Jesus was often praying till late at night or very early in the morning. Often He stayed up during the whole night praying especially when the following day He would had to take a serious decision or face a serious challenge. During the day He could hardly find some time to rest, with all the multitude going after Him to listen to Him and get healed. So He rested any spare time He could find, even on boats, even during storms. He was so exhausted He couldn't wake up, unless His disciples woke Him up.
Of course this is not an example for all of us, but definitely is an example for those who want to serve the Lord in a ministry.
Today at church our Pastor shared the sad but true story of his dad who couldn't drive but who he wouldn't take to the bars to get drunk (apparently he eventually died because of his alcoholism). The world certainly will find excuses to make us feel guilty for not doing what they want us to do. This can range from occasional abstinence from social activities that aren't necessarily wrong but take from more productive time with the Lord to permanent severance from those who clearly are on a destructive path. I am assuming here this person is not in our church and subject ot church discipline. Prayer clearly is in order; and of course individual situations may differ-having a close friend in the Lord to advise us also is quite helpful in those situations.
The struggle; of course exists between what we want for ourselves and what the Lord would desire. Waiting on the Lord can be a virtue and needed when there is no clear answer; but of course we can sit forever on the sidelines and never be ready and willing to be the hands and feet of Christ. Take the idea of rest; for example. We certainly need to be trusting God in all things; but also through the example of Christ and the Disciples we need to be willing to be inconvenienced; with either getting up before we feel like it for prayer; or taking extra time to help others. The other extreme is almost making a religion out of self sacrificial service. The example of Christ sleeping in the boat ( Matt. 8:24) is a good example of how to properly trust God. It is certain the Lord knew that He would make it successfully; and therefore actually set a good example there. We need to recognize when it is our own self destruction that is preeminent over God's will; and when the Lord shows us as in Phillipians 2:27 that He wants us to chill out we should pay attention. Overall; of course we should expect our lives to be uncomfortable more often than not.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. ( Proverbs 4:23).
Normally I prefer KJV (and after all that is the focus here) but in this case I prefer the word "Guard" to begin the sentence found in several other versions. In the case of dying to self; and focusing all our energies into serving the Lord several statements below may seem to contradict behaviors normally associated with being a Christian.
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. ( Song of Solomon 8:6).
Granted; the whole book of Song of Solomon is focused on the story of human love but surely we can glean some meainings from this book which is included in the accepted Canon (although probably the most reluctantly by the early church). In any case; our God is a jealous God; and we can also apply this to the Spirit which contends against the flesh ( Gal. 5:24).
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. ( Matt. 7:6).
This can perhaps be best understood in conjunction with the admonition in Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. ( 1 Tim. 5:22). There are several meanings for laying on of hands which could relate to delegating a promotion of church office or imparting spiritual gifts (I would suggest both would happen simultaneously). In any case; within the house of God we must be discerning enough to recognize those with bad fruit who are going to take whatever they have and use it for nefarious purposes. We also need to be careful that we aren't tempted by the sins of others who wer are attempting to help; whether by reason of our own weaknesses or those who are devious enough to entice us or unwary victims of Satan.
You wrote>>Satan is the one who gives the beast power and his seat, and great authority in ( Rev. 13:2) also in ( Rev. 13:5) the beast is given power to continue ((forty and two months or 3 1/2 years)) I believe this will be when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place which will start great tribulation.
Will do, and Happy Birthday. It is my middle son's birthday today and he is 36. May the Lord bless both of you richly and fill you both with much joy and peace.
Dear brother Spencer, Without question every abiding Christian should have peace in their hearts and lives towards the neighbor no matter what they believe. I went out of service for a little camping. Hope you are well this day too!
Giannis again thank you for your reply. ( 2 Thess. 2:6-7) The word (withholdeth) is #2722; it means to hold down (fast)
I am not sure what the withholdeth, or the restrainer is Giannis, but see what you think of this. I have heard many say its the Holy Spirit but I don't think it is the Holy Spirit.
I have heard some say its Michael the archangel. This seems to be a more logical answer to me, here's why.
When this is happening that will definitely be the Lastdays, Satan is cast out of heaven to the earth by Michael in ( Rev. 12:7-9)
Satan is the one who gives the beast power and his seat, and great authority in ( Rev. 13:2) also in ( Rev. 13:5) the beast is given power to continue ((forty and two months or 3 1/2 years)) I believe this will be when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place which will start great tribulation. That would put great tribulation at a 3 1/2 year time period (not 7 years) and it will be shortened for the elects sake. I do believe the time of the beginning of sorrows in ( Mt. 24:4-14) is the first 3 1/2 years and I think we are living it right now.
Also if we look at ( Dan. 12:1) We see "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: ((and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation)) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book".
A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation sounds a lot like ( Mt. 24:15) and ( Mt. 24:21-22) v21 "For then shall be great tribulation ((such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be".
I'm not really sure about this, what do you think Giannis?
Also if you don't mind, would you please provide those verses that show a normal life on earth before the rapture?
We are living in a time period right now Giannis where nothing is normal anymore! evil has taken over!
2 Pet 1:19 does not refer to the letter, Peter explains it further 2 Pet 1:20,21 the Spirit, the Light John 1:9Titus 2:11 is 2 Cor 4:6,7 the sure Word of Prophecy within us, by the Spirit of Prophecy Rev 19:10 the testimony of Jesus Christ
The rule & guide of a Christian life.
Friend consider;
Here on this site is evidence enough, all the different opinions concerning the meaning of the Scriptures, where are all these opinions coming from? Is Christ divided?
Where as if everyone would be led by His Spirit, He speaks the same thing to all, according to their measure of Grace received, yet it's the same word according to each one's measure.
Acts 2:1Acts 4:32 this is the fruits we shall see when its Christ who speaks, bringing His church to the Ephesians 4:13
The Spirit alone can accomplish this. John 17:21-231Cor 6:171Cor 12:13
I am also so sorry in telling you that you are completely wrong.
Revelation 19:15KJV speaks of the one from whom the own JESUS said he has a NAME that no MAN knew, EXCEPT he himself".
Yes, EXCEPT himself, so you are twisting the own word of JESUS who testified about this one that you call as being him JESUS, erroneously.
For what do you contradict JESUS and get preaching saying the NAME of this one is JESUS?
Actually he is only likeness JESUS- Revelation 1:13-,but he is not JESUS Himself, no,absolutely. And JESUS said that this one doth Judge and make WAR, in fact he is an ambassador of the Lord- Jeremiah 49:14 and Obadiah 1:1KJV- and he bears the insignia of JESUS Himself on his garments as an ambassador of the King Of kings, and Lord Of the lords, according prophecies he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a NAME,yes, a NAME written,that is King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords.
It is he who was with Moses in flame of fire in the Mount Sina in the name of GOD Almighty in the OT, saying to be the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob- Acts 7:32-33. Take a look. And he was with Moses until his death, and after appeared to Joshua,saying: Joshua 5:13-15
13Joshua was by Jericho,he lifted up his eyes and looked,and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand:and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14And he said,Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua,Loose thy shoe from off thy foot;for the place whereon thou standest is holy.And Joshua did so.
Balaam also saw this one of the Lord standing in the way, and his Sword drawn in his hand,saying:behold,I went out to withstand thee,because thy way is perverse before me.
