Bible Discussion Replies PAGE 151

From what are you quoting " in" Virtue ?

For there are a number of versions that have translated ' on" instead of 'in" . Namely in rev 3 where the Spirit of the Lord says to the churches on this case to the church of Laodocia that " if you overcome I will make you sit IN my throne even as I overcome and sit IN my Fathers throne"

The ONLY one who can sit ON the Fathers throne is the Father and the one who can sit ON the Sons throne s The Lord Jesus Christ . Yet some have presumed to translate it as " ON" His throne.

I am not the Lord yet by the grace of God am IN Christ . And have become a partaker of the divine nature. But while IN Christ I may come to share in His Power and Authority He still has " the pre eminence in all things.and thus Must sit ON the throne.

To excercise authority we must be in submission to that authority. To sit ON the throne is to usurp that authority and BE the authority . Even the Lord made no such claim but rather on two grounds stated His authority . The Scriptures and of Him who sent Him . Even the Fathers and "in the mouth of two witnesses a thing is established".

I say all this not for contentions sake but rather for the Words sake. For many have been misled into thinking that if they can but have the Greek or Hebrew they will understand the scriptures.

This is not so . For wether they be in Greek Hebrew English etc it is by the Spirit of truth that we are led in to all truth .

For even as " all scripture was given by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so likewise and in the same measure we need Him to understand what is written . But if you say by the a" original text" we truly understand etc then my reply would be that if a person understands as they think they do in those languages then they should in English explain or argue the case in English according to their understanding.

But we make a mistake to fall back on " but the original test says etc" But dot not prove the case .

In English .

Hello Bennymkje,

I looked up CUFI as Jesse suggested "Christians United For Israel" came up. Is this what you were referring to?

Jesse,

Pt. 2

I think it is better to do it now than later, because;

1) We would be paying more later for the work

and

2) If such an event occurs, the one who is disabled would have to wait for the work to be done before being able to shower!

So you can pray for Steve to come to see that this is more important than his shop. I do wat him to have a shop, but I ma more concerned about our home being accessible to us for the remaining years of our lives. I imagine I will outlive him because I have longevity on my side of the family and he has outlived both of his parents. I do not want to stuck in a bind if he is gone and I cannot do stairs. Sometimes I get frustrated when he is unable to see down the line and make decisions for that when I am definitely a person who looks ahead. We are finally in a position where we can do all that we need to do to our home now that we know we will stay here and not move and I hate to stop short of making our home completely first floor living. To me, it is worth taking a home equity loan because it is something we truly need to keep us from moving to a care center earlier thana we would need to if we do this addition. Senior care is really expensive and such an addition would save us money in the long run.

Jesse, I hate to complain on this but it is a big concern for me. I have had two T.I.A's since I turned 60, my husband has not. We both have high blood pressure. I guess I am more realistic about the possibility of having a stroke event that could prevent me from ambulating up and down stairs. Because he has not had any events like I have, Steve does not consider this addition as being very important right now. Please pray for us to find a resolve to this. I think the bath addition takes precedence over a shop but he sees it as him working long hours for 45+ years and now with retirement he feels he deserves a shop. I do, too, but I want to prioritize our safety and ability to stay together in this home for as long as we can.

Hello Jesse,

Thanks for that I look up what Bennymjke meant by his acronym.

I am glad your remodel is coming along. it must feel good to get the roof and siding completed so that your house "wrap" prevents the insides from damage from rain.

Our inside is 99.999% done. Just one more project for our contractor, Eric, to build for us. He is working on the deck at this time. He took out all the cement patio and is framing the deck (which we expanded from what the original patio measured). Steve, my husband is helping him and this is working well. The deck will be 12' x 30' and will also have a roof built over it.

We still need to replace the remaining old windows. We will order them next week and Eric will install when they arrive the first part of June. Then he will paint the house and our small shed. Next will be building the roof over the deck. And after that removing our front porch and walkway and build a deck in place of the cement porch with a ramp and also extending the porch the full length of the front of the house.

There are still other things we want to get done, but we need to reassess what remains inn our savings after these projects above are completed.

