I have a hearing loss problem. I have hearing aids but they don't allow me to understand words that people speak to me. Please pray that God will give me the ability to hear and understand words that people speak to me.
Compare this with the vision of Ezekiel, "and fill thine hand with coals of fire"(Ez.10:2). One of the Seraphim purges the lips of the Prophet as the cherub is assigned to pronounce judgment upon Jerusalem, And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out."(v.7) Law of the Spirit shall quell the law of sin whether in a man or in the world and spirit of the times. The Angel of His presence is signified by the man in linen. He does according to the Word. "And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me."(9:11). The Holy Spirit is unseen but works are obvious. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."( John 3:8)
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his./And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness./ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."(Ro.8:9-11)
Function of angels ("Fellow-servant and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book,-Re.22:9) Cherubim and Seraphim are all the same:"Worship God"
"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar."
The Spirit uses after the principle Similitude sets of three in order to indicate the fulness of God in Jesus Christ.(Col.1:19)
For instance we have the same lake in Galilee named Lake Tiberias or Lake Gennasaret. This shall help us understand the significance of the lake of fire, the ultimate stop for Satan and other sons of perdition. The sea of Galilee, is in fact a lake in Israel through which the Jordan River flows. So we shall look at the night vision in the Book of Daniel. "His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire./A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan.7:9-10). This fiery stream evokes judgment aspect of the Word and by same token the lake through which the river Jordan flows signifies the lake of fire. Considering the river signifies death this comparison is apt. The waters from above the firmament denotes mercy and the fiery stream is synonym for divine wrath.
In the vision of Isaiah, it is not the same throne but God is "sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple./Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings." The Law of the Spirit is here given the name 'seraphim' so seraphim and cherubim are interchangeable for the Law. In the vision of John the four beasts were as memorial before God. From the Isaiah account (6:1-10) it is clear that the temple is in fact the heart and prior to his ministry the law of sin operating in the prophet has to be purged. "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (v.7). Compare this with the vision of Ezekiel, "and fill thine hand with coals of fire"(Ez.10:2)
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Spirit of uncleanness has no body to disintegrate it like the eternal liver of Prometheus eaten alive by an eagle only to grow back by night to be eaten by day and it goes on forever. Satan may speak,"and my sin is ever before me," but there is no remedy there.
In the lament on the king of Tyrus we have this prophesy, "Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." The same punishment meted out to the body and spirit under the law of sin. The very pride of the cherub becomes his destruction. In the midst of the fire is given a place, a lake self-contained. "Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee,"(28:16,18). This shall explain law of sin in terms of the body. The fable of Jotham, refers to the fire and it comes from the midst of the bramble. "And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon."(Ju.9:15). Who set fire in the world so the wickedness rampant in the old world is as fierce as was then? The law of sin of course. God is a righteous Judge. Satan works from the beginning and it shows the heart without God is like bramble. All the isms the seven heads of the beast for instance keep on rolling one after the other. What see in Gaza the genocide, rules of engagement are penned by the devil himself. Nations that aid and abet sons of perdition, to which the false prophet with two horns like the lamb are as much accomplices as the man who wields the sceptre. Every heart that is not set right before God shall share some blame.
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
Before the throne of God the Spirit presents the Law of the Spirit given a body and it is a memorial. The voice came from the midst of the four beasts thatcame from the Word which is God.(Re.4:6) The covering cherub was judged so his throne is in whosoever lent his heart to advance his lies. The Beast was one such as Prince of Tyrus before him. Of the latter the pit is reserved."And thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:/Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;/ Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness./They shall bring thee down to the pit."(Ez.28:5-8).Anti-Christ is a son of perdition so Satan the father of lies gives him two horns and 'after our likeness' explains the label of 'anti-christ. He may pass for any minister of God in his deportment and also cite Scripture as Satan tempted Jesus, but the voice comes from the devil."He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. "( 1 John 3:8)
This aspect of Son of man we see in the inaugural vision of St John." And his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."(Re.1:14-15) Sound of many waters reveal the salvation aspect of the Word while the fire is an emblem of the Spirit and "Of Judgement because the prince of this world is judged."( John 16:8-11). "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived...These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."(Re.19:20)
Thanks again for your encouraging words. I have been traveling to visit family so I haven't been able to post for a while. I'm going to try and squeeze in a few more studies soon. I should be back home the last week of September.
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."
