Can we really follow Jesus's footsteps in His early ministry in the four gospels ? ? Can we really heal everyone like Jesus Christ has ? ? Can we raise the dead from the grave like Jesus Christ ? ?
Jesus Christ healed all that was sick.
Matthew 4:23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, andhealing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Jesus casted out devils.
Mark 1:39
And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, andcastoutdevils
Peter tried to walk on water like Jesus.
Matthew 14:29
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, hewalkedonthewater, to go to Jesus.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:43
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,Lazarus, come forth.
Now we ask ourselves again, can we really walk Jesus Christ footsteps and follow the law without sinning ? ? The answer is a big no .
That's why Jesus Christ died on the cross so we don't have to follow the law for Salvation, because the law only condemneth us and we don't have power anymore to heal or cast out devils.
John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said,Itisfinished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Jesus Christ is our redeemer for Salvation in his grace.
Ephesians 1:7
In whom we haveredemptionthrough his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
We now have the complete word of God. The The other stuff faded away. We are left with the Holy Spirit and the Word of Truth.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
Salvation is NOT found in a religion or good works, but in a Person... The LORD JESUS CHRIST!
John 11:25, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 6:40, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Mark 1:15, "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
John 10:36 - Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
I hope you make the connection? They didn't say to Him "It is because you said you are the Son of God." It says because you said you are God. That's because as I have mentioned to you before, the title "Son of God" is to the Jew a title of God Himself!
The word "son" in Greek does not mean somebody who is a son by birth. It is never used of Jesus in the scripture. He is not the son of God in that there's "father God," and "mother God," and they had a child named Jesus.
John 11:16 - Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Didymus means "The Twin."
John 11:47 - Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
This would be the Sanhedrin, the highest council of the Jews, both of civil and religious affairs. 70 priests and scholars plus the high priest make up the Sanhedrin.
John 12:2 - There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
The word "sat" is not a correct translation. How they ate in those days, they didn't sit in chairs. They had a table close to the ground and they would lean on the table with their right arm, and they would have their legs and feet spread straight out. They were actually leaning (reclining) on the table.
Some translations of the New Testament actually use the word "reclining" because that's how they used to recline at the table.
So, Jesus' feet were facing the back. And so, she pours (she anoints) the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
" And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost."
How does faith come to man? "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God./ But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." The babe leaped in the womb of his mother just as Lazarus who was dead for some four days heard the voice. "Lazarus, come forth./And he that was dead came forth"( John 11:43-44). Similarly John hears the number spoken in his vision,(Re.9:16). Faith is the lingua franca between the two worlds framed by the word of God and this holds for creature two worlds simultaneously, the heavenly places and our physical world Faith is the language between them, "Deep calleth unto deep"(Ps.42:7). Israel being disobedient and gainsaying people were like ostrich their head buried in sand. So are those who refuse faith on insufficient grounds. The babe heard the salutation of Mary and leaped in her womb which is the works we are concerned with. If we say Jesus Christ is the light of the world our works being good witnesses for him establish the quality of our faith. In the case of Paul he believed in the body prepared of God so he would walk not by sight but but by faith. St Paul did not go by appearances nor take things at its face value. " For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life./Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." (2 Co.5:4-5)
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead./And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."(vv.14-15)
These other things would be God, not the God of Scripture.
With the doctrine of simplicity, His immutability is one aspect of His divine simplicity. James 1:17 speaks of this when he says that in God there is no shadow of turning. This means that there is no changing in Him and no variation or alteration or degree or greater or lesser of anything of His Being. This tells us that God is not made of parts, that He is unable to be anything than what He is eternally and He is perfect in every possible way to be perfect.
Divine simplicity also speaks of God actually Being what He reveals of Himself and also what we have yet to know of Hm. He is all that He describes Himself to be. he does not have attributes or perfections, He is these. For instance, the Scriptures tell us that God is I AM (IS) saying that He is existence. (EX, 3:14) He says that He is life, ( John 14:6) along with the truth and way. God is light ( I John 1:5. God is Spirit John (4:24): God says, I am merciful, ( Ex. 22:27). John 11:25 Jesus say He is the Resurrection and the Life. These are just some of the examples where God equates His attributes with who He is not what He has.
Another aspect of God's uniqueness is that He is the only God that exists; no other God will be made or come into existence, nor was there any other God who preceded Him See Is. 46:9. Is.44:6-8; Is. 43:10-Isaiah, who saw the LORD (Jesus) on the throne in heaven in Is. 6; and John 8:38-41. This uniqueness as the one and only true divine being is the very basis of our faith.
Another aspect of God's uniqueness is His oneness- He is a unified single God who exists as three distinct persons-the Father, the Son, and the hoy Spirit who all three share the divine nature equally, eternally, and fully. I will speak more of this in my next post on "God is a UNITY".
God's uniqueness sets Him apart from all else. There is no one like Him!
There is no peace for the wicked ( Isaiah 48:22; 57:21) and other passages.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. ( John 11:48).
Having explored this first passage before; I thought I would include the second for consideration. It would seem that the religious leaders were indebting themselves in what they would consider a hostile takeover of their nation because of the Gentiles not tolerating their unbelief. This was near no doubt near to the "triumphal entry" of Christ which came immediately before the crucifixion. They should have realized that God Himself through Christ would destroy the wicked when He comes to rule and reign with His heavenly armies.
These passages remind us of today; when people wish to continue in their wickedness much like Roman society as a whole did with their pagan worship and associated sins and how every empire has fallen making our own demise a certainty. Prophetically the first seal signifies what could be described as enforced peace; or submission which is basically as Islam promises to happen in the last days under the final Imam. With the world's technology it has been hard for total control of any dictator of communication; although economic control is getting a tighter and tighter grip. The power vacuum in recent decades brings a sort of half hearted proxy war mentality to the world. This is due to the realization of mutually assured destruction with an all out nuclear conflict and a rather tepid and disorganized NATO and related groups who are trying to cobble together a large enough resistance to counter Russia who they are convinced wants to take over all of Europe eventually. It seems the internet has also been where the main emphasis has been in various platforms to gain influence of the minds of young people to various ideologies. The "trojan horse" of immigrants has certainly brought many camels in the tent
Difference between God and His angels and Satan and his legion: Miracles
In MacBeth Shakespeare says in a famous quote "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." That is the basic view of meaninglessness much as Solomon states in Ecclesiastes of all the pleasures of the world apart from God.
When viewing Christ and His early miracles before He was to be revealed to the world and the ensuing factors that would essentially speed up the events leading to the crucifixion many times people were to tell no one who He was ( Mark 8:30; Matt. 16:20). The Pharisees were asking Him for a sign; which was not granted. The many miracles He performed were not accepted as from God and they were well aware of this; fearing that they would lose their position and nation ( John 11:48). He weeded out would be disciples with hard sayings (see John 6:66). Jesus knew that no man could even know who He was without Divine intervention ( John 6:44).
