Hope your weekend went well brother, if I may give my understanding of Ephesians 4:8-10. As He Ascended up on High, Acts 1:9 He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.
He led captivity captive; we see this also in Judges 5:12 which has a meaning to take captive your captors. When Jesus rose from the grave, he took power over what held Him captive. Death and the grave were what held Him, but because He was without sin, they could not hold Him Acts 2:24. Since the garden, Satan had the power of death and the grave, and when Jesus rose from the grave, He took that power which are the keys, Revelation 1:18.
Gifts unto men, we see this in Psalms 68:18. These gifts are also for the rebellious. These gifts are for all people in Acts 1:8 Jesus gave the commission to the Apostles just before He ascended to heaven. The gifts are in Ephesians 4:11-12 He gave apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; all for the ministry for the perfecting of the saints. For the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ for all people. It is the gift to mankind for their salvation, no better gift can be given to man.
He that descended, when Jesus died, He was dead for three days. Jesus descended into death, and the grave, and because He had no sin, they had no power over Him. The first Adam through his disobedience brought sin and death to mankind, Jesus the second Adam through His obedience brought life.
If there were those whom Jesus brought with Him when He resurrected, I would think it would be David but in Acts 2:29 and Acts 2:34 David is dead and buried and has not ascended to heaven. This earth is our home and our reward we do not go to heaven. We are heirs according to the promise, Galatians 3:26-29, Genesis 12:7, Genesis 13:5 it is forever, and Romans 4:13 the whole earth.
Rev. 5:10Psalms 37:9,22,34 This earth is where we will be not heaven.
It's impressive, but it has been two thousand years since JESUS came here, think well about it, passing two thousand years is a gigantic space of time, in fact a huge gap or interval in space and time, but it passed, but will continue to pass. The time is infinite, like the space is infinite too.
And now JESUS WILL RETURN AGAIN HERE IN THE SAME PLACE from where He ascended to the third heavenly environment and a cloud RECEIVED Him ( Acts 1:11) , yes, He will again return now to the same place from where He ascended, and He will reign and lead us in new celestial environment ( Ephesians 1:3) by His power, for a period of 1.000 years(the cloud also will appear again, understand?) , as it is revealed in Philippians 3:20-21: -->20 For our conversation is in heaven (heaven? Ephesians 1:3. Take a look.)-; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. By the way, He made it very clear when He said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth- Matthew 28:18.
Get ready, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him- Matthew 25:6 - .
Lets pray
Unfortunately , there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In Greek, the name is literally Judas. He wrote the book of Jude.
Judas is mentioned 44 times in the New Testament, representing the name of a person, as well as the name of the territory of Judah in Israel. Both are the same words.
There are 8 people named Judas in the New Testament, but only 3 are prominent and worth consideration. Two of these three are named in Luke 6:16.
They are Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed the Lord). And Judas Thaddeus is presented as an apostle. Neither is the author of this letter.
This Jude is not an apostle. In fact, he says that he is the brother of James, and he is the servant of Jesus Christ. The author of this letter is Judas, the brother of James, and half-brother to the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 1:25 tells us that Mary and Joseph did not have the normal physical relationship between husband and wife until after Jesus was born. Matthew tells us that she was a virgin up to the birth of Christ. After the birth of Christ, they had a normal physical relationship. After Jesus was born, it is recorded in Matthew 13:55-56 that Mary and Joseph had other children who are listed as the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
During the Lord's public ministry, John 7:5 states that his brothers did not believe in Him. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to James and to the others. That would be the other of His brothers. It was at this time His brothers believed in Him.
In Acts 1:14, we find Mary and the brothers of Jesus assembled in the Upper Room waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 9:5, Paul relates that the Lord's brothers served as missionaries in service to Christ as they traveled. James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem according to Acts Chapter 15.
The letter of Jude is the second letter in the New Testament written by a half-brother of Jesus. And of course, the other being James himself.
So, when Peter was called PETROS, or Cephas in Aramaic, and remember in John Chapter 1, Jesus said you will be called Cephas. Well, at this particular time in Matthew 16:18 is when Jesus named him PETROS. It's a spiritual name. It's a rock. But it's not a foundation stone. That's PETRA, and that's Jesus.
Simon Peter, Andrew, and their father were from the village called Bethsaida, on the Northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee. They later moved to Capernaum to continue their fishing business, as recorded in Mark 1:21, and Mark 1:29. The reason for the move was because Capernaum was the Lord's home during much of his public ministry.
Luke 4:38-39 tells us that Peter was married. In this account, Jesus heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with a fever. Simon Peter's wife also accompanied him on some of the missionary journeys as told to us in I Corinthians 9:5.
Simon Peter also appears to be the leader of the Apostles. In all four lists of the Apostles in the New Testament, Simon Peter is named first. Matthew 10:2-7; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13.
In Acts Chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, Peter was the one who gave the first sermon.
In Acts Chapter 4, Peter is the one answering to the Sanhedrin (the religious council of the Jews). They pulled the disciples in and said you cannot preach the resurrection anymore in the name of Jesus. It was Peter who responded and spoke for the disciples.
In Acts Chapter 5, Peter is the one administering discipline in the Church. So, he's a leader.
Your message is very interesting,it caught a lot of my attention where you said that"a graveyard of times created".Lord JESUS said the Father has put the time in His own power- Acts 1:7.When Lord said "all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John"-around 1.500 years- this period was to the "graveyeard",so was reset a different period called New Testament,which is also about to the"graveyeard"very soon.But there was before these two periods,a period of time from Adam until Noah around 1.656 years,and from Noah until Moses-Exodus-that lasted around 857 years.Before Adam there was an Eternity in the garden of Eden,all the above commented periods were, one by one, to the "graveyeard",except the current period which is just now to the "graveyeard" too.
Well, and now? Luke 20:35-36 combined with Rev.20:1-4 -a period of 1000 years,after this will finish into the"graveyeard".
GOD's six Days of creation and one Day of rest(total of 7 days) Scriptures teachs that one Day is with the Lord as a 1000 years (2Pet.3:v.8),so MANKIND would go through six GOD Days of 1,000 years each(total of 6,000 years)plus a Millennium of 1,000 years rest (now 7,000 years).
According to the biblical Chronology, starting by Genesis 5:
Adam lived .................................130 yrs and begat Seth
It is given to us in Acts 1:8. Jesus told the disciples that you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem (there's your first section), and in all Judaea and Samaria (your second section), and into the uttermost part of the earth. That term "uttermost part" or the extremities, or the ends of the earth is an idiom. It means from the nearest city to the farthest village.
Acts Chapter 1 Verses 1 through 11 is the Prologue, the introduction for us. It is actually an overlap to Luke Chapter 24. I don't know of anybody that spends a lot of time reviewing like Luke does. There's a lot of overlap there! But he wants to bring over that information from Luke Chapter 24 as he begins this second part of his gospel.
And then from there, Acts Chapter 1 Verse 12 through Chapter 7 Verse 60, is the proclaiming of the gospel in Jerusalem. All of our focus will be on the ministry in Jerusalem, as the Lord told the disciples in Acts 1:8.
In Chapters 8 through 12, it will be the proclaiming of the gospel in Judaea and Samaria.
And lastly, in Acts Chapters 13 through 28, we have the proclaiming of the gospel in the uttermost part of the earth. And again, if you take the apostles that are prominent, you see that after the prologue, the proclaiming of the gospel in Jerusalem, the proclaiming of the gospel in Judaea and Samaria come under Peter's prominence.
And then the proclaiming of the gospel to the uttermost, or ends of the earth, Chapters 13 through 28, is when Paul is emphasized and is the most prominent.
So that is the introduction to the book of Acts. I will share my introduction to Romans next. Blessings in Christ Jesus!
At first, the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were one document on two separate scrolls. Luke and Acts were originally circulated as the gospel of Luke Volumes 1 and 2. Later the two books were divided. And you can see why Acts would not have a title because it's the second half to the first scroll. The first scroll had a title, but the second scroll didn't. Around the second century, they decided to give it a name too, and separate them!
VI. WHY IT WAS WRITTEN:
Luke was written to present what Jesus did and taught through His human body. In Acts 1:1, it says that this was written to present what Jesus continues to do and to teach through His Spiritual body, the church. It's still the Lord. One through His human body, and now He has sent His Spirit to continue His work through his Spiritual body the church.
VII. TO WHOM WAS IT WRITTEN:
It was written specifically to the most excellent Theophilus, probably a Roman governor, and in general to all Gentiles (non-Jews), to understand the scriptures.
Now there are actually 2 outlines for the book. There are 2 apostles that are prominent. They aren't the only ones, but they are the prominent ones. From Acts Chapter 1 Verse 12, all the way to the end of Chapter 12, the prominent apostle is Peter. And from Chapters 13 through 28, the second half of the book, the prominent apostle is Paul.
Peter was the apostle to the Jews. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. It also tells you the timing when Saul of Tarsus was saved, and he became known as Paul. He's the one that went on the missionary journeys and took the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Those are the Gentiles. So, the timing all the way through the book is very accurate and I'll mention that to you as we go through.
In Acts Chapter 12, Peter gets thrown in jail. So, they get together for a prayer meeting. I would hope that if I got thrown in jail for preaching Christ that my brothers and sisters would get together and pray. You might be praying "please keep him locked up as long as possible!" But at least you'll be praying.