God has set his throne in heaven (Ps.103:17-20)which in John's vision was on the sea of glass. Further along we see it is a sea of glass mixed with fire. The same throne we see in the night visions as a fiery theone. The Holy Spirit sets the world unseen in concrete imagery so we are to look at them as manifestations of his holiness. After our likeness, the Law of the Spirit presented the Lamb slain, the Lamb of God and a throne of God and of the Lamb. The firmament is the face so the Psalmist considers it as a glass.
This glory is set in our hearts. When we love God with our whole heart and whole mind we are changing from glory to glory. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Co.3:18) How shall we explain 'with open face' but our works? James explains the purpose of this glass and says," But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Faith that bonds the worlds framed by the word of God shall always sets this glass. When you adjust your lives accordingly it is an open face. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."( John 3:19-21) With open face we prove our inner lives," that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Satan hates this light so he has to work with subtility and serpent fitted his purpose similarly with men. "And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." The beast is yet another example. They who prosper Satan's lies are sons of perdition. Then as now.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." St Paul has also given this verse before we go further. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Ph.4:7) One way is to make truth work for you. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."(Ps.119:11) This word is a double edged sword separating the thoughts and desires and making known to you before these join forces to trip you up. (He.4:12-13) David sinned over the Bathsheba and it was in his failure to turn away before it was too late. (2 Sa.11) What lust conceives is deadly as his life shows. The covering cherub we shall follow, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." The iniquity of pride followed the law of sin, which is a throne itself since it does not acknowledge the Law, or the Law of the Spirit which the Word signifies. The throne of God presented St John is represented in terms of precious stones. "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." God of peace is in the perfect amity of Power and Wisdom, glory of it as a rainbow.
About the throne we have body of the Law the seven lamps as the spirit and soul is the Lamb slain. (Re.4:3; 5:6). These as a memorial gives man a firm footing so we are to follow the requirements of the Word. Satan the covering cherub is a spirit so King of Tyre supplies the body. Hence this lamentation is taken against him, "Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God,"(Ez.28:2). Similarly Satan needed the serpent to beguile Eve. He is the father of lies, and the churches are under his constant attack. Hence the warning
Thanks for doing this work, just a question on the Greek word I am, it is in the Scripture 100s of times. The Greek word eimi meaning I exist, I am, Greek verb which expresses being. I may be wrong, but I don't see applying the title of God when it does have the Greek word gar meaning for, indeed a conjunction used to express cause, explanation, inference, or continuation, its sense is shaped by the preceding statement.
To me, Jesus is not saying I am, YHWH, He is just saying "ye say well for I am", they are correct in calling Him their Master/Teacher and Lord because that is what He was and is.
Father God I ask that You Bless me to have a safe trip to Drill this weekend and that I am protected from all forms of manipulations and from things trying to hinder me from reaching SGT in the military. I ask for a Blessed day at work and I ask that You protect me from all forms of manipulations people try to place on me daily to hinder me, I ask all these things in Lord Jesus Christ Name, amen.
I am doing well. Rested most of the day yesterday. Go to the dr. today for a post-op visit. My eyesight is good without my glasses so that is a good aside from having my cataracts gone.
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
In the beginning was the Word, of which the Law represents the will of God. the world unseen. The second death is set according to the works, which is the world made to appear so the everlasting covenant refers the blessings that are conferred on man in the Word made flesh. God has his own way of entering faith so works is in context of the eternal Word and the Man to whom God has entrusted. " No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."( John 6:44) 'After our likeness' sets Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd while the Lord God is 'my shepherd'. The unseen emblem of the slain Lamb is made to appear so the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ fulfilling the will of his Father. (" I kept them in thy name,"- John 17:12). This mode of inversion shall continue so second death spells out how our 'works' are evidence, and this body of evidence has been translated into 'works'. Yes, dear brethren do not let false teacher deprive of your prize by their heresies, "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith./But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. "(2 The.3:2-3). Abiding in Christ and as a branch bringing forth fruits are also part of the evidence.
God commanded Adam, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."(Ge.2:17) The Spirit refers to his physical death (Ge.5:5) Second death refers to the unseen world of his soul and he also shall be judged according to the book of life. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."(v.17). This fire is unquenchable. "For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out."(Pr.24:20). Only the blessed are in the Book of Remembrance. (Mal.3:16)
John 14:1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Let not your heart be troubled: that's a command. What is interesting is that earlier Jesus was troubled in spirit. The word troubled is TARASO, for agitated. He used the same word for the disciples. But He said your heart, the very control center of your life. Let not your heart be troubled. Listen to this: You are believing in God, and here's the command, believe also in me.
