Friday, March 18, 2016
Prophetic Talking Points-1
Matthew 24:1
And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
I am now legally blind, and so if my typing is laden with mistakes. I apologize beforehand.
As you read this many things shall be added to your historic and spiritual understanding.
The base text is Matthew, chapter 24.
The opening verses of Matthew 24 tells of Jesus and the Apostles leaving the Temple area. As they left Herod’s temple the Apostles pointed out the beauty of Herod’s temple. Please do not lose sight of the fact that Herod’s temple was Herod’s temple. It was not a Temple to God! It was a temple to glorify King Herod.
The Wailing Wall that many now visit was not part of the Temples that Solomon or Zerubbabel built. The Wailing Wall is a retaining wall that Herod built to expand the Temple Mount area so that he could build a larger temple than God had designed. It was Herod’s ego that designed Herod’s temple. Herod’s temple was never God’s Temple!
Friday, October 30, 2015
Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
We must never allow the shedding of Christ's blood to be trivialized. It is in Him and Him alone that we have redemption. It is through His shed blood that we have obtained forgiveness of sins.
Christians speak of redemption, but what is it?
Have you ever borrowed money from a bank?
In lending the money, the bank asked you to put up collateral. That collateral could be a house, or car, or anything of value. The act of paying off the loan is an act of redemption.
The Greek text indicates a ransom paid in full. Christ Jesus, by the shedding of His blood, has redeemed us from Satan.
There is nothing more that can or will be added to Christ Jesus’ redemptive act.
Confession is the act of accepting His gift of everlasting life. Confession is not a recitation of sins. Confession is our declaration of agreement that “Jesus Christ is Lord.” And, because confession is Holy Spirit inspired, it is not a human work.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
It is according to the riches of his grace that we are redeemed. It is God the Holy Spirit within us that accomplishes each individual step leading to salvation.
Everlasting life or life forevermore is the direct result of His redemptive action within us. The grace God has bestowed on us is valuable beyond any monetary exchange. And so, we can truly say that God's grace is far beyond our conception of the word "value."
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Talking Points 2-A
Ephesians 1:4-6
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Verse 4 is an embarrassment to many
Christians! How can that bunch of oddballs known as Christians be “without blame?”
The fact
is that those whom God has chosen to be led by His Holy Spirit are known as
saints (Gr. hagiois), because they are pure, holy, and blameless in His sight!
"According as He has chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world" is a powerful statement. We
have been chosen in Christ not in ourselves.
Choosing us to be saints and to
follow Christ Jesus by being led by the Spirit is not based on our will! It is
based entirely on God’s predestination! Our choice does not come into the
action at all.
Do you understand the complicated simplicity
of the doctrine of predestination?
Notice that we have been predestined
in accordance with the Father’s will as expressed in Christ Jesus.
Many do not believe in
predestination, because it sets us apart from the rest of humanity. The fact
is, we have been set apart!
True Christians are the salt of
human society. We are the reflected light of Christ Jesus in this age.
Do you comprehend the honor that has
been given to us?
At this point, I must add that we
have not been chosen, selected, or elected to the exclusion of other people.
Most people do not understand predestination.
As firm as I am concerning the fact
of predestination, that word is never
used when describing the "lost." None is “predestined” to be lost.
God chose us in Christ Jesus before
the "foundation" of the world. The Greek text indicates that God
chose us before the universe was conceived.
Before God spoke the world into
existence He chose us, individually, in Christ, to become the first layer of
salvation. God chose us so that "we should be holy and without blame
before him in love." He did not choose us because we were already holy and
without blame before him.
The Greek word translated
"should" is very important here. The Greek word is first person,
singular, and indicative. That Greek word is used only when it presents an
emphatic. This section should have been translated "shall."
Personal paraphrase--"That we
shall (emphatically, with premeditation) be holy and blameless before Him in
love."
In choosing us, Jesus keeps us
without blame, unblemished, because of His love for us.