So, they were praying "Lord, please deliver Peter." Well, Peter was delivered. He was walking down the streets of Jerusalem and he was looking for the fellowship to meet and he comes and knocks on the door. And the gal that's in charge of the door, she goes, and she says, "who is it?" And he says, "It's me Peter." She goes back in, and she tells the prayer group "Peter's at the door." They said "It can't be. He's in prison. Lord, please deliver him." He can't be at the door, he's in prison!
Look at the faith they had. They had no faith at all! They didn't believe it was Peter. And in spite of what they believed or didn't believe, in spite of what they were aware of or not aware of, God's Spirit just used them! In fact, they were so clueless, that they didn't get in the way!
Why did I even bring that up? The title to the book as I'm relating it to you, should be, and is according to Acts 1:1, the theme is the ministry of the Lord, what He continues to do and to teach. The apostles are just vessels. It's not what they do. It is the ministry that the Lord continues to do and teach.
If you look at it from that perspective, you realize that as you read through, there are things that happened through the apostles that they didn't plan or weren't even expecting. God just did it! There's no formula.
This is very interesting. If you take the title, in most English bibles, it will say "The Acts of the Apostles." Originally, this letter had no title whatsoever. So whatever title you have in your English bibles, it is not inspired. It had no title.
But the word Acts comes from the Greek word PRAXEIS that means practices. They added the word apostles from Acts 1:13 because they said this is all about the apostles. So, they called it the Acts, or the Practices of the Apostles.
But this is very misleading. If I had any influential weight to change the title of the book of Acts, I would try to do it. And I think that a lot of people in their approach to the book of Acts, and in their approach to the teachings in the book of Acts, they do so because they say here are the Acts of the apostles.
It's not the Acts of the apostles. It doesn't record what the apostles did. It records what Jesus did through the apostles. There's a difference. Many people will look at the book of Acts and they'll say "Well, now that Jesus is gone, look at all the stuff they did for Him!"
No! As a matter of fact, if you take my challenge, as you read through Acts, start reading through the chapters and you will find out that they did not have a clue as to what to do. They had no "committee meetings," nothing! Even when they were waiting in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they didn't know when He was coming.
The Lord had a specific day and a specific time. They didn't know that! After His ascension, they waited for 10 days before the Holy Spirit came upon the believers. I say all of this because everything that's done in the book of Acts is the Acts of Jesus Christ, by His Spirit, through the apostles.
The record of the Lord's ministry, from Luke Chapter 1, all the way through to the end of Acts Chapter 28, if you put those two books together, it is the most detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Again, Luke is an educated man. Luke 1:1-4 tells us that he gathered in manuscript. He gathered in all the writings that he could find about Jesus Christ. He interviewed eyewitnesses. And being an educated man, he used a lot of detailed words. He wanted to be accurate and detailed about his presentation.
II. THE RECIPIENT TO THE BOOK OF ACTS:
We are told that the man's name to whom it is written is Theophilus, which literally means "Lover of God," THEOS for God, and PHILEO for love. He's a God lover. It's either his name or his title. Theophilus was a common name at that time. Some people believe it might have been used as a title in order to hide his identity.
But in Luke Chapter 1, he's called "the most excellent Theophilus." The title "most excellent" is either a title of an officer in the Roman military or the title of an official in the Roman government, especially a governor. The title is used three times in Acts, once it's for "most excellent" Governor Felix, "most noble" Felix, and "most noble" Festus, addressing the governors of the Roman government.
So Theophilus was a Roman official. Tradition says that he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other. Luke and Acts, both of them were written to Theophilus. We're told in Acts 1:1-2 and Luke 1:1-4 that they were written to the same person.
Luke is written specifically to Theophilus, but in general to all Gentiles. Theophilus means "lover of God," THEOS for God, PHILEO for love. It's either a name or title. It was a common name at the time. Many parents named their children Theophilus hoping their kids would love God. It was also used as a title and may have been used in order to hide his identity.
In Luke, he's not just called Theophilus, but "most excellent Theophilus" which means that he was either in the Roman military or Roman government, and he's getting the gospel about Jesus Christ. So, Theophilus could be a title or a code name for someone so that their real identity is not revealed.
His title "Most excellent" is one Greek word. It's found to be a title of an officer in the Roman military and also found as a title for an official in the Roman government. Both are called "most excellent" or "most honorable." The title is used three times in Acts. In Acts 23:26, we see "most excellent governor Felix."
These are all governors of Rome. Acts 24:3, "most noble Felix," and Acts 26:25 "most noble Festus," same word. They held these titles in the Roman military and in the Roman government. He was either a government official or in the military. Tradition says he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other.
Acts was written to Theophilus. Acts 1:1 says, the former treaties (that would be the gospel of Luke), the former treaties that I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. So, the book of Acts would be to the same person. And what he's saying is that Luke (the first Volume I gave you), was what Jesus began to do and teach. Now here's what He continues to do and teach, and that would be the book of Acts.
It's also interesting that Acts 1:1-11 is a summary statement of Luke Chapter 24. So, they overlap. He goes back and summarizes Luke 24 in Acts Chapter 1:1-11.
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5KJV combined with Revelation 5:10
It's impressive, but it has been two thousand years since JESUS came here, think well about it, passing two thousand years is a gigantic space of time, in fact a huge gap or interval in space and time, but it passed, but will continue to pass. The time is infinite, like the space is infinite too.
And now JESUS WILL RETURN AGAIN HERE IN THE SAME PLACE from where He ascended to the third heavenly environment and a cloud RECEIVED Him ( Acts 1:11) , yes, He will again return now to the same place from where He ascended, and He will reign and lead us in new celestial environment ( Ephesians 1:3) by His power, for a period of 1.000 years(the cloud also will appear again, understand?) , as it is revealed in Philippians 3:20-21: -->20 For our conversation is in heaven (heaven: Ephesians 1:3. Take a look.)-; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. By the way, He made it very clear when He said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth- Matthew 28:18KJV.
Get ready, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him- Matthew 25:6KJV - .
Lets pray
Unfortunately , there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Hey brother, I don't mean to intrude between you Hemorlan, and Texsis on this but my understanding is at this time the apostles had not been told the Gospel will also be given to the Gentiles, the time had not come. There were another 3.5 years after Jesus's ministry before the apostles were told the gospel of Christ will be given to the Greeks/Gentiles, the mystery, Rom. 16:24-25.
The Apostles stayed in Jerusalem and surrounding Jewish communities until after Stephen's death, and the persecutions. Philip the evangelist was the first to carry the gospel to the Samaritans, Peter had his dream, and Paul's conversion. To me, it is a fulfillment that Jesus had told them but they did not understand, it like they did not understand He was going to die on the cross, Acts 1:8.
He told them the Comforter would come John 14:25-26 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
They were learning from the Holy Spirit as we see in Acts 15, a learning curve, not a transition from the old to the new but a fulfillment and teaching of Jesus through the Holy Spirit same as we learn today.
Christ has already come & that in Spirit, He told His disciples; Mark 9:1; Matt 16:28; over 2000 yrs ago, which came in full power at Pentecost.
I will not leave you comfortless, but you will see me again, that your joy maybe full, & Christ doesn't come alone, He brings His Father within Him, They became Ephesians 2:22; John 17:21-23; & they Micah 4:3;
Hebrews 9:28; is Titus 2:11; diffusing the fragrance of His knowledge in every heart. 2Cor 4:6 This is Titus 2:13; describing His 2nd appearance in Spirit. Who continually gives of Himself that Titus 2:14;
As for this son of perdition; it's the old Adamic nature that is rule by Ephesians 6:12; who's coming 2Thessalonians 2:9; this spirit works even deceive the very elect, who, we all must engage with within 2 Cor 10:3-5; Jesus says; Matt 15:18,19; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so their within us. Think about this, we all have these thoughts spring up within us, 1 Pet 4:3; thus Jesus commands; Luke 14:27; The ones, Satan does deceive is explain, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; they refuse to believe the Witness, whom God has place within conscience. John 16:8; John 12:47-50; Jesus says, 8:24; Therefore were He has gone one cannot go.
Both seeds are spiritual, both kingdoms are within mankind.
This rapture theory John 17:11:15 "not to take them out of the world". But describes receiving 1Pet 1:5-9;The cumulation is the Baptism of the Holy Spirt, describing 2 Cor 10:6; resulting from Titus 3:5; by 1Pet 1:23; unto John 3:3; the chaff, ( old man sin nature is thoroughly purges out without a trace, Daniel 2:34,35; these earthen vessels, 1Cor 15:48,49; ) the wheat (new man created in the image of Him that created him) is gather unto the Gardener, we're His & He's ours, Acts 1:9-11; Daniel 7:13;
It's a spiritual encounter & habitation with the One true God, John 17:24; here & now, Acts 4:32,33;
Do you perceive the wonderous honor & glory of God's Great Salvation, on earth as it is in heaven.
I would agree with all except, for the last sentence, beginning with "Absolute Purity". Luke 6:40; 1John 4:17; Rom 12:1; the plain write of the words used denotes we're still living in this world.
