I am not going to answer your questiond directly but I will give you some scripture which clarifies, I believe, everything about water baptism.
Acts 2:38. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 8:27-39, "27And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS.
36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See,HERE IS WATER; WHAT DOTH HINDER ME TO BE BAPTIZED?
37And Philip said, IF THOU BELIEVEST WITH ALL THINE HEART, THOU MAYEST. And he answered and said,I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39And when they were COME UP OUT OF THE WATER the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, ..."
This is the order that I was taught and still believe to be true based on my own study.
Acts 8:36-37 are some of the greatest verses about Baptism. Philip gives the conditions for baptism: That the individual must believe with all their heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (this rules out babies being baptized). 1 Pet 3:21 states that it is a figure that is the answer of a good conscience toward God. Based on those two passages, I believe that Belief comes before Baptism.
Now to compare being Born again to Believing, but first, just to define terms, what does being born again mean? It is the same as quickening and regenerating ( Eph 2:1; Tit 3:5). It is a phase of our salvation when God revives us spiritually with His Holy Spirit. We are physically born dead in trespasses and sins ( Eph 2:1-3). When Adam cursed mankind in the garden of Eden he died spiritually that day. God told him he would die the day he ate the fruit ( Gen 2:17), but Adam lived up to 930 years ( Gen 5:5), so either God lied and the Devil was telling the truth ( Gen 3:4) or a different type of death occurred than physical that being spiritual.
Rom 8:7-8 are powerful verses about the state of the carnal mind. Without God's gift of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing that is pleasing to God. Without the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we only have the old man, the flesh, the carnal mind that hates God without the new man and spiritual mind that wants to please God.
Okay, back to the order of B's... 1 John 2:29 says "every one that doeth righteousness IS born of him" not shall be born of him. If a man does righteousness it is proof that the righteous spirit of God dwells in him and that he was born, quickened, and regenerated to have a spirit that loves God.
Additionally, John 1:12 mentions those who believe on him, but the verse does not end with a period. The rest of the thought is that they WERE born of God ( John 1:13).
As to your question you have received several answers, my understanding in the Bible baptism is done only by immersion as the word means. As Jesse said sprinkling did not start until the 1300s and it was for the reason it was so inconvenient. So, this was done just because of convenience's sake, nothing Biblical about it. I agree with Giannis, and we must believe as Jesus said in Mark 16:16.
All we do is to be done in our Lord Jesus's name, Colossians 3:16-17. Many use Matthew 28:19 but we also see in the rest of Scripture that a person who is baptized in Jesus' name is someone who believes in Jesus as Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God who for us died, was buried, and was resurrected we acknowledge this by being baptized in His name, Acts 2:38Acts 8:12Acts 8:16Acts 10:48Acts 19:5Acts 22:16Romans 6:3Galatians 3:27Colossians 2:12Ephesians 4:5.
Paul shows the importance of being baptized in the name of Jesus, Acts 19:1-6. God has placed Jesus and His name above all that is in heaven and earth, Matthew 28:18Philippians 2:9-11. Salvation only comes in His name Acts 4:12Romans 10:13. The name of Jesus is the source of power and authority for healing, miracles, and deliverance, Mark 16:17Luke 10:17Acts 4:7Acts 4:30Acts 16:18.
We are to give thanks in Jesus's name, Ephesians 5:20. Our faith is through Him and in His name, Acts 3:16. We must believe in Jesus, John 3:16John 6:47Acts 16:311 John 3:231 John 5:13. Whatever we ask for we are to ask in His name, John 14:13-14. We are to pray to the Father in His name, James 5:14. Jesus is our priest and the only mediator between God and men, 1 Timothy 2:5.
GOD is praised in us when we are set to glorify HIM as HE directs us. In the things we do in HIM and how we direct our material wealth and use it to worship the LORD CHRIST.
May our walk in HIM be precious as the tabernacle is shown to be. The outer covering not much to look at; but the inside is beautiful beyond compare. Our life be as Philip in Acts 8: 26 able to tell others of the gospel of the LORD JESUS.
Thank YOU FATHER for this day of worship and time of celebration
Luke 2:10 - 18
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Isaiah 9
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Many are saying we as believers should not be involved in this "pagan" ritual; however, we should use this as an opening to declare our SAVIOR GOD JESUS CHRIST who is no longer a babe.
Titus 2:
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Praying for the peace in Jerusalem and the Godly wisdom needed in DC and all levels and areas of our nation.
Ephesians 6:10-18 may we recognize..
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Merry Christmas everyone, and a prosperous New Year in 2024.
Well maybe David0921 I may have misunderstood you (which caused you to be puzzled). You did state, "God does not save anyone BECAUSE we Believe. But if and when God Saves an individual by His MERCY and GRACE alone, they will Believe. Our BELIEF, our REPENTANCE are good works that we do as a RESULT of our Salvation." When I read this statement, it appeared you're stating that Belief & Repentance are necessary (good works) but are the result (could read it as, products) of our Salvation. If something results from an activity, it is assumed that the activity takes place first. So, if Salvation comes first, then how does Belief & Repentance result from it?
As well, in this last comment from you, you write, "Repentance and Belief of someone whom God has saved or plans to savedoes NOT contribute in any way whatsoever TOWARDS their salvation. These are good works that we do because God has saved us or in the process of drawing us to salvation". So even here it seems that Repentance and Belief, though non-contributing to salvation (and I agree to this part), but are evidences post-Salvation or during Salvation. Maybe your thought of Repentance is the continual attitude of the believer in his day-to-day life/warfare, and not of an initial repentance required for salvation; or even, if someone is the Elect of God, he must be saved from the beginning even as a sinner, but only has to repent & believe when he realizes his state. So, I too remain perplexed for I too don't believe that Repentance & Belief can be added to God's Gift of Salvation or else they would be considered as Works; YET I know that Repentance & Belief are necessary to grant Salvation ( Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).
Hi F Major. 1 Peter 1:2 tells us, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
The Apostle Peter wrote this letter to Christians, mainly of Jewish birth, who were scattered to other nations (mainly resulting from the great persecutions from the Jewish leaders/Saul: Acts 8:1). Peter calls them the Elect of God, i.e. those whom God has chosen to be His. And what criterion did God use to make this selection? The Word tells us that they, and us who believe, are chosen by Him because He knew beforehand (foreknowledge) all those who would hear the Gospel of Salvation through Christ & would respond in faith.
So yes, God has chosen each one of us who believes - He didn't force us to believe just so that we wouldn't nullify His wise choosing by Him making a mistake; but He knew who would respond & to these were granted the gift & privilege of being adopted into His family (see Ephesians 1:3-14 for a greater picture of this mighty Work of God on our behalf). Does this then mean that we don't need to share the Gospel with those trapped & lost in sin because God will save them anyway if they are called to be His elect? No, we must share the Gospel with all, because not only are we not privy to those who would be saved, but God has chosen to save some because when they hear the Gospel, they will believe by the convicting power of His Spirit, & they will call upon the Name of Jesus to save them from the awful penalty of sin & estrangement from a loving God.
"Unto you therefore which believe he is precious..." ( 1 Peter 2:7). If we truly belong to the LORD, Jesus is the most Precious One in our lives, for He has chosen us to be saved with so great & costly a salvation. Unbelievers might stomp on Jesus, curse & ridicule Him - but to us He is precious and our delight, & we can be ever thankful for being chosen to be His.
in his days pahraoh-nechoh, king of egypt went up against the king of assyria.....