We need to remove our existing driveway and repour it now that we have the big tree removed by our neighbor. Its roots were breaking up our driveway.

Steve hopes to build a shop in back.

I would like to add a master bath and enclosed room for a swim spa off of the downstairs bedroom so we can truly have first for living for the remainder of our years living here.

With our home being paid off for over ten years and with paying for all these improvements with our savings, we may need to take a home equity loan out to complete these remaining projects. Steve will not like doing this as being debt-free is something he wishes to maintain. But, if something occurs to one of us where he or I would not be able to do stairs anymore, we would have to do the bath anyway. See Pt. 2

We need

I fail or rather cannot see or understand how faith can " supply" virtue etc .

The KJV has it as " add to your faith ..virtue "etc .

The word add and the word supply have completely two different meanings and concepts .

We know that " Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things as yet unseen" And that all men have " a measure of faith to profit withall" according to what faith IS. But not all mens faith is in God .That comes when men not only hear the Word of God but understand what is being said .

Now if faith somehow supplies virtue etc then by the same reasoning of scripture then all men have a supply of virtue .

But that clearly is not the case . For while for instance some claim or rather assert there is virtue in the colour of a man's skin be it white or black or in communism or democracy etc while it might be asserted it imply is not true . For that would make virtue but skin deep and not worth a jot .

When the woman with an issue of blood touched the Lords hem of his garment in faith believing it is written that He was aware that " virtue left Him ".

Not that He suffered loss for God is not made poor by His giving .

We are rather instructed to "ADD to our faith " virtue etc which is a conscious decision that comes from our lively knowledge of God . We can take biblical examples of biblical personages who exemplify virtue.. Joseph for one ,Or Job for patience etc .

Faith does not in of and by itself 'supply' such things for many have faith in God but go no further than " little children"( 1 John) .

But it takes a " young man" to be filled with the Word of God richly" to overcome the wicked one "..

And I would also put it to you that while little children have faith in God you have to grow in grace and in the ( lively) knowledge of God to become young men that can only come about as we " study" the scriptures as well by them are renewed in our minds and by degree or measure can rightly divide the Word of God.

(2 Peter Part 5e):

2 Peter 1:5 Continued

And that's the importance of our relationship with Christ. Please know that I'm not minimizing the importance of the bible. It's just that some people have a relationship with the bible and they don't have a relationship with Christ. By my participation with the divine nature, His very virtue is developed in my life, the qualities of God's nature, virtue!

Next, and in virtue, and remember that the word to means in. And in the virtue, let it supply knowledge. So, all of these prepositional phrases "in," come off of that. Supply in your faith virtue; in your virtue, let it supply knowledge. How does knowledge come out of virtue? As I just mentioned to you that Acts 4:13 said that the religious council took note that they were unlearned and ignorant men, but that they had been with Jesus.

The word knowledge is an intimate word, a word that expresses intimate relationship. At the end of Matthew Chapter 1, it says that Mary and Joseph, that they didn't know each other until after she gave birth to her firstborn son. So, it's an intimate term. It's even used for the physical relationship between husband and wife. It's coming to know Him, being influenced by His virtue, the qualities of His nature.

(2 Peter Part 5d):

2 Peter 1:5 Continued

One of the things we learn in our human association, we are warned about being around people that can be bad influence. Paul says in 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 that bad company corrupts good morals. It's not the other way around. It won't be the believers influence over his drinking friends. It will be the drinking friends and their influence over him.

So, to put it into our terminology, whoever you "hang around," you're going to talk like him, you're going to act like him, and you're going to show the influences.

The bible tells us that the more time we spend with Him, and I'm not talking about in a book, even though the bible is part of it. I'm not talking about spending time in the bible and God's Spirit will influence you. I'm talking about Him! Because we cannot see Him nor hear Him, His design is to minister to us through the word, but it's to bring us to Himself.

When you are able to quote scripture, people can tell that you have spent many hours in the bible. But have you been with Christ for many hours? Some people can quote the book. And if you're into memorizing, that's great. Those are tools that God's Spirit uses.