Hypocrites; I don't believe you intentionally imply this, yet the results of your statement implying this. They did not speak of the new birth, but from the new birth, 2Cor 5:17; Ezekiel 36:25,26,27; heart of flesh; denotes our life now in the flesh. Eph 4:24; you put Him on, here; Col 3:10; The apostles lived, enjoy & possessed what they preached; Philippians 3:15,16; Again, what God required of us is to live according to the measure of the Truth that He has revealed, the apostles received Acts 1:8' Eph 1:19; Eph 3:20; Col 1:29; to do so.
You stated "has sin left them or ever leave them: Never, but they can have victory over sin; this is an oxymoron. Being born again of His Spirit alias; Matt 3:11-12; the threshing floor of the heart is thoroughly purge of the chaff. (sin nature), the spiritual old man of sin, the Adamic nature that animates the flesh. He's deny, mortify & final crucify, he's dead & self is seen no more. All by the Grace appearance within our hearts.
Friend,,,,your covering yourself, but not with the Spirit of the Lord, but with; Gen 3:7;
Your the understanding is veiled, for only the spirit of darkness would plead for sin to remain within one, after all that God has wrought & revealed to us through His Son. For he (Satan) knows that despite one's profession, though maybe ever so high or lofty, & profess with elegant words, it what one does that defines him, Rom 6:16; John 8:34; Rom 2:6;
Hebrews 9:11,12,13,14,15; do you hear what the Spirit is saying here? The flesh purified, OT, now in NT even our conscience cleanse, the heart. Eternal inheritance Roman 8:17; 2 Pet 1:4; John 17:21-23;
The questions I posted and the scripture after them were in my understanding were answering the questions, sorry if that did not make sense or if they do not answer them for you.
Was Jesus baptized with the Spirit during His water baptism or before? It was not before it was after Jesus was water baptized and come up from the water He was then anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:1 Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit led, meaning to lead, bring, carry so the Spirit led or carried Jesus to the wilderness. It may be similar to when Philip was whisk away, Acts 8:39
John 3:34 "for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him" Measure means limited so Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit with no limits like what we see in 1 Cor. 12 the diversities of gifts no one received them all, with Jesus there was no limit to the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:32-33 My understanding is this part of Peter's explanation of what people were seeing. Jesus made the promise that when He went back to the Father He would ask the Father to send the Holy Ghost/Spirit to them, Luke 24:49John 14:26Acts 1:4-8. They were seeing God's answer to Jesus's request to send the Holy Ghost/Spirit. I hope that makes sense.
The Father could not send the Holy Ghost/Spirit until Jesus was glorified John 7:39 and that was after He was resurrected, Jesus did not need the Holy Ghost/Spirit after He received His glorified body. When the Holy Ghost/Spirit left Jesus and went back to God in heaven if it was at Jesus's death or when, I do not know.
I hope this all made sense thank you for your reply.
When Jesus first came it was for only the lost sheep of Israel the same for the prophecy of Dan. 9:25-27Matt. 15:24. Jesus instructed the disciples/apostles not to go unto the Samaritans or Gentiles Matt. 10:5-7. He also told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:4-5.
And we see they stayed in Jerusalem because they had not yet been told it was time to carry the gospel to the Gentiles and we see the confusion of it in Acts. This did not happen for another 3.5 years. We see in Acts 7 Stephen was in front of the high priest and the other leaders, the same ones who called for Jesus's crucifixion and what they said in Acts 7:54-57 (they cried out and stopped their ears) and killed Stephen. They fully rejected Jesus as the Messiah the Son of God.
Stephen's death as the first Martyr 34-35 AD is 3.5 years after Jesus's crucifixion this would end the 70th week. Jesus confirmed the covenant Himself for the first 3.5 years and Jesus through His apostles for the last 3.5 years.
Then the persecution by the Jews Acts 8:1-4 After this Philip the Evangelist was the first to go to Samaria, and when the apostles heard, Peter and John went to see Acts 8:14-25. Then Saul/Paul's conversion, Acts 9. Peter had his dream in Acts 10 and the mystery of the gospel goes to the Gentiles.
I hope this all though brief will give enough to show my understanding and enough you can study it if you want. Thank you again for having this peaceful and respectful discussion on this important subject.
You are replying to a comment by "Bagwill" 5 days ago:
Where in the Bible does it say that it's okay for women to be preachers.
MOUNTHOREB REPLY: Woman can prophecy not new info outside of the scriptures 2 Timothy 3:15-17. However, They preach what they have learned to others outside of the church or congregation. When asked a question about the bible. a woman can reply to anyone who is asking the question. even if it's a man, elder 1 Timothy 3 or someone in authority. but within the church or congregation 1 Timothy 3, a woman does not have authority over a man to speak to the whole church or Congregation 1Timothy 2:11,12,14 (unless there's no men available, if this is the case she covers her head within the congregation to PREACH 1 Corinthians 11:5;16 because of the angels in heaven) however, Outside of the building, yes a woman can teach others outside (family, neighbors etc.) Acts 2:16,17.
Jesus allowed women to speak to him and listen. even sit at his feet and ask questions. he allowed woman to speak and listened to them. and to follow him as he preached. Luke 1:36-38; John 4:7-54; John 11:20-29; John 20:11-18; Acts 1:14; Luke 8:1-3; Luke 10:38-42; Romans 16:1-5; Acts 18:2; Acts 18:24-26;
In marriage: Ephesians 5:21-33
These are all the scriptures I can think of. Revelation 22:17 "Its free"
If we go back to Eve. she gave birth ( Genesis 1:27,28;4:1,2;5:25). some of these offspring's died by means of old age,
Genesis 3:19; Genesis 6:3, violance or destroyed by the flood ( Genesis 6:5-7,11-13;17). Only Noah his wife, Shem, Ham, and Japheth their 3 wives survived. that means only eight people survived out of Adams and eve's children and grand children.
The point! not all of Noah's children listened to God. They followed Satan the devil and his lies Genesis 3. when you read about the Canaanites ( Genesis 13:7; Leviticus 18:1-5) this bad nation came through Ham descendance ( Genesis 10:6). or Ammorites, some Noah's descendance created a nation by their family name Genesis 11. When Jehovah ( psalm 83:18) confused their language they all spread out and became nations of people like you see today.
to the point: Abraham was a righteous man who lived in Canaan. but one of God's angels told him to leave Canaan then became a father to a nation of Israel ( Genesis 17:1-8). God name Jacob Israel ( Genesis 32:28). this is how a Nation of Isreal came about. Canaan land later became Jerusalem belonging to Israel the Jews.
However, Israel repeatedly sinned by worshiping other gods. even Solomon the last king worshiped false Gods ( Nehemiah 13:23-27) Jesus turned to the Gentiles which means nation who will believe ( John 3:16,17).
However, their are some Israelites who did believe, but most rejected Jesus.- Acts 1:6-8; Matthew 24:14; 2 Timothy 3:13-17
It's a lot of info. but I hope the bible answered your question HOW A NATION BECAME A INDEPENDANT NATION
COMPARING PREMILLENNIAL AND AMILLENNIAL VIEW POINTS.
By way of recap we're comparing the way these two groups interpret the scripture surrounding the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants.
Part 5.
In Hosea 3:4-5. before the Babylonian captivity, it was predicted: "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or Prince...
"Afterward SHALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Hosea 3:5
Also;
Amos 9:11.
Zachariah 14:4.
Zachariah 14:9.
This of is not a contradiction of the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, but is a part of the same picture.
and many more OT references.
LET'S REVIEW THE NEW TESTAMENT.
According to Luke 1:30-33 the angel Gabriel told Mary that she is to be the mother of Christ and Christ will reign on the throne of His father David over the house of Jacob.
To Mary "the house of Jacob" could mean only one thing and that is the descendants of Jacob, namely, the twelve tribes of Israel.
It seems the disciples and others anticipated much the same kind of a literal fulfillment.
Matthew 19:28.
Matthew 20:20-21.
Luke 22:29-30.
Acts 1:6-7. The disciples were still anticipating an earthly kingdom and hoped for its immediately.
Christ did not say that their hope was vain and that there was not going to be a literal fulfillment. He replied: "It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority."
But He directs their attention to the immediately task before them, and to the power of the Holyspirit Spirit and proclaim the Gospel to the whole world.
Now this is where the line is drawn from dealing with Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Confirming verses at the council in Jerusalem in Acts 15:13-17.
The baptism of repentance to the lost sheep of Israel.
This was to Identify them with their savior.
In Matthew 3:15 Jesus was also baptized with this baptism to Identify the savior with the people and to fulfill all righteousness, he needed no repentance.
Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
JOHNS MISSION;
Luke 1:16-17. And many of ( THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ) shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready A PEOPLE prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:67-74. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Today we are baptized by the Spirit of God.
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water; ( BUT) ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Most of the apostles were John's disciples before joining Jesus. In that incident just before Pentecost when the apostles were to choose another disciple in Judas' place, Peter said to the rest of them, ( Acts 1:21-22) "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, BEGINING FROM THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.". Some like Matthew were not John's disciples, but I suppose a large number of them were. Surely Peter, Andrew, John, James (the incident in the sea of Galilee), also Phillip and Nathanael ( John 1:45-52). So at least 6 out 12.
Were they baptized John's baptism?
In Luke 7:29-30 Jesus said to Pharisees, "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.".
Also in Luke 3:3 says, "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;"
So it was the counsel of God Hebrews to be baptized (how about the christian baptism?). Also it was for the remission of sins. So it was something so important that John's disciples had to do. Once John baptized others even Jesus, didn't he baptize his own disciples? So they were all baptized John's baptism.