- pharaoh necho of egypt went up to the euphrates river to help the king of assyria...
(again a totally different scenario)
acts 8:37
....i believe jesus christ is the son of god.
- omitted completely
(there are many more more. i don't know which niv version i am using on my computor with bible gateway, as there has been 3 versions so far of this book. it seems to them the holy ghost can't quite make up his mind exactly what he wants to say so he has to keep coming back to fix it. actually, i believe that it has to be changed every so often in order for them to keep their copywrite so they can sell it. i'm not sure what version this is and what changes they made but it really is a mute point, they are all wrong.)
god bless you all who understand the wrong of modern versions of these books.:)
Just a few things, I am sorry you feel you have been lied to, there are different interpretations out there. If we study Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 together it helps.
I have found when studying the Bible, we should not start with a preconceived idea, it is easy to see Scriptures that fit a picture we have painted in our mind rather than letting the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit reveal the true meaning.
First, Jesus's death and resurrection were hidden from them, Luke 18:31-34. Even after he was crucified, they were distraught and did not understand the fact that he was killed. John 16:16-20 and we have Luke 24:4-6. Not knowing Jesus was going to die would they be asking Jesus about His second coming?
Is all of Matthew 24 about the end time, many combined it with other prophecies to create a picture of the end time. Some of it is obviously about Jesus's second coming but much of it was to prepare them for what they were to endure up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. False prophets we see there were many before 70 AD, Acts 21:36-38Acts 8:9 and others. If we look at history there were wars, earthquakes, and famine, Acts 7:11 and Acts 11:28.
Many put Matt. 24:15 and Mark 13:14 at the end time with an antichrist, should we not consider what Luke wrote about the same thing, Luke 21:20 that history has recorded?
One other thing why would Jesus say to pray their flee would not be on a Sabbath day? Today would not be a problem with the transportation we have. Back then the gates of Jerusalem would be locked and would be hard to get out and it would take days to get clear, with a pace of 2.5 mph.
I am with you, we sleep in the grave until resurrection the first of those who are chosen and faithful, Rev. 17:14 at Jesus's second coming and the second, the rest of the dead at the white throne judgment/the sheep and the goats and those whose names are not in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire, Rev. 20:15.
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
SO
It is not adequate just to believe in Jesus to get eternal life. One has to confess his faith. Where, when, to whom?
Acts 8:36-37,
"36 And as they(Philipp and the eunuch) went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. AND HE ANSWERED AND SAID, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD."
Nicene Creed, "...we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;"
I considered greatly whether to reply, I read and study the KJV, and I believe it is one of the best English translations. This is in love, and I am not looking to debate, I understand how high you hold the KJV and that should not be debated. I watched the video you listed, and I watched a couple more, do not know his name. You asked for other opinions on it and this is my opinion not to debate or insult but just my opinion.
My opinion is this is using numerology to prove an opinion. Do not know if you remember the Torah code it was years ago. It used a program that picked every fourth or seventh letter of the Torah to predict an event or a name in history and it did. Come to find out this can be done using any book that has many pages. The symbolic numbers found in the Bible are easily identified and plainly understood.
Numerology is a part of divination that we are told not to deal with. Why would someone spend so much time going through the Bible counting words trying to prove something that does not do anything but mystify and say Wow? Acts 8:9-11 not directed at you it is just the feelings I got from watching the videos.
I have read other Bibles and I choose the KJV, but we have to admit it is a translation and it is not perfect. I will not get into what manuscripts they used but whatever Bible we study the Spirit of Truth is our only teacher and only through the Spirit, we will have understanding.
I know my opinion may not be what yours is but think about this. The KJV is an English translation, in the world today 20 percent or less of people can speak English much less read it. If the KJV is the only true translation, what about the other 80 percent of the people in the world?
This is just my opinion you asked for, please do not reply to debate it.
If you have never read the KJV before I would recommend something like the The Defined King James Bible - LARGE PRINT available at The KJV Store. It has all the King's English words defined on every single page at the very bottom.
From the Preface of the Defined King James Bible:
As the Defined King James Bible has come to it's completion, we the publishers are overjoyed. We have long awaited the appearance of such a King James Bible that would easily inform the reader of meanings of words which, though excellent in 1611, have changed slightly through the years...
There are two portions of Scripture that come to mind concerning the understanding of the Words of God. The first portion is in Nehemiah. Nehemiah 8:8 states: "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." This is what The Defined King James Bible has done. It will cause those who read the King James Bible to know "the sense" and "to understand the reading." They do not need to go to one of the modern versions which have inferior Hebrew and Greek texts, inferior translators, inferior translation techniques, and inferior technology.
A second portion of Scripture is found in Acts. Acts 8:30 states that Philip, when he met the Ethiopian Eunuch, "ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" The Eunuch's reply in the next verse was: "How can I, except some man should guide me?" The footnotes in The Defined King James Bible will act as a "guide" so that you, too, might understand "what thou readest".
You will notice that there has been no change whatsoever in the Authorized King James Bible. It has been kept as the standard which has united English speaking people throughout the world. There have been only clarifying footnotes based upon sound English dictionaries and, where needed, the original Hebrew and Greek languages.
I've mention it earlier, but feel the need to reinstate this again, it's the writing of the Quakers specifically from 1646 to 1700, they arose in England during the later in of the Reformation.
Its very true in my experience what you stated, God open my understanding through their writing & biographies
The foundation of their teaching is the Light of God is in every human being John 1:9 & if given heed too, would lead them out of darkness into Light of Life. Once I was convince of this, by the Witness of Truth within, the Scriptures & sound reasoning, then in simplicity & sincerity of heart I started paying attention to His motions within me.
You mention the Ethiopian eunuch, in this story is a lovely example of the Spirit guidance, Philip was instructed to arise & go, he went by revelation not knowing at that moment what he was going for, Acts 8:29 Holy Spirit further open his understanding by revelation, then he preached to the eunuch by revelation. You can be sure that Philip pointed him to the Grace of God within him to be his teacher as he went back to his own country.
Peter, by revelation went to Cornelius house, not knowing what he would speak, but went as he was commanded by Holy Spirit, the Lord by revelation open up his understanding, extending His salvation to the Gentiles. & the Grace of God took over the work of salvation, in their everyday ordinary experiences in life. In conversation, past times activities, relationships etc, separating the precious from the vile in their heart.
Quoting You
There aren't any examples in the NT about an individuals revelation, the 12, the 7 etc. If not, how in the world did we get the NT, from cover to cover, its all the revelation of Jesus Christ
Friend, by the above references it appears you need to pay attention to what your reading. no offense given or taken.
1Cor 12:7; Will you allow God this liberty & right to His own Spirit of Grace within us, as well as to His gifts to the church?
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
This verse; in a nutshell explains how; following man's expulsion from Eden that Adam's descendants-more or less willingly walked away from what they knew intellectually about God through the testimony of Adam and others who lived many hundreds of years into idol worship. This would result in the end of the antidiluvian world when Noah entered the ark; and would also signify the reason why God would use Israel to wipe out pagan nations once their "iniquity was at the full" (See Genesis 15:16 for earlier example). Israel was warned repeatedly not to follow the customs of the surrounding nations which often came through intermarriage or by obtaining cursed items. Sadly they hardened their hearts ( Jeremiah 32:35) to do the horrible act in Hinnom of sacrificing their children to Molech in the fire. God also judged Sodom; Gomorrah and the surrounding cities for the behaviors of men there of sodomy. Proverbs 14:34 states that righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.
