Sometimes we realize that our faith is not adequate to receive something from God. We have a little bit of faith.
"... for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." ( Matthew 17:20)
What is the characteristic of the grain of the mustard seed?
"31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." ( Matthew 13:30-31)
Sometimes faith as little as a mustard grain which is the least of all seeds is all we need. But when it is placed in a good field (good heart) then it is grown and becomes a big tree.
Let us trust the written Word of God. Could God ever lie? He gave the command and the universe was created out of nothing. How difficult is it for Him to give the command and your illness goes away? The universe obeys Him, but not your illness?
"7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Natthew 7-11)
"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Thanks brother Ronald for those thoughts and your understanding on this matter. Just to give a slight, yet important, correction to your quotation of my post: I wrote of the "SPIRITS of the deceased believers were already in Heaven, etc". So, my understanding (to answer your question) is that we are essentially spirit beings living in mortal bodies. Our spirits can never die ( Acts 7:59; Luke 16:20-23; Matthew 17:1-3) but our bodies certainly will die and perish into the earth ( Ecclesiastes 9:5,10; Psalm 6:5; Psalm 115:17) and awaiting resurrection. So, because of these perishing bodies, we are mortal beings, but with an immortal spirit that gives us life and one day returns to God.
Your quoting 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 is particularly clear. You have shared that these verses apply to the time of the resurrection of our dead bodies. But as I read it, Paul is essentially telling us that if we are alive ("at home in the body"), we are not in the Lord's presence ("absent from the Lord"). We can only be alive or dead; if alive, our spirit within us gives us life; if dead, our spirit departs our bodies that causes death.
So Paul is "groaning" over this matter, longing for departure from this life that he might be with his Lord. There isn't any intermediate state or any length of time in Paul's writing between death and life - it speaks of one or the other: either we are alive with our spirit or dead without the spirit. We can't be dead with our spirit in-house, and awaiting the resurrection. Or, we could even ask, 'why would Paul even want to depart this life and then remain in the grave for an indeterminate length of time?' His longing was to be with Jesus immediately upon his death, thus he looked forward to it.
To your answer to your question: "when will we be absent from this body?" this is at the resurrection; my understanding (as given above) is 'our absence from this body is at our death'. Every blessing.
"My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD
In the time of sadness, we can always be glad we have GOD.
Amen!!!
Psalms 64:10
"The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory."
"Lord, help my unbelief,". Mark 9:24
This morning I heard some one say that
" honest doubt is better than fake faith.
Mark 9:24
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Hi everyone, since I open my King James Bible every day at random, ps a morning ritual to say the least. I have to have something to share if the need arises. It is the Lord who will make us ready. Always be prepared! Help us on our journey to understand that the Holy Spirit is here with us.
In uncertainty:
Luke 1:17 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.
Matthew 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Matthew 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Safe and Sound:
1 Cor 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Eph 4:12-13 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
So dear everyone, these are all trustworthy words, believe it and live it. He has so much to show us, and so much we have to live for. When we see this, all Scripture becomes manifest. Trust the Word. A few words on a sunny Sunday morning. Have a good day everyone in Jesus Christ name!
This section involves the religious rulers in the first of 3 attempts to trap Jesus. Verse 16 states "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Sounds like a compliment but the idea was for Jesus to say something that could allow them to accuse Him of. Caesar's tax was something that could get the Romans to pursue Jesus if He stated that it wasn't necessary to pay it. We are reminded somewhat of His comments in Matthew 17:27 where Jesus asked Peter to fish a coin out the mouth of a fish so as not to insult the person asking for tribute tax. Is it possible someone heard Him and the response to Peter? At any rate if He said that it should be paid then the Pharisees and others would be upset since they hated the Romans and for the bigger reason; no doubt that they were covetous for everything they could get their hands on. Jesus simply stated to pay what is obligated to both.
This situation could be extrapolated to those today who wish to circumvent the law of the land in not paying taxes. There are taxes also which allow one to live in many Muslim nations which no doubt are unjust but it beats death; at least premature to God's timing in being a witness for Christ. My point would be that unjust subjugation isn't the issue; but unjust use of money collected if directly going against Scripture is an issue. That is not something I am going to pursue further here.
Test #2 Matthew 22: 23-32, crowd response verse 33
The Pharisees used the Herodians to test Christ; in this case we had the Sadducees who didn't believe in a Resurrection asking a question about that very subject regarding whose wife someone would have if a woman married seven times and each husband died before she did. Whatever their aim; the Resurrection was justified along with an explanation of a heavenly body
Hello Nstew. I believe you're referring to one or both instances recorded in Matthew 16:27,28 and Luke 9:26,27. I have to admit that this is a very difficult portion to properly understand, since nothing more is recorded about it or referencing back to these Words of Jesus to His disciples.
My own understanding: is that Jesus was instructing His disciples of what would be a foretaste of the coming Kingdom of God. Soon after (within a week or so), three of Jesus' disciples saw Jesus transfigured (or, transformed) revealing His Glory ( Matthew 17:1,2; Luke 9:28,29); that Glory which He would receive back after laying it aside for humanity's sake ( Philippians 2:5-9). That would have been the first taste given to His disciples of the coming Kingdom of God.
Then of course, through His Death, Resurrection & Ascension into Heaven, the disciples had further confirmation of both the Truth of Jesus' Words (while He taught them) and the institution of God's Kingdom. It is true, that what we would normally understand and expect of the Kingdom of God (i.e. when Jesus returns to the World in His second Coming) didn't happen then as it hasn't happened till now, we can still see that His disciples were given a foretaste of that coming Kingdom which would never end until Christ comes - and beyond.
They saw His Glory at the mount, they were witnesses of His resurrection ( Luke 24:24-40), and they were witnesses of His Ascension ( Luke 24:50-53). And the disciples (and also to all those who love the Lord Jesus & would serve Him), would receive power to live the Christ-centered, Christ-crucified life, declaring to all that truly God had now visited sinful man & offered him so great salvation through His Son. Yes, the Kingdom of God is potentially within all mankind ( Luke 17:20,21), where, even if those unbelieving Pharisees would only put their faith in Jesus, the reality of the God's Kingdom could also be theirs when God would do a new work in them ( Ezekiel 11:19,20). GBU.
This seemingly insignificant tale of Peter finding a fish with a coin in it to pay for his and Jesus' expected tax (other versions say 4 Drachma coin; so it covers for 2 each due) surely has some meaning. The point Jesus brings up is for the children to make others pay tribute; in some "token" if I can use the pun true children of God shouldn't be subject to others but others subject to them.
Christ shows in His humanity that insulting someone should be avoided at all costs so greater good can be accomplished.
