Thank you for your reply, many consider this subject non-discussable.
As for Luke 15 and 16, if one takes this as a real story that would mean when we die, we go to Hades, the saved go to the good side and the lost are in the flames. I am sorry I do not see that in Scripture, this chapter is parables given to the Pharisees and scribes for their murmuring and their unrighteous love of mammon/money and their neglect of the true riches.
I understand you and others do not believe we sleep in death until the resurrection. The Greek philosophy of the meaning of death is the separation of the soul from the body, and our soul is immortal which was introduced into the Roman Church this is not from Scripture our soul can die, Daniel 12:21 Thessalonians 4:14, and many more.
The word Godhead is in the KJV 3 times, three different Greek words meaning Divine, Divinity, and Deity changed to Godhead in the 16th Century, which can be misleading. My understanding is Jesus's victory was not won until God raised Jesus from death. "His soul was proclaiming the truth to the lost in hades" I suppose this is from 1 Peter 3:18-20, nowhere does this say Jesus was in Hades, these are people before the flood and it also says it was after He was quickened by the Spirit, so He was not in the grave.
Ephesians 4:8 Jesus led captivity captive that is those in captivity of sin captive to Himself, not OT saints from the grave. If the OT saints were resurrected when He was why would He leave David, Acts 2:29-34 the Firstfruits will not be raised until Jesus returns.
In John 8:28 "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he" Matthew 27:50-54 is the fulfillment. Jesus was in and out of consciousness on the cross when He cried out the word resurrection is a Greek word meaning waking up, all the things in 51-53 happened when Jesus died, the saints did not go to heaven they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many.
One God, a unified one, Hebrew word "echad" used in Deut. 6:4-5 for the Shema and also for the oneness of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct persons, but all co-equal, co-eternal, and equally God to the fullest.
In Scripture, especially the NT God is revealed by Jesus to be three distinct "persons" though one God, one Being, and one divine nature.
Jesus speaks of the Father and the Spirit in ways that show that each are distinct in their personal identity. He uses the terms he, we, him, us, you, yours, etc. He prays to the Father and says He and the Father send the Spirit to live in believers and in doing so, the Father and the Son also live in believers due to the unity of the three persons. There is only one God, not three, but this True God has three distinctions who possess attributes of personhood: consciousness, will, love, power, free agency, intellect and knowledge, among some. Each of the three persons are called God in the Scriptures, and each of the three persons are described in Scripture as having the same divine attributes.
This threeness is not as Modalist/Sabellianians state as one person acting in three different modes. The baptism of Jesus shows us that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct from one another and they were all three viewed in this singe event.
Nor is this threeness showing that there are three separate Gods, because they are distinct from each other, but always fully unified in the divine Being of God.
And there is not one God who is the Father, and Jesus His Son is a different person of a different order (human or demi-god), and the Holy Spirit is simply an impersonal power or force as Unitarians propose. As I have shown in my posts on God is Spirit and God is Savior and God is the Son, using Scripture, all three persons are personal, distinct, interactive with each other, and divine. Because I have cited Scripture for this in those posts, I am not going to repost them in this one. But I do urge people to be like Bereans and check out the Scripture reference I posted to see if what I have claimed is true.
There are a few brief points I would make to your inquiry.
There is no such thing as "soul sleep". This is clearly seen with the very real story of Lazarus and the rich man; but also could be pointed out from Christ's time in the grave where corruption could not overtake him as prophesied in David's Psalm someplace.
We also see that Jesus did indeed have the authority to teach in the synagogues with reasoning beyond His years causing men to marvel and He stated then that He was doing the "Fathers' business".
As a member of the Godhead Jesus was fully God and fully man but not in the same position and role as the Father. These exchanges of heavenly glory to be humbled as a man and then highly exalted were a blip in time of the timeless Creator; Jesus Himself. He was able to come out of eternity past; appear in one time and place in the destined role as substitutionary atonement and sacrifice; then enter back into eternal glory. All of His humbling was for our sake; He came and lived a perfect life trusting only in the Spirit which is the only way He could represent man; hence we in theory also ought to be perfect and sinless but of course none of us do. Then He had to die and take on the sin of men. His soul was at no point dead as the "it is finished" demonstrates the minute he breathed His last the victory was won. His soul was proclaiming the truth to the lost in hades after that and He also released the captives (souls) of the O.T. saints; also very much alive in the pleasant part of hades at the time along with the wicked who remain there until this day for the final judgment. Many at the time came out of their graves at the Resurrection as the "first of the firstfruits".
If God didn't through the Son overcome death we couldn't live eternally with Him in heaven. He bears the marks of His crucifixion and still appears more or less as He did when on earth in His resurrected body; but the fullness of glory brings the reaction in Rev. 1.
Jesus said I am the way "the truth and the life" in John 14:6
1 John 5:20 also speaks of us coming to the truth (God) and that we come to Truth (God) in Jesus.
1John 5:6 says that the Spirit is the truth
Go is TRUE, FAITHFUL, AND TRUSTWORTHY
Is. 65:16 says that God is the God of truth.
Heb. 6:18 says that God cannot lie.
