Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 130

(Revelation Part 17a):

Revelation 2:6 - But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He says, "Oh, by the way, you've got some other good points about you." You hate the deeds, the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

There are two views as to what the Nicolaitans are. One view is that the Nicolaitans were led by a man named Nicholas. He's mentioned back in Acts 6:5. He's one of the men that were chosen to distribute bread to the Greek speaking Jewish community. Some historical documents say that Nicholas left the church and became a Gnostic, and began spreading false teaching.

There is another view, which appears to be the correct view, since the Nicolaitans were not even that well established at this time as far as Nicholas goes. The word Nicolaitan is made up of two Greek words, and I've shared this a few years ago and this website rejected my post because I used a Greek word that is copyrighted by the name of a sports sneaker with a swoosh symbol. You probably know which shoe I am referring to.

But the first word is pronounced NEE-KAY and the second word is LAOS. NEE-KAY means overcome, and LAOS means the people. It represented the democratic control of the people in the church, where the leaders ruled. They lorded it over the flock. And the Lord says I hate that!

Hello Richard,

So great to hear from you.

I know how hard it is to find a church that the biblical teaching that forbids divorce and also remarriage following a divorce. Almost every church group has adopted a leniency in these matters. It is disheartening to know how the modern church has followed the way the world thinks instead of how Jesus instructed us in Scripture along with Paul. For me and my husband, I am glad we have been married for 45 years. It is a blessing to have this long commitment to each other and the Lord.

I will pray for your camping trip. I hope that you will have a very blessed and peaceful time away.

How is your dad doing these days? I am so glad he is in a care community now. He may not like it, but sometimes a person cannot make the best choices for themselves in their later years and, being in his 90's and having dementia, he does not have much time left to turn to the Lord. I do hope he is getting acclimated to his new home and pray that it will be a place of comfort and good care until he passes.

The wars that are going on now are concerning in that so many people are having to cope with war and violence in what once was their home. May God be merciful and bring a swift end to what is happening in the Mid-East and in Ukraine. Nigeria is having trouble and the Houtis of Yemen are still fighting against Israel and the U.S. in their region.

I think it is a good idea to be sure to have necessary food, drink and medications to last through an extended time of unavailability. Thanks for the reminder.

I hope to talk with you more when you return from your trip.

Some thoughts on today's report from my Pastor's wife

My Pastor's wife got back from a family wedding today with her "nonbelieving" relatives. God put on her heart to witness and wisdom to do so even though she didn't want to. She was kept up for about 24 hours and struggled through a misdiagnosed condition at the time (won't get into any more details). Apparently there was a 2 hour conversation with relatives who asked deep questions regarding the Reformers; etc. It is always encouraging to hear how the Lord works in this manner as family is usually the hardest nut to crack.

On a personal note I am continuing studies in Daniel at small group and heading up something on prayer next Sunday before the service. Pray for wisdom; I plan to focus on Daniel's prayer based on definite promises and for the whole nation who had transgressed allowing for the diaspora even though he was innocent. Prayers for mercy need to be done on our part as well; easier said than done. Loving our enemies is hard work; but loving those in the Body of Christ is important as well along with forgiveness; I've heard more than one sermon on that subject lately.

I am Lord willing going to camp out at a State Park the second half of this week for a few days. I'll let anyone pray that the weather won't be too bad (marginal predicted) and hopefully a witnessing opportunity. I am praying that some incoming funds can be used wisely as well; I am certainly considering finding something "off the grid" if the Lord wills and allows at some point if there is even time for that.

The Rapture is coming; we don't know how soon. We should always have encouragement even as Paul did in His day. We just don't want to set ourselves up for disappointment should He tarry. We need to be ready in and out of season. ( 2 Tim. 4:2).

One note of encouragement here; we are all part of the Body of Christ and united in our spirits. There is a true bond just as Satan has a false love event.

Today's threats:

The constant media blitz about wars in the world and our own vulnerability in an age of hypersonic and nuclear missiles is enough to drive anyone crazy. I would say that failure of the electronic grid is something very likely as stated before; if not from a direct hit or terror act; the solar activity of late with the flares and such has been off the charts. The grid itself is 100 years old in most cases; I'm not sure how much has been done since the first Trump administration to address that issue.

