Acts 13:16 - Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
In this first section in Verse 16, Paul is the one that stood up. And he beckoned with his hand and said, Men of Israel, and you that fear God, and as I mentioned earlier, this is the term "God fearers."
It is a technical term for Gentiles who are worshipping with Jews, also known as proselytes of the gate from a Jerusalem standpoint. These "God fearers," they are not Jewish, but they worship as a Jew. They keep the Sabbath days and the festivals.
The difference is that they are not circumcised for whatever personal reasons they have. Nor have they experienced "Mikveh," baptism required to convert to Judaism. So, they are Gentiles, worshipping with the Jews, as a Jew. But they are not Jewish!
Acts 13:41 - Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise, and that's a "double negative" in the Greek. You will never believe, though a man declares it unto you.
In other words, today you have fulfilled that scripture. I've detailed it all for you, laid it all out how God provided for our nation from the beginning to the end.
And at the end God even provided for us a Savior, and that this Savior is the recipient of all the promises that God has given to our father David.
But now he warns them. He warns them and he says beware lest that come upon you, which was spoken (prophesied in Habakkuk 1:5), that you will never believe though a man declares it unto you.
In other words, pay attention lest that scripture is fulfilled in your life if you don't repent. If you don't receive this Jesus, then Habakkuk 1:5 was written about you.
Acts 13:1 - Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch,
So, Barnabas and Paul and John Mark made their trek back to Antioch after delivering the goods because of the famine that was there.
They are back at Antioch and there were certain prophets and teachers. A prophet in the New Testament was one who spoke the word of God. In fact, the word prophet means spokesperson and teachers.
Now according to the Greek text, these are broken up. We are given five names. The first three apparently are prophets, and the last two are teachers.
The first three are Barnabas, Simeon that was called Niger, as in Nigerian, and Lucius or Luke of Cyrene. And Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
So, this Manaen grew up and was childhood buddies with Herod, but he has since received Christ, and he is part of the faith. But notice the last person that's mentioned. It is Saul. Barnabas is mentioned first. He appears to be the lead pastor in Antioch. And Saul was listed last.
Acts 13:6 - And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
In Aramaic, Bar means son. And of course, Jesus both means Jesus and represents Joshua. So, he called himself the son of Jesus.
Acts 13:10 - And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
The word "right" is the word straight, the straight ways of the Lord. So, he's accused of perverting the straight ways, putting curves and whatever in the highway making it harder for people to come to the things of Christ.
When you say you "don't buy into this white throne narrative people are claiming," I gather that you are referring to the narrative I shared, so I felt a need to respond.
First, I want to say that I agree with you when you say that God opposes the proud, pride is before the fall, and that we must be on guard in these final days to the enemy's deceptive tricks. But please know that I am not the enemy!
Now, concerning 2 Corinthians 5:10, in context, when Paul says "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;" he is referring to all believers in Christ Jesus. If we take each verse, beginning with Verse 1, it seems pretty clear that Paul is speaking to the believers in Corinth.
If we take every single verse in context from Verse 1 leading up to Verse 10 and examine the words "we" and "us" in each of these verses, how would these verses be applicable to a person who flat out rejects Christ?
When Paul says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, he is speaking about all believers. That's the "all" Paul is referring to. This judgment seat is called the Bema Seat judgment, and it is for believers only.
There is a difference and a gap between the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ that Paul spoke about in 2 Corinthians 5:10, and the vision of the Great White Throne judgment that was given to John in Revelation 20:11-15.
We do have a different view, but I can assure you that I'm in no way "attempting to trick anyone into avoiding moral responsibility," I don't assume that I'm in "some special VIP club," and I do not "expect VIP treatment" when I stand before God. When I stand before God, I'm going to know that I don't deserve to be there. My only hope of entering in is that He is going to see Christ in me.
We all have things to contribute to this forum. There will be disagreements from time to time, but when disagreement comes, neither side should be considered an enemy trying to deceive others.
"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name." KJV
Good to know that you, too, are thinking of those who have not posted for a while. These people have been on my mind during my prayer time and I hope to hear from many of them soon. I am coming up on three years on this forum and I think back over this time to the many people who have posted and then are no longer posting. I pray for them and hope they may return here.