This verse shows that there is a process involved when people drift off into sin; we all can see evidence of God in the Creation; even the Godhead as Romans 1:20 indicates (see also Psalm 19). Acts 8:23 shows someone in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. This was Simon the Sorcerer; whose story began in verse 9. AFTER being baptized and claiming to be a believer he somehow thought he could buy the powers that the Apostles had of laying hands on people and having them receive the Holy Ghost. He was warned that he had no part in their ministry by Peter; and at the end of the story he asked them to pray for him.
It is hard to say exactly what Peter warned would happen to him or if he truly repented. We see; however a warning that it more than power in the gifts but the giver of gifts we worship.
I agree with most of all you have written. My understanding is at the crucifixion and when the veil was rent from top to bottom was the sign of the fulfillment of the old with the final sacrifice, the ordinances were nailed to the cross, and the new covenant was made, but it was not yet given to the Gentiles. To me, it is clear it was after Stephen's death and the persecution and history puts that right at 3.5 years after the crucifixion.
In Acts 8:57 the high priest and the other rulers made their final rejection of Jesus with this action they "stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord" That is my understanding when the branch was broken off. In Luke 24:42-48 the end says, "beginning at Jerusalem" That was what they were doing, to the Jew first.
Right after this in Acts 9 Paul's conversion, In Acts 10 Peter's vision and his preaching to the Gentiles, and in Acts 11 when the apostles and brethren heard that Peter preached the word of God to the Gentiles, they were mad and upset with him. They should have understood that was what they were supposed to do but they did not, they were mad, not happy.
I know in scripture they were told they would spread the gospel to the Gentiles and the world, but my understanding of scripture is it was like when they were told He would be killed and rise from the dead, this was also hidden until the given time that Prophecy would be fulfilled, and the mystery revealed.
Romans 16:25-26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
Thanks, I agree they were told that but we see it was after Stephen's death and the priests along with Saul/Paul put in prison, beat, killed, and drove out the believers in Jesus, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. The ones Philip shared the word within Samaria must have been Jewish because the apostles did not have a problem with it because Peter and John went and prayed for them to receive the Holy Ghost, Acts 8:14-17
When Peter had his dream, it was a clear vision that God showed him the time had come for the gospel to go to the Gentiles, Acts 10. But when he told the apostles and brethren when he went to Cornelius the centurion and preached to the Gentiles, they had a big problem with it and they rebuked Peter for doing this, Acts 11, and in Acts 11:19 the ones who were persecuted and driven out were preaching the word to the Jews only.
To me, it looks the same as when Jesus told them how He was going to die and be resurrected but it was hidden from them, Luke 9:45, and we see they were devastated after He was crucified and did not believe He rose from the dead, Luke 24:10-11. It was God's perfect timing when this would happen, fulfilling prophecy and a promise.
Did not know it was Messiah the King in Dan. 9:25, whether that would matter, we know He is King.
I have enjoyed this discussion because of its importance not on salvation but for those who will be living when the end starts. This 70th week, if it is in the future or if it has been fulfilled in the past makes a world of difference in what people are expecting to happen.
If the 70th week is in the future there will be the 7-year pre, mid, or post-tribulation as taught, but if it has been fulfilled in the past that would make that false. What outcome would that have on those who are here?
Daniels people, the lost sheep of Israel, Matt. 10:5-6 did not reject Him, it was the corrupt rulers of Jerusalem and the temple, Luke 16:14-15 whose eyes were blinded and Jesus cried over it Luke 19:39-44. Many of them believed in Him but would not confess Him, John 12:42. Jesus the Messiah had to be cut off/sacrificed, Psalm 22:16-18Isaiah 53:8-12 to atone for sins, Dan. 9:26.
If the priests and leaders of Jerusalem had received Jesus as their Messiah and had not conspired with the Romans to crucify Him, there would be no atonement sacrifice for the salvation of the Jews first and also to the Greek/Gentiles, it was God's plan.
Daniel 9:25-27 is a precise prediction of when Jesus would come and be anointed. In the scripture from Matthew to Acts 8:4-5, there is strong evidence without assumption of a 7-year amount of time from the anointing of Jesus the Messiah and His 3.5-year ministry/confirming the covenant to the lost sheep of Israel, Daniel's people.
His crucifixion in the middle and 3.5 more years the gospel was to only the lost sheep, Daniel's people by Jesus through His apostles, thousands were saved, then the death of Stephen, and the gospel going to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous, the branch broke off, but still offered to the Jews.
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.
We are not in the millennium it is after His second coming. He defeats the ten kingdoms/countries the army of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet at Armageddon the great supper of God, Rev. 16:12-16 Rev,17:12-14 Rev. 19:11-2. Then Satan is put in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-3.
Judgment of those in the first resurrection who will reign with Jesus Rev. 20:4-6, the kingdom is set up and will last for 1000 years, then Satan is released and deceives the world and gathers them, the number as the sands of the sea around the camp of the saints at Jerusalem to the last battle. Fire comes down from heaven and devoured them and Satan is cast into the lake of fire,
Then the white throne judgment of all who were not in the first judgment will be judged and all whosoever was not found in the Book of Life were cast into the lake of fire. Dan. 12:1-3Matt. 12:36John 5:28-29Acts 17:31 Eccl. 12:14
We cannot put the people in 70 AD and the prince in the future. The door of the ark, the men of the city, the lambs of the flock, these things cannot be separated. It is the people that shall come, who are of the prince and this prince is not some future being who had nothing to do with 70 AD.
We know by scripture Jesus confirmed the covenant and we know by scripture He was cut off/crucified and we know by scripture by His death there is no more offering for sin, they ceased, Heb. 10:14-18
Matt. 24:14-15 can also have been for those in 66-70AD history records the believers in Jesus got out and went to Pella, Luke 19:43-44Luke 21:20-21. My other posts should show my understanding is Dan. 9 does not apply to the end times it was a prophecy of the Messiah, Jesus, and the amount of time given to Daniel's people, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple, and the judgment for their abominations.
After the 70 weeks, the mystery of the Gospel that was hidden was revealed to the Gentiles, Acts 8:54-57 Acts 9:3-15Acts 10:9-16Rom. 11:25
It is important to understand that when God promises salvation for us in New Testament Scripture, He immediately saves us when we have belief and trust in the work of Jesus Christ.
The text which I believe conveys this point is Acts 8:37, where it says: "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
If salvation is not produced through baptism or any human effort, then the Ethiopian eunuch was saved instantly before he was baptized. He was baptized into the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ (read Matthew 3, Mark 1, John 1, and Acts 1) prior to physical baptism. Salvation is by faith alone. If someone dies in a car accident after accepting Jesus as their savior (coming to faith in His bloody death, burial, and resurrection) through a radio show, that person is in heaven at the moment of his death. Paul put it like this: " [Jesus] hath [present tense] raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ( Ephesians 2:6)."
Divination is something we are not to get into you can open doors to things you do not want to even think about dealing with. It is the means of foretelling future events or discovering things secret with the aid of witchcraft, sorcerers, stars, and other mystical things we have been told to stay away from. Here are a few verses, Lev. 19:26-31Lev. 20:6Num. 22:7Deut. 18:9-14
Many people do not believe these things exist but believe me they do. Saul did this 1 Sam. 28:7-25. You can also see in the NT, with a slave girl in Acts 16:16-18 and a man named Simon in Acts 8:9-24
This is my understanding of the re-birth experience - when the Holy Spirit comes in to reside, the life must change completely & irrevocably - if that doesn't happen (& the person will know it, if truthful), then that re-birth claim is spurious, thus giving way to many deceived but 'religious' persons in the Church.
