All About God #1

At least what God has revealed to us

by Keith Hunt There are many who reading the Bible read it as though all and everything it contains is "parables" "symbolic" "metaphors" and hence to them everything the Bible contains must be understood in different and other ways than "literal." Of course the Bible does use "symbols" (the book of Revelation is full of them as is the book of Daniel) and "parables" (Jesus in the four Gospels used parables time and time again), but to understand everything written in the Bible as symbolic and nothing as literal, meaning what it says and saying what it means, would (as it has done with many) indeed bring about hundreds of differing and conflicting ideas and teachings as to what the Bible is saying. Truly reading the Word of the Lord in ONLY this manner (as being only written in metaphors and symbolism) would give credence to the saying that many Bible agnostics use "Well, you can make the Bible say just about anything." Yet many who read the Bible this way, with anything but "literal" in their minds, have no real concrete conception in their mind or in words of expression, as to how to explain to someone WHO or WHAT is God. They have little or no way to explain to anyone the truth about God. God, to them is so vague, so unreal, so mystic, so far away, so clouded in foggy haze, they are usually just lost for words in trying to explain what God is like to anyone who asks them to explain their concept of God. Some religionists go so far as to say it is just not possible to explain or understand God, to themselves or to anyone else for that matter. To them it seems God is a kind of nothingness, there but not there, living but yet not living as we think of living in the human mind. Some think of God as "in everything." In the trees, the rivers, the flowers, and just everywhere in every living thing. Such a view still ends up as God being a nebulous "nothingness." Then some religious groups simply say it is impossible to know about or to understand what God is, and teach you should not try to figure out the truth about God. Well, with such people and such religious groups with those kinds of teaching about what God is, or in their case, what God is not, for to them He is a concept of nothing in any tangible way, I have to openly and bluntly confess, I have little or "nothing" in common (pun intended). So the following will also mean nothing to such people of this theological mindset, who cannot conceive of God as anything but a vague, un-describable essence of something out there yet not out there in a literal way as having form and shape like we humans have form and shape. But, to you who read the Bible to include "literal" reading, to you who believe the Bible does in most parts "says what it says and means what it says" - then to you, this study will be insightful and edifying. To you, if you have not already come to see the wonderful truths that the Eternal God has revealed about Himself in His Word, then you will be in for some real eye-opening surprises. To you, you will come to see maybe as never before the truth about God, at least what God has revealed about Himself in His Word. SOME DEFINITIONS GOD. This word in its simple definition means DEITY and is a general term used even of false gods as well as the true God of heaven. The word GOD can be used and is used in the Bible as a proper name for the ONE supreme God the Father (as He is called in the New Testament). It is also used for the person of the New Testament called Jesus Christ. Looking up every place in the New Testament in an exhaustive Concordance of the Bible such as "Strong's Concordance," where the word "God" is used will soon clearly prove the above two points. GODHEAD. The term simply means that which is divine. Col. 2: 9 states Jesus is part of the Godhead. Of course God the Father is also of the Godhead. Hence we know there are TWO revealed to us that are in the Godhead. The subject of the Holy Spirit, who or what he/it is, I cover under a separate study on this Website. ONE. Many get confused over this word. The Hebrew word for "one" in the Scriptures as "one Lord" (Deut.6: 4-6) and "one God" (Mal.2: 10) is ACHAD, and basically means, be unity, collect, be united in one, one in number. It is used as ONE in unity many times; "they shall be one flesh" (Gen.2: 24); "the people is one" (Gen. 11: 6). The Greek word for ONE in "one Lord" and "one God" in Mark 12: 29 is HEIS, together in one (John 11: 52) and to be ONE in UNITY (John 10: 30; 17: 11, 21-23 ). The English word ONE can also mean one in unity. We speak of " I belong to one certain church congregation" or "I belong to our one local swimming club." Whether one in UNITY or one in NUMBER is the meaning in a particular passage must be determined by the context of the passage of Scripture we are reading and not by the meaning of the word itself. IN. This word means in many Bible passages "in union with" and certainly when used of PERSONS it does not mean BODILY ENTRANCE INTO. We read of God being IN Christ (2 Cor. 5: 19) and Christ being IN God (John 14: 10-11, 20). We also note that man can be IN Christ (2 Cor. 5: 19) and Christ can be IN man (Rom.8: 10). We read of man being IN the Spirit and the Spirit being IN man (Rom.8: 9). It never means in all these cases BODILY ENTRANCE INTO, for all of the persons like God and Christ and mankind are individual persons with their own individual bodies and cannot be getting inside of each other in any literal bodily sense. When the apostle Paul said things like "I have you IN my heart" and "You are IN our hearts (2 Cor. 7: 3; Phil. 1: 7), he could not be meaning it was something literal but only meaning IN UNION WITH, certainly not bodily entrance. Being ONE with and IN each other does not depend on being in any bodily contact, or the loss of any individual character or personality. Persons can be IN each other and ONE with each other, though they are literally in body, thousands of miles apart from each other. So Christ IN God and God IN Christ does not mean they are one and the same PERSON. The NT (New Testament) clearly shows God the Father and God the Son are TWO separate and distinct PERSONS. They are not INSIDE each other, in a bodily manner. When Jesus came to earth from the Father, the Father God was STILL in heaven. When Jesus prayed to the Father in heaven, He was not praying to Himself, but to the Father God who was a PERSON still in heaven above. When Jesus died, and was dead and not still alive (see the studies on "Death and Immortality" to prove that death is not the continuing of life), the Father was alive in heaven, and He, through His power of the Holy Spirit, raised Jesus from the dead to a resurrection of immortal glory. GOD IS A REAL PERSON All of the following combined are proof positive that God is a very real individual personal being. Personal names are given Him (Gen.1:1; Ex. 3: 13-15; 6: 3; Ps. 68: 4). He has many names showing many of His attributes. His names are found over 19,000 times in the Scriptures. Personal statements are made about God, just as they may be about you and me and other persons. Personal plans are ascribed to Him, such as that it was not good for man to be alone and that He would thus make woman for man. His plan to confound the one language at the tower of Babel, and to bring a flood of waters on the age of Noah to destroy the wickedness of man. Personal acts are attributed to him, such as making man from the clay of the earth as well as making woman from Adam's rib. Many more such personal acts of God can be found throughout the entire Bible. Personal pronouns are used of God both in the singular and the plural (i.e Gen.1: 26; 3: 22; 11:7; Isa.6: 8; John 17: 11-21). Many verses show and prove that God does have form and shape, that He does have a body (see my study "Does God have a Body?" on this Website) The Bible shows over and over again that God has emotions, passions, desires, affections, very much like we humans have. God can be tender, merciful, loving. He can get upset, run out of patience, even get angry. He can be jealous, very patient, sorrowful. He has all the emotions we have only in perfect balance and righteousness. The Bible shows many times over that God has a mind, has reasoning powers, has intellect. His Word shows that sometimes He has talked to and debated with, and reasoned with, and had His mind changed by, human beings (Moses on one occasion persuaded God not to destroy the Israelites and start all over again with children from Moses himself as God was thinking about doing). Even Satan has been allowed to reason and debate with God from time to time, see the first chapters of the book of Job. Yes, indeed, all the above prove unmistakeably that God is a very real individual and not just an indescribable essence of a nothingness. THE INVISIBILITY OF GOD The invisibility of God is subject to the WILL and the POWER of God. If God chooses to manifest Himself as a physical man, so men can see, talk to, eat a meal with, even touch, then the Lord has the power to so transform Himself into flesh and bone. This manifestation God has done a number of times over the past millenniums. In Genesis 18 the Eternal God came with two angels (also appearing as human flesh and bone) to visit Abraham. They talked and ate a meal together. Many times God talked to Moses face to face, as with a friend, so the Scriptures tell us. Sometimes persons have seen God in a vision, Ezekiel was one of them who saw God in the minds-eye or vision (Ezekiel 2 and 10). John in the book of Revelation shows us that he also had seen in vision of the minds-eye, the persons of both the Father and the Son. This would not have been seeing them in full glory, or putting it another way, not seeing them in the literal glory of their beings, for a very important reason. It was Moses who asked if he could see the God of Israel in His full glory. His request was denied, for one saving reason. He was told that no human person could look upon the face of God in a literal way while God was still in His glory form, as no human seeing God thus could continue to live (Exodus 33: 18-23). The Lord did allow Moses to see Him from the back, but not His face. In God's time plan He has told us that one day all His children will see His face in full glory. That will come to pass when all His children are glorified in a resurrection of CHANGE from mortal to immortal (1 Cor.15). And when sin and death has an end, when the new heaven and the new earth will have come. When God the Father Himself will come to that new earth to dwell among His children forever (Rev. 21: 3-7; 22: 4-5). At that day God the Father will never be invisible again to any of His sons and daughters. GOD AS SPIRIT (JOHN 4: 24) - WHAT IT REALLY MEANS There are HUNDREDS of verses in the Bible to help us understand the "spirit" world, or the world we do not normally see. Most of the time we do not see the vast multitude of creatures in this world of the invisible spirit. But it is there, all around us, and just as busy (probably even more so) as our little planet that is just a tiny speck of sand in an ever expanding sandy beach of planets, stars, and galaxies, that make up our universe. The Bible declares that there are HEAVENLY and EARTHLY "bodies" and that there is a "natural" body and for Christians there will be a SPIRITUAL body (1 Cor. 15: 35-58). We learn from this chapter fifteen in 1 Corinthians that all things in creation have separate bodies from all others - bodies for grain, fish, birds, beasts, man and every living thing on earth. There are bodies for the sun, the moon, the stars, and all things material. There are bodies for angels, cherubims, seraphims, and all living creatures that God has created in the "spirit" world. No exception is made in the word of God to the effect that God is the exception, and has no body. I have proved in another study on this Website, that God does have a body. So when Jesus said that God is "spirit" in John 4, He was NOT meaning that God is somehow bodiless or a bunch of "nothingness." Jesus taught elsewhere that God has a voice and shape (John 5: 37). Jesus later showed John in the book of Revelation, that God the Father HAS shape, and can sit on a throne (Rev.4 and 5). The Greek word for "shape" in John 5: 37 is EIDOS, and means, form, appearance, shape, fashion. It is something that refers to outward form or what can be seen with either the human eye or the sight that the spirit world can see with, for spirit can see spirit. The spirit world is not dumb or blind. Moses declared that man was made in the "image" of God (Gen. 1: 26-27; 9: 6). The Hebrew word for "image" is TSELEM, meaning shape, resemblance, figure, bodily form, as proven in many passages where it is used. See a Bible Concordance, such as Strong's. The Hebrew word for "likeness" is DEMOOTH, meaning, model, shape, similitude, and bodily resemblance. See a Bible Concordance once again. Paul was inspired to say that mankind was "the image and glory of God" (1 Cor. 11: 7). The Greek word for "image" here is EIKON, meaning likeness, profile, and bodily resemblance. This can, once more be proven by looking up all the verses in a Concordance, where this Greek word is used in the New Testament. There is NO QUESTION about man being made in the likeness, in the bodily form and shape of God. Hence it stands to reason and logic that God then has a body, that He has form and shape like unto us humans. The Hebrew and Greek words above may be used in other ways in the Scriptures, but the number of times they are used to refer to what we normally think of, when we think of shape, likeness, form, of something that can been seen, is proof positive that God is a being that has form and shape, a body. The Bible is loaded with passages where men have seen God, either when He manifested Himself in flesh and bone and came to earth for a while, or as men were given insight to see God as in heaven or as a somewhat glory being. Remembering that God can never show Himself in full glory, face to face with man, because He has said no human person could ever live, if they saw Him this way (see Exodus 33). Other verses you may want to note are: Ge. 18; 32: 24-30; Exodus 33: 11-23; 24: 9-11; Josh. 5: 13-15; Judg. 6: 11-23; 13: 3-23; 1 Chron. 21: 16-17; Job 42: 5; Isaiah 6: 1-13; Amos 9: 1; Ezekiel 1: 26-28; 10 ; 1, 20; 40: 3; Dan. 7: 9-14; 10: 5-6; Acts 7: 56-59. And also a number of passages in the book of Revelation, where God and Christ reveal that they are beings with form and shape, having a body. The Bible says that all the redeemed will one day (when the new heavens and new earth come) SEE the FACE of God (Greek, PROSOPON, countenance, outward appearance, surface, person), with their eyes (Rev. 7: 9; 14: 5; 21: 3; 22: 4-5). See the word "face" in Matt. 6: 17; 18: 10; 26: 39, 67; Acts 6: 15; 20: 25, 38: 1; 1 Cor. 13:12; Rev. 4: 7; 6: 16; 10: 1; 20: 11. The word is used in these passages of BOTH God and man, so both must have a face. What is good for the one, must be good for the other, or the Bible is impossible to read and understand. Some, who have never seen God, as did many in the days of the writing of the Bible, say that God CANNOT be understood, and some even go so far as saying God is formless, a "nothingness." I personally do not worship a "nothingness" or a formless something that does not have a body or a shape. The Bible over and over again, teaches us that God is a very REAL PERSON with a SHAPE, with a form and body. It is in the form and shape of us human beings, who were made in the likeness, and shape, of God. Some would say that the verses about the shape of God are just figures of speech, and are not to be taken in any literal way as meaning God has a body and form and shape. It is true the Bible uses figures of speech many times, but taking the WHOLE context of MANY verses throughout the Bible, it should be clear that MUCH MORE than "figures of speech" are used to convey the truth to us that God is a very real personage, that Jesus Christ is a very real personage, that they both have form and shape, and both have a body, just as all other created things, in heaven and earth, have bodies. For those who will read the Bible and not turn it all into "figures of speech" where anyone can then make the Bible say a million different things, especially about the world that we normally do not see with the human eye, then it is clear that there are many different "spirit" beings, even "things" like the heavenly Jerusalem, and all have form and shape. The created beings of the unseen world have form and shape, have a body. And God the Father, and Jesus, at His right hand, also then have a body each, with form and shape. We need to understand some truths of God and the invisible "spirit" world. We can gain some BASIC truth from two fine examples in the Bible. Read all of 2 Kings chapter 6. Note verses 15-17. read all of Genesis 18. In 2 Kings 6, we see that as I have stated, the spirit world is normally UNSEEN to the human eye.
We also see that God can, if He so wishes and decides, let the human eye SEE the spirit world. Then we notice that besides angel beings, there are spirit animals, such as horses, and spirit "things" such as chariots. We see that when God allows humans to see this world, the things they see have shape and form. Genesis 18 shows us the truth that angels (and God) can transform themselves into flesh and bone, can appear to mankind as human, can talk and eat a meal with humans. This is why Paul said that we should entertain strangers, for in so doing many of us have entertained angels unaware (see Heb. 13: 1). All of this explains the nature of Jesus' resurrection from death after being crucified. His physical body was indeed "glorified" and made immortal, and with immortality came all authority in heaven and earth, as He told His disciples. He had all authority over the unseen spirit and over physical matter. As the last chapters of the Gospels show us, Jesus could appear and disappear in front of humans at will. He could come into a room where the doors were shut, and stand in the midst of His eleven apostles. And after visiting with them, on one occasion, eating a piece of fish, letting them handle and touch him, He could "vanish" away in a split second. There is a "spirit world" and there is a physical material world. Actually Scripture tells us that God, through Christ (the God being who became Christ), made the worlds, what is physical in our universe OUT OF NOTHING. Yes, at one time there was no physical matter at all, and then there was. God made physical matter from no physical matter, from what we would say, as NOTHING (see Colossians 1: 12-17). God was BEFORE "all" things, even the things of the spirit world, for He created them also. What is matter anyway? They say we are about 90% at least "water." We humans are made up of atoms, all physical things on this earth are so many atoms bunched together. It is a well known fact of course that put in the right situation of a certain physical conditions (that are atoms themselves), human beings can VAPORIZE, just become invisible atoms. On the day that has become infamous, September 11th, and the terrorist attack on the United States of America, the plane that plunged into the ground, because certain passenger would not allow the terrorists to use it as a bomb, the plane hit the ground with such speed and force that those who went to the site of the crash within a few minutes, said that one of the bone chilling facts to see was that they could NOT see any human being, or parts of them anywhere. All the people on board that plane had been vaporized away into invisible atoms. It has been the fancy of humans to be able to perform what science fiction has dreamed about for decades.....beam yourself up or away......take your atoms and un-stick them so to speak, so you could transport yourself in a split second to this or that place, stick your atoms back together again, and.....there you are in physical form once more, in another location, maybe thousands of miles away from where you were standing or sitting or lying down. Well, God who made matter from nothing, can do just that if He so desires, and He has allowed the good righteous angelic world to do the same. They can all appear as physical atoms, become flesh and bone human types (but of course their physical flesh and bone atoms are immortal and not subject to death, or pain, or cuts, or being destroyed like our physical bodies are). As I have said, we see MANY instances in the Bible, where angels have so transformed themselves, and in some cases even God Himself has walked and talked and ate meals etc. with humans. At this point I need to emphasize that God has allowed this transformation from invisible spirit to physical matter, ONLY for Himself and the RIGHTEOUS angels. There is not ONE place in the Scriptures that show us that EVIL demon angels, angels that sinned, as the Bible tells, and BECAME demons (including the covering Cherub that became Satan the Devil), can transform themselves into physical matter. And we can thank the Lord that they cannot, for it is horrifying to think how this world would be IF such evil spirits could manifest themselves as flesh and bone. What a frightening world it would be if we had to live all our lives wondering if this or that human being was really an evil angel in disguise. It is bad enough knowing evil demons can "influence" and "possess" people, we have a bad enough world with them being allowed to do those two things, let alone being allowed to become flesh and bone. Oh yes, they are allowed to appear to humans as "ghost" types, looking pretty real at times, but if you were allowed to get close enough to them to touch them or try to put your arm around them, you would not be able to do so, your hand or arm would simply pass through them, without you feeling a thing. This explains why Jesus answered His apostles (on one occasion when He appears to them in a room with the doors shut), at their dismay, thinking they were seeing a "sprit" - or ghost type evil demon, making out he was Jesus, with the words, "a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24: 39). The "spirit" that Jesus was talking about and what the apostles thought they were seeing, was an evil fallen angel, that can manifest themselves to humans, but only as none material ghost type beings. In that account in Luke, Jesus also asked the apostles for a piece of fish, and ate it before them all, showing He really was flesh and bone. It would seem that Jesus is telling us in that example that evil angel spirits are NOT allowed to be able to do such a thing, that is eat physical food (even a meal). Hence Jesus was proving to His apostles that He was indeed flesh and bone. Then as we have said, Jesus could just disappear, vanish away, right before their eyes. He could turn His flesh and bone atoms back into invisible spirit, or to our eyes, turn Himself into nothing, vaporize Himself away.....beam Himself up, as the guys and/or gals in the famous modern "Star Trek" movies could do. So with all that, what I've said above, we can now begin to understand why Jesus said that God was "a SPIRIT" (John 4: 24). He was not teaching that God was a nothingness nothing, some kind of cosmic force, that could not be seen. He was not trying to teach that God had no form or shape, or did not have a body. He was simply telling us that there is a different DIMENSION in the universe other than a MATERIAL one. He was telling us that there is a "spirit" dimension, a world of beings, of creatures, of things, that are in the MAIN invisible (the NT talks about the "invisible God") to the human eye, and live or exist as not physical material atoms but as spirit atoms, to try and explain it to you in terms you may comprehend. Paul was inspired to tells us that mankind CAN understand God, at least the things that God has revealed to us, that He wants us to KNOW about Himself and the spirit dimension He lives in. Paul wrote: "Because THAT WHICH MAY BE KNOWN OF GOD IS MANIFEST IN THEM; for God HAS SHOWED IT UNTO THEM. For the INVISIBLE THINGS of Him FROM the CREATION (by LOOKING AT THE CREATION) of the world ARE CLEARLY SEEN, BEING UNDERSTOOD BY THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE, EVEN HIS ETERNAL POWER AND GODHEAD; so they are WITHOUT EXCUSE" (Romans 1: 19-21). This does not at all sound like God has kept Himself, and the Godhead, and His unseen dimension of "spirit" with all it contains, to Himself, as a secret, and does not wish human kind to understand it. Just the OPPOSITE is TRUE....He has shown us what His world is basically like by the things He has created in our physical world. So, with a reading of the Bible in a natural common sense way, we can put together quite a reasonably large picture of what God Himself is like, plus what the world He lives in is like. Many passages as I've said, and some I've listed for you tell us many things about God and His world. With a careful reading of the Scriptures we can see that God has most if not all of the same EMOTIONS of mind and heart that we physical material humans have. He can laugh, smile, be serious, get jealous, have anger, have longings, have patience, but run out of patience, have love, mercy, kindness, favor. He can punish, He can hate, can determine right from wrong, give advise, be perfect in judgment, slow in anger, take pity, change His mind, can even cry and shed tears. He can even wish He had not done certain things as He did. He can destroy some of His work, and start over again. He can be reasoned with as Moses did on a few occasions, when God was going to do something, and Moses reasoned Him out of it. All of the above can be found in the Bible, if we will read it from cover to cover, from Genesis to Revelation. As we read the book of Revelation and especially the last chapters, we can discover a little about the world God lives in. He lives or has a throne room. There are 24 "elders" (of some type, the which we are not specifically told), around His throne. There are multitudes of angels and/or spirit creatures singing praises, a heavenly choir. God lives in an eternal spirit city, called "Heavenly Jerusalem." The city has huge walls, and it has a river of life running through it, with fruits trees. We shall see more of how God lives and what He does at times, in a short while. Much then, of the our physical world, is a mirror or a shadow of God's unseen spirit world. A shadow comes from something that is a reality, or a shadow could not exist with a real substance being there in the first place. And by saying real "substance" I use the word not to mean something of material matter in this case, but something that is a reality and from which a shadow or resemblance can be made. God made a shadow, or likeness, of Himself, when making mankind, but put that likeness or shadow into material matter, with certain things within that matter suitable for a material world. God does not need lungs to breath but we do. God does not need a heart like we do to pump blood through our body, in order for us to continue living. God does not need to sleep at night like we must. and so with many other things. But the BASIC form and shape of God's body is like that of the human race. The mind and emotions of mankind is again basically derived from the mind and emotions that God has, of course one large difference is that God's mind and His emotions, are perfectly Holy and Righteous at all times, where ours are not so perfect and not so righteous many times. God is sinless, and cannot even be tempted with sin (James 1: 13). That is the one area where God did not duplicate in creating mankind, but make a way possible, did have a plan, that mankind COULD, if they chose TO ACCEPT God's plan, one day be like Him and Christ....perfectly Holy and Righteous, never being able to sin or be tempted with sin, again, for all eternity. All of this wonderful plan of salvation and final inheritance for the Christian, I have covered in many other studies on this Website. The subject of the "Trinity" and God as "three in one" and the relationship of Christ as God and towards God, is not the focus of this study. All that theology question is covered in a number of different studies on this Website, and I refer the reader to them, for the answers to those particular and specific topis. We can clearly ascertain from many verses that each spirit being, be it angel, cherub, a creature of some sort, fallen angel, and God the Father, and Jesus Christ, have thought and mind, actions, and other things, to communicate to each other in their world, and as God has allowed and permitted, to communicate to us in our world. God and Christ, being the Godhead, do of course have power and authority over all their creation to stop, allow, destroy, and whatever else they deem necessary at any one time, to be done throughout the entire universe. As we have seen the Bible teaches that all things, invisible and visible, in the universe was made by God through Christ, and at one time none of it existed, but was then brought into existence. So naturally, God and Christ have power and authority over ALL of it, at all times. The things that may go on in our world and in the invisible world, is all allowed by God. He has the power and authority to allow or disallow, at any second of time. GOD A PERSONAL SPIRIT! Jesus said, "God is a SPIRIT" (John 4: 24). With the above, to what I have said, and with the dozens of Scriptures we can read in the Bible, we now understand that Jesus was NOT meaning that God was a spirit nothing, like the nothingness of "love" as love having no body, and not being in a literal location, or being able to see the shape and form of love. Jesus was obviously then, meaning that God the Father was not living in His world as having a flesh and bone body, of physical material substance, but living in eternity with a "spirit" or none material body. Jesus was pointing out that God lives in a different DIMENSION than what humans live in. God is for the most part, and in the most of time, a SPIRIT being. His body is made of "spirit" material if we can term it that way, for us to try to grasp it, but that spirit is not matter or material as we know of or think of matter in our physical world. As we have seen, God can, any time He wishes, transform His spirit material body INTO physical material matter of flesh and bone. And I say "flesh and bone" because we need to remember that God does not need blood to flow through His body, in order to live and survive, as we do, when He is manifesting Himself as flesh and bone. Could God give Himself blood in His material body, when in the form of flesh and bone? Well of course He could, for with God it is written, nothing is impossible. But there would be no need to so do, for we as humans do not see the blood flowing through our body when looking at each other. Looking at dozens of verses in the Bible we see that God is a PERSON who is made of Spirit. He is like us humans, He has BODY, SOUL, and SPIRIT! Now, when the Bible speaks of human beings having a body, soul, and spirit, it is meaning, we have form and shape, taking up a certain amount of room and space. It means we have a soul, that is we have a life that is within a context of many different EMOTIONS (which animals do not have - i.e. animals cannot cry with sadness or joy of emotions like we can), and we have a spirit or MIND, that can reason and think and deduct and organize (i.e. animals cannot write a multi volume Encyclopedia). God has ALL three also. He has a BODY, He has a SOUL, and He has a SPIRIT (Job 13: 8; Heb. 1: 3; Dan. 7: 9-14; !0: 5-7). He is a SPIRIT being with a BODY (Dan. 7: 9-14; 10: 5-6, 9-19; Exodus 24: 11; Gen. 18; 32: 24-32; Ezek. 1: 26-28; Acts 7: 54-59; Rev. 4: 2-4; 5: 1, 5-7; 22: 4-5); SHAPE (John 5: 37); FORM (Phil. 2: 5-7, same Greek word as in Mark 16: 12, which refers to bodily form); and an IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF A MAN (Gen. 1: 26; 9: 6; Ezek. 1: 26-28; 1 Cor. 11: 7; James 3: 9; Dan 7: 9-14; 10: 5-6). He has BACK PARTS; so must have FRONT PARTS (Exodus 33: 23). He has HANDS AND FINGERS (Exodus 31: 18; Ps. 8: 3-6; Rev. 5: 1, 6-7); NOSTRILS (Ps. 18: 8, 15); MOUTH (Numbers 12: 8); LIPS AND TONGUE (Isa. 30: 27); FEET (Ezek. 1: 27; Exodus 24: 10); EYES and SIGHT (Ps. 11: 4; 18: 24; 33: 18); VOICE (Ps. 29; Rev. 10: 3-4; Ge. 1); EARS (Ps. 18: 6); COUNTENANCE (Ps. 11: 7); HAIR, HEAD, FACE, ARMS (Dan. 7: 9-14; 10: 5-19; Rev. 5: 1, 6-7; 22: 4-6); LOINS (Ezek. 24: 26-28; 18: 1-4); BODILY PRESENCE (Gen. 3: 8; 18: 1-22; Job 1: 6-12; 2: 2-7; Exodus 24: 10-11). There can be no missing it, the Bible makes it clear that God is a real PERSON! GOD GOES FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN A REAL BODY, like we do (Gen. 3: 8; 11: 5; 18: 1-22, 33; 19: 24; 32: 24-32; 35: 13; Zech. 14: 5; Titus 2: 13). He is Omni-PRESENT, but NOT Omni-BODY, and there is a huge difference. God's presence can be felt or displayed anywhere in the universe VIA His nature and POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT. I have discussed exactly what God's Holy Spirit IS, in another study on this Website. God's body, or He Himself as a PERSON can only be in ONE place at ONE TIME. But His Holy Spirit can be EVERYWHERE at the SAME time. God wears CLOTHES (Dan. 7: 9-14; 10: 5-19); He can EAT (Ge. 18: 1-22; Exodus 24: 11); He can REST, but not because He gets tired, but because He ceases activity or completes a work (Ge. 2: 1-4; Heb. 4: 4); DWELLS IN A MANSION IN A CITY, in a place called HEAVEN (John 14: 1-4; Heb. 11: 10-16; 13: 14; Rev. 3: 12; 21: 1-27); SITS ON A THRONE (Isa. 6; Rev. 4: 1-5; 22: 3-5); WALKS (Gen. 3: 8; 18: 1-22, 33); RIDES upon cherubs, the wind, clouds, and chariots drawn by cherubim (Ps. 18: 10; 68: 17; 104: 2; Ezek. 1: 1-28). All this makes clear to us that God is a very REAL PERSON! In the first two chapters of Genesis alone there are nearly 200 personal acts of God in creating, planting, speaking, working, seeing, blessing, commanding, etc.etc. He has EATEN with men, as many as 74 at a time, who saw Him with their natural eyes and conversed with Him as literal as other persons at banquets (Ge. 18: 1-22; Exodus 24: 9-13). He has wrestled bodily with man (Ge. 32: 24-32). He has written laws with his own finger while men looked on with the natural eyes (Exodus 34: 1-7, 27-28). He has REVEALED Himself in so many different ways to mankind, some of those way in Himself becoming physical flesh and bone, at others times, in visions to man, of Himself in His throne room or riding in His chariot. One time in His full glory to Moses, but only His back parts, as no man could like upon God's face in full glory and remain alive (Exodus 33). All this proves beyond doubt that God is a very personable being with a body, most of the time in glorious spirit form, and now and again in flesh and bone form, when wanting to come to earth and converse with mankind. At this point I want to state that God the Father has Himself NEVER come to earth to converse with mankind. The one person of the Godhead who is God as much as God the Father is God (except in final authority), is the one who appeared to mankind at times, in the past ages. That same one later became the one human person we now know as Jesus Christ. And as Jesus Himself said in the Gospels, "You have either seen the shape or heard the voice of God, at ANT time." He was talking about the God we know today as God the Father. John stated that "no man has seen God at any time" (John 1: 18). John is referring to God the Father as the context proves. The God that men have seen, was the second member of the Godhead, the one who later became Jesus the Christ. All this I have shown in other studies. But the day is coming when all the children of God will SEE the face of the Supreme ONE, when He Himself comes to earth with the heavenly city Jerusalem (see the last chapters of Revelation). Not one verse can be given in the entire Bible to show or prove that God is intangible, without body, without body parts, and mental and emotional passions, except John 4: 24, "God is a Spirit." And by using the rest of the Bible on this subject of God, we can easily see that Jesus was NOT trying to teach that God was formless, and a something that was nothingness, but was teaching that God is or lives in a different dimension....a dimension of eternal "spirit." GOD'S SOUL God has SOUL PASSIONS, or LIFE (soul standing for life passions) just like mankind does. Giving one example, God said, "My SOUL shall have NO PLEASURE in him" (Heb. 10: 38; see also Lev. 26: 11, 30; Isa. 42: 1). Our way of saying it would be, "My life, my inner passions, shall have no pleasure in him." God's soul or life is capable of FEELINGS OF GRIEF (Gen. 6: 6; Judges 109: 16); ANGER (I Kings 11: 9); REPENTANCE or REGRET (Gen. 6: 60; JEALOUSY (Exodus 20: 5); HATE (Prov. 6: 16); LOVE (John 3: 16); PITY (Ps. 103: 13); JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, MERCY, GRACIOUSNESS, and COMPASSION (Neh. 8: 10; Phil. 4: 7; Col. 3: 15; Ex. 34: 6; Ps. 86: 15); GENTLENESS (2 Sam. 22: 36); GOODNESS (Rom. 2: 7); MEEKNESS (Ps. 45: 4); KINDNESS (Ps. 31: 21); FELLOWSHIP (1 John 1: 1-7); PLEASURE AND DELIGHT (Ps. 147: 11). God can have all of these passions, and more. All of the things we can feel, as we say, in our heart (in our inner most being of life), so God can feel in His inner life of being, and of course why not, for God made mankind in His image, after His own likeness. GOD'S SPIRIT By this we are not talking about the Holy Spirit, but we are talking about the inner MIND of God, just as we have an inner mind or spirit of mind that sets us far apart from the rest of creation on this earth. God said, "My SPIRIT (mind, thought, will), shall not always strive with man...." (Gen.6: 3). God's personal spirit consists of MIND (Rom. 11: 34); INTELLIGENCE (Gen. 1: 26; Rom. 11: 33); WILL (Rom. 8: 27; 9: 19); POWER (Eph. 1: 19; 3: 7, 20; Heb. 1: 3); TRUTH (Ps. 91: 4); FAITH and HOPE (Rom. 12: 3; 1 Cor. 13: 13); RIGHTEOUSNESS (Ps. 45: 4); FAITHFULNESS (1 Cor. 10: 13); KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM (Isa. 1: 2; 1 Tim.1: 17); SPEECH (Heb. 1: 1-3; Acts 3: 31); REASON (Isa. 1: 18); DISCERNMENT (Heb. 4: 12); HOLINESS (Isa. 57: 15); JUSTICE (Rom. 3: 26; Acts 17: 31); IMPARTIALITY (Rom. 2: 6; 2 Sam. 14: 14). All of the above and more make up the MIND, and the CHARACTER, the very being of God. God is also ETERNITY (Ps. 90; 1 Tim. 1: 17); SELF-EXISTENCE (John 5: 26); INFINITY (Rom. 11: 33); PERFECTION (mat. 5: 48); INVISIBILITY (Col. 1: 15; 1 Tim. 1: 17; 6: 16); IMMORTALITY (1 Tim. 1: 17; 6: 16). God is also OMNIPRESENT (Jer. 23: 23-24); OMNISCIENCE (Rom. 11: 33); OMNIPOTENT (Rev. 19: 5). We shall look at the above three facts and qualities of God, in more detail, in the next study. What the Bible teaches about them, may not be what you think or have been taught. Those who want to tells us and teach to others that God is a nothingness that cannot be understood or comprehended, are either Biblically ignorant or of course they are going to ignore all of the verses we have given, or spiritualize them away as man's way of explaining a God that they say cannot really be explained. If these passages of Scripture are not telling us about God, so we can have an understanding of Him, then other passages about other subjects in the Bible, must also be understood as not meaning what they say. Hence, with this kind of reasoning, no one should take the Bible in any serious way. But all that it NOT true, and those who teach such falsehoods are indeed like the people the apostle Paul was talking about when he said, "....this sort are they....ever learning, but never able to come to the truth....so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men...." (2 Tim. 3: 6-9). ............................... Written 2003