I agree. Salvation requires complete surrender to Christ, making Him the Lord of your life. There is no partial salvation. A person is either fully saved or not saved at all. When Christ saves us, He gives us eternal life, or shall I say He gives us Himself and He is eternal! So, if we have Christ the eternal one in us, and He has promised to never leave nor forsake us, we have eternal life, never to be lost!
Early this morning I woke up with a dream which is still vivid. I caught up in passing a fairly good fish by the tail and went running to skin it but It dropped out of my hand and next moment I turned back to retrieve it. I turned aside only to find a yeard where fishes hollowed out and lizard-like scaly thing dying away. Only in the course of the day I realized the significance of it. I did not fish it with my skill so the Spirit allowed me to take away for a purpose. What presented in the waste heap of carrion was not the place for me. I have a Bible ministry elsewhere so I shall be engaged elsewhere. In the path of life I need be wise and know how I spend what God has entrusted me with.
I'm glad you are feeling refreshed . The time and effort that you put into your messages is greatly appreciated . May God bless you with everything that you need to stay healthy and on this site and close to Himself .
The 1st rider is not Christ. The 4 horsemen correspond w/ the 1st four seals opened by the Lamb. As it's Christ who opens the scroll of judgment in heaven, we can realize then that He cannot be the rider of the white horse. Usually, white is symbolic for things such as peace, purity, or safety & security. The 1st rider conquers the whole world via deception. He carries a bow & is given a crown. If you look more closely at the actual words, 'bow' & 'crown' in Greek, it is 'toxon' & 'stephanos', respectively. From Strong's Greek: 'Exhaustive Concordance Word Origin from kata and toxeu (to shoot with a bow); from toxon Definition to strike down with an arrow.' In ancient Greece, they used to poison the tips of their arrows. Stephanos 'means properly, a wreath (garland), awarded to a victor in the ancient athletic games'. I won't mention what the former word reminds me of here, but as to the latter word, the aforementioned garland reminds me of the WHO emblem. This emblem was chosen by the First World Health Assembly in 1948. The WHO declared the CV19 outbreak an international public health emergency of in Jan '20, & assessed the outbreak as having become a pandemic in Mar '20. In Apr '20, Pope Francis made a lot of interesting remarks regarding pandemic, if you care to investigate. A lot of flowery words, but between the lines, it's clear that he's priming the masses for the UN's 2030 SDG. The WHO & UN will continue to push their agenda throughout the 7-yr trib period. Obviously, the red horse, representing war, is already riding & things will cont. to escalate, spreading the conflict globally. The pale horse has also started to rise, that being famine & economic collapse, a natural consequence of everything proceeding it. The 4th horseman is death, essentially from war, civil unrest, famine, natural and man-made disasters, and disease. The attack on 10/7/23 & everything that's occurred since is setting the stage for the AC & FP to take control.
The Spirit of the Lord in shroud the children of the Lord that they shall as the young prophesy and the old behold visions. The Spirit bestir in their beings that they move to its current for making their family better than last time, if they struggle. Amen.
Jesus the Christ endows speech to the mutes, strength to the shaky, and perception to the unlearned. What the world pulls downward He in lieu of it will raise back up to a high place to get His honor. Amen.
From the magnitude, longitude, latitude and depth of Christ's love, it takes over the very reaches of the world mindful of His children and their friends. You who are one of His will receive the desire that will simplify the trials ahead. Amen.
Jesus the Master over the Highest Places on Earth, bestow upon you the treasures made from His creation that shall support your family. Automobiles which are of His materials will serve you all to require no more setbacks. Amen
Prayer to have a Blessed day today for me and my family members I pray for daily and often and I connect this to all who connects in Lord Jesus Christ Name, amen. I ask for God to Bless me to get back focus, in Lord Jesus Christ Name, amen. Thank you all for your prayers in Lord Jesus Christ Name, amen.
I praise my Lord Saviour who hears my prayers. Lately I was much troubled by a throat infection and prayers of many certainly helped. It lingered on even though I completed the prescribed course of antibiotics. Couple of days ago my sister prayed over face time and I feel uplifted in my body and spirits. May His name be praised. Hallelujah,
My mistake This sentence "Once saved is not forever saved without committing your life 100% to be born by him". It should read as "Once saved is not forever saved without committing your life 100% to be borne by him." I meant in the sense 'abiding' or carried about as the lamb by the good shepherd. Jesus of God has become sanctification. So total sanctification as far as our salvation concerned is our worship. It is due to him. Final salvation is not you or I can say but it rests with Jesus Christ. God looks not as man sees so shall we leave him that privilege, shall we?