But I'm reminded in Acts 4:13, when Peter and James and John the fishermen were there, and they were talking to the religious council about the fulfillment in the Messiah. It says the council took notice of them that they were unlearned and ignorant men. Well, that's not what the words mean. It actually means that they did not go through the Rabbinical Schools.

Then it says, but they did take knowledge of them, and were marveled at them, but they took note that they had been with Jesus. Ah! It didn't say the bible. It didn't say the Tanak. "You haven't been to the Rabbinical Schools, have you? But we can tell you've been with Jesus!"

(2 Peter Part 5c):

2 Peter 1:5 Continued

Also, each one of these words, along with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity, each one has the Definite Article, which names the stage in which the growth is taking place.

And lastly, before I get into the list itself, this list is arranged with the word "in," and with the Definite Article for each one. And notice that the stages are repeated. Supply in your faith virtue; and in virtue knowledge; and in knowledge, and so on. Each stage of growth is produced out of the one that comes before it. Or, each stage of growth produces the next stage of growth.

I know this is a lot of detail, but we don't get that in our English text, no matter which English text we read, we don't get that lineup and that formula in the detail that Peter is making.

So, he says on the account of the fact that you are a partaker of the divine nature, after having given all priority to this growth process, supply in the faith. That would be the interaction with the Lord.

In the faith, supply virtue. That's why it's important. Back at the end of Verse 3, you'll remember he says the one who has called us of His own glory, and virtue. That's the same word, virtue. This is not my virtue. This is God's virtue, His qualities, the quality of His nature, and His morality. In other words, everything about who God is and His influences over my life, because in faith, I am participating with the divine nature, and as I participate with the divine nature, that produces the influence of who God is on my life. That's very important.

The way God created the world, the way He created you and me, the way He created the process, you're born as a baby, you grow up as an adult, and you go through all the different phases of growth. But every way in which God made creation and made us symbolizes and expresses spiritual truth, the spiritual truth of God and God's kingdom.

(2 Peter Part 5b):

2 Peter 1:5 Continued

So, work out your own salvation. It is God who works. Be where He wants you to be, live the lifestyle He wants you to live, to be on a schedule. And we'll see that when we get into Chapter 3 which gives us the priorities of the believer's life. So, if we understand Paul in Philippians 2:12-13, Peter is saying the same thing, add to your faith.

Now here's the catch phrase:

The word add in Verse 5 EPICHOREGESATE, and in Verse 11 where it says ministered EPICHOREGETHESETAI, add and ministered are the same words, and it means to supply. In Verse 11 it says for so an entrance shall be supplied to you, whereas back in Verse 5 it says supply to your faith. These are catch phrases because Verse 11 is going to make reference back to Verse 5 about our entrance into heaven. That's very important!

So, in Verse 5, it says on account of this, that is, you have become partakers of the divine nature, having provided all priority, supply in, it's not "to" but in your faith. What is faith? You see, faith is a catch phrase back to Verse 1, the Christian faith. My participation with the divine nature, Peter calls a like precious faith. Faith is the word that describes the interaction between myself and the Lord. It's invisible, but He's active, He's persuading, and He's ministering.

So, he's saying by being a partaker of the divine nature, you are now of the faith. So now that you are interacting with the divine nature, I want you to supply something, that is, make sure that this interaction and participation supplies something.

Here are some details that you're going to need to know as we go through this:

Instead of the word "to," in Verses 5 through 7, in the Greek text it is the word "in." Why is that important? Because in the Greek text, it shows the location in which the growth process takes place. You're not adding to something. You're growing in a phase. There are seven stages.

(2 Peter Part 5a):

2 Peter 1:5 - And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;

And beside this, or literally, on account of this. On account of what? You became partakers of the divine nature. If you are a partaker of the divine nature, then there are changes taking place within you as you're influenced by the very nature and quality of God Himself.

So, the first phrase there is making reference back to Verse 4. And there's where you bring the first phase into the second. Next, which would be the third thing, it says giving all diligence. And this is a phrase that indicates for me my responsibility in this growth process. It's diligence, which means top priority. It is my decision making and my responsibility to make spiritual growth in Christ the top priority of my life.