Prov. 30:5 says that every word God speaks is true.
Ps 33:4 speaks of all of God's works are done in faithfulness and that all of His words are upright.
Mt. 22:16 speaks of Jesus as true and that He speaks what is true.
Rev. 21:5 says that the words spoken by God (Jesus) are trustworthy and true.
Rev. 19:11 says that Jesus is named Faithful and True.
We can trust as true all that God has chosen to be written in Scriptures because He is faithful and true in every way: in what he says, does and in Who He is. He will never lie or deceive us, never change from being righteous and true to being sinful and evil. He is forever our source of truth and He grants us to be enlightened by the Truth of Himself.
This is not to debate; If you do not want to answer, maybe someone else will, if not that's ok. How can it be said God who cannot die died for our sins? Does not Scripture say God did not give Himself but His only begotten Son? Jesus was the final and complete sacrifice for our sins, and the death of Christ as our substitute is the heart of the gospel.
When God formed the first Adam, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul/being, and without this breath/spirit of life that goes back to God when we die, whether we have done good or evil, we are a dead soul/being until we are resurrected and this is when we receive our reward whether to eternal life with Him or the second death in the lake of fire.
Jesus did not have any authority until His Father gave it to Him when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit on the banks of the river Jordan. Jesus was given to die for us, Jesus was given power and authority, Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure, Jesus was given the words He said, all Jesus did was the will of the Father, not His. Jesus even said His Father was His God and His Father was greater than He.
If we say God died for our sins, do we make Jesus's sacrifice and death a charade, and not the truth because it is something God is incapable of doing, is to die.
God bless us and let His Spirit show us the truth regardless of the understanding we have now. Matthew 15:9 As Jesus said all things that the Father hath has been given to Him John 16:13-15.
I'm going to include copies of some of what you have said and then comment.
"I believe there are no perfect English translations of the Bible (including the KJB) when they are put to the test."
"You tell me that you "know" that the KJB was written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I am not denying that"
So, are you saying that the authors of the KJB did the best they could but their translation is not perfect? Are you saying you don't deny that I believe the KJB was written by God or that you don't deny it was written by God.
Also, how do we test it, against what? IF you might respond by saying the original writings, which you believe are perfect, why can't you believe that God knew mankind would not have access to those perfect manuscripts so He moved on King James to have them written through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost into a cohesive English bible for us to use just like the original manuscripts were? The idea of "modern men to publish other versions of His bible from manuscripts that weren't pure, according to the early church which didn't canonized them, did not come from God because they can be tested against the Holy Ghost inspired KJB and are corrupt enough, according to the testing I, and others have done that they are harmful?
They are Satan's substitute to get God's word to draw people away from His truth. I DON'T BELIEVE people are satanists or sinners because they use these versions but I do believe they shouldn't use them.
On more thing, and excuse me for being blunt, but you seem to be willing to put a lot of work, study and effort into showing the KJB isn't perfect and yet not a minutes time to show that, perhaps, the NIV and others are corrupt and shouldn't be used. There's a lot to learn about why I believe they are corrupt and I tried to show you a little of that but you weren't interested.
If it seems I'm getting a little bit testy about this whole subject I guess I'm just getting tired of my Lord's precious bible being questioned. We have said several times we were going to stop this discussion and I am ready to do that. If you choose to respond to these comments, that is fine, I will read them but I doubt I will answer anymore. God Bless :)
The Psalm 84 is how our souls long for where flesh is steadily falling away and our confidences with it. "My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." This psalm appeals to a believer because it is promised to him no matter what his present circumstances are. " For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."(v.10) Our heart is like a door and Christ promised us his abiding presence. "if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Re.3:20) "I in him and he in me" explains this bond. It is like Soul of Jonathan, "that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."(1 Sa.18:1). What a difference it was from King Saul towards David? He wanted him at the table so he could at any moment kill him. An unclean spirit had already taken hold of the king. So wisely the Spirit instructs us, " Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:/For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."(Pr.23:6-7). Look around the world. The fixer who would take a bullet for his boss would rue that he ever came any closer to man whose unvarnished soul cared only for himself. The devil is like roaring lion walking about. Cursed is any man who would entangle with evil men.
"Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord./There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us./Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased."(Ps.4:5-7)
Christ cleansed us with his own blood."the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."
Fulness of Christ is like a seed in itself so 'thy word is truth' and indweiing Spirit helps you sprout and put out shoots leaves and fruits. Our abundance is not of ourselves but of his fulness. " I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."( John 15:5). This is the tree of righteousness planted by the waters. (Ps.1:3) The tree is an emblem of heaven earth and lower parts becoming crystallised so we are bound to time and place yet we are on the right side of the river and of the tree of life.(Re.22:1)
We are also as Christ promised his apostles., "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt.4:19) We are like fishers in the vision of Ezekiel, " And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. "(Ez.47:10)
Instead what do we find prayer request a week ago in this forum but conspiracy theories insinuating 'this senile guy sniffing kids' and the prayer for Trump. For instance the shooter is not a lone wolf as evident in this, "I have been praying. And yes, it seems that there may be more to this than just the 20 year old shooter." It is what spirit of the times have made the simple spread lies under 'pious' statement. True believers ought to compare spiritual with spiritual and aid and abet the unrighteous. This strong delusion is from the spirit of the times.