Be careful so, what matters and prevails is the Word of GOD
Fascinating study! One last thing I want to share with you before I end this introduction is the section outline of the Gospel of Mark:
CHAPTER 1 VERSES 1 TO 13 - is the prologue.
CHAPTER 1 VERSE 14 THROUGH THE END OF CHAPTER 9 - is The Service of the Servant, His ministry in Galilee.
CHAPTER 10 - is the Submission of the Servant, His ministry in Judea.
CHAPTERS 11 THROUGH 16 - We have The Sacrifice of the Servant, His ministry in Jerusalem. And as you can see, it is divided up into the three geographical locations that the Lord was in, Galilee, Judea, and then Jerusalem.
I realize this was a long introduction. The book (Mark) actually moves very fast. It is presented in a way as if we don't know anything about Jesus, or we are a doubter, or we have heard about Him, but He got crucified. How does that work out with the King of kings and Lord of lords? And as we read through Mark's gospel, even if we are a believer, we are going to know even more and more who Jesus is.
Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." That is the theme of the Gospel of Mark.
VIII. TO WHOM IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written to the Romans and written in a style to reach the Roman mindset.
HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE INTRODUCTION:
The Roman mindset was one that followed the judicial system. You had to prove everything by the law. If you couldn't prove anything by the law, they didn't buy it. It was strictly judicial. That's why the book of Romans, which is called the Constitution of the Christian faith, every doctrine is found in the book of Romans. The book of Romans is written like a legal brief. Romans is written like a lawyer would present a case in a courtroom.
And that is how he is talking to the people in Rome. Well, that is what Mark does also. I don't know if you have noticed or not, but Mark's gospel is pretty short and pretty blunt. He doesn't give a lot of details. If he didn't think something was necessary to prove a point, he left it out.
Mark does not give it to us because it is not necessary for proving the point. Mark presents his gospel like a script, fact after fact, and he is presenting it like a legal brief to the court. Jesus Christ will be presented to us as the Suffering Servant. Mark says I'm going to prove it to you, so that you people in Rome that have this mind that is governed by the judicial system, you'll find evidence. You are going to have to figure out what are you going to do with this Jesus? He didn't come as a king. He came as a servant. But I am going to prove to you that He is the Messiah.
And you and I need to take stock of this book because Mark is presenting to us a Messiah who refused to let the world make Him a king. Jesus Christ will never let this world make Him a king, period! He will not allow this world to honor Him as a king. He will come back at His second coming, and He will defeat all the enemies, and then (He) will set Himself up as king. But He won't let the world do it.
Even now, in many instances, the world honors Jesus Christ. But when He came, He was born in a cave, and He took the low road. He is presented as the Suffering Servant. Can you imagine God Himself coming in human form and you are one of His disciples, and you are looking forward to Him ruling and reigning out of Jerusalem, and He takes off His robe and wraps Himself with a servant's towel, and He begins to wash the disciples' feet?
Our man Peter says "You're not going to wash my feet. You are the Lord." And Jesus said if you don't let me wash your feet, you have nothing to do with me. Peter says "Well, then bathe me all over if it is going to be that important!" It was humbling and humiliating to have the Messiah come to be the servant of all, rather than say "I am Messiah," and get the applause and get set up as king.
The way you and I can learn from this book, is that we too do not yet rule and reign with Christ upon this earth. There are some teachers through our culture that will present the fact that we need to take the world now. No, we are just passing through. We are just servants. We are the lowly. We are not kings and queens. We are servant's following in the path of our Master. But one day, we are going to rule and reign with Him. I'll wait for that day because it's frustrating to do it any other way!
He is going to set His kingdom up on earth just like Isaiah said. "Oh, this is a great day!" Except once they got into town, they listened to His teachings, but by the end of the week He was nailed to a cross. They were devastated. Their hopes were gone, dashed!
And one of the reasons that Paul was so angry against the Christians was because the Christians were presenting this man who died on the cross as a criminal, as being the Messiah. That is blasphemy. Paul's thinking was that He died between two thieves because He Himself was a criminal, and only criminals get crucified. That is what made him angry, that people would make the Messiah out to be this type of a person.
Some Jewish scholars actually believed that there would be two messiahs. Some Jewish scholars say, well, we read certain portions of the Old Testament, and it looks like the Messiah is going to come and suffer. But the majority said no, the Messiah is going to come, and He's going to ride in on a white horse and He is going to become victorious.
You see, you had two groups of scholars that were saying how can He be both? What is He going to do? Is He going to ride in, suffer, and then jump on the white horse? I mean, how is this whole thing going to work? One guy suffers the whole time, the other guy conquers, which is why when John the Baptist was put in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus and says are you the coming one, or do we look for another?
The word "another" in Greek means another of the same kind. So, he figures this must be the suffering Messiah. Are we expecting the next one to come too? They were not too far off! But you can imagine the confusion and all that they were going through. Little did they know that Messiah would come as the Suffering Servant, He would come not to rule and to reign, but to serve.
That's why in Luke, Luke records for us that Jesus, when He wept over Jerusalem, He said if you only knew this your day of visitation. In the Greek text, it's very emphatic, not just a general "Well if you knew what a special day this was!" He is making an allusion back to Daniel's prophecy. He's saying you guys are up on it. You should know that this is the 178,880 day. It is your day. Messiah is riding in. But He said you didn't. You rejected Him.
It also helps us, and I'll explain later why different people would come out, like with John the Baptist would come out and they would ask Him, what are you doing? Who are you? Because many Jewish scholars believed that sometime around that time in history, the Messiah was coming.
And there were actually quite a few people that presented themselves as being the Messiah about the same time that Jesus did. And they sent a delegation out to check John out. Who are you? Who do you say you are? And they would watch him, just like they did Jesus.
So, it is interesting that some Jewish leadership at that time were actually aware that around that time in history, the Messiah's supposed to come. And if they were really up on their scriptures, they would have known it was to the exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They should have known from Daniel's prophecy.
But He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (the beast the burden), as a sacrifice. That week was Passover week. So, Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb who would sacrifice His life for the sins of the world. But when He rode into Jerusalem, all the Jews were reciting the Hallel Psalm ( Psalm 118), that the Messiah is riding into Jerusalem, blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord, because they're anticipating that once He gets into town, this Roman government is going to be defeated.
Justin Martyr, in 150 A.D. stated "Mark's Gospel was the memoirs of Peter." Iranaeus, in 185 A.D. said that "Mark was a disciple and interpreter of Peter." There are some areas they would go to that Peter was speaking Aramaic, and the people didn't understand him. So, Mark was there to interpret, and he was the helper to Peter. And then he wrote the Gospel from Peter's testimony.
V. WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written around the mid 60's A.D.
THE RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BOOKS:
It is believed to be the first gospel written because of the history and the data that we have. Mark's Gospel was the first gospel written of the four, because as I shared with you in the introduction to Matthew, both Matthew and Luke, they follow the outline of Mark. And out of the 665 verses in Mark, 500 of them are exactly quoted in Matthew. And again, Luke follows the outline, but he has a little more detail to add in.
VI. WHY IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written to present Jesus as the Suffering Servant. Now that is not just a phrase. You have to understand that this is a problem. To say that the Messiah came to be a Suffering Servant created a problem for the Jews. The Jews were not looking for that. The Jews were looking for their Messiah to come, set up His kingdom in Jerusalem, free them from the Roman government, and set up His kingdom on the earth.
