF THE LORD will come like a thief in the Night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in Darkness, brothers, for that day, to surprise you like a thief. For you are all Children of Light, Children of the Day. We are not of the Night or of Darkness.. ." 5:21"Test everything; hold fast to what is good."
ZEPHANIAH 1:12-13 "At that Time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will HE do ill.' Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them."
ROMANS 12: 9-13 "Let LOVE be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."
1 JOHN 3:17-18 "But if anyone has the World's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does GOD's LOVE abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in TRUTH."
2 TIMOTHY 4: 3-4 "For the Time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the TRUTH and wander off into myths.MARK 14:38-41 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the Flesh is weak." And again JESUS went away and prayed, saying the same WORDS. And again JESUS came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer HIM. And JESUS came the 3rd Time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the Hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
JOHN 5:39-40 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to ME that you may have Life."
A mechanical service to GOD is not pleasing HIM. When Paul wrote to the Church around 60 AC, he commended the believers for a true and sincere LOVE to GOD and to their neighbors and never take for granted what we have in the person of JESUS CHRIST.
Living for CHRIST is a daily adventure of rediscovering life filled with joy and eternal purpose and give us strength in the pursuing of it. Feel the vibrant Love and Passion for CHRIST.
Satan loves apathy. We must stay alert to the temptations of the old nature. We must never lose the sense that GOD is always with us and in us. These Scriptural verses will help you to remember the meaning of spiritual apathy and avoid to enter in that shelter.
REVELATION 3:15-16 "I Know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My Mouth." 3:2 "Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my GOD."
JOSHUA 24:14-15"Now therefore Fear the LORD and Serve Him in sincerity and in Faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and Serve the LORD. And if it is Evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this Day Whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the Region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
PROVERBS 15:19 "The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway." 18:9"Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to the one who destroys."
24:33-34"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and Poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man." 29:15"The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother."
ECCLESIASTES 9:10 "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going."
JAMES 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
EPHESIANS 4:19"They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every king of impurity." 5:16 "Make the best use of the Time, because the Days are evil."
6:10-12 ".. Be strong in the LORD and in the strength of His Might. Put on the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the Devil. For we do not wrestle against Flesh and Blood, but against Rulers, against Authorities, against Cosmic Powers over this Present Darkness, against spiritual Forces of Evil in the Heavenly Places."
HEBREWS 5:11-12 "About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this Time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the Basic Principles of the Oracles of GOD. You need milk, not solid food." 11:6 "And without FAITH it is impossible to please HIM, for whoever would draw near to GOD must BELIEVE that HE EXISTS and that HE REWARDS those who seek Him."
6: 4-6 "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the WORD of GOD and the Powers of the Age to Come, and then have fallen away, To Restore them Again to Repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding HIM up to contempt."
PSALM 51:16-17"For YOU will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; You will not be pleased with a Burnt Offering. The sacrifices offered to GOD are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O GOD, YOU will not despise." 17:10 "They close their hearts to pity; with their mouth they speak arrogantly."
HABAKKUK 1:13 "You who are of purer eyes than to see Evil and cannot look at wrong, Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?"
ACTS 10:1-23 "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who Feared GOD with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to GOD. About the 9th Hour of the Day Cornelius saw clearly in a vision an angel of GOD come in and say to him, "Cornelius." And he stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" And HE said to him, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a Memorial before GOD. And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter ... "
GALATIANS 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
1THESSALONIANS 5:1-11"Now concerning the Times and the Seasons, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the DAY OF THE LORD will come like a thief in the Night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in Darkness, brothers, for that day, to surprise you like a thief. For you are all Children of Light, Children of the Day. We are not of the Night or of Darkness.. ." 5:21"Test everything; hold fast to what is good."
ZEPHANIAH 1:12-13 "At that Time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good, nor will HE do ill.' Their goods shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them."
ROMANS 12: 9-13 "Let LOVE be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."
1 JOHN 3:17-18 "But if anyone has the World's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does GOD's LOVE abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in TRUTH."
2 TIMOTHY 4: 3-4 "For the Time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the TRUTH and wander off into myths.MARK 14:38-41 "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The Spirit indeed is willing, but the Flesh is weak." And again JESUS went away and prayed, saying the same WORDS. And again JESUS came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer HIM. And JESUS came the 3rd Time and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; the Hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners."
JOHN 5:39-40 "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to ME that you may have Life."
Wednesday, 22 March 2017
TAME YOUR TONGUE.
The Tongue is an organ in the human body playing a very prominent role in talking and tasting. In speech, the tongue is essential because the articulation of words requires active maneuvering on its part, which it does with dexterity and remarkable speed. In tasting, however, the taste buds distributed on the tongue surface detect only acid, sweet, salt and bitter. What is commonly called "taste" results from the combinations of these taste buds reacting plus the aroma detected by the sense of smell.
In Bible usage, "tongue" often stands for "language." GOD emphasizes how HE views the badness of the false tongue, listing it as one of the 7 things that HE hates, placing it alongside "hands that are shedding innocent blood."(Proverbs 6:16-19)
GENESIS10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
DEUTERONOMY 28: "Because you did not serve the Lord your GOD with joyfulness and gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst; and HE will put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until HE has destroyed you. The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose tongue you do not understand." (47-49)
ISAIAH 28 "The kingdom of Israel is doomed! Its glory is fading like the crowns of flowers on the heads of its drunken leaders. Their proud heads are well perfumed, but there they lie, dead drunk.(1)
Even the prophets and the priests are so drunk that they stagger. They have drunk so much wine and liquor that they stumble in confusion. The prophets are too drunk to understand the visions that GOD sends, and the priests are too drunk to decide the cases that are brought to them. (7) They complain about me (says Isaiah). They say, "To whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message? It is only good for those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast. He is trying to teach us precept by precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little" If you won't listen to me (says Isaiah), then GOD will use men of strange lips and with an alien tongue to teach you a lesson. HE offered rest and comfort to all of you, but you refused to listen to HIM. That is why the Lord is going to teach you precept by precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. Then you will stumble with every step you take. You will be wounded, trapped and taken prisoner." (11-13)
David describes the wicked as attempting to destroy GOD's servant with a "tongue sharpened just like a sword," but he points out that actually GOD will see to it that they themselves are wounded for "their tongue is against their own selves." (Psalms 64: 3, 7, 8)
JESUS' half-brother James vividly describes the power exercised by the tongue and the need for the Christian to exercise great care to use it properly. He points out that failure to bridle the tongue can be a factor in causing one's worship to be futile. (James 1:26) He likens the tongue to a fire that can destroy a forest. The unbridle tongue can be influenced by destructive forces and can bring about such a great quantity or extent of unrighteousness that it can contaminate the individual's entire life.
GOD promises His people: "Any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the Judgment you will condemn." (Isaiah 54:17) This is comforting to GOD's servants, who stick to his Law even though those considered wise in the World may speak great things and say: "With our tongue we shall prevail."
(Psalms 12: 3-5) "Therefore hear the WORD OF THE LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Because you have said, 'We have made a Covenant with Death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter.' " (Isaiah 28: 14-15) "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious corner stone, of a sure foundation: He who believes will not be in haste. And I will make Justice the line, and Righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.' Then your covenant with Death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it. (Isaiah 28:16-18)
GOD symbolically describes Himself as having a Tongue that HE will use in HIS Anger, "like a devouring Fire." (Isaiah 30:27) At Pentecost, when JESUS CHRIST poured out HOLY SPIRIT on some 120 disciples gathered in a room in Jerusalem, it was made manifest audibly by their speaking in different tongues and visibly by a tongue as if of Fire sitting upon each one of them. (Acts 2: 3, 4)
In Bible usage, "tongue" often stands for "language." GOD emphasizes how HE views the badness of the false tongue, listing it as one of the 7 things that HE hates, placing it alongside "hands that are shedding innocent blood."(Proverbs 6:16-19)
GENESIS10:5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
DEUTERONOMY 28: "Because you did not serve the Lord your GOD with joyfulness and gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst; and HE will put a yoke of iron upon your neck, until HE has destroyed you. The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose tongue you do not understand." (47-49)
ISAIAH 28 "The kingdom of Israel is doomed! Its glory is fading like the crowns of flowers on the heads of its drunken leaders. Their proud heads are well perfumed, but there they lie, dead drunk.(1)
Even the prophets and the priests are so drunk that they stagger. They have drunk so much wine and liquor that they stumble in confusion. The prophets are too drunk to understand the visions that GOD sends, and the priests are too drunk to decide the cases that are brought to them. (7) They complain about me (says Isaiah). They say, "To whom will he teach knowledge and to whom will he explain the message? It is only good for those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast. He is trying to teach us precept by precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little" If you won't listen to me (says Isaiah), then GOD will use men of strange lips and with an alien tongue to teach you a lesson. HE offered rest and comfort to all of you, but you refused to listen to HIM. That is why the Lord is going to teach you precept by precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little. Then you will stumble with every step you take. You will be wounded, trapped and taken prisoner." (11-13)
David describes the wicked as attempting to destroy GOD's servant with a "tongue sharpened just like a sword," but he points out that actually GOD will see to it that they themselves are wounded for "their tongue is against their own selves." (Psalms 64: 3, 7, 8)
JESUS' half-brother James vividly describes the power exercised by the tongue and the need for the Christian to exercise great care to use it properly. He points out that failure to bridle the tongue can be a factor in causing one's worship to be futile. (James 1:26) He likens the tongue to a fire that can destroy a forest. The unbridle tongue can be influenced by destructive forces and can bring about such a great quantity or extent of unrighteousness that it can contaminate the individual's entire life.