Where they baptised the christian baptism later on? In Acts 19: 4-5 when Paul meets those disciples in Ephessus told them, "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." So all had to be baptised again in the name of Jesus. So as a conclusion the apostles were baptized both tJohn's and the christian baptism.
Hi Justjay & thanks for your question. You asked about Mark 14:17-21 about Judas' betrayal of Jesus. In John 17:6-19 (in Jesus' prayer to His Father, just prior to this betrayal by Judas), Jesus prayed for His disciples & in particular v12: "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled". Jesus, of course was referring to Judas as the "son of perdition", but was declaring that Judas, as a disciple, would be lost because of the fulfillment of Scripture.
So yes, God is All-knowing & certainly Jesus knew about Judas' betrayal even before he was appointed amongst the twelve, but through that Divine Knowledge, the prophecy had already been made approx 1000 years earlier (in Psalm 41:9). See also Psalm 55:12-15; Psalm 69:25; and Psalm 109:6-8: these passages also allude to the one who would ultimately betray Jesus. And the Apostle Peter also refers to Psalm 69:25, in his message in Acts 1:20. So yes, this betrayal was pre-ordained, in accordance with prophecy. And there could be other reasons why God permitted/ordained this to happen. Reasons such as proof of the veracity of God's Word & Power, a powerful testimony to the disciples of true discipleship & faithfulness in spite of doubts & Satan's taunts, and even to Judas, of his harboring great sin & allowing it to be manifested to the point of killing the Messiah. Jesus had to die to pay the ransom for our sins, "but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born" ( Matthew 26:24).
Should we then feel sorry for Judas, thinking 'this poor man was ordained to pre-mature death & had not choice in the matter?' No, Judas acted because of his own wickedness (not forced upon him by God); Judas because of his sin, fulfilled the prophecy & Plan of God for him & Jesus' Sacrifice.
Well in my previous post I mentioned Judas, a person who in the begining was one of the top disciples, chosen as a member of the 12 apostles, who had a unique ministry to serve ( Acts 1:17, "For he (Judas)was numbered with us (the 12, Peter said ), and had obtained part of this ministry"), he was predestined by God to sit on a throne and judge the 12 tribes of Israel (what an honor and a priviledge!) but during his ministry he let the devil work his heart and at the end he became a devil by becoming his Lord's traitor. What a horrible ending! The transformation from one of the top disciples to a devil was not done overnight, it was gradual as he was letting his heart love money instead of God. A perfect example (to avoid) about what can happen to a christian if they are not careful about what enters their heart and where that is going to lead them.
Ananias and Sapphira was another example to avoid ( Acts 5). Believers that tried to trick the apostles about the price they sold their field. So they actually lied to the Holly Spirit and fell dead, executed by God. I know the word execution sounds a bit horrible but this is exactly what God did to them. The same that God did to Korah and his family when the rebbelled against Moses. The same end Saul the first king had. The same end Balaam the prophet had. The former although humble in the beggining, he ended loving honor and fame more than God. A perfect example about those who fall in love with the gifts and not with the gifter. The latter also loved riches and honor more than God and exterminated later by the Israelites. How about Elisha's servant Gehasi ( 2 Kings 5) and many more stories about people of God who lost everything, even their eternal lives.
Here I have to stop and go back to Ananias and Sapphira. Some try to explain their end by saying that although God punished them with death they were still saved. Surprising explanation, to fit that specific belief.
Jesus told His 12 at the last supper, Matt. 26:29Mark. 14:25, He would not drink of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in my Father's kingdom, in the kingdom of God. This can only be either when Jesus sets the kingdom up for the 1000 years, or when all is made new, a new earth and a new heaven, but it would be on earth not in heaven.
If we use fine linen, clean and white to identify the Church as the armies coming out of heaven we see in scripture many times the angels appear in white, white linen, and pure and white linen, Matt. 28:3John 20:12Acts 1:10Rev. 16:6 and many more, and the bride in Rev. 19:8 the fine linen is the righteousness of saints, is this just the righteousness of the Church or all the saints?
The earth is round and the gathering of the elect/saints will come from all over as a delegation meeting Jesus in the air as He is coming down to set up the kingdom as we see in Matt. 24:31. The armies in heaven are angels coming with Jesus the gathering will happen on the way down.
I know I probably did not touch on all, there are so many parts. I hope this shows some of my understanding, but I still do not see where anyone is taken to heaven.
Thanks for your reply, if we inspire each other in love to study it is good.
Pierre1939 AKA Alex. ( Acts 1:9-11) v.9 Tells us "he was taken up; and a (cloud) received him out of their sight" v.11 Tells us "this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" What would "like manner" be? A cloud received Him, so He will return in the clouds, or with clouds. The word (cloud) is #3507; it means cloudiness, a cloud. ( Rev 1:7) "Behold he cometh with (clouds); and every eye shall see him" This is not symbolic language for people. It is literally Jesus coming in the clouds. ( 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) v16 Tells "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout" He does not come to the earth here, How do we know that? v.17 Tells us "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them ((in the clouds)) to meet the Lord ((in the air))" We meet Jesus Christ in the ((air)). Your comment about women's dresses flying up, and men having heart attacks because of heights and no oxygen up there will not be a problem Alex. ( 1 Cor 15:50) Tells us "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" ( 1 Cor 15:51-55) Tells us "in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and WE SHALL BE CHANGED. We will all be changed to spiritual bodies to enter into the kingdom of God, there will be NO FLESH AND BLOOD. The return of Jesus in the clouds is not symbolic language. ( Mt 24:29-31) v.29 tells us "Immediately after the tribulation" v.30 tells us "and they shall see the Son of man ((coming in the clouds)) of heaven with power and great glory. ( Mt 26:62-64) v.64 ((coming in the clouds)) of heaven. (Jesus Christ will return in the clouds and True Believers will meet Him in the air in spiritual bodies) This is Biblical Truth, it is not symbolic language! Truth matters. Blessings.
You have completely misrepresented my words. If you are referring to what Jesus said in Acts 1:8, then yes, I agree, it would be a big mistake on my part to believe that we as believers do not have a responsibility to represent Christ throughout the world. What I said had nothing to do with that. And I am not saying that we as believers do not have a responsibility to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says you are going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. There's a difference in texts when He says you shall be witnesses unto me. Some manuscripts say of me, the Genitive Case. He says you'll be my witnesses, not witnesses for me. But either one that you use, it is interesting that it is presented as fact. It doesn't say that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you ought to be, or you should be. He says you will be my witnesses.
That's because at the end of John Chapters 14 and 16, He says when the Holy Spirit comes, He will testify of me. It is the Holy Spirit in every believer that testifies to Christ through the believer. We don't testify. We don't ever bring anybody to Christ. It's the Holy Spirit through us. So, you will be my witnesses, factual statement!
And you are also correct in saying that "Saints are spoken of again and again in Revelation, and saints are those who believe in Jesus, whether Jews of Gentiles." I have never once said that there will not be any saints during the tribulation period. The book of Revelation speaks of many who will be saved during the tribulation. Those who are saved during the tribulation will become saints, but it will cost them their lives.
Thanks for your reply, here is a short version that may explain.
I tried to keep it short, my understanding of scripture is there is not a pre-tribulation rapture, also if rapture means being taken to heaven pre, mid, or post-tribulation, scripture does not support that. Much of that is based on the 70th week in Daniel my understanding has been fulfilled.
In scripture, the gathering of the saint's destination will be in Israel not heaven, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Luke 21:24, the same place the saints will be when Satan is released Rev. 20:7-10 when the armies of Satan will be devoured with fire. Then the final judgment.
Jesus's second coming is to set up the kingdom and to reign on earth, Rev. 19:11-21. On that day His feet shall stand on the ground from where He left, Acts 1:9Zech. 14:4.
When Jesus returns, every eye shall see Matt. 24:27Rev. 1:7 With a great sound of a trumpet, Matt. 24:30-31, At the last trump, 1 Cor. 15:52, With the trump of God, 1 Thes. 4:16, The seventh angel sounded the last trump Rev. 11:15-19.
Then the wrath of God when Jesus returns, Rev. 6:15-17. And as we see in Revelation there are two resurrections, the first, all who are resurrected will reign with Jesus on earth, not heaven.
Hope this makes sense, I understand there are different understandings, but it is good to have a loving and respectful discussion.
Hope your weekend went well brother, if I may give my understanding of Ephesians 4:8-10. As He Ascended up on High, Acts 1:9 He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.
He led captivity captive; we see this also in Judges 5:12 which has a meaning to take captive your captors. When Jesus rose from the grave, he took power over what held Him captive. Death and the grave were what held Him, but because He was without sin, they could not hold Him Acts 2:24. Since the garden, Satan had the power of death and the grave, and when Jesus rose from the grave, He took that power which are the keys, Revelation 1:18.
Gifts unto men, we see this in Psalms 68:18. These gifts are also for the rebellious. These gifts are for all people in Acts 1:8 Jesus gave the commission to the Apostles just before He ascended to heaven. The gifts are in Ephesians 4:11-12 He gave apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; all for the ministry for the perfecting of the saints. For the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ for all people. It is the gift to mankind for their salvation, no better gift can be given to man.