The enemy uses the opposite approach; Revelation 13 in particular shows how false signs and wonders deceive the masses. The enemy never holds back unless God Himself restricts him. We see many phenomenon which to an undiscerning mind cannot be differentiated from the truth; namely fire that appears to come down from heaven; a miraculous healing of a deadly wound; and a false prophet that no doubt uses whatever religion a person adheres to to convince someone that they are the ultimate fulfillment-hence their messiah.
Only the Lord can create anything from nothing; and that is seen in His miracles when on earth. He will continue as well with the new heaven and earth and our resurrection bodies. One could argue that the elements burning up in Peter merely means a reconfiguration of already existing matter; nonetheless our old world is destroyed and anew one commences. Exactly how our new bodies are made is a mystery but they will be immortal and incorruptible.
Does our soul live on after we die? Do the souls of the dead roam around on the earth and some are in heaven and some are in hell? This is my understanding, the thought or belief in ghosts or spirits of people, some going to heaven and some going to hell comes from the teaching that the soul is immortal, and the soul never dies. It started when the serpent told Eve you shall not surely die, many ancient nations had different forms of religious beliefs on the immortality of the soul, and what we see today was adopted from Greek philosophy.
Are there evil spirits, devils, and demons on this earth? Yes, and these are what people are encountering, my understanding of the Bible they are not the souls of people. God told Israel and it applies to us today, not to deal with mediums or spiritualism those who work divination. We see Saul doing it in 1 Samuel 28 and he died because he did it, 1 Chronicles 10:13.
We sleep in death when we die Psalm 13:3Matthew 27:52John 11:11-14 1 Corinthians 15:20. We only put on immortality when we are resurrected, Job 14:13-14Daniel 12:21 John 5:28-29 Corinthians 15:51-54. I hope this helps but you and your husband study it for your understanding, not mine.
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. (JESUS is coming and is at door, it is midnight, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet HimMatthew 25:6and10.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of GOD, GOD will give it thee.
23 JESUS saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto JESUS, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection AT THE LAT DAY. (Seventh and last Day, the Lord's Day, or seventh and last millnnium.. This Day arrived)
Further examination of John 16:8 as to righteousness
John 16:8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.
I have examined this verse in light of sin; but thought before I continue with the other two aspects of the verse in detail; I should mention that UNBELIEF is something that not only the world but all of us-in reality are in a state of before being regenerated; as that is the first role of the Holy Spirit. When Christ was present on earth; it was clear that after multitudes; presumably almost everyone in Israel knew of Christ's undeniable miracles ( John 11:47) and also of the Apostles ( Acts 4:16) that deliberate unbelief would be the precursor of blasphemy of the Holy Ghost; where Beelzebub was said to be the source of Christ's strength; or others such as the sons of Sceva and the sorcerer in Acts would attempt to gain this power in their own strength or attempt to get it through money. The end result; clearly didn't go too well for these individuals; and no forgiveness was offered for blasphemy of the Spirit ( Mark 3:29 said early in Christ's ministry). Christ said all things against Him or the Father could be forgiven ( Matt. 12:32) but not against the Holy Spirit-and that also is set for the future reign of the Lord on the earth as well. Let us all be as the man in Mark 9:24 and ask Jesus to help us with our unbelief!
Now as to righteousness. Jesus says because He goes to the Father and we no longer see Him that the Spirit testifies of righteousness. I would think this implies that all who truly know Christ now are as the result of the unseen work of the Spirit.
As odd as it seems; when Christ was here physically as to Him being God that had to be revealed from above.
John 1:1 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with GOD, and the Word was GOD.
The Word of GOD is from everlasting to everlasting, the Word is GOD, GOD Himself, self-executing. If the believers(each one) keep GOD's Word in the heart, it means GOD is in him, and he has Life because GOD is Life.
JESUS said: John 5:39-40:->39 Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have ETERNAL life(the Word is GOD,God is Life):and they are they which testify of me-JESUS.40 And ye will not come to me,that ye might have life?JESUS said: John 11: 26:Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.Believest thou this?Phi.3:20-21:-> 20 Our conversation is in heaven(heaven? Ephesians 1:3-8); from whence also we look for the Saviour,the Lord Jesus Christ:21 Who shall CHANGE our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body(this is not a magic,it is worked,understand),according to the working whereby He-JESUS-is able even to subdue all things unto himself.(as Luke 20:35-36.Take a look) .
Furthermore they have Light.Jo.1:4 In him-JESUS-was Life;and the Life was the Light of men.1Jo.1:5-7: ->5...GOD is Light,and in Him is no darkness at all.6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him,and walk in darkness,we lie, and do not the Truth:7 But if we walk in the Light,s he is in the light,we have fellowship one with another,and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Corinthians 15:51-54
51Behold,I shew you a mystery;We shall not all sleep,but we shall all be changed,
52In a moment...at the last trump:for the trumpet shall sound,and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,and we shall be changed.
53For this corruptible must put on incorruption,and this mortal must put on immortality.
54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,and this mortal shall have put on immortality,then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,Death is swallowed up in victory.
The other day I discussed roles of men and women; and showed the case of Miriam and good and bad things about her behavior.
This situation shows how in general how a true Prophet can have certain sins that cause a downfall. Another example is in 1 Kings 13 starting in verse 11. His disobedience in stopping anywhere to eat on his journey back from a prophetic mission cost him his life. This story shows not only his disobedience; but the obstinance of the other prophet who enticed him to eat with him. The Spirit entered him much as it did with Balaam after he accepted the offer with a true word from God (in this case about his demise). We could look at Cephus as another example in John 11:50. So we can see several situations here:
1. A TRUE Prophet that errs in obedience to God
2. A FALSE Prophet that the Lord still uses to some extent for His purposes
3. Someone not designated as a Prophet who still says something to that affect.
We could look at the third example in the case of Pontius Pilate; who put the inscription in Matthew 27:37 on being the King of the Jews. John 19:22 further expounds on this theme in Pilate's declaration that it should stand. Whether his reasonings were mocking; or an honest assesment of his innocence could be questioned-it is clear that he never came to true repentance even if his sins were less serious than those of the others who were complicit or outright demanded he be crucified and a murder (Barabbas) released.
The story of Balaam in Numbers 22 should teach us some object lessons as well. One may assume that his story was an ancient tale and not of any importance today other than looking for false prophecies in general. This isn't true because this man was hired for money and we see evidence in the last days of those looking for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Timothy 3 and a couple other places in the N.T.) To say what a megachurch Pastor wants to hear to draw multitudes occurs today.