Acts 19:1-7. I've understood those disciples to be ones of Jesus, not John (sorry if I misled you in this). We know that Jesus had many disciples, not just the twelve ( Luke 6:13; Luke 10:1), so these twelve in Ephesus may well be counted amongst those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah & attended to Him whenever they could. The disciples that Paul met were only baptized by John (not in his name but by him, hence called John's baptism). They never heard of the Holy Spirit, because under John's baptism, that wasn't necessary - they received his baptism pointing towards repentance & the Savior. And why should they be baptized first & then receive the Holy Spirit? In this formation of the Church, we do read of the Holy Spirit being given after the laying on of hands (here in Acts 19:6; Acts 8:13-17), so evidently, water baptism can precede reception of the Holy Spirit in those days. So, at that time, they seemed to be separate events, but today the Holy Spirit is received by true repentance & faith in Christ ( Romans 10:9,10). As Paul stated, salvation comes by confession & believing - and in my understanding, salvation can only happen by the Work of the Holy Spirit within the person. Onto Page 3.
I believe in Samaria they had a head knowledge of the things that Phillip was teaching, and they were baptized by water but in this instance, they weren't converted until Peter came and laid hands on them and they received the Holyspirit.
You can't be saved without the Holyspirit!
It takes the Holyspirit to show you the things of God, not miracles! 1 Corinthians 2:10-11.
These people were bewitched by Simon who used sorcery and they presented him to be some great one.
The unclean spirit can leave a person but it takes the Holyspirit to seal him.
This reminds me of Matthew 12:43-44.
"They received the word of God" even Simon!
When the apostles were able to bring on about the Holyspirit by the laying on of hands then that which they received (The word of God) was sown in them. It took the Holyspirit to seal them, water baptism didn't do it and their head knowledge didn't do it.
Acts 8:14-24. The Apostles were given this power to demonstrate the power of God. Romans 15:18-19. 2 Corinthians 12;12.
Next. Were the apostles born again when Jesus was with them? John 13:10, "Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.". So they were "clean". That means they were already born again and saved. Judas here is not called clean not because he wasn't saved but because he was already sinning. How do we know that? Because Jesus washed Judas feet as well, but not Judas' whole body.
So they were saved. Were they w/baptized?
There are so many cases in Acts that show how important water baptism is. The apostles always asked believers to be water baptized as soon as they believed.
1) The incident with Phillip and eunuch,
2) Peter preaching at Pentecost, Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.",
3) the incident with Cornelius, Acts 10:47, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?",
4) Philipp in Samaria, Acts 8:12, "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.",
5) Paul himself, Acts 9:18, "And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."
6) Paul with the disciples in Ephessus, Acts 19:3, "And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism"
7) And most important of all is the commadment Jesus gave to apostles before His departure, Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"
Jesus knew what was going to happen and much of what He told the disciples was what was going to happen to them, to prepare them for what He just told them when the temple would be destroyed. Does part of this discourse apply to the future? Yes
Matt. 24:5-13 History and the Bible document that there were several men as false Messiahs, false prophets that deceived many and which convinced many and led them to revolt to liberate Jerusalem from Roman occupation. Josephus tells us that impostors drew great multitudes after them into the wilderness, and he mentions an Egyptian prophet. We see this in Acts 21:36-38.
We have Theudas in Acts 5:36 and Judas of Galilee in Acts 5:37-8 and Simon in Acts 8:9-11, and there was more. For us today many come in the name of Jesus saying, Jesus is Christ, but they deceive and make merchandise of people. We must not ignore the first thing He said after they asked Him "Take heed that no man deceive you."
There were many conflicts between the nations around Jerusalem and Rome was having wars that caused famine. Claudius invaded Britain in 46AD, there was a great famine in Syria. Rome took control over the temple along with the sacred treasury and there was a great famine in Jerusalem.
The Jews were having small scrimmages that led to the revolt in 66 AD. We see in the bible a famine was going on, in Acts 11:27-29 in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 Where Paul was collecting things for those in Jerusalem because they were starving. There were earthquakes in Rome, Pergamum, Laodicea, and Judea in the 50s and 60s.
We see what the Jews did to Peter and John and the first they killed was Steven and then most of them. and what Paul says about what they did in all the synagogues Acts 26:10-11. But enduring to the end the same shall be saved does not mean their flesh life would be saved.
True, U4YAH, 'Rapture' is never mentioned in the Bible. The Greek word used in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 is 'harpazo', which means 'to seize, to snatch away'. And we see the word & its application in Scriptures such as Acts 8:39 (of Philip); 2 Corinthians 12:2 (of Paul); & Revelation 12:5 (of Christ). The translators obviously described these events as taken from the Greek word for it, of a physical removing from one place to another.
Probably in an attempt to apply a more anglicized word to describe it (rather than 'harpazo'), the word 'Rapture' was used in more recent times, from the Latin, 'rapio'. If someone takes offense to using 'rapture', since the word is not found in the Bible, my suggestion has always been, 'then don't use it'. What's more important, is that we understand why this 'snatching away' was mentioned in the Bible & why it is used of believers in Paul's discourse.
My understanding is the arm of the LORD revealed was for Israel and Jesus came for the lost sheep of Israel Matt. 15:24 and fulfill the law and the prophets, Matt. 26:54.
John 12:37-41 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Also, there is Matthew 8:14-17Luke 22:35-38Acts 8:26-35 Romans 10:11-21.
Richard, I 99.9% agree with you, with a few nuances While I agree that a true believer won't become an atheist, agnostic, Muslim, etc. the Bible assures us that "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself." ( 2 Tim. 2:13). Solomon is an example of someone whose heart was turned from the Lord late in in life, to the point where he worshipped the false gods of the pagan women he took to wife. Salvation is a one and done - "Believe on the Lord Jesus and thou shalt be saved" ( Acts 16:13), "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." ( Rom. 10:9). Jesus said "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ( John 3:3); born again, once. When we are saved, our spirit is sanctified; bearing fruit depends on whether we walk in the spirit or in the flesh.
I agree 100% that God is the one who preserves us, we are to be confident that "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." ( Phil. 1:6), and we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." ( 1 Pet. 1:5). Our faith saves us (obviously by what Jesus has done for us); the power of God keeps us saved, if we truly believe ( Acts 8:37).
I also agree - not all the wheat and tares are evident, which is why the Lord said to leave them and let them grow together. However, I can assure you, there are many tares that look like wheat, and some wheat that look like tares. True believers can become backslidden, and in some cases, severely backslidden to the point where their life produces no fruit, being saved, "yet as so by fire" ( 1 Cor. 3:15). But, any "believer" who completely abandons the faith simply demonstrates that they were never saved to begin with ( 1 Jn. 2:19).