Remember, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He rode in to the exact day of Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. All prophecy centers around Daniel 9:24 to 27. It maps it out to the day. From the time the decree was made for the rebuilding of Jerusalem back in Nehemiah's day (March 14, 445 BC), from that day, it would be 69 sevens, or 483 years, or 178,880 days (to the day) that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, 178,880 days later.
We are up to the point now where Peter, in 1 Peter 5:13, he calls Mark "my son." Many historians believe that Peter actually led Mark to the Lord when he was in Jerusalem. And Mark may have figured that he needed some grounding, some foundation or something, some establishment in the Lord. So, when he came back from the second missionary journey, he says "Peter, I am your son in the faith. Let me be your disciple. Teach me." So, he travels with Peter. Later on, we see a quote about his relationship with Peter.
But apparently after Peter dies, around 63 to 64 A.D., Mark joins up with Paul. Now that is not a good combination at all. Paul did not want this guy around! Well, Mark is now changed. He is now matured in the Lord. Later, we see that Paul found him helpful to the ministry. As a matter of fact, in Philemon, Verse 24, Paul calls Mark "my fellow worker."
And then right before Paul died, and 2 Timothy is Paul's final letter that he wrote before he died there in Rome, but Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him because "he is useful to me for ministry." So, at the end of Paul's life, and at the end of his ministry, John Mark was somebody who was a strong pillar in the church and very effective for Christ. Hopefully that gives you hope.
IV. THE AUTHOR OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK:
Mark wrote his Gospel from the testimony of Peter. So, when Mark traveled around with Peter, he gained the information from Peter himself. Mark was not there to witness. In fact, he's the only one that did not have this historical presentation of what Jesus said and did. Papias, the Bishop of Hierapolis, wrote in 140 A.D. that Mark's presentation is like a lecture. So, John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark. What a brilliant statement! I mean who else would write Mark? But I guess there were some people that doubted it.
There was a tremendous revival. People are being receptive to Christ all through the island. And as they come out from the west side of the island, they go straight north to the mainland. Actually, it would be the southern coast of Asia Minor. They began traveling inland. Paul got sick. He caught malaria. It wasn't quite the time of revival like they had on the island of Cyprus. It was tough going!
And so, when they reached a place that is called Perga, John says I'm going home, it is enough for me! Not home to Antioch, but home to Jerusalem. So, he leaves the first missionary journey there in Perga of Pamphylia. And his actual departure from the trip is given to us in Acts 13:13.
Now from Antioch to Cyprus:
In the second missionary journey, Paul has apparently rejoined the church from Barnabas' encouragement to "come back up to Antioch." The second missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 15:37-40, shows us that Paul and Barnabas are ready to go on a missionary trip again. And Barnabas says I want to take John Mark. And Paul says no way. He can't make it. He quit. I am not taking him. Barnabas insisted. And so there is a split between Paul and Barnabas.
So, Paul wound up taking Silas and going back over the territories that they had covered in the first missionary journey, and Barnabas took Mark and went over to the island of Cyprus and came back. So, the two of them traveled around the island while Paul and Silas ministered up in the southern part of Asia Minor.
Now after this, it becomes even more interesting because after the second missionary journey, we have no record of really what happened to John Mark, like the book of Acts would tell us. We have indications of what has happened to him in the future. There are a lot of historical documents, but apparently after Barnabas and John Mark return from the island of Cyprus, John Mark went with Peter and became a disciple of Peter for the rest of his of life.
John Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, and that's given to us in Colossians 4:10. And I'm giving you these scripture texts and this piece of information now because of the travels and interaction with the different believers later, knowing that John Mark is related to Barnabas.
We travel with him now from Jerusalem to Antioch. John Mark has been in Jerusalem all this time. Paul and Barnabas have come to Jerusalem, and they've done some ministry work, and they are about ready to leave to go back up to Antioch. This is Antioch of Syria.
After the persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, many of the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. But many leaders in the church went up to Antioch of Syria right up on the coast. And that's where all the missionary journeys came from. And that's where the Gentiles were hearing the gospel and were being saved. And people were being sent out from Antioch.
So, Paul and Barnabas were finished with their work in Jerusalem, and they were going to go back up to Antioch, a couple hundred miles north, up the coast from Jerusalem. And what is interesting is that Acts 12:25 tells us that when Paul and Barnabas left Jerusalem, Mark left with them. Now you see the connection because he is related to Barnabas, and it was probably some connection there saying, come on son, you can be part of the ministry.
III. THE FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY:
This is given to us in Acts 13:1-3. Remember Paul is there, Barnabas is there, and Mark was there. The Holy Spirit tells the church that God has called out Paul and Barnabas to make the first missionary journey. And so, when they go to leave, they take John Mark with them. Again, probably because the connection with Barnabas. They go straight west and they go across the island of Cyprus.
The Gospel of Mark was written for the Roman mind, Gentiles, but specifically in Rome. Mark's gospel was written from the testimony of Peter. He writes to present Jesus as the Suffering Servant. Matthew was the Savior Messiah, Mark the Suffering Servant. Mark ends with the ascension.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In Acts 12:12, we are introduced to Mark. He's in Jerusalem. In fact, we are told that his name is John Mark. Most people in the scriptures that we're close to, that are presented in detail, they have two names. One is a Jewish name, and one is a surname, or a Roman name. John is his Jewish name. It is Yochanan. And Marcus is his Roman name. His name is John Mark.
His mother's name was Mary. And she evidently was a rich widow because in Acts Chapter 12, when Peter was released from prison and they were having a prayer meeting, and remember when he knocked on the door, or the gate, and one of female servants came and looked out and said, "It's Peter!" She ran back in and said, "Hey, Peter is at the door." They said impossible because he is in prison, so let's pray for him. She said, no its Peter, come here, come here!
We know she was rich because the house had a gate and the house had servants. Only rich people had these things back then. So, this woman was rich, and her name is presented as Mary, the mother of John Mark. It is believed that all away from Acts Chapter 2 through Chapter 12, the Christians met in the home of Mary, John Mark's mother. Many even believe it was the upper room in her home where the disciples met when the Holy Spirit came. So, we are first introduced to him in Acts Chapter 12 Verse 12.
I have read your reply to me, and I have been in prayer on whether I should respond, and as far as to debate what you have posted I will not. To be accused of portraying a lie by mixing lies in the word of God and presenting a ridiculous, false, and devilish theory.
Did you feel good when you wrote that, did you feel superior? We are to love and support and help each other grow.
A prideful spirit boasting self-wisdom to belittle someone you will one day find you are wrong. This is my last reply to you I will not respond.
Serving the brothers and sisters in the Lord. Time and effort as well as finances should be toward supporting the local Body of believers. We are to open up our homes and be open to financial aid for those in need if the Lord has enabled us to do so and also made it clear that we should. We may not be in a state of famine or intense persecution necessitating an Acts 2:45 stance; but we should see the benefit in caring for the needs of each other. Loving the brethren according to 1 John 2:10 shows we are in the light and is commanded by Christ; 1 John 4:20 shows the opposite; we cannot love God and hate our brother.