"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."(v.3)
All the four gospels carry this incident where the woman had prescience to anoint Jesus for his burial. None present there except Jesus who understood the significance of her action. "He (Jesus Christ) knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."Besides he knew what he was there for, among them and also knew where he was going to. His deity was as the Word become flesh. In Luke we read thus, "For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end."( Luke 22:37)
How can a woman of ill repute find the right occasion to be born again or in this case, Mary as John gives her a name, break the box unless her faith and of Christ was one?( John 12:3) God breathed into man and made him a living soul. Faith is what explains this relationship between God and man. "Faith is one."(Ep.4:5) So in her action she poured out herself in order to prepare him beforehand for her burial.
What is the significance of Bethany? In the Gospel of John Jesus was in the company of Lazarus whom he had raised from death. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."( John 11:25).
The alabaster box is similar to the earthen vessel that Jeremiah broke as commanded of God. The box doubles for Mary whose faith became a memorial unto her. St Mark juxtaposes this with the breaking of bread during the Last supper.(v.22)
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Death is an enemy; and verse 26 of this chapter indicates that it will eventually be eliminated. Jesus was the "first of the firstfruits" so to speak; which extends through the Rapture/Resurrection event of the righteous; through the Revelation 14:4 event of the translation of the 144,000. After this we will have the Second Coming when those that survive until that time physically will survive to repopulate the earth in the Millennial period; followed by the time the Heavenly Jerusalem comes down and God the Father dwells with men (v. 24).
It is hard to comprehend let alone understand all the mysteries of His death; burial and resurrection. It is as a grand play on stage; except that the pathos is real; and His atonement was sufficient for us all to deliver our sins as far as the east is from the west. ( Psalm 103:12). He ever lives to intercede for His people ( Hebrews 7:25). He first rose from the dead and we shall likewise. He who believes in Him will never die ( John 11:25-26) even though he dies physically in reality it is only the body that sleeps as we see about Lazarus earlier in that chapter. We have hope unlike the world for those "fallen asleep" ( 1 Thess. 4:14-18).
All of creation also is awaiting the change and groans until now ( Romans 8:23). For those who believe the last scene of this real life drama is glorious and never ending; while there is no peace for the wicked ( Isaiah 48:22; etal). Let that sink in as the world in its ignorance turns this glorious day into a mockery.
John 11:26 says... And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
A true believer is "crucified with Christ" and it is not I who live ( Gal. 2:20). Our experience will differ somewhat in timing from those already asleep ( 1 Thess. 4:16). As Hebrews 9:27 states we are all to "die once and face the judgment". Also it states being "absent from the body is present with the Lord." ( 2 Cor. 5:8). This necessitates the "Bema Seat" judgment to occur at death; or in the case of those still alive and raptured up; at that time. So in a sense; it will be in completing the death process of the sanctification which ultimately brings us eternal life.
I have often reminded people that martyrdom should it come is the end of a life of sanctification. In some ways that would be much like the Rapture in that there is a sudden end to our time on earth. It is possible someone could be martyred after a rather poor testimony and lukewarmness in this life; but more often scripturally at least it seems the persecutions and sufferings prepare a person for that end and death is simply a final display of Christ's holiness in the life of a saint. These truths are what makes all the claimed dreams about the rapture seem suspect. For one thing the Resurrection of the just is rarely even mentioned even though scripture states it to be the first thing immediately followed it seems by the Rapture of those still alive at the time. Some debate if Revelation 4:1 is indeed a foreshadowing of the Rapture; I would say it is and certainly the vision of Christ in the first chapter and his state of being as though dead will be our own condition when first beholding His glory. There is much ado about deceased relatives and other glories of a heavenly place and whatever is stated scripturally about that is true but of course the majesty of God overshadows that. Whatever the trip up is; the Bema Seat takes front & center
"And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." Jesus assured "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"( John 11:25). Three days and an half gives us the assurance that the two witnesses were a sign, that the spirit of life that raised the Son from death worked in their case as well. So vv.9-10 explain in what sense we need interpret, "the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."(v.9) . They are witnesses even in their death that not a jot or iota from the Law shall be changed.
" And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand."(v.13)
At the same hour is a tag to the day of judgment that shall follow. Ten indicates judgment and 7x1000 determines it is decreed from heaven.
"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."(Ec.3:11)
No man can find out the mind of God to control time. Only from the work of God one can make sense. This work of God is to believe Jesus Christ. "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."( John 6:28-29). When Jesus said "I am the resurrection, and the life." ( John 11:25,26) Martha had no understanding to connect this directly to the Son of man but Jesus corrects her and admit it was so."Believest thou this?" In this context what does the budding of Aaron's rod signify? Who shall serve God is it Levi, Israel as a nation or Jesus Christ the Word become flesh? "and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds."(Nu.17:8,2) The Word of God decreed the day of salvation in his Son.(Ps.2:6-8) This is the Will of God so in the Abstract we have the MOU between God and Man. "and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." Moses wrote the name of Levi as commanded by God. 'The seed in itself' is indicative it is the word of God is going to work in this test. The work of God according the quote from JohnCh.6 flowering of the rod in a proof of Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. (He.13:8)The rod flowered according to the divine Will. Time is of no consequence.
Which came first: chicken or egg? The divine Will is omnipotence. Accordingly the word of God supplied all the information so we are to accept both as one, as the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind. The world of blackholes prove information cannot be lost. neither can the word of God. We deceived ourselves to think atom bombs would stop the WWII We did not even imagine the name North Korea then. It just proves.
Please don't misunderstand my comment to the two scriptures you used in this discussion. I won't say if I believe in soul sleep or being in God's presence immediately but I do want to say in these scriptures, I believe, that Jesus was saying in John 11: 25-26 and John 10: 27-28 simply that once someone is saved they have eternal life promised them and will be with Him when He is ready for them to be, whether sleeping first or going right away. Whether He meant it one way or another the promise of eternal life is what matters. God Bless :)
Hey GiGi, an observation on your reference to John 11:25, Jesus did indeed "explain" that he was the resurrection and the life. But if you notice verse 23 and 24, when he says.. "Thy brother shall rise again", Martha, having listened to the teachings of Jesus on many occasions, says.. v24 Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection AT THE LAST DAY. just saying.
You are correct, our salvation does not depend on whether we believe in "soul sleep" or "soul death" as opposed to the continuance of the soul as alive after the death of the body. So it is still good to discuss it if we use Scripture as our guide ad rule.
I am encouraged by the words of our Savior and Lord in John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall NEVER die. Believest thou this?"
Jesus knew that people from that time forth would certainly die physically as to their bodies dying, just as those who lived before him died in the body. But here He says that, though the body dies, we still live on. He is speaking of our soul's continued existence after the body dies. Can't be any clearer than this. He asks a good question: Believest thou this? I believe what He says here and look forward to being alive with Him when my body dies and to see those believers who have died before I die and those who die after I die. We will have a great reunion in the life to come. We have eternal life in Jesus as believers and so this means our soul will not die but will be reunited with our bodies when our bodies are resurrected.