GOD promises His people: "Any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the Judgment you will condemn." (Isaiah 54:17) This is comforting to GOD's servants, who stick to his Law even though those considered wise in the World may speak great things and say: "With our tongue we shall prevail."
(Psalms 12: 3-5) "Therefore hear the WORD OF THE LORD, you scoffers, who rule this people in Jerusalem! Because you have said, 'We have made a Covenant with Death, and with Sheol we have an agreement; when the overwhelming scourge passes through it will not come to us; for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter.' " (Isaiah 28: 14-15) "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am laying in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tested stone, a precious corner stone, of a sure foundation: He who believes will not be in haste. And I will make Justice the line, and Righteousness the plummet; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.' Then your covenant with Death will be annulled, and your agreement with Sheol will not stand; when the overwhelming scourge passes through you will be beaten down by it. (Isaiah 28:16-18)
GOD symbolically describes Himself as having a Tongue that HE will use in HIS Anger, "like a devouring Fire." (Isaiah 30:27) At Pentecost, when JESUS CHRIST poured out HOLY SPIRIT on some 120 disciples gathered in a room in Jerusalem, it was made manifest audibly by their speaking in different tongues and visibly by a tongue as if of Fire sitting upon each one of them. (Acts 2: 3, 4)
Tuesday, 21 March 2017
SPIRITUAL GIFTS.
Gifts played an important role from the earliest time in daily life. Abraham's aged servant gave gifts of jewelry to Rebekah after seeing evidence that GOD had assigned her as a wife for Isaac.
GENESIS 24:10-15.- The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took 10 of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in Northern Mesopotamia. When the servant arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the Time when Women came out to get Water. The servant prayed,"Lord, GOD of my Master Abraham, give me success today and KEEP YOUR PROMISE to my Master. Here I am at the Well where the young women of the city will be coming to get Water. I will say to one of them, 'Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.' If she says, 'Drink and I will also bring water to your camels,' may she be the One that You Have Chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept Your Promise to my Master." Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. (10-15) She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back. The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of Water from your jar." She said, "Drink, sir" and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while the servant drank. When he had finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want." She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the Well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels. The servant kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success. When she had finished, the servant took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms. The servant said, "Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?" "My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah," she answered. "There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay." Then the servant knelt down and worshiped the Lord. He said, "Praise the Lord, the GOD of my Master Abraham, Who Has Faithfully Kept HIS PROMISE to my Master. The Lord has led me straight to my Master's relatives." The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. (16-28)
GOD imparts His Spirit as a gift to His People, enabling the to avoid the degrading works of the flesh and to cultivate instead the fruitage of the spirit, namely, Love, Joy, Peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, Faith, Mildness, and self-control.
ACTS 2 says, When the Day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered Together In One Place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong Wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the World. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, "These People Who Are Talking like this Are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Capadocia; from Pontus and Asia; from Phrygia and Pamphylia; from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of you are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia -yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the Great Things that GOD Has Done!" (1-12)
The apostle Paul says in Romans 8: "There is no condemnation now for Those Who Live in Union with JESUS CHRIST. For the LAW of the SPIRIT, which BRINGS us LIFE in Union with GHRIST JESUS, has set me free from the LAW of SIN and DEATH. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, GOD DID. He CONDEMNED SIN in human nature BY SENDING HIS OWN SON, Who Came with a Nature like our sinful nature, TO DO AWAY WITH SIN." (1-3)
"God did this SO that THE RIGHTEOUS DEMANDS of the LAW might BE fully SATISFIED IN US WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT, and not according to Human Nature." (4)
"But you do not live as your Human Nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to -IF, IN FACT, GOD's SPIRIT lives in you. Whoever does not have the SPIRIT OF CHRIST does not belong to him." (9) So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our Flesh wants us to. For if you live according to your Flesh, you are going to die; but if you live BY THE SPIRIT you put to death your sinful actions, and you will live." (12) GOD's SPIRIT Joins Himself to our spirits to declare that We Are GOD's CHILDREN. Since we are God's children, WE WILL POSSESS with CHRIST what GOD has kept for Him; for if we share CHRIST' s SUFFERING, we will also SHARE HIS GLORY." (16)
In the 1rst century CE miraculous gifts attended the Baptism with Holy Spirit. These served as signs and portents that GOD was no longer using the earthly Jewish congregation in His Service but that His Approval rested on the Christian congregation established by His Son.
HEBREWS 2 says: "This is why WE must HOLD on all the more FIRMLY to the TRUTHS we have HEARD, so that we will not be carried away." (1)
"GOD has not PLACED the angels as RULERS OVER the NEW WORLD TO COME -the World of which we speak. Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scripture: 'What are humans beings, O GOD, that YOU Should Think of Them; mere Humans Beings, that You Sure Care For Them? YOU made them for a little while lower than the angels; YOU Crowned Them With Glory and Honor, and MADE THEM RULERS over all things.' " (5-8)
"The Scripture says that GOD made human beings 'rulers over all things'; this clearly includes every thing. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now. But WE do SEE JESUS, Who for a little while, Was Made Lower than the angels, so that THROUGH GOD's GRACE He should DIE FOR EVERYONE. We SEE HIM now CROWNED with GLORY and HONOR because of the DEATH HE SUFFERED. It was only RIGHT that GOD, Who Creates and Preserves All Things, SHOULD MAKE JESUS PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING, in order to bring many children TO SHARE His GLORY. JESUS is the One Who LEADS them TO SALVATION."(9-10)
Assignments of service in GOD's earthly arrangement or organization are really gifts from GOD.