I haven't gone to a theological school, I am not a scholar or a theologist either, I am an engineer, it's machines I am dealing with in my everyday time not the scriptures, but I serve as a deacon in a small congregation over here. And I very much like reading all sort of information about Christianity. Nowadays there is a huge amount of information on internet. And I think all people here on this site are born again christians, so everybody has experience with God and His revelations, some people more some people less. Definitely one needs the Spirit to guide them to the truth. But still one has to be in church to be taught things properly, you just can not stay home and expect for God to reveal you all the time about everything in the Bible. In that incident with the eunoch and Philip, the eunoch makes a question to Philip, Acts 8:31, "And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.". Obviously somebody had to guide him, that person should had been a man from God, the Spirit wouldn't teach him directly, isn't it so? So the main doctrines should be learned in a church, and if one wants to go deeper or just understand something they haven't understood well, then the Spirit of God helps them. Well, at the end it seems the things we are in agreement are more than the ones we disagree. GBU
I am not going to answer your questiond directly but I will give you some scripture which clarifies, I believe, everything about water baptism.
Acts 2:38. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 8:27-39, "27And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
28Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.
29Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.
30And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
31And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.
32The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:
33In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.
34And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and PREACHED UNTO HIM JESUS.
36And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See,HERE IS WATER; WHAT DOTH HINDER ME TO BE BAPTIZED?
37And Philip said, IF THOU BELIEVEST WITH ALL THINE HEART, THOU MAYEST. And he answered and said,I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD.
38And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.
39And when they were COME UP OUT OF THE WATER the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, ..."
GBU
This is the order that I was taught and still believe to be true based on my own study.
Acts 8:36-37 are some of the greatest verses about Baptism. Philip gives the conditions for baptism: That the individual must believe with all their heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (this rules out babies being baptized). 1 Pet 3:21 states that it is a figure that is the answer of a good conscience toward God. Based on those two passages, I believe that Belief comes before Baptism.
Now to compare being Born again to Believing, but first, just to define terms, what does being born again mean? It is the same as quickening and regenerating ( Eph 2:1; Tit 3:5). It is a phase of our salvation when God revives us spiritually with His Holy Spirit. We are physically born dead in trespasses and sins ( Eph 2:1-3). When Adam cursed mankind in the garden of Eden he died spiritually that day. God told him he would die the day he ate the fruit ( Gen 2:17), but Adam lived up to 930 years ( Gen 5:5), so either God lied and the Devil was telling the truth ( Gen 3:4) or a different type of death occurred than physical that being spiritual.
Rom 8:7-8 are powerful verses about the state of the carnal mind. Without God's gift of the Holy Spirit we can do nothing that is pleasing to God. Without the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we only have the old man, the flesh, the carnal mind that hates God without the new man and spiritual mind that wants to please God.
Okay, back to the order of B's... 1 John 2:29 says "every one that doeth righteousness IS born of him" not shall be born of him. If a man does righteousness it is proof that the righteous spirit of God dwells in him and that he was born, quickened, and regenerated to have a spirit that loves God.
Additionally, John 1:12 mentions those who believe on him, but the verse does not end with a period. The rest of the thought is that they WERE born of God ( John 1:13).
Born again, Believe, Baptism.
As to your question you have received several answers, my understanding in the Bible baptism is done only by immersion as the word means. As Jesse said sprinkling did not start until the 1300s and it was for the reason it was so inconvenient. So, this was done just because of convenience's sake, nothing Biblical about it. I agree with Giannis, and we must believe as Jesus said in Mark 16:16.
All we do is to be done in our Lord Jesus's name, Colossians 3:16-17. Many use Matthew 28:19 but we also see in the rest of Scripture that a person who is baptized in Jesus' name is someone who believes in Jesus as Savior, the Messiah, the Son of God who for us died, was buried, and was resurrected we acknowledge this by being baptized in His name, Acts 2:38 Acts 8:12 Acts 8:16 Acts 10:48 Acts 19:5 Acts 22:16 Romans 6:3 Galatians 3:27 Colossians 2:12 Ephesians 4:5.
Paul shows the importance of being baptized in the name of Jesus, Acts 19:1-6. God has placed Jesus and His name above all that is in heaven and earth, Matthew 28:18 Philippians 2:9-11. Salvation only comes in His name Acts 4:12 Romans 10:13. The name of Jesus is the source of power and authority for healing, miracles, and deliverance, Mark 16:17 Luke 10:17 Acts 4:7 Acts 4:30 Acts 16:18.
We are to give thanks in Jesus's name, Ephesians 5:20. Our faith is through Him and in His name, Acts 3:16. We must believe in Jesus, John 3:16 John 6:47 Acts 16:31 1 John 3:23 1 John 5:13. Whatever we ask for we are to ask in His name, John 14:13-14. We are to pray to the Father in His name, James 5:14. Jesus is our priest and the only mediator between God and men, 1 Timothy 2:5.
God bless,
RLW
May our walk in HIM be precious as the tabernacle is shown to be. The outer covering not much to look at; but the inside is beautiful beyond compare. Our life be as Philip in Acts 8: 26 able to tell others of the gospel of the LORD JESUS.
Thank YOU FATHER for this day of worship and time of celebration
Luke 2:10 - 18
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
Isaiah 9
6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Many are saying we as believers should not be involved in this "pagan" ritual; however, we should use this as an opening to declare our SAVIOR GOD JESUS CHRIST who is no longer a babe.
Titus 2:
13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Praying for the peace in Jerusalem and the Godly wisdom needed in DC and all levels and areas of our nation.
Ephesians 6:10-18 may we recognize..
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Merry Christmas everyone, and a prosperous New Year in 2024.
December 25, 2023
As well, in this last comment from you, you write, "Repentance and Belief of someone whom God has saved or plans to savedoes NOT contribute in any way whatsoever TOWARDS their salvation. These are good works that we do because God has saved us or in the process of drawing us to salvation". So even here it seems that Repentance and Belief, though non-contributing to salvation (and I agree to this part), but are evidences post-Salvation or during Salvation. Maybe your thought of Repentance is the continual attitude of the believer in his day-to-day life/warfare, and not of an initial repentance required for salvation; or even, if someone is the Elect of God, he must be saved from the beginning even as a sinner, but only has to repent & believe when he realizes his state. So, I too remain perplexed for I too don't believe that Repentance & Belief can be added to God's Gift of Salvation or else they would be considered as Works; YET I know that Repentance & Belief are necessary to grant Salvation ( Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Acts 8:22; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9).
The Apostle Peter wrote this letter to Christians, mainly of Jewish birth, who were scattered to other nations (mainly resulting from the great persecutions from the Jewish leaders/Saul: Acts 8:1). Peter calls them the Elect of God, i.e. those whom God has chosen to be His. And what criterion did God use to make this selection? The Word tells us that they, and us who believe, are chosen by Him because He knew beforehand (foreknowledge) all those who would hear the Gospel of Salvation through Christ & would respond in faith.
So yes, God has chosen each one of us who believes - He didn't force us to believe just so that we wouldn't nullify His wise choosing by Him making a mistake; but He knew who would respond & to these were granted the gift & privilege of being adopted into His family (see Ephesians 1:3-14 for a greater picture of this mighty Work of God on our behalf). Does this then mean that we don't need to share the Gospel with those trapped & lost in sin because God will save them anyway if they are called to be His elect? No, we must share the Gospel with all, because not only are we not privy to those who would be saved, but God has chosen to save some because when they hear the Gospel, they will believe by the convicting power of His Spirit, & they will call upon the Name of Jesus to save them from the awful penalty of sin & estrangement from a loving God.
"Unto you therefore which believe he is precious..." ( 1 Peter 2:7). If we truly belong to the LORD, Jesus is the most Precious One in our lives, for He has chosen us to be saved with so great & costly a salvation. Unbelievers might stomp on Jesus, curse & ridicule Him - but to us He is precious and our delight, & we can be ever thankful for being chosen to be His.
are saved -
are being saved
8) 2 kings 23:29
in his days pahraoh-nechoh, king of egypt went up against the king of assyria.....