I have said before that communication of all sorts including subversive messages is probably the reason the grid hasn't already been attacked directly. Whenever that does happen and communication ceases think about it. How great with the youth and its addiction would they be affected and how much more suicide would we see? I would like to think after a time people would learn real communication; even if their lives are shortened or radically culled as to well; basically so much time wasted on mind numbing activities.

Personally I wouldn't mind "AI" taking a hit and a pushback as it seems to be encroaching rapidly.

The second thing; of course is anarchy which would result from the party being over; so to speak. That would probably cause as many casualties as those who would perhaps starve later or perhaps allow for a quicker end. These things aren't pleasant but I think it better now to consider these matters so that we can have some planned response even if there is a shorter version or less severe one; which is even more likely to be upcoming. We should plan for that to be the normal course of events in the next few years should the Lord tarry.

Pride of course comes before a fall and no doubt will cause aggression once things go to what some call a "third world" existence. Let us set our minds on Him now and have scripture in our hearts so we can go on "auto pilot" when sudden events occur.

Dear Family:

It's been a while since my last post. I am trying to find a church that preaches against divorce and remarriage with a live spouse and sticks to it. Seems locally only Mennonites adhere to this so I have to decide if I want to commit to their rules. God has opened the door for this before but I appreciate prayer.

At any event; watching the current events is certainly an easy way to rob ourselves of sleep. Some I hear are watching their assets carefully in light of implications (such as increasing oil prices) since this latest war began Friday night. Others perhaps watching their own; well backs shall we say. Word to the wise; whatever the goings on whether internal or external threats we should seek the Lord and unless He directs otherwise prayerfully stock up on supplies; food and water in particular. I have been carefully navigating the silver market with the little assets I have and you can find it some places actually under the base value to purchase. I would warn that in the case of any major conflict in this nation that there could be at least a temporary downturn and rather sharply as you can't eat gold and silver if you're starving; good reminder from the book of James on the subject of the gold and silver cankering in the last days and not heaping up treasures that will turn our hearts from God. Again we need a wise balance on these matters and in particular consider how He would call us to prepare and in the future help others in the Body of Christ as well as anyone else in need when things hit the fan.

All of this of course doesn't detract from the Great Commission. I am praying for a Messianic Jewish couple who are CURRENTLY in Israel. We can take sides based on what we see but there are wrongs everywhere these days; whether among nations or political parties. Let us focus on the Lord and set our hearts on things above. That's the only we we can make it until He comes or our lives our over; at least as I see it.

Bennymkje,

We can close this current conversation. Let's stay teachable and keep seeking the guidance of the Words of God in Scripture and walk in the Holy Spirit so that we are indeed able to be taught by Him not just in our own private interpretation but also in the witness of the church throughout the last 2000 years where God raised up some to be teachers, preachers, and leaders able to teach and lead others into Biblical truth and grow in relationship with Jesus.

Some people do not like to read past teachers as to how they taught from Scriptures. But I do. I'd rather read from some of the best expositors than listen to people who say they learn only from their own reading and study of the Scriptures espousing that the Holy Spirit will teach them individually.

When the Reformation happened, both Luther and Calvin grasped tightly the doctrine of sola Scriptura, meaning that Scripture is the final authority for doctrine and teaching. But they did not mean that this was in absence of being taught by those who had been placed in the church lead, teach and guide how Scriptures are interpreted. They spoke against private individual interpretation of Scripture, believing that Scriptures was given to the Church of Jesus as a whole and that believers were to hold to doctrine and interpretations that were guided by the Church through time. This does not mean that every teacher speaks rightly concerning Scriptures, but there has emerged through the centuries core doctrines that are held across sects. It is wise for a believer to learn of these and understand what is being brought forth as interpretation so that one can hold them up to Scripture and see if they actually do align with God's Word. Obviously, there is much division between sects as to some doctrines. Not everyone is correct. We do need to be prayerful and make us of our intellect to learn to discern between right and wrong doctrine.

Bennymkje, I wish you well, always. May we both grow in the truth.

Gigi,

We have gone through this before and let us consider it as closed.