Matthew 22:15-22 discusses rendering to Caesar what is owed and to God the same. This shows again the same theme that we can also extend to Romans 13:7 for the church. This isn't a subject I will go into in great length here; I will say in short it is the exception rather than the rule when situations arise which we must take a stand for God and against the rules of men; particularly as Acts 5:29 illustrates when told to keep our mouths shut about Christ.
From here on several things are apparent. The miracles Christ was doing are shut down; except for the healing of the blind mentioned in Matthew 20:29-34. Secondly Jesus spoke almost exclusively in Parables at this point and third His greatest excoriation of the Pharisees was about to commence and this takes up the entire chapter 23 of Matthew.
Jesus was basically in his last weeks at this point which takes up about a third of the Gospels as far as I know (my estimate).
It reminds me in a strange way of Revelation as the final judgments seem to take the same space or more than the first but encompass weeks or maybe a few months at most. Our Lord had to focus on the Disciples knowing they would abandon Him and need to have strength to continue until Pentecost after the shock of the death of Christ who they had communed with and been shepherded by for several years. Surely Jesus didn't minimalize their grief but showed them it was for their greater good to die
Matthew 17:14-21 The healing of the "lunatick" son
Old English isn't exactly subtle in its verbage; but it fills the bill; so to speak. Jesus gives a rebuke in verse 17 which reads starting from verse 16
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
The context here vaguely suggests the overall faithlessness of this man or perhaps the fact that others by this time weren't doing deliverance; or possibly a slightly stronger indication that Israel as a whole was still faithless and full of wicked unbelief.
It seems directed to the Disciples as we see in verse 19-21
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
It must have been stunning to be accused of unbelief; but at this point long after their initial experiences with the Lord (whether or not they were part of the 70 going out 2 by 2 doing deliverance and healing); perhaps they were too used to being around the Lord or too comortable to go out themselves to do this work on a consistent basis. Lack of faith certainly could be tied into lack of prayer as I once again remind the readers that other than the discussion on how to pray ( Matthew 6) there are NO verses which show ANY prayer among the Apostles before the Resurrection; ZERO. Such preparatory prayer also would have kept them sensitive to the exhortations in verse 21 about fasting; at least on a routine basis. Sober words for us all.
Once again in verse 22 Christ warns of His imminent death and again great sorrow as a reaction
Jesus met with Moses and Elijah who discussed His coming death (see Luke 9:31). Peter, James and John were the three that came up with Him as I mentioned earlier ( Matthew 17:1). Verse 12 indicates that Elijah had come already as a type of forerunner in the spirit or likeness as it were of John the Baptist (verse 13).
Elijah must come first before Christ returns the second time (verses 10-11; see Malachi 4:5-6). This seems to make certain that he is one of the two prophets mentioned in Revelation 11. I would argue strongly against Moses since scripture indicates he died ( Deut. 34:7) and personally my view is that the verse Hebrews 9:27 that would indicate to me that Enoch is the second prophet.
Restoring all things in the middle of the Tribulation would tie in with Romans 14 in that "all Israel will be saved". ( Romans 11:26). In one sense it is hard to fathom the invincibility and power of the two prophets that end up being killed but makes sense in light of the claim of the Beast in Revelation 13; in that those who tormented the whole earth will be killed; and this will make Antichrist seem to be superior along with his apparent resurrection. I won't get further into that for now.
Matthew 16:27-28 seems to indicate the transfiguration; but full Preterists seem to think that means Christ would return by 70 AD and somehow is here physically but hidden in plain sight. Again I won't go in length on that but will say if He is here physically it makes His claims of returning as lightning from the east to the west ( Matt. 24:27) and Revelation 19 seem to be rather insignificant not to mention the control on the insanity in the world at present would be questionable.
His countenance as the sun reminds us of John's vision in Revelation 1. We can ponder on His humanity in verse 7 when He says do not be afraid. Again this revelation He wanted kept from public domain (verse 9). Nothing was to stop His upcoming death
Matthew 17:21: "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
Matthew 18:11: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
Matthew 23:14: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
Mark 7:16: "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
Mark 9:44: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:46: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 11:26: "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Mark 15:28: "And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors."
Luke 17:36: "Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
John 5:4: "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Acts 8:37: "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."
Acts 15:34: "Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still."
Acts 24:7: "But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,"
Acts 28:29: "And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves."
Romans 16:24: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
I John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
In Revelation 6:9-11, John is shown a vision of the souls of those who were slain for the word of God, the altar symbolizes the place of sacrifice and martyrdom, they are told to rest until their fellow servants are killed in the same way. This is a vision, as we see many in Revelation, it does not depict literal people's souls under the altar.
Another vision shown to Peter, James, and John on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured before them, Matthew 17:1-9. Jesus is the firstfruits of them that slept, and this is before Jesus was crucified. If Moses and Elijah/Elias were physically there, Jesus would not be the firstborn from the dead. Jesus told them not to tell this vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. The Greek word for vision is horama, the term horama refers to a supernatural vision or sight, often given by God to convey a message or revelation.
Jesus as a preacher possible had a job as a carpenter with His stepfather Joseph.
Matthew 13:55
Is not this thecarpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Jesus as a preacher does not believe in a church to sell goods for profit.
Matthew 21:12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of themoneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Jesus as a preacher also paid his taxes .
Matthew 17:24-27
24And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
25He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
27Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Hi again Fuji. 1 Thessalonians 2:19. This ties in with 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come". And then to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.
When we place all these Scriptures together, considering that Paul was addressing the same matter in the one epistle, we can learn that he is speaking about the coming of the Lord. The believers are not only to wait expectantly for the Lord's Coming, but to be careful in their Christian living until that day - that day when they would be transformed & forever to be with their Lord.
But what happens if Paul (or us) die first, before Jesus comes? Though our bodies lie in the grave (or, not even exist in any substantial form), our spirits do return to God Who gave it ( Ecclesiastes 12:7). And we read of people alive beyond the grave ( Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 17:1-3 as examples). But when Jesus returns in the clouds for us, the dead (believers' bodies) arise first to meet him in the air, & those believers still alive will be caught up (Latin, rapio (rapture); Greek, Harpazo) to join the others in this great moment of joy & fulfilment of our hopes & longings to be with our Savior forever. To this end, Paul (in 1 Thessalonians 2:19), is stating that when Jesus comes, he (Paul) will personally rejoice greatly to see his beloved Thessalonian believers also come into Christ's Presence, as his crown for his labors amongst them. Onto Page 2.
Hello Redray12. That's a great question that we all have probably given some serious thought. Unfortunately, there isn't a specific verse or teaching to answer that question completely. However, my sense is that there will be recognition of loved ones & others in Heaven.