- pharaoh necho of egypt went up to the euphrates river to help the king of assyria...
(again a totally different scenario)
acts 8:37
....i believe jesus christ is the son of god.
- omitted completely
(there are many more more. i don't know which niv version i am using on my computor with bible gateway, as there has been 3 versions so far of this book. it seems to them the holy ghost can't quite make up his mind exactly what he wants to say so he has to keep coming back to fix it. actually, i believe that it has to be changed every so often in order for them to keep their copywrite so they can sell it. i'm not sure what version this is and what changes they made but it really is a mute point, they are all wrong.)
god bless you all who understand the wrong of modern versions of these books.:)
Just a few things, I am sorry you feel you have been lied to, there are different interpretations out there. If we study Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 together it helps.
I have found when studying the Bible, we should not start with a preconceived idea, it is easy to see Scriptures that fit a picture we have painted in our mind rather than letting the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit reveal the true meaning.
First, Jesus's death and resurrection were hidden from them, Luke 18:31-34. Even after he was crucified, they were distraught and did not understand the fact that he was killed. John 16:16-20 and we have Luke 24:4-6. Not knowing Jesus was going to die would they be asking Jesus about His second coming?
Is all of Matthew 24 about the end time, many combined it with other prophecies to create a picture of the end time. Some of it is obviously about Jesus's second coming but much of it was to prepare them for what they were to endure up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. False prophets we see there were many before 70 AD, Acts 21:36-38 Acts 8:9 and others. If we look at history there were wars, earthquakes, and famine, Acts 7:11 and Acts 11:28.
Many put Matt. 24:15 and Mark 13:14 at the end time with an antichrist, should we not consider what Luke wrote about the same thing, Luke 21:20 that history has recorded?
One other thing why would Jesus say to pray their flee would not be on a Sabbath day? Today would not be a problem with the transportation we have. Back then the gates of Jerusalem would be locked and would be hard to get out and it would take days to get clear, with a pace of 2.5 mph.
I am with you, we sleep in the grave until resurrection the first of those who are chosen and faithful, Rev. 17:14 at Jesus's second coming and the second, the rest of the dead at the white throne judgment/the sheep and the goats and those whose names are not in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire, Rev. 20:15.
God bless,
RLW
"9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
SO
It is not adequate just to believe in Jesus to get eternal life. One has to confess his faith. Where, when, to whom?
Acts 8:36-37,
"36 And as they(Philipp and the eunuch) went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. AND HE ANSWERED AND SAID, I BELIEVE THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SON OF GOD."
Nicene Creed, "...we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;"
IN THE BAPTISM IN WATER.
I considered greatly whether to reply, I read and study the KJV, and I believe it is one of the best English translations. This is in love, and I am not looking to debate, I understand how high you hold the KJV and that should not be debated. I watched the video you listed, and I watched a couple more, do not know his name. You asked for other opinions on it and this is my opinion not to debate or insult but just my opinion.
My opinion is this is using numerology to prove an opinion. Do not know if you remember the Torah code it was years ago. It used a program that picked every fourth or seventh letter of the Torah to predict an event or a name in history and it did. Come to find out this can be done using any book that has many pages. The symbolic numbers found in the Bible are easily identified and plainly understood.
Numerology is a part of divination that we are told not to deal with. Why would someone spend so much time going through the Bible counting words trying to prove something that does not do anything but mystify and say Wow? Acts 8:9-11 not directed at you it is just the feelings I got from watching the videos.
I have read other Bibles and I choose the KJV, but we have to admit it is a translation and it is not perfect. I will not get into what manuscripts they used but whatever Bible we study the Spirit of Truth is our only teacher and only through the Spirit, we will have understanding.
I know my opinion may not be what yours is but think about this. The KJV is an English translation, in the world today 20 percent or less of people can speak English much less read it. If the KJV is the only true translation, what about the other 80 percent of the people in the world?
This is just my opinion you asked for, please do not reply to debate it.
God bless,
RLW
From the Preface of the Defined King James Bible:
As the Defined King James Bible has come to it's completion, we the publishers are overjoyed. We have long awaited the appearance of such a King James Bible that would easily inform the reader of meanings of words which, though excellent in 1611, have changed slightly through the years...
There are two portions of Scripture that come to mind concerning the understanding of the Words of God. The first portion is in Nehemiah. Nehemiah 8:8 states: "So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." This is what The Defined King James Bible has done. It will cause those who read the King James Bible to know "the sense" and "to understand the reading." They do not need to go to one of the modern versions which have inferior Hebrew and Greek texts, inferior translators, inferior translation techniques, and inferior technology.
A second portion of Scripture is found in Acts. Acts 8:30 states that Philip, when he met the Ethiopian Eunuch, "ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" The Eunuch's reply in the next verse was: "How can I, except some man should guide me?" The footnotes in The Defined King James Bible will act as a "guide" so that you, too, might understand "what thou readest".
You will notice that there has been no change whatsoever in the Authorized King James Bible. It has been kept as the standard which has united English speaking people throughout the world. There have been only clarifying footnotes based upon sound English dictionaries and, where needed, the original Hebrew and Greek languages.
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!!!!!!!
Its very true in my experience what you stated, God open my understanding through their writing & biographies
The foundation of their teaching is the Light of God is in every human being John 1:9 & if given heed too, would lead them out of darkness into Light of Life. Once I was convince of this, by the Witness of Truth within, the Scriptures & sound reasoning, then in simplicity & sincerity of heart I started paying attention to His motions within me.
You mention the Ethiopian eunuch, in this story is a lovely example of the Spirit guidance, Philip was instructed to arise & go, he went by revelation not knowing at that moment what he was going for, Acts 8:29 Holy Spirit further open his understanding by revelation, then he preached to the eunuch by revelation. You can be sure that Philip pointed him to the Grace of God within him to be his teacher as he went back to his own country.
Peter, by revelation went to Cornelius house, not knowing what he would speak, but went as he was commanded by Holy Spirit, the Lord by revelation open up his understanding, extending His salvation to the Gentiles. & the Grace of God took over the work of salvation, in their everyday ordinary experiences in life. In conversation, past times activities, relationships etc, separating the precious from the vile in their heart.
Quoting You
There aren't any examples in the NT about an individuals revelation, the 12, the 7 etc. If not, how in the world did we get the NT, from cover to cover, its all the revelation of Jesus Christ
Friend, by the above references it appears you need to pay attention to what your reading. no offense given or taken.
1Cor 12:7; Will you allow God this liberty & right to His own Spirit of Grace within us, as well as to His gifts to the church?
"And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;"
This verse; in a nutshell explains how; following man's expulsion from Eden that Adam's descendants-more or less willingly walked away from what they knew intellectually about God through the testimony of Adam and others who lived many hundreds of years into idol worship. This would result in the end of the antidiluvian world when Noah entered the ark; and would also signify the reason why God would use Israel to wipe out pagan nations once their "iniquity was at the full" (See Genesis 15:16 for earlier example). Israel was warned repeatedly not to follow the customs of the surrounding nations which often came through intermarriage or by obtaining cursed items. Sadly they hardened their hearts ( Jeremiah 32:35) to do the horrible act in Hinnom of sacrificing their children to Molech in the fire. God also judged Sodom; Gomorrah and the surrounding cities for the behaviors of men there of sodomy. Proverbs 14:34 states that righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.