Dear Bennymkje,

I have been reading your conversation with Chris. I agree with Chris on every point that your method of interpretation is confusing and convoluted. It lacks clarity and does not bring out openly and plainly the chief doctrines the Scriptures teach clearly. These doctrines are so important for every believer. It is not helpful to over-spiritualize every post using words and numbers from the Scripture text. It distracts from the clear gospel message of the whole of Scripture and the main focus on Jesus Christ.

When you denigrate aspects of Christianity as you did in this post, considering how some methods used in the past and present to understand the doctrines of Scripture and equating them as pig food is very offensive and insensitive. As for me, I'd rather read some well stated explanations of biblical doctrines anytime over your way of interpreting Scripture and how you present it here on this forum.

Benny, I say this all in love, because we are in Christ together. Paul urges us in 1 Corinthians to speak plainly in a way that is understandable to those who hear (or read) than to speak in a way that is less intelligible to others, lest it sounds like clanging symbols rather than edifying teaching.

I know that you think that what you posting here is from the Holy Spirit. I think that your ideas stem from faulty methods of interpretation and an inordinate interest in hyper-spiritualized ideas.

Even so, I know that God is the one who knows our hearts and minds. I do think we as believers are to test all things against the Scriptures to see if our own or that of another agrees with what Scriptures teach and the doctrines that have been revealed in Scriptures. Although you have at times posted some clear messaging that does reflect Scriptures in a way that most would find acceptable, most of what you post does not meet the test of being truly Scriptural or of the Spirit.

I hope you will take what I have said here under serious consideration.

Gen.26:12-13 "Doctrine of God"

"Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and theLordblessed him./And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great."

There is only single blessing that is administered by God in his Son. This blessing is according to the word and according to his Son. Thus God tells Isaac to stay in Geraar. Running to Egypt at the first sign of a drought is unbecoming for the seed of Abraham and one who is designated as a double for his Son. So God tells Isaac," Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father." The Spirit adds, " And Isaac dwelt in Gerar". The everlasting Covenant is now renewed meaning that it is Person specific. As was with his father it is now applied to him. All the blessing he received in his body, as with man formed of the dust from ground has its parallel in the world of the Spirit. He sowed and received an hundredfold in the same year. Is it anything comparable with what he received as heavenly blessing? Jesus Christ testifies it in these verses,

"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living./And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine." (Mt.22.32-33) Who but an arrant fool will persist to deny his volume? He was blessed on earth and also in heavenly places. It is thus we apply volume to any believer who enters into the rest of God by faith and remains in obedience to his voice. Doctrine of God applied to him by covenant is 144 to indicate both Gospel of God and of Christ have confirmed blessing according to the Law of the Spirit. This Law is indicated by Seven. Doctrine of God amazed the people." Neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you."

Psalms 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

Blessings

Just a point:

Many believers, called to be saints, would want the doctrine of God which as Jesus says are like pearls.

"I write not to make others understand according to their level of understanding but it is for the glory of my Lord." but literalism and the sty in which they have had their catechism would not raise to the pearls cast before them. How on earth can pearls be made into pigswill in order to cater their appetite?

This is a sign of the times.

God's word can only be useful if believers have the hunger for their spiritual well being.

Gen.26.1-10 "Beersheba"

We come across Beersheba as the place where Abraham and Abimelech made a covenant. Seven ewe lambs tie this to the everlasting Covenant. " Wherefore he called that place Beersheba; because there they sware both of them./Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba." (Gen.21.31-32) Both the Gentiles and the seed of Abraham are alike before God. The same Covenant blesses alike in his Son. The same now we are looking from the POV of Isaac, who is the double for the Son. The Spirit narrates the same struggle between the two nations culminating in a covenant. "We have found water./ And he called it Shebah: therefore the name of the city is Beersheba unto this day."(vv.32-33) Notice the expression 'unto this day' here indicating Isaac is set in direct frame of reference to the Son. In the earlier instance it was the seven ewe lambs referencing the Lamb of God motif where here it is the water, and where did it come from? The same water we find at Elim, "And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water," Notice the number Twelve indicating it according to the word of God and the Son who word become flesh promised, " He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."(Exod.15.27; Jn 7.38). The same water issuing forth as a river from Eden continues to the end time Rev.22.1. This explains the abiding nature of the earth (Eccl.1.4). This is also called the river of time. What is Elim or Beersheba? Merely names over which ungodly nations, the heathens fight tooth and nail. On the other hand in his Son Isaac and Abimelech makes peace as his father had done in his generation.

