Why would God let you work your whole life, while helping others along the way, just so someone can come take it all away. I am older and disabled now, not able to start over. I worked hard to have things when I retired, now after putting my money in the family home, which is where I was to live till death, I was told to leave. Not being able to work I have to live in an income based apartment for which I am thankful to have a roof over my head. I only have room for the necessities so everything has to go. Why would God allow this? I have always tried to be there for everyone I can't understand how a person who didn't work for anything should take what is not theirs.
It makes me question the way I lived, it seems like when you do right you suffer. I think now helping others was wrong, they only take advantage of you. I always thought as long as I tried to live right God would take care of me, now I have to question that'
1 Corinthians 3:3 - For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
The word carnal in this verse is different than what we see in Verse 1. This is SARKIKOS which is abnormal.
1 Corinthians 3:5 - Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
The word ministers is the word DIAKANOS. We get our English word deacon from this word.
1 Corinthians 3:6 - I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
This word increase is actually the word growth. It is the Greek word AUXANO. I point this out because there are preachers that use this to motivate people for the increase of the church in numbers. But it has to do with growth. Paul says, "I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the growth."
1 Corinthians 3:11 - For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Literally in the Greek text, it says "For other foundation can no man lay alongside of that. The word "than" means alongside of. You can't lay another foundation alongside of Christ. He's the only one!
1 Corinthians 3:13 - Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
And the fire shall test every man's work of what sort it is. The word "try" is the work DOKIMADZO where you pass the metals through the fire, and it burns off the dross. And so, every man's work is going to be tested.
The importance of "reflecting Christ's image" and not our own,
Part 3
Paul knew the choices he had to make to continually free himself from the enemy in order that Christ's Life might show forth. We, too, must personally understand this perpetual struggle, as well as know the exact steps to overcome it.
Characteristics of a Carnal Christian (Soulish Man)
Let's put all of this into language we can understand. What are some of the characteristics that identify a "carnal Christian"?1These are born-again Christians because they have the Spirit of God in them. However, because they have chosen to follow what the flesh has told them over God's promptings, their actions show forth "self" rather than God. Here are some marks of identification:
Carnal Christians are often talkative and flippant, always making themselves the center of attention. They tend to use many words and look upon themselves as far more advanced than others. Consequently, they are often fault finders. Working for the Lord is of the utmost importance to them, but they feel that everything must be done in a hurry. They do not wait on the Lord forHisanswers. They often rely upon their own personality and have a large spiritual vocabulary. They are ambitious and want to attain glory for themselves. They usually are uncommonly gifted, have great talent and magnetic personalities. But, again, they dwell on their own superiority.
The basic characteristics of the works of the flesh are independence or self-dependence, self-confidence and self-reliance. This Christian values self-will above God's will. He can do righteous deeds and do them well; however, God says that any good that the flesh does is an abomination in His sight because it glorifies self, not Him.
The importance of "reflecting Christ's image" and not our own,
Part 2
Our flesh is corrupt because it was created in the image of Adam, rather than in the image of God (seeGenesis 5:3). In other words, sin now dwells in our flesh. Romans 7:20-23tells us that sin is a power that enslaves us. It's an energy force that dwells in our unregenerate bodies whose whole intent and purpose is to cause us to veer off course and to miss the mark-the mark being total conformity to the image of Christ. Satan uses this power of sin as his tool. And every time we choose to follow what our flesh is saying over what God is prompting us to do, we quench God's Spirit in us and become the enemy's pawns.
Like a prisoner of war, we can easily become overpowered, seized and carried offby the flesh. We can become an unwilling captive and wholly unable to rid ourselves of our bonds, our cords or bands of sin. We can become like a traveler who is caught off guard by bandits that pounced on him and carried him off. What's so sad is how could we, a born-again Christian, allow the bandits to creep up on us so quickly and capture us? How could we, who know so many Biblical truths, who have preached them and supposedly walked them, fall like this? How could this happen? Paul, however, says that he himself continually experienced this battle.
Listen:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Thus, there are 1,290 years from Jacob's affliction in 1877 B.C. to the tribulation of Daniel's day in 587 B.C., and 2 x 1,290 = 2,580 years from Daniel's tribulation to the year 1994 A.D., which brings us to the heart of what the prophecy of Simeon is referring to. The year 1994 A.D. marked the official end of the church age, when there is a famine of hearing the words of the LORD in all the churches, and the beginning of the latter rain, that is, the final harvest of those that are becoming saved outside the churches.
Outside the churches, God is empowering the true believers to understand the things concerning the end and God is blessing his word to the hearts of those who are God's elect, which are typified by the men of Nineveh, of whom God declares:
Jonah 3:5,8-9 5So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 8---let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Daniel 11:35 declares: 35And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
To purge and make white is the language of salvation. Thus, we see a literal fulfillment of Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:34 "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel", that is, the Israel of God consisting of all those who name the name of Christ and are chosen in Christ. What a marvelous Savior we have, whose birth we observe during this Christmas time.
May all of us cry mightily to God that God might have mercy on ourselves and our loved ones. It is still the day of salvation!
