Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 294

Hello Richard,

I was thinking some of the same things you posted to Momsage.

I agree that Romans 9 is a difficult passage to accept for most of us. And, like you mentioned, God could have, in his holiness, purity, sinlessness and justice willed that NO ONE would be saved and all sinners would be judged to the lake of fire as He has determined for Satan and the angels that sinned with him. But we know that His decision to save a selected people for salvation to live forever in His presence, forgiven of all their sins and made righteous through His Son. Just as some question how a loving, merciful God could predestine some and leave others to be condemned, we could say "How can a perfectly sinless, holy, pure, and just God forgive anyone's sins and gift them with salvation."

Or we can say, "If God is loving and merciful then He should save every person to be fair and just." But we know that that is not true.

The answers to these queries are deeply rooted in God's perfect wisdom, will, purpose, and that His ways are higher than ours, His thoughts are not our thoughts, as Isaiah said. We can, however, read what Romans 9 says and believe that God actually selected Abel over Cain, Shem's lineage over Ham's, Abraham over his brothers, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Joseph over his other brothers, Moses over other Levites, to be set apart for His purpose and by His grace given favor, mercy, and blessing.

I believe that if God has indeed predestined some to be saved without any merit on their part and leaves the rest of humanity to continue in sin and be condemned to the lake of fire, then that is His sovereign choice to do so. It does not diminish His love or mercy at all, nor is He unfair. He is the one who decides what is good, morally right, and just. We are not to question His ways, but believe that He is right in all of His ways, choices, and actions.

It is hard at times to submit our thoughts, desires, and emotions to God when He does not choose all.

Will do Biblelan72,

You have been having foot problems for a while. I will keep on praying for you and all of your needs.

Hey Brother Jesse.

Is it me or are we missing a part 19?

Forgive me but I always fall behind when traveling and this cellphone doesn't help much.

Yes Jaz, I believe we are interpreting that verse in the same way. The only reason that I added all that extra information, particularly Matthew 20:22,23, was Jesus' reference again about His baptism (in a horrible death & burial); & to Zebedee's sons that they too, would suffer as He did, as they remained faithful to Him, prepared to even die for the One Who purchased them.

For Jesus, His Baptism was pointing to His coming death to which He would walk without distraction; for believers, baptism is looking back in identification with Him, with gratitude, & willingness to walk the same path as He walked, in all holiness & perseverance. GBU.

Going back to my comments of the 4th of July about Jesus seeming to have subtle digs at the scribes and Pharisees , in the Gospel of Luke , those who are righteous in their own eyes . Luke chapter 15 and the parable of the one lost sheep that goes astray , in verse 7 we read that the 99 were not just sheep that didn't go astray , they were 99 just persons ( they don't really exist do they ) which need no repentance ( everyone needs to repent ) so Jesus is talking about people who think that they are just and who think that they don't need to repent . Seems to be a bit of a theme in Luke .

Truthfully, it's more likely Biden is the antichrist because he's pro abortion which is killing and against God. he's pro homosexual as he hires gays and trans in his cabinet. he's pro war and pro death to young people like the innocents he killed in Afghanistan withdrawal just so he got credit to be out by the 911 anniversary. he prosecutes his political rivals like Hitler did and now is trying to assassinate him through ss. Trump is pro Christian, Biden isn't.

Re.17:3 "The woman" (2 of 2)

The woman chose her place herself. "And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."(Re.12:14). The time tag is distinct for Israel. There is also another group, remnant of her seed, "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."(12:17) Compare with God's curse on the serpent,"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed."Ge.3:15)

Now we shall attend to what the woman signifies. Re.17:1 gives her an epithet, 'the great whore' the angel with the vial informs us that it is judgment time. She is after all spiritually called Sodom, Egypt and in the next two chapters the name Babylon a hold-all for the nations that are ungodly. "Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:/With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." Israel chose her place from which she is at present fulfilling the prophets of old."and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness."(Is.31.8-14) God's answer is in 18:21. "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all."

Re.17:3 "The woman" (1 of 2)

"and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."

The beast is similar to the beast arising from the sea and the Spirit clues as we ought to interpret,"And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition." As with seven angels representing the seven days we also have the beast representing spiritual darkness in high places. The tag 8 sets the beast a creature of the post-rapture period.