Fourthly: And here's where we get into a crunch of words. Add to your faith. What in the world does that mean? First of all, here's an explanation of how Paul said it, because Peter is saying the same thing. In Philippians 2:12-13, Paul says wherefore my beloved as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

But you can't stop there. It says in Verse 13, for it is God which works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. There are people who stop at Verse 12 and say "See, that's what we're supposed to do in our efforts. We're supposed to work out our own salvation." No! Our responsibility is that our salvation should be being worked out in us in a growth process. That is my responsibility, but I don't do the work. That's why is says for it is God who works in you.

Hi GiGi,

I don't wish to answer for someone else but as I read through the same post, I had no idea what CUFI was either. I typed in the letters in a search engine and found what it stood for. I will leave that up to you if you want to either look it up or wait for a response from Bennymkje. I must say that I still don't understand what his message is, even after looking some things up.

Also, an update on my home repair. Our insurance sent us a check, and we found a contractor to do all the repairs. So far, we had our roof replaced and the entire back siding on the house replaced. So far, things are going well. Thank you so much for the prayers. I do hope things are going well with you and your neighbor.

God Bless!!!

Hi Bennymkje,

Can you tell me what you mean by CUFI. I want to better understand your post. Thanks.

Galatians 3:28-29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 10:12

"For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him."

Blessings

Rev.5.6 "The Lamb slain"

"And in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes." Seven Spirits explain the fulness of God so the emblem is the only one worthy, " And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon." This fulness in heaven makes the Lamb of God in human likeness worthy. In this case where did the heresy of 'Limited Atonement' come in and people under a delusion say Calvin was right. The lying spirit came before God to seek permission to make man stumble. "Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee." to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the devious you show yourself shrewd. (1 Kgs.22.23; Ps.18.26)The same spirit works with Dispensaionalists and the Southern Baptists and all those imposter pastors who swear by Israel. CUFI had the POTUS make a public show of allegiance and we see these churches trying to foist a theocratic nation to please all denominations. Well we saw them testing the waters of public opinion by an AI image of him dressed as a Pope to coincide with the death of late Pope Francis.

Israel rejected God as their king and they openly declared they have no king but Caesar. Yet imposter churches claim that they looked into the book no one in heaven, nor in earthy was worthy to look thereon. The devil and Israel must be laughing in their sleeves at the enormity of folly they are trying out. It shall happen since they chose the way to damnation themselves.

The Lamb slain as an emblem in heaven is worthy to set the Word which was with God to empower the saints called by the Word was God and it is what the angel declared to Apostle John. In the book of Revelation Jesus Christ assures," And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." Seven horns of the Lamb signified power,perfect.

I'll be praying for you. May God continue to shape your life like clay in His hands, gently molding you for His purpose. He is the Potter, and we are the clay, as also reminded in

Isaiah 64:8 - Jeremiah 18 - Romanos 9:20-21.

God bless you

I Sam.8.8-10 "So do they unto thee"

Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

People complained of the sons of Samuel. In our time we call them nepo babies, but Samuel was appointed by God and the people who complained were meddling with the commandments of God. "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." (Rom.14.4)

"for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." God saw through their complaints but the root cause lay elsewhere.' now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.' The nation wanted to be like in their likeness and not after the likeness of the Son, the Priest-King of whom God said,"The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek."(Ps.110.1-4) For this reason Melchizedek brought bread and wine to Abraham and the patriarch paid him tithes. This in fact was binding on both parties since he gave as a token of receiving the blessings. " And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of al."(Gen.14.20)

God sent his only begotten Son in fulness of time. He came into his own but they received him not. Before Pilate they solemnly declared the had no king but Caesar. So God had foreseen through their sham revernce, "According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods" Unto this day is a phrase the Spirit to set the context in terms of the Son to whom God has decreed the day. The nation of Israel is refuse in the eyes of God yet we have CUFI the work of the devil to deceive Christians,- 'my name is in him' is the definition of a Christian.

Heb.7.9-10 "Yet in his loins"

"And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham./ For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him."