In addition, we can think of 1 Kings 6:1, where we read: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1 Kings 6:1 provides a 480-year time bridge from Israel going out of the land of Egypt to the fourth year of Solomon's reign, which was the year 967 B.C., when Solmon began to build the house of the LORD. Israel going out of the land of Egypt represents God's salvation plan. God declares, "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" ( Exodus 20:2). That is like, "I am Jehovah who has saved you." This physical representation of salvation occurred 430 years after the time Jacob went into the land of Egypt ( Exodus 12:40-41). It was the year 1447 B.C.
According to I Kings 6:1, it was exactly 480 years later, that is, 480 years after 1447 B.C., the year 967 B.C., when Solomon began to build the temple. We have learned that the temple of the Old Testament was a representation of the New Testament congregations and churches. It was also a representation of Christ Himself. Remember, He told the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" ( John 2:19). When did Jesus, the spiritual temple, come to this earth to be the temple? While we do not have absolute proof that Jesus was born in the year 7 B.C., all of the circumstantial evidence points to 7 B.C. as the year of His birth. And 7 B.C. is exactly 960 years after Solomon's temple foundation was laid in 967 B.C. Thus, the total period from the going out of Egypt in 1447 B.C. to the birth of Christ in 7 B.C. is 1440 years. The 480-year period is one-third of this 1440 years. The 960 years is two-thirds of this 1440 years.
Remember Isaiah 48:10 "I have refined thee in the furnace of affliction". Remember Zechariah 13:9 "I have brought the third part through the fire, the furnace of affliction." These verses coalesce around this present great tribulation in regards to God saving a great multitude which no man can number outside the churches, which were typified by Jerusalem back that came under judgment in 587 B.C. Referring to Micah 4:10, Jerusalem (typifying the local congregations) is the city that the woman being in travail shalt go forth from, and shall dwell in the field, that is, in the world ( Matthew 13:38), even to Babylon, that is, the secular world. There is where she shall be redeemed and delivered. It is crucial to note that it is outside the churches, in the secular world, where God is saving today. The phrase, "as a woman in travail," means that this woman is about to give birth, and indeed that is the case. Another passage that relates directly to this is Isaiah 49, where God is speaking metaphorically to the woman in travail:
Isaiah 49:18-21 18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Revelation 12:1-2 1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
The woman typifies the body of believers. The sun typifies the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings ( Malachi 4:2). The moon typifies the law of God, which is a reflection of the sun. The moon under her feet signifies that the believers are dead to the law; the law no longer has any claim on them. Christ as their substitute has fulfilled all the demands of the law on their behalf. The crown with twelve stars signifies the fullness of all believers, which are typified as the stars of heaven. She being with child cried, travailing in birth, pained to be delivered.
An interesting commentary on Revelation 12:2 is found in Isaiah 66:7-8 7Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
God is saying, before she travailed, before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. The man child is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth we observe each year at Christmas. The woman being in travail has reference to the great tribulation period. And note God's declaration, for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. When the Bible says, Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, it is a rhetorical statement that has reference to the literal, bodily resurrection of the believers at the last day when Christ appears in great power and glory.
Jeremiah 42:10-12 10If [turning back from going into Egypt] ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
That same promise was made in Micah 4:9-10 9Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. 10Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
The woman in travail are the true believers during this time of great tribulation. God typifies the body of believers as a woman in Revelation 12.
Ezekiel 4:4-6 4Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Numbers 14:32-33 32But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 33And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. 34After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Thus, we have Biblical validation for substituting a day for a year or vice versa. Amazingly, when we jump 1,290 years from Jacob's affliction, which occurred in 1877 B.C., we land on 587 B.C. What happened that year? There was a physical famine, in that the Babylonians had laid siege to Jerusalem, allowing nothing to leave or come in. Ultimately Babylon destroyed Jerusalem with fire, and took Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego captive to Babylon. And even as God cared for Jacob and his family in the land of Egypt, so God was with Daniel and the others taken captive to Babylon. God had made a promise in Jeremiah 42:10.
Acts 7:9-11 9And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10And delivered him out of all his afflictions [Greek: thlipsis], and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction [Greek: thlipsis]: and our fathers found no sustenance.
Jacob's affliction stemmed from the fact that they were forced to leave the land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, a land that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had dwelt in for 215 years, due to the famine. And in regards to famine, remember Amos 8:11?
Amos 8:11-12 11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
Amos 8:11 is speaking about our day, which is parallel to Jacob's tribulation in that within the churches there is a famine of HEARING the words of the LORD, meaning the Holy Spirit is no longer present in the churches to give spiritual ears to hear.
God has provided a time bridge of 1,290 years between Jacob's tribulation and the tribulation of Daniel's day. The 1,290 years comes from Daniel 12:11.
Daniel 12:9-11 9And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
God occasionally substitutes a day for a year, as in Ezekiel 4:4-6.
Matthew 24:1-3 1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The temple that God has in view are the churches and congregations that are scattered all over the earth. The word "buildings" in Matthew 24:1 is the same Greek root word translated "building" in 1 Corinthians 3:9 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's "building".
God goes on in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 to describe that there are two kinds of materials in this spiritual building: gold, silver, precious stones, typifying true believers, and wood, hay, stubble, typifying those who externally identify with the kingdom of God and yet are not born from above, and are fit to be burned and consumed by God who is a consuming fire.
The statement of Matthew 24:2, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down," means that there are no exceptions.
We are living in the period of great tribulation, spoken of in Matthew 24:21-22 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
The word 'tribulation' is the Greek word thlipsis translated "affliction" twice in Acts 7:10-11.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
The man of sin spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is a reference to Satan, who comes into the congregations as the master deceiver, and because God is empowering him, he will succeed.