All About God #2

At least what God tells us about Himself

by Keith Hunt GOD IS OMNI-PRESENT God is NOT a universe nothingness floating around in a no where state of being. He is not a NONE-PERSONAL, intangible - NOTHING. He is NOT some universal mind, that has no body. He is NOT a principle of abstract power that is in every kind of matter. God is a personal BEING with a body, with form and shape, but made of "spirit" which we in the flesh can hardly conceive of, because we cannot see "spirit" unless God decides that we should see it. God is a very real personage, with a very real "spirit" or "spiritual" body (1 Cor. 15....the second Adam - Christ - was made a quickening Spirit. See my study called "Jesus - The Spirit!"). Angels, animals, beings, things, in God's dimensional world are as literal as people and things are in our world. As humans and things in our world take up space and can only be in one place at one time, so it is no different in God's dimensional world of spirit, trying to put it so you can get the idea. People in this material world can only be in one place at one time. It is the same for God, Christ, and all the angels, cherubim, seraphim, horses, chariots and whatever else God has created in and for His world. We have seen that God often flies around the universe on a special created throne, with creatures and other strange (to us they sound strange) things as part of this, shall be say universe space ship or chariot transporter (see again the first chapter of Ezekiel as well as chapter 10 of that book). God could do it, move around the universe as the speed of thought, and sometimes I think He indeed does, but God is like us (for we were made in His image), He likes space machines or space cars shall be call them. It's fun to ride in such contraptions, for us, so why should it not be for God also. God is the maker of variety. One simple reason for variety is so life does not become monotone and doing things like travelling the universe the same old way all the time. All spirit beings, including God, can ONLY be in ONE place at ONE time, as far as they themselves, bodily. They are like us in that regard. God then cannot be omni-present in BODY. His body cannot be everywhere in the universe at the same time. God made angels and other creatures to help run the universe, be in different parts, relate back to Him what was happening here or there. God did not choose to make Himself some kind of huge TV screen that would show Him all that was going on anywhere in the universe. Sure He could have done it that way, but He chose NOT to. He decided angels and other creatures would be a part of His world with responsibilities, and some of those responsibilities was to report back to the Eternal God, with things of importance. I cover this in more detail in the study called "God's Omnipresence" in this section of studies on God. God is personally dwelling in a place called heaven. He does not dwell anywhere and everywhere, for He is a very real personal being, just as you are a personally being. Jesus addressed His Father and referred to Him as being in heaven. Eighteen times He said, "Father which is in heaven (Mat.5: 16, 45, 48; etc.). Not one single verse ever refers to God as being bodily everywhere. I will say it again, God is omni-present but NOT omni-body. His presence can be felt by mortal mankind or immortal created beings who many be anywhere in the universe, but His body cannot be seen by them in every place at the same time. God does have a body and goes from place to place just like any other being with a body goes from place to place, one place at one time. PRESENCE can have more than just one meaning. When it comes to using this word with the context of God, the word has THREE meanings. ONE. Presence is governed by RELATIONSHIP, and not bodily presence only. All loved ones know that the presence of those loved can be felt though thousands of miles may separate them. The closer two persons are to each other the closer the presence of each can be felt among them. So it is with God and His children. God is in heaven and those who are His children in spirit and truth, can feel His presence each day of their lives as they live in union with Him. In that sense, with this meaning of the word "presence" we can understand the verse of Scripture that speak of God filling the whole earth and heavens. In Ps. 139: 7 the psalmist said, "...whither shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" God said to Jeremiah, "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" (Jer. 23: 3-4). The apostle Paul said, "In Him we live and move, and have our being" (Acts 17: 27-28). Yes the above verses can also apply to the next meaning of presence when we use it with God. But, it is also a fact that presence is governed by relationship, and not just bodily presence or contact. God of course can make His presence felt on a more infinitely larger scale than mankind can. But it is the same basic principle at work for both God and mankind, under this first meaning of the word presence. Those who do not know God, those who ignore Him, deny Him, want to have nothing to do with Him, do not realize or feel His presence. TWO. God can have His presence felt and be in the whole universe through His miracle of the Holy Spirit. Mankind does not have anything to use or compare to what God can use through His Holy Spirit. It is His nature, His power, to do whatever He wills anywhere in the universe all at the same time if He so wishes. The Holy Spirit of God is NOT a "third person" of the Godhead. Please see my study on the Holy Spirit in this section under "All About God." We could ask the question as to whether God's Spirit is moving around on Venus, or Pluto, or at the bottom of the deepest part of our oceans. Of course God can put His Spirit anywhere, but unless He has a reason to do so, there may be many parts of the universe where His Spirit is not specifically there, for the reason He is not wanting it there or doing anything in that location, but letting the normal forces of His creation work their work as He created and set them to work. Then, remember God has angels, maybe millions of them, who are out there in the vast universe maybe, checking on things, working, taking note, and reporting back to the Almighty, things that need to be reported to Him. As we know there are also fallen angels or demons as we now call them, doing mischief where they can, and how they can, we also know (from many passages in the Bible) the universe is a very busy place. We probably would be shocked to see how busy it is if we were allowed to see this mainly unseen world around us. God no doubt sends His Spirit, or jumps in His universe travelling chariot, to do whatever work needs to be done, when it needs either His Spirit or He Himself to personally do that work. There really is no need to think that God's Spirit is ALWAYS EVERYWHERE at the same time in the universe. It sure could be, but God does not need it to be everywhere all at the same time, every second of existence. God through His Spirit, does exist and is present with each individual child of His on this earth, at any time in history, and any where, and at the same time. But His bodily Self is still in heaven (if He is not personally in another part of the universe for some reason). He bodily cannot be everywhere at the same time, that is one of the major reasons He created angels and other beings. When God created the physical material universe, He needed other responsible beings to help Him rule it all, govern it all. Sure He could have created a material universe that "ran itself" - with no help from anyone ever to be needed, except the two members of the Godhead and His Spirit, but then that would have been little fun, and really no challenge....quite boring actually. All of this that I'm saying may take many by surprise and to some it may sound like blaspheme to talk about God in this manner. But the fact is there is so much in the Bible that God wants us to KNOW about Himself, and when we will just let those verses speak for themselves, our picture of the true God and what He is like, and what He has done, and what He is doing, and the WAY He is doing it, will give us a picture that is vastly different than what most have in their mind about God. Most have this image of a nothingness universal power of nothingness, and so have never come to know God in a very personal way, because they will not let Him be a real personal BEING, that has willed Himself not to be a something that cannot be understood, but to be much more like mankind in CERTAIN ways than mankind has ever understood Him to be. And that my friends should make you LOVE Him more and more, and have a much deeper personal relationship with Him, and Jesus who literally sits at His right hand in the heavenly throne room, in a heavenly city called Jerusalem. THIRD. The word presence as used with God, can mean of course, His literal bodily presence, either in His glorified power form (which to look upon His face by humans would instantly kill them), or in His flesh and bone body, if wanting to come and walk and talk and eat a meal with any of His children on earth. Now, with some of the thoughts I've covered above, please be sure to see my study under this section called "The Omni-presence of God." And some of what is covered under omni-presence leads us smoothly into the subject of God being Omniscient - having ALL knowledge. GOD IS OMNISCIENT Once more people jump off in their minds over this matter, do not or are not willing to let God speak to them in His word about how we are to understand this word "omniscient" in the context of God. Those with the view of mind that God is a huge nothingness, have just as much vagueness of mind about God's omniscience as they do about His omni-presence. They more often than not just shrug their shoulders and walk away muttering things like, "You cannot understand God, so why attempt to." The fact is again that God has spoken in His word many times about Himself and this subject of omniscience as He has directed and willed it for Himself. The Bible makes many simple statements that show us God has WILLED Himself to be LIMITED in KNOWLEDGE! That statement of mine will probably shock many. But it is a fact of a number of Bible verses. If we do not take them for what they say, as showing us some truths about God that He Himself wants to TELL us about what He has willed for Himself, then we can do with other verses whatever we will, and make the Bible say anything we want it to say, according to our "interpreting" whatever we want out of any verses in the Bible. If we take these verses I shall give you, as just figurative, then what else is "just" figurative, maybe God Himself is just figurative....and so some agnostics and unbelievers so scoff at the idea of a personal God and an inspired Word of His that Christians call the Bible. Now look at these verses and simply believe them for what they say. Gen. 6: 5, 6. God willed Himself to NOT know how His physical creation of man and woman would end up, and when He then saw how Satan and the human mind could get so low and so evil, He was sorry, GRIEVED at heart (yes God has many emotions that we humans have because God made mankind in His own image after His own likeness), and "it repented" (as the KJV reads) the Lord, that He had made mankind. Ge. 11: 5-8. The Lord CAME DOWN to see, for Himself, what was going on with man and this tower they were building. WHEN He saw it and knew the plans and minds of mankind, as for why they were building it, He THEN took a course of action accordingly. Ge. 18: 21. God had heard, the cry of it had got back to Him (He had created angels to see things, report things to Him), and He said He would GO DOWN and see IF it really was as bad as had been reported to Him. If it WAS, THEN He would know for Himself in a very real personal way, that His angels reported it very well. All of this shows God has WILLED Himself NOT to know everything that goes on in the earth and the universe. It shocks some, they do not want to believe these clear verses and what God is teaching us about Himself. But the verses are there, and they say what they mean and they mean what they say. Stop and think for a moment. How would you like to KNOW EVERYTHING, all at the same time, in all places of the universe, what is happening and what will happen every single day for all eternity. You just know it all way in advance. What kind of a sameness and even yes, I will say it, BORING, kind of a life would that be, and for all eternity. You may not agree, but I think to have it that way, would be a boring kind of life. And here comes all this knowledge just hitting you from all corners of the universe, all at the same time, and even things thousands of years yet to take place, and you are supposed to absorb it and make millions of plans and thought for all this. Just is not very real to me or logical to my mind, and Paul did say we can look at the creation and come to understand God. Mankind was made in the image of God. God has put in us kind of automatically, a LIMITED knowledge, as used on a daily basis. Well, as shocking as it may sound, God also LIMITED Himself. He WILLED Himself if you will, to NOT KNOW EVERYTHING that would take place at any one time on any location on earth. Now, yes God can know some things in ADVANCE, IF He so wills Himself to know. He can plan a specific many thousands of years in advance, and bring it all to pass, just as He willed it. The Bible is full of such things like that. Jesus was to come to the earth to die for the sins of mankind, EVEN BEFORE the world's foundations were built. That is taught in the New Testament. Yes, all of this kind of thing God can do, IF He so wills it. And yet at the same time can not God WILL Himself to NOT know certain things, if He wills it? Why of course He can! If we believe the one, because the Bible tells us it is so, then why cannot we believe the other, for the Bible also tells us it is so. God is ALL KNOWLEDGABLE, in as far as He as WILLED Himself to know, and no further. Look up and read in context these other verses: Gen. 22: 12; 2 Chron. 16: 9; Zech. 4: 10; Job 12: 22; 24: 23; Ps. 7: 9; 44: 21; Ps. 139: 1-6; Prov. 24: 12; Jer. 17: 10; Ezek. 11: 5; Rom. 8: 27; 1 Thes. 2: 4). As you read the Bible from cover to cover, keep in mind what I have said, and you will see that God does teach us that He is all knowing to the point of what He has WILLED Himself to know, at any given time in the history of the earth and the universe. BACK TO THE ANGELS FOR A MOMENT God does not do everything Himself as a person. Angels, and certain ones have different ranks, or responsibilities, to do or look after certain things in the universe. They report to Him on various happening going on here or there, and certainly going on in different places on the earth (see Dan. 10: 13-21; 11: 1; 12: 1; Zech. 1: 7-11; 6: 1-8; Mat. 18: 10-11; Heb. 2: 4). God sends out His messengers throughout the whole of His vast creation to govern, do battle with evil forces of Satan, to take note of happenings, to serve His physical children on earth, to relate messages to them at times, to give them understanding of visions and dreams, to bring them words of prophecies to write down or for them to go out and tell cities or nations what God has to say. God is chairman, president, owner, director, of a un-imaginable (to our human minds), busy and literal, universal company. He has created maybe billions (maybe billions, we don't know how many) of personal employees, to help Him run, and maintain, and guide His holdings, which are everything, even the demonic world belongs to Him, in the sense that He could obliterate them with the word of His mouth, if He so decided to do. This earth and all the happenings from Adam and Eve, to the vast world of the unseen (for the most part) angels and all that is going on between them as evil ones fighting righteous ones (see the book of Daniel for that truth), need many helping hands to keep it all going. Well put it this way, God has WILLED or CHOSEN that it be this way, run with many helping hands. Many Scriptures show all this. Here are some. But you keep all this in mind as you read through the Bible, and you will find more: Ge. 18: 21; 22; Dan.10: 13-21; 11: 1; 12: 1; Zech. 1: 7-11; 6: 1-8; Mat. 18: 10-11; Heb. 1: 14; 2: 2; Rev. 1: 1-7; 7: 1-3; 8: 2-13; 9: 1; 14: 6-20: 15: 1-8; 16: 1-21; 18: 21; 22: 6, 8-9, 16). There is more on this subject of God's omniscience, as we read through the whole Bible. If we will but just read it and let it teach us, correct us, tells us about the reality of God, then we can come to know what God has told us about Himself in His word. There are about 6,500 commands in the Bible regulating man as to his part in the eternal plan of God, and setting forth man's responsibility to God and to fellow mankind. There are about 1,260 promises of curses and blessings, rewards or loss of rewards. There are hundreds of warnings, curses, blessings and dealings of God on the basis of conformity to His will. There are about 1,500 "if's" and hundreds of conditional requirements of God throughout the Bible. Sufficient proof is all this, to show that God DOES NOT CAUSE ALL acts and events by His own decrees - and sufficient proof that He CHANGES His own dealings with men, as they conform or refuse to conform to His will. All this goes to prove and to show to us, that God does NOT KNOW what any one man will do, in his lifetime (God may know some things, may decree some things that a certain man will do at a certain point, if it is to specifically bring to pass a part of God's plan), as a general rule. Then multiply this with all the different kinds of types and dispositions of men and women and all the different situations they may face or find themselves in over a life time, and you can see why God has willed Himself not to know all these things all the time. God has shown to us that in the MAIN, man is a free moral agent (unless God has a specific thing in mind for a specific man at a specific time, even then it is not anything to do with final salvation, but only for that present specific time - Romans 9 is an example of this), who has freedom to decide. And God has in the most part willed Himself not to know in advance what any man may decide under the situation of his life at a given point, to do. It is contrary to the OVERALL of the Bible to think that God knows or even would like to know, ALL acts and all particular events of all vast creations of free moral agents from all eternity past; or that He has fixed and determined decrees choosing and predestinating all thought, acts, and deeds, of free wills of all people, and creations, from eternity past to all eternity future. If you are wondering about the subject of "predestination" then you will find a study on this topic on this Website. Do not misunderstand all that I have said above. God's eternal plan for man from the beginning to the end and what He plans to bring to pass on earth, the plan for mankind, He has the power to so bring to pass and do. But, as concerning the free actions of free moral agents such as mankind, in the main, He does not know from all eternity past what they will do BEFORE they are in existence and are here to have a part in His plan. He does NOT know in advance which ones will be saved and which ones will be lost in the lake of fire. He has a plan for ALL to be given a full and fair chance for salvation and to conform to His will, but He does not know in advance who will accept and conform, who will remain faithful to the end and be saved into the Kingdom, or who will reject His gift of salvation through Christ, or who will fall away somewhere along the straight and narrow pathway that leads to eternal life. It is God's PLAN that He has formulated that was known to Him from the beginning, even before the world was made, not the individual conformity to it by free moral agents. God wills, wishes that all mankind be saved, that none be lost to hell fire, but if man chooses to NOT be saved and conform to God's will, then God can do nothing to prevent what man freely chooses. I have written much on the vital subject of being called and chosen, on salvation, and on a Christian's destiny. All on this Website, as well as the late Dr. Atkinson's studies on death, resurrection, and reward of the wicked. GOD IS OMNIPOTENT - ALL POWERFUL Once more, WITHIN God's realm and His operations, His sphere in which He does not and cannot operate, God is indeed ALL powerful. These words, will I think, become quite clear to us as we proceed. Yes, there are certain THINGS God CANNOT DO! We must be sensible when we consider God and the word we attach to Him as being omnipotent. As we read the Bible we will, or we should put this word "omnipotent" automatically into a context that God can only work within. When it comes to creation, God is all powerful and all authoritative. He brought the universe into being with the command and work of His will, and the NT shows us that He brought it and all of creation into being from nothing. At one time there was no physical matter nor was there any created angelic beings. Then at some point God brought the spirit angelic beings into existence and so also the material universe, all from nothing but His will of wanting it to be. He has total power over all that He has created. If it was His will, to reverse the pattern and have it all back as it was before - nothing, He could just speak and it would be so. God is all powerful when it comes to His overall plan for His creation. There is nothing and there is no one (Satan the Devil included), that can thwart or stop God's will for bringing to pass His plan for mankind and the whole created universe. He only ALLOWS certain things to happen that Satan and the fallen angels do in order to mess up God's overall purposes. He could obliterate them all if He so wished, with the command of His voice. But, God has, because He has willed His plan to be so, limited Himself in His dealing with free moral agents like those of the human race. He must respect their free will, and gives them the right to act of their own free choice to conform to His will and consecrate themselves to His righteousness or to reject His will and reject His righteousness. He has given laws and commandments whereby they should live and conduct their lives, and has given rewards in this life and that which is to come for those who will live and work His will. Also He has given rewards to those you will not serve and obey and conform to His will, as the apostle Paul put it, "the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6: 23). But He forces no one to come to Him and obey His will. He calls them, and gives to them knowledge of the truths of His life, through the power of the Holy Spirit, but He forces no one to act on that knowledge. He has willed Himself to not have authoritative power to force any of His created free will creations to serve and conform to His righteousness. They must decide and choose His way of life for themselves. God has all power in things He can have all power in and over. But God cannot lie (Heb. 6: 17-19). He cannot deny Himself, or act contrary to His own eternal truths (2 Tim. 2: 13). He cannot have respect of persons (Rom. 2: 11; Col. 3: 25; 2 Peter 1: 17). He cannot save a soul apart from faith and grace in Christ (Rom. 3: 25; John 3: 16; Eph. 2: 8-9; Acts 4: 12). He cannot save rebels who refuse Him and persist in living contrary to His will and meet His terms for salvation (Prov. 1: 22-23; 29: 1). God cannot be tempted with evil or tempt any man with evil (James 1: 13-15). He cannot save anyone who turns back to a life of sin and lives in rebellion to His known commandments (Ezek. 3: 17-21; 18: 4-24; 33: 7-16; Mark 7: 19-21; Rom. 1: 21-23; 6: 16-23; 8: 12-13; Gal. 5: 19-21; 6: 7-8; Col.3: 5-10). Now, do we see how God limits His power to conform to His own predetermined plan for mankind. Yes, God is all powerful, but He must limit His power to stay within His own righteousness and His own will on how He has willed for some things to operate. We often think of God's infinite LOVE, MERCY, LONG-SUFFERING, KINDNESS, FATHERHOOD, GRACE, CARE, BLESSINGS, but all of these and other attributes are limited, because of the framework that He has decreed for their use. He is indeed infinite in say, MERCY and GRACE, or FORGIVENESS, but only to those who conform to the conditions to receive those infinite attributes of Himself and His character. He cannot be infinitely showing mercy and forgiveness to those who wilfully rebel and sin against Him (Heb. 10: 26-31). GOD IS As we read through the whole Bible, as we take note of what God teaches us throughout all His Holy Word, as we believe what we read about what God tells us about Himself, we will come to see and understand Him for what He is, a God that is very PERSONAL, a literal BEING, with a form and shape that is like unto mankind, for mankind was made in His likeness. We shall come to see and understand that He has all the emotions that we humans have, but kept in perfect sinless control, even when He gets angry, or when He must punish or correct. We shall come to see, as we read His word, that His omnipresence, omniscient quality, omnipotent power, is governed by what He has Himself WILLED for Himself, and also in accordance to His set conditions that free willed mankind must conform to. We shall come to see that God governs Himself according to what He pre-determined would be His plan for creating all that He decided to create. What a wonderful God and Father we have. Both He and His Son Jesus Christ, are very personal beings. They want you to have a very real personal experience with THEM. The more you study God's Word, the more you pray and meditate (with occasional fasting), the more you will get to KNOW them. There is a great deal that God reveals to us about Himself in His word. Yes, some things we will look through a glass darkly, as Paul once said, but the day is coming when we shall even KNOW those things as we are known. But there is a lot in the Bible that God wants us to KNOW NOW, so get busy and READ IT! You will be glad you did. ............................... Written 2003

ALL ABOUT GOD #3

WHO was Jesus?

The Gospel of John makes it CLEAR!