Also John 10:27-28
"My sheep hear my voice (in this life), and I know them, and they follow me. And I five unto them eternal life and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
So good to know that we have eternal life now, even if we die, we live on, not in our bodies, but in our soul and spirit, until the resurrection when our bodies will join with our soul and spirit once again and then be forever alive.
If we pay close attention to John 11:23-26, the resurrection refers to more than just the body in these 3 verses.
Infact there is a lot being said here.
Verse 23, Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. (He/Lazarus will take up residence in his body again.)
Verse 25, (Resurrection is viewed as a category, not an event.) " Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Verse 26, Jesus says "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
We know Lazarus died so that doesn't apply to his physical death.
This speaks of the present eternal condition of the believer once he believe!... (Believest thou this?)
He has taken part of the "first resurrection" mentioned in Revelation 20-6. this is viewed as a category, not a sequence.
There are those who are "the living" and have eternal life who will be reunited with their glorified resurrected bodies.
There are also those who are "the dead" who will be reunited with their corrupted bodies and will be cast into Hell where there will be WEEPING AND NASHING OF TEETH.
There are no steps of absent of the body, waiting on a resurrection to have eternal life. If you have it, it is eternal.
The thing is, have you been made conformable unto his death?
Who would be the 12 elders from the Old Testament mentioned in your post???, which already are clothed in white raiment; and have on their heads crowns of gold.
By the way, from the New Testament, you should know that all the saints, but all, including the Apostles, they all still are waiting their resurrection of this last Day( John 11:24), i.e. the SEVENTH and last Day or the current SEVENTH and last millennium.
As far as I know at this time, of all the New Testament saints there is none in heaven who was clothed in white raiment; and have on their heads crowns of gold. You should restudy your interpretation.
Of course, I do not mind, you have always treated me with respect and care.
What John 11:25-26 means to me. Jesus is the resurrection, His perfect life when He died on the cross and was buried in a tomb death could not hold Him. To me, it is the gospel, the simplicity of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation, and our hope in eternal life. Even if we die, we who believe in Jesus Christ will live as we see in John 5:29 the resurrection of life.
We sleep in death, but we have the promise of eternal life, we will never die. Those of the wicked and lost will face the second death, the permanent death of no return. As Jesus asked Martha do you believe this, regardless of what we face and the struggles and doubts we have in this world we go through in this fleshly body, all of our hope and trust must be in Jesus, who is the truth, the light, and what He said will come to be.
I hope your day has gone well. It is morning here in Washington state.
When I read your post to Chris, I immediately though of Matthew 22:23 where Jesus said, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
To me, Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive.
Also, refer to 1 Samuel, 2:6 in the song Hannah sang, "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up."
Notice the order, first death, then made alive. Of course this happens fully in the resurrection, but in considering what Jesus said that He who believes in me will never die. ( john 11:26)
And, one of my favorite verses: Romans 8:37-39
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This clearly says that death cannot separate us from God.
And Jesus said to His disciples, "Behold, I AM with you always, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:20
And Paul encourages believers by reminding them that God said, "I will never leave You nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5, Josh. 1:5
So, to me, always and never mean that we will always be alive, whether in this life now or after we die.
Therefore, I believe that when we die, our body dies, but we are still alive with God. Our bodies will be rejoined to our soul and spirit when we are resurrected and then we will be made complete (whole, perfected) for eternity.
Hello Friends, today I wish to keep the conflict in Israel/Gaza in my prayers especially ass it seems that things will escalate more over the next week. I pray that civilians in each area get to safety.
To continue in my study on Who God truly is I move on to "L" and meditate on God as being LIFE.
God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as "I AM WHO I AM" which speaks to His self-existence. He does not derive His existence from any other, nor did He ever begin to exist at any time, nor will He ever not exit. This is impossible for Him.
When He calls Himself "I AM, it is perhaps one of the profoundest statement we can know. HE IS!
He is clearly stating that He exists, o if, and, or buts about it. He has always existed, and will exist forever.
John 1:4 says that Life is in God. He is the source of all life. Because He is the Life. john 11:25 Jesus calls Himself the Resurrection and the Life. John 5:26 Jesus says that He has Life within Himself just as the Father has life within Himself. Thus saying that He is God , just as the Father is God. John 6:63 Jesus says that the Spirit gives life, affirming that the Spirit is God. And with these statements Jesus is saying that within the Godhead there are three who together gives life since they are Life itself. Nothing comes into existence without being created by God and it is He who give any creature life. In John 6:63.
God made us. Each person of the Godhead is involved in giving us life because they are Life itself, as Jesus says in John 14:6 when He says that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Romans 5:10 speaks of how we are saved through the life of Christ. By the power of God's everlasting life, Jesus' body was resurrected from the dead and lives forever. This is how we receive salvation. Because He lives, we will live. And since all people ever created receive their natural life from God, those who are chosen by God to be saved, receive their spiritual life from God as well. see part 2
Thank you, this makes sense to a lot of the scriptures;
John 3:15 "That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 6:47 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life."
John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that BELIEVETH in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that BELIEVETH; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Thank you again for your time and patience to respond to a question that seems obvious to the experienced Christians. I am nothing but a mere child in the faith and so my understanding is somewhat limited and have a little catching up to do. Thanks and may God bless you and peace to you in Jesus name
He walked with God, meaning in the presence of God, so he was aware of the will of God and its fulfillment. The significance of the name of his son attests to it. It is the power of the Word and it allowed him to prophecy of the end times." Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones."(Jude v.14-NIV)" The number Seven is indicative of his life span was in accordance with the word of God. Sixty-five years before Methuselah. Three hundred years with God (3x100) points his translation without seeing death was fulfillment of the word, "And whoever lives by believing in me will never die."( John 11:26). We are setting his life in context of the word forever settled in heavens.(Ps.119:89)
Methusaleh
The Spirit places him as a double for the Son, being the seventh in descent from Seth who stepped in the breach of Abel who is the first martyr for being righteous. ( 1 John 3:12) Seven as command number indicates perfection of the divine Will. He is the only son in an age when a large family was the norm, foreshadowing 'the only begotten Son' who would be sent to the world. The holy family of Seth survives judgement of the old world through his grandson Noah. His personal name, meaning man of the dart, points to the river of time that Salvation Plan of God connects from beginning of the age to its ending
Lamech
The Spirit includes two of the same name in order to present representations of godless descendants of Cain and of the holy family beginning from Seth. Lamech the fifth in descent from Cain was boastful and who feared neither God nor man. "If Cain is avenged seven times then Lamech, seventy-seven times.' (Ge.4:27). Famous last words. On the other hand Lamech seventh in descent from Seth is a locus classic as to the 'in the image of man'. Thus Methusaleh is set as the double for the Son. The remaining sons and daughters are left out.
Jesus Christ healed all that was sick.
Matthew 4:23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, andhealing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Jesus casted out devils.