Q: God is a consuming fire and the prayer of saints are thrown into the fire as Re.8:5 says,"And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." How does it work?
A: This is set in heaven immediately following the silence 'about the space of half an hour.' You have to read from vv.3-5. While the seven angels are ready to sound,
it is 'another angel' who approaches the altar. To him with the golden censer was given "much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.". The Ancient of days with his fiery throne represents the Law of the Spirit. So there is no collateral damage but the wrath of God is directed to those on the earth who offend. in v.4 we read, the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascends up before God. In v.5: "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth." The Spirit inserts this formula to inform us that it is the determined Will of God. "and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,". This resonates with God descending on mount Sinai."on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud."(Ex.19:16). The mountain shook and we read 'and an earthquake."(8:6)
The angels with trumpets as with the Lamb breaking open seven seals set forth consequences so wrath of God against all those who hold truth in unrighteousness shall take effect. It is for this reason the volume of saints and the wicked are apportioned. For example,"And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed." Third part is a cue for the Son and do not mean that ships are broken up in three parts.
Acts 13:16 - Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience.
In this first section in Verse 16, Paul is the one that stood up. And he beckoned with his hand and said, Men of Israel, and you that fear God, and as I mentioned earlier, this is the term "God fearers."
It is a technical term for Gentiles who are worshipping with Jews, also known as proselytes of the gate from a Jerusalem standpoint. These "God fearers," they are not Jewish, but they worship as a Jew. They keep the Sabbath days and the festivals.
The difference is that they are not circumcised for whatever personal reasons they have. Nor have they experienced "Mikveh," baptism required to convert to Judaism. So, they are Gentiles, worshipping with the Jews, as a Jew. But they are not Jewish!
Acts 13:41 - Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise, and that's a "double negative" in the Greek. You will never believe, though a man declares it unto you.
In other words, today you have fulfilled that scripture. I've detailed it all for you, laid it all out how God provided for our nation from the beginning to the end.
And at the end God even provided for us a Savior, and that this Savior is the recipient of all the promises that God has given to our father David.
But now he warns them. He warns them and he says beware lest that come upon you, which was spoken (prophesied in Habakkuk 1:5), that you will never believe though a man declares it unto you.
In other words, pay attention lest that scripture is fulfilled in your life if you don't repent. If you don't receive this Jesus, then Habakkuk 1:5 was written about you.
(Acts Part 31):
Acts 13:1 - Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch,
So, Barnabas and Paul and John Mark made their trek back to Antioch after delivering the goods because of the famine that was there.
They are back at Antioch and there were certain prophets and teachers. A prophet in the New Testament was one who spoke the word of God. In fact, the word prophet means spokesperson and teachers.
Now according to the Greek text, these are broken up. We are given five names. The first three apparently are prophets, and the last two are teachers.
The first three are Barnabas, Simeon that was called Niger, as in Nigerian, and Lucius or Luke of Cyrene. And Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
So, this Manaen grew up and was childhood buddies with Herod, but he has since received Christ, and he is part of the faith. But notice the last person that's mentioned. It is Saul. Barnabas is mentioned first. He appears to be the lead pastor in Antioch. And Saul was listed last.
Acts 13:6 - And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
In Aramaic, Bar means son. And of course, Jesus both means Jesus and represents Joshua. So, he called himself the son of Jesus.
Acts 13:10 - And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
The word "right" is the word straight, the straight ways of the Lord. So, he's accused of perverting the straight ways, putting curves and whatever in the highway making it harder for people to come to the things of Christ.
When you say you "don't buy into this white throne narrative people are claiming," I gather that you are referring to the narrative I shared, so I felt a need to respond.
First, I want to say that I agree with you when you say that God opposes the proud, pride is before the fall, and that we must be on guard in these final days to the enemy's deceptive tricks. But please know that I am not the enemy!
Now, concerning 2 Corinthians 5:10, in context, when Paul says "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;" he is referring to all believers in Christ Jesus. If we take each verse, beginning with Verse 1, it seems pretty clear that Paul is speaking to the believers in Corinth.