The first generation beast was a variation of the four beasts that Daniel saw in his night vision. Lion, bear leopard were in parts characterised his form but what made him function was the false prophet who had "two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. In the second generation beast he was scarlet coloured all through. The tag of scarlet is associated with power of redemption,"Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."(Is.1:18). Yes, you guessed it,- the false prophet has morphed into the Pope of the Holy See of Vatican! His infallibility is a piece of blasphemy and part of the beast's regalia."full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."(17:3). There are other blasphemies that shall be presented in future but ten horns as signified by shakers and movers, "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast."

The sea is distinct from the waters. The lower parts of earth(Ep.4:9) is implied in "And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters,"- Ge.1:2 The woman is seated on the waters," And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."(17:11)

The woman chose her place herself. (Re.12:14)

Reply to Bennymkje

(Tears in a bottle 2/2)

Thank you for the scripture in Malachi

3:16& 17

Malachi 3:16

"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name."

King James Version (KJV)

I do not remember reading it before.

Keep spreading the Word.

Jesus is the Way.

Hi Brother Chris , so , are you saying that you think that the baptism Jesus is referring to is his crucifixion , 3 days dead and then resurrection to eternal life and glory with God his Father ?

If ' yes ' , me too !

The Powers of this evil age.

What I know is that the four riders of Apocalypse , one of GOD and three of the Devil, they are already running /walking with their Powers that reflects in whole world, for example, Trump is the most publicized person in the entire world today, and is not he the Rider of the Red Horse? Revelation 6:3-4

3 - And when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. 4 And another horse came forth, a red horse: and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should slay one another: and there was given unto him a great Sword. (devilish /evil Sword, to take peace from the earth)

Ezekiel 7:5-16, among many other biblical references:

5 Thus saith the Lord: An evil, an only evil; behold, it cometh. 6 An END is come, the END is come; it awaketh against thee; behold, it cometh. 7 Thy doom is come unto thee, O inhabitant of the land: the time is come, the Day is near(the Lord's Day), a Day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting...8 Now will I shortly pour out my wrath upon thee, and accomplish mine anger against thee, and will Judge thee according to thy ways; and I will bring upon thee all thine abominations. 9 And mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: I will bring upon thee according to thy ways; and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I, the Lord, do smite.

10 Behold, the Day, behold, it cometh...pride hath budded. 11 Violence is risen up into a rod of wickedness; none of them shall remain, nor of their multitude, nor of their wealth: neither shall there be eminency among them. 12 The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn; for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.

Hello Jaz. In my reading of this verse, I feel that Luke 12:49-53 must be included, Jesus giving this message in the midst of His other teaching in the chapter.

So, taking the whole passage (vv 49-53) into consideration, I see the Lord speaking of what His Coming means, to both Himself & those who are affected by it. By His coming at the Father's appointed time, both the Work of Salvation and also of Judgement had commenced. Of Salvation: that it was always the Divine Plan that He must go through the waters of suffering & death, so overwhelming in its force (not only of pain & horror to the Body, but of the weight of man's redemption in His Spirit & before the Father), that it also pressed & kept Him under till the Work was done. Could anyone else bear such a 'weight of responsibility', that only He could? As Jesus also spoke to the mother of Zebedee's children: "Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? ( Matthew 20:22,23). The day would come when the sons would suffer as Jesus did, but only He could bear the sins of the World, which assured the Father's acceptance & forgiveness to all who came through His Son in faith.

Jesus' Coming not only initiated judgement (where sins would be brought to light, and the faithful & faithless separated), but His Death & Resurrection would also cause division, whether in households, friendships or by community rejection. As Jesus also said in Matthew 10:34-36, "I came not to send peace, but a sword". The Gospel is a Gospel of Peace for those justified by faith (Peace with God, Romans 5:1), but the Gospel can come as a sword, which sets the faithful at variance with those who deny Christ - for our love for Christ must wholly transcend the love shown towards man. If Jesus' 'baptism' through self-sacrifice was so compelling & complete, how should we now live in such Light & Redemption? Excuse these extra thoughts on these verses.