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
The preceding verse gives us a context and it is the spirit of the anti-christ which,"and even now already is it in the world." So et us be vigilant. James in his epistle asks, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."(Jas.4:4). So first we shall settle 'what is greater in you." St John speaks, You are of God, and in the pluperfect tense our victory is already complete in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As promised he has also given us the indwelling Spirit. So what is our volume? "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Col.1:20) His fulness is our fulness and it how the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters before He decreed the day for his Son. So we are in the kingdom of his dear Son. We are a drop of water even as nations are compared to drop of water in a bucket.
"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Ro.8:10). We are to all intent and purpose in heavenly places and our lives are hid in him. Our fulness comes from God and from his word. God challenges Job with a question, "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?"( Job 38:8) The sea with doors is like a web,- word wide web, it is to which the Parable of the Dragnet refers." Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:/Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." It is for a believer to determine if he abodes with Christ or not.
Part three. Why did God die for my sins as his enemy?
In my last post I started to discuss Peter in particular; although at the time all the disciples were arguing about the anointing of Christ as being wasteful spending on the part of the woman who performed this act. I have brought up the sobering reality that I can't find one passage in the Gospels discussing any of the Disciples in prayer despite numerous references to Christ getting up before dawn and at times praying all night before momentous events such as picking His disciples. Let that sink in; even looking at the prophets of the Old Testament and their doubts fears and struggles we see much prayer. On one hand we see the unique situation of having our Lord in the flesh and the confidence of protection as the Master and teacher watched over His flock at the time. The flipside is they didn't have His back in regard to His everyday struggles and the constant understanding of His upcoming suffering on the cross which was ever approaching as His destiny. No doubt much of their attitude was also due to their expectations of the Kingdom of God to immediately come which culminated in the triumphal entry on the donkey and the praise of the masses one week before His crucifixion.
The Lord had to open the minds of the Jewish disciples to His role to reach the Gentiles eventually as was prophesied in Isaiah. This was demonstrated in the great faith of the Syrophonecian woman in Mark 7 as well as the Roman centurion. There was also the woman at the well who was half Jewish. It wasn't until later in the book of Acts when the Gospel was as a whole taken beyond Israel; and that was done by Peter and Paul around the same time. The people of Israel as a whole as prophesied would reject the Messiah and justify themselves as sons of Abraham in the flesh which was of no value.
As a believer today we can only see His holiness and compare it to our own hearts and praise Him for His atoning sacrifice.
PRAYERS TO HEAL AND DESTROY DIABETES. & heart disease. & stroke, & Cancer.. & Pray for People who Back, & Hip. & Body Hurting. & Pray For People for Healing who has C 19 In Jesus Christ Name... Pray for the Doctors, & Care keeper., Pray Healing For People who has Bad eye's In Jesus Christ Name I Pray .PRAYERS TO God HEAL AND DESTROY DIABETES. & heart disease. & stroke, & Cancer. Pray for the Doctors, & Care keeper., Pray Healing For People who has Bad eye's In Jesus Christ Name I Pray. Amen. Pray for USA Troops In Jesus Pray Healing For every One who has neuropath Feet And Legs . In The Name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Christ Name I Pray, Amen
I Need Prayer. In Jesus Christ Name I Have neuropathy, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia ,Tarsal tunnel syndrome Plantar Fasciitis.... Prayer, In The Name of Jesus Christ. Amen
May I help more and more by prayer thought action and works done in righteousness, bring forth both righteousness and judgement against, and hatred for familiar sin in the body. May God continue to both grow and cleanse me heart, and help me reflect the savior's light and truth, shewing him forth a our example.
Part two why did God love me enough as His enemy to die for my sins?
In previous posts I have brought up the idea that what is being widely accepted as preaching with love is either a defective view of Agape or downright deceptive. I introduced the idea that we are indeed enemies of God; and that there are times when the concept of enemies is necessary for a correct Gospel presentation. In short we could say that not only does unregenerate man have no way to really hate their sins but also that they have no capacity to love God. The litmus test; of course is the command to love our enemies which only a true born again believer can do ( Matt. 5:44). We must keep in mind that Jesus excoriated those considered the religious elite among Jews (Pharisees and lawyers in particular). He also rebuked His disciples and weeded out those who weren't wholeheartedly committed to giving up all for the sake of the Gospel. There was never from what I can tell in my years of study any individual who was pointed out in these scriptures; which allowed for those called and chosen to be duly warned and convicted. Whatever person or persons accused Beelzebub as being the source of Christ's power resulted in the warning of Mark 3:29 that such blasphemy was not to be forgiven in this llfe or the next.
In rebuking Peter very shortly after commending him for understanding that He was indeed the Son of God we see the war that was waging in Peter's heart that was the real issue. Only a saved individual could understand Christ's Divinity. The enemy however was working in Peter's mind when he didn't want to accept Christ's coming persecution. ( Matt. 16:23). One could also look at Judas Iscariot giving a plea that money would be used for feeding the poor ( Matt. 26:8-9). This passage was discussed at church by a missionary this week; and he astutely brought up the point that the woman anointing Christ was the only one aware of His burial to come. What she did was necessary.