If we take every single verse in context from Verse 1 leading up to Verse 10 and examine the words "we" and "us" in each of these verses, how would these verses be applicable to a person who flat out rejects Christ?
When Paul says we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, he is speaking about all believers. That's the "all" Paul is referring to. This judgment seat is called the Bema Seat judgment, and it is for believers only.
There is a difference and a gap between the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ that Paul spoke about in 2 Corinthians 5:10, and the vision of the Great White Throne judgment that was given to John in Revelation 20:11-15.
We do have a different view, but I can assure you that I'm in no way "attempting to trick anyone into avoiding moral responsibility," I don't assume that I'm in "some special VIP club," and I do not "expect VIP treatment" when I stand before God. When I stand before God, I'm going to know that I don't deserve to be there. My only hope of entering in is that He is going to see Christ in me.
We all have things to contribute to this forum. There will be disagreements from time to time, but when disagreement comes, neither side should be considered an enemy trying to deceive others.
Blessings!
Thanks again Brother Jesse.
Committing our life 100% to be born "by him" implies you have 0% hope in any other way.
Thanks always and God bless.
A favorite scripture I would like to share.
Malachi 3:16
"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name." KJV
May GOD bless us all. Amen!
come lord jesus
Good to know that you, too, are thinking of those who have not posted for a while. These people have been on my mind during my prayer time and I hope to hear from many of them soon. I am coming up on three years on this forum and I think back over this time to the many people who have posted and then are no longer posting. I pray for them and hope they may return here.
I agree. Salvation requires complete surrender to Christ, making Him the Lord of your life. There is no partial salvation. A person is either fully saved or not saved at all. When Christ saves us, He gives us eternal life, or shall I say He gives us Himself and He is eternal! So, if we have Christ the eternal one in us, and He has promised to never leave nor forsake us, we have eternal life, never to be lost!
Hope you have a Christ filled day!
I miss one commenter name Oseas. I hope he is well. Keep the faith and May God keep us all. Amen!
It is good to hear from you. I prayed last night that you (and others who haven't posted here for a while) would post soon!
I am glad to hear that you are finally getting past this throat infection. Praise the Lord who brings us healing.
Hopefully you will be returned to good health in no time and that will no longer have symptoms of a sore throat.
My mistake This sentence "Once saved is not forever saved without committing your life 100% to be born by him". It should read as "Once saved is not forever saved without committing your life 100% to be borne by him." I meant in the sense 'abiding' or carried about as the lamb by the good shepherd. Jesus of God has become sanctification. So total sanctification as far as our salvation concerned is our worship. It is due to him. Final salvation is not you or I can say but it rests with Jesus Christ. God looks not as man sees so shall we leave him that privilege, shall we?
Thanks for replying.
I figured you were referring to John 15 when you mentioned abide in your reply.
One of my favorite verses in John 15 is verse 5,
"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.
YOU CAN DO NOTHING!
I believe that includes "abide"
Thanks and God bless.
I certainly would agree if Bennymkje would have said a person is not saved without committing your life 100% to be born by him.
However, this is what he said,
"Once saved is not (forever) saved without committing your life 100% to be born by him"
It seems he is saying if you committed to him 50% to being born again then you can be saved but then lose it.
I believe if you don't turn it ALL over to Jesus (100%) then you were never saved.
Hopefully that's not what he meant.
God bless.
Q: God is a consuming fire and the prayer of saints are thrown into the fire as Re.8:5 says,"And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake." How does it work?
A: This is set in heaven immediately following the silence 'about the space of half an hour.' You have to read from vv.3-5. While the seven angels are ready to sound,
it is 'another angel' who approaches the altar. To him with the golden censer was given "much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.". The Ancient of days with his fiery throne represents the Law of the Spirit. So there is no collateral damage but the wrath of God is directed to those on the earth who offend. in v.4 we read, the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascends up before God. In v.5: "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth." The Spirit inserts this formula to inform us that it is the determined Will of God. "and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings,". This resonates with God descending on mount Sinai."on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud."(Ex.19:16). The mountain shook and we read 'and an earthquake."(8:6)
The angels with trumpets as with the Lamb breaking open seven seals set forth consequences so wrath of God against all those who hold truth in unrighteousness shall take effect. It is for this reason the volume of saints and the wicked are apportioned. For example,"And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed." Third part is a cue for the Son and do not mean that ships are broken up in three parts.