Daniel 8:23-25 23And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25And through his policy also he shall cause craft [deceit] to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
This prophecy is taking place, has taken place, in the churches worldwide today. There are no exceptions, and those who think there are exceptions should read again Matthew 24.
Romans 11:1-12 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
God is declaring, you see, in verse 11, through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles (non-Jews). Now the same is true of the fall of the churches in our day during the great tribulation.
25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
The key verse in this passage is verse 34, "Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against."
Let's first understand which Israel is God talking about. Is God talking about the political nation of Israel alongside the Mediterranean Sea? The answer is, absolutely not! Christ spoke in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them ( Mark 4:34). A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly or spiritual meaning. All kinds of people read the Bible superficially or literally and think that God is talking about the political nation of Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth.
" Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."
Isaiah 60 along with the other "prophetic" books have everything to do with God's salvation and judgement program during our Day.
The book of Romans (Constitution of the Christian faith)
(Romans Part 31a):
Romans 15:1 - We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
First of all, the classification. It says, we then that are strong. Romans 14:1 started off with "to the one who is weak with respect to the faith." Here it says to we who are strong. Paul considers himself to be a strong believer.
There are only two kinds. There's a weak believer and a strong believer. That's it! We then that are strong, that's a classification. Here's the concept: What are we to do? We ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. What a verse!
The word ought is an old English word that has to do with indebtedness. We are indebted. In the Greek, this is what is called a Present Active Imperative Indicative which means we are to continue to be indebted and obligated to those who are weaker. It is a continuous obligation. Our obligation is to bear the infirmities of the weak.
The word infirmities ASTHENEMATA means weakness. And the word weak ADUNATON means without power. They have no spiritual strength. We are not talking about somebody who is physically weak. We are talking about somebody who is spiritually weak. But we are to bear the infirmities of the weak. This is the same word used in Galatians Chapter 6 where it says to bear one another's burdens. This word actually means to carry. It doesn't mean to tolerate younger believers. It means to shoulder the load. Help carry their burdens, and to not please ourselves.
Christian greetings! This verse among several on meditations of reproof and correction speaks to me this day.
"Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction." Habakkuk 1:12 KJV
Romans 12:9 - Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
It says let love be without dissimulation. What in the world is that? First of all, notice that the word "Let" is in italics. So, you can scratch that. There's no command here. And the word dissimulation is the old English word for hypocrisy. As I have shared before, HUPOCRISIS, the Greek word for hypocrisy is a word for an actor who is speaking according to the script.
A person in a religious circle can be a hypocrite. They learn how to answer according to the script. They just learn all the terminologies, and how to say praise the Lord, and how are you doing, but there's been no transformation. There's been no change, no sign of life!
So, if we put this all together, there are only three words here. The love without hypocrisy. That's all it says. It's a statement of fact. Love is without hypocrisy. Love doesn't have hypocrisy in it at all. There's no acting in love. Love doesn't act. In fact, I have come to learn to not like the term act when you are talking to another Christian. "Well, you're not acting like a Christian."
You don't want to tell people that because then they are going to try and act like one. We're not supposed to act like Christians. We're supposed to be Christians. You're either the real thing or you're not. You either have Christ in you or you don't. Love (Agape love) is without hypocrisy. There's no acting. It's the real thing!
All of these things in the rest of the chapter are connected with the statement "Love is without hypocrisy." The first thing about corruption, it says Abhor that which is evil; and cleave to that which is good. Agape love, the love of God, abhors, detests evil. And the word cleave is the word for glue. Glue yourself to that which is good. How many of us have hated corruption and evil, we can't stand it, and glue ourselves to that which is good?
Romans 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The terms "by" in the text is actually the preposition "out of" as a source. Faith is a fruit of God's Spirit. It is not of man. Faith is a word that describes the activity of God's Spirit. Faith comes to us from out of hearing God's word. His Spirit ministers to us and persuades us and gives us the faith to do what God wants us to do out of the hearing of His word.
Romans 11:7 - What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
The rest of Israel were blinded! The word for blinded is POROO, pronounced Po-ro-oh. It's where we get our word porous from. It means to harden, to become stubborn, to cover with callouses.
And so, when it uses the word blinded, it means that Israel became insensitive to God. That's what callouses are for. You know, when you get out and start digging for the first time, you get blisters, and after a while you build up callouses. It makes it insensitive so that you don't feel it as much. They had become calloused.
Romans 11:29 - For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Do you see how that fits in? Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. I have shared this in the past, but there are two words in the Greek for repentance. METANOEO is the normal word for repentance for salvation.
The word repentance, and there's two words in the Greek. METANOEO is the normal word for repentance. That's the repentance for salvation. METAMELOMAI is used of Judas Iscariot in Matthew 27:3. That word doesn't mean I repent, it means I'm sorry, like "I'm sorry it all happened."
This word here in Verse 29 is METAMELOMAI. This is in reference to Israel over the sovereign election of Israel. God is not sorry for His gifts and His calling.
Yes Jackieboy, I thought was what you stated. Context of words in a sentence play a crucial role, along with punctuation, how the reader should interpret the sentence, phrase or paragraph.
King James Bible makes references in more than one chapter in both Old/New Testaments warning of these practices. So since I believe the KJB is inspired by God I have to believe in his warnings to me, don't do it.