What is He saying? You are already believing in God. Now believe in me. You will still be believing in God. You believe in God, but now transfer that over to me because I am God in the flesh. That is what He is saying!
John 14:2 - In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
The word for mansions (MONAE) is the representative, and it means "a dwelling place." It is actually the noun form of the word for abide. It is an abiding place, a dwelling place. Jesus is starting to make the emphasis on the key words to this section. Unfortunately, the word MONAE in Greek never refers to "mansions" as we know a mansion to be. They are dwelling places!
The word MONAE is only found here in Verse 2 and in Verse 23 of this chapter. This is the only two places where the word is found. In Verse 23, it is sort of like a bookend. He starts out by saying "in my Father's house are many dwelling places."
Now in John 14:23, listen to this: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
Where's the dwelling place? Right here! Me/You! Jesus says, "We will come and make our abode with Him." In John 14:2, it sounds like He's doing that in heaven, but He has to go in order to come back. He can't send the Holy Spirit until he leaves. He's getting ready to prepare a place for us!
John 13:21 - When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
The word troubled means agitated, TARASO, agitated! If you picture a top loading washing machine, that's what it means, just going back and forth. He is agitated. The term "in spirit" doesn't mean the Holy Spirit. It means His inner person, His inner self. He was troubled. The word "betray" means deliver over.
John 13:22 - Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
Then the disciples looked, and that's the Imperfect Tense. They were continuously looking one to another, doubting of whom he spake.
John 13:34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Jesus says, a new commandment I give unto you. And I want to share a technical Greek point here with you. He says "A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another;
In the Greek text, there is what is called a "HINA clause" here. He is not saying that is the command. He's saying, "I'm giving you a new command in order that you love one another!" Now Jesus has not given the command yet. The new command will be in John 14:1. This is why diagramming the sentences from an original language perspective gives you a heads-up on the context of sections. There is no command until Chapter 14 Verse 1. "Love" is not a new command.
But I'm giving you this new command in order that, (purpose clause), that you love one another according as I have loved you, in order that you also love one another. In comparison, how did He love them? Well, He showed them the extreme love by washing their feet. He is showing them the love of God by voluntarily laying down His life for them. That is the message and impression that He is leaving for them.
John 13:12 - So, after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
So, after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, again that is the HIMATIA. HIMATION is your outer garment. He put His outer garment back on, and was set down again, literally He reclined at the table. These were tables about a foot off the ground, 12 inches high, and they laid on cushions with their left elbow on the table and their feet outstretched, and with the right hand they would reach over, and they would take the food.
Everybody in the table is facing in the same direction. Everybody has got one elbow on the table. I mention this to you so that you can understand why later on John would lean on Jesus' chest to ask Him a question. That is because he's right next to Jesus and when you're leaning back to ask a private question, your elbow and that part of your back is actually touching the person's chest.
John 13:13 - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Two technical points I want to share with you: The word "master" is the word teacher, DIDASKALOS. You call me teacher and Lord and you say well, for so I am. But that last little phrase doesn't say "and so I am" in the Greek. It just says and "I AM," the title of God in the book of Exodus. It is a title. There is no "so" and no "he." It is simply "And I AM."
John 13:17 - If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
The word happy, MAKARIOS, means to experience the fullness of something. It doesn't mean happy as pertaining to the flesh, but rather experiencing the fullness of the Spirit of Christ.
John 13:9 - Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
So, Peter is going to extremes in both directions. I refuse to let you wash my feet. And Jesus says if you don't let me wash your feet you have no part with me. Peter says, "Well then give me a bath. Bathe me all over because I don't want to reject you. I want to be fully in relation with you!"
There are two words that are being handled here in this text that's very important here in Verse 10. LUO in the Greek without the OMICRON or letter O means to destroy. But LUO with the diphthong, the OU, means to bathe all over. The word NIPTO means wash. That is Hebrew for wash. NIPTO is to wash, as in hands and feet. Now a washing is just washing the hands or washing the feet, and they would use the term NIPTO. To bathe all over, they would use the word LUO.