He that descended, when Jesus died, He was dead for three days. Jesus descended into death, and the grave, and because He had no sin, they had no power over Him. The first Adam through his disobedience brought sin and death to mankind, Jesus the second Adam through His obedience brought life.
If there were those whom Jesus brought with Him when He resurrected, I would think it would be David but in Acts 2:29 and Acts 2:34 David is dead and buried and has not ascended to heaven. This earth is our home and our reward we do not go to heaven. We are heirs according to the promise, Galatians 3:26-29, Genesis 12:7, Genesis 13:5 it is forever, and Romans 4:13 the whole earth.
Rev. 5:10 Psalms 37:9,22,34 This earth is where we will be not heaven.
God bless you, brother,
RLW
Luke 24:47,48 Jesus said!
Mark 16:16,17 Jesus said!
Acts 2:38,39 Peter preached what Jesus said!
Acts 4:12 No other name!
John 3:1-6 Must be born again of the water & Spirit!
1 Peter 3:21 Baptism saves us!
Acts 10:44-48 Can't be good enough without Jesus!
Acts 8:1-6 Ethiopian Eunic gets baptized in Jesus name and starts a 2000 plus year revival still going on today !
Acts 19:1-6 have you received the Holy Ghost since you been a believer?
Acts 5:32 gotta obey Him!
1 Corinthians 14:2,22,39 tongues are for a sign!
Acts 2:4 The Spirit gives the utterance!
Acts 1:8 Receive power !
John 21:15 Jesus loves you dearly!!!!!!!
Greetings in Christ JESUS
It's impressive, but it has been two thousand years since JESUS came here, think well about it, passing two thousand years is a gigantic space of time, in fact a huge gap or interval in space and time, but it passed, but will continue to pass. The time is infinite, like the space is infinite too.
And now JESUS WILL RETURN AGAIN HERE IN THE SAME PLACE from where He ascended to the third heavenly environment and a cloud RECEIVED Him ( Acts 1:11) , yes, He will again return now to the same place from where He ascended, and He will reign and lead us in new celestial environment ( Ephesians 1:3) by His power, for a period of 1.000 years(the cloud also will appear again, understand?) , as it is revealed in Philippians 3:20-21: -->20 For our conversation is in heaven (heaven? Ephesians 1:3. Take a look.)-; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. By the way, He made it very clear when He said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth- Matthew 28:18.
Get ready, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him- Matthew 25:6 - .
Lets pray
Unfortunately , there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
In Greek, the name is literally Judas. He wrote the book of Jude.
Judas is mentioned 44 times in the New Testament, representing the name of a person, as well as the name of the territory of Judah in Israel. Both are the same words.
There are 8 people named Judas in the New Testament, but only 3 are prominent and worth consideration. Two of these three are named in Luke 6:16.
They are Judas Iscariot (the one who betrayed the Lord). And Judas Thaddeus is presented as an apostle. Neither is the author of this letter.
This Jude is not an apostle. In fact, he says that he is the brother of James, and he is the servant of Jesus Christ. The author of this letter is Judas, the brother of James, and half-brother to the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 1:25 tells us that Mary and Joseph did not have the normal physical relationship between husband and wife until after Jesus was born. Matthew tells us that she was a virgin up to the birth of Christ. After the birth of Christ, they had a normal physical relationship. After Jesus was born, it is recorded in Matthew 13:55-56 that Mary and Joseph had other children who are listed as the brothers and sisters of Jesus.
During the Lord's public ministry, John 7:5 states that his brothers did not believe in Him. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:7 that after Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to James and to the others. That would be the other of His brothers. It was at this time His brothers believed in Him.
In Acts 1:14, we find Mary and the brothers of Jesus assembled in the Upper Room waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I Corinthians 9:5, Paul relates that the Lord's brothers served as missionaries in service to Christ as they traveled. James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem according to Acts Chapter 15.
The letter of Jude is the second letter in the New Testament written by a half-brother of Jesus. And of course, the other being James himself.
So, when Peter was called PETROS, or Cephas in Aramaic, and remember in John Chapter 1, Jesus said you will be called Cephas. Well, at this particular time in Matthew 16:18 is when Jesus named him PETROS. It's a spiritual name. It's a rock. But it's not a foundation stone. That's PETRA, and that's Jesus.
Simon Peter, Andrew, and their father were from the village called Bethsaida, on the Northeastern side of the Sea of Galilee. They later moved to Capernaum to continue their fishing business, as recorded in Mark 1:21, and Mark 1:29. The reason for the move was because Capernaum was the Lord's home during much of his public ministry.
Luke 4:38-39 tells us that Peter was married. In this account, Jesus heals Simon Peter's mother-in-law who was sick with a fever. Simon Peter's wife also accompanied him on some of the missionary journeys as told to us in I Corinthians 9:5.
Simon Peter also appears to be the leader of the Apostles. In all four lists of the Apostles in the New Testament, Simon Peter is named first. Matthew 10:2-7; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:13-16; Acts 1:13.
In Acts Chapter 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, Peter was the one who gave the first sermon.
In Acts Chapter 4, Peter is the one answering to the Sanhedrin (the religious council of the Jews). They pulled the disciples in and said you cannot preach the resurrection anymore in the name of Jesus. It was Peter who responded and spoke for the disciples.
In Acts Chapter 5, Peter is the one administering discipline in the Church. So, he's a leader.
Greetings in Christ JESUS
Your message is very interesting,it caught a lot of my attention where you said that"a graveyard of times created".Lord JESUS said the Father has put the time in His own power- Acts 1:7.When Lord said "all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John"-around 1.500 years- this period was to the "graveyeard",so was reset a different period called New Testament,which is also about to the"graveyeard"very soon.But there was before these two periods,a period of time from Adam until Noah around 1.656 years,and from Noah until Moses-Exodus-that lasted around 857 years.Before Adam there was an Eternity in the garden of Eden,all the above commented periods were, one by one, to the "graveyeard",except the current period which is just now to the "graveyeard" too.
Well, and now? Luke 20:35-36 combined with Rev.20:1-4 -a period of 1000 years,after this will finish into the"graveyeard".
GOD's six Days of creation and one Day of rest(total of 7 days) Scriptures teachs that one Day is with the Lord as a 1000 years (2Pet.3:v.8),so MANKIND would go through six GOD Days of 1,000 years each(total of 6,000 years)plus a Millennium of 1,000 years rest (now 7,000 years).
According to the biblical Chronology, starting by Genesis 5:
Adam lived .................................130 yrs and begat Seth
Seth lived ..........105 yrs " begatEnosh;
Enosh lived ....................................90yrs" begatKenan;
Kenanlived....................................70yrs" begatMahalalel;
Mahalalellived ...............................65yrs" begatJared;
Jaredlived ...................................162yrs " begatEnoch;
Enochlived ....................................65yrs" begatMethuselah;
Methuselahlived............................187yrs" begatLamech;
Lamechlived.................................182yrs" begatNoah;
FromNoahs birthuntilthe Flood.....600 yrs.
FromAdam tothe Flood =.............1656 yrs.
VIII. SECTION OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF ACTS:
It is given to us in Acts 1:8. Jesus told the disciples that you shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is come upon you. And you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem (there's your first section), and in all Judaea and Samaria (your second section), and into the uttermost part of the earth. That term "uttermost part" or the extremities, or the ends of the earth is an idiom. It means from the nearest city to the farthest village.
Acts Chapter 1 Verses 1 through 11 is the Prologue, the introduction for us. It is actually an overlap to Luke Chapter 24. I don't know of anybody that spends a lot of time reviewing like Luke does. There's a lot of overlap there! But he wants to bring over that information from Luke Chapter 24 as he begins this second part of his gospel.
And then from there, Acts Chapter 1 Verse 12 through Chapter 7 Verse 60, is the proclaiming of the gospel in Jerusalem. All of our focus will be on the ministry in Jerusalem, as the Lord told the disciples in Acts 1:8.
In Chapters 8 through 12, it will be the proclaiming of the gospel in Judaea and Samaria.
And lastly, in Acts Chapters 13 through 28, we have the proclaiming of the gospel in the uttermost part of the earth. And again, if you take the apostles that are prominent, you see that after the prologue, the proclaiming of the gospel in Jerusalem, the proclaiming of the gospel in Judaea and Samaria come under Peter's prominence.
And then the proclaiming of the gospel to the uttermost, or ends of the earth, Chapters 13 through 28, is when Paul is emphasized and is the most prominent.
So that is the introduction to the book of Acts. I will share my introduction to Romans next. Blessings in Christ Jesus!
V. THE RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER BOOKS:
At first, the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts were one document on two separate scrolls. Luke and Acts were originally circulated as the gospel of Luke Volumes 1 and 2. Later the two books were divided. And you can see why Acts would not have a title because it's the second half to the first scroll. The first scroll had a title, but the second scroll didn't. Around the second century, they decided to give it a name too, and separate them!
VI. WHY IT WAS WRITTEN:
Luke was written to present what Jesus did and taught through His human body. In Acts 1:1, it says that this was written to present what Jesus continues to do and to teach through His Spiritual body, the church. It's still the Lord. One through His human body, and now He has sent His Spirit to continue His work through his Spiritual body the church.
VII. TO WHOM WAS IT WRITTEN:
It was written specifically to the most excellent Theophilus, probably a Roman governor, and in general to all Gentiles (non-Jews), to understand the scriptures.