The apostle Paul in Romans 12 says: "So then, my friends, because of GOD's great MERCY to us I appeal to you. OFFER yourselves as a living sacrifice to GOD, dedicated to His Service and Pleasing to Him. This is the TRUE WORSHIP that you should offer. Do NOT CONFORM yourselves TO the standards of this WORLD, but let GOD TRANSFORM YOU INWARDLY BY a complete change of your MIND. Then YOU WILL be able to KNOW the WILL OF GOD-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect." (1-2)
Since gifts in the form of bribes can destroy the heart and pervert Justice, the Scripture admonish the hating of such gifts. Those who chase after gifts are condemned. (Deuteronomy 16:19,20; Ecclessiastes 7:7; Proverbs 15:27; Isaiah 1:28) There is no merit in giving because one expects something in return. (Luke 6:30-36; 14:12-14). To be pleasing to GOD, giving must be done unselfishly and without showy display. (Matthew 6:2-4; 1 Corinthians 13:3)
The apostle Paul says, "Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for GOD Loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Christian can give things more valuable than the material ones. They can give of their time and abilities to edify and build others up spiritually and mentally, which brings greater happiness. The greatest gift that one can offer to another is an understanding of GOD's WORD, -for this can lead to the receiver to everlasting life." (John 6:26, 27; 17:3; Acts 20:35; Revelation 22:17)
Earthly wisdom can be acquired through study, application and experience, but the "spiritual speech of Wisdom" mentioned in the Scripture, was a miraculous ability since it was "to apply knowledge in a successful way to solve problems." It was "according to this wisdom given him" that the apostle Paul wrote Letters that became part of GOD's inspired WORD. (2 Peter 3:15, 16) This gift also appears to have been manifest in the individual's acquaintance with the sacred secrets and his ability to make a defense that opposed people were unable to resist or dispute. (1 Corinthians 13:2; Acts 6: 9, 10)
When mentioning some of the operations of the Spirit in conjunction with the placement of the individual members of Christ's body, Paul sates: "GOD has set the respective ones in the congregation, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then powerful works; then gifts of healing; helpful services, abilities to direct, different tongues." (1 Corinthians 12: 27, 28)
Apparently those having the gifts of the Spirit were in a position to use them only when GOD's Spirit Came To Be Operative Upon Them to exercise the gift. For example, although at Caesarea Paul stayed in the home of Philip, who "had 4 daughters, virgins that prophesied," it was not one of these daughters who foretold Paul's arrest, but Agabus, a prophet who had come from Judea. (Acts 21: 8-11)
At a meeting of the congregation a prophet could receive a revelation while another prophet was speaking. Moreover, those having the gifts of the Spirit had control over these when GOD's SPIRIT enveloped them, that is, they could refrain from speaking until opportunity was afforded. Therefore prophesying, speaking in tongues and translating could be done in an orderly way inside the congregation, for the edification of all. (1 Corinthians 14: 26-33)
GENESIS 24:10-15.- The servant, who was in charge of Abraham's property, took 10 of his master's camels and went to the city where Nahor had lived in Northern Mesopotamia. When the servant arrived, he made the camels kneel down at the well outside the city. It was late afternoon, the Time when Women came out to get Water. The servant prayed,"Lord, GOD of my Master Abraham, give me success today and KEEP YOUR PROMISE to my Master. Here I am at the Well where the young women of the city will be coming to get Water. I will say to one of them, 'Please, lower your jar and let me have a drink.' If she says, 'Drink and I will also bring water to your camels,' may she be the One that You Have Chosen for your servant Isaac. If this happens, I will know that you have kept Your Promise to my Master." Before the servant had finished praying, Rebekah arrived with a water jar on her shoulder. (10-15) She was a very beautiful young woman and still a virgin. She went down to the well, filled her jar, and came back. The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please give me a drink of Water from your jar." She said, "Drink, sir" and quickly lowered her jar from her shoulder and held it while the servant drank. When he had finished, she said, "I will also bring water for your camels and let them have all they want." She quickly emptied her jar into the animals' drinking trough and ran to the Well to get more water, until she had watered all his camels. The servant kept watching her in silence, to see if the Lord had given him success. When she had finished, the servant took an expensive gold ring and put it in her nose and put two large gold bracelets on her arms. The servant said, "Please tell me who your father is. Is there room in his house for my men and me to spend the night?" "My father is Bethuel son of Nahor and Milcah," she answered. "There is plenty of straw and fodder at our house, and there is a place for you to stay." Then the servant knelt down and worshiped the Lord. He said, "Praise the Lord, the GOD of my Master Abraham, Who Has Faithfully Kept HIS PROMISE to my Master. The Lord has led me straight to my Master's relatives." The young woman ran to her mother's house and told the whole story. (16-28)
GOD imparts His Spirit as a gift to His People, enabling the to avoid the degrading works of the flesh and to cultivate instead the fruitage of the spirit, namely, Love, Joy, Peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, Faith, Mildness, and self-control.
ACTS 2 says, When the Day of Pentecost came, all the believers were gathered Together In One Place. Suddenly there was a noise from the sky which sounded like a strong Wind blowing, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire which spread out and touched each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak. There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the World. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited, because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, "These People Who Are Talking like this Are Galileans! How is it, then, that all of us hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Capadocia; from Pontus and Asia; from Phrygia and Pamphylia; from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of you are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia -yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the Great Things that GOD Has Done!" (1-12)
The apostle Paul says in Romans 8: "There is no condemnation now for Those Who Live in Union with JESUS CHRIST. For the LAW of the SPIRIT, which BRINGS us LIFE in Union with GHRIST JESUS, has set me free from the LAW of SIN and DEATH. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, GOD DID. He CONDEMNED SIN in human nature BY SENDING HIS OWN SON, Who Came with a Nature like our sinful nature, TO DO AWAY WITH SIN." (1-3)
"God did this SO that THE RIGHTEOUS DEMANDS of the LAW might BE fully SATISFIED IN US WHO LIVE ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT, and not according to Human Nature." (4)
"But you do not live as your Human Nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to -IF, IN FACT, GOD's SPIRIT lives in you. Whoever does not have the SPIRIT OF CHRIST does not belong to him." (9) So then, my friends, we have an obligation, but it is not to live as our Flesh wants us to. For if you live according to your Flesh, you are going to die; but if you live BY THE SPIRIT you put to death your sinful actions, and you will live." (12) GOD's SPIRIT Joins Himself to our spirits to declare that We Are GOD's CHILDREN. Since we are God's children, WE WILL POSSESS with CHRIST what GOD has kept for Him; for if we share CHRIST' s SUFFERING, we will also SHARE HIS GLORY." (16)
In the 1rst century CE miraculous gifts attended the Baptism with Holy Spirit. These served as signs and portents that GOD was no longer using the earthly Jewish congregation in His Service but that His Approval rested on the Christian congregation established by His Son.
HEBREWS 2 says: "This is why WE must HOLD on all the more FIRMLY to the TRUTHS we have HEARD, so that we will not be carried away." (1)
"GOD has not PLACED the angels as RULERS OVER the NEW WORLD TO COME -the World of which we speak. Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scripture: 'What are humans beings, O GOD, that YOU Should Think of Them; mere Humans Beings, that You Sure Care For Them? YOU made them for a little while lower than the angels; YOU Crowned Them With Glory and Honor, and MADE THEM RULERS over all things.' " (5-8)
"The Scripture says that GOD made human beings 'rulers over all things'; this clearly includes every thing. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now. But WE do SEE JESUS, Who for a little while, Was Made Lower than the angels, so that THROUGH GOD's GRACE He should DIE FOR EVERYONE. We SEE HIM now CROWNED with GLORY and HONOR because of the DEATH HE SUFFERED. It was only RIGHT that GOD, Who Creates and Preserves All Things, SHOULD MAKE JESUS PERFECT THROUGH SUFFERING, in order to bring many children TO SHARE His GLORY. JESUS is the One Who LEADS them TO SALVATION."(9-10)
Assignments of service in GOD's earthly arrangement or organization are really gifts from GOD.
The apostle Paul in Romans 12 says: "So then, my friends, because of GOD's great MERCY to us I appeal to you. OFFER yourselves as a living sacrifice to GOD, dedicated to His Service and Pleasing to Him. This is the TRUE WORSHIP that you should offer. Do NOT CONFORM yourselves TO the standards of this WORLD, but let GOD TRANSFORM YOU INWARDLY BY a complete change of your MIND. Then YOU WILL be able to KNOW the WILL OF GOD-what is good and is pleasing to Him and is perfect." (1-2)
Since gifts in the form of bribes can destroy the heart and pervert Justice, the Scripture admonish the hating of such gifts. Those who chase after gifts are condemned. (Deuteronomy 16:19,20; Ecclessiastes 7:7; Proverbs 15:27; Isaiah 1:28) There is no merit in giving because one expects something in return. (Luke 6:30-36; 14:12-14). To be pleasing to GOD, giving must be done unselfishly and without showy display. (Matthew 6:2-4; 1 Corinthians 13:3)
The apostle Paul says, "Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for GOD Loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)
Christian can give things more valuable than the material ones. They can give of their time and abilities to edify and build others up spiritually and mentally, which brings greater happiness. The greatest gift that one can offer to another is an understanding of GOD's WORD, -for this can lead to the receiver to everlasting life." (John 6:26, 27; 17:3; Acts 20:35; Revelation 22:17)
Earthly wisdom can be acquired through study, application and experience, but the "spiritual speech of Wisdom" mentioned in the Scripture, was a miraculous ability since it was "to apply knowledge in a successful way to solve problems." It was "according to this wisdom given him" that the apostle Paul wrote Letters that became part of GOD's inspired WORD. (2 Peter 3:15, 16) This gift also appears to have been manifest in the individual's acquaintance with the sacred secrets and his ability to make a defense that opposed people were unable to resist or dispute. (1 Corinthians 13:2; Acts 6: 9, 10)
When mentioning some of the operations of the Spirit in conjunction with the placement of the individual members of Christ's body, Paul sates: "GOD has set the respective ones in the congregation, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then powerful works; then gifts of healing; helpful services, abilities to direct, different tongues." (1 Corinthians 12: 27, 28)
Apparently those having the gifts of the Spirit were in a position to use them only when GOD's Spirit Came To Be Operative Upon Them to exercise the gift. For example, although at Caesarea Paul stayed in the home of Philip, who "had 4 daughters, virgins that prophesied," it was not one of these daughters who foretold Paul's arrest, but Agabus, a prophet who had come from Judea. (Acts 21: 8-11)
At a meeting of the congregation a prophet could receive a revelation while another prophet was speaking. Moreover, those having the gifts of the Spirit had control over these when GOD's SPIRIT enveloped them, that is, they could refrain from speaking until opportunity was afforded. Therefore prophesying, speaking in tongues and translating could be done in an orderly way inside the congregation, for the edification of all. (1 Corinthians 14: 26-33)
Saturday, 18 March 2017
THE REAL VALUE OF GOLD.