John 13:10 - Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
So, he that is washed is the word LUO. The person who is bathed has no need to wash except for his feet whenever he gets his feet dirty. It was even a custom during Passover time that people took baths and then when they arrived at the guest's home, all he had to do was wash their feet, and they were clean all over.
So, Jesus says the person who washes or bathes has no need to wash but his feet, but he is clean every whit. The term "every whit" is the word "whole" HOLOS, whole or complete. He's completely clean!
If you've been bathed, and you have had your feet washed, you are completely wholly clean, but not all. What? Did one of them not take a bath? He's indicating a cleansing that Judas (remember Judas is still here) is the one that is not clean spiritually. So, it's not all!
John 13:4 - He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
Now His garments, the outer garment, or the coat if you will is called a HIMATIA. That is what He took off. He took off His HIMATIA, His outward garments. The CHITON is the inner garment. He did not take off the inner garment. And some people think that would be pretty embarrassing, that He took of all His clothes and then wrapped a towel around Him.
Well, He wasn't naked! He had His inner garments fully clothed. He took off the outer garment, which would be like a cloak, and He laid them aside. And thirdly, He took a towel and girded Himself. That is, He wrapped the towel around Himself in such a way so as to not only to wash the disciples' feet, but also to dry them. And they have pictures of slaves doing this with the towel draped around their waist and over their shoulders, so that they could pull it down and be wiping their feet off.
John 13:7 - Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
This is one of the keys to understanding what this section is teaching us. He says first all "What I do you don't know now." Well, they know what He is doing! But obviously they don't really know completely all what He's doing. The word "now" used in this verse, and there's a couple of words for now. The word NOOUN means now in time. But this is ARTE, which means "up till now," you have not known what I am doing, but you will know hereafter.
Now the term "hereafter" is actually plural. After these things, you will know. So not just foot washing, because the foot washing is the introduction to this whole section going up through Chapter 15. After these things are over, you will know what I did to you and what the teaching is. So, this entire lesson through Chapter 15, He says you don't know up till now what I've been doing, but you will know after these things.
Lord Jesus again asking for extra strong protection and breakthrough for us and all in need. Please also help with the family conflict, the sermon on Sunday, the trip next week. Please help all suffering and still save many. Thank you.
Thank you very much and God bless.
Compare this with the vision of Ezekiel, "and fill thine hand with coals of fire"(Ez.10:2). One of the Seraphim purges the lips of the Prophet as the cherub is assigned to pronounce judgment upon Jerusalem, And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims unto the fire that was between the cherubims, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with linen: who took it, and went out."(v.7) Law of the Spirit shall quell the law of sin whether in a man or in the world and spirit of the times. The Angel of His presence is signified by the man in linen. He does according to the Word. "And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me."(9:11). The Holy Spirit is unseen but works are obvious. "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."( John 3:8)
"But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his./And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness./ But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you."(Ro.8:9-11)
Function of angels ("Fellow-servant and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book,-Re.22:9) Cherubim and Seraphim are all the same:"Worship God"
"Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar."
The Spirit uses after the principle Similitude sets of three in order to indicate the fulness of God in Jesus Christ.(Col.1:19)
For instance we have the same lake in Galilee named Lake Tiberias or Lake Gennasaret. This shall help us understand the significance of the lake of fire, the ultimate stop for Satan and other sons of perdition. The sea of Galilee, is in fact a lake in Israel through which the Jordan River flows. So we shall look at the night vision in the Book of Daniel. "His throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire./A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan.7:9-10). This fiery stream evokes judgment aspect of the Word and by same token the lake through which the river Jordan flows signifies the lake of fire. Considering the river signifies death this comparison is apt. The waters from above the firmament denotes mercy and the fiery stream is synonym for divine wrath.
In the vision of Isaiah, it is not the same throne but God is "sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple./Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings." The Law of the Spirit is here given the name 'seraphim' so seraphim and cherubim are interchangeable for the Law. In the vision of John the four beasts were as memorial before God. From the Isaiah account (6:1-10) it is clear that the temple is in fact the heart and prior to his ministry the law of sin operating in the prophet has to be purged. "And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (v.7). Compare this with the vision of Ezekiel, "and fill thine hand with coals of fire"(Ez.10:2)
By the way, I was specifically speaking of John 13:34-35.
Understanding what defines command and understanding how it applies, especially in this passage is very important.
God bless.