You ask in one of your posts on this topic, did god create witch, which you said you didn't. This is one item I agree with you on, God didn't create evil ie witches in this case. If we will read Genesis we will understand or should understand what God created. Also where iniquity/pride/evil was found and how it broke Man's relationship with God.
In this analogy I don't believe God manufactures Kenworth tractors, so there for I don't believe that the one rolling at me at 55 mph is real and have faith it'll never hit me, only the driver and co-driver are telling each other roll on'. Have I been deceived in my thinking? In this case I believe I have.
I'll end with this my belief is God all Mighty is the only omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God.
My faith is in Christ Jesus the risen Savior with who God was very well pleased with
Holy Ghost as my comforter.
May we all seek God and be blessed because we found him and he is pleased we us.
If anyone reads this this far take a few more seconds to put praise in your pray for the worth lamb Jesus Christ I believe the Trinity is alive and well.
Ok , so I'm going to say something extremely controversial now , so it may not get put up on the site .
The reason the book of John doesn't contain the word faith is because he uses a different word which actually means believe , as opposed to faith . Same thing you may say .
By that logic , if you believe in witches , does that not also mean that you have faith in them ? Do you believe ( have faith ) in their powers ?
I don't believe in or have faith in any other power that that of the God of all Creation , the Holy One of Israel and , His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ . They are all I believe in , all I have faith in , they are true and all powerful and all knowing and able to do absolutely anything with any part of this entire universe . It all comes from , belongs to and is sustained by the Lord our God .
I don't think i can put it any plainer without sounding aggressive so I shall stop now and I don't wish to discuss this topic any further as I feel I would be going around in circles . May God bless us all .
Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Jeremiah 30:18-24 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
" There are no such thing as witches , just people who believe that they themselves are witches and people who believe that other people are witches . "
I am curious as to what you meant with your statement that you said there are no such things as witches only people who believe they are or other people believe they are. Do you actually want me to believe that there are no such things as witches only just make-believe witches?
King James Bible clearly has references to witches, so can you enlighten me on what you meant by only make-believe witches?
Exodus 22:18
And
Deuteronomy 18:10
Are a couple places I find reference to the topic.
Romans 7:24 - O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
First, he says "O wretched man that I am!" The word wretched means destitute. He sees himself as just a destroyed destitute person. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? He sees his body is the house that he lives in. Who's going to deliver me from this body of death? The term "body of death" is an interesting term within the Roman judicial system.
For some of the hardened criminals that committed murder, they would sentence them to serve their time with the dead body of the person that they killed strapped on their back. As it corrupted, and as it decayed, they corrupted and decayed with it. It eventually killed them.
Paul says that's what I feel like. I have died to sin. And I feel like I've got that old man, the old nature, the old life strapped on my back, reminding me and haunting me. It no longer lords it over me, but it just keeps working away, influencing and trying to get me away from the things of the Lord.
Romans 8:2 - For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The word sin has the definite article, the Sin Principle.
Romans 8:5 - For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
The word mind has to do with the frame of mind, not individual thoughts, but just the direction that our thoughts flow. The people who are not saved and are walking according to the flesh are people whose minds are always governed by the flesh, but they that are according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Only the Spirit of God can produce this frame of mind because we don't 100% in our thought processes think about the Lord. We've got "other things" to do! But it's the Spirit of God that gives us a frame of mind to participate with the Spiritual things of God. A non-believer doesn't have that.
There is a great misunderstand I the church among many concerning who's in the. Bride . For while all true born children of God are alre all called to that " high calling" not all will respond or be ( ye also") ready ".
To be BORN again is be qualified. to " run the race"it dress not win us " the prize".
The 5 foolish Virgo's we not ready and did not enter into the " marriage" being found unrecognisable as the Bride. Wit the words " I know ye not" the wicked and the unsaved are barred from the Kingdom wit the words " I never knew you" being recognisable as children of God .
To be BORN again is to get out of Egypt . By the Word of God,the power of God and the blood of a Lamb .
It only took the, just over two years to get to the promised land . Butt. We have made the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years as the Christian norm.
The wilderness was supposed to be as it were a boot camp . Where they learnt to walk by faith and not by sight and to not live ad alone butby every word that proceedeth from though of God"
For is it not written the Bride will come out of the wilderness terrible as an army with banners leaning on the arm of her beloved"?
The book of Romans (Constitution of the Christian faith)
(Romans Part 6):
Romans 1:24 - Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
It says that God gave them up. Literally, God gave them over. Again, that is a judicial term that means to hand down a sentence to somebody. It is their punishment and their sentence. God gave them over, and watch this: To uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: God gave them over. It's judgment! "You want to worship man? I'll give you some people to worship!"
Romans 1:28 - And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, and you see, He's already there, but they don't want Him to be there! God gave them over. There it is a third time. That's to impress us with the fact that God's wrath is being revealed from heaven right now.
God gave them over to a reprobate mind. I love some of these words in the King James. The word reprobate means to reject. God gave them a mind to reject the truth. Why? Because they rejected the truth on their own. He gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; which in our language means not right!
Romans 1:29 - Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
This word "whisperers" is basically a person who gossips, but secretly behind person's backs.
Romans 1:30 - Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Inventors of evil things in the Greek basically means "Find a new way to do the old sin."