Gold is the first and most frequent mentioned metal in the Scripture and from the beginning it has been a noble and highly valued metal. Its weight, rarity, durability, beauty, ductility and malleability are some of the characteristics that made gold a distinctive metal. The color and luster of gold and its resistance to oxidation, or tarnishing, made it especially valuable for jewelry and ornamentations of all kinds.
Gold's rarity gave it a monetary value that made it useful as a commercial medium of exchange and as a measure of wealth and prominence. When found in its native purity in gravel deposits and riverbeds, gold can easily be separated and recovered, because of its great weight.
The Book of Job mentions mining and refining operations in this way: "There are mines where silver is dug; there are places where gold is refined. We dig iron out of the ground and melt copper out of stones. Miners explore the deepest darkness. They search the depths of the earth and dig for rocks in the darkness. Far from where anyone lives or human feet ever travel, they dig the shafts of mines. There they work in loneliness, clinging to ropes in the pits. Food grows out of the earth, but underneath the same earth all is torn up and crushed. The stones of the earth contain sapphires, and its dust contain gold." Job 28:1-6
Man is more than that gold's dust. Physically, he was taken out of the ground, our bodies are made up of about 15 or 16 chemical elements that exists in the ground. GOD breathed into him "the breath of life" and man became a living soul.
GOD gave man life in his physical, mental and spiritual states. In his spiritual state man was brought into a marvelous relationship with his Creator because he had in his being a golden capacity for GOD. This is what separates man from all other creatures that are found in GOD's universe.
GOD has put silver, gold, iron, and precious stones in the earth for a reason. It is possible that there are precious stones which have never yet been discovered, which might be more valuable that the diamond or sapphires.
GOD's plan for man is to discover in his heart the spiritual mines of Wisdom and Understanding that are beyond the value of any earthly precious stone not even yet discovered. Job teaches us about this matter by saying: "No hawk sees the roads of the mines, and no vulture ever flies over them. No lion or other fierce beast ever travels those lonely roads." Job 28: 7-8 Gold's malleability permits it to be hammered into countless shapes. It is in a way the image of the wisdom of the World.
In the Tabernacle built by Moses, gold was used in the enclosing compartments: the Holy Place, where the priest entered and performed duties, and the Most Holy Place, entered only by the High Priest.
Gold was beaten into plates for overlay work and into thin sheets cut into thread that was woven into certain garments of the High Priest.
Since the Most Holy place (where the golden Ark of the Covenant is), represented Heaven, GOD's dwelling place, only the chosen ones of the royal Priesthood were allowed to perform their spiritual duties there. Spiritual cleansing rituals were performed before entering the Holy Place.
The JESUS' Priesthood is thus symbolically distinguished from the one which represent the people on earth. JESUS is the High Priest in Heaven preparing the place in which all on earth who trust in HIM and believe in HIM will share in HIM his eternal kingdom.
Gold used in the Temple built by Solomon was alloyed with other metal to increase its hardiness and extending its utility. Large amounts of gold were poured into Solomon's treasury. It came from the king of Tyre and the queen of Sheba. However, GOD commanded Israel: "You must not desire the silver and the gold ... nor indeed take it for yourself, for fear you may be snared by it; for it is a thing detestable to the Lord your GOD. And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house and actually become a thing devoted to destruction like it." Deuteronomy 7: 25, 26
Job then teach us about GOD's Wisdom in this way: "Miners dig the hardest rocks, dig mountains away at their base. As they tunnel through the rocks, they discover precious stones. They dig to the sources of Rivers and bring to light what is hidden. But where can Wisdom be found? Where can we learn to Understand? Wisdom is not to be found among Mortals; no one knows its true value. The depths of the Oceans and seas say that Wisdom is not found there. It cannot be bought with silver or gold. The finest gold and jewels cannot equal its value. Wisdom is worth more than gold, more than a gold vase of finest glass. The value of Wisdom is more than coral or crystal or rubies. The finest topaz and the purest gold cannot compare with the Value of Wisdom." Job 28 9-19
Though gold has a great value, it, like other material riches, is not able to give spiritual life to its possessors and no amount of gold can buy the true Wisdom that comes from GOD.
The apostle Peter points also to Faith's unexcelled durability and permanent value than gold, which can withstand Fire yet can wear away and be destroyed by other means if we are lacking spiritual strength and courage. Christians have to endure various trials that are sometimes grievous, but it serves to bring out the quality of their personal Faith. True Faith can stand up under any test. 1 Peter 1: 6, 7
Gold's rarity gave it a monetary value that made it useful as a commercial medium of exchange and as a measure of wealth and prominence. When found in its native purity in gravel deposits and riverbeds, gold can easily be separated and recovered, because of its great weight.
The Book of Job mentions mining and refining operations in this way: "There are mines where silver is dug; there are places where gold is refined. We dig iron out of the ground and melt copper out of stones. Miners explore the deepest darkness. They search the depths of the earth and dig for rocks in the darkness. Far from where anyone lives or human feet ever travel, they dig the shafts of mines. There they work in loneliness, clinging to ropes in the pits. Food grows out of the earth, but underneath the same earth all is torn up and crushed. The stones of the earth contain sapphires, and its dust contain gold." Job 28:1-6
Man is more than that gold's dust. Physically, he was taken out of the ground, our bodies are made up of about 15 or 16 chemical elements that exists in the ground. GOD breathed into him "the breath of life" and man became a living soul.
GOD gave man life in his physical, mental and spiritual states. In his spiritual state man was brought into a marvelous relationship with his Creator because he had in his being a golden capacity for GOD. This is what separates man from all other creatures that are found in GOD's universe.
GOD has put silver, gold, iron, and precious stones in the earth for a reason. It is possible that there are precious stones which have never yet been discovered, which might be more valuable that the diamond or sapphires.
GOD's plan for man is to discover in his heart the spiritual mines of Wisdom and Understanding that are beyond the value of any earthly precious stone not even yet discovered. Job teaches us about this matter by saying: "No hawk sees the roads of the mines, and no vulture ever flies over them. No lion or other fierce beast ever travels those lonely roads." Job 28: 7-8 Gold's malleability permits it to be hammered into countless shapes. It is in a way the image of the wisdom of the World.
In the Tabernacle built by Moses, gold was used in the enclosing compartments: the Holy Place, where the priest entered and performed duties, and the Most Holy Place, entered only by the High Priest.
Gold was beaten into plates for overlay work and into thin sheets cut into thread that was woven into certain garments of the High Priest.
Since the Most Holy place (where the golden Ark of the Covenant is), represented Heaven, GOD's dwelling place, only the chosen ones of the royal Priesthood were allowed to perform their spiritual duties there. Spiritual cleansing rituals were performed before entering the Holy Place.
The JESUS' Priesthood is thus symbolically distinguished from the one which represent the people on earth. JESUS is the High Priest in Heaven preparing the place in which all on earth who trust in HIM and believe in HIM will share in HIM his eternal kingdom.
Gold used in the Temple built by Solomon was alloyed with other metal to increase its hardiness and extending its utility. Large amounts of gold were poured into Solomon's treasury. It came from the king of Tyre and the queen of Sheba. However, GOD commanded Israel: "You must not desire the silver and the gold ... nor indeed take it for yourself, for fear you may be snared by it; for it is a thing detestable to the Lord your GOD. And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house and actually become a thing devoted to destruction like it." Deuteronomy 7: 25, 26
Job then teach us about GOD's Wisdom in this way: "Miners dig the hardest rocks, dig mountains away at their base. As they tunnel through the rocks, they discover precious stones. They dig to the sources of Rivers and bring to light what is hidden. But where can Wisdom be found? Where can we learn to Understand? Wisdom is not to be found among Mortals; no one knows its true value. The depths of the Oceans and seas say that Wisdom is not found there. It cannot be bought with silver or gold. The finest gold and jewels cannot equal its value. Wisdom is worth more than gold, more than a gold vase of finest glass. The value of Wisdom is more than coral or crystal or rubies. The finest topaz and the purest gold cannot compare with the Value of Wisdom." Job 28 9-19
Though gold has a great value, it, like other material riches, is not able to give spiritual life to its possessors and no amount of gold can buy the true Wisdom that comes from GOD.
The apostle Peter points also to Faith's unexcelled durability and permanent value than gold, which can withstand Fire yet can wear away and be destroyed by other means if we are lacking spiritual strength and courage. Christians have to endure various trials that are sometimes grievous, but it serves to bring out the quality of their personal Faith. True Faith can stand up under any test. 1 Peter 1: 6, 7
Friday, 17 March 2017
SOCRATES' EXAMPLE.
Socrates (469-399 BC) is the most interesting and influential thinker whose dedication to careful reasoning transformed the entire world.
Socrates sought genuine knowledge rather than mere victory over an opponent using the same logical tricks developed by them to a new intentional purpose, the pursuit of Truth.