Ps.56:9 "Tears in thy bottle" (2 of 2)

Where does the trail of tears of 1830 go to? Think of it brethren, The eyelids of the Lord are not shut. "For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye."(Ze.2:8). It is Jesus Christ who had no place to lay his head while he was in human likeness. These migrants are wandering as the key text tells us and their tears are as real as all those heat domes, tornados and plagues are signs of divine displeasure breaking out.

Nothing in the natural world exists without leaving a record of the sin of disobedience. Our hair can leave traces of our health as jaundiced eye speaks of the state of the liver. Climate changes are recorded in the annual rings. Similarly those who have defrauded others cry out. "Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth"(Jas.5:1-4). Similarly by principle of correspondence a record exists in heaven. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name./ And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, ."(Mal.3:16-17)

The point is that there is no way wicked nations shall escape the wrath of God on the day of Visitation.

Ps.56:9 "In a bottle" (1 of 2)

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?"

This Psalm evokes the period of great distress and anguish in the life of David always one step away from King Saul. His tears are real as the names written in the book of life are gospel truth. Without a sign of what use is a book? Letters are symbols as the words are sounds. Heaven and earth are like eyelids working as one. "The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men."(Ps.11:4). So nothing escapes the eye of heaven and He shall not let the wicked go unpunished.

This explains the seven angels with the vials. "Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth." (Re.16:1) These seven angels represent the seven days stipulated in the everlasting covenant. Second point to keep in focus is that the wrath of God is directed against the earth those whose names are not found in the book of life. These men are not free agents but have made league with the three unclean spirits of the dragon, beast and the false prophet. "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"(Matt.25:41) The nations on the left have shown by their works,- by omission and commission that they are the sons of perdition. So when one hears politicians and pastors denigrating migrants as undesirables and as vermin you know what is egging them on.

Jesus emphatically said " Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."(25:40)

Third point to keep in mind is that the nations are occupiers of any part of the earth. The land is mine and you are strangers and sojourners with me. (Le.25:23) What goes on in Gaza or south of the border must be see in this context. Where does the trail of tears go in 1830 go to? Think of it brethren, The eyelids of the Lord are not shut.

Thak you Brother for that great explanation , I did already know about that but you have explained it much better than I could have done .

It does however show , how confusion can arise if we take just one or two scriptures to back up an idea . We must take the Bible as a whole and it is perfectly consistent when we do this . It's only when we don't study it all thoroughly that we can be confused or mislead by others with their own agendas .

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 37):

Matthew 27:50 - Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

The word yielded in Greek means to dismiss your spirit. He literally dismissed it. And the word ghost is spirit. He decided when He was going to die, and He dismissed His spirit.

Matthew 28:4 - And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

And for fear of him the keepers, that is, the soldiers, they did shake. It's interesting that this is the same word as earthquake, SEISMOS. The soldiers did shake, and they became as dead men. It is also interesting that the dead man rose, and the earth shook, and the keepers shook and became dead.

Matthew 28:19 - Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

He says, Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Now the word "go," and you hear this quoted often, but the word go in all of the manuscripts, it is not a command. It is actually what is called an Aorist Participle.

It's translated "After having gone." It is not a command to go.

Well, that is all I have to share on Matthew. I may have missed some things, but what I've shared are places where I see differences in what our English bibles are saying and what is said in the Greek text. Some of this information I have shared is just general information, other things are words that I feel the translators may not have used the correct word or words.

I am currently working on Mark and will be posting soon with what I find (Lord willing!)

God Bless!!!

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 36):

Matthew 26:65 - Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying

You know, when I was a new Christian, I read this and I thought to myself "You know, the high priests can't even afford to buy their own clothes. They have to "rent" them!" But rent means to tear. You can imagine that when I first received Christ, that I had a tough time. I couldn't understand why he had to go out and rent some clothes, just to put Jesus on trial.

So, the High Priest tore his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy;

Matthew 26:69 - Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.

Peter sat in the courtyard, not the palace. The Greek text tells us that this was the courtyard outside the palace.

Matthew 27:3 - Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

When Judas saw that a sentence of judgment was passed against Him, it says he repented himself.

There are two words in the New Testament for repent. One is METANOEO, that shows true repentance, where a person makes a decision for change. That's what the bible calls for us to do if we want to receive Christ, we must make a decision to change the direction of our life and surrender our life to Christ.