The writer to the Hebrews annotates the encounter between two worlds. On one hand we have Melchizedek, the priest of the most high God'. On the other we have Abraham. What brought heaven to the man? Blessings stipulated in the everlasting Covenant. So he refers Abram as thus,"Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth."(14.18-20).Blessings like rain come from the greater to the lesser. Abram paid 'tithes of all'. He paid tenth of all to God. There was no such law of Moses, for that matter no Israel to speak of. The key verse asserts, nevertheless, he paid it on behalf of Israel as a nation as well as for all families. The Spirit tells us that God had blessed him, 'and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.'(Gen.12.3). The Spirit included bread and wine as offerings that Melchizedek gave the man. He as the Priest- King represented Jesus Christ whose body will be broken in due time and blood shed for the redemption of many. This is confirmed by the Lamb slain as an emblem in the will of God.

This emblem never changes. So the writer to the Hebrews refers to Levi as though he were extant since the will of God is complete and requires no modification whatsoever. By the same token, where were we when Adam sinned? We were dead is it not? By the same token, where were we when Adam sinned? We were dead is it not?The emblem being extant we are called by God and in the book of life all our members accounted for. (Ps.139.16). But our election is from the throne of God and of the Lamb, so the book of life of the Lamb is the vindication that without shedding of blood there is no redemption. After conniving with politicians,, kings and the beast do not say, there is only limited Atonement. You are treading the blood of Jesus underfoot afresh.

Hallo again "Dddsam87" Thanks for your reply, my first impulse was of course to call you, :) but that's something we should never do. But now we have a thread here and can use it. Of course I believe that you have Jesus. That being said, there are many ways to approach Jesus. In short, I will give some key words. Congregation, make one or find one. We in a congregation pray for everyone every day and night. Right now I am in the state church. Because I have a long way to drive. But there are people who take Christianity seriously there too and they fold their hands and pray. And I believe that all the people here on the web pray for me, as I do for them. next

Praise the Lord, Love the Lord and have respect for everything God has created and fear God. Pray and be prepared, because right now it feels like you are a little off the beaten path. Pray that all the lost will come home to God. We are living in the last hour. You know it is only in God's word and through the Holy Spirit that you can be trained to become the men God wants you to be. And then it takes practice, in your practice lies boldness. Confession always remember and stand up before the Lord wherever you are. So when you have had all this work seriously, then you should also have received gifts. Spiritual Gifts 1 Corinthians 13. And where the love of God and spiritual gifts are in you, it means that then there can be no spiritual obsession other than that which works for God, Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. The gifts you have then are so strong that you can chase out every unclean thought in your mind. As said earlier, Jesus says where such things come from. Matthew 15:19 and it is frightening for anyone who has been enlightened. Guard your heart above all else! So as a believer, I recommend you to become a believer. Stand up for yourself and confess to the world that you are a believer. I got one word for you today Luke 9:1-6 Take God'swordseriouslyandeverything willworkoutforyouasthe Lord Jesus want

False Prophets Addendum

The end of the last post ran out of room (what else is new)

Anyway; the Catholic church made these decisions back in 1969 to remove certain individuals from who they would say are definitely saints. We have to take care that those attributed to miraculous signs that are anything besides scripture aren't some imaginary persona. Even Mary from the Bible was elevated beyond where she should be and that occurs in other places besides the Catholic church. Peter is known to be a "saint" as are all who are Born Again in reality; but surely not to be worshipped as he made many mistakes including in Galatians where he had to be publicly rebuked by Paul for insisting on following Jewish customs.

Again; this sort of idolizing of long deceased individuals all too easily allows demons to impersonate people or manifest some sort of "miraculous" sign.

I need to note that along with total control false prophets or cult leaders will at times credit their followers for miraculous things happening as well; no doubt a sort of self fulfilling prophecy as their actions only that bring exaltation to the leader are venerated. Free thinking or criticism is never an option; whereas those of the Lord are encouraged as "iron sharpens iron" to build each other up. (see Proverbs 27:17). Also faithful are the wounds of a friend ( Proverbs 27:6). Probably a good idea to read all of Proverbs 27 I would think...