Socrates was well known during his own time for his conversational skills and public teaching.
Socrates wrote nothing, so what we know about him is because of his students, especially Xenophon, Aristophanes and Plato, that did wrote a detailed knowledge of Socrates 's methods and results.
The trouble is that Plato was himself a philosopher who often injected his own theories into the dialogues he presented to the world as discussions between Socrates and other famous figures of the day. Nevertheless, it is usually assumed that at least the early dialogues of Plato provide an accurate representation of Socrates himself.
Socrates set the standard for all subsequent Western thinking by the use of critical reasoning and his unwavering commitment to Truth. As a pupil of Archelaus during his youth, he showed a great deal of interest in the theories of Anaxagoras, but he later abandoned inquires into the physical world for a dedicated investigation of the development of moral character and intention.
Socrates served with some distinction as a soldier during the Peloponnesian War. He dabbled in the political turmoil that consumed Athens after the war. Then he retired from active life to work as a stonemason and to raise his children with his wife, Xanthippe. After inheriting a modest fortune from his father, the sculptor Sophroniscus, Socrates used his financial independence as an opportunity to give full-time attention to the practice of deep thinking and dialogue towards the generation in which his own children were growing into.
Socrates devoted himself to free-wheeling discussion with the aristocratic young citizens of Athens for the rest of his life. He insistently questioned their unwarranted confidence in the Truth of popular opinions. Unlike the professional politicians of the time, Socrates pointedly declined to accept payment for his work with students, and many of them were fanatically loyal to him. Their parents, however, were often displeased with his influence on their offspring, making him look as a controversial political figure.
Socrates' views and his methods of teachings and his extended conversations with students, statesmen and friends aimed at the understanding and achieving virtue, and not material gain, through the careful application of a process of thinking by means of dialogue, discussion, debate, or argument. This method employed critical inquiry in a positive way and undermined the apparent explanation of Truth of widely-held doctrines, destroying the illusion that people already comprehended the World perfectly and honestly accepting the fact of human own ignorance. Therefore, he believed, that there are vital steps towards human acquisition of 'genuine' knowledge, by discovering spiritual and universal definitions of the key concepts governing human life.
Because of his political associations, the Athenian democracy put Socrates on trial, charging him with undermining state religion and corrupting young people. The speech Socrates offered in his own defense, as reported in Plato's Apology, provides us with the central features of Socrates' approach to Truth and its relation to practical life:
MODESTY: Socrates, explaining his mission as a teacher, reported an oracular message telling him "No One Is Wiser Than You." He then proceeded through a series of descriptions of his efforts to disprove the oracle by conversing with notable Athenians who must surely be wiser. In each case, however, Socrates concluded that he had a kind of wisdom that each of them lacked, "an open awareness of his own ignorance."
HABIT: The goal or intention of this Socratic interrogation helped individuals to achieve genuine self-knowledge, even if it often turned out to be negative in character according to the rules of the World. Socrates meant to turn the methods of the politicians of his time inside-out, using logical nit-picking to expose, rather than to create, illusions about reality. It nevertheless effectively internalized as a process of thinking and reasoning in an effort to understand everything.
TRUTH: Even after he has been convicted by the jury of his world, Socrates declined to abandon his pursuit of Truth in all matters. Refusing to accept exile from Athens or a commitment of silence as his penalty, he maintained that public discussion of the great issues of life and moral virtue is a vital part of any valuable human life. "The unexamined life is not worth living." He said to his jury that he would rather die that give up his pursuing of Truth, and his jury seemed happy to granted him that wish.
REASON: Even when his jury has sentenced him to death, Socrates calmly delivered his final public message, a speculation about what the future held. Disclaiming any certainty about the fate of a human being after death, he nevertheless expressed a continued confidence in the power of Truth and reason, which he has exhibited, while his jury hadn't. Who really wins remained unclear because Truth expose itself when the individual engage in the pursuing of it and the only winner in the individual itself.
The dramatic picture of a man willing to face death rather than abandoning his own pursuing of Truth offers up Socrates as a model for all future thinkers, and all of us are daily faced with opportunities to decide between convenient conventionality and our devotion to the pursuing of TRUTH and reason.
How we choose determines whether we, like Socrates, deserve to call our lives meaningful.
Socrates sought genuine knowledge rather than mere victory over an opponent using the same logical tricks developed by them to a new intentional purpose, the pursuit of Truth.
Socrates was well known during his own time for his conversational skills and public teaching.
Socrates wrote nothing, so what we know about him is because of his students, especially Xenophon, Aristophanes and Plato, that did wrote a detailed knowledge of Socrates 's methods and results.
The trouble is that Plato was himself a philosopher who often injected his own theories into the dialogues he presented to the world as discussions between Socrates and other famous figures of the day. Nevertheless, it is usually assumed that at least the early dialogues of Plato provide an accurate representation of Socrates himself.
Socrates set the standard for all subsequent Western thinking by the use of critical reasoning and his unwavering commitment to Truth. As a pupil of Archelaus during his youth, he showed a great deal of interest in the theories of Anaxagoras, but he later abandoned inquires into the physical world for a dedicated investigation of the development of moral character and intention.
Socrates served with some distinction as a soldier during the Peloponnesian War. He dabbled in the political turmoil that consumed Athens after the war. Then he retired from active life to work as a stonemason and to raise his children with his wife, Xanthippe. After inheriting a modest fortune from his father, the sculptor Sophroniscus, Socrates used his financial independence as an opportunity to give full-time attention to the practice of deep thinking and dialogue towards the generation in which his own children were growing into.
Socrates devoted himself to free-wheeling discussion with the aristocratic young citizens of Athens for the rest of his life. He insistently questioned their unwarranted confidence in the Truth of popular opinions. Unlike the professional politicians of the time, Socrates pointedly declined to accept payment for his work with students, and many of them were fanatically loyal to him. Their parents, however, were often displeased with his influence on their offspring, making him look as a controversial political figure.
Socrates' views and his methods of teachings and his extended conversations with students, statesmen and friends aimed at the understanding and achieving virtue, and not material gain, through the careful application of a process of thinking by means of dialogue, discussion, debate, or argument. This method employed critical inquiry in a positive way and undermined the apparent explanation of Truth of widely-held doctrines, destroying the illusion that people already comprehended the World perfectly and honestly accepting the fact of human own ignorance. Therefore, he believed, that there are vital steps towards human acquisition of 'genuine' knowledge, by discovering spiritual and universal definitions of the key concepts governing human life.
Because of his political associations, the Athenian democracy put Socrates on trial, charging him with undermining state religion and corrupting young people. The speech Socrates offered in his own defense, as reported in Plato's Apology, provides us with the central features of Socrates' approach to Truth and its relation to practical life:
MODESTY: Socrates, explaining his mission as a teacher, reported an oracular message telling him "No One Is Wiser Than You." He then proceeded through a series of descriptions of his efforts to disprove the oracle by conversing with notable Athenians who must surely be wiser. In each case, however, Socrates concluded that he had a kind of wisdom that each of them lacked, "an open awareness of his own ignorance."
HABIT: The goal or intention of this Socratic interrogation helped individuals to achieve genuine self-knowledge, even if it often turned out to be negative in character according to the rules of the World. Socrates meant to turn the methods of the politicians of his time inside-out, using logical nit-picking to expose, rather than to create, illusions about reality. It nevertheless effectively internalized as a process of thinking and reasoning in an effort to understand everything.
TRUTH: Even after he has been convicted by the jury of his world, Socrates declined to abandon his pursuit of Truth in all matters. Refusing to accept exile from Athens or a commitment of silence as his penalty, he maintained that public discussion of the great issues of life and moral virtue is a vital part of any valuable human life. "The unexamined life is not worth living." He said to his jury that he would rather die that give up his pursuing of Truth, and his jury seemed happy to granted him that wish.
REASON: Even when his jury has sentenced him to death, Socrates calmly delivered his final public message, a speculation about what the future held. Disclaiming any certainty about the fate of a human being after death, he nevertheless expressed a continued confidence in the power of Truth and reason, which he has exhibited, while his jury hadn't. Who really wins remained unclear because Truth expose itself when the individual engage in the pursuing of it and the only winner in the individual itself.
The dramatic picture of a man willing to face death rather than abandoning his own pursuing of Truth offers up Socrates as a model for all future thinkers, and all of us are daily faced with opportunities to decide between convenient conventionality and our devotion to the pursuing of TRUTH and reason.
How we choose determines whether we, like Socrates, deserve to call our lives meaningful.
Thursday, 16 March 2017
DEFINITION OF A DEMON.
A Demon is an wicked spirit, entity or creature, sometimes called "fallen angel," having superhuman powers. Demons as such were not created by GOD. The first to make himself one of them was Satan, who became the ruler of other angelic sons of GOD who also made themselves demons.