Continuing the old study paper from the old Ambassador College on THE FAMILY OF GOD. WHO WAS JESUS? Your Savior - was He man, God, or what? Where did He come from? How did He get here? Was He really divine? Could it be true that Christ and the God or the Old Testament are one and the same Person? Many have asked these most basic and important questions. Here, from the book of John, are the answers. Most all human beings either have or have had a "best friend," or a "closest buddy" - someone with whom they share a side of themselves seldom seen by others. Though Jesus loved all men, He was especially close to His disciple John. The apostle himself revealed this warm relationship in his own Gospel. He is a bit hesitant about mentioning himself in the first person - although he wasn't at all hesitant about mentioning the other disciples by name. He is the only one of Christ's biographers who was bold enough to point out Simon Peter as the man who severed the servant's ear during Jesus' arrest in the garden (John 18:10). Yet he never mentions himself by name in his entire book; when he writes of "John," he refers to John the Baptist. "The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved." At His last Passover, "Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, 'I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.' His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, 'Ask him which one he means.'" (John 13:21-24, The New International Version). Who was this "disciple whom Jesus loved"? Some days after Jesus' resurrection from the dead, Peter engaged in an extended discourse with the risen Christ. Concluding the conversation, "Peter turned and saw following them the disciple whom Jesus loved, who had lain close to his breast at the [last Passover] supper and had said, 'Lord who is it that is going to betray you?' When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, 'Lord, what about this man?' Jesus said to him, 'if it is my will that he remain [alive) until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!'" (John 2120-22). Verse 24 then reveals the identity of this disciple and future apostle: "This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things, and who has written these things; and we know that his testimony is true." This could be none other than the author of "the Gospel According to John." John remained alive to write the book of Revelation long after Peter's martyrdom. Apparently John was the only apostle whose life did not end in martyrdom. It is thought that, although imprisoned, he was allowed to live out his last days in relative peace on the Isle of Patmos. John was also favored to be among the small inner circle of disciples who witnessed a foretaste of the Kingdom of God in vision. "And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart" (Matt.17:1). There they saw Jesus transfigured before them, with Moses and Elijah. It was also John who was the first disciple to believe Christ had risen from the dead. Shortly after Christ's resurrection, Mary Magdalene came and saw that the tomb was empty. "So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved..." (John 20:2). John outran Simon Peter to the tomb, but impetuous Peter went in first (verses 3-7), "Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed" (verse 8). John's Deeper Understanding. Perhaps in part because of his special closeness to Jesus, John was given of God a deeper and broader understanding of his Savior. Matthew, Mark and Luke each begin their "minibiographies" of Jesus with an account of John the Baptist or with the conception of the human Jesus. But John's beginning pre-dates even the events in the Old Testament: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1-3). Verse 14 explains who this "Word" was: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we [the disciples] have bebeld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." Jesus Christ is the only heavenly Being who ever became a fleshly human being and lived in this world. These very few verses tell us a great deal about the nature of Jesus Christ: 1) He was God; 2) He was with another Being called God from the very beginning; 3) he was the "Word" (Greek: Logos) or Spokesman for the Father ("No one has ever seen God," meaning the other Being called God, verse 18). John's first letter and two of Paul's epistles provide us with an excellent commentary on these beginning Scriptures in the fourth Gospel. As if by habit, John begins his first epistle with "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us - that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ" (I John l:l-3). This letter, as the first verses of John's Gospel, makes it plain that the Being with whom they had lived, worked, played, swam and fished was none other than a member of the Godhead - with, and like, God the Father. The Apostle Paul wrote "He [the Father] has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son [Jesus Christ], in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible Gao, the first-born of all creation; for in Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things..." (Col.1:13-17; compare with Eph.3:9). Paul here points out the broad and massive extent of the work and authority of the pre-human Christ. John's Theme - the Godship of Christ. John emphasizes over and over again, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (see 2 Tim.3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 14:26), the pre-existence of Christ as God before His human birth. It is a prominent theme running throughout his entire Gospel. Notice it again in the very first chapter. "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not" (John 1:10). If He made the world, then He preceded His own creation. Yet when He came in the human flesh, the vast majority of those who had the opportunity to know Him rejected their own Creator. John the Baptist picks up this same theme. "John bore witness to Him, and cried, 'This was he of whom I said, He who comes after me ranks before me, for he was before me'" (John 1:15). Was the Baptist indulging in some kind of spiritual doubletalk here? No! John the Baptist was begotten and born into the human flesh before Jesus was (Luke 1:35-36,57-60). But Jesus was God long before John was ever conceived. The Baptist repeats it in verse 30: "...After me comes a man who ranks before me, for he was before me." Jesus' Supernatural Knowledge. John revealed that Christ possessed powers that no normal human being had, although He was certainly subject to the pulls and temptations of the flesh (Heb.4:15). When Christ called Nathaniel to a discipleship (and future apostleship), "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, if whom is no guile!' Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered him, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God!'...Jesus answered him,'Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You shall see greater things [miracles] than these'" - (John 1:47-50). Notice also the last three verses of John, chapter two. "Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in His name when they saw His signs which He did; but Jesus did not trust Himself to them, because He knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for He Himself knew what was in man" (verses 23-25). Christ the Creator had made mankind and He knew all about people's human weaknesses. Jesus - From Heaven. John knew Jesus' true origin. Quoting Christ Himself, John 3:13 declares: "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man." John continues this theme in the second half of the chapter: "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; He who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one [the vast majority] receives His testimony; he [only a few] who receives His testimony sets His seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that He gives the Spirit" (verses 30.34). While Jesus Christ was yet in heaven (before His human birth), our Savior saw and heard the message that He later spoke on earth. Here, in a conversation with the religious leaders of His generation, He said: "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from [heaven) and where I am going [heaven]" (John 8:14, The New International Version). He continued in verses 23 and 28: "You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.... When you have lifted up [crucified] the Son of man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak thus as the Father taught me." Backtracking to verse 26 "...But He who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from Him." Verse 38: "I speak of what I have seen with my Father...." Verse 42: "I came not of my own accord, but he sent me." Jesus - The God of the Old Testsment. In this very long dialogue of Jesus, the Pharisees brought up the subject of Abraham (the greatest of Jewish national heroes). Jesus explained to them: "Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad" (verse 56). The One who became Christ actually walked and talked with the patriarch Abraham (Gen.l2:1-4; 13:14-18; 17:1-22; 18:1-33; 22:1-2). Of course, these religionists simply didn't grasp what Jesus was saying. "The Jews then said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?' Jesus said to them,'Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am' "(verses 57-58). Jesus Christ was the same God who walked and talked with Moses in the wilderness - the same "I AM" (see Ex.3:14) who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. Paul makes this plain. "I want you to know, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the [Red] sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.... For they drank from the same supernatural Rock which followed them, and the ['that,' KJV] Rock was Christ" (1 Cor.10:1-4). This same Personage in the Godhead presided over the Flood in Noah's day. Peter gives us the facts: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just and the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also He [Christ] went and preached unto the spirits [demons] in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water" (I Peter 3:18-20, KJV). From Creator to Son. But we find the most emphatic statements about the pre-existence of Jesus Christ in the book of John. The book's major emphasis is on the undeniable fact that Jesus Christ was God before His human birth. Even the Pharisee Nicodemus said to Jesus: "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God..." (John 3:2). Jesus told the leaders of this smallish sect: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because He not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God" (John 5:17-18, KJV). If you have any sons or daughters, they are on the same plane and level of existence as yourself. They are not inferior beings like animals. Jesus was equal with God in the sense that He existed on the same God-plane that the Father did. True, the Father was and is greater in authority - "My Father is greater than I" (John 14:28, KJV). Continuing His discussion with the Pharisees, Christ drove home the point that He was indeed God's Son: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of His own accord, but only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever He does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all that He Himself is doing; and greater works than these will He show Him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will" (John 5:19-21). Jesus possesses the same powers that the Father does, because He too is God. Jesus Christ said: "I and the Father are one" (John 10:30). Not that they are the same Being, but they are one in purpose, one in plan, and most of all, one in the sense that they are members of the same God family. If anyone in that generation saw Jesus, they saw how One in the God family would act if He were here on earth - and specifically the Father. "And Jesus cried out and said, 'He who believes in me, believes not in me but in Him who sent me. And he who sees me sees Him who sent me'"(John 12:44-45). Jesus Resumed His Glorified Godship. We have firmly established the fact that Jesus was God before His human birth. Notice just one more verse to that effect: "And now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made" (John 17:5). Jesus was a glorified God-Being before there ever was an angel or man on earth. In fact, Jesus has eternally existed as God. But He divested Himself of His former glory and came down to this earth as a human being to (among many other things) die for the sins of all mankind. Paul wrote to the Philippian brethren: "Have this mind among yourselves, which you have in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross" (Phil.2:5-8). Paul then brings out the fact that Jesus is now restored to His former glory: "Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow [God does not allow human beings to worship other human beings or even angels - only members of the God family], in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (verses 9-11). John also wrote of Jesus' resuming His Godship. Notice Christ's words in the true Lord's prayer: "And now I am no more in the world ... and I come to thee" (John 17:11, KJV). Earlier Jesus had said to His disciples: "What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before?" (John 6:62, KJV.) Later they did see just that (Acts 1:9). Notice John 7:33 (KJV): "Then said Jesus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that sent me." Concerning the occasion of Christ's last Passover, John begins: "Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was (very soon to] come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father ..."(John 13:1, KJV). John repeats this vital theme over and over again. "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father" (John 16:28, KJV). The Incredible Destiny of Men. Jesus was God before His human birth; He was God in the flesh while a human being here on earth; and He is now very God at the right hand of the Father in heaven. But must we stop there in our knowledge? Jesus said to Mary Magdalene: "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your father; and to my God, and your God" (John 20:17, KJV). In this verse, Jesus was equating Himself (though He was their Lord and Master - John 13:13) with His disciples and future apostles. What is the real significance of this statement? Jesus Himself gives us the true answer in John 10. "The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, 'I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of these do you stone me?' The Jews answered him, 'We stone you for no good work but for blasphemy; because you, being a man, make yourself God.' Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods [see Psalm 82:6]? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, You are blaspheming; because I said, I am the Son of God?'" (Verses 3136). This very vital passage of Scripture reveals, believe it or not, that man's ultimate destiny is to become a part of the God family. Notice John's first letter once again: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He [Christ] shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2, KJV). Can you grasp what John is saying here? Even as God became man, so man may become God! The two planes are interchangeable under certain conditions. Man is to become just as much God as Christ is God. That in a nutshell is the transcendent purpose of human life! What can every man and woman do to ensure that this wonderful event does indeed happen to them? Verse 3: "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He [Christ] is pure" (KJV). THE ONENESS OF GOD Jesus said, as recorded in John 10:30: "I and my Father are one." Now please read carefully John 17:21, where He prayed for His followers: "that they all may be one: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us...." There is one Godhead, or one God family, who are of one mind and purpose. But that family is now composed of two individuals. God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. This is clearly stated in John 1:1 (RSV): "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The "Word," or "Spokes- men," refers to the One who later became Jesus Christ (see verse 14). Hebrews 1 also shows conclusively, that Christ was and is now God;! "God ... hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb.1:1-3). God says of Christ: "Let all the? angels of God worship Him" (verse 6). Only a member of the God family is worthy of worship. But the God family is not limited to God the Father and Jesus Christ: "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God..." (John 1:12). And this does not mean an existence on some sort of angelic plane, either. Hebrews 2:7 (RSV) shows that mankind, like Christ, was made "for a little while lower than the angels, "but that he to to be "crowned with glory and honor." "Everything" is to be put "in subjection under his feet." But, "As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him;" because the resurrection to immortality hasn't occurred yet. When Christ said He and the Father were one, and that He was equal with God, the Jews accused Him of blasphemy. Here is what he replied: "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are [potentially] gods? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came (end Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him whom the Father consecreted and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" (John 10:34-38, RSV). So the family of God will eventually be expended to include all of mankind who choose to accept Christ as their Savior and follow God's way. Christians "now are ... the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is" (I John 3:2). I Corinthians 15:49,53 (RSV) adds: "Just as we have bome the image of the man of dust (Adam), we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven [Christ) ... For this mortal ... must put on immortality." Here it says plainly that resurrected Christians are to be immortal like Christ. He is our elder brother (Rom.8:28; Heb.2:11), the pioneer of our salvation (Heb. 2:10). When we are changed, our mortal bodies will become spirit bodies like His. He will make "our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power which enables Him even to subject all things to Himself" (Phil.3:20-21, RSV). CHRIST IN THE BOOK OF JOHN John had an unusually close, friendly relationship with Jesus. He seems to understand better than other disciples where Jesus came from, where He was going, and what He was all about. Below are references from John's Gospel on the nature of Christ. Christ created the world 1:1-3.10 He was the God of the Old Testament 1:15,30; 5:46; 8:56-58 He was One with God the Father and equal to Hin 5:17-18; 10:30,33; 12:44-45; 15:23; 17:11, 20-26; 19:7 He Rules over Everything 3:34-35; 5:19-23, 26-27; 16:15 He Became Man 1:14 He Came Down from Heaven 3:13,31; 6:38, 41, 51, 58, 62; 8:14, 21-23 He was Sent by God the Father 3:16-17, 34; 4:34; 5:30; 6:29, 44, 57; 7:28-29, 33; 8:42; 9:4; 10:34-36; 11:42; 16:27-29; 17:7; 20:21 His Authority was from God the Father 7:16-18; 8:16, 26-29; 12:44, 49-50; 14:24; 15:15 He went Bach to Heaven 6:62; 7:33-34; 8:21; 13:1-3, 33; 14:1-3, 12; 16:27-29; 20:17 He will Come Again 5:25-29; 14:3; 21:22-23 ............... NOTE: From a child I had read over and over again the four Gospels. As a young teenager I was give a "Red Letter" New Testament. I read the words of Christ over and over during those teen years. Everything you have just read and I hope studied in this old study paper, I KNEW from my teenage years. Today we have some in the Protestant world and in the 7th Day observing Churches of God, who teach that Jesus was just a man, but a man with more of the Holy Spirit than you and I. Some even go so far as to say Jesus did NOT EXIST until born of a virgin maid - Mary! I will TELL YOU THAT SUCH TEACHING IS NOT ONLY TOTALLY WRONG, IT IS A HERESY!! Anyone who teaches such way out in left field theology, you need to AVOID as the plague. It does not matter what other teachings they may have correct, IF THEY DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE TRUTH OF WHO JESUS WAS AND IS, as you have seen in this study, YOU NEED TO GET AS FAR AWAY FROM THEM AS POSSIBLE, THEY ARE HERETICS! They may sound very spiritual, they may even have "letters" after their name, and they will have clever technical answers to uphold their teaching that Jesus was merely a man and that He did not exist before being born of Mary. But the simply truth is what you have read in this study. I tell you a CHILD can come to understand WHO Jesus WAS abd IS! I was a child reading the Gospel of John (and the other three Gospels) and it was CLEAR TO ME, WHO JESUS WAS AND IS! This TRUTH is SIMPLE to understand. There has always (eternally) been TWO members in the Godhead. One member BECAME the Jesus Christ of your New Testament. The other whom we today know as the "FATHER" - both with the name of God, as we might say, a "sir- name." Both are equal in EVERYTHING, but God the Father is GREATER in AUTHORITY. Jesus put aside being One with the Father in the ONE Godhead, and was willing to take on the form of human flesh and blood - IMMANUEL - meaning "God with us." Jesus was God in the flesh. He came to DIE for the SINS of all manind, so YOU and I, could REPENT of sin, accept Jesus as our PERSONAL Savior, and be a VERY LITERAL child of God the Father. Jesus is our BROTHER! Can you understand that? Yes, you can, just read the four Gospels, and the leters of John. If you have not done so, study my study called "A Christian's Destiny" on this Website. Just read all the passages in the Bible concerning this GREAT AND WONDERFUL TRUTH. Read them as a child, believe them as a child. It should bring tears of joy to your eyes. What the Father wants to SHARE with YOU, is beyond human comprehension, we can know it, yes, but we see it only as through a glass darkly. But one day dear reader YOU WILL KNOW IT FULLY AND AS WE ARE KNOWN. Few Christians today REAlLY KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS YOU TO HAVE. But it is there, in your Bible, for those who search it out. It does not matter WHO you are. It does not matter YOUR FAME, or your MONEY (large or small), or your physical material "stuff" that you have. Everyone who has been and will ever be, on this planet, is on the same equal ground, when it comes to Salvation and the GLORY that can be YOURS in the Immortal Family of God. All you need to do is CONFESS to the Father that you are a sinner, that your sins need to be washed away from the record book. Just REPENT of sin, turn your mind and heart to the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God. Just ACCEPT Jesus as your PERSOANL Savior, the God who died for your sins. RENEW your mind, be CONVERTED to the Holy ways and commandments of the Eternal Father and His Son Christ Jesus. If you have not done this. If you are new to reading God's Word the Bible, and if you are new to the wonderful truths you can find on this Website, in the topics of eternal Salvation, then I encourage you to TURN YOURSELF OVER into the hands of the heavenly Father, who wants to give you more than your dreams can imagine. You will be blessed NOW and FOREVER! Keith Hunt

ALL ABOUT GOD #4

God as Man!

His Work on Earth was ...

GOD AS MAN by Dr. Gerald B. Winrod "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Ever lasting Father and The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 The INCARNATION of the eternal Son, involving the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ was a plan conceived in the mind of the Infinite before the dawn of creation. Think of Christ correctly. Take Him out of the man class. Put Him in the God class. He never had a beginning. He is an eternal being. Associate yourself with Him and you will become a recipient of the same eternal life that we saw manifested in Him during the days of His flesh. He was born into this life for a purpose. Long before the foundations of our earth were laid and before the heavens were stretched forth like a scroll ... before the valleys were scooped out or the mountains piled high ... before a carpet of grass was unrolled for humans to walk upon, or the earth was laced with babbling brooks and flowing streams... before a furnace was placed in the sun or the wheels of our solar system started turning! Back there, in the undated past called eternity, before the sons of God shouted for joy it was foreordained that the WORD should become flesh and dwell among men on this planet. What we saw at Bethlehem was the consummation of that plan, the materialization of the original conception in the mind of the Infinite. Jesus Christ did not come to reform but to transform. Not to repair but to replace. Not to save us from wrong-doing but to save us from wrong-being. He came to bring life. The natural man is dead in trespasses and sin. He said: "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." The personality of Jesus Christ is the hub, the great central fact of all Scripture. Both the Old and New Testaments are woven around His majestic personality. In order to understand Him and to cooperate with Him for the accomplishment of divine purposes in our lives, we must take Him out of the man class and put Him in the God class. Who had glory with God in the eons of eternity before the worlds were framed? Jesus Christ. Who is mentioned more than three hundred times in the Old Testament? Jesus Christ. Who is referred to in every book of the Bible? Jesus Christ. Who was supernaturally born? Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary? Jesus Christ. Who lived a sinless life? Who lived in sin and yet without sin? Jesus Christ. Who tasted death for every man and entered into an atonement great enough to include the last sinner who walks the dirt roads of earth? Jesus Christ. Who conquered Hades? Who came out of the new tomb of Joseph of Arimathea in triumphant resurrection? Who tasted death for every man? Who broke the power of death over redeemed souls? Jesus Christ. On top of the mountain whose body became all aglow with the glory of God? Who transcended gravity and was lifted up and out of sight in the ascension? Who ascended into heaven? Jesus Christ. Then two witnesses appear dressed in white raiment. They inquire, "Men of Galilee why these tears? Do you not know that this same Jesus will come again as He has departed now?" Who is coming again, King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Jesus Christ. He came from the bosom of the Father to the bosom of a Virgin. He left the ivory palaces, came down to this earth and put on humanity that we might put on divinity. He became the Son of Man that we might become the sons of God. He came from heaven where rivers never freeze, winds never blow, frosts never chill, flowers never fade, no one is ever sick and no one ever dies. He stooped low to our level, that we might be given a foretaste of heaven and see God in a human body. Jesus lived the human life of God. As the magnifying glass brings out the hidden beauties of the rose, so also He displays before us the hidden beauties of deity. He was born in a supernatural way. He lived in poverty. He grew up in obscurity. He had no wealth. He attended no college. Yet the profoundest wisdom of men has never equaled His discourses. The record says: "Never man spake like this man." His relatives were inconspicuous folk living in a rural community. In infancy He frightened a king. In boyhood, He puzzled doctors of the law. At the age of twelve He possessed greater wisdom than theologians. He was taught of God. In manhood He ruled the elements. He defied the law of gravitation by the walking on water. Winds obeyed His voice. He spoke peace to a raging sea. He healed multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services. He never wrote a book. Yet many libraries would be required to accommodate the books that have been written about Him. He never wrote a song. Yet He has furnished the theme of more songs than all the song writers combined. He never founded a college, and yet all the schools in the world put together cannot boast the number of students who studied under Him. He healed broken hearts. He blessed little children. He healed the sick. He cleansed the leper. He raised the dead. He went about doing good. He was the Man of Mercy. He associated with sinners. He ate with publicans. In fact, one had to be a sinner to attract His attention. He said: "The Son of man is come to seek, and to save, that which was lost. He has power to transform human lives. He specializes in making bad people good. That is the greatest of all miracles, transforming sinners into saints. He never mobilized an army, or drafted a soldier, or fired a gun. Yet no military leader has ever enlisted as many volunteers as those who take orders from Him. You do not need to be an astronomer to understand that He is the Day Star of Eternal Hope. You do not need to be a geologist to understand that He is the Rock of Ages. You do not need to be a zoologist to understand that He is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. You do not need to be a botanist to understand that He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley. You do not need to be a musician to understand that He is the great Harmonizer of all discords. You do not need to be a doctor to understand that He is the Healer of human ills. Great men have come and gone. He lives on. Herod could not kill Him. People at a religious service could not stone Him. Satan could not tempt Him. Death could not destroy Him. The grave could not contain Him. Demons obeyed Him. He fed a hungry multitude with the lunch of a small boy. He broke up funerals. He gave life back to those who were dead. He said: "I am the resurrection and the life." He laid aside His Royal robe for the gown of a peasant. He was rich but for our sakes became poor. Yet wise men brought Him costly gifts at the time of His birth. He slept in the manger of a stranger. He sailed on a lake in a borrowed boat. He road into Jerusalem on a borrowed beast. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. He conquered death. He rose on the third day as He had previously announced. He ascended into heaven. He sits at the right hand of the Majesty on High. He will come again. He will judge the nations in righteousness. Every knee shall bow to Him. Every tongue shall confess Him as Lord. His friends will gladly make this confession. His enemies will make the same confession while trying to hide from His face. He is the perfect One. He is the Chief among ten thousands. He alone can satisfy the soul and give everlasting life to those who will accept. He is altogether lovely. Jesus attended three funerals in the days of His flesh and in each instance destroyed the last enemy which is death. I repeat, He attended three funerals and He broke up all of them. He specializes in breaking up funerals! A boy had died. His mother was weeping. Jesus touched the casket and the young man rose from the dead. The daughter of Jairus had died of a fever. Jesus put the doubters out of the room. He took the maid's hand and said, "Arise." Life was restored. His friend Lazarus had died. Jesus commanded the stone to be rolled away. He said: "Lazarus come forth." Life was restored. Not long ago I made a trip from Washington, D.C., down the Potomac to Mount Vernon. I visited the tomb of George Washington and that is a sacred spot. The British have their Westminster Abbey where they bury their noble dead. A great building in India marks the place where the mortal remains of Buddha were laid to rest. But as Christians we rejoice, not in some beautifully decorated tomb under oriental skies. We rejoice in an empty tomb. HE IS THE CHRIST TRIUMPHANT! .................. This article courtesy of Kingdom Treasure Ministries, Owasso, OK www.truth inhistory.org Taken from "Thy Kingdom Come" - August 2008, a publication of The Association of the Covenant People, Burnaby, B.C. Canada

ALL ABOUT GOD #5

DOES GOD HAVE A BODY?