Scripture should never; therefore be read as a curiosity; we may start off in ignorance but in faithful service to the King we need to mature and realize that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. There is no place for going beyond scripture. If there is a prophetic utterance scripture is the buttress and on this side of the Rapture and beyond the completion of the Bible things are at best subject to change or delay. Repentance for now allows for conditional predictions; nothing is complete until Revelation as to the fate of nations.

(2 Peter Part 4b):

What Peter is trying to do is to say this is actual participation with, and interaction with the very divine nature of God Himself in all of His fullness. And that's what he's calling "like precious faith." What is the Christian faith according to Peter? It is somebody who participates in their inner man with the divine nature of God, nothing less. It's not religious!

Then we have in Verses 5 through 7, the participation in the spiritual growth process. And again, this is a participation. We'll see here soon that there are two kinds of Christians. There's one that's participating with the growth process, and there's one who has forgotten that he's been forgiven for his sins and doesn't see the need.

Now here's where we get into the tricky part, and I'll share with you the details so that you will have this information, so that when you re-read it in the English text, you'll know what it's really saying in the original language.

First of all, this section, Verses 5, 6 and 7, there are seven stages of growth. Next, all of these stages of growth are based on Verse 4. That's why it says what it does in Verse 5. There's a lot packed into Verse 5 so I will go over that tomorrow, Lord willing!

(2 Peter Part 4a):

2 Peter 1:4 - Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these, and here's the line: you might become partakers of the divine nature. The first thing a believer is, and we call it saved, we call it received Christ, we call it born again, but a person who is saved is someone who has become a partaker of the divine nature of God Himself, His qualities, His virtue, and His glory.

Now I like the way Peter says it because our terms are kind of loose and religious. "Have you believed in the Lord? Have you received Him?" and whatever these phrases mean to people. But Peter gets right down to the nitty-gritty. Like Paul says, if you don't have the Spirit of Christ, you don't belong to Christ. That's the nitty-gritty. Are you participating and interacting with Him?

That's what it means to be a Christian. It doesn't mean to be part of a religious system called Christianity. It means to be partakers of the divine nature. And Peter is emphasizing the divine nature, His very qualities, His morality, His holiness, and His glory. I am interacting. I am participating with the divine nature of God. That's who a believer is according to the bible.

And then it says after having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That's called an Aorist Participle. I have become a partaker of the divine nature, after I was saved from the corruption that's in the world that is produced in lust. God delivered me from that. God put His Spirit into my spirit. He has sealed me with His Spirit to belong to Him forever.

(2 Peter Part 3):

2 Peter 1:3 - According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Peter says according as His divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. So, this little phrase or parenthesis, and he's going to get to the main point here in a moment, but God's divine power gives to us all things pertaining to life and Godliness. We have everything. We lack nothing. Godliness means reverence.

Secondly, this all comes to us through the knowledge of Him that has called us to glory and virtue. Now the phrase "to glory and virtue," there are some Greek manuscript differences. And the manuscript that I am working out of (the Textus Receptus), it doesn't say to glory and virtue, it's basically of glory and virtue.

He's not calling us to it. In fact, the oldest manuscripts have the additional words "His own." He has called us of His own glory and virtue, it is not ours. Divine power, the virtue and glory that belongs to God, He has called us to that, and in it.

(2 Peter Part 2):

2 Peter 1:2 - Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

Grace, and literally since the word multiplied is what is called the Optative Mood (a wish), it should read may grace and peace be multiplied unto you through, or in the full knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, indicating one person.

But it is interesting that he was praying for grace and peace to be multiplied to them, but this grace and peace is multiplied in coming to know the full knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. And so, the more we learn, if we're learning properly from the scriptures, grace will increase, the peace of the Lord will increase, the more accurately we learn about Christ.

Please remember the term faith, a like precious faith. When we get into the second phase of the Christian life which is the growth process in Verse 5, he's going to make reference back to the phrase faith in Verse 1.

The first 11 verses of 2 Peter Chapter 1 is the most difficult Greek in the whole bible. There are catch phrases all through the first 11 verses. And if you are not able to read the Greek text, these first 11 verses will minister to you, but you'll miss the whole point of the purpose and the teaching of what he's trying to say.