Sharing in hobbies and interests
Since we bring nothing into this world and cannot take anything with us when we leave; ( 1 Timothy 6:7) why not start giving away things we have collected-(that is something I am starting to do myself). Some things we need to abandon; but things we are talented in and perhaps find some financial gain with why not train others or invest with other believers; or donate to a worthy cause? People of like interests shouldn't be a primary goal; but can be used as a witnessing tool. Discretion as always is needed if it is encouraging hoarding or addictive behaviors among others or ourselves in these situations. This seems to be a strange category here but there are some as I was who tended to obsess on collectables for the sole purpose of my own financial security and gain. This concept also can be extended to transferring what we have done with a career for many years and skills aquired to shift focus toward charity work or eliminating labor costs; for instance in fixing up our local church.
Not putting career ahead of God. Finding a balance between serving our employers honorably and not always seizing every opportunity for extra hours or promotions takes prayer and wisdom. We should pray for doors to open or close according to His will and timing not our own ambition
Love. The last thing the flesh wants to hold on to is eros love and all the tentacles of seduction affecting the eyes; body and soul from the world; flesh and the devil ( James 3:15). Our hearts need to heed His voice; and stay within the confines of the partner God has given us in a covenant marriage only for expression of these affections. Many other things such as loving God's creation more than the Creator Himself; loving our own family and friends above the Lord; and any other emotions that distract us from our walk with God must be culled. This involves music in particular; recreational drugs and alcohol as well as anything good or bad that is not under control of the Spirit. ( Colossians 3:23).
Other emotions. Generally; good or bad fruits show opposing traits for those under the control of the Spirit as compared with the flesh. Hetred; strife; and enmity for example being bad fruit; love; joy and peace good fruit with many other expressions listed in scripture as well. As with any addict who is recovered any believer has to realize that we indeed have no power to stop the downward spiral into these behaviors once intoxicated with them; whether it leads to violence or self destructive results.
Planning for our future. Greed and covetousness is a sin and to be avoided. (see 10th Commandment; Luke 12:15). However; taking loans on high interest and high credit card debts to get the thrill of material items now basically robs ourselves. It is good and honorable to have an inheritance for family members; but of course we should always prioritize for the Lord in supporting missions as well as our local church. Wise planning brings prosperity; but the love of many things the opposite ( Deut 17:17)-Solomon may have had record wealth; but Ecclesiastes shows how all is vanity if God doesn't come in first and how other things crowd out the desire for God.
Phillips Craig and Dean from the song From the Inside Out (Fearless Album)
Proverbs 16:9 shows that man makes plans but the Lord orders his steps. Our best attempts at determining what is right even as Christians can't possibly take into account the bad things that happen and just how the Lord will use those things for our good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes ( Romans 8:28). Time and again the Lord has shown in scripture as well as today that martyrs ultimately serve a greater purpose; it such as Jim Elliot martyred with his friends in the jungle and the efforts of his wife and others afterwards with the resulting fruit of their efforts in converts.
Dying to self may or may not demand a complete change in trajectory as to our vocation or living situation. God makes it clear that those married to unbelievers are not to depart unless forced by the other person. We are also to work heartily unto the Lord ( Col. 3:23-24) and in fact; if we don't work we don't eat ( 2 Thessalonians 3:10). Luke 10:7 shows how the workman is worthy of his hire at least in terms of ministry but Paul supplemented support through tentmaking as to not be a burden to others. Obviously; as with the woman caught in adultery ( John 8:1-11) there had to be an end to sin therefore a radical change in lifestyle and by default cutting off many social ties. Whether we can be a witness or former associates post conversion are a detriment is based on several factors in individual situations. Clearly any criminal sources of income have to be ended; and we should make restitution whenever possible for those we have offended (see Ephesians 4:28; implied in doing good with what is earned).
As to our affections being set on things above ( Colossians 3:3-10) it is an ongoing process. As an onion each layer of self is peeled away.
Sorry I have done a mistake. Grk for "apostasy" is apostaseia", feminine as you said. The etymology of the word, its very literal meaning is as I have written, but it is used for all sort of things as described by Strong's concordance.
The word "apostasis" is used in grk for "distance" . So the literal meaning is a condition of one or a team who holds a distance (figuratively abandonment, desertion etc) from someone/something, whether this is a religious belief, a political belief, any system really. The anc grk for divorce is "apostaseion", neutral. It comes from the same component words. In Thess it doesn't have the meaning of divorce, but Christians who abandoned their religion or the true faith.
Brother if verses that show a normal life on earth before rapture didn't exist then I would definitely come with a post tribulation rapture, but they do exist and do not fit to Revelation, so there has to be another explanation I believe. Otherwise how could someone interprete those? Again what do you think the restrainer may be, any idea?
p2. Giannis you said (falling away) in Greek means "one who keeps a distance from somebody. something".
I'm not sure where you got that from or how you came up with that meaning, its not in the Strong's Concordance.
The meaning of the words (falling away) in the Strong's Concordance is #646; in Greek and it means feminine (gender) of the same as 647; defection from truth (properly the state) ["apostasy"] falling away, forsake.
feminine (gender) of the same as #647; #647 means something separative, i.e divorce, (writing of) divorcement.
Even if we don't use the #647 meaning of the word which means (writing of) divorcement then we still have the word ["apostasy"] in the #646 meaning. The word (apostasy) means (1) Abandonment of one's religious faith. (2) An abandonment of what one has professed, a total desertion, or departure from, one's faith. (3) In theology, a total abandonment of the Christian faith. If we abandonment our Christian faith we turn from God, we FALL AWAY.
This just happens to be when the man of sin, the son of perdition is revealed and sitting in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God, that will be the cause of the departing from the Christian faith, the falling away.
I would really like to here what your thoughts are about the #1 pre-tribulation rapture verses ( 1 Thess. 4:15-17) being almost in perfect alignment with the Son of man coming in the clouds to gather together His elect Immediately AFTER the tribulation in ( Mt. 24:29-31)?
When Jesus returns riding a white horse in ( Rev. 19:11-16) there is no mention of (1) coming in the clouds) (2) no sound of a trumpet. (3) no gathering together of anybody. Here He comes ((from heaven)) to the earth.
We meet Him in the clouds in ( 1 Thess. 4:15-17) and in ( Mt. 24:29-31) these are the same events.
Giannis thank you for your reply. When Jesus comes to the earth riding a white horse with His Saints that will end the wrath of God and start the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth. If you read ( Rev. 19:7-9) this is the marriage supper of the Lamb. In ( Rev. 19:11-16) just 2 verses after the marriage supper we see in ( Rev. 19:11) "And I saw ((heaven opened)), and behold a white horse" Heaven opened so this is showing Jesus leaving the marriage supper of the Lamb and coming ((FROM HEAVEN)) riding a white horse to the earth, to ((judge and make war)).
( Rev. 19:15) Tells us "and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and ((wrath of Almighty God))". Jesus ends the wrath of God here and begins His 1000 year reign on the earth. Im not sure where you came up with nobody will be saved out of the Millenium, I didn't say that. Nobody will be saved during the wrath of God ( Rev. 15:8-9) tell us that "no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled".
( Rev. 19:19) "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army".
( Rev. 19:20) "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet,. .. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone".
( Rev. 20:1-3) v2 "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years". Satan, nor the beast, nor the false prophet will be present during the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth.
THEN ( Rev. 20:7-9) v7 "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison".
( Rev. 20:10) "And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone"
( Rev. 20:11-15) The great white throne judgment.
All this happens before ( Rev. 21:2) where you said the marriage supper had not occurred yet.
This is a fairly easy timeline to follow when reading it straight through.
The Septuagint has it as " By all guarding guard your heart..." I don't know if this proper English but it is as written.