Now there are actually 2 outlines for the book. There are 2 apostles that are prominent. They aren't the only ones, but they are the prominent ones. From Acts Chapter 1 Verse 12, all the way to the end of Chapter 12, the prominent apostle is Peter. And from Chapters 13 through 28, the second half of the book, the prominent apostle is Paul.
Peter was the apostle to the Jews. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. It also tells you the timing when Saul of Tarsus was saved, and he became known as Paul. He's the one that went on the missionary journeys and took the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Those are the Gentiles. So, the timing all the way through the book is very accurate and I'll mention that to you as we go through.
TALK ABOUT A LACK OF FAITH, I LOVE THIS ONE:
In Acts Chapter 12, Peter gets thrown in jail. So, they get together for a prayer meeting. I would hope that if I got thrown in jail for preaching Christ that my brothers and sisters would get together and pray. You might be praying "please keep him locked up as long as possible!" But at least you'll be praying.
So, they were praying "Lord, please deliver Peter." Well, Peter was delivered. He was walking down the streets of Jerusalem and he was looking for the fellowship to meet and he comes and knocks on the door. And the gal that's in charge of the door, she goes, and she says, "who is it?" And he says, "It's me Peter." She goes back in, and she tells the prayer group "Peter's at the door." They said "It can't be. He's in prison. Lord, please deliver him." He can't be at the door, he's in prison!
Look at the faith they had. They had no faith at all! They didn't believe it was Peter. And in spite of what they believed or didn't believe, in spite of what they were aware of or not aware of, God's Spirit just used them! In fact, they were so clueless, that they didn't get in the way!
Why did I even bring that up? The title to the book as I'm relating it to you, should be, and is according to Acts 1:1, the theme is the ministry of the Lord, what He continues to do and to teach. The apostles are just vessels. It's not what they do. It is the ministry that the Lord continues to do and teach.
If you look at it from that perspective, you realize that as you read through, there are things that happened through the apostles that they didn't plan or weren't even expecting. God just did it! There's no formula.
IV: NOW ABOUT THE THEME OF THE BOOK:
This is very interesting. If you take the title, in most English bibles, it will say "The Acts of the Apostles." Originally, this letter had no title whatsoever. So whatever title you have in your English bibles, it is not inspired. It had no title.
But the word Acts comes from the Greek word PRAXEIS that means practices. They added the word apostles from Acts 1:13 because they said this is all about the apostles. So, they called it the Acts, or the Practices of the Apostles.
But this is very misleading. If I had any influential weight to change the title of the book of Acts, I would try to do it. And I think that a lot of people in their approach to the book of Acts, and in their approach to the teachings in the book of Acts, they do so because they say here are the Acts of the apostles.
It's not the Acts of the apostles. It doesn't record what the apostles did. It records what Jesus did through the apostles. There's a difference. Many people will look at the book of Acts and they'll say "Well, now that Jesus is gone, look at all the stuff they did for Him!"
No! As a matter of fact, if you take my challenge, as you read through Acts, start reading through the chapters and you will find out that they did not have a clue as to what to do. They had no "committee meetings," nothing! Even when they were waiting in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit, they didn't know when He was coming.
The Lord had a specific day and a specific time. They didn't know that! After His ascension, they waited for 10 days before the Holy Spirit came upon the believers. I say all of this because everything that's done in the book of Acts is the Acts of Jesus Christ, by His Spirit, through the apostles.
HERE IS A GENERAL STATEMENT FOR YOU:
The record of the Lord's ministry, from Luke Chapter 1, all the way through to the end of Acts Chapter 28, if you put those two books together, it is the most detailed account of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Again, Luke is an educated man. Luke 1:1-4 tells us that he gathered in manuscript. He gathered in all the writings that he could find about Jesus Christ. He interviewed eyewitnesses. And being an educated man, he used a lot of detailed words. He wanted to be accurate and detailed about his presentation.
II. THE RECIPIENT TO THE BOOK OF ACTS:
We are told that the man's name to whom it is written is Theophilus, which literally means "Lover of God," THEOS for God, and PHILEO for love. He's a God lover. It's either his name or his title. Theophilus was a common name at that time. Some people believe it might have been used as a title in order to hide his identity.
But in Luke Chapter 1, he's called "the most excellent Theophilus." The title "most excellent" is either a title of an officer in the Roman military or the title of an official in the Roman government, especially a governor. The title is used three times in Acts, once it's for "most excellent" Governor Felix, "most noble" Felix, and "most noble" Festus, addressing the governors of the Roman government.
So Theophilus was a Roman official. Tradition says that he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other. Luke and Acts, both of them were written to Theophilus. We're told in Acts 1:1-2 and Luke 1:1-4 that they were written to the same person.
II. ABOUT THE RECIPIENT:
Luke is written specifically to Theophilus, but in general to all Gentiles. Theophilus means "lover of God," THEOS for God, PHILEO for love. It's either a name or title. It was a common name at the time. Many parents named their children Theophilus hoping their kids would love God. It was also used as a title and may have been used in order to hide his identity.
In Luke, he's not just called Theophilus, but "most excellent Theophilus" which means that he was either in the Roman military or Roman government, and he's getting the gospel about Jesus Christ. So, Theophilus could be a title or a code name for someone so that their real identity is not revealed.
His title "Most excellent" is one Greek word. It's found to be a title of an officer in the Roman military and also found as a title for an official in the Roman government. Both are called "most excellent" or "most honorable." The title is used three times in Acts. In Acts 23:26, we see "most excellent governor Felix."
These are all governors of Rome. Acts 24:3, "most noble Felix," and Acts 26:25 "most noble Festus," same word. They held these titles in the Roman military and in the Roman government. He was either a government official or in the military. Tradition says he was from Antioch of Syria. Apparently, Luke and Theophilus knew each other.
Acts was written to Theophilus. Acts 1:1 says, the former treaties (that would be the gospel of Luke), the former treaties that I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. So, the book of Acts would be to the same person. And what he's saying is that Luke (the first Volume I gave you), was what Jesus began to do and teach. Now here's what He continues to do and teach, and that would be the book of Acts.
It's also interesting that Acts 1:1-11 is a summary statement of Luke Chapter 24. So, they overlap. He goes back and summarizes Luke 24 in Acts Chapter 1:1-11.
Greetings in Christ JESUS
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth - Matthew 5:5KJV combined with Revelation 5:10
It's impressive, but it has been two thousand years since JESUS came here, think well about it, passing two thousand years is a gigantic space of time, in fact a huge gap or interval in space and time, but it passed, but will continue to pass. The time is infinite, like the space is infinite too.
And now JESUS WILL RETURN AGAIN HERE IN THE SAME PLACE from where He ascended to the third heavenly environment and a cloud RECEIVED Him ( Acts 1:11) , yes, He will again return now to the same place from where He ascended, and He will reign and lead us in new celestial environment ( Ephesians 1:3) by His power, for a period of 1.000 years(the cloud also will appear again, understand?) , as it is revealed in Philippians 3:20-21: -->20 For our conversation is in heaven (heaven: Ephesians 1:3. Take a look.)-; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto himself. By the way, He made it very clear when He said: All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth- Matthew 28:18KJV.
Get ready, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him- Matthew 25:6KJV - .
Lets pray
Unfortunately , there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Hey brother, I don't mean to intrude between you Hemorlan, and Texsis on this but my understanding is at this time the apostles had not been told the Gospel will also be given to the Gentiles, the time had not come. There were another 3.5 years after Jesus's ministry before the apostles were told the gospel of Christ will be given to the Greeks/Gentiles, the mystery, Rom. 16:24-25.
The Apostles stayed in Jerusalem and surrounding Jewish communities until after Stephen's death, and the persecutions. Philip the evangelist was the first to carry the gospel to the Samaritans, Peter had his dream, and Paul's conversion. To me, it is a fulfillment that Jesus had told them but they did not understand, it like they did not understand He was going to die on the cross, Acts 1:8.
He told them the Comforter would come John 14:25-26 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
They were learning from the Holy Spirit as we see in Acts 15, a learning curve, not a transition from the old to the new but a fulfillment and teaching of Jesus through the Holy Spirit same as we learn today.
God bless,
RLW
Christ has already come & that in Spirit, He told His disciples; Mark 9:1; Matt 16:28; over 2000 yrs ago, which came in full power at Pentecost.
I will not leave you comfortless, but you will see me again, that your joy maybe full, & Christ doesn't come alone, He brings His Father within Him, They became Ephesians 2:22; John 17:21-23; & they Micah 4:3;
Hebrews 9:28; is Titus 2:11; diffusing the fragrance of His knowledge in every heart. 2Cor 4:6 This is Titus 2:13; describing His 2nd appearance in Spirit. Who continually gives of Himself that Titus 2:14;
As for this son of perdition; it's the old Adamic nature that is rule by Ephesians 6:12; who's coming 2Thessalonians 2:9; this spirit works even deceive the very elect, who, we all must engage with within 2 Cor 10:3-5; Jesus says; Matt 15:18,19; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so their within us. Think about this, we all have these thoughts spring up within us, 1 Pet 4:3; thus Jesus commands; Luke 14:27; The ones, Satan does deceive is explain, 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; they refuse to believe the Witness, whom God has place within conscience. John 16:8; John 12:47-50; Jesus says, 8:24; Therefore were He has gone one cannot go.