Why did God love me as His enemy enough to die for my sins?
I may want to define sin and being God's enemy as a unit conceptually. As for sin; I have stated repeatedly that our external actions (fruits) are symptoms of the root cause that is s sin nature which stems from verses such as Jeremiah 17:9 on the state of the heart of man (not good). It would seem that being God's enemy is beyond even just that concept of our heart and actions.
Unbelief; it would seem is up there as one of the top evils along with pride. That is; of course defined as true unbelief as the Pharisees demonstrated around Christ when miracles could not be denied and they attributed them to Beelzebub ( Matt. 12:24).
This is not as some falsely claim not believing in what some say are miracles with unsubstantiated evidence.
Of course it is in some sense a greater thing to forgive sins which the Pharisees knew only God could do; hence accused Christ of blasphemy when he asked which was greater that or healing ( Matt. 9:8). Whether that or a physical healing with Christ something came from nothing; and in the case of men they need a heart of stone to be turned to a heart of flesh (Ez. 36:26).
We cannot ignore obvious resistance to God when the Gospel is presented; as well as with using His name in vain. Man's sins are exponentially more resistant with the affective opposition of the enemy and his minions. When seeking the Lord there are testimonies from those especially from backgrounds in the occult where the individual becomes aware of entities working through themselves as well as others. When reality dawns on these individuals their true nature is exposed; and often demons need to be cast out. I have stated previously that testimonies tend to be heavily skewed toward God giving freedom from this oppression at the expense of understanding our own wickedness and having a reverent fear of the Lord. Some seem to ignore the spiritual battle in giving testimony of being saved.
"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."
What nations count as characteristics of greatness in the eyes of God is vile. Their strength in numbers the Spirit of God has in a very telling manner characterised, in the Book of Daniel. It is of nations that the dream signifies, "Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." (Dan.2:35) In God's kingdom there is no place for them and much less for clay, indicating theocratic kingdoms. We found it was so if history of nations is to be an indicator. They are chaff because they make flesh their arm but nevertheless they accursed. (Je.17:5) The word of God makes it clear, "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." The same idea as in the Book of Daniel.
Perhaps this cultural trope you may not have heard. When a politician wants to energise the masses they use cultural context so a slogan like "blood and soil"is so charged in the 30s were heard in 2017 but in another continent and yet caused bloodshed. What was common is the culprit. Nations are lies and their tropes and memes are against God. Now when we hear the VP nominee uses "DIE hire" the trash will know what he meant. What David describes in Psalm 59 is much the same, with torch parades going round about the city howling likes dogs whether in Nuremberg or Charlottesville. "They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city./Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?/But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision."
No child of God can settle for the Word of God merely from his reason alone. Without faith it is impossible to please God or live a godly life without abiding in Christ.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." The tree is an emblem of every Christian who is blessed. He has volume as the tree planted by the river This river of time brings blessings of God, just as the fulness of Christ covers heaven, earth and the lower parts, so no one shall say where it actually would have come from. Fulness of the Son covers up and down and Across. The two visions of Ezekiel and St John teaches us this truth. The waters begun from above the firmament in Ge.1 brings us to the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is the river of pure water of life.(Re.22:1) The same living water in Ezekiel's vision moves across. " Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed."(Ez.47:8) It is how God secures His saints who have put their trust in him. Physical death only means that they shall continue with Christ in the glorious bodies forever. "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."(v.6)
"And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
"Blessed is he" The first verse primes us and the warning is strong enough that it can never be on any man who compromises with the world. Law givers set the policy that nations shall have to live with,- and societal collapse and vanishing middle class are stark warning how the ungodly have set themselves in positions to demolish your prospects in live and it is all indirect and with an invisible you are dealing with, so it is gospel truth that whosoever shall live a godly life has an uphill battle. Secondly sinners who prosper in their ways, the very fellows you went to school with while you still require public transport to get around for your daily needs. Thirdly we have the scornful which in this instant gratification is what mass media throws at you. Their commercials are to make your sober lifestyle and limited means as a thing of shame, and it is all an invisible enemy that you have to fight. Even your own family may consider it as an embarrassment at the poor finances. Yes we are off-scourings and fools before the wannabes and wannahaves in this world. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."(2 Ti.3:12). Rejoice that you have been singled out even before the worlds began to suffer if need be for a while till God establish you for His kingdom. The church you attend may be actively supporting nationalism is not serving God or your interest but the invisible enemy that is the spirit of the times. The enemy that sowed tares in the field of God is Satan.
The everlasting covenant has called you,"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Ungodly sinners and scornful are the triadic motives of Satan
if you would please pray for me. Please pray for my return to The LORD and for deliverance from my enemies. Please pray for help through the trials I am going through. Please pray for healing for my backsliding and for God's protection and provision in my life. Please pray for The LORD to help me through many hard and troubling things that I am going through.