Similarly my Bible says the same, which is based on the Masoretic.
My belief about Jesus sleeping on a boat.
Jesus was often praying till late at night or very early in the morning. Often He stayed up during the whole night praying especially when the following day He would had to take a serious decision or face a serious challenge. During the day He could hardly find some time to rest, with all the multitude going after Him to listen to Him and get healed. So He rested any spare time He could find, even on boats, even during storms. He was so exhausted He couldn't wake up, unless His disciples woke Him up.
Of course this is not an example for all of us, but definitely is an example for those who want to serve the Lord in a ministry.
Today at church our Pastor shared the sad but true story of his dad who couldn't drive but who he wouldn't take to the bars to get drunk (apparently he eventually died because of his alcoholism). The world certainly will find excuses to make us feel guilty for not doing what they want us to do. This can range from occasional abstinence from social activities that aren't necessarily wrong but take from more productive time with the Lord to permanent severance from those who clearly are on a destructive path. I am assuming here this person is not in our church and subject ot church discipline. Prayer clearly is in order; and of course individual situations may differ-having a close friend in the Lord to advise us also is quite helpful in those situations.
The struggle; of course exists between what we want for ourselves and what the Lord would desire. Waiting on the Lord can be a virtue and needed when there is no clear answer; but of course we can sit forever on the sidelines and never be ready and willing to be the hands and feet of Christ. Take the idea of rest; for example. We certainly need to be trusting God in all things; but also through the example of Christ and the Disciples we need to be willing to be inconvenienced; with either getting up before we feel like it for prayer; or taking extra time to help others. The other extreme is almost making a religion out of self sacrificial service. The example of Christ sleeping in the boat ( Matt. 8:24) is a good example of how to properly trust God. It is certain the Lord knew that He would make it successfully; and therefore actually set a good example there. We need to recognize when it is our own self destruction that is preeminent over God's will; and when the Lord shows us as in Phillipians 2:27 that He wants us to chill out we should pay attention. Overall; of course we should expect our lives to be uncomfortable more often than not.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. ( Proverbs 4:23).
Normally I prefer KJV (and after all that is the focus here) but in this case I prefer the word "Guard" to begin the sentence found in several other versions. In the case of dying to self; and focusing all our energies into serving the Lord several statements below may seem to contradict behaviors normally associated with being a Christian.
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. ( Song of Solomon 8:6).
Granted; the whole book of Song of Solomon is focused on the story of human love but surely we can glean some meainings from this book which is included in the accepted Canon (although probably the most reluctantly by the early church). In any case; our God is a jealous God; and we can also apply this to the Spirit which contends against the flesh ( Gal. 5:24).
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. ( Matt. 7:6).
This can perhaps be best understood in conjunction with the admonition in Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure. ( 1 Tim. 5:22). There are several meanings for laying on of hands which could relate to delegating a promotion of church office or imparting spiritual gifts (I would suggest both would happen simultaneously). In any case; within the house of God we must be discerning enough to recognize those with bad fruit who are going to take whatever they have and use it for nefarious purposes. We also need to be careful that we aren't tempted by the sins of others who wer are attempting to help; whether by reason of our own weaknesses or those who are devious enough to entice us or unwary victims of Satan.
Hebrew 6
Greatings In Christ JESUS
You wrote>>Satan is the one who gives the beast power and his seat, and great authority in ( Rev. 13:2) also in ( Rev. 13:5) the beast is given power to continue ((forty and two months or 3 1/2 years)) I believe this will be when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place which will start great tribulation.
I'm home enjoying the family!
Hopefully I can finally get on my desktop and do some posting.
I hope you enjoyed your camping.
God bless
Will do, and Happy Birthday. It is my middle son's birthday today and he is 36. May the Lord bless both of you richly and fill you both with much joy and peace.
I am not sure what the withholdeth, or the restrainer is Giannis, but see what you think of this. I have heard many say its the Holy Spirit but I don't think it is the Holy Spirit.
I have heard some say its Michael the archangel. This seems to be a more logical answer to me, here's why.
When this is happening that will definitely be the Lastdays, Satan is cast out of heaven to the earth by Michael in ( Rev. 12:7-9)
Satan is the one who gives the beast power and his seat, and great authority in ( Rev. 13:2) also in ( Rev. 13:5) the beast is given power to continue ((forty and two months or 3 1/2 years)) I believe this will be when the abomination of desolation stands in the holy place which will start great tribulation. That would put great tribulation at a 3 1/2 year time period (not 7 years) and it will be shortened for the elects sake. I do believe the time of the beginning of sorrows in ( Mt. 24:4-14) is the first 3 1/2 years and I think we are living it right now.
Also if we look at ( Dan. 12:1) We see "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: ((and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation)) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book".
A time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation sounds a lot like ( Mt. 24:15) and ( Mt. 24:21-22) v21 "For then shall be great tribulation ((such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be".
I'm not really sure about this, what do you think Giannis?
Also if you don't mind, would you please provide those verses that show a normal life on earth before the rapture?
We are living in a time period right now Giannis where nothing is normal anymore! evil has taken over!
Blessings to you.
I've been copying them for soon to be future studies!!
God bless you.
2 Pet 1:19 does not refer to the letter, Peter explains it further 2 Pet 1:20,21 the Spirit, the Light John 1:9 Titus 2:11 is 2 Cor 4:6,7 the sure Word of Prophecy within us, by the Spirit of Prophecy Rev 19:10 the testimony of Jesus Christ
The rule & guide of a Christian life.
Friend consider;
Here on this site is evidence enough, all the different opinions concerning the meaning of the Scriptures, where are all these opinions coming from? Is Christ divided?
Where as if everyone would be led by His Spirit, He speaks the same thing to all, according to their measure of Grace received, yet it's the same word according to each one's measure.
Acts 2:1 Acts 4:32 this is the fruits we shall see when its Christ who speaks, bringing His church to the Ephesians 4:13
The Spirit alone can accomplish this. John 17:21-23 1Cor 6:17 1Cor 12:13
in love & truth
I am also so sorry in telling you that you are completely wrong.
Revelation 19:15KJV speaks of the one from whom the own JESUS said he has a NAME that no MAN knew, EXCEPT he himself".
Yes, EXCEPT himself, so you are twisting the own word of JESUS who testified about this one that you call as being him JESUS, erroneously.
For what do you contradict JESUS and get preaching saying the NAME of this one is JESUS?
Actually he is only likeness JESUS- Revelation 1:13-,but he is not JESUS Himself, no,absolutely. And JESUS said that this one doth Judge and make WAR, in fact he is an ambassador of the Lord- Jeremiah 49:14 and Obadiah 1:1KJV- and he bears the insignia of JESUS Himself on his garments as an ambassador of the King Of kings, and Lord Of the lords, according prophecies he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a NAME,yes, a NAME written,that is King Of Kings, and Lord Of Lords.
It is he who was with Moses in flame of fire in the Mount Sina in the name of GOD Almighty in the OT, saying to be the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob- Acts 7:32-33. Take a look. And he was with Moses until his death, and after appeared to Joshua,saying: Joshua 5:13-15
13Joshua was by Jericho,he lifted up his eyes and looked,and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his Sword drawn in his hand:and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him,Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?
14And he said,Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant?
15And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua,Loose thy shoe from off thy foot;for the place whereon thou standest is holy.And Joshua did so.