Is God a personal being with shape and form? Does He have a head, chest, stomach, arms, legs and feet? Does God have eyes, ears, nose and mouth? Is God in one place at one time or everywhere? Does God have a body or is He a disembodied Spirit? There are some who teach God is not a personal being with a body. What is the truth of the matter? In this article you will find the answer. by Keith Hunt The leader of one of the large Sabbath keeping Churches of God has written: "Now, none of us would want to make God into an image of mortal man, but IF WE CLING TO A BELIEF THAT GOD HAD A BODY then we have inadvertently reduced God to an image made to look like mortal man. God is not created. HE DOES NOT HAVE A BODY" (Worldwide News, August 3, 1993, emphasis mine). Do you see the psychological mind play here? The writer is trying to intimidate his readers by saying that NOBODY wants to bring God down to the level of man, and if we say God has a body, that's just what we are doing - lowering the stature of God, and no one wants to be accused of that now, do they. What he also says is the reversal of what God said in the beginning. Turn to Genesis, chapter one. God had been busy for a number of days during that re-creation week, making various CREATURES of the land, sea, and air. Nothing is said about them having the form of God Himself. After all those creatures were created notice what God says in verses 26,27, "....Let us MAKE MAN in OUR IMAGE, after OUR LIKENESS.. ..So God created MAN in His OWN IMAGE, in the IMAGE OF GOD created he him; male and female...." Right at the very beginning of the Bible, the Eternal God tells us that He created mankind in, not the likeness or image of the angels or any other spirit being, but He formed and gave mankind the IMAGE or LIKENESS of HIMSELF. God took the dirt of the ground and moulded the shape and form of man from it to resemble the image or shape of very GOD. Friends, you need to clearly understand this plain truth. The Bible is written so a young child can understand its basic most important truths and teachings. God has hidden some of His mysteries in parables and symbolism for the mature adult Christian, for those who have fed on the milk of the word and are ready for stronger meat, but the all important basic doctrines and truths that God wants all of His children to KNOW, and know that they know, is made easy to understand, if we will be as young children in simple belief, as Jesus once said, "I thank you Lord that you have hid these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes." I submit that in Genesis 1:26,27 we are being told by the creator that He does have a body and that His body is in the form and shape of the physical humans He created from the dust of the earth. I submit that is the truth of the matter and that is how a young child would understand those verses. It was certainly the way I understood those verses as a young child growing up in the church I attended from the age of six years old. The writer in the Worldwide News has turned the truth of God upside down. He says if we believe God has a body we make God to look like mortal man - yet God says I will make mortal man to look like ME! Do you see how the word of God has been twisted around to say the opposite of what was really said? Do you remember who started that way of thinking, reasoning and deceptive talk? It was none other than the great deceiver himself - Satan the devil. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of every tree of the garden except ONE. They were not to eat the fruit from that tree - if they did they would surely DIE! Satan comes along(chapter 3 of Genesis) and completely changes the plain teaching and words of God, turns what God said UPSIDE DOWN. Satan told the woman that God did not mean what He said, nor did God say what He meant. The Devil told Eve that God was saying something else in what He said to her, and that something else was "Ye shall not surely die" but live forever as God, knowing the difference between good and evil(verses 1-5). Satan is still promulgating today his topsy-turvy deceptions on mankind. Jesus told the young man who came to Him asking what he must do to inherit eternal life, that he should "keep the commandments" but the ministers of Satan say "no, no, you do not have to obey those commandments to be saved." Paul was inspired to tell the church at Rome that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" but the deceiver has got most ministers teaching that eternal life is the wage of sin, albeit in ever burning hell fire. Jesus told Nicodemus that when born of the spirit you would be like the wind, not being able to see it, but Satan has people thinking they are born of the spirit at conversion while still quite visible to other humans. Jesus said "no man has ascended to heaven" but most professing Christians believe millions are in heaven and thousands went to heaven before Jesus spoke these words. Jesus says "think not" and man thinks. Jesus said "believe" and man does not believe. Jesus says "this do" and man does not. Jesus said, "I will come again" and large segments of Christianity say no He will not. And on and on it goes. God said I will make man in my image, and a large Church of God is now saying, no way - "God is not created, He does not have a body." MOSES SEES GOD'S BODY God first revealed Himself in a mighty way to Moses from the burning bush. From that time on the Eternal and Moses were friends with a "buddy-buddy" relationship. This relationship between the Lord and Moses was so personal that it is recorded, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses FACE to FACE, as a man speaks unto a friend...."(Ex.33:11). Now our "no body" for God teachers will say either this is just a metaphor or God appeared as a human, but when in the "spirit" He has no body or face. Of course that is the answer they will give to any section of scripture where God appeared to men. But there was a time when God appeared to Moses IN THE SPIRIT FORM - the Lord opening up his eyes to see Himself in the spirit dimension, that the human eye can not usually see, I refer you to the example of the servant of Elisha in 2 Kings 6. So close a relationship did Moses have with God that on one occasion Moses was so bold as to ask the Lord to show Himself to him, not as a human but as He really IS. Moses' request is found in Exodus 33 and verse eighteen. Notice the reply from the Eternal: "....You can not SEE MY FACE; for no man can see me and live."(verse 20). God did not say to Moses that He did not have a body and so did not have a face and so could not show Himself in the spirit form as having a shape. To the CONTRARY, the answer to Moses SHOWS CLEARLY GOD DOES HAVE A FACE AND BODY! He told Moses that no man could look upon the face of God in spirit form and live. Now I ask you, how simpler can the word of God be in this matter? No theological degree needed to understand this verse, just believe it for what it says. Well friends, notice what God would do for Moses, "And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my GLORY passes by, that I will put you in a cliff of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away my hand, and you SHALL SEE MY BACK PARTS: but my FACE shall not be seen."(verses 21-23). There it is, how simple, how wonderful, is the word of the Lord. You can believe it - means what it says and says what it means. You do not need seductive men to "interpret" God for you. Truly I tell you with the words of the apostle John, "These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which you have received of Him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, even as it has taught you, you shall abide in it" (1 John 2:26,27). As a young child's mind together with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, you can understand the truth about God, you can know the things that God wants you to know about Him, the things that He has revealed about Himself, and one of those truths revealed to us is that God DOES HAVE A SHAPE, A BODY, A FACE! Moses was given the great privilege - only a few to be so given - of seeing God in His SPIRIT - GLORY - FORM. Moses could not look upon the face of God and live, but he was able to look upon the BODY of God from the back. Oh the truths of the word are so wonderful. Be not afraid of those who "set themselves" up as your teachers, who huddle behind closed doors with their theology degrees from theology schools of this world, and come forth to proclaim deeper understanding of God, which is really only old pagan myths from Babylon and Egypt. How the Lord must LAUGH at their imaginations, then again maybe He WEEPS at their hard heartedness for not being as little children in reading and believing His word. EZEKIEL SEES GOD The prophet Ezekiel was born in Jerusalem to a priestly family. At the age of 25 he was taken captive by the armies of Babylon about the year of 597 B.C. He was among the captives of Judah by the river of Chebar in the environs of Babylon. In the book that bears his name he tells us that the word of the Lord came to him(chapter 1, verses 1-3). Not only did the word of the Lord come to him but he also SAW things that very few, if any, other human has ever seen. From the midst of a cloud and fire he saw FOUR LIVING CREATURES - their likeness he explains in verses 5-14. In verses 15-21 he tells us about the FOUR WHEELS together with the living creatures. Now notice carefully verses 22-28. Above the heads of the four living creatures was a firmament of crystal. Ezekiel tells us there was a VOICE from the crystal floor above the heads of the creatures(verse 25). On the firmament was a THRONE - sapphire stone(verse 26). THEN NOTICE THIS! Upon the throne was the LIKENESS OF A MAN! He then goes on to tell us the appearance in COLOR of this likeness of man. From the LOINS up was as amber with fire round about. From the LOINS down was as fire with brightness(verse 27). So, what possibly could this man shaped likeness be? Was it just another creature of some kind, or some created angel? Ezekiel did not leave us to guess, or I should say, God did not leave us guessing, as this was all inspired from the Lord - what Ezekiel saw and wrote was what the Lord allowed him to see and told him to write. Ezekiel was allowed to see things in the SPIRIT DIMENSION - things the human eye cannot see unless God works a miracle of sight. What or WHO was this man above the crystal firmament upon the throne? Verse 28, "THIS WAS the appearance of the LIKENESS of the GLORY OF THE LORD." There it is, no guesswork needed, we are told in easy to understand language that what Ezekiel saw was the GLORY OF THE LORD - the appearance of the LIKENESS of the Lord. The Lord had said from the beginning as we have seen, that He made man in HIS LIKENESS, so it should not be at all surprising to find that when He allowed Ezekiel to see Him in His GLORY FORM, it was in the form, likeness and appearance of a MAN. This was not God appearing to man as flesh and bone as He did many times to Abraham, Jacob, Moses and others, but this was God showing Himself to Ezekiel in His SPIRIT GLORY form, and Ezekiel KNEW the Lord had a body in the form and shape of a man. This was definitely God on this throne - a throne that travelled the universe(which also tells us that God as a person can only be in one place at one time) - as this person goes on to speak to Ezekiel in the first person tense as THE LORD - see chapters 2 through 6. Nothing hard to understand here my friends, just believe what you read, that's all there is to it. Here in the book of Ezekiel we have revealed to us more of that spirit world that God lives in - the other dimension that is unseen to human eyes unless that other world is allowed to show itself to us by the Lord who made it. And at times - to a few selected humans - the Lord has chosen to even show His form and shape to men. It is always as the form of human kind, for the human kind was shaped in the form of the God kind. ISAIAH SEES THE LORD Another human that was blessed with seeing the Eternal in His Glory was Isaiah. It was about the year 760 B.C. and the prophet of God tells us: "the year that king Uzziah died I SAW also the LORD SITTING UPON HIS THRONE, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." (Isa.6:1). This was not the temple in Jerusalem but the very temple in heaven itself, continuing in verse two, "Above it stood the seraphim And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts...." This was no small thing for Isaiah, he knew exactly what he had seen, this was awesome - he proclaimed: "...Woe is me!....I am a man of unclean lips....for mine eyes have seen the KING, THE LORD OF HOSTS...."(verse 5). The Hebrew words used for Lord in verses 1,3,5 are ADONAI and YHVH - no mistaking - Isaiah did see the ETERNAL sitting on His throne in heaven. Now if God does not have a body then pray tell me how Isaiah could have seen God sitting on His throne with seraphim around about? If God did not have a shape and body Isaiah would have seen just an empty throne. Then again maybe(to our bodiless God teachers) the throne and seraphims were not really there either, all this was just the wild imagination of Isaiah, or just a dream, or maybe a metaphor, perhaps it was a figure of speech on Isaiah's part and not really something he literally saw. For those who want to "spiritualize" away the plain words of the Bible, nothing will convince them that what Isaiah wrote was what he literally did see. There are those Christians who believe Satan is not a literal spirit BEING but just a metaphor standing for evil. There are those who believe Jesus will not literally come back to earth as He said He would, but that He has returned via the Holy Spirit coming on the day of Pentecost. There are those who believe that the New Heavens and New Earth of Revelation 21,22, is just a figure of speech and metaphor for the time when there will be no more evil, when man through the help of the Holy Spirit will bring about universal righteousness. It is impossible to argue with or try to convince such people that they are in total error. But for those babes that the Eternal God has revealed His truths to, then Isaiah chapter 6 is another proof that the Lord does has a shape and body, albeit composed of eternal spirit. STEPHEN SEES THE FATHER AND SON IN THEIR GLORY The early apostolic Church were in need of dedicated men to serve the Lord and brethren. The congregation of believers together with the apostles chose 7 men and ordained them to the office of the DIAKONEO (Acts 6:1-7). The man Stephen was one of those seven ordained. He was full of faith and power and did great wonders and miracles among the people(verse 8). He was so effective in his work for the Lord that the religious rulers brought him before the council for questioning. They set up false witnesses against him who said Stephen blasphemed their temple and law(verses 9-15). Stephen began his defense and preaching of Jesus in chapter 7. By the time Stephen had finished his sermonette, they were spitting mad - ready to literally kill him. At this point we are told: "But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and SAW the GLORY of God, and Jesus standing on the RIGHT HAND of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the RIGHT HAND of God"(verses 55,56). Now ask yourself this question: If God does not have a body how could Stephen know that Jesus was at the RIGHT HAND of God? If God is Bodiless, then Jesus could have been standing at God's left hand, or standing on his shoulders, or maybe on his chest or legs. How could Stephen say Jesus was at the right hand of the GLORY of God if that glory did not have a shape and form as like a man? The truth is, Stephen could say no such thing unless what he saw was TWO ETERNAL BEINGS. Now the New Testament plainly says Jesus is God. Both He and the Father are God - one God but two individuals (John 1:1-18; Heb.1:1-8). If Jesus is God, as He is, and if God does not have a body, them Jesus is also bodiless. Yet Stephen SAW Jesus at the right hand of the glory of God in heaven. If Jesus had a shape and form, and if Jesus is God, then the Father who is also God, has a form and shape - has a body. The logic of the one side must give evidence of the logic of the other side, unless you are going to argue that the Bible is a book of il-logic, then of course anything in the Bible is up for private interpretation and nothing is sure. But to the childlike mind the plain truth is easy to understand. The word of the Lord means what it says and says what it means. JOHN SEES THE BODY OF GOD Towards the end of the apostle John's life he was in the isle called Patmos(Rev.1:9). In writing the book of Revelation, John did THREE things - 1) bare record of the word of God. 2) bare record of the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3) bare record of all the things he SAW (Rev.1:2). John SAW MANY THINGS! One of the greatest things he saw was: "In the midst of the seven candlesticks one LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN, clothed with a garment down to the FOOT, and girt about the PAPS(chest) with a golden girdle. His HEAD and His HAIRS were white like wool, as white as snow, and His EYES were as a flame of fire. And His FEET like unto fine brass. He had in His RIGHT HAND seven stars and His COUNTENANCE(face) was as the sun shines in full strength" (Rev.1:13-16). As most Bible scholars know and admit, this is a picture of Jesus in His GLORIFIED form in heaven above. Then in chapter 4 and 5 we are given a view of the heavenly throne room. Much of this ties in with what we have already seen in Isaiah 6 and Ezekiel 1. There is a BEING sitting on a throne in heaven holding a book in His RIGHT HAND that only the true Lamb of God can open and reveal. These things in heaven above are real my friends, they do exist - the twenty four elders, the living creatures, the seraphim, the angels, the throne, the temple, the heavenly Jerusalem, and God the Father and Jesus Christ - all made of eternal spirit, all the living above having form, shape and bodies PHILIP ASKED TO SEE THE FATHER I guess after being with Jesus and seeing all the miracles, knowing He was from God, believing He was the literal "son of God" and sent from Father, it would only be natural that one of the disciples would at some point want Jesus to "show us the Father, and it will satisfy us"(John 14:8). The disciple to ask that request from Jesus was Philip. Notice the reply Jesus gave: "Have I been so long with you, and yet have you not known me, Philip? He that HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; so why say you then, show us the Father" (verse 9). Jesus was the "carbon copy" as they say, of the Father. In every part of life. Hem manifested the Father - in attitude, in emotions, in thoughts of mind, in love, mercy, kindness, justice, anger, and in BODY. Jesus was telling Philip and all of the disciples that the Father was just like Himself in EVERY WAY, except as He had told the woman at the well, the Father was SPIRIT, not flesh and blood, but composed of eternal spirit. Now if Jesus knew that God did not have form or shape, that He did not have a body as He did, then how could He possibly have told Philip that they had seen the Father by seeing and knowing Himself. The logical mind of man upon hearing the answer to Philip would have understood Jesus to be saying that the Father did have FORM and SHAPE, that He did HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF THE HUMAN KIND and was in mind and emotions just like Jesus. Now that is the simple and easy way to understand what Jesus said about the Father, and that is what all the rest of the Bible proves to be the truth of the matter. How wonderfully plain are the basic truths of the Lord, if we will only be as babes in belief. TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE - THE FACE OF GOD? Those who believe and teach that God does not have a body(and so no face, arms, hands, legs, feet), to those who believe God is some kind of "spirit" without form or shape, they by their very teaching will never see the face of God, I am not sure WHAT they expect to see if they would make it into the Kingdom of God, as far as looking for "the Father" of all things. But this I do know for those who will trust and believe the word of God as little children..... I can tell you with full confidence friends.......I can tell you with full assurance, this I can tell you is the "thus says the Lord" of the matter. The UNBELIEVING will be cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone - the second death. And those that overcome shall inherit ALL THINGS and, "he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it....the tree of life......And there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE and His name shall be in their foreheads....and they shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.21:7,8; 22:1-5). The day will come my friends when the true believers will indeed see the very FACE of God the Father. What a great and precious promise. I hope you will be there to see the glory of our Father's BODY and share in His everlasting Kingdom. This has only been a short study about the truth of what God IS. Our indepth study lesson number 4 called THE TRUTH ABOUT GOD gives you dozens upon dozens of other Bible verses that prove what we have just stated in this article, plus much more about the nature of God - it is free upon request as is our article called A CHRISTIANS DESTINY. .................. Written 1993 All articles by Keith Hunt may be photo copied, e-mailed, web sited etc. and distributed to others.

ALL ABOUT GOD #6

FAITH AND GOD

Mr. Hunt,

Is it all a matter of faith? How can the Bible say that belief in God is a matter of faith, while at the same time say that only fools say that there isn't a God? If it were so obvious that God exists, then it wouldn't be a matter of faith, would it?

Answer:

Okay good question about God and faith.

JAMES tells us faith without works is dead.....so when we speak of true faith it must have works, or evidence.

When I speak of faith it is evidence or faith with works.

Hence as Paul said the evidence of God is the universe and our world of creation. He told the church at Rome that people could know God exists by the creation, but they willfully turned away from that proof and began worshipping various parts of creation instead of the one who created it all. Our faith in God is based on evidence, so we know He exists; then because of that, our faith can go further, it can know the things He does, and some of them being things we may not fully understand, we can know His ways will be, and are, the best for the plan He has in creating human beings on this earth.

So true faith then is coupled with works or evidence..... it is not a blind faith, a faith that says, "Well oh hummmm.....I just choose to think this way, it makes me feel better be it right or wrong, I choose to have this mind-set." That kind of faith is just out of the blue as they say, it is not based on facts, evidence, works. Let me see an example could be this: a man decides he would like to go down into the sea a mile or so; he takes oxygen tank and a flash light. He just has faith it will be okay. Off he dives....no thought about pressure further down, no thought about how he should come back up, he knows nothing about "bends" on coming back up. He just does his own thing...... he kills himself. His faith has not been based on facts, evidence, knowledge. His faith was a silly blind faith.

That kind of faith is not true Biblical faith - true faith is based on evidence, works. We see the evidence and works of God all around us in creation.....our faith that God exists is based upon evidence and facts...... and that faith can then go on to know God deals with individual people and the whole world population, in a way that is fulfilling His plan of salvation for the whole population, even when at times we do not understand in full depths and clarity, as to why God did it this way or that way, in working His plan with individuals, groups of people, nations of people. But we know also that one day in the resurrection to glory in the family of God, we shall know God's mind and purpose and ways, much deeper than our present human mind can grasp today. On conversion we are a babe in spirituality; we grow spiritually more, as we study God's word, meditate on his word; we grow from a babe to an infant, to a small child, to a young teenager. We spiritually mature over time, but we shall not be the full adult like God is, until we are born by a resurrection into His mature likeness. When we are a full mature adult in the family of God, being fully in His likeness [see 1 John 3:1-3], we shall understand things that for now, in some things, we look through a glass darkly, but then the darkness will turn into glorious light.

We have a living faith that tells us God knows what He is doing, and He is doing it correctly.

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KNOWING GOD #7

NATURE OF GOD - BLESSING CONTINGENT UPON OBEDIENCE

Ex. 15:26. If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.

Ex. 19:5. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:

Ex. 20:6. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Ex. 23:22. If thou shalt indeed obey my voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

Lev. 26:3. If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them 4. Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6. And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land. 7. And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. 8. And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. 9. For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you. 10. And ye shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new. 11. And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you. 12. And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people. 13. I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright. 14. But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments: 15. And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: 16. I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17. And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. 18. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. 19. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: 20. And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits. 21 And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your tins. 22. I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate. 23. And if ye wiu not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me; 24. Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26. And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied. 27. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me; 28. Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, will chastise you seven times for your sins. 29. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat. 30. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you. 31. And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours. 32. And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. 33. And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste. 34. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. 35. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it. 36. And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. 37, And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38. And ye shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39. And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. 40. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; 41. And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity. 42. Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. 43. The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity; because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

(THIS SEVEN TIMES PUNISHMENT DID COME UPON ISRAEL AND JUDAH - A TIME IS 360 DAYS INTO YEARS MULTIPLIED BY 7 = 2,520 YEARS PUNISHMENT. ISRAEL CAPTIVITY STARTED ABOUT 745 B.C. TO 718 B.C. - MOVE FORWARD 2,520 YEARS AND THE ABRAHAM/ISAAC/JACOB/JOSEPH BLESSING CAME TO BRITAIN AND AMERICA [THE TRIBE OF JOSEPH]. JUDAH CAPTIVITY CAME 604 B.C. - MOVE FORWARD 2,520 = 1917 - JERUSALEM WAS FREED BY THE BRITISH GENERAL ALLENBY, AND THE JEWS STARTED TO RETURN TO THE HOLY LAND IN LARGE AMOUNTS.

Keith Hunt)

Deut. 4:1. Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. 40. Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever.

Deut. 5:10. Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 29.

Deut. 7:9. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; 12. Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers : 13. And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 14. Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle. 15. And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

Deut. 11:26. Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27. A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord vour God, which I command you this day: v. 28.

Deut. 12:28. Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.

Deut. 15:4. For the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it: 5. Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day.

Deut. 28:1. And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day. that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: 2. And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. 3. Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5. Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6. Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7. The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8. The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 9. The Lord shall establish thee an holy people unto himself, as he hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways. 10. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11. And the Lord shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12. The Lord shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give thee rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13. And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them. 14. And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Deut. 29:9. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.

Deut. 30:1; And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, 2. And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; 8. That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. 4. If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: 5. And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee. 8. And thon shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day. 9. And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10. If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes wliich are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 15. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; 16. In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayestlive and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; 18. I denounce unto you this day,that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. 19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: 20. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Josh. 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth. . . for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

1 Kin. 2:3. Keep the charge of the Lord thy God to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: 4. That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

1 Kin. 3:14. If thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.

1 Kin. 8:23. And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

1 Kin. 9:3. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 4. And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: 5. Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. 6. But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: 7. Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a by word among all people: 8. And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and to this house? 9. And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. 2 Chr. 7:17-22.

1 Chr. 22:13. Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.

Chr. 26:5. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.

Chr. 28:7. Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day. 8. Keep and seek for all the commandments of the Lord your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever.

2 Chr. 27:6. So Jotham became mighty, because he prepared his ways before the Lord his God.

2 Chr. 30:9. For if ye turn again unto the Lord, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him.

2 Chr. 31:10. Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.

Job. 36:11. If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

Prov. 3:1. My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: 2. For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.

Prov. 16:7. When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Isa. 1:19. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.

Jer. 7:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4. Trust ye not in lying words, saying. The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. 5. For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6. If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7. Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. 23. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Jer. 11:1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2. Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the nation of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3. And say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, 4. Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: 5. That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said. So be it, O Lord.

Jer. 12:16. And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

Jer. 15:19. Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. 20. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. 21. And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

Jet. 17:24. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; 25. Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever. 26. And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord. 27. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

Jer. 22:4. For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. 5. But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. 15. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar ? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him ? 16. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.

Zech. 3:7. Thus said the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by.

Mai. 3:10. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11. And I will rebuke the de-vourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. 12. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

(THIS IS AN OVERALL NATIONS BLESSING. NOT ALWAYS AN EVERY INDIVIDUAL BLESSING PER S E. EVEN IN ISRAEL OBEYING GOD YOU STILL HAD THE POOR. JESUS ALSO SAID, THE POOR YOU SHALL ALWAYS HAVE WITH YOU. SO THIS TITHE BLESSING IS AN OVERALL NATION BLESSING - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 10:22. He that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matt. 24:13; Mark 13:13.

Col. 1:22. To present you holy and un-blameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23. If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.

Heb. 3:6. But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 14. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.

Heb. 6:11. And we desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: 12. That you be not slothful but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promise.

Heb. 10:36. For you have need of patience, that, after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise.

Rev. 2:10. Be you faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.

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CERTAINLY GOD CAN PHYSICALLY BLESS THOSE HE HAS NOT CALLED. PUT ANOTHER WAY, AS THE SCRIPTURE SAYS, TIME AND CHANCE CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE. SOME UN-CALLED PEOPLE ARE WORLDLY WISE, AND USE WHAT IS BEFORE THEM TO REAP PHYSICAL BLESSINGS.

MANY OF THE ABOVE VERSES APPLY IN CONTEXT TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL; ISRAEL AND JUDAH, WHEN THEY SPLIT INTO TWO KINGDOMS AFTER THE DEATH OF SOLOMON.

Keith Hunt

KNOWING GOD #8

GOD GIVES SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS

SPIRITUAL:

Ex. 5:2. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

Deut. 29:4. Yet the Lord hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.

Deut. 32:28. For they are a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them. 29. O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!

Judg. 16:20. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him.

Job 21:14. Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

Job 22:13. How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud? 14. Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

Psa. 10:5. Thy judgments are far above out of his sight: 6. He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

Psa. 14:1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. 4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?

Psa. 73:22. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee, with vs. 2-28.

Psa. 79:6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

Psa. 82:5. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness.

Psa. 92:6. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this.

Psa. 94:7. They say, The Lord shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. 8. Understand, ye brutish among the people : and ye fools, when will ye be wise?

Psa. 95:10. It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways.

Psa. 119:18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

Prov. 1:7. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 22. How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? 29. They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30. They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Prov. 4:19. The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. Prov. 7:7-23.

Prov. 10:21. Fools die for want of wisdom.

Prov. 13:18. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction.

Prov. 14:12. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Prov. 17:16. Wherefore is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no heart to it.

Prov. 19:2. That the soul be without knowledge, it is not good; 3. The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord.

Prov. 28:5. Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

Eccl. 7:25. I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness.

Isa. 1:3. The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Isa. 5:13. Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge. 20. Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter.

Isa. 6:9. Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Matt. 13:14; John 12:38-11.

Isa. 9:2. The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isa. 26:10. Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. 11. Lord, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see.

Isa. 27:11. It is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.

Isa. 28:13. But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go. and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken. 15. Because ye have said. We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.

Isa. 29:10. The Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. 11. And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot for it is sealed: 18. And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.

Isa. 40.21. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? 27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God ? 28. Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

Isa. 42:6. I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7. To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. 18. Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. 18. Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's servant? 20. Seeing many things, but thou - observest not; opening the eare, but he heareth not.

Isa. 44:18. They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts that they cannot understand. 19. And none considereth in his heart, neither in there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? 20. He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?

Isa. 48:8. Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

Isa. 56:10. His watchmen are blind; they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.

Isa. 60:2. Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.

Jer. 2:8. The priest said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not.

Jer. 4:22. My people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

Jer. 5:4. I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God. 5. I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds. 21. Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.

Jer. 8:7. Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the Lord. 8. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. 9. The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord; and what wisdom is in them?

Jer. 9:3. They proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the Lord. 6. Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.

Jer. 16:10. And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew these people all these words, and they shall say unto thee. Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

Jer. 17:9. The heart is deceitful above all things, and [can be] desperately wicked: who can know it?

Ezek. 12:2. Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.

Dan. 12:10. None of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

Hos. 4:1. The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, no mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. 6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: 14. The people that doth not understand shall fall.

Hos. 5:4. They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God . . . and they have not known the Lord.

Hos. 7.11. Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart.

Amos 9:10. All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

Mic. 4:12. They know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel.

Matt. 5:15. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 15. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Matt. 6:23. If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! Isa. 6:9,10.

Matt. 13:13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and earing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall sec, and shall not perceive: 15. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 19. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. Mark 4: 15; Luke 8:12.

Matt. 15:14. They be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Matt. 16:3. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?

Matt. 22:29. Jesus answered and said unto them. Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. Mark 12:24.

Matt. 23:19. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? 24. Ye blind guides, which strain at [out, R. V.] a gnat, and swallow a camel. 26. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. vs. 16-24.

Mark 4:11. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables. 12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. Luke 8:10.

Mark 6:52. They considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.

Luke 11:52. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have takeit away the key of knowledge: ye enter not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

Luke 12:48. He that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. 57. Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?

Luke 19:42. If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Luke 23:34. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.

John 1:5. The light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. 10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

John 3:4. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 19. This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20. Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 31. He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: vs. 9-12.

John 4:10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. 22. Ye worship ye know not what: vs. 11,15.

John 6:44. No man can come unto me, except the Father which has sent me draw him. 65. Therefore said I unto you, no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.

John 6:52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 60. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

John 7:28. Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not.

John 8:12: Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. 15. Ye judge after the flesh. 19. Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also. 27. They understood not that he spake to them of the Father. 33. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

42. Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 52. Then said the Jews unto him, Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, If a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. 54. Jesus answered ... 55. Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you. 57. Then said the Jews unto him, Hast thou seen Abraham?

John 9:29. We know that God spake unto Moses; as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. 30. The man answered and said unto them. Why, herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 39. Jesus said, For judgment I am come into world, that they which see not might and that they which see might be made blind. 30-38.

John 12:38. That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Isa. 53:1.

John 14:17. The Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.

John 15:21. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.

John 16:2. They shall put you out of the synagogue, yea, the time cometh, that whoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3. These things will they do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

John 17:25. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee:.

Acts 3:17. Now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

Acts 13:27. They that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.

Acts 1753. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

Acts 19-.2. We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

Acts 26:18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Rom. 1:19. That which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. 21. When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 28. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, 30. Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31. Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Rom. 2:4. Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

(GOD IS LONG-SUFFERING AND PATIENT; HENCE THE END OF THIS AGE HAS NOT COME; HE WANTS MORE TO BE CALLED AND COME TO HIS SALVATION AND KINGDOM - Keith Hunt)

Rom. 11: 7. What then? Israel has not obtained that which he seeeth for; but the election hath obtained it. And the rest were blinded. 8. According as it is written, God has given them the spirit of slumber; eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day.

Rom. 11:25. Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

1 Cor. 1:18. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; 20. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21. The world by wisdom knew not God.

1 Cor. 2:8. Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 14. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15. He that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

Cor. 15:34. Some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.

Cor. 3:14. Their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail un-taken away in the reading of the Old Testament: 15. Even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

2 Cor. 4:3. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost.

4. In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 6. For God. who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in your hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Gal. 4:8. Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods.

Eph. 4:18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

Eph. 5:8. Ye were sometimes [once, R. V.] darkness, but now are ye light m the Lord.

Col. 1:13. Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.

1 Thess. 4:4. That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; 5. Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God.

Thess. 5:4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5. Ye are all the children of light and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. 7. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

Thess. 1:8. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thess. 2:11. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. 12. That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

2 Tim. 3:7. Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 13. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Tit. 1:16. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him.

Heb. 5:11. Ye are dull of hearing. 12. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which are the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.