It makes me question the way I lived, it seems like when you do right you suffer. I think now helping others was wrong, they only take advantage of you. I always thought as long as I tried to live right God would take care of me, now I have to question that'
Someone please help me understand why
1 Corinthians 3:3 - For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
The word carnal in this verse is different than what we see in Verse 1. This is SARKIKOS which is abnormal.
1 Corinthians 3:5 - Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
The word ministers is the word DIAKANOS. We get our English word deacon from this word.
1 Corinthians 3:6 - I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
This word increase is actually the word growth. It is the Greek word AUXANO. I point this out because there are preachers that use this to motivate people for the increase of the church in numbers. But it has to do with growth. Paul says, "I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the growth."
1 Corinthians 3:11 - For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Literally in the Greek text, it says "For other foundation can no man lay alongside of that. The word "than" means alongside of. You can't lay another foundation alongside of Christ. He's the only one!
1 Corinthians 3:13 - Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
And the fire shall test every man's work of what sort it is. The word "try" is the work DOKIMADZO where you pass the metals through the fire, and it burns off the dross. And so, every man's work is going to be tested.
Part 3
Paul knew the choices he had to make to continually free himself from the enemy in order that Christ's Life might show forth. We, too, must personally understand this perpetual struggle, as well as know the exact steps to overcome it.
Characteristics of a Carnal Christian (Soulish Man)
Let's put all of this into language we can understand. What are some of the characteristics that identify a "carnal Christian"?1These are born-again Christians because they have the Spirit of God in them. However, because they have chosen to follow what the flesh has told them over God's promptings, their actions show forth "self" rather than God. Here are some marks of identification:
Carnal Christians are often talkative and flippant, always making themselves the center of attention. They tend to use many words and look upon themselves as far more advanced than others. Consequently, they are often fault finders. Working for the Lord is of the utmost importance to them, but they feel that everything must be done in a hurry. They do not wait on the Lord forHisanswers. They often rely upon their own personality and have a large spiritual vocabulary. They are ambitious and want to attain glory for themselves. They usually are uncommonly gifted, have great talent and magnetic personalities. But, again, they dwell on their own superiority.
The basic characteristics of the works of the flesh are independence or self-dependence, self-confidence and self-reliance. This Christian values self-will above God's will. He can do righteous deeds and do them well; however, God says that any good that the flesh does is an abomination in His sight because it glorifies self, not Him.
See Part 4.
Part 2
Our flesh is corrupt because it was created in the image of Adam, rather than in the image of God (seeGenesis 5:3). In other words, sin now dwells in our flesh. Romans 7:20-23tells us that sin is a power that enslaves us. It's an energy force that dwells in our unregenerate bodies whose whole intent and purpose is to cause us to veer off course and to miss the mark-the mark being total conformity to the image of Christ. Satan uses this power of sin as his tool. And every time we choose to follow what our flesh is saying over what God is prompting us to do, we quench God's Spirit in us and become the enemy's pawns.
Like a prisoner of war, we can easily become overpowered, seized and carried offby the flesh. We can become an unwilling captive and wholly unable to rid ourselves of our bonds, our cords or bands of sin. We can become like a traveler who is caught off guard by bandits that pounced on him and carried him off. What's so sad is how could we, a born-again Christian, allow the bandits to creep up on us so quickly and capture us? How could we, who know so many Biblical truths, who have preached them and supposedly walked them, fall like this? How could this happen? Paul, however, says that he himself continually experienced this battle.
Listen:
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
Romans 7:23-25
See Part 3.
Thus, there are 1,290 years from Jacob's affliction in 1877 B.C. to the tribulation of Daniel's day in 587 B.C., and 2 x 1,290 = 2,580 years from Daniel's tribulation to the year 1994 A.D., which brings us to the heart of what the prophecy of Simeon is referring to. The year 1994 A.D. marked the official end of the church age, when there is a famine of hearing the words of the LORD in all the churches, and the beginning of the latter rain, that is, the final harvest of those that are becoming saved outside the churches.
Outside the churches, God is empowering the true believers to understand the things concerning the end and God is blessing his word to the hearts of those who are God's elect, which are typified by the men of Nineveh, of whom God declares:
Jonah 3:5,8-9 5So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. 8---let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. 9Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Daniel 11:35 declares: 35And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
To purge and make white is the language of salvation. Thus, we see a literal fulfillment of Simeon's prophecy in Luke 2:34 "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel", that is, the Israel of God consisting of all those who name the name of Christ and are chosen in Christ. What a marvelous Savior we have, whose birth we observe during this Christmas time.
May all of us cry mightily to God that God might have mercy on ourselves and our loved ones. It is still the day of salvation!
The End
In addition, we can think of 1 Kings 6:1, where we read: And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
1 Kings 6:1 provides a 480-year time bridge from Israel going out of the land of Egypt to the fourth year of Solomon's reign, which was the year 967 B.C., when Solmon began to build the house of the LORD. Israel going out of the land of Egypt represents God's salvation plan. God declares, "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage" ( Exodus 20:2). That is like, "I am Jehovah who has saved you." This physical representation of salvation occurred 430 years after the time Jacob went into the land of Egypt ( Exodus 12:40-41). It was the year 1447 B.C.