Both seeds are spiritual, both kingdoms are within mankind.
This rapture theory John 17:11:15 "not to take them out of the world". But describes receiving 1Pet 1:5-9;The cumulation is the Baptism of the Holy Spirt, describing 2 Cor 10:6; resulting from Titus 3:5; by 1Pet 1:23; unto John 3:3; the chaff, ( old man sin nature is thoroughly purges out without a trace, Daniel 2:34,35; these earthen vessels, 1Cor 15:48,49; ) the wheat (new man created in the image of Him that created him) is gather unto the Gardener, we're His & He's ours, Acts 1:9-11; Daniel 7:13;
It's a spiritual encounter & habitation with the One true God, John 17:24; here & now, Acts 4:32,33;
Do you perceive the wonderous honor & glory of God's Great Salvation, on earth as it is in heaven.
Rom 5:12-14
I would agree with all except, for the last sentence, beginning with "Absolute Purity". Luke 6:40; 1John 4:17; Rom 12:1; the plain write of the words used denotes we're still living in this world.
Hypocrites; I don't believe you intentionally imply this, yet the results of your statement implying this. They did not speak of the new birth, but from the new birth, 2Cor 5:17; Ezekiel 36:25,26,27; heart of flesh; denotes our life now in the flesh. Eph 4:24; you put Him on, here; Col 3:10; The apostles lived, enjoy & possessed what they preached; Philippians 3:15,16; Again, what God required of us is to live according to the measure of the Truth that He has revealed, the apostles received Acts 1:8' Eph 1:19; Eph 3:20; Col 1:29; to do so.
You stated "has sin left them or ever leave them: Never, but they can have victory over sin; this is an oxymoron. Being born again of His Spirit alias; Matt 3:11-12; the threshing floor of the heart is thoroughly purge of the chaff. (sin nature), the spiritual old man of sin, the Adamic nature that animates the flesh. He's deny, mortify & final crucify, he's dead & self is seen no more. All by the Grace appearance within our hearts.
Friend,,,,your covering yourself, but not with the Spirit of the Lord, but with; Gen 3:7;
Your the understanding is veiled, for only the spirit of darkness would plead for sin to remain within one, after all that God has wrought & revealed to us through His Son. For he (Satan) knows that despite one's profession, though maybe ever so high or lofty, & profess with elegant words, it what one does that defines him, Rom 6:16; John 8:34; Rom 2:6;
Hebrews 9:11,12,13,14,15; do you hear what the Spirit is saying here? The flesh purified, OT, now in NT even our conscience cleanse, the heart. Eternal inheritance Roman 8:17; 2 Pet 1:4; John 17:21-23;
Therefore, 2Cor 7:1;
In Love & Truth
Frankie J
My understanding
The questions I posted and the scripture after them were in my understanding were answering the questions, sorry if that did not make sense or if they do not answer them for you.
Was Jesus baptized with the Spirit during His water baptism or before? It was not before it was after Jesus was water baptized and come up from the water He was then anointed with the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:1 Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit led, meaning to lead, bring, carry so the Spirit led or carried Jesus to the wilderness. It may be similar to when Philip was whisk away, Acts 8:39
John 3:34 "for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him" Measure means limited so Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit with no limits like what we see in 1 Cor. 12 the diversities of gifts no one received them all, with Jesus there was no limit to the power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 2:32-33 My understanding is this part of Peter's explanation of what people were seeing. Jesus made the promise that when He went back to the Father He would ask the Father to send the Holy Ghost/Spirit to them, Luke 24:49 John 14:26 Acts 1:4-8. They were seeing God's answer to Jesus's request to send the Holy Ghost/Spirit. I hope that makes sense.
The Father could not send the Holy Ghost/Spirit until Jesus was glorified John 7:39 and that was after He was resurrected, Jesus did not need the Holy Ghost/Spirit after He received His glorified body. When the Holy Ghost/Spirit left Jesus and went back to God in heaven if it was at Jesus's death or when, I do not know.
I hope this all made sense thank you for your reply.
God bless,
RLW
Part 2
When Jesus first came it was for only the lost sheep of Israel the same for the prophecy of Dan. 9:25-27 Matt. 15:24. Jesus instructed the disciples/apostles not to go unto the Samaritans or Gentiles Matt. 10:5-7. He also told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit Acts 1:4-5.
And we see they stayed in Jerusalem because they had not yet been told it was time to carry the gospel to the Gentiles and we see the confusion of it in Acts. This did not happen for another 3.5 years. We see in Acts 7 Stephen was in front of the high priest and the other leaders, the same ones who called for Jesus's crucifixion and what they said in Acts 7:54-57 (they cried out and stopped their ears) and killed Stephen. They fully rejected Jesus as the Messiah the Son of God.
Stephen's death as the first Martyr 34-35 AD is 3.5 years after Jesus's crucifixion this would end the 70th week. Jesus confirmed the covenant Himself for the first 3.5 years and Jesus through His apostles for the last 3.5 years.
Then the persecution by the Jews Acts 8:1-4 After this Philip the Evangelist was the first to go to Samaria, and when the apostles heard, Peter and John went to see Acts 8:14-25. Then Saul/Paul's conversion, Acts 9. Peter had his dream in Acts 10 and the mystery of the gospel goes to the Gentiles.
I hope this all though brief will give enough to show my understanding and enough you can study it if you want. Thank you again for having this peaceful and respectful discussion on this important subject.
God bless,
RLW
Where in the Bible does it say that it's okay for women to be preachers.
MOUNTHOREB REPLY: Woman can prophecy not new info outside of the scriptures 2 Timothy 3:15-17. However, They preach what they have learned to others outside of the church or congregation. When asked a question about the bible. a woman can reply to anyone who is asking the question. even if it's a man, elder 1 Timothy 3 or someone in authority. but within the church or congregation 1 Timothy 3, a woman does not have authority over a man to speak to the whole church or Congregation 1Timothy 2:11,12,14 (unless there's no men available, if this is the case she covers her head within the congregation to PREACH 1 Corinthians 11:5;16 because of the angels in heaven) however, Outside of the building, yes a woman can teach others outside (family, neighbors etc.) Acts 2:16,17.
Jesus allowed women to speak to him and listen. even sit at his feet and ask questions. he allowed woman to speak and listened to them. and to follow him as he preached. Luke 1:36-38; John 4:7-54; John 11:20-29; John 20:11-18; Acts 1:14; Luke 8:1-3; Luke 10:38-42; Romans 16:1-5; Acts 18:2; Acts 18:24-26;
In marriage: Ephesians 5:21-33
These are all the scriptures I can think of. Revelation 22:17 "Its free"
When we die do we automatically get to go to heaven or do we have to wait until the resurrection?
MountHoreb Reply: I personally can't recall at the moment Jesus giving any details
regarding The Apostles quick resurrection.
But We do have evidence of Jesus Resurrection Luke 24:46. when he died he was on the earth as an
invisible spirit Acts 1:3. Jesus as an invisible spirit ( john 4:24) has the ability to materialize into a human
Luke 24:3,5; Acts 1:9-11 . All angels Can transform themselves Luke 24:4; Luke 24:36
We also have an example of Apostle Stephen who was stoned by the infuriated High Priest.
he knew it meant his death for speaking the truth. notice what he said at Acts 7:54-60;
We have proof that Stephen appealed (prayed) to Jesus in Heaven Acts 7:59.
To no disappointment: Jehovah ( Psalm 83:18) Only selected or Chosen a few
to go to heaven according to Revelation 14:1,3. notice the scripture said "from Earth" (redeemed or taken from)
Not all are picked as presidents only one is. and there are those selected under him. Revelation 20:4,6
HOPE THE SCRIPTURES ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION: Psalm 37
Genesis 3:19; Genesis 6:3, violance or destroyed by the flood ( Genesis 6:5-7,11-13;17). Only Noah his wife, Shem, Ham, and Japheth their 3 wives survived. that means only eight people survived out of Adams and eve's children and grand children.
The point! not all of Noah's children listened to God. They followed Satan the devil and his lies Genesis 3. when you read about the Canaanites ( Genesis 13:7; Leviticus 18:1-5) this bad nation came through Ham descendance ( Genesis 10:6). or Ammorites, some Noah's descendance created a nation by their family name Genesis 11. When Jehovah ( psalm 83:18) confused their language they all spread out and became nations of people like you see today.
to the point: Abraham was a righteous man who lived in Canaan. but one of God's angels told him to leave Canaan then became a father to a nation of Israel ( Genesis 17:1-8). God name Jacob Israel ( Genesis 32:28). this is how a Nation of Isreal came about. Canaan land later became Jerusalem belonging to Israel the Jews.
However, Israel repeatedly sinned by worshiping other gods. even Solomon the last king worshiped false Gods ( Nehemiah 13:23-27) Jesus turned to the Gentiles which means nation who will believe ( John 3:16,17).
However, their are some Israelites who did believe, but most rejected Jesus.- Acts 1:6-8; Matthew 24:14; 2 Timothy 3:13-17
It's a lot of info. but I hope the bible answered your question HOW A NATION BECAME A INDEPENDANT NATION
By way of recap we're comparing the way these two groups interpret the scripture surrounding the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants.
Part 5.