This word in Verse 3 is METAMELOMAI, and it means to be sorry. METANOEO for repentance means you are repenting of the very life and lifestyle, and the actions that you've committed, and METAMELOMAI, for sorry, means that you feel bad about the consequences. Judas went out and felt sorry. He was remorseful.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 35):

Matthew 26:33 - Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Double negative, never! I think this is where the phrase "Never say never" came from. But Peter is saying I will never. The word offense is the word SCANDALIDZO, and it is where we get our word scandal from. It was a Greek word that denoted a trap. It was actually a trap that was set up to catch birds.

They would set up a box with a stick and it would have some kind of string or something on the ground, and when the bird goes into the box to get what was under it, they would pull the trap string. That was called a SCANDALIDZO.

So, to be offended means to set up a trap for somebody and lead them down the wrong road. And Jesus said you're going to be offended in me, because that is what the scripture says. In essence, what Jesus is saying here is prophecy, and Peter is saying you are wrong. That is basically what is happening. Peter says I will never be offended.

Matthew 26:53 - Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

That is 72,000 angels. Remember in the OT, where one angel wiped out the Philistines? Just think what 72,000 could do! Jesus says, don't you think that I could call angels down?

Matthew 26:59 - Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death;

So, it tells us that the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, meaning the Sanhedrin, they were seeking false witness against Jesus, to put him to death. You see, they have no charges! The Greek text says Sanhedrin, not council.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 34):

Matthew 26:22 - And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

In the Greek text it expects the negative answer. What they're saying is "Lord, it's not me is it?" And they're looking for the Lord to confirm, "No, it is not you!"

An interesting point about this scene in all of the gospels, is that when Jesus said, "One of you will betray me," none of the other disciples knew, or at least had any sense that there was something wrong with Judas. No one knew that he was a thief. You would think that Jesus would say that one of you is going to betray me, and then one of the disciples would nudge one of the others and say "I knew that there was something wrong about that Judas guy!

At the end of John Chapter 6, Jesus says, "Have not I chosen you 12, and one of you is a demon." Judas was demonic. He was of the devil from the very beginning. Jesus chose him because He needed someone who was evil to carry out this plot as it was predicted in prophecy. He didn't make him evil. He chose an evil person to fulfill that purpose.

But the fact that Judas could go for three years, and no one would ever notice anything about him that would cause them to question, it's scary because he looked and acted on the outside just like everybody else!

Matthew 26:25 - Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

The others said, "Lord, is it I?" In the KJB, it says "Master," but it's really RHABBI, rabbi, or teacher. Judas does not call Him Lord. It isn't me, is it? He's also expecting the negative answer. Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said.

Matthew 26:27 - And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;

In the Greek text, it means all of you drink from it, not drink all of it. You'd be surprised how many people there are that interpret it that way.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 33):

Matthew 26:7 - There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.

John tells us that this is Mary, the sister to Martha. And she has a very precious ointment, and she poured it on His head as He was reclining. That is literal translation. They didn't sit at the table. They reclined at the table.

Matthew 26:8 - But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

This word indignation in the Greek text literally means that they were so angry that they were pained.

Matthew 26:14 - Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

Please know that Iscariot is not his last name. It is Judas Iscariot, and Iscariot is actually from two words. "ISH" is the word man, and "KARIOT" or "KARIOTH" is the name of the village outside of Jerusalem.

So, this is Judas, a man from Kariot.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 32):

Matthew 24:34 - Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The word generation itself has no association with years at all, unless you put the years with it. The word generation means race or kind of people. GENEA is the word, and it means a race or kind of people. Basically, what He saying here, is this kind or race of people (the Jews), shall not pass away until all these things be fulfilled. They are His elect. They are His protected people, His chosen people, and He will fulfill His promises to them.

Matthew 24:43 - But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

The word goodman is actually the house master in Greek. If the House master had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.

Matthew 25:1 - Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.

They had no lamps in those days. In those days it was a torch. It was a stick with cloth wrapped around it. And they would soak the cloth in oil, and they would light it. And they would bring an extra bottle of oil along and keep it lit.