According to I Kings 6:1, it was exactly 480 years later, that is, 480 years after 1447 B.C., the year 967 B.C., when Solomon began to build the temple. We have learned that the temple of the Old Testament was a representation of the New Testament congregations and churches. It was also a representation of Christ Himself. Remember, He told the Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" ( John 2:19). When did Jesus, the spiritual temple, come to this earth to be the temple? While we do not have absolute proof that Jesus was born in the year 7 B.C., all of the circumstantial evidence points to 7 B.C. as the year of His birth. And 7 B.C. is exactly 960 years after Solomon's temple foundation was laid in 967 B.C. Thus, the total period from the going out of Egypt in 1447 B.C. to the birth of Christ in 7 B.C. is 1440 years. The 480-year period is one-third of this 1440 years. The 960 years is two-thirds of this 1440 years.
Cont in Part 14
Remember Isaiah 48:10 "I have refined thee in the furnace of affliction". Remember Zechariah 13:9 "I have brought the third part through the fire, the furnace of affliction." These verses coalesce around this present great tribulation in regards to God saving a great multitude which no man can number outside the churches, which were typified by Jerusalem back that came under judgment in 587 B.C. Referring to Micah 4:10, Jerusalem (typifying the local congregations) is the city that the woman being in travail shalt go forth from, and shall dwell in the field, that is, in the world ( Matthew 13:38), even to Babylon, that is, the secular world. There is where she shall be redeemed and delivered. It is crucial to note that it is outside the churches, in the secular world, where God is saving today. The phrase, "as a woman in travail," means that this woman is about to give birth, and indeed that is the case. Another passage that relates directly to this is Isaiah 49, where God is speaking metaphorically to the woman in travail:
Isaiah 49:18-21 18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
Cont in Part 12
Revelation 12:1-2 1And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: 2And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
The woman typifies the body of believers. The sun typifies the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings ( Malachi 4:2). The moon typifies the law of God, which is a reflection of the sun. The moon under her feet signifies that the believers are dead to the law; the law no longer has any claim on them. Christ as their substitute has fulfilled all the demands of the law on their behalf. The crown with twelve stars signifies the fullness of all believers, which are typified as the stars of heaven. She being with child cried, travailing in birth, pained to be delivered.
An interesting commentary on Revelation 12:2 is found in Isaiah 66:7-8 7Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
God is saying, before she travailed, before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. The man child is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose birth we observe each year at Christmas. The woman being in travail has reference to the great tribulation period. And note God's declaration, for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. When the Bible says, Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day, it is a rhetorical statement that has reference to the literal, bodily resurrection of the believers at the last day when Christ appears in great power and glory.
Cont in Part 11
Jeremiah 42:10-12 10If [turning back from going into Egypt] ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land.
That same promise was made in Micah 4:9-10 9Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail. 10Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
The woman in travail are the true believers during this time of great tribulation. God typifies the body of believers as a woman in Revelation 12.
Cont in Part 10
Ezekiel 4:4-6 4Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Numbers 14:32-33 32But as for you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. 33And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness. 34After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Thus, we have Biblical validation for substituting a day for a year or vice versa. Amazingly, when we jump 1,290 years from Jacob's affliction, which occurred in 1877 B.C., we land on 587 B.C. What happened that year? There was a physical famine, in that the Babylonians had laid siege to Jerusalem, allowing nothing to leave or come in. Ultimately Babylon destroyed Jerusalem with fire, and took Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego captive to Babylon. And even as God cared for Jacob and his family in the land of Egypt, so God was with Daniel and the others taken captive to Babylon. God had made a promise in Jeremiah 42:10.
Cont in Part 9
Acts 7:9-11 9And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, 10And delivered him out of all his afflictions [Greek: thlipsis], and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. 11Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction [Greek: thlipsis]: and our fathers found no sustenance.
Jacob's affliction stemmed from the fact that they were forced to leave the land of Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey, a land that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had dwelt in for 215 years, due to the famine. And in regards to famine, remember Amos 8:11?
Amos 8:11-12 11Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: 12And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
Amos 8:11 is speaking about our day, which is parallel to Jacob's tribulation in that within the churches there is a famine of HEARING the words of the LORD, meaning the Holy Spirit is no longer present in the churches to give spiritual ears to hear.
God has provided a time bridge of 1,290 years between Jacob's tribulation and the tribulation of Daniel's day. The 1,290 years comes from Daniel 12:11.
Daniel 12:9-11 9And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
God occasionally substitutes a day for a year, as in Ezekiel 4:4-6.
Cont in Part 8
Matthew 24:1-3 1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. 3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
The temple that God has in view are the churches and congregations that are scattered all over the earth. The word "buildings" in Matthew 24:1 is the same Greek root word translated "building" in 1 Corinthians 3:9 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's "building".
God goes on in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 to describe that there are two kinds of materials in this spiritual building: gold, silver, precious stones, typifying true believers, and wood, hay, stubble, typifying those who externally identify with the kingdom of God and yet are not born from above, and are fit to be burned and consumed by God who is a consuming fire.
The statement of Matthew 24:2, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down," means that there are no exceptions.
We are living in the period of great tribulation, spoken of in Matthew 24:21-22 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
The word 'tribulation' is the Greek word thlipsis translated "affliction" twice in Acts 7:10-11.
Cont in Part 7
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
The man of sin spoken of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is a reference to Satan, who comes into the congregations as the master deceiver, and because God is empowering him, he will succeed.