1 Pet 1:14. As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance.

1 Pet. 2:9. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.

2 Pet. 1:9. He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

2 Pet. 3:16. As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

1 John 1:6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 2:4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 9. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 11. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

1 John 3:1. The world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 6. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

1 John 4:8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

3 John 11. He that doeth evil hath not seen God.

Jude 1.0. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Rev. 3:17. Thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.

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GOD HAS MADE ALL PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY BLIND; GOD HAS TO CALL THEM, REMOVE THE BLINDNESS FROM THEIR MIND, TO BRING THEM TO TRUTH AND SALVATION.

GOD IS WORKING ON A PLAN OF SALVATION FOR EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT HAS LIVED.

IT IS A PLAN THAT WILL INCLUDE THE 1,000 YEARS OR MILLENNIUM REIGN OF CHRIST ON EARTH, AND FINALLY BE ALL FULFILLED BY THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT PERIOD.

SEE MY STUDY CALLED "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT" ON THIS WEBSITE.

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KNOWING GOD #9

BLESSING. — Spiritual, from God.

SPIRITUAL:

Gen. 40:24. His bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob.

Ex. 15:2. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation.

Ex. 33:16. Wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

Lev. 21:8. I the Lord, which sanctify you, am holy. Ex. 31:13.

Deut. 33:25. Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. 27. The eternal God is My refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.

1 Sam. 2:4. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength.

Neh. 8:10. This day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Job. 23:6. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.

Psa. 18:1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. 2. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 28. Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. 32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. 35. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great. 36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. Psa. 144:1,2.

Psa. 23:2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Psa. 27:14. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Psa. 28:8. The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.

Psa. 29:11. The Lord will give strength to his people.

30:7. Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.

Psa. 31:24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

Psa. 37:6. He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. 17. The Lord upholdeth the righteous. 24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. 39. The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

Psa. 52:8. I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

Psa. 55:22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Psa. 61:5. Thou, O God, hast heard my vows: thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.

Psa. 63:8. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

Psa. 66:9. Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

Psa. 68:18. Thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them. 28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength: strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. 35. The God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people.

Psa. 71:16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God; I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.

Psa. 72:6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. 17. Men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

Psa. 73:23. I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

Psa. 81:10. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psa. 84:5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. 11. The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Psa. 89:17. Thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

Psa. 92:12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13. Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; Psa. 1:3.

Psa. 94:17. Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. 18. When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.

Psa. 105:4. Seek the Lord, and his strength.

Psa. 119:32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart. 102. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.

Psa. 132:15. I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread. 16. I will also clothe her priests with salvation; and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

Psa. 138:3. In the day when I cried thou answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul. 8. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O Lord, endnreth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psa. 146:5. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

Prov. 10:29. The way of the Lord is strength to the upright.

Prov. 16:6. By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

Isa. 1:25. I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy sin.

Isa. 4:3. And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem: 4. When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

Isa. 6:6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his nand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

Isa. 26:12. Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

Isa. 28:6. For a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.

Isa. 33:5. The Lord is exalted; for he dwelleth on high: he hath filled Zion with judgment and righteousness. 6. Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the Lord is his treasure.

Isa. 40:11. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. 29. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 31. They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isa. 41:10. Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 13. For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. 14. Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. 17. When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thist, I the Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 18. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Isa. 44:3. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine off-spring.

Isa. 45:8. Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the Lord have created it. 24. Surely, shall one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come.

Isa. 54:17. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.

Isa. 57:19. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.

Isa. 58:8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward. 10. Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day: 11. And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.

Jer. 31:12. They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord . . . and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. 14. I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord. 33. I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ezek. 16:14. Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.

Dan. 11:32. The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

Hos. 6:3. Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

Hos. 14:5. I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 8. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: . . . From me is thy fruit found, vs. 6,7.

Hab. 3:19. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.

Zecii. 10:12. I will strengthen them in the Lord; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the Lord.

Zech. 12:8. In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.

Mai. 3-5. He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' sope: 3. He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Mai. 4:2. Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings;

John 1:16. Of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

John 17:1.1. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Acts 20:32. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

Rom. 9:23. That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.

Rom. 14:4. Yea, he shall be holden up - for God, is able to make him stand.

1 Cor. 12:6. There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh in all.

1 Cor. 13:10. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 12. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1 Cor. 15:10. By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I la-toured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

2 Cor. 1:21. Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; 22. Who hath also sealed us, and gven the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

2 Cor. 3:5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

2 Cor. 5:5. He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.

2 Cor. 9:8. God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

2 Cor. 10:4. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.

Eph. 3:20. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

Phil. 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Phil. 2:13. It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Phil. 4:7. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 19. My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Col. 1:11. Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy fulness; 12. Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.

1 Thess. 5:24. Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

Heb. 12:10. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 11. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Jas. 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, v. 18.

Pet. 1:5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Pet. 1 -2. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God. and of Jesus our Lord. 3. . . . His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue. 4. Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

1 John 1:9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 4:4. Ye are of God. little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Jude 1. To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ and called. 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

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KNOWING GOD #10

ANGER.—Of God!

Ex. 22:24. And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

Ex. 33:5. For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiff necked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee.

Num. 11:1. And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. 10. Then Moses heard the people weep throughout their families, every man in the door of his tent: and the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly; 33. And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, where it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague.

Num. 12:9. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them; and he departed.

Num. 14:11. And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be before they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?

Num. 16:20. And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, 21. Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment. v. 45.

Num. 25:3. And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. 11. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

Num. 32:10. And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 11. Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob: because they have not wholly followed me. 13. And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the Lord, was consumed.

Deut. 6:14. Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you; 15. (For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

Deut. 9:13. Furthermore the Lord spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff necked people:.14. Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they. [Ex. 32:10.] 18. And I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 19. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also, 20. And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.

Deut. 32:21. They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. 22. For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

Josh. 7:1. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel. 26. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger.

Josh. 23:16. When ye have transgrassed the covenant of the Lord your God, which he commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed yourself to them; then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.

Judg. 2:12. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger.

Judg. 3:8. Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hands of Chushan-rishathaim. Judg. 10:7.

Sam. 28:18. Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, nor executed his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

Sam. 6:7. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.

2 Sam. 22:8. Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth. 9. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.

I Kin. 11:9. And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice.

1 Kin. 16:7. And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the Lord against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, vs. 2-13.

1 Kin. 13:3. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria.

2 Kin. 17:18. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.

2 Kin. 22:13. Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.

2 Kin. 23:26. Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah.

Psa. 7:11. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Psa. 69:24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

Psa. 74:1. O God, why hast thou cast off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?

Psa. 76:7. Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry ?

Psa. 78:21. Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel; 38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. 49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among them. 50. He made a way to his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence.

Psa. 85:3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

Psa. 90:11. Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

Psa. 103:8. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

Psa. 106:23. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them. 29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them. 32. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses for their sakes.

Psa. 110:5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.

Isa. 5:25. Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand in stretched out still. Isa. 9:17,19,21.

Isa. 12:1. And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.

Isa. 13:9. Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 13. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

Isa. 30:27. Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the harden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire.

Isa. 42:25. Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.

Isa. 48:9. For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

Isa. 57:16. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made. 17. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.

Isa. 63:3. I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. 4. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. 5. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. 6. I And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

Isa. 66:15. For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.

Jer. 3:12. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.

Jer. 4:4. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 8. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: For the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us. 26. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

Jer. 7:20. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.

Jer. 10:10. But the Lord is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

Jer. 17:4. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

Jer. 21:5. And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.

Jer. 23:20. The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. Jer. 30:24.

Jer. 25:15. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 16. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17. Then took I the cup at the Lord's hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me: 37. And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the Lord. 38. He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

Jer. 32:37. Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely.

Jer. 33:5. They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city.

Jer. 36:7. It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people.

Jer. 42:18. For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.

Jer. 44:6. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as at this day.

Jer. 51:45. My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

Lam. 2:1. How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Zion with a cloud in his anger, and cast down from heaven unto the earth the beauty of Israel, and remembered not his footstool in the day of his anger. 3. He hath cut off in his fierce anger all the horn of Israel: he hath drawn back his right hand from before the enemy, and he burned against Jacob like a flaming fire, which devoureth round about. 6. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest.

Lam. 4:11. The Lord hath accomplished his fury; he hath poured out his fierce anger, and hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundations thereof.

Ezek. 5:13. Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. 15. So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it.

Ezek. 25:14. And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. 15. Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. 17. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

Dan. 9:16. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness. I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.

Hos. 11:9. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city.

Hos. 13:11. I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

Hos. 14:4. I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.

Nah. 1:2. God is jealous, and the Lord revengeth; the Lord revengeth, and is furious; the Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. 3. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 6. Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

Matt. 22:7. But when the king heard thereof he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. 13. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Rom. 1:18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [back] the truth in unrighteousness.

Rom. 2:5. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Eph. 5:6. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Col. 3:6. For which things sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.

Heb. 3:11. So I sware in my wrath. They shall not enter into my rest. Heb. 4:3.

Rev. 8:16. And said to the mountains and I rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Rev. 14:10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Rev. 15:1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.

Rev. 16:19. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath.

Rev. 19:15. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

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THE BIBLE MAKES IT VERY CLEAR THAT WITHIN GOD'S NATURE IS RIGHTEOUS ANGER. GOD WILL RENDER TO EVERY PERSON ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS. A DAY OF RECKONING FOR ALL PEOPLES AND NATIONS IS TO COME.

RIGHTEOUS ANGER IS AN ATTRIBUTE OF THE ETERNAL GOD OF HOLINESS AND PERFECTION.

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ALL ABOUT GOD #11

THE GOD OF HUMOR

From the "Bible Advocate" - Jan/Feb. 2014

A publication of the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver, CO. USA.

For many, the Bible is a sobering book — no laughing matter. Not often do people think of humor in the same sentence with Scripture. Generally, God's people know that the grace and truth of our Lord is to be taken seriously.

Laughter

In some ways, God's Word doesn't recommend laughter very highly. Though there is a time to weep and a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4), the former receives higher praise from Bible writers than the latter (7:3). This may be because tears speak the language of sorrow and repentance that God requires and are more therapeutic to the proud heart than many hee-haws (2 Corinthians 7:10; James 4:9, 10).

Laughter can be the language of fools: sardonic, cynical, and mocking (Ecclesiastes 7:6). More than ten times the King James Bible reports those who "laugh others to scorn." Abraham and Sarah laughed when the Lord announced they would bear a son in their old age — a response that Sarah denied and for which she was gently rebuked.

In a few places, laughter becomes a testimony against those who ridicule and scorn God's goodness now, for He will someday "laugh" at their destruction (Proverbs 1:24-27; Psalm 2:4; 37:13; 59:8). In Luke's list of Beatitudes (6:21b, 25b) Jesus assures those who endure godly sorrow today that they'll end up laughing, and today's laughers that they shall someday weep. A Hebrew version of this reversal is seen in Psalm 126:5,6.

Laughs are not all bad, however — not at all! Endorsements for merriment are found in Prov-erbsl 5:13,15 and the familiar words of 17:22: "A merry heart does good, like medicine...." Though there is a time to laugh, Proverbs 14:13 reminds us that even a laugh can be a cover-up. Thus is the mixed witness of Scripture to the laughter we love but too easily misuse.

Deeper level

The rest of the story is that the Bible commends humor at a deeper level than mere laughter. The blessings of joy and merrymaking may be found in many texts. See, for example, Isaiah 61:1-3's prophecy of the Messiah, abbreviated here:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to ..."heal the brokenhearted (v. 1); comfort all who mourn (v. 2); console those who mourn in Zion, to give them ... the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified (v. 3). Here, sorrow is seen negatively, and its cure is recommended highly. This passage conveys the truth that sorrow in our wounded world is too often the mourning of heavy spirits and broken hearts, traceable to human sin. It is the common lot of all of us at sometime in our lives. And this is the affliction that Jesus came to cure (Luke 4:17-19).

The good news is that; through Christ, our saddest burdens may be exchanged for better things: comfort, oil of joy, and a garment of praise. Rewritten in new covenant terms, the passage speaks about heaven's love, acceptance, and forgiveness here. Each phrase of the quote from Isaiah suggests that laughter will be a fitting, holy response to the promised work of the Lord's Spirit in the gospel.

Elsewhere the same prophet lauds the day of the Lord Jesus in poetic language: Hills and mountains sing; trees of the field clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12). "The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (35:10).

Celebrate!

Go ahead, all who are in Christ by faith: Celebrate and rejoice! For the Word and work of the Lord are to heal our hearts and wipe tears from our eyes. No more death, sorrow, or crying shall be, for the former things have passed away.

Final fulfillment of this is still future, for sure, but the promise is realized by faith today as we trust and obey the Lord. So laugh, you children of God, laugh long and loud! The enemy of our souls is defeated in Jesus.

Ten Humorous Texts

Genesis 31:30: Laban (apparently sincerely) asks, "Why did you steal my gods?" (NlV).

Numbers 22:28: The prophet wouldn't speak God's words, so God uses a donkey.

Judges 16:10: Delilah says, "You have made a fool of me" (NlV). Read: The pot calling the kettle black.

1 Samuel 3:1 -9: God plays hide and seek with Samuel.

1 Kings 18:27: Elijah mocks the prophets of Baal.

Proverbs 11:22; 27:15: Two of several proverbs with a glint of humor.

Jonah 1:3: Running from an all-seeing God is no smart strategy.

Matthew 23:24: Jesus speaks of straining at gnats and swallowing camels.

Mark 3:17: Jesus refers, tongue-in-cheek, to James and John as "sons of thunder," or "sons of trouble."

John 21:7: Peter is so excited, he puts on his coat to go swimming.

- Bob Hostetler

Everyone loves a laugh — even more than medicine. And smiles are superb: They increase our face value.

Nobody knows this more than Liz Curtis Higgs. A speaker with Women- of-Faith, she spreads joy and laughter to audiences nationally and internationally. In this BA interview, we'll learn more about humor from this woman who generates it with excellence and experience.

BA: Humor comes naturally to you, despite your troubled past. Do you see humor as God's gift?

LCH: Yes, I do believe humor is one of God's kindest gifts. Non-offensive, uplifting humor is a natural and healthy way of coping with stress, defusing tension, and helping people relax. When we can stand back from a difficult situation and see the humor in it, we are on our way to finding a solution.

Any physician, therapist, or minister will tell you that when patients or parishioners can muster a smile, it's a good indicator of healing. They are coming around — physically, emotionally, and spiritually on the mend.

When Sarah finally gives birth to a son at age ninety, she says, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me" (Genesis 21:6). This is a bit of word-play around Isaac's name. Yitschaq means "he laughs." But Sarah's statement also lets us see that she has regained her sense of humor. Sarah is laughing again, and it's contagious.

I fully believe God intends for us to be a laughing people. Never in a crude or derogatory way at the expense of others, and certainly not laughing nonstop, but simply seeing the humor and irony in everyday life and allowing that amusement to restore our sense of balance.

BA: Speak to believers who feel humor and Christianity don't mix: "After all, wasn't Jesus a man of sorrows?"

LCH: Jesus also had a wonderful sense of humor, or children would not have been so drawn to Him. All parents, even serious ones, are pleased when an infant begins to respond to them by smiling. As they grow, children laugh naturally and unashamedly. Only when adults wag their fingers and say, "Straighten up!" or "That's not funny!" do children cover their mouths when they laugh or stop laughing altogether.

Believers who don't embrace much humor likely grew up in an environment where it was discouraged, not affirmed. My heart aches for them. They truly miss one of God's wonderful gifts: the ability to laugh at ourselves and at life, to put problems in perspective, to see that God is in charge and we are not.

Those of us who love to laugh and help others laugh learned long ago that you can't make anyone laugh. You can only offer them an open door.

BA: Comedians Mark Lowry and Tim Hawkins elicit varying responses from believers. Is there a temptation to push the envelope of Christian decorum to get laughs?

LCH: Humor is always risky. Always. The key is to wave at the envelope but resist the urge to push it. We have to know the audience's boundaries and try not to cross them. When we do (audiences will let you know), we need to step back immediately, offer a lighthearted but sincere apology, and move on.

Some jokes and stories that were acceptable fifty years ago are not funny now because they are sexist, racist, ageist, insensitive, politically incorrect — you get the idea. Comedians need to be extra careful not to step on anyone's toes now, and that's a good thing. For me, I just step on my own toes, give the audience permission to laugh with me, and perhaps see themselves in the funny situations I'm describing.

Here's the truth: There will always be people who don't enjoy humor. Pray for them. No, I'm not kidding. Humor is one of the safest, cheapest, most satisfying coping mechanisms when hardship crosses our path. Naturally we pray first for the Lord's direction and strength, and we turn to our family of faith for help. But a little laughter along the way can help lighten our burdens considerably.

BA: A Christianity Today article says that some Christian thinkers have developed "an aversion for speakers-writers who use emotion [humor] to elicit temporary responses that bypass our mental maps and leave us in worse shape than when they started." Your thoughts?

LCH: Those are actually John Ortberg's words, conveying Dallas Willard's opinion, but still no doubt accurate. Ortberg also wrote that Willard once said, "Speakers should never tell stories." So it wasn't just humor that didn't sit well with him. It was storytelling, period, and the human emotions that stories often produce: laughter, tears, sympathy, compassion, and so on.

Willard was a brilliant man and more than entitled to his opinion. Still, God designed us to be intellectual and emotional. Whenever one aspect of our human nature is enhanced and the other diminished, we aren't functioning to our fullest capacity. The best stories — and the best humor — should make us feel and think. The intellect is not left behind when emotions come into play. If anything, the mind is engaged to a higher degree.

My brother David, a retired college instructor, is brilliant— I mean over-the-moon smart, huge IQ, all that. He also has the best sense of humor of anyone I know. Clearly his brain and funny bone are both in good working order.

BA: Why do you think God gave us a book that typically provokes sober reflection and rarely offers what readers would describe as "funny"?

LCH: Ah, but what the Bible does offer us, over and over again, is joy. No, joy is not the same as humor; it's not even the same as happiness. Joy goes far deeper than either. Still, when I am joyful, there's a good chance I might smile. Might even chuckle. Could end up laughing. When the Holy Spirit fills us to the brim, joy often spills out.

The Bible covers the full gamut of human emotions and experiences. In a single psalm David can move from gnashing of teeth to an outburst of praise. Psalm 5 begins with a "cry for help" and ends with the hope that "those who love your name may rejoice in you."

Is the Bible funny? Not in the usual sense. But joy-filled? Oh, baby!

BA: Most passages cited as samples of Bible humor would

likely be seen by many modern humorists as contrived attempts to find humor where it isn't. Comments?

LCH: Well, I am a modern humorist, so I'll tell you what I see. When I read the Bible, I laugh a lot, either because a biblical character is behaving true to human nature (that is to say, foolishly) or because the Lord is revealing the truth of His sovereignty in yet another breathtakingly creative way. The Bible is anything but dull or sober. It is the living Word of God. It breathes, it moves, it touches our emotions, our intellect, and every other aspect of who we are. God changes us at the cellular level, and He uses His Word, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to do that.

And yes, sometimes God uses humor. When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and asks his brother, Aaron, what has happened that the people are worshiping a false idol, Aaron explains, "They gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!" (Exodus 32:24).

Seriously? I always crack up when I read that passage. True, Moses was not the least bit amused. But Aaron's exaggeration is laughable. When we see how foolish our actions must look to God, that's the first step toward contrition, confession, repentance, forgiveness, and a fresh start.

BA: Jesus wept (John 11:35), but we never read that He smiled or laughed. What's the best example of our Lord's humor, for you?

LCH: I've always longed for a simple, two-word verse: "Jesus laughed." Not in Scripture. But even His weeping indicates that He experienced the fullness of human emotions.

To be sure, humor in the Bible is more subtle and often dependent on a deep knowledge of the idioms and customs of a given time and place to really get the joke. Clever wordplays, of which there are many in Scripture, escape those of us who don't know ancient Hebrew or Greek.

But there are definitely scenes that contain splashes of humor, like this one in Acts 20. Preaching his last sermon before he leaves town, Paul "kept on talking until midnight" (v.7). Any humorist knows this is a perfect set-up for what happens next.

"Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on" (v.9). This is visual humor at its best. We see Eutychus fighting the pull of sleep. First his head droops, then he snaps it back up with a little snort. We're smiling at this point, because we've all nodded off during a sermon. We get it.

Oh, but look. This young man is seated in a window. You don't suppose. . . . No, he couldn't. . . .

"When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground . . ." (v.9). Yup, right out the window. And from the third story, too. This is pure slapstick. There he goes, arms flailing, sandals flying.

Except things get very serious indeed when he hits the ground. Our inclination to laugh stops the instant he's "picked up dead" (v.9), as we're transported from the height (literally) of humor to the depth of sorrow.

But not for long. Paul threw his arms around Eutychus, then told everyone, "Don't be alarmed. . . . He's alive!" (v.10). Moments later they're back upstairs, breaking bread, and Paul goes on talking until daylight.

A glorious story, perfectly told to engage all our emotions — including our sense of humor — and ending on the happiest note possible.

Many verses I love, but this one is a special favorite: "You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11, ESV).

....................

Be sure to read Liz's books, among them Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them and The Girl's Still Got It: Take a Walk with Ruth and the God Who Rocked Her World. See more on Liz at baonline.org. Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, except where noted.

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TO BE SURE GOD HAS ALL THE EMOTIONS WE HAVE, HE MADE US IN HIS IMAGE, SO WE HAVE [SHOULD HAVE] ALL HIS EMOTIONS. GOD IS A GOD OF JOY, HAPPINESS, LIGHT-HEARTEDNESS, AND YES INDEED HUMOR - LAUGHING.

BEING LIGHT-HEARTED AND HAPPY, JOYFUL, SMILING A LOT, LAUGHING, IS ONE OF THE BEST MEDICINES YOU CAN HAVE FOR HEALTH. MODERN SCIENCE HAS NOW DISCOVERED THAT BEING HATEFUL, ANGRY, DOWN-IN-THE-MOUTH [FOR NO REASON] , PRODUCES BAD CHEMICALS IN YOUR BODY. BEING HAPPY, JOYFUL, SMILING, LAUGHING, PRODUCES GOOD CHEMICALS IN YOUR BODY.

YES THERE IS A TIME TO BE RIGHTEOUSLY ANGRY, TO BE SORROWFUL, TO CRY, BUT OVERALL THAT SHOULD NOT BE OUR DAILY WAY OF LIVING.

LAUGHTER IS WONDERFUL FOR THE SOUL AND BODY.

SADLY TODAY I FIND TOO MANY COMEDIANS WITH A "SICK" HUMOR. I JUST ABOUT NEVER GO TO THE SO-CALLED "COMEDY" MOVIES TODAY....THEY ALSO ARE USUALLY A SICK TYPE OF HUMOR, AND/OR AN OFF-BEAT DIRTY SEXUAL SO-CALLED COMEDY. NOW AND AGAIN YOU FIND A GOOD COMEDY MOVIE MADE TODAY.

BUT WE HAVE THE BLESSING OF THE OLD COMEDY MOVIES, THE ONES I GREW UP WITH: ABBOT AND COSTELO; THE MARX BROTHERS; THE BOWERY BOYS; BOB HOPE; RED SKELTON; I LOVE LUCY; AND OTHERS THAT WERE GOOD CLEAN AND/OR SLAP-STICK COMEDY.

IT SHOULD BE PART OF OUR LIVES THAT WE SMILE EASILY, BE MENTALLY JOYFUL AND HAPPY, AND YES BE ABLE TO LAUGH A LOT, WITH THE CORRECT WHOLESOME, GOOD CLEAN LAUGHTER.

GOD CREATED LAUGHTER. ONLY HUMAN BEINGS CAN FIND SOMETHING FUNNY AND LAUGH AT IT...... WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT LAUGHTER BLOWS AWAY THE IDEA OF EVOLUTION; YEP INDEED WE CAN LAUGH AT IT.

Keith Hunt

KNOWING GOD #13

All about God's Judgment
Get the right mind-set First!
PART OF THE VERY CHARACTER OF THE ETERNAL GOD IS JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT. BUT BEFORE WE LOOK AT THAT SIDE OF THE NATURE OF GOD, WE NEED TO GET OURSELVES IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND. GOD CAN BE A PERFECT JUDGE BECAUSE HE IS PERFECT AND HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS. WE ARE NOT NOW PERFECT, HOLY, AND RIGHTEOUS; SO WE NEED TO BE IN THE RIGHT MIND-SET ON THIS TOPIC OF JUDGMENT. THE FOLLOWING WILL HELP US GET THE RIGHT ATTITUDE: FROM THE BOOK "750 ENGAGING ILLUSTRATIONS" JUDGING OTHERS At the turn of the century, the world's most distinguished astronomer was certain there were canals on Mars. Sir Percival Lowell, esteemed for his study of the solar system, had a particular fascination with the Red Planet. When he heard, in 1877, that an Italian astronomer had seen straight lines crisscrossing the Martian surface, Lowell spent the rest of his years squinting into the eyepiece of his giant telescope in Arizona, mapping the channels and canals he saw. He was convinced the canals were proof of intelligent life on Mars, possibly an older but wiser race than humanity. Lowell's observations gained wide acceptance. So eminent was he, none dared contradict him. Now, of course, things are different. Space probes have orbited Mars and landed on its surface. The entire planet has been mapped, and no one has seen a canal. How could Lowell have "seen" so much that wasn't there? Two possibilities: (1) he so wanted to see canals that he did, over and over again, and (2) we know now that he suffered from a rare eye disease that made him see the blood vessels in his own eyes. The Martian "canals" he saw were nothing more than the bulging veins of his eyeballs. Today the malady is known as "Lowell's syndrome." When Jesus warns that "in the same way you judge others, you will be judged" and warns of seeing "the speck of sawdust" in another's eye while missing the plank in our own (Matt.7:1-3), could he not be referring to the spiritual equivalent of Lowell's syndrome? Over and over, we "see" faults in others because we don't want to believe anything better about them. And so often we think we have a first-hand view of their shortcomings, when in fact our vision is distorted by our own disease. Criticism, Spiritual Perception ...... The following story appeared in the newsletter "Our America" - Dodie Gadient, a schoolteacher for thirteen years, decided to travel across America and see the sights she had taught about. Traveling alone in a truck with camper in tow, she launched out. One afternoon rounding a curve on I-5 near Sacramento in rush-hour traffic, a water pump blew on her truck. She was tired, exasperated, scared, and alone. In spite of the traffic jam she caused, no one seemed interested in helping. Leaning up against the trailer, she prayed, "Please God, send me an angel ... preferably one with mechanical experience." Within four minutes, a huge Harley drove up, ridden by an enormous man sporting long, black hair, a beard, and tattooed arms. With an incredible air of confidence, he jumped off and, without even glancing at Dodie, went to work on the truck. Within another few minutes, he flagged down a larger truck, attached a tow chain to the frame of the disabled Chevy, and whisked the whole 56-foot rig off the freeway onto a side street, where he calmly continued to work on the water pump. The intimidated schoolteacher was too dumbfounded to talk. Especially when she read the paralyzing words on the back of his leather jacket: "Hell's Angels-California." As he finished the task, she finally got up the courage to say, "Thanks so much," and carry on a brief conversation. Noticing her surprise at the whole ordeal, he looked her straight in the eye and mumbled, "Don't judge a book by its cover. You may not know who you're talking to." With that, he smiled, closed the hood of the truck, and straddled his Harley. With a wave, he was gone as fast as he had appeared. Given half a chance, people often crawl out of the boxes into which we've relegated them. Angels, Prayer ...... "In Your Health" Al Hinman writes: A spotless kitchen may harbor as many bacteria as a less tidy one, says a surprising new finding from the University of Arizona, in Tucson. That's because the most germ-laden object in a kitchen is often the sponge. Researchers tested sponges and dishrags collected from five hundred kitchens across the U.S. and found that as many as one out of five contained salmonella bacteria. Almost two thirds had at least some other bacteria that, when ingested, could make people ill. Some attempts to cleanse can cause more harm than good. So it is when a pharisaical attitude prevails. Condemnation, self-righteousness, and judgmentalism are the salmonella of the soul. Condemnation, Conscience, Faultfinding Pharisaism, Self-Righteousness Matt. 7:1-5; Rom. 14; Gal. 6:1 .......................
KNOWING GOD #13 continued

About Justice and Judgment

Illustrations!