In classical Greek, demons were considered as intermediary spiritual beings which moved up and down or be either good of bad.
Demons feature prominently as adversaries in the Ministry of JESUS, and as agents of Satan they must be overcome if JESUS's Ministry is to be successful. JESUS himself speaks of having come to plunder Satan's goods. Luke 11:21-22. Expulsion of demons from people is one means by which JESUS does so in Matthew 12: 27-28
Matthew11 says: When JESUS had finished instructing His 12 disciples, HE went on from there to Teach and Preach in their cities. Now when John (the Baptist) heard in prison about the Deeds of The CHRIST, he sent word by his disciples and said to HIM, "ARE YOU HE WHO IS TO COME, or shall we look for another?" And JESUS answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at ME." As they went away, JESUS began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the Wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the Wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in king's houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send My Messenger before your face, who shall prepare the Way before YOU.'" 11:1-10
Truly, I say to you, among those 'born of women' there has risen no one greater that John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 11: 11-12
From the Days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered Violence, and Men of Violence take it by Force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 11: 12-15
Matthew12 says: At that Time JESUS went through the Grain Fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to HIM, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is Not Lawful To Do on the Sabbath." HE said to them, "HAve you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the HOUSE OF GOD and ate bread of the PRESENCE, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the Priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the Priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? I tell you, SOMETHING GREATER than the Temple IS HERE. And if you had known WHAT THIS MEANS, 'I desire MERCY, and NOT SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the SON of MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH. " 12: 1-8
And JESUS went on from there, and entered their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked HIM, "It is Lawful to Heal on the Sabbath?" so that they might accuse HIM. Jesus said to them, "What Man of You, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a Man than a sheep! So It Is Lawful To Do Good on the Sabbath." Then JESUS said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, whole like the other. But the Pharisees went out and took counsel AGAINST HIM, how to destroy HIM. Jesus aware of this, withdrew from there. 12: 9-15
In NOAH's Days these disobedient and wicked angels materialized by marrying the daughters of men and fathering a hybrid generation known as NEPHILIM, and then dematerialized when the Flood came. (Genesis 6). However, upon returning to the spirit realm they did not regain their lofty original position, for Jude 6 says: "The angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place HE has reserved with eternal bonds under dense Darkness for the Judgment of the Great Day." So it is in this condition of dense spiritual Darkness that they must now confine their operations.
Simeon Peter says in his 2nd Letter: To those who have obtained a FAITH OF EQUAL STANDING WITH OURS IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR GOD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: May Grace and Peace be multiplied to you in THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD and of JESUS our LORD.
His DIVINE POWER has granted to us all things that pertain to LIFE and GODLINESS, through the KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who called us to His Own Glory and Excellence, by which HE HAS GRANTED TO US HIS precious and very great PROMISES, that THROUGH THESE you may ESCAPE FROM the CORRUPTION that is IN THE WORLD because of passion, and BECOME PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your FAITH with VIRTUE, and VIRTUE with KNOWLEDGE, and KNOWLEDGE with SELF-CONTROL, and SELF-CONTROL with STEADFASTNESS, and STEADFASTNESS with GODLINESS, and GODLINESS with BROTHERLY AFFECTION, and BROTHERLY AFFECTION with LOVE. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the KNOWLEDGE of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. For whoever LACKS these things IS BLIND and SHORTSIGHTED and has FORGOTTEN that HE WAS CLEANSED from his OLD SINS. Therefore, be more zealous to confirm your call and election, for IF YOU DO this YOU WILL NEVER FALL; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. 2 Peter 1: 1-11
We did not follow cleverly devised myth when we made known to you THE POWER and COMING of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, but we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. For when HE received HONOR and GLORY from GOD the FATHER and the VOICE was borne to HIM by the Majestic Glory, "This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I Am Well Pleased," we heard this Voice borne from Heaven, for we were with HIM on the Holy Mountain. And we have the Prophetic Word made more sure. You will do well to PAY ATTENTION TO THIS as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning start rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1: 16-19
First of all YOU MUST UNDERSTAND this, that no Prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because NO PROPHECY ever came by the IMPULSE OF MAN, but men moved by the HOLY SPIRIT spoke from GOD. 2 PETER 1: 20-21
But False Prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be False Teachers among you, who will secretly bring destructive heresies, even denying the Master Who Bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them THE WAY OF TRUTH WILL BE REVILED. And in their greed they will exploit you with FALSE WORDS; FROM of OLD their CONDEMNATION HAS NOT BEEN IDLE, and their destruction has not been asleep. For If GOD did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into HELL and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the Judgment; if HE did not spare the Ancient World, but preserved NOAH, a herald of RIGHTEOUSNESS, with 7 other persons, when HE brought a Flood upon the World of the Ungodly; if by turning the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes HE condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if HE rescued RIGHTEOUS LOT, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the Wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the LORD knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 2 Peter 2: 1-10
According to early Christians, demons oppress attacking people from without, or possess entering an individual's body and attacking it from within. They cause diseases and sickness of all kind, although not all sickness may be attributed to them. Mark 1:32; 2:10-12. Most of the time a demonic activity in a person's life would be obvious. Mark 5: 1-19; 9:14-29
The purpose of all such demonic activity is to turn people against GOD. Demon influence in human affairs is no less manifest today. Prophetic warning is given concerning accelerated demon activity on the earth. Revelation 1:1 says, "Down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels (demons) were hurled down with him." Revelation 12: 9, 12 says, "Woe for the earth and for the sea (Flesh and Mind), because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of Time." Christians must, therefore, put up a hard fight against these unseen wicked spirits.
In classical Greek, demons were considered as intermediary spiritual beings which moved up and down or be either good of bad.
Demons feature prominently as adversaries in the Ministry of JESUS, and as agents of Satan they must be overcome if JESUS's Ministry is to be successful. JESUS himself speaks of having come to plunder Satan's goods. Luke 11:21-22. Expulsion of demons from people is one means by which JESUS does so in Matthew 12: 27-28
Matthew11 says: When JESUS had finished instructing His 12 disciples, HE went on from there to Teach and Preach in their cities. Now when John (the Baptist) heard in prison about the Deeds of The CHRIST, he sent word by his disciples and said to HIM, "ARE YOU HE WHO IS TO COME, or shall we look for another?" And JESUS answered them, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is he who takes no offense at ME." As they went away, JESUS began to speak to the crowds concerning John: "What did you go out into the Wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the Wind? Why then did you go out? To see a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, those who wear soft raiment are in king's houses. Why then did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, 'Behold, I send My Messenger before your face, who shall prepare the Way before YOU.'" 11:1-10
Truly, I say to you, among those 'born of women' there has risen no one greater that John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 11: 11-12
From the Days of John the Baptist until now the Kingdom of Heaven has suffered Violence, and Men of Violence take it by Force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John; and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 11: 12-15
Matthew12 says: At that Time JESUS went through the Grain Fields on the Sabbath; his disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to HIM, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is Not Lawful To Do on the Sabbath." HE said to them, "HAve you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the HOUSE OF GOD and ate bread of the PRESENCE, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the Priests? Or have you not read in the law how on the Sabbath the Priests in the Temple profane the Sabbath, and are guiltless? I tell you, SOMETHING GREATER than the Temple IS HERE. And if you had known WHAT THIS MEANS, 'I desire MERCY, and NOT SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the SON of MAN IS LORD OF THE SABBATH. " 12: 1-8
And JESUS went on from there, and entered their synagogue. And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. And they asked HIM, "It is Lawful to Heal on the Sabbath?" so that they might accuse HIM. Jesus said to them, "What Man of You, if he has one sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a Man than a sheep! So It Is Lawful To Do Good on the Sabbath." Then JESUS said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, whole like the other. But the Pharisees went out and took counsel AGAINST HIM, how to destroy HIM. Jesus aware of this, withdrew from there. 12: 9-15
In NOAH's Days these disobedient and wicked angels materialized by marrying the daughters of men and fathering a hybrid generation known as NEPHILIM, and then dematerialized when the Flood came. (Genesis 6). However, upon returning to the spirit realm they did not regain their lofty original position, for Jude 6 says: "The angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place HE has reserved with eternal bonds under dense Darkness for the Judgment of the Great Day." So it is in this condition of dense spiritual Darkness that they must now confine their operations.
Simeon Peter says in his 2nd Letter: To those who have obtained a FAITH OF EQUAL STANDING WITH OURS IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF OUR GOD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST: May Grace and Peace be multiplied to you in THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD and of JESUS our LORD.