In Hosea 3:4-5. before the Babylonian captivity, it was predicted: "For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or Prince...
"Afterward SHALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Hosea 3:5
Also;
Amos 9:11.
Zachariah 14:4.
Zachariah 14:9.
This of is not a contradiction of the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, but is a part of the same picture.
and many more OT references.
LET'S REVIEW THE NEW TESTAMENT.
According to Luke 1:30-33 the angel Gabriel told Mary that she is to be the mother of Christ and Christ will reign on the throne of His father David over the house of Jacob.
To Mary "the house of Jacob" could mean only one thing and that is the descendants of Jacob, namely, the twelve tribes of Israel.
It seems the disciples and others anticipated much the same kind of a literal fulfillment.
Matthew 19:28.
Matthew 20:20-21.
Luke 22:29-30.
Acts 1:6-7. The disciples were still anticipating an earthly kingdom and hoped for its immediately.
Christ did not say that their hope was vain and that there was not going to be a literal fulfillment. He replied: "It is not for you to know the times or seasons, which the Father hath set within his own authority."
But He directs their attention to the immediately task before them, and to the power of the Holyspirit Spirit and proclaim the Gospel to the whole world.
Now this is where the line is drawn from dealing with Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.
Confirming verses at the council in Jerusalem in Acts 15:13-17.
More on this later.
God bless.
The baptism of repentance to the lost sheep of Israel.
This was to Identify them with their savior.
In Matthew 3:15 Jesus was also baptized with this baptism to Identify the savior with the people and to fulfill all righteousness, he needed no repentance.
Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
JOHNS MISSION;
Luke 1:16-17. And many of ( THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ) shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready A PEOPLE prepared for the Lord.
Luke 1:67-74. And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
Today we are baptized by the Spirit of God.
Acts 1:5. For John truly baptized with water; ( BUT) ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Matthew 3:11.
1 Corinthians 12:13.
God bless.
Hello Jesse, and GiGi
Most of the apostles were John's disciples before joining Jesus. In that incident just before Pentecost when the apostles were to choose another disciple in Judas' place, Peter said to the rest of them, ( Acts 1:21-22) "Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, BEGINING FROM THE BAPTISM OF JOHN, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.". Some like Matthew were not John's disciples, but I suppose a large number of them were. Surely Peter, Andrew, John, James (the incident in the sea of Galilee), also Phillip and Nathanael ( John 1:45-52). So at least 6 out 12.
Were they baptized John's baptism?
In Luke 7:29-30 Jesus said to Pharisees, "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.".
Also in Luke 3:3 says, "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;"
So it was the counsel of God Hebrews to be baptized (how about the christian baptism?). Also it was for the remission of sins. So it was something so important that John's disciples had to do. Once John baptized others even Jesus, didn't he baptize his own disciples? So they were all baptized John's baptism.
Where they baptised the christian baptism later on? In Acts 19: 4-5 when Paul meets those disciples in Ephessus told them, "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus." So all had to be baptised again in the name of Jesus. So as a conclusion the apostles were baptized both tJohn's and the christian baptism.
So yes, God is All-knowing & certainly Jesus knew about Judas' betrayal even before he was appointed amongst the twelve, but through that Divine Knowledge, the prophecy had already been made approx 1000 years earlier (in Psalm 41:9). See also Psalm 55:12-15; Psalm 69:25; and Psalm 109:6-8: these passages also allude to the one who would ultimately betray Jesus. And the Apostle Peter also refers to Psalm 69:25, in his message in Acts 1:20. So yes, this betrayal was pre-ordained, in accordance with prophecy. And there could be other reasons why God permitted/ordained this to happen. Reasons such as proof of the veracity of God's Word & Power, a powerful testimony to the disciples of true discipleship & faithfulness in spite of doubts & Satan's taunts, and even to Judas, of his harboring great sin & allowing it to be manifested to the point of killing the Messiah. Jesus had to die to pay the ransom for our sins, "but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born" ( Matthew 26:24).
Should we then feel sorry for Judas, thinking 'this poor man was ordained to pre-mature death & had not choice in the matter?' No, Judas acted because of his own wickedness (not forced upon him by God); Judas because of his sin, fulfilled the prophecy & Plan of God for him & Jesus' Sacrifice.
Assurance of Salvation...cont. Richard.
Well in my previous post I mentioned Judas, a person who in the begining was one of the top disciples, chosen as a member of the 12 apostles, who had a unique ministry to serve ( Acts 1:17, "For he (Judas)was numbered with us (the 12, Peter said ), and had obtained part of this ministry"), he was predestined by God to sit on a throne and judge the 12 tribes of Israel (what an honor and a priviledge!) but during his ministry he let the devil work his heart and at the end he became a devil by becoming his Lord's traitor. What a horrible ending! The transformation from one of the top disciples to a devil was not done overnight, it was gradual as he was letting his heart love money instead of God. A perfect example (to avoid) about what can happen to a christian if they are not careful about what enters their heart and where that is going to lead them.
Ananias and Sapphira was another example to avoid ( Acts 5). Believers that tried to trick the apostles about the price they sold their field. So they actually lied to the Holly Spirit and fell dead, executed by God. I know the word execution sounds a bit horrible but this is exactly what God did to them. The same that God did to Korah and his family when the rebbelled against Moses. The same end Saul the first king had. The same end Balaam the prophet had. The former although humble in the beggining, he ended loving honor and fame more than God. A perfect example about those who fall in love with the gifts and not with the gifter. The latter also loved riches and honor more than God and exterminated later by the Israelites. How about Elisha's servant Gehasi ( 2 Kings 5) and many more stories about people of God who lost everything, even their eternal lives.
Here I have to stop and go back to Ananias and Sapphira. Some try to explain their end by saying that although God punished them with death they were still saved. Surprising explanation, to fit that specific belief.
Jesus told His 12 at the last supper, Matt. 26:29 Mark. 14:25, He would not drink of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in my Father's kingdom, in the kingdom of God. This can only be either when Jesus sets the kingdom up for the 1000 years, or when all is made new, a new earth and a new heaven, but it would be on earth not in heaven.
If we use fine linen, clean and white to identify the Church as the armies coming out of heaven we see in scripture many times the angels appear in white, white linen, and pure and white linen, Matt. 28:3 John 20:12 Acts 1:10 Rev. 16:6 and many more, and the bride in Rev. 19:8 the fine linen is the righteousness of saints, is this just the righteousness of the Church or all the saints?
The earth is round and the gathering of the elect/saints will come from all over as a delegation meeting Jesus in the air as He is coming down to set up the kingdom as we see in Matt. 24:31. The armies in heaven are angels coming with Jesus the gathering will happen on the way down.
I know I probably did not touch on all, there are so many parts. I hope this shows some of my understanding, but I still do not see where anyone is taken to heaven.
Thanks for your reply, if we inspire each other in love to study it is good.
God bless,
RLW
You have completely misrepresented my words. If you are referring to what Jesus said in Acts 1:8, then yes, I agree, it would be a big mistake on my part to believe that we as believers do not have a responsibility to represent Christ throughout the world. What I said had nothing to do with that. And I am not saying that we as believers do not have a responsibility to be witnesses of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 1:8, Jesus says you are going to receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. There's a difference in texts when He says you shall be witnesses unto me. Some manuscripts say of me, the Genitive Case. He says you'll be my witnesses, not witnesses for me. But either one that you use, it is interesting that it is presented as fact. It doesn't say that when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you ought to be, or you should be. He says you will be my witnesses.
That's because at the end of John Chapters 14 and 16, He says when the Holy Spirit comes, He will testify of me. It is the Holy Spirit in every believer that testifies to Christ through the believer. We don't testify. We don't ever bring anybody to Christ. It's the Holy Spirit through us. So, you will be my witnesses, factual statement!
And you are also correct in saying that "Saints are spoken of again and again in Revelation, and saints are those who believe in Jesus, whether Jews of Gentiles." I have never once said that there will not be any saints during the tribulation period. The book of Revelation speaks of many who will be saved during the tribulation. Those who are saved during the tribulation will become saints, but it will cost them their lives.
Need more space, will continue...
Thanks for your reply, here is a short version that may explain.
I tried to keep it short, my understanding of scripture is there is not a pre-tribulation rapture, also if rapture means being taken to heaven pre, mid, or post-tribulation, scripture does not support that. Much of that is based on the 70th week in Daniel my understanding has been fulfilled.
In scripture, the gathering of the saint's destination will be in Israel not heaven, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, Luke 21:24, the same place the saints will be when Satan is released Rev. 20:7-10 when the armies of Satan will be devoured with fire. Then the final judgment.
Jesus's second coming is to set up the kingdom and to reign on earth, Rev. 19:11-21. On that day His feet shall stand on the ground from where He left, Acts 1:9 Zech. 14:4.
When Jesus returns, every eye shall see Matt. 24:27 Rev. 1:7 With a great sound of a trumpet, Matt. 24:30-31, At the last trump, 1 Cor. 15:52, With the trump of God, 1 Thes. 4:16, The seventh angel sounded the last trump Rev. 11:15-19.
Then the wrath of God when Jesus returns, Rev. 6:15-17. And as we see in Revelation there are two resurrections, the first, all who are resurrected will reign with Jesus on earth, not heaven.
Hope this makes sense, I understand there are different understandings, but it is good to have a loving and respectful discussion.
God bless,
RLW