IT IS WRITTEN "GOD IS LOVE" - AND SO IT IS TRUE, THE BIBLE TELLS US THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. BUT THE BIBLE ALSO TELLS US GOD IS A JUST GOD AND JUDGMENT IS ALSO PART OF HIS CHARACTER. LET'S LEARN MORE ABOUT JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT. FROM THE BOOK "750 ENGAGING ILLUSTRATIONS" JUDGMENT: After a three-month summer recess, on October 3,1994, the Supreme Court of the United States opened its 1994-95 term. According to the New York Times News Service, the court's legal business for that first day could be summed up with one word: NO. The court announced it had refused to hear more than 1,600 cases. The names and docket numbers of the rejected appeals covered sixty-eight typewritten pages. For those cases, that was the last court of appeal, the final word. There's something terribly final about judgment. The Supreme Court says no, and that's it. No appeals. No arguments. The books are sealed, and the decision is final. On the great day of judgment there will also be a terrible crescendo of no's. "No, you cannot enter my kingdom." And the doors will be shut forever. No appeal. No time to change one's mind. Those who have rejected Jesus Christ will have forever lost their opportunity for eternal life. Eternal Life, Repentance, Salvation Matt. 25:1-13; 2 Cor. 6:1-2; Rev. 20:11-15 ...... To learn how Americans feel about prayer, Life magazine once interviewed dozens of people. One person they talked to was a prostitute, age twenty-four, in White Pine County, Nevada. "I don't think about my feelings a lot," she said. "Instead I lie in my bed and think onto him. I meditate because sometimes my words don't come out right. But he can find me. He can find what's inside of me just by listening to my thoughts. I ask him to help me and keep me going. "A lot of people think working girls don't have any morals, any religion. But I do. I don't steal. I don't lie. The way I look at it, I'm not sinning. He's not going to judge me. I don't think God judges anybody." Few notions are more comforting than the idea that God judges no one. The problem is that soothing idea is false. Morals, Prayer, Self-Deception Rom. 14:10-12 ...... In "Is It Real When It Doesn't Work?" Doug Murren and Barb Shurin recount: Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel awoke one morning to read his own obituary in the local newspaper: "Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who died yesterday, devised a way for more people to be killed in a war than ever before, and he died a very rich man." Actually, it was Alfred's older brother who had died; a newspaper reporter had bungled the epitaph. But the account had a profound effect on Nobel. He decided he wanted to be known for something other than developing the means to kill people efficiently and for amassing a fortune in the process. So he initiated the Nobel Prize, the award for scientists and writers who foster peace. Nobel said, "Every man ought to have the chance to correct his epitaph in midstream and write a new one." Few things will change us as much as looking at our life as though it is finished. Repentance, Death ...... How do you get a great parking space at a New York Yankees baseball game? One man thought he had a way. According to the Fresno, California Bee, this man pulled his car into the VIP parking lot and casually told the attendant that he was a friend of George Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees. Unfortunately for the imposter, the person attending the parking lot that day was George Steinbrenner himself, doing some personal investigation of traffic problems at the stadium. The surprised imposter looked at Steinbrenner and said, "Guess I've got the wrong lot." You can be sure that he did not park in the VIP lot that day or ever. The owner knows his friends. The owner determines who gets in the VIP lot. God also knows who his friends are and who the imposters are. Imposters, Heaven, Love for God, Obedience Matt. 7:21-23 ...... According to the Associated Press, in fall 1997 the journal Cell reported on an experiment that may have far-reaching potential for fighting disease. Dr. John Rose and his research team at Yale Medical School had successfully altered the genes of a virus that normally infects livestock and turned it into a virus that specifically and exclusively attacks AIDS-infected cells and destroys them. In other words, they created smart bombs out of a virus. They used infection against infection. The experiments were successful in the test tube and had yet to be tried on animals or humans. Just as viruses can be designed to kill viruses, one of the ways God judges evil is to withdraw his protection and allow evil to come against what is evil. Demons, Evil, Punishment, Satan, Sowing and Reaping 1 Sam. 18:10; Ps. 109:6; Jer. 4;1 Cor. 5:1-5; Gal. 6:7-8 ...... In the spring of 1995 columnist Charles Krauthammer wrote an article explaining why the 1994 baseball strike dealt a fatal blow to many fans. The cancellation of the [World] Series reduced the entire '94 season to meaninglessness, a string of exhibition games masquerading for a while as a "championship season." No championship, no season. The real scandal of the '94 season is not the games that were canceled but the games that were played. The whole season was a phony. The fans who invested dollars and enthusiasm in the expectation that the winners and losers and homers and averages would count were cheated. More than cheated. By canceling the season in a dispute over money, the players and owners mocked the fan who really cared whether Ken Griffey broke Roger Maris's record or Tony Gwynn hit.400. Hitting records and the World Series give meaning to the regular season. Judgment day gives meaning to life. Because God will call every deed into account, everything we do matters. Meaning, Obedience, Significance, Ten Commandments Eccles. 12:13-14; Rom.14:10-12; Rev. 20:11-15 ...... THE TOPIC OF JUDGMENT DAY IS MISUNDERSTOOD BY MOST CHRISTIANS. ON THIS WEBSITE YOU WILL FIND MY STUDY ON "JUDGMENT DAY" AND THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER - Keith Hunt ...... JUSTICE: The name Al Capone brings to mind crime, gangsters terrorizing a city, and Scarface himself beating three of his wayward subordinates to death with a baseball bat. But that view of Capone wasn't always the case. During the 1920s many people viewed Al Capone as a respected citizen, a sort of Robin Hood, says writer Ron Grossman. In 1930 students at Northwestern University's Medill School of journalism were asked to name "the outstanding personages of the world." Capone made the list, along with George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein. But Capone's days of power were short-lived. In 1931 he attended a football game at Northwestern University. In years past when he attended sporting events, he often was saluted by fans. But this time he was booed out of the stands and left the stadium in humiliation. In 1931, after only six years as mob boss in Chicago, Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. He ended up in Alcatraz. Eight years later when he was released from prison, he was suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis. He lived as a recluse, dying in 1947. During his time at Alcatraz, Capone worked in the prison shoe shop and shared a cell with a convict who worked on the prison newspaper. Capone told his cellmate one evening, "I'm supposed to be a big shot and I've wound up in the shoe shop; you're supposed to be a safe cracker and now you write editorials. What kind of a screwed-up, lousy world is this?" This world is a place where those who violate God's law may flourish for a season, but their days are numbered. Sooner or later, on this earth or at the great judgment seat, evildoers pay for their evil deeds. Judgment, Law of God, Reaping, Sowing Ps. 37; 73 ...... Life is unjust. Upon accepting an award, the late Jack Benny once remarked, "I really don't deserve this. But I have arthritis, and I don't deserve that either." Suffering, Rights ...... In the 1990s Chee Soon Juan was one of the few opposition politicians in the Parliament of Singapore. The ruling People's Action Party had an iron grip on the country, holding 77 of 81 seats, and had been in power since 1959. Through authoritarian means the People's Action Party had brought great prosperity to the country, but political opponents like Chee Soon Juan felt that the time had come to loosen up. The People's Action Party did not take kindly to dissidents, though, and for many years the way it had gotten rid of them was financial. For one reason or another, party opponents would be sued, fined, and financially broken. In 1993 Chee Soon Juan was forced to sell his home to pay a defamation suit brought against him by a member of the ruling party. In 1996 the harassment continued. Chee Soon Juan made a report to Parliament, and to his regret it contained a statistical error. According to Seth Mydans in the New York Times, Chee Soon Juan reported that "government spending on health care had fallen from 40 percent of the nation's total costs in 1970 to 5 percent in 1990. The actual 1990 figure was 25 percent." When party officials discovered the error, they pounced on it. Chee Soon Juan was accused of perjury, misconduct, and giving false information to Parliament. He blamed it on a typing error. Late in 1996 "the Parliamentary Privileges Committee issued a 196-page report on Mr. Chee's statistical error and found him guilty as charged." He was fined $18,000. In Singapore that may be legal, but most people would agree it is unjust. And injustice grieves the heart of God. Control, Error, Fairness, Forgiveness, Injustice, Mistakes, Oppression, Parenting, Punishment, Retribution, Vengeance Prov. 29:14; Isa. 11:4; Micah 6:8; Matt. 23:23 ...... SINGAPORE IN MANY WAYS FOLLOWS THE LAWS OF GOD AND PUNISHMENT FOR NOT OBEYING IS TOUGH - ACCORDING TO THE LAWS YOU BREAK. HENCE IT HAS LITTLE CRIME COMPARED TO OTHER NATIONS OF THE WORLD. BUT SAD TO SAY HUMAN BEINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS JUST, AS THE ABOVE SHOWS. WITH GOD .... HE IS PERFECT AND HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS, HIS JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT WILL BE FOREVER PERFECT, HOLY AND RIGHTEOUS.

Keith Hunt. To be continued

KNOWING GOD #13 continued

About Justice and Judgment

Illustrations! #2

GOD IS LOVE - IT IS WRITTEN. BUT GOD IS ALSO JUSTICE AND THE JUDGE OF THE UNIVERSE. JUDGMENT/JUSTICE - MORE ABOUT: From the book "Swindoll's Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes" ONE OF THE MOST FREQUENT Bible illustrations of judgment has to do with Sodom and Gomorrah. Twenty-two times it is used in the Bible. ...... A POET, Friedrich Von Logau, said, "Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small." William Wadsworth Longfellow elaborated and said, "Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceedingly small. Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness He grinds all." John Bartlett, Bartlett's Familiar Quotations ...... HE WHO DOES NOT PUNISH EVIL, commands it to be done. Leonardo da Vinci ...... SURELY THIS PHRASE "the wrath of God" is greatly misunderstood. Many think, invariably, of some sort of peeved deity, a kind of cosmic, terrible-tempered Mr. Bang, who indulges in violent, uncontrolled displays of temper when human beings do not do what they ought to do. But such a concept only reveals the limitations of our understanding. The Bible never deals with the wrath of God that way. According to Scriptures, the wrath of God is God's moral integrity. When man refuses to yield himself to God, he creates certain conditions, not only for himself but for others as well, which God has ordained for harm. It is God who makes evil result in sorrow, heartache, injustice, and despair. It is God's way of saying to man, "Now look, you must face the truth. You were made for Me. If you decide that you don't want Me, then you will have to bear the consequences." The absence of God is destructive to human life. That absence is God's wrath. And God cannot withhold it. In His moral integrity, He insists that these things should occur as a result of our disobedience. He sets man's sin and His wrath in the same frame. Charles R. Swindoll, "Living Above the Level of Mediocrity" ...... MY SISTER brought a record home from college many years ago, when I was just an adolescent at home. It was called "God's Trombones." I think the narration was done by Harry Belafonte. "God's Trombones," by James Johnson, originally published in 1927, is seven sermons from the black culture of the twenties. If you have ever heard black preachers, you have heard vivid terms about whatever the subject may be - creation, life, death, or in this case, the judgment day. The Judgment Day In that great day, People, in that great day, God's a-going to rain down fire. God's a-going to sit in the middle of the air To judge the quick and the dead. Early one of these mornings, God's a-going to call for Gabriel, That tall, bright angel, Gabriel; And God's a-going to say to him: Gabriel, Blow your silver trumpet, And wake the living nations. And Gabriel's going to ask him: Lord, How loud must I blow it? And God's a-going to tell him: Gabriel, Blow it calm and easy..... ...... From the book "Stories, Illustrations and Quotes" JUDGMENT Someone Once Said ... * There are few things stressed more strongly in the Bible than the reality of God's work as Judge. J. I. Packer. * God's anger was seen to be not a passion, but a principle - the eternal hatred of wrong which corresponds with the eternal love of right, and which is only another aspect of love. The magnetic needle swings on its delicate axis; it attracts at one end; it repels at the other. A. T Pierson. * The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become deadly opiate for the consciences of millions. It hushes their fears and allows them practice all pleasant forms of iniquity while death draws every day nearer and the command to repent goes unheeded. A. W Tozer. * The entire New Testament is overshadowed by the certainty of a coming day of universal judgment, and by the problem thence arising: how may we sinners get right with God while there is yet time? J. I. Packer. * His wrath is not an impetuous and changeable passion, but an eternal and unchangeable principle. A. T Pierson Doomed The 1999 crash of golfer Payne Stewart's plane was a bizarre incident. He and five companions boarded a twin-engine, $2.4 million Learjet which left the runway at 9:19 A.M. There were two pilots, and all seemed fine when they checked in with air traffic controllers a few minutes later. But for unknown reasons, the pilots apparently lost consciousness shortly before they were to turn west toward Dallas, and when they couldn't be raised by air traffic controllers, two Air Force jets went aloft to investigate. No one was at the controls. There was no movement in the cockpit, and the windows were fogged, suggesting that the cabin had depressurized and become chilled with stratospheric air some 45,000 feet above the earth. One of the Air Force pilots said, "It's a very helpless feeling to pull alongside another aircraft and realize the people inside that aircraft potentially are unconscious or in some other way incapacitated. And there's nothing I can do physically from my aircraft even though I'm fifty to one hundred feet away, to help them at all." When one of its two engines finally ran out of fuel, the plane roller-coastered through the clouds, heading toward final, cataclysmic destruction. One air safety investigator said that airplane depressurization can be "very insidious." He explained that the problem could slowly deprive the crew of its ability to know what was happening. "It could be one of those things where you're feeling good, you're feeling happy, and you don't know what's going on." Picture humanity on a runaway airplane, on a collision course, with only moments of time remaining. Yet people are so caught up in their pleasures and pressures and pursuits that they don't realize the urgency of their plight. ...... IT IS SOBERING - JESUS DID SAY THERE SHALL BE WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH WHEN SOME WILL BE LOOKING FROM THE OUTSIDE AT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AND CANNOT ENTER - Keith Hunt TWO Columns The Bible presents a God who is the absolute of perfection, who is a God of love, and yet who is simultaneously a God of wrath. A. T Pierson compares it to an arch. You have the love of God supporting one side and the wrath of God supporting the other side, and without either of them the entire thing would fall down. God would not be God if he didn't have the capacity of wrath. Why? I was reading the other day about a young, handsome, dapper fellow, a medical doctor, who always wore crisp and well-tailored clothing. He handled himself with polish and smoothness. He always bore the fragrance of expensive cologne. But his very demeanor made him all the more fiendish, for his name was Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death at Auschwitz. With a flick of his well-washed and perfumed hand he personally selected 400,000 prisoners to die in the gas chamber. He conducted horrible experiments on people, hoping to produce a superior race. One observer said, "He would spend hours bent over his microscope while the air outside stank with the heavy odor of burning flesh from the chimney stacks of the crematoria." He had a special fascination for children who were twins. He would give them horrible injections, operate on their spine to paralyze them, then begin removing parts of their body one at a time for observation. Now, what would you think of a person - or, for that matter, a God - who could see that sort of indescribable evil without feeling any anger? If God could watch the hurt and the evil in this universe with no feelings of indignation and fury, he would be defective in his character. He wouldn't be God at all. So I submit that rather than apologizing for the doctrine of the wrath of God, or ignoring it, we should appreciate it as a vital and wonderful part of God's divine character. Robert J. Morgan ...... Spiders Over the Fire America's greatest theologian is often identified as Jonathan Edwards, a New England pastor of the 1700s. Edwards was brilliant. At age six he studied Latin. He entered Yale when not quite thirteen and graduated when barely fifteen. He was ordained at age nineteen, taught at Yale by twenty, and later became president of Princeton. Harvard granted him both a bachelor's and a master's degree on the same day. But he is best known for "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" - the most famous sermon in American history. He preached it on Sunday, July 8, 1741, while ministering in tiny Enfield, Connecticut. A group of women had spent the previous night praying for revival. When Edwards rose to speak, he quietly announced that his text was Deuteronomy 32:35, ". . . their foot shall slide in due time." This "hellfire and brimstone" approach was somewhat a departure for Edwards. Of his one thousand written sermons, less than a dozen are of this type. Edwards neither gestured nor raised his voice. He spoke softly and simply, warning the unconverted that they were dangling over hell like a spider over the fire. O sinner! consider the fearful danger. The unconverted are now walking over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that it will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. Edwards' voice was suddenly lost amid cries and commotion from the crowd. He paused, appealing for calm. Then he concluded: Let everyone that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom. Strong men held to pews and posts, feeling they were sliding into hell. Others shook uncontrollably and rolled on the floor. Throughout the night cries of men and women were heard throughout the village, begging God to save them. Five hundred were converted that evening, sparking a revival that swept thousands into the kingdom. The Great Awakening had come. ...... Jonathan Edwards was just a product of false Protestant Christianity. Not so great at all, as shocking as that may sound to so-called fundamental Christianity. While it is correct to preach REPENTANCE, most of those preachers back in Edwards' day did NOT know the plan of God regards salvation, neither the truth about hell and salvation and judgment. BUT ***YOU***DEAR READER CAN KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT ALL THE PLAN OF SALVATION AND ALL THE IMPORTANT TOPICS OF SALVATION, FROM THIS WEBSITE. IT IS ALL MADE PLAIN AND SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND. Keith Hunt Judgment Day In the history of New England, May 19, 1780, has become known for its supposed foreshadowing of the judgment Day. At noon the skies were turned from blue to gray, and by mid-afternoon they had become so black that men fell on their knees and cried out to God for mercy ere they went to their doom. On that day the Connecticut House of Representatives was in session. When darkness fell by day, some began to shout and plead for mercy. Others demanded an immediate adjournment. The speaker of the House, Colonel Abraham Davenport, called for silence. Then he spoke: "The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish, therefore, that candles be brought." ...... THE SKIES AND WAYS OF NATURE HAVE BEEN MIGHTY SPECTACULAR MANY TIMES SINCE 1780. THE ONLY WAY TO KNOW THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES AND THE END OF THIS AGE, IS THROUGH BIBLE PROPHECY. ONLY SINCE THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND THE ATOMIC BOMB CAN PROPHECY NOW BE FULLY UNDERSTOOD. I MAKE IT ALL PLAIN FOR YOU ON THIS WEBSITE. Keith Hunt The Times Are Waxing Late We have little information about the life of Bernard of Morlaix (or Cluny) who lived in the middle of the twelfth century, but he left behind a poem of three thousand lines, "De Contemptu Mundi." The theme of this huge composition is expressed in the opening lines of one of the stanzas: The world is very evil The times are waxing late Be sober and keep vigil The judge is at the gate. ...... TODAY AS NEVER BEFORE THOSE WORDS ARE TRUE - TIMES ARE EVIL - JESUS SAID THAT BEFORE HE COMES TO JUDGE THE WORLD, EVIL WOULD ABOUND AND THE LOVE OF MANY WILL WAX COLD. HE ALSO SAID DECEPTION WOULD BE SO GREAT THAT ***IF*** IT WAS POSSIBLE EVEN THE ELECT WOULD BE DECEIVED (MATT.24). THE ONLY WAY FOR YOU TO KNOW TRUTH FROM DECEPTION IS TO SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES AND SEE WHO IS TEACHING THE WORD OF GOD CORRECTLY, AND WHO ARE THE DECEIVERS. JESUS ALSO SAID MANY WOULD COME IN HIS NAME, SAYING HE WAS THE CHRIST - JESUS WAS THE CHRIST - BUT WOULD DECIEVE THE MANY, NOT THE FEW. JESUS ALSO SAID HIS FLOCK WOULD BE THE VERY LITTLE FLOCK (AS THE GREEK READS) - THE SALT OF THE EARTH - JUST HERE AND THERE - Keith Hunt. J. I. Packer on Judgment "Why," asks J. I. Packer, "do men fight shy of the thought of God as a judge? Why do they feel the thought to be unworthy of Him? The truth is that part of God's moral perfection is His perfection in judgment. Would a God who did not care about the difference between right and wrong be a good and admirable Being? Would a God who put no distinction between the beasts of history, the Hiders and Stalins (if we dare use names), and His own saints, be morally praiseworthy and perfect? Moral indifference would be an imperfection of God, not a perfection. But not to judge the world would be to show moral indifference. The final proof that God is a perfect moral being, not indifferent to questions of right and wrong, is the fact that He has committed Himself to judge the world." ...... Vesuvius When the Apostle Paul was being transported as a missionary prisoner to Rome, his ship docked to the south of Rome in the Italian port city of Puteoli. This was a holiday resort for fashionable Roman society, a spa with nearby hot sulfur springs. Many of the Roman emperors had villas there. Puteoli lay in the shadow of a great and rugged mountain - a volcano, though it hadn't erupted in a thousand years - Vesuvius. Shortly after Paul's time, Vesuvius exploded like an atomic bomb. It erupted for forty hours, and while Puteoli was spared, another nearby city was flooded by molten lava, buried before the inhabitants could escape. They were killed by the gasses and the ash, then preserved by the molten lava which rolled over them and hermetically sealed them in a gigantic tomb of pumice. That city was Pompeii, and for many years it remained buried under twenty feet of hardened lava. Excavations have given us a perfectly preserved Roman city, frozen in time, caught in the act of being itself. The twenty thousand people of Pompeii, it seems, worshipped two gods: Venus, the love goddess, and Mercury, the god of commerce. They worshipped, in other words, money and pleasure. Their worship of Mercury is evidenced by their economic prosperity. Pompeii was a thriving city, a neat grid-pattern of shop-lined streets wrapped in a gated wall. It pulsed with industry, many of its people working in a winery, Pompeii being world-famous for its wine. But they also loved pleasure. The city walls were filled with advertisements by prostitutes. Prices indicate that the average girl cost about the price of a modest dinner at a Pompeiian tavern. On one hotel, a sign said, "If you sit down here, read this first: If you're looking for a girl, ask for Attica - four bucks, high class." On the walls of brothels were testimonies by satisfied customers. Everywhere were models and carvings of the phallus - the male sexual organ - which in ancient Pompeii was considered the symbol of success. It was carved on sidewalks and houses, drawn on walls and posts. The statues and sculptures of Pompeii, excavated by archaeologists, were hidden for many years in the "off limits" rooms of Italian museums because they were so obscene. On one Pompeiian wall, someone with a knowledge of the Old Testament had written some graffiti just three words: Sodom and Gomorrah! And, like Sodom and Gomorrah, Pompeii perished suddenly by fire. Judgment came swiftly and without warning, and there was no escape. And, like Sodom and Gomorrah, our world today is awash in corruption and confusion, awaiting the judgment. We don't know when the volcano of judgment and retribution will erupt, but the Apostle Peter said, "The end of all things is near ... For the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. That day will bring about the destruction of the heaven by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat." ...... PETER IS TALKING ABOUT THE DAY OF THE LORD, NOT THE PERIOD CALLED THE "GREAT TRIBULATION" - WHICH COMES BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD. ALL THIS PROPHETIC PROPHECY I HAVE EXPOUNDED FOR YOU IN DETAIL, ON THIS WEBSITE - Keith Hunt. The Water Will Boil David Marks was one of the most powerful evangelists in early American history. He was born to godly Connecticut parents in 1805, and his awareness of God began early in life. The incident that started him thinking about the Savior was a day when he was watching some flax burn. He had heard of the fires of hell, and as he watched the flames, he thought how exceedingly dreadful even one moment in hell would be. "What would I do if the wrath of God fell on the earth?" he asked himself. After serious thought, he decided that should the Day ofJudgment come, he would descend into the well and hide there. Running to his mother, he shared his plan; but she replied, "Ah, my son, the water will boil and the earth will burn." He then told her that he would run to a spot he knew in the rocks where he could hide. She said, "But the rocks will melt." He was so overwhelmed with dread that he told her he would just die and escape the wrath of God in the grave. But she replied, "My child, your hope is in vain; for the dead will awake and come out of their graves." Young David went outside and walked through the fields, pondering at length the reality of that coming day and his being unprepared for it. Putting his hand over his heart, he looked toward heaven and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." ...... AH IT IS ALL TRUE WHAT HIS MOTHER TOLD HIM. THE WORD OF GOD DOES TEACH THAT INDEED ALL THOSE THING WILL HAPPEN ONE DAY - IT IS WRITTEN - IT WILL COME TO PASS. GOD IS CALLING SOME TODAY, TO SALVATION, IT IS VERY POSSIBLE ***YOU***ARE ONE OF THEM!!! Keith Hunt Where the Fire Has Been Many years ago, a father and his daughter were walking through the grass on the Canadian prairie. In the distance, they saw a prairie fire; eventually, they realized, it would engulf them. The father knew there was only one way of escape: they would quickly begin a fire right where they were and burn a large patch of grass. When the huge fire drew near, they then would stand on the section that had already burned. When the fire actually did approach them, the girl was terrified by the raging flames. But her father assured her, "The flames can't get to us. We are standing where the fire has already been." Are you afraid of God's judgment? If you have trusted Christ as Savior, you can never come under His wrath. When we depend on Him, we are secure; we are where the wrath of God has already been. ...... IT IS TRUE IN CHRIST THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION - SO IT IS WRITTEN! IF YOU ARE STUDYING FROM THIS WEBSITE, IT IS VERY POSSIBLE INDEED THAT GOD IS CALLING YOU TO HIS SALVATION AND THE FIRST RESURRECTION INTO HIS KINGDOM AT THE COMING OF CHRIST. TAKE WHAT YOU READ ON THIS WEBSITE SERIOUSLY FOR THE ETERNAL GOD IS CALLING TO FILL HIS KINGDOM. Keith Hunt The Dump Senior Pastor Joel Eidsness of Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, Connecticut, once took his seven-year-old daughter on an unusual date. They visited the town dump. Backing his Oldsmobile up against the mound of refuse, he placed his daughter on the roof, and, with pencil and paper, they began listing all the items they could identify. There was a plastic swimming pool, a barbecue, and several old lawn chairs. There were Barbie dolls, bicycle frames, skateboards, play refrigerators and stoves, radios, televisions - everything that a young girl dreams of and more. Returning home, they pulled alongside a double trailer truck, piled high with hunks of scrap-cars that had been crushed. He leaned over to his daughter and reminded her that the beautiful car they were riding in would someday end up in a scrap heap like that. He later wrote, "That was a day Kristen and I will never forget. It was a powerful reminder that someday everything we own will be junk. In city dumps the things that have captivated our attention and dominated our lives will smolder beneath a simmering flame, amidst stinking mounds of rotting garbage. But the picture portrays not only the end of our lives and that of our children. It also portrays the ultimate collapse of human history as we now know it. History is not destined to grind on forever. It awaits - wittingly or unwittingly - the awesome and terrible judgment of God." ...... AND THAT IS ALSO TRUE MY FRIENDS. ALL THAT IS TODAY WILL ONE DAY BE NO MORE. THERE WILL COME A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, WHEREIN DWELLS ONLY HOLY PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS. SO IT IS WRITTEN IN REVELATION 21 AND 22. IF YOU WANT TO BE THERE, TO LIVE FOR ALL ETERNITY, YOU MUST ACCEPT THE CALLING OF GOD, CLAIM JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR, REPENT OF SIN, AND DESIRE TO LIVE IN ACCORDANCE TO THE WILL OF GOD - LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF GOD (MAT.4:4) AND I HAVE A STUDY ON THIS WEBSITE CALLED "LIVING BY EVERY WORD OF GOD - HOW?" Keith Hunt But Few Listened Winston Churchill, his wary eye fixed on Hitler, was a lone voice in the years preceding World War II. He continually warned his nation and the world of the impending disasters about to befall Europe, but few listened. In 1936, he embarked on a strenuous campaign to awaken England with his cries of alarm. In one article, published in the most prominent newspapers of fourteen countries, he warned that the peoples of Europe were chattering, busy, sporting, toiling, amused from day to day by headlines and from night to night by cinemas, slipping, sinking, rolling backward to the age when the earth was void and darkness moved upon the face of the waters. Surely, he argued, it is worth a supreme effort ... to control the hideous drift of events and arrest calamity on the threshold. Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! NOW is the appointed time. But few listened. ...... OH YES WINSTON SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL - THE TIME OF EVIL AND CALAMITY TO COME ON THE EARTH. THE PROPHECIES OF YOUR BIBLE NOW PROCLAIM THE EVENTS THAT WILL LEAD UP TO THE END OF THIS AGE, THE GREATEST TRIBULATION THAT THE WORLD HAS EVER EXPERIENCED IN ITS ENTIRE HISTORY. YOU NEED TO STUDY ALL MY STUDIES ON BIBLE PROPHECY ON THIS WEBSITE. THE FUTURE IS MADE PLAIN FOR YOU. IT IS WRITTEN AND IT WILL COME TO PASS. THEN YOU NEED TO HEED THE CALLING OF THE LORD, YOU NEED TO REPENT AND FIND THE SALVATION HE OFFERS YOU, SO YOU CAN BE IN THE FIRST RESURRECTION AT THE COMING OF CHRIST TO JUDGE THE WORLD. Keith Hunt TWO Soldiers Walter B. Knight tells about two soldiers traveling by train at the end of World War II. One had spent more than three years in the South Pacific, and now was returning to his father, mother, friends, and sweetheart. All were waiting for him at the station in Chicago, and his eagerness could hardly be contained. "How fast are we traveling?" he asked the porter. "How far are we from Chicago? We can't get there too quickly for me." On the same train another serviceman sat in the same coach. His face looked like a blown-out lamp, a picture of gloom and dejection. He was in handcuffs and in the charge of military police. He was not eager to reach his destination, for nothing awaited him but judgment and punishment. Two men on the same train bound for the same destination - one eager for reunion, the other dreading judgment. ...... JESUS DID SAY THAT SOME ON THAT DAY WOULD BE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN AT THE KINGDOM, THERE WOULD BE WAILING AND GNASHING OF TEETH FOR THOSE HEADING FOR THE JUDGMENT OF THE SECOND DEATH - REVELATION 20. Keith Hunt From Paul Harvey "For What It's Worth Department" hears of a great escape! Gary Tindle was in a California courtroom charged with robbery. He asked and got from judge Armando RodRiguez permission to go to the bathroom. While the bathroom door was guarded - Mr. Tindle climbed up onto the plumbing and opened a panel in the ceiling. Sure enough, a dropped ceiling with space between. He climbed up - and into the crawlspace - and headed south. He'd gone thirty-some feet when the ceiling panels broke from under him and dropped him to the floor ... Right back in judge Rodriguez's courtroom. Paul Harvey, "For What It's Worth," ed. By Paul Harvey, Jr. (New York: Bantam Books, 1991). ...... THERE IS A DAY OF JUDGMENT COMING FOR ALL NATIONS AND ALL PEOPLE. THERE CAN BE NO ESCAPING IT. NOW IS A DAY OF SALVATION. IF YOU ARE STUDYING FROM THIS WEBSITE, ***YOU*** MAY VERY WELL BE IN THE POSITION WHERE GOD IS CALLING YOU TO HIS SALVATION. IF YOU ACCEPT THAT CALLING, RECEIVE JESUS AS YOUR PERSONAL SAVIOR, REPENT OF SIN, LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD'S WORD OF TRUTH, THEN THERE IS NO FEAR OF JUDGMENT IN THE SECOND DEATH. I PRAY YOU WILL FIND THE LOVE AND SALVATION AND MERCY OF GOD, FOR HE REALLY DOES NOT WANT ANY TO PERISH, BUT TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.