Balaam also saw this one of the Lord standing in the way, and his Sword drawn in his hand,saying:behold,I went out to withstand thee,because thy way is perverse before me.
Be careful so, what matters and prevails is the Word of GOD
Fascinating study! One last thing I want to share with you before I end this introduction is the section outline of the Gospel of Mark:
CHAPTER 1 VERSES 1 TO 13 - is the prologue.
CHAPTER 1 VERSE 14 THROUGH THE END OF CHAPTER 9 - is The Service of the Servant, His ministry in Galilee.
CHAPTER 10 - is the Submission of the Servant, His ministry in Judea.
CHAPTERS 11 THROUGH 16 - We have The Sacrifice of the Servant, His ministry in Jerusalem. And as you can see, it is divided up into the three geographical locations that the Lord was in, Galilee, Judea, and then Jerusalem.
I realize this was a long introduction. The book (Mark) actually moves very fast. It is presented in a way as if we don't know anything about Jesus, or we are a doubter, or we have heard about Him, but He got crucified. How does that work out with the King of kings and Lord of lords? And as we read through Mark's gospel, even if we are a believer, we are going to know even more and more who Jesus is.
I will share my introduction to Luke next.
God Bless!!!
VII. THE THEME OF THE BOOK:
Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." That is the theme of the Gospel of Mark.
VIII. TO WHOM IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written to the Romans and written in a style to reach the Roman mindset.
HERE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE INTRODUCTION:
The Roman mindset was one that followed the judicial system. You had to prove everything by the law. If you couldn't prove anything by the law, they didn't buy it. It was strictly judicial. That's why the book of Romans, which is called the Constitution of the Christian faith, every doctrine is found in the book of Romans. The book of Romans is written like a legal brief. Romans is written like a lawyer would present a case in a courtroom.
And that is how he is talking to the people in Rome. Well, that is what Mark does also. I don't know if you have noticed or not, but Mark's gospel is pretty short and pretty blunt. He doesn't give a lot of details. If he didn't think something was necessary to prove a point, he left it out.
Mark does not give it to us because it is not necessary for proving the point. Mark presents his gospel like a script, fact after fact, and he is presenting it like a legal brief to the court. Jesus Christ will be presented to us as the Suffering Servant. Mark says I'm going to prove it to you, so that you people in Rome that have this mind that is governed by the judicial system, you'll find evidence. You are going to have to figure out what are you going to do with this Jesus? He didn't come as a king. He came as a servant. But I am going to prove to you that He is the Messiah.
And you and I need to take stock of this book because Mark is presenting to us a Messiah who refused to let the world make Him a king. Jesus Christ will never let this world make Him a king, period! He will not allow this world to honor Him as a king. He will come back at His second coming, and He will defeat all the enemies, and then (He) will set Himself up as king. But He won't let the world do it.
Even now, in many instances, the world honors Jesus Christ. But when He came, He was born in a cave, and He took the low road. He is presented as the Suffering Servant. Can you imagine God Himself coming in human form and you are one of His disciples, and you are looking forward to Him ruling and reigning out of Jerusalem, and He takes off His robe and wraps Himself with a servant's towel, and He begins to wash the disciples' feet?
Our man Peter says "You're not going to wash my feet. You are the Lord." And Jesus said if you don't let me wash your feet, you have nothing to do with me. Peter says "Well, then bathe me all over if it is going to be that important!" It was humbling and humiliating to have the Messiah come to be the servant of all, rather than say "I am Messiah," and get the applause and get set up as king.
The way you and I can learn from this book, is that we too do not yet rule and reign with Christ upon this earth. There are some teachers through our culture that will present the fact that we need to take the world now. No, we are just passing through. We are just servants. We are the lowly. We are not kings and queens. We are servant's following in the path of our Master. But one day, we are going to rule and reign with Him. I'll wait for that day because it's frustrating to do it any other way!
He is going to set His kingdom up on earth just like Isaiah said. "Oh, this is a great day!" Except once they got into town, they listened to His teachings, but by the end of the week He was nailed to a cross. They were devastated. Their hopes were gone, dashed!
And one of the reasons that Paul was so angry against the Christians was because the Christians were presenting this man who died on the cross as a criminal, as being the Messiah. That is blasphemy. Paul's thinking was that He died between two thieves because He Himself was a criminal, and only criminals get crucified. That is what made him angry, that people would make the Messiah out to be this type of a person.
Some Jewish scholars actually believed that there would be two messiahs. Some Jewish scholars say, well, we read certain portions of the Old Testament, and it looks like the Messiah is going to come and suffer. But the majority said no, the Messiah is going to come, and He's going to ride in on a white horse and He is going to become victorious.
You see, you had two groups of scholars that were saying how can He be both? What is He going to do? Is He going to ride in, suffer, and then jump on the white horse? I mean, how is this whole thing going to work? One guy suffers the whole time, the other guy conquers, which is why when John the Baptist was put in prison, he sent his disciples to Jesus and says are you the coming one, or do we look for another?
The word "another" in Greek means another of the same kind. So, he figures this must be the suffering Messiah. Are we expecting the next one to come too? They were not too far off! But you can imagine the confusion and all that they were going through. Little did they know that Messiah would come as the Suffering Servant, He would come not to rule and to reign, but to serve.
That's why in Luke, Luke records for us that Jesus, when He wept over Jerusalem, He said if you only knew this your day of visitation. In the Greek text, it's very emphatic, not just a general "Well if you knew what a special day this was!" He is making an allusion back to Daniel's prophecy. He's saying you guys are up on it. You should know that this is the 178,880 day. It is your day. Messiah is riding in. But He said you didn't. You rejected Him.
It also helps us, and I'll explain later why different people would come out, like with John the Baptist would come out and they would ask Him, what are you doing? Who are you? Because many Jewish scholars believed that sometime around that time in history, the Messiah was coming.
And there were actually quite a few people that presented themselves as being the Messiah about the same time that Jesus did. And they sent a delegation out to check John out. Who are you? Who do you say you are? And they would watch him, just like they did Jesus.
So, it is interesting that some Jewish leadership at that time were actually aware that around that time in history, the Messiah's supposed to come. And if they were really up on their scriptures, they would have known it was to the exact day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They should have known from Daniel's prophecy.
But He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (the beast the burden), as a sacrifice. That week was Passover week. So, Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the Passover Lamb who would sacrifice His life for the sins of the world. But when He rode into Jerusalem, all the Jews were reciting the Hallel Psalm ( Psalm 118), that the Messiah is riding into Jerusalem, blessed be the one who comes in the name of the Lord, because they're anticipating that once He gets into town, this Roman government is going to be defeated.
Justin Martyr, in 150 A.D. stated "Mark's Gospel was the memoirs of Peter." Iranaeus, in 185 A.D. said that "Mark was a disciple and interpreter of Peter." There are some areas they would go to that Peter was speaking Aramaic, and the people didn't understand him. So, Mark was there to interpret, and he was the helper to Peter. And then he wrote the Gospel from Peter's testimony.
V. WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written around the mid 60's A.D.
THE RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BOOKS:
It is believed to be the first gospel written because of the history and the data that we have. Mark's Gospel was the first gospel written of the four, because as I shared with you in the introduction to Matthew, both Matthew and Luke, they follow the outline of Mark. And out of the 665 verses in Mark, 500 of them are exactly quoted in Matthew. And again, Luke follows the outline, but he has a little more detail to add in.