Today is my birthday! i just turned 28 today. last year i made a prayer to have a good year and for some friends. i still haven't got that prayer. so my prayer for this year is to have a good year and to make some friends or to maybe find love. Thank You God Bless.
Thank you Lord Jesus for all the blessings you give us, including those we do not even recognize as such and may even complain about but later in hindsight we discover they were blessings in disguise. Lord Jesus please fight our battles and please deal with the enemy of our soul who constantly attacks. We need to heal and we need a breakthrough concerning the dysfunction and infantile behavior. Please grant salvation, deliverance, healing and strong protection (both in the visible and invisible realms). Please also grant a powerful outpouring of your Holy Spirit here in this place that is so dry spiritually. Please break bondages Father. Please also touch everyone at church and their loved ones. May we shine brightly for you. Asking all this also for all others in need around the world because you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond what we can ask or even imagine. Thank you Father. In Jesus name. Amen.
God bless my sister-in-law Beth Giwojna, who will be undergoing surgery for breast cancer breast cancer on July 23. Please pray that her surgery to remove the tumor is successful and that the cancer has not spread to her lungs or lymph nodes. God bless her with your healing grace and virtue so that she is able to tolerate her radiation therapy and chemotherapy well and is able to recover from this condition quickly and completely. Please restore Beth to good health again and guide the hands of all the doctors and medical experts who are treating her for this cancer with your divine wisdom. Amen!
Thank you for your reply, many consider this subject non-discussable.
As for Luke 15 and 16, if one takes this as a real story that would mean when we die, we go to Hades, the saved go to the good side and the lost are in the flames. I am sorry I do not see that in Scripture, this chapter is parables given to the Pharisees and scribes for their murmuring and their unrighteous love of mammon/money and their neglect of the true riches.
I understand you and others do not believe we sleep in death until the resurrection. The Greek philosophy of the meaning of death is the separation of the soul from the body, and our soul is immortal which was introduced into the Roman Church this is not from Scripture our soul can die, Daniel 12:2 1 Thessalonians 4:14, and many more.
The word Godhead is in the KJV 3 times, three different Greek words meaning Divine, Divinity, and Deity changed to Godhead in the 16th Century, which can be misleading. My understanding is Jesus's victory was not won until God raised Jesus from death. "His soul was proclaiming the truth to the lost in hades" I suppose this is from 1 Peter 3:18-20, nowhere does this say Jesus was in Hades, these are people before the flood and it also says it was after He was quickened by the Spirit, so He was not in the grave.
Ephesians 4:8 Jesus led captivity captive that is those in captivity of sin captive to Himself, not OT saints from the grave. If the OT saints were resurrected when He was why would He leave David, Acts 2:29-34 the Firstfruits will not be raised until Jesus returns.
In John 8:28 "When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he" Matthew 27:50-54 is the fulfillment. Jesus was in and out of consciousness on the cross when He cried out the word resurrection is a Greek word meaning waking up, all the things in 51-53 happened when Jesus died, the saints did not go to heaven they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many.
God bless,
RLW
One God, a unified one, Hebrew word "echad" used in Deut. 6:4-5 for the Shema and also for the oneness of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. Who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct persons, but all co-equal, co-eternal, and equally God to the fullest.
Amen! One God consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Coequal and Coeternal
In Scripture, especially the NT God is revealed by Jesus to be three distinct "persons" though one God, one Being, and one divine nature.
Jesus speaks of the Father and the Spirit in ways that show that each are distinct in their personal identity. He uses the terms he, we, him, us, you, yours, etc. He prays to the Father and says He and the Father send the Spirit to live in believers and in doing so, the Father and the Son also live in believers due to the unity of the three persons. There is only one God, not three, but this True God has three distinctions who possess attributes of personhood: consciousness, will, love, power, free agency, intellect and knowledge, among some. Each of the three persons are called God in the Scriptures, and each of the three persons are described in Scripture as having the same divine attributes.
This threeness is not as Modalist/Sabellianians state as one person acting in three different modes. The baptism of Jesus shows us that the Father, Son, and Spirit are distinct from one another and they were all three viewed in this singe event.
Nor is this threeness showing that there are three separate Gods, because they are distinct from each other, but always fully unified in the divine Being of God.
And there is not one God who is the Father, and Jesus His Son is a different person of a different order (human or demi-god), and the Holy Spirit is simply an impersonal power or force as Unitarians propose. As I have shown in my posts on God is Spirit and God is Savior and God is the Son, using Scripture, all three persons are personal, distinct, interactive with each other, and divine. Because I have cited Scripture for this in those posts, I am not going to repost them in this one. But I do urge people to be like Bereans and check out the Scripture reference I posted to see if what I have claimed is true.
There is no such thing as "soul sleep". This is clearly seen with the very real story of Lazarus and the rich man; but also could be pointed out from Christ's time in the grave where corruption could not overtake him as prophesied in David's Psalm someplace.
We also see that Jesus did indeed have the authority to teach in the synagogues with reasoning beyond His years causing men to marvel and He stated then that He was doing the "Fathers' business".