Matthew 25:24 - Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:

The word strawed means to scatter, DIASPORA. You gather together where you haven't even scattered anything. That is a hard man!

Matthew 25:27 - Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.

He says to give your money to the exchangers, and then at my coming, I should have received mine own with interest. That is what usury means, with interest.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 31):

Matthew 24:28 - For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

A better translation would be "vultures be gathered together." This verse could not be fulfilled until the mid-1990s. There are now carnivorous birds in Israel, in order for that to be fulfilled. That will happen when Jesus comes and He defeats His enemies in the battle of Armageddon.

It's prophesied, the coming of Christ, and the prophecies of these carcasses. You can see it in Ezekiel 39:17, all of Chapter 34 of Isaiah, and as it happens in Revelation 19:17-21.

Matthew 24:31 - And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Just some technical information just to show you how good this passage is:

He is going to send His angels out with a great sound of a Shofar. It's a ram's horn. Now in the Greek text, the word "sound" is in brackets, which means it was added to the text by some unseen person who doesn't understand the fact that the word "great" modifies the trumpet. It is called a great Shofar.

The prophecy is in Isaiah 27:12-13. It says the great Shofar will blow, and the Lord will gather His people from the four corners of the earth. So that is very important because that's a prophecy that the Jews looked for. It says He is going to gather them together, his elect (that would be the Jews), from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other, north, south, east, and west.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 30):

Matthew 24:1 - And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

Verse 1 tells us that that Jesus went out and was Departing. Notice the literal translation. It shows an Imperfect Tense, was departing. He was in the process of leaving the temple grounds when the disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple.

Matthew 24:4 - And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

The word "deceive" in the Greek is not the normal word for deception. It is the word for misleading. Don't let anybody mislead you about what's going to happen in the last days. That is very important! Jesus gives the reason why in Matthew 24:5.

Matthew 24:8 - All these are the beginning of sorrows.

The word sorrows in Greek, is the word for birth pains, when a woman goes into labor. But Jesus calls them birth pains because they start out very light, further apart, and then the more a woman gets into the time of giving birth, the more intense it becomes, and the more frequent they become. So, Jesus said these are just the beginning.

Matthew 24:13 - But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

The literal translation from the Greek is, but the one who has endured, not the one who will, but the one who has endured unto the end, this one will be saved. The first thing is, because it is an Aorist Participle, it shows the proof of those who are saved, and it matches the rest of the teachings in the New Testament. The person who is saved WILL endure to the end.

Matthew 24:25 - Behold, I have told you before. Literally in the Greek, behold I'm telling you ahead of time, so that you know when it happens.

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 29):

Matthew 22:38 - This is the first and great commandment.

Well, it is not a commandment. Some say that God commanded it, just like He said let there be light. He says in the OT, that my people WILL LOVE, because I will put my Spirit in them, and I will write my laws on their heart, and they will love me.

You see, God gives us the ability to love Him because in the natural, we do not have that capability. So, Jesus says this is the first commandment. Now, how many years have we gone thinking that the first commandment is a commandment? But the commandment is YOU WILL. There is no choice there! It is not an invitation like I hope you will, or could you, or should you.

You will, because God's Spirit is the one who has the love. He is the one who loves. And when you have God's Spirit in you, you are in God's love. Plus, we have to be sensitive to the fact that AGAPE love is not an action, it is a person.

Matthew 23:5 - But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

A phylactery is a small box. In the OT, God told the children of Israel to keep the commandments of God fresh in their minds, and fresh on their foreheads. So, what they did was they took a strap, and they took a little box, and they put the Hebrew Scriptures on a little tiny scroll, and they put it in a box.

And they closed the box, and they walked around with this little box on their head to keep reminding them to keep the commandments of God. Very interesting! Maybe you have seen some pictures? Orthodox Jews will do it today.

So, what He is saying is, and it is called a phylactery. They don't just have a little box here. The Pharisees have like "apple crates" you know? That is how spiritual I am, look at my phylactery!

Biblical Greek Perspective

Continuation in Matthew, (Part 28):

Matthew 22:18 - But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?