"And the Lord appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of."(v.2) God allowed Abraham in context of his Son, according to the word," and called my son out of Egypt." Once was enough. Salvation is in the name of Jesus Christ and in none other. (Hosea.11.1)

OK Brother, further discussion on this point is not fruitful. With greetings in Christ,

You've thrown in a lot of numbers here Bennymkje, as you have also done in your other posts, without any indication as to how these numbers become command numbers or tags. Merely adding numerical values to various aspects of the Bible doesn't make the Bible any more meaningful, rather more convoluted and confusing. Maybe what you had written earlier is what I need to settle with: "I write not to make others understand according to their level of understanding but it is for the glory of my Lord." I would think that the Lord would be glorified if his saints understood what was given & returned praise to Him for His wonderful Word & those enlightened to bring meaningful Truth to their hearts. So again, thank you for your time with this, but I remain in ignorance as to how numerical values can be applied without any clear reference to their intended meaning (if any) & correct usage. GBU.

Gen.25.11-18 "Isaac and Ishamael

v.11 " And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahairoi."

God blessed his son Isaac, who, as the spirit signifies here with it, is the heir of promise. There is only one blessing which is in his Son. It also implies that the everlasting Covenant is in operation. The history of nations has to be seen from the rest frame which is like the eye of God. In the case of Hagar in her distress, she was found."And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi." (Gen.16.13-14) The Spirit sets the name foor a purpose. The Covenant set God's blessing in terms of a name,- that of a well associated with the mercy of God. It also sets the context for Ishmael's posterity.(vv.12-18 ) Notice the number of his sons in v.16 ?" These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations." Twelve princes same as that of Jacob to keep the promise of God 'thy seed' into the history of nations in a flux.

How does this impact us? God is a Spirit and truth in our inward parts connect with the divine Will and its fulfillment. When God has shined into our hearts He has also left His signature within us."For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". At one level we are among the ungodly, and while see the terrible events happening in the Middle-East it ought to tell us we are part and parcel of the kingdom of his Son. We are negotiating both worlds of the Spirit and of the body at the same time. The Law of the Spirit also keep this world in tack that we may boldly say,"For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,

Gen.25.1-10 Keturah's children

"All these were the children of Keturah./ And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac./But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country."

The spirit makes a distinction here, and Keturah's children are not in the same league as that of 'thy seed'. As with David in his old age, Abraham would have needs which come strictly under the flesh. Flesh and blood cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven. Neither would Patriarch Abraham as his end drew nearer.

Notice the east country to which Abraham consigned thee sons of the concubines? Ever since the fall man has been moving farther away from Eden and the garden itself is set in the east, Eden and the mountain of God.

Ronald,

You can find your answer in Jn. Ch. 1, especially vs. 14, but the verses preceding 14 explain who Jesus has always been prior to assuming human nature to His divine Person. He remained the Divine Son but in Jn. 1 The Son also was truly a human man and truly the Divine Person of the Son having always been God the Son from all eternity. But since the incarnation of God the Son into human flesh, being named Jesus, which means Yahweh Saves, is this God and Man forever, with a body that did die for the sins of the world. His divine nature can never die as it is Spirit as you say. But the Divine Person of Jesus experienced death in His human nature. This I truly believe. I just cannot read the New Testament and come to the conclusions you do. I think the Church from the apostolic times got it right with worshipping Jesus as God and Man, our Great God and Savior whom we wait for His glorious appearing at the end of the age. ( Titus 2:13)

The Greek to English of this verse in Titus identifies Jesus as our great God and Savior. It is His glorious appearing we hope in and wait for, not God the Father. So it would be a misinterpretation to separate "our Great God (Father) and Savior (Jesus) as the Greek does not allow for this interpretation.