And a couple of Scriptures to support this could be Matthew 17:1-3: the account of Moses & Elijah, now long dead, appeared with Jesus on the mount. Clearly, these men of old were recognizable & no doubt the whole scene of a transfigured Jesus & the faces & voices of these venerable men, would have held the disciples there in great awe & wonder.
And then we have Luke 16:19-31, where Jesus gives this account of Lazarus at Abraham's side & the rich man in great pain in Hades. The point being, that Jesus states that each of these men were able to see each other in the after-life, recognizing who they were, & also plead for help. Yet, there certainly is much mystery surrounding these revelations; for which we are not given any further information.
Scripture indicates that Jesus will suffer, as the scripture says...
"But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them." Matthew 17:12 KJV
...and believers will suffer also, Jesus is an example to the believer on how to endure suffering and stay in the will of God. God orchestras the test and trials for the believers good. Although suffering is part of making of a believer other believer shouldn't take it upon themselves to cause others to suffer...
"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Romans 14:13 KJV
1-And I saw another sign in heaven,great and marvellous,7 angels having the 7 last PLAGUES;for in THEM is filled up the WRATH of GOD->(Re.11:18&16:1)
4-Who shall not fear thee,O Lord,and glorify thy name?thou only art holy: ...and thy Judgments are made manifest.
Then the PLAGUES start to be poured, its in the beginning of the 2nd half of the last week: Revelation 16:2: The FIRST PLAGUE will be poured upon the earth; upon the inhabitants of Israel, and there will fall a noisome and grievous sore upon all MEN which have the MARK of the Beast, and upon them which worshipp his image.
And the 2nd plague will be poured upon the sea;-->sea= waters=> peoples, and NATIONS, and multitudes of every tongue, GENTILE PEOPLES, and they will become as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul(that was created, Genesis 2:7) shall die.-->As was in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the neighbouring cities.
The sequence of the pragues and their consequences are described from Revelation 16:4 to 21.Terrible,very terrible, as we can foreseen by the Word of GOD.JESUS warned us: Luke 21:25-28:-->25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars( Revelation 12:1-12, take a look.); and upon the Earth distress of NATIONS, with perplexity;the sea(peoples, and NATIONS, and multitudes of all tongues)and the waves roaring( Psalm 2:1-5);
26Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of heaven ( Ephesians 1:3-8) shall be shaken.
27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.(the same cloud that received JESUS in His ascension- Acts 1:9-11,combined with Matthew 17:5,and 2 Peter 1:16-12,and Isaiah 4:1-6 speaking of the seven Churches as a clue to understand the prophecies).
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Matthew 17:19 - Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
The word could is the word ability in the Greek text. Why did we not have the ability, the capacity?
Matthew 17:20 - And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Notice this because in the Greek it is literally "You are without faith." It specifically says you have none.
Matthew 17:21 - Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Just general information to share about Verse 21. If you are into following manuscripts, it is an addition. It is not in some manuscripts. But it actually describes what Jesus said about praying.
Matthew 17:23 - And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
The word sorry is the word LUPAY, that means grief. They were exceedingly grieved. Remember before Peter rebuked Him when he said it. There's a difference between being sorry and being grieved!
Matthew 17:27 - Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Again, offend (which I previously shared) is the word SCANDALON, or SCANDALIDZO, lest we be the rock that they trip over in coming to the truth.
Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Now the word deny (ARNEOMAI), means to reject. This is what it means in the Greek. The word deny seems a little soft. It means to reject yourself.
Matthew 17:2 - And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
A more accurate word would be transformed rather than transfigured. In fact, it is the Greek where we get our English word metamorphosis from. He was completely changed in form and in substance. He was transformed before them.
Matthew 17:6 - And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
In my humble opinion, the translators could have saved us some time here. Sore is from the word SFODRA that means exceedingly. They were terrified!
Matthew 17:15 - Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
I love the way these people come. They are asking for mercy. They are asking for compassion. They are not demanding it. For he is a lunatick. That is the Greek word for "moon-struck." Our term lunatic comes from lunar. There are people who suffer, or have behavioral times, or phases, based on the various phases of the moon. That is where the term lunatic, "acting like a lunatic" comes from, Lunar.
Matthew 17:17 - Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Faithless means completely without faith. They were not lacking faith. They had none! The word "suffer" means to uphold or support. How long am I going to be around you? How long am I going to be the one that's supporting you, and you keep going to other people?
In this chapter we see Jesus once again referring to His upcoming death burial and resurrection and the extreme sadness it caused the Disciples. We could see 3 reasons for this sudden interruption in the narrative and story for Jesus to say this:
1) The distraction of the events thus far of what was already most of Jesus' earthly ministry would make the Disciples complacent in thinking this would go on for many more years.
2) The main goal and focus was on His sacrifice for the sins of man to be accomplished on Calvary. Only at that point could men be able to enter heaven immediately upon death; whereas before they would have to be in Sheol (in the pleasant side).
3). In His departure; they would be the ones to continue to carry out the ministry through leadership after the Spirit came down at Pentecost and changed them. They would have to be stripped of all their confidence and all die a martyrs death exept for John. None of them would be ready when Jesus was arrested as they all ran away along with Peter. Only the Lord would get them through that.
In all honesty it is hard here just as it is contemplating what He said in Gethsemane as to the weakness of their flesh and their falling asleep due again to sorrow. God assures us that every tear is known ( Psalm 56:8). No doubt in eternity there will be reward for suffering in faith; we have consolation in what the world can't have. We have to believe that even in our own martryrdom if it comes to that or natural death is to glorify Christ and there are rewards for martyrs ( James 1:12). Paul also was given a reaction of great sorrow when he announced his imprisonment ( Acts 21:10-14). It would appear his death came at a much later date but Paul always focused on ministry and looked forward to being with the Lord; no wonder after the brutality he had to endure on and off for years in various imprisonments beforehand. He knew when his departure was near ( 2 Tim. 4) and Peter as well ( 2 Peter 1:12
Walking in the Spirit-Study on how to see the Lord in others
Let us focus again on the Matthew 16 passage. 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
I am hammering home this concept because it is paramount in understanding who the Lord is; and needed to be understood if anyone is to grow as a true Disciple. Let us examine several problems here. The first problem would be considering that somehow the soul of one of these three prophets was living inside Christ which seems to be the concept here; a sort of "reincarnation"; except for the case of John the Baptist who it appears Herod thought had repossessed Christ after having him killed ( Matthew 14:1-2). The concept of the Holy Ghost manifesting in someone as He did with someone else isn't entirely wrong or unscriptural; we see for instance Elisha having a double portion of the Spirit that Elijah had ( 2 Kings 2:9). John the Baptist also was like Elijah in a way ( Matthew 17:12). This correct analogy of course is NOT what people are saying. This fits in also to those who would call Him teacher or Rabbi. Luke 16:15 warns us that what is honorable among men is an abomination to God. Names and titles mean nothing; neither does human pride. Let us once again examine this concept of exaltation of Pastors.