Keith Hunt

KNOWING GOD #14

God and His Enemies

The Lord is hard to understand at times

Taken from a forum debate: Okay Steve, concerning my attitude towards those I consider enemies of the Gospel of Christ. I do not know how much "good news" some of God's true ministers may have considered it when God's enemies to truth and righteousness "bit the dust" - I do not know their minds. It may have been bitter sweet for them. And then again it may have been very good news. I will give you one example in my life, that it was good news God took action for me, but I was SHOCKED and it was bitter sweet for me....there was sadness in it and there was rejoicing...sadness that the person did not REPENT, and rejoicing that the end result of it all was a transformation in many lives. But before I get to that example, we'll look at a few from the Bible. And as I've said I DO NOT KNOW the depths of God, I am puzzled by Him some times, I look through a glass darkly indeed as Paul wrote once. The example of David (after your last post on this, I really did want to know from God if I had stepped over the line. I just opened up to the Psalms and I opened up on Psalm 140....quite a shocker, David towards enemies of God), and if you think he had an excuse for such words because he was also a "bloody man" - then wait until we see what PAUL wrote in the New Testament. The example of Elisha. 2 Kings 2:19-25. He's going on his way and these bratty kids come out (42 of them it seems) and start calling him names, making fun of him ...."get along you bald head, get along bald head." Elisha turns and CURSES THEM IN GOD'S NAME!!! Now, we do not know exactly what his curse was, but it was a curse, and usually curses ain't good things. Kids often do stupid things, making fun of another kid or an adult. We could say why on earth did not Elisha just "let it go" - kids can be foolish at times. What harm could they have done to Elisha with just "name calling" - but this MAN OF GOD, turns around and CURSES them!! It was in God's name he did this, so he fully expected God would take care of the problem in SOME way. It does not say he knew the way the Lord would take care of the matter, then again depending on his curse, maybe he DID know. Whatever the case, God DOES ANSWER Elisha....He sends TWO SHE BEARS out of the woods and they TEAR UP forty-two kids...little children (v.23). Tear-up? Did God just have them bitten and scratched up, or does it mean He had them killed? Does not specifically say, but whichever, the first would be bad enough, the second (killing them)......well that just BLOWS MY MIND. Yes, I simply do NOT know the DEPTHS of God at times. And if you believe as I teach that Jesus was the God of the Old Testament, then it was THIS PERSON who later became Jesus that DID THIS ACTION! Either way, you simply do not know the REAL Jesus, as you think you know Him. He is a lot more COMPLEX than we humans think. As I've said, I am STUNNED at times with the actions of God, left looking through a glass darkly. Now to the mind-bending example of the apostle Paul, under, yes, the New Testament. Galations 1:6-9. If you read it in the AMPLIFIED BIBLE, you will get the SHOCKING truth. Paul was against those who PERVERTED the Gospel. Do I believe Herbert Armstrong and Meredith and Flurry and OTHERS perverted and still PERVERT the Gospel? YOU BET I DO!! I believe they have become enemies to TRUTH and RIGHTEOUSNESS, continuing to lead THOUSANDS into false ideas and into a CULTIC mind-set, of the old Worlwide Church of God and Herbert Armstrong ways. Paul had his enemies of the Gospel, who perverted the Gospel. Gal.1:8, "But if WE or an ANGEL from heaven should preach to you a gospel CONTRARY to and DIFFERENT from that which we preached to you, let HIM be ACCURSED (anathama, DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION, DOOMED TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT)! Verse 9, "As we said before, so I now SAY AGAIN, If ANYONE is preaching to you a gospel different from or contrary to that which you received from us, let HIM be ACCUSRED (anathama, DEVOTED TO DESTRUCTION, DOOMED TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT)! Wow!!! You talk about pulling no punches with Paul at times. THIS IS IT!! Now Paul was a man MIGHTILY used of God, personally taught by Christ. You might say then he had the authority and the "know" to say such words to those perverting the Gospel and leading people into falsehood. Paul is using words stronger than just wishing them physically dead. I mean I am taken back, looking through a glass darkly with such words coming from Paul. I have NEVER COME CLOSE to saying those words in regards to Herbert Armstrong, Ted Armstrong, Meredith, Flurry, and others, who I say did and are perverting the Gospel, and who did and are still doing for those like Meredith and Flurry (still alive as I write in 2004), leading people into false teachings and cultic mind-set. Was Paul happy or rejoicing in having to say those words against false ministers? Much sadness I would say, but with some rejoicing that God would take care of them, take them out of the way, so people would escape the falsehood of their so-called "gospel." There had to be BITTER-SWEET in the words of Paul and in his mind, when saying those words towards perverters of the Gospel. Now, to my example. I have tried, especially from 1982 when called and ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ, to serve Him with all my heart, and in the CORRECT WAY, in my life and in my teaching, serving and helping wherever I could. In the winter of 1989/90 my wife and I left British Columbia, and went for that winter to Florida, where my wife's mother lived during the winter. I had been working WITH the CGI, and Des Burke (now recently dead) in Penticton for a few years. When we walked into the CGI congregation in Clearwater, Florida, we walked into a HORNETS NEST. The church was SPLIT IN TWO, over their last CGI minister, who had just been transfered by his company to another part of the USA. I tried to help, with kind words of people having more love and patience, etc. The DEACON and his wife, who were AGAINST the previous minister, went on the RAMPAGE, accusing me of trying to take over the congregation etc. etc. Now, we had a congregation DIVIDED on TWO points....divided on the previous minister, and divided on me. Half the people were against me and half were okay with me. Ron Dart (then with CGI in Texas) told the previous minister to "get back" and try to solve the problem. He arrived the second Sabbath after we had arrived in Clearwater. He gave his "speech" that Sabbath, and once more all hell broke out from this deacon and his wife and their supporters. It was all a terrible scene. The minister went home, now in another State, and nothing was resolved. This deacon and his wife continued to vocally be against myself and my wife. I tried to make peace with them. I wrote to Dart telling him of the situation and the division, and that it was mainly the misguided doings of this deacon and his wife. I wrote to this deacon and his wife, as per Matthew 18. Over time many who had been poisoned by this man and woman, came to see my wife and I were not enemies but helpers of the CGI. They came and appologized to us. When Ron Dart came down for Passover in 1991, and they saw he and I were friends, MOST warmly accepted myself. But that deacon and his wife would NOT relent in their evil within that congregation. I wrote one more final letter to them. In it I said God would take care of the situation, that I had prayed He would. I told them I wanted them to see the error of their ways and repent, but if they did not, then I had asked God to render the situation aright. My wife and I returned to Canada after that Passover of 1991. In December of 1991, we went back for a holiday (as we had bought a small duplex and one side was empty). At our FIRST Sabbath in that SAME congregation, we were met at the parking lot with OPEN ARMS, people just loving to see us again. I was somewhat taken back my the VERY WARM welcome I received. THEN one of the leading men said, "Have you not heard the news?" I answered, "No, what news?" He then went on to tell me that it was not long after I had returned to Canada, that the evil trouble-maker deacon, from good normal health, was smitten with CANCER from the TOP of his head to the BOTTOM of his feet!! He was DEAD within weeks!! I was STUNNED!!!! Yes, I had asked God to take care of the situation. I had no thoughts of the DRAMATIC way in which God WOULD TAKE CARE OF THE MATTER!! I was stunned to say the least. The deacons wife was as CHANGED in attitude as you would ever want. She was now HUMBLE, quiet, respectful, and totally another woman. The congregation was at PEACE, harmony, and all that you would wish a congregation to be. All there this time accepted me with out-stretched arms of love. Since then I have never prayed such a prayer. I do not pray it for Flurry or Meredith, and others, but that does not mean to say I will not have some comfort in spirit when they are six feet under. God at times just ain't the way we would think of Him, I am puzzled by some things concering Him in the Bible, and in some things in todays life I live. I still look through a glass darkly at Him.

Keith Hunt

KNOWING GOD #15

The TRUTH about MERCY

It's a part of the character of God!

UNDERSTANDING GOD'S MERCY Mercy In "Reader's Digest" Jim Williams of Butte, Montana, writes: I was driving too fast late one night when 1 saw the flashing lights of a police car in my rearview mirror. As I pulled over and rolled down the window of my station wagon, I tried to dream up an excuse for my haste. But when the patrolman reached the car, he said nothing. Instead, he merely shined his flashlight in my face, then on my seven-months-pregnant wife, then on our snoozing 18-month-old in his car seat, then on our three other children, who were also asleep, and lastly on the two dogs in the very back of the car. Returning the beam of light to my face, he then uttered the only words of the encounter. "Son," he said, "you cant afford a ticket. Slow it down." And with that, he returned to his car and drove away. Sometimes mercy triumphs over law. So it is for sinners who call out to Jesus. WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY 2 Sam. 22:26. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful, and with the upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright. Psa. 18:25. With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful. Psa. 37:25. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. 26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. Psa. 85:10. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Prov. 3:3. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: 4. So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Prov. 11:17. The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh. Prov. 12:10. A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. Prov. 14:21. He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. 22. Do they not err that devise evil? But mercy and truth shall be to them that devise good. 31. He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Prov. 20:28. Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy. Prov. 21:21. He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour. Hos. 4:1. Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. Hos. 12:6. Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually. Mic. 6:8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Matt. 5:7. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Matt. 23:23. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Luke 6:36. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Rom. 12:8. He that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. Col. 3:12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, sleekness, longsuffering. 13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Jas. 2:13. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. .......... NAVE'S Topical Bible also says, See GOD, MERCY OF; KINDNESS. MERCY IS A PART OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD. IT MUST ALSO BE PART OF OUR CHARACTER IF WE ARE GOING TO OBTAIN MERCY FROM THE MERCIFUL GOD. Keith Hunt - Feast of Atonement 2012

UNDERSTANDING GOD #16

Understanding God's Grace #1

Human Examples

UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD #1 In his book "In the Grip of Grace" Max Lucado writes: In my first church, we had more than our share of southern ladies who loved to cook. I fit in well because I was a single guy who loved to eat. Our potlucks were major events. I counted on those potluck dinners for my survival. While others were planning what to cook, I was studying my kitchen shelves to see what I could offer. The result was pitiful: one of my better offerings was an unopened sack of chips, another time I took a half-empty jar of peanuts. Wasn't much, but no one ever complained. Those ladies would take my jar of peanuts and set it on the long table with the rest of the food and hand me a plate. "Go ahead. Don't be bashful. Fill up your plate." And I would! Mashed potatoes and gravy. Roast beef. Fried chicken. I came like a pauper and ate like a king! The apostle Paul would have loved the symbolism of those potlucks. He would say that Christ does for us precisely what those women did for me. ...... In his sermon "Why Christ Had to Die," author and pastor Stuart Briscoe says: Many years ago when the children were small, we went for a little drive in the lovely English countryside, and there was some fresh snow. I saw a lovely field with not a single blemish on the virgin snow. I stopped the car, and I vaulted over the gate, and I ran around in a great big circle striding as wide as I could. Then I came back to the kids, and said, "Now, children, I want you to follow in my footsteps. So I want you to run around that circle in the snow, and I want you to put your feet where your father put his feet." Well, David tried and couldn't quite make it. Judy, our overachiever, was certain she would make it; she couldn't make it. Pete, the little kid, took a great run at it, put his foot in my first footprint and then strode out as far as he could and fell on his face. His mother picked him up as he cried. She said to me, "What are you trying to do?" I said, "I'm trying to get a sermon illustration." I said, "Pete, come here." I picked up little Peter and put his left foot on my foot, and I put his right foot on my foot. I said, "Okay, Pete, let's go." I began to stride one big stride at a time with my hands under his armpits and his feet lightly on mine. Well, who was doing it? In a sense, he was doing it because I was doing it. In a sense there was a commitment of the little boy to the big dad, and some of the properties of the big dad were working through the little boy. In exactly the same way, in our powerlessness we can't stride as wide as we should. We don't walk the way we should. We don't hit the target the way we ought. It isn't that at every point we are as bad as we could be. It's just that at no point are we as good as we should be. Something's got to be done. The message of is it has been done. You can be justified. You can be saved from wrath. You can be saved by his life. All that is the message of grace - God offering you what you don't deserve. ...... In "Pursuit" author and evangelist Luis Palau writers: Thank God His grace isn't "fair." A couple of years ago, one of my nephews (I'll call him Kenneth) was near death. He had AIDS. During a family reunion in the hills of northern California, Kenneth and I broke away for a short walk. He was a hollow shell, laboring for breath. "Kenneth, you know you're going to die any day," I said. "Do you have eternal life? Your parents agonize. I must know." "Luis, I know God has forgiven me and I'm going to heaven." For several years, since his early teens, Kenneth had practiced homosexuality. More than that, in rebellion against God and his parents, he flaunted his lifestyle. "Kenneth, how can you say that?" I replied. "You rebelled against God, you made fun of the Bible, you hurt your family terribly. And now you say you've got eternal life, just like that?" "Luis, when the doctor said I had AIDS, I realized what a fool I'd been." "We know that," I said bluntly, but deliberately, because Kenneth knew full well that the Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is sin. "But did you really repent?" "I did repent, and I know God has had mercy on me. But my dad won't believe me." "You've rebelled in his face all your life," I said. "You've broken his heart." Kenneth looked me straight in the eye. "I know the Lord has forgiven me." "Did you open your heart to Jesus?" "Yes. Luis! Yes!" As we put our arms around each other and prayed and talked some more, I became convinced that Jesus had forgiven all of Kenneth's rebellion and washed away all his sin.... My nephew, like the repentant thief on the cross, did not deserve God's grace. I don't either. None of us do. That's why grace is grace - unmerited favor. GRACE from "Swindoll's Ultimate Book of Illustrations and Quotes" CYNTHIA AND I were on vacation at Sea World with some of our children and grandchildren. It is always amazing to watch those brave men and women who dive in the tank with Shamu the whale and other big creatures. I thought, "That whale is so gracious not to put them into eternity with just a nudge of her nose." In fact, you get the feeling at times that they are fed handfuls of fish just to placate them, just to keep them in a real good mood so that when the trainers get in the tank they'll be able to get out of the tank a little later on. And I watched as they hung on to their fins and tried to get their arms around those big bodies. The subject of grace is like that-a big subject to try and get your arms around or to get a hold on. ...... TO SEEK TO EARN, merit, or purchase salvation is to insult the Giver. Imagine yourself invited to a banquet in the White House by the president of the United States. You are seated at a table that is filled with the choicest foods. Every effort is made to give you a most enjoyable evening. At the end of a lovely visit, the president stands at the front door to bid you good-bye. What do you do? As you leave, do you press a dime into his hand and say, "Thank you very much for your kindness. I have enjoyed the evening very much. I realize it has cost you a lot of money, and I want to help you pay for the meal"? Is that the proper response to his kindness? On the contrary, it is a rude and insulting gesture. So it would be with God's grace. William MacDonald, "The Grace of God" ...... THE BIBLE IS A PHOTO ALBUM filled with pictures of God's grace. One striking image is found in the pages of 2 Samuel. The setting is the palace of King David. Gold and bronze fixtures gleam from the walls. Lofty, wooden ceilings crown each spacious room. In the banquet room, David and his children gather for an evening meal. Absalom, tanned and handsome, is there, as is David's beautiful daughter Tamar. The call to dinner is given, and the king scans the room to see if all are present. One figure, though, is absent. Clump, scraaape, clump, scraaapc. The sound coming down the hall echoes into the chamber. Clump, scraaapc, clump, scraaapc. Finally, the person appears at the door and slowly shuffles to his seat. It is the lame Mephibosheth seated in grace at David's table. And the tablecloth covers his feet. Now the feast can begin. ...... Grace in a Barren Place I was that Mephibosheth Crippled by my twisted pride and hiding from you in a barren place where You could not find me where You would not give me what I deserved. But somehow You found me and I don't understand why but You give me what I do not deserve. You not only spared my desolate life but You made it bountiful And here at Your table I will thank You, my King. -Julie Martin ...... ONE AFTERNOON I was too lazy to wash my little red Volkswagen convertible. Now you really have to be lazy not to wash half a car on an entire afternoon. So I said to my two younger children, "I'll give you 75 cents to wash the car." (I'm known as the last of the big-time spenders.) And so my younger son, Chuck, walked inside and turned up his nose as if to say, "Who in the world wants to wash a car for 75 cents?" So I turned to Colleen, our younger daughter, and I said, "Honey, I'll give you $1.50 if you wash it." Well, she quickly took out the bucket and the brush and the hose and started in. Worked on it for an hour or so. Did a terrific job. Then she called me out front for two reasons. One was to see how clean it was, and the other was to pick up her paycheck. Chuck came along. Since it was time to dole out the money, he told me he had encouraged his sister. If I had given him even a dime, that would have been a grace gift. For me to pay her $1.50 was a wage. She earned it. ...... HUMPTY DUMPTY had an unsolvable problem. We have a problem too, but ours has a solution. Jesus Christ came to our wall, Jesus Christ died for our fall; So that regardless of death and in spite of sin, "Through grace, He might put us together again. ...... SEVERAL YEARS AGO my family and I were enjoying an evening at a restaurant. We looked over in the corner and saw a couple from our church. We waved at 'em and they winked back in our direction. And just before they left they came by our table, shook hands and said "Hi." When our meal was over, I got up and walked to the cash register and said, "I didn't get a check for our meal." They said, "Oh, well, you don't have to worry about it because someone else paid for it." I asked, "Who paid for it?" They said, "Well, we don't know who they are, but they were the couple that walked over and said 'Hello' to you." I was astonished, but said, "Well, why don't I take care of the tip?" "No, that was all taken care of too." It was paid in full. I had the hardest time accepting that. I wanted to go home and call them up and say, "Hey, why don't I split it halfway with you?" There was another fellow who that year wanted to give us a present of washing all the windows in the house - inside and out. I had the hardest time saying, "Fine, do it all." I was pacing up and down, wondering what I could do to pay him back. It's difficult to accept something absolutely free. We think there's a gimmick or we think there's something we must do to pay our way. God's grace says, "I've picked up the tab. I'll take care of everything inside and out. Accept it. Believe it. It's a declared fact." ...... "Do this and live!" the Law demands, But gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word God's grace does bring, It bids me fly and gives me wings. Kenneth Wuest, "Romams in the Greek New Testament" ...... IT WOULD SEEM ... that grace is what happens between two persons. It is one giving himself to the other. It is responsibility to another. It is a distinctive kind of relating. In a world of men turning their backs on one another, exploiting one another, killing one another, gossiping about one another, trying to possess one another, and controlling one another, grace is one person accepting and confronting another in freedom and responsibility. R. Lofton Hudson, "Grace Is Not a Blue-Eyed Blond" ...... He Givelh More He giveth more grace when the burdens grow greater, He sendeth more strength when the labors increase; To added affliction He addeth His mercy, To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving is only begun. His love has no limit, His grace has no measure; His power no boundary known unto men; For out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth and giveth and giveth again. Annie Johnson Flint, quoted in John R. Rice, "Poems That Preach" ...... THE BIBLE SAYS WE ARE ALL SINNERS - WE HAVE BROKEN THE LAW OF GOD. IT IS LIKE A POLICEMAN GIVING YOU A SPEEDING TICKET FOR BREAKING THE SPEEDING LAW. NO AMOUNT OF NOW KEEPING THAT LAW CAN ERASE THE PENALTY OF BREAKING IT. THE JUDGE WOULD LAUGH AT YOU IF YOU TRIED TO SAY THE SPEEDING TICKET SHOULD NOT BE CHARGED ON YOU, FOR YOU HAVE OBEYED THAT LAW 1,000 TIMES BEFORE. NOW THE JUDGE COULD SAY, "I HAVE A SON WHO IS PAYING THE SPEEDING FINE FOR YOU." NOW THAT IS GRACE GIVEN TO YOU WHEN YOU DID NOT DESERVE IT. Keith Hunt - Feast of Atonement 2012 To be continued

Understanding God's Grace #2

What the Scriptures say

UNDERSTANDING THE GRACE OF GOD #2 GRACE OF GOD Gen. 15:6. And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Gen. 20:6. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Deut. 7:6. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7. The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people. 8. But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypy. 9. Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations. Deut. 9:4. Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD bath brought me in to this land: but for the wickedness of here nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. 5. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart; dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD aware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6. Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people. Job 10:12. Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. Job 22:2. Can a man be profitable unto God, as he that is wise may be profitable unto himself. 3. Is it any pleasure to the Almighty, that thou art righteous? or is it gain to hm, that thou makest thy ways perfect? Psa. 94:17. Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence. 18. When I said, My foot slippeth: thy mercy, O LORD, held me up. 19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. Psa. 138:3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. Psa. 143:11. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. Dan. 9.18. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. Dan. 10:18. Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me. 19. And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me; I was strengthened, and said, Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. John 6:44. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. John 17:11. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost; but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 15. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. Acts 4:29. And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word, 30. By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. Acts 26:22. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great. Rom. 322. Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24. Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Rom. 4:4. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. 5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed. Rom. 5:2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 6. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for its. 15. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. 18. Therefore as by the offence of one judqment came upon all men to condemnation: even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. 21. That as sin hath reigned unto death, oven so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Rom. 9:10. And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; 11. (For the children, being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth). 12. It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger. 13. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. 15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Rom. 11:5. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6. And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace, But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work. 1 Cor. 1:4. I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ. 5. That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge. 6. Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you 7. So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: 8. Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 10:13. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Cor. 15:10. By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 2 Cor. 1:12. Our rejoicing is this, the testiinony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward. Gal. 1:15. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16. To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. Eph. 1:5. 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. 7. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. 8. Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. 11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Eph. 2:8. By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph. 3:16. That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. Eph. 4:7. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. Eph. 6:10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Phil. 1:19. For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Phil. 2:13. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 1 Thess.1:1. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thess. 5:28; 2 Pet. 1:2. 1 Tim. 1:14. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 2 Tim. 1:1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, 9. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Tit. 3:7. That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 1 Pet. 1:5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Pet. 4:10. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 1 Pet. 5:10, But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. Jude 1. Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and reserved in Jesus Christ, and called: 21. Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 24. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, 25. To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Rev. 3:10. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the word, to try them that dwell upon the earth. .......... AH THE GRACES OF GOD TOWARDS HIS CHILDREN ARE MANY AND VARIED; BUT ESPECIALLY THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE STUDIED MY STUDY CALLED "SAVED BY GRACE" ON THIS WEBSITE. IT WILL MAKE THE SUBJECT OF SALVATION EASY AND SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND. Keith Hunt - Feast of Atonement 2012

UNDERSTANDING GOD #17

THE LONGSUFFERING OF GOD

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CHARACTER OF GOD. FOR IT IS USED IN THE PLAN OF THE ETERNAL FOR SALVATION TO ALL PEOPLES WHO HAVE EVER BEEN DOWN THROUGH THE PAST AGES.

YOU NEED TO READ ROMANS CHAPTERS 9 THROUGH 11, AND NOTE CAREFULLY THE CALLING OF GOD THROUGH GRACE. YOU NEED TO NOTE THE OTHERS WERE BLINDED, NOT CALLED. YOU NEED TO NOTE IT WAS GOD WHO BLINDED THEM. ONLY SOME IN ISRAEL TODAY ARE CALLED THROUGH GRACE. BUT NOTICE PAUL WAS INSPIRED TO SAY "ALL ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED."