When one comes to avow that Jesus is now both God and Man one can understand more clearly why Jesus' death satisfied the Father's wrath for those He saves because it would be necessary for a human to redeem mankind, but one man who lived without sinning could only pay the penalty for Himself. The merit and worth of Jesus' sacrifice is that He, as God the Son, was able to pay for the infinite offense of the sins of mankind to the fullest as these sins are an infinite offense to God. Jesus as the Divine Son did that as a human man who was also God the Son. Believing that Jesus is truly God and truly Man makes sense of ALL the testimony about Him.

There was no change in Jesus' Divine nature when He took upon Himself humanity.

(Revelation Part 16b):

Revelation 2:4 Continued

If we have a person that we love the most, we'll make decisions to honor that person, and cater to that person above the Lord, because after all, the Lord loves us, and it's an age of grace and He understands, you know? People don't, so we don't want people angry at us or upset at us!

But even Jesus, when He was here in the flesh, He said if anybody loves mother or father, or brother or sister, or wife, or lands, or houses above me, you can't be my disciple. That's pretty tough! In one place, He actually used the word hate. That's not the word for hate in the sense of hateful actions. MISEO is a word of comparison. In other words, Jesus said you must love me so much that others think you hate them.

It doesn't mean you go home and kick everybody in the shins and say the Lord told me to hate you to show my love for Him. No, it doesn't mean that. It means you're so devoted and committed to Christ that everybody else thinks you hate them, which isn't true.

Ephesus is the example of the apostolic church, the apostolic church that held firm to the apostle's doctrine, that had such a fervent love for the Lord, but it began to wane, and it became dull. And it became "church as usual." People dedicated themselves to the church and church work, but privately, Christ was not a priority. This was the apostolic church which ran from A.D. 30 through A.D. 300.

(Revelation Part 16a):

Revelation 2:4 - Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Nevertheless I have something against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. That's it!

The word first in Greek does not make reference to time. It's not their first love from ten years ago when they received Christ. It is a word of priority. You have left your first love. In other words, they started off by making Christ the priority in everything. But as time went on, they began to wear down.

They put their efforts into working in the church and doing the church work and testing people to see if they're truly apostles or not, but in their personal lives, the top priority of Christ has now slipped away. In Exodus Chapter 20:3 (The Ten Commandments), God says you shall have no other gods before me. That's what the King James says. But in the Hebrew, it's you shall have no other gods beside me.

In other words, God's not just first, and then maybe my career second, and then third is this, and so on. No, God says I'm it. You can have no other gods beside me. I'm the only one that you can have! And here is Christ telling the church, remember the first and great commandment is love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second command is this: love your neighbor as yourself.

You see, we're also in a day where we really emphasize loving our neighbor. What about loving God? What about top priority? What about in our decision making? Is He our first love? You can see why this is important. I've mentioned this before that all the decisions we make are based on what or who we love the most.

(Revelation Part 15):

Revelation 2:2 - I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

He says I know thy works. Every church will have this phrase spoken to them, I know your works. God knows everything. And He evaluates the church. But He says I know your works, and your labor, and the Greek word means to work to the point of exhaustion.

And your patience, which is literally the word for endurance, HUPOMONE. And how you cannot bear them which are evil: And the word bear means to carry on the shoulders. You can't tolerate people who are evil. And you have tried them, you tested them, who say they are apostles, who are not, and you have found them to be liars:

In Verse 3, we have the summaries:

Revelation 2:3 - And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

And you have borne, meaning you tolerated. You have patience, meaning you remain under. And for my sake you have labored, and that's a Perfect Tense verb, again, labored to the point of exhaustion. And you have not fainted, that is, you have not grown weary.

Now I don't know about you, but I'd take that church. This is a serving church, a working church. They remain under, they're patient, they cannot bear evil people, and they put everybody to the test to see if they're liars or not, and they been found to be liars.

(Revelation Part 14b):

Revelation 1:20 Continued

In Revelation 1:1 that I just described for you, God gave the revelation to Christ, who gave it to an angel, who gave it to John. But even more telling than that is Revelation Chapter 22 Verse 6, the final chapter in Revelation. Jesus, in giving the warnings to people to take heed to what's being said, and He said unto me, these sayings are faithful and true.

And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show unto His servants, plural, the things which shortly must be done. So even in Chapter 22, the testimony of Christ is that everything in this book is faithful and true.