His DIVINE POWER has granted to us all things that pertain to LIFE and GODLINESS, through the KNOWLEDGE OF HIM who called us to His Own Glory and Excellence, by which HE HAS GRANTED TO US HIS precious and very great PROMISES, that THROUGH THESE you may ESCAPE FROM the CORRUPTION that is IN THE WORLD because of passion, and BECOME PARTAKERS OF THE DIVINE NATURE. For this very reason make every effort to supplement your FAITH with VIRTUE, and VIRTUE with KNOWLEDGE, and KNOWLEDGE with SELF-CONTROL, and SELF-CONTROL with STEADFASTNESS, and STEADFASTNESS with GODLINESS, and GODLINESS with BROTHERLY AFFECTION, and BROTHERLY AFFECTION with LOVE. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the KNOWLEDGE of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. For whoever LACKS these things IS BLIND and SHORTSIGHTED and has FORGOTTEN that HE WAS CLEANSED from his OLD SINS. Therefore, be more zealous to confirm your call and election, for IF YOU DO this YOU WILL NEVER FALL; so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST. 2 Peter 1: 1-11
We did not follow cleverly devised myth when we made known to you THE POWER and COMING of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, but we were eyewitnesses of His Majesty. For when HE received HONOR and GLORY from GOD the FATHER and the VOICE was borne to HIM by the Majestic Glory, "This is My Beloved Son, with Whom I Am Well Pleased," we heard this Voice borne from Heaven, for we were with HIM on the Holy Mountain. And we have the Prophetic Word made more sure. You will do well to PAY ATTENTION TO THIS as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning start rises in your hearts. 2 Peter 1: 16-19
First of all YOU MUST UNDERSTAND this, that no Prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, because NO PROPHECY ever came by the IMPULSE OF MAN, but men moved by the HOLY SPIRIT spoke from GOD. 2 PETER 1: 20-21
But False Prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be False Teachers among you, who will secretly bring destructive heresies, even denying the Master Who Bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, and because of them THE WAY OF TRUTH WILL BE REVILED. And in their greed they will exploit you with FALSE WORDS; FROM of OLD their CONDEMNATION HAS NOT BEEN IDLE, and their destruction has not been asleep. For If GOD did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them into HELL and committed them to pits of nether gloom to be kept until the Judgment; if HE did not spare the Ancient World, but preserved NOAH, a herald of RIGHTEOUSNESS, with 7 other persons, when HE brought a Flood upon the World of the Ungodly; if by turning the Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes HE condemned them to extinction and made them an example to those who were to be ungodly; and if HE rescued RIGHTEOUS LOT, greatly distressed by the licentiousness of the Wicked (for by what that righteous man saw and heard as he lived among them, he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds), then the LORD knows how to rescue the godly from trial, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of Judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. 2 Peter 2: 1-10
According to early Christians, demons oppress attacking people from without, or possess entering an individual's body and attacking it from within. They cause diseases and sickness of all kind, although not all sickness may be attributed to them. Mark 1:32; 2:10-12. Most of the time a demonic activity in a person's life would be obvious. Mark 5: 1-19; 9:14-29
The purpose of all such demonic activity is to turn people against GOD. Demon influence in human affairs is no less manifest today. Prophetic warning is given concerning accelerated demon activity on the earth. Revelation 1:1 says, "Down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels (demons) were hurled down with him." Revelation 12: 9, 12 says, "Woe for the earth and for the sea (Flesh and Mind), because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of Time." Christians must, therefore, put up a hard fight against these unseen wicked spirits.
IS INTENTION ONLY HUMAN?
When we notice something we naturally seek a reason for it, an intention in it, someone or something behind the curtain of events, a subject, a doer, etc.
As we observe the world around us, our attention is drawn to things that move and change, and we are affected by them as we go about our daily activities. The sun makes its journey from East to West across the sky every day, and by night the moon, stars, and planets trace their luminous paths across the heaven. Drops of rain that fall to the earth are collected into small streams that then join together to form rivers that rush to the sea that never appears too tired os sending waves crashing against the shore. Birds circle overhead while squirrels dare to jump across the branches of trees. Bees and butterflies busily collect nectar and pollen from flowers that open their colored petals to the warm sun. A fragile seedling, over many years, grows into a towering oak. In the same way a human infant somehow manages to transform itself into an independent individual doing what he chose to be.
In our attempt to understand the motion and changes that the physical world perform, the first idea that comes to our mind is that everything contain an animistic, supernatural, spiritual, or mystical force. The second idea rejects the first idea and sees all motion and change as the result of processes involving only matter, energy and physical laws that govern them. The third idea takes a dualistic middle ground, combining both physical and spiritual entities to account for all forms of behavior.
Humans possess self-awareness, consciousness, intentions and desires that are not easily explained in terms of physical processes. The study of the mind or soul of the individual has become the root to the understanding behavioral patterns involving humans, animals and plants. This understanding do not deny the existence of a physical or mechanical component in it.
It has been stated that animist explanations of behavior characterized humankind's earliest attempts to make sense of the world, developing awareness of their own existence. Therefore they developed their minds with the belief in a soul or spirit that gave life to bodies and it was also accounted for human consciousness, thought, desires, and behavior. Dreams were understood as a phenomena in which one experienced a detachment from the physical world and encounter its position in the non visible one.
Such animistic interpretations of the behavior of the physical forces allowed their mind to make better sense of their surroundings. Such beliefs served as a purpose to the understanding and attempting to control these natural events.
Greek pre-Socratic philosophical era considered souls necessary to explain both the movement of heavenly bodies and the behavior of plants, animals, and humans. Plato was struck by the orderly movements of stars, planets, sun, and moon and considered it as an evidence of a type of "World Soul" provided by the Creator. Socrates insisted that only materialistic explanations simply cannot provided enough answers to the reason or intention of human action, so he decided to sustain his vision by staying in Athens and face death rather than flee and save his life. Both of them saw a reason in the afterlife and the intention of the human behavior in the world of the living determined its journey in the unseen world. Aristotle provided the most ambitious account of motion and change, dealing explicitly with both inanimate objects and living organisms. Even the actions of animals were ultimately due to outside causes. He explained that many motions are produced in the body by its environment and some of these set in motion the intellect, intention or the appetite, setting the whole animal in motion. Aristotle's cause- effect reasoning led to notion of a stimulus. But whereas Aristotle considered the environment ultimately responsible for the behavior of living organisms, he also realized important distinctions between inanimate objects and living organisms and therefore attributed a soul to all forms of life, including plants, animals, and humans. For him, all movement had to be cause by a mover, and the existence of an unmoved mover that was eternal and immaterial, was in "the outermost heaven."
Aristotle saw the human soul as quite distinct in its rational powers from the souls of plants and other animals, but he placed plants, animals, and humans on the same plane of continuity showing an appreciation of the relationship existing among all living organisms that was not seeing again until the time of Charles Darwin some 22 centuries later.
Aristotle said: Nature, like "Mind", always does whatever it does for the sake of something, which something is its end."
Tuesday, 14 March 2017
UNDERSTANDING CHRISTIANITY.
Christianity is a way of life, embodied in a fellowship centered on the worship of the One GOD revealed to men through JESUS of Nazareth, who lived as a human being for about 30 years in Palestine and was crucified at Jerusalem. HE rose from the dead after 3 days and was seen by his disciples on numerous occasions during the succeeding 40 days, after which HE departed.
During the 3 years of His earthly ministry of teaching, when HE was near to Caesarea Philippi, the ancient Paneion on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, Peter answered His question "Who do men say that I AM?" with the declaration "YOU ARE THE CHRIST."
If we look on a map, we will find 3 Caesareas. Caesarea Philippi is located to the North of the Sea of Galilee. It was on the way to the villages of Caesarea Philippi that JESUS questioned his disciples, giving rise to the meaningful conversation regarding the Christian congregation's rock-mass foundation and the use of the keys of the Kingdom of the heavens.
The earliest appearance of the area in history is as the site of a battle between Egypt and the victorious forces of Antiochus the Great. It was then known as Paneas, a name given in honor of the god Pan, a fertility deity, who was worshiped there. Augustus Caesar gave Paneas to Herod the Great, who thereafter built a white marble temple in the place, dedicating it to Augustus. Herod's son, Philip the tetrarch, later enlarged and beautified the city in honor of Tiberius Caesar. It was then given the name Caesarea and, to distinguish it from the seaport city of the same name, was called Caesarea Philippi.
Still later the city was again enlarged and adorned by Agrippa II and its name changed to Neronias, though this name quickly passed into disuse following the death of Nero. After the destruction of Jerusalem, General Titus staged gladiatorial events there, using captive Jews or other slaves as victims.
In course of time the name of the city reverted to its ancient name of Paneas. The town is now situated at the headwaters of the Jordan River, and since the Arabic language does not use the letter P, the name of the small town is translated as Banyas. At an elevation of 350m/1,150ft above sea level, its location is one of great natural beauty. The town is enclosed on 3 sides by mountains, with the snowcapped peak of Mount Hermon rising majestically to the North East, while to the West extends a lush green plain watered by one of the principal sources of the Jordan springing from a nearby cavern.