The easy point to make here is that we should never put men on a pedestal; or substitute worship for God alone to a man.
This doesn't change the fact that we should seek examples to emulate; as it is essential for discipleship.
My last two posts were a general look at accuracy of historical and more recent information as seen through the media and historical accounts. A realistic view of the Bible sees it set apart as having all things necessary for instruction; rebuke; etc as 2 Timothy 3:16 states. We often use other sources such as Foxe's Book of Martyrs to fill in the details; and most of us have the idea that all but one of the original Apostles was martyred. The scripture only mentions James the brother of John killed in Acts 12:2. We can assess from the writings of Paul that he knew his time of departure was at hand; but Acts 28 stops short of his martyrdom. From Christ's words to Peter in John 21:18 as to his fate of martyrdom as well. Whether John in Revelation was boiled in oil unsuccessfully before his Patmos exile is not as far as I know proven.
Often we CAN read into what is not said in scripture. Jesus was basically left out of anything but a bare bones description of his time before His minstry began after John the Baptist baptised Him. I would imagine he was perfect in being a carpenter and all that it entailed but we just need to understand that He fulfilled the law perfectly in His life and ultimately His death.
When we look at Christ's personal prayer life in particular; we see that He knew the importance of withdrawing before certain events and praying all night at times; as He did before picking the Disciples; as well as fasting and prayer which He likely did both practices before upbraiding those who didn't remain proactive in general to be spiritually strong at the casting out of the demon in Matthew 17:21. We don't see ANY indication that any of the Apostles or Disciples prayed before the Resurrection. It doesn't prove it didn't happen but certainly indicates it was probably very deficient.
The Bible clearly does NOT put people but God on display. Even mourning for Moses had to end ( Joshua 1:2).
What is the commandment of God now in the new testament? Not the ten commandments the law of Moses. It is now in Christ Jesus as God turned the show over to his Son Jesus Christ. The law of spirit of life.
Matthew 17:5] While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Matthew 28:18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
2nd Cor 1:19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
[20] For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Jesus now owns the show. What Paul is talking about in 1st Cor 7:19 circumcision or uncircumcision means nothing any more in the new testament, we are now circumcised in heart and no longer an outward appearence. You are still trying to preach a Jesus that is born of Mary as if he is still here. My Jrsus we know more after the flesh as it is not an outward appearance but an inward one. Your glorifying in appearance and not in the heart
2nd Cor 5:12] For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
Circumcision or uncircumcision don't matter in the new testament we are one in Christ.
Col 3:[9] Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
[10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
[11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
The Commandments of Jesus = his words of spirit and life John 6:63. Get out of the old and into the new as old things has passed away and all things have become new.
Don't know where you get your teaching Elijiah serves as a double for the Son. Not bible. John the Baptist had the sane spirit as Elijiah which means he had the same words. Elijiah himself did not come down to John the Baptist, John had the same spirit as Elijiah. Elijiah visited Jesus and he will be coming back with Moses according to Revelation 11:6. Elijiah did not physically serve as a double for Jesus. That is like saying your earthly mother is serving as a double for your sister. It don't work that way. Samething in the bible. It is the spirit of words Elijiah that people had and not his person.
Rev 11:6] These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Malachi 4:5] Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Matthew 17:10] And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
[11] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
[12] But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
[13] Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Mark 9:4] And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
[5] And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
[6] For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
[7] And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
The most important thing is what JESUS said: Luke 20:35-36
35 But they which shall be accounted WORTHY to obtain that world (next world-the Kingdom of GOD- Revelation 11:15-18, among other biblical references), and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are EQUAL unto the ANGELS; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Revelation 5:10
10 And hast made us unto our GOD kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Matthew 5:5
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Act 1:9-11
9 And when JESUS had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a CLOUD received Him out of their sight. ( Matthew 17:5-5 While JESUS yet spake, behold, a bright CLOUD overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." ( 2 Cor. 7:10).
Hebrews 6:4-9
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Perhaps the second set of verses from Hebrews helps to explain the first passage. In some sense; the wicked wish to turn away from all they have been enlightened with which in some sense explains why they can't be renewed into repentance since they have decided with all the evidence given to turn back to their sins. They have in some sense repented from committing to God and turned back to the world; flesh and the Devil being ashamed of what they consider foolish ways of ignorance apart from their own wisdom. Whether repentance can mean turning from God back to wickedness may be questionable; what is scary here is that much like Lucifer all the evidences of God's glory is seen and because of pride is rejected. As Jesus Himself said in John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. WE MUST NOT BE ASHAMED OF GOD'S METHOD to be admitted into heaven; it is the narrow way to life that must be followed ( Matthew 17:13-14). More in next post.
Thank you for your reply. I will first point out where the holy bible doesn't agree with you. As we all understand Christ required faith in order to Heal people Matthew 17:20 KJV, so in essence it was peoples Faith that allowed Christ to heal. Yet, Christ is merciful whereas the law is unmerciful, so Christ understanding that it isn't about "all or nothing" concerning matters of faith therefore Christ requires only a "mustard seed" of faith (i.e. something that will grow into great faith!) Therefore, Christ gives this example: "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23 KJV And the man whom Christ was talking to admitted something very Profound: "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark 9:24 KJV Then Christ cast out the demon. You see Bennymkje, if what you say is true then any unbelief wouldn't allow Christ to heal someone, yet God is merciful because sometimes The Journey is just as important as The Destination. Remember Grace, for we are under Grace Today, while it is still Today!
If you've never been through the book of Revelation before, you might be interested in knowing that the study of the introduction to the book of Revelation is a study in and of itself.
It could take several long posts to go over everything, so what I have done is excerpted out some of the main points.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The Apostle John. The Apostle John is not John the Baptist.
The Apostle John is mentioned five times in the Book of Revelation: 1:1; 1:4; 1:9; 21:2; 22:8.
The Apostle John had a brother by the name of James. They were known as the sons of Zebedee, found in Matthew 10:2-4.
Jesus gave them the name "The sons of thunder," recorded in Mark 3:17. They always wanted to call fire down from heaven and consume people if they didn't want anything to do with the Lord. There's a lot of "sons of thunder" in the church today!
John, Peter, and James were the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus, and spent many special times with the Lord, Matthew 17:1; 26:37.