Daniel 8:23-25 23And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25And through his policy also he shall cause craft [deceit] to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
This prophecy is taking place, has taken place, in the churches worldwide today. There are no exceptions, and those who think there are exceptions should read again Matthew 24.
Cont in Part 6
Romans 11:1-12 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. 4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 7What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded 8(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day. 9And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompence unto them: 10Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?
God is declaring, you see, in verse 11, through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles (non-Jews). Now the same is true of the fall of the churches in our day during the great tribulation.
Cont. in Part 5
We read in Luke 2
25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. 34And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; 35(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
The key verse in this passage is verse 34, "Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against."
Let's first understand which Israel is God talking about. Is God talking about the political nation of Israel alongside the Mediterranean Sea? The answer is, absolutely not! Christ spoke in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them ( Mark 4:34). A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly or spiritual meaning. All kinds of people read the Bible superficially or literally and think that God is talking about the political nation of Israel. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Cont in Part 2
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God .
There's no confusion in this statement , no hidden meaning , nothing should be added or taken away from this simple yet most powerful confession .
Jesus Christ is the Son of God .
It is the Truth .
" Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee. The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory. Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee. Therefore thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings may be brought. For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted."
Isaiah 60 along with the other "prophetic" books have everything to do with God's salvation and judgement program during our Day.
(Romans Part 31a):
Romans 15:1 - We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
First of all, the classification. It says, we then that are strong. Romans 14:1 started off with "to the one who is weak with respect to the faith." Here it says to we who are strong. Paul considers himself to be a strong believer.
There are only two kinds. There's a weak believer and a strong believer. That's it! We then that are strong, that's a classification. Here's the concept: What are we to do? We ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. What a verse!
The word ought is an old English word that has to do with indebtedness. We are indebted. In the Greek, this is what is called a Present Active Imperative Indicative which means we are to continue to be indebted and obligated to those who are weaker. It is a continuous obligation. Our obligation is to bear the infirmities of the weak.
The word infirmities ASTHENEMATA means weakness. And the word weak ADUNATON means without power. They have no spiritual strength. We are not talking about somebody who is physically weak. We are talking about somebody who is spiritually weak. But we are to bear the infirmities of the weak. This is the same word used in Galatians Chapter 6 where it says to bear one another's burdens. This word actually means to carry. It doesn't mean to tolerate younger believers. It means to shoulder the load. Help carry their burdens, and to not please ourselves.
"Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction." Habakkuk 1:12 KJV
Now back to work. :)
Romans 12:9 - Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
It says let love be without dissimulation. What in the world is that? First of all, notice that the word "Let" is in italics. So, you can scratch that. There's no command here. And the word dissimulation is the old English word for hypocrisy. As I have shared before, HUPOCRISIS, the Greek word for hypocrisy is a word for an actor who is speaking according to the script.
A person in a religious circle can be a hypocrite. They learn how to answer according to the script. They just learn all the terminologies, and how to say praise the Lord, and how are you doing, but there's been no transformation. There's been no change, no sign of life!
So, if we put this all together, there are only three words here. The love without hypocrisy. That's all it says. It's a statement of fact. Love is without hypocrisy. Love doesn't have hypocrisy in it at all. There's no acting in love. Love doesn't act. In fact, I have come to learn to not like the term act when you are talking to another Christian. "Well, you're not acting like a Christian."
You don't want to tell people that because then they are going to try and act like one. We're not supposed to act like Christians. We're supposed to be Christians. You're either the real thing or you're not. You either have Christ in you or you don't. Love (Agape love) is without hypocrisy. There's no acting. It's the real thing!
All of these things in the rest of the chapter are connected with the statement "Love is without hypocrisy." The first thing about corruption, it says Abhor that which is evil; and cleave to that which is good. Agape love, the love of God, abhors, detests evil. And the word cleave is the word for glue. Glue yourself to that which is good. How many of us have hated corruption and evil, we can't stand it, and glue ourselves to that which is good?
Romans 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
The terms "by" in the text is actually the preposition "out of" as a source. Faith is a fruit of God's Spirit. It is not of man. Faith is a word that describes the activity of God's Spirit. Faith comes to us from out of hearing God's word. His Spirit ministers to us and persuades us and gives us the faith to do what God wants us to do out of the hearing of His word.
Romans 11:7 - What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded
The rest of Israel were blinded! The word for blinded is POROO, pronounced Po-ro-oh. It's where we get our word porous from. It means to harden, to become stubborn, to cover with callouses.
And so, when it uses the word blinded, it means that Israel became insensitive to God. That's what callouses are for. You know, when you get out and start digging for the first time, you get blisters, and after a while you build up callouses. It makes it insensitive so that you don't feel it as much. They had become calloused.
Romans 11:29 - For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
Do you see how that fits in? Nothing shall separate us from the love of God. I have shared this in the past, but there are two words in the Greek for repentance. METANOEO is the normal word for repentance for salvation.
The word repentance, and there's two words in the Greek. METANOEO is the normal word for repentance. That's the repentance for salvation. METAMELOMAI is used of Judas Iscariot in Matthew 27:3. That word doesn't mean I repent, it means I'm sorry, like "I'm sorry it all happened."
This word here in Verse 29 is METAMELOMAI. This is in reference to Israel over the sovereign election of Israel. God is not sorry for His gifts and His calling.