Mark 1:39
And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, andcastoutdevils
Peter tried to walk on water like Jesus.
Matthew 14:29
And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, hewalkedonthewater, to go to Jesus.
Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
John 11:43
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,Lazarus, come forth.
Now we ask ourselves again, can we really walk Jesus Christ footsteps and follow the law without sinning ? ? The answer is a big no .
That's why Jesus Christ died on the cross so we don't have to follow the law for Salvation, because the law only condemneth us and we don't have power anymore to heal or cast out devils.
John 19:30
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said,Itisfinished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Jesus Christ is our redeemer for Salvation in his grace.
Ephesians 1:7
In whom we haveredemptionthrough his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
We now have the complete word of God. The The other stuff faded away. We are left with the Holy Spirit and the Word of Truth.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10
9For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
May we believe.
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
The word of truth is the gospel of grace.
Salvation is NOT found in a religion or good works, but in a Person... The LORD JESUS CHRIST!
John 11:25, "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
John 14:6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
John 6:40, "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
Mark 1:15, "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."
BY: DR, JOHN R. RICE
COME LORD JESUS
John 10:36 - Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
I hope you make the connection? They didn't say to Him "It is because you said you are the Son of God." It says because you said you are God. That's because as I have mentioned to you before, the title "Son of God" is to the Jew a title of God Himself!
The word "son" in Greek does not mean somebody who is a son by birth. It is never used of Jesus in the scripture. He is not the son of God in that there's "father God," and "mother God," and they had a child named Jesus.
John 11:16 - Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Didymus means "The Twin."
John 11:47 - Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles.
This would be the Sanhedrin, the highest council of the Jews, both of civil and religious affairs. 70 priests and scholars plus the high priest make up the Sanhedrin.
John 12:2 - There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.
The word "sat" is not a correct translation. How they ate in those days, they didn't sit in chairs. They had a table close to the ground and they would lean on the table with their right arm, and they would have their legs and feet spread straight out. They were actually leaning (reclining) on the table.
Some translations of the New Testament actually use the word "reclining" because that's how they used to recline at the table.
So, Jesus' feet were facing the back. And so, she pours (she anoints) the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
" And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost."
How does faith come to man? "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God./ But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." The babe leaped in the womb of his mother just as Lazarus who was dead for some four days heard the voice. "Lazarus, come forth./And he that was dead came forth"( John 11:43-44). Similarly John hears the number spoken in his vision,(Re.9:16). Faith is the lingua franca between the two worlds framed by the word of God and this holds for creature two worlds simultaneously, the heavenly places and our physical world Faith is the language between them, "Deep calleth unto deep"(Ps.42:7). Israel being disobedient and gainsaying people were like ostrich their head buried in sand. So are those who refuse faith on insufficient grounds. The babe heard the salutation of Mary and leaped in her womb which is the works we are concerned with. If we say Jesus Christ is the light of the world our works being good witnesses for him establish the quality of our faith. In the case of Paul he believed in the body prepared of God so he would walk not by sight but but by faith. St Paul did not go by appearances nor take things at its face value. " For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life./Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." (2 Co.5:4-5)
"For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead./And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again."(vv.14-15)
Part 3
These other things would be God, not the God of Scripture.
With the doctrine of simplicity, His immutability is one aspect of His divine simplicity. James 1:17 speaks of this when he says that in God there is no shadow of turning. This means that there is no changing in Him and no variation or alteration or degree or greater or lesser of anything of His Being. This tells us that God is not made of parts, that He is unable to be anything than what He is eternally and He is perfect in every possible way to be perfect.
Divine simplicity also speaks of God actually Being what He reveals of Himself and also what we have yet to know of Hm. He is all that He describes Himself to be. he does not have attributes or perfections, He is these. For instance, the Scriptures tell us that God is I AM (IS) saying that He is existence. (EX, 3:14) He says that He is life, ( John 14:6) along with the truth and way. God is light ( I John 1:5. God is Spirit John (4:24): God says, I am merciful, ( Ex. 22:27). John 11:25 Jesus say He is the Resurrection and the Life. These are just some of the examples where God equates His attributes with who He is not what He has.
Another aspect of God's uniqueness is that He is the only God that exists; no other God will be made or come into existence, nor was there any other God who preceded Him See Is. 46:9. Is.44:6-8; Is. 43:10-Isaiah, who saw the LORD (Jesus) on the throne in heaven in Is. 6; and John 8:38-41. This uniqueness as the one and only true divine being is the very basis of our faith.
Another aspect of God's uniqueness is His oneness- He is a unified single God who exists as three distinct persons-the Father, the Son, and the hoy Spirit who all three share the divine nature equally, eternally, and fully. I will speak more of this in my next post on "God is a UNITY".
God's uniqueness sets Him apart from all else. There is no one like Him!
There is no peace for the wicked ( Isaiah 48:22; 57:21) and other passages.
If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. ( John 11:48).
Having explored this first passage before; I thought I would include the second for consideration. It would seem that the religious leaders were indebting themselves in what they would consider a hostile takeover of their nation because of the Gentiles not tolerating their unbelief. This was near no doubt near to the "triumphal entry" of Christ which came immediately before the crucifixion. They should have realized that God Himself through Christ would destroy the wicked when He comes to rule and reign with His heavenly armies.
These passages remind us of today; when people wish to continue in their wickedness much like Roman society as a whole did with their pagan worship and associated sins and how every empire has fallen making our own demise a certainty. Prophetically the first seal signifies what could be described as enforced peace; or submission which is basically as Islam promises to happen in the last days under the final Imam. With the world's technology it has been hard for total control of any dictator of communication; although economic control is getting a tighter and tighter grip. The power vacuum in recent decades brings a sort of half hearted proxy war mentality to the world. This is due to the realization of mutually assured destruction with an all out nuclear conflict and a rather tepid and disorganized NATO and related groups who are trying to cobble together a large enough resistance to counter Russia who they are convinced wants to take over all of Europe eventually. It seems the internet has also been where the main emphasis has been in various platforms to gain influence of the minds of young people to various ideologies. The "trojan horse" of immigrants has certainly brought many camels in the tent
King David was flesh and blood, therefore he is in the grave, dust to dust.
Acts 2:29-34
King David, the NEW CREATION, by the resurrection of Christ, is now in the presence of God, being made ONE FLESH, by the resurrection of Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:53 ... this mortal shall PUT ON IMMORTALITY ......
1 Timothy 6:16 ...... Christ ONLY hath IMMORTALITY, dwelling in the light ......
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all...... are CHANGED into the same IMAGE .... even so by the Spirit of God.
John 11:25 ..... Christ is the RESURRECTION .......
God Bless You
In MacBeth Shakespeare says in a famous quote "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." That is the basic view of meaninglessness much as Solomon states in Ecclesiastes of all the pleasures of the world apart from God.