SO GOD IS INDEED L O N G S U F F E R I N G ......... HE IS PATIENT. HE IS WORKING HIS WORK HERE BELOW WITH WITH A L O N G TERM VIEW IN MIND. I HAVE WRITTEN ABOUT THE SALVATION PLAN THAT GOD IS WORKING ON IN MY STUDY "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT." YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE YOU STUDY IT - STUDY IT MORE THAN ONCE - STUDY IT BY MARKING ALL THE VERSES I GIVE YOU.

HERE THEN ARE MANY OF THE VERSES IN THE BIBLE ABOUT THE LONGSUFFERING OF GOD:

Gen.6:3. "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."

Gen. 15:6. "They shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full."

Ex. 34:6. "And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth."

Num. 14:18. "The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression."

Psa. 86:15. "Thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.:"

Psa. 103:. "The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9. He will not always chide; neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10. He has not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."

"Isa. 30:18. "And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you."

To be continued

THE LONGSUFFERING OF GOD

Part Two

Isa. 48:9. "For my name's sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 11. For mine own sake, even for my own sake, I will do it: for how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory to another."

Ezek. 20:7. "Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness."

Joel. 2:13. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness...."

Matt. 19:8. "He said unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your heart suffered you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it was not so."

Matt.23:37. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kills the prophets, and stone them that are sent unto you; how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but you would not!"

Luke 13:6. "He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, but found none. 7. Then said he unto thew dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, but find none; cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? 8. And he answered and said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I dig it about, and dung it. 9. And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that you can cut it down."

Acts 14:16. "Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways."

Acts 17:30. "And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent."

Rom.2:4. "Despise you the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowng that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"

Rom.9:22. "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering, the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction. 23. That he might make know the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had before prepared unto glory."

(Many have taken these two verses out of context with the chapter and context of the whole Bible, to try and teach the silly idea of God predestinating before they were born, some to hell-fire and some to glory. The truth of these verses can be found as I expound the book of Romans in "The New Testament Bible Story" and in my study on "Predestination" on this website - Keith Hunt)

1 Pet. 3:20. "The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah."

2 Pet. 3:9. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is LONGSUFFERING towards us, NOT WANTING ANY TO PERISH, BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE. 15, And account that the LONGSUFFERING of our Lord is SALVATION."

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THE ETERNAL GOD IS WORKING OUT A PLAN OF SALVATION HERE BELOW WTH MANKIND. IT IS A PLAN OF MUCH L O N G S U F F E R I N G - A PLAN THAT ONLY THE RELATIVE FEW FROM ADAM HAVE BEEN CALLED TO SALVATION, WHILE THE REST WERE LEFT IN UTTER SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS. READ AGAIN ACTS 14:16. AND CHAPTER 9 THROUGH 11 OF THE BOOK OF ROMANS.

THE PLAN OF SALVATION IS FULLY EXPLAINED IN MY STUDY CALLED "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT."

YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE WONDERFUL PLAN OF SALVATION THE ETERNAL GOD HAS FOR ALL MANKIND THAT HAS EVER LIVED OR WILL LIVE.

THEN YOU WILL REJOICE AND PRAISE GOD FOR HIS MERCY AND LONGSUFFERING. YOU WILL BE FREE FROM THE SILLY AND FALSE TEACHINGS OF A FALSE CHRISTIANITY - YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH AND THE TRUTH WILL MAKE YOU FREE!

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ALL ABOUT GOD #18

GOD AS CREATOR OF MANKIND

Gen. 1:26. "God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."

Gen. 5:1. "In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him. 2. Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created."

Gen. 9:6. "In the image of God made he man. "

Ex. 4:11. "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?"

(THIS MAY SHOCK SOME, BUT AS GOD COULD STOP THERE BEING DUMB, OR BLIND, OR DEAF, IN THE MAIN HE DOES NOT DO SO, HENCE WITH GOD ALLOWING IT ALL, HE SAYS IN EFFECT, IS IT NOT I THAT DOES THIS, NOT ALWAYS HEALING THE DEAF, THE DUMB, AND THE BLIND - Keith Hunt)

Num. 16:22. "And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh...."

(MAN DOES HAVE A SPIRIT WITHIN HIM, THAT UNITED WITH THE MIND, MAKES MANKIND UNIQUE ABOVE ALL OTHER LIVING THINGS THAT GOD CREATED. THERE IS A STUDY ON THIS WEBSITE CALLED I BELIEVE "THE SPIRIT IN MAN" WHICH WILL EXPOUND TO YOU THE TRUTH OF WHY THE HUMAN MIND IS ABOVE ALL OTHER PHYSICAL CREATURES - Keith Hunt)

Deut. 4:32. "Since the day God created man upon the earth."

Job 10:8. "Your hands have made me and fashioned me together round about. 9. You have made me as the clay; and will you bring me into dust again 11. You have clothed me with skin and flesh, and have fenced me with bones and sinews. 12. You have granted me life and favor, and your visitation has preserved my spirit."

Job. 12:10, "In whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.

Job 27:3. " All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils."

(HERE FROM THE VERY CONTEXT THE "SPIRIT" REFERRED TO IS THE "BREATH" OF LIFE THAT ENTERS OUR NOSTRILS. BUT THE BIBLE MAKES IT CLEAR THERE IS ANOTHER "SPIRIT IN MAN" THAT GIVES THE HUMAN BRAIN [OF ITSELF NOT THAT REMARKABLE AS SOME ANIMAL BRAINS ARE LARGER] A UNQUIE ABILITY TO DO THE THINGS WE CAN DO AS HUMANS - MONKES AND APES COULD NEVER INVENT THE INTERNET OR LEARN HOW TO SEND PEOPLE TO THE MOON, OR ROBOTS TO MARS - Keith Hunt)

Job 31:15. "Did not he that made me in the womb, make him? And did not one fashion us in the womb?

(GOD WAS NOT MADE, HE WAS ETERNAL (THE HUMAN MIND CANNOT COMPREHEND "ETERNAL") AND IT WAS HE WHO MADE US IN THE WOMB. A VERSE THAT TEACHES HUMAN LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION - Keith Hunt)

Job 33:4. "The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the the Almighty has given me life."

(SIMPLE - WE ARE MADE FROM THE PHYSICAL MATERIAL, AND WE ARE GIVEN THE BREATH OF AIR TO LIVE - EVEN IN THE WOMB AIR IS MIXED WITH THE MOTHER'S BLOOD WHICH IS THEN GIVEN TO THE BABY - Keith Hunt)

Job 34:19. "How much less to him that accepts not the persons of princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor. For they all are the works of his hands."

Job 38:36. "Who has put wisdom in the inward parts? Or who has given understanding to the heart?"

(THE HUMAN MIND AND UNDERSTANDING HAS GIVEN US THE COMPUTER AGE, THE SPACE AGE, THE UNBELIEVABLE AGE OF WHAT THE MEDICAL WORLD CAN DO AND IS CONSTANTLY INVESTIGATING THE WORKINGS OF THE HUMAN BODY - ONLY HUMAN KIND CAN DO THESE THINGS - Keith Hunt)

Psa, 33:15. "He fashioned their hearts alike; he considers all their works."

Psa. 86:9. "All nations whom you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord."

Psa. 94:9."He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see?"

(THE MAJORITY INDEED SO DO - IN THE AGE TO COME ALL WILL SO BE - Keith Hunt)

Psa. 95:6. "Let us kneel before the Lord our maker."

Psa, 100: 3. "Know you that the Lord he is God: it is he that has made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture."

Psa. 139: 13. "You have possessed my reins: you have covered me in my mother's womb."

(ANOTHER VERSE THAT SHOWS LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION, WHICH IS COMMON LOGICAL SENSE, AS HUMAN LIFE BEGINS WHEN THE EGG UNITES WITH THE SEED OR SPERM. IN NORMAL CONCEPTION AS SOON AS ONE SPERM ENTERS THE EGG A BARIER WALL IS IMMEDIATELY SET, SO NO MORE SPERM CAN ENTER - Keith Hunt)

Psa. 149:2. "Let Israel rejoice in him that made him."

Prov. 16:4. "The Lord has made all things for himself: yes, even the wicked for the day of evil."

(WE HAVE SEEN UNDER THE "JUDGMENT OF GOD" THAT GOD HAS A LAKE OF FIRE - THE SECOND DEATH - FOR ALL WHO WILL NOT REPENT - Keith Hunt)

Prov. 20:12. "The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord has made even both of them."

Prov. 22:2. "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all."

Eccl. 11:5. "You know not the works of God who makes all."

(HOWEVER LONG THIS AGE MAY GO ON, THE HUMAN MIND WILL NEVER KNOW EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE THERE IS TO KNOW: WHAT IT IS, WHY IT IS, WHERE IT IS, HOW IT IS - Keith Hunt)

Eccl. 12:1. "Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth."

(THIS IS A BLOCK-BUSTER VERSE. THE HEBREW FOR "CREATOR" IS IN THE ***PLURAL*** "CREATOR-S" - YES FROM ETERNITY THE GODHEAD WAS ***TWO*** INDIVIDUALS!!

THE ONE WE NOW KNOW AS THE "FATHER" AND THE OTHER WE NOW CALL THE "SON." BOTH WERE GOD - BOTH WERE EQUAL IN ALL THINGS BUT ONE. THE ONE WE KNOW TODAY AS THE FATHER WAS SUPREME IN ***AUTHORITY***!! AND HE ALWAYS WILL BE. FOR PLAIN CLEAR FROOF OF THAT, SEE - 1 COR.11:3 AND 1 COR. 15:23-26 - Keith Hunt)

Isa. 42:5 "He that gives breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein."

(HERE "BREATH" AND "SPIRIT" DO NOT MEAN THE SAME THING - THERE IS A SPIRIT IN MAN THAT IS UNITED WITH THE BRAIN OF MAN, MAKING MANKIND WAY ABOVE THE OTHER CREATURES GOD CREATED. THAT "SPIRIT" GOES BACK TO GOD UPON DEATH [SEE ECC. 12:7] FOR SAFEKEEPING UNTIL THE RESURRECTION. BUT THE SPIRIT IN MAN CANNOT THINK, ACT, TALK, BY ITSELF. THAT IS PROVED EASILY WHEN SOMEONE HAS AN ACCIDENT AND DAMAGES THEIR BRAIN. IT TAKES THE SPIRIT IN MAN UNITED WITH A NORMAL HUMAN BRAIN TO FUNCTION AS A NORMAL THINKING PERSON. SEE MY STUDY "THE SPIRIT IN MAN" - Keith Hunt)

Isa. 43:1. "Thus says the Lord that created you, O Jacob, and he that formed you O Israel. 7. I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yes, I have made him. 15. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King."

Isa. 44:2. "The Lord that made you, and formed you from the womb, which will help you."

(AGAIN LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION - Keith Hunt)

Isa. 45:12. "I have made the earth and created man upon it. 18. He created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited."

(THERE WAS NOT ALWAYS WATER COVERING THE EARTH AS GENESIS 1:1-2 SHOWS. THERE WAS A WORLD OF LANDS AND SEAS AND DINOSAURS BEFORE THE EARTH WAS COVERED WITH WATER. ALL THAT IS COVERED IN STUDIES ON THIS WEBSITE - Keith Hunt)

Isa. 64:8" "Now, O Lord you are our father; we are the clay, and you our potter; and we all are the work of your hand."

Jer.27:5. "I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground. By my great power and by my outstretch arm , and I have given it to whom it seemed fitting unto me."

Dan. 5:23. "The God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways, have you not glorified."

(THE SO-CALLED "CHRISTIAN" WESTERN WORLD ARE VERY GUILTY TODAY OF THIS VERY THING - Keith Hunt)

Zech 12:1. "The Lord which stretches forth the heavens .... and forms the spirit of man within him."

(THIS IS THE SPIRIT THAT GOES BACK TO GOD AT DEATH - ECC. 12:7. AND ***NOT*** THE BREATH IN MANKIND THAT MIXES WITH THE BLOOD TO LIVE. SEE MY STUDY "THE SPIRIT IN MAN" - Keith Hunt)

Mal. 2:10. "Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?"

(THE ANSWER OF COURSE IT YES - Keith Hunt)

Act 17:24. "God has made the world and all things therein. 25. He gives to all, life, and breath, and all things. 26. And has made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth, and has determined before the times appointed, and the bounds of their habitation. 28. In him we live and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are all his offspring."

1 Cor. 15:38. "God gives a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed his own body."

1 Pet. 4:19. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their lives to him in well doing, as unto a faithful creator."

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NEXT WE SHALL SEE SOME OF THE VERSES SHOWING GOD IS FROM ETERNITY PAST TO ETERNITY FUTURE. THEN WE SHALL SEE THE MIND-BENDING VERSES ABOUT THE "FATHERHOOD" OF GOD.

UNDERSTANDING GOD #19

THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD!

Ex. 4:22. "And you shall say unto Pharaoh, Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."

Deut. 14:1. "You are the children of the Lord God...."

Deut. 32:5. "They have corrupted themselves....O foolish people and unwise. Is not he your father that has bought you? Has he not made you, and established you?"

2 Sam. 7:14. "I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men."

1 Chr. 28:6. "And he said unto me, Solomon your son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son. And I will be his father."

Psa. 68:5. "A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation."

Psa. 89:26. "He shall cry unto me, You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation."

Isa. 1:2. " Hear, O heavens, and give ear O earth: for the Lord has spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me."

Isa. 63:16. "Doubtless you are our father; though Abraham be ignorant of us: you O Lord are our father; our redeemer: your name is from everlasting."

Isa. 64:8. "But now, O Lord, you are our father; we are the clay and you our potter; and we are the work of your hand."

(AND INDEED IN GENESIS GOD SAID "LET US MAKE MAN IN OUR IMAGE...." THERE IS SOMETHING GOING ON BETWEEN US AND GOD THAT IS MORE THAN JUST THE LORD BEING A "SPIRITUAL" FATHER TO US - Keith Hunt)

Jer. 3:19. "But I said, How shall I put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the host of nations? And I said, You shall call me MY FATHER; AND SHALL NOT TURN AWAY FROM ME."

Hos. 1:10. "You are the sons of the living God."

(DO WE BEGIN TO SEE GOD IS WANTING TO BE A FATHER TO US, IN MORE THAN JUST A SPIRITUAL SENSE - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 3:17. "And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

(GOD IN HEAVEN IS TALKING ABOUT CHRIST. I HAVE PROVED IN OTHER STUDIES THE SON EXISTED WITH THE FATHER FROM ETERNITY. SO HERE THE FATHER IS SPEAKING IN A SPIRITUAL FATHER SENSE, AS THE HEAD OF THE ONE WHO BECAME JESUS THE CHRIST - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 5:45. "That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven."

(WE SHALL SEE "CHILDREN" HERE MEANS IN A LITERAL SENSE, NOT JUST SPIRITUAL RELIGIOUS TALK - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 6:4. "That your arms may be in secret: and your Father which sees in secret himself shall reward you openly. 8. Be not you therefore like unto them: for your Father knows what things you are in need of before you ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray you: Our Father which is in heaven....."

Matt. 7:11. "If you 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."

Matt. 10:20. "For it is not you who speaks but the Spirit of your Father which speaks in you. 32. Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."

Matt. 11:27. "All things are delivered unto me by the Father: and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."

(AH DID YOU CATCH AN IMPORTANT TRUTH GIVEN HERE? SALVATION - BEING CALLED TO UNDERSTAND GOD AND CHRIST IS GIVEN TO A PERSON. IT IS NOT JUST A CASE OF SOMEONE SITTING DOWN AND THINKING, "I'M THINKING TODAY I WILL BECOME A CHRISTIAN." OH SOME MANY HAVE DONE THAT, BUT YOUR BIBLE TEACHES TO BE A TRUE SON OF GOD YOU HAVE TO BE CALLED OF GOD, OF CHRIST. THEY HAVE TO COME TO YOU AND BRING YOUR MIND TO SPIRITUAL TRUTH. THEY MUST TAKE AWAY YOUR SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS - SEE THE PLAIN TRUTH OF THE MATTER IN ROMANS 9 TO 11 - READ IT CAREFULLY FOR THERE ARE VERSES GIVING A KEY OF SALVATION. THEN MAKE SURE YOU STUDY MY STUDY CALLED "THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT" - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 12:50. "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

(IT SOUNDS LIKE JESUS WAS PUTTING THE TRUE FOLLOWERS OF GOD RIGHT UP THERE WITH HIMSELF. WE SHALL SEE IT MORE AS WE PROCEED - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 15:13. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father."

(WOW NOW HUMAN KIND CAN ONE DAY SHINE LIKE THE SUN.....WE ARE 93 MILLION MILES AWAY FROM THE SUN, THINK HOW THAT SUN MUST SHINE IF YOU WERE SAY JUST 1,000 OR 100 MILES AWAY FROM IT - Keith Hunt)

Matt. 18:14. "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."

Matt. 20:23. "To sit on my right hand, and non my left hand, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father."

(SEE THE MAGNITUDE OF KNOWING SOME ONE WILL SIT ON THE RIGHT AND LEFT HAND OF JESUS IN THE 1,000 YEAR AGE. HUMAN BEINGS HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR SUCH A HIGH CALLING. WE SHALL SEE SPECIFICALLY HOW HIGH LATER - Keith Hunt)

Mark 11:25. "And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have ought against any: that the Father which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive you your trespasses."

Luke 11:3. "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him."

John 14:23. "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and WE will COME unto him, and make OUR ABODE with him."

(TO THINK THAT BOTH THE FATHER AND THE SON WILL LITERALLY COME AND LIVE INSIDE THE CHRISTIAN IS REALLY MIND-BENDING. IT SHOULD BE TELLING US SOMETHING. THAT THERE IS A GREAT PURPOSE FOR GOD CREATING MANKIND - Keith Hunt)

John 20:17. "Jesus said unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father, and to my God, and your God."

(HOW SIMPLE TO UNDERSTAND, IT SAYS WHAT IT MEANS AND MEANS WHAT IT SAYS. GOD THE FATHER IS FATHER UNTO JESUS - THE HEAD OF JESUS [1 COR. 11:1-3] - AND FATHER UNTO US. THE FATHER IS JESUS' SUPREME GOD, AND HE IS OUR SUPREME GOD ALSO. YOU SHOULD BE SEEING BY NOW THAT THE NEW TESTAMENT IS MAKING IT CLEAR THAT GOD THE FATHER IS HAVING PEOPLE LITERALLY BORN INTO HIS LEVEL OF EXISTENCE - INTO THE GODHEAD. SOME VERSES LATER WILL MAKE THAT TRUTH SO PLAIN, IF WE WILL BUT JUST BELIEVE THE PLAIN WORDS WE WILL READ - Keith Hunt)

Rom. 1:7. "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

(SAINTS ARE ANY TRUE CHRISTIAN, NOT SOMEONE GIVEN A "SAINTHOOD" BY A CHURCH LIKE THAT OF ROME. GOD THE FATHER IS AGAIN TERMED "OUR FATHER" - Keith Hunt)

Rom. 8:15. "For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."

(THE WORD "ADOPTION" FROM THE GREEK SHOULD BE "SONSHIP" - WE ARE AS SOME NEW TESTAMENT VERSES SAY "BEGOTTEN" OF GOD - LITERALLY - HAVING THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS HAVING THE SEED OF GOD WITHIN US. THEN AT THE RESURRECTION [INSTANT CHANGE FROM MORTAL TO IMMORTAL FOR THOSE ALIVE IN THE FLESH - 1 COR. 15] WE SHALL BE LITERALLY BORN INTO - BORN AGAIN - BORN INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD. SEE THE STUDY ON "BORN AGAIN" ON THIS WEBSITE, TO UNDERSTAND THAT TRUTH - Keith Hunt)

1 Cor. 8:6. "But to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him."

(PUNCTUATION WAS NOT IN THE GREEK. HENCE THE TRUTH THAT INDEED TO US THERE IS BUT ***ONE*** GOD THE FATHER, AND WE ARE IN HIM. YOU SHOULD BE GETTING THE CLEAR CONNECTION AND IMPLICATION OF THESE NEW TESTAMENT VERSES - Keith Hunt)

1 Cor. 15:24. "Then comes the end when he (Christ) shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father."

(A VERSE THAT GOES WITH 1 COR.11:1-3 - GOD THE FATHER IS HEAD OF CHRIST - HE IS SUPREME IN ***AUTHORITY*** AND SO AT THE END OF THE 1,000 YEAR AGE, CHRIST TURNS THE KINGDOM OVER TO GOD THE FATHER, AS HE COMES DOWN FROM HEAVEN WITH THE HEAVENLY CITY JERUSALEM, TO THE NEW EARTH: AS WE READ IN REVELATION 21 AND 22 - Keith Hunt)

2 Cor. 6:18. "And will be a Father unto you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

(A VERSE GETTING PLAINER ALL THE TIME. THE FATHER IS HAVING A FAMILY - Keith Hunt)

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THERE ARE A FEW VERSES WE ARE YET TO COME TO THAT WILL BLOW THE MIND, WHEN FULLY MEDITATED UPON. THEY ARE EASY TO READ, PLAIN WORDS, THAT TELL US WHAT THE FATHER WANTS US TO BECOME ONE DAY.......IT IS TRULY TRULY GLORY THAT CAN ONLY FOR NOW IN THE FLESH, BE UNDERSTOOD IN A LIMITED WAY, AS LIKE PAUL ONCE SAID, LOOKING THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, BUT ONE DAY WE SHALL KNOW EVEN AS WE ARE KNOWN.

THOSE GLORIOUS VERSES WE SHALL SEE NEXT TIME.

To be continued

UNDERSTANDING GOD #20

THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD #2

Gal. 1:1. "Paul an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). 4. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."

Gal. 4:4. "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman. 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7. Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ."

(WHAT A LOADED NUMBER OF VERSES! FIRST IT IS NOT "ADOPTION" BUT "SONSHIP" AS IT SHOULD READ. AND THEN WE ARE ***HEIRS*** OF GOD!! NOW HAVE YOU EVER READ WHERE AN ANGEL IS AN HEIR OF GOD? NO! IT CANNOT BE FOUND IN THE BIBLE. BUT HUMAN BEINGS CAN BECOME AN HEIR OF GOD. THINK ON THAT. MEDITATE ON THAT. IT SHOULD BLOW YOUR MIND! Keith Hunt)

Eph. 1:3. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."

Eph. 2:18. "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."

Eph. 3:14. "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Eph. 4:6. "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

(FROM ALL THE VERSES WE HAVE SEEN, CHRIST IS ALSO GOD, A MEMBER OF THE GODHEAD. SO THIS VERSE HERE TELLS US THE ONE GOD THE FATHER IS SUPREME IN THE GODHEAD, IS ABOVE ALL IN AUTHORITY, AND IS IN EVERY TRUE CHRISTIAN - Keith Hunt)

Col. 1:3. "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. 12. Giving thanks unto the Father, which has made us fitting to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."

(WE HAVE SEEN WE ARE THE HEIRS OF GOD THE FATHER - Keith Hunt)

1 Thes. 1:1. "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheous, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God himself and our Father."

1 Thes. 3:11. "Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you. 13. To the ends he may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father."

2 Thes. 1:1. "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2. Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Heb. 1:5. "For unto which of the angels said he at any time .... I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?"

(THERE IT IS IN PLAIN WORDS. GOD THE FATHER HAS NEVER HAD IN MIND TO MAKE ANY ANGEL A SON OF HIS. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THEN BETWEEN AN ANGEL AND THOSE WHO ARE MADE SONS OF GOD - Keith Hunt)

Jas. 1:17. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of light. 27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

Jas. 3:9. "Therefore bless we God, even the Father."

1 Pet. 1:2. "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

(THERE IT IS - WE ARE BEGOTTEN AGAIN - FIRST TIME BY HUMAN PARENTS - NOW BY GOD THE FATHER. WE WERE BORN ONCE TO HUMAN PARENTS. WE SHALL BE BORN AGAIN BY GOD THE FATHER, AT THE RESURRECTION, WHEN WE SHALL BE IN THE VERY KINGDOM OF GOD, NOT KINGDOM OF ANGELS, BUT KINGDOM OF GOD - Keith Hunt)

1 John 1:2. "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us."

1 John 2:13. "I write unto you, little children, because you have known the Father....22. .... he is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. 23. Whosoever denies the Son, the same has not the Father. But he that acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24. If that you heard from the beginning remains in you, you also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."

1 John 3:1. "Behold, what manner of love then Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God."

(YES WE ARE SONS OF GOD.....AND NOW FOR THE MIND-BLOWING VERSE.....Keith Hunt)

1 John 3:2. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not appear what we shall be: but WE KNOW, that when he shall appear (Jesus the Christ), WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM; FOR WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE IS!!!"

WILL YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU HAVE JUST READ? A CHILD CAN READ IT! A CHILD CAN UNDERSTAND THOSE WORDS! IT SAYS WHAT IT MEANS AND MEANS WHAT IT SAYS. IT IS JUST THAT SIMPLE! ONE DAY TRUE SONS OF GOD, CHRISTIANS, WILL LOOK LIKE JESUS CHRIST AS HE NOW IS IN HIS GLORY. WE SHALL SEE HIM AS HE NOW IS AND WE SHALL BE LIKE HIM!! THE PLAN GOD THE FATHER HAS FOR HIS CHILDREN IS TO MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE AND BE LIKE JESUS IN HIS GLORIFIED FORM!! MAKE NO MISTAKE, DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND, CHRISTIANS WILL NEVER BE EQUAL IN AUTHORITY TO JESUS CHRIST; CHRIST WILL ALWAYS BE OUR HEAD, OUR ELDER BROTHER, THE THE ONE WITH MORE AUTHORITY THAN ANYONE BUT THE FATHER. THE FATHER WILL ALWAYS BE HEAD OF CHRIST - THE SUPREME ONE IN AUTHORITY IN THE UNIVERSE!

THIS IS THE GLORIOUS TRUTH OF THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD! HE IS MAKING A FAMILY! - Keith Hunt

Rev. 14:1. "And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on mount Zion, and with him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having his father's NAME written in their foreheads."

Rev. 3:"12. "Him that overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God....and I will write upon him the NAME of my God......"

AND THERE IT IS ONCE MORE. TRUE CHRISTIANS WILL ONE DAY HAVE THE NAME OF GOD ON THEIR FOREHEADS, THE NAME OF GOD WRITTEN ON THEM. HOW PLAINER CAN IT BE GIVEN TO US.

YOU NEED, IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO, TO STUDY MY STUDY CALLED "A CHRISTIAN'S DESTINY" AND SEE FROM YOUR BIBLE THE GLORIOUS PLAN AND GIFT GOD THE FATHER IS WANTING TO SHARE WITH YOU. GOD THE FATHER AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST ARE THE TWO MOST GIVING PERSONS IN THE UNIVERSE, THE TWO MOST UN-SELFISH PERSONS IN THE UNIVERSE.

THIS IS THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD!!!

BLESS AND PRAISE HIM FOR EVER MORE!

Keith Hunt

I HAVE GIVEN YOU A LOT OF TRUTH ABOUT GOD; THERE IS MUCH MORE. YOU CAN FIND MORE

TRUTHS ABOUT THE ETERNAL GOD BY READING HIS WORD THE BIBLE.

The Meltdown Continues

Friday, November 7, 2025

ABOUT GOD - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, END FOR NOW

All About God #1

At least what God has revealed to us

All about God's Judgment

Get the right mind-set First!

About Justice and Judgment

Illustrations!

About Justice and Judgment

Illustrations! #2

Understanding God's Grace #2

What the Scriptures say

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