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
Spirit of uncleanness has no body to disintegrate it like the eternal liver of Prometheus eaten alive by an eagle only to grow back by night to be eaten by day and it goes on forever. Satan may speak,"and my sin is ever before me," but there is no remedy there.
In the lament on the king of Tyrus we have this prophesy, "Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." The same punishment meted out to the body and spirit under the law of sin. The very pride of the cherub becomes his destruction. In the midst of the fire is given a place, a lake self-contained. "Therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee,"(28:16,18). This shall explain law of sin in terms of the body. The fable of Jotham, refers to the fire and it comes from the midst of the bramble. "And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon."(Ju.9:15). Who set fire in the world so the wickedness rampant in the old world is as fierce as was then? The law of sin of course. God is a righteous Judge. Satan works from the beginning and it shows the heart without God is like bramble. All the isms the seven heads of the beast for instance keep on rolling one after the other. What see in Gaza the genocide, rules of engagement are penned by the devil himself. Nations that aid and abet sons of perdition, to which the false prophet with two horns like the lamb are as much accomplices as the man who wields the sceptre. Every heart that is not set right before God shall share some blame.
"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon."
Before the throne of God the Spirit presents the Law of the Spirit given a body and it is a memorial. The voice came from the midst of the four beasts thatcame from the Word which is God.(Re.4:6) The covering cherub was judged so his throne is in whosoever lent his heart to advance his lies. The Beast was one such as Prince of Tyrus before him. Of the latter the pit is reserved."And thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:/Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;/ Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness./They shall bring thee down to the pit."(Ez.28:5-8).Anti-Christ is a son of perdition so Satan the father of lies gives him two horns and 'after our likeness' explains the label of 'anti-christ. He may pass for any minister of God in his deportment and also cite Scripture as Satan tempted Jesus, but the voice comes from the devil."He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. "( 1 John 3:8)
This aspect of Son of man we see in the inaugural vision of St John." And his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters."(Re.1:14-15) Sound of many waters reveal the salvation aspect of the Word while the fire is an emblem of the Spirit and "Of Judgement because the prince of this world is judged."( John 16:8-11). "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived...These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone."(Re.19:20)
Thanks again for your encouraging words. I have been traveling to visit family so I haven't been able to post for a while. I'm going to try and squeeze in a few more studies soon. I should be back home the last week of September.
God bless!!!
We do see this one differently. I see Jesus using the title of God for Himself, claiming to be the great I AM of the OT, just as He did in John 8:58.
Thank you for taking the time time to read these things I am sharing and blessings to you also!
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork."
God has set his throne in heaven (Ps.103:17-20)which in John's vision was on the sea of glass. Further along we see it is a sea of glass mixed with fire. The same throne we see in the night visions as a fiery theone. The Holy Spirit sets the world unseen in concrete imagery so we are to look at them as manifestations of his holiness. After our likeness, the Law of the Spirit presented the Lamb slain, the Lamb of God and a throne of God and of the Lamb. The firmament is the face so the Psalmist considers it as a glass.
This glory is set in our hearts. When we love God with our whole heart and whole mind we are changing from glory to glory. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Co.3:18) How shall we explain 'with open face' but our works? James explains the purpose of this glass and says," But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." Faith that bonds the worlds framed by the word of God shall always sets this glass. When you adjust your lives accordingly it is an open face. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."( John 3:19-21) With open face we prove our inner lives," that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Satan hates this light so he has to work with subtility and serpent fitted his purpose similarly with men. "And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed." The beast is yet another example. They who prosper Satan's lies are sons of perdition. Then as now.
"For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints." St Paul has also given this verse before we go further. "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Ph.4:7) One way is to make truth work for you. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee."(Ps.119:11) This word is a double edged sword separating the thoughts and desires and making known to you before these join forces to trip you up. (He.4:12-13) David sinned over the Bathsheba and it was in his failure to turn away before it was too late. (2 Sa.11) What lust conceives is deadly as his life shows. The covering cherub we shall follow, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." The iniquity of pride followed the law of sin, which is a throne itself since it does not acknowledge the Law, or the Law of the Spirit which the Word signifies. The throne of God presented St John is represented in terms of precious stones. "And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald." God of peace is in the perfect amity of Power and Wisdom, glory of it as a rainbow.