King James Bible makes references in more than one chapter in both Old/New Testaments warning of these practices. So since I believe the KJB is inspired by God I have to believe in his warnings to me, don't do it.
You ask in one of your posts on this topic, did god create witch, which you said you didn't. This is one item I agree with you on, God didn't create evil ie witches in this case. If we will read Genesis we will understand or should understand what God created. Also where iniquity/pride/evil was found and how it broke Man's relationship with God.
In this analogy I don't believe God manufactures Kenworth tractors, so there for I don't believe that the one rolling at me at 55 mph is real and have faith it'll never hit me, only the driver and co-driver are telling each other roll on'. Have I been deceived in my thinking? In this case I believe I have.
I'll end with this my belief is God all Mighty is the only omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God.
My faith is in Christ Jesus the risen Savior with who God was very well pleased with
Holy Ghost as my comforter.
May we all seek God and be blessed because we found him and he is pleased we us.
If anyone reads this this far take a few more seconds to put praise in your pray for the worth lamb Jesus Christ I believe the Trinity is alive and well.
The reason the book of John doesn't contain the word faith is because he uses a different word which actually means believe , as opposed to faith . Same thing you may say .
By that logic , if you believe in witches , does that not also mean that you have faith in them ? Do you believe ( have faith ) in their powers ?
I don't believe in or have faith in any other power that that of the God of all Creation , the Holy One of Israel and , His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ . They are all I believe in , all I have faith in , they are true and all powerful and all knowing and able to do absolutely anything with any part of this entire universe . It all comes from , belongs to and is sustained by the Lord our God .
I don't think i can put it any plainer without sounding aggressive so I shall stop now and I don't wish to discuss this topic any further as I feel I would be going around in circles . May God bless us all .
Ezra 3:11 And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.
Jeremiah 30:18-24 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Pardon me I was thinking you had said,
" There are no such thing as witches , just people who believe that they themselves are witches and people who believe that other people are witches . "
My bad.
I am curious as to what you meant with your statement that you said there are no such things as witches only people who believe they are or other people believe they are. Do you actually want me to believe that there are no such things as witches only just make-believe witches?
King James Bible clearly has references to witches, so can you enlighten me on what you meant by only make-believe witches?
Exodus 22:18
And
Deuteronomy 18:10
Are a couple places I find reference to the topic.
Romans 7:24 - O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
First, he says "O wretched man that I am!" The word wretched means destitute. He sees himself as just a destroyed destitute person. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? He sees his body is the house that he lives in. Who's going to deliver me from this body of death? The term "body of death" is an interesting term within the Roman judicial system.
For some of the hardened criminals that committed murder, they would sentence them to serve their time with the dead body of the person that they killed strapped on their back. As it corrupted, and as it decayed, they corrupted and decayed with it. It eventually killed them.
Paul says that's what I feel like. I have died to sin. And I feel like I've got that old man, the old nature, the old life strapped on my back, reminding me and haunting me. It no longer lords it over me, but it just keeps working away, influencing and trying to get me away from the things of the Lord.
Romans 8:2 - For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
The word sin has the definite article, the Sin Principle.
Romans 8:5 - For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
The word mind has to do with the frame of mind, not individual thoughts, but just the direction that our thoughts flow. The people who are not saved and are walking according to the flesh are people whose minds are always governed by the flesh, but they that are according to the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
Only the Spirit of God can produce this frame of mind because we don't 100% in our thought processes think about the Lord. We've got "other things" to do! But it's the Spirit of God that gives us a frame of mind to participate with the Spiritual things of God. A non-believer doesn't have that.
There is a great misunderstand I the church among many concerning who's in the. Bride . For while all true born children of God are alre all called to that " high calling" not all will respond or be ( ye also") ready ".
To be BORN again is be qualified. to " run the race"it dress not win us " the prize".
The 5 foolish Virgo's we not ready and did not enter into the " marriage" being found unrecognisable as the Bride. Wit the words " I know ye not" the wicked and the unsaved are barred from the Kingdom wit the words " I never knew you" being recognisable as children of God .
To be BORN again is to get out of Egypt . By the Word of God,the power of God and the blood of a Lamb .
It only took the, just over two years to get to the promised land . Butt. We have made the wandering in the wilderness for 40 years as the Christian norm.
The wilderness was supposed to be as it were a boot camp . Where they learnt to walk by faith and not by sight and to not live ad alone butby every word that proceedeth from though of God"
For is it not written the Bride will come out of the wilderness terrible as an army with banners leaning on the arm of her beloved"?
(Romans Part 6):
Romans 1:24 - Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
It says that God gave them up. Literally, God gave them over. Again, that is a judicial term that means to hand down a sentence to somebody. It is their punishment and their sentence. God gave them over, and watch this: To uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: God gave them over. It's judgment! "You want to worship man? I'll give you some people to worship!"
Romans 1:28 - And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, and you see, He's already there, but they don't want Him to be there! God gave them over. There it is a third time. That's to impress us with the fact that God's wrath is being revealed from heaven right now.
God gave them over to a reprobate mind. I love some of these words in the King James. The word reprobate means to reject. God gave them a mind to reject the truth. Why? Because they rejected the truth on their own. He gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; which in our language means not right!
Romans 1:29 - Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
This word "whisperers" is basically a person who gossips, but secretly behind person's backs.
Romans 1:30 - Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
Inventors of evil things in the Greek basically means "Find a new way to do the old sin."