And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show these things to His servants, and that would be the servants in the churches, the things which must shortly be done. That's what the book began with. He's an angel. God uses angels. I don't know why. But it seems as though angels have some kind of ministry in the physical realm.

After Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days, the angels came and ministered to Him. That is, they brought Him the food and the physical things that He needed. In the book of Revelation, we'll see that angels are in charge of physical activities. They hold the wind. So, they have a certain function that God created them for.

At the end of Hebrews Chapter 1, it says the angels are ministering spirits sent to those who have obtained salvation. You and I have angels around us. And churches have angels. Every fellowship that is established by Christ has angels.

When you study Chapters 2 and 3, you will study the seven messages to the seven churches. And I'm sure that you will find it quite fascinating. It is the Lord's final prophecy to His church before He comes back. And I think you'll be interested in what the Lord has to say of the church, even in our day.

(Revelation Part 14a):

Revelation 1:19 - Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

He says, write the things which thou hast seen. That's Verses 9 through 20. And the things which are, Chapters 2 and 3, and the things which shall be META TOUTA, meaning after these things; Chapter 4 through Chapter 22. Again, the breakdown of the book.

Revelation 1:20 - The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Now before we leave this, there is a disagreement as to who the angels are. Now who they are, and I don't know them by name, but the word angel, ANGELOS in Greek is also translated messenger. In the gospels, it's used for human beings who are sent out with messages. They are called messengers.

So, there are many that believe that these angels are the messengers of the churches, that is, the pastors of the churches, because angels don't pastor churches.

But I'll share the following:

Number one, in John's writings, the gospel of John, 1, 2, & 3rd John, and Revelation, he never uses the word ANGELOS for human messengers, never.

Secondly, in literature, when he starts off the book in Verse 1 by saying that Christ gave it to His angel in order to show John, once a writer establishes a definition for you, if he was going to use the same word to describe somebody else, he would give you that information before he moved on. But he doesn't. It always means angel.

Brother Ronald,

Please know that I was not accusing you of being a Jehovah's Witness. I already knew you did not belong to any specific group as you have mentioned this in the past. Brother, if I rather you not post, I would have told you so. Please continue to post. As I have mentioned to you before, I always enjoy our conversations. They are always kind and respectful.

I do agree with you 100% that "preconceived biases can blind us." Amen to that!

As far as truth goes, I like to think that you have truth, I have truth, and every true believer has truth. You see, to me truth is not what you and I believe or say, and not what anyone else believes or says. To me truth is a person, and that person is Jesus Christ. If you and I have Christ, we have the truth!

You and I have been here in this forum for several years (10 plus for me) and we've had several good discussions and Lord willing, I hope to have many more. Over the years, I have never told anyone that they are wrong. I may disagree with someone, but that doesn't mean they are wrong, it just means I disagree.

As to your question, I would answer by saying that Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh. God came in human form, nothing less. He was 100% God and 100% man. 1 Timothy 3:16 reads, "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

We both agree that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus says in John 2:19, "Destroy this temple (speaking of His body), and in three days I will raise it up," Jesus says "I" will raise it up. How could this be unless Jesus is God? Just something to think about.

Ronald, please do not think that I don't value the things you have to share or that I want you to stop posting. That bothers me brother that you might think this. We are here to lift each other up!

God Bless!!!

Brother Jesse,

I am not a member of any denomination and my mind is open to the truth. We are accountable for ourselves, but we should inspire each other to in prayer study for the truth.

My understanding on some Scripture has changed since being on the site because of you and others. If we do not admit to ourselves preconceived biases can blind us, truth cannot be revealed to us.

Just a question I have not an answer, and I have searched the scripture and I hope you understand why I ask this. If our salvation is dependent in believing Jesus died for our sins and God raised Him from dead. How can that be not a lie if Jesus is the Almighty, the eternal God who is a Spirit who cannot die.

I love the truth and each of the brothers and sisters on this site. If we never accept we may be wrong we will never see the truth.

If you would rather me not post I will not any more. The Pharesees were blind by their precocieved ideas of who the Messiah was to be, and they rejected Him.