About the throne we have body of the Law the seven lamps as the spirit and soul is the Lamb slain. (Re.4:3; 5:6). These as a memorial gives man a firm footing so we are to follow the requirements of the Word. Satan the covering cherub is a spirit so King of Tyre supplies the body. Hence this lamentation is taken against him, "Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God,"(Ez.28:2). Similarly Satan needed the serpent to beguile Eve. He is the father of lies, and the churches are under his constant attack. Hence the warning
I remember a few years ago you spoke on this portion of scripture.
Very insightful!
God bless you!
I will be praying for you and your son also.
God bless you.
Thanks for doing this work, just a question on the Greek word I am, it is in the Scripture 100s of times. The Greek word eimi meaning I exist, I am, Greek verb which expresses being. I may be wrong, but I don't see applying the title of God when it does have the Greek word gar meaning for, indeed a conjunction used to express cause, explanation, inference, or continuation, its sense is shaped by the preceding statement.
To me, Jesus is not saying I am, YHWH, He is just saying "ye say well for I am", they are correct in calling Him their Master/Teacher and Lord because that is what He was and is.
God bless,
RLW
I am doing well. Rested most of the day yesterday. Go to the dr. today for a post-op visit. My eyesight is good without my glasses so that is a good aside from having my cataracts gone.
"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
In the beginning was the Word, of which the Law represents the will of God. the world unseen. The second death is set according to the works, which is the world made to appear so the everlasting covenant refers the blessings that are conferred on man in the Word made flesh. God has his own way of entering faith so works is in context of the eternal Word and the Man to whom God has entrusted. " No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day."( John 6:44) 'After our likeness' sets Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd while the Lord God is 'my shepherd'. The unseen emblem of the slain Lamb is made to appear so the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ fulfilling the will of his Father. (" I kept them in thy name,"- John 17:12). This mode of inversion shall continue so second death spells out how our 'works' are evidence, and this body of evidence has been translated into 'works'. Yes, dear brethren do not let false teacher deprive of your prize by their heresies, "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith./But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. "(2 The.3:2-3). Abiding in Christ and as a branch bringing forth fruits are also part of the evidence.
God commanded Adam, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."(Ge.2:17) The Spirit refers to his physical death (Ge.5:5) Second death refers to the unseen world of his soul and he also shall be judged according to the book of life. "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."(v.17). This fire is unquenchable. "For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out."(Pr.24:20). Only the blessed are in the Book of Remembrance. (Mal.3:16)
John 14:1 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
Let not your heart be troubled: that's a command. What is interesting is that earlier Jesus was troubled in spirit. The word troubled is TARASO, for agitated. He used the same word for the disciples. But He said your heart, the very control center of your life. Let not your heart be troubled. Listen to this: You are believing in God, and here's the command, believe also in me.
What is He saying? You are already believing in God. Now believe in me. You will still be believing in God. You believe in God, but now transfer that over to me because I am God in the flesh. That is what He is saying!
John 14:2 - In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
The word for mansions (MONAE) is the representative, and it means "a dwelling place." It is actually the noun form of the word for abide. It is an abiding place, a dwelling place. Jesus is starting to make the emphasis on the key words to this section. Unfortunately, the word MONAE in Greek never refers to "mansions" as we know a mansion to be. They are dwelling places!
The word MONAE is only found here in Verse 2 and in Verse 23 of this chapter. This is the only two places where the word is found. In Verse 23, it is sort of like a bookend. He starts out by saying "in my Father's house are many dwelling places."
Now in John 14:23, listen to this: "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
Where's the dwelling place? Right here! Me/You! Jesus says, "We will come and make our abode with Him." In John 14:2, it sounds like He's doing that in heaven, but He has to go in order to come back. He can't send the Holy Spirit until he leaves. He's getting ready to prepare a place for us!
John 13:21 - When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
The word troubled means agitated, TARASO, agitated! If you picture a top loading washing machine, that's what it means, just going back and forth. He is agitated. The term "in spirit" doesn't mean the Holy Spirit. It means His inner person, His inner self. He was troubled. The word "betray" means deliver over.
John 13:22 - Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.
Then the disciples looked, and that's the Imperfect Tense. They were continuously looking one to another, doubting of whom he spake.
John 13:34 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Jesus says, a new commandment I give unto you. And I want to share a technical Greek point here with you. He says "A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another;
In the Greek text, there is what is called a "HINA clause" here. He is not saying that is the command. He's saying, "I'm giving you a new command in order that you love one another!" Now Jesus has not given the command yet. The new command will be in John 14:1. This is why diagramming the sentences from an original language perspective gives you a heads-up on the context of sections. There is no command until Chapter 14 Verse 1. "Love" is not a new command.