When viewing Christ and His early miracles before He was to be revealed to the world and the ensuing factors that would essentially speed up the events leading to the crucifixion many times people were to tell no one who He was ( Mark 8:30; Matt. 16:20). The Pharisees were asking Him for a sign; which was not granted. The many miracles He performed were not accepted as from God and they were well aware of this; fearing that they would lose their position and nation ( John 11:48). He weeded out would be disciples with hard sayings (see John 6:66). Jesus knew that no man could even know who He was without Divine intervention ( John 6:44).
The enemy uses the opposite approach; Revelation 13 in particular shows how false signs and wonders deceive the masses. The enemy never holds back unless God Himself restricts him. We see many phenomenon which to an undiscerning mind cannot be differentiated from the truth; namely fire that appears to come down from heaven; a miraculous healing of a deadly wound; and a false prophet that no doubt uses whatever religion a person adheres to to convince someone that they are the ultimate fulfillment-hence their messiah.
Only the Lord can create anything from nothing; and that is seen in His miracles when on earth. He will continue as well with the new heaven and earth and our resurrection bodies. One could argue that the elements burning up in Peter merely means a reconfiguration of already existing matter; nonetheless our old world is destroyed and anew one commences. Exactly how our new bodies are made is a mystery but they will be immortal and incorruptible.
Does our soul live on after we die? Do the souls of the dead roam around on the earth and some are in heaven and some are in hell? This is my understanding, the thought or belief in ghosts or spirits of people, some going to heaven and some going to hell comes from the teaching that the soul is immortal, and the soul never dies. It started when the serpent told Eve you shall not surely die, many ancient nations had different forms of religious beliefs on the immortality of the soul, and what we see today was adopted from Greek philosophy.
Are there evil spirits, devils, and demons on this earth? Yes, and these are what people are encountering, my understanding of the Bible they are not the souls of people. God told Israel and it applies to us today, not to deal with mediums or spiritualism those who work divination. We see Saul doing it in 1 Samuel 28 and he died because he did it, 1 Chronicles 10:13.
We sleep in death when we die Psalm 13:3 Matthew 27:52 John 11:11-14 1 Corinthians 15:20. We only put on immortality when we are resurrected, Job 14:13-14 Daniel 12:2 1 John 5:28-29 Corinthians 15:51-54. I hope this helps but you and your husband study it for your understanding, not mine.
God bless,
RLW
20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. (JESUS is coming and is at door, it is midnight, Behold, the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet HimMatthew 25:6and10.
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
22 But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of GOD, GOD will give it thee.
23 JESUS saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24 Martha saith unto JESUS, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection AT THE LAT DAY. (Seventh and last Day, the Lord's Day, or seventh and last millnnium.. This Day arrived)
Be cereful or else get ready
John 16:8 And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; 11and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world has been condemned.
I have examined this verse in light of sin; but thought before I continue with the other two aspects of the verse in detail; I should mention that UNBELIEF is something that not only the world but all of us-in reality are in a state of before being regenerated; as that is the first role of the Holy Spirit. When Christ was present on earth; it was clear that after multitudes; presumably almost everyone in Israel knew of Christ's undeniable miracles ( John 11:47) and also of the Apostles ( Acts 4:16) that deliberate unbelief would be the precursor of blasphemy of the Holy Ghost; where Beelzebub was said to be the source of Christ's strength; or others such as the sons of Sceva and the sorcerer in Acts would attempt to gain this power in their own strength or attempt to get it through money. The end result; clearly didn't go too well for these individuals; and no forgiveness was offered for blasphemy of the Spirit ( Mark 3:29 said early in Christ's ministry). Christ said all things against Him or the Father could be forgiven ( Matt. 12:32) but not against the Holy Spirit-and that also is set for the future reign of the Lord on the earth as well. Let us all be as the man in Mark 9:24 and ask Jesus to help us with our unbelief!
Now as to righteousness. Jesus says because He goes to the Father and we no longer see Him that the Spirit testifies of righteousness. I would think this implies that all who truly know Christ now are as the result of the unseen work of the Spirit.
As odd as it seems; when Christ was here physically as to Him being God that had to be revealed from above.
"And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." Luke 18:27 KJV
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23 KJV
I pray you receive and accept God's word concerning your request. Amen.
The Word of GOD is from everlasting to everlasting, the Word is GOD, GOD Himself, self-executing. If the believers(each one) keep GOD's Word in the heart, it means GOD is in him, and he has Life because GOD is Life.
JESUS said: John 5:39-40:->39 Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have ETERNAL life(the Word is GOD,God is Life):and they are they which testify of me-JESUS.40 And ye will not come to me,that ye might have life?JESUS said: John 11: 26:Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.Believest thou this?Phi.3:20-21:-> 20 Our conversation is in heaven(heaven? Ephesians 1:3-8); from whence also we look for the Saviour,the Lord Jesus Christ:21 Who shall CHANGE our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body(this is not a magic,it is worked,understand),according to the working whereby He-JESUS-is able even to subdue all things unto himself.(as Luke 20:35-36.Take a look) .
Furthermore they have Light.Jo.1:4 In him-JESUS-was Life;and the Life was the Light of men.1Jo.1:5-7: ->5...GOD is Light,and in Him is no darkness at all.6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him,and walk in darkness,we lie, and do not the Truth:7 But if we walk in the Light,s he is in the light,we have fellowship one with another,and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
1Corinthians 15:51-54
51Behold,I shew you a mystery;We shall not all sleep,but we shall all be changed,
52In a moment...at the last trump:for the trumpet shall sound,and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,and we shall be changed.
53For this corruptible must put on incorruption,and this mortal must put on immortality.
54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,and this mortal shall have put on immortality,then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,Death is swallowed up in victory.
The Word is GOD, GOD Himself, self-executing.
GOD BLESS
The other day I discussed roles of men and women; and showed the case of Miriam and good and bad things about her behavior.
This situation shows how in general how a true Prophet can have certain sins that cause a downfall. Another example is in 1 Kings 13 starting in verse 11. His disobedience in stopping anywhere to eat on his journey back from a prophetic mission cost him his life. This story shows not only his disobedience; but the obstinance of the other prophet who enticed him to eat with him. The Spirit entered him much as it did with Balaam after he accepted the offer with a true word from God (in this case about his demise). We could look at Cephus as another example in John 11:50. So we can see several situations here:
1. A TRUE Prophet that errs in obedience to God
2. A FALSE Prophet that the Lord still uses to some extent for His purposes
3. Someone not designated as a Prophet who still says something to that affect.
We could look at the third example in the case of Pontius Pilate; who put the inscription in Matthew 27:37 on being the King of the Jews. John 19:22 further expounds on this theme in Pilate's declaration that it should stand. Whether his reasonings were mocking; or an honest assesment of his innocence could be questioned-it is clear that he never came to true repentance even if his sins were less serious than those of the others who were complicit or outright demanded he be crucified and a murder (Barabbas) released.