VI. WHY IT WAS WRITTEN:
It was written to present Jesus as the Suffering Servant. Now that is not just a phrase. You have to understand that this is a problem. To say that the Messiah came to be a Suffering Servant created a problem for the Jews. The Jews were not looking for that. The Jews were looking for their Messiah to come, set up His kingdom in Jerusalem, free them from the Roman government, and set up His kingdom on the earth.
Remember, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, He rode in to the exact day of Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. All prophecy centers around Daniel 9:24 to 27. It maps it out to the day. From the time the decree was made for the rebuilding of Jerusalem back in Nehemiah's day (March 14, 445 BC), from that day, it would be 69 sevens, or 483 years, or 178,880 days (to the day) that Jesus rode into Jerusalem, 178,880 days later.
We are up to the point now where Peter, in 1 Peter 5:13, he calls Mark "my son." Many historians believe that Peter actually led Mark to the Lord when he was in Jerusalem. And Mark may have figured that he needed some grounding, some foundation or something, some establishment in the Lord. So, when he came back from the second missionary journey, he says "Peter, I am your son in the faith. Let me be your disciple. Teach me." So, he travels with Peter. Later on, we see a quote about his relationship with Peter.
But apparently after Peter dies, around 63 to 64 A.D., Mark joins up with Paul. Now that is not a good combination at all. Paul did not want this guy around! Well, Mark is now changed. He is now matured in the Lord. Later, we see that Paul found him helpful to the ministry. As a matter of fact, in Philemon, Verse 24, Paul calls Mark "my fellow worker."
And then right before Paul died, and 2 Timothy is Paul's final letter that he wrote before he died there in Rome, but Paul asks Timothy to bring Mark with him because "he is useful to me for ministry." So, at the end of Paul's life, and at the end of his ministry, John Mark was somebody who was a strong pillar in the church and very effective for Christ. Hopefully that gives you hope.
IV. THE AUTHOR OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK:
Mark wrote his Gospel from the testimony of Peter. So, when Mark traveled around with Peter, he gained the information from Peter himself. Mark was not there to witness. In fact, he's the only one that did not have this historical presentation of what Jesus said and did. Papias, the Bishop of Hierapolis, wrote in 140 A.D. that Mark's presentation is like a lecture. So, John Mark wrote the Gospel of Mark. What a brilliant statement! I mean who else would write Mark? But I guess there were some people that doubted it.
There was a tremendous revival. People are being receptive to Christ all through the island. And as they come out from the west side of the island, they go straight north to the mainland. Actually, it would be the southern coast of Asia Minor. They began traveling inland. Paul got sick. He caught malaria. It wasn't quite the time of revival like they had on the island of Cyprus. It was tough going!
And so, when they reached a place that is called Perga, John says I'm going home, it is enough for me! Not home to Antioch, but home to Jerusalem. So, he leaves the first missionary journey there in Perga of Pamphylia. And his actual departure from the trip is given to us in Acts 13:13.
Now from Antioch to Cyprus:
In the second missionary journey, Paul has apparently rejoined the church from Barnabas' encouragement to "come back up to Antioch." The second missionary journey, as recorded in Acts 15:37-40, shows us that Paul and Barnabas are ready to go on a missionary trip again. And Barnabas says I want to take John Mark. And Paul says no way. He can't make it. He quit. I am not taking him. Barnabas insisted. And so there is a split between Paul and Barnabas.
So, Paul wound up taking Silas and going back over the territories that they had covered in the first missionary journey, and Barnabas took Mark and went over to the island of Cyprus and came back. So, the two of them traveled around the island while Paul and Silas ministered up in the southern part of Asia Minor.
Now after this, it becomes even more interesting because after the second missionary journey, we have no record of really what happened to John Mark, like the book of Acts would tell us. We have indications of what has happened to him in the future. There are a lot of historical documents, but apparently after Barnabas and John Mark return from the island of Cyprus, John Mark went with Peter and became a disciple of Peter for the rest of his of life.
II. KEY RELATIONSHIP:
John Mark was a cousin of Barnabas, and that's given to us in Colossians 4:10. And I'm giving you these scripture texts and this piece of information now because of the travels and interaction with the different believers later, knowing that John Mark is related to Barnabas.
We travel with him now from Jerusalem to Antioch. John Mark has been in Jerusalem all this time. Paul and Barnabas have come to Jerusalem, and they've done some ministry work, and they are about ready to leave to go back up to Antioch. This is Antioch of Syria.
After the persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, many of the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. But many leaders in the church went up to Antioch of Syria right up on the coast. And that's where all the missionary journeys came from. And that's where the Gentiles were hearing the gospel and were being saved. And people were being sent out from Antioch.
So, Paul and Barnabas were finished with their work in Jerusalem, and they were going to go back up to Antioch, a couple hundred miles north, up the coast from Jerusalem. And what is interesting is that Acts 12:25 tells us that when Paul and Barnabas left Jerusalem, Mark left with them. Now you see the connection because he is related to Barnabas, and it was probably some connection there saying, come on son, you can be part of the ministry.
III. THE FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY:
This is given to us in Acts 13:1-3. Remember Paul is there, Barnabas is there, and Mark was there. The Holy Spirit tells the church that God has called out Paul and Barnabas to make the first missionary journey. And so, when they go to leave, they take John Mark with them. Again, probably because the connection with Barnabas. They go straight west and they go across the island of Cyprus.
The Gospel of Mark was written for the Roman mind, Gentiles, but specifically in Rome. Mark's gospel was written from the testimony of Peter. He writes to present Jesus as the Suffering Servant. Matthew was the Savior Messiah, Mark the Suffering Servant. Mark ends with the ascension.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In Acts 12:12, we are introduced to Mark. He's in Jerusalem. In fact, we are told that his name is John Mark. Most people in the scriptures that we're close to, that are presented in detail, they have two names. One is a Jewish name, and one is a surname, or a Roman name. John is his Jewish name. It is Yochanan. And Marcus is his Roman name. His name is John Mark.
His mother's name was Mary. And she evidently was a rich widow because in Acts Chapter 12, when Peter was released from prison and they were having a prayer meeting, and remember when he knocked on the door, or the gate, and one of female servants came and looked out and said, "It's Peter!" She ran back in and said, "Hey, Peter is at the door." They said impossible because he is in prison, so let's pray for him. She said, no its Peter, come here, come here!
We know she was rich because the house had a gate and the house had servants. Only rich people had these things back then. So, this woman was rich, and her name is presented as Mary, the mother of John Mark. It is believed that all away from Acts Chapter 2 through Chapter 12, the Christians met in the home of Mary, John Mark's mother. Many even believe it was the upper room in her home where the disciples met when the Holy Spirit came. So, we are first introduced to him in Acts Chapter 12 Verse 12.
I have read your reply to me, and I have been in prayer on whether I should respond, and as far as to debate what you have posted I will not. To be accused of portraying a lie by mixing lies in the word of God and presenting a ridiculous, false, and devilish theory.
Did you feel good when you wrote that, did you feel superior? We are to love and support and help each other grow.
A prideful spirit boasting self-wisdom to belittle someone you will one day find you are wrong. This is my last reply to you I will not respond.
God bless,
RLW
Serving the brothers and sisters in the Lord. Time and effort as well as finances should be toward supporting the local Body of believers. We are to open up our homes and be open to financial aid for those in need if the Lord has enabled us to do so and also made it clear that we should. We may not be in a state of famine or intense persecution necessitating an Acts 2:45 stance; but we should see the benefit in caring for the needs of each other. Loving the brethren according to 1 John 2:10 shows we are in the light and is commanded by Christ; 1 John 4:20 shows the opposite; we cannot love God and hate our brother.