As I go through this, I'm going to mention these catch phrases, and mention to you the manner in which these 11 verses are written so you can benefit from these 11 verses from now on whenever you read them. Verses 3 through 11 are the phases of the Christian faith. And there are three phases that a true genuine born-again believer participates in.

Peter emphasizes participation. A genuine believer, someone born of the Spirit of God, is participating with God in three areas. The first one is in Verses 3 and 4, the participation with the divine nature. That's a different phrase. It's speaking of the Spirit of Christ, but Peter uses different terminology.

Biblical Greek Perspectives:

(2 Peter Part 1):

Second Peter was written to warn the believers about the threat against the Church from inside the church, the false teachers, and the false teachings.

2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

He says Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. He introduces himself as a DOULOS, a slave, and he also tells them that he's an apostle. That puts him in high ranking in the church. So, this comes from one of the original people who have been with the Lord.

To them that have obtained like precious faith with us. He's writing to believing Jews. But he's telling them, writing to you who have obtained like precious faith with us. The word precious in the Greek text (ISOTIMON) is the word valuable. Peter is saying that every believer, when they receive Christ, they receive the same valuable faith as Peter and the others.

It's not a lower faith. It's not a lower version of Christianity. It is a like precious faith. He's using the term faith to describe the Christian life. It's not just something that a Christian lives by. In fact, in the book of Acts, it was said that those who follow Jesus Christ were of the faith. They followed the persuasion of God's Spirit, which is what faith means. Believers follow the persuasion of God's Spirit, and they follow the Lord, but you can't see Him. So, they called the people "of the faith," or literally of the persuasion.

False prophets: Final thoughts for now

No one in hell will be happy to find out that the prophecies about it came true. Antichrist and the False Prophet and all the lost men and angels should be aware of their fate by now; yet scripture states that men will be deluded by demons to fight Christ; something no doubt taking the mark of the Beast already will have them conditioned to do. Much of the true prophecies resulted in death; Luke states Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. ( Luke 11:47).

Things didn't go too well for Isaiah or Jeremiah or most of the prophets. Nonetheless; in the end those on the Lord's side win.

While a true Prophet such as Christ as our best example suffers greatly and is largely rejected and cares for the sheep; the false prophets are the classic definition of a narcissist. The warnings of such individuals are designed to instill fear and exercise control over their subjects if not for financial reasons for the sake of power in being the "spokesman" for God. The name of Christ is often invoked in such individuals in order to attempt some sort of scriptural justification while naturally twisting the original meaning to suit their own selves.

Let us not set up any hardness in our heart; Hebrews 12:15 says Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.. The passage goes on to talk about immorality tied in with Esau. Cults often are involved in sexual deviations.

In this whole lesson I have intermingled the concept of cults with false prophets. There seems to be much intersection of these actions and behaviors. We have to also be careful to avoid extrabiblical texts which exalt people to some sort of sainthood which apparently can be eliminated if the heirarchy seems fit to do so. An April 26, 2014 ABC report discussed 93 individuals who were technically reduced from that status.

Techniques of false prophets

Those who preach of the delusions of their own minds is mentioned in Jeremiah 14:14

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

According to Webster's Dictionary divination is defined thus:

1: the art or practice that seeks to foresee or foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge usually by the interpretation of omens or by the aid of supernatural powers

2

: unusual insight : intuitive perception

Apparently the above scripture shows how easily our own hearts can conform with the stoking of the enemy in bringing about things that appear to come to pass at times. Clearly the easiest thing we can say is that any prophecy that DOESN"T come to pass clearly is from a false prophet. If it comes true then we need to discern whether the individual is truly of the Lord or a deceiver as mentioned in an earlier post and the warnings from the book of Deuteronomy.

If we think of the Lord for a minute; all things He does are beyond our comprehension; fulfilling prophecy is no more miraculous than his sustenance of our mortal bodies of flesh until the determined end in this life and sustaining our eternal souls in heaven if we are saved. God doesn't have to prove anything to Himself; and really doesn't have to prove anything to us either. Certain things are hidden ( Deut. 29:29) but those who are wise seek things out from Him. His predictions are for His purposes; whether bringing about the conditions necessary for His first or second arrival on earth as the Son of God or the fate of nations.