The Lord JESUS, in the narrative, is in the North, and HE is in a position from which HE is going to turn and begin a movement directly toward Jerusalem and the cross. Before HE begins the journey, there are 2 things that must be clear in the minds of His disciples : 1) Who HE is, and 2) What HE is going to do. These are the 2 things that all of us have to be clear on in order to be CHRISTIANS.
We have to know WHO HE IS, and we have to know WHAT HE DID, in order to exercise FAITH IN HIM AND BE SAVED.
The narrative in Matthew 16 starts with the warning of false doctrine directly from JESUS: The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test JESUS they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. HE answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah."So HE left them and departed. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. JESUS said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." But JESUS, aware of this, said, 'O men of little Faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the Fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the 5 loaves of the 5000, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the 7 loaves of the 4000, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to 'perceive' that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (1-12)
Now when JESUS came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, HE asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the SON of MAN is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." HE said to them, "But who do you say that I AM?" Simeon Peter replied, "YOU ARE the CHRIST, the SON of the LIVING GOD." And JESUS answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who Is In Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD my church, and the powers of Death shall not prevail against it. I WILL GIVE YOU the KEYS of the Kingdom of Heaven, and WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, and WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN." Then HE strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that HE was the CHRIST. (13-20)
We learned from the Scripture that leaven is always a principle of evil and never a principle of good and the religious rulers of the world were trying to trap JESUS and HE is warning His own men to beware of them. The disciples missed the understanding of the leaven at first, thinking that is was a matter of material bread. They should have remembered the 2 miracles that JESUS did providing food for the 5000 and the 4000 - but it was not a matter of material bread. Leaven, according to our Lord's interpretation, is 'false doctrine.' When people speak about the 'leaven of the gospel,' they are using a contradiction of terms. Leaven is never a picture of the gospel. Leaven always is symbol of evil.
If we accept the Lord JESUS CHRIST as an authority, we need to understand what leaven means.
Make note that the LORD's first question:"WHOM do men say that I the Son of Man am?"is testing our Faith even today. JESUS still is the most controversial Person who has ever lived on this earth, and people are still confused about Him.
Simon Peter, being the spokesman for the group of disciples said, "YOU ARE THE CHRIST,"which meant the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One Who was predicted in the Old Testament, and the Lord JESUS was the fulfillment. JESUS said, "Flesh and Blood have not revealed it unto you;" that is "You didn't learn it by being with ME." The disciples had been with JESUS about two and a have years and still they did not perceive at once His Teachings.
JESUS was perceived as the ROCK in which His Church is built! HE is the foundation. Before Him, there could not have been a church until all this these things had taken place. JESUS expressed His desire to be done in the very near future. The gates of death shall not prevail against CHRIST' s church.
JESUS gives the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to those who make the same confession made by Peter knowing WHO HE IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE, and ACCEPT HIM BY FAITH.
If we withhold the WORD, we "bind on earth;" if we give the WORD, we "loose on earth". No man or individual church has the keys -to the exclusion of all other believers. We have the responsibility today to lecture ourselves in the WORD of GOD to know WHO JESUS IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE for us and accept HIM BY FAITH in order to give out the gospel to the world because it is the only way that people can be saved, and we as believers do not be deceived by false doctrines.
During the 3 years of His earthly ministry of teaching, when HE was near to Caesarea Philippi, the ancient Paneion on the slopes of Mt. Hermon, Peter answered His question "Who do men say that I AM?" with the declaration "YOU ARE THE CHRIST."
If we look on a map, we will find 3 Caesareas. Caesarea Philippi is located to the North of the Sea of Galilee. It was on the way to the villages of Caesarea Philippi that JESUS questioned his disciples, giving rise to the meaningful conversation regarding the Christian congregation's rock-mass foundation and the use of the keys of the Kingdom of the heavens.
The earliest appearance of the area in history is as the site of a battle between Egypt and the victorious forces of Antiochus the Great. It was then known as Paneas, a name given in honor of the god Pan, a fertility deity, who was worshiped there. Augustus Caesar gave Paneas to Herod the Great, who thereafter built a white marble temple in the place, dedicating it to Augustus. Herod's son, Philip the tetrarch, later enlarged and beautified the city in honor of Tiberius Caesar. It was then given the name Caesarea and, to distinguish it from the seaport city of the same name, was called Caesarea Philippi.
Still later the city was again enlarged and adorned by Agrippa II and its name changed to Neronias, though this name quickly passed into disuse following the death of Nero. After the destruction of Jerusalem, General Titus staged gladiatorial events there, using captive Jews or other slaves as victims.
In course of time the name of the city reverted to its ancient name of Paneas. The town is now situated at the headwaters of the Jordan River, and since the Arabic language does not use the letter P, the name of the small town is translated as Banyas. At an elevation of 350m/1,150ft above sea level, its location is one of great natural beauty. The town is enclosed on 3 sides by mountains, with the snowcapped peak of Mount Hermon rising majestically to the North East, while to the West extends a lush green plain watered by one of the principal sources of the Jordan springing from a nearby cavern.
The Lord JESUS, in the narrative, is in the North, and HE is in a position from which HE is going to turn and begin a movement directly toward Jerusalem and the cross. Before HE begins the journey, there are 2 things that must be clear in the minds of His disciples : 1) Who HE is, and 2) What HE is going to do. These are the 2 things that all of us have to be clear on in order to be CHRISTIANS.
We have to know WHO HE IS, and we have to know WHAT HE DID, in order to exercise FAITH IN HIM AND BE SAVED.
The narrative in Matthew 16 starts with the warning of false doctrine directly from JESUS: The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test JESUS they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. HE answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah."So HE left them and departed. When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. JESUS said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."And they discussed it among themselves, saying, "We brought no bread." But JESUS, aware of this, said, 'O men of little Faith, why do you discuss among yourselves the Fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the 5 loaves of the 5000, and how many baskets you gathered? Or the 7 loaves of the 4000, and how many baskets you gathered? How is it that you fail to 'perceive' that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (1-12)
Now when JESUS came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, HE asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the SON of MAN is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." HE said to them, "But who do you say that I AM?" Simeon Peter replied, "YOU ARE the CHRIST, the SON of the LIVING GOD." And JESUS answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father Who Is In Heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and ON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD my church, and the powers of Death shall not prevail against it. I WILL GIVE YOU the KEYS of the Kingdom of Heaven, and WHATEVER YOU BIND ON EARTH SHALL BE BOUND IN HEAVEN, and WHATEVER YOU LOOSE ON EARTH SHALL BE LOOSED IN HEAVEN." Then HE strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that HE was the CHRIST. (13-20)
We learned from the Scripture that leaven is always a principle of evil and never a principle of good and the religious rulers of the world were trying to trap JESUS and HE is warning His own men to beware of them. The disciples missed the understanding of the leaven at first, thinking that is was a matter of material bread. They should have remembered the 2 miracles that JESUS did providing food for the 5000 and the 4000 - but it was not a matter of material bread. Leaven, according to our Lord's interpretation, is 'false doctrine.' When people speak about the 'leaven of the gospel,' they are using a contradiction of terms. Leaven is never a picture of the gospel. Leaven always is symbol of evil.
If we accept the Lord JESUS CHRIST as an authority, we need to understand what leaven means.
Make note that the LORD's first question:"WHOM do men say that I the Son of Man am?"is testing our Faith even today. JESUS still is the most controversial Person who has ever lived on this earth, and people are still confused about Him.
Simon Peter, being the spokesman for the group of disciples said, "YOU ARE THE CHRIST,"which meant the Messiah, the Anointed One, the One Who was predicted in the Old Testament, and the Lord JESUS was the fulfillment. JESUS said, "Flesh and Blood have not revealed it unto you;" that is "You didn't learn it by being with ME." The disciples had been with JESUS about two and a have years and still they did not perceive at once His Teachings.
JESUS was perceived as the ROCK in which His Church is built! HE is the foundation. Before Him, there could not have been a church until all this these things had taken place. JESUS expressed His desire to be done in the very near future. The gates of death shall not prevail against CHRIST' s church.
JESUS gives the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven to those who make the same confession made by Peter knowing WHO HE IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE, and ACCEPT HIM BY FAITH.
If we withhold the WORD, we "bind on earth;" if we give the WORD, we "loose on earth". No man or individual church has the keys -to the exclusion of all other believers. We have the responsibility today to lecture ourselves in the WORD of GOD to know WHO JESUS IS and WHAT HE HAS DONE for us and accept HIM BY FAITH in order to give out the gospel to the world because it is the only way that people can be saved, and we as believers do not be deceived by false doctrines.
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