This verse shows that there is a process involved when people drift off into sin; we all can see evidence of God in the Creation; even the Godhead as Romans 1:20 indicates (see also Psalm 19). Acts 8:23 shows someone in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. This was Simon the Sorcerer; whose story began in verse 9. AFTER being baptized and claiming to be a believer he somehow thought he could buy the powers that the Apostles had of laying hands on people and having them receive the Holy Ghost. He was warned that he had no part in their ministry by Peter; and at the end of the story he asked them to pray for him.
It is hard to say exactly what Peter warned would happen to him or if he truly repented. We see; however a warning that it more than power in the gifts but the giver of gifts we worship.
I agree with most of all you have written. My understanding is at the crucifixion and when the veil was rent from top to bottom was the sign of the fulfillment of the old with the final sacrifice, the ordinances were nailed to the cross, and the new covenant was made, but it was not yet given to the Gentiles. To me, it is clear it was after Stephen's death and the persecution and history puts that right at 3.5 years after the crucifixion.
In Acts 8:57 the high priest and the other rulers made their final rejection of Jesus with this action they "stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord" That is my understanding when the branch was broken off. In Luke 24:42-48 the end says, "beginning at Jerusalem" That was what they were doing, to the Jew first.
Right after this in Acts 9 Paul's conversion, In Acts 10 Peter's vision and his preaching to the Gentiles, and in Acts 11 when the apostles and brethren heard that Peter preached the word of God to the Gentiles, they were mad and upset with him. They should have understood that was what they were supposed to do but they did not, they were mad, not happy.
I know in scripture they were told they would spread the gospel to the Gentiles and the world, but my understanding of scripture is it was like when they were told He would be killed and rise from the dead, this was also hidden until the given time that Prophecy would be fulfilled, and the mystery revealed.
Romans 16:25-26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:
God bless and have a good day.
RLW
Thanks, I agree they were told that but we see it was after Stephen's death and the priests along with Saul/Paul put in prison, beat, killed, and drove out the believers in Jesus, the apostles stayed in Jerusalem. The ones Philip shared the word within Samaria must have been Jewish because the apostles did not have a problem with it because Peter and John went and prayed for them to receive the Holy Ghost, Acts 8:14-17
When Peter had his dream, it was a clear vision that God showed him the time had come for the gospel to go to the Gentiles, Acts 10. But when he told the apostles and brethren when he went to Cornelius the centurion and preached to the Gentiles, they had a big problem with it and they rebuked Peter for doing this, Acts 11, and in Acts 11:19 the ones who were persecuted and driven out were preaching the word to the Jews only.
To me, it looks the same as when Jesus told them how He was going to die and be resurrected but it was hidden from them, Luke 9:45, and we see they were devastated after He was crucified and did not believe He rose from the dead, Luke 24:10-11. It was God's perfect timing when this would happen, fulfilling prophecy and a promise.
I hope this makes sense.
God bless.
RLW
Part 1
Did not know it was Messiah the King in Dan. 9:25, whether that would matter, we know He is King.
I have enjoyed this discussion because of its importance not on salvation but for those who will be living when the end starts. This 70th week, if it is in the future or if it has been fulfilled in the past makes a world of difference in what people are expecting to happen.
If the 70th week is in the future there will be the 7-year pre, mid, or post-tribulation as taught, but if it has been fulfilled in the past that would make that false. What outcome would that have on those who are here?
Daniels people, the lost sheep of Israel, Matt. 10:5-6 did not reject Him, it was the corrupt rulers of Jerusalem and the temple, Luke 16:14-15 whose eyes were blinded and Jesus cried over it Luke 19:39-44. Many of them believed in Him but would not confess Him, John 12:42. Jesus the Messiah had to be cut off/sacrificed, Psalm 22:16-18 Isaiah 53:8-12 to atone for sins, Dan. 9:26.
If the priests and leaders of Jerusalem had received Jesus as their Messiah and had not conspired with the Romans to crucify Him, there would be no atonement sacrifice for the salvation of the Jews first and also to the Greek/Gentiles, it was God's plan.
Daniel 9:25-27 is a precise prediction of when Jesus would come and be anointed. In the scripture from Matthew to Acts 8:4-5, there is strong evidence without assumption of a 7-year amount of time from the anointing of Jesus the Messiah and His 3.5-year ministry/confirming the covenant to the lost sheep of Israel, Daniel's people.
His crucifixion in the middle and 3.5 more years the gospel was to only the lost sheep, Daniel's people by Jesus through His apostles, thousands were saved, then the death of Stephen, and the gospel going to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous, the branch broke off, but still offered to the Jews.
See Part 2
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
We are not in the millennium it is after His second coming. He defeats the ten kingdoms/countries the army of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet at Armageddon the great supper of God, Rev. 16:12-16 Rev,17:12-14 Rev. 19:11-2. Then Satan is put in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-3.
Judgment of those in the first resurrection who will reign with Jesus Rev. 20:4-6, the kingdom is set up and will last for 1000 years, then Satan is released and deceives the world and gathers them, the number as the sands of the sea around the camp of the saints at Jerusalem to the last battle. Fire comes down from heaven and devoured them and Satan is cast into the lake of fire,
Then the white throne judgment of all who were not in the first judgment will be judged and all whosoever was not found in the Book of Life were cast into the lake of fire. Dan. 12:1-3 Matt. 12:36 John 5:28-29 Acts 17:31 Eccl. 12:14
We cannot put the people in 70 AD and the prince in the future. The door of the ark, the men of the city, the lambs of the flock, these things cannot be separated. It is the people that shall come, who are of the prince and this prince is not some future being who had nothing to do with 70 AD.
We know by scripture Jesus confirmed the covenant and we know by scripture He was cut off/crucified and we know by scripture by His death there is no more offering for sin, they ceased, Heb. 10:14-18
Matt. 24:14-15 can also have been for those in 66-70AD history records the believers in Jesus got out and went to Pella, Luke 19:43-44 Luke 21:20-21. My other posts should show my understanding is Dan. 9 does not apply to the end times it was a prophecy of the Messiah, Jesus, and the amount of time given to Daniel's people, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple, and the judgment for their abominations.
After the 70 weeks, the mystery of the Gospel that was hidden was revealed to the Gentiles, Acts 8:54-57 Acts 9:3-15 Acts 10:9-16 Rom. 11:25
God bless,
RLW
It is important to understand that when God promises salvation for us in New Testament Scripture, He immediately saves us when we have belief and trust in the work of Jesus Christ.
The text which I believe conveys this point is Acts 8:37, where it says: "And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
If salvation is not produced through baptism or any human effort, then the Ethiopian eunuch was saved instantly before he was baptized. He was baptized into the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ (read Matthew 3, Mark 1, John 1, and Acts 1) prior to physical baptism. Salvation is by faith alone. If someone dies in a car accident after accepting Jesus as their savior (coming to faith in His bloody death, burial, and resurrection) through a radio show, that person is in heaven at the moment of his death. Paul put it like this: " [Jesus] hath [present tense] raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ( Ephesians 2:6)."
I hope this helped!
Divination is something we are not to get into you can open doors to things you do not want to even think about dealing with. It is the means of foretelling future events or discovering things secret with the aid of witchcraft, sorcerers, stars, and other mystical things we have been told to stay away from. Here are a few verses, Lev. 19:26-31 Lev. 20:6 Num. 22:7 Deut. 18:9-14
Many people do not believe these things exist but believe me they do. Saul did this 1 Sam. 28:7-25. You can also see in the NT, with a slave girl in Acts 16:16-18 and a man named Simon in Acts 8:9-24
I hope this little bit helps.