As a member of the Godhead Jesus was fully God and fully man but not in the same position and role as the Father. These exchanges of heavenly glory to be humbled as a man and then highly exalted were a blip in time of the timeless Creator; Jesus Himself. He was able to come out of eternity past; appear in one time and place in the destined role as substitutionary atonement and sacrifice; then enter back into eternal glory. All of His humbling was for our sake; He came and lived a perfect life trusting only in the Spirit which is the only way He could represent man; hence we in theory also ought to be perfect and sinless but of course none of us do. Then He had to die and take on the sin of men. His soul was at no point dead as the "it is finished" demonstrates the minute he breathed His last the victory was won. His soul was proclaiming the truth to the lost in hades after that and He also released the captives (souls) of the O.T. saints; also very much alive in the pleasant part of hades at the time along with the wicked who remain there until this day for the final judgment. Many at the time came out of their graves at the Resurrection as the "first of the firstfruits".
If God didn't through the Son overcome death we couldn't live eternally with Him in heaven. He bears the marks of His crucifixion and still appears more or less as He did when on earth in His resurrected body; but the fullness of glory brings the reaction in Rev. 1.
Jesus said I am the way "the truth and the life" in John 14:6
1 John 5:20 also speaks of us coming to the truth (God) and that we come to Truth (God) in Jesus.
1John 5:6 says that the Spirit is the truth
Go is TRUE, FAITHFUL, AND TRUSTWORTHY
Is. 65:16 says that God is the God of truth.
Heb. 6:18 says that God cannot lie.
Prov. 30:5 says that every word God speaks is true.
Ps 33:4 speaks of all of God's works are done in faithfulness and that all of His words are upright.
Mt. 22:16 speaks of Jesus as true and that He speaks what is true.
Rev. 21:5 says that the words spoken by God (Jesus) are trustworthy and true.
Rev. 19:11 says that Jesus is named Faithful and True.
We can trust as true all that God has chosen to be written in Scriptures because He is faithful and true in every way: in what he says, does and in Who He is. He will never lie or deceive us, never change from being righteous and true to being sinful and evil. He is forever our source of truth and He grants us to be enlightened by the Truth of Himself.
This is not to debate; If you do not want to answer, maybe someone else will, if not that's ok. How can it be said God who cannot die died for our sins? Does not Scripture say God did not give Himself but His only begotten Son? Jesus was the final and complete sacrifice for our sins, and the death of Christ as our substitute is the heart of the gospel.
When God formed the first Adam, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul/being, and without this breath/spirit of life that goes back to God when we die, whether we have done good or evil, we are a dead soul/being until we are resurrected and this is when we receive our reward whether to eternal life with Him or the second death in the lake of fire.
Jesus did not have any authority until His Father gave it to Him when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit on the banks of the river Jordan. Jesus was given to die for us, Jesus was given power and authority, Jesus was given the Holy Spirit without measure, Jesus was given the words He said, all Jesus did was the will of the Father, not His. Jesus even said His Father was His God and His Father was greater than He.
If we say God died for our sins, do we make Jesus's sacrifice and death a charade, and not the truth because it is something God is incapable of doing, is to die.
God bless us and let His Spirit show us the truth regardless of the understanding we have now. Matthew 15:9 As Jesus said all things that the Father hath has been given to Him John 16:13-15.
RLW
I'm going to include copies of some of what you have said and then comment.
"I believe there are no perfect English translations of the Bible (including the KJB) when they are put to the test."
"You tell me that you "know" that the KJB was written under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. I am not denying that"
So, are you saying that the authors of the KJB did the best they could but their translation is not perfect? Are you saying you don't deny that I believe the KJB was written by God or that you don't deny it was written by God.
Also, how do we test it, against what? IF you might respond by saying the original writings, which you believe are perfect, why can't you believe that God knew mankind would not have access to those perfect manuscripts so He moved on King James to have them written through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost into a cohesive English bible for us to use just like the original manuscripts were? The idea of "modern men to publish other versions of His bible from manuscripts that weren't pure, according to the early church which didn't canonized them, did not come from God because they can be tested against the Holy Ghost inspired KJB and are corrupt enough, according to the testing I, and others have done that they are harmful?
On more thing, and excuse me for being blunt, but you seem to be willing to put a lot of work, study and effort into showing the KJB isn't perfect and yet not a minutes time to show that, perhaps, the NIV and others are corrupt and shouldn't be used. There's a lot to learn about why I believe they are corrupt and I tried to show you a little of that but you weren't interested.
If it seems I'm getting a little bit testy about this whole subject I guess I'm just getting tired of my Lord's precious bible being questioned. We have said several times we were going to stop this discussion and I am ready to do that. If you choose to respond to these comments, that is fine, I will read them but I doubt I will answer anymore. God Bless :)
The Psalm 84 is how our souls long for where flesh is steadily falling away and our confidences with it. "My heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God." This psalm appeals to a believer because it is promised to him no matter what his present circumstances are. " For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness."(v.10) Our heart is like a door and Christ promised us his abiding presence. "if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Re.3:20) "I in him and he in me" explains this bond. It is like Soul of Jonathan, "that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."(1 Sa.18:1). What a difference it was from King Saul towards David? He wanted him at the table so he could at any moment kill him. An unclean spirit had already taken hold of the king. So wisely the Spirit instructs us, " Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:/For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee."(Pr.23:6-7). Look around the world. The fixer who would take a bullet for his boss would rue that he ever came any closer to man whose unvarnished soul cared only for himself. The devil is like roaring lion walking about. Cursed is any man who would entangle with evil men.
"Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord./There be many that say, Who will shew us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us./Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased."(Ps.4:5-7)
Christ cleansed us with his own blood."the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."
Fulness of Christ is like a seed in itself so 'thy word is truth' and indweiing Spirit helps you sprout and put out shoots leaves and fruits. Our abundance is not of ourselves but of his fulness. " I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."( John 15:5). This is the tree of righteousness planted by the waters. (Ps.1:3) The tree is an emblem of heaven earth and lower parts becoming crystallised so we are bound to time and place yet we are on the right side of the river and of the tree of life.(Re.22:1)
We are also as Christ promised his apostles., "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt.4:19) We are like fishers in the vision of Ezekiel, " And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. "(Ez.47:10)
Instead what do we find prayer request a week ago in this forum but conspiracy theories insinuating 'this senile guy sniffing kids' and the prayer for Trump. For instance the shooter is not a lone wolf as evident in this, "I have been praying. And yes, it seems that there may be more to this than just the 20 year old shooter." It is what spirit of the times have made the simple spread lies under 'pious' statement. True believers ought to compare spiritual with spiritual and aid and abet the unrighteous. This strong delusion is from the spirit of the times.
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
The preceding verse gives us a context and it is the spirit of the anti-christ which,"and even now already is it in the world." So et us be vigilant. James in his epistle asks, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."(Jas.4:4). So first we shall settle 'what is greater in you." St John speaks, You are of God, and in the pluperfect tense our victory is already complete in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As promised he has also given us the indwelling Spirit. So what is our volume? "And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven." (Col.1:20) His fulness is our fulness and it how the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters before He decreed the day for his Son. So we are in the kingdom of his dear Son. We are a drop of water even as nations are compared to drop of water in a bucket.
"And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness." (Ro.8:10). We are to all intent and purpose in heavenly places and our lives are hid in him. Our fulness comes from God and from his word. God challenges Job with a question, "Or who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the womb?"( Job 38:8) The sea with doors is like a web,- word wide web, it is to which the Parable of the Dragnet refers." Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:/Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away." It is for a believer to determine if he abodes with Christ or not.
In my last post I started to discuss Peter in particular; although at the time all the disciples were arguing about the anointing of Christ as being wasteful spending on the part of the woman who performed this act. I have brought up the sobering reality that I can't find one passage in the Gospels discussing any of the Disciples in prayer despite numerous references to Christ getting up before dawn and at times praying all night before momentous events such as picking His disciples. Let that sink in; even looking at the prophets of the Old Testament and their doubts fears and struggles we see much prayer. On one hand we see the unique situation of having our Lord in the flesh and the confidence of protection as the Master and teacher watched over His flock at the time. The flipside is they didn't have His back in regard to His everyday struggles and the constant understanding of His upcoming suffering on the cross which was ever approaching as His destiny. No doubt much of their attitude was also due to their expectations of the Kingdom of God to immediately come which culminated in the triumphal entry on the donkey and the praise of the masses one week before His crucifixion.
The Lord had to open the minds of the Jewish disciples to His role to reach the Gentiles eventually as was prophesied in Isaiah. This was demonstrated in the great faith of the Syrophonecian woman in Mark 7 as well as the Roman centurion. There was also the woman at the well who was half Jewish. It wasn't until later in the book of Acts when the Gospel was as a whole taken beyond Israel; and that was done by Peter and Paul around the same time. The people of Israel as a whole as prophesied would reject the Messiah and justify themselves as sons of Abraham in the flesh which was of no value.
As a believer today we can only see His holiness and compare it to our own hearts and praise Him for His atoning sacrifice.
In previous posts I have brought up the idea that what is being widely accepted as preaching with love is either a defective view of Agape or downright deceptive. I introduced the idea that we are indeed enemies of God; and that there are times when the concept of enemies is necessary for a correct Gospel presentation. In short we could say that not only does unregenerate man have no way to really hate their sins but also that they have no capacity to love God. The litmus test; of course is the command to love our enemies which only a true born again believer can do ( Matt. 5:44). We must keep in mind that Jesus excoriated those considered the religious elite among Jews (Pharisees and lawyers in particular). He also rebuked His disciples and weeded out those who weren't wholeheartedly committed to giving up all for the sake of the Gospel. There was never from what I can tell in my years of study any individual who was pointed out in these scriptures; which allowed for those called and chosen to be duly warned and convicted. Whatever person or persons accused Beelzebub as being the source of Christ's power resulted in the warning of Mark 3:29 that such blasphemy was not to be forgiven in this llfe or the next.