Sharing in hobbies and interests
Since we bring nothing into this world and cannot take anything with us when we leave; ( 1 Timothy 6:7) why not start giving away things we have collected-(that is something I am starting to do myself). Some things we need to abandon; but things we are talented in and perhaps find some financial gain with why not train others or invest with other believers; or donate to a worthy cause? People of like interests shouldn't be a primary goal; but can be used as a witnessing tool. Discretion as always is needed if it is encouraging hoarding or addictive behaviors among others or ourselves in these situations. This seems to be a strange category here but there are some as I was who tended to obsess on collectables for the sole purpose of my own financial security and gain. This concept also can be extended to transferring what we have done with a career for many years and skills aquired to shift focus toward charity work or eliminating labor costs; for instance in fixing up our local church.
Not putting career ahead of God. Finding a balance between serving our employers honorably and not always seizing every opportunity for extra hours or promotions takes prayer and wisdom. We should pray for doors to open or close according to His will and timing not our own ambition
Love. The last thing the flesh wants to hold on to is eros love and all the tentacles of seduction affecting the eyes; body and soul from the world; flesh and the devil ( James 3:15). Our hearts need to heed His voice; and stay within the confines of the partner God has given us in a covenant marriage only for expression of these affections. Many other things such as loving God's creation more than the Creator Himself; loving our own family and friends above the Lord; and any other emotions that distract us from our walk with God must be culled. This involves music in particular; recreational drugs and alcohol as well as anything good or bad that is not under control of the Spirit. ( Colossians 3:23).
Other emotions. Generally; good or bad fruits show opposing traits for those under the control of the Spirit as compared with the flesh. Hetred; strife; and enmity for example being bad fruit; love; joy and peace good fruit with many other expressions listed in scripture as well. As with any addict who is recovered any believer has to realize that we indeed have no power to stop the downward spiral into these behaviors once intoxicated with them; whether it leads to violence or self destructive results.
Planning for our future. Greed and covetousness is a sin and to be avoided. (see 10th Commandment; Luke 12:15). However; taking loans on high interest and high credit card debts to get the thrill of material items now basically robs ourselves. It is good and honorable to have an inheritance for family members; but of course we should always prioritize for the Lord in supporting missions as well as our local church. Wise planning brings prosperity; but the love of many things the opposite ( Deut 17:17)-Solomon may have had record wealth; but Ecclesiastes shows how all is vanity if God doesn't come in first and how other things crowd out the desire for God.
Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise
Phillips Craig and Dean from the song From the Inside Out (Fearless Album)
Proverbs 16:9 shows that man makes plans but the Lord orders his steps. Our best attempts at determining what is right even as Christians can't possibly take into account the bad things that happen and just how the Lord will use those things for our good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes ( Romans 8:28). Time and again the Lord has shown in scripture as well as today that martyrs ultimately serve a greater purpose; it such as Jim Elliot martyred with his friends in the jungle and the efforts of his wife and others afterwards with the resulting fruit of their efforts in converts.
Dying to self may or may not demand a complete change in trajectory as to our vocation or living situation. God makes it clear that those married to unbelievers are not to depart unless forced by the other person. We are also to work heartily unto the Lord ( Col. 3:23-24) and in fact; if we don't work we don't eat ( 2 Thessalonians 3:10). Luke 10:7 shows how the workman is worthy of his hire at least in terms of ministry but Paul supplemented support through tentmaking as to not be a burden to others. Obviously; as with the woman caught in adultery ( John 8:1-11) there had to be an end to sin therefore a radical change in lifestyle and by default cutting off many social ties. Whether we can be a witness or former associates post conversion are a detriment is based on several factors in individual situations. Clearly any criminal sources of income have to be ended; and we should make restitution whenever possible for those we have offended (see Ephesians 4:28; implied in doing good with what is earned).
As to our affections being set on things above ( Colossians 3:3-10) it is an ongoing process. As an onion each layer of self is peeled away.
Sorry I have done a mistake. Grk for "apostasy" is apostaseia", feminine as you said. The etymology of the word, its very literal meaning is as I have written, but it is used for all sort of things as described by Strong's concordance.
The word "apostasis" is used in grk for "distance" . So the literal meaning is a condition of one or a team who holds a distance (figuratively abandonment, desertion etc) from someone/something, whether this is a religious belief, a political belief, any system really. The anc grk for divorce is "apostaseion", neutral. It comes from the same component words. In Thess it doesn't have the meaning of divorce, but Christians who abandoned their religion or the true faith.
Brother if verses that show a normal life on earth before rapture didn't exist then I would definitely come with a post tribulation rapture, but they do exist and do not fit to Revelation, so there has to be another explanation I believe. Otherwise how could someone interprete those? Again what do you think the restrainer may be, any idea?
GBU
I'm not sure where you got that from or how you came up with that meaning, its not in the Strong's Concordance.
The meaning of the words (falling away) in the Strong's Concordance is #646; in Greek and it means feminine (gender) of the same as 647; defection from truth (properly the state) ["apostasy"] falling away, forsake.
feminine (gender) of the same as #647; #647 means something separative, i.e divorce, (writing of) divorcement.
Even if we don't use the #647 meaning of the word which means (writing of) divorcement then we still have the word ["apostasy"] in the #646 meaning. The word (apostasy) means (1) Abandonment of one's religious faith. (2) An abandonment of what one has professed, a total desertion, or departure from, one's faith. (3) In theology, a total abandonment of the Christian faith. If we abandonment our Christian faith we turn from God, we FALL AWAY.
This just happens to be when the man of sin, the son of perdition is revealed and sitting in the temple of God shewing himself that he is God, that will be the cause of the departing from the Christian faith, the falling away.
I would really like to here what your thoughts are about the #1 pre-tribulation rapture verses ( 1 Thess. 4:15-17) being almost in perfect alignment with the Son of man coming in the clouds to gather together His elect Immediately AFTER the tribulation in ( Mt. 24:29-31)?
When Jesus returns riding a white horse in ( Rev. 19:11-16) there is no mention of (1) coming in the clouds) (2) no sound of a trumpet. (3) no gathering together of anybody. Here He comes ((from heaven)) to the earth.
We meet Him in the clouds in ( 1 Thess. 4:15-17) and in ( Mt. 24:29-31) these are the same events.
Thank you Giannis for your comments.
God Bless.
( Rev. 19:15) Tells us "and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and ((wrath of Almighty God))". Jesus ends the wrath of God here and begins His 1000 year reign on the earth. Im not sure where you came up with nobody will be saved out of the Millenium, I didn't say that. Nobody will be saved during the wrath of God ( Rev. 15:8-9) tell us that "no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled".
( Rev. 19:19) "And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army".
( Rev. 19:20) "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet,. .. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone".
( Rev. 20:1-3) v2 "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years". Satan, nor the beast, nor the false prophet will be present during the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth.
THEN ( Rev. 20:7-9) v7 "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison".
( Rev. 20:10) "And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone"
( Rev. 20:11-15) The great white throne judgment.
All this happens before ( Rev. 21:2) where you said the marriage supper had not occurred yet.
This is a fairly easy timeline to follow when reading it straight through.
see p2