But I'm giving you this new command in order that, (purpose clause), that you love one another according as I have loved you, in order that you also love one another. In comparison, how did He love them? Well, He showed them the extreme love by washing their feet. He is showing them the love of God by voluntarily laying down His life for them. That is the message and impression that He is leaving for them.
John 13:12 - So, after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
So, after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, again that is the HIMATIA. HIMATION is your outer garment. He put His outer garment back on, and was set down again, literally He reclined at the table. These were tables about a foot off the ground, 12 inches high, and they laid on cushions with their left elbow on the table and their feet outstretched, and with the right hand they would reach over, and they would take the food.
Everybody in the table is facing in the same direction. Everybody has got one elbow on the table. I mention this to you so that you can understand why later on John would lean on Jesus' chest to ask Him a question. That is because he's right next to Jesus and when you're leaning back to ask a private question, your elbow and that part of your back is actually touching the person's chest.
John 13:13 - Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
Two technical points I want to share with you: The word "master" is the word teacher, DIDASKALOS. You call me teacher and Lord and you say well, for so I am. But that last little phrase doesn't say "and so I am" in the Greek. It just says and "I AM," the title of God in the book of Exodus. It is a title. There is no "so" and no "he." It is simply "And I AM."
John 13:17 - If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
The word happy, MAKARIOS, means to experience the fullness of something. It doesn't mean happy as pertaining to the flesh, but rather experiencing the fullness of the Spirit of Christ.
John 13:9 - Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
So, Peter is going to extremes in both directions. I refuse to let you wash my feet. And Jesus says if you don't let me wash your feet you have no part with me. Peter says, "Well then give me a bath. Bathe me all over because I don't want to reject you. I want to be fully in relation with you!"
There are two words that are being handled here in this text that's very important here in Verse 10. LUO in the Greek without the OMICRON or letter O means to destroy. But LUO with the diphthong, the OU, means to bathe all over. The word NIPTO means wash. That is Hebrew for wash. NIPTO is to wash, as in hands and feet. Now a washing is just washing the hands or washing the feet, and they would use the term NIPTO. To bathe all over, they would use the word LUO.
John 13:10 - Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
So, he that is washed is the word LUO. The person who is bathed has no need to wash except for his feet whenever he gets his feet dirty. It was even a custom during Passover time that people took baths and then when they arrived at the guest's home, all he had to do was wash their feet, and they were clean all over.
So, Jesus says the person who washes or bathes has no need to wash but his feet, but he is clean every whit. The term "every whit" is the word "whole" HOLOS, whole or complete. He's completely clean!
If you've been bathed, and you have had your feet washed, you are completely wholly clean, but not all. What? Did one of them not take a bath? He's indicating a cleansing that Judas (remember Judas is still here) is the one that is not clean spiritually. So, it's not all!
John (Part 21):
John 13:4 - He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
Now His garments, the outer garment, or the coat if you will is called a HIMATIA. That is what He took off. He took off His HIMATIA, His outward garments. The CHITON is the inner garment. He did not take off the inner garment. And some people think that would be pretty embarrassing, that He took of all His clothes and then wrapped a towel around Him.
Well, He wasn't naked! He had His inner garments fully clothed. He took off the outer garment, which would be like a cloak, and He laid them aside. And thirdly, He took a towel and girded Himself. That is, He wrapped the towel around Himself in such a way so as to not only to wash the disciples' feet, but also to dry them. And they have pictures of slaves doing this with the towel draped around their waist and over their shoulders, so that they could pull it down and be wiping their feet off.
John 13:7 - Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
This is one of the keys to understanding what this section is teaching us. He says first all "What I do you don't know now." Well, they know what He is doing! But obviously they don't really know completely all what He's doing. The word "now" used in this verse, and there's a couple of words for now. The word NOOUN means now in time. But this is ARTE, which means "up till now," you have not known what I am doing, but you will know hereafter.
Now the term "hereafter" is actually plural. After these things, you will know. So not just foot washing, because the foot washing is the introduction to this whole section going up through Chapter 15. After these things are over, you will know what I did to you and what the teaching is. So, this entire lesson through Chapter 15, He says you don't know up till now what I've been doing, but you will know after these things.