God bless,

RLW

Azzan77,

Thank you for sharing these verses. If I may also share this with you, in John 8:24, in the Greek text it does not have the word "he." In our English translation, the translators for some reason put the word he in there which is somewhat misleading.

But in the Greek text, John 8:24 just says EGO EIMI meaning "I AM." It is the name of God in Exodus 3:14 which you mentioned. In the Septuagint, the Greek OT, the same words EGO EIMI are used for God in Exodus 3:14. As you probably are aware, there are other places in the NT where Jesus referred to Himself as "I AM."

Again, thank you for sharing these verses.

God Bless!!!

Brother Spencer,

This section in Daniel that you mention starts with Daniel 12:4 and Ezekiel 2:9-10, Isaiah 29:11 are key verses. The book was sealed but as you alluded to, we see the seal being broken in Revelation Chapter 5.

The things that John wrote were the events he actually got to see. John got to see the future happen as it was happening. Also, I agree with you that the bible clearly shows the deity of Jesus Christ, and that He is God indeed, Amen!

God Bless!!!

Brother Ronald,

Yes, I realize that Jesus is the beginning of the creation of God. We see that in Revelation 3:14. This is one of the verses that is used by those (especially the JW's) who deny the deity of Christ. They claim that Jesus is a created being. I strongly disagree with that.

I agree that "God does not have a God." I agree because there are no other gods besides the one true God who consists of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, all three being eternal.

Brother, you don't have to worry about offending me. You never have in the past and you haven't now. It does not offend me in the least bit that you believe differently than I do. Concerning the deity of Jesus Christ, your mind is already made, up as is mine. So, with that being said, I see no point in trying to convince each other one way or another.

I believe in the deity of Christ. I also believe that Jesus is God because there are so many places in scripture that teach that He is indeed God. We have discussed this several times in the past, and I provided scripture to show why I believe the way I do. Jesus is not God the Father. He's God the Son. The bible clearly tells us that we are only to worship God, and yet Jesus was worshipped, and not once did He ever rebuke those who worshipped Him.

Blessings to you in Christ our Saviour!

Hi Azzan77,

Thank you for your reply. I understand and know the verses you have shared. Many on this site share the same understanding as you, and if we differ, we should be inspired to study, not to prove we are right and you are wrong, but in search of the truth. My understanding is that Jesus was the beginning of the creation of God, in the plan of God, Revelation 3:14.

Jesus was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, 1 Peter 1:20. Everything started with Jesus; God, knowing the end from the beginning, says things that have not been as they have been, Romans 4:17.

We should pray and clear our minds of preconceived biases, as Jesus said, "he who has ears to hear, let him hear." John 8:24 is the same with us today, if we do not believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, who God sent and He shed His blood and died for us, we will die in our sins, John 3:16, Acts 4:12, Romans 10:9.

God bless,

RLW

Amen Brother Jesse!!

In Daniel 12:8-9 we see where Daniel was told to go thy way for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

The book of Revelation is not a sealed book.

It's rendered in signs that are symbolic of reality.

John was given a outline to "Write the things WHICH THOU HAST SEEN, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

The things that John has seen is in chapter one.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ!

The unveiling of Jesus Christ.

One thing that is definitely being revealed here is what has been collectively being shown throughout the Bible!

The deity of Jesus Christ!!!

Christ is the Almighty!

Christ is God!

God bless you Brother.

Gen.24. "Rightly dividing the word of truth"

The Spirit narrates the same event twice, vv.34-49 which serve a purpose. God left Abraham to dictate the oath which his servant had undertaken at the beginning of the chapter v.9 He was however clear of it in case Rebekah refused to follow. God makes a decree and sends his Son to the world calling the sinners to repentance. Accordingly when he sent his disciples to preach they were instructed, "And when ye come into an house, salute it./ And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you./And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet./Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city."(Mt.10.12-15) In short God wills the Covenant but leaves the election to the discretion of the Son. The same point is what we have here. 'Rightly dividing the word of truth' means comparing passages as mentioned here. (2 Tim.2.15)

vv.56-60 "And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the Lord hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master./And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth."

"And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go." Rebekah obeyed God's will concerning her. "Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the Lord: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good." (v.50)

59 And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men./ And they blessed Rebekah,