Jesus is not name calling. Hypocrite is a theater term, or an acting term. Every time an actor/actress would read their script, or perform according to the script, they were called HUPOCRISIS, hypocrites. It wasn't a bad word. But when applied to religious people, what you're saying is "you're just acting!" You're just acting out according to the script, but inside it's not true, it's not real. What the Lord is saying is that you actors come in here with all of this flattery, and all of your craftiness, and you're trying to set me up.

Matthew 22:37 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

Two things I'd like to emphasize: First, the term "Thou shalt love" is not in command form. It is a Future Active Indicative in the Greek text. It's not a command. It's a factual statement. You will love!

Secondly, if you understand the concept, you can apply it to every teaching that applies to the church, and to believers today. For instance, believers are supposed to love one another. But, neither in the OT, nor in the NT, is it in command form. It's interesting that when the Lord quotes Deuteronomy 6:5, He quotes it exactly and says the first commandment is this: "You shall love the Lord your God."

But taking it a little further from a Greek perspective, notice the word "with." Love the Lord your God WITH all your heart and WITH all your soul and WITH all your mind. Well, it is the Greek word EN, which means in. All three prepositional phrases are "in." You will love the Lord your God in your whole heart, in your whole soul, and in your whole mind.

Do you see the location? I am not going to love with it. I am going to be in it. It is going to be in me, in my inner being. That is how it is literally translated in the Greek.

Jaz,

Luke 13:16 does show that this woman was bound by Satan, but it does not imply that he is responsible for all our illnesses.

In those days, it was a common philosophy among the Jews that if a person was suffering physically, it was because they have sinned or were not right with God. But this woman's physical condition was caused by a demon. This woman had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years, and she did not have the ability to lift herself up. She walked along and she was almost bent in half and her head was down towards the ground as she was walking.

But what's important to know, and this might answer the question on if the devil is responsible for our illnesses, but not all illnesses or infirmities are caused by demons or Satan. If you remember back in John 9:1-3 about this blind man, the disciples asked, "Who sinned, this man, or his parents that he was born blind?" Jesus answered and said neither!

But you see, that was their philosophy. Their way of thinking was that the only reason that somebody suffers physically is because they have sinned or maybe their parents did, so they are suffering for it. Not all sickness and illness have to do with sin or that somebody has done something wrong. But there are specific things, especially in Jesus' day, that when a person was demonized, possessed by a demon, it also meant that the demon was holding them in prison in some kind of a physical way.

Hope this helps!

A question for any one and every one : Like Ch 13 verses 11-16 , v 11 what does it mean that the woman had a spirit of infirmity ? and v 16 this woman whom satan hath bound , is this implying that the devil is responsible for our illnesses ? Interested to know what you all think about this miracle and the words used to describe it .

Hello Dear Sister , if you don't mind , may I ask you a question ? You don't have to answer me , I shan't be offended if you choose not to . What do you believe is the ultimate fate of all those people who never got the opportunity ( for whatever reason ) to ever hear one word about God or Jesus ? What happens to their souls ?

Does any one have an opinion or idea about , what baptism is Jesus referring to in Luke Ch 12 verse 50 ? I have my own idea but was just wondering what others think of it .

Re.13:8 "Mark of the Beast"

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

"All that dwell upon upon the earth" refers to a specific period The two witnesses would finish their testimony and rapture has closed the door for those remaining on the earth. Jesus forewarned of the time of the Gentiles. " But this is your hour, and the power of darkness." ( Luke 22:53) The day of salvation shall be continued in heaven where Christ is seated on the right hand of the most High. So the hour and half an hour are all signs under which the nations shall continue.

Those whose names are in the book of life are those little children whose souls are in safekeeping. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous." This righteousness are in their submission to the indwelling Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. The just shall live by faith where living according to the leading of the Spirit are the works. The book of life and the names constitute a holy nation peculiar people and the Spirit gives them tags as in this verse, "an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads." (14:1)

Satan is a great copy cat and we see Satan also his seat authority set and power. The unclean spirit works with all three. Frogs explain the league of the beast false prophet and dragon. "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world." Take any King, President or Kaiser, glory gold and violence are what they unleash. The people of the earth who receive the mark has a sign recorded with Satan as being sold to do their bidding. So those whose names are not in the book of the Lamb are destined to the lake of fire. Free will sets before man: Either or.