The story of Balaam in Numbers 22 should teach us some object lessons as well. One may assume that his story was an ancient tale and not of any importance today other than looking for false prophecies in general. This isn't true because this man was hired for money and we see evidence in the last days of those looking for "filthy lucre" ( 1 Timothy 3 and a couple other places in the N.T.) To say what a megachurch Pastor wants to hear to draw multitudes occurs today.
"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."(v.3)
All the four gospels carry this incident where the woman had prescience to anoint Jesus for his burial. None present there except Jesus who understood the significance of her action. "He (Jesus Christ) knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man."Besides he knew what he was there for, among them and also knew where he was going to. His deity was as the Word become flesh. In Luke we read thus, "For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end."( Luke 22:37)
How can a woman of ill repute find the right occasion to be born again or in this case, Mary as John gives her a name, break the box unless her faith and of Christ was one?( John 12:3) God breathed into man and made him a living soul. Faith is what explains this relationship between God and man. "Faith is one."(Ep.4:5) So in her action she poured out herself in order to prepare him beforehand for her burial.
What is the significance of Bethany? In the Gospel of John Jesus was in the company of Lazarus whom he had raised from death. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."( John 11:25).
The alabaster box is similar to the earthen vessel that Jeremiah broke as commanded of God. The box doubles for Mary whose faith became a memorial unto her. St Mark juxtaposes this with the breaking of bread during the Last supper.(v.22)
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Death is an enemy; and verse 26 of this chapter indicates that it will eventually be eliminated. Jesus was the "first of the firstfruits" so to speak; which extends through the Rapture/Resurrection event of the righteous; through the Revelation 14:4 event of the translation of the 144,000. After this we will have the Second Coming when those that survive until that time physically will survive to repopulate the earth in the Millennial period; followed by the time the Heavenly Jerusalem comes down and God the Father dwells with men (v. 24).
It is hard to comprehend let alone understand all the mysteries of His death; burial and resurrection. It is as a grand play on stage; except that the pathos is real; and His atonement was sufficient for us all to deliver our sins as far as the east is from the west. ( Psalm 103:12). He ever lives to intercede for His people ( Hebrews 7:25). He first rose from the dead and we shall likewise. He who believes in Him will never die ( John 11:25-26) even though he dies physically in reality it is only the body that sleeps as we see about Lazarus earlier in that chapter. We have hope unlike the world for those "fallen asleep" ( 1 Thess. 4:14-18).
All of creation also is awaiting the change and groans until now ( Romans 8:23). For those who believe the last scene of this real life drama is glorious and never ending; while there is no peace for the wicked ( Isaiah 48:22; etal). Let that sink in as the world in its ignorance turns this glorious day into a mockery.
Maranatha. Lord come soon!
Agape.
John 11:26 says... And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
A true believer is "crucified with Christ" and it is not I who live ( Gal. 2:20). Our experience will differ somewhat in timing from those already asleep ( 1 Thess. 4:16). As Hebrews 9:27 states we are all to "die once and face the judgment". Also it states being "absent from the body is present with the Lord." ( 2 Cor. 5:8). This necessitates the "Bema Seat" judgment to occur at death; or in the case of those still alive and raptured up; at that time. So in a sense; it will be in completing the death process of the sanctification which ultimately brings us eternal life.
I have often reminded people that martyrdom should it come is the end of a life of sanctification. In some ways that would be much like the Rapture in that there is a sudden end to our time on earth. It is possible someone could be martyred after a rather poor testimony and lukewarmness in this life; but more often scripturally at least it seems the persecutions and sufferings prepare a person for that end and death is simply a final display of Christ's holiness in the life of a saint. These truths are what makes all the claimed dreams about the rapture seem suspect. For one thing the Resurrection of the just is rarely even mentioned even though scripture states it to be the first thing immediately followed it seems by the Rapture of those still alive at the time. Some debate if Revelation 4:1 is indeed a foreshadowing of the Rapture; I would say it is and certainly the vision of Christ in the first chapter and his state of being as though dead will be our own condition when first beholding His glory. There is much ado about deceased relatives and other glories of a heavenly place and whatever is stated scripturally about that is true but of course the majesty of God overshadows that. Whatever the trip up is; the Bema Seat takes front & center
"And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them." Jesus assured "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"( John 11:25). Three days and an half gives us the assurance that the two witnesses were a sign, that the spirit of life that raised the Son from death worked in their case as well. So vv.9-10 explain in what sense we need interpret, "the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves."(v.9) . They are witnesses even in their death that not a jot or iota from the Law shall be changed.
" And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand."(v.13)
At the same hour is a tag to the day of judgment that shall follow. Ten indicates judgment and 7x1000 determines it is decreed from heaven.
"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end."(Ec.3:11)
No man can find out the mind of God to control time. Only from the work of God one can make sense. This work of God is to believe Jesus Christ. "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."( John 6:28-29). When Jesus said "I am the resurrection, and the life." ( John 11:25,26) Martha had no understanding to connect this directly to the Son of man but Jesus corrects her and admit it was so."Believest thou this?" In this context what does the budding of Aaron's rod signify? Who shall serve God is it Levi, Israel as a nation or Jesus Christ the Word become flesh? "and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds."(Nu.17:8,2) The Word of God decreed the day of salvation in his Son.(Ps.2:6-8) This is the Will of God so in the Abstract we have the MOU between God and Man. "and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so." Moses wrote the name of Levi as commanded by God. 'The seed in itself' is indicative it is the word of God is going to work in this test. The work of God according the quote from JohnCh.6 flowering of the rod in a proof of Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever. (He.13:8)The rod flowered according to the divine Will. Time is of no consequence.
Which came first: chicken or egg? The divine Will is omnipotence. Accordingly the word of God supplied all the information so we are to accept both as one, as the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind. The world of blackholes prove information cannot be lost. neither can the word of God. We deceived ourselves to think atom bombs would stop the WWII We did not even imagine the name North Korea then. It just proves.
You are correct, our salvation does not depend on whether we believe in "soul sleep" or "soul death" as opposed to the continuance of the soul as alive after the death of the body. So it is still good to discuss it if we use Scripture as our guide ad rule.
I am encouraged by the words of our Savior and Lord in John 11:25-26
"I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall NEVER die. Believest thou this?"
Jesus knew that people from that time forth would certainly die physically as to their bodies dying, just as those who lived before him died in the body. But here He says that, though the body dies, we still live on. He is speaking of our soul's continued existence after the body dies. Can't be any clearer than this. He asks a good question: Believest thou this? I believe what He says here and look forward to being alive with Him when my body dies and to see those believers who have died before I die and those who die after I die. We will have a great reunion in the life to come. We have eternal life in Jesus as believers and so this means our soul will not die but will be reunited with our bodies when our bodies are resurrected.