The Apostle John was the only original apostle not to die a martyr's death.
What is interesting, in association with the book of Revelation, is that tradition says that around 86 A.D., they tried to execute John by dipping him in burning oil. And after they pulled him out, nothing was wrong with him. And they figured that they couldn't kill him, so they decided to exile him off onto the island of Patmos.
"... for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." ( Matthew 17:20)
What is the characteristic of the grain of the mustard seed?
"31Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." ( Matthew 13:30-31)
Sometimes faith as little as a mustard grain which is the least of all seeds is all we need. But when it is placed in a good field (good heart) then it is grown and becomes a big tree.
Let us trust the written Word of God. Could God ever lie? He gave the command and the universe was created out of nothing. How difficult is it for Him to give the command and your illness goes away? The universe obeys Him, but not your illness?
"7Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?10Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (Natthew 7-11)
Have a blessed week.
Matthew 19:26
"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."
Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Blessings
Your quoting 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 is particularly clear. You have shared that these verses apply to the time of the resurrection of our dead bodies. But as I read it, Paul is essentially telling us that if we are alive ("at home in the body"), we are not in the Lord's presence ("absent from the Lord"). We can only be alive or dead; if alive, our spirit within us gives us life; if dead, our spirit departs our bodies that causes death.
So Paul is "groaning" over this matter, longing for departure from this life that he might be with his Lord. There isn't any intermediate state or any length of time in Paul's writing between death and life - it speaks of one or the other: either we are alive with our spirit or dead without the spirit. We can't be dead with our spirit in-house, and awaiting the resurrection. Or, we could even ask, 'why would Paul even want to depart this life and then remain in the grave for an indeterminate length of time?' His longing was to be with Jesus immediately upon his death, thus he looked forward to it.
To your answer to your question: "when will we be absent from this body?" this is at the resurrection; my understanding (as given above) is 'our absence from this body is at our death'. Every blessing.
Psalms 104:34
"My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD
In the time of sadness, we can always be glad we have GOD.
Amen!!!
Psalms 64:10
"The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory."
"Lord, help my unbelief,". Mark 9:24
This morning I heard some one say that
" honest doubt is better than fake faith.
Mark 9:24
"And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."
Matthew 17:20
"And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."
Just wanted to share this thought.
Thanks for reading. Be blessed.
In uncertainty:
Luke 1:17 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.
Matthew 17:16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
Matthew 26:40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Safe and Sound:
1 Cor 5:5 Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
Eph 4:12-13 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Eph 3:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
So dear everyone, these are all trustworthy words, believe it and live it. He has so much to show us, and so much we have to live for. When we see this, all Scripture becomes manifest. Trust the Word. A few words on a sunny Sunday morning. Have a good day everyone in Jesus Christ name!
This section involves the religious rulers in the first of 3 attempts to trap Jesus. Verse 16 states "Teacher," they said, "we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.
Sounds like a compliment but the idea was for Jesus to say something that could allow them to accuse Him of. Caesar's tax was something that could get the Romans to pursue Jesus if He stated that it wasn't necessary to pay it. We are reminded somewhat of His comments in Matthew 17:27 where Jesus asked Peter to fish a coin out the mouth of a fish so as not to insult the person asking for tribute tax. Is it possible someone heard Him and the response to Peter? At any rate if He said that it should be paid then the Pharisees and others would be upset since they hated the Romans and for the bigger reason; no doubt that they were covetous for everything they could get their hands on. Jesus simply stated to pay what is obligated to both.
This situation could be extrapolated to those today who wish to circumvent the law of the land in not paying taxes. There are taxes also which allow one to live in many Muslim nations which no doubt are unjust but it beats death; at least premature to God's timing in being a witness for Christ. My point would be that unjust subjugation isn't the issue; but unjust use of money collected if directly going against Scripture is an issue. That is not something I am going to pursue further here.
Test #2 Matthew 22: 23-32, crowd response verse 33
The Pharisees used the Herodians to test Christ; in this case we had the Sadducees who didn't believe in a Resurrection asking a question about that very subject regarding whose wife someone would have if a woman married seven times and each husband died before she did. Whatever their aim; the Resurrection was justified along with an explanation of a heavenly body
My own understanding: is that Jesus was instructing His disciples of what would be a foretaste of the coming Kingdom of God. Soon after (within a week or so), three of Jesus' disciples saw Jesus transfigured (or, transformed) revealing His Glory ( Matthew 17:1,2; Luke 9:28,29); that Glory which He would receive back after laying it aside for humanity's sake ( Philippians 2:5-9). That would have been the first taste given to His disciples of the coming Kingdom of God.
Then of course, through His Death, Resurrection & Ascension into Heaven, the disciples had further confirmation of both the Truth of Jesus' Words (while He taught them) and the institution of God's Kingdom. It is true, that what we would normally understand and expect of the Kingdom of God (i.e. when Jesus returns to the World in His second Coming) didn't happen then as it hasn't happened till now, we can still see that His disciples were given a foretaste of that coming Kingdom which would never end until Christ comes - and beyond.
They saw His Glory at the mount, they were witnesses of His resurrection ( Luke 24:24-40), and they were witnesses of His Ascension ( Luke 24:50-53). And the disciples (and also to all those who love the Lord Jesus & would serve Him), would receive power to live the Christ-centered, Christ-crucified life, declaring to all that truly God had now visited sinful man & offered him so great salvation through His Son. Yes, the Kingdom of God is potentially within all mankind ( Luke 17:20,21), where, even if those unbelieving Pharisees would only put their faith in Jesus, the reality of the God's Kingdom could also be theirs when God would do a new work in them ( Ezekiel 11:19,20). GBU.
This seemingly insignificant tale of Peter finding a fish with a coin in it to pay for his and Jesus' expected tax (other versions say 4 Drachma coin; so it covers for 2 each due) surely has some meaning. The point Jesus brings up is for the children to make others pay tribute; in some "token" if I can use the pun true children of God shouldn't be subject to others but others subject to them.
Christ shows in His humanity that insulting someone should be avoided at all costs so greater good can be accomplished.
Matthew 22:15-22 discusses rendering to Caesar what is owed and to God the same. This shows again the same theme that we can also extend to Romans 13:7 for the church. This isn't a subject I will go into in great length here; I will say in short it is the exception rather than the rule when situations arise which we must take a stand for God and against the rules of men; particularly as Acts 5:29 illustrates when told to keep our mouths shut about Christ.
From here on several things are apparent. The miracles Christ was doing are shut down; except for the healing of the blind mentioned in Matthew 20:29-34. Secondly Jesus spoke almost exclusively in Parables at this point and third His greatest excoriation of the Pharisees was about to commence and this takes up the entire chapter 23 of Matthew.