In rebuking Peter very shortly after commending him for understanding that He was indeed the Son of God we see the war that was waging in Peter's heart that was the real issue. Only a saved individual could understand Christ's Divinity. The enemy however was working in Peter's mind when he didn't want to accept Christ's coming persecution. ( Matt. 16:23). One could also look at Judas Iscariot giving a plea that money would be used for feeding the poor ( Matt. 26:8-9). This passage was discussed at church by a missionary this week; and he astutely brought up the point that the woman anointing Christ was the only one aware of His burial to come. What she did was necessary.
I may want to define sin and being God's enemy as a unit conceptually. As for sin; I have stated repeatedly that our external actions (fruits) are symptoms of the root cause that is s sin nature which stems from verses such as Jeremiah 17:9 on the state of the heart of man (not good). It would seem that being God's enemy is beyond even just that concept of our heart and actions.
Unbelief; it would seem is up there as one of the top evils along with pride. That is; of course defined as true unbelief as the Pharisees demonstrated around Christ when miracles could not be denied and they attributed them to Beelzebub ( Matt. 12:24).
This is not as some falsely claim not believing in what some say are miracles with unsubstantiated evidence.
Of course it is in some sense a greater thing to forgive sins which the Pharisees knew only God could do; hence accused Christ of blasphemy when he asked which was greater that or healing ( Matt. 9:8). Whether that or a physical healing with Christ something came from nothing; and in the case of men they need a heart of stone to be turned to a heart of flesh (Ez. 36:26).
We cannot ignore obvious resistance to God when the Gospel is presented; as well as with using His name in vain. Man's sins are exponentially more resistant with the affective opposition of the enemy and his minions. When seeking the Lord there are testimonies from those especially from backgrounds in the occult where the individual becomes aware of entities working through themselves as well as others. When reality dawns on these individuals their true nature is exposed; and often demons need to be cast out. I have stated previously that testimonies tend to be heavily skewed toward God giving freedom from this oppression at the expense of understanding our own wickedness and having a reverent fear of the Lord. Some seem to ignore the spiritual battle in giving testimony of being saved.
"Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing."
What nations count as characteristics of greatness in the eyes of God is vile. Their strength in numbers the Spirit of God has in a very telling manner characterised, in the Book of Daniel. It is of nations that the dream signifies, "Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." (Dan.2:35) In God's kingdom there is no place for them and much less for clay, indicating theocratic kingdoms. We found it was so if history of nations is to be an indicator. They are chaff because they make flesh their arm but nevertheless they accursed. (Je.17:5) The word of God makes it clear, "The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away." The same idea as in the Book of Daniel.
Perhaps this cultural trope you may not have heard. When a politician wants to energise the masses they use cultural context so a slogan like "blood and soil"is so charged in the 30s were heard in 2017 but in another continent and yet caused bloodshed. What was common is the culprit. Nations are lies and their tropes and memes are against God. Now when we hear the VP nominee uses "DIE hire" the trash will know what he meant. What David describes in Psalm 59 is much the same, with torch parades going round about the city howling likes dogs whether in Nuremberg or Charlottesville. "They return at evening: they make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city./Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips: for who, say they, doth hear?/But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them; thou shalt have all the heathen in derision."
No child of God can settle for the Word of God merely from his reason alone. Without faith it is impossible to please God or live a godly life without abiding in Christ.
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." The tree is an emblem of every Christian who is blessed. He has volume as the tree planted by the river This river of time brings blessings of God, just as the fulness of Christ covers heaven, earth and the lower parts, so no one shall say where it actually would have come from. Fulness of the Son covers up and down and Across. The two visions of Ezekiel and St John teaches us this truth. The waters begun from above the firmament in Ge.1 brings us to the throne of God and of the Lamb. It is the river of pure water of life.(Re.22:1) The same living water in Ezekiel's vision moves across. " Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed."(Ez.47:8) It is how God secures His saints who have put their trust in him. Physical death only means that they shall continue with Christ in the glorious bodies forever. "For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish."(v.6)
"And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."
"And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."
"Blessed is he" The first verse primes us and the warning is strong enough that it can never be on any man who compromises with the world. Law givers set the policy that nations shall have to live with,- and societal collapse and vanishing middle class are stark warning how the ungodly have set themselves in positions to demolish your prospects in live and it is all indirect and with an invisible you are dealing with, so it is gospel truth that whosoever shall live a godly life has an uphill battle. Secondly sinners who prosper in their ways, the very fellows you went to school with while you still require public transport to get around for your daily needs. Thirdly we have the scornful which in this instant gratification is what mass media throws at you. Their commercials are to make your sober lifestyle and limited means as a thing of shame, and it is all an invisible enemy that you have to fight. Even your own family may consider it as an embarrassment at the poor finances. Yes we are off-scourings and fools before the wannabes and wannahaves in this world. "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."(2 Ti.3:12). Rejoice that you have been singled out even before the worlds began to suffer if need be for a while till God establish you for His kingdom. The church you attend may be actively supporting nationalism is not serving God or your interest but the invisible enemy that is the spirit of the times. The enemy that sowed tares in the field of God is Satan.
The everlasting covenant has called you,"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Ungodly sinners and scornful are the triadic motives of Satan
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