Also John 10:27-28
"My sheep hear my voice (in this life), and I know them, and they follow me. And I five unto them eternal life and they shall NEVER perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
So good to know that we have eternal life now, even if we die, we live on, not in our bodies, but in our soul and spirit, until the resurrection when our bodies will join with our soul and spirit once again and then be forever alive.
If we pay close attention to John 11:23-26, the resurrection refers to more than just the body in these 3 verses.
Infact there is a lot being said here.
Verse 23, Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. (He/Lazarus will take up residence in his body again.)
Verse 25, (Resurrection is viewed as a category, not an event.) " Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
Verse 26, Jesus says "And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
We know Lazarus died so that doesn't apply to his physical death.
This speaks of the present eternal condition of the believer once he believe!... (Believest thou this?)
He has taken part of the "first resurrection" mentioned in Revelation 20-6. this is viewed as a category, not a sequence.
There are those who are "the living" and have eternal life who will be reunited with their glorified resurrected bodies.
There are also those who are "the dead" who will be reunited with their corrupted bodies and will be cast into Hell where there will be WEEPING AND NASHING OF TEETH.
There are no steps of absent of the body, waiting on a resurrection to have eternal life. If you have it, it is eternal.
The thing is, have you been made conformable unto his death?
God bless.
Who would be the 12 elders from the Old Testament mentioned in your post???, which already are clothed in white raiment; and have on their heads crowns of gold.
By the way, from the New Testament, you should know that all the saints, but all, including the Apostles, they all still are waiting their resurrection of this last Day( John 11:24), i.e. the SEVENTH and last Day or the current SEVENTH and last millennium.
As far as I know at this time, of all the New Testament saints there is none in heaven who was clothed in white raiment; and have on their heads crowns of gold. You should restudy your interpretation.
Of course, I do not mind, you have always treated me with respect and care.
What John 11:25-26 means to me. Jesus is the resurrection, His perfect life when He died on the cross and was buried in a tomb death could not hold Him. To me, it is the gospel, the simplicity of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation, and our hope in eternal life. Even if we die, we who believe in Jesus Christ will live as we see in John 5:29 the resurrection of life.
We sleep in death, but we have the promise of eternal life, we will never die. Those of the wicked and lost will face the second death, the permanent death of no return. As Jesus asked Martha do you believe this, regardless of what we face and the struggles and doubts we have in this world we go through in this fleshly body, all of our hope and trust must be in Jesus, who is the truth, the light, and what He said will come to be.
God bless,
RLW
How do you understand John 11:25-26?
"Jesus said unto her, "I am the Resurrection, and the light: he who believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.
And whoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"
I hope your day has gone well. It is morning here in Washington state.
When I read your post to Chris, I immediately though of Matthew 22:23 where Jesus said, "I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
To me, Jesus is saying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive.
Also, refer to 1 Samuel, 2:6 in the song Hannah sang, "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up."
Notice the order, first death, then made alive. Of course this happens fully in the resurrection, but in considering what Jesus said that He who believes in me will never die. ( john 11:26)
And, one of my favorite verses: Romans 8:37-39
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
This clearly says that death cannot separate us from God.
And Jesus said to His disciples, "Behold, I AM with you always, even to the end of the world." Matthew 28:20
And Paul encourages believers by reminding them that God said, "I will never leave You nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5, Josh. 1:5
So, to me, always and never mean that we will always be alive, whether in this life now or after we die.
Therefore, I believe that when we die, our body dies, but we are still alive with God. Our bodies will be rejoined to our soul and spirit when we are resurrected and then we will be made complete (whole, perfected) for eternity.
To continue in my study on Who God truly is I move on to "L" and meditate on God as being LIFE.
God revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as "I AM WHO I AM" which speaks to His self-existence. He does not derive His existence from any other, nor did He ever begin to exist at any time, nor will He ever not exit. This is impossible for Him.
When He calls Himself "I AM, it is perhaps one of the profoundest statement we can know. HE IS!
He is clearly stating that He exists, o if, and, or buts about it. He has always existed, and will exist forever.
John 1:4 says that Life is in God. He is the source of all life. Because He is the Life. john 11:25 Jesus calls Himself the Resurrection and the Life. John 5:26 Jesus says that He has Life within Himself just as the Father has life within Himself. Thus saying that He is God , just as the Father is God. John 6:63 Jesus says that the Spirit gives life, affirming that the Spirit is God. And with these statements Jesus is saying that within the Godhead there are three who together gives life since they are Life itself. Nothing comes into existence without being created by God and it is He who give any creature life. In John 6:63.
God made us. Each person of the Godhead is involved in giving us life because they are Life itself, as Jesus says in John 14:6 when He says that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Romans 5:10 speaks of how we are saved through the life of Christ. By the power of God's everlasting life, Jesus' body was resurrected from the dead and lives forever. This is how we receive salvation. Because He lives, we will live. And since all people ever created receive their natural life from God, those who are chosen by God to be saved, receive their spiritual life from God as well. see part 2
John 3:15 "That whosoever BELIEVETH in him should not perish, but have eternal life."
John 6:47 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that BELIEVETH on me hath everlasting life."
John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that BELIEVETH in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that BELIEVETH; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Thank you again for your time and patience to respond to a question that seems obvious to the experienced Christians. I am nothing but a mere child in the faith and so my understanding is somewhat limited and have a little catching up to do. Thanks and may God bless you and peace to you in Jesus name
Enoch
He walked with God, meaning in the presence of God, so he was aware of the will of God and its fulfillment. The significance of the name of his son attests to it. It is the power of the Word and it allowed him to prophecy of the end times." Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones."(Jude v.14-NIV)" The number Seven is indicative of his life span was in accordance with the word of God. Sixty-five years before Methuselah. Three hundred years with God (3x100) points his translation without seeing death was fulfillment of the word, "And whoever lives by believing in me will never die."( John 11:26). We are setting his life in context of the word forever settled in heavens.(Ps.119:89)
Methusaleh
The Spirit places him as a double for the Son, being the seventh in descent from Seth who stepped in the breach of Abel who is the first martyr for being righteous. ( 1 John 3:12) Seven as command number indicates perfection of the divine Will. He is the only son in an age when a large family was the norm, foreshadowing 'the only begotten Son' who would be sent to the world. The holy family of Seth survives judgement of the old world through his grandson Noah. His personal name, meaning man of the dart, points to the river of time that Salvation Plan of God connects from beginning of the age to its ending
Lamech
The Spirit includes two of the same name in order to present representations of godless descendants of Cain and of the holy family beginning from Seth. Lamech the fifth in descent from Cain was boastful and who feared neither God nor man. "If Cain is avenged seven times then Lamech, seventy-seven times.' (Ge.4:27). Famous last words. On the other hand Lamech seventh in descent from Seth is a locus classic as to the 'in the image of man'. Thus Methusaleh is set as the double for the Son. The remaining sons and daughters are left out.