Jesus was basically in his last weeks at this point which takes up about a third of the Gospels as far as I know (my estimate).
It reminds me in a strange way of Revelation as the final judgments seem to take the same space or more than the first but encompass weeks or maybe a few months at most. Our Lord had to focus on the Disciples knowing they would abandon Him and need to have strength to continue until Pentecost after the shock of the death of Christ who they had communed with and been shepherded by for several years. Surely Jesus didn't minimalize their grief but showed them it was for their greater good to die
Old English isn't exactly subtle in its verbage; but it fills the bill; so to speak. Jesus gives a rebuke in verse 17 which reads starting from verse 16
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
The context here vaguely suggests the overall faithlessness of this man or perhaps the fact that others by this time weren't doing deliverance; or possibly a slightly stronger indication that Israel as a whole was still faithless and full of wicked unbelief.
It seems directed to the Disciples as we see in verse 19-21
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
21 Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
It must have been stunning to be accused of unbelief; but at this point long after their initial experiences with the Lord (whether or not they were part of the 70 going out 2 by 2 doing deliverance and healing); perhaps they were too used to being around the Lord or too comortable to go out themselves to do this work on a consistent basis. Lack of faith certainly could be tied into lack of prayer as I once again remind the readers that other than the discussion on how to pray ( Matthew 6) there are NO verses which show ANY prayer among the Apostles before the Resurrection; ZERO. Such preparatory prayer also would have kept them sensitive to the exhortations in verse 21 about fasting; at least on a routine basis. Sober words for us all.
Once again in verse 22 Christ warns of His imminent death and again great sorrow as a reaction
Jesus met with Moses and Elijah who discussed His coming death (see Luke 9:31). Peter, James and John were the three that came up with Him as I mentioned earlier ( Matthew 17:1). Verse 12 indicates that Elijah had come already as a type of forerunner in the spirit or likeness as it were of John the Baptist (verse 13).
Elijah must come first before Christ returns the second time (verses 10-11; see Malachi 4:5-6). This seems to make certain that he is one of the two prophets mentioned in Revelation 11. I would argue strongly against Moses since scripture indicates he died ( Deut. 34:7) and personally my view is that the verse Hebrews 9:27 that would indicate to me that Enoch is the second prophet.
Restoring all things in the middle of the Tribulation would tie in with Romans 14 in that "all Israel will be saved". ( Romans 11:26). In one sense it is hard to fathom the invincibility and power of the two prophets that end up being killed but makes sense in light of the claim of the Beast in Revelation 13; in that those who tormented the whole earth will be killed; and this will make Antichrist seem to be superior along with his apparent resurrection. I won't get further into that for now.
Matthew 16:27-28 seems to indicate the transfiguration; but full Preterists seem to think that means Christ would return by 70 AD and somehow is here physically but hidden in plain sight. Again I won't go in length on that but will say if He is here physically it makes His claims of returning as lightning from the east to the west ( Matt. 24:27) and Revelation 19 seem to be rather insignificant not to mention the control on the insanity in the world at present would be questionable.
His countenance as the sun reminds us of John's vision in Revelation 1. We can ponder on His humanity in verse 7 when He says do not be afraid. Again this revelation He wanted kept from public domain (verse 9). Nothing was to stop His upcoming death
Matthew 17:21: "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting."
Matthew 18:11: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost."
Matthew 23:14: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation."
Mark 7:16: "If any man have ears to hear, let him hear."
Mark 9:44: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 9:46: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."
Mark 11:26: "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
Mark 15:28: "And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors."
Luke 17:36: "Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left."
John 5:4: "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had."
Acts 8:37: "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."
Acts 15:34: "Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still."
Acts 24:7: "But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,"
Acts 28:29: "And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves."
Romans 16:24: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."
I John 5:7: "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Part 5
In Revelation 6:9-11, John is shown a vision of the souls of those who were slain for the word of God, the altar symbolizes the place of sacrifice and martyrdom, they are told to rest until their fellow servants are killed in the same way. This is a vision, as we see many in Revelation, it does not depict literal people's souls under the altar.
Another vision shown to Peter, James, and John on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured before them, Matthew 17:1-9. Jesus is the firstfruits of them that slept, and this is before Jesus was crucified. If Moses and Elijah/Elias were physically there, Jesus would not be the firstborn from the dead. Jesus told them not to tell this vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. The Greek word for vision is horama, the term horama refers to a supernatural vision or sight, often given by God to convey a message or revelation.
God bless,
RLW
Jesus as a preacher possible had a job as a carpenter with His stepfather Joseph.
Matthew 13:55
Is not this thecarpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
Jesus as a preacher does not believe in a church to sell goods for profit.
Matthew 21:12
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of themoneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
Jesus as a preacher also paid his taxes .
Matthew 17:24-27
24And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?
25He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
27Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Ray, in Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 15:1-4
The gospel of grace has no payroll, it's free.
Hi again Fuji. 1 Thessalonians 2:19. This ties in with 1 Thessalonians 1:10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come". And then to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10.
When we place all these Scriptures together, considering that Paul was addressing the same matter in the one epistle, we can learn that he is speaking about the coming of the Lord. The believers are not only to wait expectantly for the Lord's Coming, but to be careful in their Christian living until that day - that day when they would be transformed & forever to be with their Lord.
But what happens if Paul (or us) die first, before Jesus comes? Though our bodies lie in the grave (or, not even exist in any substantial form), our spirits do return to God Who gave it ( Ecclesiastes 12:7). And we read of people alive beyond the grave ( Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 17:1-3 as examples). But when Jesus returns in the clouds for us, the dead (believers' bodies) arise first to meet him in the air, & those believers still alive will be caught up (Latin, rapio (rapture); Greek, Harpazo) to join the others in this great moment of joy & fulfilment of our hopes & longings to be with our Savior forever. To this end, Paul (in 1 Thessalonians 2:19), is stating that when Jesus comes, he (Paul) will personally rejoice greatly to see his beloved Thessalonian believers also come into Christ's Presence, as his crown for his labors amongst them. Onto Page 2.
And a couple of Scriptures to support this could be Matthew 17:1-3: the account of Moses & Elijah, now long dead, appeared with Jesus on the mount. Clearly, these men of old were recognizable & no doubt the whole scene of a transfigured Jesus & the faces & voices of these venerable men, would have held the disciples there in great awe & wonder.
And then we have Luke 16:19-31, where Jesus gives this account of Lazarus at Abraham's side & the rich man in great pain in Hades. The point being, that Jesus states that each of these men were able to see each other in the after-life, recognizing who they were, & also plead for help. Yet, there certainly is much mystery surrounding these revelations; for which we are not given any further information.