Many Christians will tell you that
we are just "old sinners." In Christ, the old things have passed away
and we are made new. We may be imperfect before the world, but we are
blameless, faultless before God.
In Christ Jesus our old self is
dead! Many people insist on exhuming the old man and parading him around town.
Paul tells us that God has
predestined us to adoption as children through Jesus Christ. That was done
according to the good pleasure of the Father's will.
We have been
"predestinated" to be Christ's. The Greek text speaks of something
that has been predetermined.
Most do not understand the purpose
of predestination.
However, to deny the predetermined
grace of God is to deny His omnipotence and omniscience. He chose us to become
adopted as sons of God. That may sound arrogant, but it is true. That is what
the word of God says.
In these short verses (4-6) Paul is
telling Christians three things. We have been chosen, predestined, and
accepted.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Talking Points 1-A
Ephesians 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians begins by declaring that Paul is "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God." It is very important to understand that Paul’s anointing as an Apostle did not come as the result of any human choice, or ego. It was strictly by the will of God as verse 1 tells us. Each of us has a place in the Kingdom of God, the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem and that place or position has been determined by God.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Where do you live?
How
many times has someone asked you, “Where do you live?” I have been asked that
question multiple times. However, until recently my answer was not accurate.
My
normal answer for many years was, “I live in a certain town on a certain
street.” But, that is not accurate.
However,
the reality is that I live in the hands of, and by the faith of my Lord, Christ
Jesus, the Son of God! In John 18, theSon, Christ Jesus told God the Father, "Of
those whom You gave Me I have lost none,"
(John 18:9-NKJV). So, I am safe from the evil one.
Many
desire to live in safety and that is normal. Only the mentally ill or the demon
possessed desire conflict. But, the only way to live in peace is to live in
Christ Jesus. His peace brings true joy, the calm delight, of life in the Son
of God.
I
am part of the inheritance of Christ Jesus. You may also be part of His
inheritance and yet not be aware of your standing with Christ Jesus.
Psalms 2:8 Ask of Me, and I will give YouThe nations for
Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth forYour possession.(NKJV)
The“nations”
speaks of the Goyim, the Gentiles, non-IsraeLis. The Gentiles ar eChrist’s
inheritance.
Not
all Gentiles have accepted the fact of His ransom!
if you paid the full and complete
ransom for something, wouldn’t you want to get that for which you paid the
ransom?
Or,
1 Tim 2:1-7
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (NKJV)
1 Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men,
2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,
7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle--I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying--a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. (NKJV)
Thursday, December 4, 2014
His Mercy Endureth Forever
Let’s discuss how the Holy Spirit works. It was some
time ago that a voice from within told me to look at the phrase that we are now
working on. The voice did not use Elizabethan English, however the KJV uses the
Textus Recptus as the base text. The phrase “His Mercy endureth forever”
appears 41 times in the Bible. Please understand that I have been led to study
the languages of the Bible, but I have no formal training in those languages.
Also, I have the best reference material available. I did study Hebrew with
Rabbi James Cone at Temple Israel. I was the only Gentile in the class. However,
since that class was, for me of very short duration, my Hebrew is limited. And,
I never did get used to reading backward.
The fact is that God’s mercy extended to mankind had a beginning and it shall have an end. Prior to the fall of mankind there was no need for His mercy. At the end of the age of ages all shall be completely filled with the presence of God, and His mercy shall have overwhelmed all that stands in opposition to God, and again His mercy shall not be needed.
Eph
1:21-23
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJV)
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The return of Christ Jesus begins a millennium that has 1 thousand years that has no the open conflict.
As you may have read, I believe that the second death is remedial and not punitive. But if God removes all rebellion within the sin-nature, Death and Hades, nothing shall remain.
The war of Gog and Magog indicates the the sin-nature was suppressed, but not eliminated during the millennium of peace.