What is more important is spiritual realities; like mentioned earlier in the extensive passages about blessings and cursings; for instance seen in Deuteronomy 28 and numerous other places.

False Prophets:

The King of Israel as we started studying in the last posting died in the end attempting something the false prophets told him he would succeed in.

30 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle.

31 But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel.

Thus Ahab met his end in a very strange manner being singled out and everyone else being left unharmed. This reminds us of another foolhardy campaign as we see in 2 Chronicles 35

20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.

21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.

22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.

We see in this case a pagan nation invoking the name of God and correctly warning the King to stay out of this battle. In this case bad judgment seemed to only be the issue but perhaps the enemy was influencing the king; which is sad after all the good things Josiah did as one of the truly great kings mentioned in scripture.

We can't ignore the fact that many were influenced by the occult in wars. In fact we can see all 3 major players in World War 2 affected; from the worship of Hirohito as a god to Hitler's Ayrian race madness and Mussolini's cult like status.

False Prophets: Examples from the Old Testament

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, ( 2 Peter 2:15).

Balaam was mentioned as a warning in the book of Jude as well as in Revelation 2:14 to the church of Pergamum which apparently did some of these practices. We note that divination was one of the things done as Joshua 13:22 states Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.

Thus we see the sobering end of such characters. We see another example of how a false spirit affects multiple people as we see in 1 Kings 22:18-23.

18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?

19 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.

20 And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.

21 And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him.

22 And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.

23 Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

False Prophets: Deciever and being decieved.

"But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived ( 2 Timothy 3:13).

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. ( Matthew 24:11).

As we get closer to the time of the end; and the approach of the Antichrist's appearance; more and more false prophecies will seem to be fulfilled. It is only expected that if a man deceives the whole world as Revelation 13:8 says 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.

Surely a false Messiah will appear to mirror many aspects of the true one; and reading Revelation shows how miraculous signs from heaven and most importantly an apparent restoration from death ( Revelation 13:3) after the deadly wound mentioned in Zechariah 11:17. The events of the first seal in Revelation 6:1 and also mentioned in the Daniel 9:27 passage and other verses from that book in particular show how he arises. It only takes a little homework to see that Islam teaches of an eventual 12th Imam who will arise and bring forth a time of peace; which echoes New Age; the Maitreya and other manifestations of a utopia believed to arrive after we have "evolved" to the next level.

For this study; I just pass through the final manifestation of evil on the earth in this age and will now focus on the false prophets of today as well as in the past to see characteristics. The first thing I would say is that a false prophet usually has false "profits". Titus 1:10-11 states For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. There are some who clearly are fleecing the flock for exorbitant living that are in megachurches; but other times cults will declare a vow of poverty but bilk funds.

False Prophecy: How does it work?

The concept of generational curses fits into a basic theme of scripture; as per warnings as we see in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 there are 53 verses as compared to 14 verses on blessings in the beginning of the chapter; a 4 fold increase in ramifications. Many such warnings are tied into worship of the false gods of the other nations in scripture and alternatively; abandoning the true God. Deuteronomy 5:9 states that Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,,,

but as we see in the next verse And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. Thus; the ill effects of any omens or occult practices will be eliminated if someone is pursuing a true walk with God.

As we see false religions we see that they too have what are called prophetic sayings. If we look deeper we can see in worldwide religions a common theme; that of a primary or strongest God involved in some method of creation of the world; a story of giants and strange races of people in the distant past and finally some sort of apocalyptic ending to come. We also see the theme of generational records and how God brings teachers; prophets or sages in certain lineages; most commonly seen in Islam along with their more mystical hadiths as it were. The fact is; God also gave blessings to Ishmael; but that was in part because of Abraham's prayers but the covenant was made with Abraham (see Genesis 17 and 18:17-19 for reference). As we see with King David; God chose those least recognized son of Jesse (see 1 Samuel 16). The people had made the mistake of choosing a king for themselves with Saul and these scriptures explain his downfall as we see in 1 Samuel 16:7.

Thus we begin this study with how someone who is thrust into prominence becomes a false prophet.