"But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them." Matthew 17:12 KJV
...and believers will suffer also, Jesus is an example to the believer on how to endure suffering and stay in the will of God. God orchestras the test and trials for the believers good. Although suffering is part of making of a believer other believer shouldn't take it upon themselves to cause others to suffer...
"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Romans 14:13 KJV
John saw: Revelation 15:1-8:
1-And I saw another sign in heaven,great and marvellous,7 angels having the 7 last PLAGUES;for in THEM is filled up the WRATH of GOD->(Re.11:18&16:1)
4-Who shall not fear thee,O Lord,and glorify thy name?thou only art holy: ...and thy Judgments are made manifest.
Then the PLAGUES start to be poured, its in the beginning of the 2nd half of the last week: Revelation 16:2: The FIRST PLAGUE will be poured upon the earth; upon the inhabitants of Israel, and there will fall a noisome and grievous sore upon all MEN which have the MARK of the Beast, and upon them which worshipp his image.
And the 2nd plague will be poured upon the sea;-->sea= waters=> peoples, and NATIONS, and multitudes of every tongue, GENTILE PEOPLES, and they will become as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul(that was created, Genesis 2:7) shall die.-->As was in Sodom and Gomorrah, and in the neighbouring cities.
The sequence of the pragues and their consequences are described from Revelation 16:4 to 21.Terrible,very terrible, as we can foreseen by the Word of GOD.JESUS warned us: Luke 21:25-28:-->25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars( Revelation 12:1-12, take a look.); and upon the Earth distress of NATIONS, with perplexity;the sea(peoples, and NATIONS, and multitudes of all tongues)and the waves roaring( Psalm 2:1-5);
26Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the Earth: for the powers of heaven ( Ephesians 1:3-8) shall be shaken.
27And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.(the same cloud that received JESUS in His ascension- Acts 1:9-11,combined with Matthew 17:5,and 2 Peter 1:16-12,and Isaiah 4:1-6 speaking of the seven Churches as a clue to understand the prophecies).
28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
Get ready
Matthew 17:19 - Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
The word could is the word ability in the Greek text. Why did we not have the ability, the capacity?
Matthew 17:20 - And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
Notice this because in the Greek it is literally "You are without faith." It specifically says you have none.
Matthew 17:21 - Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
Just general information to share about Verse 21. If you are into following manuscripts, it is an addition. It is not in some manuscripts. But it actually describes what Jesus said about praying.
Matthew 17:23 - And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.
The word sorry is the word LUPAY, that means grief. They were exceedingly grieved. Remember before Peter rebuked Him when he said it. There's a difference between being sorry and being grieved!
Matthew 17:27 - Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Again, offend (which I previously shared) is the word SCANDALON, or SCANDALIDZO, lest we be the rock that they trip over in coming to the truth.
Continuation in Matthew, (Part 20):
Matthew 16:24 - Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Now the word deny (ARNEOMAI), means to reject. This is what it means in the Greek. The word deny seems a little soft. It means to reject yourself.
Matthew 17:2 - And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
A more accurate word would be transformed rather than transfigured. In fact, it is the Greek where we get our English word metamorphosis from. He was completely changed in form and in substance. He was transformed before them.
Matthew 17:6 - And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
In my humble opinion, the translators could have saved us some time here. Sore is from the word SFODRA that means exceedingly. They were terrified!
Matthew 17:15 - Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
I love the way these people come. They are asking for mercy. They are asking for compassion. They are not demanding it. For he is a lunatick. That is the Greek word for "moon-struck." Our term lunatic comes from lunar. There are people who suffer, or have behavioral times, or phases, based on the various phases of the moon. That is where the term lunatic, "acting like a lunatic" comes from, Lunar.
Matthew 17:17 - Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
Faithless means completely without faith. They were not lacking faith. They had none! The word "suffer" means to uphold or support. How long am I going to be around you? How long am I going to be the one that's supporting you, and you keep going to other people?
1) The distraction of the events thus far of what was already most of Jesus' earthly ministry would make the Disciples complacent in thinking this would go on for many more years.
2) The main goal and focus was on His sacrifice for the sins of man to be accomplished on Calvary. Only at that point could men be able to enter heaven immediately upon death; whereas before they would have to be in Sheol (in the pleasant side).
3). In His departure; they would be the ones to continue to carry out the ministry through leadership after the Spirit came down at Pentecost and changed them. They would have to be stripped of all their confidence and all die a martyrs death exept for John. None of them would be ready when Jesus was arrested as they all ran away along with Peter. Only the Lord would get them through that.
In all honesty it is hard here just as it is contemplating what He said in Gethsemane as to the weakness of their flesh and their falling asleep due again to sorrow. God assures us that every tear is known ( Psalm 56:8). No doubt in eternity there will be reward for suffering in faith; we have consolation in what the world can't have. We have to believe that even in our own martryrdom if it comes to that or natural death is to glorify Christ and there are rewards for martyrs ( James 1:12). Paul also was given a reaction of great sorrow when he announced his imprisonment ( Acts 21:10-14). It would appear his death came at a much later date but Paul always focused on ministry and looked forward to being with the Lord; no wonder after the brutality he had to endure on and off for years in various imprisonments beforehand. He knew when his departure was near ( 2 Tim. 4) and Peter as well ( 2 Peter 1:12
Let us focus again on the Matthew 16 passage. 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?"
14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17 Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
I am hammering home this concept because it is paramount in understanding who the Lord is; and needed to be understood if anyone is to grow as a true Disciple. Let us examine several problems here. The first problem would be considering that somehow the soul of one of these three prophets was living inside Christ which seems to be the concept here; a sort of "reincarnation"; except for the case of John the Baptist who it appears Herod thought had repossessed Christ after having him killed ( Matthew 14:1-2). The concept of the Holy Ghost manifesting in someone as He did with someone else isn't entirely wrong or unscriptural; we see for instance Elisha having a double portion of the Spirit that Elijah had ( 2 Kings 2:9). John the Baptist also was like Elijah in a way ( Matthew 17:12). This correct analogy of course is NOT what people are saying. This fits in also to those who would call Him teacher or Rabbi. Luke 16:15 warns us that what is honorable among men is an abomination to God. Names and titles mean nothing; neither does human pride. Let us once again examine this concept of exaltation of Pastors.
The easy point to make here is that we should never put men on a pedestal; or substitute worship for God alone to a man.
This doesn't change the fact that we should seek examples to emulate; as it is essential for discipleship.