It is the Holy Spirit that enforces the will of the Father. The Father and Son chose those whom they will to be called and the time of that calling. Then the Holy Spirit comes to indwell at the appointed moment and seals us from the punishment that the Son has already paid on the cross. It all works in concert according to His mercy!
As I said, the phrase, “His Mercy endureth forever”
appears in the Old Testament 41 times. With all that repetition we may think
that God is trying to tell us something.
The ancient languages (Hebrew and Greek) did not use
punctuation. Repetition was the way they accentuated an idea or concept.
Repetition was the ancient exclamation point.
That is the good news, but the bad news is that “His
Mercy endureth forever” is not a literal translation! The word “endureth,” or “endures”
has been added to the text. The Hebrew literal text says, (Heb. leolam-לְעוֹלָם hasedo-חַסְדּוֹ,” or “for the age, {godly} kindness”. I
have added the word “godly” to my translation to indicate the source of the
kindness or mercy. The Hebrew translation must have added words when brought
into English because one Hebrew word contains many “English” thoughts.
As Carolyn and I were discussing the Hebrew, we
turned to the Hebrew word Olam. That Hebrew word refers to an age. It, in no
way, speaks of eternity. There is no single Hebrew word that may be correctly
translated “eternal.”
The fact is that God’s mercy extended to mankind had a beginning and it shall have an end. Prior to the fall of mankind there was no need for His mercy. At the end of the age of ages all shall be completely filled with the presence of God, and His mercy shall have overwhelmed all that stands in opposition to God, and again His mercy shall not be needed.
1
Cor 15:28 And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put
all things under him, that God may be all in all.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (NKJV)
Those few verses take us far past Revelation to the
consummation of God’s plan for the ages. In case you do not know, the
millennium is NOT the end of
the world or the end of all conflict.
Rev
20:7-107 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Many theologians twist the Scripture in an attempt
to make Armageddon seem to be the last conflict, however when we actually read
and believe the Bible we find that the War of Gog and Magog is at least 1,000
years past the return of Christ and Armageddon.
The return of Christ Jesus begins a millennium that has 1 thousand years that has no the open conflict.
During that millennium the sin-nature that is within
human mankind and is unregenerateable shall lay dormant. However, it shall rise
again prior to to the Great White Throne Judgment. The sin nature can, when
confronted by the Holy spirit of God, but the only way to prevent the rise of
the sin-nature is through the Lake of Fire and its complete destruction. Read
Revelation 20 which must be read and understood as being a linear writing, and
notice that the Gog and Magog war, and the Great White Throne Judgment
resulting in death (Gr.
thanatos-θάνατος) and hell (Gr. hades-ᾅδης) being cast into the lake of fire
happens after the Millennium. The first death shall be consumed by the second
death, and will cease to exist.
As you may have read, I believe that the second death is remedial and not punitive. But if God removes all rebellion within the sin-nature, Death and Hades, nothing shall remain.
The war of Gog and Magog indicates the the sin-nature was suppressed, but not eliminated during the millennium of peace.
The battle of Gog and Magog is the last open
rebellion! The Lake of Fire shall consume all rebellion! There is no rebellion
against God the Father, God the Son, or the Holy Spirit following the Great
White Throne Judgment!
Heb 12:29 For our God is a consuming fire.It is the Holy Spirit that enforces the will of the Father. The Father and Son chose those whom they will to be called and the time of that calling. Then the Holy Spirit comes to indwell at the appointed moment and seals us from the punishment that the Son has already paid on the cross. It all works in concert according to His mercy!
God’s mercy endures forever.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
personal
This blog page is very personal. If you read my
commentary on Paul’s Letters on my Web Site, (http://darroll.tripod.com/), you will
find no footnotes because It is very seldom that I quote other writers. The
Late Dr. Manford George Gutzke and one instance of a quote from the Liberty
Commentary are the exceptions. Dr Gutzke was an extraordinary writer and
speaker, and I use his definition of “love.”
I started blogging using the Ephesians text as the
base, but I will be changing that to certain verses from both the Old and New
Testaments.
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