God bless,
RLW
This is my understanding of the re-birth experience - when the Holy Spirit comes in to reside, the life must change completely & irrevocably - if that doesn't happen (& the person will know it, if truthful), then that re-birth claim is spurious, thus giving way to many deceived but 'religious' persons in the Church.
Acts 19:1-7. I've understood those disciples to be ones of Jesus, not John (sorry if I misled you in this). We know that Jesus had many disciples, not just the twelve ( Luke 6:13; Luke 10:1), so these twelve in Ephesus may well be counted amongst those who believed that Jesus was the Messiah & attended to Him whenever they could. The disciples that Paul met were only baptized by John (not in his name but by him, hence called John's baptism). They never heard of the Holy Spirit, because under John's baptism, that wasn't necessary - they received his baptism pointing towards repentance & the Savior. And why should they be baptized first & then receive the Holy Spirit? In this formation of the Church, we do read of the Holy Spirit being given after the laying on of hands (here in Acts 19:6; Acts 8:13-17), so evidently, water baptism can precede reception of the Holy Spirit in those days. So, at that time, they seemed to be separate events, but today the Holy Spirit is received by true repentance & faith in Christ ( Romans 10:9,10). As Paul stated, salvation comes by confession & believing - and in my understanding, salvation can only happen by the Work of the Holy Spirit within the person. Onto Page 3.
Part 2.
Acts 8:5-25.
I believe in Samaria they had a head knowledge of the things that Phillip was teaching, and they were baptized by water but in this instance, they weren't converted until Peter came and laid hands on them and they received the Holyspirit.
You can't be saved without the Holyspirit!
It takes the Holyspirit to show you the things of God, not miracles! 1 Corinthians 2:10-11.
These people were bewitched by Simon who used sorcery and they presented him to be some great one.
The unclean spirit can leave a person but it takes the Holyspirit to seal him.
This reminds me of Matthew 12:43-44.
"They received the word of God" even Simon!
When the apostles were able to bring on about the Holyspirit by the laying on of hands then that which they received (The word of God) was sown in them. It took the Holyspirit to seal them, water baptism didn't do it and their head knowledge didn't do it.
Acts 8:14-24. The Apostles were given this power to demonstrate the power of God. Romans 15:18-19. 2 Corinthians 12;12.
God bless.
Next. Were the apostles born again when Jesus was with them? John 13:10, "Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.". So they were "clean". That means they were already born again and saved. Judas here is not called clean not because he wasn't saved but because he was already sinning. How do we know that? Because Jesus washed Judas feet as well, but not Judas' whole body.
So they were saved. Were they w/baptized?
There are so many cases in Acts that show how important water baptism is. The apostles always asked believers to be water baptized as soon as they believed.
1) The incident with Phillip and eunuch,
2) Peter preaching at Pentecost, Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.",
3) the incident with Cornelius, Acts 10:47, "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?",
4) Philipp in Samaria, Acts 8:12, "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.",
5) Paul himself, Acts 9:18, "And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized."
6) Paul with the disciples in Ephessus, Acts 19:3, "And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism"
7) And most important of all is the commadment Jesus gave to apostles before His departure, Matthew 28:19, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"
On part 1
Jesus knew what was going to happen and much of what He told the disciples was what was going to happen to them, to prepare them for what He just told them when the temple would be destroyed. Does part of this discourse apply to the future? Yes
Matt. 24:5-13 History and the Bible document that there were several men as false Messiahs, false prophets that deceived many and which convinced many and led them to revolt to liberate Jerusalem from Roman occupation. Josephus tells us that impostors drew great multitudes after them into the wilderness, and he mentions an Egyptian prophet. We see this in Acts 21:36-38.
We have Theudas in Acts 5:36 and Judas of Galilee in Acts 5:37-8 and Simon in Acts 8:9-11, and there was more. For us today many come in the name of Jesus saying, Jesus is Christ, but they deceive and make merchandise of people. We must not ignore the first thing He said after they asked Him "Take heed that no man deceive you."
There were many conflicts between the nations around Jerusalem and Rome was having wars that caused famine. Claudius invaded Britain in 46AD, there was a great famine in Syria. Rome took control over the temple along with the sacred treasury and there was a great famine in Jerusalem.
The Jews were having small scrimmages that led to the revolt in 66 AD. We see in the bible a famine was going on, in Acts 11:27-29 in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 Where Paul was collecting things for those in Jerusalem because they were starving. There were earthquakes in Rome, Pergamum, Laodicea, and Judea in the 50s and 60s.
We see what the Jews did to Peter and John and the first they killed was Steven and then most of them. and what Paul says about what they did in all the synagogues Acts 26:10-11. But enduring to the end the same shall be saved does not mean their flesh life would be saved.
Will cover more, hope I am making sense.
God bless,
RLW
Probably in an attempt to apply a more anglicized word to describe it (rather than 'harpazo'), the word 'Rapture' was used in more recent times, from the Latin, 'rapio'. If someone takes offense to using 'rapture', since the word is not found in the Bible, my suggestion has always been, 'then don't use it'. What's more important, is that we understand why this 'snatching away' was mentioned in the Bible & why it is used of believers in Paul's discourse.
My understanding is the arm of the LORD revealed was for Israel and Jesus came for the lost sheep of Israel Matt. 15:24 and fulfill the law and the prophets, Matt. 26:54.
John 12:37-41 But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed 39 Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, 40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. 41 These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.
Also, there is Matthew 8:14-17 Luke 22:35-38 Acts 8:26-35 Romans 10:11-21.
God bless,
RLW
I agree 100% that God is the one who preserves us, we are to be confident that "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." ( Phil. 1:6), and we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." ( 1 Pet. 1:5). Our faith saves us (obviously by what Jesus has done for us); the power of God keeps us saved, if we truly believe ( Acts 8:37).
I also agree - not all the wheat and tares are evident, which is why the Lord said to leave them and let them grow together. However, I can assure you, there are many tares that look like wheat, and some wheat that look like tares. True believers can become backslidden, and in some cases, severely backslidden to the point where their life produces no fruit, being saved, "yet as so by fire" ( 1 Cor. 3:15). But, any "believer" who completely abandons the faith simply demonstrates that they were never saved to begin with ( 1 Jn. 2:19).
-Chris
I haven't gone to a theological school, I am not a scholar or a theologist either, I am an engineer, it's machines I am dealing with in my everyday time not the scriptures, but I serve as a deacon in a small congregation over here. And I very much like reading all sort of information about Christianity. Nowadays there is a huge amount of information on internet. And I think all people here on this site are born again christians, so everybody has experience with God and His revelations, some people more some people less. Definitely one needs the Spirit to guide them to the truth. But still one has to be in church to be taught things properly, you just can not stay home and expect for God to reveal you all the time about everything in the Bible. In that incident with the eunoch and Philip, the eunoch makes a question to Philip, Acts 8:31, "And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.". Obviously somebody had to guide him, that person should had been a man from God, the Spirit wouldn't teach him directly, isn't it so? So the main doctrines should be learned in a church, and if one wants to go deeper or just understand something they haven't understood well, then the Spirit of God helps them. Well, at the end it seems the things we are in agreement are more than the ones we disagree. GBU