My last two posts were a general look at accuracy of historical and more recent information as seen through the media and historical accounts. A realistic view of the Bible sees it set apart as having all things necessary for instruction; rebuke; etc as 2 Timothy 3:16 states. We often use other sources such as Foxe's Book of Martyrs to fill in the details; and most of us have the idea that all but one of the original Apostles was martyred. The scripture only mentions James the brother of John killed in Acts 12:2. We can assess from the writings of Paul that he knew his time of departure was at hand; but Acts 28 stops short of his martyrdom. From Christ's words to Peter in John 21:18 as to his fate of martyrdom as well. Whether John in Revelation was boiled in oil unsuccessfully before his Patmos exile is not as far as I know proven.
Often we CAN read into what is not said in scripture. Jesus was basically left out of anything but a bare bones description of his time before His minstry began after John the Baptist baptised Him. I would imagine he was perfect in being a carpenter and all that it entailed but we just need to understand that He fulfilled the law perfectly in His life and ultimately His death.
When we look at Christ's personal prayer life in particular; we see that He knew the importance of withdrawing before certain events and praying all night at times; as He did before picking the Disciples; as well as fasting and prayer which He likely did both practices before upbraiding those who didn't remain proactive in general to be spiritually strong at the casting out of the demon in Matthew 17:21. We don't see ANY indication that any of the Apostles or Disciples prayed before the Resurrection. It doesn't prove it didn't happen but certainly indicates it was probably very deficient.
The Bible clearly does NOT put people but God on display. Even mourning for Moses had to end ( Joshua 1:2).
Matthew 17:5] While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
Matthew 28:18] And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
2nd Cor 1:19] For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
[20] For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Jesus now owns the show. What Paul is talking about in 1st Cor 7:19 circumcision or uncircumcision means nothing any more in the new testament, we are now circumcised in heart and no longer an outward appearence. You are still trying to preach a Jesus that is born of Mary as if he is still here. My Jrsus we know more after the flesh as it is not an outward appearance but an inward one. Your glorifying in appearance and not in the heart
2nd Cor 5:12] For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
Circumcision or uncircumcision don't matter in the new testament we are one in Christ.
Col 3:[9] Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
[10] And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
[11] Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
The Commandments of Jesus = his words of spirit and life John 6:63. Get out of the old and into the new as old things has passed away and all things have become new.
Rev 11:6] These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.
Malachi 4:5] Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
[6] And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
Matthew 17:10] And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?
[11] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things.
[12] But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them.
[13] Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.
Mark 9:4] And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
[5] And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
[6] For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
[7] And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
From Adam till the present, what is the SIN that separates man from God.
UNBELIEF
Adam didn't believe God's word.
National Israel didn't believe God's word.
Promised Israel today doesn't believe God's Word.
Paul was struggling with this same sin, UNBELIEF.
Romans 11:32 For God HATH concluded THEM ALL (including Paul) in UNBELIEF, that he may have MERCY ON ALL.
Proverbs 16:6 By MERCY and TRUTH iniquity (unbelief) is PURGED.
1 Timothy 1:13 Who (Paul) was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in UNBELIEF.
Romans 11:30 For YE in times past HAVE NOT BELIEVED GOD, yet have now obtained mercy because of their UNBELIEF.
Mark 9:24 .... Lord ....help thou my UNBELIEF .......
Matthew 17:20 ...because of your UNBELIEF .....
Every SIN is CAUSED by UNBELIEF.
God Bless YOU!
The most important thing is what JESUS said: Luke 20:35-36
35 But they which shall be accounted WORTHY to obtain that world (next world-the Kingdom of GOD- Revelation 11:15-18, among other biblical references), and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die any more: for they are EQUAL unto the ANGELS; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.
Revelation 5:10
10 And hast made us unto our GOD kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Matthew 5:5
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Act 1:9-11
9 And when JESUS had spoken these things, while they beheld, He was taken up; and a CLOUD received Him out of their sight. ( Matthew 17:5-5 While JESUS yet spake, behold, a bright CLOUD overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? 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.
"For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." ( 2 Cor. 7:10).
Hebrews 6:4-9
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come 6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Perhaps the second set of verses from Hebrews helps to explain the first passage. In some sense; the wicked wish to turn away from all they have been enlightened with which in some sense explains why they can't be renewed into repentance since they have decided with all the evidence given to turn back to their sins. They have in some sense repented from committing to God and turned back to the world; flesh and the Devil being ashamed of what they consider foolish ways of ignorance apart from their own wisdom. Whether repentance can mean turning from God back to wickedness may be questionable; what is scary here is that much like Lucifer all the evidences of God's glory is seen and because of pride is rejected. As Jesus Himself said in John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. WE MUST NOT BE ASHAMED OF GOD'S METHOD to be admitted into heaven; it is the narrow way to life that must be followed ( Matthew 17:13-14). More in next post.
Thank you for your reply. I will first point out where the holy bible doesn't agree with you. As we all understand Christ required faith in order to Heal people Matthew 17:20 KJV, so in essence it was peoples Faith that allowed Christ to heal. Yet, Christ is merciful whereas the law is unmerciful, so Christ understanding that it isn't about "all or nothing" concerning matters of faith therefore Christ requires only a "mustard seed" of faith (i.e. something that will grow into great faith!) Therefore, Christ gives this example: "Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." Mark 9:23 KJV And the man whom Christ was talking to admitted something very Profound: "And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark 9:24 KJV Then Christ cast out the demon. You see Bennymkje, if what you say is true then any unbelief wouldn't allow Christ to heal someone, yet God is merciful because sometimes The Journey is just as important as The Destination. Remember Grace, for we are under Grace Today, while it is still Today!
THE INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION:
If you've never been through the book of Revelation before, you might be interested in knowing that the study of the introduction to the book of Revelation is a study in and of itself.
It could take several long posts to go over everything, so what I have done is excerpted out some of the main points.
I. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
The Apostle John. The Apostle John is not John the Baptist.
The Apostle John is mentioned five times in the Book of Revelation: 1:1; 1:4; 1:9; 21:2; 22:8.
The Apostle John had a brother by the name of James. They were known as the sons of Zebedee, found in Matthew 10:2-4.
Jesus gave them the name "The sons of thunder," recorded in Mark 3:17. They always wanted to call fire down from heaven and consume people if they didn't want anything to do with the Lord. There's a lot of "sons of thunder" in the church today!
John, Peter, and James were the inner circle of the disciples of Jesus, and spent many special times with the Lord, Matthew 17:1; 26:37.
The Apostle John was the only original apostle not to die a martyr's death.
What is interesting, in association with the book of Revelation, is that tradition says that around 86 A.D., they tried to execute John by dipping him in burning oil. And after they pulled him out, nothing was wrong with him. And they figured that they couldn't kill him, so they decided to exile him off onto the island of Patmos.